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Growing Grapes For Wine – Healthy Grape Vines For a Great Wine
If you are a gardening enthusiast or a wine lover, growing grapes for wine may be an exciting activity for you. Making your own wine is indeed a good idea. You must remember though your backyard grapes may not be the variety that is great for wine making, thus if you want to venture into growing grapes for wine, here are some important tips that you may consider.
Choosing your wine grape
One main factor in making best wines, of course, is having the best quality of grapes. The variety of your grape vines should be the first consideration. Choose a type that is great for wine making and pick a variety that can thrive well with the climatic condition of your area. Most often, grapes grown healthily on areas with hot and dry summer and mild winters, as very low temperatures during winter can kill the grape vines.
Choosing your location
Make sure to choose a location that there is plenty of sun. This will in the proper ripening of the fruits that will contribute also to the taste of your wine. Other major considerations to take note in growing grapes for wine making include the soil, the topography, the fertilizers and the climatic conditions of your area. Planting your grape vines can also be done in slopes because these areas have good drainage and prevent the roots to be soaked with too much in water and that can freeze in winter. Slopes facing south are the best locations that you can get for growing grapes for wine as these areas will sure get good sunshine for your wine grapes. Bathing your vines with good sunlight helps a lot in the formation of sugars in fruits that become alcohol after fermentation. Beware of low lying areas too as these are prone to frosts that can damage your vines.
Disease and Pest Control
Like any other crop, growing grapes also involves monitoring especially for possible attack of pests and diseases. You can make use of pest attractants to drive pests away from the fruits. At mid summer when the fruits begin to swell and ripen, birds also begin to peck on the fruits, thus, before everything will be gone, you can put nets over the vines to stop them from feeding on the fruits. A gardening net would be a great one for this purpose.
Pruning for better fruits
Pruning your grape vines is also a factor that you should consider in growing grapes for wine, as this affects the production of good quality fruits. Pruning will help balance the production of fruits and prevent overbearing, which can lead to poor fruit quality. Aside from getting rid of messy vines, pruning also allows sunlight to nourish the vines well and helps maintain disease-free vines.
Harvesting your grapes
Harvesting the fruits at the right time is also important in growing grapes for wine making. It is not just enough also to look at the color of the fruits to determine if it is in its right ripeness for harvesting. Tasting the grapes is recommended. You can start harvesting your grapes if the seeds are dark or brownish and if the sugar level is just right. You can also make use of hydrometer to help you determine the sugar content of the grapes and if it is already right for harvesting.
What Is Great Wine Actually?
If you ask someone what actually Great Wine is, then you should know that this question has both no answer and about a zillion answers at the same time. Why is that? The answer, in fact, depends on the person you ask, particularly the time of asking.
There is no one type of wine drinker first of all. With that fact as our basis for moving ahead, you can see where you might come up with a gazillion different answers. I know there is no number relating to a Gazillion, but let it be enough that there are plenty of different types.
The range extends from the down and out street wino to the extremely upscale wine clubs found in the eastern seaboard of America. And then of course there are our European cousins that consume much more wine than we Americans do routinely. So who you ask about great wine will definitely influence the answer you get back.
So is the question even worth asking? From my perspective it is in fact. But who you ask may come as a surprise. You should ask yourself. That’s right. What you think is a great wine is all that is really important when it comes to drinking the grape nectar. After all, it’s your taste buds you are concerned with and not someone else’s. You want to please yourself. You want to experience pleasure when consuming a glass of wine.
What will play into and affect that experience is the surroundings with which you find yourself when drinking some wine. Why is that important, well there are some wines that just do not fit some occasions. And if you don’t know at least some basics, your wine selection could end with a very discomforting result.
Wine basics 101: there are White, Red and Rose’ in the color realm. There are desert wines, wines that typically go well with certain types of foods and then there are wines that can be enjoyed just by themselves. Actually all wine fits this last category. It just depends on your mood and taste.
The days of wine snobbery are for the most part over. As the 21st century progresses, it has become more important for the individual to enjoy their selection than fitting a predetermined set of circumstances dictated by wine snobs. Those supposedly in the know.
While everything up till now is true, it’s pretty much an open game, there are a couple of things that you want to keep in mind. One is, you don’t want to select a desert wine such as Muscat to drink with dinner. That may seem like common sense and it is, but if you don’t know what Muscat is, then you could be at the front end of a very big surprise. Muscat is my favorite desert wine. As a child, I use to eat Muscat grapes fresh off the vine from wild grape vines that grew in our neighborhood. It was like free candy.
Up until recently, it was sort of taboo to drink white wine with red meat such as Beef, Veal, Venison or other game meats. Red was strictly the wine of choice. And to drink anything other was frowned upon by almost everyone. That is no longer true. It is completely acceptable to drink a white with a dinner steak. If that wine is to your liking, then do it.
So the old guidelines of food and wine pairings are not so much in vogue anymore. You will find that attitude at some upscale eateries that provide a wine Somalier. When faced with that situation, you just have to do what you feel comfortable doing. But other than that, great wine is the wine that makes you smile. Maybe even giggle a bit. Champagne bubbles popping about your nose is likely to cause that reaction more so than any other.
So….Great wine, what is it? It’s the wine that you love to drink, regardless of other’s opinions and ideas. So go ahead and have that Merlot with sauteed Prawns over Linguine or a nice Pinot Gregio with your Rib eye. You have no one to please but yourself.
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Buenos Aires Cheap Flights and the Wine Roads of Argentina
Its natural beauty, history and culture make Argentina a country worth exploring, more than these, it is especially worth visiting because of its wines. The fifth leading producer of wine in the world, Argentina has eight grape-growing regions producing some of the most prestigious Malbec and Torrontes. Most of the wine production is found in the far western area of Argentina to the Andes foothills. Some of the best wine tours take you through the finest wine cellars in the province of Mendoza. Make time for Mendoza’s casinos, discos, theaters, museums, cinemas, wine bars, pubs, festivals, international cuisine and regional specialties. Two-thirds of the country’s yearly production comes from Mendoza, while the rest are produced in San Juan and La Rioja regions to the north. Catamarca, Jujuy and Salta are home to some of the world’s highest planted vineyards. Pinot noir and Chardonnay are produced in Patagonia’s southern region, covering the Río Negro and Neuquén provinces. Look for “Wine Roads” tours that include these provinces in the itinerary or time your Buenos Aires cheap flights with the National Vintage Festival, held every year on the first Saturday of March to experience the unique flavors or Argentinean wines.
Getting Around the City and Buenos Aires Cheap Flights
Buenos Aires is Argentina’s largest city. Often called “The Pearl” of South America, it showcases the intense cultural life of Argentina, dominated by tango, long coffee klatches and football. You’ll be pleased to know that there are many modes of transport available. These taxis serve the city streets 24 hours a day and you can either flag them on the streets or call for a pick up. You can either flag them on the streets or call for a pick up, the base rate is set at $ 4. 60. Flag-down rates are set at $ 4. 60, every 200 meters, 0. 46 cents is added to the base fare. These buses or colectivos have a minimum fare of $ 0. 80. Buenos Aires also has Remises or private car services with flat rates and per trip, safe and cheaper alternatives to taxis as they will always take the fastest route. Buenos Aires’ subway system is highly reliable and takes you through the city center to its outskirts. Four train terminals (Retiro, Constitución, Once and Federico Lacroze) connect the Capital Federal with the suburbs and the rest of the country. If you want to stop by Uruguay, there’s a ferry system connecting the port of Buenos Aires with the main cities of this nearby country. The city can also be discovered at your own pace aboard a bicycle, with bicycle rental operators offering tours to the Southern and Northern Circuits, as well as tours for literature, history, culture, history and ecology.
Buenos Aires Neighborhoods and Buenos Aires Cheap Flights
There are 48 barrios or neighborhoods in the city of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Several of these have gained fame by being the home of important cultural and heritage sites, being finance centers, serving as the hot spot for the arts, or by just having wealthy residents. Make time for these neighborhoods as they are homes to important cultural and heritage sites, finance centers, and arts hot spots. Palermo, a trendy residential neighborhood with restaurants, bars and boutiques; Microcentro, home to main historical spots; San Telmo, with its colonial-style houses, cobblestone lanes, and underground nightlife; Boedo, a main Tango and historical spot that offers a variety of cafes, Tango houses, libraries, and theaters; Retiro, home of Buenos Aires’s main train station and some of the most luxurious restaurants and shopping centers. If you’re looking for a quiet stroll, head out to Belgrano. This is a peaceful neighborhood that features small shops, restaurants, architectural relics and open spaces perfect for just taking in the sights and sounds of the city.
Buenos Aires Pub Crawls and Buenos Aires Cheap Flights
Pub crawls are a great way to tour a city that you’re visiting. These involve a group of people travelling around a particular city district by foot, they visit most famous or notable pubs, bars, and watering holes while sampling the best each establishment has to offer. Fast becoming popular around the world, pub crawls present travelers an opportunity to learn about a place through local drinks and spirits. So, if you’re ever headed to Argentina, this is a good way to learn more about the country and its people, while having fun while doing it. Go on pub crawls with Buenos Aires cheap flights and get to know more about the “Paris of South America” as you meet city locals while you experience its world-famous nightlife. For approximately 20 USD, you’ll get to join fellow travelers from around the world and sample the best of Buenos Aires by night. Some pub crawl packages include free pizza, complimentary shooters at each bar you visit, drink discounts, an open bar (during registration), and free admission to a club. Take a pub crawl on your birthday and you get the tour for free.
cheap flights are widely available from April to August. Get your cheap tickets and have your fill of some of the best golfing destinations in South America. Catch some