Tag Archives: Wine
Under Counter Wine Racks Save Space
Under counter wine racks are small and compact designed to fit in tight spaces. You can find many different styles and sizes of under counter wine racks. This racking will be the most suitable for kitchens or under your wine bar.
There are many things that you must take into consideration when you are looking for the best under counter wine rack. The first is of course your budget and prices will vary. The price is generally going to be less expensive when it is smaller with less features, and will increase in price as the rack gets larger with additional features.
Some additional considerations that are very important will be the size of the space that you will be putting your under counter wine rack. Understanding your needs will help you narrow down your available choices and make your selection a bit easier.
In order to purchase the right wine rack that will go under your counter in your kitchen or behind your wine bar you will need to take the above things into consideration, as well as what type of wine that you will be storing in the unit. Wine storage is important to maintaining the quality of your wine whether it’s red wine or white wine. As opposed to an under counter wine rack, you may also want to consider a small wine cabinet instead which allows for the wine to be stored in a climate controlled environment.
You are going to have many choices of under counter wine racks to choose from and if you use the methods above then it should drastically cut down on the choices. Purchasing your wine rack online will save you money, but more importantly it will help you to determine the best model for you.
If you have a certain space you are trying to fill, you may need a custom wine rack. However, you should also look at a variety of modular or kit racking that is available. Many of the modular racks can be cut in height or width to allow for a customized under counter rack at a modular price!
White Wine – Ultimate Sophistication
The ultimate in sophistication and class in the world of wine would be the white wine. It is so versatile because of all the varieties and styles is comes in. White wine can be paired with just about any food you can imagine. Whites can be sweet, dry or even semi-sweet. They are easy to recognize because of their light yellow or almost clear coloring. White varietals are grown all over the world with the most famous probably being the Chardonnay grape originally from France. However, this grape is just as at home in California and New Zealand. This white wine is renowned for its smoke flavor with a hint of oak. Chardonnay is not the favorite of this author, but that does not diminish its popularity world wide.
A much sweeter contender for favorite white wine worldwide would be the Riesling. Rieslings originate in Germany and by far they make the best, but it has had a slow start in the world of white wine. Unfortunately there are many poor quality sugary substitutes which have given Rieslings a bad name. These substitutes have tarnished the reputation of a very fine wine, but like the nature of all Germans, they do not give up and they quickly overcome. High quality Rieslings hail from the Rhine and Saar valleys and have help to reestablish this wine as one of the finer whites. Varieties in America and Australia have contributed to the good reputation of this grape variety.
A great way to enjoy your favorite whites thoroughly is to pair them with your favorite foods. Cheese is a simple and great way to enjoy your favorite white wine. Mild cheese is best paired with a sweeter white like White Riesling or a Gewurztraminer. Full bodied cheeses pair wonderfully with a Chenin Blanc or a Dry Riesling. Seafood or pastas with cream sauces should be paired with a Chardonnay to enhance flavor while shellfish like lobster, crab, and shrimp pair amazing with a Sauvignon Blanc. Asian foods like Thai pair great with the sweet wines as well, the best being Gerwurztramner. Poultry goes well with any white wine. This may surprise many of you, but chocolate is perfect with a glass of White Riesling. Yummy!
While it may be important to consider what food you will pair with your white wine it is more important to enjoy the wine you are drinking. The number one reason to choose any wine is by if you like it or not. Then when you find one or many you like, you might try to increase your pleasure by pairing it with just the right food. The quality, color, notes and variety all combine to make the best wines in the world, but that is all for naught if you do not like it in the first place and cannot find yourself taking another sip. White wine is considered the ultimate in class because of its versatility. You can drink whites socially, with a meal or while reading a book! You will find the best white wines being drunk during BBQ’s and charity events alike. It is your choice and make it confidently and often.
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Wine History – A Quick Lesson
As crazy as this sounds and you might not believe it, but before there was wine, there were vessels to drink it from. Yes, believe it or not, there were containers that actually held liquid before liquid gold was created. These containers were just waiting for something to fill it that would satisfy its purpose far beyond what it could ever dream. Enter wine. The first wine glasses were made from many different materials from baked clay potter to gourds made of leather to goblets of silver and gold. Animal horns were even used, especially by the Vikings. These vessel examples were what was used when one was trying to maintain a certain level of decorum, otherwise drinking straight from larger storage container was entirely acceptable.
As far back as 50 A.D.a scientist named Pliny the Elder worked to encourage glass as a preferred container for holding wine, but this was not widely possible due to the fact that glass was as treasured a material as gold and jewels because at that time the process and ancient technology used to make glass was expensive and very difficult. Because of this, the first version of the wine glass that consisted of a base, stem and foot dates from the 15th century. Due to the Industrial Revolution, glass today is very easy to produce which in turn makes it affordable compared to all previous centuries. In fact, even as late as the beginning of the 20th century glass was difficult to mass produce. These facts make it easy to see how glass was just as precious as gold or silver a few hundred years ago.
Again, because of the Industrial Revolution, the mass production of glass suddenly made sets of wine glasses affordable to everyday blue collar working folks. Wine glasses along with champagne flutes, tumblers and goblets were sold in sets, usually containing a dozen in each set. Suddenly glass was the preferred material for wine vessels and this made it easy for people to covet the color and body of the wine, which is just as important as taste and indeed needed to get the full experience out of drinking wine. With these discoveries, glass began to be shaped specifically to enhance the bouquet and body of red, white and blush wine alike. These inventions gave a while new perspective and twist into wine drinking and enjoyment.
Shape and size of the bowl of the glass is very important to the full experience of wine enjoyment. You should buy glasses specifically for the red and white wine and even champagne. A lot of science has gone into the shape of each type of glass and you would greatly benefit by using the proper shape for the wine you are drinking.
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How to Look Like a Wine Expert
Ever wonder why you see wine connoisseurs stick their noses into their wine glass when the wine steward brings a new bottle of wine to the table? They are “tasting” the wine with their noses.
Believe it or not, your tongue can only taste four things: sweet, salty, sour, and bitter. All the other nuances of taste actually come through a complicated relationship between taste and smell. It is the nose and the nasal passage at the back of the throat that make what we taste in our mouths flavorful.
Inspecting and smelling the cork and sniffing the wine lets the person who ordered the wine evaluate it before putting into his or her mouth. If the wine has been spoiled, these two steps will usually reveal the problem.
Improper wine storage or contamination with certain bacteria can make a wine taste perfectly terrible. You wouldn’t want to put it in your mouth.
After showing you the bottle and removing the cork, the sommelier, or wine steward, will hand you the cork to inspect and sniff. If the cork appears to have deteriorated or smells bad, you should immediately refuse the wine.
If all appears to be well with the cork, the sommelier will pour a small amount of the wine into your glass.
Keep the base of your glass flat on the table and swirl the wine gently around. This mixes air with the wine and vaporizes the complex aromas. Quickly lift the glass and stick your nose into the glass as far as you can and smell the wine.
Some people say that keeping your mouth open while you sniff the wine will help you perceive the full aroma.
When a wine is badly “flawed,” it will often be immediately apparent in it’s “nose,” which is the term wine lovers use for it’s smell. If the nose of the wine is not inviting, and you aren’t immediately tempted to taste it, don’t hesitate to return the bottle to your wine steward. You should immediately be offered a replacement bottle.
Keep in mind that if there are strong scents around you, they can compete with the wine you are evaluating. If you or the person next to you are wearing strong perfume, this can throw off your nose. If there is pungent food being served nearby, this can also affect what you smell in the wine glass.
Once your nose has had first crack at the wine, and the wine has passed the nose test, then take a sip and swirl the wine around in your mouth. Give the sommelier a nod if you approve, and only then will he proceed to serve your chosen wine to your guests at the table.
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Homemade Wine Making Equipment
If you’re thinking about making your own homemade wine, here are some things you should know about the equipment required to get you started.
First and foremost, we need to talk about cost. You could visit online merchants here, there and everywhere to shop around for the best prices on individual items you’ll need to start making your own wine, but most sites that sell equipment offer some sort of beginning equipment kit that will have all the items you need to get your wine making career started. This is absolutely the best way to go in my opinion. Kits will run anywhere from $ 80-$ 150. That’s a lot of money, but this equipment can be used over and ever and thus will eventually pay for itself.
So what’s included in a kit, anyway? For starters you’ll get a plastic primary fermentation bucket, usually around 8 gallons. After primary fermentation you’ll need something to transfer your wine into for secondary fermentation. This is usually a 5 or 6 gallon glass bottle, called a carboy, although in some kits the secondary is plastic.
Also included will be some rubber stoppers that fit the fermenting vessels, and an airlock, which is a device used to let carbon dioxide out when your wine is fermenting while not allowing air and bacteria in. You should also get a couple of brushes, one for cleaning the bottles and another so you can clean the carboy.
Some sort of cleaning agent and also a sanitizer will be included. Cleaning and sanitizing is a crucial step when making wine. A length of plastic tubing will be supplied, and a sometimes a device called a racking tube which aids in transferring your wine from one vessel to the other. Some kits also include a little device to slip onto the plastic tube that allows you to shut off the flow of wine when you’re bottling.
Most kits include a hydrometer. This is a device that measures the specific gravity of the wine during various stages of development. You can also use it to measure the potential alcohol of your wine. Corks are also in most equipment kits, as is some sort of corker to insert the corks.
This is the minimum list of items, and you’ll find some kits that include much more. What is generally NOT included is an ingredient kit, although some sellers will allow you to add one to your package for a reduced price and if you can afford it, this is a good way to go. Bottles are usually not included either, but are easy to collect from friends and family.
Consider getting started making your own homemade wine today. It’s a fun and fascinating hobby that you can explore endlessly.
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