As you host, or join celebrations of this season, consider some of the following suggestions. The trick to choosing great wines for your holiday party is to find something you had and liked in the past. Have more than one bottle on the table to choose from — at least two reds and two whites — with a taste variety and grape variety. Find a few wines that are crowd pleasers and are easy sipping wines. Today everyone is aware of the health benefits of red wine, and people keep asking for the red wines, more than white. Don’t shy away from offering sweet reds, sparkling reds, light reds, and really great reds.
Main course reds and whites: Gewürztraminer and Riesling are fragrant and fruity white wines which will work well with a Thanksgiving meal. Pinot Noirs and Zinfandel are red wines with a lot of fruit and balanced tannins that will complement the varied flavors of turkey and its many side dishes.
In December, holiday tables often feature red meats, such as filet mignon or roast beef. If that’s true for you, reach for full flavored red wines. Cabernet Sauvignon is great with meat and cheese because of its complex flavor. Try a Cabernet from Chile or a Bordeaux style blend from California. Lamb lovers might try a glass of smooth, earthy Cabernet Shiraz blend.
And with your desserts and pies, Sparkling Moscato D’ Asti is a good choice. I would also recommend a nice port wine with dessert. Wine can make a dessert extra special. Lightly sweet, white dessert wines pair well with pumpkin pie. This is because pumpkin pie tends to have a savory edge, and is not overly sweet. Make sure the wine you serve is sweeter than the dessert you are pairing with.
Try to complement a slice of warm apple pie with an extra dry sparkling wine or demi sec. Extra dry actually means that the wine is a little sweet while the demi sec indicates that it is even sweeter.
Add wine to your celebrations this year. Remember that wine consumed with your food actually helps improve overall health. The key however, is to enjoy wine in moderation. One to two glasses of wine a day is a healthy habit with your meals.
There are side effects to wine too. It is not for everyone. You can get migraines, and, put on weight as wine is calorie packed. This holiday season enjoy it responsibly. Here are some tricks to cutting the calories. (1) Think before you drink. (2) Start with a nonalcoholic beverage to quench your thirst. (3) Reduce calorie and alcohol content by making a wine spritzer. (4) Plan ahead: Save some calories during the day.
“This is my wish for you: peace of mind, prosperity through the year, happiness that multiplies health for you and yours, fun around every corner, energy to chase your dreams, joy to fill your holidays!” – D.M. Dellinger
Have a fantastic Holiday season. May all your hopes and dreams come true this holiday season. Cheers!
Antoney Manipadam is a Certified Sommelier, pursuing the Master Sommelier Certification. He Owns and operates Lake Mary Cork&Olive;, the best wine store in Lake Mary, Florida. Website:
What height should my chair be at? Should I really sleep with a pillow between my legs? Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein, a chiropractor at 57th Street Chiropractic in New York City, answers the most common questions that chiropractors are asked.
What type of mattress do you advise people get?
I recommend getting as firm a mattress as you feel comfortable sleeping on. If I say get an ultra-firm mattress and you don’t feel comfortable on that and are having trouble sleeping, than that is not doing you any good at all. I do personally sleep on a Tempur-Pedic and I do endorse those to my patients, but I always tell them to try it before you buy it because if you are not comfortable than it won’t be of any help.
Do you recommend sleeping with a pillow between your legs?
I think that is very good if you are a side sleeper. It allows your hips to assume a more neutral posture, which I think is an excellent way to sleep.
Do you have a recommend sleeping position?
Sleeping on your back is best. Sleeping in a fetal position on your side is 2nd best. Sleeping on your stomach is no good because you need to turn your head almost 90 degrees.
Are there daytime tips for work you can share?
Ergonomics are important. You want to make sure when you are sitting that your feet are on the floor and that your work station is set up appropriately for you and your height. You should make sure that your keyboard is ergonomically set up and within reach and your chair height is proper with respect to your desk.
What is correct chair height?
It’s a system of ratios. Your arms should basically be at a 90-degree angle, resting on your chair. Your feet should be resting on the floor. If you are of shorter stature, perhaps a footrest under your desk might be better so you can rest your feet on that.
Are there some common activities that should be avoided?
It is different for each person. For some people, running can really stress their spine, and for some people, doing squats at the gym can really cause disc problems. It is different for everybody and that’s why everyone should get an assessment so they can find where their strengths and weaknesses are. Having good posture is important. If you have a kid and your kid is carrying a backpack to school, than that backpack should not exceed one-third of your child’s body weight. If you have a 50-pound kid and you put 20 pounds of books in that backpack, than that is going to trash his spine. There are so many little things. Avoid stress. Keep good posture. Sleep with proper posture. All of these are important pieces in the puzzle.
The information in the article is not intended to substitute for the medical expertise and advice of your healthcare provider. We encourage you to discuss any decisions about treatment or care with an appropriate healthcare provider.
Dr. Gregg D. Rubinstein is a writer for Yodle, a business directory and online advertising company. Find a or more articles at Yodle Consumer Guide.
The Trials and Tribulations of Australian Wine Game
There is little doubt that the Australian wine-grower has had a tough time of it lately. If it`s not climate change playing havoc with the ripening cycles and rain fall averages, it`s the strength of the Aussie dollar relative to the US dollar – totally devastating the export value of the average bottle of good old Barossa shiraz…
There is however another aspect to the trials and tribulations of the industry which is becoming more and more apparent – brand Australia is no longer the coolest kid on the wine block with the groovy sneakers and matching i-phone.
There was a time not too long ago when the UK supermarkets were bulging with good value Australian reds that were being consumed in near-alarming amounts along with the weekend take-away Chicken Tikka dinners and Coronation Street episodes so beloved by the average British household.
At the time, it was cool to rag the French and Bulgarians for lousy low-end wines and every visiting Australian winemaker was treated like Mick Jagger on a come-back tour every time they touched down at Heathrow.
These days, it`s the Chileans and Argentineans who have elbowed their ways into the hearts and minds of most UK and US wine shoppers, and it`s hurting back home in a big way.
It has to be said that the average bottle of South American wine is cheaper to produce by a country mile than most Australian wines. They are also producing new and exciting varietals such as Malbec and Carmenere (like Shiraz but mostly sweeter and denser). With most trends the cycle highs and lows are always extreme, and currently my antipodean hackles are being raised by the amount of negative international press we are getting in the global marketplace. Some of the bad press is justified as it is fair to say that the impact of Robert Parker`s preference for certain styles of wines have moulded a lot of Australian winemaker’s product – only to be left high and dry as the global consumer is nudged toward alternate countries styles and varietals.
As Victoria`s Secret Super-Model Heidi Klum is famous for saying of fashion “One Minute You are In and the Next Minute you are Out…”
There are green grass-shoots of hope amongst all of this.
Firstly it has forced a lot of producers to take a look at what they produce and how they produce it. Regions are being examined a lot more closely to understand exactly what varietals work best in a specific place – so Riesling out of Clare, Shiraz out of Barossa and so on. This is a good thing and can only result in more carefully considered wines which have the best chance of showing what they can do best.
The next thing is that it has started to produce interesting and hereto unknown varietals out of Australia, like Spanish sourced Savagnin or also called Traminer (a style like Sauvignon Blanc) – which really gives the South Island of New Zealand a run for its money with Sauvignon Blanc. Heathcote is producing some pretty sexy Tempranillo and I tasted a 100% Mouvedre from Coonawarra the other day which would make angels weep.
Winemakers are also travelling more – making wines in different countries and learning more about consumer styles and trends. I was lucky enough to spend some time with Two Hands winemaker Matt Wenk last month – in Singapore to meet, greet and drink with expats at a recent Austcham event. What was brought home to me in a big way was his commitment to the notion that a winery was at its best if drawing grapes from multiple regions and making the most of the chosen varietals – the experts call this Regional Differentiation. I reckon it is here to stay and will be the foundation of the rebirth of the Australian wine industry in years to come.
I manage an online wine e-tail portal in Singapore – servicing most of South East Asia. Our specialty is New World Wines into Singapore, Hong Kong and China.
A “connoisseur” – according to Oxford – is an “expert judge in matter of taste”. For sure you know what you like and dislike, so already that makes you a judge. As for being an expert, you have “to have special knowledge of or skill in a subject”. OK, this might require a bit of work but I can assure you it is much easier than most connoisseurs would have you believe.
Realize first that the key to being an expert in wine is to know precisely what aspects to look for in any bottle you uncork. The average novice has a vague idea at best. Consequently, despite the fact that both persons have the same discerning abilities, no matter how much wine the novice drinks, it won’t improve his ability to judge properly.
So what we will do here is to spell out in plain English the basic but quintessential virtues that make for a good bottle of wine. I think this will help you evaluate every glass of wine and form an expert opinion with ease. I am going to take you through just three fundamental areas of appreciation, namely Typicity, Quality and Age-worthiness. Mastering them is all that stands between you – a wine novice – and you – a wine connoisseur.
Style and Typicity
The style of wine from Bordeaux will and should be different from Napa Valley or Chile, otherwise wine would be a terribly boring hobby. No one style rules supreme in the wine domain. Typicity which describes how accurate the rendition of the style that the wine is supposed to manifest, is very important quality.
An average wine connoisseur is familiar with about 30 styles of wine. It doesn’t take long for a novice to achieve that. All you need to do is to taste a lot. Your palates have excellent memory even if your mind struggles to find more Giga bytes to store a lot of facts and figures. Very soon, when you open a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino, all your senses will automatically receive a download of tasting expectations. And even if the wine tastes very good it would be a disappointment if it doesn’t reflect the quality of its roots. So questions like “Are Australian wines better than French?” are really missing the point.
Quality
With the topic of style down pat, we can take a look at quality of taste. It is actually quite easy. I just need your mind to zoom in on five key areas. Your senses will then render an expert opinion on whether the stuff is good, bad or ugly. The five areas are:
Consistency
Intensity
Vigor
Balance
Finish
Consistency is about tactile qualities that leave a rewarding palate impression, not about flavors. Wine writers like to use the term Body to describe the weight of a wine. Full-, medium- and light-body describe how heavy and light a wine feels on the tongue. But size isn’t everything so in addition to body, we’re also looking for texture of smoothness and silkiness. The great Burgundy wine of Chambertin is well known for its remarkable combination of a full body and a velvety texture.
The flavors of a wine might come in low, medium or high intensity, much like the volume of music played on a stereo. Great wine comes with an appropriate level of intensity just high enough to capture your undivided attention yet not excessively so as to drown out everything else. It is such deft touch that separates the great Australian wine – Grange (Hermitage) – from many expensive baubles out of the same region.
Vigor comes from acidity without which the wine would taste dull and flat if not downright boring. Great chefs often squeeze a splash of lemon juice to finish off a dish. The presence of the same kind of fresh acidity adds crispiness to a wine making it taste racy with a bit of welcomed levity. The great Italian Barolo from Piedmont are endowed with this quality and so are some of the lovely Sauvignon Blanc white wines from New Zealand.
Balance is the quintessential quality of a great wine. A wine is out of balance if one component sticks out like a sore thumb. Most frequently encountered flaws that throw a wine out of balance are excessively high alcohol which makes the wine taste overly dry and astringent (“hot” in wine jargon) and in white wines especially Chardonnays, excessively woody (“oaky” in wine jargon) and buttery which effaces the fruit flavors in the wine. The great Château Lafite-Rothschild is benchmark for balance par excellence.
The word “finish” refers to the length and quality of the aftertaste. In a long finish, flavors linger on for nearly a minute. But length isn’t everything if the aftertaste fails to maintain its balance. Some long finishes fall apart giving way to a distinctly sour or bitter impression. Length doesn’t always bring satisfaction.
Age-worthiness
To achieve greatness a wine must first undergo the arduous challenge of time. Most wines are not made with greatness in mind. For them, time is an insidious revelation of their mediocrity. For the best of breeds, age imbues in them depth and complexity of flavors. That distinguishes the wine from the merely good. Knowing this, fastidious connoisseurs relentlessly scour the town for old vintages pricey as some old bottles could (and should) be. Novices on the other hand go for brand names and sometimes settle for wines that are far too young to drink, rarely getting their money’s worth. After all, it is the ability of wine to improve with age that positions it above all the other beverages.
By now, you have endued yourself with more than enough knowledge to be your own expert judge on every bottle you drink. If you feel lacking a bit in exposure and experience, then just drink and drink and drink some more. But drinking the same stuff over and over again won’t help. Best advice is for you to refrain from ordering the same wine night in and night out. Your time is best spent with a new fancy every evening. Promiscuity is inextricably married to connoisseurship. Even if you can’t divorce yourself from the “usual” at least be adventurous with different vintages of the same wine. Every year produces a different version of the same wine. This too is part of the myriad of fascinations that the world of wine has to offer.
Whether you are an assiduous restaurateur, a gregarious hobbyist or just a raver with a penchant for the finer things, wine is certainly an affair worth pursuing. This is one relationship which allows you to define all the rules. It can be a languid sidekick or you can take it seriously with a lot of respect and understanding. Ultimately it probably won’t love you back and it certainly won’t stop demanding more of your time, attention and alas, money. If this sounds like a raw deal, then perhaps this is one affair you should sidestep.
But imagine if that’s not a problem for you, what else in life can offer an reward so prodigious as something different and exciting to look forward to every single night?
Tim Drake is resident wine journalist in Asia, contributing to magazines and broadsheet in wine and the lifestyle that this beverage has created for the modern world.
Being a wine maker, I am occasionally asked how to make wine. I usually give people the story about how I came about this hobby. When me and my older brother were going to the same university, he would make his own mead in his basement. Mead is an alcoholic drink made from honey. My brother had a simple kit that he bought somewhere and it worked great. Six weeks after beginning the process, he had 24 bottles of homemade mead that tasted great. This was one of my first introduction to making homemade alcoholic beverages.
Unfortunately, my brother is now at Western Michigan getting his PHD, so I no longer have access to his mead. I decided to take the hobby up myself and make my own great tasting wine.
I decided for myself that I would focus on making red wine instead of mead. Now, I will say that I have since made mead, but I started out with making red wine because I thought it would be a lot more challenging and fun. What I realized was that it is a lot of fun, but there isn’t nearly as much work as I had imagined.
For those of you interested in taking up this hobby, I want you to understand that it doesn’t have to be a major project that you have to watch constantly. Set aside 10 minutes of your day and you’ll have great wine in a few weeks. I recommend all wine lovers to try making wine at least once in their lives. It is truly a fulfilling hobby.
The first thing I do before starting a new hobby or project is research. I hit the web and try to learn as much as I can while taking notes. During my research, I came across and bought multiple wine guides that had great ratings from people that had purchased them. They can cost anywhere from $10-$50 each and some were way better than others.
One of the online books that I bought worked out great for a complete novice like myself. It’s a 100 page manual that teaches everything from building your own wine kit to selecting the right types of fruit to the bottling process. The author is an avid wine maker who releases new videos every month for free to people that have bought his guide. It’s great! If you know absolutely nothing about making your own wine, then this is the guide I recommend you to look into.
The most important process in wine making is definitely the fruit selection. I had no idea how important it was until I read about it in the guide. The fruit you choose needs to be perfect. No bruises, scratches, or anything. This guide shows you how to go about finding local vineyards so that you can get the best, most freshest grapes possible. This is by far the easiest to follow guide for wine making that I have ever come across. Since it is an ebook, you can download it, print it, highlight parts that you want to remember, print pictures of the fruit you want, etc.
It is also important that you learn which materials to buy to get you started on your own kit. I think I paid around $50 to have a complete setup. You can also buy kits at a few stores out there if you do not want to build your own. I started with 5 gallons and I recommend you do the same. Don’t start with 1 gallon because you will be out of that 1 gallon of wine before you know it.
My favorite part about having my own winery in my home is the fact that you can give your homemade wine away as gifts! Wine is always a great gift and my friends and family are always very thankful when they receive my gift. Plus, it serves as a great addition to parties. Just bring over a few bottles and people will be complimenting your homemade wine all night. It makes for great conversation. I am constantly being complimented on my wine and I am always the life of the party because of it.
Learning how to make wine is one of the most fulfilling hobbies. I recommend all wine lovers to try it out.
Cheers and happy wine making!
I write a blog about . If you would like more information on , visit my site to get started.
When it comes to wine, there is never a dumb question. When you are learning about wine, it is best to ask as many questions as possible. Recently, while on a , I overheard the woman next to me ask if Burgundy was a grape or a region. Her wine tasting companion chimed in ‘well of course it is a grape’ just as the vintner was answering her question ‘it is a region-and all great Burgundian reds are pinot noir-all whites are chardonnay.’ Needless to say, the wine tasting ‘companion’ turned a true shade of red!
I have been on many a wine tour, and each time I venture into wine tasting, I learn something new. I make it a point to write questions in advance, which in turn prepares me for the wine tour.
My original image of the wine connoisseur is of the person having their nose buried in a glass, inhaling deeply. Part of the essence of wine tasting, is indeed ‘sniffing’ the wine you are tasting, to appreciate the full effect. The human tongue can only detect the five basic tastes. The human nose can pick up on over a million scents. By smelling, you can determine if the wine is ‘corked’, meaning it has a fault. There are numerous common faults in wine. Ask your vintner what would be a common fault. There are many, and he will make suggestions on what to look for.
Swirling is good and perhaps you have seen many servers swirling wine in a glass, round and round. By swirling wine, you release the fragrance in the wine. A good way to start, is by practicing with water in your glass. This will avoid any mishaps with red wine splashing over. While swirling your wine, this is a good time to take notice of the color and clarity.
Take a small sip; swish it around the mouth and focus on the flavor or combination of flavors. Are there any familiar tastes-such as vanilla, raspberry or blackberry?
Have you ever wondered what the purpose of decanted wine was? When I was a child, I always thought that my mother was serving wine in a decanter to be fancy. I did not realize that decanting wine does help improve the wine. You can serve the identical wine, side by side and have the outcome be noticeably different. Decanted wine helps, especially with the less expensive bottles of wine. It will make the wine smoother, better balanced and appear ‘older’.
is one of the best ways to learn all about wine. By visiting the many wineries, especially those in Temecula Valley, you will meet the vintners firsthand, and learn all about their particular wines. There are so many wineries that are knowledgeable. It is the best way to talk about wine with those who really love the subject. They will discuss how their wine is made, what types of grapes are used to produce their particular wine and the history of the grape. Finally, part of the fun of wine tasting is to share it with friends and family. Sharing wine is the most sociable thing. Whether you have an enjoyable time going on a wine tour together, or enjoy a bottle at dinner-a good wine is a great thing to share!
Michele McNeal has written many articles about wine. She lives in Southern California with her family.
Everybody loves a good scandal, and this one`s got government officials scurrying for cover like sprayed cockroaches – from Barcelona to the Barossa…somebody has stuffed up big time…
Like with the rugby, the global dominance of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is annoying for every good Australian wine-grower and it is heartening to see the growers trying new regions, clones and varietals to come up with a contender to the good old Marborough cats-pee and capsicum concoctions of New Zealand.
One of the countries the Australians looked to for alternatives was Spain and in particular, the Albarino grape.
To cut a long story short, the Australians shipped the varietal in, planted it, labelled and started selling it…..then a few years later somebody in the corridors of power finished his tea break, looked at the Australian Albarino clone under a microscope and found out that in actual fact the stuff is NOT Albarino – it is something called Sauvinee Blanc (The word Sauvinee has a fabulous Spanish twirl over the “e” but I have given up looking for it on my laptop).
The Australian authorities are blaming the Spanish authorities who are denying any liability and the farmers, quite rightly are howling for blood, after investing in the varietal and its potential positioning in the global market. I first fell over the grape at an ANZA Wine Club Spanish night, and the first thing that came into my Chorizo and Grenacha addled-mind at the time was – “holy hell this stuff is good Sauvignon Blanc.”
It has the same acid – maybe a bit more refined. It generally has that same crisp acid potential that we demand from our Sauvignon Blanc together a fair slug of lush tropical fruit. It seems in short, a great Sauvignon Blanc alternative for those interested in the next-best-thing in aromatic whites, and how cares what its called – so long as it tastes good?
I have chosen a version from each side of the fence on this one to recommend.
From Australia, my flavour of the moment is Jim Irvine’s Albarino/Sauvignee Blanc from the Barossa.
From Spain – the source of the Scandal – Eidos de Padrinan Albarino 2008 from Spain.
As a twin pack in a history lesson its loads more fun than learning about the Magna Carta any day…
I manage an online wine e-tail portal in Singapore – servicing most of South East Asia. Our specialty is New World Wines into Singapore, Hong Kong and China. robert@wineexchangeasia.com
www.grapegrowingwinemakingtips.com Visit my site to claim your free grape growing, wine making and food pairing mini e-course. I will show you how to Plant, Grow, Prune & Treat your grapes- A checklist for all the tools you need to make wine-A step-by-step guide to the basics of wine making-2 methods for making good white wine-Red wine- whats the difference-Bottling & Racking your wines-Food & wine pairing, which wines go with what foods. Also the one food you should never serve wine with and why! And much much more
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I already have the kool-aid packets and most of the materials, but what I really want to know is all of the materials that are actually needed, and how to do it. My friend and I are looking for something cheap and easy.
Very recently we reviewed a Chilean red wine made from a Bordeaux blend. Here we review a Chilean Viognier white wine. For a relatively small country, Chile has many wine regions that are developing their own personality. The wine reviewed below comes from the Colchagua Valley situated about 80 miles (some 130 kilometers) southwest of the capital Santiago. This lovely valley with its Mediterranean climate calls itself the next Napa. In 2005 Wine Enthusiast awarded it the Best Wine Region in the world for producing world-class red wines. However, this is a white wine.
The Viognier grape has quite an unusual history. About forty years ago it was limited to some 35 acres (14 hectares) in the Rhone Valley of southeastern France. These few acres included the grapes that were transformed into Condrieu, considered the best white in the Rhone Valley. Now Viognier has become an up and coming white variety found in many countries including the United States, especially California, and in Australia. If you are tired of Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs (or even if you aren’t) you may want to try a Viognier such as this one. And next time you are in the mood for a Chilean red look for Colchagua Valley on the label. We will do so ourselves but won’t be surprised if we can’t find any in the $10 and less category.
OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price. Wine Reviewed Cono Sur Viognier 2008 13.7% alcohol about $8
Let’s start with the marketing materials. Tasting Note: Pale gold color; tropical fruit aromas with melon, peach and orange blossom notes; dry, medium bodied, with great acidity and flavors of grapefruit, peach, green apple and pineapple; good length on the finish. Serving Suggestion: Serve with stir-fry or wok-sautéed white meats, vegetables and creamy poultry dishes. And now for my review.
I started by sipping this wine without any food. I got the characteristic honeysuckle. It was long and slightly sweet and had pleasant acidity. The first meal included a purchased barbecued chicken leg with the paprika-dusted skin on. The sides were a slightly sweet noodle pudding and a white bean and grilled red pepper combo. With the chicken the flavor went from honeysuckle to honey. This Viognier was persistent with a note of lemon peel. I tasted lemon and orange when it was paired with the noodle pudding. But the bean and red pepper combo stole some of the wine’s fruit. Talking about fruit, I finished the glass with some orange fruit juice candy. At first I thought the pairing wasn’t very good, but I changed my mind. The wine displayed bright acidity and was almost feathery.
The second meal involved a middle-eastern dish called Kube (or Kibbe), ground beef in crushed wheat jacket slow cooked in a peppery tomato sauce. Once again I tasted honeysuckle (the dominant flavor of most Viogniers), citrus, and honey notes. I liked its sweetness. With seconds the acidity became softer.
The final meal was an omelet with sides of grilled eggplant and a grilled artichoke dip. When facing the omelet the Viognier was slightly sweet with lingering acidity. I can’t say that the wine and omelet really meshed, but an omelet isn’t much to mesh with. The artichoke dip intensified the acidity and the eggplant intensified the fruit.
Now for the cheeses. With a Brick cheese the wine became weaker. The Havarti was a better match. Even though this cheese was stronger tasting than the Brick, the wine remained fruity – go figure.
Final verdict. If you are in the market for a different white wine at a low, low price this is a good one. Personally, I am not very partial to Viogniers so I probably won’t be buying this one again in the near future. And at $40 or much more, it may be a long time before I review a Condrieu in my French fine wine column.
Levi Reiss has authored or co-authored ten computer and Internet books, but definitely prefers drinking fine French, German, or other wine. He teaches classes in computers at an Ontario French-language community college. His global wine website features a weekly review of $10 wines and new sections writing about and tasting organic and kosher wines. Visit his Italian wine website .