Choosing the best wine to buy for the summer season
February 18th, 2012 | Published in Fine
Article by James Mitchell
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Why Should I Brew Beer at Home: the Joy of Home Brewing
December 8th, 2011 | Published in Wine
One would think that combining natural ingredients into a boiling pot in your kitchen is a recipe for catastrophic explosions galore, but it’s actually a recipe for having a good time brewing beer at home.
So how does one go about brewing beer at home? Simple. You can purchase a home brew kit from a hobby store and get to work creating your own tasty homemade brew from the comfort of your own kitchen. Where’s the fun in that?
Why not invite the friends over and create individual brews based on which each person likes? This should be a time of fun, creativity, daring and brew making. When you decide to make beer at home you are investing in an evening or even a couple of evenings of good old fashioned fun.
Here are a few tips on how to truly find the joy of home brewing.
Visit a Hobby Shop
There is a hobby shop in almost every town. Take a trip to the one closest to you and find a home brewing kit. These kits will come with the beginner needs to enjoy brewing beer at home. If you have no clue how to get started, you’ll be glad to know that most home brewing kits come with guides on how to start the home brewing process. You don’t have to go this alone- chances are the hobby shop owner knows a few things about brewing beer at home. He’ll answer any question you have as long as it guarantees a sale.
Gathering the Supplies
Once you get your home brewing kit home, you’ll need to look through the included guide for a list of all the ingredients and tools you need to get started. Chances are you’ll need hops, water, seasonings and sugar- but you’ll also want to get creative with your ingredients. Remember that this is home brewing, which means you make beer how you want to make it.
Have Fun with Home Beer Brewing
The joy of home beer brewing is within reach. Buy your kit, gather your ingredients and get to beer making. Have fun experimenting with different flavors and levels of body- with home brewing you can be as creative as you want, or you can just stay with the tried and true and make something everyone will like.
Make beer at home, everyone should!
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Wine Refrigerator Buying Tips – Protect Your Wines
December 6th, 2011 | Published in Wine
If you are like most wine collectors – or just those who like to have a glass of wine with their meals – the purchase of a is a good investment! Those folks who drink wine regularly know that wine tastes best when chilled to its appropriate temperature. Unfortunately, storing and chilling your wine collection in a home refrigerator is not a good idea because traditional refrigerators do not maintain proper temperature and humidity necessary for wine storage. Other options such as storage in a kitchen pantry or cabinet is not feasible since storage conditions can fluctuate which will cause the quality of the wine to deteriorate and cause spoilage. Another point to consider is that fine wine needs to be stored horizontally to keep the cork moist, and this is only possible with a special wine bottle refrigerator that allows this type of storage.
In case you’re a novice with wines and are looking to buy your first refrigerator, let’s review the ideal wine storage temperatures. The ideal temperature for storing and cooling wines is 55 to 58 degrees Fahrenheit. The best serving temperatures vary somewhat based upon the specific wine: champagne and sparkling wines 53-57 degrees F; light red wines 54-57 degrees F; rich red wine and full-bodied vintages 59-68 degrees F; light red 54-57 degrees F. When you are considering which refrigerator to purchase, make sure to take into account these temperatures and what type of wine you prefer in order to be able to select the best refrigerator for your needs.
Another important consideration when selecting a is humidity. To maintain the best taste, wine must be stored at humidity levels of around 70% RH. This humidity level will assure that the cork will not dry out and that oxygen will not penetrate the wine bottle and cause the wine to spoil. Wine refrigerators keep humidity constant, providing optimal storage conditions for your fine wines.
Last but not least, another factor you must consider when choosing your wine refrigerator is your budget. If your budget is limited, consider purchasing a (such as a compact 12-bottle fridge) which is the ideal way to get started if you have only a few bottles you want to store. There are many models to choose from which will provide you years of enjoyment. Of course, if your wine investment/hobby is more serious and your budget is less restrained, you can select a refrigerator that will easily store 200 or more bottles.
Buying a wine refrigerator to preserve your fine wines and champagnes is a wise investment. Everyone from the beginner wine enthusiast to the seasoned wine taster will benefit from ideal wine storage.
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Wine Tasting – Order, Characteristics and Scoring
December 4th, 2011 | Published in Wine
When you have a wine tasting party or you taste wine with your friends it is very important to serve the wine in the proper order. The appropriate order of wine tasting goes like this. Elderly tasters are always served first, no matter what the gender is. Women will be served next. The men should be served after the women. The host is always served after everyone in the room has a glass.
When you taste different wines you also have to think about the order of the wines being tasted. If you taste heavy or sweet wines before light wines they may leave a taste in your mouth. This is because they tend to dominate the flavor.
A wine taster must taste the lighter wines first or their taste buds will be skewed for tasting other wines. The order wines should be tasted is as follows: sparkling, light white, heavy white, roses, light red, heavy red, and sweet wine.
If you have never tasted the wine it can be hard to know if it is heavy and if it should not be tasted first. You should assess the wines by other characteristics such as the nose, color, and appearance.
Assessing Characteristics
When you assess wine there are a few things to consider. The sweeter and heavier a wine it is you will be able to tell. This is by the swirling method. Red wines that are sweet and heavy will leave swirls on the glass, also known as ‘legs’. This is why you want to drink your red wines out of a bigger bowl shaped glass. You need to be able to swirl the glass to assess the sweetness and heaviness of the wine.
The varietal wines present an aroma of the grapes. A good wine taster will be able to tell the varietal blends by the grape smell. Integration is also considered by a wine taster. Integration includes many different components such as acid, tannin, alcohol and others. These components must all be in balance. The proper term when a wine is in balance with these components is ‘harmonious fusion’.
When a wine’s quality is assessed the term expressiveness is used. This is when the aromas and flavors are well defined in the wine and clearly projected through the taste.
Scoring a Wine
There is a set system when you score wines. It is important to compare the merits of different wines. Different aspects are often weighed when you score wines. It is important to know how to score wines when you taste them with your friends. The aspects you will look at in the wine include the appearance, the smell, also known as the nose, the palate or taste, and the overall taste of the wine.
Not all wine scoring systems are the same. Some are weighted differently. For example, the appearance may be 15% of the score and the nose may be 35%. The nose of the wine being better on one glass of wine may make the wine score higher. Most critics have their own preferred system. It is important to come up with a system before you begin wine tasting so you and your tasters are not confused.
Scott Wells writes for – where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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Choosing and Caring For Wine Glasses
December 4th, 2011 | Published in Wine
When choosing wine glasses it is important to think about a few things. You usually want a large bowl on your wine glass when tasting red wines. This gives you adequate room on the glass to swirl the wine and more of a surface area. These glasses should allow you to pour in from 10 to 20 ounces of wine in them. The best red wine glasses are oval shaped and they narrow slightly at the top of the glass.
The white wine glasses should be a slender flute shaped glass. This is necessary if you want to enjoy a white wine to the best of its flavor. A glass of white wine should be significantly smaller than a glass of red wine.
Holding a Wine Glass
When you are wine tasting it is still important to know how to properly hold your wine glass. This will show you are well versed and you have proper etiquette. You should always hold your glass by the stem.
Never hold your glass of wine by the bowl of the glass. Your hands are warm and if you hold the glass by the bowl you will warm the wine. You also want to be sure you don’t put any fingerprints on the bowl of the glass either.
Washing Wine Glasses
There are many different approaches you can take to washing wine glasses properly. You want to be sure you get the glass completely clean. Some people like to do a rinse method with hot water. If you choose to use only water with your wine glasses be sure to get all of the residual wine out of the glass before you set it out to dry. You can wash your wine glasses with a mild soap and a sponge too.
Some people like to use soda to wash their glasses. This is common for washing expensive glasses like crystal. Some glasses you can wash in the dishwasher. It is best to only wash the wine glasses that have short stems in the dishwasher. When you wash a long stemmed glass in the dishwasher, the stems are often prone to break off.
After you wash wine glasses you should set them out to air dry. Lay the glasses on a towel and let them dry. You won’t have hard water stains on the glasses. If you do wash your dishes in the dishwasher it is best to cancel the dry session and pull the glasses out to air dry.
Scott Wells writes for where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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Wine Tasting – A Primer
November 29th, 2011 | Published in Wine
Wine tasting is considered to be a sophisticated past time for many people. Before you begin wine tasting there are many things you should know about wine. To some people wine tasting is considered to be a skill.
Learning about wine is easy. There are many types of wine and it is produced all over the world in many different regions. Wine tasting requires knowledge of the types of wine. It is important to know which types of glasses to choose for different wines and how to wash them. It is also important to know how to properly pour and serve wine. Wine tasting consists of many things. The purpose of this e-book is to introduce you to everything you need to know about wine so you can begin wine tasting with your friends.
About Wine
Wine is a beverage fermented from grape juice containing alcohol. Grapes have a natural chemical balance which allows them to ferment without the need to add any sugars, acid, enzymes, or any other types of nutrients to the ingredients.
When wine is produced, grapes are crushed using different types of yeast. The yeast consumes the natural sugars found in grapes. This consumption converts the grapes into alcohol. Depending on the types of wine produced, many different grape varieties are used to produce wine.
Evidence shows that the earliest productions of wine took place as early as 6000 BC in places like Georgia, Iran, and Israel. Some archaeologists say that as early as 7000 BC grapes were mixed with rice to produce other types of fermented beverages in China. This is considered to be the precursors of what we call today, rice wine.
In Europe, wine dates back to as early as 4500 BC in some of the archaeological sites located in Greece. These same sites contain the earliest evidence in the world of grapes being crushed. Ancient Egypt has a recorded history of wine being used ceremonially. Places like the Roman Catholic Church found wine necessary to celebrate Mass. In France, the monks made wine for years and stored it in caves underground for aging.
During the Islamic Golden Age, wine was forbidden until the pioneering of the distilling methods, which led it to be approved and legalized for medical and cosmetic uses only. There were many recipes made with wine during this time.
Scott Wells writes for where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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Wine – Grapes and Regions
November 28th, 2011 | Published in Wine
Wine is made from many different grape varieties. The Vitis vinifera is the predominant grape. This type of wine is known to people as the Chardonnay, Merlot, or the Pinot Noir. The areas of the world where these grapes are grown include regions like the Rhone Valley and Bordeaux.
Wines are not always made from the same species of grapes. They may be from the same vintage but of different species. When two species of grapes are crossed it is called a hybrid. The Concord grape is a hybrid grape coming from different species of grapes like the Vitis labrusca, Vitis rupestris, Vitis aestivalis, Vitis, riparia, and the Vitis rotundiafolia. These grapes are primarily grown in North America for general consumption. There are many foods made from these grapes which include things like jelly, jam, grape juice, and even sometimes wine.
Wine is generally classified depending on the different parts of the world. There are regulations that govern the way wine is classified. For example, in Europe wine is classified by the region it comes from. If it comes from Bordeaux or Chianti the wine is classified as this.
Countries that are not European do not classify their wines by the different regions the wine is produced. They classify the wine according to the type of grapes used to make the wine. Wines classified by the different grape types include the Merlot and the Pinot Noir.
Some regions of the world and wine valleys have recognized the classification regulations put to standard in Europe. Wine is being recognized more often by the locale rather than by the grape. Some wines recognized by the location of the vineyard and not by the grape variety include wines like Napa Valley, Australia, Willamette Valley, Barrosa Valley, and Marlborough.
There have been attempts by wine valley regions around the world that are non-European to classify wines by the quality of the wine. However, these attempts have failed and were short lived.
Scott Wells writes for where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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Vintage Wines and Non-Vintage
November 28th, 2011 | Published in Wine
Vintage
The vintage wines are wines specifically grown in a certain year. These wines are labeled by the year they were grown rather than by the different region or grape used to make the wine. These grapes are usually all grown in the same year also. Every year the same wine may have a different variation in color and slightly in taste.
Many other characteristic differences noted with vintages include the nose, palate, body, and the development. They are considered to improve in flavor with age when they are stored properly. It is very common for wine collectors to hold onto a vintage bottle of wine for a special occasion to consume.
Non-Vintage
Non-vintage wines are wines produced from grapes and wines not from the same vintage. They do maintain the consistency with the taste of the wine and the other characteristics. These wines often sell better because they maintain the same flavor. Even in a bad year these wines can be blended and produced because the grapes come from different vintages.
Next time you here someone use the term “vintage” you will know exactly what they mean. This will help you to appear ‘in the know’ and you will be able to impress others with your knowledge. Quality wine is something that socially elite people understand. You can join their ranks and have a great time in the process.
Wouldn’t it be cool to get to the point where you can tell what region the wine was created in? And if you have really great capabilities you might even be able to pinpoint the decade. That would involve tasting a lot of wines and you might not be ‘that into it’. It’s nice to speculate about the possibilities though, isn’t it?
Next time you are at a party, your new knowledge of vintage vs non-vintage may be a nice way to provide value to your social group. Enjoy your next wine tasting.
Scott Wells writes for where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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Fruit Wines
November 27th, 2011 | Published in Wine
There are many wines considered to be ‘fruit wines’. These wines are received the name as they have ingredients of different types of fruits contained in them, rather than by the use of grapes. They usually will have a name referring to the type of fruit used to make the wine. Apple wine and plum wine are good examples.
However, fruit wines will not be called ‘wine’ as the term wine is designated specifically as a drink made with grapes. The name of the fruit must be in front of the word wine. This is to eliminate confusion. This also includes country wine which is the Great Britain version of fruit wine and a good indication that the wine is not made from grapes.
Many people make their own fruit wine. It can be made from any type of food that is sufficiently sweet. You might have to add a little table sugar or honey for the proper amount of sucrose.
Fruit wine is not always made from fruits. It can be produced from different plant sources that are not considered to be fruits. These types of fruit wines are often made from things like rice, dandelion, flowers, and more.
Apple wine is a German fruit wine which is made from apples. This wine is called Apfelwein in Germany. This is a form of cider that has an alcoholic content of 5.5% to 7%. Some say the taste of this wine is tart and sour. Some North Americans consume a drink in the winter months called apple cider. This most often is the very same thing but does not contain the alcoholic content. Apfelwein is often sold by the jug rather than in bottles like other wines around the world.
Wine can be produced with most fruits and berries around the world in cooler climates. It depends on the types and the amount of fermentable sugars contained inside of the fruits. Some fruits that have excessive levels of citric and malic acid can be fermented also.
Fruit wines usually need to be consumed at least a year after they are produced. These are not wines that get better as they age because of the fermentation issues. Because fruits most often need added sugars to make fruit wines these are not the natural sugars grapes have. They do not ferment the same and often need things like phosphorus, nitrogen, and potassium added, which only allow the flavor to last for approximately one year.
There are many different fruits used to make fruit wines. The fruits that make the best fruit wines are elderberries, plums, peaches, blackberries, huckleberries, blackcurrants, and pomegranates. These fruit wines resemble grape wines and taste very similar.
Fruit wines are made from other fruits such as apricot, bananas, cherries, pineapple guava, and blueberries. Wines can also be made from flowers such as hibiscus, elderberry, and dandelions. Vegetables such as potatoes, rhubarb, and parsnip are also used to make fruit wines.
Scott Wells writes for where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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Rice Wine, Barley Wine and Pinot Noir
November 27th, 2011 | Published in Wine
Rice wine is a wine famously known as sake. This is a Japanese alcoholic beverage. Rice wine is made by fermenting naturally sweet grapes, in addition to other fruits. Rice starch is fermented to make rice wine. The fermentation turns the rice starch into sugars. This process is very similar to the process used to make beer except a mashing process takes place.
There are many different types of rice wine. These types include Tuak from Malaysia, Raksi from Tibet, Lihing from Sabah, and much more. Korea also makes an unfiltered rice wine that is known as snake wine.
Barley Wine
Barley wine originated in the 19th century. It actually came from the 18th century ales brewed in October and November. This is a terminology used but it is actually a beer. However, this is as strong as wine but often misconstrued as a wine because of the name.
Pinot Noir
Pinot Noir comes from the variety of species of grapes known as the Vitis vinifera. These grapes are primarily for red wine. The name is French and means ‘pine’ and ‘black’. This refers to the tightly clustered pine cone shaped, purple colored fruit. These grapes are most commonly known as coming from Burgundy France.
These grapes are difficult to cultivate but are known to produce the finest wines in the world. This wine is also considered to be one of the most romantic wines in the world also. Pinot wine tends to have a light to medium body with an aroma that might remind you of black cherries, raspberries, or currants. When the grapes are used young the wine is often much lighter than other red wines. Pinot Noir is also used with Chardonnay.
Many of the places around the world known for producing Pinot Noir include the United States, Italy, Australia, Austria, Moldova, new Zealand, Canada, England, Switzerland, Germany, France, and Spain. There are California wine regions in the United States known for producing Pinot Noir which include the Sonoma Coast, Monterey County, Carneros District of Napa and Sonoma, and San Luis Obispo County / Arroyo Grande Valley.
Scott Wells writes for where you can learn to just in time for the holiday season.
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