|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||
|
|
Wine Club
 World's Greatest Wine Gift  |
 OnAbout Australia Tasting Kit |
 Viva Italia |
 Italian Tour |
 A Tour of Provence |
 A World of Chardonnay |
 Sideways Collection |
 D'Arenberg Laughing Magpie with Custom Caddy |
 Champagne Party Pack |
|
|
||
Try a Wine Tasting Party
By Indra Books
Do you have to be a sommelier to know something about wine? Well, if you want to tout yourself as an expert, perhaps but if you just want to enjoy a good glass of wine, go with your gut - or rather your mouth - and enjoy what tastes good to you. So, why not host a wine tasting party? Now before you hit the panic button, get uptight and claim to know nothing about wine, stop! We aren't proposing you sit around discussing bouquet and barrel fermenting. We want you to have a little fun.
You can buy wine tasting party kits from various sources on the internet and local shops. Don't want a kit? Here's what you need:
- · Guests - think about whom you know that likes and drinks wine and keep the numbers small
- · A few bottles of wine that you think you might like - both red and white. Depending on the size of the crowd plan on 2 bottles of each type. Or for an added twist, ask your guests to each bring 2 bottles of their favorite wine. If you do this you will need them to email or phone you with the wine information ahead of time.
- · Printed wine tasting cards that list the wines you purchased with some information from the bottle
- · Pencils in case guests want to make notes about their favorites
- · Wine glasses. We recommend 2 per person. One for tasting and one for later
- · Plain saltine or oyster crackers for guests to cleanse their palates
- · Still (plain) water for rinsing
- · Some good music, good conversationalists and a sense of fun!
At the end of the event, serve some crackers/bread, cheese and fruit or some other small/light appetizers and offer each guest a glass of his/her favorite wine. Wine charms are a fun thing to introduce at this point. Each person can pick her/her own and attach to the glass. Put on some music and enjoy the company. However, above all things, drink and serve responsibly!
|
Indra A Books, author of this and many other lifestyle articles is the owner and founder of ON THE GO 4 U, Personal Shoppers & Concierge Service in the Washington DC metropolitan area. The company's creed is to provide its clients with the ultimate life management experience. In addition to its shopping and concierge services, ON THE GO 4 U also publishes a monthly e-zine and conducts workshops on wardrobe, entertaining and decorating. For more information about the author and ON THE GO 4 U, please visit http://www.onthego4u.net © 2005 Indra A Books, ON THE GO 4 U. All rights reserved. |
Wine Cellars or Wine Racks?
By Michael S. Brown
Wine racks are essential to your wine collection. Without wine racks where would you store your wine? You could just pack various refrigerators down with wine but then how would you find it? In this article I am going to help you figure out your options. Should you use a wine cellar or simply use wine racks?
Figuring out which you need can be done in a few easy steps. First how many bottles of wine are you going to store? Then how quickly do you drink wine you are storing? Lets start with these two questions to begin with. Decide how many bottles you will be collecting and plan for the future.
If you currently have 25 bottles of wine in your small collection but hope to add 10-20 bottles of wine a month don't go small. Always plan out what you'll need and go larger. Nothing is more troubling for me than having wine strewn about the floor while I decide my next move while tripping over wine trying to install the new wine racks when I should have had them to begin with. So if you need a 100 bottle rack go for the 175 bottle rack. Buy new racks well before you fill the old ones up. Figure in how quickly you drink the wine. If you drink it fast then large scale racks might not be the way to go. If you drink it slowly larger sturdier racks may be for you. Other options to consider for your wine collection include a wine room. If you have a wine room then the solution is simple; add your wine racks to your wine room. Although make sure the wine room has a proper cooling system and is out of the sun light; cool wine lasts longer. If you don't have a wine room but want to store wine for a prolonged period I suggest a wine cellar.
Wine cellars are really not that expensive for what they provide you with. They not only provide racks already installed but they also provide cooling and prolonged storage capability. The cooling unit inside of a wine cellar keeps wine stored at the best possible setting for as many years as you need. You control your wines settings and temperature.
All said and done you decide what is best for your and your collection. If you only collect a few bottles and only keep them for a couple of years before consumption then a plain or decorative 30 bottle rack will do what you need. Also small amounts like that will not require cooling as long as your plan is to store them for short amounts of time at room temperature and away from the sun.
|
Michael S Brown Buy Wine Buy Coffee and Gift Baskets Free Drop Shipping |
Copyright 2007. All Rights Reserved
