3:18 PM

Wednesday January 28, 2009 - Homemade Wine

The Best Articles on Homemade Wine

Wine Tastings - The Mystery Revealed

Have you have ever wondered why people at wine tastings go through a form of ritual of tilting their glass, swirling the wine around the bowl, sniffing the wine and apparently gargling with the wine before eventually spitting it out? If you have, then this whole process is not really such a mystery and quite simply represents the five steps that are necessary to assess quality of a wine.

Let's look at each of these five steps to see just how simple the process really is.

Testing the color and clarity of a wine. In the case of red wines the glass should be tilted and then viewed against a white background. If you look at the edge, or lip, of the wine against the glass and see a dark color that runs clear to the edge then this indicates a very young wine. A slightly lighter color that tends to hold to the center of the glass with a wide clear lip is indicative of an older wine.

For white wines the clarity is assessed by looking straight down into the wine. The greater the clarity, the more the wine will appear to sparkle, rather like diamonds.

Testing the body of a wine. Swirl the wine vigorously around the glass and then observe the wine on the bowl of the glass once the glass is held still. In some cases the wine will appear to adhere to the bowl of glass while in other cases there will be little if any sign of the wine on the bowl at all. The more a wine adheres to the sides of the glass, the greater its body.

Testing the aroma of a wine. Swirl the wine in your glass to release its vapours and then sniff deeply. Assessing the resultant smell is something of an art that takes time to perfect but, in general, a young red wine will smell heavily of berries and will sometimes also smell sightly of mint, spice, liquorice, or chocolate. As a red wine ages it will smell more of raisons or prunes and, finally, when it is past its best, it will take on the aroma of vinegar. White wines follow a similar pattern.

Testing a wine's sweetness, acidity and tannin. Take a small amount of wine into your mouth and start by rolling it around on your tongue. Then, hold the wine in the center of the tongue and gargle by slowly sucking in air to vaporize the wine and release its flavor.

A sweet wine will cause a tingling at the tip of the tongue, while an acid wine will produce a sensation of pins and needles on the sides of the tongue. A wine that is high in tannin will create a feeling of dryness throughout the mouth.

Young red wines tend to contain a lot of tannin which acts as a natural preservative and is the reason why most red wines can be stored for much longer than white wines.

Testing the concentration and aftertaste of a wine. The finest red wines have a deep fruit concentration which is experienced just before you swallow. For this reason you should always swallow a little of the wine at wine tastings. The best wines will display a lingering, pleasant finish.

As with many things in life wine tastings can appear to be something of a mysterious ritual art but, behind all the show, is a quite simple process that most of us can master along with the so-called connoisseurs.

About the Author

For more information about wine tastings, as well as details of wine accessories, please visit GreatWineTastings.com today.

A Short Homemade Wine Summary

Wine Tastings - The Mystery Revealed

Have you have ever wondered why people at wine tastings go through a form of ritual of tilting their glass, swirling the wine around the bowl, sniffin...

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Headlines on Homemade Wine

Taz to Convert Downtown Western Union into Corner Store

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:00:00 -0800
Taz to Convert Downtown Western Union into Corner Store Taz keeps it coming.

posted by Dan in Snooth, Wine Industry, Guest Bloggers

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:38:31 -0800
January 27, 2009 ErmitageI spent the last week in the French countryside for work – the Loire Valley, Burgundy and the Northern Rhone. The wine countryside(s). I was there to visit the forests, saw mill and cooperage of Ermitage barrel makers. I could easily write to you about the barrel making process, “once upon a time, in a forest far, far away…” however, that would be boring. So, linked below is jump to a photo slideshow that takes you through the barrel making process. What you will

Ermitage

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:38:31 -0800
I spent the last week in the French countryside for work – the Loire Valley, Burgundy and the Northern Rhone. The wine countryside(s). I was there to visit the forests, saw mill and cooperage of Ermitage barrel makers. I could easily write to you about the barrel making process, “once upon a time, in a forest far, far away…” however, that would be boring. So, linked below is jump to a photo slideshow that takes you through the barrel making process. What you will see in this photo-essay

Matching wine with Irish Blog Awards Foodie Nominees (Part 1 of 2)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:29:14 -0800
Posted on January 27th, 2009 Saved in Other sites of interest, Sour Grapes recommends, Wine websites Okay, so I’ve done this before, but it’s definitely time to have another look at matching wines with some selected posts from the foodie blogs nominated for the Blog Awards coming up next month.This, Part 1, looks at the first 13 blogs nominated.1. Ruth’s Kitchen ExperimentsRuth has posted about a recipe for Flourless chocolate brownies - with strawberry.Now, here’s the thing with chocolate (n

Table Wine for Mass (Zenit News Agency)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 12:33:53 -0800
ROME, JAN. 27, 2009 ( Zenit.org ).- Answered by Legionary of Christ Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university.

Closed for a Private Party

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:25:01 -0800
Gavin's new zippo We were honored when we were asked by our friends at Dove Vivi to help host their annual winter party. Lord knows Gavin, Delane, and Memry have devoted themselves to providing as genuine a dining experience one can experience in this city, and surely their place proved to be our shelter from the storm over this past year. We have spent countless evenings tucked within the comfort of their walls; birthdays and homecomings celebrated; year anniversaries toasted; nights off spent

A Visit to Cascade Brewing/Raccoon Lodge

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:11:00 -0800
Twice I have visited the Raccoon Lodge to see what Ron Gansberg is brewing. Twice I have gone straight to the brewery in the basement, bypassing the rather striking lodge part of the restaurant. Not a bad metaphor for what Gansberg has going on there. The Raccoon Lodge's regular beer menu is fairly typical--a wheat, an IPA, a stout, a Irish ale. Down in basement, it's a whole different brewery.This time we did start with a rather pedestrian beer by the downstairs standard--but it could have

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3:18 PM

Wednesday 01/28/09 - Wine Fermentation

Today's Wine Fermentation Article

Best Wines from the Paarl Valley - Cape Town

Paarl is situated just over fifty km from Cape Town and the superb wines are so popular that Paarl Tourism is booming with international and local wine lovers. The vineyards of Paarl are distributed across three main types of soil. In the area along the Berg River they are grown in sandy soils of Table Mountain sandstone origin - while in the town of Paarl and the surrounding lands they are planted on granitic soils. The third soil type is of Malmesbury shale origin and the vineyards planted in the north-east grow mainly in this kind of soil.

Simonsvlei wine estate

Set against the foothills of the magnificent Simonsberg Mountains, this estate has been honoured at the highest levels for the quality of their wines. The Paarl area is renowned for its high quality Shiraz wines and even though Simonsvlei focus on a combination of terroir and grape varietals, they have the added bonus that Paarl's terroir is perfectly suited to Shiraz production. They plant their Shiraz on the eastern slopes of the valley in order to promote optimum photosynthetic activity. This activity is the determining factor in the accumulation of sugars and flavour components. Aromas inherent to Paarl Shiraz are spicy; resembling cloves, green peppers, smokiness and rich ripe plums. This grape is also known as Syrah. It makes a soft and rich wine often characterized by smoky and chocolaty aromas. It matures faster than cabernet and is sometimes blended with it to speed accessibility.

Pinotage-the unique South African grape

On an almost equal footing to Shiraz regarding the production is Pinotage; the only true South African grape varietal. In the cooler parts of the valley the grapes tend to have more floral flavours, whilst the Pinotage planted in the warmer areas bear more berry or plum aromas. It is a unique South African grape made from a cross of pinot noir and cinsaut. It is hardy in the vineyard and generally produces a wine that is full bodied with good fruit flavours and a distinctive spiciness. It is often referred to as possessing a "sweetish acetone" flavour. Previously thought to be early maturing, it is now believed that Pinotage benefits from extended maturation.

Award-winning wines
Simonsvlei was established in 1945 on the initiative of a group of leading grape farmers. They were determined to provide the area's farmers with the facilities and expertise to produce quality wines. This vision has been fulfilled and quality, affordable wines have become characteristic of Simonsvlei who now export wine to a wide range of countries, amongst which Germany, Sweden and Denmark are the biggest. Simonsvlei was the first regional cellar to be crowned with Superior awards for red (1973 Cabernet Sauvignon) and sweet wine. More recently the Hercules Paragon range earned double gold, and gold at Veritas and Michelangelo's as well as Silver at the International Wine Challenge.

De Zoete Inval-family wine estate
Another wine estate in the Paarl region that has superb credentials is De Zoete Inval; a shining example of the Boland's traditional family estate. The Frater family has been making wine here for more than 115 years. Today, the fifth generation on the estate continues to produce fine wines of singular character - an art developed through 3 centuries.

Here tradition sets the pace with the tasting room being managed exclusively by a family who offer personal attention, opinions and advice, and good value for money; especially when it comes to well aged Cabernets. De Zoete Inval was originally granted by Simon van der Stel in 1688. Robert Frater arrived here in 1878 to find the original cellar (which today houses the tasting room) and vineyards in production on the farm. For many years, Port was made here for KWV. One of the farms' highlights was winning the General Smuts trophy for the grand champion wine of the South African Wine Show in 1955. Cabernet Sauvignon was planted on quite a big scale and with some pre-1920 vineyards, dry red wines have been produced on De Zoete Inval. More Chardonnay has been planted and some interesting white wines are now made which last five to six years. New planting of Shiraz, Merlot and Petit Verdot were planted in August 2001.

Cabernet Sauvignon - A South African specialty
Wine Recommendations include the medium-bodied Shiraz, Maiden release of De Zoete Inval Estate's second label, Eskdale. This medium-bodied juicy red has upfront cherry and raspberry flavours, followed through by hints of spice and vanilla, ending with a racy finish. The Cabernet Sauvignon 1980 is an Old Clone Cabernet Sauvignon fermented dry in open fermenters - matured and bottled with old-style earth/tobacco whiffs, dry sweet and sour tannins with a menthol-like finish. Most of the great red wines of Bordeaux and some of the finest wines of the New World are based on Cabernet Sauvignon. It is often blended with Cabernet Franc and Merlot and its flavour is reminiscent of blackcurrants or cedarwood. It demands aging in small oak barrels, and the best wines require several years of bottle age to reach their peak.

About the Author

Oak Tree Lodge is ideally situated for tourists in search of a memorable Cape Town winelands stay-over. While stocking up on your favourite Shiraz, Pinotage or Cabernet; why not stay at this renowned Cape Town Guesthouse/Boutique Hotel in Paarl. The beautiful garden setting - enhanced by mature oak trees - provides the perfect ambience in which to sit and imbibe from your cache of superb wines.

Short Review on Wine Fermentation

Best Wines from the Paarl Valley - Cape Town

Paarl is situated just over fifty km from Cape Town and the superb wines are so popular that Paarl Tourism is booming with international and local win...

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Germain-Robin produces only 80 barrels of various brandies each year. One of these is made for the White House, where it is used at state functions such as the Reagan-Gorbachev summit in 1987 and Clinton inaugural in 1993. The distributor has worked closely with Mr. Germain-Robin to create a unique "XO" style brandy ...elegant, rich and smooth. Distilled from premium grape varieties, including Pinot noir and blended with some of the oldest brandies in the Germain-Robin stock, this brandy will hold its own with the finest French XO Cognac. V47 V47

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Headlines on Wine Fermentation

Laurie Daniel: Cold, foggy vineyards yield earthy, spicy pinot noir (San Jose Mercury News)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 17:10:25 -0800
'It's a very tough place to grow grapes,' says Dan Goldfield, winemaker for Dutton-Goldfield Winery, which produces a small amount of pinot from the Freestone Hill vineyard in Sonoma County. But he adds, 'I love making wine down there.'

Art: There's a little gay cholo in all of us

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 16:08:49 -0800
By Justin Juul Art Exhibition: Dino Dinco at Project One Who Dino Dinco is a Los Angeles-raised photographer/filmmaker/writer/designer who takes pictures of gangsters engaged in intimate behavior (brews in the bathtub, hairy balls in bed, etc), factory workers engaged in life, people wearing fancy clothes, and graffiti (among other things). His images have appeared in Vogue Brazil, Surface, Tokion, and BUTT and his films have been screened all over the world in fancy galleries and art museu

Choose Super Bowl wines with 4 B's in mind (Pittsburgh Tribune-Review)

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 14:43:33 -0800
If you're hosting a Super Bowl party rather than trekking to Tampa for the big game, select the wine and spirits for the party using the fours B's -- Big Bottles, Boxes and Bitters.

Pet Advice: The Pet Poison Hotline

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 11:25:00 -0800
This Won't Hurt a BitBy Susan Chaityn Lebovits - Boston GlobeMore veterinarians offer acupuncture as alternative for pets in need of pain reliefOrganic pet food, dog playgroups - in many homes, four-legged creatures are treated like an equal member of the family. And as more people embrace Eastern medicine, they're also doing so for their pets.Dr. Edward Leonard has been practicing pet acupuncture at Slade Veterinary Hospital in Framingham for the past six years.His most common patients are olde

“Mouse au vin”

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 10:44:55 -0800
Resveratrol, a compound found in red grape skins and other plant sources, can increase exercise tolerance — but only at rather high levels: veritable torrents of red wine would be required for a human to achieve comparable doses. In the Shouts and Murmurs column of the most recent New Yorker, Noah Baumbach explores a humorous corollary of this idea (emphasis mine) Red wine may be much more potent than was thought in extending human lifespan, researchers say in a new report that is likely to give

Google, Can You Spare a Dime...

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 09:58:00 -0800
Well, the recession seems to be hitting Mountain View as it is everywhere else. Here;s a clip from the SF Chronicle: Google recently started placing ads on its image search and finance properties, both of which were previously free of marketing messages. Tests on the news area are under way. As it increases ad coverage, Google has also lifted restrictions on the kinds of ads that can appear. Over the past few months, beer, wine and hard alcohol ads have been allowed in the United States, alon

Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 08:43:01 -0800
« « Stanley Chojnowski Videotaped Sex Abuse | Thomas Ludwig Shut That Little Bitch Up » » Crystal Walden (Myspace)Portsmouth, NH–Crystal Walden has a problem. She lives all the way over in New Hampshire and her abusive ex lives all the way over in Texas. Crystal wants reconciliation. With little money and no vehicle, Crystal has quite a dilemma on her hands. What’s a girl to do?I know! How about you drag your drunk ass over to the nearest TA truck stop, knock on the door of the first semi you co

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1:08 PM

January - Wine Class

A Featured Wine Class Article

The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

But Shiraz has not always held such a hold over the market. Until the mid nineties Cabernet Sauvignon was regarded as the superior variety and this was reflected in the prices paid at the cellar door. But the demand for exports has been mainly for Australian Shiraz and Cabernet has lost ground in the battle for consumer preference in Australia as well.

Shiraz's reign at the top of the tree really started in the middle of the 1950s when it replaced Grenache as the most popular red winegrape variety. In those days a much larger proportion of the wine market was devoted to fortified wine, what we used to call Port.

Looking into the future the role of Shiraz seems unassailable, but there are a few challengers on the horizon. The wine consumer is a fickle creature and fashions can change fairly quickly.

Merlot is the third most popular red winegrape variety in Australia. Much of the production goes into blends with Cabernet Sauvignon, reflecting its major role in Bordeaux. There are quite a few varietal merlots also produced. There are two reasons for thinking that Merlot won't displace Shiraz as our major tipple. Firstly there are viticultural problems relating to poor clones and it performs poorly in cooler regions. Secondly at the consumer end the wine often lacks a distinctive varietal character. There seems to be no consensus among winemakers about what a good merlot should be like. Meanwhile consumers think of Merlot as meaning mellow. It is hard to find any passion, for or against, this variety.

Another contender is Grenache. This variety is widely planted in South Australia, particularly in the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions. In the 1980s it was subject to government sponsored vine pull schemes in the belief that its days were over. Its star is on the rise again both as a varietal and as the key to blends with Shiraz and Morvedre. Notwithstanding this recent return to favour, Grenache will not seriously challenge Shiraz because of its need for a relatively warm climate.

Sangiovese is a variety with a large and growing fan club. There are now over a hundred winemakers using this variety. One factor which has held the variety back in the past has been clonal variation, this has been overcome by careful selection by vine nurseries. Over the past few years a significant number of producers have been able to show just what the variety is capable of. The wines show plum and cherry flavours and to my mind these flavours as well as the Italian wine textures will mean that the bandwagon for this variety will keep rolling for quite a while. The number of winemakers and consumers in Australia with an Italian background continues to provide plenty of champions for the variety.

Spain's answer to Sangiovese is Tempranillo. It is growing in popularity in many Australian wine regions. To a large extent the jury is still as many of the plantings are still quite new. Among the champions of the variety are James Halliday and Mark Walpole of Brown Brothers. Tempranillo matures a little earlier than Shiraz or Sangiovese so it can be grown in slightly cooler regions, Indeed Manton Creek Vineyard in the Mornington Peninsula is one of the more highly regarded producers.

The Durif variety is regarded as a warm climate variety, indeed it seemed as though Rutherglen held a monopoly on the variety. But in fact is relatively early ripening, as demonstrated by John Vale at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula. The outstanding feature of Durif is the high level of tannins, but if these can be mastered then

There are a few other varieties attracting attention which will figure in the mix over the next decade or so. Petit verdot is becoming much more popular in the warmer areas. It was pioneered in Australia by Pirramirra in McLaren Vale but it is now grown extensively in the Murray Darling and Riverina.

Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two other Italian varieties which are highly regarded in Australia. Lagrein is a little known Italian variety, in fact it is from the North East of Italy. It is an early ripening variety and as such can be grown in the cooler climates. Cobaw Ridge in the Macedon Ranges region has a wonderful Lagrein.

So what is the verdict? Which red winegrape variety will be the next Shiraz? It seems to be a contest between Sangiovese and Tempranillo, with both camps having some firm adherents. My money at this stage goes with Sangiovese, it has the runs on the board.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darby Higgs is an expert on varietal wines made from less common grape varieties. He is founder and editor of vinodiversity, an information resource. See http://www.vinodiversity.com

A synopsis on Wine Class.

The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of ...

Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Featured Wine Class Items

Riedel Sommelier Pinot Noir/Burgundy Wine Glass (1)

The Riedel Sommelier wine glass line is the top-of-the-line series of stemware from the legendary Riedel. Wine experts agree that glassware makes a profound difference on how wines taste. Riedel Sommelier wine glasses are the benchmark and the most successful series of hand-made glasses in the world. Each Sommelier wine glass is individually made of 24% lead crystal: the wine glass bowls are mouth-blown into a mould the stem and base are handcrafted using ancient glass-making methods. The Riedel Sommelier Pinot Noir / Burgundy wine glass reveals the glory of top-class Burgundies and Pinot Noir wines. The large bowl allows the bouquet to develop to the fullest while the slightly flared top lip maximizes the fruit flavors by directing the wine to the front palate which ensure the fruit is highlighted while keeping the acidity of the wine in balance.Recommended for: Burgundy (red) Barbaresco Barolo Beaujolais Grand Cru. 9-3/4'H 37oz. Attention California residents. Proposition 65 WARNING.

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