How to Become An Accomplished Wine Tasting Expert
December 12th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Millions of people around the world engage in wine drinking, few know how to discover wine composition. Today, wine tasting parties are organized to bring together wine lovers and test their expertise. It takes a lot of experience and exposure before a person can be called a wine expert. All the same, achieving wine expert status is not hard at all. Below are some useful tips on how to taste wine.
1. Preparing the tongue.
Certainly the tongue will play an active role in wine tasting. It contains taste buds that are responsible in discerning if food or drinks being eaten are bitter, salty, sour, or sweet. In order to make it function as planned, you will need to swish the wine around the mouth, this will basically signal to the tongue to get ready in uncovering the wine.
2. Preparing the sense of smell.
Actually 75% of taste is rule by the sense of smell. Aside from the tongue, the nose will also play an important role in tasting a wine. Wine experts know that it is not a good idea when tasting a wine while having a running nose because it will affect their sense of taste. In smelling the wine, it is necessary to swirl it first. This will release molecules that produce aroma.
3. Examining the wine’s appearance.
To identify color of the wine, pour it in a clear glass and use white paper or tablecloth for background. This procedure will give you an idea about the age of the wine. For instance, if a white wine appears whiter, it shows that it comprises more flavors, it may likely be vintage. While on other hand, when red wines look lighter, it means they are aged.
4. Evaluating the wine.
After following the first 3 steps, it is time to evaluate the wine. To be able to do so, the following questions must be answered: Is it too harsh or too smooth? Is the wine rich or light? Is it too dry and does it have pleasant aftertaste?
The answers will lead the wine taster to decide if the taste is appropriate for a specific grape or type of wine.
To attain wine expert taster status, it will require you tasting many wines. It helps to keep notes on the impressions and labels of each wine. It will make the identification process easier and more accurate for you. Acquiring these skills needs time and learning experience. Don’t do it in a hurry, take your time to enjoy the process while you learn how to taste wine.
What Are The Health Benefits Of Drinking Red Wine?
December 9th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
There is a great deal of conflicting information on the subject of the health benefits of red wine and it’s often hard to know what you should or shouldn’t be eating and drinking to remain healthy. While there is no firm scientific proof, most studies point to health benefits from drinking red wine in moderation.
What Can Red Wine Do?
While red wine isn’t considered a cure all – and certainly not a substitute for a healthy diet – there are some widely agreed upon benefits to drinking red wine. The most promising benefit is that red wine is believed to protect against certain forms of cancer and heart disease. In fact, some studies show up to a 30%–50% reduction in the incidence of heart disease in those who consumed a glass of red wine daily. It also appears to have a positive effect on cholesterol & blood pressure. And finally, drinking red wine has been shown to lower the risk of heart attacks in middle-aged (30–50 years old) adults.
Why Red Wine in Particular?
Experts began studying the benefits of red wine when they started to notice a correlation between populations who drank red wine regularly and lower incidences of disease. This was especially evident in the Mediterranean countries where red wine is commonly drunk on a regular basis. Also studied was the so-called “French Paradox,” where the French have a lower rate of heart disease and obesity even though they consume a higher-fat diet. Most of the benefits of red wine appear come from the antioxidants present in it. Studies show that red wine has a high concentration of antioxidants, which are known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The antioxidants have been found to increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind of cholesterol) and help prevent blood clots and plaque from forming in arteries.
How Much Should I Drink to Gain the Health Benefits of Red Wine?
Most experts agree that it takes a small amount of red wine to see the health benefits. Moderation is truly the key – one 4–6 ounce glass of wine per day for women and one or two glasses for men. Keep in mind that most experts believe that the health benefits of red wine are lost if wine is consumed to excess.
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What Every Wine Enthusiast Should Understand
December 5th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
There is a lot more to being a wine enthusiast, they are not just lovers of wine. There are a few factors you should know to enhance your judgment as to what makes a good wine and its taste. One factor is that the wine is made from fermented grape juice. But you should know a few other things, such as the grape varieties wines are made from and the process of wine making itself.
There are many varieties of wines. The most commonly known ones are red, white, rose and champagne. Wines are usually classified according to the grape varieties used to make them. One variety that is often used for red wine is the Barbera. Grown mainly in Piedmont, Italy, this variety is quite adaptable to other regions, and is also grown on a limited scale in the United States. Barbera grapes produce wines with a full-bodied fruity taste as they have a high natural acidity.
There are many varieties of wine. Wine enthusiasts know about one variety that is widely grown in many parts of the world: Cabernet Sauvignon. This grape variety, grown primarily in Medoc, France, has found its way to California, Australia and other wine-making countries. Wine enthusiasts would consider Cabernet Sauvignon wines to be among the best red wines in the world. They have a distinct aromatic flavor, and have hints of the taste of berries, olives, coffee, mint and herbs all blended together. Among the white varieties, the Chardonnay is easily the most popular, producing some of the world’s finest white wines.
A basic understanding of the wine-making process is important to a wine enthusiast, especially if he is interested in going into wine production himself if only for personal consumption. Wine making is an age-old technology and is really simple. It is not necessary to have sophisticated equipment to make wines.
First you have to know what type of grapes to use, where they are grown, the right age for picking, and things like acidity and sugar levels. If you want a particular aromatic flavor, you should be able to tell which grapes will produce that kind of flavor. After the picking comes the pressing to extract the juices, then fermentation.
The fermentation process is quite delicate. To stimulate the fermentation process, yeast is added to the juice. In simple terms, fermentation is the conversion of the sugar in the juice into alcohol. The success of your grape juice turning into good wine, is the kind of yeast used and the absence of any contaminants getting into the mixture during the entire process.
There is so much more to understanding the differences between a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, but the knowledge to the types of wine available is just the beginning for a wine enthusiast.
Wine Connoisseurs are Turning to DIY Wine Storage Racks
November 30th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
More and more people think that building wine storage racks on their own is the best option and prefer this method to spending a lot of money on purchasing one from a wine store. In fact, there are certainly some good reasons why you too should also consider this option. The fact is that building wine storage racks is fun to do and it is also easy to complete the project without much fuss or bother. Once you are finished you will find that you can store many wine bottles in just the way that you want to store them.
There are many wine storage racks and wine coolers available to purchase. They range from the very simple one-bottle holder to the massive and impressive room-filling coolers which keep each bottle in optimum conditions until you decide to take them out.
One of the most popular types of wine storage device is the countertop wine rack. These hold anywhere from three to 15 or so bottles and take up very little room while providing an impressive display for your visitors. They come in many different styles and colors, so finding one that matches your décor should be no problem.
But what if you can’t find a wine rack that you like? What if you don’t like any of the ready-made wine storage systems you find? What if you just have that adventurous spirit that makes you say “I could do better”?
For the adventurous wine drinker, there is nothing like DIY wine storage to get the creative juices flowing. DIY wine storage can take almost any form that you can dream up. You can make it big or small, elaborate or minimalist – it’s all up to you, your abilities, and the space you have to work with.
One great low-cost DIY wine storage idea is to use old mailing tubes for holding bottles. You can leave one end open and attach the other end to a stable board or other backing material. Make sure that the tubes are at the correct angle to keep the corks wet in the bottles – then just slide your bottles in and enjoy your handiwork.
However, if you have a slim budget, then you may want to use softwoods such as fir or pine for building wine storage racks and pine especially, is rather cheap though the grain is tight as well as straight and it also has enough strength to safely hold your wine bottles.
There are plenty of other DIY wine storage projects out there – a simple internet search will turn up tons of ideas that you can use and expand on. This is a great way to personalize your wine experience and make sure that every bottle reminds you of the hard work you have put into your very own DIY wine storage space.
Information on wine racks can be found here Wine Rack Construction
Where To Find Wine Accessories
November 12th, 2008 Subscribe To Our Feed
Are you looking for wine accessories, or for a gift for a wine lover? This week I’ve researched some websites where you might be able to pick up an unusual wine accessory … from modern to antique.
Wine accessory websites reviewed this week:
- Good Grape: A Wine Blog Manifesto - Home Wine News Articles Shop for Wine Accessories About Links Downloads Contact. Good Grape Wine Company. Left side of the header …. International Wine Accessories · Sacre Bleu Wine. Enter your email address for a monthly summary of …
- Top 10 Wine Accessories, News - Wineware’s Top 10 Online Best Selling Products for October 2008 With Christmas fast approaching, business is starting to build up after the usually quieter.
- WineBall » Blog Archive » When It Pours, It Reigns - June 19th, 2008 Posted in RoJaus Wine Decanter. Written by Bill Ditenhafer. Posted with permission from Nashville Lifestyles. A local engineer improves the traditional wine decanter. It’s amazing how long we put up with things that …
- Goodwins » Blog Archive » An antique sterling silver wine goblet - An antique sterling silver wine goblet Sheffield 1903 Approximately 18.75cm tall. £ 325. 1. Posted in Flasks, Tots and Goblets |. This item has been tagged with the following: none You can use these tags to search for similar items …
- Personalized Wine Bottle Labels | wine gift baskets | wine gift … - Other wine accessories is a great idea. All these items are ordered at the same place and can all be personalized with your company logo or other what ever image or text you might chose. Wall mounted wine rack or hanging wine racks will …
- Tannins are oh-so-tacky | Just Grapes Wine Blog - Events · Wine Seminar · Wine Tastings · Wine Accessories · Wine Education · Grape Types · Spain · Wine Making · Barrel Project 2008 · Wine Pairing · Wine Reviews · Dessert Wine · Red Wines · Rose Wines · Sparkling Wine · White Wines …
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