The use of oak in wine plays a significant role in winemaking and can have a profound effect on the resulting wine, impacting the color, flavor, tannin profile and texture of the wine. Oak can come into contact with wine in the form of a barrel during the fermentation or aging periods. It can be introduced to the wine in the form of free floating oak chips or as wood staves (or sticks) added to wine in a fermentation vessel like stainless steel....more
Legend has it that Cleopatra once promised Marc Anthony she would "drink the value of a province" in one cup of wine, after which she drank an expensive pearl with a cup of wine. Marilyn Monroe is rumored to have bathed in a bathtub of champagne. The lure of wine is cross-cultural and going strong. Enjoying wine, once surrounded by pomp and circumstance, is now something that many of us do on a daily basis to enjoy food, friends, and family. ...more
A Wine Tasting Party is an ideal way to get friends and family together to learn about wine and experiment with new or unusual varietals. It can help to break the ice and give your partygoers some great conversation down the line. I myself had a wine tasting bridal shower. Rather than the usual shower games we tried different wine and paired yummy food with it. It was a great icebreaker and gave guest that didn't know each other something to chat about. There are different styles of wine tasting parties that you can throw. Two general tasting terms you may want to know are, Vertical Tasting and Horizontal tasting. These are tasting terms used regularly in the wine world. A Vertical Tasting consists of tasting wines from several different vintages or years, that were produced by one winery. A nice example of this would be tasting Cabernet Sauvignon from Clos Du Bois spanning the "90", "91", "92", and "93" vintages. This would let the tasters see how each vintage compared to the next and also judge the aging process.A Horizontal Tasting consists of tasting wines from the same vintage or year, represented by several different wineries. A nice example of this would be tasting...more
A Brief History of the Wine GlassWine glasses have been used since ancient times.Pliny (23-79 A.D.) wrote about gold and silver drinking vessels being abandoned in favor of glass, and they were frequently priced as high as the precious metal versions. Bonifacio Veronese's sixteenth-century 'Last Supper' includes modern style wine glasses with a...more
Changing to a healthier diet needn't mean you miss out on the good things in life A question of balance:You've embarked on a diet - and have even discovered some exciting new recipes - but what about wine? According to doctors, a little bit of what you fancy does you good, so much so that heart attack patients in one Wiltshire hospital were given...more
I think the Irish are unlucky.Every St Patrick's Day I conjure up visions of eating corned beef and cabbage for dinner. Then I wonder "What wine goes with corned beef and cabbage?" The corned beef is too salty and doesn't work with any wine very well. Someone yells to me that beer is more in order. Maybe a wine from Ireland?The climate of Ireland isn't the best for growing grapes. There's only one wine that that comes from Ireland and it's made by Llewellyn's - a farmer in north county Dublin. His normal produce is apples and he makes a lot of apple juice for upscale independent retailers. His wine is more of a novelty item at best. What is interesting about Irish wine is the Irish connection with Bordeaux. Irish names like Lynch, Barton, Phelan adorn the labels on some of the best wines from the Bordeaux region. As for wine making, the Irish are better off sticking to the black stuff, Guinness.But I'm a wine guy and don't care for beer so I do some more digging. Guess what? It seems that corned beef and cabbage is more of an American St Patrick's Day tradition. According to Bridgett Haggerty of the website Irish Cultres and Customs their research shows that most likely a "bacon...more
The dominant factor in a wines integrity is the type of grapes being used. Grapes influence the wines flavor, alcohol content, bitterness, and its tint. From white grapes white wine is created, and it is straw to blond-yellow in tint. Red wine is...more
For people who love sweets, a meal is not completely satisfying unless it finishes off with a sumptuous dessert. Some of the most popularly sought after desserts include cakes, pastries, fruits, pies, nuts, sorbet, breads, pudding and chocolates....more
Pairing wine with food can heighten enjoyment of both the wine and the meal individually as well as enhance the overall experience. While not an exact science, there is a method to pairing wine with food that extends beyond red wine with red meat and...more
Despite the title I really do love wine and food from Italy, France, Germany, and other countries as well. And frankly who among us can reject a bargain? But I also hate wine and several aspects of the wine scene. Let me explain my top ten reasons...more
If you wanted to have an expensive bottle of wine...do you know how much it would cost you? Some might answer $50 or $100. Others might answer even higher - they would be right!Some bottles of wine are so expensive they are simply collected for their...more
When a memorable tasty wine and cheese pairing, the only thing you have to know is: If it tastes good, do it! Iâm sure youâve heard all the best known chefs explaining about what cheese works with which wine; however, when you make your...more