Category: Malbec Wine

Featuring the Wines of Umbria at Your Next Wine Tasting Event

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If you’re planning a wine tasting event in the future, consider serving the wines of Umbria, Italy. The colorful ancient history of this region provides the perfect backdrop for giving your guests a little more than a glass of wine. By sharing this knowledge of Umbria, you can bring a wine alive in more ways than taste. This article looks at the Umbria winemaking region of Italy, focusing in on one of its red wine club favorites, Arnaldo Caprai.

Umbria

Umbria is a combination of pastoral countryside and mountain wilderness. Nurtured by the Tiber and its tributaries and Italy’s fourth largest lake, Lago Trasimeno, this region known as “the green heart of Italy” produces fine olive oil, truffles, grains, tobacco, and livestock along with its vines. Umbria also has a cluster of ancient cities that offer a glimpse into the past. The Umbri, Etruscans, and Romans all left their mark here.

Magnificent Orvieto is perched on a plateau that looks down on the vineyards below. Its grand Duomo is among the greatest of Italy’s Romanesque/Gothic cathedrals. Perugia’s ancient center embraces a 15th Century Duomo and the city’s most extravagantly decorated church. Founded in the 10th Century and rebuilt in the 15h, the Duomo stands beyond the old walls.

Medieval Assisi with its beautiful views and piazzas is the home of St. Francis, who is buried in a basilica frescoed by Giotto among others. The nearby hill towns of Todi, Spello, Gubbio, and Montefalco blend medieval monuments with Roman remains. Spoleto, surrounded by woods, is the loveliest of the hill towns and hosts one of Europe’s leading art festivals in June and July each year.

Noted mainly for its white wines, such as Orvieto, Procanico, Malvasia, Grechetto, and Trebbiano, the region also produces two noble red wines a favorite of red wine club members with special DOCG status, Torgiano Rosso, which is called Rubesco, and Sagrantino, both unmistakably grand wines capable of aging for decades. The sweet white Vin Santo is a local favorite and is made from semidried Grechetto or Malvasia grapes.

Among the many outside varieties planted in Umbria, Merlot and Barbera have been prominent for more than a century. More recently, Pinot Nero and red Cabernet Sauvignon have produced some fine wines appearing on many red wine club lists.

Arnaldo Caprai

Arnaldo Caprai is located in Umbria, Toscana’s eastern landlocked neighbor. The Umbrian hills, valleys, and soils are extensions of Toscana’s prestigious Siena-Montalcino-Montepulciano triangle. Until Marco Caprai produced his award winning Sagrantino di Montefalco 25 Anni in 1987, the area showed no promise of measuring up to its illustrious neighbors in Toscana.

When Marco’s father Arnaldo, a textile manufacturer, bought the property in Val di Maggio in 1971, Sagrantino had almost disappeared. Five hectares remained when Arnaldo decided to plant five more. Today, Sagrantino has become the signature wine of Umbria because of Marco Caprai’s success with the variety. The estate has expanded to 370 acres, 220 of which are planted to vines on three different estates, the principal one in Montefalco, another in Bevagna, a village in the hills of Montefalco, and Gualdo Cattaneo, a village near Spoleto.

In addition to native Sagrantino and Sangiovese, Marco has planted a whole series of foreign varieties, including Tannat, Tempranillo, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, and Chardonnay. He has enjoyed so much notoriety from his accomplishments, especially with Sagrantino, that others have arrived in the Montefalco zone to mimic his success.

In 2001, Marco was named “Best Italian Producer of the Year” by the Italian Sommelier Association for his success in respecting the long tradition of Italian winemaking while incorporating innovative research and technology practices. In 2005, Caprai was named the “Winery of the Year” by Gambero Rosso, the most important and most consulted wine guide in Italy.

The history of Umbria and the winemaking expertise of Arnaldo Caprai make a perfect partnership that can enhance your next wine tasting event. Sharing the ancient past of this area is sure to make the wines of Umbria come alive for your guests.

Growing Grapes For Wine – Healthy Grape Vines For a Great Wine

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If you are a gardening enthusiast or a wine lover, growing grapes for wine may be an exciting activity for you. Making your own wine is indeed a good idea. You must remember though your backyard grapes may not be the variety that is great for wine making, thus if you want to venture into growing grapes for wine, here are some important tips that you may consider.

Choosing your wine grape

One main factor in making best wines, of course, is having the best quality of grapes. The variety of your grape vines should be the first consideration. Choose a type that is great for wine making and pick a variety that can thrive well with the climatic condition of your area. Most often, grapes grown healthily on areas with hot and dry summer and mild winters, as very low temperatures during winter can kill the grape vines.

Choosing your location

Make sure to choose a location that there is plenty of sun. This will in the proper ripening of the fruits that will contribute also to the taste of your wine. Other major considerations to take note in growing grapes for wine making include the soil, the topography, the fertilizers and the climatic conditions of your area. Planting your grape vines can also be done in slopes because these areas have good drainage and prevent the roots to be soaked with too much in water and that can freeze in winter. Slopes facing south are the best locations that you can get for growing grapes for wine as these areas will sure get good sunshine for your wine grapes. Bathing your vines with good sunlight helps a lot in the formation of sugars in fruits that become alcohol after fermentation. Beware of low lying areas too as these are prone to frosts that can damage your vines.

Disease and Pest Control

Like any other crop, growing grapes also involves monitoring especially for possible attack of pests and diseases. You can make use of pest attractants to drive pests away from the fruits. At mid summer when the fruits begin to swell and ripen, birds also begin to peck on the fruits, thus, before everything will be gone, you can put nets over the vines to stop them from feeding on the fruits. A gardening net would be a great one for this purpose.

Pruning for better fruits

Pruning your grape vines is also a factor that you should consider in growing grapes for wine, as this affects the production of good quality fruits. Pruning will help balance the production of fruits and prevent overbearing, which can lead to poor fruit quality. Aside from getting rid of messy vines, pruning also allows sunlight to nourish the vines well and helps maintain disease-free vines.

Harvesting your grapes

Harvesting the fruits at the right time is also important in growing grapes for wine making. It is not just enough also to look at the color of the fruits to determine if it is in its right ripeness for harvesting. Tasting the grapes is recommended. You can start harvesting your grapes if the seeds are dark or brownish and if the sugar level is just right. You can also make use of hydrometer to help you determine the sugar content of the grapes and if it is already right for harvesting.

West Australian Wines And Wineries

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With more 150 wineries, Western Australia is one of the most qualitative wine producing regions of the country. Though it does not account for more than 5 percent of the production, the wine produced in Western Australia is of the topmost quality. The wineries are located at different at different physical locations such as Coastal, Great Southern, Margaret River, Pemberton, Perth Hills and Swan Valley. Amongst these, the Swan Valley is the one of the largest sources of Western Australias wine production. A 30 minute drive from Perth, Swan Valley is a picturesque place with wildlife parks and scenic beauty. Swan valley has some of the best wineries in Western Australia and is best known for its fortified wineries. But due to the presence of tropical climate in Swan Valley, many wine producers have deserted the region over the years and as a result production is rapidly falling. Yet it remains one of the most authentic wine producing regions of Western Australia and people often plan trips to Swan Valley to enjoy a weekend!

Winemaking in southern regions of Western Australia started in the late 1960s. The climate there is more suitable for wine production. The area does not have more than seven percent of Australias vineyards and the percentage of grapes crushed is a mere three percent. Nonetheless the winemaking regions of South Western Australia enjoy immense popularity because of the quality of wine they are known to produce. The Margaret River region is a renowned wine growing region and was founded not more than thirty years ago. Today dozens of wineries are spread beside each other and is immensely popular amongst visitors. Margaret River region is a tourist hotbed with popular wine tasting cuisines, first class restaurants and stroll gardens. Margaret River along with being a wine tasting heaven for tourists, is also a famous surfing spot and has exotic beaches.

The wineries of the coastal region are not grouped as such and one needs to drive extensively in order to locate them properly. The Wineries are filled with scenic beauty and exotic locales and it is a pleasure for eyes to take a look at them. The Great Southern Region is Australias largest wine region with more than 200 kilometers in width and 100 kilometers in length. The vineyards situated are spread throughout the area and have significant differences in the way they are. Also the climate of this region plays a very important role in this region as this is one of the coolest regions of Australia and the vineyards here are dependent on the cool climate to produce some of the best wines. The region has produced some award winning wines and is very well known amongst vintage wine collectors and tasters.

This region of Australia is very well known for its wine production techniques and the quality of wine it upholds even if certain problems tend to hamper the production at times. This region is the reason why Australian wine has become a global name today.

Finding The Perfect Wine Corkscrew

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More than one wine corkscrew is a necessity in any serious collection of wines. Most wine collectors have at least two or three corkscrews of their collection. You can have three of the same type. Or, if you want to be more adventurous, you can add unique corkscrews to your collection. If you want to take your wine collection seriously, you need to take your collection of wine accessories just seriously. You can find a lot of personality in many types of corkscrews, coasters, and collars available on the market today.

Be sure you have the appropriate accessories, besides the wine corkscrew, to enjoy your wine collection. Every serious wine collection requires the right accessories. A corkscrew is an obvious necessity. However, you also need things like coasters. Coasters are available for both the wine glass and the wine bottle. Their practical purpose is to catch any stray drops to come off the container. This prevents staining of tablecloths and furniture. Wine collars are just as important for catching wine drips coming out of a bottle. These sit just below the lip of the bottle and catch drops with absorbent material.

Select the right glasses to complement your wine collection. Some people think you can drink any type of wine properly out of a generic glass. However, those who take wine very seriously want to have a variety of glasses available. Some wines taste better in a deep bowl glass such as reds. A tulip glass is a great option when dealing with a light and sparkly white wine. Champagne tastes better when you taste it out of a champagne flute. There are any number of sizes and shapes available in wine glasses. When thinking about adding a wine corkscrew to your collection, make sure your collection of glasses is just as comprehensive.

Keep your wine in good shape with a bottle stopper. Once you use a wine corkscrew to remove the cork from a bottle, you need something to close the bottle with if you do not drink the entire thing. That is where you need a bottle stopper. As with corkscrews, you can find a wide range of designs and styles that comes to bottle stoppers. This is some corkscrews also double as bottle stoppers. Make sure that you have a few of these on hand to keep your wine tasting great.

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The Ingenuity of Wine Aerating

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Air is important to everything. Crops want it, animals want it, people want it, and even water has components of oxygen in it. Air is essential to life. Just like some other pure factor, wine too, wants air. A wine aerator is an easy device that really does wonders for an peculiar wine. What does a wine aerator actually do? Wine aerators have one primary perform: To boost the flavour of your wine. It’s true that some wines are stored to age, however this doesn’t suggest that it doesn’t need to breathe if you find yourself able to drink it.

So, what’s the function of aerating wine? Air helps to reinforce your wine’s flavor. Wine that has been allowed to breathe opens up, releasing its full vary of aromas and taste – making it style better. Wine aerators are trendy tools for a modern world. Initially, wine was made to breathe through the use of decanters. These glass vessels enable wine to breathe, thus giving even odd wines an extra flavorful taste. Wine aerating was effective, however time consuming, fairly cumbersome, and inconvenient. It took up a lot time that it was straightforward to turn into impatient ready to really be able to get pleasure from drinking your wine. Forget to open your wine ahead of when dinner is served? It didn’t have an opportunity to breath and will not taste as good as it should. That is quite a trouble, isn’t it? Effectively, not anymore.

Wine aerators are now out there for the fashionable man in this fashionable world. New sorts of wine aerators have been invented and are broadly accessible so you may have all of the flavorful style and bouquet with out the hassle and inconvenience of waiting. An ideal example of such an instrument is the Vinturi Wine Aerator. The Vinturi Wine Aerator’s patent pending design really quickens the method of aerating wine with the intention to open your wine, pour and drink it immediately rather than go away it sitting in a decanter for hours. Aerating wine is certainly an ingenious means of bettering your wines, whether or not they are costly or cheap, pink or white, wine aerators make consuming wine more enjoyable.

Would you like to study more about great gourmand gifts, wine equipment and kitchen gadgets? Jeanette Hauser is the founder of the third largest reward basket enterprise in Phoenix, AZ. She has been a frequent visitor on the radio, discussing gourmand items, eating places and food associated travel, and has been honored to be a judge at the International Fancy Food Show. Go to Anything Goes Gourmet for great discussions, gourmand present solutions, and free wine reports.

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