Category: Malbec Wine

Malbec Mania At Laithwaites

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Malbec Mania At Laithwaites

Laithwaites flaunt a substantial series of Argentinean wines as well as they are going from toughness to strength. Much of this success is to Malbec which is the country’s signature red grape variety. The Malbecs of Argentina are nearly black in colour and also breaking with dark fruit flavours. The durable tannins as well as mouthcoatingly rich flavours make them an enchanting match with red meats. With an almost ideal environment for expanding grapes (little rains, long sunlight hours as well as the highest possible altitude vineyards) it is no wonder that Argentina is swiftly obtaining its swiftly acquiring its exports worldwide. Laithwaites has actually increased its Argentinean range in line with this success and now flaunts a diverse portfolio of over 50 various wines as well as comprising 17 various grape ranges. This makes it one of the biggest profiles of Argentinean wines available in the UK.

The Laithwaites Argentinean profile varieties from aromatic whites such as Torrontes, Viognier and Verdelho to the a lot more manly reds made from Bonarda, Tempranillo and Malbec grapes. Need for Argentinean wines has actually grown so a lot in the previous year that Laithwaites will quickly offer its initial ever before blended Argentinean Malbec instance consisting of 12 stunning juicy hearty reds. Consisted of in this option is the Schroeder Malbec expanded in the depths of Patagonia where Malbec’s juicy, fruit driven account is ideally fit to its desert-climate vineyards. Additionally consisted of is our initial Fair Profession wine, the Finca Federada Reserva 2005 made by the La Riojana cellar. This is made in an extremely poor region where the Fairtrade task will make a significant distinction to the grower’s requirement of living. A lot of these wines have actually been extremely recommended by esteemed wine authors.

The Laithwaites Argentinean wine buyer, Nick Taylor comments “Our Clients are promptly identifying Argentina and its winning combination of top quality and also worth. They like the ripe however well balanced flavours and also are eager to try something brand-new. There is a lot potential in Argentina. The pure fruit expression as well as abundant as well as full framework of Malbecs are essential to their success. Argentina has shown that its Malbecs specifically can take on the globe’s costs wines.”

The Malbec collection case offer was released on the 28th May 2008. This includes twelve globe -class malbecs for ₤ 69.99 with a conserving of over ₤ 20. To acquire this situation please call the Laithwaites order desk at: 0870 444 8282.

Wine-Making Countries – Old World Vs New World

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No matter how you prefer your wines, one can say without a doubt that this is one of the more exciting times in wine history. This is due to many factors. The Internet gives us so much more of a worldwide round table to discuss wine. International markets and globalization are erasing the old barriers to import and export of wine; you can go to your corner store and buy five bottles from five different countries today. The New World wineries are coming into their own, meeting the challenge of displacing the Old World from the throne of wine-producing.

For purposes of definition, let’s get it straight that when we say “Old World”, we’re talking about Europe, at least as far as wine-making countries go. And when we say “New World”, we’re talking about almost everywhere else, but notably the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South America, and even South Africa.

You can see the sharp divide between the two worlds. Old World wines tend to be classified by terroir – that is, the region where they’re produced. New World wines tend to be classified by their breed of grape. Some New World wineries are starting to try to take the mantle in this regard, promoting themselves as regions just as relevant to the wine world as the Old World. So Napa Valley is almost a household name in the United States, while Australians may find their wine proudly labeled “Barossa Valley” and New Zealand boasts the prestige of their Marlborough region.

“Terroir” means more than a dot on the map, however. It also stands for the conditions of the winery itself – the soil, the climate, the environment, and even the local ecosystem. Wine, more than any other beverage, is influenced by many more things than the kind of grape; you can plant the same grapes in clay soil, gravel soil, and sand and cultivate them the same way and make wine the same way but still end up with three different tasting wines. Tiny variations, like what kind of pollen spores are in the air, or whether you got 12 inches of rain in May or 10, or whether temperatures were 3 degrees hotter over the summer, can make a noticeable difference in the taste.

Amongst wine enthusiasts, there is much disagreement and debate about whether New World wines can hold their own against the Old World. The majority consensus is that Old World is still holding the reigns, while the New World is trying to catch up. Certainly, the New World has produced some very good wines, but the Old World of Europe and the proud lions of wine-making, such as France, Italy, and Spain, simply have loads more experience. The bottles that win all the medals at world-class competitions still bear European labels, and will for quite some time.

But for the consumer-level market, it’s a different story. The United States and Australia have pushed their way into the world market, sometimes by cutting the price to make their bottles more attractive to retailers. It is this practice of producing cheap, industrial wine and competing for price that led to the epithet “plonk”. If you want to make a New Zealand or South African wine-fancier mad, drop the word “plonk”. It isn’t all plonk, of course, and even an Old World winery or two has begun to fight back with its own plonkish offerings, but the fact remains that the Old World simply loves wine too much to dirty their hands with making wine a cheap, uncouth business.

On that note, we will just leave it at this: the New World will have to strive harder to prove itself in the global wine arena. But there is no doubt that they will. The New World will also have to get a lot more experience under its belt before the global market takes its wines seriously. But that is almost guaranteed to happen over time. In the meantime, we can all look forward to a more diverse market, with many intriguing developments still ahead.

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The Enemies of Wine – Why You Need a Wine Bottle Refrigerator

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A well made wine bottle refrigerator will help the collector overcome the four enemies of wine: temperature, light, humidity, and vibration. Most home environments are not suitable for the storage of fine wines. Let’s review each of these factors in more detail.

Temperature

The optimal temperature for storage depends on the type of wine:

Red – Store between 55 to 60 degrees F
White – Store between 49 to 56 degrees F
Rose – Store between 49 to 51 degrees F
Champagne – Store between 53 to 59 degrees F

Bottles kept at higher temperatures will age too fast, causing a lack of freshness and subtlety. Lower temperatures paralyze wine, retarding its natural development.

A quality wine bottle refrigerator will not only keep your bottles at the proper temperature, they will also maintain a constant temperature within the unit.

Light

Darkness is ideal for a cellar. Exposure to ultraviolet light will prematurely age and damage wine. This is a primary reason why wine is traditionally bottled in colored glass. Thus it is prudent to store your collection away from the potentially damaging effects of such light sources.

Quality cellars will have U.V. protected glass doors to help create an ideal environment in which to store wine.

Humidity

Maintaining proper humidity is essential in preventing the corks from drying out. This is also achieved by laying the bottles on their sides, so that the wine is in constant contact with the cork. A cork that is kept moist does not lose its shape, thus maintaining a good seal. Prolonged exposure to oxygen will spoil a good wine.

A well functioning wine bottle refrigerator will have natural ventilation that allows for condensation to form on the walls of the unit, which helps produce the correct humidity for preservation of the collection. Proper air circulation and filtering is needed to create the right environment free from mold and odor.

Vibration

Moving bottles too often is harmful to good wine preservation. Wine needs to sleep, and frequent disturbance will agitate it. Vibration interferes with the biochemical process of maturation and is often fatal to the best wines. Therefore, the best wine cabinets are designed to house the greatest possible number of bottles of all sizes, and built to keep harmful vibrations to a minimum. Unlike conventional refrigerators, wine bottle cellars have no or few moving parts.

By reading this you are obviously care about your wine! Wouldn’t it be great to be able to store your wine in your own cellar? Where you know your valuable collection will be protected from the four enemies of wine. Remember, a wine cellar doesn’t have to be an expensive separate room; it could be a refrigerated wine cabinet that is sized to your needs and budget.

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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.

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