Category: Syrah Wine

Yeast – Nature’s Wine Maker

Posted on

As much pride as our world-famous wineries claim to have in their century-old establishments, the majority of the burden of wine making actually falls to a single-celled organism: yeast. In fact, much of the art of wine making is actually the art of feeding and nurturing the yeast. A famous quote from Dr. Roger Boulton from the University of California illustrates: “Ninety percent of wine making has nothing to do with the winemaker. All a winemaker is doing is preventing spoilage, introducing some unique style to the wine and bottling it.”

So what is yeast, and what is it doing? Yeast is a single-celled organism, a strain of fungus. It moves freely in the environment and when it finds nutrition it replicates quickly to form a colony. The earliest known usage of yeast was in ancient Egypt, where it was often used for bread making. In fact, anyone who has ever had to culture yeast for bread making will understand much of what it takes to be a winemaker.

There are many different kinds of yeast, and the ones generally helpful for wine making are of the genus Saccharomyces (Sakchar meaning sugar and Myces meaning fungus), of which there are over a dozen to pick from, each which adds different characteristics to wine. The yeasts of this genus consume the natural sugar found in fruit juice and transform it into almost equal parts of carbon dioxide and alcohol.And there’s the rub: without yeast, it’s just grape juice.

So then, if wine making is an art, then its primary tool is the ability to control yeast. Fresh pressed grape juice will typically already have dozens of different kinds of yeasts, as well as a number of other microbial invaders. If you left the juice as is, it would develop into wine on its own, though it would likely be over-alcoholic and undrinkable. To create a truly great wine, the winemaker must have a specific yeast in mind, introduce it at the right time, feed it and nurture it, and allowing it to die and be cleaned whilst preserving the fruits of its labor. This involves a rigorous control over temperature, humidity, and quality of fruit.

Over the many centuries since wine makers have bottled their products, they have been returning the old skins and seeds of crushed grapes (the pomace) to the vineyards to be used in fertilization. The grape skins are breeding grounds for yeast, and by returning yeast-rich pomace to the vines, vineyards have managed to subtly alter the natural yeasts that occur in their fields. Over time, the selected strain of yeast begins to dominate so rigidly that a winemaker can simply encourage spontaneous fermentation. Those making homemade wines don’t have this luxury, and even established vineyards may be centuries away from such a yeast domination.

So despite the vigilant claims of expert wine makers across the world, it’s obvious that the real master winemaker is yeast.

Related Syrah Wine Articles

Under Counter Wine Racks Save Space

Posted on

Under counter wine racks are small and compact designed to fit in tight spaces. You can find many different styles and sizes of under counter wine racks. This racking will be the most suitable for kitchens or under your wine bar.

There are many things that you must take into consideration when you are looking for the best under counter wine rack. The first is of course your budget and prices will vary. The price is generally going to be less expensive when it is smaller with less features, and will increase in price as the rack gets larger with additional features.

Some additional considerations that are very important will be the size of the space that you will be putting your under counter wine rack. Understanding your needs will help you narrow down your available choices and make your selection a bit easier.

In order to purchase the right wine rack that will go under your counter in your kitchen or behind your wine bar you will need to take the above things into consideration, as well as what type of wine that you will be storing in the unit. Wine storage is important to maintaining the quality of your wine whether it’s red wine or white wine. As opposed to an under counter wine rack, you may also want to consider a small wine cabinet instead which allows for the wine to be stored in a climate controlled environment.

You are going to have many choices of under counter wine racks to choose from and if you use the methods above then it should drastically cut down on the choices. Purchasing your wine rack online will save you money, but more importantly it will help you to determine the best model for you.

If you have a certain space you are trying to fill, you may need a custom wine rack. However, you should also look at a variety of modular or kit racking that is available. Many of the modular racks can be cut in height or width to allow for a customized under counter rack at a modular price!

Which Wine Goes With What?

Posted on

Most everyone reading is now rolling their eyes. “Not THIS again!” So much fuss is made over pairings between food and wine, that you have to wonder what all the fuss is about, and whether it is possible for anyone to learn it in one lifetime. Do you just have to go to wine college and get a degree? Well, no, but it wouldn’t hurt…

Let’s try to skim this down to the basic elements: At the end, it’s all about you, your taste buds, and how much you care. If you think tilapia fried in olive oil is the best match for Cabernet, that’s all you. Nobody is more right about what you like than you are. And if you really want to appreciate the elegant art of matching food with wine, you should experiment anyway. How are you going to know why a buttery Chardonnay isn’t a good companion for prime rib beef, until you try it yourself? Go ahead and try new things; we promise that the Wine Police won’t come and haul you away!

There are the “by-the-book” wine snobs who have vast lists of food and wine pairings. At the other end of the spectrum are those who dismiss the whole school of thought as a lot of hot air. The truth, as you might expect, lies somewhere in the middle. And with many wine experts contradicting each other on specific cases, you would expect that there’s less science and more art to it.

Some basic rules of thumb: Either white wines go with fish and poultry and red with everything else, or else red wines go best with red meats (beef, pork, lamb) and white wines go with everything else. If only it were as simple as color-coding!

Here’s a better rule of thumb: Pair a strong-taste with a delicate taste. Another way to say this is “complex wines with simple foods, simple wines with complex foods”. You want the two to compliment each other. Think of how you wouldn’t wear a polka-dot shirt with a striped tie, but rather match a solid color to a pattern.

As with clothes, you also don’t want the tastes of food and wine to clash. Use the same common sense that tells you which foods match together. A sweet dinner of crab’s legs and lobster tail will be great with a Chardonnay, which is sweet and delicate. A grilled T-bone steak wants a hefty, fruity wine with a kick to compliment it; time for a Bordeaux! But in some cases, contrast is more important. Liver is a strong, lingering taste, so it needs a modest, mild, contrasting compliment, rather than a match which would be overpowering; how about a Pinot Noir or any burgundy that isn’t too demanding?

The “red with red” rule is so consistent that it even applies to things other than meat: For pasta, match a red wine to a tomato-based red pasta sauce, and a white to a white Alfredo-type sauce. The same goes for sauces on vegetables. As for vegetables themselves, once again we should go for matching simple for simple with complex for complex.

Cheeses are another broad area. Anything goes. Most wine experts in fact like to have a wide array of cheeses and wines so they can mix and match. As with playing chords on a musical instrument, there isn’t always an absolutely right or wrong answer. This goes for cheese sauces and fondues, too.

The purpose of this little spiel is to demystify the world of wine for the common person. Hopefully, you’ve gleaned enough hints from here to have a basic concept of what’s going on. If you want to pursue the subject deeper, there’s whole encyclopedias devoted to this subject. And if you find yourself dining with companions who barely tolerate your wine drinking, let alone putting up with a rule-book wine bore, you’ll still be loose enough to relax and not be so stuffy about it.

Plum Wine For Ripe Plum Flavor

Posted on

Flavor of fruits, especially that of ripe plums is the favorite one of all. However, season for plums is limited, and you will have to wait for another season. Still, there is a way to help you taste the ripe plums, that is plum wine.

 

The plum wine that we are talking about is seldom mentioned by professional wine aficionados because this wine has not been created with wine grapes. There are some people who will let you know that even though plum wine is not considered as a true wine, it does have a lovely flavor and you can even make this wine at home.

 

For this reason there are quite a few plum wine recipes that can be found on the internet. These recipes can range from the simple plum wine recipe to the highly complex looking plum wine recipe. For these plum wine recipes you should have some ripe plums that have a rich taste to them. There are a few other items that you will need to have when you start making your plum wine.

 

The main ingredients for a good plum wine include ripe plums, tannin, yeast, water, sugar or light honey, yeast nutrient, Champagne or Montrachet yeast, peptic enzyme and Campden tablets to kill off any excess bacteria that could be present in the plum wine. Once you have all of these ingredients you will need to find a good recipe to get the correct measurements. Follow the instructions and hopefully you will have a good plum wine that you can drink once the fermenting process and aging time has finished.

 

There is another way that you can enjoy drinking plum wine. This plum wine that you can find is that of the Japanese version. The Japanese plum wine is called ume-shu. The taste of this plum wine is slightly sweet and sour. The Japanese plum wine has been drunk with meals as an aperitif for over 1000 years in Japan. Since the Japanese plum wine is made from green Ume plums and white alcohol. It contains potassium and calcium, and is also said to be good for your health.

 

I am sure that while you may have never heard of plum wine before this you can now appreciate the fact that many people have drunk some form of plum wine. The difference in the Japanese and western plum wine is clear but they both have a delicious taste that you will always remember.

 

Find More Syrah Wine Articles

Taste Wine Taste Of Life – Wine, Wine – Food Industry

Posted on

“Grapes America Wine Moonwalker, For Pipa immediate reminders to drink. Zuiwo battlefield Jun Mo laughed, a few people back to ancient conquests? “This is thousands of years, has been passed down by the people of the Tang Dynasty poet Han-making, in this between the lines, the chic crisp language, reflected in the rhythm of beat ups emotions out of the bold, passionate.

Grapes since the Han Dynasty from the Central Plains from the Western Regions, for brewing Wine Culture to the Tang Dynasty as Sheng or in. Ancient love wine, love magic cup wassail with fraudulent claims, this cup of the wine, but also so full of sentiment horseback Hu to play the pipa to add to the fun, several distinctive against the background of the image exchange, put side hearty swig to barracks, rendering may Hua Yan impressive, vivid and moving, but maxed.

Wine Development so far, with a rich history of decorative, rather engender air of mystery and reverie, try it, and love wine. A few more men fall in love with wine, perhaps the world’s men on the more elegant. Wine cold love, perhaps even more Happy days live live on the.

Fung had to get to know a businessman who is now a wine preacher, his ancestral home to open up into the wine village, hiding and secret development, the expression in this way a man’s love for red wine.

Winery in the old city’s quiet and remote corner of decorative harmony of natural, always carefully set to creating a just right for the wine storage room, still retains the atmosphere of the West off Old House’s simple.

Two large glass walls showcase the contrast of a little street lighting, transmission of possession of liquor in the first floor rooms, breathtaking you can almost hear the wine hidden in the breath. Tall storage cabinets extend to the ceiling, wooden box decorated with rows of red wine garden. They are safe lying, breathing. Preacher in a red wine under the guidance, you can almost hear the red wine cabinet in breathing.

Circle around the candle to sit down, accompanied by the voice of jazz ambience debris, the taste wine, taste of life conversation, so tirelessly to start.

Red wine is the natural magic of creation, continuation of the grapes after the brewing time and the fragrance, and storage time changes all the time to grow. Air, sunlight, water, planting grapes location, climate, brewing techniques, storage temperature of every detail both influenced and changed the wine quality and flavor, only a maximum depth of Wine Tasting Division can be stated succinctly in the cumulative point out any subtle changes.

Have wine on every bottle marked, like red wine, like an identity card, usually above marked with grape varieties Wine Name, crop year, grade, region, wine names such as field name and country, to understand wine, you have to first understand their logos. This wine book has been read do not know how many times been Fung, name of village for some seriously good wine he made notes. Today, Mr Fung is now almost remember the name of each wine, composition, origin and so on.

“First to identify their identity, then is the sense of smell and taste of the experience.”

Fung ancestral home to the wine village, initially only with red wine village to gather popularity, my friends love to drink the wine of the exchange reserves, now is a lot of people Mu wine from the wines to go back. The “right wine is only sold to the right people.” Fung said. “If people do not understand wine to buy in the past, would not indulge in the extravagance?” Although a businessman, sometimes the economic formula, under hobbies and personal feelings are not valid.

Not deliberately, just random.
Drinking wine the way to live with nature in every detail, sometimes wine, sometimes just to drink, sometimes only be met from the private storage. Fasting after dinner, bedtime, or banquet, and sometimes just quiet down smoking a cigar on a bottle of red wine.

Related Syrah Wine Articles

Featured wine

popular posts