Wine is probably the most storied and legendary beverage conceived by mankind, and its history goes back literally to Biblical times. This makes for some surprisingly fun trivia hunting; wine is the beverage that always has another surprise in store!

Wine’s first purpose was as a water purifier! A long time before modern methods for sanitizing water, primitive peoples developed one foolproof method for ensuring that water was safe to drink: they’d mix in the fermented juice from fruit and found the alcohol was sufficient to kill any harmful organisms.

The fermenting of beer and wine was one of the first applications of alchemy and hence chemistry, going as far back as the year 1000 B.C.

Wine has an important place in more than half of the world’s religions. Jewish practitioners say a blessing over wine on holidays, and Passover is observed with four cups of wine. Wine makes an appearance throughout Christianity, with even one of Jesus’ miracles being to turn water into wine. It is used in the Eucharist of both Catholic and Protestant religions. The ancient Greeks had the god Dionysus, the god of wine and with it, of both madness and ecstasy. Of the major world religions today, only the Islamic ones specifically forbid wine.

While we assume that glass bottles of wine is the preferred standard, glass bottles only came into use after the 18th century. Before this time, wine was traditionally stored and transported in bulk, usually in wooden barrels or clay casks. For individual-sized serving, it would be carried in a wineskin, usually made from leather and originally lined with resin to keep them from leaking.

The use of oak barrels is frequently touted as a contributor to the taste of wine. But actually, oak was originally used simply because oak wood was plentiful and widely used in the old world, as an all-purpose storage container. Oak wood has a tight grain which makes it leak-proof. Oak barrels also favor the aging of wine because they allow very controlled exposure to oxygen.

One of the reasons that so much fuss is made over the proper serving temperature of wine is that human taste-buds function differently at different temperatures. Sweeter tastes come through better at room temperature, while more savory tastes come through better at colder temperatures.

The world’s most influential wine critic is currently Robert J. Parker, Jr. The lawyer-turned-wine-snob is responsible for creating the 100-point wine rating system widely used today. It is said that a 100-point rating from him is enough to drive up the price of a wine. This effect has even given rise to the term “Parkerization” in the wine world, which is the tendency of many establishments to base their purchasing habits on what Parker’s review says this week.

Of the top wine-producing nations in the world, France still ranks number one at 5.3 million tonnes per year. Italy (4.7 tonnes) is second, Spain (3.6 tonnes) is third, and the United States (2.2 tonnes) is fourth. Australia is in sixth place, but very nearly tied with, of all countries, China! However Australia is the fourth largest exporter of wine and has the third largest market share.

The “French paradox” has it that the French have a diet rich in fatty foods, yet have one of the lowest rates of heart disease in the world. It is the French paradox that led to the realization that wine, which the French consume in great quantities, is beneficial to the heart.

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Temecula Wine Tasting

What type of wine goes well with a big, red juicy steak? We all know that red wine is usually considered the best candidate. In looking to choose the best red for your next meal, visiting a wine tasting will certainly help you narrow down your choices. In the city of Temecula, California, Californians and cross-country vacationers practice “taste-budding” different sorts of wine. In particular, Temecula is truly renowned for its antique stores, jazz festivals, and of course its wine festivals and tastings.

Old Town Temecula exhibits its wine tasting locally through its popular Temecula Valley vineyard. Built it 1968, winemakers Vincenzo and Audry Cilurzo decided to convert their establishment into a modern commercial vineyard dedicated to wine exporting and farming. Although it has gained recognition over the past fifty years, a minimum of twenty-five different vineyards have opened ever since its popular inception in 1968. Currently, it holds second place after the much higher production competitor from Napa Valley AVA in Northern California and the Santa Ynez Valley AVA (which was made famous in the Academy Award Winning movie Sideways).

Recently in 2007, 18 of Temecula’s 58 wines were selected to represent South California. Wine enthusiasts and wine spectators judged the five major categories of wine: Sauvignon Blanc, Viognier, Sangiovese, Syrah, and Cabernet Sauvignon and other blends of the aforementioned line-up. With these in mind, you can confidently say that Temecula is best known for its wineries because they really are everywhere. In fact, there is a very excellent opportunity for you to visit several other cities in Temecula for a more distinctive feeling of wine tasting. You can expect the details of this in another report focusing on the different locations where wine tasting is also a spectacular way of spending a lovely weekend and getting to know the locals who shop, golf, and drink there.

Since I have already implanted an idea for you in case you haven’t already checked them out yourself; some upcoming festivals are right around the corner-and they usually do involve wine tasting as well. In April and May, Cougar Winery and Miramonte Winery are hosting wine tasting events every single day in preparations for the Temecula Wine and Music Festival. The events are always accompanied by wine enthusiasts and speakers of all different states supporting the Temeculan tradition. One of California’s largest wine and music festival brings in more than fifteen different artists from Pop, Jazz, and R & B genres. Participating Temecula Wineries are Callaway, Francis Coppola, La Cereza, Stuart Cellars, Maurice Carrie, WC, Keyways, Yellow Tail, Wiens Family Cellars, The Briar Rose Winery, and the Temecula Valley and Resort. So set up your calendar and make sure you get yourself decked out in comfortable clothes and put on your wine tasting cap and relax in a soothing atmosphere where wine meets man at one of the most popular wine regions in the county, Temecula, California.

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Cuisinart Wine Cellar

How do you measure the quality of a wine? Obviously it’s taste and flavor of the liqueur. Taste and flavor can be increased outstandingly by storing and aging liquor in a fresh and ideal storing place. Maintaining ideal maturity with aging that makes the taste and flavor superior, is not that easy. It needs special attention and care to do so. Wine lovers know it and they use different cooling cabinets to maintain right temperature and humidity to their preserved wine collection.

Cuisinart CWC-600 Private Reserve 6-Bottle Stainless-Steel Counter top Wine Cellar is such an wine storage device. Specially to those who want to keep their wine storage small, very private and special.

Measuring 21.5 x 11 x 16 inches and weighing 28.5 pounds when shipping, Cuisinart Wine Cellar like any other wine coolers, comes with temperature control panel. Glass covered front door of stain less steel body of Cuisinart Wine Cellar is shielded from entering Ultra Violate rays from natural light, which prevents forming mold to the storing wines by natural light.

Unlike refrigerators which use compressor, Cuisinart Wine Cellar uses thermoelectric cooling system, which is propositionally continuous. What that means is that its cooling fan will be off and on automatically depending outside and inside temperature. This system always electronically moving heat from the inside of the unit to a heat sink on the outside. The amount of heat moved depends on the interior temperature, the exterior temperature, and a voltage setting (you set the voltage when you select the temperature on the control panel). Unlike refrigeration this system consumes much less power.

It could be little bit noisy when the cooling fan is on but if you want to trade it for much lower electricity bill, then Cuisinart Wine Cellar will be your right choice. You can also deal with that occasional fan noise by placing the unit to already noisy area like kitchen or any remote part of your house.

Wine- and the Healthiest Wines

Wine is very good for our health. But are they the same impact? What is the healthiest wine? We can list many kinds of wine, such as Ports, Tables, Red, Whites, Rose’s, Fume’s, Ice…This article will give you much information about wines.

Well let’s start with the obvious. Any wine you drink too much of is not going to help you. One glass per day is recommended for men and no more than 3 per week for women. (Women can’t digest alcohols as well as men. I’m not making this stuff up, Dr. Nancy Snyderman actually reported this on the Today Show recently). Any more than that and the alcohol content is linked to cancer, obesity and other health problems.

So, answer 1 – the healthiest is the one you enjoy drinking in moderation.

Let’s move on to the different types. Red’s rule the health roost. White’s don’t use the healthy grape skins in the fermentation process, ice has too much sugar, Rose’s are a combo of red and white and tables/ports are pretty much reds.

So answer 2 – red wines are the healthiest choice in wine

Of the red wines, which are the healthiest? We’ve got two answers here. The first is organic wines. Organic aren’t always the best tasting but some are surely good. You’ll have to try a few to find your favorite. Organic wines are grown without pesticides and chemicals so the grapes are left to fend for themselves. Do you know what chemical grapes produce to help fight disease and fungus? You guessed it – Resveratrol!

The second category of reds are the Italian and French wines grown in the mountain regions. Because these zones are colder, the plants must battle more fungus, which means more resveratrol – which means healthier wine.

Bottom line – If you can find an organic red wine grown in the mountains of Italy or France, you’re going to live forever (well in theory). 🙂

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