Category: Zinfandel Wine

Buy wine online

Posted on

“The soft extractive note of an aged cork being withdrawn has the true sound of a manopening his heart.” —William Samuel Benwell

Wine is a popular drink around the world,bringing joy, happiness and a hearty cheer. But wine of yester years was not the drink weknow of wine today. In those days there was no fermentation in stainless steel vats, no controlled temperatures and most definitely no technological advancements that we enjoy intoday’s production.

But then even without the modern facilities of today’s wine played an important role in those ancient times. Recent archaeological evidence suggests a thriving online wine industry in Greece as early as 4500 BC, supported by evidence of crushed grapes in the ruins. The ancient Greeks believed that wine was a gift from god Dionysus. And since corks did not exist as a wine closure the wine bottle mouths use to be coated with olive oil and sealed with pine bark. This method retarded evaporation of the wine and the olive oil prevented contamination by the air. The pine bark also lent the wine a nice fruity and piney aroma, a prized feature in many of the Australian wines of today.

It may surprise you to know that wine grapes are highly sensitive. The slightest change in the climatic conditions can spoil the grapes totally. Powerful winds can break the flowers from the wine and spoil the crop. Too much rain can cause the wine grapes to rot and too much sun can over ripen the grapes and quickly destroys the taste achieved by a long and slow ripening process. There are wines that don’t come to life until the grapes rot. For example Sauternes are a classic style of wine that can only be made when the grapes have been infected by the botrytis cinerea fungus. This infection is called the noble wine rot.

The barrels the wines are stored in, have a major impact on the taste of wines. White wine is normally stored in stainless steel vats and red wines in oak barrels. However contemporary winemaking is leaning to unoakedstyles as consumers prefer the lighter fruitier wines that are less oaked. This idea is backed up by many wine enthusiasts arguing that wine is supposed to taste like the fruit and not a tree.

Related Zinfandel Wine Articles

Wine Making

Posted on

The science of wine making is called enology. Most home wine makers are not scientists and may not be familiar with the term, but they are wine lovers that appreciate the great taste of wines. If you make wine yourself the satisfaction is especially rewarding. Making your own wine has a number of benefits. First, it is less expensive than buying wine commercially. You have control over the recipe and the ingredients that go into the wine you produce. Second, making your own wine is enjoyable, especially when you share it with friends and family.

Making wine is extraordinarily simple. Wine is made when yeast is added to grape juice or most any other kind of juice. The basic ingredients are juice, yeast, sugar and water. The yeast consumes the sugar in the juice mixture and produces carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. The carbon dioxide gas bubbles out of the juice and what is left is wine. It’s just that simple.

The question is often asked “is drinking wine healthy?” Beyond the fact that wine contains alcohol, which taking in moderation, is not considered adverse to good health. The presence of other compounds in wine, particularly red wines, promotes good health for most wine consumers. The compound poly-phenolic flavonoids, which are antioxidants, are of particular benefit in promoting good health. Chiefly found in red grape skins, the concentrations tend to be high in red wines because the skins are included in the fermentation process.

Alcohol’s health benefits favor the cardiovascular system, and dramatically reduces the risks of atherosclerotic heart attacks, ischemic strokes and limb amputations due to compromised blood supply. In addition, the antioxidants in wine modulate the blood clotting that climaxes heart attacks and strokes. They also help by inhibiting the oxidation of LDL, the bad cholesterol, to its dangerous form. Research data supports moderate consumption of wine with a longer and healthier life than that of abstainers.

However, wine is not for everyone. Certain medical conditions are worsened by the consumption of wine, so it’s vital you seek the advice of your personal physician if you are in less than good health.

How to Make Wine
The easy way is to purchase a home wine making kit that usually consists of a three to five gallon container (fermentor), hydrometer, stopper and fermentation lock, syphonhose, sterilizer and reference book. The ingredients (grape juice, sugar, and yeast) are usually sold separately. There are many different types of kits to choose from or you can obtain the items separately from local resources. Typically a four or five gallon water container serves very well as a fermentor.

Any fruit juice may be used to make wine. The basic fruit must be mashed or liquefied to release the active ingredients in the fruit. This can be done with a small fruit press or even a kitchen blender. My basic recipe is as follows:

• 4 gallons of red grape juice
• Approximately 4 pounds of sugar. The amount of sugar is determined by the specific gravity of the mixture. I usually shoot for a specific gravity reading of 0.9960 of the mixture before fermentation. Determining the specific gravity at start will determine the alcohol content at finish. The amount of sugar also determines if the finished wine will be dry or sweat. Carefully read your hydrometer as each hydrometer is different. You should consult the booklet that comes with the hydrometer for correct use.
• Approximately one gallon of water to dissolve the sugar
• One half teaspoon of baker’s instant yeast dissolved (activated) in water.
• Stir the mixture and install the fermentation lock. I use a cork with a quarter inch plastic hose that ends in a small bottle of water. This trap is necessary to prevent the atmosphere from contaminating the mixture.
• Place the fermentation container in an environment that is between 70 and 80 degree. Fermentation (bubbling) will start almost immediately.
• Fermentation will end (bubbling stops) in about 21 days at which time drain the contents less the sediment into another container using a siphon hose. This is called racking.
• Let set for three to six months and bottle

This is a basic recipe that can be altered by experience and personal preference.
Happy wine making.

How to Enjoy Wine

Posted on

The question may seem absurd to some! You just drink it. Well, yes that the basic idea of course. You find a wine you like and then drink it, but let’s delve a little deeper.

First of all, what makes a good wine, a wine you’ll be more likely to enjoy? It’s very simple: it you like it, it’s good. If you love it, it’s great. Wine is about enjoyment. Scrap notions of imagine or popularity or other nonsense. And although prices of the world’s most famous wines like Chateau Latour and Lafite have skyrocketed out of range of all but the rich, the availability of really good enjoyable wine for under 10 or 20 dollars a bottle has also skyrocketed!

If you try a wine and don’t enjoy it at first, don’t give up yet. It may need some time to breathe, to loosen up since the bottle was open. Many bottles may soften and blossom with a little time in your glass. Also a wine may taste totally different when you have it with food, and yes, often much better.

Keep in mind that occasional bottles of wine may be “off” or bad.” If it tastes bad, the bottle may be bad. Wine doesn’t like hot weather so it may have been literally cooked during shipment or storage or it may have been contaminated by the cork.

When I first open a bottle and pour a glass, I usually first look at it in the glass, then smell it, and have a taste. Good wine looks good, smells good, and taste good. Don’t be surprised if the tastes are unexpected or surprising, only pay attention to whether you enjoy the wine or not. Sometimes it may take a glass or two to be sure, especially with the myriad of wine tastes and aromas that are out there, ranging from earth and dirt to fruit to minerals and everything in between.

It’s simple to find wine you enjoy. Feel free to experiment with different wines as well as drinking them with different foods. There are no rules. Just open a bottle and enjoy.

Related Zinfandel Wine Articles

South African Wine

Posted on

Since the 1990s the production and popularity of South African Wine started to grown, this is due mainly to the end of the apartheid. From this many winemakers begin to indulge into their wine making exploring new ideas and technologies that they had never tried before, to rapidly speed up their developments of wine production. They also began to exchange ideas with other wine makers from around the world as before this time they had only exchanged through post, and now other winemakers from around the world where being flown into South Africa to share their knowledge on viticulture and winemaking. All these factors have helped the South African Wine industry bloom in the last 20 years.


The South African wine regions are mainly situated around the coast exposed to the Atlantic and Indian Ocean at the South tip of Africa. Because of this exposure to the sea the major wine regions have a Mediterranean climate, which mean that the vineyards are exposed to hot sunlight during the day, with a cooler temperature in the evening created by the cool sea breezes. Also the main ocean current brings cool breezes from the Antarctica, to help cool South Africa’s hot days.


South Africa’s most popular red wines are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Pinotage, and South Africa’s most popular whites are Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, and Chardonnay.


South African Wine has many wine growing regions, some of the most popular are


Constantia was the first place where vineyards in South Africa where planted. Because of this regions shape it is exposed to the sea on both sides, experiencing cool breezes, which cool down its days and nights, to create a slow and ripening period for the vineyards. Sauvignon Blanc is famous here.


Stellenbosch is a popular tourist destination for wine lovers, with many wine trails and vineyards with included accommodation for a tourist to visit. Here the second vineyards were planted in South Africa. This area is exposed to the nearby coast which brings in a cool sea breeze, keeping the summer temperature steady. Here African red wines are grown in the east and white wines in the west, where they are nearer to the cool breeze from the coast.


Paarl can be hot, meaning that the best vineyards are grown on the higher altitudes. Two popular areas here are The Franschhoek Valley and Wellington. Paarl is mainly linked to white wine, but with the hot summers and steep slopes, red wines popularity is rising.


Robertson is known for its Chardonnay and Shiraz, along with other South African Whites. Robertson is a hot region located in the Valley, where the river gives life to the area.


Walker Bay is known for its cool climate as it is close to the coast and constantly exposed to the ocean breeze. Chardonnay and Pinot Noire are famous here.


Elgin is up and coming in wine production. It’s a great fruit growing place, and its climate is ideal for cool climate growing wines.

Find More Zinfandel Wine Articles

Spanish Wines (Rioja Wines)

Posted on

Spain stands out as the third largest producer of wine after France and Italy. The Northeastern part of Spain that is the Rioja Region produces one of the best Spanish wines. This is divided into three geographical zones that happen to be Rioja Alta, Rioja Baja, and Rioja Alavesa. Each zone has its own unique flavor of grapes. The climate and quality in the soil in each of these three subzones influences the category and also the character of its grapes. Rioja wine is made with a blend of grapes from different subzones. Tempranillo grapes are the commonest form of grapes which are made with Rioja wines.

This is what gives its distinguishable flavor.  Tempranillo grapes are combined with Grenache grapes or Mazeulo grapes. Grenache doesn’t have that fruity taste and its alcohol content is higher. Rioja Wines are available in three classifications and they are the Crianza, Reserva and the Gran Reserva. Crianza is probably the most affordable one and is viewed as table wine. What they typically do is age this for only a year inside the oak barrel and another year in the bottle. You could get this for five or ten US dollars. Now, let us talk about Reserva. This is aged at least one year inside the barrel and two years inside the bottle.  This will amount to around eleven to fifteen US dollars. Aging for the Gran Reserva is completed with all the wine staying in the barrel for two years then in the bottle for 3 years.

This generally is a bit pricey. Unfortunately the Gran Reserva is not offered every year. It is much better that you retain several bottles for special occasions. Rioja wine is often the Spanish version of the Italian Chianti. This sort of wine is best-known for its unique flavor. Now, the Rioja wine is considered one of the most well-liked wines in the world.

Featured wine

popular posts