Tag: Wine

Understanding How Wine is Made

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Before that lovely bottle of wine reaches your hands, there is a careful process that vineyards follow to ensure that you get the same quality bottle that you expect every time. While there are many wine varieties, they basically follow the same wine-making process. There are differences when it comes to the grapes that are being used and how long the ageing process is. This is the determinant for the many wine varieties available in the market.

 

Wine is composed only of grapes. But it is the process of wine-making that makes the grapes produce not just a glass of grape juice but a lovely bottle of wine. The process starts with the harvest of the finest grapes that is right for picking. To hasten the harvest, some vineyards opt for mechanical harvesting while there are some vineyards where there are people who pick the grapes to be used by hand. Harvest is normally done during the early hours of the morning so that the cool weather will not destroy the natural juices of the grapes when picked.

 

The harvested grapes are next de-stemmed and crushed. Using specialized machines, the grapes are crushed so its juices get released. Some vineyards crush the grapes manually instead of using machines. The pulp is separated and the juice now goes through a series of processes to finally exude that exquisite wine taste. For the next step which is fermentation, yeast is added to the juice so that when the yeasts consumes the grape juice, it will turn to alcohol and carbon dioxide, the two properties that should be present in all wine varieties and what differentiates them from other beverages including simple grape juice.

 

When alcohol and carbon dioxide has formed, the long ageing process will now take place. Some vineyards have stainless steel barrels where they store their wines for years before they can become wines that can be commercially sold. Wine experts say that wines that are aged in oak barrels have better taste and quality, and the major vineyards around the world do age their wines in oak barrels. The ageing of the wine is monitored so the proper quality can be achieved. Ageing them for longer periods than required may spoil the wine and turn them into vinegar.

 

The wines are transferred from one barrel to another over periods of time to take out any sediment that has formed so that the wine will be as clear and pure as it can possibly be. The wines are filtered as well for the very same purpose.

 

The last step is bottling the wines. Quality is checked and all the other environmental factors are controlled such as the temperature and sealing mechanisms. The corks or stainless caps that are used to seal the wine are checked as well so the wine will not be affected or contaminated by other materials.

 

Some people say that passion is also an important ingredient in making wines. And for wine experts and aficionados, they will share romance with a glass of wine no matter what variety it is.

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Tips on Proper Wine Storage

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The presence of wine in any place is synonymous to fun, life, and enjoyment. Wines are enjoyed all around the world whether as an accompaniment to a meal, or as a drink that is meant to bring out the lively spirit at a celebration. Compared to other drinks such as soda, juices, or coffee, wine is truly more sophisticated and elegant in every sense of the word.

 

It is easy to store a can of beer –  just pop it into the fridge and take it out anytime and add ice, and the quality is relatively the same for any occasion. However, storing wine is both an art and science, and there are wine cellars and wine connoisseurs that can take on the matter perfectly. For storing wines at home, here are some things that you need to know to make your wine as great tasting as it can possibly be.

 

– Store your wine in a cool and dark place. Wines, especially the ones capped with corks, should not allow oxygen to permeate inside the bottles because the oxygen can easily spoil wines. For bottles that are not dark in color, light can also penetrate the bottle and the wine’s exposure to sunlight and even fluorescent lamps will produce an unpleasant smell to it when opened.

 

– Place the wine horizontally. Lay the wines on their sides so the cork will not turn dry and any sediment will not form easily as compared to bottles placed vertically in storage.

 

– Make the wine placement as permanent as possible. Avoid changing the placement or location of the wine and avoid moving it around. When placed inside the refrigerator, place it in a steady place so you do not have to move it, or worse, take it out even momentarily to get something else. Wine is sensitive to vibration and movement and any change in temperature, even momentarily or longer, should be made as slowly as possible.

 

– Store in wine cellars or in an isolated place. It is best that wines are stored in cellars where it is dark, cool, and you can control and monitor the temperature inside. Wine cellars are already specifically for wines alone. However, if you are to store it in an alternative location, it should be stored only with other wines as well. Isolate the wines because any food articles that comes in contact with it, particularly in a place where the foods may spoil, may cause the smell to penetrate the bottle thus affecting the smell, taste, and overall quality of the wine.

 

– For half bottles of wine, cover them with a piece of sealing plastic on top. Be sure that the plastic is clung tight so the alcohol will not escape.

 

– You can open your bottle of red wine, secure the opening and keep it for the next few days where it will still maintain its quality. For white wines, consume them all immediately because white wine is not really meant to be kept after it has been opened.

Wine History – A Quick Lesson

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As crazy as this sounds and you might not believe it, but before there was wine, there were vessels to drink it from.  Yes, believe it or not, there were containers that actually held liquid before liquid gold was created.  These containers were just waiting for something to fill it that would satisfy its purpose far beyond what it could ever dream.  Enter wine.  The first wine glasses were made from many different materials from baked clay potter to gourds made of leather to goblets of silver and gold.  Animal horns were even used, especially by the Vikings.  These vessel examples were what was used when one was trying to maintain a certain level of decorum, otherwise drinking straight from larger storage container was entirely acceptable.

As far back as 50 A.D.a scientist named Pliny the Elder worked to encourage glass as a preferred container for holding wine, but this was not widely possible due to the fact that glass was as treasured a material as gold and jewels because at that time the process and ancient technology used to make glass was expensive and very difficult.  Because of this, the first version of the wine glass that consisted of a base, stem and foot dates from the 15th century.  Due to the Industrial Revolution, glass today is very easy to produce which in turn makes it affordable compared to all previous centuries.  In fact, even as late as the beginning of the 20th century glass was difficult to mass produce.  These facts make it easy to see how glass was just as precious as gold or silver a few hundred years ago.

Again, because of the Industrial Revolution, the mass production of glass suddenly made sets of wine glasses affordable to everyday blue collar working folks.  Wine glasses along with champagne flutes, tumblers and goblets were sold in sets, usually containing a dozen in each set.  Suddenly glass was the preferred material for wine vessels and this made it easy for people to covet the color and body of the wine, which is just as important as taste and indeed needed to get the full experience out of drinking wine.  With these discoveries, glass began to be shaped specifically to enhance the bouquet and body of red, white and blush wine alike.  These inventions gave a while new perspective and twist into wine drinking and enjoyment.

Shape and size of the bowl of the glass is very important to the full experience of wine enjoyment.  You should buy glasses specifically for the red and white wine and even champagne.  A lot of science has gone into the shape of each type of glass and you would greatly benefit by using the proper shape for the wine you are drinking.

A Glass Of Wine Drenched Scenic Tour Along The Red Path of Paarl, South Africa

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A Red Wine Drenched Excursion Along The Red Route of Paarl, South Africa

The red wine practice in Paarl is older than the roots of the aging Oak Trees that line its Cape Dutch roads. The first European settlers showed up at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652, growing the seeds that strengthened the Cape’s track record as a wine expanding paradise.
Now that the work has actually currently been done, what else can you and also I do but enjoy the delicate fruits pushed with decades of winemaking experience and also take a trip the recently formed paths leading us to the finest red wines worldwide.
Fail to remember the greatness of the Drakensberg Mountains, attempt to neglect the historical monuments perched loftily upon pearly hills, the sort of a glass of wine tasting to be performed in Paarl will need every ounce of your concentration.
Since we understand what we are mosting likely to be doing in Paarl, besides taking pleasure in the scenery, let’s make a trip into the winelands, diving into present day winemaking communities, discovering their intriguing features as well as tracing those lively red wines to hideaways so often missed out on by the wide range.
Along the method, if we’re fortunate, we may make the colleague of an authentic Garagiste, a class of heretic garage wine makers steered clear of in France by the old institution reactionaries due to the fact that of the stir their separately crafted white wines produce. There could be a hint along the road as to where we could uncover among those that make these “Vins de Garage”. The combination of Paarl’s ideal climate as well as their special abilities makes sure to be very fulfilling.
We begin our trip at the entryway of the Hugenot Tunnel, the breach to the longest red wine path in the globe, also called Route 62. But we go no additionally; what we are mainly interested in is the infamous Red Path … The Red Path The Red Path, as you can visualize, is called as a result of the huge amount and high quality of merlots along its relaxing meander. It was formed by a collaboration of red wine manufacturers called the Paarl Vintners (Red Wine Sellers). The Vintners faithfully outlined a red wine route for an approximated 24 participants, all discovered within the Paarl Valley. 1 or 2 of these consist of the De Zoete Inval Estate owned by the Frater family, who have actually been making wine below for greater than 115 years. The Rhebokskloof Estate has additionally been producing red wine considering that 1692. Sadly, the white wine from that very early duration has currently been consumed.
The Red Route lacks question a collection of one of the most distinguished a glass of wine manufacturers in the world. Any type of initiative made in discovering them would certainly never be a trouble to your palate. The Red Course’s Cabernet Sauvignon and also Shiraz are definitely the best worldwide.
Fairview
Not purely a wine route, the Red Course is likewise, by happy coincidence, a cheese route. Which brings us to our next quit along our trip – Fairview.
Fairview is South Africa’s largest manufacturer of speciality cheeses. For over 25 years, dairy goats have actually supplied milk for a selection of cheeses varying from Jacket Milk, Brie as well as Camembert to a wide range of Italian and French-style cheeses.
If nonetheless that is not nearly enough of a motivation to go to Fairview, a little historic run-through should offer to amplify your interest …
Fairview not just generates speciality cheeses, but additionally award-winning glass of wines. In 1693, Simon van der Stel, the 2nd governor of the Cape of Great Hope, alloted the initial land at Fairview to Steven Vervey, a French Huguenot. The very first a glass of wine was made on Fairview in 1699 and also a long custom has actually time out of mind developed. Fairview began its own bottling in 1974 and also auctioned its first bottled red wines at the really first white wine public auction ever kept in the country, pre-dating the now renowned Nederburg Auction
The Nederburg Auction.
The Public auction is Paarl’s largest a glass of wine festival and resembles the Globe Mug for winetasters. Held at the end of every summertime, the public auction epitomises what fine red wine is all about. The extremely significance of the event lies in the sampling of 147 award winning white wines, perhaps also those of the Garagistes, but you will certainly have to wait and see!
The public auction is a criteria of high quality for South African Red wines and also works as a showcase for African wines to the international trade. As a result of this, any type of label proclaiming “cost the Nederburg Auction” is related to as having a main stamp of approval, worldwide.
Excessive talk about wine is responsible to make an individual a little obsessed. It is after all only fermented grape juice. Yet Paarl makes it well as well as the Red Course is the very best area to find it.
Good a glass of wine naturally complements good food and also Paarl provides a few of the very best dining establishments in the Cape, offering a selection of foods that socialize well with a bottle of your favorite tipple.
Paarl is also a location abundant in history with its architectural marvels. They seem to represent the concrete as well as rock versions of its great white wines. Each wine estate has a special destination – a gable, an unique goat tower like the one at Fairview and even a gargoyle waiting for the flash of your camera.
Olive Sampling
Since passage vision limits the mind, lots of points can be missed along the Red Course. Take olive sampling for example. This is ending up being a significant tourist attraction on some of the estates, numerous of whom currently grow Olive Trees for the export of olive oil.
The rest is up to you. Whether you obtain down to the specifics and better details of wine tasting or expand your horizons staring over the Paarl Valley from Paarl Rock depends on which side of the passage you get on. Delight in Paarl!

Choosing The Right Type Of Red Wine

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Selecting The Right Sort Of White Wine

Red wines as we understand them are typically differentiated as either red or gewurztraminer. However, this difference is much as well streamlined considering the numerous types of red wine depending upon the grapes they were made from and also the place of the vineyard where they were expanded.

Having invested possibly numerous bucks in your newest container of vintage white wine (ah well, we can yet dream), the next crucial decision is where to keep this valued possession?

The expertise that wine can come in hundreds, perhaps hundreds of flavors, can leave you with a sensation of dread particularly when you have to buy red wine in restaurants. The standard policy is that there is no one perfect white wine since it actually depends on your own taste. A costly white wine that might taste excellent for one can taste horrible to an additional.

When ordering a glass of wine in restaurant, request the wine you personally like or have gotten familiar to the taste of. If you are the daring kind or you actually do not have an idea which glass of wines are good, after that it is always sensible to ask the aid of the waitress or the dining establishment team taking your order. It is proper to assume that the staff or steward ought to have been given directions as well as the fundamental training in white wine choice by the restaurant proprietor or supervisor. However what if the steward is equally as ignorant as their clients concerning their red wine list? What if the big decision as to which wine to order is left in your hands? Art of A Glass Of Wine Tasting.

If nobody on the personnel is experienced about white wines or can not make tips, ask the waiter to just come back as well as after that ask your companions about their preferences. Ask your eating buddies whether they choose red or gewurztraminer. The most common selections would certainly be chardonnay for gewurztraminer as this is the king of gewurztraminer, or cabernet sauvignon for red wine as this is recognized as the king of red wine. No other option could be much more secure.

Red wines profit from being maintained in dark conditions. Although this is not constantly useful, wine must definitely be kept in an area that is not revealed it to route sunlight.

If you are consuming white meat life fish or hen, it would certainly be best to get white wine. If you have actually picked red meat like pork or beef roast, then red wine lie Pinot Noir would certainly be an ideal white wine to order. Ordering wine by the container is often less costly than buying red wine by glass. There are dining establishments that offer price cuts to customers that purchase 2 or more bottles of white wine.

Whether you have a minimal spending plan, it is always smart to request for the rate of wine per container or per glass, so to have a supply expertise of their prices the following time you are charged with the exact same choice to purchase a glass of wine for the team. If cash isn’t a trouble for you, after that Dom Perignon would be a good option although this a glass of wine is higher valued than the others. There are similarly good a glass of wine sparklers like Iron Horse or Domaine Chandon which are valued fairly, relying on where you are consuming.

There are white wines that are much better when they are less than 3 years old. You can try buying gewurztraminers like Pinot Blanc or French Macon are dry gewurztraminers that command great costs and also can be eaten well with appetisers. Glass of wines are best intoxicated when they have actually been correctly cooled.

Numerous contemporary white wines do not need to be aged over a great period of time; consequently considerable cellars are frequently unnecessary. Having said this, if you have the moment, space and also resource to excavate a storage, your wine will definitely benefit. A purpose constructed cellar is not generally an alternative for most households therefore ideal choices must be explored.

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