Tag: Wine

Get The Best French Red Wine In New York

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Any celebration is incomplete without a bottle of wine. So if you want to celebrate first go down to a store and pick up a bottle of the finest French Red Wine available. Why French Red Wine? Because it is often said that it is the best kinds available. Talking about French Red Wine, always remember that there are many varieties of them, so when choosing a bottle make sure you choose wisely. Here are a few steps that can help you choose a bottle of good French Red Wine:

Step 1: What is your preference?

Do you prefer it?

* Sweet or dry? Dry here refers to the absence of sweetness.

* With Low or High Tannin? This is what determines the dry and puckery feeling in the mouth following consumption.

* With Low or High Acid? The absence of this would make it taste flat and one dimensional. The exact proportion of acid enhances its taste complementing the other tastes as well.

* Light or Full Bodied? A wine’s body is directly proportional to its alcohol content. (Check on the label of the bottle for the percentage of alcohol by volume, it applies in the following way: 7.5% – 10.5% indicates light body; 10.5% – 12.5% indicates medium body; 12.5% and over indicates full body.)

* Heavy Oak or No Oak? Oaky describes the aroma or taste quality imparted by the oak barrels in which it was aged.

Step 2: Where do you buy it from?

It is important that you buy it from stores take proper care of their wine. A cellar would be a good choice.

Step3: Should you explore your options?

You should definitely explore your options, as there is a wide variety of Red Wine. So, do not stick to one type just because a merchant, friend or wine writer says a wine is good because your taste may vary.

Step4: How to get a good bargain?

It’s a good idea to purchase Red Wine by the case (12 bottles) since many stores would give you discount on a large purchase rather than just purchasing one bottle.

Before you purchase your French Red Wine, make sure the bottle is filled up to the neck, the cork is not pushing out of the bottle, and that there is no leakage. To get yourself a bottle of French Red Wine (New York) visit www.holidaywinecellar.com.

Wine Rating Systems

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A few wine ratings sites that will help you determine which wine is worth paying for. It serves as a little background information on the history of the wine rating scales.

One of the top and most widely used wine ratings system is Parkers 100 Point Scale. The scale, which was founded by Robert Parker and his friend Victor Morgenroth, rates wines from 50 – 100, 100 being, “An extraordinary wine of profound and complex character displaying all the attributes expected of a classic wine of its variety. Wines of this caliber are worth a special effort to find, purchase, and consume,” and 50 being, “A wine deemed to be unacceptable.” All wine rankings are based on the wine’s color, appearances, taste, aroma, bouquet, flavor, finish, and overall quality level or potential.

Another wine ratings scale is Wine Spectator’s 100 Point Scale. The scale was imitated from Parker’s Scale and used mostly for their magazine readers. It has the same principles as Parkers, but a little less detail in the actual rating and it’s more frank. A wine rated at 100-95 is considered a “Classic: a great wine,” and 74-50 is rated as a “Not recommended.” A score that was given a range is usually the preliminary score and is usually based on barrel tasting.

As of March 2008, the wine ratings have switched to rolling four point spreads for unfinished wines. Wine Spectator believes it will “better reflect the subtle differences between wines, and give our readers better information for their buying decisions.” A different wine ratings site is Wine Enthusiast Magazine.

They have a unique search engine that allows you to find wines based on rating, price, type, vintage, blend or varietal, region, brand, special qualifiers, publication date, reviewer, and records per page. Their wine rating system is also based on a 100 point scale with 100 being “Classic,” and 80-82 as being, “Acceptable.” They do not include any lower numbers since none of their users look for anything under 80. You have a choice to either smart search or field search on their web page for the wine of your choice. As a final point, we have our own wine ratings expert Michael Zimberg. He has an actual grading system for wines instead of a point system. He uses the school based method of grading from A-F. He believes that regardless of the cost of wine “region and rarity also play a factor. “He also grades based upon something that is fun and different to try so it may merit a higher grade. He has an exceptional sense of taste and always knows the perfect thing to drink.

Lindsay Aston is a contributing editor for Classic Wines, specializing in wine ratings.

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Fall 2010 Wine Tasting Guide To The Best Of Bc – Wines 12 To 22

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Welcome to part two of the 2010 wine tasting guide to the Best of BC wines. This article will discuss the remaining 11 wines on the list.

12) NKMip Qwam Qwmt Syrah 2007

This full bodied Syrah was aged in French and American oak barrels for 18 months, resulting in a flavour of red berry and plum, along with hints of cedar box and cracked pepper that ends with a smooth vanilla finish.
Price – $ 34.99

13) Osoyoos Larose Grand Vin 2007

Osoyoos Larose’s blend of Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec and Petit Verdot was aged in 60% new French oak and 40% one-year-old barrels. There is a strong tannin flavour with just a hint of oak. The Grand Vin 2007 will cellar well until 2015.
Price – $ 45.00

14) Painted Rock Red Icon 2007

Painted Rock’s Red Icon is a blend of 33% Cabernet Franc, 20% Petite Verdot, 16% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 15 % Malbec that was aged 18 months in new French oak barrels. One can detect ripe fruit, flecked with dried herbs and a meaty leathery note. This red can be cellared until 2013.
Price – $ 54.94

15) Painted Rock Merlot 2007

Painted Rock’s red varietal consists of 97% Merlot and 3% Malbec that was aged 18 months in new French oak, resulting in a red with hints of honey, chocolate and a distinct, yet not overbearing, barrel note.
Price – $ 39.92

17) Poplar Grove Syrah 2007

Poplar Grove’s full-bodied Syrah has noticeable hints of ripe cherry, raspberry with leather and black pepper notes.
Price – $ 29.90

18) Quails Gate Old Vine Foch 2008

Made from vines planted 45 years ago and aged in American oak barrels for 18 months, Quails Gate’s Old Vine Foch has noticeable hints of cinnamon spice, candied cherry, bitter chocolate and tobacco. This wine will cellar well until 2015.
Price – $ 24.99

19) Sandhill Small Lots Barbera 2007

Sandhill Small Lots Barbera is comprised of 91%, Barbera and 9% Sangiovese, resulting in a red with hints of black fruits and plums dusted with spice. Only 270 cases of this were produced, so get them while you can.
Price – $ 30.00

20) Sandhill Small Lots Cabernet Syrah 2007

This 50% Cabernet Sauvignon and 50% Syrah was aged in American oak for 20 months. With hints of black fruits, chocolate, spice, black pepper, cedar, black licorice and cherry cordials, this red will go fast, as there were only 420 cases produced.
Price – $ 30.00

21) Sandhill Small Lots Sangiovese 2007

Another limited edition from Sandhill, with only 430 cases being produced, is their blend of 94% Sangiovese and 6% Barbera that was aged in one year old French oak for 20 months, resulting in a red that has hints of cedar, cherry, spice and leather.
Price – $ 30.00

22) Twisted Tree 6 Vines 2008

Twisted Tree is a newcomer into the BC wine community. Their blend of 30% Malbec, 25% Merlot, 15% Petit Verdot, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Carmnre and 5% Cabernet Franc has hints of cassis and liquorice. This is yet another wine that you will have to pick-up as soon as possible as there were only 916 cases produced.

Look for part one of the Wine Tasting Guide to the Best of BC article for more tasting information on wines 1 through 11.

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Make Wine At Home Wine Making Kits

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Wine making has become steadily a fun hobby for many, in particular wine lovers. Due to ease of wine production wine making kits offer, not only an experienced wine lover but a beginner also can prepare his wine by following few simple steps. Many stores specialized in brewing wines sell kits which usually contain required wine making accessories and equipments, making the comprehensive procedure of wine making easier. Although it is considered widely that best wines can be made in big wineries only but this has become the believe of past as now if one practices the wine making procedure at home then he can gain mastery over it in a short span of time and this all can be done with home wine making equipments contained in home wine kits.

A wine kit usually comes with instructions that are to be followed in order to craft a tasty wine. But it gets imperative to make sure before get into the procedure of wine production that you have all the equipments in your kit and also the wine supplies. Here is a list of items which you need to have beforehand while going to make wine

Fresh fruits or grapes
Sugar
Fermenters or gallon bucket with lid
Winemaking recipe handbook
One glass or gallon jug
Airlocks
Hydrometer
Cleanser
Wine yeasts
Carboy
Corker

After getting assured that you have all the required items, you can start the procedure by following these simple steps mentioned below

Pressing

First step is getting juice from fruits or grapes and it can be done with the help of presser.

Adding the sugar

It is not an essential step as it can be avoided if fruits are already very sweet. Generally, the main purpose of adding the sugar is the fermentation of alcohol but naturally sweet fruits like grapes dont need the addition of sugar. It is believed that the more will be the use of the sugar, the more will be the content of alcohol once the process is finished.

Add the yeasts

Further, yeasts should be added as they convert the sugar into alcohol like fermentation.

The last but not the least steps are the fermentation and bottling or aging of wine. These are the procedures during which wine gets ready to use after leaving it for around one month at the temperature of 40 to 50 degree F.

Thus, go ahead and get started for enjoying the journey of wine making by following aforementioned steps with the help of home wine kits. For more information visit: http://www.artfulwinemaker.com

The Top Five Types Of French Red Wine

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Red wine is just perfect for any occasion. In fact, it’s a drink which completes a meal. For those who have tasted red wine would know how wonderful it feels when you roll the drink slowly in the tongue and gulp it down. Even though it is produced in many countries around the world the one that definitely tops the list is France. Along with a great culture and art, this country has been well-renowned for being the best producer of red wine and so we call it French red wine. To get the original taste of what it is visiting the country is a must! Well, don’t feel too disheartened if you can’t because you can still very well manage to get your hands on this aristocratic drink.

All those who are in search for a typical French red wine, we list down top five types of the drink for your future reference –

1.Merlot – This is one of the best types of the French red wine. They are produced in the Bordeaux region of France. Most of the French Merlot comes from this area. This wine can be really well paired with pastas, dark meat and fish.

2.Syrah – Syrah is another type of well renowned French red wine and is mainly produced in the Rhone region. This drink has got a strong fruit taste, something like blackberry and currants. It comes with a purplish color and has a wonderful shelf-life. This particular drink is a great match with grilled Indian meals.

3.Pinot Noir – This too along with merlot can be considered to be one of the best French red wines. It comes from the region of Burgundy. This drink is produced from grapes of the same name. Being a dry type, Pinot Noir is robust in flavor. This too can be matched with meals like pasta, fish and meat.
4.Malbec – This type has originated from South West France. It is said that Malbec is named after a Hungarian peasant who had first spread the grape type in France. Its rich taste makes this wine a much sought after amongst people all around the world. The wine comes in an inky dark color.

To experience true taste and aroma of wine, try out the above kinds of French Red Wine.

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