Tag: Wine

Wine Labels

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Generally, Wine labels are used to a certain style of a bottle wine. Notwithstanding the design abilities of the artist in question, every label is legally required to include certain information. Understanding what that information is telling you can be the key to picking a good bottle of wine and avoiding a bad one.

The first thing you are going to see is the name of the winery. There really isn’t much to it other than the creativity of the winery when it came up with a name when it first started. That being said, watch out for names that are close to something that might also be seen as a bit of a misrepresentation.

The next information to be provided should be the vintage of the wine in question. The vintage is simply a reference to the year the grapes were grown. Ah, but this doesn’t mean that 100 percent of the wine in the bottle comes from grapes grown in the year indicated. A winery in an AVA region can have 5 percent filler grapes, while a lesser appellation can have up to 15 percent. That’s rather sizeable and suggests that AVA region wineries produce higher quality wines.

The next indication on the label should be the type of wine. A label might read “Chardonnay” for instance. As with the vintage, this does not mean 100 percent of the wine in the bottle is the indicated type. Varietal wines must have 75 of the type indicated, but the percentage drops with other wine variations.

The label may next indicate a specific vineyard. Importantly, you want to look for the actual word “vineyard”. Why? This indicates that at least 95 percent of the grapes used for the wine in the bottle came from the vineyard. Wines without vineyard on the label have no such requirement and can be severely mixed.

The final bit of information you may see on the label is “contains sulfites”. This is a government required warning that must be on the label if sulfites are indeed present. Sulfites are a byproduct of the wine production process. A very small number of people can be allergic to them, but massively so. Thus the reason for the warning.

Understanding how to read wine labels is important because it allows you to grasp what you are really buying. Only then can you really choose a wine that meets your preferences.

 

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I Love Organic Wine – A South African Cabernet Sauvignon

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The Sonop Wine Farm is located in Paarl, South Africa about sixty kilometers (less than forty miles) northeast of Capetown, wine country that produces some mighty fine red wines. This organic Cabernet Sauvignon wine also has the advantage of being Fair Trade which means that the producers and workers are paid a living wage. So you can drink this wine with a clear conscience knowing that both the environment and the people involved its production have been respected. As long as we’re on the subject, make sure to enjoy this wine in moderation so that nobody is harmed. What about the wine itself?

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed

Sonop Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 13.5% alcohol about $ 12.50

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials.

Description: An excellent value, this certified-organic Cab is also one of a growing number of wines that are certified as Fair Trade. Such a certification guarantees that producers and workers are paid a living wage and that grapes are grown using environmentally conscientious practices. This medium-bodied Cab delivers cassis and typical cigar box aromas, ripe fruit flavours and fairly soft tannins. Pair it with pasta in a meat sauce. Our Quality Assurance Laboratory has determined that this wine contains 22 mg/L of free sulphur. And now for my review.

The first sips revealed a wine that was mildly sweet with soft tannins. It had good length and light acidity. The initial food pairing consisted of slow-cooked beef stew and potatoes with a side of okra in a sauce of garlic, onions, and crushed tomatoes. The wine’s intensity and fruit stepped up to the meat. The okra dish brought out the darkness of the fruit. I added green jalapeno pepper sauce to the meat and got some chocolate and tobacco.

The second pairing involved chicken and potatoes baked in a commercial honey and garlic barbecue sauce. The Cab tasted of dark fruit. It was mouth-filling and yet light. There was a tiny bit of sweetness. The lingering acidity did a good job of cutting the grease.

The final food pairing was with whole-wheat lasagna noodles baked with ground beef, peas, and tomato salsa. This lasagna had no cheese. The wine was round. It tasted of dark cherries with soft tannins and a tobacco finish. I added extra salsa (mild, not spicy) and the tobacco finish intensified. The length was good.

Two cheese pairings marked the end of the bottle. In the presence of sheep’s milk feta cheese the Cab was long and chewy. But brick cheese managed to weaken the wine somewhat.

Final verdict. This wine was quite good and the price is right. I would buy this wine again. If you want an organic wine, this is a good deal. And it’s even better when you consider that it is Fair Trade as well. Even if you aren’t interested in these factors, this Cabernet Sauvignon offers a fine wine for the price.

A Wine Lover’s Weekly Guide To $10 Wines – A Pinot Noir From South Africa

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We have reviewed several South African wines lately, and many of them have been quite successful. Pinot Noir can be a fine grape; I often am fond of it. I like its classic tastes of earth and mushrooms and the fact that it isn’t very tannic. And it’s considered food-friendly. The site where it’s made is fantastic, at the conjunction of the Pacific and the Indian ocean. It’s not only beautiful (what vineyard isn’t?) but it’s said to be a winemaker’s dream. On the down side, Pinot Noir is not usually at its best in South Africa.

OUR WINE REVIEW POLICY All wines that we taste and review are purchased at the full retail price.

Wine Reviewed Two Oceans Pinot Noir 2008 13.1% alcohol about $ 9.50 Let’s begin by quoting the marketing materials. Tasting Note : Pale ruby color with a slight hint of garnet; aromas of blueberry, cherry, and earth; dry, medium bodied, with flavors of toasty oak, and raspberry on the long smoky finish. Serving Suggestion : Serve with roast chicken or duck. And now for my review.

At the first sips the wine was almost mouth filling, with touches of earth. Its first pairing was with a ready-made chicken potpie. The wine was thick, earth tasting, and quite short but there was the taste of the underbrush. When I added zesty green jalapeno pepper sauce the Pinot Noir gained in roundness and perhaps length.

The next meal involved chicken meatballs and a barbecued chicken leg with a black bean, corn, chickpea, and pimento salad. This time the wine was almost hefty; it was fairly dark with lots of chocolate and good length.

My final meal was composed of hamburgers, green beans in a tomato sauce, and a salad described below. The wine was dark and had a slight aftertaste. There were dark cherries but no tannins. It was stronger with the green beans but the aftertaste remained. With the accompanying red, yellow, and orange plum and cherry tomatoes and basil leaves this Pinot Noir had a touch of harshness and not much flavor.

I ended the bottle with two local cheeses. With a virtually tasteless brick cheese the wine did not have much taste. So in a way, it was a balanced pairing. With a somewhat stronger yellow cheddar the wine perked up a bit and I tasted some oak.

Final verdict. I do not intend to buy this wine again. While it did manage some fairly good wine pairings it was far from consistent. And with all the inexpensive wines on the market that just isn’t good enough.

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South African Wine

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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.

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Red Wine Health Benefits

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“French Paradox” may be the reason which might have sparked the interest of numerous people in red wine, considering its health benefits. This is the reason of which we may normally find a lower rate of heart related diseases in France. As such the diet of the French people is highly rich in fats, but then this seems to be against their good health, doesn’t it! Also the French people are highly found of eating more of cheese, butter, and beef as compared to their neighbors in Europe.

But now one general question which may arise in your mind is that in spite of taking a food so high in fats, how they can keep themselves away from the heart troubles. Answer is simple. According to many researchers, their food along with a lot of fats also consisted of a reasonable amount of red wine intake as compared to the rest of Europeans, and for that matter, even Westerners. Thus, this opened many windows for the researchers to study regarding the health benefits of consuming red wine, which was the answer to the above mentioned puzzle. So after conducting several thorough research, they found out that a temperate intake of red wine (one glass in case of women, and may be two in case of men) indeed helped one to protect himself/herself against diseases related to heart, cancer, and hypertension. Also it has a constructive effect over cholesterol levels.

But again, the key to this game is “moderation”. This isn’t really a case where one is good, two better, and ten best! But then, every coin always has two faces. Hence, the medical society is very vigilant to suggest red wine routines, and for some obvious reasons. Various studies have shown that in case of women who consumed alcohol daily were prone to be the potential victims of breast cancers.

As per a report in 2004 by the American Society of Cancer, the increase in the death rate due to breast cancer was 30% high in case of women who consumed alcohol daily. But if the consumption is only at the most two drinks every day, then the risk of diseases related to heart lowers from 30% to 50%. And since heart disease is the major slayer annually in case of women, these facts and figures happen to be important. Hence, if taken in a limit, wine has an overall positive impact on the female death ratio.

Scientists have pinpointed the beneficial element in red wine which is called resveratrol. Recent studies have dubbed resveratrol as an anti-aging miracle supplement.

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