GrapevineWineWorks

Penfolds Grange continues to be the most collected wine label in the country.

One of Australia’s largest wine cellaring companies, Wine Ark reviewed three million plus bottles stored by their member base in developing the top 50 wines Australians love to keep. The most popular wine of each variety was given an award.

Traditional wine flavours such as butter or pepper may actually have more scientific metric rather than mere snobbery.

While the No.1 label may expected by many, the list provided some surprising results with lesser known wineries such as Torbreck (Barossa Valley) and Cullen (Margaret River) providing the larger wine brands some healthy competition.

Jeremy Oliver, who wirites the ever popular annual wine guide, said this shows the of the increasing maturity of Australian wine drinkers. Of particularly note was Lake’s Folly. This tiny Hunter Valley wine maker was awarded the most popular cabernet, whcih remains one of the leading wine varieties produced in the Australia.

Other category winners included Mount Mary Pinot Noir, Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, Grosset Polish Hill reisling and Tyrell’s Vat 1 semillon.

He said “There was a good mix of winners between the big companies like Foster’s, to small to medium sized and tiny,” And further stated. “I think that’s a surprise, I thought that all the category winners would be from the bigger ones. It shows how mature the market has become.”

Oliver said the range of prices from the top 50 brands surprised him, ranging from $15 to $25 for the Seppelt Chalambar Shiraz (in 32nd place) to the over $500+ of Penfolds Grange.

“Wynns Black Label Coonawarra (cabernet sauvignon) you would expect to see quite high in that list, and it was (in sixth place), and it is quite an cheap wine and you could argue quite underpriced,” he said.

“This list flies in the face of what a number of marketers think and price has been a big surprise. What people choose to store isn’t a major factor.”

Dean Taylor, Wine Ark chief executive stated that his 8,000 members ranged from serious collectors with wine collections of $1 million plus worth of wine stored to families cellaring the a single bottle of Grange upon their child’s birth..

Taylor states, cellaring of Grange has grown since its the 2006 survey, recordeding this year’s number two position while Penfolds Bin 389 Cabernet Shiraz blend was in the number 1 slot.

He said “Because the Grange is so expensive a lot of people buy it and don’t drink it”. I think that’s one of the reasons why it is the most popular because people have it in their cellar but haven’t found the opportunity to drink it.”

Oliver was surprised by this result given the numerous number of excellent shirazes available at a lower price..

“Grange costs a lot of money to put away” Oliver says. Customers are are confident about the large amounts of money they’re investing in wine as it is the particular wine they want to store. I thought maybe a Penfolds Bin 28, which you can get for a fraction of the price, would be more popular than Grange.”

Eight white wines appeared in the top 50 including Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay, Grosset Polish Hill, Petaluma Hanlin Hill Riesling, Tyrell’s Wines Vat 1 Hunter Semillon, Grosset Springvale Watervale Riesling, De Bortoli Noble One Botrytis Semillon and the Giaconda Chardonnay..

Other facts: South Australia accounted for 60 per cent of wines making the list. Shiraz was the most collected wine, with 46 per cent. The most popular producer with eight of the top 50 wines was Penfolds. The most improved was Yarra Yering’s Dry Red No 1, up 64 places.

The small towns around Mount Macedon such as Woodend or Kyneton, which are located an hour North-West of Melbourne, and you can’t fail to miss the faintly Northern European feel of the place. Perhaps it is the crisp bite of a cool Spring day, the historical streetscapes or the patches of greenery from the recent winter rains but this is a unique and beautiful landscape.

Unsurprisingly within this cool environment, which encompasses a multitude of hills and valleys, are pockets of vineyards that are creating exquisite, modern styles of Australian wine. Yet, despite the obvious potential and some brilliant wines, for many the Macedon, surprisingly, remains an unknown.

The lack of any one strong brand driving the region’s fortunes certainly doesn’t help. No big company would even consider large-scale plantings here – the challenges are just too large and the yields too low. But for those vignerons that identify the right site and then put their all into grafting a quality product, there are tremendous rewards to reap. To date, the best known wines of the Macedon have been the local pinot noirs and chardonnays from the likes of Curly Flat and Bindi, with others such as Lanes End and Paramoor also showing promise. There is an Aladdin’s cave of potential sites yet to be explored; it seems more than likely that the quality of product in the Macedon is destined to go from strength to strength over the next ten to twenty years.

Recently at the Macedon Show I was again reminded that, while pinot noir and chardonnay have driven the region’s fortunes to date, the region also has a knack of consistently turning out some of Australia’s greatest Sparkling wines. In the old days that may not have meant so much but from cool mainland regions, today lead by the Macedon, as well as Tasmania, more and more locally produced wines are really challenging the quality of fine French Champagne. The Macedon instils in its best wines a delicacy and purity of acidity that is remarkably reminiscent of fine French bubbly. It’s no surprise in that vineyards in both the Macedon and Champagne are some of the coolest. The resulting wines their much-praised elegance while keeping intact a rigid core of acidity.

At the 2009 Macedon show, two sparkling wines, in particular, really impressed, and both from the same producer. The first was the Mount William Blanc de Blanc from 2001, a sparkling chardonnay that is still remarkably fresh and vibrant for its age, with bottle aged sweet brioche complexity just starting to build in the mouth while finishing fine and long. The Mount William ‘Jorja Alexis’ Pinot Noir Rosé from 2003, is a very pretty and subtle wine with multiple layers. The red berry and subtle earthy nuances are supremely balanced into a silky package.

Valencia is an area that’s renowned for its wine production. There’s basically a lot of dry white wine exported overseas to be used in restaurants or for non-public use from this area. The reason being because Valencia’s weather, climate and soil all provide ideal conditions for wine production.

Dry white wine is a delicacy that should be served with meals and on important occasions. In Valencia, where you will find a huge quantity of great dry white wine, you can discover the area is well known for its fiestas and parties that come across the year. As such, this dry white wine actually has changed into part of masses of the people from Valencia’s way of living. This is especially true since there are a great many white grapes in Valencia that are then capable of being used to make tasty dry white wine.

Almost all of the time you’ll find a good, dry white wine will go best with white beef dishes. It will taste really good with starters like fish and chicken. You may also find a dry white wine is really good for cooking with. The reason being because the wine’s astringency will add some amazing flavoring to the food that you’re preparing in your own kitchen.

Your dry white wine must be chilled in either a refrigerator or in a bucket of ice before it is prepared for drinking. This could let you derive the most benefit from the wine’s flavours. It’s also necessary to note that you can’t store any sort of drinkable wine for over 1 or 2 years. Wine does indeed go bad, and if you have ever sampled a pitcher of old wine, you’ll agree. Now you know more about Valencia’s dry white wine, you may be warranted that you’re intending to make the right wine selections so you’ll be positioned to enjoy them absolutely.

Another strategy to get a little taste of this wine is to partake of a holiday to this area, and eat in one of Valencia’s many fine eateries where you can try the white wines available. You might also attend the Spanish Wine Holiday , which is commonly called ‘La Rioja Wine Festival,’ where you may also sample this wine. Naturally, there are also plenty of other wine fiestas held in this area across the year , as an example the ‘La Tomatina Fiesta’and the ‘Fiesta Fallas de San Jose.’ masses of opportunities abound to get a flavour of the pleasant wines of this area.

Wine lovers that find they are rather restricted with space for a proper wine cellar could go for a wine cooler refrigerator. And by going with the 2nd alternative people usually see it’s considerably more practical because the unit can be moved around from location to location easily enough.

And because the wine cooler can be moved around from place to place, this really needs to be classed as one of its main features. With that being said though, you will find disadvantages to the portable features. As a rule of thumb, wine cooler refrigerators normally hold between 6-16 wine bottles. And because this area is relatively small, the cooler is unlikely to have a plethora of temperature settings or areas. To get a fairly good idea as to the surface area these coolers take up, think along the lines of twenty by fourteen inches.

A terribly essential requirement of wine collecting is keeping the bottles out of direct sunlight. The great news though is for the reason almost all wine coolers today have some sort of tinted glass panels for the door to limit this prospect.

In combination with this, the room into which the wine collection is placed must have adequate ventilation. On top of this, it may have to go into a certain area guaranteeing that the units wire can be adequately concealed.

Portable wine cooler refrigerators that possess racks which can be taken out or moved around are exceedingly popular. However, if the racks are permanent, maintaining the wine refrigerator is bound to become a hard-wearing undertaking. These kinds of characteristics can be a tad high priced, but yet ultimately it’ll definitely end up being worthwhile.

Benefits are not just shown in the sort of racks present in the portable wine bottle chiller, but also in the style. Ensure that the wine fridge you are likely to select comes with a captivating style, to help you make an impression on your friends and family, in the event you you can expect to have visitors over to your house.

When it boils down to it, it’s irrelevant what cooler you eventually but, just make sure you analysis beforehand in order that you don’t end up with something undesirable. Acquiring opinions from an authentic purchaser or even expert in the industry may be beneficial since your odds of investing in a great acquisition selection will be higher.

A home wine tasting party is a good way to get to know various wines that are available. These types of wine tasting parties can be great events where you can invite friends over, socialize and discuss everyone’s opinion about the various wines you’ve selected. You’ll want to invest some time and choose you wines carefully – and the very large number of types of wine and the wide range in price points mean that this process can take longer than you might think.

A successful party always calls for planning, so you’ll need to think about what items you’ll need to get in advance. First, of course, know how many guests you’ll be having, so you have enough food and wine and supplies on hand. Next, one of the most critical decisions you have to make is of course which wines you want to serve, and how many bottles of each type you’ll need to be sure there’s enough to go around. You’ll also have to have enough glasses (NO plastic!), cork screws, drip rings and so on. One often overlooked but very important accessory for a great wine party is a wine cooler. Your kitchen refrigerator and ice buckets might do, but if you want to chill and keep your wine at the perfect serving temperature, you need a proper wine refrigerator. The Vinotemp 32 bottle wine cellar will fit this bill perfectly – it can chill up to 32 bottles to the perfect temperature, and it’s big enough to hold enough wine for all but the biggest home parties, but not too big to move for the occasion.

Next you need to decide on the menu (full meal or just snacks or finger food?); food is important to keep the party at the tasting level, not degrading to the drinking party level! As this home wine tasting party is meant to be a way to learn about the various wines that can be used for various meals and other occasions you should make sure that your guests are not overwhelmed with too many wines.

And since you primarily want a home wine tasting party to expand the knowledge of the wines and it’s always a good idea if everyone’s relaxed, you might want to let everyone mingle as they drink the wine. It is useful to record what might otherwise be fleeting impressions of each bottle, and to share opinions and discuss them after everyone’s done tasting. To ensure that all your guests have the opportunity to taste each type of wine (and that’s what it’s all about, after all), make sure that the bottles are kept in an obvious, easily accessible location. The Vinotemp 32 will also handle this task with ease, keeping every bottle organized, available, accessible and, of course, just the right temperature.

A home-hosted wine tasting party is one of the best places for you and your friends to discover fantastic new wines. Many people feel that half a dozen different wines are enough for a home wine tasting party, but more is also OK, if it’s in your budget and you have enough guests. These wines should be different brands and you should absolutely have some red wines and white wines. In addition you can choose to introduce a sweet wine or two for pairing with the dessert.

To make your home wine tasting party a success you will need to choose the wines and the atmosphere carefully. For instance if you have a garden and the day is sunny lay out a table and load some delicious French cheese and other finger foods that your guests can enjoy. In addition to hors d’oeuvres, you might want to have a full buffet-style meal for your guests to enjoy after they’ve had a chance to sample the various wines. If you choose to have the party outside, set up your food tables as you would for any outdoor reception and let the Vinotemp 32 bottle wine cooler take care of keeping the wine cool (perhaps even more important outside than in the house!). The unit is not really intended to be a portable, but it is small enough to be easily transported outside, and it’s still big enough to hold all the bottles your wine tasting is likely to need.

A nice touch is to provide pen and paper, or even a rating form, to allow your guests to evaluate the different wines that they sample. This is also a good practice to learn for the more formal wine tasting events that you or your guests might attend later.

There’s only now, one other thing that you need to top off a perfect home wine tasting party and that’s a relaxed evening at home with nothing more to think about than when you can do this all over again!

If you grew up in a home where beer was the drink of choice, then facing the world of wine, spirits and other beverages may seem overwhelming. In general, your lack of experience may not be a problem, but if you enter the business world, especially if you have European connections, not knowing at least the wine basics can actually hurt your reputation.

In this article we will pay attention to the most typical kinds of spirits, liqueurs and wines, that are most common in the restaurant business.

Good Wine Should Not Burn a Whole in Your Pocket

On the most basic level, wines are split into reds and whites. There are also rosés, yet these are not generally in favor nowadays so you may not see these as often. There are over 100 types of wine that are recognized by oenologists, and you, fortunately, don’t have to know them all to enjoy what you taste. Excellent wines can be found for $10 a bottle or less, and some very pricey wines may not appeal to you at all.

Light, fruity wines like Beaujolais, Reislings and Chenin Blanc are great to pair with a heavy meal. They are easy to drink and don’t add to the somnolence that follows a big repast.

Dry wines on the other hand for instance Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc and Syrah, which typically lose their sugars during the fermentation process, are suitable choices for meaty meals and spiced foods. These kinds of wines have the ability to cut through any flavors, while greatly enhancing them.

Merlots on the other hand greatly appreciate red meat, in addition to other moderately heavy foods. For Italian food, you can’t go wrong with good Chianti.

Your best bet at discovering wines you like is to order wine by the glass when you are out. Mark down what you like, and what you didn’t like, and why. Soon you will have your own list of certain wines that you enjoyed, which means that you have a quick “go to” list when you are ordering a meal.

Spirits; Serious Drinks not for mealtimes

Spirits are unsweetened, distilled alcohol drinks that have by volume 20% alcohol. This category includes whiskey, cognac, vodka and brandy, among others. Just about every culture and region has its own regional spirits, although some religions prohibit drinking entirely.

Since these spirits generally have such a strong taste linked with them that they are not conventionall served with a meal. They are generally served with appetizers or with a dessert, as they deliver a powerful punch, however if they are mixed well when a chef utilizes them, they can deliver a very intense flavor, plus a wonderful depth to a meal.

Liqueurs; Your Sweet Tooth Satisfied

Sweet, highly alcoholic and flavored with just about anything under the sun, liqueurs are really the desserts of the alcoholic family. The ones that regularly fall into this category are Amaretto, Chambord and Kahlua. They are often enjoyed when added to ice cream, desserts, plus to their own flavors.

Countless people generally enjoy them on their own, on the rocks, or with some coffee after a meal, as they supply the ideal finishing touch to any evening.

Drinking Safely

We would be remiss if we didn’t remind you that if you drink you must drink responsibly. Although this mainly includes the importance of drinking and driving, it also regards your self defense. Drinking more than you are used to will dull your senses, and awareness and anticipation are important if you want to make it home safely.

Self defense guns, for example TASERs or stun guns are effective tools to employ if you are out late at night and require personal protection. Enjoy your evening, and remember to be cautious.

If any of you are anything like myself you will have lived in various style houses over the past 20 odd years – some perhaps being apartments and townhouses, and at other times bigger family homes.

With apartment living there seems a need to make sure everything fits into place perfectly, given that space can be tight, so a wine bottle refrigerator makes a lot of sense.

Some wine fridges sit on bench tops or on an island unit as they typically might only hold 12 -16 wine bottles.

For those of you operating small guest rooms or B&B businesses, a chic looking wine fridge is more than a functional unit, it adds to the experience of being in your establishment.

The big plus however is that they are nearly always silent in operation, unlike normal fridges that have a thermostat clicking on and off throughout the day and night – that is not what you want in a bedroom or rented guest house.

What is common in a number of apartments is to have an open plan environment for the living, dining and kitchen areas that on many occasions will incorporate kitchen countertops or free standing island units as dividers.

In this position an undercounter wine cabinet is perfect for your requirements as these typically stock more wine – like several dozen bottles or so – and although they go beneath the countertop, they still look great with their stainless steel facia, smoked thermopane glass and generally classy look.

And if you are residing in a huge house, most of the time its because you are part of a big family.

There is nothing worse than keeping your family refrigerator loaded full of your wines with little space for day to day food and beverages.

That definitely is not a recipe for happy families!

In this situation I prefer to have a family refrigerator for food and keep my wine elsewhere, in most cases near to where I am entertaining guests.

Plus it means I can maintain the wine under lock and key if required.

Visiting my wine shop is now less frequent as my practice is to acquire a few extra bottles for the fridge.

The past weekend was yet another boozy one for me.  It’s got to the point now where come Saturday afternoon I feel the need for a drink and I don’t care what it is.

This Saturday I had polished off a bottle of Spanish Wine before 4pm.  The problem is I can knock back a whole bottle of wine, like it’s just a drink of water.  If the truth be told it is definitely getting a problem and I know it’s time to knock it on the head.

When I do my weekly shop on a Friday, I used to just buy one bottle of wine to enjoy over the weekend. Now I buy at least 3 bottles of wine so we can have one a night during the weekend.

Last week the supermarket had offers on Chilean wine and French wine, so I really went for it and got a couple of each.

My problem is that if its in the house I will drink it and in all honesty, I’m not fussy about what the drink is. Over Christmas we were given as presents a bottle of Baileys and a bottle of Sambuca.  Over the past few weeks, these 2 bottles have been finished.  I think the problem is that instead of using the shot glasses we use a great big wine glass!

I think the only solution is that I am going to have to stop drinking any alcohol for a while.  It’s going to be hard going, but i feel it is absolutely necessary.

I’m sure the other half will have a moan about this, but I’m sure he will understand why I am doing this.

Having said all that though, I think the ban can come into force at the weekend, so that gives me a few extra nights to finish off any alcohol still at home.   I think I still have a nice bottle of gin stored in the cupboard, so I think perhaps I will go and get a bottle of tonic to drink with this!!

Enjoyinga Napa Valley wine tasting tour is one kind of our country’s best wine experiences.  A lot of the wineries are usually open from 10am or 11 till about four or five, so schedule your Napa Valley wine tasting tour appropriately. Within summer time, it does not get dark until 8 or 9, so you can be disappointed whenever you discover the wineries have closed and you feel you have not received a chance to get to the top one on the list. It is just a short hr coming from San Francisco, to the closest Napa Valley wine tasting encounter.

Napa County has 45,000 acres of vineyards and also accounts for around 4 percent from the country’s wine production. There are over 300 wineries ranging from the little family business for the large vacation spot wineries with art galleries, chefs, and worldwide reputations. Find out the process of wine making and take advantage of the attractive vistas of rolling hills marked with wineries. Go to the historical downtown of Sonoma where you will have time for lunch, browsing, and a lot more wine-tasting chances. Shop for the perfect wine country items, grab a wine and cheese for the picnic in the vineyard.

You will not only find wine but also specific locally produced honey, olive oil as well as fruit preserves harvested in this fertile area. By going to the vineyard you not just get to check out new and familiar wines but also you can sample some of the special vintner’s reserve which can not be located anywhere else. Ask about sedan and limousine airport transfers, evening meal service, event shuttles and other unique occasions. Excellent memories are only a phone call away! Some limousines offer a special event, dinner, etc., are excellent. Some Limousine companies do special tours of wineries.

Napa Valley wine tasting tour could be customized for every individual.   Napa Valley wine tasting can be carried out all over the valley, so whether you’re in Napa, St.  Napa Valley Wine Tasting Vacations allow you to knowledge the finest any time is offering.

Napa Valley wine tasting tours are an fragrant, visual and gastronomic feast for every individual senses.

For millennia, wine has been made from only a couple of incredients. They are juice from grapes and yeast. Any fruit juice can be used, as a matter of fact, but grape juice is the most popular.

Historically wine was the drink of choice because of the sometimes poor quality of the drinking water in so many regions. Today, of course, we tend to open a bottle of fine wine at times of celebration or offer it as a welcome gift as part of a wine giftbasket.

How is wine made?

Yeast is the magical ingredient that turns grape juice into wine. Interestingly enough, there is actually wild yeast spores in the air and all that is really needed to make wine is an open container of grape juice and time. The result however, would probably not be the most palatable of beverages.

Yeast is a living organism. In wine making, the yeast feeds off the sugars. That process is called fermentation. The action of fermentation converts the sugars in the juice into alcohol with a biproduct of carbon dioxide. In contemporary times, special types of yeast have been cultured solely for their use in wine making. The particular strain of the yeast, along with other factors, determines the flavor of the wine.

Once all of the fermentable sugars have been consumed, the yeast will fall to the bottom of the container. The wine is removed from the container, leaving the yeast, and is trasferred to another container to mature while waiting to be bottled.

How does wine get its color?

You probably know that there are green grapes and black grapes and different grapes are used to make different wines. The color of the wine, however, does not directly reflect the color of the grape. In fact, grape juice is largely clear no matter the color of the original grape. The color of wine is determined by whether (and for how long) the skin is allowed to remain in the juice during the fermentation process.

What gives each wine its taste?

Even though there are very few ingredients, there are many things which influence the taste of wine. First of all, there are many varieties of grapes. Each grape variety will produce different flavors, aromas, and even textures. In addition, the soil and climate where the grapes are grown drastically affect these variables. Not only that, but the wine maker can control various things by the technique, temperature and yeast used during fermentation. Other variables such as fermenting or storing in oak barrels will also affect the taste.

It is because of all of these variables that a wine drinker can always notice a flavor difference from one wine to the next. This can make for an interesting hobby of never-ending discovery.

What is tannin?

All wines have tannin. That is the component that provides that sort of drying feeling on the tongue. It comes from the stems, seeds and skins, so red wines will have more tannin than will white wines. That accounts for the different tactile feeling between reds and whites.

Because of the brevity of this description, this has been only a tiny overview of what there is to know about wine. Hopefully, though, it has given you a few nuggets for your conversation at the next wine and cheese tasting that you attend.