FoodPeer - Wine & Champagne

About Wine

Thu, 10 Aug 2006 19:13:08 -0400

The Basic Wine Essentials
by Jennie Wills Whether you are serving it to your guests while entertaining, using it to create luscious dishes, or simply enjoying its' company, whatever the occasion, this libation reigns the kingdom of fine indulgence and has been doing so for centuries. The conception of wine has been dated as far back as 8000-4000BC in Mesopotamia. Having thousands of years to further perfect the wine making process, this sexy beverage is a palate pleaser like no other providing a continuous adventure for pleasure seekers in this arena where no bottle is quite like the other. Each and every wine has its' tale to tell, so indulge and listen carefully, for this libation is quite capable of taking you to places you have most likely never been before!

Organic Wine

Thu, 25 May 2006 20:32:53 -0400

Why choose organic wine?
by Debbie O'Meara What could be a better accompaniment to a meal of organic food than a glass of organic wine? Wine is one of humanity's oldest beverages. It's been used in medicine and religious rituals, and it is all over our social calendars. A lot of research has been made to study its effect on human health. Is it a coincidence that the French, who are second in the world in wine consumption, also have the second lowest occurrence of heart disease?

Selecting Wine with a Meal

Wed, 19 Apr 2006 01:06:46 -0400

Wine and Food Pairings - Which Wine to Serve with Dinner
by Jason Connors Most people love to throw dinner parties for their friends and family. But, they may avoid serving wine because they do not know exactly what to serve. Do you serve red or white with fish? Will Merlot be okay if you are serving a Mexican dish? Do not stress over it - there are some basic wine rules you can follow.

Build Your Own Wine Cellar

Tue, 11 Apr 2006 14:26:09 -0400

How To Create A Mini Wine Cellar In A Closet
by Chris Miley When you are passionate about wine you begin collecting it ... and when you begin collecting it you need a place to store it. A closet can easily be turned into a mini wine cellar to store your growing wine collection.

Learning to buy good wine

Tue, 04 Apr 2006 13:56:25 -0400

Tips On Choosing Your Next Bottle Of Wine
by Gray Rollins Tonight's the night. You've got that special dinner party with friends and you want it to be perfect. You've got the menu completed but the question is which wine will compliment the meal best? Here are some tips for choosing fine wine.

Port Wine

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:24:22 -0500

by Abhijit Dey Port Wine or Porto Wine is a Portuguese wine variety which is very sweet and fortified in texture. It is usually made in North Portugal. It is named after the city of Oporto, the main business centre of this wine. The Port wine is being produced since 15th century and is still very popular amongst the wine lovers. Outside Portugal, it is very famous in England since the Methuen Treaty of 1703, when wine traders got permission to import Port at low duty. At that time French war hindered the English wine lovers to taste the French wine and Port filled up this gap.

Food With Wine

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:21:53 -0500

by Abhijit Dey It is very important to select the best matched food with any wine; a wrong choice of food can spoil all the fun and taste of a very good wine. Generally, it is conventional that white wine should be drunk with white meat and red wine with red meat. But nowadays, no one just has meat or chips with wine. As the wine producing regions have increased in number, the taste and flavours of wine have also changed. This increases the confusion more, as wine lovers can't choose the supplementary food items with wine easily. Some wine lovers believe that any food can go with any wine, but basically we don't eat any heavy meat item with white wine. A good combination of wine and food enhances your fun and excitement more than any normal combination. Some example of good combinations of wine and food are given below: Stilton with port, foie gras with sauternes, boeuf bourguignon with Burgundian pinot noir and goat cheese with sauvignon Blanc. Before experimenting any new combination one should always consider the flavour factor. This is the only thing that can double your fun or even can spoil all the fun. Another aspect is the acidity; food with less acidity should be preferred most. Acidic wine can be found in those areas where the acidic food is prepared. It is very safe to have the local food with the same region's wine. But there are many regions where foreign wines are sold; food selection is a big problem there. Salty dishes work well with acidic wine. Sparkling wines like Californian wines or French champagne can be used to refresh the taste of fish dishes. Bubbly wines are used to drink with spicy food. Food from South East Asia (like Thai) is filled with chilly and pepper. These food items are compiled with citrus acid, so wines with acidic taste are with some flavour of sweetness. Wines with lots of fruit are mostly prescribed for this kind of food. Game birds such as quail, turkey, guinea have earthy taste which is more tasteful than chicken. These are more preferable with white wine, while the red wines should be taken with wild game birds.

Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Pinot Grigio

Mon, 27 Mar 2006 14:23:03 -0500

by Abhijit Dey Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet Sauvignon is a very popular type of red grape. It is widely used for wine production around the world. It shares the top position with Chardonnay which is a green skinned grape species. Cabernet Sauvignon is widely cultivated in almost every wine-producing regions of the world. This grape variety needs a lengthy growing season to be ripened properly but the major shortcoming of this particular grape is - it yields very low. The Cabernet Sauvignon berries have very tough skin which guards it from different diseases and wastage and provides it power to put up with the autumn rains. Due to these particular properties and excellent aroma, Cabernet Sauvignon has become world wide popular. The best growing places for Cabernet Sauvignon are in semi-arid regions, accommodating a lengthy-growing season with well-drained and not-high-fertile soils and with moderately warm climate. The best examples of Cabernet Sauvignon producing areas are Sonoma Country's Alexander Valley, wide areas of Napa Valley and Paso Robles area of Central Coast. Like any other imperial wine grape categories, Cabernet Sauvignon is also of the Vitis vinifera species. According to the genetic science, it is the resultant effect of a cross between Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc. This particular grape is used in almost every Bordeaux wines. Numerous red wines are compiled with Cabernet Sauvignon grapes, such as Red Bordeaux which is considered as world greatest red wine. Cabernet Sauvignon acquired the top place in America's popular red wines chart in early-60s. It snatched the first place from "burgundy" and till now it is the "numero uno" of American wine lover's list. The Cabernet Sauvignon grape has thick skin which results high tannin in wine. This gives the wines structure and ageability. This property with frequent aroma and a lucrative finish also tends to lack mid-palate richness and it is often mingled with less tannin, but "pulpy" taste grapes; such as Merlot and Shiraz or Syrah which are found especially in Australia. Cabernet Sauvignon deals with a wide range of aromas and flavours. This aims to the floral aspect when it not totally rips with capsicum, but when it rips - it biases to the flavour of blackcurrant. In California and Chilean cabernet, the flavours of mint or eucalyptus are found. It has a nice aroma. In the old wines it was characterised with black current, violets and spice smells. In the new world wines the flavours of chocolate, ripe jammy berries, oak are also found in addition to that old days flavours. Cabernet Sauvignon tastes lively in the mouth and is full of richness, but it is little bit acidic.

Wine Tasting - Is It Really An Art?

Tue, 14 Mar 2006 02:07:36 -0500

by Michael Russell In the last of our series on wines we're going to discuss an area that quite frankly few people know anything about. Wine tasting. Most people would probably think, what is there to tasting a wine? You take a sip, swish it around in your mouth and then swallow. Tastes either good or bad. Right?

Making Wine From Grapes

Mon, 06 Mar 2006 10:36:06 -0500

by Gregg Hall In the ordinary way, recipes for wines made entirely from grapes are not a practicable proposition. This is because grapes are merely crushed and fermented without either sugar or water being added. Provided you have enough grapes, making wines from them is the simplest winemaking of all-that is, of course, provided they are fully ripe. Small unpruned bunches often contain a lot of small undeveloped fruits between the large juicy ones and these must be removed before the bunches are crushed. The whole bunches, stalk as well, are used as these add something to the wine. The yeast forming the bloom on your grapes may be the kind that will make excellent wine, but we cannot be sure of this owing to the near-certainty that wild yeast and bacteria are present with it. As we have seen in previous chapters, we must destroy these yeasts and bacteria and add yeasts of our choice to make the wine for us.

The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia

Wed, 08 Jun 2005 19:23:11 -0400

by Darby Higgs Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

Tasting Wine

Fri, 01 Apr 2005 18:59:33 -0500

Wine Tasting Component I: Look The first step you have to undertake in wine tasting is visual.
1. Fill up the glass up to 1/3 of its volume; never fill it more than half; 2. Hold the glass by the stem. Initially you may find this too pretentious but there are good reasons for it:

Understanding Wine Grapes

Mon, 14 Mar 2005 22:18:55 -0500

by Stuart Glasure You will find that one of the easiest ways to get to know your way around wine flavors is through grape varieties. Each grape variety has specific characteristics. In some regions, one grape variety is used to make a wine; in others, winemakers blend several varieties in a single wine. To help you identify grape varieties, below is an overview of each of the major red grapes and their characteristics.

Grigio or gris, this is a great white wine

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 12:28:12 -0500

by Darby Higgs One of the most popular imported wine styles in America is Pinot grigio. Nearly all of the Pinot grigio consumed in the US comes from Italy, but as we shall see this is likely to change soon.

Tempranillo, a new red wine star in Australia

Sun, 06 Mar 2005 12:27:11 -0500

by Darby Higgs Tempranillo is the premium red wine grape variety from the Rioja region in Spain. It is now challenging Sangiovese as the up and coming star of the red varietal wine scene in Australia.