How To Choose A Good Wine For Dinner

How To Choose A Good Wine For Dinner

There are 3 rules for choosing the correct dinner wine, these time honoured rules have been handed down through many generations of wine lovers and if adhered to, your dining experience will be second to none.

Rule 1: Drink what ever wine is you like the best. Now this sounds quite obvious, doesn't it? You could be shocked at how many wine drinkers get caught up in the notion that only select wines can be drunk with a select meal, this just isn't so! We all have our own wine preferences and when it comes to such wines we all know the wine we like to dine with.

Of course, if you do your research you will find various opinions and most of them will say the same thing, which certain wine goes with certain foods, but at the end of the day the choice of what wine to drink is really up to you, no matter what any review or guide says.

Rule 2: White wine with white meat or fish and red wine with red meat? Not always! For those who have some knowledge of wines will know that white wine goes with white meat and fish and red wine goes with red meat. But being stringent with the rules takes out all the joy of choosing a good wine you truly enjoy.

The pivotal point here is to have faith in your own sense's and what you consider as a good choice. Wine ought to do one of two things when you have a meal; complement or contrast. Not all fish dishes are cooked in the same manor, with this being the case then why should you only adhere to the white wines?

A good thing to do is consider the dish you are thinking about ordering or cooking, the way it is cooked, the various spices and seasonings added, then when you have considered the following choose a wine that will complement those elements or contrasts and you should end up with far more intense flavours and tastes.

Rule 3: Always read a wine label. Wines from different parts of the worlds are all different, again this sounds obvious, even the popular wines from merlots to Shiraz's and Cabernet's to zinfandels are all different in the way they are produced. A European merlot will be different from the merlot wines found in the states and Australia. A prudent move would be to really think about what you are going to order or what you have decided to cook and how it will be cooked.
In cooking there are many herbs and other things added to the dish, so the decision over what wine to have should follow this train of thought to make sure the wine will blend in well with these various flavours, if this is followed correctly then the meal should be such a memorable experience.

Apart from trying to find out where the wine was produced, it is also smart move to check out some local wineries and vineyards. On the wine label, the more abundant the information the better the wine will be. This will of course lead to one of the most deciding factors when choosing a wine, the price. The finer the wine the more expensive the wine is likely to be.

------

Wine - Wine of all categories from white wine to red wine to fortified.

Wine - White wine from many regions white wines like chardonnay and pinot grigio.

Author: mario oreilly

Wine Is An Century Old Art A Modern Day Science and A World-wide Business

Wine Is An Century Old Art, A Modern Day Science and A World-wide Business

Wine producing has been practiced in one form or another for thousands of years with pottery jars discovered in Persia (present day Iran) dating back to 5,500 BC showing evidence of grapes use in winemaking. In addition, jars from Jiahu in China dated to between 6000 and 7000 BC have also been discovered containing wine from wild grapes.

But whether we are talking about ancient or modern wine production, many of the same conditions apply and not dissimilar techniques are used because the chemistry of the humble grape is an eternal quality.

With some exceptions the grapes used for producing wine grow only only between latitudes 30-50 degrees North and 30-45 degrees South of the equator. Unlike most other crops, grapes do not need an especially fertile soil and it is interesting to note that a thinner soil usually results in a small crop but also usually produces higher quality grapes.

Ironically, soils that are rich in nitrogen and other nutrients (conditions that are usually highly beneficial for most plants) can produce grapes that are unsuitable for winemaking. Such grapes are often very good for eating, but lack the desirable amounts of minerals, acids and sugars for winemaking.

Undoubtedly, the finest wines come from soils which would be considered poor quality for other agricultural purposes. For example, the stellar wines from Bordeaux are made from grapes grown in gravelly soil, on a base of chalk or clay. The crop here is small, but the quality of the grapes is high. In this instance the pebbly earth permits good drainage, which is essential as grapevines need adequate but not excessive water, but the conditions force the roots to penetrate deep into the earth where they absorb a variety of complex minerals.

Vineyards are also most often found along river valleys, with slopes providing abundant sunshine. Vines in these cases are frequently of the European species vitis vinifera, from which various well known wines are made, such as Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot.

Viticulture, the term used for the practice of grape growing for winemaking, is one of the most complicated agricultural undertakings today. A master vintner (today, sometimes known as an oenologist), must be an expert in a wide range of subjects including fermentation, soil chemistry, climatology and various other ancient arts and modern sciences.

In addition to categorization by variety, wines are also classified by vinification methods (sparkling, still, fortified, rosé, blush), by region (Bordeaux, Burgundy, Alsace etc.), by vintage as well as by several other methods.

As soon as the grower, chemist and manufacturer have done their job, the businessman then takes over and wine today is certainly very big business. Wine sales in the United States alone run to something like 600 million gallons, representing in excess of $20 billion in consumer spending. Perhaps not surprisingly France is the world leader when it comes to exports with 22% of world export volume, with Italy coming in a close second.

At the end of the day however, no matter how big a business wine making is today, it is still very much a balance of art, science and business and winemaking is certainly not a venture to be entered into by the faint hearted.

Visit GreatWineTastings.com for the perfect wine for that wine gift basket and to find a stunning accompanying wine country gift basket

Author: Donald Saunders

Home Winemakers Are No Longer The Amateurs They Once Were

Home Winemakers Are No Longer The Amateurs They Once Were

In the days of Ancient Rome the word \\\'amateur\\\' meant \\\'lover\\\' and referred to a person who did something from a love of doing it, instead of for any monetary gain. These individuals were regarded as the finest of experts because they honed their craft motivated by mere joy for their work.

Although wine professionals continue to imbue their work with both skill and passion, amateurs, assisted by knowledge passed down over the centuries and modern technology, can often now produce similar results.

The chemistry of the fermentation process was poorly understood until the start of the last century but, even so, the basic process of fermentation has been used for over 5,000 years. Left to its own devices a wine grape will ripen happily until the skin ruptures and the juice naturally ferments by itself. Nowadays, however, this process is guided by a combination of both art and science.

Grapes are put into a press where they are turned into must which is a mixture of skin, pulp and juice. Natural yeast (which is found on the skin near the stem) and additional yeast reacts with the sugars in the juice and produces alcohol (ethanol), carbon dioxide and heat. This process will continue until either the sugars are depleted or the yeast is killed off by the reaction.

Because of the work of Pasteur and other scientists we are now able to control the process to produce precisely the result we want. For people who are not lucky enough to have a vineyard handy, wine juice concentrates can now be purchased relatively cheaply.

Simply add sugar, yeasts, acids and nutrients (to feed the yeast) to a container such as a carboy or other jug and let the mixture sit for a few days at around 75 degrees fahrenheit (24 degrees centigrade). Specific recipes are often provided with the concentrated wine juice which give specific amounts and fermentation details.

After a few days, siphon the liquid off the pulp and let it ferment at about 65 degrees fahrenheit (18 degrees centigrade) for a few weeks until gas production (bubbling) stops. Then, siphon the wine from the sediments (lees) and store the bottles on their sides at 55 degrees fahrenheit (13 degrees centigrade) for six months in the case of white wine and up to twelve months for red wine before tasting.

Of course, it sounds easier than it is but it is certainly not beyond the dedicated ability of the amateur. Today, the process is closely monitored and often adjusted daily and, thanks to cheap refractometers to measure sugar concentrations, thermometers, hydrometers, temperature controlled cabinets and various other items the job is much easier than it used to be.

Naturally things can and do go wrong as nature takes its course. Fermentation may not start, it may start and then stop for no apparent reason, the resulting wine may be too sweet or cloudy or filled with sediments. The wine may have excess pectin, too many bacteria, taste sulphurous or flat or even moldy. Crystals may form if the temperature is too low or secondary fermentation may result from keeping the wine too hot.

Nevertheless, due in no small measure to the Internet, today there are several websites which are devoted to assisting the amateur winemaker to produce wines which can rival those made by the wine masters. The only thing that it needs is a bit of practice.

Visit GreatWineTastings.com for the perfect wine for that wine gift basket and to find a stunning accompanying wine country gift basket

Author: Donald Saunders