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What Order should Wines be Served In What Orders Should Wines Be Served? In order to bring out their best qualities, wines should be presented in ascending order, from the lightest to the wine with the most body, or the softest to the strongest, from the least aromatic to the most expressive. Do not be taken in by the much-cited opinion that young wines should be served before older wines. Wine Tasting Tips Once the wine has been poured into the glass, hold the glass by its stem to avoid heating the bowl§ Look at the wine's colour - visual aspect§ Swirl the wine by rotating the glass. This oxygenates the wine§ Hold the glass up to your nose to distinguish the different aromas - smells. Finally, taste the wine - taste aspect. If you're starting to develop scratches in your primary, then it's time to think about replacing them. Scratched primaries are hard to sterilize, and poor sterilization compromises your wine. Now if you're going to replace your primaries, consider this - the latest findings show that even standard food grade plastic primaries can leach chemicals. Here at THE HOME VINTNER, we don't carry standard food grade - it's just not acceptable. We carry the highest calibre plastic available on the market today, believing that top notch equipment will bring you that one step closer to your goal - top notch wine. Inadequate Equipment Winemaking equipment - such as pails, carboys and spoons - often seems similar to items that may be around the home. However, in many cases, proper winemaking equipment and utensils are made of special materials, and this can influence your finished product. Everybody knows that corks are the things that hold the wine in the bottle - but many people don't know that the quality of the finished wine is directly related to the quality of the cork. Unfortunately, we've seen an epidemic of bad corks lately - and a bad cork will do its damage almost immediately, imparting an off taste and odour to the wine within weeks of bottling.
Re-using plastic pails from other sources, like buckets that previously held food products, is always a mistake. The food odours will have sunk into the plastic, and will taint the wine. Also, plastic items not intended for food purposes, such as brand-new garbage pails must never be used for winemaking. The pigments, UV protectants and plasticisers (chemicals used to keep the plastic from becoming brittle) will leach into the wine, and could affect your health. Your retailer will be able to direct you to equipment appropriate for winemaking. True/False - The English Invented the Corkscrew? True. At least that is the traditional supposition. 'Very early on, beer and cider were traditions in England. These sparkling drinks required compact corks that were difficult to remove without a corkscrew. The first corkscrew, used for apple juice before being used for grape juice, apparently dates from 1676. Elegant Entertaining With Wines & Cheeses If you're looking for an elegant yet simple way to entertain this holiday season - try something 'old', that's never gone out of style - a wine and cheese tasting. It's a wonderful way to sample a wide variety of wines - from soft whites and blushes, through light reds and fruited whites, to full bodied reds and ports - and to pair them with the cheeses that harmonize the best. But, where to begin? Anyone who loves wine knows the variety is almost endless - and, of course, the same can be said of cheese. So, if you're thinking about a wine and cheese party, there are a few simple guidelines to follow, to help make the whole planning process a little easier. 1. 75% of North Americans are chronically dehydrated. Carbohydrates & Winexpert Kits Carbohydrates & winexpert Kits Rest assured, Winexpert wine kits have exactly the same amount of calories and carbohydrates as commercially available wine. That means that all of the dry wines (those without F-Packs) have approximately 4 grams of carbohydrate per 5 ounce serving, and about 100 – 120 total calories. (Higher alcohol wines have higher calorie values, but the same amount of carbohydrates). F-Pack wines will have higher levels of carbohydrate due to the natural sugars in the pack, but it's not very much: for every “point” on the dryness scale, you need to add about 1 gram of carbohydrate per serving and another 10 calories. Does Beer and Wine Make You Healthier Does Beer and Wine Make You Healthier? If you needed an excuse to justify that mug of beer, or that glass of wine with dinner, or that night cap, then here's one. Research shows that alcohol, in moderation, can provide some real health benefits! Beer, for example, has no caffeine, no cholesterol, and no fat, and as long as you consume in moderation - that is, no more than 3 or 4 a day - it can provide some health benefits in terms of boosting the levels of HDL cholesterol, the good kind of cholesterol. Will Drinking Wine Make You Fat? Well, common sense tells us that drinking alcohol of any sort should lead to weight gain. After all, alcoholic beverages contain calories. But, strangely enough, that's not necessarily the case. An intersting study conducted in the United States, called "The American Nurses' Health Study", examined the height and weight, along with the eating and drinking patterns of ninety thousand women, aged between thirty and fifty five - and, oddly enough, found that those who were "light drinkers" weighted the least - and those who drank no alcohol at all, were the heaviest. Throughout their lives, many adults make the choice to drink - the vast majority of them, in very moderate and sociable amounts. But as they move into what can be considered their "elderly" years, many of those same adults are stopped by others - well meaning family members, for instance, who may think a drink is inappropriate for someone of advancing years - or the staff and management of elder care facilities who may have rules against it. But now it seems that is enforced teetotal ling may not be the very best way for seniors to live. In one study conducted in the United States, elderly residents of hospitals and nursing homes were offered small amounts of wine with their dinner or afternoon snack. The result was that as little as two ounces of wine had a positive influence on self esteem, mood and sociability. In another study, nursing home residents who were served wine showed an increase in their involvement in group activities and social events. And still another study showed that moderate wine drinkers developed a more positive outlook on life, with many of them showing improvements in both their sleeping and blood pressure patterns. Scientists have long been interested in a phenomenon that's come to be known as "The French Pardox" - that is, that in spite of a lifestyle that should give a cardiologist nightmares; smoking, eating a lot of saturated fats, and ignoring exercise - French citizens in the southwest area of the country had one of the lowest heart attack rates in the world! What has been learned, is that their consumption of certain types of red wine seem to protect them. The red wines produced in that region of France, and in several other areas of the world, contain antioxidants - substances that destroy the so-called 'damaging free radicals' that cause many illnesses. And those antioxidants are found naturally in the flavonoids - the chemicals that give the wine its special flavour and character. The flavonoid of the special interest to heart health is called "quercatin", which is found in the skins of the grapes used to make red wine. Now, no one is suggesting that you should smoke, eat a high fat diet, become a couch potato, and rely on red wine alone to avoid a heart attack. But there certainly seems to be evidence that a glass or two of red wine with dinner may work in your favour, to promote heart health. The whole subject of the aging of wines is one that can be confusing, but it's one we take very seriously here at THE HOME VINTNER. After all, when you've taken the time and the care to produce a fine wine, you want to be sure the final step is just right. Our best advice – after you've looked at the guideline chart – ASK SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT YOUR WINE! Those wine aging guideline charts you see are exactly that – they're generic guidelines – starting points. Here at THE HOME VINTNER, we know these wines inside and out – we've made them all, we've tried them all, we know their quirks – and we know how to bring out the best in each of them. So when you're deciding which to drink early, and which to age to perfection – bring that decision to THE HOME VINTNER. Our wines are like a classroom full of students we've taught for years – we know them all, and we know how to make them shine. |
