Archive for the ‘Wine’ Category

Famous Italian Wines

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 08:39 Written by admin Tuesday, 19 January 2010 08:39

As we all know that Italy is famous for many things, but perhaps it is most famous for its wine. The wines of Italy are almost as varied as the people themselves. Wine is very common in Italy, as are tea and coffee in other parts of the world. There are many different types of wine. The two most distinct classifications are red wine and white wine. There is a lot more to that than meets the eye when it comes to fine wine though. There are table wines, after dinner wines, lighter wine to be enjoyed during the day, the types of wine, whether white wine or red wine, are almost endless.

Italian wines are usually ranked among the best wines in the world. The demand for Italian wines is so high that this small country produces around 8 billion bottles of wine each year. But the growing number has not resulted in deterioration in quality, as most Italian wine producers are known for their strict quality control.

The history of Italian wine dates back around four thousand years. Perhaps, what has helped Italian wine stay ahead of its competitors is the fact that Italy has more local grape varieties than any other country on earth. Italian wine is considered unique due to rich blend of diverse wine cultures that exist in various wine regions in the country. There are certain general qualities of Italian wine which make it stand out in the crowded wine market.

A number of grape varieties that do not grow in other parts of the world are grown in Italy. These varieties are used for producing wines which have unmatched taste. Italian wines are available in a wide range of prices. Some of them are very expensive, but many of them are easily affordable. A number of Italian wine stores sell these wines online. Most popular department stores also sell Italian wine bottles from different parts of the world. It is better to buy Italian wine from an authorized store, as many ordinary wines are also sold as “Italian wine” in the market.

These are some of my personal favorite wine and food pairings for French and Italian wines:

Beef = Amarone,

Cheese = Beaujolais,

Chicken = Chardonnay,

Cold Meats = Tavel,

Chile = Grumello,

Chinese Food = Soave,

Clams and Oysters = Champagne,

Duck = Pouilly-Fume,

Fish = Muscadet,

Ham = Pinot Grigio,

Lamb = Saint-Emilion,

Ossco Bucco = Barbaresco,

Pate = Saint-Veran,

Pheasant = Vino Nobile di Montepulciano,

Pork = Pouilly-Fuisse,

Red Sauce = Chianti,

White Sauce = Pinot Grigio,

Sauerbraten = Riesling,

Shell Fish = Gavi,

Steak = Gattinara,

Stew = Barolo,

Veal = Soave, and

Venison = Pomerol

In the end, it is really a matter of personal preference and what suits your palate. If your restaurant does not have these particular recommendations in their wine cellar, you can always ask the sommelier to recommend something comparable.

These suggestions should enable you to at least buy or order to the proper wine to accompany dinner. Of course, there is a lot more to know about ordering wine, wine tasting, wine production, and wine conversation.

Tags: Famous, Italian, Wines | Posted under Wine | No Comments

I Love French Wine and Food – an Alsace Riesling

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 07:41 Written by admin Tuesday, 19 January 2010 07:41

If you are looking for fine French wine and food, consider the Alsace region of northeastern France. You may find a bargain, and I hope that you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Riesling wine tasted with several meals and paired with imported cheeses.

Alsace ranks tenth out of the eleven French winemaking regions in terms of its acreage devoted vineyards. But don’t let the statistics mislead you; little Alsace is a major producer of quality French wine. Its wine growing area is barely 60 miles (100 kilometers) long, and at most 2.5 miles (4 kilometers) wide tucked between the Vosges Mountains to the west and the Rhine River and Germany to the east. But this relatively tiny area is famous for its distinctive wines. Alsatian wine bottles are also distinctive; tall and thin with labels that feature the grape variety, not the usual practice in France. Chaptalization (adding sugar to the fermenting grape mixture) is allowed for many wine categories.

About 95% of Alsace wine is white. The major white grape varieties are Gewurztraminer, Muscat, Pinot Gris, and Riesling, reviewed below. Its secondary white grape varieties include Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, and Muscat. The major red grape variety is Pinot Noir, which we review in a companion article in this series.

The beautiful Vosges mountains are located in eastern France near the Rhine River and Black Forest of western Germany. They are largely composed of granite and red sandstone. Their highest point is the Grand Ballon (also known as Ballon de Guebwiller) whose elevation is about 4600 feet (slightly more than 1424 meters). The vineyards of its eastern slopes have an elevation of up to 1300 feet (400 meters).

The Vosges mountains are ideal for tourists. Attractions include beautiful forests, several castles in ruins, and health resorts. If you are so inclined you can hike their usually gentle slopes and are never far from vineyards and restaurants serving delicious foods and local wines. After all, you are on the Alsace Wine Route, at least for the eastern slopes. Don’t forget the winter skiing. The southern Vosges, near the village of Bussang, boasts a beautiful fountain exploiting a spring that originates in the Moselle River. I hope you don’t mind that this particular area is just over the border in Lorraine.

Before reviewing the Alsatian wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are a few suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Schniederspaetle (Onion Ravioli). For your second course savor Brochet d’I a la creme (Pike in White Wine and Cream Sauce). And for dessert indulge yourself with Strudel aux Pommes (Apple Strudel).

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

Wine Reviewed Hattstatty Hatschbourg Riesling 2003 12.5% alcohol about $21.00

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. This wine won a Gold Medal at the 2006 Concours Riesling du Monde. Established in 1998, the Concours Riesling du Monde (Rieslings of the World) competition takes place every year in Strasbourg, Alsace. Rieslings from throughout the world are submitted to an international jury of oenologists and wine critics. This hugely respected competition illustrates the diversity and brilliance of fine Riesling from around the world. And now for the review.

My first meal consisted of chicken barbecued in a home made sweet and sour Thai sauce with Portabello mushrooms and red pepper. The wine was fruity, nice and complex. It was quite a good match and I knew that this would be a quality wine.

The next shot was a commercially barbecued chicken leg (not nearly as tasty as my own barbecued chicken) with its skin in a paprika sauce accompanied by Turkish salad, and Greek olives. I started by sipping the wine alone, as I was afraid that I might have lost the bottle because the wine sat in the fridge for quite some time. No problem. This Riesling wine was fine with an appely taste but in the positive sense. The food pairing made the wine even better. It was quite long and powerful and yet delicate. While I liked the Greek olives and I liked the wine, I did not enjoy the two together. The Riesling’s acidity became more intense when pair with a moderately spicy Turkish salad. I finished the glass with some overripe cherries. This time the wine went flat, especially with the sweet ones.

The final meal was an omelet with a local Provolone cheese and a side of Turkish salad. The wine was nice and crisp. I tasted a touch of lime. As dessert I had a high-quality chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar. The ice cream bar was fine but it did flatten the wine somewhat.

My first cheese was a nutty, fatty, and slightly sour Dutch Edam cheese. My Edam cheese was well beyond edible by humans, although the spores looked like they were having a real feast. Anyway, in the presence of this Dutch Edam the Riesling was round and fruity, with pleasant acidity. In the presence of an Italian Friulano cheese the wine became sour and flatter.

Final verdict. Great wine, I will buy it again and watch my pairings more closely. This wine should be served with the right gourmet meal.

Tags: Alsace, Food, French, Love, Riesling, Wine | Posted under Wine | No Comments

I Love German Wine and Food – a Riesling From the Mosel

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 06:39 Written by admin Tuesday, 19 January 2010 06:39

If you hankering for fine German wine and food, why not consider the Mosel region of central western Germany on the border of Luxembourg? While I can’t guarantee that you’ll find a bargain, I know you’ll have fun on this fact-filled wine education tour in which we review a local white Riesling tasted with several meals and paired with imported cheeses.

The Mosel Valley has long been considered one of the most beautiful river valleys in the world. This region, formerly known as Mosel-Saar-Ruwer in honor of its three rivers, is proud of its Riesling wine. Some of the greatest Rieslings in Germany and in fact in the entire world come from the Mosel Valley. Experts can often identify Mosel Rieslings because of the slate in the local soil, which may impart a taste of flint. Mosel vineyard slopes are among the steepest in the wine-producing world, sometimes attaining 70 degrees. The soil is so precious that every spring local workers lug pails of soil up these slopes. This arduous activity temporarily reverses the effect of the rains that wash the soil down every winter.

Mosel is fifth among the thirteen German wine regions with respect to both vineyard acreage and total wine production. Slightly more than three quarters of the wine produced here is QbA and somewhat less than one quarter is higher quality QmP wine. Only one percent is table wine. More than half of all Mosel wine is Riesling. The German hybrid Mueller-Thurgau represents about 20% of the wine production. In third place is the historic variety Elbing that dates back to Roman times and is the major grape variety in the neighboring country of Luxembourg. Only about 2% of Mosel wine is red.

Basically the Mosel Valley runs from Koblenz not far from Germany’s former capital Bonn to the city of Trier that sits very close to the border. These two cities are linked by the Mosel Weinstrasse (Mosel Wine Road) which is about 140 miles (224 kilometers) long on the eastern side of the river and somewhat less on the western side. Of course, you could take the autobahn to get between Koblenz and Trier at breakneck speed. If you do, you’ll miss the interesting little towns and vineyards along the way.

Bernkastel-Kues is a town of about eight thousand that sits astride the Mosel River with Bernkastel on the east bank and Kues on the west bank. Bernkastel is about seven hundred years old but the area itself was first inhabited thousands of years ago. Bernkastel’s medieval town square is lovely with numerous half-timbered houses, some of which were built in the Fifteenth Century. St. Michaelsbrunnen (St. Michael’s Fountain) is right on the square and other historic fountains are nearby. Make sure to see the ruins of Burgruine Landshut (Castle of Landshut) for an excellent view of the city and surrounding vineyards. The first weekend of September marks the annual Weinfest der Mittelmosel (Wine Festival of the Middle Moselle River Valley) that includes a festive procession and a great fireworks display.

Bernkastel is home to the Bernkasteler Doctor vineyard producing one of Germany’s most expensive wines. According to popular legend a Fourteenth Century Archbishop of Trier was too sick to be helped by traditional medicine. He tasted some of the local wine, recovered, and said, “The best doctor grows in this vineyard in Bernkastel.” Due to questionable changes in German wine laws wine bottles labeled Bernkasteler Doctor may now be made by thirteen producers instead of three as previously. Let the buyer beware.

Kues was home to the Fifteenth Century theologian and philosopher Nikolaus Casanus, founder of the St.-Nikolaus-Hospital that operates a wine estate and the Mosel-Weinmuseum (Mosel Wine Museum). The museum’s library is open for tours and its wine cellar is open for tastings. Several local winemakers hold Tage der offenen Weinkeller (Open wine cellar days) in which they present and sell their wine in their own wine cellars.

Before we review the Mosel wine and imported cheeses that we were lucky enough to purchase at a local wine store and a local Italian food store, here are some suggestions of what to eat with indigenous wines when touring this beautiful region. Start with Gaensestopfleher (Foie Gras). For your second course enjoy Entenbrust an Brombeerjus (Duck Breast in Blackberry Juice). And for dessert indulge yourself with Schokoladencreme (Chocolate Mousse).

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

Wine Reviewed St. Urbans-Hof Riesling Kabinett 2005 8.6% alcohol about $20.00

Let’s start by quoting the marketing materials. The 2005 Piesporter Goldtroepfchen Riesling Kabinett – still manages to show true Kabinett delicacy on the palate, which Weis attributes in part to earlier harvest and frankly in part to this site’s compatibility with higher yields. Skin contact and minimal clarification in the cellar help compensate for any danger of dilution. (Lower-yielding parcels nowadays must result in Spaetlese or Auslese.) Pineapple, grapefruit, black currant, and Golden Delicious apple dominate the proceedings, suffused with an aura of smoky, crushed stone, and mouthwatering acidity. This is once again a ‘little’ Mosel archetype and a terrific value … And now for the review.

Before the meal I thought to taste this wine on its own. It was delicately acidic and palate cleansing with light bubbles. Then I started with sweet and sour purchased barbecued chicken wings. The wine was fine with light acidity. Now I was ready to begin, so to speak. My initial pairing involved a commercial barbecued chicken leg with the paprika-coated skin, potatoes roasted in chicken fat, and some disappointing pickle slices. The wine’s fruit intensified to meet the chicken’s fat. This Riesling was quite round when dealing with the melt-in-your-mouth potatoes.

The next meal was an omelet with a local Provolone cheese and Turkish salad. The wine was round, thick, and pleasantly sweet. The word feathery came to mind. It sort of floated especially after the Turkish salad. Then I savored a high-quality, chocolate-coated vanilla ice cream bar. The wine retained its acidity; it was almost a good match.

The final meal was more of a snack. I ate some packaged Texas corn fritters with generous dollops of 14% sour cream. The wine was bold, sweet, and pleasantly acidic but frankly wasted on such plebian fare. I did finish the bottle with home made barbecued chicken to which the wine did honor. Even though the barbecue sauce wasn’t sweet the combination was excellent.

The initial cheese pairing was with a Dutch Edam that was nutty, a bit fatty, and somewhat sour. The Riesling’s sweetness seemed to step up a notch and it displayed tingling acidity. It’s been a long time since I enjoyed a wine and cheese pairing this much. Then I went to a mild-tasting Italian Friulano. The wine was acidic with sugar in the background.

Final verdict. This Riesling is a winner. I wouldn’t hesitate to pair it with a top of the line German poultry dish, the kind that you pay big bucks for over there. At 8.9% this is one of the least alcoholic wines that I have tasted in a long, long time. And you know what, I didn’t miss it a bit.

Tags: Food, From, German, Love, Mosel, Riesling, Wine | Posted under Wine | No Comments

The Correct Order of Tasting Wine in a Wine Tasting Event

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 05:39 Written by admin Tuesday, 19 January 2010 05:39

The one thing that you shouldn’t do when you’re tasting wine is to taint your sense of smell and taste by smoking before or during your tasting, or eating anything before or during your tasting. This is one sure fire way to dull your taste buds and to mangle up your wine tasting. And for certain if you’re near any other wine tasters, they won’t like if you smoke anywhere near them.

Quite a few people advocate tasting wine blindly. This means that you taste the wine without looking at its label. This will save you initial prejudice or favoritism you might feel towards that particular wine if you know details about it. And if you’re tasting wine more than once, or a number of different reds and whites, then ideally you should take things in a light to dense order. In other words, taste the lighter wines first, then move on to the heavier wines.

If you don’t know the difference yourself, then use your judgment as far as possible by using your sense of smell and your sight first. There are more often than not, distinct qualities for the different wines and these can be told most of the time by sight and smell alone.

For instance, sweet heavy wines will be thicker and leave streaks on the sides of glass when it it’s swirled, these are generally referred to as the legs on a wine. And once upon a time, the amount of these legs was used as a determinant for the quality of a wine, i.e. the greater the amount of legs on a glass that better quality the wine was.

In reality that’s not the case however, and the days of determining the quality of a wine in that method are long since gone. The legs of the wine can however, help you to determine whether the wine is a heavy or one or not, as these tend to leave the most number of legs on a glass.

Like I said the order of tasting wine should be from light to dark, or from white to red. But before you start off with your white wines you might want to take a look at your sparkling wines first.

Since I threw that in merely to confuse you, I shall also now take you out of that confusion, by giving you the correct descending order for tasting wine. In other words start from the top and make your way through the wines in an orderly fashion! So, start with the sparkling wines like champagne first, then go on to the light white wines, and next on to the heavy white wines. Take a trip to the rosés after that, and then move on to the light red wines.

Next, head on over to the heavy red wines before making a stop at the sweet wines section. One last thing about tasting wine, you should be aware of. At formal tasting wine events where there will almost definitely be more than one wine to taste, the tasters will be in the habit of spitting out their small mouthful of wine into a provided receptacle.

This will generally be in the form of a spittoon filled with sawdust. The sawdust is added to soak up the wine and prevent the wine splashing back.

The spittoon is provided so that the wine tasters don’t become drunk on the amounts of wine they are tasting.

Most likely at a tasting wine event, you will also be presented with water in which to rinse out your mouth after tasting wine, which you again spit out, or unsalted crackers or French bread with which to soak up the wine.

Tags: correct, Event, Order, Tasting, Wine | Posted under Wine | No Comments

Wine Accessories and Things That you Can Get for your Wines

Last Updated on Tuesday, 19 January 2010 04:38 Written by admin Tuesday, 19 January 2010 04:38

It doesn’t really matter whether you’re a true wine connoisseur or not. One of the best things about wine is all the wine accessories and things that you can get for your wines. And since I love this part almost as much as I love the wines and the tasting, I thought that you might enjoy it too. So, with that in mind I’ve listed a few items which you can find to complement your growing interest in wines.

Some of these wine accessories are essential, like a good corkscrew, but the others you’ll probably get just for the fun of it. They’re in no particular order and even if you have no intention of getting any of these (except the corkscrew of course!), and you do actually manage to restrain your buying impulses, it’s fun to read through the list to see what’s available.

Corkscrew; Essential if you’re to open your bottles of wine. Comes in many shapes and designs.

Wine Rack; There’s more than one way to store your wine, and a wine rack is one of the best ways to do this.

Wine Decanter; This glass decanter allows the wine to aerate before drinking it.

Wine Glasses; These too, are an essential item in your wine drinking efforts. The effort should be made to find the correct wine glasses

Stopper; These little gadgets are the best way to stopper your wine after it’s been opened, and they also come in many different shapes and designs

Champagne Flutes; Champagne is best tasted using these specially designed champagne flutes.

Double Wall Stainless Steel Wine Cooler; Double walled stainless steel wine cooler in an elegant heavy duty, high luster collared thermal cooler. Seamless finish all around.

Double Wall Stainless Steel Wine and Champagne Cooler; This stainless steel container is semi-brushed, double walled and straight sided. This container can store either wine or champagne. It doesn’t have a collar and it is seamless.

Rapid Ice Wine Quick Chiller; This cools the wine quickly to serving temperature. You can keep your cooled wine in here for 3 hours. You slip cooling jacket over the bottle and very quickly you will have a chilled wine.

Electronic Infrared Wine Thermometer; You can use this device to find the temperature of the wine before you de-cork it. The infrared technology allows you to see the temperature of the wine in the bottle and in your glass.

Wine Aerator; This device works by letting air bubble into your wine thus cutting down the time that the wine needs to breathe. Softens wine tannins fast.

Black Leather Corkscrew Holder; A classic leather holster that is specially made to be able to carry all waiters’ sized corkscrews. It is made of pure leather and it straps onto any belt.

Corkscrew and bottle stopper; This corkscrew is made from Rosewood. You can use it to uncork a wine bottle or to seal /stop up the bottle

Waiter’s Corkscrew; You open the wine bottle by ratcheting the cork slowly out of the bottle. The process is somewhat like a car jack.

Pine Cellar Cube; This wine rack is easy to stock and it is expandable. The sturdy cubes are made from ¾ inch solid pine. There are four separate compartments for you to store your wine.

Bottle Tasting Table; This table wine rack will hold up to 110 bottles. The top surface of the wine rack serves as a table top. Here you can serve wine and other food pieces, wine glasses and other items that you will need for your wine tasting experience. This bottle tasting table is made from solid Canadian pine.

Avanti Dual Zone Mini Wine Cellar; There are separate compartments for red and white wines. You will find separate temperature controls for each section. You can store 10 bottles in the top section and 18 bottles in the bottom section. There is an interior light that lets you see what is in the mini wine cellar.

Shelf Mounted Glass Hanging Rack; This hanging glass rack can be self mounted. It will easily hold 20 glasses.

Glass Cleaning Brush; You pour a small amount of water into the glass. The brush uses the water in a swilling action to clean the glass.

Ice Bucket; Made of double walled stainless steel. This container provides a good insulation with minimum chilling temperature loss. The silicone sealing ring in the lid provides the bucket with a secure closure.

Professional Bar Glass Wash; This glass wash is made from natural ingredients like plants and salts. It doesn’t contain any solvents or harsh chemical and it is completely bio-degradable. You will not get the taste and smell of any cleansing agent with this item.

Tags: Accessories, things, Wine, Wines | Posted under Wine | No Comments

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