Homemade wine recipes have been around for several years. In fact, for hundreds of years, people have come up with different types of homemade wine recipes. Wine making techniques improved over the years, and many of the recipes have evolved along with the changes in the past.
This has given birth to different possibilities in the wine making process. These recipes changed over the years, with people adding or taking out certain steps or ingredients. With these homemade wine recipes you can explore almost everything under the sun.
This attitude has given birth to all kinds of variations in homemade wine recipes by utilizing different ingredients. In order to easily discover a new variation, use any of the recipes you already have only as a guide.
If you think of recipes as guides and you measure the variables you can, you will naturally find yourself adjusting ingredients to fit your circumstances.
A simple variation to your recipes that will yield a significant difference is by using alternative choices in grapes. These are a welcome change from standard grape vintages, and will add a unique characteristic to your recipe. The four types of grapes I would recommend experimenting with are Tempranillo, Graciano, Garnacha, and Malyasia.
Tempranillo grapes were brought by Spain to the pilgrims during the Crusades, and give wine a deep, rich color. Graciano grapes are found more in France than anywhere else. Garnacha is a red grape that is used most commonly for blending. Malyasia is of the white grape variety, and used in many wines. Of course this is not an exhaustive list, but it’s enought to get you started.
Another option to your homemade wine recipes is by substituting different fruits in place of grapes. Many wine makers are experimenting with making wine out of fruits and berries. Any type of fruit will work, whatever you prefer.
Home vintners have long experimented with various fruits with traditional local fruits. If you can think of a fruit, you can pretty much bet that someone has made a wine out of it.
Delicious homemade wine can be made from many fruits, berries, and other foods. Some that can be used are blackberries, strawberries, peaches, watermelon, plums, grapefruit, apricots, almonds, apple cider, pears, pineapples, bananas, cranberries, dates, figs, carrots, cherries, garlic, ginger, mint, melons, onions, pea pods, honeysuckle, jelly, kiwi, pumpkin, raspberries, sweet potatoes, tomatoes, and zucchini.
Bland fruit will compel you to add more fruit than the recipe calls for, but even this may not be enough if the flavor is really poor.
So, if the fruit lacks flavor, spike the must with more flavorful base. This may mean changing the character of the wine with, say, nectarines or kiwi fruit or fresh pineapple chunks.
As you apply your individual creativity and personality will surely find many, many exciting possibilities. I would like to be the first to wish you good luck as you discover your new homemade wine recipes.
David Hall is recognized as a leading expert on wine and wine making and author of ‘The Wine Connoisseur’ ebook and audio book. Discover even more homemade wine recipes and wine making secrets! Get instant access to his free mini-course at http://www.wine-handbook.com
Author: David N. Hall
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Change is afoot in the wine-making industry. Traditional wine-makers in Europe are horrified by the transformation by science and technology of the ancient art of making wine. Vintners in Spain, and particularly France, have shunned the new technology, and it has been to their detriment. Some people think that the changes that have come about because of science are a bad thing because they sometimes have increased yield at the expense of quality. Other people think that these traditionalists are snobby and worried that high-quality, complex wines will become cheaper. Good or bad, change is definitely here.
The entire industry is being changed by science; from irrigation to new corking systems, and from vine genetics to bacterial and disease control. Newer wine producing countries such as Australia and Chile that do use the new technology are becoming world class producers of quality wine. The rapidity with which they have done so can largely be attributed to science and technology.
Many parts of the older wine producing regions prohibit improvements in irrigation technology, and those improvements have perhaps been the single biggest factor in the success of New World wine producing countries. There are two new techniques. One is restricted deficit irrigation. This keeps vines under conditions of stress and gives growers control over grape size and quality. The other is drip irrigation. This requires a high investment in capital but it is far more efficient than traditional flood irrigation. Progress in understanding vine stress and its relationship to wine composition, as well as in being able to manage this, has helped many New World wine regions to use irrigation intelligently to maximize the quality of their wines.
James Lapsley, a wine economist at the University of California at Davis, commented “As we look at wine more as something that is produced, rather than as a unique product from a particular place, this also allows us to think of ways to increase the level of flavor or speed up aging.” Roger Boulton, who is a professor of enology and chemical engineering also at the University of California at Davis, had this to say: “Scientific research is helping to clarify the specific chemistries of grape flavors and aromas, microbial byproducts and their sensory aspects, from the facts, confusion and myths that were in place,”
Scientists have found that micro-oxygenation, for example, gives to wine stored in stainless steel a flavor that is reminiscent of that of wine aged in barrels. Another way to quickly and easily add complex flavor to a wine is to add oak chips to the wine and analyze the amount of oak flavor.
Change, driven by science is inevitable even in processes like winemaking that have been considered as more of an art. People are always looking for a better way to get more consistently higher quality product for a cheaper price. The high quality of wines produced by regions that have been more enthusiastic about improvements in science and technology suggests that these changes are a good thing.
Tracy Crowe loves good food and wine.
For information about wine, visit http://thebestwineforme.com
Author: Tracy Crowe
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Ever thought what benefits you can reap by making your own homemade wine
Making wine is an art that is thousands of years old and the process has been handed down by generations. In this modern age we can make our own wine with the right tution.
We will explain how this can be done very easily with house hold items that you have in your own kitchen
#1 BENEFIT Make Wine from other Fruits rather than Grapes
Why would we make our own wine rather than buying. It might seem to be a big hassle when we could just take a walk to the super market and buy a bottle.
I will tell you it is all in the process of getting started,doing something different,something you have never tackled before. Most of the wine we buy is made of grapes. If you can think of some of the wines and liquers you can make from all the berries and fruits that are around you, even Orange wine, Peach wine, just to mention a few. Can you imagine tasting some of them thet you made yourself.
#2 BENEFIT Fine Acheivment
That would be such a fine acheivment, to make something worthwhile out of some fruit you picked this morning, Like the 6 or 7 stalks of rhubarb from the corner. And now you can taste your own wine that you have nurtured.
You can be proud that you have made wine by your own hand
through all the processes till you can pull the cork and pour it in the glass.
#3 BENEFIT A New Hobby
It might just be for a hobby you start to make your own wine ,”Good on You” because once you get hooked you will be making more and more wine and liquers. There is actually no end of what you an make. I have got here recipes for Vermouth, Cherry Brandy wine, Sloe Gin wine, Red Curacao wine, Tangerine wine, Loganberry wine, Elderberry Claret, just to metion a few.
#4 BENEFIT Friends are Envious of Your Achievments
When you have a party and have freinds round you will be popular not to mention the envy. You will give them something to talk about to their neighbors and freinds.
All the different wines that you make by your own hands, you can be proud.
#5 BENEFIT A Stock of wine You can be Proud Of
Imagine a year from now how many different bottles of wine you could have made, The loft will be full.
A good idea is to put 2 bottles away out of each batch that you have made and by the end of the year you will have a great selection of your own wines. By doing this as well you are letting it mature and will taste a lot better.
#6 BENEFIT No Need to buy Wine Again
And think about that, you will never have to buy another bottle of wine again as you will have you own wine cellar to pick and choose from
Now that you have read through the 6 Benefits to You making you own wine, don’t forget about it, do something about it.
Can’t you smell the aroma and taste your own wine with all the different fruits that are a round you. the envy of your friends and the self gratification of the making of your own wine.
Dave Leitch writer of this article invites you to have a go at making your own wines. Get a preview of this great book,
“How to Make Perfect Wines and Spirits From Home”
Get it now at www.everythingyouneednow.com/wine.htm [http://www.everythingyouneednow.com/wine.htm]
Dave is all for making his own wine since living a lot of years in South Africa and has drank many a Cape wine, but since returning to the UK has taken up making his own wine
Author: Dave Leitch
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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One of the important aspects in how to make wine is how to blend wine. Blending wine can be done a number of different ways. There is a process that helps you decide the correct proportions to make the best wine possible, which I will also share with you.
Why Blend Wine?
The actual blending of a wine is a simple process. You just mix one wine with another. The result is a combination of the flavours and characteristics of both wines. The real process is more subtle and involved however. Commercial wineries use blending to create consistency in their wines. That way every time you open a Merlot of a certain brand it should taste close or the same as any other Merlot from the same winery. There are a number of variables such as the taste of a particular vintage, the tannins in a particular barrel or the sugar content of the grapes in a particular year that can change a wine’s taste. Wines are mixed and compared to a wine used as a standard. This takes skill and true understanding of why a wine tastes like it does.
The motivation for someone making wine at home is a bit different. Home wine makers are less concerned about consistency and are more focused on taste. The home wine maker blends different wines to make them taste better. It is more of an art of refining. The blending of wines at home requires an understanding of its mechanics and also requires a certain palate but also requires a palate with the ability to imagine what the final product should taste like.
Wine Blending Mechanics
Let us say that you want to change the acidity of a wine. If you combine two wines with differing acid levels, you can reach a certain goal. This takes an understanding of proportions. The same mechanical manipulation can help you to mathematically predict residual sugar, color, alcohol, and volatile acid. Unfortunately, math will not be able to predict how well it will taste. Being able to calculate the measurable features is a good place to start for a home wine maker to blend their wines.
It is recommended that the home wine maker use Pearson’s Square because it is a visual math tool that can help determine values when blending wines and it is a tool that anyone can use.
Pearson’s Square:
Acidity Level Desired Level Parts Wine A A (1.2) D (0.4) Desired Wine (Wine C) C (0.8) Wine B B (0.5) E (0.3)
Let us look at an example of using this simple application. Let us say that you have two wines, and one has an acid level of 1.2 and the other is 0.5. Let us say further that you want the end acid result to be 0.8. The top left corner (A) and the bottom left corner (B) represent the acid level of the two wines you are trying to blend. The center number in the square (C) is the desired acid level. The two numbers on the right are numbers that you calculate. Square D (0.4) is the difference between square A (1.2) and square C (0.8); in addition, square E (0.3) is the difference between square B (0.5) and square C (0.8).
You now have the numbers 0.4 and 0.3. This creates a 4 to 3 ratio of the wines. When you blend these two wines, you will use four parts of the first wine for every three parts of the second wine in order to get an acid level of 0.8. This simple calculation is already taking you down the road of creating the blended wine that you desire.
Sometimes You Have to Break the Rules!
Remember that creating the wine you desire is a fine art rather than a hard science. There are certain rules that cannot be broken when blending wines and there are others that can and sometimes should be broken. Below is a list of wine blending rules for the home wine maker. Like any art there are some basic rules that are allowed to be broken. They begin with the hard and fast rules and end with the more flexible ones.
1. You should only try to blend ones that are decent to start with. If you begin with wines that have many problems combining them may only make it worse and make a wine that is not palatable.
2. Begin with the end in mind when blending wines. Don’t just start mixing wines with no idea what you are trying to change. Have a goal of altering the acidity, color, and residual sugar.
3. When blending your wines, do it in small amounts. Make sure you are using the same sized amounts that you are blending. When you are doing the blending, make sure you have a pen and paper to write down the proportions of the wines you are blending so you will know what formula to use in the end. If you have someone helping you try doing some blind taste tests.
4. Blend only two wines at a time. If you wish to add a third, make sure you are happy with the blending of the first two. Then add the third to the already blended duo.
5. Always spit, do not swallow. Do not do more than four trials a day. Your palate will begin to become tired and you will not be able to taste as well.
6. Before you begin to blend large quantities of wine, wait a day. Even if you think you have found the perfect combination, wait and taste it the next day. Wine making and especially blending wine is an art that should not be rushed.
7. Filter you wines after blending not before. Sometimes when two wines come together they can create various precipitations. You never know when this can occur so it is better to wait and filter after everything has been blended.
8. Try to blend wines from the same year. The results are better and precipitation is less likely to occur.
9. When creating a blended wine, try to use wines that are close in character. You are trying to improve the taste that is a combination of two similar wines.
10. If you are not sure what wines you should be blending and need some inspiration do not hesitate to head on down to your local wine store and have a look at what commercial wineries have come up with. They’ve already spent some time trying to figure it out so could save you some time.
For more information on how to blend your home made wine (including some handy wine blending spreadsheets I’ve discovered as well as more details on using Pearson’s Square) please visit www.TheWineMakingGuy.com/blending-homemade-wine/
About The Author:
Scott “The Wine Making Guy” Young has been involved in making wine at home with his wife Michelle for the last several years and is author of “Passionate About Homemade Wine: A Practical & No-Nonsense guide to Making Wine “. One of his crowning achievements in his wine making “career” was making the wine for his wedding and it must have turned out well as all of the wine bottles were empty by the end of the night. He continues to enjoy making wine in the comfort of his own home from both wine kits and from fresh fruit from the local farmer’s market. If you share Scott’s passion for home made wine he invites you stop by his wine making blog where you can share your wine making tips!
Author’s Links Business URL: www.TheWineMakingGuy.com
Author: Scott A Young
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People always wonder how wine can be made so clear. If you’re one of those who make their own wine, you will be aware of fermentation through which wine is made but during which bits of debris tend to collate at the bottom of the wine. For winemakers, this factor is purely natural and acceptable as a part of the entire process but consumers prefer their wine clear. They don’t want to see debris floating inside their wine. Because of these factors, after the fermentation process has been completed, the winemaker will usually clean out the wine before he starts with the process of aging the wine. This cleaning process also tends to have other advantages as well since it increases the shelf life of the wine too.
However, not all is rosy and this process has its disadvantages at the same time. The removal of the floating bits in the wine tends to affect the bouquet of the wine. Despite this and other facts, these bits should be removed in order to make the wine something which can be sold easily. People who make their wine at home also want to make it into something that has a welcoming and inviting appearance.
Several processes are employed in order to make wine as clear as it is in stores. The oldest of these methods is known as racking. This is usually achieved by pouring the wine directly into another bottle and leaving the sediments behind. Bits are usually different things which may be anything from dead yeast, to cellulose, to pieces of skin or stem. It all depends on how well the first racking process goes and you may have to continue this procedure more than once. Red wine tends to be easier to clear out than white wine, red wines may need only a single round of racking before they can be bottled for sale.
Another well known method of cleaning out wine is referred to as fining. If you add a fining instrument to the wine, it starts off the cleaning process. The cleaning agent tends to be a lot heavier than alcohol and water and as such it doesn’t dissolve but it sinks to the bottom. It also attracts the floating debris to stick to it. The process must be carried out very carefully because it tends to disturb the bouquet as well as the flavor of the wine and the ageing process. Fining is a very delicate procedure and it should only be carried out by people who are conversant with the technique and not by people who have no experience with this sort of thing. Different fining instruments can be used in the wine cleaning procedure and they include gelatin, egg white, blood or milk.
Other options exist for people who wish to clear their wine and one of these options is filtering. You filter the wine through something that leaves the wine bits at the bottom. It sounds relatively easy but it must be handled with care as filtering wrongly may leave a clear but tasteless wine behind.
Darren Williger is an over-caffeinated, low carbohydrate eating, winemaking enthusiast who writes for CaffeineZone.com, MyLowCarbPages.com, and HomemadeWine.com
Author: Darren Williger
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Grape fruits are the chief ingredient that makes the wine tastes the way it does. While there are considerable differences in the wine grapes produced from a sole grape variety, knowing that there is a certain kind of grape used allows you to determine the essential information with regards to the winemaker’s intention of producing wine grapes.
A grape takes on the soil’s flavor and grows sweeter under the sun as they dangle on the shrub, yet still, selecting the wine grapes that would make a mash provides a first crack on extracting a wine that you will definitely enjoy.
When it comes to grapes naming, the makers of wine strive to preserve a business standard. Nonetheless, some grape fruits go by various names and spellings that are confusing like the Syrah which is Shiraz in African and Hermitage in Australia.
There are diverse varieties of wine grapes. These arrays represent a small fraction of the approximately 600 types of grapes. Every grape variety possesses its own distinct blend of characteristics that includes size, flavors, yield every vine, acidity, skin thickness and color. And among these diverse varieties, just a few are suitable to make fine quality wine grapes.
While a lot of grape varieties are picked to make wine grapes, there are just a few grapes that differentiate themselves as a certain kind suited for a fine wine production. Yet, these groups of noble grapes must still be complemented with the appropriate microclimate as well as winemaking processes and techniques to be able to withstand to their prospective.
The industry of wine processing is home to many kinds of wine grapes. The fruit grape that they are produced from normally defines a wine. For instance, a sauvignon cabernet and a champagne are produced from two various types of grapes. Every kind of wine, or assortment, gets the label of the variety of the grape where they were made from.
To be able to carry the varietals name, a wine must be produced out of no less than 75 percent of the certain variety of grapes. Examples of wine varietals and types are: zinfandel, viogner, White wines, table wines, syrah, semillion, sangiovese, roses, Riesling, red wines, pinot noir, pinot blanc, petite sirah, Muscat, merlot, marsanne, Grenache, and nebbiolo.
Some other wine grapes are aperitifs, barbera, blush wines, brunello, champagne or sparkling wine, dessert wines, fume blanc, French colombard and cabernet sauvignon.
Milos Pesic is and internationally recognized expert on wine, wine making and wine tasting. He runs a highly popular and comprehensive Red Wine and White Wine web site. For more articles and resources on wine making and tasting, wine recipes, wine reviews, vintage wine and much more visit his site at:
=>http://wine.need-to-know.net/
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Barossa Valley, Clare Valley, Yarra Valley, Hunt Valley and Coonawarra; but a few of Australia’s wine regions which enjoy a warm and dry climate ideal for making wine, resulting in the production of wines which are easy on the palate from a young age. Australia is steadily building a name for itself as a top notch wine country.
With considerable government assistance and a dedicated research centre in the Australian Wine Research Institute, Australian wines have come to be known for attention to technical details and innovative production techniques, how to make wine better is of central concern to the Australian industry. This concerted effort at improving the wine industry has resulted in the ability of Australian wine makers to produce good quality wines of high value for money at all price levels, and a subsequent growth in exports over the last ten years. Red and white wines of considerable quality can be sourced from Australia at relatively low prices.
Over the last fifteen years there has been a notable amount of consolidation of wine producing companies in Australia, creating four major companies which are able to fair well on the international market, especially in producing sufficient quantities to satisfy the big players wanting to buy wine in bulk, such as major supermarket buyers.
A second boost to the Australian wine industry comes from its international promotion campaign, waged over the years to improve sales around the world. The promotions are for Australian wine in general, so as to have a broader benefit to the entire industry. The country has around eight hundred and fifty wineries, producing wines such as Shiraz, Cabernet and Chardonnay. The Australian adaption of the French Syrah grape has given their Shiraz an award winning quality. Blends are not uncommon in Australian wine making, with Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz being one of the more popular combinations.
Some of the secrets of the Australian wine industry
The wine charm of Australian fine wine comes through a consolidated effort at maintaining quality ratings. Wines are subjected to a panel of experts who taste samples before export in order to assure quality standards. A label integrity program monitors that information on the label is accurate, especially with regard to vintage, variety and region. Always striving for innovation, Australia produces a quarter of the world’s technical papers in the field of wine making, and they are leaders in the fields of oenology, viticulture and marketing. It is the marketing, aimed at satisfying the wants of consumers, that drives a successful wine industry in Australia. These days it is certainly not uncommon to find Australian wines on any notable wine list.
Australian Wine Regions produce some good wines
Author: Marius Bezuidenhout
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Terms You Need to Know
Those of us with the great privilege of working in the wine industry are often asked to explain a few basic terms for those just getting started in their wine tasting journey.
Alcohol/Acid: Alcohol in wine is created through the reaction of the yeast and the sugar in the grapes. Acid in many ways is the opposite of sugar, as grapes ripen they lose acidity. As you can imagine the challenge becomes when to harvest your grapes so that they have the perfect balance between the sugar (and eventual alcohol) and acidity.
Tannins: Probably the most confusing and misunderstood part of grapes turning into the good stuff we all love so much. Tannins are the part of wine that makes red wine feel dry in your mouth. They are imparted into wine by the skins and stems of the grapes. To best explain what a tannin is, think about tea or coffee that you let brew for too long, think about the taste. It seems bitter which is what you think of as tannins.
Fruitiness: Probably the most simple concept to explain when it comes to wine. This is simply if the wine carries either a flavor or aroma of a fruit. This can be either grapes, or other common fruit flavors that are often present in wine. During your journey into wine you’ll start to notice certain flavors which are consistently present in certain varietals. For example, Pinot Noir will often show a cherry flavor.
Sweetness/Dryness: Most people have a tendency to say they either like sweet wine or dry wine. When we talk about a sweet wine we generally think of residual sugar in the wine. Interestingly, many very popular Chardonnay’s do contain an element of residual sugar.
One of the inherent challenges in the wine industry is the long term education and demystification of wine itself. So often sommeliers can, sometimes purposely sometimes not, make wine seem more complicated then it needs to be. Like any hobby wine should be fun and provide some entertainment value. It’s fun to have a conversation about the winemakers or the wineries that craft the wines that you are tasting.
If people within the wine industry continue to be focused more on confusing the general public and attempting to keep information inside the industry rather then share it, people will continue to be mystified by the wine industry and won’t be as comfortable as we’d like them to be.
Want more wine information? Want to join a real wine club that is interested in more then just taking your money for their real business? Use promo code EZine at Uncorked Ventures to take 10% off your first wine club order just for reading this article!
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Some people are so serious about wine that the pleasure’s gone. Others say things about wine which aren’t true. Here are the basics on wine simply explained.
1. Making wine
The making of wine is not easy to explain. In France they say there are as many wines as vineyards.
Each winemaker gives his personal touch before, during and after the vinification process.
Each of the below aspects has its influence on the taste and quality of the wine :
* The selection of the land plot
* The climate (and the date of harvest)
* The selection of the grape variety
* The type of fermentation tanks or casks
* The temperature during fermentation
* The duration of fermentation
* The type of casks in which the wine ripens
Nobody can pretend there is only one single way of making wine. This fact contributes to the charm of wine and is also the cause of the enormous diversity in wines. Winemaking demands “savoir-faire” and experience.
A winemaker is not only a craftsman, but also an artist.
The following aspects give an idea of what winemaking involves :
1. Planting (or grafting) the grapevine
2. Developing the racemes
3. Harvesting the grapes
4. Destemming* and crushing the grapes in a stainless steel container
5. Alcoholic fermentation of the must
6. “Maceration” : building of taste and colour*
7. Raking
8. “Malolactic” fermentation
9. Riping
10. Bottling
11. Tasting
* : mainly for red wine
Must : this is the juice obtained by crushing the grapes
Alcoholic fermentation : the juice becomes wine by the natural influence of yeasts which transforms sugar into alcohol
Maceration : the solids, the “pomace”, like skin, stems and seeds, give their taste and colour to the must
Raking : the “pomace” and the must are separated. The must becomes “vin de goutte”, the “pomace” becomes “vin de presse”
“Malolactic” fermentation : by the working of natural bacteria, the sharp “malic” acids are transformed in flexible and stable lactic acids
Ripening : the wine is filtered and transfered to casks in order to stabilize and come to perfection.
RED WINE
Crushing and destemming
The grapes arriving in the cellar are crushed and destemmed. The fruits free their juice and pulp.
The must obtained that way is put in a tank to go through the process of fermentation.
Alcoholic fermentation
The fermentation tanks are generally oak barrels or stainless steel tanks, sometimes concrete or enamelled steel.
Fermentation is a natural process. Yeasts present in grapes (however the addition of selected yeasts is generalizing) change the sugar contained in the must in alcohol and carbonic gas.
The winemaker assists the action of the yeasts by maintaining the temperature around 25 to 30°C and ventilating the must regularly. Under 25°C the wine will not have enough body, above 30°C, the wine will be to tannic.
The fermentation process goes on for 4 to 10 days.
Maceration
This is the period during which the tannic elements and the colour of the skin diffuse in the fermented juice. The contact between the liquid (must) and the solid elements (skin, pips and sometimes stems) will give body and colour to the wine.
At this stage, complex operations will prove the talent of the winemaker (dissolution, extraction, excretion, diffusion, decoction, infusion).
For “vins primeurs” or “vins nouveaux” (new wines) the maceration is very short, the wines are supple and contain little tannin. Wines destined to be kept long need a lot of tannin, so the maceration can be long. It goes on for several days, maybe several weeks.
Raking
The wine is separated from the solids, the pomace. The wine obtained by raking is called “free run wine” (vin de goutte).
The pomace is pressed in order to extract the juice it still contains. This wine is called “press wine” (vin de presse). It is richer in tannin.
Depending on the winemaker target or the local habit, free run wine and press wine are blended or treated separately.
Malolactic fermentation
It is the process during which the malic acid of wine changes into lactic acid and carbonic gas under the action of bacteria naturally present in the wine. Malic acid is harsh, it is changed into supple and stable lactic acid.
This fermentation is obtained in a tank during a few weeks at a temperature between 18° and 20°C.
Stabilisation
The vinification is finished but the wine is not. To be able to age and to improve the wine must be clarified again. After that the beverage will be put in oak casks where it will stabilize.
The diversity of red wine is such that it can go with any type of food. But you must absolutely not conclude from this that all red wines are identical.
WHITE WINE
White wine is not really white but in fact yellow. But the expression being universal one says of a yellow wine that it is white.
Vinification of white wine is more delicate than vinification of red wine.
Two methods exist to make white wine :
a. The first one is to use white grape (which is in fact green, greenish yellow, golden yellow or pinkish yellow!). That way the white wine is the result of the fermentation of the juice of white grapes juice only.
b. The second method is more complex. One uses the juice of a red grape variety cleared of its skin and pips, with which it may absolutely not get in contact as they contain the colouring substances. It is possible to get white wine this way but it is seldom done.
Time is counted :
Immediately after their arrival in the cellar, the grapes are crushed but not destemmed. The juice (free run must) is sent to settle in containers. The rest of the grapes is pressed as quickly as possible. Air is the enemy of white wine. At its contact the wine oxidizes or becomes coloured. The must from pressing is added to the free run must.
Preparation of the must :
After six to twelve hours the particles and impurity of the grape separate from the must and float on the surface. They are removed by raking the must. The must is ready to be clarified. The clarified juice is poured in a tank, ready to ferment.
Alcoholic fermentation :
White wine results of the fermentation of must only.
No solids (stems, skin, pips, …) intervene.
The control of the temperature is essential. It has to be maintained around 18° C. The winemaker regularly cools the must to allow the yeast to work correctly.
The fermentation goes on for two to three weeks. The winemaker daily checks the evolution of the process.
When fermentation is over, the wine is put in casks and raked, just like a red wine then it is bottled.
Winemakers often choose oak casks which give the wine the tannin it needs, but it will not be sufficient. Tannin is the essential element for aging. It is why white wine does not keep as long as red wine.
On the other hand white wines present a larger variety of tastes : very dry, dry, semi-dry, mellow, syrupy, petillant, sparkling, madeirized, …
White wine can be drunk on any occasion : before, with or after a meal, and even between meals.
White wines are often considered as aperitif wines, sometimes as dessert wines. Many people like to drink white wine in hot weather. Its refreshing qualities are indeed very well known. White wine is served fresh but not chilled.
WHY WINE DOES NOT TURN INTO VINEGAR ?
Sulfur dioxide, in spite of its barbaric name, is an element indispensable for the quality of the wine.
It is composed of sulfur and oxygen. Fermentation naturally produces a small amount of it.
Winemakers add more to the wine. Sulfur dioxide is to wine what aspirin is to human beings: the miraculous remedy which cures all sort of diseases and avoids others.
Sulfur dioxide is a bactericide which prevents wine from changing into vinegar. It inhibits the action of yeasts : it is why sweet wines do not go on fermenting after bottling.
On top of that it is an anti-oxidizer. It allows wine to keep all its freshness and avoids its alteration by its enemy : the oxygen.
2. Storing and serving wine and food-wine guidelines
The most important thing is to store wine in a lying position so the cork is always wet. This prevents the cork from drying up and the bottle from getting air which would mean the oxidation of the wine. This however is only crucial if we store wines for longer periods of time.
Another important aspect is the temperature at which we store wine. This temperature should be around 12-14°C. The access of light into the cellar should be limited and best avoided completely.
The ripening of wine in home cellars is a hobby for real wine lovers. Just imagine the magic of the moment we serve of bottle of fully mature, carefully stored wine awaited for years.
The best way to find the optimal moment for drinking the wine is buying wine in cases (of 6 or 12 bottles) and opening one bottle from time to time. Young wine is simply much cheaper than aged and completely mature wine. It can also be a very good business to buy a few cases of a certain promising wine and later, when the wine is fully mature, sell part of the stock. The selling price will cover for the remaining bottles.
Having your own wine cellar gives another fantastic advantage… We will always know what to do when we have unexpected guests and having a certain range of wines we will always find something appropriate to go with the food.
The most important issue when serving wine is its temperature. We here need to consider the fact that the definition “room temperature” originates from times when this temperature did not exceed 18° C.
So let us first draw attention to the temperature at which wine is served :
Champaign should be served at a temperature of 6-8°C,
White wine – at a temperature of 8-12°C,
Young red wine – at a temperature of 13-14°C,
Light red wine – at a temperature of 14-16°C,
Precious and aged wine – at a temperature of 18°C.
The next essential matter is the sequence in which wines are served. There are a few principles here :
Wines should be served from whites through rose to reds,
Dry wine is always served before sweet and liqueur wine,
Young wine before aged wine,
Light wine before strong wine.
Now the food and wine issue. The combination of wine and dishes is in reality a certain feeling for senses. If we are convinced that there is good food on the table and the wine is also good, then nothing bad should happen. The most important thing is to follow your instinct, choose good wine and good food.
Times when the principle reigned that white wine is served with fish and red with meat seem also to be over. It is worth observing that today’s Californian or Australian Chardonnay is stronger and fuller than delicate Pinot Noir and sometimes even Cabernet, which refutes somehow the theory of wine selection by its colour alone.
One of the simpler principles of the selection of wine with food is looking at its heaviness and strength. This means that the wine and dish should have similar strength – to delicate meals light wine, to heavy ones strong wine.
As far as a spectrum of dishes is rather difficult to straighten up, we can be tempted to present wines in the conventional sequence from the lightest to the heaviest.
Although for sure wines can be found which do not follow the given sequence, this is theoretically how wines are ordered from the lightest ones to the heaviest.
White wines listed from the lightest to the heaviest :
Soave,
Riesling,
Muscadet,
Champagne and sparkling wines,
Chenin Blanc,
Chablis or unoaked Chardonnay,
Sauvignon Blanc,
White Bordeaux,
White Burgundy,
Pinot Gris,
Gewurztraminer,
Mature or cask-fermented Chardonnay (especially Californian and Australian)
Red wines listed from the lightest to the heaviest :
Valpolicella,
Beaujolais,
Pinot Noir,
Rioja,
Bourgogne,
Barbera,
Chianti,
Barolo,
Merlot,
Bordeaux,
Zinfandel,
Cabernet Sauvignon,
Rhone or Syrah (Shiraz)
Stefan Lagae
Husband, father, employee, work-at-home jobber and wine lover
For my recommended work-at-home job, feel free to contact me on
mailto:stefan.lagae@gmail.com
Author: Stefan Lagae
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Wine is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Each country in the world has its own way of making wine. It is an important drink during celebrations, events, rituals and celebrations throughout the world. Most health conscious people take wine for better digestion.
Because of the taste and alcohol that is present in wine, many people like to drink wine. This is actually good. Beneficial effects of wine can be favorably gained through slight or moderate consumption.
The healthful effects of wine are a subject of debate and great study. In the US, there is a significant increase of the sales in red wine. This was initiated from health news reports coming from France.
The French reports stated that there is a lesser incidence of coronary heart disease in France than in USA. This was quite surprising for US dieticians considering that the traditional French diet has high amounts of saturated fat. Experts suggested that this could be due to the significant consumption of wine by the French.
Studies, though, have shown a J curve association between wine consumption and heart disease. This means that heavy drinkers and those who never drink wine have higher chances of having heart diseases. However, slight drinkers have a less risk. Moderation is always the key to good health.
Another healthful effect of wine that is being theorized is that moderate consumption of wine can improve a person’s resistance to cancer. This is especially true for red wines. There is evidence that red wine contains a lot of polyphenols that are responsible for cancer prevention.
Many researchers have observed that a chemical called resveratrol is responsible for the healty effect of red wine. This chemical is naturally produced by grape skin in reaction to fungal infection during fermentation. White wine, though, has less resveratrol because of the absence of grape skin during fermentation. Resveratrol is both cardio-protective and chemo-protective, as shown in animal studies. Aside from this chemical, red wine also contains antioxidants and flavonoids.
Red wines from southwest France and Sardinia, Italy have high levels of the compound procyanidin.. Procyanidin helps suppress the production of a peptide called endothelin-1 which is responsible for constricting blood vessels.
If too much wine is drunk, however, the consumption of alcohol can have adverse effects. That is why people are always cautioned to drink wine in moderation.
Milos Pesic is and internationally recognized expert on wine, wine making and wine tasting. He runs a highly popular and comprehensive Red Wine and White Wine web site. For more articles and resources on wine making and tasting, wine recipes, wine reviews, vintage wine and much more visit his site at:
=>http://wine.need-to-know.net/
Author: Milos Pesic
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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