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If you’ve ever wondered about the fascination people have with red wine, it’s kind of like someone’s fascination with cigars or food. It’s a luxury item that quickly develops into a love of and an appreciation for. Even better is that red wine has been attributed to certain health benefits like lowering cholesterol and providing antioxidants which fight disease. Of course this goes only for drinking in moderation. But if you want to experience something truly exceptional, I suggest you begin your venture with a good red wine for beginners like Merlot. Read on »
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When someone says a wine is New World or mentions New World wines, they are talking about wines that come from non-traditional wine regions of Europe and the Mediterranean basin. The traditional areas are Austria, France, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Romania and Spain with Italy and France at the forefront of the world’s wine production.These traditional regions are called Old World and are known as such mostly because of how the wines of the area are produced according to their geography and the environment. This is known as terroir. Old World wine makers follow a long history of traditional practices in winemaking and viticulture, whereas a New World wine is considered more experimental in its approach. Read on »
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When in conversation about wine, often “body” is mentioned. If you go to a wine tasting, noting the body of a wine is common practice. But what is meant by body when referring to a wine? Well, simply put, it’s how a wine feels in your mouth. When you take a sip of wine and roll it around on your tongue to open up the aromas and get the flavor profile, how that wine feels in your mouth determines the body of the wine. Read on »
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Since China was recognized as the 8th largest wine market globally, it has sped forward to compete internationally with the other top markets. Dynasty Fine Wine Group Ltd leads the way with more than 30 years under their belt in wine making and distribution. And their efforts haven’t gone unnoticed. One of the world’s most renowned winemakers, France’s Michel Rolland, has deemed the Dynasty Merlot one of the most recommended red wines from China to date. Read on »
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After first pressing, the remaining wine press residue left over undergoes a few more forced pressings. This wine residue is also referred to as the marc or pomace. Marc is the French term. It is comprised of all the skins, pulp, pip, seeds, stems, yeast and juice that is left over after the initial free run of the juice. It looks like a dark, almost black mush. Of course, the free run is used to make premium wines; but the second and third pressings are also used to make lesser quality wines. The final pressing, determined by the wine maker, will be discarded or turned into vinegar or brandy. Read on »
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Photo Credit: Wine Bottle Renew
Earlier this week, New Zealand’s Mobius wines announced they are taking steps to cite their carbon footprint on the wine market by advertising it on their labels, giving the consumer a more informed choice in their wine picks. Now, A whole new take on lessening the wine industry’s carbon footprint: Reusing wine bottles.
As we develop better technologies in the green movement we begin to see the outright advantages of some techniques over others. One of those is the practice of reuse over recycle. Reuse has a clear advantage of recycle: reusing wine bottles produces less than 5% of the emissions that production of the bottles creates.
Wine Bottle Renew CEO Bruce Stephens says about 60% of the carbon footprint created by the wine industry happens in the production of bottles. Under his company, washing a wine bottle for reuse reduces the footprint by up to 95%. Read on »
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So, how is alcohol free wine made if there’s no fermentation stage or aging or residual sugar and all that mess? Well, actually there is all that mess. Non alcoholic wine goes through all the processes of normal winemaking, but then goes through a reverse distilling process. When you distill liquor you heat the mash and trap the vapor that is released. This then cools back to a liquid as alcohol. Then you throw out the mash. With making alcohol free wines the same process is used, but instead of discarding the wine must and keeping the alcohol, you discard the alcohol and bottle the juice.
The thing about alcohol free wines is that they aren’t 100% alcohol free. I think they call that a misnomer. The preferred term by the few wine makers producing these wines is dealcoholized wines, as the wines still contain a trace amount of alcohol. The same term applies to “non-alcoholic wine”. The actual percentage of alcohol in a dealcoholized wine is about 0.5 percent. Read on »
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Photo Credit: Mobius winery, New Zealand
The guys over at the New Zealand Wine Company (NZWC) have come up with the novel idea of branding their Mobius Sauvignon Blanc with the carbon footprint each glass of wine leaves on the world. This milestone in certification is just one step the company has been pursuing in its quest for sustainable management within the country’s wine industry. The beauty of this certification is that each bottle will be adapted to its prospective market, meaning the emissions impact will vary from country to country. Read on »
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Image credit: Wine Paradigm
Great news for iPhone junkies! The Pocket Wine phone app by Wine Paradigm, has just been released to help you learn about wine. It is packed with wine definitions and a prolific taste profile feature that helps you find the wine that most appeals to your senses. It would seem there is no wine or wine grape left untouched in this amazing app. It claims profiles on all major grape varieties, including blends. Check it out at http://www.wineparadigm.com
It could be the first wine app of its kind that lets users find their own preference in taste. The app lists a percentage preference for each wine style and allows the user to find matches based on his score. This enables app users to explore wine in a whole new way and can open them up to wines they might not otherwise venture to try. Profile your friends and loved ones on the same app and make wine gift purchasing easy. Read on »
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Have you ever wondered what goes into pricing wine? How can one bottle of wine be as much as $100 USD or more and another only $5? How are wine prices determined? It’s a simple question that one would expect a simple answer to, but there are many factors in the pricing of wine. Your basic business costs are included for one thing. That would be your base expenses to plant and harvest the wine grapes, run the wine press, production costs (fermentation, the possible use of oak barrels, etc.), bottling costs, marketing and all the little details in between. Read on »
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