Wine Mixed Drinks
June 20, 2008
What are some wine mixed drinks that I could possibly try out this weekend for a party I’m throwing? - Brandy in Tulsa, OK
Wine is definitely a versatile drink which can co-exist perfectly with other types of alcohol. Mixing wine with various other substances can sometimes lead to very interesting effects. This allows you to explore this ancient drink in depth which the gods Dionysus and Bacchus came to enlighten us all. Brandy, here are a few wine mixed drinks that will keep you staggering around all summer long.
Say you’re in a fiesty to mood to conquer all that is before you with your charm and charisma… here’s a wine mixed drink that will put you in control.
Champagne Napolean
.5 oz. Curacao
.5 oz. Grand Marnier
.5 oz. Maraschino liqueur
Your Favorite Champagne
Mix your ingredients together with ice in your favorite mixing glass. Now strain into a chilled champagne flute. Fill with cold champagne. Consume. You are now the defactor ruler of the party.
Every had one of those days were you just wanted to give the finger to the world? Try this wine mixed drink for a quick pick-me-up.
Weep No More
1.5 oz. Cognac
1.5 oz. Dubonnet
1.5 oz. Lime Juice
Several Dashes of Maraschino Liqueur
Again shake, shake, shake with ice and strain this happy mixture into a chilled cocktail glass. Wala! You are now pure undeniable sunshine that will put an ultra-bright smile on everyone’s face that you meet.
What if after a day of relaxing by the pool you need a stiff drink to get you in the mood to party? Well you can’t get more stiff than this…
Bamboo Cocktail
2 oz. Dry Sherry
2 oz. Dry Vermouth
Several dashes of Angostura bitters
Ice
Stir these incredible ingredients together with ice in your handy mixing glass. Pour into a chilled cocktail glass and you have exactly what you need to quench the summer heat and put you in the mood for pure, uninhibited fun. Cheers!!
Wine Storage Tips - The Right Way
May 22, 2008
Any wine storage tips? I bought a case of what hopefully will turn in a great batch and I want to make sure my investment is safe. Do you know what I could do for proper wine preservation? Thanks a whole lot! - Dana in Meridian, MS
Here are wine storage tips for all the lovers of wine who are keen on keeping a few bottles around for that special moment. Follow these easy guidelines for wine preservation and it won’t let you down.
Now, make sure you store your wine horizontally. Allow the wine lay on it’s on side which lets the cork keep in moisture while at the same time serves a dual purpose of letting the sediment to settle down at the bottom of the bottle.
For wine preservation, its absolutely important to keep your wine out of direct sunlight. If a bottle is exposed to light, the end result could lead to a loss of the aromas and flavors. As for other wine storage tips, one of the key things to understand about wine is that you need to keep the temperature in between 55 to 65ºF. If the temperature of the wine fluctuates or if it is stored at a higher temperature, the wine will age much faster.
Wide fluctuations in temperature will make the cork to expand and contract. This will let air into the bottle and the wine will become oxidized under these conditions. Another thing to keep in mind is the proper humidity levels. For wine preservation, having too high a level of humidity can lead to the over all deterioration of the wine labels whereas a low level of humidity can make the cork shrink which again will oxidize the wine or even worse lead to a condition called corked wine.
So there you go, easy huh? If you follow these simple wine storage tips you can make sure that your investment is kept safe and secure so when you are ready to enjoy that perfect bottle you aren’t faced with any surprises. Cheers!!
Passito Wine - Appassimento and Recioto
May 19, 2008
Could you tell me what appassimento, recioto and passito stand for? I recall that passito of them is a type of wine but I’m confused about how they are all related. Thank you!! - Shelly in Toronto, Canada
You are correct! Passito wines are a full flavored and very complex bodied wines made from partially withered grapes. This is where you get the term appassimento. Now, for this production technique, appassimento means either leaving the grapes to raisin on the vine or picking and then drying them on mats of straw or reed, bamboo racks, or strung in bunches under the rafters and can lead to either a very sweet wine or a dry wine depending on the process.
Here is where a lot of wine virgins get this confused… passito is a type of wine. So after the grapes go through the appassimento process they are termed as passito. The other side of this is recioto which is a sub-category of passtio. This type of wine is classified as a passito wine from the Veneto in Northeastern Italy.
Also, some common types of recioto that you will find are Recioto della Valpolicella which is a sweet red wine along with Recioto di Soave which is a gorgeous sweet white wine. So what are you waiting for? Go track down a few bottles of recioto and try it for yourself! Cheers!!
Red Wine Benefits
May 12, 2008
What are some red wine benefits? A few of my friends were talking about how red wine consumption can make you more healthy but I’m skeptical. What do you have to say about it? - Camera in Fremont, CA
Believe it or not red wine benefits do actually exist. I mean how better can it be that something you love and enjoy can actually keep you healthy and living longer? Researchers in Europe suggest that a couple glasses a day of red wine has a protective effect on all-cause mortality. According to studies from France, UK, Finland and Denmark, moderate consumption of wine is more beneficial than beer or your favorite hard liquor.
If you’re a smoker, drinking red wine on consistent basis does help to reduce your susceptibility of damage to your heart and blood vessels, but then again… hmmm we all know that smoking isn’t the best habit to have. So don’t excuse this habit by thinking you’re helping yourself in any way.
Moderate… red wine consumption may also prevent coronary heart disease and this process is related to a higher production of good LDL cholesterol vs bad HDL cholesterol. Strangely enough, consuming this wonderful drink can lead to a reduction in blood clots as well.
Also, if you are not big on the idea of putting back a couple glasses per day and are worried about the calories in a glass of wine, there has been a lot of hoopla about the famed red wine pill. If you are willing to take that leap and buy red wine supplements, I highly suggest that you take the time to do the proper research necessary to know exactly what you are putting into your body. A lot of not so wonderful people will create a fly by night product just to capitalize off of people’s desire to be healthy, so be on guard.
However, there has been some research done on certain red wine supplements suggesting that they do incur a benefit to those who choose to use them. But again, you should always know what you put into your body. There ya go, if you’re a lush like me, you now have a valid reason to increase your daily alcohol intake and enjoy all the ensuing benefits. Cheers!!
Wine Tasting Notes
April 23, 2008
Wine Virgin, I’m very new to all this but I want to know what wine tasting notes are and what’s the purpose behind them? - Pam in Salem, OR
The reason why wine tasting notes are taken to begin with is so that a person who attends a wine tasting event can comment on the particular style and flavor of a wine. There is a vernacular all it’s own that is based around wine tasting terms and here is a brief overview of what I mean.
Wine tasting notes are categorized into 3 separate events. When utilizing these agreed upon perceptions, a rough guide can be made that will communicate the characteristics of a particular wine.
- Color - Clarity of the wine when the contents are viewed in light
- Smell - Known as the “wine nose“. Also, another helpful tool to pinpoint the smell is with something called a
wine aroma wheel
- Taste - How it is perceived in by the “mouth” or “palate”, followed by the “finish”
After years of being a lover of wine, I have found that my wine tasting notes create something similar to an index. From this I’m able to have reference a wine that reminds me of previous bottle that I have enjoyed before. Also, taking these types of notes can really help you refine your senses and leads to an overall richer experience because you are able to pinpoint all of those subtle flavors and aromas. Cheers!!
Crusted Wine - Why?
April 14, 2008
Why is crusted wine called as such? - Meg in Portsmouth, VA
Crusted port wine is a type of ruby port. It is also an inexpensive version of vintage port, and in turn receives it’s curious name from being unfiltered. This leads to a very interesting natural sediment that builds up over time from grape skins, twigs and seeds, hence the “crusted” in crusted wine. Appetizing no?
Definitely and absolutely, crusted port wine should be decanted. If not, you might take a sip and end up snacking on something that isn’t quite edible. However, what’s good about crusted wines is that you can enjoy them at a much younger age vs. a good vintage port, some of which can take decades to mature, where they can be fully appreciated.
Keep in mind that when you see the date on the bottle, this is alluding to the bottling date and not the actual year in which the grapes were grown. Cheers!!
Why Grape Shatter Happens
April 10, 2008
Recently, we had a question from one of our readers - Ferhat, hailing from Istanbul, Turkey asked: Could you tell me why grape shatter happens please?
Ferhat, absolutely…
You see, small grapes have a tiny end on them which functions basically like a cap. As the grapes grow larger these caps fall off. But sometimes during a cool, wet spring… like how we are having right now in the southern U.S., a crop of grapes can fail to develop properly and this will lead to the cap at the end becoming very tough.
Now, when the warm weather of summer finally arrives and as the grape matures on the vine, it will begin to push up against this cap that is now very tough. The end result being is that instead of the cap falling off as it normally would, the grape actually shatters against the cap due to the pressure of being pressed up against it. When this occurs it can destroy whole yields and leads to what is known as a poor fruit set with bunches that only have a few grapes.
Grape shatter is a major concern that puts many vineyards at the mercy of the weather each and every year. Also, as a tid bit of wine trivia for you, grape shatter is known in French as Coulure. Click on that term and you will find some more info on the different ways that grape shatter can happen and the other problems that stem from it.
Ferhat, great question and I look forward to hearing more from you again along with our many readers out there that are curious about this beautiful and wonderful drink. Cheers!!
Wine Body
March 26, 2008
Hello over there Wine Virgin, I want some help with a wine tasting term. Wine body??? What is it???? I have a hard time understanding why they even call it that when all wines are basically flavored water with alcohol right? - Shooshoo in Amsterdam, NY.
My mouth is open at the sacrilege that my eyes have read… 4 quick sentences of wine hatred, all from a person named Shooshoo. Did your mother smoke and drink while she was pregnant? I’m not a wine snob, but what is wrong with you?
You know, it’s been a good half hour since I first read your question and I’m still pissed off. Fortunately for your sake, I had a couple bottles to spare and I’m indifferent enough now to answer the essence of your question for all the curious wine virgins out there.
So Shooshoo, are you ready to understand what this wine tasting term really means?
Wine body is used to allow the taster a means to discern the weight of the liquid and how it feels in their mouth. I’m sure your well acquainted with this process which is good for you so you don’t have to do the equivalent of mental gymnastics to grasp this concept. Franks and beans anyone?
Right now, “think” of the successive viscosity between skim milk, whole milk, and cream and apply it to the idea of wine body. Everyone is able to realize the difference of how these types of milk feel against the tongue and cheeks when you drink them. Something else to “think” about also is the higher the alcohol content, the more likely it will have a fuller body.
Consider it possible that if you have been drinking similar types of wine that they might just have a similar weight and feel to them. This in turn could lead you to the assumption that all wines are just “flavored water with alcohol” and no that one… the whole world over… has anyway of distinguishing them by using this supposedly, esoteric concept.
The quickest and simplest way I can suggest to experience wine body is to try different wines! So let’s broaden your scope a bit shall we?
1. Light body wine - Riesling
2. Medium body wine - Chardonnay
3. Full body wine - Cabernet Sauvignon
There, now do it. Go and get those wines, open all three of them and compare them side by side and you will understand exactly what I’m talking about and when you do…. feel ashamed, very ashamed… woe unto you Shooshoo, woe unto you!!!
Botrytized Wine
March 18, 2008
What is botrytized wine? - Lana in Las Cruces, NM
Botrytized wine comes from Botrytis. This is a fungus that is found in humid enviroments and attacks the skins of grapes. The fungus causes them to shrivel and can kill the grapes but it can also lead to what is also known as noble rot.
If given the right conditions, the dehydration concentrates the sugars and can add a variety of flavors. The process that creates botrytized wine leads to a different texture and produces very sweet, white wines that have a unique style and flavor all of their own. See how something seemingly bad like the loss of an entire wine crop can be saved with a little ingenuity?
Think about how dedicated to wine you really must be if you are willing to drink something that has been molding on the vine for a while? The winos of old have set an example for us all. Enjoy!!
Lead in Wine?
March 17, 2008
Is lead in wine something I should really consider or is it just media hype and paranoia? - Justin in Rochester, MN
One concern has been with very expensive decanters that are made from crystal that some of these do contain a tiny amount of lead because it makes the glass very clear. Research has shown that if you use these types of crystal to store wine or liquor over a long period of months that the alcohol may leach a discernible amount of lead into the contents.
However, the amounts are marginal. But you have to consider that since lead can cause brain damage, it is definitely worth being cautious. Talk about being a hardcore wino, so much that you are willing to risk brain damage to get your kicks. Now if you are still willing to use a crystal decanter I highly advise that you use it only for the evening and from there pour the remainder back into the bottle.
DO NOT use these for long term storage of wine unless you have a fond desire of drooling on yourself while clapping your hands…