Category: Merlot Wine
Homes With Wine Cellars
Posted onIf you’re going to talk about luxury homes in the Los Angeles area, one thing you have to consider is that many homes of the rich and famous will probably have a wine cellar of some sort. For many, it’s nothing more than a status symbol. For others, it’s a necessity if they’re either going to be doing a lot of entertaining, or just love wines of all styles and vintages.
Many people don’t understand what the purpose of a wine cellar is, or why it’s such a big deal. People who are connoisseurs of wine have an understanding of what keeps a wine good over the course of time. For instance, these items seem to be important for keeping a wine at peak condition over time:
Keeping wine in the dark most of the time
Keeping a consistent temperature, especially in the Los Angeles area where the weather is a bit warmer than normal; wines like to be kept cooler, around 70 degrees Fahrenheit
Little movement, as wines don’t like being jostled too often
Good humidity to keep the corks from drying out so they don’t shrink, as their purpose is to allow wines to breathe some, but not get contaminated by outside air
Keeping the air still, as this also can dry corks
If you’re going to collect a lot of wines, having them all in one place for convenience and safety
Of course, after those factors, all bets are off as to how they’re created. Some builders only use wood; others only use stone or brick. Some avant garde builders of wine cellars will use metals that actually look like coolers. In an expensive home, homes will usually be built with a wine cellar, though one can be added later; it costs more to install a wine cellar after the fact.
Los Angeles is truly a unique place when it comes to wine cellars. Even the mayor’s mansion has a wine cellar; that’s unheard of in most places around the country. In today’s world, where most celebrities will buy homes that already have this feature rather than build a home, the house of former television producer Aaron Spelling stands out not only because of its massive size, but because it also has a wine tasting room.
Another wonderful house that was formerly owned by both Kirstie Alley and Katey Segal, once again on the market for around $ 9.3 million dollars, has a large wine cellar also, with a lighted arch that can highlight the favorite wine of the owner at the time.
And the home of actors Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner, which they paid $ 16 million for, came with a brick wine cellar, which they had to wait to use since, when they purchased it, Jennifer was pregnant.
Wine cellars in the homes of the rich and famous don’t conform to the same look or style either. Some have wines stacked on top of each other. Some have them facing each other, or side by side. Some have they spiraling either up or down, covering the equivalent of two stories. Some figure out ways to compact the space, while others want the space to be as large as their living rooms might be. And, because they have the money to pay for it, many will order customize wine cellars from Italy and France and have them installed in space set aside just for them.
No matter what, if you’re looking for a home in Los Angeles and have the money to spend, you’ll easily be able to find a home with a stylish wine cellar.
Instructions For Wine Making
Posted onMaking home-made wine is a wonderful and easy way to profit from your home grown grapes and all the work you put into growing them. The basic steps for wine making are:
Picking the grapes
Crushing the grapes
Fermenting the juices
Clarifying and bottling the liquid
Aging the wine
For white wine you use white grapes and for red wine you use red or black grapes. However, you can make white wine from red grapes if you first remove the skin. You might also need to remove the seeds and stems. Each component of the grape, including the stems and the skins, contribute to the aroma and flavor of the finished wine.
Materials:
To make one standard bottle of wine (75cl) you will want about two pounds of grapes. Ten pounds of grapes will yield a gallon of wine. In addition to the grapes you will need a few accessories for making your wine. Visit your local wine-making supply store to find the items or look on the Internet for suppliers. Here is a list of the essential items.
Grapes
Large vat for crushing grapes
Hand masher (or use your hands)
Bottles, corks
Campden tablets
Wine Yeast
Barrel fitted with an airlock
Syphon and carboy (clean and sterilized)
Hydrometer (To measure the specific gravity)
A wine-making kit is the easiest way to get started, and as you progress you might enjoy upgrading your tools as you gain experience in using them. You don’t have to crush the grapes by treading on them. This is a good way to do large productions, but for small productions, mashing them by using a hand-masher (or your hands) will do just as well. Don’t fill the vat too full because the grapes will foam and froth as they ferment. When the grapes are mashed, leave them for a day or two before beginning the fermentation. Campden tablets are used to prevent wild yeast from growing during this stage.
Proper wine yeast should be used, not bread yeast, because the flavor is quite different. Stir in the yeast by hand, cover the vat and leave the wine to ferment for about a week. At the end of the week you can strain the wine. The bubbling and boiling effect should have subsided before you strain the wine and throw away the pulp. Pour the liquid into a barrel with an airlock so that carbon dioxide, which forms as the wine ferments, can escape. The wine should be protected from exposure to the air at this stage or it will oxidize and won’t be good for drinking.
Over the next two to three years, sediment will fall to the bottom of the barrel and the liquid will turn clear. After about three weeks the wine is ready to “rack” or siphon into the carboy to remove the clear wine from the sediment. The carboy should be sterilized to prohibit the growth of bacteria. Siphon the wine every couple of months as the wine ages. When you notice there is no fresh sediment, and the liquid is perfectly clear, the wine is ready for bottling. Another test is to check the specific gravity with a hydrometer. It should be below 1.000.
As you can see winemaking is quite easy. Making truly fine wine, however, is an art as well as a science. Aging your wine a few more months in the bottle will improve the flavor, but once it is bottled, you can basically begin drinking it.
Wine Cork Screws and Openers
Posted onThere are many varieties of wine cork screws and openers available that will suit everyone from the new wine drinker to the all-out, wine cellar owning enthusiast. What you need will simply depend on your personal needs. Lever style corkscrews are good for beginners. This really makes opening wine bottles easier than the hand screw type. This style is sure to quickly and easily open up wine bottles with great speed. This is the easiest type of opener but it is pretty big in your drawer in space. They tend to range from $ 30-$ 150, depending on how complex it is.
The waiter’s corkscrew is the old fashioned opener that resembles a pocket knife with the cork screw and bottle opener. This is one of the hardest wine cork screws and openers to use and requires a good bit of work and practice to get good at using. It is very inexpensive and takes up little space when closed. It also contains a knife which is helpful in removing foil on a bottle of wine. The twisting pull cork is a handy little device which is a step up from the waiter’s corkscrew. You simply pop this on the bottle, twist it down, and pull out the cork! A quality model is important and for those with wrist troubles, this may not be the right type of opener.
Winged corkscrews are yet another type of wine cork screws and openers. This is a cork screw that when twisted downward, the wings come up. When the wings are up completely, you push them downward, which really saves on hand and arm power if you are not strong. The two-pronged opener is not a cork screw, and you get the two metal prongs down the two sides of the cork. Once in, you pull and twist until the cork comes out. This is really good for old wine with a damaged cork, but this style of wine bottle opener is not easy to use and can be damaged itself if not used properly.
The final type of cork screw is the air pump corkscrew. You pump air which is forced between the wine and the cork, forcing the cork to rise up and come out. Some people don’t feel that this is method is good for the wine, so it is not a very popular one. As you can see there are many types of wine cork screws and openers to choose from. The style you choose depends on how you will use it and which method you will prefer.
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White Wine – Ultimate Sophistication
Posted onThe ultimate in sophistication and class in the world of wine would be the white wine. It is so versatile because of all the varieties and styles is comes in. White wine can be paired with just about any food you can imagine. Whites can be sweet, dry or even semi-sweet. They are easy to recognize because of their light yellow or almost clear coloring. White varietals are grown all over the world with the most famous probably being the Chardonnay grape originally from France. However, this grape is just as at home in California and New Zealand. This white wine is renowned for its smoke flavor with a hint of oak. Chardonnay is not the favorite of this author, but that does not diminish its popularity world wide.
A much sweeter contender for favorite white wine worldwide would be the Riesling. Rieslings originate in Germany and by far they make the best, but it has had a slow start in the world of white wine. Unfortunately there are many poor quality sugary substitutes which have given Rieslings a bad name. These substitutes have tarnished the reputation of a very fine wine, but like the nature of all Germans, they do not give up and they quickly overcome. High quality Rieslings hail from the Rhine and Saar valleys and have help to reestablish this wine as one of the finer whites. Varieties in America and Australia have contributed to the good reputation of this grape variety.
A great way to enjoy your favorite whites thoroughly is to pair them with your favorite foods. Cheese is a simple and great way to enjoy your favorite white wine. Mild cheese is best paired with a sweeter white like White Riesling or a Gewurztraminer. Full bodied cheeses pair wonderfully with a Chenin Blanc or a Dry Riesling. Seafood or pastas with cream sauces should be paired with a Chardonnay to enhance flavor while shellfish like lobster, crab, and shrimp pair amazing with a Sauvignon Blanc. Asian foods like Thai pair great with the sweet wines as well, the best being Gerwurztramner. Poultry goes well with any white wine. This may surprise many of you, but chocolate is perfect with a glass of White Riesling. Yummy!
While it may be important to consider what food you will pair with your white wine it is more important to enjoy the wine you are drinking. The number one reason to choose any wine is by if you like it or not. Then when you find one or many you like, you might try to increase your pleasure by pairing it with just the right food. The quality, color, notes and variety all combine to make the best wines in the world, but that is all for naught if you do not like it in the first place and cannot find yourself taking another sip. White wine is considered the ultimate in class because of its versatility. You can drink whites socially, with a meal or while reading a book! You will find the best white wines being drunk during BBQ’s and charity events alike. It is your choice and make it confidently and often.
Homemade Wine Making Equipment
Posted onIf you’re thinking about making your own homemade wine, here are some things you should know about the equipment required to get you started.
First and foremost, we need to talk about cost. You could visit online merchants here, there and everywhere to shop around for the best prices on individual items you’ll need to start making your own wine, but most sites that sell equipment offer some sort of beginning equipment kit that will have all the items you need to get your wine making career started. This is absolutely the best way to go in my opinion. Kits will run anywhere from $ 80-$ 150. That’s a lot of money, but this equipment can be used over and ever and thus will eventually pay for itself.
So what’s included in a kit, anyway? For starters you’ll get a plastic primary fermentation bucket, usually around 8 gallons. After primary fermentation you’ll need something to transfer your wine into for secondary fermentation. This is usually a 5 or 6 gallon glass bottle, called a carboy, although in some kits the secondary is plastic.
Also included will be some rubber stoppers that fit the fermenting vessels, and an airlock, which is a device used to let carbon dioxide out when your wine is fermenting while not allowing air and bacteria in. You should also get a couple of brushes, one for cleaning the bottles and another so you can clean the carboy.
Some sort of cleaning agent and also a sanitizer will be included. Cleaning and sanitizing is a crucial step when making wine. A length of plastic tubing will be supplied, and a sometimes a device called a racking tube which aids in transferring your wine from one vessel to the other. Some kits also include a little device to slip onto the plastic tube that allows you to shut off the flow of wine when you’re bottling.
Most kits include a hydrometer. This is a device that measures the specific gravity of the wine during various stages of development. You can also use it to measure the potential alcohol of your wine. Corks are also in most equipment kits, as is some sort of corker to insert the corks.
This is the minimum list of items, and you’ll find some kits that include much more. What is generally NOT included is an ingredient kit, although some sellers will allow you to add one to your package for a reduced price and if you can afford it, this is a good way to go. Bottles are usually not included either, but are easy to collect from friends and family.
Consider getting started making your own homemade wine today. It’s a fun and fascinating hobby that you can explore endlessly.
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