Category: Zinfandel Wine

New York Wine Country

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The Yankees (not my personal team to root for) are in the 2010 baseball post season again. They are representing a city of nearly 8.5 million people, about 27,900 humans per square mile.  Contrast New York City’s population with that of Los Angles (nearing 4.0 million) or Chicago (nearing 3.0 million).  Ironically, New York State’s population is ranked only third most among U.S. states.  Still the state would seem to be nothing but a “sea of people”.  New York State actually consists of a lot of rolling countryside dissected by many river valleys with elevations ranging from sea-level to Mt. Marcy at 5,344 feet. This countryside, I came to find out, has several areas where vineyards and wineries flourish.

New York State has six areas that currently define its wine country.  The areas are 1) Lake Erie-Chautauqua, 2) Niagara Escarpment, 3) Finger Lakes, 4) Hudson River Valley-Catskills, 5) New York City and 6) Long Island-North Folk-Hamptons. Another area that previously has not been considered a part of the state’s wine country is Central New York-Lake Ontario, an area experiencing recent wine industry growth. The three most important areas Lake Erie-Chautauqua, Finger Lakes and Long Island-North Fork-Hamptons have over 95 percent of the vineyard acres, over 75 percent of the bonded wineries and over 95 percent of the tons of grapes produced in the entire state.  In an article by Debra J. Goon, she discusses New York’s grape and wine industry as contributing $ 3.76 billion to the state’s economy.  New York ranks third behind California and Washington in grape production by volume.

The grape growing seasons in the state range from about 180 days in the northern areas (Finger Lakes and Upper Hudson River Valley) to 230 days near the Long Island area.  Annual precipitation across the state averages 30 to 50 inches per year.  Wines produced include Sparkling Wines, Seyval, Riesling, Pinot Noir, Ice Wines, Chardonnay, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Gewurztraminer, and Merlot. Many American hybrid grapes such as Catawba, Delaware, Elvira, Ives and Isabella are also grown.  Important French hybrid grapes grown, noted to make great wines, are Cayuga, Vidal and Vignoles.  Concord grapes are grown primarily for use in juices.

The state has several notable wine trails that would make excellent tour destinations. Trails can be found near the cities of Fredonia, Niagara, Penn Yan, Fayette, Watkins Glen, Marlboro, Clinton Corners, Williamson, Alexandria Bay and Riverhead. Visiting a winery could easily be coupled with visiting other state attractions like Niagara Falls, Sterling Renaissance Festival, Erie Canal, Everson Museum, Allegany State Park, Catskill Park or even the Long Island Beaches. Often a side-trip taking you away from your primary destination focus is a welcome relief; at least it has been that way for me.  I bet you might even find a wine that you can add to your list of favorites.

Take the time to check out New York’s wine industry.  As I always say, buy the wine you like, store wine properly in a wine refrigerator, serve it at the proper temperature and enjoy it immensely.

See Wine and Beverage Storage Solutions:  http://idealwinecoolers.com/

See Wine and Beverage Information and Facts:  http://winecoolerblog.com/

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How to Cook With Wine

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Contrary to what you might think, cooking with wine is simple. Now that we got that out of the way, budding cooks can gain a lot when they learn how to cook with wine. Some flavors remain locked and unused without the assistance of wine. Its ability to release the taste of foods is unparalleled in fine cuisine. So, let’s start with the basics.

How Much is Too Much

Cooking with wine is all about what works for you. There are really no hard and fast rules. What you need to remember, however, is to put in a little bit at first. If you don’t follow this tip, you will soon find out that it’s almost impossible to salvage a dish that got drenched in wine. Another thing to keep in mind is that alcohol does not give wine its distinctive taste. Wine is composed of just a small amount of alcohol and most of that evaporates throughout the cooking process.

This presents another thing that you have to be aware of. When you cook off the liquid in wine, the flavor intensifies. When wine is reduced, it gets concentrated and the flavor gets kicked up a notch. So, add it in near the end because you can end up overwhelming the dish when it’s done.

What Makes a Good Cooking Wine

Not just any wine will do. A wine that tastes good when drunk will taste good when cooked with. On the same note, an awful tasting wine will taste even worse when put in food. You don’t need to splurge and get a $ 100 bottle – you’ll just end up not using it as much as you should. There are many good priced one out there. A $ 10 bottle could work fine. You just have to search a little harder.

A common red or white wine that you enjoy would be a good starting point. For marinades, sautéing, chicken, and seafood – applications not requiring intense flavor – it’s hard to go wrong with a Sauvignon Blanc. Red meats or sauces with a red meat base have inherently deep flavor, so a more powerful wine is in order. A Chianti or Cabernet Sauvignon is perfect for the job.

Other Tips

The more you use wine in the kitchen, the more comfortable you will be in experimenting. Before you get to that level, keep the following in mind:

• If a recipe calls for water, put in wine instead.

• You can add a tablespoon or two to your gravy. Simmer until the alcohol fully evaporates.

• Your favorite flavored oil plus wine makes a good marinade for meat and poultry.

• Heat the wine before adding to meat dishes. Warm wine can tenderize meat while cold wine has the opposite effect. Don’t overdo it. Too much heat will cook your wine, robbing it of its taste.

• Heavier red meats need a dry red wine to flavor it or else it will seem that you put nothing in at all. Lighter meats, such as pork, poultry, and fish will be overpowered. It’s best to use white wine in this case.

• You can serve the same wine you cooked with along with a meal. If that is not possible, at least serve a matching variety. It is not very nice to serve a light white wine with a roast dinner flavoured with an intense red.

Final Thought

Cooking with wine need not be complicated. Find out what kinds work with what foods. Experiment and enjoy your culinary journey.

A Portuguese Wine Journey

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Portugal is known for many things, its great beaches, fantastic golf facilities and year round sunshine being just the icing on the cake for one of the most popular holiday destinations in the world. One of the things that Portugal is renowned for is its many wine producing regions that create some of the finest tasting wines. If you go into any supermarket you are bound to see several bottles of Portuguese wines from across the country, whether you prefer red, white or rose there is bound to be something to please your palate! If you are a wine buff or just fancy an excuse to explore this fascinating country, a wine tour is a great way to impress your friends at the next dinner party.

One of the things that make Portuguese wines so special is that many of the small vineyards are populated with grapes that are unique to Portugal. Many locals believe that in order to really get a taste for the country it is necessary to sample some of the wines, which is handy for those about to embark on a wine tasting tour! The first stop on any Portuguese wine holiday is Dao which produces some of Portugal’s best red wines. Situated in the north of central Portugal below the stunning Douro River, Dao is one of the most spectacular places that you will visit on your wine journey.

On the opposite side of the wine spectrum are the delicious Vinho Verde white wines that come out of the northwest of the country. The name of the wine literally translates into ‘green wine’ which refers to the fact that the grapes grow in a picturesque green valley along the coastline. From green to brown, the Barraida vineyards are the next stop on the wine tour and take visitors into an area steeped in controversy.

Back in the 18th century Barraida was deemed unsuitable for lawful port production due to an adulteration scandal. The vineyards were ripped out however centuries later they are back to their best and produce many dark, fruity wines. The word ‘Barraida’ literally means ‘clay’ which is connected to the brown soil that dominates the area. Port lovers will appreciate the final stop on this Portuguese wine journey, Douro is known by many to be the ‘Port Country’ and is responsible for some of the richest ports in the world.

If the thought of sampling just a selection of these wines has you reaching for the corkscrew, make sure you take advantage of this fantastic holiday opportunity. Never has a holiday in the sun tasted so good!

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Wine Aerators Reviewed

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Giving your wine time to breathe is essential to getting the true experience of a wine’s flavor and feeling. If you’ve previously been just opening up a bottle and drinking it immediately, then the simple change of giving wine time to breathe is going to make a huge difference in your enjoyment of the wines you choose.

The effect that this will have is going to depend heavily in the kind of wine you choose. If you’re drinking a younger wine, giving it time to breathe is going to mellow out the harsher notes and make it a more pleasant experience. The effect on older wines is almost the exact opposites, as it brings out lost flavors and allows you to taste subtle flavors that you might miss if you were just going to drink it straight from the bottle.

The problem with this is that while giving the wine time to breathe, it also means that you have to decant the wine and allow it in the mix with the air so that the molecules of the wine have time to interact with the oxygen in the air. While this works, it’s also incredibly time consuming.

Which is why some enterprising folks have created wine aerators, which are designed to allow the air to mix with the wine as your pour, so that you can enjoy the full flavor of wine without having to decant and wait. If you’re someone who wants to enjoy your wine without having to go through the whole ritual first.

Like anything else, not all wine aerators are created equal. The two main things to consider with wine aerators are how well they work and their aesthetics. You need a wine aerator to actually do the job it was designed to do, and you also want something that’s going to not look like something created by a glassblower who had a sneezing fit.

A wine aerator that is extremly popular in the UK is beginning to make itself known as an essential part of any wine lover’s kitchen in the United States. This wine aerator has a great rep, but does the actual device live up to the hype.

The first and by far the most important thing to consider is whether or not the Wine aerator does what it’s intended to do: does it bring out the full flavor of the wine. The answer is an unequivocal yes.

The design is where it takes its name from; as it weaves the wine around the air, a process that gives you an optimum mix of air and wine, and it really b rings out the subtle flavors of virtually any wine. It’s also designed so that it can work with both a decanter and individual wineglasses, which makes it a very flexible aerator.

The functionality would probably be enough to recommend the Weaver on its own, but it’s a pretty nifty piece of work. It’s made out of more or less unbreakable polycarbonate in a beautiful design, so you’ll be happy to have it on your table.

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Making Wine at Home

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People’s love for wine has extremely grown today. Not just in some countries but all over
the world. This is reason enough that the need to know how to make homemade wine is
tremendously increasing for personal consumption. Wine making equipment and supplies
today are readily available in stores anywhere. It allows wine lovers to make it possible
for themselves to stack their wine racks with their own homemade wines. The best thing
you get in making wine by yourself is fulfillment and contentment for the efforts spent.

For many years people have tried making their wines especially red and white wines at
home and have failed. As more people have tried to make this a hobby the materials,
supplies and recipes are being improved. The wine making kits help a lot and more
people learn to love and make home wine making their leisure and gratification. There
could even be times when some group of wine lovers exchange recipes to improve the
flavor of their own batches. How one person appreciates his/her homemade wine would
not be the same as how others would also value theirs. However, the kits available for
making homemade wine help make unswerving and dependable results so that more
people would enjoy the same wine.

For special family occasions like Christmas, birthdays, anniversaries, reunions and other
more wine makers and lovers may make special wines in preparation for these occasions.
This would make the special day enjoyable. As you look forward to the gathering, you
can time the preparation of your vintage as you know when to bottle and how long the
aging period is in time for the occasion. You also will reap financial benefits by making
your own wine at home. Wine connoisseurs will only tell you that the more expensive
the wine the better it tastes, but this is not true all the time. The more you keep on
making your own home made wine soon you will be able to produce an excellent and
exceptional tasting wine.

Normally, the more you learn about something the more you learn to appreciate its
complexities. The more you would love to do it. The same thing goes with wine
making at home, the more you learn to make it, the more you will love to do it.

As you keep doing this, in just a short period of time you’ll find yourself into that hobby
and wine making at home will be your passion then. You will absolutely enjoy it, even
your family and friends will get into your passion. Dare yourself…Homemade wine
making is really a grand and exciting learning experience. Make it a hobby, be satisfied
and enjoy.

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