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12:57 AM

Friday April 25, 2008 - Total Wine

Total Wine For Your Reading Pleasure

Wine Tasting - Is It Really An Art?



In the last of our series on wines we're going to discuss an area that quite frankly few people know anything about.


Wine tasting.


Most people would probably think, what is there to tasting a wine? You take a sip, swish it around in your mouth and then swallow. Tastes either good or bad. Right?


Well, not exactly. There is actually an art to wine tasting and in this article we're going to cover the basics of just how to taste wine and determine just how good or bad it is.


Let's start with exactly why we do swish the wine around in our mouth when we taste it. At first it was thought that the reason we do this is because we thought that different areas of the tongue detected different flavors. Actually, this is not the case.


The front and back of the tongue have taste buds, but they don't specialize in a particular taste sensation. All taste buds can detect sour, sweet, bitter and salty flavors. In order to get the most out of your taste buds you swish the wine in your mouth so that all your taste buds, including your sense of smell, get involved in the detection of the finer flavors of the wine.


What a lot of people also don't realize is that much of what we taste is actually because of our sense of smell. Think about it. How good does your food taste to you when you eat while having a bad cold? Many times you can hardly taste anything at all. Medical science has actually determined that 75% of what we taste if because of our sense of smell.


Wine tasting itself is an art and while a lot of it is subjective wine tasters do follow some general rules or guidelines when judging how good a wine actually is. Learning these techniques is very easy and if you already like wine then that makes it even easier.


There are 3 steps in wine tasting


1. Look. They say you can tell a lot about a wine just by the way it looks. To look at a wine you should pour it into a clear glass in front of white background like a tablecloth, napkin or piece of paper. This makes it easy to examine the color. As for the color itself, white wines are actually green, yellow or brown. The more color usually indicates more flavor. Red wines are not just red. They can be pale red to deep brown. While a red wine improves with age the opposite is true for white wines.


2. Smell. Smell the wine. You do this in two steps. First you take a quick whiff to get a general idea of the smell and then take one very deep whiff. This will give you a better idea of the smell. After doing this wine tasters sit back and think about the smell for a long while before actually tasting it.


3. Taste. Finally, taste the wine. To do this you take a small sip and swish the wine around in your mouth. You then think about the taste. Is it light or rich or smooth or harsh. And then after the initial taste there is the aftertaste. How long did it last? Was it pleasant or was it a bitter aftertaste?


After the above steps many wine tasters assign a point score to each step. This ultimately is how they evaluate the wine and determine if it is a quality wine. Expert tasters say the more you do this the better you get at it.

About the Author


Michael Russell

Your Independent guide to Wine

Another short Total Wine review

Buy California Wine Online


Most of the American Wines are mass-produced general wine; often having the brand name of the region where these are produced.
About 90 percent of Am...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Recommended Total Wine Items

2002 Estancia Los Algarrobos Syrah


Very deep ruby with purple pigments. The aromatic descriptors such as truffles, leather, cherries and plums are very well defined in this varietal; this shows us the great care taken to get the harvesting point. This Argentinian wine has balanced acidity with no sharp edge; oily on going through the mouth and at the end of it, thus making it round and pleasant to the palate while tasting it. At the back you feel it soft and clean, sensing primary aromas. This Estancia Los Algarronos Syrah is ideal to be served with dishes with meat. The serving temperature is from 61 F to 64 F. You can buy this delicious dry red wine online. 7680600014 7680600014


Price: 29.95 USD



News about Total Wine

Vine by Line - Artvoice


Vine by Line
Artvoice, NY - Apr 23, 2008
Viewed in the formidable, if slightly yellowed, light of European history, California’s 230-some-years-old wine industry would appear to be a relative ...
Global climate change is having a strange effect on vintages Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
all 2 news articles


Explore Greece's white wines for Orthodox Easter - Chicago Tribune


Explore Greece's white wines for Orthodox Easter
Chicago Tribune, United States - 16 hours ago
Today's wine industry has been pumped up over the last 40 years by new investment and new technology. Indigenous grape varietals with, for non-Greeks, ...


It's a vintage year for YVCC wine students - Yakima Herald-Republic


It's a vintage year for YVCC wine students
Yakima Herald-Republic, WA - 21 hours ago
"This program is the next step for knowledge, quality and expertise of the wine industry in the Yakima Valley," Glover said. The program has meant a second ...


Rainfall prompts top harvest - Rural


Rainfall prompts top harvest
Rural, Australia - Apr 23, 2008
The crush is a 15-20 per cent increase for the wine industry after the low yield in 2007. For family-owned Casella Wines near Griffith, the crush resulted ...


Wine makers turn to retail for a new high - Sify


Wine makers turn to retail for a new high
Sify, India - Apr 22, 2008
There is a huge scope for such bars and shops as Indian wine industry is bullish and more and more people are venturing into wine tasting," says Chougule. ...



Sparkling Wine
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12:56 AM

Friday 04/25/08 - Muscat Grape

The Best Articles on Muscat Grape

History of Napa Wine



History of Napa Wine:


" Napa" means a land of plenty. This part of world is full of rivers, migrating birds especially waterfowls and the valley of greeneries with plenty of wildcats, elk, black bear and grizzlies. But the most precious asset of this valley is the winegrapes.The early visitors like George Calvert found the valley's wine grape productivity skill. He took the initiative to harvest wine grapes in this valley in 1836.The other main pioneers of this project were John patchett the first person to plant vineyard commercially along with Hamilton Walker Crabb,who researched with over 400 species of grape.


The wine grape revolution was further carried by Charles Krug who started the winery business in 1861 and according to the statistics there were almost 150 wineries working commercially by 1889.Some earlier wineries were Schramsberg (founded in 1862), Beringer (1876) and Inglenook (1879).As the life is not always the bed of roses, the rapid growth of wine industry faced the prices crash problem and the phylloxera - a North American species of insects gave a stunning blow to the vintners by attacking the wide areas of wine grape.


Wine Prohibition and its after effect:


The bigger threat faced by the Napa Valley's wine business in 1920, with the enactment of Prohibition. All vineyards were


Dissipated by the owners and winemakers switched to other businesses for next 14 years. Some surviving wineries were operating on Sacramental wine production. As a whole, the wine market of Napa Valley was flopped down. With the withdrawal of prohibition in 1933, the renaissance of Napa wine commenced with an era of recovery and followed by fabulous growth.


Early Vintners in Napa Valley:


The wine history of Napa Valley witnessed another turning point in early 1940; when a band of vintners meet together to share their own concepts on grape harvesting and wine marketing under a friendly atmosphere with some good food and wine. This group established an association of Napa Valley Vintners, a driving chamber of commerce devoted for the advancement of Napa wine both in the country and abroad.


Napa Wine Growers:


The grape growers of Napa Valley were not so organised before mid-70's.But things were changed in 1975 when Napa Valley growers joined their hands with the vintners to reach the common goal of advancing the Napa Wine throughout the world.


Charity:


A new face of Napa wine revealed in early 1980's when the Napa Valley auction was first time sponsored in Meadowood resort. Since then, this vintner's fraternity-sponsored Napa Valley wine and food festival has become the most successful charity wine event. Participants from different part of the world used to come here and celebrate the fest. More than $60 million fund has been raised for the benefit of health, social affairs and youth programmes.


These days' total 300 wineries are operating in Napa Valley and both the growers and vintners are implementing all the contemporary technologies blended with age-old methods.


Roles played by the Vintners to make Napa Wine popular:


The vintners are a local business group with an effective participation of more than 290 wineries, presenting the heritage of vintners and grape growers - working and wooing for the development of this wine producing region.


The vineyards have been part of the Napa Valley for over 160 years. The first vineyards was planted in 1836 and the Napa town was established in 1848,at that time there were 70,000 vineyards which enhanced to 2,00,000+ by 1860.Wines from Inglenook, Charles Krug, Beringer and others received the international fame in the late 19th century.


The original activists of Napa Valley vintner's fraternity often called themselves as a "food-loving and drinking society". They set their focus more in hospitality and marketing services of Napa wine across the world. It gives the Napa wine a unique face throughout the world.


Problems and Threats faced by the Napa Wine:


In addition to phylloxera attack and Prohibition in 1929 there were some other problems faced by the Napa wine industries; such as the after war effects on the market. That time the industry was running out of capital, human resources and raw materials. These problems were the reason behind the establishment of Vintners association in 1943.


Official Target of Vintners fraternity:


1. Commitment to the future development of Napa Valley's land, wine and society.


2. Providing a common and unified voice to uphold the interests of the vintners.


3. Meeting challenges threats more actively and invent new ideas to make Napa Wine popular.

About the Author


Abhijit Dey for http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com
Read more about Wines http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com/napawine.htm
Copyright 2006 http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com

Thoughts about Muscat Grape

Wine lovers, how tasty is your wine? - What you need to know.


For all those wine lovers out there who would like to know everything about wine, (but are afraid to ask) here is a quick reference, a must for any co...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Muscat Grape Products we recommend

2002 Estancia Los Algarrobos Merlot


It is deep red with intense blue touch and soft purple pigments. A combination of varietals gives this Argentinian wine a complex, balanced and harmonic character with a touch of plums and red-currant apart from soft flavors of wild berries and black pepper. Harmonic with a velvet body and character. Tasty with deep and lasting tannins. It is dry to the palate but at the same time sensing sweet raspberries. This Estancia Los Algarrobos Merlot has a great texture and a very fine end. It is ideal to be served with roasted meat and smoked meat. The serving temperature is from 61 F to 64 F. 7680600013 7680600013


Price: 29.95 USD



Muscat Grape in the news

From the Googleplex to the wine bar

Thu, 24 Jan 2008 11:22:29 PST
While some ex-Google employees are still grinding away as angel investors and entrepreneurs in the tech industry, it's occurred to some others that they're wealthy enough to do whatever they want.

Distell lightens carbon footprint

Tue, 05 Feb 2008 07:30:18 PST
Distell (DST) says that it is tied with suppliers, wine industry bodies and academic institutions in order to bring down its carbon footprint.

New Zealand wine industry upbeat about global warming

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 00:43:51 PST
Global warming, which is threatening the viability of the drought-stricken wine industry in Australia, could be a boon for neighbouring New Zealand which has been enjoying a growing reputation for its quality wines.New Zealand's subtle flavored wines, mostly whites such as Sauvignon Blanc but also reds such as Pinot Noir, are appearing on the tab

The Wine Antisnob

Thu, 14 Feb 2008 09:33:57 PST
Great article on how the wine industry is changing making it more fun. And has a great chart on how you can make any food pair with any wine.

Everything you never thought you wanted to know - wine racks

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:11:49 PST
This is a very cool site that addresses various aspects of wine appreciation, from wine racks to business in the wine rack (wine) industry.

Winemakers mull climate change at Barcelona conference

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 02:37:26 PST
Carbon dixoide storage -- rather than grapes and vintages -- was on the agenda at a wine-makers conference in Barcelona Saturday, as vintners mulled ways to reduce the industry's greenhouse gas emissions.


Pinot Wine

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12:55 AM

April 2008 - California Wineries

California Wineries For Your Reading Pleasure

Buy California wine



Buy California wine:


Most of the American Wines are mass-produced general wine; often having the brand name of the region where these are produced.


About 90 percent of American Wines are produced in California region. The cold areas like Napa Valley, Sonoma Country etc are the other Wine producing regions. The most prestigious wine brand - Zinfandel is produced exclusively in California. This Wine is almost equal to any classic European wine. The California Wines have much alcoholic content, aroma and flavour compared to any European Wine.


Another ancient California Wine is Angelica; it originated by a European Variety brought to California in 18th century by the Spanish visitors.


The California Wine has been the ultimate choice among wine-lovers. The appreciators of California Wine are scattered around every corner of the World. It is not always possible for the wine-lovers or for the wine-collectors to visit California and buy its wine. They can buy it online via the websites dealing with online wine transactions.


The actual wine lovers or even the amateur wine lovers are very often eager to buy rare species of wine from different countries. To fulfil their demands, an easy way is to buy it online through different websites dealing with online wine transaction.


Procedure to buy Californian Wine online has become very easier today and as time passes, it will be easier. The buyers should decide first which wine to buy. The buyers can take help of any Search Engine to search the online wine websites.


After getting all the relevant links they can browse it and then choose the right one. After selecting the right wine, buyers can purchase it online; it does not matter whether he is a wine collector or a wine lover. As there are lots of sites dealing with the online wine transaction the buyers can compare the prices, manufacture years and other features of the wine.


The complexity of buying wine online is very less; it is as easy as surfing the net. There are thousands of Wine consigners dealing with this business and they used to keep all the secrecy a consumer wants. The online Wine websites used to have the help desk for their customers to sort out their problems. By the virtue of online Wine transaction an amateur wine lover can taste Wine from abroad without having any passport or visa!!!


Reasons behind the price-hike of Wine:


The consumers should know the factors that motivate the wine prices. As the California's Wine Industry has emerged in last few decades, this momentary expansion is a double-edged sword for a customer. Competition in the Californian Wine Market is getting so intensive and impactive that many rare wines are priced very aptly; while some average wines are sold in very high price.


The prices of Wine are influenced by the marketing approach of the product. Packaging, labelling and promotion not always affect the standard of the Wine but the price is affected by these. The technologies and concepts that are used in the Wineries are sometimes responsible for the price-hike. Some famous Wineries have their reputed brand of wines, which are very high in price.


It is very unfortunate that the buyers always have the concept that the low price wines are not so superior in quality. This makes the Winery owners to change their product pricing standard. The Winery owners used to rely on the choices of the consumers.


The Consumer should keep the following things in their mind before buying Wine online:


As Wine is a living product it needs extra care in order to keep its quality standard. Tussle during the shipment sometimes abolish the virtue of the wines which is incurred by a long term process. According to the Wine experts wine should be bought one or more weeks before to opening it. The Wine should be stored in dark with a corked cap to make it fresh and preserved. A decent corkscrew is needed to unscrew for impressing the guests.


Last but not the least, for the online ordering of Wine an adult must be in the house to receive the shipment when it arrives. The unaccepted Wines are generally returned back to the warehouse and it is very difficult to get it back from the warehouse. Moreover the wines deposited in the warehouses are sometimes loose in quality and taste

About the Author


Abhijit Dey for http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com
Read more about Wines http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com/californiawine.html
Copyright 2006 http://www.buy-california-wine-online.com

Another short California Wineries review

Wine lovers, how tasty is your wine?(What you need to know).


For all those wine lovers out there who would like to know everything about wine, (but are afraid to ask) here is a quick reference, a must for any co...


Click Here to Read More About Wine ...

Recommended California Wineries Items

2002 Estancia Los Algarrobos Malbec


It is a fine dry wine of a deep purplish red color. It is complex of a great variety. Many aromas can be distinguished, such as currants, figs and leather. On first sip it appears oily, sensing sweet tannins and balanced acidity. It is a round wine with a long end of mouth. This Estancia Los Algarrobos Malbec from Argentina is appropriate for roasted meat, cheese and raw ham. The temperature of service is from 61 F to 64 F. 7680600012 7680600012


Price: 29.95 USD



California Wineries in the news

Guitar Fingers

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 13:34:07 PDT
I’m not into ‘why I haven’t blogged’ posts and try to spare you the exercise. For future reference, I write when: 1. I have the time 2. Something external (another blog post, news story, new site/service, etc) moves me and/or 3. I have something (fresh, preferably) to say or share With #3 I’m being more challenged lately. This blog has well over 1.5 million published words and has covered a lot of different web terrain. Fortunately it isn’t niche, so finding something to make us both go h

Working towards safe wine industry (Central Western Daily)

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 14:54:27 PDT
FOLLOWING the death of two men at a winery in the Hunter Valley earlier this year, safety has become a key issue for winemakers. With that in mind a free WorkCover seminar was held in Orange yesterday, to help local winemakers improve safety in their workplaces.

Sirtris, Sirtuin calorie restriction replication Life extension drug company, bought for $720 million

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 15:32:24 PDT
GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Europe's biggest drugmaker, agreed to buy Sirtris Pharmaceuticals Inc. for about $720 million, adding an experimental treatment derived from red wine that's thought to slow the effects of aging. Glaxo will pay $22.50 a share in cash for Sirtris, the London-based drugmaker said in an e-mailed statement. The offer is 84 percent more than Sirtris' closing price yesterday of $12.23. Sirtris' most advanced compound is a formulation of resveratrol, a substance found in red wi

The booming wine market (Independent)

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:13:38 PDT
The summer of 1811 was heaven sent for making legendary wine. The vineyards of Bordeaux were bathed in hot sunshine for week after week, followed by the sort of warm and dry autumn that winemakers pray for. Then, just as the grapes were being harvested, the night sky was illuminated by the trailing tale of Halley's Comet. Superstitious vintners took it is a sign of divine blessing and called it ...

Airline-friendly Wine Travel Bags Now Available in Australia with Launch of Local BottleWise Distributor (Business Wire via Yahoo!7 Finance)

Wed, 23 Apr 2008 16:40:00 PDT
BottleWise Australia, the local distributor for United States-based BottleWise(TM), today announced the Australian availability of BottleWise Duo(TM), the only multi-purpose bag on the market designed to keep wine bottles safe during air travel. Developed in response to world-wide air travel restrictions on liquids in carry-on bags, BottleWise Duo allows travellers to once again bring home that ...


Dessert Wine

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Posted by Larry Johnson | 0 comments