Getting a Few Facts Straight About Wines

If you're shopping for something, choosing the best product from among the slew of brands out there can prove to be an arduous task. The variety of products can get your head spinning in a daze. The choosing gets even harder when you hear about certain myths about a product. For example, you may have second thoughts about buying a certain item because there's misinformation about it that's been handed down from generation to generation or because some malicious tongues are giving it a bad rep.

When it comes to choosing wines, there are also a few misconceptions and fallacies about them, with some even reaching the stature of being a myth. Some wine lovers do not get to choose the best bottles and maximize their enjoyment of their wine either because they don't have enough info in their hands or they are misinformed. The following is a list of factors that will help you get the facts straight in terms of buying and enjoying wine:

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The right temperature - Is there really a right temperature for wine? Can't we just pull out a bottle anytime or open it right after purchasing it from a shop? Well, no one can really stop you from uncorking or unscrewing (the question as to which one is better will be also be answered here) a bottle cap when you feel like having a sip of a Pinot Noir, a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Shiraz when you feel like it. However, you'll enjoy it more if they are stored within a certain temperature range. Reds are best between 55-65 degrees Fahrenheit, while their white counterparts are best chilled within the 41 to 48-degree range.

Getting a Few Facts Straight About Wines

Cork or screw caps? - The uninitiated may not be able to tell the difference between wines that are kept under a screw cap from those under a cork cap. Although many traditional wine aficionados may sneer at the thought, wine stays purer when they under a screw cap instead of under the cork type. This is why in some countries, you won't find a lot of bottles capped by a cork.

Food pairings - The long-held belief that reds go better with red meat and whites with white meat is not really something to be regarded as gospel truth. The verdict as to which goes well what will eventually depend on the person's taste buds. The color of the wine doesn't really dictate the color of the food to be paired with it.

Next time you buy and drink your wine, take heed of these tips so your wine experience becomes more enjoyable.

Getting a Few Facts Straight About Wines

Among the popular red wines, Pinot Noir is one that engages the head as much as it does the heart. Its flavor profile is a showcase of fruits and game-like qualities. Get Pinot Noir and other types of fabulous reds at http://www.winemarket.com.au.

Racking Your Homemade Wine

Racking your homemade wine is vital to producing a high quality product. Don't be put off by the term, though. When winemakers rack their wine, they are simply transferring it from one vessel to another. A typical batch of homemade wine will be racked at least 2 times, and can sometimes need to be racked up to 4 times.

The most important aspect of racking wine is to leave the sediment behind. This will help the wine clarify and can also prevent the wine from picking up unwanted flavors and odors that can come from sitting too long on the sediment.

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When to rack your wine is an important consideration. When you start a batch of wine, the initial fermentation will be very vigorous as the yeast consume the sugar in your must and converts it to ethanol and carbon dioxide. This is called primary fermentation and usually takes 5-7 days. Approximately 70 percent of the wine's fermentation will take place during this stage.

Racking Your Homemade Wine

After primary fermentation slows down, your wine can no longer protect itself from contamination and needs to be protected by an airlock. This is the first racking, and a simple siphon method through a flexible food grade plastic tube will accomplish it. Gravity does all the work, so carefully place your primary fermenter a couple feet off the ground and start the siphon process.

There are items available to assist with racking. One is called a racking cane. This is a rigid piece of plastic about 2 feet long. One end is specially made to sit on the bottom of the vessel while not drawing excess sediment into the tube. You can get by without one, but it's a great tool to have in your wine making toolbox.

For the first racking, try to leave as much sediment behind as possible. If a little is transferred into your secondary fermenter, don't panic. It's not as important on the first racking, so get as much liquid as you can.

The second racking should take place after your fermentation is complete. This can be a week or two or even 6 or 8 weeks, depending on how your fermentation progresses. This time you can be a little more careful about leaving sediment behind, even if it means losing a little liquid. Again, the same procedure as above applies. Start a suction and let gravity do the work for you. Don't forget to put the airlock right back on the wine, as exposure to air will oxidize your wine.

The third racking should take place after your wine has completely cleared. Remember, it will not clear in the bottles so be patient with this step and don't rack until you're sure it's as clear as it can be. Leave every bit of sediment behind during this racking. This is also the time you can add Sodium Bisulfite to the wine. This will drive off any excess oxygen that was created during racking.

Racking is an important step in homemade wine making. The better you understand and perform this vital step, the better your finished product will be.

Racking Your Homemade Wine

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Ted Begnoche

Wine Serving Steps For Restaurant Servers

Why Learn To Serve Wine Properly?

If you have ever bought a bottle of wine in a nice restaurant, you may have noticed that the server does not just pop the cork and pour you a glass, but instead goes through a specific process of opening the bottle, letting the buyer test the wine, then pouring in a specific manner.

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This presentation may seem unnecessary, but like many formalities it is based on tradition, and serving wine in the proper manner shows that the restaurant knows what they are doing. Most restaurants want to give their guests the impression that they are very important customers, especially when they are going to pay top dollar for a bottle of wine!

Wine Serving Steps For Restaurant Servers

This formal wine presentation adds to the atmosphere of exclusivity of the restaurant, and makes the guest feel important. When you are serving the wine, it shows that you are professional and know your business well.

7 Steps to Serving Wine in a Restaurant

Step 1: Set up wine glasses ahead of time. Make sure there is a glass for everyone who will be drinking wine. Make sure you have the proper glasses for the wine (red, white, or sparkling wines require different glasses). If you are not sure about the glass, go to my website and see my wine glass types page for a guide on which glass should be used with which wine (this is important!).

Step 2: Bring the wine up to the table. Present it to the person who ordered it with the label facing them. Announce the wine to them. For example, say "the 2003 Chateau Latour Pauillac, sir". This is just so the person can verify that you brought them the correct bottle.

Step 3: Hold the bottle in one hand and use your wine key to remove the cork. Try to take out the cork without it making a pop. If it is champagne or sparkling wine, definitely do not pop the cork and shoot it across the room (even though it is fun)!

Step 4: Present the cork to the person who ordered the wine. Some people want to inspect it or sniff it to make sure it has not dried out.

Step 5: Pour a small amount into the glass of the head of the table (the person that ordered the bottle). Let him or her test it out to make sure it is OK.

Step 6: Fill up the glasses of the other guests, ladies first, in a clockwise order. Fill the host's glass last. Only fill the glasses about half full.

Step 7: If there is any wine left in the bottle, leave it on the edge of the table (if it is a red wine) or in a chiller (if it is a white wine). The guests will then refill their own glasses as necessary.

These are the basic 7 steps for serving wine for a server or sommelier. There are other things to consider, including the serving temperature of the wine and whether or not you should aerate it or use a decanter. For more information on these subjects, go to my website.

Wine Serving Steps For Restaurant Servers

Matt from Wine-In-A-Glass.com [http://Wine-In-A-Glass.com]. Matt is an expert author on EzineArticles. He has published many articles online and in print about various wine and food topics. View his website for more great wine tips and information.

How to Make Wine - Adding Flavor to Your Homemade Wine

Whether you are already making your own wine or just pondering jumping into the rapidly growing hobby, one thing that you will want to experiment with is adding or changing the flavor of your wine.

Sometimes, just fermenting the fruit or grape juice doesn't produce a taste that seems "full". There seems to be something missing.

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What can you do? How can you round out the taste?

How to Make Wine - Adding Flavor to Your Homemade Wine

Here's 3 different things you can do that will improve the fullness of the taste of your homemade wines.

Oaking

You can give your wine an aok flavor very easily. There are two ways to do this. You can add oak chips before the fermentation or after the fermentation. There are even 3 different flavors of oak chips.

Oak chip manufacturers try to duplicate the charring found inside the big barrels that are used to age wine in. There are light toast, medium toast and heavy toast chips. The toast part simply means how much charring from a flame there is on the chips.

You just add these chips directly to your must or your wine and let them soak.

Another oaking method preferred by a lot of home winemakers is to flavor some vodka with oak chips and then just pour some of the oaked vodka into the wine to add and oaky flavor.

Sugar

Some people prefer their wines a little less than dry. Some like their wine downright sweet.

The secret to sweetening wines is this: you have to make sure the wine is stabilized before adding any sugar or sugar water. You can stabilize your wine using potassium sorbate, a common food preservative. This takes place after all of the fermentation is complete and the wine has mostly cleared.

How much do you add? Just sweeten to taste. Add a little sugar water, and taste. That's all there is to it.

Glycerin

If your wine seems a little thin, you can thicken it up by adding glycerin. Glycerin will give your wine "legs" and a somewhat better mouthfeel. Legs don't really have anything to do with the taste as much as the ability of the wine to cling to the sides of a wine glass.

Glycerin will give your wine a more rounded and smoother feel in your mouth when you are drinking the wine.

Try these 3 winemaking tips on your next batch of wine. You could surprise yourself!

How to Make Wine - Adding Flavor to Your Homemade Wine

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