Drinking Wines

Next time you visit the wine country, hire yourself a big limousine and follow these simple guidelines:

1. Plan your day around visiting as many wineries as possible.

2. Go to the same wineries everybody else does. After all, those are the popular wineries to go to, and they’re more than ready to put a wine glass in your hand.

3. Don’t listen to the tasting room staff, and be especially sure not to ask them too many questions. They’re not paid enough to be knowledgeable professionals.

4. Have a strong desire to self-medicate. Start your wine tasting early in the day, and get sideways by noon.

5. Get your exercise! Walk back and forth from the limo to the tasting room, and repeat often.

Now THAT’S your kind of wine country vacation, right? Many others just like you think so, too. Aren’t you glad you’re not alone?

Be sure to keep the above guidelines handy, and refer to them often.

A Word to the Wise

Dear reader, as you may have guessed, the 5 guidelines above only apply to April Fools. For the rest of us who might consider ourselves to belong to the greater majority of responsible wine-loving adults, tasting wine is an experience to be savored and discussed, appreciated and remembered.

To tour a series of wineries to get a buzz is not what the wine-tasting experience is all about. Wine is food! And like the pleasure that comes from eating your favorite cuisine, wine can provide a similar allure. Food and wine, as many know, complement each other well. As with food, if you choose to taste wine, do it because you truly enjoy tasting it. But unlike food, don’t go to a tasting room because you’d rather be drinking a lot of wine. Instead, stay home! But be responsible there, too.

If you would maximize your visit to the wine country, let us then provide contrast to the above guidelines and consider what will allow your wine country vacation to be a memorable experience - not just a sideways tour.

5 Ways to Maximize Your Wine-Country Experience

Call it wine country appreciation. Or, call it self-appreciation. In either case, if you would choose to truly benefit from a trip to the wine country, here now are five responsible guidelines signified by letters, instead of numbers, to differentiate from the list above.

A. Plan your day around visiting the wine country, not just its wineries.

There are a whole host of wonderful opportunities to be found in the wine regions of the world, whether you’re touring the famed Bordeaux region, Oregon’s Willamette Valley, or the up-and-coming Amador County area west of California’s Sierra Nevada mountain range. A visit to these wine regions can include a number of historical, cultural, educational, heritage, and active outdoor pursuits. Quite often, having a local guide can dramatically enhance the personal growth aspects of vacationers.

Gaining appeal with today’s travelers are tours ranging from culinary education classes that take place in spectacular settings to wellness retreats that offer exercise and nutrition counseling as well as superb pampering. Or, if you desire to be more active, you can find tours that offer a few days of exploring the flora, fauna, and scenic vistas of local open spaces, then a superb meal with wine tasting. Travelers are increasingly booking such tours, and they are trending heavily toward booking them online on a myriad of tour and travel websites.

B. To properly enjoy your wine-touring experience, choose your winery destination carefully.

Visitors are often drawn to the popular wineries that are located alongside the wine country’s main arterial routes; for instance, Highway 29 in the Napa Valley. And yet those are the areas in which you’ll find the greater share of vehicle traffic, especially during the summer tourist season. Of course, the traffic isn’t just cars, limousines, and tour buses. After you get off the bus or out of your car and into the winery, you’ll often wait in long lines of human traffic just to taste a wine or two. Ironically, this can defeat the purpose of Guideline A.

Many wineries and lodging operations offer better service and better vacation deals for your dollar during off-peak seasons. As a result, you’ll find that you get to linger longer at a restaurant or have a conversation with a winemaker that goes beyond the merely casual. Having the time to relax and not compete with other tourists on your vacation can dramatically augment not only your sense of well-being, but also your wine knowledge and your social network.

In addition, there are many family-owned wineries that are real treasures. It’s easy to overlook them, but once you make the effort to seek them out, you’ll often be rewarded with an experience that will have you telling your friends about them. You may even find the winegrower getting off his tractor to take you for an impromptu tour of his vineyard or winery operation. Of course, he might have you consider purchasing a case of his wines for his trouble. But then, you may also find that you’re not paying nearly the premium that you’ll pay at the more popular wineries along the main wine roads.

C. The tasting room staff earn their pay, and they do it out of passion. Let them guide you.

The wineries aren’t in business to attract more tourists. They’re in business because they have a clear understanding of the needs of their customers. If you’re not the world’s greatest wine expert, don’t worry! You’re among friends. Learning is why you traveled to the wine country in the first place, and winemakers and their staff love to talk about what they do. Listen, and ask questions. If you should visit more than one winery, ask the same questions. You’ll enhance your understanding by the answers you’ll hear, and what’s more, you’ll be delighted that you asked.

D. Be fully aware of your experience. Participate in it, and find yourself enchanted by it. Don’t desensitize yourself to the magic of the wine country.

The advantages of wine touring are beautiful scenery and a new learning experience. The disadvantages are that there’s not enough wine.

This author has actually read the above statement in a review by a supposedly-serious wine expert. I’ve heard similar quips from the lips of the not-so-pleasantly plowed. While I might agree with the advantage half of that statement, the desired outcome of your wine tour should be a quality experience, not a quantity experience. Wine touring is not meant to be a dormitory-style competition.

Therefore, pace yourself. Pour the wine you no longer want into the proper receptacle, usually a spit bucket. Spit the wine into the bucket if necessary - it’s perfectly acceptable within the context of tasting wine. But nobody likes a drunken tourist - not the winery staff, not the patrons, and especially not the wine country police.

E. To properly enjoy the wine country, get out of the land yacht and explore your surroundings.

Bring your hiking shoes with you, and find a local trail. Or, if you prefer to connect to your new surroundings on a deeper level, hire a guide. The reasons that grapes do so well in the wine country are often the same reasons why most areas surrounding the wine regions of the world offer a number of marvelous outdoor experiences. You’ll find that a walk in the redwoods, an expansive mountaintop view, a remote meadow full of wildflowers, or a glimpse of a bobcat on the trail can heighten your wine country experience in sensational ways.

Plus, the exercise and the fresh air you’ll get from your outdoor excursion will build your anticipation of those fine meals and exquisite wines that you came to the wine country for. They are the reward for your physical efforts, they balance your intrinsic desire for deeper understanding, and they make your vacation complete.

Copyright 2006 California Wine Hikes

Russ Beebe is an experienced wine taster and hiking guide who leads naturalist tours in the California wine country. Discover how you can enjoy the quintessential California experience at californiawinehikes.com.

Whether you are in the throes of a new relationship or adding a bit of magic to one, finding romance in wine country is definitely one way to turn the trick.

Finding Romance in Wine Country

If you’re looking for a great way to spend some time with the one you love, how about planning a romantic getaway weekend? Taking some time to get away with your spouse or lover can definitely strengthen your relationship, as well as allow you to have some much needed rest and relaxation. There are many different places throughout the United States that make great destinations for romance, but heading off to wine country can be one of the most beautiful trips you’ll ever take.

The wine country of Napa Valley, California, is a gorgeous part of the West Coast that makes an excellent spot for getting away from it all. The area is full of different wineries and small towns that make for great wine tours and excursions like antiquing and outdoor activities. The scenery and views of vineyards and coastal beauty are a perfect backdrop for romantic dinners, wine tastings, candlelight massages and more. Spa treatments, such as hot tub soaks, facials and other relaxing techniques mingle perfectly with the setting of the vineyards and green hills.

One of the best spots is the Wine Country Inn, located in the town of St. Helena, California. Nestled in the middle of the Napa Valley vineyard area, this inn offers wine lovers (as well as romantic lovers) a place to spend a weekend in bliss. The impeccably appointed rooms, suites and common areas help to draw you into the romantic feeling of the Napa Valley. The special packages available also offer some opportunities for romance.

The Wine Country Inn’s special occasion package has some details that can make your trip even more memorable. Arrival gifts such as a trail of rose petals to your bed (turned down, either when you arrive or after dinner), and an after dinner brownie for two along with a nightcap of port make excellent touches to your special night. Gourmet breakfasts in your room (because who doesn’t love breakfast in bed?) along with other gifts make the special occasion packages perfect for a honeymoon, anniversary or other romantic occasion.

Whether you want to have just a weekend away or weeks, a trip to wine country can make your love blossom!

Xavier Moldini is with WineriesforYou.com - a directory of wineries.

Tannat red wine produces wine tasting notes of red fruits and spices with an intense cherry red color and purplish tint. Why the Uruguayan Tannat is different to the French Tannat wine?

The wine making process in Uruguay changed when the Tannat wine grape was introduced at the end of 19th century from Madiran, France since this type of wine was carefully developed and improved till today. Nowadays, Uruguay is the only wine Country of the world that produces important quantities of Tannat wine grapes.

In the natural process of the red wine maturing a micro-oxygenation technique is a complement to soften Tannat red wines with special results. The micro-oxygenation introduces oxygen into the wine, in a controlled way, giving a balance in the tannins of the Tannat red wines. The result is a varietal Uruguayan Tannat red wine with its own personality, softer than the French Tannat wine.

Uruguayan Tannat fine wine by itself or blended with other red wines like Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Shiraz allows fine wines where the Tannat contributes with its robust style, body and richness of tannins.

The benefits of drinking red wine for the health are well known but they are increased, in an important way, with the Tannat red wines. If you drink with moderation a Tannat red wine you obtain, derived from the Tannat grapes, a high concentration of tannins and polyphenols that help to protect your heart health and blood vessels.

For a wine enthusiast, a food and wine pairing of a Tannat wine bottle is ideal with grilled and broiled red meats, lamb, chicken, and roast duck. In the wine and cheese area, the Tannat wine charm goes with strong and well matured cheeses. As a general tasting note, Tannat red wine is best paired with strongly flavored dishes.

Discover the fine wines from Uruguay with international awards in wine tasting. To learn more about the Tannat red wine, the pairing of this type of wine and food, its quality, visit http://www.mercosurexport.4t.com/tannatredwinesfromuruguay.htm

This wine guide to the Catalonia wine country discovers a Mediterranean wine region that’s now getting the international recognition it deserves. Passionate winemakers are integrating old and new vineyard methods to produce quality exclusive wines.

Wines from the Catalan wine country are experiencing a breakthrough, especially the powerful Priorat wines, which aromas are unlike any Mediterranean wine you’ve tasted. Other appellations like the champagne producing region of Pened?s, or Montsant are following their footsteps.

Winemakers from the Catalonia wine country display a remarkable creativity and dynamism. If necessary, they climb cliff-like vineyards with a donkey, or handpick every single grape, but they always channel their passion for winemaking to every bottle of wine.

On Majorca, although real state pressure is huge, many mountain wineries refuse to bow to the easy tourism money. They found encouragement in the experience of Porrera, a Catalan winemaking village, and have become key players in the revaluation of wines of Majorca.

As M?rius Fuertes i Mateu, a Catalan enologist, says:

Wine, like cuisine, and everything that arises from the heart of nature [… wants people with a religious calling.

The use of endangered traditional grape varieties in the new quality Majorcan wines is exciting. They also work in the recovery of the malvasia of Banyalbufar. For centuries, this Majorcan grape variety produced an appreciated dessert wine that everyone misses dearly.

My childhood is full of memories of my grandmother sitting with some friends, delicately holding a glass of muscat, malvasia, or ratafia, a sweet wine you make at home with herbs and green walnuts on the waning moon of the month of May. After being forgotten for years, Catalan quality dessert wines are beginning to get their due.

Wine country, terroir, holistic wine making

Twenty-four centuries ago Greeks from Asia Minor taught us how to domesticate wild grapevine plants and how to make wine. Since then, the wine world is united to Catalonia, its landscape and history, Mediterranean food and cuisine, economy, culture, and joie de vivre.

In his wine guide on how to drink and eat properly, unique at the time, the Catalan medieval writer Francesc Eiximenis already told us that Drinking moderate amounts of wine gives joy to man.

The ancient tradition of Mediterranean wine became well established with Roman rule. Thanks to this stability, the Mediterranean and Catalan wine universe survived the Nineteenth-Century strike of the phylloxera, which devastated most European vineyards.

The idea of a wine terroir that now the French, and many a wine guide promote aggressively is nothing other than taking into account every human and natural element that plays a part in winemaking.

In the small Priorat town of Porrera, they have always known that winemaking is a philosophy, a holistic process that was absent from most wine guides until recently. The town’s orography is so complicated that if they didn’t have a philosophical concept of wine, they would probably be doing something else, anything else.

A quality bottle of wine is an integral part of a whole wine universe pervading numerous Mediterranean towns and wine countries, and embellishing their landscape with beautiful vineyards. You can’t understand wine if you isolate it from its human and natural milieu.

The philosophy of wine is noticeable in the whole Western Mediterranean region. Wheat, oil and wine have nourished the Mediterranean peoples for many centuries. That essential triad gave birth to a specific Mediterranean culture and shaped a lifestyle unmistakably Mediterranean.

Green vineyards by the sea,
green at first light
soft green toward nightfall…
Always keep us company,
Green vineyards by the sea!

So sings a major Catalan poet, Josep M. de Sagarra, in the final stanza of a poem that masterfully evokes the beauty of the Catalan vineyards by the Mediterranean sea.

? N?ria Roig, http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com - All Rights Reserved.

N?ria helps you explore delicious Mediterranean food, undiscovered Catalan cuisine and hidden wine countries from the inside. Visit http://www.mediterranean-food-recipes.com/wine-guide.html to keep up to date on the exciting world of Mediterranean wine.