Drinking Wines

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

When I was in college one of my old roommates used to like to brew his own beer. I always enjoyed watching him concoct his creations in our tiny apartment kitchen in Tallahassee and then watch over the coming weeks the water and sludge mixture turn into something more; to turn into a delicious tasting beer. I myself enjoy the occasional bottle but never enough to make my own.

Wine however, is another story. I?ve still yet to make my own wine, and I am not entirely sure why I have not attempted to. For first timers like me, it make more sense to purchase a wine making kit from a supply store because these kits have all the essential bits and pieces of equipment so you do not have to worry about forgetting to buy something.

Before getting started it is important to make sure that you have everything you need. Whether you are buying a kit or buying all the pieces individually, make sure that you have the following:

• Large nylon straining bag
• Food-grade pail with lid (2 to 4 gallons)
• Cheesecloth
• Hydrometer
• Thermometer
• Acid titration kit
• Clear, flexible half-inch diameter plastic tubing
• Two one-gallon glass jugs
• Fermentation lock and bung
• Five 750-ml wine bottles
• Corks
• Hand corker

Once you have the equipment it is important to pick your grapes. What grapes you use will depend to a certain extent as to what is available in your area. Vitis vinifera is the classic choice for flavour and character. It is a famous European wine-grape family that includes varieties such as Chardonnay, Merlot, Zinfandel and Cabernet Sauvignon. In the United States, to make a very broad generalization, vitis vinifera grapes thrive in California and the Pacific Northwest. However, they do also grow well in microclimates scattered all over the country. Don’t be discouraged if you live in a colder area where you are less likely to find them. There might be other hybrids which grow near you, although if you are not sure your best bet is to ask a local produce wholesaler or order some grapes from a wine making store.

Once you have your grapes it is important to inspect them. Take a large handful or two of grapes, squish them and strain the juice. Take your hydrometer and measure the sugar level of the juice. The level should be around 22 Brix which or 11 percent potential alcohol. The fruit should taste sweet and ripe but also mildly tart. Make sure the grapes you are going to use have been thoroughly cleaned and all stems, leaves, insects or other bits of debris have been removed as this will ruin the flavour of the finished wine.

It is important to mention at this point that it is not necessary to use fresh grapes, many homebrew shops sell a grape concentrate that you can use as well so do not get discouraged if you can not get the correct kind of grapes for the wine you want to make, the concentrates are available in many verities and some have sugar already added so you do not need to worry too much about fooling around with the Brix.

Like beer brewing, it is extremely important to make sure that all pieces of equipment are clean and sterilized. Clean everything with very hot water and boil anything that can be boiled. There are a lot methods that can be used for sterilization, some people like to use a bleach and water mixture, others like to use a sterilization powder which can be purchased at your local wine making store. Regardless of what option you pick it is important to follow the instructions and make sure that everything is thoroughly rinsed clean afterwards. There would be nothing worse than having to throw away your batch of wine because it was tainted with bleach that didn?t get rinsed out.

It is important to check the sugar levels of your juice, and to double check the levels if using a juice from concentrate. Using your hydrometer, the sugar level should be about 22 Brix. If for some reason the level is not around 22 Brix, the level is quite simple. If the level is too high and needs to be lowered, it can be done by diluting with water or juice. To bring the level up you can make a sugar and water mixture should by boiling 1 cup of sugar with a third cup of water. Once this mixture is cool (do not add hot sugar to the juice) it can be slowly added until the proper levels have been reached.

Using your acid titration kit you will be able to adjust the acid levels. This is very important because red and white wines have certain acid levels, which are essential. A dry red wine for example should be between 6 and 7 grams per litre while a dry white is between 6.5 and 7.5 grams per litre.

Overall temperature of wine is also important and being able to adjust the temperature of your juice is something everyone needs to know how to do. Fermentation for red and white wines vary, the average temperature for reds is usually around 70 to 75 degrees Fahrenheit while whites fermentation is usually cooler around 55 to 65 degrees. If you find that your wine needs to be adjusted there are many methods that can be used. If trying to cool your wine the best method is to place a reusable ice pack from the freezer (if you don?t have these ice cubes in a zippered lock plastic bag will do the trick) into the juice and stir until the temperature is achieved. Take the pack out and continue as before. Warming wine can be a little tricky. Some people like to take a small amount of juice and warm it in the microwave before adding it back to the larger container of juice while other people like to wrap the juice bucket with an electric blanket. This second method takes longer but can yield a more accurate temperature as it is easier to control the warmth. Either method will work so it is more a matter of preference.

Transferring your wine from one container to another to separate the sediments is very important. Remember that the transfer container needs to be sterilized! Using a siphon hose (your clear tubing), slowly transfer the juice making sure to not to stir up the sediments and seal it with the bung and fermentation lock.

Bottling wine is similar to bottling beer. You fill your empty wine bottles with your wine, and use a hand corker to cork the bottle to seal it. This can be hard to do the first time so it is suggested that an empty bottle is practiced on first to get the hang of it. It is not important to purchase bottles if you have empty wine bottles at home you can sanitize and recycle those.

A common myth is that homemade wine is not capable of tasting as good as wine produced at a winery. The same methods are used to create wine at home as they are at wineries; the only difference is the size of the batches being made. Also don?t be afraid that making wine from home could cause you to go blind if it is not correctly made; this is another fallacy that people often believe to be truth. The alcohol made by the fermentation of sugar is ethyl alcohol not it?s deadly cousin methyl (wood) alcohol.

After doing this research on making wine at home, it appears that it is nowhere near as difficult or dangerous as many make it out to be. Perhaps in the coming weeks I will put my wine making skills to practice and make my first batch of vin de Finnigan.

Finest Wine Racks is a major supplier of a variety of wine racks including wood wine racks, metal wine racks, counter top wine racks, floor standing wine racks and wine storage systems.

Ken Finnigan - CEO
Finest Wine Racks

Once again we have advent of the summer season in Western New York and Ontario and while some home winemakers limit their endeavors to the grape, others, including myself, anxiously await the arrival of the fresh fruit. Once dismissed out of hand by some as inferior and often quaintly referred to as ?country? wines, fruit wines are enjoying a surge in popularity never seen before, embraced by amateur and professional vintners alike.

And why shouldn?t they? Our region has the good fortune to possess a burgeoning agribusiness in fruit other than grapes and, as many fruit farmers have discovered (as indicated by the surge in farm winery licenses), wine returns a much more appealing margin than fruit alone. For those who are still on the fence about the virtues of fruit wine, may I suggest that you take a day to tour some of the local wine trails and try them.

For me, a family outing to the local fruit farms, especially a ?U-Pick,? was always gleefully anticipated as a summertime ritual. The delicious baked goods and the jellies and jams made from the fruit could be enjoyed into the cold winter months. That is, of course, if they lasted that long.

We still make and love all these things, but taking the extra time and expense to produce wine from the strawberries, cherries, raspberries, blueberries, peaches, and other fruits adds another dimension that will challenge and hone your skills. This is because, unlike grapes (especially those varieties which one may regularly vint year after year), fruits, berries, and other feedstock used to make these wines have less predictable characteristics in their pH, acid, and sugar. Therefore, careful testing and attention to making the proper adjustments is important to producing a good fruit wine.

There is an abundance of websites that have good basic fruit wine recipes, and even recipes to make wine from vegetables and herbs. Simply plug ?fruit wine recipes? into a search engine.

Now for another reason why home winemakers should have a second look at fruit wines. Today, people are more health-conscious than ever. Almost every day for the past decade, starting with ?The French Paradox,? we?ve been bombarded with one clinical study after another that touts the health benefits of drinking red wine in moderation.

Well, surprise! The same health-promoting compounds found in Pinot Noir are found abundantly in fruits and berries. The polyphenol pigments that impart color to the fruit are known collectively as anthocyanins, a family of powerful antioxidants. The compound found in Pinot Noir called resveratrol is produced in greater amounts in this varietal as an antifungal because the skin of the grape is thin and susceptible to splitting. Resveratrol has been studied for its ability to block cell inflammation and oxidative stress related to arthritis and other degenerative diseases, as well as cancer treatment and prevention. *

Blackberries, mulberries, and especially blueberries are rich in powerful antioxidants like resveratrol. Blueberries also contain phytosterol and pterostilbene, which have recently been shown to be useful in lowering bad (LDL) cholesterol, preventing heart disease, and protecting the body against certain cancers.

None of these beneficial compounds are lost in the winemaking process, so why not raise a glass of fruit wine and drink to your health?

*Joseph, J.A., Shukitt-Hale B., Denisova, N.A. Bielinski D., Martin, A., McEwen, J.J., and Bickford, P.C. Reversal of Age-Related Declines in the Neuronal Signal Transduction, Cognitive, and Motor Behavioral Deficits with Blueberry, Spinach, or Strawberry Dietary Supplementation, Journal of Neuroscience, September 15, 1999, Vol. 19, No. 18. pp. 8114-8121.

Winemaking Tips from Ande Pazik of www.bubbleflo.com
E-mail Contact: dkceo@bubbleflo.com

Andre Pazik, Executive Vice President & CTO, is a former teacher with a passion for fine food and wine. During his successful careers in criminal justice and education, Andre?s interest in winemaking continue to grow. His experiments in monitoring fermentation led to the invention of the BubbleFlo system. http://www.bubbleflow.com

I think it quite safe to say that more has been written about the cultivation of grapes than has - or ever will be - written about any other fruit. This is not surprising, considering that the grape is probably the oldest of known fruits.

Surprisingly, grapes do not need loads of manures and fertilizers; they grow well on quite poor soils and need little after-attention. The roots will search out and find what they want; all we have to concern ourselves with is where to put the top-growth - the vine itself.

If one wall of your house faces south, south-west or even west, that problem is solved very easily. If you cannot plant the vine under that particular wall, plant it round the corner and train the vine round to the sunny side of the house. Grapes may be grown in the open garden in similar fashion to loganberries, or they may be trained over sheds, garages, out-houses and such-like.

Vines are not expensive, and if two are planted, the yield may be regarded as fantastic when considering the value of the wine that may be made for many years.

Planting is best carried out in autumn and in any case before Christmas. If planting against a wall, take out a hole about two feet each way and plant so that the stem of the vine is about fifteen inches away from the wall itself. Dig deeply and work in any compost that may be available and some builders’ rubble if you can get some. A dusting of lime forked in will be helpful. Spread out the roots well and plant as recommended for fruit trees.

Having planted the vine, spread a little manure above the roots: this will not be necessary in subsequent seasons, but the vine will benefit from a mulch each spring if you can give it one.

Vines must not be allowed to fruit the first season; therefore they must be cut back to about four buds.

Having planted the vine and cut it back, we must decide how to train it to cover the wall. The best plan is to use special wall nails, run wires to and from these and train the vine to the wires.

The four long growths that come from the four buds you left when cutting back are stopped at the bud nearest the growing point. These four leaders are the basis from which the vine will be built up to cover the wall. If flower buds form during the first season, they should be nipped off so that the vine uses its energy producing wood for subsequent fruiting. First-season fruiting often permanently weakens a vine.

When pruning, remember that next year’s fruit will be borne on the wood made this year. But we do not want masses of long, straggling growths hanging about all over the place, so during the summer it is best to cut some of them out. Those left to bear next year’s fruit should be cut back to five or six buds in autumn or early winter. Only new growth should be cut during the summer; never cut old wood during summer - indeed old wood must never be cut after Christmas, as this can cause profuse bleeding which may be quite impossible to stop. By all means cut away some of the old growth to make way for new wood, but if this has not been done before Christmas leave it until the next winter.

Many varieties ripen in September - or earlier if the summer has been good. This is especially advantageous because the weather is still warm enough for a satisfactory ferment when you come to make the wine. This is not so important to those who carry out their fermentation in the house, but where it has to be carried on in a shed or outhouse the warm weather is a great help.

Brian Cook is a freelance writer whose articles on home wine making have appeared in print and on many websites. You can find more of these at:http://www.makinggreatwine.com

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.