Drinking Wines

A 5 km drive along the East side of Skaha lake leads to Blasted Church Winery. The winery is named after a small church that had been moved from the old Fairview townsite of western Oliver to nearby Okanagan Falls; dynamite was used to loosen its nails before its transfer.

Blasted Church (the winery) sits atop a bluff overlooking Skaha Lake, providing it with a lovely vista. Visitors can enjoy the view from benches in the parking lot, or from the tasting room, which is located inside a little log house.

Blasted Church is the dream of Evelyn and Chris Campbell, two Vancouverites who suffered a midlife change-of-heart, (something that seems to have affected a number of winery owners) that led them to purchase the current winery and vineyards four years ago. The family takes care of the ins and outs of running the winery, and visitors will likely encounter the Campbell?s daughter at the tasting bar during the summer.

Staff are more than willing to tell the story of the Blasted Church from which the winery got its name. Detailed tasting notes as well as notes on the year?s harvest are available to browse.

Blasted Church has a number of parking spaces. Be prepared (if you haven?t read this enough already) for crowds in the summer, as the tasting bar isn?t very spacious.

Currently, the winery specializes in a number of varieties, including a highly recommended Merlot (Spring Wine Festival) and a tasty Chardonnay. Wines are sourced from the estate vineyard, which has been producing for over 10 years. Two winemakers oversee the production of Blasted Church?s wines:

The Dam Flood- Red blend
Cabernet- Merlot
Merlot
Pinot Noir
Syrah
Gewurztraminer
Hatfield?s Fuse- White blend
Chardonnay Musque
Sauvignon Blanc
Pinot Gris
Blastphem ? Late Harvest Botrytis Affected
Revered Chardonnay- A new high-end series

There is no charge for up to four tastings at Blasted Church. Written tasting notes are available for perusal. If there is a queue at the tasting bar (and there will likely be many throughout the summer) we recommend appreciating the view from benches out front or browsing the wine selection, which sports unusual, funky artwork depicting characters from Okanagan Falls? colourful history.

Published by Carolyn Coles & Tim Martiniuk, founds of the Okanagan Wine Guide. http://www.okanaganwineguide.com/blastedchurch.html

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.

Have you ever stood in the wine aisle staring at row and row of wine bottles wondering which wine you should buy? Most people will select a wine because they like the label. They are usually drawn to an interesting graphic or clever name on the label. Wine labels are important marketing tools, but there are also facts to be learned by actually reading the label.

Who? The wine label will always tell the name of the winery that made the wine. Wineries often add a proprietary name to the wine. This is usually a marketing tool to encourage interest in the wine.

What? The label will state what type of wine is in the bottle. If it is labeled as a specific type of wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, this means that at least 75% of the wine was produced from Cabernet grapes. Blending juice from other types of grapes is a common practice and often will improve the flavor and aroma of the wine.

When? Vintage is the term used to refer to the year in which the grapes were grown. In the United States wineries are allowed to blend in wine from other years. However, 85% of the volume must be from the year on the label. Not all wines are bottled as vintage wines. If you don?t see a year on the label, it is not a vintage wine. Vintage becomes important when wine from a particular year is known to be of better quality than wine from other years. Vintage is also important in aging wines.

Where? When a wine label states that a wine is made from California grown grapes, 100% of the grapes used to produce that wine must be from California. Other states are not as strict and usually require that 75% of the grapes come from a particular state.

Sometimes wine labels will specify which officially designated viticultural area a wine came from; usually this is a region such as Napa Valley that is noted for high quality wines. When this occurs, it means that 85% or more of the grapes must have been grown in that area.

Some vineyards have become known for producing wine of a superior quality. The winery will want to mention the vineyard on the label. Vineyard specific wines like these need to use 95% or more of the grapes from that particular vineyard.

There are wineries that specialize in ?estate bottled? wines. Usually this would be included on the label. Estate bottled means that all of the grapes were grown by the winery and that all of the wine making processes were also under the winery?s control.

The next time you are shopping for a bottle of wine, take a closer look at the wine label. You will find that wine labels can be quite informative.

Kathy Howe and her husband, Steve Howe, spend much of their free time tasting and enjoying wine. Their interest in wine is reflected in their web site, http://www.cheers2wine.com - a Comprehensive Guide to the California Wine Country. They continue to explore wineries throughout California.

Brothers Randy and Jesse Toor recently founded Desert Hills Estate Winery after having planted land on the Black Sage bench with vinifera. It is a family-run estate winery and is located in a non-descript building dwarfed by the sizeable house adjacent to it (be sure to turn left folks!).

Wines:

Desert Hills? production, like others on the Black Sage, is primarily focused on red wines. The winery?s most popular wine among a quirky mix of varieties is Syrah.

Desert Hills Estate Winery currently produces:

2005 Unoaked Chardonnay
2005 Pinot Gris
2005 Gamay Noir
2003 Meritage
2003 Syrah (regular and select)

Notes on Tastings:

Like all Okanagan Wineries, Desert Hills gets busy in the summer. Parking space is not overly abundant, and the driveway is narrow. Tastings are free, however ID is required for people who appear to be under 25. The tasting room is small and relatively standard, and the staff (at least when we were there) was polite, if not overly cordial. Tours are offered throughout the summer.

Last Word:

If you have extra time, make the stop. They make some fabulous wines and are an easy visit just off of Black Sage road.

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery is just a few minutes further down the road, and if it’s spectacular scenery you are looking for, venture that way.

Published by Tim Martiniuk and Carolyn Coles, founders of the Okanagan Wine Guide. http://www.okanaganwineguide.com/deserthills.html

Although California is most popularly known for its good wine, Virginia also has a fantastic wine country. Virginia is filled with vineyards populating the scenic countryside. A state of mountains and valleys, Virginia has the perfect climate for grape and wine production.

Virginian vineyards have won numerous awards worldwide for their delicious wines, including a Best of Show award in one California competition.

Wine production in Virginia began in 1609 when the Jamestown settlers produced their first vat of wine from native grapes. Two years later, wine specialists arrived from Britain to help the new colonists establish thriving wineries.

With them, the specialists brought years of frustration. Because they brought vines from Europe, they met with successive failures. However, around 1769, a French winemaker, Estave, came to a revolutionary conclusion: the problem with the vineyards wasn’t the country, but the grapes.

European grapes could not survive in the Virginian climate. Thus, a few years later, he began producing native grapes, forming the basis for the wineries that exist today.

Since Estave’s time, the number of wineries in Virginia has increased greatly. There are now over 60 wineries throughout Virginia, the most famous area being the Shenandoah Valley.

However, there are actually six different grape-growing regions: Monticello (Central Virginia), Northern Neck - George Washington’s Birth Place (Eastern Virginia), Rocky Knob (Southwest Virginia), Eastern Shore (Northern Virginia), North Fork of Roanoke (Western Virginia) ), and Shenandoah Valley (Western Virginia).

Many wineries are actually small family-run vineyards that cater to the public. Often vineyards have an on-site bed and breakfast as well as tours and tastings. Virginia is a beautiful state to visit for a leisurely wine-tasting tour.

Most of the major wine varieties are produced somewhere in Virginia, including Chardonnay, Pinot Griggio, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot. The diversity of the wines and the wineries adds to an already interesting and exciting tour.

The beautiful countryside that accompanies the vineyards is worth a visit during any trip, whether you are visiting Virginia specifically for wine tasting or for another holiday.

Despite the general assumption that the best wine produced in North America is from California, do not be fooled. Virginia has its own vibrant culture, beautiful colors, and fabulous wine in abundance. So, when you’re planning your next vacation or weekend getaway consider visiting Virginia and its wineries!

Andrew Lincoln-Croft writes on topics related to wine and travel. His articles are published at Folk Wine and A Travel To .

Located on a bend in Chute Lake Road along Okanagan Lake is St. Hubertus Estate Winery, a charming hillside site with a recently unfortunate history. The original winery buildings, dating back to the early 19th century burned to the ground in the Okanagan Mountain Park fire of August, 2003. All is rebuilt, however, and the only reminders of the fire are the displays and pictures that catalogue the winery?s destruction, as well as some wines named for the fire (Fireman?s Red, Glowing Amber Chardonnay).

St. Hubertus is run by Swiss brothers Andy and Leo Gebert and their wives. The winery site is well kept, with picnic tables outside that overlook the lake and vineyards. Inside, visitors will find a very pleasant tasting room with some of the most knowledgeable and friendly staff we have yet encountered. There is a park across the street where people may enjoy picnics and views of the lake.

Wines:

St. Hubertus wines are grown in two adjacent vineyards: Oak Bay and St. Hubertus. Both vineyards produce different grapes that are dealt with using distinct styles. The wines offered at the winery are not as common as one might find in many Okanagan wineries, including Chasselas, a white commonly grown in Switzerland, and a full-flavoured Marechal Foch, which is also the winery?s most popular red.

St. Hubertus and Oak Bay Vineyards currently produces:

Oak Bay Grand Reserve
Chardonnay
Gewurztraminer
Gamay Noir
Pinot Noir
Pinot Meunier
Marechal Foch
Chambourcin/Merlot
Merlot
Meritage

St. Hubertus Vintner?s Reserve $12-$15 per bottle
Pinot Blanc
Riesling
Chasselas
Ros? Gamay Noir
Gamay Noir
Northern Summer (red blend)
Pinot Blanc Dessert Wine
Pinot Noir Dessert Wine
Summer Symphony Dessert Wine

Notes on Tastings:

The tasting room at St. Hubertus is not particularly large, but the staff is very efficient at ensuring everyone has the opportunity to taste wines. Visitors may also browse a selection of artisan stamps. Written tasting notes were unavailable while we were there, however the staff are well versed in the intricacies of the wines.

Last word:

St. Hubertus was one of our favorite stops on the wine route.

Published by Carolyn Coles & Tim Martiniuk, founders of the Okanagan Wine Guide. http://www.okanaganwineguide.com/sthubertus.html

Wine asset management, as serious wine collecting and storage has come to be known, is available in a variety of configurations depending on what a wine lover?s needs are. Storage options include vault-like facilities where a customer?s wine has a room all to itself, facilities that catalog and store wines all together in a cave or warehouse, decorative custom racks and cellars for the home and even wine storage lockers at local restaurants.

When deciding on how to store your wine, consider the following:

How long will your wine need to be stored?

There are many reasons to store wine, and the longer you plan to store it, the more important environmental conditions are. Some wine lovers store wine with a long-term investment in mind while others, such as wineries, may just be looking for a temporary space while their own storage facilities are full.

The type of wine you are storing also plays a part in length of storage time since many wines change and become more complex over time. Modestly priced wines generally improve more in the short-term, while finer wines that have come from quality fruit, harvested at the peak of ripeness and sugar levels, and are processed appropriately, will develop more complex flavors, intense aromas and deeper colors over many years assuming they are stored under the proper conditions.

How important is consistent temperature, humidity and lighting?

At a lower temperature wine develops more slowly, which allows it to reach and maintain its peak drink ability. If wine becomes too warm, certain aspects may mature and decline before others have been optimized. A temperature-controlled facility is a must for collectors who will be storing their wine over a long period of time. The industry standard for wine cellaring is 55-57 degrees.

Humidity levels are important as well. High humidity will cause mold and mildew, which can damage a wine?s label and foil. But too little humidity can cause corks to dry out, shrink, break the seal and ultimately spoil the wine. Humidity of between 60-70% is optimal and is the industry standard for cellar storage.

How important is security, privacy and accessibility?

If you are storing valuable wine and want to rest easy, you may want to choose a facility that has individual lockers, state-of-the-art alarm systems at the facility, and on each individual locker, on-site surveillance cameras and even a 24-hour, on-site security guard or residing resident manager. Also, a fire sprinkler system in the building would be reassuring.

Secure wine storage facilities located in earthquake country should also include sturdy shelving that is bolted securely to floors and walls and specifically designed to protect the wine in the event of an earthquake. If a facility also has a back-up generator system, you will have extra assurance that even during a power outage; your wine will be maintained at the proper temperature.

Other Storage Options

For wine collectors who want to keep their collection close to home, the sky?s the limit when it comes to personal storage containers, racks, cooling systems and cellars. If cost is no object and sufficient space is available, there are companies that specialize in building home wine cellars. Of course, this is the most expensive option and should only be considered if one is certain they will not be moving anytime soon. If properly designed and constructed, the home wine cellar can be a source of great enjoyment, but like many home improvements, the cost of construction is unlikely to be recovered if the home needs to be sold and may limit its appeal to future buyers who are not wine collectors.

There are many home refrigeration units on the market for storage of wine, but most of these are of rather limited capacity and unlikely to meet the needs of a serious collector. However, these units can be a good part of a storage solution ? allowing a small sampling of the collection to be kept at the home while the bulk of the wine is stored off-site in a secure facility.

A final option is the installation of built-in or free standing wine rack in a room of the home. The problem here is that the wine will not be stored at optimum conditions since most people do not want to maintain their home at 55 degrees. Thus, for valuable wines, this should only be a short term solution for wine ready to be consumed in the near future.

For collectors of valuable wines with long term potential, the best solution is probably a combination of off-site storage in a secure facility with ideal temperature and humidity conditions, with some small amount of temperature-controlled storage in the home for those wines which are ready to be enjoyed at the peak of perfection.

By having a proper wine storage facility at your disposal, it is possible to buy cases of wine when they are first released and store them until they reach their peak. This can save significant cost compared to buying such wines aged to perfection (if they can even be found), and some collectors can sell the wines they have aged under perfect conditions and make a profit to fund further acquisitions of fine wines. Enjoy!

James Ledwith is a real estate developer specializing in self storage. His interest in collecting fine wines led him to recognize a shortage of secure, climate controlled wine storage facilities. So, he decided to research and build a state Marin Wine Vaults in San Rafael, CA which is located close the Napa and Sonoma wine country. This article reflects his research into the art and science of wine storage for serious collectors. James can be reached via his web site at www.MarinWineVaults.com .

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery had its first commercial wine release in 1997, however its vineyards were planted earlier in 1993. Since then, the winery has received widespread accolades for its wines, particularly its red vintages, resulting annually in sold-out inventory.

The Burrowing Owl winery site is perched on a hillside on an eastern bench of the South Okanagan. The fortress-like building is difficult to miss from a distance, and is now even more imposing with the recent addition of a 10-room guesthouse, which features a sizeable outdoor swimming pool and breakfast room. The guesthouse is scheduled to open for the beginning of harvest season.

Burrowing Owl features a four-star restaurant, The Sonora Room, offering full lunch and dinner service as well as lighter fare. The winery recently hired Executive Chef Glenn Monk, whose cuisine will highlight the area?s produce while including an international flare.

The winery?s wrap-around patio has beautiful views of the valley, and is a lovely setting for lunch or dinner. Be sure to make reservations in advance for dinner, as evenings tend to be busy during the summer season. (1-250-498-6202 for reservations).

Wines:

Burrowing Owl?s vineyard location enjoys long afternoon sun exposure, creating a great setting for the development of rich flavours. Former winemaker Bill Dyer (now at Church and State Wines of Victoria) crafted some excellent wines from the vineyard?s grapes and thus far the winery has continued this standard.

Burrowing Owl has a focus on the production of red wines, specifically Bordeaux varieties. Wines can sell out quickly, particularly Merlot and Meritage, so it is advisable to contact the winery in advance. Visiting the winery is the best way to acquire wines.

Burrowing Owl Estate Winery currently produces:

2004 Chardonnay
2004 Merlot
2004 Pinot Noir
2004 Syrah
2005 Pinot Gris
2004 Cabernet Franc
2004 Meritage (Not yet available)
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Not yet available)

Notes on Tastings:

During Summer months and the Fall harvest, Burrowing Owl can be very busy, and lineups should be expected despite an ample tasting bar. A new wine shop and tasting bar will open in early June. Tastings are by donation ($2.00) to the Burrowing Owl Recovery Society.

Last Word:

Burrowing Owl is a worthwhile stop on your wine tour route, however, be prepared for considerable crowds in the summer season, especially in the afternoon. They are currently in the process of building a new Guest House and tasting room which should be open in late summer.

Published by Tim Martiniuk and Carolyn Coles, founders of the Okanagan Wine Guide. http://www.okanaganwineguide.com/burrowingowl.html

The Wild Goose Winery, established by the Kruger Family, sits on 10 acres of rolling hills just South of Okanagan Falls. First planted in 1983, the Wild Goose vineyards were not used for the Krugers? own wines until 1990. Since then, the winery has gained significant attention for its well-crafted Germanic. It has expanded its acreage to 15 acres with the addition of Mystic River Vineyard on the South Okanagan River.

Wild Goose?s tasting room and wine shop is very simple, conveying its history as an original farmgate winery. There is obvious passion put into the wines by the hard-working Kruger family, whose three generations run the tasting room, make the wine, and manage the vineyards. The wine shop is bright and spacious, and staff are very knowledgeable. There is a licensed picnic/patio area out front where visitors can enjoy their own lunches and wine. Children are welcome, and can sample fruit juices at the tasting bar.

Wine

Germanic wines are the primary focus of Wild Goose Vineyards, and suitably so considering the Kruger family?s heritage. Wines are sourced from the estate, as well as other vineyards in the South Okanagan. The Autumn Gold blend, a white, is the most popular wine among consumers.

Currently, Wild Goose Vineyards offers:

Riesling
Riesling (Stony Slope Vineyard)
Riesling (God?s Mountain Vineyard)
Gewurztraminer
Gewurztraminer (Mystic River Vineyard)
Pinot Blanc
Autumn Gold (White Blend)
Pinot Gris
Blush (Select years)
Merlot
Pinot Noir
Black Brant (Marechal Foch dessert wine)
TBA Riesling (Total Botrytis Affected ? dessert wine)

Last Word

If you are looking to taste some great white wines, among others, stop in at Wild Goose. We recommend that you visit earlier, as the wines may well sell out before the season?s end- and the Krugers might be able to go on a bit of a vacation

Published my Tim Martiniuk & Carolyn Coles, founders of the Okanagan Wine Guide. http://www.okanaganwineguide.com/wildgoose.html

Wine is a product made from fruits like grapes, berries etc by drying them and later fermenting them. When the grapes ferment the sugar in the grapes convert to alcohol. They are available in various colors and textures depending upon the elements present in them. For example, the wine exhibits a reddish color when the seeds and the skin of the grapes are present during the fermentation process. When it is fermented without any quantity of non-juicy parts they turn pinkish.

The three main categories in wine are fortified wine, sparkling wine or table wine. It is known as a fortified wine when a little brandy is added to enrich the alcoholic content. It is termed as still or sparkling depending upon the CO2 quantity. Table wine is available in a very natural form and is not like the other wine.

Grapes are usually the best ingredients used in the preparation of wine. There is an equal proportion of sugar and acid in them, which cannot be found in any other fruit. High temperature heat is required to dry away the grapes. You must have a thorough knowledge regarding the exact harvesting season. If the harvesting is delayed you may not be able to produce a good quality wine because the level of sugar increases and the acidic extent gets too low.

At the initial stage of processing, the grapes are crushed using a large cylindrical container that inflates the juicy part of the grapes in the large bags that are attached. They are then fermented by heating the juicy part. In the process of heating the yeast that is present helps converting the sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Sometimes this solution requires fermentation for the second time due to malic acid present. When the malic acid breaks downs into lactic acid and carbon dioxide, it adds a new buttery flavor to the wine.

The next step carried out is to settle all the particles like yeast cells, or any other material flowing on the top layer. It is then filtered and all the sediments are gathered on the filter. Winery aging is the process where the wine is tightly packed in containers not allowing the air to enter in them for nearly several months and sometimes years. The wine is then transferred in small bottles and sold.

Bottling is done in such a way that it becomes easy to identify the various types of wine. Also colored bottles reduce the chances of damage, oxidation and many other risks.

After buying a wine product it is important to store it in a right place. Usually damp and cool places like underground cellars are more appropriate. There are some underlying principles regarding the storage of wine. It should be stored in a cellar at a temperature of about 55 degrees Fahrenheit. If the temperature fluctuates it will harm the quality of wine. Humidity about 60 % is necessary to keep the cork moist. Low temperatures will slow the process. Wine should be kept away from external sources like light, vibration and strong odors, which are obviously the barriers to the formation of a good quality wine.

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