Posts Tagged ‘drink’

How It Came To Be Than Wine Is Drunk From A Glass

Tuesday, May 19th, 2009

Wine is one of those drinks that it universal. Every continent on earth has embraced it and sampled it from glass cups ever since they came about. The question is however, why do we use glass? Why not from a plastic cup, mug or wooden goblet? Sadly, there is no definitive answer for this. Actually, wine is enjoyed from a number of different containers, other than glass, in many different places. For example in Japan, wine is drunk from a ceramic vase-shaped container and in Thailand, wooden cups are often used. However, the overriding choice of tableware drinking vessel, wherever you go, is glass. It's really more a result of other methods not being appropriate than glass being that special in any way. Lets examine what else is on offer.

Wood. As stated earlier, wooden cups are used to drink wine from in some countries, however there are some major draw backs. Stains are the first major issue, which more often than not occur as a result of red wine drinking. Even if it is very hard wood, discolouring will occur. Secondly, there is the issue of rotting, which frequency happens when wood gets wet for a long time. So it would have to be dried out thoroughly after every use.

Metal. If you have ever drunk wine from a metal cup you will know it’s not the best experience ever. Metals have a large number of things called ions, and when most wines come into contact with it 'displacement' can happen. This means that ions can be released into the wine when it is in the vessel and these result in an altered taste. This is why you often pick up metallic notes when drink from this type of cup. Also, because of its very heat-conductive qualities, almost any other material would keep the wine cooler when you’re holding it

Ceramic.  Like glass, ceramic is non porous, does not release any of its qualities into the wine, and can be easily cleaned with a glass cloth. For reasons like these, ceramic is a viable alternative, but it will never be number one. This is because, it is floored in a very basic way...its opaque. A large part of the experience of enjoying a fine wine is watching it swirl around the glass, admiring its body. It is a very primitive desire and it has stuck with us ever since glass was invented.

Now Is The Best Time To Invest In Fine Wine

Thursday, May 7th, 2009

There are some oddities that go on in the wine market. It is essentially a luxury product and yet millions of bottles are produced each year.A wine might be worth less than one ten years its junior, and whether a certain wine sells well or not can come down to a few people's personal taste. There is one thing that is certain though and that there is a lot of money floating around in this domain, and there has never been a better time to grab a share.

The cost of picking up a good bottle has been rising quite quickly over the last few decades. As better storage facilities and more advanced manufacturing methods produce higher quality wines, so too does the price people are willing to pay for them go up.The wine expert as Sotherby's, Jamie Richie actually commented that "Prices had risen to nearly unsustainable levels last April".However, the struggling market currently has lead to a very clear a drop in prices. March 2009 saw a relatively big downturn in prices averaging 1.2 percent according to Liv-Ex 100, the index that tracks the top 100 collectable wines.  This is trend that experts expect to continue for while and can in fact be seen throught the wine sector, from wine production to the sales of everyday wine glasses.

A bottle of Montrachet Domaine Romanee-Conti (1978) very recently got picked up at a Chicago auction for $3,500. The price of $23,929 was only a few years back at Sotherby's for the same bottle of wine. This sudden drop basically means that if you've ever had an urge to start collection yourself, either as an investment or just a hobby, the best deals are just around the corner.Many professionals in the area think that the market wont see and upward rise until at least the end of this year.

Wine investment expert, Joss Fowler has some words of wisdom for doing well. A almost certain bet is going for a Red Bordeaux, he says, because aging this one badly is no easy task for anyone. Also, play it safe and get the best wines your money can buy from the best vintages. Stay true to this rule and you'll be filling up your pretty champagne glasses before too long.

Making Sure Your Wine Collection Is Stored Correctly

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

In an ideal world we would all have lovely big wine cellars with heat regulators and air circulation systems. This would allow you to leave them well alone and yet know that they were in the best conditions for aging just right. This is very rarely a reality however and the majority of us just try to make the best out of what we have. Here is some great advice for storing your wines safely.

Location. Your bottles, both white and red wine, are best placed in a cool room, away from the light and with moderate humidity levels. The most efficient temperature for storage of your bottles should be between 10° and 16° C (50° to 61° F).Anything higher than this will lead to a decrease in wine quality but anything higher than 25° C will seriously damage the wine's flavors and body. The wine can change colour if left in direct light and also increase in temperature. The humidity levels of the air found in the storage room can have dramatic effects on the cork, causing it to swell or contract. This can result in air forcing its way into the bottle and causing oxidation, a well known negative that occurs when wine has prolonged contact with oxygen.

Positioning. You should position the wines on their side or at a slight angle when storing them. This is because if there is not liquid in contact with the cork it can dry out and shrink. Oxidation (see previous explanation) can again result from this.

Display. You don't want your pride and joys to be hidden away the whole time. often you will want them to be on display so you can admire them. A good choice is a wooden wine cabinet due to the fact these tend to maintain a steady temperature and always go for one that lets you store your wines on their side.Avoid any that have glass paneling as this can use the air temperature to increase due to the greenhouse effect.

The New Wine That Is Specially For Men

Wednesday, April 29th, 2009

The Californian wine makers E&J Gallo think they have spotted a gap in the market and have made a wine range aimed at men.Wine has long been considered a market dominated by women but Gallo feel with good marketing they can cut out a male niche. The news of this new product follows the announcement that they will be reducing the amount of wine they make in 2009 by offering less wine deals to retailers. They will instead look to make more trustworthy and "reliable" bottles of wine that people can buy in the credit crunch at not risk getting anything unexpected.

The 'Redwood Creek' wine range is targeted at men aged between 35-65 and who have something of a passion for outdoor pursuits.It is not aiming to venture into the extreme sports of even very active sports markets but instead aims at appealing to those who they would consider "active in nature".Outdoor pursuits that Gallo has said their new wines are inspired by include fishing, camping, hunting and hiking. They have already created links with the woodland trust, the Californian Tourist Board,Riedel Glass plus the clothing label ‘Regatta’. The method of partnering with other strong companies is a tactic that has worked well in the States and they hope this will carry over the UK.

The new range of wines includes a simple Chardonnay and a couple of reds, a Merlot and a Cabernet Sauvignon.  Iain Newell marketing director for Europe has suggested the new wine charms the soul, with a rugged quality and a rich taste. “They will be everything you associate with nature and activity” Newell says, “freshness, passion and full flavours” are all qualities that this wine processes.There was a lot of time and effort put into the research for this project and if early US sales reports are anything to go by, it was well worth it.

Health Benefits of Red Wine

Saturday, April 11th, 2009

Healthy or Excuse to Get Drunk? Nutrition

Many people don’t realize it but wine—specifically red wine—is a health drink if absorbd in moderation. Thats all because analyzes predict that red wine is plentiful in antioxidants.

More and more scientific findings show that drinking red wine owes its health benefits from the high level of antioxidants called "resveratrol," a kind of polyphenol known as "phytoalexin." This is a group of heightens plants use to represent themselves against attacks such as untimely stress, possible injuries, or UV irradiation and certain infections such as fungus and infection.

Resveratrol is known to be present in the core and skins of system and fermented grapes during the rigorous system of earning red wine. And, as of the long system and prolonged fermentation of grapes in red-wine making, high levels of resveratrol are found to be present in each bottle of red wine.

Red wine wonders

Nowadays, many people are using red wine as a health drink during their meals because they believe that since it is best antioxidant supplement,red wine can help veer them away from certain terminal illness as well as to all forms of diseases that come with aging. These belows are just some of the conceived profits of red wine as a heart drink:

- Helps in the prevention of developing various neuro-degenerative illnesses and diseases. Many studies show that because of the high resveratrol content of red wine, it can help people—especially those who are getting older—to develop diseases and illnesses that are common to them like Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Red wine is also believed to suspend the possible progression of dementia especially to older ones.

- Really nice for the heart. Experts concur that the specific substances in red wines like tannins & flavoniods can raise the levels of good cholesterol or highdensity lipoproteins (HDL) in the person's blood. The red wine's antioxidant properties can also help in the reduction of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins (LDL). Once LDL levels are decreased, there is lesser chances of evolving cardiovascular illness's such as heart attacks and stroke.

- Keeps sure cancers. Many people who are prone to the "Big C" are using red wine as a health drink because of the wonders brought by resveratrol in it. Experts believe that regular but moderate consumption of red wine can help fight possible cancer cells from proliferating and thus, preventing the development of the disease eventually.

- Reduces the harmful effects of food poisoning. Main advantage of redwine is that it reduce the toxicity by spoiled food. The properties in red wine can help cleanse the body from toxins and also help in avoiding dysentery as well as diarrhea.

- Prevents and possibly cures certain gum diseases.Tobacco user are the ones who are prown to gum illnesses. But there are also those who also experience gum diseases that are usually caused by inflamed muscles in the gums and weakened tooth. By using red wine as a health drink, experts believe that the polyphenols present in this can help reduce the presence of free radicals that do the infection the and bacteria proliferation inside the person's mouth.

- Serves as blood thinner. For people with high blood pressure, red wine is an ideal health drink because it contains blood pressure lowering-substances and compounds that are effective in lowering high blood pressure.

- Allows healthy skin. For people who are after maintaining youthful skin, red wine can be a good health drink option because the number of polyphenols present in average consumption can prevent the damages brought by cell oxidation processes.