Posts Tagged ‘Wine’
Written on August 7th, 2010 by Kevinno shouts
It’s important to do some homework and learn exactly what’s entailed before undertaking the hobby of winemaking. It is not something that can be simply plunged into and then learned along the way. Without the vital research required to have the necessary foreknowledge of each and every critical winemaking step and process, failure is a certainty. When it comes to winemaking, failure can taste as awful as success is sweet.
Winemaking is a fun hobby that can easily be done in one’s spare time and at the end of the process–provided everything goes well–there will be a glorious result. Many people find winemaking to be an addictive past time, because no matter how well they might do they always envision room for improvement, in the next batch. As more is learned about wine making and as more wine making experience is gained the wine will get better and better. As more and more tips and tricks are learned to help improve the final product, and endless process begins of improving the next batch, and then the next batch, and then the next, and so on.
The vast majority of wines are made from grapes for a very good reason: the grape has nearly all of the ingredients necessary to making wine already infused into it. Success in winemaking entirely wrapped up in the balance of chemicals, and the grape has many of the necessary chemicals in it already, in balanced ideal for winemaking.
The right balance of sugar, tannin, moisture and nutrients, are vital to create a quality wine, and it just so happens that the grape perfectly fits the bill. This natural balance allows the grape to ferment exactly as it needs to for successful winemaking. However, selecting the proper grape is only the beginning of a successful winemaking journey.
There are of course many different grapes that can be used in different combinations. As the hobbyist becomes more skilled at winemaking they may want to try adding a bit of some other fruits to the mixture to give the wine some extra depth and flavoring. Reading about the different grapes that can be used in winemaking and how they affect the outcome of the wine making process can be enormously helpful. Knowing what kind of wine the maker prefers will give them a good idea of which direction to set out in.
As with any hobby it is important to keep close in mind that winemaking is supposed to be fun. Mistakes are bound to be made, and no one takes up winemaking without making a few along the way. Don’t let mistakes destroy the fun of the hobby. Rather, learn from them and seek to correct them.
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Written on June 22nd, 2010 by Kevinno shouts
The “Old Timer” is starting to feel young again. It has been over a year since restaurant owner Wayne Ellis had to file bankruptcy and close O.T.’s on Lakeview but the new O.T.s on Acton restaurant opening in Vestavia has all the signs of a successful business.
“O.T.” is short for the “Old Timer” nickname Ellis’ friends gave him years ago. “Yeah, ‘Old Timer’ is back,” the 62-year-old Ellis said Thursday. “I’m getting my legs back under me again.”
O.T.s on Acton Neighborhood Grill, as the new place is called, opened about five weeks ago, Ellis said, and the Birmingham restaurant got its liquor license approved last Friday. Ellis does not own the restaurant but runs it for owners Dean Sanders and Paul Gartman, fans of the old O.T.’s who came to Ellis about opening a new sports bar and grill and naming it after him. “O.T. is doing the cooking and the talking,” Sanders said Thursday. “He is the face.”
Gartman is executive vice president for Birmingham-based Definicare, which provides clinical research software to pharmaceutical companies, and Sanders has worked in the mortgage business and was a part-owner of the old Ezell’s Fish Camp restaurant in the Oak Mountain area. From the start, the owners wanted to keep the O.T’s name that Ellis spent 18 years building and wanted O.T.’s to stand out amongst other Birmingham restaurants. “They knew my reputation as a restaurateur, and they said, ‘We want you to run our restaurant and we will name it O.T.’s if you will come run it for us,’” Ellis recalled. “So I said, ‘Well, come on fellows. I’ve been looking for something to do for a while now. I’ve got to pay off some debts.’”
They have found what they believe is an ideal location in the former Veracruz Mexican Restaurant in the Dolly Creek Shopping Center — an easy drive for diners in Hoover, Vestavia Hills, Mountain Brook and the U.S. 280 area. And for Ellis, the restaurant is only a couple of miles from his home on Rocky Ridge Road. “My old customers, a lot of them have moved out here,” Ellis said. “A lot of them had lived on Southside over the years, and they had gotten married and had kids and moved to the suburbs.”
Many of those longtime customers are thrilled that their old friend is back in business. Mike Weeks and his wife, Dee, who live in Vestavia Hills, have eaten dinner at O.T.’s on Acton a couple of times already. “You see Wayne in there, and that puts a smile on your face,” Weeks said. A balding, bearded Vietnam vet with a gravely voice that sounds just like Billy Bob Thornton in “Sling Blade,” the gregarious Ellis and was a familiar face on the Lakeview scene for 18 years before the parent corporation he formed, MWE Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection in August 2008, listing assets of $50,000 and debts between $100,000 and $500,000. “When I closed down there, it was like losing one of my children,” Ellis said. “I was really depressed.” I was no longer one of the best bars in Birmingham.
Last August, a year after Ellis closed his restaurant, Kelley Rhea Harris, who used to wait tables and tend bar at the old O.T.’s, opened Kelley’s Neighborhood Sports Grill in that same Lakeview location. In the meantime, until Gartman and Sanders came along, Ellis continued to cater parties, cook private dinners and take special orders for his famous ribs.
Ellis’ financial woes did not, and do not, worry the new owners, they say. “I knew all of that going in, but I have a business background and know how to run things operationally,” Gartman said. “We are well-backed, well-funded, and it was a low-risk investment with Wayne focusing on the quality of the food and the environment itself, and Dean and I focusing on the business side of the equation.”
Gartman and Sanders, friends since they were teenagers growing up in Florence, named their Whipper Wheel LLC after an old favorite childhood swimming hole. Including the bar and dining area, O.T.’s on Acton seats about 125 guests, with seven flat-screen televisions for sports fans and video games in the back for the kids.
“It’s more family-oriented here,” Ellis said. “I’ve got 15 baseball fields behind us, so we’ve been getting a lot of Little League teams down here.” The setting may be different, but it the vibe is much the same. Ellis has decorated the place with the same New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival posters that hung on the walls at the old O.T.’s, and he still plays the blues of B.B. King and Stevie Ray Vaughan on the stereo.
He’s also brought back much of the same menu — from the fried pickles to the crawfish pie — while adding a few new dishes, including a kids’ menu. To make sure they get the recipes right, Ellis has also rehired a couple of his old cooks, Carolyn Green and Fernando Pardo. Green, whose daughter Karen also works in the kitchen, cooks lunch at Kelley’s in Lakeview and then comes to O.T’s to make dinner.
The time away from the restaurant business also offered Ellis the opportunity to perfect his popular dry-rub ribs. “Since I was off work for a year and a half, I had time to sit around the house and experiment,” he said. “So I’ve got a new marinade and rub.”
For now, O.T.’s on Acton is open for lunch, dinner and cocktails from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
It will start opening on Sundays in about a month, Ellis said.
This article was written by Bob Carlton — The Birmingham News
Written on April 11th, 2010 by blogno shouts
When I was a kid I was really astonished by the all those different types of glassware my parents use to keepJust for the wine there were different ones for red wine, another ones for white wine, the impressive champagne glasses, not to mention the ones for the spirits and the liqueurs. There was nothing more traumatic to remember as a child than watching my basketball falling over the glassware that was drying out after my parents had that big anniversary party.My reaction to that unfortunate event was always the same: had to take my ball, run as quickly as I could, find a safe place to hide it and then run back in the kitchen pretending I knew nothing about the whole incident.
I can still remember my dad’s voice coming out of the bedroom as a response to the glassware breaking noise, followed my mom’s more annoying one, due to the high pitch and tone of her voice that was really hurting my ears.Sometimes the punishment was severe as the party was going to take place in a just a few hours and it was already 7pm on a Saturday so all the shops were closed.Their punishment was always driving me mad as I couldn’t see the importance and the necessity of keeping so many different types of glasses all over the place, instead of having just a few ones.When I grown up a bit more and started drinking beer and spirits at my friends’ parties I started realising the reason why all those different types exist.
My dad told me off the other day as I insisted on having a proper wine glass in order to share with him that great homemade wine he had brought back from his holiday in France. Having the right glass is so important to me that the other day I denied having a glass of whisky at a friend’s place just because it wasn’t served in a proper whisky glass!I even believe that a real crystal glass makes even drinking water a much more enjoyable experience!I am entirely convinced that even water tastes better if served into a proper crystal glass!
Written on April 7th, 2010 by blogno shouts
It has been said by many that the largest wine cellar is at Bern’s Steak house. But how can a steak house has the biggest wine cellar in the World?? Yes I bet you are thinking the same thing as I am. Let me tell you something it does indeed have the largest wine cellar but it is for the restaurant. There are several wine racks as big as your living room (depending on the size of your living room I will just give another example so let’s say as big as the twenty feet swimming pool) holding their wines. The wine cellar is split between the restaurant and the two warehouses near by.
Bern’s steak house is based in Tampa Florida, United States of America. It is located in the middle of Tampa, Florida. Bern Laxer founded the Steak house in 1956. It is not only the biggest wine cellar they hold, they also hold the biggest charcoal grill of 20 feet which holds up to 200 steaks at once just imagine the amount of kitchen accessories they acquire. Lots of celebrities visit Bern steak house in regular basis, so this might be an opportunity for general public like me to visit top celebrities from Hollywood in the steak house.
We asked Lisa Shell (the waitress in Bern Steak house) who else come here, she replied people from different parts of the World come to experience the atmosphere of Bern steak house. Looks like this restaurant is second most visited tourist attraction after Disney land. There is a dinner lounge and after dinner you visit the desert room which is located just above the dinner room. I don’t remember the main menu but I remember being shocked seeing the dessert menu – it was off 65 pages with some fabulous selections.
People who have been there will definitely tell you that it is truly one of the best and the biggest restaurant in the World. In the memory of the place I have still kept complimentary personalised bottle opener of Bern Steak house, which was given to me ten years ago.
Written on March 23rd, 2010 by blogno shouts
Find out tips regarding giving Elegant Wine Gifts
It has become widespread fact that you should open a bottle of red wine at least an hour before serving in order to allow it breathe. However letting the wine breathe in it’s own bottle isn’t doing any good at all. The wine needs contact with oxygen to improve the flavor and aroma. Extremely little surface of the wine is exposed to the air while in the bottle.
That’s why actual wine connoisseurs will at all times use a wine decanter, especially for younger red wines. A decanter is a container for wine or other spirits and is usually very pretty. The key to a good quality decanter is the amount of wine surface that gets exposed to the air. Therefore, a red wine decanter needs to have a broad base. White wine does not need to breathe as much as red so decanters for white wine do not need to be as broad.
When you decant the wine, you should maximize the aeration effect by pouring it leisurely alongside the side of the decanter. This and the usual swirling in the wineglass will help the oxygen really permeate the wine. An hour is not sufficient time to breathe for a lot of red wines. In particular young wines have a propensity to be more harsh and may gain significantly from being decanted quite a few hours previous to serving.
An additional advantage of decanting wines is that it separates any sediments from the wine before they end up in your wineglass. Residue develops naturally over time as wines age. Even though aged wines do not have to breathe very long, decanting will make sure that the wines transparency and luminosity remain unmarred by any deposits. You will have to pour slowly and don’t decant the last ounce. You can strain that remaining bit afterward and utilize in cooking for superb season.
When choosing a wine decanter as a gift or for yourself, you will find yourself confronted with many of choices as they come in all sizes and shapes. For that reason you will have to take into account your budget as well as the tastes of the someone you are giving the decanter to.
For a very chic and stylish gift, one company stands on top of the rest. Variedly is a glass making company with over 250 years of history behind it and has a good status for the uppermost quality glassware. In 1990, the Riedel Glass Works bought one more very old glass company from the Spiegelau family. That company had been manufacturing glass for almost 500 years.
Decanters make a lovely wine gift as they blend the most superb elements of appearance and functioning. Every wine enthusiast on your list will value your thoughtfulness in presenting them with a helpful wine decanter.
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Written on March 1st, 2010 by blogno shouts
We have a new Tesco Super Store opening up in our Town today. According to local news stories, this is going to be a new all singing all dancing store selling just about everything you could ever want. It’s not really very fair on all the little independent traders that have been in the area for years!!
Don’t get me wrong as I am sure it has to be good for people looking for employment in our area. The new store has employed an additional 250 staff, so at least that will be 250 less people getting benefits each week.
However, there is an awful lot of controversy because Tesco’s have been granted a 24 hour alcohol licence. The new store is in an area of our town where crime is pretty high already. I’m not convinced it is such a great idea granting them a 24 hour licence. The scum who already roam the streets of the area at night are just going to be even worse if they are able to buy alcohol when they want.
Don’t get me wrong though I am a lover of alcohol, but is it really necessary to be able to purchase it at 3.00 o’clock in the morning?
Personally speaking I have never felt the urge to still be drinking alcohol at this time, and I would imagine if you are then you have a pretty bad alcohol problem.
The store was due to open at 8 this morning by one of our local Dignatary’s and there will be a bit of a party after the ribbon has been cut.
I wonder if Tesco have provided the refreshments??
Personally my favourite wine is a glass of red, but I bet they will have quite a choice. There will probably be German Wine, Italian Wine and maybe even some Portuguese Wine. I bit they haven’t gone all out though and provided any Champagne!!
Tesco are reportedly giving a local charity 1,000 Pounds towards building a children’s hospice. Although this sounds like a lot of money, when you consider that their annual pre-tax profits for 2009 were just over 3 billion, personally I think they could have given a little bit more!!!
Written on February 28th, 2010 by blogno shouts
It’s strange how we are all so different when it comes to choosing our wine.
Some people are real wine snobs and know exactly what they are looking for, and don’t settle for anything less. They don’t flinch at the price of the bottle, even if it tops the hundred pounds mark.
Other people may choose a wine just for the colour and packaging on the bottle. I will admit that some wines are packaged from a real marketing point of view, but that doesn’t mean the wine tastes any good.
Some people won’t drink red wine because it gives them a stinking headache the next day. A possibility of course is that they have drunk too much of it!!
I can’t actually stand either rose or white wine, unless it happens to have a bit of a fizz to it. A favourite Spanish Wine that fits into this category is the classic Cava. I love Cava, infact I can honestly say I prefer it to Champagne. If you can get your hands on a decent bottle of Vintage Cava then you really can’t go wrong. In our home it’s always a favourite drink when we are having a bit of a family celebration.
I also love a nice glass of red wine. I am rather unusual in that I love my red wine served really chilled. I can hear the cries of wine snobs all over the place crying out you can’t chill red wine, but that’s what I like to do and if I enjoy it that way, then that’s how I am going to drink it. A good example of a nice bottle of red is a Cabernet Sauvignon. This is a beautiful Chilean Wine that tastes superb.
I will say that I am not particularly fond of French Wine. I think it’s due to the fact that I’m not keen on the French full stop, so I tend not to buy their wine!!
Written on February 28th, 2010 by blogno shouts
Australia has been blessed with some of the top wine making climates in the world and this is reflected in their well respected wine products. Other surrounding countries such as New Zealand and Fiji are now getting in on the act however and are growing their stakes in the market by experimenting with innovative wine production.
In the news recently was the high-profile contentious issue of wine producers being able to mix together red and white wine, and call the end product rosé. Classically rosé has been made by removing the white juice mixture from the red grape skins at just the right time so that it doesn’t absorb so much of the colour. However, this method has been somewhat ‘adapted’ by some producers who are feeling the pinch in the recession and many are simply adding a small amount of red wine to white and calling it rosé.
Countries such as France, widely considered the finest wine producing country in the world, were not best pleased with this “mutilation” of rosé wine and did not wine glasses or decanters in pubs. However, those countries that have not set such strict rules for themselves, such as those in Australasia and Eastern Europe have profited from their liberalism. A spokesman from the New Zealand alcohol authority defended his country’s move by stating that people are free to consume whichever wine they wish. The companies that produce this blended form of rosé wine do not use any trickery to try and sell it as the traditionally made variety, and there are clear differences in the pricing. The spokesman argued that if people can make milk chocolate in a thousand different ways, why can the same not be done for rosé?
The blending together of some of the most popular wine varieties is another practice that is really taking off in Australasian countries.In Fiji for example you can buy Chenin Blanc mixed with Pinot Grigio and Tempranillo blended with Cabernet Franc. Mirroring the laid back approach of New Zealand, the Fijian wine makers suggest that wine is able to be blended just as easily and with the same success rate as whisky. They state that companies all over the world, and in particular Scotland, produce some very fine blended whiskies that not only often taste superior to single malts, but that are also able to sell at more modest prices. Next they will be telling us which tableware we must use when consuming the wine, stated one official.
The natives of Fiji have really taken a liking to this new blended wine, with around 150,000 bottles sold last year alone. Many might consider this to be a small about, but relative to the population of Fiji, which is around 850,000, this rate of sale is incredibly high. The blended wine is already drunk in many of the surrounding countries, but there are hopes to extend the export to every country and the Fiji producers are confident it will catch on.
Written on February 12th, 2010 by blogno shouts
The highly innovative technology for the production of Diam Cork is based on the idea that renewable cork is both its functional and its nostalgic and ecological value of the best raw material for closure of wine bottles. Cork has a long-term elasticity is ensured by a tight seal. Cork has an almost ideal for wine aging air permeability, is a renewable, completely natural raw material with great aesthetic potential. Of natural cork stoppers, however, have a very significant penalty, they are like any commodity crop habitat for fungi, which feed on the phenols in cork, generating metabolic products of some highly toxic, and aroma-intensive effects.
Mainly responsible for the cork taint of wines 2,4,6 – trichloroanisole (TCA) molecules are precisely those metabolic products of fungi. Even the tiniest meet TCA concentrations (1 teaspoon of the water of 1000 Olympic swimming pool), so that a wine is “corked”. However, TCAs are not the only molecules that pass by the cork from the wine and change it more or less noticeable. To this day, were detected over 150 different molecules contaminating the cork, which in addition to 2,4,6-TCA still at least 5 other molecules (guaiacol, geosmin, 2-Methylisoborneol (MIB), octen-3-ol, octen-3-one) significantly affect the aromatic qualities of the wine. The actual “Korker” among the wines (3-5%) are still the lesser problem, because they are relatively easy herauszuschmecken and the wine can be replaced, more problematic is the subtle change of the wine, taste the different wines, each bottle of the same and lets the true quality rarely come to really develop.
For such a highly sensitive quality product like wine, which is used with a lot of trouble at first in the vineyard to mature then in the basement for years, such a bottle stopper, mocks the efforts of all of these downright diabolical, really unacceptable. We have therefore experimented with numerous other closures, ausstachen but in which the disadvantages in the end the benefits again:
1. Plastic corks: insufficient elasticity, lead to high air permeability oxidized wines
2. Glass stopper (Vino-Lok): air-tight closure, so no wine breathing; adverse environmental balance
3. Aglomeratkorken: These corks are needed for processing up to 15 different chemical additives, although the elasticity is insufficient, the corks are too porous, allowing habitat for bacteria and fungi in the cork arises, sensory unsatisfactory
4. Screw: possible good wine breathing, risk of transit damage, ecological balance so well, does not reflect the nostalgic wine drinkers
To find out of the impasse of many false compromises on the closure of the bottles, put the French company Oeneo Bouchage on the mid-1990s, a comprehensive research program. The goal was to develop a process for leaching of unwanted foreign molecules and thus all the advantages of natural cork combine with a biologically, chemically neutral wine stopper.
Quickly it turned out that the cork can be washed and sterilized only safe when it is first chopped into small crumbs. We will, however, the cork is broken, it must be the resultant granulated cork after cleaning not only brought back into the shape of a bottle cork, but must again have the same elasticity and breathability as untreated natural corks. A variety of difficulties that could be overcome only through the development of several highly innovative technologies.
The starting material is from the Portuguese cork forests of Alcantara, with some whole cork or the remnants already used punched plates. The cork is ground and sifted out all the woody pieces of bark (60%), which are used as fuel. The cork granules come in a large tank, through the supercritical (semi-liquid, half gas) of CO2 at a temperature of 32 ° and a pressure bar is passed through it from 70th In a 3 hours-long continuous cycle wash the supercritical CO2 the unwanted molecules, which is devoted to CO2 recycled with very little loss. Analysis has shown that in this process, all to be washed out for the “Korker” responsible TCA molecules and more than 150 various other molecules.
The cork granules are washed, then heated to 150 ° and mixed with approximately 15% of a patented polyurethane which polymerized at this temperature and ensures the cohesion of the form of granulated cork. Since the crushing loss of the cork’s elasticity will be included in molding tiny Mikrospähren which ensure that the corks, even in very dry Flaschenlagerung not lose its elasticity and will ensure a lasting end to the bottleneck. Thanks to these microspheres can also adjust the permeability of corks to ensure harmonious aging of the wines. The Standardpermeabilität based on the average values of traditional cork with Fleur-quality.
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Written on February 1st, 2010 by blogno shouts
Although England is classically known as a lager and ale kind of country, the British do enjoy their wine. At one point in time when the climate was a bit warmer the British started producing their own wine instead of importing it from other countries. Wine was cheap and plentiful during the medieval ages. Then came the mini ice-age during the 1500’s, the up-and-coming wine industry dried up and wine once again had to be imported from France, Spain, and Italy.
Growing Grapes in Earnest
Vineyards began popping up again in Britain during the 1970’s. In 2006 there were around 400 vineyards in Southern England with a combined area of approximately 2000 acres. Not very large in comparison to places devoted to viticulture like Spain or France, but it’s speculated that global warming may tip the scales in favor of Britain’s burgeoning wine industry.
There is evidence to support this idea, at least with certain varietals – winemakers in Britain have greatly increased their sparkling wine production. Agricultural production for sparkling wine varietals (Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Pinot Meunier) has doubled in the last three years with more plantings soon to come.
Sparkling Wine Success
Success has come quickly to winemakers of English sparkling wine. With climate and soils similar to France’s Champagne region, winemakers from Britain are now competing with the French for the best in sparkling wines.
Nyetimber Vineyards are a shining example. The vineyard was created by Stuart and Sandy Moss specifically to rival the best estates of France. Nyetimber has won countless awards since the release of its wines in 1996. According to Stephen Skelton of the Wine Report 2008, Nyetimber wines got a further stamp of approval when rumor had it that the Queen and her guests drank it to toast the new millennium.
Little Demand in Britain
Currently British wine supplies only 1% of domestic demand for wine, yet there is an historical reason for this supposed lack of demand of Britains’s domestic consumption.
Expensive Tariffs
During the second World War when Britain needed to generate war revenue, it imposed import tariffs. These were specific tariffs of a certain amount levied on a per bottle or gallon of wine basis and they introduced an artificial bias against cheap wine. For example, if a levied tariff is $10/bottle, this price increase is not that much to a consumer who is willing to pay $100 for a bottle of wine. But if you add the same across-the-board tariff to a $5 of wine the effects are tremendous. The price of the wine jumps to $15. Who wants to pay that much for a $5 of wine?
A Beer Brewing Monopoly
British brewers were than able to take advantage of technological advances in beer production. This resulted in making a lot of beer on the cheap, and they were able to corner a monopoly on the market for British spirits. By creating a demand for cheap beer they could then build massive factories to satisfy the demand at low prices to themselves.
Brewers didn’t mind being taxed at fairly high rates in return for tariff protection from imported wine because this tactic gave them a large captive market willing to swill lots of lager and ale.
The Common Market and Margaret Thatcher
A cork was put in this convenient arrangement when Britain entered the Common Market and Margaret Thatcher’s market reforms took hold of the country. Britain was required to synchronize its wine tariffs with its European partners. These developments created an environment where British wine demand could return by removing the wine bias against popularly priced wines. Wine was then allowed to be marketed widely and competitively, especially through supermarket chains like Costco’s and Sainsbury’s.
Future Trends
Because of the climate British vineyards will always produce relatively low yields compared to most of Europe. That doesn’t have to be a disadvantage if you are a grower specializing in high quality varietals, but it does mean that production costs will be higher compared to world competition.
Even so, British wine is prepared to play a small yet crucial role in worldwide wine production and consumption.
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