The Wine Bottle

Australian white wines have unique flavor that truly makes it different from the other types of Chardonnays produced in other places. Australia has excellent varying climate that is perfect for Chardonnays. It generally has warn to cold environment with different types of soil textures; thereby producing various varieties of grapes. Hence, wine producers in Australia have more freedom on producing different wine types because they have abundance in various varieties of grapes.

That’s why there are several types of Australian white wines that you shall observe that are produced in this place; each having its own classy taste and appeal to the palate. In fact, you can easily detect its taste based on its colour; which usually range from pale and light yellow to orange and opulent yellow gold.

Taking into consideration that Australian regions have varying environmental condition and climate, each place also has its own unique type of wine based on the grape variety used. For instance, Chardonnays are darker than Rieslings are darker in color that Chardonnays and so on. Moreover, Chardonnays produced from warm regions are quite different in taste from the ones produced in colder regions.

Consequently, Australian white wines produced in warmer regions like Riverland, Rivernia, and Murray Darling are generally rich in tropical fruit flavors; while white wines coming from cooler regions, such as Mornington, Tasmania, and the Adelaide Hills, are more subtle with dominant citrus flavor. Among the best places that produce excellent quality Chardonnays that are rich in flavor and classic complexity are those coming from the Coonawarra, the Margaret River, and the world-famous Yarra Valley.

Nevertheless, regardless of the region where the Chardonnay is produced Chardonnay white wine is famous across the globe for its rich fruity flavors and aroma that many individuals across various countries are amazed of its unique classy taste.

A bottle of Australian Chardonnay is perfect for all occasion; and you can easily distinguish it from the rest of the world because it generally has a predominant taste of great combination of peach fruit, ripe melon, and fully ripened grapes with vanilla oak flavors.

What is ‘Noble Rot’? Rot is something we never associate with positive effects. We wouldn’t unplug our fridges to introduce it to 99.9% of our food under the impression that it would somehow make our food taste better (so please don’t!). However, there exist certain fungi that have a positive effect on your food and drink. Control is essential in the process: the grey fungus Botrytis Cinerea can turn malignant. The initial contraction of Botrytis Cinerea occurs when over-ripe grape are exposed to a spell of moist weather. ‘Grey rot’ is the classic result of leaving infection to take its course in continued wet weather. However, if dry weather (or other dry conditioning) occurs post infection, noble rot sets in.

An example of Noble rot in action is Coteaux du Layon, a sweet white Chenin Blanc Wine grown in the beautiful French Loire Valley. Noble rot wines like the Coteaux du Layon are typically full of sweet, concentrated tastes. Botrytisation is practiced around the world, but it tends to be a feature of ‘old world’ wine growing. European winemaking is an ancient practice, and produce like Austrian Ausbruch uses complex noble rot techniques with Pinot blanc grapes, which are themselves a complex mutant breed of  Pinot Noir Wine grapes.

So, how did wine producers stumbles upon the phenomenon? Was it a scientific study into fungi effects, or merely a desperate attempt to produce wine from spoilt grapes? The truth is unclear. Various wine growing regions lay claim to the discovery, each having a legend of origin for the practice. Predictably though, not one of these stories is verifiable, and all are actually not the earliest references to the practice (dated back to at least the 15th Century). Hungary’s legend is one of the earliest claims, claiming the invention of the noble rot method in 1630. The Rheingau region of Germany has a folk story, claiming that noble rot was first practised in the production of Riesling wine. The story goes that in 1775, a messenger en route from the Bishop of Fulda was robbed and the directive to harvest the grapes was consequently not communicated. The peasantry took the discarded wine and made an even better tasting blend. Whilst this is clearly not truly the invention of the noble rot technique, it could provide a date for its use in Riesling wines, which are among the varieties most commonly and successfully subjected to noble rot.

If you’re not exactly a wine connoisseur but you’re thinking about purchasing a special wine gifts for someone you may be wondering whether to buy white or red wine. Why not accompany wine giftswith a vintage bottle of wine for someone special.

Both types of wines possess different qualities and flavours to suit specific occasions. Red wine is rich and ‘oaky’ in its flavour. White wine is lighter and crisper and doesn’t offer that complexity in flavour that red does. The fermentation of a wine, and the grapes used, are central to the taste of a wine. Green grapes are used to make white wines, whereas black and red grapes make up red wine. During the fermentation process for red wine, the grape stems, seeds and grape skins are left in the pressing. White wine differentiates the stems, seeds and grapes skins are removed from the resulting squeezed juice. The complexity of red wine is largely due to retaining the stems, seeds and skins in the juice, this produces tannins and pigments.

What gives wine some of its flavour? Tannins are compounds that produce that sharp taste experienced in tea, coffee and wine. These compounds are extracted from plants and, in the wine making process, grapes. Not only do Tannins provide a complexity in the wine, it prevents oxidation in the ageing process. Red wine tends to be aged for a far longer than white, which is why Tannins are vital to this process. As the wine matures, the bite in the tannins diminishes and becomes mellow. Depending on the label, red and white can both be excellent additions to your meal. So get ready to sample, get the Placematsready and a range of wines to try. You small samples of each wine in shot glasses. People will tend to pick red wines to go with stronger flavoured meals, whereas white is commonly paired with less flavoured meals. But of course it depends on a person’s preference. Conventionally, red wine goes well with meat dishes whereas fish and chicken dishes can be complimented with a glass of white.

Most people really love or kind of hate Riesling. For some Riesling just brings back bad memories of cheap, sickly sweet plonk from years gone by. On the other hand, for it’s fans, Riesling is a beautifully pure and refreshing white wine full of juicy, youthful fruit and there is no greater white grape on the planet. So which is it?

Firstly most Australian Rieslings are dry as a bone and if they have significant sweetness it will be clearly stated on the label. Riesling is such an adaptable grape variety which is suitable for almost any event or occasion. Riesling is especially good if you’re looking for a fresh and subtle wine to drink by the pool on a hot day. Also it’s a great wine with food matching, especially with most types of seafood. You can safely and even perfectly match a nice Riesling to some oysters, prawns or even fish and chips. To top it all off generally there is no better priced wine on the market, so much so that for around $20 you can grab a classic Australian white wine.

Perhaps the most fascinating aspect of Riesling is that there are so many different styles now available. The best Rieslings have traditionally come from South Australia in the Eden and Clare and Eden Valley. These are age worthy wines with intense limey fruit flavours. There are a wide range of other cool climate regions of the country that are making some great Riesling wines. Orange, the Adelaide Hills, Henty the Great Southern region of Western Australia and even Tasmania have all made spectacular products from wine list Australia and are worth searching out for Riesling devotees.

So I’d suggest that if you’re one of the many wine drinkers that has long discarded the classic Australian riesling, now may be the time for rediscovery.

Wine drinkers here and abroad have had a long love affair with  Chardonnay. The Australian wine industry as a whole essentially invented the today’s Chardonnay with its bold, oaky consistency – and it was mostly Aussie wine drinkers who have been its biggest fans.

In recent times white wine tastes appear to be changing, with a move away from Chardy’s heavier styles. Australians wine wine preferences appear changing where consumers are taking to Sauvignon Blanc (65% of wine drinkers in July 2010) compared to Chardonnay (64%). With the a survey of only 1,000 monthly wine drinkers, they could easily change positions in the next Vinitrac survey in October. The not so great news for Chardonnay, is this may only be a temporary situation and more of an indication of a trend that is long term in nature.

Only as far back as 2007, 81% of Aussies consumed Chardonnay (based on the last 6 months). While only a year later in 2008, there was a sharp drop in wine sales to 76%, and lower still in 2009 to 69% in 2009, and is currently 64%. While at the same time, Sauvignon Blanc has seen continuous growth of about 59% in 2007 and currently at 65%. Chardonnay’s decline has not only benefited Sauvignon Blanc but also some niche wine varieties such as include Pinot Grigio (up from 18% to 24%) and Viognier (up from 8% to 13%).

This is of very little shock to the owners of Australian wine brands, where the the market has seen big sales growth in sales of Sauvignon Blanc, mostly from New Zealand, and has been a significant consumption trend since 2008. A key market insight from these findings may have more to do with Australian consumer’s rejection of the old faithful, oaky Chardy as opposed to the growing popularity for Sauvignon Blanc.

Valencia is an area that’s renowned for its wine production. There’s essentially a large amount of dry white wine exported overseas to be used in restaurants or for non-public use from this area. The explanation being because Valencia’s weather, climate and soil all provide perfect conditions for wine production.

Dry white wine is a delicacy that should be served with meals and on vital occasions. In Valencia, where you’ll find a large amount of great dry white wine, you’ll discover the area is widely known for its fiestas and parties that happen across the year. As such, this dry white wine actually has changed into part of masses of the people from Valencia’s way of living. This is particularly true since there are plenty of white grapes in Valencia that are then capable of getting used to make flavorsome dry white wine.

Virtually all the time you will find a good, dry white wine will go best with white beef dishes. It’ll taste truly good with starters like fish and chicken. You may also find a dry white wine is really good for cooking with. The reason being because the wine’s astringency will add some amazing flavoring to the food that you are preparing in your own kitchen.

Your dry white wine must be chilled in either a refrigerator or in a bucket of ice before it is prepared for drinking. This can let you derive the most benefit from the wine’s flavours. It is also important to note that you cannot store any type of drinkable wine for over one or two years. Wine does indeed go bad, and if you’ve ever sampled a pitcher of old wine, you’ll definitely agree. Now you know more about Valencia’s dry white wine, you may be warranted that you’re intending to make the right wine selections so you’ll be positioned to enjoy them absolutely.

Another technique to get a taste of this wine is to partake of a holiday to this area, and eat in one of Valencia’s many fine eateries where you can try the white wines available. You might also attend the Spanish Wine Holiday , which is commonly called ‘La Rioja Wine Festival,’ where you may also sample this wine. Naturally, there also are masses of other wine fiestas held in this area across the year, for example the ‘La Tomatina Fiesta’and the ‘Fiesta Fallas de San Jose.’ tons of opportunities abound to get a flavor of the nice wines of this area.

It’s strange how we are all so different when it comes to choosing our wine.

You have the real wine snobs who know exactly what they want to drink and won’t settle for anything less.  It doesn’t seem to bother them how expensive the bottle is, even if it costs over a hundred pounds.

Other people may choose a wine just for the colour and packaging on the bottle. I will admit that some wines are nicely packaged, but I wouldn’t choose my wine just because the bottle looks pretty.

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 a nice glass of Cava, infact I actually prefer it to Champagne. If you can buy a decent bottle of Vintage Cava then you really can’t go wrong.   It’s always a favourite in our house when we have something to celebrate.

I also love a nice glass of red wine.   Unusually though I love my red wine served chilled and the colder the better. Wine snobs all over the country will be crying out that you shouldn’t chill red wine, but that’s how I like to drink it, so surely it is my choice. A nice 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!!

There are a few points you should know to enhance your judgment as to what makes a good wine and its taste. One is that wine is made from fermented grape juice. But you should know a few other things, such as the grape varieties wines are made from and the process of wine making itself.

There are many varieties of wines. The most commonly known ones are red, white, rose and champagne. Wines are usually classified according to the grape varieties they are made from. One grape variety, the Barbera, is often used for red wine. Grown mainly in Piedmont, Italy, this variety is quite adaptable to other regions, and is also grown on a limited scale in the United States. Barbera grapes produce wines with a full-bodied fruity taste as they have a high natural acidity.

Wine Varieties

There is a vast selection when choosing one of the many varieties of wine. Wine enthusiasts all know about one variety grown in many parts of the world, the Cabernet Sauvignon. Grown primarily in Medoc, France, this grape variety has found its way to California, Australia and other wine-making countries. Cabernet Sauvignon wines are considered by wine enthusiasts as among the best red wines in the world. These wines have a distinct aromatic flavor, and have hints of the taste of berries, olives, coffee, mint and herbs all blended together. One of the most popular white wine varieties and producing some of the world’s finest, is the Chardonnay. The varieties and types are overwhelming at times, but you don’t take long to become familiar with all the wine values.

A basic understanding of the wine-making process is important to a wine enthusiast, especially if he is interested in going into wine production himself if only for personal consumption. Wine making is really quite simple and is an age-old technology. It is not necessary to have sophisticated equipment to make wines.

To start you have to know what type of grapes to use and where they are grown, the right age for picking, and things like acidity and sugar levels. If you want a particular aromatic flavor, you should be able to tell which grapes will produce that kind of flavor. After the picking of the grapes, comes the pressing to extract the juices, and then the fermentation process.

The fermentation process is quite delicate. To stimulate the fermentation process, yeast is added to the juice. Basically, fermentation is the conversion of the sugar in the juice into alcohol. The success of your grape juice turning into good wine, is the kind of yeast used and the absence of any contaminants getting into the mixture during the entire process.

There is so much more to knowing the difference between a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, but the knowledge to the types of wine available is a small start for the wine enthusiast.

For those who are just starting to explore the wonderful world of wine, you may be somewhat confused by the vast variety of wines – reds, whites, bubbly, blends – and the many, many choices within each of those broad categories. We’ll focus on just one of those for this brief intro – white wines. We’ll give you a short tour of the most popular varietals (types of grapes), tell you what you can expect from each of them and what sets them apart from each other.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is certainly the most popular white wine in America – in fact, it’s claimed to be the only white wine many wine lovers consume. Chardonnay is quite often the first white wine a new wine fan will try, largely because it is so easy to enjoy. Chardonnay is typically on the dry side, meaning that it’s not very sweet, and it tends  to have flavors of tropical fruit, apples, vanilla, and butter, and degrees of oak, depending on the winery where it was produced. “White Burgundy”, from France, is almost always 100% Chardonnay. Many other wine regions throughout the world produce Chardonnay, including Chile and Australia. There are many good choices of American Chardonnay available for under $20. Popularand consistently reliable producers include Beaulieu Vineyards, Columbia Crest, and Chateau St. Michelle, among others.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc, also known as Fume Blanc, is another very popular white wine. Sauvignon Blanc is quite often described as “freshly mown”, meaning that it reminds the taster of freshly mown grass. It is a medium-bodied white wine with fruity aromas like grapefruit, melon, and peach, and is dry and refreshing with medium acidity. Sauvignon Blanc is a great wine for summer, especially good with seafood and it’s one of the best all around matches for hors d’oeuvres and picnics. A very nice choice, for under 15 dollars, is produced by Babich (New Zealand).

Pinot Grigio

Pinot Grigio, also referred to as Pinot Gris (the actual grape’s name), is Italy’s most popular white wine, and is popular throughout the world, although the Italian Pinot Grigios can be somewhatbland. Pinot Grigios are easy to drink, because they have a crisp, light taste. The Pinot Gris offerings from Oregon tend to have more character, having medium body, with more readily noticeable fruit and more acidity. Better bottles have fruity flavors of apple, pear, honeydew and some spice. A couple of very nice Pinot Gris from Oregon, available at between $12-$18, are Chateau St. Michelle and King Estate, among others.

Riesling

Riesling wines are generally considered the most popular German wine, and they are produced in two vastly different styles – dry and sweet. Rieslings are categorized by the ripeness of the grapes when picked. Kabinett signifiesnormally ripe grapes, and is a light to medium-bodied, mostly dry wine. You’ll oftensee the word “trocken” on a bottle of Riesling, which means “dry” in German. “Spatlese” is made from grapes picked when riper, and results in a bit richer, slightlysweeter, wine. “Auslese”, which means late harvest, is made from even riper grapes, and is often quitesweet. Rieslings are typically fruity, with peach, honeysuckle, and apple flavors and floral undertones. Rieslings are relatively inexpensive – you can find excellent selections for under $10. One consistently excellentchoice is Strub Niertsteiner Riesling Kabinett, along withChateau Ste. Michelle Riesling.

Gewurztraminer

Gewurztraminer is another very well-knownGerman white wine, while also being produced in the U.S., France, New Zealand, and Australia. Gewurztraminer is also availablein both dry and sweet styles. Gewurztraminers have a brazen, full-bodied taste, considerably more so than most other whites. Typical aromas found inGewurztraminer are lychee nuts and rosewater, and its flavors include apricot, honeysuckle, and honey. A nice, inexpensive Gewurztraminer is available fromTrimbach (France, under $15).

A final note

The best way to determine your preferencesin white wine is to just pick out a samplingof bottles, and just try them. For each varietal, you’ll want to choose a bottle that’s representative of the style you’re investigating. Websites like Wine.com can be very helpfulwith finding solid, yet inexpensive choices. Once you find a varietal and producer you like, you might want to pick up a case to have on hand for entertaining, or to just enjoy at home. Most white wines do not improve with aging, so you shouldn’t keep them around for years. However, you dowant to be careful to store your wine properly, so they retainthe wonderful flavors and aromas you expect. You might consider investingin an small wine fridge, to keep all your wines at their best.

White wines are best served chilled, so it’s a good idea to refrigerate them beforehand, then take them outabout 15-20 minutes before serving. Better yet, you might want topurchase an electric wine chiller, which will chill (or warm) a single bottle of wineto the best temperature automatically – just select the pre-programmedwine varietal, insert the bottle, and the chiller will cool your wine to the best temperature, and keep your wine at that temperaturethroughout your wine tasting.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 “Pale plonk packs an acidic punch!” says the BBC, Well, it does and it doesn’t. A tooth can withstand a level of acidity, and grapes do vary in acid levels. What is detremental to teeth is the time that they are exposed to this acid. For example, wine tasters and merchants that can sample around 50 wines a day, holding the wine in their mouth for around 60 seconds are more likely to suffer from erosion than the typical wine drinker. Loads of noise on twitter for the story on http://twitter.com/winewarecouk and http://twitter.com/thirstforwine.

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So what does White wine actually do to teeth?

It should be pointed out that the erosion of teeth by wine is the result of extensive wine use that would also lead to damaged liver and all sorts of other problems. The typical wine drinker who sips a glass of wine at dinner or with their evening meal should not be ‘scared off’ by the tooth decay headlines, remember 100 year old women in Italy swear that wine was the secret of their longevity.

White wine stains teeth:

I think that anyone who has drank a few glasses of Red would agree that, yes, it does. Have you though how this is? “Red wine, unlike white, contains a highly-pigmented substance known as chromogen,” explained Dr. Wolff of the New York University College of Dentistry, they goes on to explain that “The acids in wine create rough spots and grooves that enable chemicals in other beverages that cause staining, such as coffee and tea, to penetrate deeper into the tooth”.

Dr Wolff pointed out that all wine has the abilty to damage the tooths surface, red wine merely lets us know where that damage is.

Is tooth erosion a loosing battle?

1) Alkaline mouthwashes are highly recommended

2) Proper brushing of your teeth with a soft tooth brush is encouraged.

3) Add food to your wine enjoyment and you’ll find yourself with much better teeth.

4) To aide remineralisation of your teeth, please wait for 20 mins after food before cleaning your teeth.

5) Cheese can also help as it contains calcium in a high concentration

I hope this is helped a little towards taking away the fear factor of White wine.

Feel like i want to go brush my teeth now