The Wine Bottle

A Great fine wine is meant to be enjoyed. Drink what you love best and with what you love best. Life is complex enough without having to stress over that one and only {perfect|ideal} wine to go with a particular food. If you take pleasure in a fine red wine with fish, drink it, and if you benefit from a fine white wine with beef, drink it. If you take pleasure in a red wine with chocolate, enjoy.  Just bear in mind, a good rule of thumb is red wines commonly are best served with red meat and firm cheese; white wines are best served with fish, poultry and light vegetable dishes. Sweet white wines are served with dessert.

A great fine wine that displays fruit that tastes ripe will make your mouth think of berries almost melting with flavor on your pallet, apples and pears that are wet, crisp, and soft all at once, or passion fruits that have begun to wrinkle,  generally thought of as a sign of rot in fruits,  are  bursting with flavor. The minute before it begins to rot is the ripest a fruit can be, and this is the exact flavor that you want to pair together with spicy food.

 Today’s most popular types of wines are the red wine, the white wine, the sparkling wine, the table wine, the cooking wine and port wines.

When it comes to popularity, red wines are at the top, one type of red wine is produced in Bordeaux, France. These types of wine, known as cabernet sauvignon, are red wines and are the foremost choice of food connoisseurs the world over. This is by far the most popular wine known to consumers.

There are other exquisite red wines that are considered to be very popular such as the Grenache red wine which comes with a distinct smoked raspberry flavor; then you have the Merlot that tastes like cherry with chocolate, and there is the Pinot Noir that has a very special taste which is something like mint, black cherries and raspberries combined together. The Pinot Noir is however, remarkably difficult to cultivate

Sparkling wine is well known for its petite bubbles that race to the surface and tickle the nose. Sparkling wine is one of the most exotic yet refreshing kinds of wine, providing memories and happiness once the cork is released into the air. For several years, this exotic wine has proven to be among the most popular kinds of wine for celebrations and special achievements. 

Port wine is positively one of the most popular. Most likely, if you are a wine novice then you are probably wondering what port wine even is. For these people, port wine may need an explanation, here is a bit of information.

There are many different types of wines produced around the world. Many people are familiar with the classic red and white types of wine that give a sense of elegance to any meal. There are also wines that are designed to be more of an after dinner drink and these are known as port wine.

One final wine well worth mentioning because it is almost  unheard of is called ice wine.The rarest wine known today is Ice Wine.Ice wine is produced under only very  extreme weather conditions. Ice wine is mainly grown and processed in the Pacific Northwest Region, where the weather conditions are perfect for growing it.

As odd as it may seem, ice wine is produced in small quantities only  and  the  finest of quality, lack of availability, makes it  exceptionally rare. Unfortunately, do to how tremendously|exceptionally expensive it is , there are only a few lucky people who are actually able to take pleasure in this wine.

We don’t often think of Michigan as a wine producing State do we, but look at the facts:

• Michigan has 13,500 acres of vineyards making Michigan the fourth largest grape-growing state.

• Almost all of this acreage is devoted to juice grapes such as Concord and Niagara.

• About 1,500 acres are dedicated to wine grapes, making Michigan the eighth in wine grape production.

• Vineyard area has increased 24% since 1997.

• Michigan’s 45 commercial wineries produce more than 200,000 cases of wine annually, making the state 13th in wine production. Over 95% of the production is from Michigan-grown grapes.

• Wineries are popular tourist destinations, attracting more than 600,000 visitors annually. Some of these wineries also have retail stores where it’s possible to purchase anything from a wine cellar kit to a wine cooler refrigerator.

• Wine production and winery tourism annually contribute $75 million to the state’s economy.

• Three types of grapes are used for wine in Michigan:

• • Vinifera varieties — these are the classic European varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling (the most widely planted white), Pinot Noir (the most widely planted red), Pinot Grigio/Gris and Cabernet Franc; 58% of Michigan’s wine grapes are vinifera. Since 1998, 71% of the new plantings in Michigan have been vinifera varieties.

• • Hybrid varieties (sometimes called French/American hybrids) — these are botanical crosses between vinifera varieties and grapes native to North America. Typical names are Vidal, Chambourcin, Marechal Foch and Vignoles; 41% of Michigan’s wine grapes are hybrids.

• • Native varieties — actually close relatives of true native varieties. Common names are Concord and Niagara. Only 3% of Michigan’s wine is made from these hybrids.

• The vast majority of Michigan’s quality wine grapes grow within 25 miles of Lake Michigan. Here, the “lake effect” protects the vines with snow in winter, retards bud break in spring helping avoid frost damage, and extends the growing season by up to four weeks.

• Michigan has four federally approved viticultural areas (AVAs). In the northwest part of the state, near Traverse City, lie the Leelanau Peninsula and the Old Mission Peninsula. This area has a growing season averaging 145 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,350 growing degree days; 51% of Michigan’s wine grapes grow here. In the southwest part of the state are the Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville appellations, where 45% of Michigan’s wine grapes are grown. This area has a growing season averaging 160 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,750 heat units. Both are Region 6 on the USDA plant hardiness zone map.

• Harvest begins for early hybrid varieties at the end of August in the southwest and may extend into November for late-ripening vinifera varieties in the northwest.

• Michigan wines win many medals at prestigious competitions every year. More than 16% of the wines entered in the Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition had already won Gold Medals in regional, national and international competitions. A list of winners is available upon request.

• Michigan wineries make many styles of wine, from dry to sweet including Ice Wine, sparkling, fortified, fruit wines and eau-de-vie (fruit brandy).

• Michigan wines are usually “cool climate” – clean, crisp, balanced wines that exhibit real varietal charact.
• Michigan Wines are very popular choices in the offerings of Wine Clubs
  where you set up a monthly subscription to order wine online

Next time you’re savoring your favorite Chardonnay, check the label. It just may not have originated in California!

It’s very important that your collection is stored properly so it will last for years. The older your wine gets, the more mature its taste will become, and it gets more valuable as well. Wine racks range from very expensive to cheap, many try to stay on the cheap side. In this time, money saving is important, so if you want a cost effective wine cellar you may not want to spend a lot of money. It’s important that you have a quality wine rack plan before you go any further. Your job will be much more rewarding if you build with quality in mind so it wil last for years.

Make sure your wine rack uses the most of your avaliable space. The environment the wine is stored in is crucial to how high the quality stays. Wine storage is pretty simple, there are only three big factors to consider: light, humidity, temperature. Wine is tempermental and does not respond well to high heat or sunlight. The flavor and quality of your wine will be wrecked by the sunlight. Hold the temperature around fifty five degrees as steady as possible. New style glass corks save you from worrying about the cork drying out. If you already have your wine cellar storage constructed, there’s only one step left.

A Wine of the month club presents you with the best wines to add to your cellar bit by bit. Storing your wine will become an issue as you collect a wide variety of vintages. A fancy choice is a standalone corner wine rack. Each shelf of those racks will keep many wine bottles. It makes for simple retrieval as well since they are all out in the open. You can choose how elegant you want your wine rack to be. Don’t be afraid to ask for a discount if you are purchasing in bulk. Wine rack plans are a dime a dozen, if you go that route then you can save a lot of money.

The cheapest way to go is to construct your own. It’s fun to make a wall mounted wine rack, and it can be rewarding as well. All that is required are some standard tools and some free wine rack plans you can find anywhere on the internet. You can build a racking system for under ten dollars if you wanted to.

There is an even cheaper way to go, with just a bunch of wood and bricks you can build a decent wine cellar. Simply stack one or two bricks on each side of a plank, and add another plank on top and you’ve got a shelf, repeat and you’ve got two. These options give you the power to decide how much the project will cost. Making a budget wine rack is a great cheap and easy option that is simple to do for anybody. Check out our website for many more wine storage suggestions.