Online Wine Buying Guide
November 13, 2009 by WineMag.us · Leave a Comment
Online Wine Buying Guide
Sipping a glass of wine a day could boost our health benefit. With so many wine kinds at the market nowadays, it is hard to choose which one that suits our taste and personality. While maybe some research will give us some pictures about its characteristics, it would be really nice if we could go do wine tasting at the winery. Unfortunately wine can only grow well in certain areas and some of us could not afford to visit winery which easily cost us fortune. Read more
Types of Wine Racks
January 6, 2009 by WineMag.us · Leave a Comment
Wine Racks
Wine has been produced since long in history. The earliest one known was produced by natural fermenting of grape vine juice. Later, other types were introduced and they were made by fermenting fruit juices like apple, elderberry, barley and rice. The use of yeast in production of this drink helps to convert fruit sugars into alcohol. They are of various colors depending on ingredients used.
Bottled drinks should be stored safely on a rack. These storage facilities are of different sizes and can be used to store large or small collection. They also come in a variety of designs, can be mounted on the wall, hung or placed strategically in a corner. In case you want to place it in a corner, you have to choose color and design that will go well with your furniture. Wine racks are sold along with glass rack, this adds a decorative value.
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Wine Label Information
October 27, 2008 by WineMag.us · Leave a Comment
Most labels have the following information:
1. Name of winery
2. Appellation - Name of the wine growing region.
3. Name of the vineyard(s)
4. Varietal name - If there is no varietal name, the wine is probably a blend (cuvee).
To be able to call a US wine by the vine grape variety, it must contain at least 75% of wine from that grape. Traditional wines from France, Italy, and Spain, use the place of origin instead of
the varieties.
5. Vintage - The year the grapes were grown. If there is no vintage, it is probably a mixture of wines made in different years.
Labeling laws and requirements will vary between countries.
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47 White Wine Varietals
October 27, 2008 by WineMag.us · Leave a Comment
47 white wine varietals
Here is a list of vine varieties with a description of the white wines made from them.
| Variety | Origin | Description |
| Aligoté | French | Poor man’s Burgundy. Pale, light, crisp wine. Not for ageing. |
| Alvarinho | Portugal | Produces Vinho Verde, very crisp, light with a slight prickle. |
| Auxerrois | French | Acidic, very dry and full-bodies, Chablisesque. |
| Bacchus | German | Silvaner, Riesling and Müller-Thurgau cross. Flowery, light Muscat bouquet, low acidity. Used mainly for blending. |
| Bual | Madeira | Sweet full-bodies fortified wine, burnt amber colour, fig-like bouquet. |
| Chardonnay | French | Ranges from crisp, apple-like flavours in cool climates to caramel, pineapple and tropical tones in warm areas. Buttery, toasty or clove-like finish. Ages well, usually in oak. |
| Chasselas | E. Europe |
Light, crisp wine with delicate bouquet in Switzerland. Rather insipid elsewhere. |
| Chenin Blanc |
French | Honeyed, high-acid wines in the Loire. Lots of fruit. Ages many years. California model is much softer and fruitier. |
| Colombard | French | (French Colombard) Originally a cognac grape, now grown in California for soft, flowery wines. |
| Emerald Riesling |
California | High-yielding Muscadelle, Riesling cross. Aromatic, soft, fruity. |
| Fumé Blanc |
Californian name for Sauvignon Blanc or Sauvignon/Sémillon blend. Fruitier and less grass than Loire model. |
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| Folle Blanche |
French | Once a major grape in Cognac. High acid, not much character. |
| Furmint | Hungary | Principal grape of Tokay. Can be dry, off-dry or sweet. Apple or apricot and toffee bouquet, depending on style. |
| Gewürztraminer | Italy | (Traminer) Spicy, exotic, rose petal and lychee bouquet. Can be dry (Alsace) or sweet (Germany, California). |
| Grüner Veltliner | Austria | Fresh, lively, fruity, dry wine for drinking young as in the “new” wine, Heurige. |
| Hárslevelü | Hungary | Spicy, full-bodied, aromatic. Good for sweet wines. |
| Jacquère | French | Light, very dry and brisk wine from Savoie. |
| Kerner | German | Red Trollinger, Riesling cross. Spicy, fruity wines with good acidity. |
| Malvasia | Greek | Produces lusciously sweet dessert wines in warm climates and crisp dry ones in northern areas. The grape of the sweet Madeira, Malmsey. |
| Marsanne | French | Deep-coloured, high-alcohol wines blended with the more delicate Roussanne in the Rhône. |
| Morio-Muscat | German | Silvaner, Pinot Blanc cross. Full-bodied, fruity with spicy bouquet. |
| Müller-Thurgau | German | Riesling, Silvaner cross (or two clones of Riesling). Less acidic than Riesling, soft and fruity. Lacks ageing potential. |
| Muscadelle | French | Perfumey grape used to add bouquet to some white Bordeaux (Sauvignon and Sémillon). |
| Muscadet | French | (Melon de Bourgogne) Light, pale, racy wines with lively acidity from the Loire. |
| Muscat | Greek | Perfumed, raisiny bouquet with a characteristic spiciness in dessert wines. Can also be made dry as in Alsace and Australia. |
| Palomino | Spanish | The grape of sherry. Neutral wine, low acidity. |
| Pedro Ximenez | Spanish | A very sweet white wine used in sherry, thought to be Riesling. |
| Picolit | Italian | Dessert wine grape of Friuli. Deep coloured, rich, slightly bitter. |
| Pinot Blanc | French | (Pinot Bianco/Weissburgunder) Relative of Chardonnay but with less character and ageing potential. Best from Alsace. |
| Pinot Gris | E. Europe | (Pinot Grigio, Ruländer) Full-flavoured, elegant wines capable of ageing. |
| Riesling | German | (Johannisberg Riesling, Rhine or White Riesling) Finest German variety, capable of making a range of wines from steely dry to toffee-sweetness. Floral nose, keen acidity. |
| Rkatsiteli | E. Europe | All-purpose grape producing ordinary table wines, dessert wines and fortified wines. |
| Sacy | French | The name suggests it all. Frisky, tart wine from Chablis region. |
| Savagnin | French | Makes Sherry-style vin jaune in the Jura region. |
| Sauvignon Blanc | French | Makes grassy, gooseberry, smoky wines in the Loire and accompanies Sémillon in dry and sweet wines of Bordeaux. California model is rounder and fruitier and fig-like. |
| Scheurebe | German | Silvaner, Riesling cross. Aromatic, fruity with pronounced acidity. Best in dessert style. |
| Sémillon | French | Honey and apricot bouquet when affected by Botrytis (see page 22). Blended with Sauvignon Blanc for dry Bordeaux. Lacks acidity. |
| Sercial | Portugal | Produces the driest, lightest style of Madeira. Good acidity. Ages well. |
| Seyval Blanc | French | Hybrid. Makes dry wines with a grassy, green plum flavour. Does not age well. |
| Silvaner | Austrian | Mild, neutral wine with good body. Useful for blending. |
| Trebbiano | Italian | (Ugni Blanc, St. Emilion) Pale colour, high acid, medium-body, shy bouquet. |
| Verdelho | Spain | Produces off-dry Madeira and soft, nutty table wines. |
| Verdicchio | Italian | Crisp, dry wines with a hint of bitterness. |
| Vidal | French | Hybrid. Good fruit and acidity. Can range in styles from tart Sauvignon Blanc to Late Harvest and Icewine. |
| Viognier | French | Rich, elegant, full-bodied, floral-peachy wine especially in the Rhône. Capable of ageing. |
| Viura | Spanish | (Macabeo) Fruity aromatic wines with high acidity capable of wood ageing. |
| Welschriesling | French | (Riesling Italico, Laskiriesling, Olaszriesling) Floral, zesty, versatile but not as elegant as Johannisberg (White or Rhine) Riesling. |
Why are alcohol levels in wine higher today?
October 26, 2008 by WineMag.us · Leave a Comment
One of the hot topics of debate within the wine industry today relates to the overall increase in the alcohol levels of many wines. Wines that were commonly 12.5% alcohol twenty years ago, now routinely register 14.0%. It would be easy to dismiss this dramatic change in wine as yet another result of global warming, but there are a number of other factors behind this trend as well, and everyone in the industry plays a role in this. The increase in alcohol is merely a result of producers pursuing riper grapes, in an effort to make better wine. Read more
