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Dec
31

Iron and Wine perform History of Lovers 12/2/07



rainmanpdx asked:




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Dec
31



Picturesque Tuscany, one of Italy’s twenty wine regions, is classic wine country, and the origin of some of the world’s most popular red wines. The relatively high altitude, hillside Tuscan vineyards, with high temperature fluctuations and harsh winters, provide high-quality wines.

The vineyards of Tuscany’s four main wine districts are buzzing with activity during La Vendemmia, the autumn grape harvest. The weather at this time of year is just perfect for touring the back roads of Chianti, Carmignano, Montalcino and Montepulciano. And you can dine at many of the wineries, cafes or small restaurants and taste delicious cheeses, olives and breads, while sampling the wines.

Carmignano, on the slopes of Mount Albano, just to the west of Florence, has a history of more than 2,500 years of wine production. Here wines are made with a blend of Sangiovese, Canaiolo, Cabernet and Sauvignon grapes, including Barco Reale di Carmignano, the Carmignano Rosato, and the Carmignano Rosso di Riserva.

There are Carmignano wines for all budgets. For lovers of many wine styles, vineyards to visit include: Tentua di Capezzana Ambra, Artimino, Castelvecchio, Fattoria il Poggiolo, Le Farnete, Piaggia and Il Poggiolo. Be sure to visit the Museum of Grapevine to learn about the district’s history and its wines.

Take a trip to Chianti, nestled in the hills south of Florence, where you can tour not only fabulous vineyards, but you can also have a look through the many old farmhouses, abbeys, villas, and castles found throughout the district. Just outside San Donato is Casa Emma, and near Volpaia, a lovely old hill town, is Castello Di Volpaia, with its stone buildings filled with winery equipment. Prime wine estates include Gallo Nero wines.

Chianti is a very dry red wine, with a concentrated fruit character, made mostly from the local black Sangiovese grapes, mixed with the white Trebbiano grapes. They are brought together to give Chianti wines their famous dry, full-bodied character. Visit one of the many vineyards offering cellar door tastings, and save on retail prices when you purchase the wine at its source. Wines from the Chianti subdistrict of Classico, have the symbol of a black rooster on the label.

One of Italy’s most famous appellations, Brunello di Montalcino, comes from southern Tuscany, produced from the Sangiovese vines around the historic town of Montalcino. Many wineries here blend other grapes, principally Cabernet Sauvignon, but also Canaiolo and Ciliegiolo, with the Sangiovese grapes to produce some of the best Tuscan wines and wines that the region is known for.

Finally, be sure to visit Montepulciano, an ancient walled hilltop town in southeast Tuscany, and try the signature wine of Montepulciano, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, one of Tuscany’s classic red wines. Aged for a minimum of four years, these richly fruited wines are long-lived. Also made here is Vin Santo, a Sherry-like dessert wine made from dried white grapes, more often Trebbiano and Malvasia. The best and, naturally, the most costly is Vin Santo, made in Montepulciano and produced by Avignonesi.



Rodney Ritchie asked:




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Dec
31



The nutritionists are yet to come up with a cure all diet plan. However they do point out to few foods and drinks, which if regularly included in our diet can work wonders.

In the whole world the health benefits of red wine are being re discovered in a new way – the modern world has unanimously accepted: red wine is beneficial for our health if consumed in moderation.

How can red wine benefit you?

Dr. Serge Renaud, a French scientist whose findings appeared in the journal Epidemiology is of the opinion that “Wine protects not only against heart disease but also most cancers.”

Renaud conducted his study on 34,000 middle-aged men living in eastern France and the outcome of the study became famous as “the French paradox”: Frenchmen, in spite of their enjoying foods rich in saturated fats, possess hearts significantly healthier than people in any other parts of the world.

This wonder has been attributed to the so-called “Mediterranean diet” miracle, which involves a larger intake of red wine. The effects of this are believed to lower the rates of heart disease in those countries.

What makes red wine so beneficial for your health?

A team of scientists from Barts and the London School of Medicine, and the Queen Mary University in London, are credited with the discovery of a mechanism that works for making this drink extremely beneficial for your health.

According to these groups of scientists, it acts as a hindrance to the production of a particular body chemical which clogs up the arteries and increases the risk of a heart attack.

Red wine is a rich source of antioxidants flavonoid phenolics. Most of the studies discussing the health benefits of this beverage emphasize on its phenolic constituents, particularly resveratrol and the flavonoids.

Resveratrol is a substance that can be found in grape skins and seeds and it increases the level of HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol) and prevents blood clotting.

Flavonoids on the other hand are antioxidant substances that help prevent blood clots and plaques formation in arteries.

How much do you need to drink per day to get the benefits?

According to Dr Roger Corder, from the William Harvey Research Institute at St Barts, “If you consume one glass of red wine and you have a good absorption of the active principle that would be more than adequate.” “Wine is a more diluted form of alcohol, which is important to the body and, if taken moderately at mealtime, it is easily absorbed,” he further explained. He also maintained that Cabernet Sauvignon-derived wines seemed to have the most impact.



Tania Penwell asked:




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Dec
31



What is Champagne? Lets start with the fundamental question of what Champagne exactly is. Champagne is a sparkling wine. Simply put, a wine that has bubbles or is carbonated. Thus, Champagne is after all wine. Champagne is actually a northern region in France. It is here that Champagne is made and bottled for the world to enjoy. In fact, only if the wine is from the Champagne region, can it be called Champagne. If it is manufactured any where else in the world, it is known as sparkling wine.

Origin Of Champagne The origin of Champagne like almost anything else is disputed. The most common folklore is that a monk with the name of Dom Pérignon introduced bubbles into the wine by mistake. However, he then went on to clarify and improve the drink dramatically and it came to be liked by French aristocracy. This led to the royal image of Champagne. The other theory however is that sparkling wine was first commercially produced in the region of Languedoc in the 1530s.

The English also claim that they helped the drink. This is actually an interesting angle. There was a significant and strong trade of French wines to the British aisles. Most wine was fortified with a bit of brandy and sugar to help the wine along it arduous journey. However, Champagne, was much closer to the aisles, yet a certain amount of sugar was still added to them, as the British liked their wine sweet. Now the early bottling which left a small amount of yeast in the bottles with the added sugar, caused the carbon dioxide that is emitted during fermentation to be trapped inside the bottle. This led to fizzy wines. Now fizzy wines are supposed to be fun and enjoyable. At least that is what the marketing efforts in those times lead us to believe. And since then, Champagne has been used in all celebrations around the world.

Whatever be the case, “Champagne” was born around the 1700s. Method Of Production methodé champenoise is the traditional method used in the making of Champagne. A primary fermentation of the wine occurs first. Pinot noir, pinot meunier and chardonnay are the grapes used in the manufacturing of the wine. Now while bottling this wine, a few grams of yeast and a few more grams of rock sugar are added. This induces the secondary fermentation which produces the bubbles in the wine. As the yeast begins to consume the sugar, alcohol and carbon dioxide are produced. Since the carbon dioxide is not allowed to escape, it is absorbed into the wine. Thus, when we open the champagne bottled, we are welcomed with tiny streaming bubbles.

How To Serve Champagne Champagne should be served in Champagne flutes. A flute a slim glass which tapers slightly inwards towards the top. This helps in containing the bubbles for a longer period of time and hence, allows you to enjoy your Champange to the fullest. Champagne is usually stored at 55 F in a dark damp location at an angle, like most other wine is. You must chill the Champagne for a few hours to bring the temperature down to 45 F before serving. Popping open a Champagne, though fun, leads to wastage of the drink and if you are paying $100 upwards for a bottle, you wouldn’t want that to happen. Hence, Champagne must be sighed opened, but gently uncorking it at an angle of 45 degrees. This allows more of the champagne to remain in the bottle.

Innovate With Champagne Champagne can also be enjoyed when mixed with other things as well to get some very smooth and refined cocktails. Mimosa’s are a great way of having champagne. It was invented in 1925 at the Ritz Hotel in Paris. Add equal measures of champagne and orange juice in a champagne flute and garnish it with an orange slice to enjoy this lovely drink. Add 1/2 measure of Campari and make it a Grand Mimosa. Another great way to have champagne is to add 1/2 measure of crème de cassis to champagne. Garnish it with a twist of lemon peel. You can now enjoy the Kir Royale. Lastly, for the love of beer, you can have your champagne with stout too. Add chilled stout (preferably Guinness) to a chilled white wine glass and half fill it. Now add chilled champagne to top the glass. Incidently this drink was invented to mourn the death of Prince Albert, Husband of Queen Victoria). Hence the name, Black Velvet.

More About Champagne There are different kinds of Champagne. These vary in their dryness and sweetness. The driest of all is the Brut. This is a standard Champagne. Next in line is Extra dry. If you prefer sweeter wines, then sec and semi sec are sweeter in that order. You also have the blanc de blancs which is made only from chardonnay grapes. and blanc de noirs, made from either or both pinot meunier and pinot noir.

While the French like the Champagne to be young and youthful, the English prefer their Champagne to be rounder and mellower, hence they prefer aged wines. A little aging of wines in a dark cupboard is recommended for most champagnes. Atleast 6 months for regular wines and a minimum of 8 years for Vintage wines.

A Vintage Champagne is one on which the year of the harvest is printed on the bottle. This is an unblended wine from a single harvest in that year. They are generally considered superior and hence, also carry a premium. Recent great vintage has been in the years 1990, 1995 and to some extent 1996.

Champagne’s are rated on a 100 point scale by experts. They each publish their findings independently. There is variation, but of a very small order.

Some of the great brands of Champagne are Dom Pérignon, Taittinger, Krug, Moët & Chandon, Bollinger and Laurent-Perrier. You can safely pick any one of them and enjoy the rich flavours of France in all its glory.



Gautamm Mehra asked:




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Dec
31



Nestled in the rolling hills of Australia’s Great Dividing Range, the picturesque small town of Mudgee is renowned for its excellent wines.

Weekends see hundreds of tourists coming to taste the wines from the 90 grape growers in the Mudgee district. They visit the wineries that are located on the various roads leading out of Mudgee and scattered around the nearby small towns of Gulgong and Rylstone. Wines can be sampled and purchased at the cellar doors of many of those wineries that are open to the public.

While not as well known for its wines as other Australian wine regions such as the Hunter Valley, the Barossa Valley or Yarra, Mudgee’s viticulture dates back to 1858 when German settlers established the first vineyards in the area. Many of those original German families, such as the Kurtz and the Roth clans, are still living in Mudgee and their names still feature on the local wine labels.

Many tourists try to visit the Mudgee Food and Wine Festival that is held every September. With the normally pleasant spring weather, this festival is a perfect venue to taste Mudgee’s famous specialties, such as shiraz and cabernet sauvignon.

Honey

Mudgee’s honey is another tempting taste treat that attracts tourists and gourmets alike. There are a number of apiaries that you can visit. A number of honey varieties can be tasted and purchased – including yellow box, iron bark, blue gum, and red gum, as well as honey flavored with eucalyptus, clover or wattle. Some of the apiaries having working hives on display, where visitors can watch colonies of honey bees at work.

Historical Heritage of Mudgee

Mudgee is a town of special interest to Australian and colonial history buffs.

The original inhabitants were the Aborigines who called the area Moothi (meaning “nest in the hills”).

White settlers arrived in the early 1800s. Mudgee was at first a village servicing the surrounding farming properties. With the discovery of gold in nearby Hargreaves in 1851, the area grew rapidly as it sold supplies to passing gold miners. Several churches, a town hall, a police station, a courthouse, a post office and a mechanics institute were all constructed in the years that followed.

Agriculture including wool studs and vineyards were developed. The railway reached Mudgee in 1884.

Fortunately, a large number of the old buildings have survived and remain in superb condition. Market Street and a number of other streets have whole streetscapes of buildings dating from the late 19th century, so that the visitor can experience the sensation of stepping back in time.

One of Australia’s greatest poets and short story writers, Henry Lawson (1867-1922), spent many of his early years in Mudgee. You can see the school he attended, the remains of the Lawson family house and a number of locations that Lawson wrote about in his poems and stories.

If time is not a problem, a short trip to the nearby township of Gulgong may also be recommended. Gulgong is an old goldmining town and its winding streets still follow the original goldmine claims. Like Mudgee, Gulgong has some genuine original streetscapes from the late 19th century. Of particular interest are the Prince of Wales Opera House where Australia’s great opera singer, Dame Nellie Melba (1861-1931) once performed, the Henry Lawson Centre, and the large Pioneers’ Museum.

Mudgee is Well Worth a Visit

Mudgee is just a few hours’ drive up from Sydney, Australia’s largest city and the capital of the state of New South Wales. Many tourists visiting Sydney take the opportunity to see a little of rural Australia, and Mudgee often is visited for that reason alone.

Whether they come to this beautiful “nest in the hills” just for a weekend or for a whole week, Mudgee is an ideal getaway destination which offers many hours of sheer indulgence in wine degustation, honey tasting, and history trails.



D. Paul Wagner asked:




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