Recipes To Share

Posts Tagged ‘wine’

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 “Pale plonk packs an acidic punch!” says the BBC, Well, it does and it doesn’t. It also depends on the types of wine grapes as to how acidic the wine is and how long the wine is held in the mouth, as to how much damage is done. People who taste wine are much more likely to suffer from rotting teeth than your normal wine drinker, this is because they hold the wine in their mouths longer. Loads of noise on twitter for the story on http://twitter.com/winewarecouk and http://twitter.com/thirstforwine.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4

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. But have you ever thought how? “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.

Can we halt tooth erosion?

1) Alkaline mouthwashes are highly recommended

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

3) A superb accompaniment to your vino, is a sandwich or a curry. After eating food your mouth goes into repair over drive.

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

Britain now imports far more wine than any other country in the world. We imported a grand total of 1.6 billion bottles in 2007, equating to 35 standard bottles for every adult in the country which is absolutely staggering figure. The average British adult now drinks 12% more wine than they did just five years ago and forecasts predict our consumption will continue to grow far beyond that figure. Global wine consumption is on the vast increase in past years and also forecast to grow considerably. America are predicted to eventually become the world’s biggest consumer by 2012. The UK is 13th in the world, in terms of consumption per adult and despite Britain being a big importer, the amount we drink is dwarfed by other neighbouring European countries including France.

Red wine and white wine sales are on the increase as well as champagne, whisky and cognacs. This has incidentally caused an increase in the sale of almost all drinking glasses, including crystal glass and the ever popular whisky glass. The British public consumed 720 million bottles of red wine and 764 million bottles of white wine in 2008 and that figure is expected to grow for 2009. However red wine is rapidly falling in popularity within society, as white wine and rose wine take larger shares of the increasing market industry.

Wine merchants have been incredibly busy for the year of 2008. Additionally, reports have indicated that many wine accessories such as glass vases, decanters and dinnerware have been selling extremely fast as a natural accompaniment to wine. The thirst for wine is set to deepen in emerging economies such as China and Russia, whose consumption levels are soon expected to overtake that of Spain in Europe which is another nation historically associated with wine. It predicted that the financial and economic crisis affecting many wine consumer countries worldwide would only have ‘limited’ consequences for the growth of the wine sector. The report forecasts incredible growth for the coming four years roughly in line with pre-crisis trends. Either way it is a very crazy thought.

Friday lunchtime is nearly upon us. This week seems to have been very long and busy.

The hours are counting down to the weekend and that means a few bottles of my favourite wine will be drunk.

Well if the truth be told, it’s normally a few bottles on a Friday, then a few more on Saturday and unfortunately just the one on Sunday. On a Monday morning I have to be up bright and breezy ready for another busy week at work.

I am still a bit of an amateur when it comes to choosing the right wine and I will admit to sometimes getting it wrong. Occasionally I have been known to serve a white instead of a red.

For Friday’s dinner I was thinking about dishing up a nice cut of steak. To accompany this I think I should be choosing a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. However my predicament is I am an absolute lover of any sort of Shiraz, so perhaps I should get a couple of bottles of this.

This Saturday we have a family celebration and I will be laying on a nice finger buffet at my house. I find that when I host a party at my house my family never seem to bring their own wine with them, so I always end up having to get extra supplies in. Cava is my favourite wine, so I will probably go for this. My dilemma will be should I get Rosado Cava or Reserve Cava, or perhaps, as it’s a big event, I should just get a case of each.

On Sunday night there will be just be the two of us and I think after our weekend of heavy drinking we will just enjoy a nice cup of tea.

I can’t believe it but that is another weekend done and dusted. It will soon be Monday morning again, which means the alarm will be buzzing nice and early ready for another stressful week at work.  Oh roll on Friday.

People have used wine in medicine ever since it was first invented. History is riddled with examples of people believing that it can cure back pain, get rid of aids, help your joints and even make your hair grow thicker.Sadly, its more often the case that wine (and alcohol in general) contributes more to the cause of health problems than the cure. In fact, over 2000 people were injured last year in the U.S just by using a bottle opener.  Despite the poor history that wine and medicine have had over the decades, experts from the University of Minnesota claim that both red and white wine can aid muscles recovery when used in massage.

This claim was made after scientists at the university ran an 8-month study on various groups of athletes and other students, whereby they had recovery messages at regular intervals using either wine or a placebo substance. The study showed that remarkably, those people who had wine included in their massage sessions, showed around a 20% increase in the rate of muscle recovery.Gary Herring the research director at the university’s bio-sciences department pointed out that “muscles pick up damage all the time, even when used lightly…the research that we conducted showed the the healing of this damage was speed ed up when wine was included in participant’s recovery massages.The experts that carried out the study have suggested that the alcohol in the wine is partly responsible for this effect, as it allows the muscles to relax even more than normal by desensitising nerve endings. This relaxation then allows a vaso-dilation of the blood vessels that surround muscle tissue and means more healing nutrients can get to the damaged tissue.Interestingly, other alcoholic substances have been tested and do not display the same positive results, suggesting there might be something else found in wine that acts as a catalyst.

You probably won’t find that there is a rush in wine rack sales from health spas around the country, but maybe they will invest in some slow wine pourers just to give it a go.

Britain now imports more wine than any other country on the planet. We imported a grand total of 1.six billion bottles in 2007, equating to 35 standard bottles for every adult in the country which is absolutely staggering figure. The average British adult now drinks 12% more wine than they did just five years ago and forecasts predict our consumption will continue to grow far beyond that figure. Global wine and alcohol consumption is on the rise in past years and also forecast to grow considerably. The United States are predicted to eventually become the world’s biggest consumer by 2012. The UK is 13th in the world, in terms of consumption per adult and despite Britain being a big importer, the amount we drink is completely dwarfed by other neighbouring European countries including France.

Red wine and white wine sales are on the increase as well as champagne, whisky and cognacs. This has incidentally caused an increase in the sale of almost all drinking glasses, including crystal glasses and the ever popular whisky glass. The British public consumed 720 million bottles of red wine and seven hundred and sixty four million bottles of white wine in 2008 and that figure is expected to grow for 2009. However red wine is rapidly falling in popularity, as white wine and rose wine take larger shares of the increasing wine industry.

Wine merchants have been incredibly busy for another year in 2008. Additionally, reports have indicated that many wine accessories such as glass vases, decanters and dinnerware have been selling extremely fast as a natural accompaniment to wine. The thirst for wine is set to deepen in emerging economies such as China and Russia, whose consumption levels are soon expected to overtake that of Spain which is another nation historically associated with wine. It predicted that the financial and economic crisis affecting many wine consumer countries worldwide would only have ‘limited’ consequences for the growth of the wine sector. The report forecasts incredible growth for the coming four years roughly in line with pre-crisis trends. Either way it is a very crazy thought.

Gift giving can be a gruelling time for a lot of people. Thinking of what to give a person that will get a great reception can be a very time consuming task as well. This is where the idea of a wine gift basket can be grand option. Just a bit of creativity and you can have an amazing gift that anyone would appreciate receiving!

Once you have decided that a wine gift basket is the perfect thing to mark the occasion that you need a gift for, you can then go about the task of planning it out. You need to put the wine in something. Seeing as most people drink wine chilled, an ice bucket makes a perfect choice for a container.

Other accessories can be added to the ice bucket to give it a more personalized aura. A corkscrew is a commonly misplaced item in many homes and would probably receive a warm reception when the recipient saw this item.

Another very nice thing that you can include in the wine gift baskets that you make would be a nice complimentary cheese. There are a huge number of cheeses that are available that can go along with the wine that you have chosen very well. Take a look around some specialty shops and you will definitely find something.

Throw some crackers into the wine gift baskets that you create as well. This can give them a bit of everything when they open the gift. Some good wine and crackers can be a very nice way for a person or people to relax.

Is the gift to honour of an engagement or an anniversary of some sort? If this is the case then you may want to consider adding a cute set of wine glasses in the basket as well. This is gesture that will definitely go over well and the couple will have memories of your gift that will last them a lifetime as well.

You can do anything you want when it comes to wine gift baskets, all that it really takes is a bit of an imagination. Just let yourself go and brainstorm a bit. You will be surprised at the things that will come to mind. Keep in mind the occasion of the gift basket and the person or people that it is for and it will surely turn out to be a very well received gift.

Chances are you have at least one friend who has devoted a large part of their life to wine. They like nothing more than enjoying a fine Chardonnay on a summers evening, which is great for them, but they probably don’t realise just how hard they are to buy for. You want to get them something they will like (which is naturally going to be an something wine gifts related), but they have every wine book, gadget and bottle under the sun. So what do you buy them?

Sparkling wine key. They may have bottle openers, cork crews and champagne cutters, but chances are they will not have a wine key. They are amazing little gadgets that can get a bottle of sparkling wine open quicker than you can say “who’s driving”.They also stop you injuring yourself and stops the wine from spewing out all over the place.

Cheese Accessories. You’ll find that most wine lovers also enjoy a nice bit of cheese with their tipple. eIt makes a change from buying them strictly wine-related items and there are a whole rang of cheese gifts out there. Aside from actually buying some nice cheeses, you can purchase dinnerware such as cheese boards, plates, knives and even cutting wire. If you are buying cheese it’s best to do a little research first and find out which cheeses go with the type of wines they like. Once you’ve got the right ones you can even give them the book you used to swat up with as well.

Vouchers. If you still can’t think what you buy your annoyingly kitted-out friend, then there is always the option of a wine gift voucher. These can be purchased from lots of high street and online retailers and allow the receiver to buy exactly what they want and when they want it.

Thankfully wine is a very versatile drink that can be consumed in all manner of locations. In your back garden, on a meadow, or maybe at work if you’re lucky. Wine can even be enjoyed on the oceans around the world, but here you need a little consideration as it can be trickier than you might imagine.

Keeping it cool. If you are drinking red wine then you don’t really have to worry about temperature, just keep it below deck and it will be fine. White wine or champagne on the other hand should be served chilled and this poses a problem if you don’t have a fridge on board.You can always rely on natures refrigerator though, a cool your bottles using sea water. You’ll need a secure net to do this but a good thirty mins in the sea should see them nicely cooled.If you happen to be sailing around the Caribbean your wine may not get a chilled as you like…but never mind, you’re in the Caribbean.

Stopping it breaking. One of the biggest challenges when drinking wine out at sea is keep the bottles safe when the boat is moving about lots.Keeping the wine in a box and securing this tightly to one part of the boat is a great start, but there is more you can do to save your bottles. If you place your wines in wine bags they act to protect them further and stop any liquid escaping if the bottles do break.

Getting the bottle open. It is obviously tradition to break a bottle over a new ship when naming it, but what if you actually fancy drinking it. Try not to get the cork wet as it can swell and this can make it harder to remove. Also, don’t try to remove the cork by improvising with all manner of tableware or fishing hooks. Use a decent bottle opener and take your time. If you ruin this bottle, you may have a bit of a swim to get another.

What did the grape say when it was rolled over by a beer keg?

Nothing – it just let out a little “wine”!

What we drink says a lot about who we are – if you believe the marketing companies who target the mass markets with multi-million dollar commercials and campaigns. But how much can this information be trusted?

Enjoying both beers and wines is not a mutually exclusive pastime – I personally drink both and conform with neither stereotypical image of either drinker – I’m not a young stud hanging out with great looking babes in a bar while ice-cold longnecks are guzzled by the truck load nor a wrinkly, liberal-looking, spectacle-wearing foodie with leather patches on my elbows.

The global cultural significance of wine and beer is due mostly to their extremely long histories. The actual inventor of the wine and beer is not known, but what is known is thta they originated from the Middle East and most likely have been around since Neolithic times (around 5000 B.C.) – certainly the ancient Egyptians and various empires based to the East of the Mediterranean Sea have documented wines and beers as well as irrefutable archaeological evidence.

Certainly in those ancient times, there was no such thing as an NFL or Nascar event while cheese & wine parties were not exactly on the social menu. The division of potential consumers using marketing, and by extension, social stereotypes for beer and wine markets has created a false picture of who actually drinks them. Since wine producers in California started making headway in international markets bck in the 80’sWine was the alcoholic drink of the masses in Europe and not the upper crust – beer was drunk as water, simply because it was safe to drink due to the alcohol content and in fact, beer was not brewed for the purpose of getting drunk, at least, not in the beginning but to purify water.

Mass production of beer really started in the 20^th Century – in previous centuries other forms of alcohol dominated demand for getting smashed – and wine was one of the dominant beverages. With mass production came mass marketing and for beer sales, blue collar workers were targeted with drinks which were ice-cold and quenched thirst after a hard day’s work. Girls, cars, smiling friends and being Mr. Popular in the bar were all part of the marketing mix thrown at potential beer drinkers being sold on fizzy, yellow brews. The small breweries with a good brew have been left at the margins of the beer industry and appreciated by beer aficionados.

Marketing perception is rarely an accurate reflection of reality, if you consider that wine was discovered probably at an earlier date than beer from the archaeological evidence, wine would appear to have been the caveman’s first choice of fermented brew. If a caveman preferred wine to beer, this hardly matches the marketing perception that beer drinkers do not have taste nor being a hard-working macho-man precludes you from enjoying wine. If you’re looking for a race to drunkeness, while not advisable, wine is a better candidate since it is more potent.

On the other hand, wine experts and followers will probably point to the labor and skill which goes into creating a fine wine – the reality is that brewing beer also requires just as much artistry and imagination as producing a good bottle of plonk. The number of micro-breweries and family-owned brewers who have maintained the tradition for numerous generations testifies to the diversity of taste, skill and ingenuity when it comes to producing a pint.

The bottom line – downing a beer or slurping a wine is not predetermined by social status or marketing categorization – it all comes down to one thing no matter who you are or what you do – your own taste.

By Mark Trumper, the guiding force of MaverickLabel.com, the Internet’s leading provider of labels, custom stickers and custom wine labels. From asset tags, to shipping labels to custom wine labels, MaverickLabel.com can provide all of your label needs. Call 1-800-537-8816.

If you are like a lot of people and making wine is a passion of yours, how about trying your hand at making fruit wine. Fruits that make many of the best fruit wines are elderberries, plums, peaches, blackberries, huckleberries, blackcurrants, and pomegranates. Other fruits include berries, plums, apples, apricot, bananas, cherries, pineapple guava, and blueberries. You will find just about any fruit can be tried. Many other fruit wine can be made from flowers like hibiscus, elderberry, and dandelions. You might also try Vegetables such as potatoes, rhubarb, rice and parsnip.

A favorite of mine is a wine called Apfelwein in Germany made from apples. Wines made from fruit should be used within a year as they do not age well at all. Make sure to make and drink right away, it is the best.

One of the most fun aspects of making your own wine is large list of things you can make it from. If you have limited access to fruit you always have the choice of using a fruit base, a concentrate of the fruit you wish to try, from one of the many companies that sell wine making supplies.

A popular combination to try is a fruit wine combined with a grape wine. This makes for an unusual taste, especially for the sweet tooth’s out there. Go for a Chardonnay or Zinfandel to create a marvelous fruity grape wine.

This taste should fire your palate. Another consideration is when making these fruit wines is how sweet you require them to be. In fruit wine the natural sweetness should be enough. However if it is not you can use sugar or wine conditioner, a very good liquid sweetening agent designed for use in making wine. There are plenty of great wine making juice flavors that can be added to your fruity wine that will work fine.  Making your chosen wine dry or sweet exactly to your taste.

Aging and bottling is the final stage in your fruit wine making process. Do this step to your own preference. When and if you bottle your wine immediately, look into aging it in ceramic or stainless steel tanks, or put right in bottles to age. With a few basic steps, you will be well on your way to perfecting your system of creating a flavorful and desirable Fruit Wine for you and all your friends and family to enjoy. Learn More Here!