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Are you trying to find something new to do this spring? Do you care to know more about the local wine industry? Are you interested in helping your local economy rather than sending your hard earned cash out of state or overseas? If you answered yes to any of these questions, let me suggest you go to a winery near your home very soon. I recently read that there are now wineries in every state in the Country so chances are there is at least one in your area.

There are several reasons to pack your wine carriers and visit your local winery and today I’m going to share three of them with you. First, most local wineries offer free or low cost tastings and tours. You’ll have the opportunity to try many different wines and then purchase only the ones you like best. You’ll also be able to check out the vineyard and winery and learn how they make the wine. There will be someone there to answer your questions and you might even be fortunate enough to meet the owner.

When you go, make sure you bring your picnic basket because most wineries have decks or picnic tables where you can sit down and have a picnic dinner and a glass of wine. Since wineries are usually located in the country, they offer scenic panoramas of the surrounding areas. Can you think of a better way to unwind than with a romantic picnic in a beautiful setting?

Another thing many wineries offer are Friday outdoor music. You can sit back and enjoy some great wine as local musicians share their talent with you. If kicking back isn’t your speed, many wineries offer dancing as well. Most let you bring your own food so call your friends, pack your picnic backpacks and make an evening of it.

Make plans to visit a local winery this spring. You’ll find the atmosphere relaxing and entertaining. Whether you go for a tour and wine tasting, a romantic picnic for two or an evening of music, you’ll have a great time and you might even find a new hobby.

The Californian wine makers E&J Gallo think they have spotted a gap in the market and have made a wine range aimed at men.Wine has classically had the image of being a drink for the ladies but E&J Gallo think they can change this will good branding. The launch of the new range comes after news that they will be cutting back on their volumes of wine production in 2009 by taking part in less discount offers by retailers. Their new technque is to instead produce “reliable” wines that can be trusted and purchased buy people who want to know exactly what they are getting.

The range, called ‘Redwood Creek’ is aimed at men who are interested in the outdoor lifestyle and aged between 35-65 years old.It will look to go after the type of people they class as ‘active in nature’ rather than the heavily active or extreme sports sectors.Activities that have been named as inspiration for the wine include hiking, fishing, hunting and camping. They have already created links with the woodland trust, the Tourist Board of California,Riedel Glasses plus the clothing label ‘Regatta’. This technique of creating partnerships has worked well for the winery in America and they hope it will do the same in the UK.

The new range includes a Chardonnay and two reds, a Cabernet Sauvignon and a Merlot.  Iain Newell marketing director for Europe has said that the new wine charms the soul, with a rugged quality and a rich taste. “They will be everything you associate with nature and activity” comments Newell, “freshness, passion and full flavours” are all qualities that this wine boasts.It seems from early statistics in the States that the long hours and large sums of money that were put into the market research for this venture have been paying off. It’s idea that is definitely working.

making wine

Vineyards are central to the wine industry and are located in many parts of the world. The vineyards are places for growing grapes for making wine, raisins or table grapes. Vineyards have a lot of historical significance, going back to Biblical accounts of Noah planting a vineyard at Mount Ararat and Moses leading the Israelites away from the vineyards of Egypt. During the Middle Ages, it was actually the monks that maintained the culture of the vineyards and, to this day, monasteries have a large stake in vineyards.

Vineyards take an a lot of resources to maintain, which is why the early church often handled a lot of the vineyards in earlier days. Vineyards in different parts of the world are planted with different types of grapes, making for a variance in the amount of resources that are needed to maintain a vineyard today. In fact, some vineyards require little attention in order to grow a suitable harvest of grapes.

There are many factors that refer to the vineyard and its ability to grow the perfect grape. Good grape growing vineyards will have the proper “terroir”. Terroir refers to the combination of factors that influence the land, such as the soil and the underlying terrain. Any underlying rocks, inclination or altitude and orientation to the sun are also part of the terroir at a winery. A winery pays close attention to the terroir of their vineyards because it can mean the difference between a good and bad crop of grapes in a particular season.

In the Northern hemisphere, there is a general ideal for where a winery should have its vineyard. A common saying in the wine world is that “the worse the soil, the better the wine”. This is a reference to the notion that vineyards are often placed on hillsides where the quality of the soil isn’t all that great, however, the inclination and angle to the sun is good. Vineyards need a lot of sun, so planting grapes in an area that gets the most sun is certainly the ideal for a winery.

There are many variables that vineyard growers are using to improve their crops. Many follow the advice of noted wine critic Robert M. Parker Jr., who suggested the notion of “green harvesting”. This refers to the removal of whole grape clusters during the growing season to improve the quality and quantity of the overall yield. Many vineyards around the world are following that principle.

Obviously the vineyard is the center of the wine industry. Vineyards actually function today in essentially the same way as they have for hundreds of years, relying on old principles of proper growth and yield to maintain the industry. Many of the fundamentals for growing are the same as they always have been. As technology adds some things to the wine industry, the basics of vineyards and growing grapes remains comfortably the same.