Tag: Wine

That Wine

Weekends are time for me to relax and have a nice wine and some cheese and nuts on the patio…..something that can be done without the worry of the virus finding a home in my body.

Are you a wine drinker?

I am….I prefer French and Spanish wines…although I have found few Argentine wines lovely and even one from New Zealand….but sadly I do not appreciate German or Austrian wines….they just do not pair well for me.

Ever tried a Austrian wine called Zweigelt?

Did you like it?

Did you know that it is wine perfected by a rabid Nazi?

Yep a Nazi viticulturalist came up with this wine…..

Whether or not we want to admit it, we are consuming a lot of alcohol while in quarantine. Nielsen, the market research firm, estimated that online sales jumped 243% during the prime stock-up weeks of the pandemic, with wine sales alone increasing by 66%. After a year of declining alcohol consumption, responses to Covid-19 have effectively undone last year’s teetotalist trends and made alcohol easier to get. Wine shops and restaurants have begun liquidating their inventories, increasing the number of weird, natural, and rare options for wine drinkers to explore at home. Many of these come from unusual places like the Czech Republic, Mexico, or Croatia, containing unusual grapes like malvasia, rebula, or blaufränkisch. And if you’ve been enjoying an Austrian wine called “zweigelt,” you’ve got a lot to learn about a wine with a history you may not want to hear.

Zweigelt is a red grape used in wine that typically bears its name; it tastes like Pinot Noir, but with a bit more boldness and only a fraction of the Sideways-attributed success. The export value of Austrian wine has increased tremendously in the last few years, with a nearly 20% volume increase in the United States in 2018 alone. Accessible to every level of red wine drinker, a bottle of zweigelt typically costs between $14 and $30 and pairs well with a vast range of foods. It is Austria’s second most important wine after Grüner Veltliner. Of the 35 organic wineries officially certified by Sustainable Austria, 32 of them grow zweigelt. The sharp, blue-colored grapes grow easily and in spades, making it readily available for bottling.

https://gen.medium.com/the-nazi-origins-of-your-favorite-natural-wine-ce81828f790d

There you have FYI….. a history lesson and a food post all in one…..enjoy.

Have a Day My Friends

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Be Well….Be Safe….

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“lego ergo scribo”

Early Wine Making

Saturday and a very cool day here……Sun and the garden make it a good day to sit and enjoy some cheese and nuts….but again doctor says NO wine….I think he is a masochist…LOL

The day before New Years Eve and lots of celebrating to be done and quantities of wine will be drunk by those doing the celebrating……

Speaking of wine…..a new discovery has changed the dates of the earliest known wine makers……

A series of excavations in Georgia has uncovered evidence of the world’s earliest winemaking, in the form of telltale traces within clay pottery dating back to 6,000BC – suggesting that the practice of making grape wine began hundreds of years earlier than previously believed.

While there are thousands of cultivars of wine around the world, almost all derive from just one species of grape, with the Eurasian grape the only species ever domesticated.

Until now, the oldest jars known to have contained wine dated from 7,000 years ago, with six vessels containing the chemical calling cards of the drink discovered in the Zagros mountains in northern Iran in 1968.

https://www.theguardian.com/science/2017/nov/13/evidence-of-worlds-earliest-winemaking-uncovered-by-archaeologists

Yes, it is a torture to talk about wine and not be able to enjoy a glass or two…..so if you have any enjoy it for me….thanx my friends.

That is it for me for today…..I will be back Monday morn with more great stuff…..see you then my friends…..peace and love…..chuq

Wine Snob Succumbs

Sunday and Fall is here with cooler nights and warm days…..perfect weather to get out and about….and have glass of wine (not until the doctor says it is okay) and some fruit and cheese….

I do hope that all are having a pleasant weekend……

A few years ago I wrote a “Food” blog, the Food Nazi, I offered up recipes, reviews and wine news….I am a Food Nazi for I believe the food should be prepared the way it is suppose to be prepared….no fusion…….I guess call me a traditionalist…… I am a wine snob as well…..red goes with red and white with white…….few exceptions.

I admit that I have never been impressed with the red wine, Merlot…..but I must change my tune for I have had a few truly good Merlots in the last year.

I see that I am not alone….other wine snobs have found the medium red to their liking after years of horrible reviews…..

Hearing a lot of buzz about merlot? It’s not just because October is International Merlot Month. Sales of the “luxury” medium-bodied red wines made from merlot grapes have increased 5% over the past year, while sales of merlots of $100 or more are up 8% in restaurants, reports Bloomberg. Consider, too, that a 2016 Wine Intelligence report found merlot to be the top varietal choice for US drinkers of all ages and you might just be forced to overthrow all preconceived notions of merlot as, well, gross. When made well, it’s actually quite delicious, “medium-bodied with velvety soft, rounded plummy fruits and none of those drying tannins associated with Cabernet Sauvignon,” Gus Clemens writes at the San Angelo Standard-Times.

So why the bad rap? Bloomberg explains merlot has always been a favorite in Bordeaux, France, where it’s the most planted vine. In the 1990s, Americans started fancying the grape, too, prompting the number of merlot cases sold in the US to spike from 800,000 in 1990 to 20.3 million in 2000. To get in on the trend, California wineries who’d never made merlot before began to plant the grape in unsuitable soils and climates and “overwrought, overripe, over-alcoholic and over-oaked” merlots took over shelves, reports Hour Detroit. The wine’s reputation further plummeted after it was bashed in the 2004 film Sideways, says Clemens; many of those California wineries producing mass-market swill ripped out their vines as a result. Yet experienced merlot growers kept making delicious wine, which now appears to be getting due recognition. Clemens’ advice: “Give merlot another chance.”

If you find some reds a bit too heady then I suggest that you give a Merlot a try….I think you might be surprisingly impressed.

That is it for my Sunday post…..please enjoy the rest of your weekend and I will return to the more serious stories tomorrow……Peace and Love…..chuq

Wine: Nectar Of The Gods

Sunday and it is raining cats and dogs outside….how do I know?  I just stepped in a poodle.

I will admit it I am a wine snob.  Very little is as good as a glass of superb wine….maybe with some fruit, nuts and cheese…….or a great steak.

Back in the 70’s I was manger of a pub and wine was becoming popular so I decided the best thing to do was learn all I could….I took several different wine tasting courses which is good because it teaches one how to evaluate the wine you will be drinking…..and I my case serving.

You learn about color, aroma, and taste….not all wines are similar each has distinct characteristics.  First, you hold glass up to light and look at the color….then swirl wine around a half filled glass and then check the aroma and make note…..finally take a sip toll wine around in mouth then either swallow or spit it out now draw air into mouth and taste…..

There is one Australian red wine (name withheld for I am not a paid reviewer) that has good color…aroma is like a barnyard and the taste is soapy…..then there is a Spanish red wine that has excellent color…..aroma is crisp and the taste is smooth and pleasing….

Wine is the perfect beverage.  But red goes with red and white goes with white…..anything different and it is just gosh.  Bubbly wine is for kids not adults…….except for champagne or cava

Wine glasses should be unadorned, no cut glass, and if I had my way (be thankful I do not) wine tasting would be a required course before one buys wine…never buy wine because the label is “pretty” or has a cute name…..and try different wines from different countries and regions.

If you buy wine in a box then chances are you are a wino!

I see disturbing trends in wine….flavored and wine in a box…just a few of things that make me shudder…..and these Millennials are killing the wine experience….a real bummer.

People need to just stop FREAKING OUT over that crazy notion that Millennials are killing wine. Take a deep breath (the downward facing dog pose might help) and think about this for a moment. Millennials are just like every generation before them. The only difference is they are one rung up on the evolutionary ladder. And, oh my god, that is scaring the crap out of people.

The headlines are daunting, I know:

“Millennials Are Changing the Way We Drink Wine”

“Millennials Love Sparkling”

“Millennials, Social Media and the Death of Wine Wisdom”

“Millennials Drive US Wine Consumption”

“Millennials Rewrite Rules for Wine Industry”

Source: Are Millennials Killing Wine? An exposé. | Quench Magazine

What are they…12 years old?

As you can imagine I do NOT agree with the premise of the article……the wine experience is steeped in tradition and it should stay there…..some of their mixtures would be better served in the cauldron of the 3 witches of MacBeth….than put into a glass.

Here’s an idea…..give the Millennials there own section in the store…..stock it with flavored beer, Gummi vitamins and their horrendous wine concoctions….

Time for me to drop everything and get a glass of Bordeaux, it has been breathing for about 30 minutes, and watch the rain.

Have a great day and enjoy your time with family and friends….chuq