Top Reasons Why You Should Join a Wine Club

Different wine clubs across the globe are having an impressive increase in memberships these days. This development establishes the significant part wine clubs play in modern wine culture.

Wine lovers, novices and long-time aficionados alike, are treated with the opportunity to taste new and exciting wines regularly, thanks to these wine clubs. If you still haven’t joined any wine club, maybe the following benefits would excite you to quickly sign up on one:

• Instead of going to wine shops, you have the advantage of receiving top quality wines for a reasonable price on a monthly basis. Your high quality wines are courtesy of a panel of wine experts who have done all the research for you.
• You can also enjoy an exclusive access to selections that are normally not offered to just about any connoisseur.
• You can have the chance to partake in wine tasting of yet-to-be released varieties.
• Wince clubs can also help you increase your wine knowledge with literature and information related to high quality wines, wine maker, and the types of grapes that are being used. Even as life-long wine lover, there’s always something new for you to learn.
• Your can stock up and add items to your collection without having to face rows and rows of wines inside wine shops.

A wine club will help you become a wine expert within a few months. With all these advantages, joining a monthly wine club is truly a fruitful investment.

Buying Wine Online

The online marketplace has been filled with a variety of goods and merchandise that almost everything can be ordered and bought without leaving the comfort of your own home. Buying wine online is also very much possible, with many online wine stores popping up. A lot of these sites are very informative, helping the customer make their choice by providing as much information about the wine as possible. They also classify their wines so well and presented so cleanly that one will just be in awe. They classify it according to price, popularity, name, country of origin, ratings – you name it.

Before you buy wine online, you have to know beforehand which type you plan to buy. Much like shopping in the real world, not knowing what to buy only encourages browsing and buying things that one doesn’t really need. Having some knowledge of what wine to buy will provide for a better online shopping experience. Online wine stores have extensive wine choices, and it really would help to narrow them down.

And as in real life, wines are available on different price points. A budget may be helpful in determining how much you are willing to spend per bottle that you are going to buy. Do keep your eyes peeled for great deals. Several online wine stores have a list of top-ranked wines at different price points. You could have great wine for under $10.

Lastly, but certainly not the least of your concerns, you should check out the site’s shipping options and policies, as well as how secure their site is with regards to online payments. Make sure their site is secure as you would most likely be paying with credit card. We all know how that is.

After making your purchase, put your feet up and wait for your purchase to arrive. And when it does arrive a few days later (sometimes the next day), pop the cork and enjoy every sip.

Happy Together: Wine and Cheese Pairings

Wine and cheese have long been history’s fabled pairing. Our ancestors have known it ages ago and it’s so nice to know that this is one of those customs that did not fade into oblivion. But what is it exactly about wine and cheese pairings that make it so great? Perhaps it’s the acidity in the wine that cuts through the richness of the cheese? Is it the pairing of the sweet and savory? Whatever it is exactly, the pairing of wine and cheese help bring out the best in each other.

There are classic wine and cheese pairings, but these days the mood is all for which one prefers, similar to the what-goes-with-red-what-goes-with-white question. Of course if one were just to start delving into the world of wine and cheese pairings, one must know the classics and from there decide if they agree or if they prefer this cheese with that wine. There are general rules in determining which goes with what:

· The more pungent the cheese, the sweeter the wine.

· White wines go with softer cheeses and stronger flavors.

· Red wines go with harder cheeses and milder flavors.

· It is also a general rule that sweet white wines and dessert wines go well with a wider variety of cheeses.

Judging from these wine and cheese pairing rules, it looks safer to go with white wine especially when offering a variety of cheeses, since those are the ones that go well with a lot more. Of course if you’re having a wine and cheese party at your home you may want to test and taste your offerings before settling on which ones make the cut. When you already have the wine and wondering which cheese to pair it with, your best bets are Parmigiano or Romano cheeses.

To make your life easier, we made a couple of quick table- so you’ll have something to refer to when having your next wine and cheese party:

White Wine Pairings

WINE RECOMMENDATIONS	CHEESE RECOMMENDATIONS
Sparkling wines and champagne	Brie, Camembert
Riesling	Gouda
Gewurtztraminer	Swiss and German cheeses
Chardonnay	Gruyere, Provolone, Mild Cheddar
Sauvignon Blanc	Goat Cheese

Red Wine Pairings

WINE RECOMMENDATIONS	CHEESE RECOMMENDATIONS
Shiraz	Sharp Cheddar
Port	Gorgonzola, Stilton
Cabernet Sauvignon	Blue Cheese, Sharp Cheddar, Camembert

Equip Yourself with Essential Wine Accessories

Have you ever wandered into that part of the wine store that doesn’t actually hold wines? It has all these contraptions and accessories and gadgets that are meant to enrich our wine drinking experience. I always spend a good deal of time in the wine accessories area, trying to see if there’s something new or what crazy wine contraption has just come in. It’s amusing and fun.

Now, any wine enthusiast must surely have some wine accessories on hand. And yes, it does enrich the wine drinking experience and generally makes our lives easier. Take for example the bottle stopper. If you’re anything like me and misplace and/or destroy the cork each time, then you may want to consider purchasing a couple of these babies. They take the place of the cork and keep the air out of the bottle should you want to continue consuming your bottle the next day (on those rare occasions, at least!).

If you’re really serious about wine drinking, you may want to start decanting your wine, and for that you would need some decanters and wine funnels. Decanting a wine removes the sediments and impurities in the wine that may affect its taste. It also allows the wine to breathe. A decanter is a glass serving vessel to which the wine is poured.

And of course, no serious wine drinker is without a corkscrew. Unless you’re gifted with super strength and can pull out the cork effortlessly without popping veins, you really do need one. I find that winged corkscrews are the most helpful, but it is your choice which one you’re more accustomed to.

Starting with these essentials, you could be on your way to better appreciating your wine drinking experience as well as make your life easier. Gadgets and contraptions don’t really make one a wine connoisseur in an instant but they do help you get there.

Wine 101: Basic Wine Info

Wines are a bit intimidating. There seem to be a distinct class of people that appreciate and drink it that for common folk, it seems so exclusive. That may be true in years past when wines were so expensive because of the transportation costs and the small number of winemakers, but times have indeed changed. More areas of the world are now producing wine – great wine at that – and the appeal of wine has now spread over all classes. It also helps that the production of wine has been much less expensive.

The interest in wine has been so great lately that people are clamoring to know more about them, a Wines 101 of some sort. My wish is your command, though I’m only going to touch on the basics for now, specifically simple information. This is not an all-in-one-go wine master course.

What is Wine?

Simply put, wine is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented grape juice. Crushed grapes are fermented using various types of yeasts, which then convert the natural sugars in the grape juice into alcohol.

What are the different types of wine?

Classifications or types of wine are many. They can be grouped by their color or by their alcohol content, for example. Several basic types of wine are:

· Color (Red, white, and rose wine) – This classification refers to the actual color of the wine. All grape juice is virtually colorless. White wine is allowed to ferment as it is, hence the natural light color. Red wine is made when the juice of the grapes are allowed to rest with the red or black grape skins and allowing the color to seep through the juice, giving this type of wine their distinct deep color. Rose wine is made from white wine with a bit of red wine added to them.

· Sparkling or still – Sparkling wine has been carbonated, therefore making it a little fizzy, much like soda. Champagne is a famous example of sparkling wine. Still wine is pretty much any other wine that does not have carbon dioxide.

· Dessert Wines – these types of wines are very sweet and have higher than 14% alcohol content.

· Wine Location – Certain people prefer their wine to come from a specific country or even a specific region in that country. Famous winemaking countries include France, Spain, and Italy. Other countries gaining recognition for their wines are Australia and Chile. And though not a country, California has grown to have a quite good reputation when it comes to its wines.

How do you serve wine?

The question usually is to chill or not to chill, but even that is a personal preference. Recommendations, however, state that sweet white wines, dessert wines, champagne and rose wines, as well as red sparkling wines should be serve chilled (at specific temperatures for each type) while sherries and port are served closer to room temperature.

To decant or not to decant is also a question. Decanting wine is said to help a wine breathe, but is mostly recommended for wines with strong tannins. More delicate wines shouldn’t be decanted.

Acquainting Myself with Red Wine

I would have to admit that I prefer white wines to red, but with all the great things I hear about red wine I thought I better take a liking to it before it’s too late. I know I can still acquaint myself with red wine and its varieties and perhaps find a firm favorite among the choices. Let’s learn about this together.

Red wine is red because it is made from red or black grapes. Actually, the juice of any grape is pretty much colorless. The color of red wine comes from letting the skins soak for a time until the juice acquires that deep red hue. Tannins are also something that you’ll hear more when talking about red wine than white wine. They are said to give red wines the complexity and stronger “mouth feel” that is somehow lacking in white wines.

Like other wines, you can buy red wine on every price point. The best thing about wines these days is that they are so well made that you can have really good wine at such a low price. And also, there is no “best red wine” in particular. The best red wine is a matter of opinion and one that can only be deduced from sampling many other types of red wine in the market. You may prefer sweet red wine, others may like the zing that sparkling red wine to many others. It’s all up to you.

Speaking of types of red wine, when people refer to red wine they are probably referring to any one of these (red wines are named from the grapes they were made from):

Cabernet Sauvignon - They have a blackcurrant flavor and smell similar to pencil shavings. Lots of tannin in this one.

Merlot – Tastes of black cherries and mint. Will usually have a higher alcohol content.

Pinot Noir – A good Pinot Noir will go down silky and aromatic. Pinot noir grapes are said to be the most finicky of all red wine grapes and will produce the widest range of quality.

Shiraz – Sweet, rich, and spicy with lots of tannin.

So the next time you drop by your wine store for your usual bottle of white wine, you may want to grab that bottle of red wine too. Time to see for yourself what the fuss is all about.

White Wine 101

Wines have always been popular, but I must say I’ve seen more consciousness about wine in the past few years more so than in recent history. What used to be such a chi-chi drink has now reached such mass appeal that almost everyone in the planet is enjoying good wine (cheap doesn’t have to mean bad wine) of some sort.

The rules of wine drinking are somewhat more relaxed now. I can drink my favorite white wine with steak if I want to. Also, wine drinkers have their preferences. There may be different kinds of wines (which we won’t be discussing here) in the market, but for simplicity’s sake let’s have them at red wine rose wine, and white wine. I happen to love white wine; not that I hate red wine, I just prefer the clear stuff. Even under the classification of white wine, it’s still not that simple. There are still several types of white wine to consider and this is what I would like to tell you about.

There are seven types of white wine, named after the grapes from which they are made:

Pinot Gris – also known as Pinot Grigio. A crisp dry wine with a good acid bite. Versatile food pairings.

Chardonnay—very popular, full-bodied white wine with hints of citrus. They can be made sparkling or still. Good with fish and chicken.

Riesling – goes well with fish, chicken, and pork; much lighter than chardonnay and typically has the aroma of apples.

Semillon – exhibits a strong fig-like character. Great with fish and other seafood.

Gewurtztraminer – a white fit for sipping, has enhanced fruity flavors and goes with pork and grilled sausages and such.

Sauvignon blanc – suggests a herbal, grassy character; with some dominating flavors of melon, mango, and blackcurrant. A very versatile food wine but shows best with seafood, poultry, and salads.

Muscat – often sweet and always fruity; best taken as it is without any accompaniment.

If you ask me, I like white wine with everything.

The Wine Club: Not Your Ordinary Club

As wines and wine drinking have become demystified over the years, more and more people are expressing interest in learning more not only about wines but how to drink them. Wine clubs have sprouted all over the world and wine club membership is growing. But what exactly is a wine club and what can be culled from it?

A wine club is an organization that provides their members with a monthly (sometimes quarterly) bottle or two of wine that they can then enjoy. Wine clubs vary in delivery frequencies, which types of wines they specialize in, and what else is included in their wine deliveries if any. Joining a wine club can be beneficial and rewarding if you are a wine collector or simply a wine lover. Some wine clubs have access to harder-to-find bottles of wine that they then deliver to their members.

While most wine clubs are created by your local wineries or wine stores, the international appeal of wine has led to the creation of online wine clubs. While some wine clubs have also established web sites in order to attract a wider audience, certain wine clubs are strictly online and have no freestanding actual office or building. Because of the accessibility and ease of applying, online wine club membership has started to gain a following and continues to do so as the interest in wine stays the way it is.

When choosing a wine club, you must first know your preferences. Do you like white wine or red? Do you like both? Is the monthly fee affordable to you? Do you prefer a bottle a month or a bottle per quarter? And so on. Also keep in mind that shipping fees may run high in some areas. Also take note if it’s legal. In some states it is illegal for alcohol to cross state lines. You don’t want to have a run-in with the law just to enjoy your sip.

A wine club is certainly a nice way to better acquaint someone with his or her wine preference. It’s also nice to know there’s always wine in the pantry.

Know Your Champagne

It’s safe to assume that normal people like us don’t get to drink champagne all that often. Most of us only get to do so on super special occasions like weddings and New Year’s. It’s highly unlikely that I’ll win the Le Mans Grand Prix anytime soon. Champagne is a special-occasion wine. Sure, you can have any sparkling wine, but it’s really not the same without champagne.

It won’t hurt to know a little bit more about champagne other than it tastes great. Some little factoids here and there can actually contribute to your champagne drinking experience and also give you something to talk about with friends.

Sizes

Let’s start with champagne bottles. You’re familiar with the usual 750 ml bottles of champagne, the personal-sized ones, or even the 1.5 liter ones appropriately called Magnum bottles. But did you know there are much bigger sizes? And they are all named after Biblical characters: Jeroboam (3 liters), Methuselah (6 liters), Salmanazar (9 liters), and Balthazar (12 liters). Sizes larger than Jeroboam are rare, but even rare still are the ones called Primat (27 liters) and the monster-sized Melchizedek (30 liters). That’s a lot of champagne.

Types of Champagne

There are actually four different types of champagne:

Prestige cuvee – these are the big guns, the top champagnes of a producer’s range, made with the highest standards and priced accordingly. These are your Dom Perignons and your Cristals.

Blanc de noirs – literally “white of blacks,” is a champagne produced from black grapes (either Pinot Noir or Pinot Meunier grapes).

Blanc de blancs – it means “white of whites,” and is used to designate champagnes made from Chardonnay grapes alone.

Rosé – these champagnes exhibit a tinge of pink (hence, rosé) and is made by leaving the clear juice of the black grapes to macerate on its skins for a brief time. It can be also made by adding still Pinot noir red wine to the sparkling champagne, which is a more common technique used in order to ensure a consistent color.

Sweetness

Not all champagnes are created equal especially when it comes to sweetness. Champagne is also classified according to its level of sweetness:

• Brut Natural or Brut Zéro (less than 3 grams of sugar per liter)
• Extra Brut (less than 6 grams of sugar per liter)
• Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter) – this is the most common.
• Extra Sec or Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter)
• Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter)
• Demi-sec (33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter)
• Doux (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter)

There you go. Some nice little factlets about everybody’s favorite celebratory wine. Now you can be more knowledgeable when buying your next bottle.

Buying Sparkling Wine

When you buy wine for special occasions, what bottle of wine do you choose?

Celebrations and special occasions always call for a bottle of wine to be opened and enjoyed. Extra-special occasions, however, always call for some sort of sparkling wine, with champagne topping the ranks of the most sought after sparkling wine today. There are also red sparkling wines, but the mention of the term “sparkling wine” is usually reserved for sparkling white wines. What is it about this type of wine that makes people automatically choose it among shelves upon shelves of other wines? What’s so special about it?

The effervescent quality of sparkling wines may actually be the reason that people choose it for their extra-special occasions. Sparkling wine just seems so fitting. Champagne, actually, is the sparkling wine of the Champagne region of France. Other regions of the world also produce sparkling wines, but only those that come from that region have the right to use the term “champagne.” I must say that the name bears some prestige to it, though it doesn’t mean that other sparkling wines can’t hold a candle to champagne. In fact, my favorite sparkling wine is actually from Spain.

Choosing sparkling wines actually depend on how sweet you prefer it, because sparkling wine is classified that way. It is indicated on the bottle, and you have probably come across these terms when you scan champagne and sparkling wine bottles:

• Brut Natural or Brut Zéro (less than 3 grams of sugar per liter)
• Extra Brut (less than 6 grams of sugar per liter)
• Brut (less than 15 grams of sugar per liter)
• Extra Sec or Extra Dry (12 to 20 grams of sugar per liter)
• Sec (17 to 35 grams of sugar per liter)
• Demi-sec (33 to 50 grams of sugar per liter)

Doux (more than 50 grams of sugar per liter)

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