Easy Guide to Food And Drinks

February 18, 2011

Sauvignon Blanc 101

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , — CakeAuthor @ 12:01 am

One of the most popular and finest grapes to ever grow on earth is the Sauvignon Blanc. This grape variety is used for making exquisite wines. This famous fruit has a bit of history behind it. Like many wine grapes, it has its origins in the country of France. The earliest that historians can trace its roots (pun not intended) is in the 1800s in the Bordeaux Regions as well as the Loire Valley. A few years after, the fruit was adopted by other winemaking regions like New Zealand, Australia, and the United States. In the state of California, the first vine extractions from the grape variety reached the land in the 1880s.

Used primarily to make dry and dessert wines, Sauvignon Blanc grapes grow well in warm climates. It can produce a variety of flavors depending on the climate where it is cultivated. Its vines tend grow quickly that’s why vignerons carefully cut the leaves and thin the shoots so that all the energy of the plant is directed towards ripening the fruit. The flavors it produces may be neutral if not properly taken care of.

In France’s Bordeaux Regions, the Sauv Blanc grown there are usually sweet and are made into dessert wines. Other regions yield dry flavors. In the land down under, the wines made from the fruit can have a high acidity which wine experts describe describe as “grassy.” Yet again, the fruit can have many flavors depending on the regions’ climate where it is raised.

In terms of wine pairings, and going by the traditional rule that reds go well with meat and whites are perfect for fish, Sauv Blanc would be very ideal for fish including sushi. It can also be a perfect partner for veggies, salads, poultry and Thai food. It is considered as the best dry white wine to pair with different kinds of food.

Sauv Blanc is known by many other names and some of them are Fume Blanc, Bordeaux Bianco, Genetin, Puncechon, and Sarvonien.

Next time you take a sip of dry wine or dessert wine made from this great fruit, you would then have a better appreciation of it and maybe even share what you know with your friends.

July 12, 2010

Three In Vogue Wine Varieties For Your Next Dinner Party

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , , — CakeAuthor @ 8:49 am

The top three most fashionable wine varieties worldwide right now are Pinot Noir, Sav Blanc, in addition to the old favorite - the wines of Champagne.

Pinot noir red wine, or Burgundy, as it is also known as in France, provides multiple beautiful qualities concerning it. This wine is ordinarily some what very difficult to make and this adds to its aura. As a wine variety, during it’s early days Pinot might have characteristics of sweet cherry paired with brilliant, gentle cherry colorings. This creates a wine really easy to partner together with a wide variety of culinary types.

A great older Burgundy or Pinot Noir, given the wine is actually well made from exceptional good quality grapes, will probably be noticeably richer in coloration, and also feature more levels of persona and flavors. It may well present earthy textures and be an outstanding accompaniment to red meats as well as meals that have truffle flavors or mushroom overtures.

Sauvignon Blanc has become the top rated white wine in many nations - UK, Australia most noticeably. The top Sauvignon Blancs are made in  Marlborough, in New Zealand. This particular place yields unbelievably powerful flavored white wines - exploding with capsicum, and gooseberry elements. A chilled savvy can be offered as an aperitif but is at the same time brilliant together with entrees which are strong in flavor - such as smoked salmon and Asian meals. The acid, abundant flavor and zing in the Sauvignon Blanc usually are tough to overpower no matter how dominating the food type.

Champagne appears forever the drink for celebrations and toasting, and even as a pick me up in the event that things have gone pear shaped. Real Champagne only comes from the superb wine producing houses of France, even so almost all new world countries are often creating brilliant sparkling wine which can easily compare well with champagne, albeit ordinarily at a inexpensive selling price.

Champers may easily be loved just by itself - anytime - or alternatively with canapes as an aperitif. It is undoubtedly normal to be able to give Champagne to visitors once they enter your place for a dinner soiree, It should go irresistably well with delicious oysters and quite a few cooks make use of it in seafood entrees, combining it to a wine sauce.

No matter what your main taste - be it white wine, red wine, or a wine with bubbles in abundance, you could not go wrong by serving these above 3 wine styles at your subsequent supper party.

 

April 13, 2009

Top 9 Most Popular Varieties of Wine

Filed under: Wine Spirits — Tags: , , , , , — CakeAuthor @ 6:33 am

Popular Varieties Of Wine

There are a great number of different wines available – many more than you may have even imagined. If you’d like to find out more about how to match up different wines with your food, then a good place to start is with some of the more popular wine varieties before you start to explore more esoteric grapes.

Oh, and before we get started, if you love to try new wines, then you can’t go wrong with a wine of the month club, they’re fun and you’re always expanding your wine palate.

Let’s take a look at some of the more popular wine varieties:

Cabernet Sauvignon

Often abbreviated to the less-than-lovely name ‘cab-sav’, the flavorful cabernet sauvignon is a classic French wine that is one of the most widely recognized red wine varieties.

This full-bodied red wine blend can be the ideal accompaniment to a fine steak, a roast lamb or on its own as a drinking red wine.

Merlot

This soft, full bodied red has significantly less tannins than do most other red wines. Merlot is bottled on its own as well as being a part of many red wine blends. Merlot is an excellent wine to pair with chicken and other poultry.

Shiraz

Also known as Syrah, Shiraz is a deep red colored, medium bodied wine whose flavor includes hints of black pepper and berries. This is one of the best wines to go with barbecue as well as many other meat dishes. Shiraz can be aged for a long time and improves well with age.

Native to Iran (it is named after the Iranian city of Siraz), this grape is produced extensively in Australia, which makes some of the best Shiraz in the world as well as in France.

Shiraz holds up to strongly flavored sauces, making it a good choice for barbecued meats and spicy dishes.

Grenache

Grenache is a very soft, subtle red wine that is often blended with other types of wine to produce distinct flavors and blends. A glass of chilled Grenache goes beautifully with most spicy foods.

Pinot Noir

A light to medium bodies red, Pinot Noir has flavors of cherry and plum, along with violet-like flavors which become more prominent when this wine is properly aged.

Chardonnay

Chardonnay is one of the most popular white wines, being made into a wine in its own right and being a major component of most white blends. These wines tend to have notes of melon and lemon and are generally aged in oak for anywhere up to 3 years. Chardonnay goes well with flavorful fish such as salmon and tuna.  Chardonnay is easily one of the most popular white wines anywhere. Traditionally these wonderfully melon flavored wines are allowed to mature in oak barrels for up to 3 years. Chardonnay is ideal served along with salmon.

Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon blanc is a very ripe tasting white wine that can have a quite aggressive aroma as compared to other white wines. Sauvignon Blanc is a lovely white wine that is excellent with seafood and a great accompaniment to Japanese sushi, but is even better on its own as a drinking white wine.

Semillon

This classic full-bodied dry French white wine is often misunderstood by people living outside of France or Australia. Often criticized for lacking in intensity, Semillon has a distinctly fruity flavor that is more subtle than some of the ‘heavier’ white wines and so it’s often blended with a Sauvignon Blanc to create a wonderful light drinking wine.

Riesling

This is a German wine which has found favor worldwide and is now grown in many different countries. This is a white wine with a pleasing green apple and lemon flavor which may be either dry or sweet. The dry varieties of Riesling are excellent paired with spicy foods.

Now get out there, start trying new wines (join a wine club if there are no vineyards nearby), and enjoy.

Powered by WordPress