Wine information and facts

Carignan is more affordable than the other varietals perhaps because of the following qualities:

Its ripening process takes quite longer than the others.

Because it takes long to ripen, its susceptibility to spring frost is decreased therefore, it can produce huge quantities.

However, it tends to be sensitive to powdery and downy mildew.

Having said all these things, Carignan grapes must be carefully chosen and picked. As a winemaker, especially novice ones who are dabbling into wine homemade, make sure that the grapes you pick are free from rot and mildew to make sure that the wine you produce later on is not contaminated.

Carignan is also popular in France but not as popular as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The reason for this is that compared to those two, Carignan is quite more acidic and tannic in nature. This makes it a bit harder to produce great tasting wine. One needs to keep balancing the flavor by either adding more sugar and less tannin to the mixture. On the other hand, these characteristics are also the very reason why Carignan grapes are affordable than the other varietals and are also the best choice for everyday consumption and for making wine homemade.

Would you like to find out how to make Carignan wine homemade style? It’s just very simple actually. There are basic wine directions you can follow which are pretty similar  with the instructions on how to make Merlot wine homemade style. What I’ll add here are more important things you should remember when making Carignan wine homemade.

As I’ve mentioned, it takes a longer period for Carignan grapes to become ripe. So when you start choosing the grapes, be very careful and thorough. Once you pick the ripest of the bunch, you’re sure to produce a richer and more flavorful kind of wine. Although, it will also depend on whether the grapes used are crushed or uncrushed. The kind that responds best to fermentation are the uncrushed ones. For smokey aroma, take out the twigs and stems. If you were not able to take them out, then you’ll produce sweet wine.

If you want to produce earthy and fruity wines, you just have to make the process of fermentation cool and short. Otherwise, you can heat the fermenter under the heat of the sun to get the opposite result. Just be careful because you wouldn’t want your wine homemade to be spoiled. Regarding the overall time period consumed in making your wine homemade, the size of your container or vat or fermenter is a huge factor.  In case you have smaller vessels, you can still produce quality wine if you keep the time period short.

New wood is not needed when storing your homemade Carignan particularly if it’s just less than 100 gallons in quantity. You may use a glass of stainless steel instead. If you like your wine to have some oak character added in it, you can just drop some oak chips at the bottom of your container.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. His latest book, “Homemade Wine: Great Secrets on How to Turn Your Winemaking Hobby Into a Profitable Business” is available at http://www.homemadewinesecrets.com.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/homemade-carignan-wine-1579717.html

It has been some time since New Zealand burst onto the wine scene in the 1980′s with their Sauvignon Blanc, which at the time was a complete revelation in comparison to the oak/butter flavor profiles being proliferated by California Chardonnay. At the time their focus on high acidity to keep flavors on the palate for the longest possible time was a unique winemaking event.

What makes wine from New Zealand interesting and unique today you ask? The terroir as the French would say. New Zealand is the most southern wine growing region in the world today. They site approximately the same distance from the equator that Washington State sits north of it, for comparison. This distance from the equator gives the winemakers some unique aspects to build on. Grapes often lose acidity during warm summer days, however in New Zealand their temperature still drops quite severely at night year around, so the grapes actually gain acidity at night. This dichotomy gives the wines their higher acidity and allows for more intense flavor profiles because the grapes can be left on the vine well into the fall without as high of risk as you’d have in other regions. Additionally, as a long thin island(or two island for that matter) nation these natural temperature changes are emphasized by the lands interaction with the ocean.

New Zealand follows the lead of the United States and other new world wine producers by labeling their wine by varietal. To carry a label of Cabernet Sauvignon for example, the wine needs to include at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemakers in New Zealand often will go farther then that though, they typically only label their wines as single varietals if they are 100% of that varietal, for example 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally if more then one varietal is used they list them in decreasing order which makes rational sense, but is fairly unique in the wine world.

One area many wine drinkers do wish New Zealand would upgrade their regulations comes with the use of place names. Although there are no laws currently acitve regarding place names, unlike the United States New Zealand winemakers typically list the place as where the grapes were grown.

Ok, so what do they grow? New Zealand grows the typical cast of characters in the wine world. Almost all New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc carries the traditional style from the 1980′s and the winemakers of the region have taken that success and transferred it to other wines. Specifically the Kiwi’s do quite well with Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Red wine varietals are not as well thought of internationally, but the opportunity is there to make some truly outstanding Pinot.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to try a wine from New Zealand, try a white wine and specificaly a Sauvignon Blanc. I’ll bet you’ll be happy you did as the acidity and flavor profiles may be quite different than you are used to.

Mark Aselstine is one of two Proprietors of Uncorked Ventures. UCV provides three different wine club membership options as well as many different wine gift services. I hope you’ll consider joining one of my wine clubs in the future!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/wine-from-new-zealandwhere-do-i-start-1566880.html

So I’ve been saving a specific bottle of wine to enjoy with my wife since my first trip to Napa and Sonoma after starting Uncorked Ventures, a Copain 2007 Monument Tree Pinot Noir.

I believe I’ve talked a little about Copain before in this space, but I am a fan of much of the wine they make and their winemaker Wells Guthrie. He has a rather unique style for the area and has really been at the forefront of pushing other winemakers to attempt to control the alcohol levels in their wine. Much of the wine that Copain makes ends up with alcohol content 1-2% lower then the competition. They’re able to do this by being very careful about where they source their grapes (usually colder climates) as well as how/when the fruit is harvested (middle of the night when possible to control heat transfer during fermentation).

From a business to business perspective I appreciate the way that they’ve treated us as a start up and as a consumer I greatly appreciate the fact that their wines occupy a range of prices starting at around $20 for their Tous Ensambles series. I do believe they leave some money on the table on a number of their wines which are sold in the $40-$50 range-which are consistently great values many scoring 90+ ratings from Parker and the Wine Entusiast.

Ok so about that Pinot…..as good as I remember it. In fact maybe a bit better given the 6 months or so of rest as well as the thirty minutes of decanting (yeah, yeah I know not ideal). On the nose it’s hard to pick up individual flavors, but it definitely is a dark berry type of smell. On the palate it is noticeably brighter then you’d imagine with cherry being the predominant flavor-the structure of the wine is quite good and really shows Wells ability as most Pinot’s don’t hold up this well.

Overall at around $50, to me it is a clear buy. I am an unapologetic Pinot Noir fan (both because of the flavor profiles and the story of the grape itself) which comes sometimes much to my business partner and father in laws dismay, but I will be interested in comparing this Pinot to some of the more highly hyped Oregon versions.

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not mention where the Monument Tree moniker comes from. Monument Tree is a vineyard about a two hour drive north of San Francisco. Since Copain aims to trim alcohol levels they source fruit from both the Central Coast of California (think on the ocean just north of Santa Barbara) as well as some of the cooler valley’s north of SF. As you can see Monument Tree vineyard is named after a redwood tree which still stands in the middle of the vineyard.

Mark Aselstine is one of two Proprietors of Uncorked Ventures. UCV provides three different wine club membership options as well as many different wine gift services. I hope you’ll consider joining one of my wine clubs in the future!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/copain-monument-tree-pinot-noir-review-1566888.html

The grapes used for this type of wine are also unique. They are round, small, very dark with a very rough skin. The roughness of their skin actually protects them from being damaged especially when the autumn rains start to pour in. This also prevents them from being contaminated. These are the very qualities of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that makes them one of a kind hence, the wine they produce are one of a kind too.

These very qualities they possess made them a favorite among wine collectors which in turn made them valued very highly in the market. If you will notice, Cabernet Sauvignon is priced higher than the other wines. Now, you know the reason why.

Let’s now proceed to answering the how to homemade wine particularly how to make homemade Cabernet Sauvignon.

The following are the steps in learning the how to homemade wine which are described in summarized details below:

First step in the how to homemade wine is Crushing

Clean the grapes with tap water. Take out the stems but you can leave the little twigs.

Stomp on the grapes to produce the juice. This has always been the traditional way of making grape juice.

Gather the juice together with the crushed grape skins and twigs. This is called your must. Pour it all in your first fermenter or vessel.

Second step in the how to homemade wine is Primary Fermentation

Get the acidity level of your must as well as its sugar content. There’s an acid and sugar level testing kit which you can buy in  a wine store or supermarket.

Add more sugar or acid when applicable.

Based on these results, you will know how many campden tablets you need to add.

Put an airlock on your must and let it stay for 24 hours.

Pour in the wine yeast in to the must. Seal it again with the airlock and let it ferment for one week. In that one week, stir it twice every day with a wooden paddle. Plastic ladle is allowed as well.

Third and fourth step in the how to homemade wine is Racking  and Aging

Siphon the must while taking out all skin and twigs through straining. What you will have now is the juice which wine makers call “green wine”.

Acidity levels will once again be tested at this point. Try to balance the levels by adding spring water (the least preferred choice), potassium bicarbonate, or calcium carbonate into the mixture.

Siphon once again the “green wine” into another empty vessel. Preferably, use oak barrels. But since it’s expensive for homemade wine makers, you can just add pieces of oak chips into your vessel.

Seal your vessel very tightly. Store it in a dark, cool place for 3 weeks.

After those three weeks, top off the vessels. The vessel that is least full should be siphoned.  Just in case microorganisms have penetrated you’re your vessel, kill them by pouring a spoonful of sulfite. Then seal it off tightly.

The leftover wine must be discarded. Otherwise, put it in a smaller vessel.

Waiting period after this is 4-6 months. Then bottle it.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. You can find more information about how to make professional quality wine at your own home, at Simon’s popular site: www.homemadewinesecrets.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/how-to-make-cabernet-sauvignon-1570349.html