The Constantia and Durbanville wards are situated near the ocean and the consistently cool weather is a huge advantage, while the Robertson Valley is blessed with the right combination of soil and climate.

The national winners from Constantia are the Klein Constantia Marlbrook 2005 (Top Red Blend), Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2001 (Top Natural Dessert Wine) and Steenberg Merlot 2005 (Top Merlot). The Klein Constantia Vin de Constance 2001 is also the wine that received the highest rating of all the wines entered. The Muscat de Frontignan grapes used for this wine come from the historic vineyards on Klein Constantia.

Bon Courage Estate entered two of the national certificate winners from the Robertson area, the Bon Courage Cap CJ Bruere Brut Reserve 2003 (Top Cap Classique Sparkling Wine) and Red Muscadel 2002 (Top Fortified Dessert Wine). The third national winner from that area is the McGregor Colombar 2007 (Top Colombar).

Durbanville in 2006 produced two national winners and the three wines awarded national certificates at this year’s competition are the Bloemendal Sauvignon Blanc 2006 (Top Sauvignon Blanc), De Grendel Winifred 2006 (Top White Blend) and Nitida Semillon 2006 (Top Semillon).

The Breedekloof District also did very well this year with two of the national winners, the Avondrood Viognier 2006 (Top Viognier) and Bergsig Chardonnay 2006 (Top Chardonnay).

The other national certificate winners at this year’s competition all came from different winegrowing wards, namely Cederberg Chenin Blanc 2005 (Top Chenin Blanc) from the Cederberg ward, Doolhof Signatures Pinotage 2005 (Top Pinotage) from the Wellington ward, Franschhoek Cellar Reserve Petit Verdot 2005 (Top Petit Verdot) from the Franschhoek ward, Knorhoek Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 (Top Cabernet Sauvignon) from the Simonsberg-Stellenbosch ward and Koelfontein Shiraz 2005 (Top Shiraz) from the Ceres ward.

Three of these national winning wines were exactly the same wine cultivar or style of wine from exactly the same terrain as last year’s winners. Bon Courage Estate outside Robertson entered the Top Fortified with a Muscadel in 2006 and 2007, Steenberg in Constantia the Top Merlot in both years and Bloemendal in Durbanville the Top Sauvignon Blanc in both years.

It is interesting to note that three of the more scarce wine grape cultivars in South Africa, Petit Verdot, Semillon and Viognier, produced national winners from respectively Franschhoek, Durbanville and Goudini in Breedekloof.

In the categories for the best wines from districts and wards, from which the national winners are selected in the final round, the Bottelary and Wellington wards stood out as prime terrains in their districts. In the Stellenbosch district five of the winning wines in that category are from the Bottelary ward and in the Paarl district six of the winning wines are from the Wellington ward.

“A total of 156 wines were judged this year and there is an increase in the wine of origin areas participating and the different cultivar wines being entered. Most entries were Shiraz (23), followed by Sauvignon Blanc (22), red blends (17) and Pinotage (16). The Shiraz entries came from 15 different wine of origin areas and the Sauvignon Blanc from 13 different wine of origin areas. All of this is proof that the Cape Winelands is growing into its own world of wine,” says Marius Labuschagne, wine consultant and project leader of SA Terroir Wine Awards.

The wines were tasted blind at Elsenburg Agricultural College and the panel consisted of connoisseurs who have many years of experience in tasting all the wines from all the districts. They are Charl Theron (wine tasting and wine lecturer, panel member of the Wine and Spirits Board), Christine Rudman (Cape Wine Master), Brenda van Niekerk (cellar master), Pierre Marais (wine consultant, previously cellar master of the Bergkelder) and Clive Torr (Cape Wine Master and winemaker).

“Because it is all about terroir, the international term for a specific wine terrain, the wines are judged according to the quality of the product combined with distinctive characteristics created by the soil and climate in the specific area. It was clear that the winemakers did a lot of work with these wines to portray their origin without sacrificing quality. Only the terrain and a dedicated viticulturist and winemaker can produce these results,” says Charl Theron, coordinator of the judging and convener of the panel.

The SA Terroir Wine Awards is made possible by the sponsorship of Novare, a young South African independent investment consulting firm. Fifty percent of Novare is owned by the Mvelaphanda Group Limited, established by Tokyo Sexwale in 1998. The chairman of Novare is Dr. Jackie Mphafudi, and the CEO is Johan Henn.

Besides the national SA Terroir Wine Awards certificates, the top wines were also selected in the different categories identified for the Terroir Wine Awards.

Gerald Crawford was born in South Africa, studied electronics, telecommunication, eco-travel and african travel concepts. He taught responsible tourism in South Africa. If you have any questions or comments please e-mail me on.

E-mail Address: southafricantravelarticles@12234455.co.za

Website Address: http://www.12234455.co.za

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gerald_Crawford

Anytime you buy a wine gift online, make sure you know what category the wine is placed in.

oTable wine – table wine has less then fourteen percent alcohol in it and come in two forms: white and red, depending on what color they are. Table wine is also the least expensive wine you could buy, and thus will not come with a label that tells you what region the wine was from.

oSparkling Wine – A sparkling wine is one that has had carbon dioxide added to it through fermentation. In a way, sparkling wines are fermented twice: once when the bottle is closed and the second time when it’s closed. Champagne is the most common example of a sparkling wine.

oDessert Wines – a dessert wine is a very sweet wine that comes with 50-400 grams of sugar, taken from grapes that have reached their optimal ripeness.

oFortifies Wines – this type of wine is sweeter and has a stronger alcohol content than regular wines because they are mixed with spirits to enhance the taste.

oCooking wine – this is by far the worst wine to drink sitting at a wedding or to relax. Cooking wine is packed with salt and is such a bad quality that it’s only reasonable use is to cook with it. This should only be given as a gift for someone who is interested in cooking; otherwise you may be looked at as a penny packer who doesn’t buy good things for people that you care about.

As you can plainly see, buying a wine gift online doesn’t have to be hard as long as you know what kind of wine you need to buy. Once you pick out one of the wines in the above list, choosing the perfect wine for that special someone will be very easy. Not only can wine shopping be easy, it can also be fun! See what wines from foreign countries you can find that are considered obscure. Who knows? Maybe your favorite wine will come from New Zealand!

If you would like more information on buying a wine gift online [http://www.squidoo.com/winegiftonline], check out [http://www.squidoo.com/winegiftonline/]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mikee_Dunn

Before getting into the actual styles of glassware there are two important points to remember when choosing the right glass:

1) It is better to choose a plain, clear glass; this will allow you to analyze and appreciate the wines color, intensity, and clarity giving you clues about the wines age and quality.

2) The size of the glass should be large enough that a serving only fills the bottom half of the glass. This will allow you to “nose” through the layers of the wine and will give you enough space for an adequate swirl without spilling your wine.

Stemware is available in a variety of styles and fashions, but most wine drinkers will choose a generic tulip shaped glass that suits all varieties of wine and this is okay. However, stemware is designed to support the greatest palates, and the different shapes and styles force your head position to change directing the wine to different parts of your mouth.

Red Wine

Generally red wine is served in taller and wider glasses allowing for the complexity of these wines. There are two general types of glasses used for red wines:

Bordeaux Glasses
# tall glasses with wide bowls that allow the wine to breath

# designed for rich full body reds like cabernet and merlot

# direct the wine to the back of the mouth for maximum flavor

Burgundy Glasses
# a larger bowl than the Bordeaux glass

# great for wines like burgundy and pinot noir

#

# directs the wine to the tip of the tongue to bring out the sweetness in the wine

White Wine
White wine glasses are generally smaller than red wine glasses in order to keep the wine cold. The main type of white wine glasses is:

Chardonnay Glasses
# are usually tall with a subtle bowl to keep the wine cold

# used for most white wines

# directs wine to the rear and sides of the mouth bringing out the wines bolder flavors

Champagne Glasses
# designed tall and thin to prolong the vivacity of the bubbles

# the narrow opening magnifies the scent which is predominately on the surface of the liquid

There are many other specialty styles and shapes to choose from and lots of designs for other liqueurs and spirits. The styles listed above will give you a great starting point for your wine collection and make you look like a wine aficionado.

Aside from increasing your collection stemware makes a great gift for friends and family and is always a nice treat to bring the hostess of a dinner party in appreciation for all of their work!

Simone Levesque is a wine aficionado, focused on bringing Canadian wine into the spot light. Through her website, Canada’s Wine Education and Tour Guide [http://www.wine-enthusiast-online.com], she gives tons of information about wine including great tips on what to try and where to go [http://www.wine-enthusiast-online.com] the next time your there.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Simone_Levesque

Wine fraud, by definition, is a type of fraud where customers are sold wine illegally. Like a grape known for being seedy or a vineyard known for being shady, wine fraud has the potential to spoil the wine lover’s spirit. This wine is sometimes filled with chemicals that can cause sickness or it is cheap wine sold for prices much higher than it’s worth. While it may seem that wine fraud is limited to wines sold in back alleys, or out of the trunks of beaten down cars, many cases of wine fraud are sold by seemingly legit vendors. You may have been a victim of wine fraud and never even realized it.

This type of fraud can have many faces, with one being label fraud. During this, labels of pricey wines are adhered to non-expensive bottles and sold as if they are the real thing. Just as fake Cuban cigars often contain real Cuban cigar labels, fake bottles of Chateau Lafite often contain real Chateau Lafite labels. This leads people to pay extreme amounts of money for bottles of wine that may be filled with something as cheap as Mad Dog.

As with many fraudulent operations, label fraud often involves a large number of people. With organization that mirrors a car theft ring, this fraud brings several people together with the intent of labeling unknowing consumers “ripped off.” In 2000, for example, authorities in Italy uncovered a warehouse filled with close to twenty thousand bottles of inexpensive wine adorned with 1995 Sassicaia Super Tuscan labels.

One the other end of the fraudulent spectrum, wine fraud can also involve mixing toxic chemicals with wine, a combination that can be fatal. This may be performed in an attempt to increase the alcohol content of a low-alcohol wine or to make a type of wine more flavorful. When wine sellers or makers engage in this type of wine fraud, they are gambling with more than just scamming people out of their money: they are also gambling with people’s lives. In 1986, an Italian winemaker mixed wood alcohol with his wine to increase the wine’s potency. This resulted in the death of 23 people.

Perhaps the most common type of wine fraud is wine blending, an act that blends cheaper wine with more expensive wine and passes the wine off as authentic. This can involve a variety of wines. Wine makers have been caught blending everything from a cheap Rioja wine with Bordeaux to an expensive red Burgundy with inferior wine and selling the bottles at an inflated price.

To prevent wine fraud from ruining the industry, many of the world’s major wine producers have begun taking preventative action. One preventive action involves placing serial numbers on bottles of wine, serial numbers that prove the wine’s authenticity and value. This, unfortunately, does not provide protection for older wines, wine that were bottled years ago.

For you, the consumer, preventive action must also be practiced. Understanding that wine fraud exists is the first step in making sure you’re never given a bottle that is blended, filled with toxic chemicals, or worth much less that you pay. If the label is particularly old looking, and appears that it is has been taken off another bottle and placed on yours, it’s best to stay away from it. It is also best to only buy wine from reputed dealers; if the wine seller asks you if you want to buy a watch, it’s best to turn away. And, most importantly, never give up your yo-yo for a lousy old grapevine.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jordan

Making wine is an art that is thousands of years old and the process has been handed down by generations. In this modern age we can make our own wine with the right tution.

We will explain how this can be done very easily with house hold items that you have in your own kitchen

#1 BENEFIT Make Wine from other Fruits rather than Grapes

Why would we make our own wine rather than buying. It might seem to be a big hassle when we could just take a walk to the super market and buy a bottle.
I will tell you it is all in the process of getting started,doing something different,something you have never tackled before. Most of the wine we buy is made of grapes. If you can think of some of the wines and liquers you can make from all the berries and fruits that are around you, even Orange wine, Peach wine, just to mention a few. Can you imagine tasting some of them thet you made yourself.

#2 BENEFIT Fine Acheivment

That would be such a fine acheivment, to make something worthwhile out of some fruit you picked this morning, Like the 6 or 7 stalks of rhubarb from the corner. And now you can taste your own wine that you have nurtured.
You can be proud that you have made wine by your own hand
through all the processes till you can pull the cork and pour it in the glass.

#3 BENEFIT A New Hobby

It might just be for a hobby you start to make your own wine ,”Good on You” because once you get hooked you will be making more and more wine and liquers. There is actually no end of what you an make. I have got here recipes for Vermouth, Cherry Brandy wine, Sloe Gin wine, Red Curacao wine, Tangerine wine, Loganberry wine, Elderberry Claret, just to metion a few.

#4 BENEFIT Friends are Envious of Your Achievments

When you have a party and have freinds round you will be popular not to mention the envy. You will give them something to talk about to their neighbors and freinds.
All the different wines that you make by your own hands, you can be proud.

#5 BENEFIT A Stock of wine You can be Proud Of

Imagine a year from now how many different bottles of wine you could have made, The loft will be full.
A good idea is to put 2 bottles away out of each batch that you have made and by the end of the year you will have a great selection of your own wines. By doing this as well you are letting it mature and will taste a lot better.

#6 BENEFIT No Need to buy Wine Again

And think about that, you will never have to buy another bottle of wine again as you will have you own wine cellar to pick and choose from

Now that you have read through the 6 Benefits to You making you own wine, don’t forget about it, do something about it.
Can’t you smell the aroma and taste your own wine with all the different fruits that are a round you. the envy of your friends and the self gratification of the making of your own wine.

Dave Leitch writer of this article invites you to have a go at making your own wines. Get a preview of this great book,
“How to Make Perfect Wines and Spirits From Home”
Get it now at www.everythingyouneednow.com/wine.htm [http://www.everythingyouneednow.com/wine.htm]

Dave is all for making his own wine since living a lot of years in South Africa and has drank many a Cape wine, but since returning to the UK has taken up making his own wine

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dave_Leitch

1. There are 20 million acres are planted to grapes worldwide.

2. Among the world’s fruit crops, wine grapes rank number one in the amount of acres planted.

3 164 countries import California wines.

4. Prunes were the primary fruit crop in Napa Valley during the 1940′s.

5. 30 million gallons of wine were lost in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.

6. On August 19, 1873, phylloxera was first discovered in California.

7. 10,450 acres of Napa County vineyards have been replanted in the last 15 years because of phylloxera.

8. 4,450 more acres of Napa County vineyards will need replacement.

9. It takes 4 to 5 years to harvest a commercial crop from newly replanted grape vines?

10. 10,000 varieties of wine grapes exist worldwide.

11. It costs around $1 per bottle to age wine in a French oak barrel.

12. It costs around $3 per bottle to age wine in only new French oak barrels.

13. When was the first known reference to a specific wine vintage? Answer: Roman Historian Pliny the Elder rated 121 B.C. as a vintage “of the highest excellence.”

14. How old was the wine being “reviewed”? Answer: 200 years old! Pliny the Elder wrote the history of the Roman Empire around 70 A.D.

15. A bottle of opened wine stored in the refrigerator lasts about 6 to 16 times longer than it would if stored at room temp.

16. There are 400 oak species.

17. 20 of them are used in making oak barrels.

18. 5% percent of an oak tree is suitable for making high grade wine barrels.

19. The 1996 grape crop in Napa Valley was down 20% – 25% from normal.

20. California, New York and Florida are the top three U.S. states in terms of wine consumption.

21. 58% percentage of legal-aged Americans contacted in a Nielson phone survey drink wine.

22. 55 percentage of restaurant wine sales are red wines.

23. $2.64 is the average cost of the grapes used to produce a $20 bottle of wine?

24. Dom Perignon (1638-1715), the Benedictine Abbey (at Hautvillers) cellar master who is generally credited with “inventing” the Champagne making process, was blind.

25. Thomas Jefferson helped stock the wine cellars of the first five U.S. presidents and was very partial to fine Bordeaux and Madeira.

26. To prevent a sparkling wine from foaming out of the glass, pour an ounce, which will settle quickly. Pouring the remainder of the serving into this starter will not foam as much.

27. Old wine almost never turns to vinegar. It spoils by oxidation.

28. In King Tut’s Egypt (around 1300 BC), the commoners drank beer and the upper class drank wine.

29. It is the VERY slow interaction of oxygen and wine that produces the changes noticed in aging wine. It is believed that wine ages more slowly in larger bottles, since there is less oxygen per volume of wine in larger bottles. Rapid oxidation, as with a leaky cork, spoils wine.

30. Before harvest, the canopy of leaves at the top of the vine is often cut away to increase exposure to the sun and speed ripening.

We hope you enjoyed these facts.

Ian Macdonald as founder and owner of Macdonald’s Gourmet Burgers combines his passion and knowledge of food, wine and nutrition with savvy business tactics. He is also the MD of a corporate consulting firm that advises on strategic negotiation, dispute resolution and workplace change. Clients are mainly from top 100 corporations. For lots of free resources from their extensive website go to: [http://www.MacdonaldsGourmetBurgers.com]

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ian_Macdonald

While wine is a type of alcohol, it refutes this “easy to serve” concept. It’s not horribly difficult to serve, but when compared to other forms of alcohol, its proper service requires a little more know how, a know-how that is facilitated by an understanding of the different types of wine glasses.

Three Main Wine Glasses

Although wine glasses can come in many varieties – with different sizes and shapes abounding – there are three general wine glass categories aimed at encompassing the most common types of wine.

Sparking Wine Flutes: Sparkling wine flutes are tall and thin, like a wine glass that works out. They are used to hold all kinds of sparkling wine, including champagne. Because sparkling wines contain carbonation, flutes are designed to encourage carbonated bubbles to remain active. If this type of wine is served in a shorter, fatter wine glass, it will be exposed to air quickly, causing the drink to go flat, and bursting the wine’s bubble in more than one way.

White Wine Glasses: White wine glasses are tulip shaped. They are typically medium in size, ranging from eight to fourteen ounces. The rim of white wine glasses is tapered inward. This inwardness helps direct the white wine’s aroma to the nose, greatly enhancing the wine’s flavor.

Red Wine Glasses: Red wine glasses are slightly larger than white wine glasses, tipping the scales between ten and sixteen ounces. The bowl, more fish bowl like, is larger and rounder, but, like the white wine glass, it is also tapered inward. This also directs the aroma of the red wine to the nose, allowing the drinker to use a common sense, the sense of smell, to make their wine tasting experience much more flavorful.

Generalities

Overall, wine glasses should be clear, allowing the drinker to visually see what they are drinking. They should also be made of thinly cut glass and tapered at the top. As a general rule of thumb, a thinner glass is better than a larger one, not because of society’s preconceived notions, but because thinner glasses keep air out easier than larger ones. Though being made of crystal is not mandatory, crystal wine glasses do tend to enhance the essence of wine to a greater degree.

Filling the Glass

Some people my have different suggestions when it comes to filling their wine glass. While some may want the wine to be level with the wine glass’s rim, others may prefer just a taste and some, forgoing the wine glass altogether, may simply open their mouths wide and ask you to start pouring. Personal preferences aside, the proper way to fill a wine glass is to fill it about half way – and only a third of the way for white wine – in order to give the wine drinker a chance to move the wine glass around and catch the wine’s aromas. Filling a wine glass with too much wine can result in taking the wine drinkers ability to swirl away, or leave them with a shirt tie-dyed in Cabernet.

While there are several ways to serve wine, and several things to serve it in, having a collection of wine flutes, white wine glasses, and red wine glasses should be sufficient enough to effectively serve any wine that crosses your path, keeping wine drinkers happy and the elegance of wine properly contained.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Jordan

White Wine:
When creating a wine and food combination, Chardonnay is best complimented with Veal, Salmon, grilled cheese and white sauce. You should avoid spicy foods with this drink. Gewurztraminer is ideal when matched with Pork, Chinese foods and Swiss cheese but must be avoided with light foods. Pinot Grigio is not an ideal option for Tomatoes and spicy food as this combination may create a rather unpleasant taste. Riesling is a very dry wine and perfect when teamed with Veal, Shrimp, cream sauces and Turkey. Sweet food should be avoided with Riesling and Sancerre however.

Red Wine:
In a perfect world a food recommendation would be included on the back of a wine bottle. Fortunately we can give you the insiders tips to getting a wine and food combination just right. Barberra red wine is perfect with Pizza, pasta, lasagne and lemon chicken. When eating fish or tomatoes, Cabernet Sauvignon should be avoided. This wine is better suited with chocolate, roast lamb, steak and duck. Merlot is perfectly matched with grilled meats such as barbecue meat and chicken. Avoid sweet food with this wine. Pinot Noir is not well matched with spicy foods such as Indian, instead it is ideal with Salmon, tuna, lamb and duck. Shiraz is great with a meal of barbecue, peppered red meats and sausage but should be avoided with fish.

In general, wine is best served at a chilled temperature, as it is able to breathe and create the perfect mix of aromas that will delight the senses and impress your guests. Each type of wine has a glass that coordinates with it. If you do not have a cupboard full of every wineglass imaginable though, use the next closest looking glass. The reason that there are so many types of wineglasses available, is that each one is designed to emphasise the full aromas and tastes within a given type of wine. If the wine is not served in quite the right glass, all these aromas and flavors may not be fully realised.

How much to serve:
Wine should be opened and served carefully, especially red wine as this may create a nasty mess if spilt on white clothing or dinner wear. Do not overfill glasses. It is best to serve a small amount of wine at first, as this will allow the remainder of the wine in the bottle to breathe. White wine should have an average serving of three ounces, spirits one ounce and red wine four or five ounces. Serving smaller servings will help the wine last longer and will allow guests to savour it over a greater length of time.

Temperature Guidelines:
Normally a bottle of wine may take up to three hours before it is appropriately chilled in the refrigerator. Serving the wine at the correct temperature may be a difference of whether the wine will be ideal to drink for maximum aroma and taste, and may make or break a charming dinner experience for you and your guests. A great way to chill your wine to perfection fast and easily is to place your bottle into a bucket filled with ice and a sprinkling of salt. Push the wine into the depths of the ice to quickly chill the bottle. The more expensive the wine the warmer it can be served. White wines especially the dry sorts are best served at lower temperatures however. And, lastly heavy wines are best served at the room temperature.

Claire Calkin operates several websites offering advice to people on decorating and enhancing their homes.

claire@floyds-wine.com http://www.floyds-wine.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Claire_Calkin

Then it occurred to me that maybe I wasn’t looking at the right things. Maybe I needed to know more about the wine industry and what determines the prices of wine. So, I began to educate myself. I learned how to effectively read a wine bottle label, both European and American. I learned about how wine was made, why certain grapes were used in the making of certain wines and why where those grapes were grown had such an impact on the quality of the wine itself.

Now I felt better prepared for my search. Now, I could walk into a wine shop or browse a wine website and feel confident that there really was something to all those bottles staring me down. Somewhere amongst them, I was certain to find the one gem I had been looking for. Now that I knew what to look for, finding good affordable wine of high quality, would be a snap.

The secret to finding the wine you want at the price you want to pay is that there is no secret. All you need to know is where to look and what to look for.

In my search for good affordable wine I learned some very important things to consider before ever picking up that bottle. I learned probably more than I ever wanted to know about wine on line, the wine making process, the laws regarding the production of wine, and how the quality of wine is determined. Armed with this arsenal of information, I could not help but finally achieve my goal of finding that perfect bottle of wine at the perfect price. To learn more about the secrets of finding quality wine at an affordable price, check out It Does Exist. For even more resources on great wine at a great price, visit Good Affordable Wine Information [http://www.goodaffordablewine.info].

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=T_Westberry

Learning about wine is easy. There are many types of wine and it is produced all over the world in many different regions. Wine tasting requires knowledge of the types of wine. It is important to know which types of glasses to choose for different wines and how to wash them. It is also important to know how to properly pour and serve wine. Wine tasting consists of many things. The purpose of this e-book is to introduce you to everything you need to know about wine so you can begin wine tasting with your friends.

About Wine

Wine is a beverage fermented from grape juice containing alcohol. Grapes have a natural chemical balance which allows them to ferment without the need to add any sugars, acid, enzymes, or any other types of nutrients to the ingredients.

When wine is produced, grapes are crushed using different types of yeast. The yeast consumes the natural sugars found in grapes. This consumption converts the grapes into alcohol. Depending on the types of wine produced, many different grape varieties are used to produce wine.

Evidence shows that the earliest productions of wine took place as early as 6000 BC in places like Georgia, Iran, and Israel. Some archaeologists say that as early as 7000 BC grapes were mixed with rice to produce other types of fermented beverages in China. This is considered to be the precursors of what we call today, rice wine.

In Europe, wine dates back to as early as 4500 BC in some of the archaeological sites located in Greece. These same sites contain the earliest evidence in the world of grapes being crushed. Ancient Egypt has a recorded history of wine being used ceremonially. Places like the Roman Catholic Church found wine necessary to celebrate Mass. In France, the monks made wine for years and stored it in caves underground for aging.

During the Islamic Golden Age, wine was forbidden until the pioneering of the distilling methods, which led it to be approved and legalized for medical and cosmetic uses only. There were many recipes made with wine during this time.

Scott Wells writes for http://MakeChristmasCrafts.com where you can learn to Make Christmas crafts just in time for the holiday season.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Scott_Wells