How to Choose the Right Wine For a Gift

Choosing the right wine as a gift

Wine can be a classic gift choice for any occasion; birthdays, anniversaries, retirement, weddings or for thank you gifts. Selecting the right wine can be a difficult task, especially if you're not sure of the type of wine the recipient prefers. Here are a few helpful hints for picking out the right bottle of wine to satisfy even the most scrutinizing tastes.

There are several different criteria to consider when choosing the right bottle of wine for a gift. You'll want to consider the recipients taste, nature of the occasion and purpose of the gift. Budget will definitely come into play, but there are always great wines to be found in every price range. Once you determine the type of wine you would like to purchase, you will want to select a retailer with experts to help you make your selection within your budget.

Selecting type of wine

If you know from the beginning what the recipient's tastes are, then you're in luck. You can skip right down to step two and determine your price range. Not everyone is lucky enough to know what type of wine everyone likes; you may have an idea, but not know for sure. For the later, this advice is for you.
To begin with, if you are looking to be safe, choose a Chardonnay as a white or a Merlot as a red; as most wine drinkers like these 2 types and are not always too particular to a certain taste or style. If you are unsure, consider buying one of each. The pinot noir always makes a well received gift, as do Italian Amaroenes.

You could also try to go a different route and expand their wine tastes by introducing them to a grape, or "varietals," that they might not have tried yet like a Barbara, Gamay or Gewurztraminer. Making these distinctive choices may turn the recipient on to something new. Breaking the mold is always a good way to make a lasting impression.

Champagne for any occasion

No matter what the occasion champagne, or sparkling wine, is always appropriate. Most people enjoy a glass of champagne, but rarely buy it for themselves. There is a vast array of choices, whether it is true champagne or sparkling wine, in every price range. You can choose vintage Champagne or another prestige cuvee. Most bubbly is non-vintage, meaning that it's blended from base wines made in different vintages before it goes through the second fermentation that adds the natural carbonation. Vintage sparkling wines, however, are rarer and made from grapes grown only in the year indicated on the bottle. Vintage champagne and sparkling wine can be an elegant gift but is often priced over $100 a bottle. If you want to go this route, one of the highest review vintage champagnes is Charles Heidsieck 1995 Blanc des Millénaires and can be found for around $100 a bottle. There are also excellent choices that are under $30. Wine Spectator gave Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut NV 90 points out of 100 and is priced around $20.

Something aged for birthdays and Anniversaries adds an extra special touch

Give a bottle of something slightly aged as a special treat. Very few people have a place to store their wines safely until they gain the mellow texture and more intricate flavors of maturity. Some regions and grape varieties are better known for their aging ability than others. This is true of the pinot noirs and chardonnays from France's Burgundy. You can also choose a gift of an older Cabernet, Bordeaux or Tuscan to put an extra special touch to your gift. Even two to three years can make a difference if the wine has been stored correctly.

Hostess gifts

For the host who likes wine and food and who regularly serves them at the table, a "food-friendly" wine is always welcomed. Affordable, balanced red wine that works with a variety of menu items is a great choice. It also doesn't need to be chilled, which makes it convenient.

Riesling also qualifies as a good hostess gift given its versatility and sheer brilliance in the glass. Not everyone buys Riesling, but most love it when they drink it.

Another choice is to find out what will be served at dinner and pair the wine with the meal. Traditionally, red wines were served with meats, and white wines with fishes and pastas, but this is not necessarily true anymore. Pairings today are now matched by heaviness. For example, if you are serving a red meat but wish to drink white wine, pair it with a heavy chardonnay. If you like red wine but are serving a shrimp scampi, try pairing it with a pinot noir, which is much a lighter red.

Presentation

Sometimes the presentation of the wine can be half the fun of giving it. Here are a few ideas.

Pair their wine for them. Attach a card around the neck of the bottle with a food pairing suggestion. When buying a Shiraz, suggest they uncork it the next time they order in pizza. Have a barbeque lover? A spicy Zinfandel is perfect. Picking up Thai on the way home? Gewurztraminer. The options are endless.

Is this gift for a special occasion? A golden anniversary? Wedding Gift? Milestone birthday? Why not personalize the wine bottle with their "vintage" and some wine "puns" to make the gift even more memorable. Let them know it's their birthday and they should "Wine a little, they'll feel better" or that they are "Aged like fine wine, fruity and complex." Whatever you choose, personalized wine bottles can be designed to fit any occasion and personality.

What to Know About Every Wine You Drink

Many people are willing to try a new wine but when they try to recall it later all they can come up with is a vague memory of what the bottle's label looked like. I can't tell you how many times I've had people walk into my shop and say, "I had this great wine last week. It was white and the label had a blue dog, or a white dog on a bluish background..." No matter how individual a label may seem when it's sitting on your kitchen counter, when you go to the shop all of the hundreds of labels look disturbingly similar. Marketing people still claim that many of us buy wine based upon how the label looks - that may be true and there is a lot of money spent on designing interesting labels - but label design is no way to remember a wine.

Here's how to remember that wine you liked.

As a start, take a moment with your first sips of any wine to notice, really notice how it looks, smells and tastes. Bright or dark in the glass? Clean or intriguing and powerful in aroma? Clear and fresh? Fruity? Tart? Rich and full bodied? Long lasting? Experience the wine briefly with all your senses. Most of what we think is taste is actually our sense of smell. The average human can distinguish about 10.000 distinct aromas and our olfactory bulb feeds those sensations of smell directly into the part of our brain that governs memory and emotion. That's why, on a basic level, we all really enjoy good experiences of aroma and taste.

Look at the label. The design may be interesting or fun but there are three details that are way more important.

1.) What grape type is used to make the wine? Most labels today do indicate the grape or blend of grapes that are used in the wine making. Outside of Europe this is universally true, except in the case of some very unusual blends, but many European wines today reveal the grape type on the front label if not the back label.

There are hundreds, no, there are thousands of different grapes used all over the world to make wine, but all you have to remember is one or two with any single wine. I think of different grapes as having different personalities of aroma and flavor. If you're at a party meeting a lot of new people it may seem overwhelming but you meet and talk with one person at a time. If you run into the same grape again later you can recall that you've met before, especially if you can recall the name. In time, you'll start to recognize each grape's personality and you might start to seek out particular ones that you like.

Practically speaking there are about thirty grape types that are used to make the vast majority of the world's wines. They have names like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Sangiovese. They are all members of the same vine family (genus) Vitis Vinifera. They're like brothers and sisters. They make all the white, red, pink and sparkling wine in the world. Some are closer cousins than others. For instance, Cabernet Sauvignon is a genetic offspring of Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc. Some have unusual names but it's no big deal. You can get to know them over time. Just remember, each time you meet one, shake their hand and try to imprint their name on your memory.

2.) Where does the wine come from? All labels will tell you this. And, in the case of those European wines that don't readily reveal the grape type on the label, the place they come from will tell you that. It's not really important that you know that certain European wines are made from particular grapes, because the Europeans don't even think about it themselves. When they drink red Burgundy, from a region called Burgundy in France, they don't think, "Wow, this is great Pinot Noir", even though all red Burgundy is 100% Pinot Noir. A European simply thinks, "Wow, this is good Bourgogne Rouge". In time you can get to know the connections between grape types and European places, but to start, if you are enjoying an Italian Chianti or a Spanish Rioja you can just remember "Chianti" or "Rioja".

The place a wine comes from is important because every wine label carries this information and, if you remember a place name it will help you find a wine you've liked, or another wine similar to one you've liked.

Grapes are an agricultural product and the conditions in which they grow has a lot to do with the finished character of the wine. Cooler places, coastal places and hilltop places often produce more lively, crisp and fresh wines whereas warmer valleys and inland places produce richer, fuller flavored wines. White wines often come from more northerly vineyards or vineyards near water while red wines come from warmer vineyards where the dark grapes can ripen more fully.

Once again, I like the people/grape type metaphor. The location of the grape's growing is like a person's accent, and in time you'll begin to recognize the accent of a wine. Australian accents are very distinctive (mate!) and their wine has a fruit forward, ripe and modernly expressive family likeness. Likewise, Italian wines speak in aroma and flavor with a zesty, muscularity and seem to cry out for a plate of food without any care for what time of day it is.

Closely connected to where the wine comes from is

3.) Who made the wine? This connection is especially close in Europe where the thousand-plus year tradition of wine making has established regional styles that have become encoded into law. Because of this tradition, European wine makers working in specific regions must follow the rules, producing wine made from specific grapes using established techniques. Thus the wines of Burgundy have a definite family likeness, as do the wines of Bordeaux, Chianti, Rioja or Rheinhessen.

Outside of Europe wine making has been going on for hundreds of years at the most. Rules are not nearly as rigid. So, while the connection between place and wine maker is not as established the importance of knowing who made the wine is almost more important because of the relative freedom non-European wine makers have. A California wine maker can choose whatever grape type or types he/she wants to use. They can decide what techniques to use in vineyard and in the winery to make the wine. If you are tasting a wine from a particular California or Australian winery it makes good sense to try and remember the property's name because it's likely that different wines made by the same wine maker will have a family resemblance, just like the wines of specific European wine regions. With all this freedom of choice it should also be obvious that the grape type is more important on New World wine labels because there are no rules governing what grape type is used where.

Now, this does not reduce the number of details that exist in the world of wine. But, with a focus on the three most important details -

what grape type (types) are used

where does the wine come from

who made the wine

you can get to know grapes, regions and wine makers that you like and from there you can learn why you like them. These three details are always included in some form on every wine label in the world It's the law. You can use these details to find a wine in a shop or on a restaurant wine list. The most important reason to know these details about every wine you drink is because they will help you to find that wine again later. In time you will be able to put together the family ties of different grapes and places, to know that white Burgundy is always Chardonnay or that Riesling from Alsace in France is generally always dry and powerfully aromatic. Stuff like that...

Now, you can walk into a wine shop and say, "I had a great white wine the other day. It was a Sauvignon Blanc and the producer was Ferrari Carano". Now, it will be easy to find that wine, if the shop stocks it. And, if they don't they should be able to suggest another Sauvignon Blanc that you may like as well.

What is True Ice Wine?

One would expect ice wine to have a long history in winemaking, but it does not. In fact, ice wine has only been around for about 200 years. The prevailing theory of its "birth" centers on a German winemaker who was surprised by an early frost. He decided to press the frozen grapes anyway, but separated them from the rest of his vintage so as to avoid ruining everything. To his surprise, the resulting wine was pure and sweet.

Ever since, ice wine has been produced to some degree in all wine producing countries of the Northern hemisphere, including Austria, Germany, Hungary, Switzerland and others.

The difference between ice wine and other dessert wines is that ice wines show a much clearer fruit and varietal character. This is because other sweet wines are made from botrytis ("noble rot") affected grapes, or with grapes that have been laid out and dried. Because ice wine grapes are healthy at harvest, a good amount of acidity remains, which gives the wine a raciness that other dessert wines generally have to a far lesser degree.

True ice wine is that made from grapes that are kept on the vine until the temperature sinks below -19.4 Fahrenheit or -7 degree Celsius. In the U.S., New Zealand and some other regions, winemakers have started producing simulated ice wine by tossing the grapes into a commercial freezer. These simulated ice wines are considered to be of lesser quality and will typically sell at half the price of ice wine made in the traditional way.

Both methods do employ the same basic idea: a grape is made up mostly of water, and since only the water will freeze at these low temperatures, the sweet grape nectar can be pressed from the grapes while the frozen water remains trapped in the skins.

It is essential to harvest on the first freezing night of the year, because grapes left on the vine to go through a freeze-thaw-refreeze cycle can pick up unwanted flavors. Winemakers are often nervous wrecks by harvest time, as they will have spent night after night waking up repeatedly to check the temperature.

"Keeping the harvest workers ready can be a tedious and embarrassing task" says Franz Heiss, head winemaker of the respected Heiss Winery in Austria. He will often have to wake up a dozen harvest workers for the fifth or sixth time, only to see another night pass without the desired temperatures quite being reached.

The best ice wines are clear and vibrant in their flavors and aromas. The aromatic Scheurebe grape has properties that make it a popular choice for use in crafting great ice wine. The stunning 2002 Eiswein by the famous Austrian Gsellmann and Gsellmann winery exemplifies this perfectly.

Traminer is another aromatic varietal that results in great ice wines. Master sweet wine vintner Franz Heiss makes a stunning ice wine from this grape, of which the 2001 and the 2002 vintages stand out. He has also made ice wine with the red grape Blaufränkisch, and the result is a magic rose-colored version with notes of exotic berries. As he explains it: "An ice wine made from red grapes is very uncommon. The freezing of the grapes influences the aromas greatly, and this is especially true when the grapes are red."

In Austria, where the wine laws are the strictest in all of Europe, only ice wines created by Mother Nature are allowed to carry the proud name. So, if Austrian ice wines are then considered to be some of the most authentic and true ice wines, one could argue that an ice wine from Austria's flagship grape, Grüner Veltliner, is the truest ice wine of all. Manfred Weiss of the Weiss Winery in the Burgenland region made a Grüner-only ice wine in 1999 and a cuvee of Grüner and Welschriesling in 2001. He prefers to use Grüner Veltliner for his ice wine because it is resistant to botrytis, so the end result has particularly clean and clear notes.

Finding these great ice wines can be almost as difficult as making them. As the production method suggests, quantities are very limited, and the amount exported to the United States limits availability even more. Add to that the fact that every year around the holidays, most major food and wine publications run a story about ice wine, and what there is to be found on your local retailers shelf is quickly snapped up. There are, however, a few online retailers who specialize in these wines: Winemonger.com is one example, with a wide selection of Austrian wines including a number of ice wines. Or a simple online search of the name of an ice wine maker, such as the ones mentioned in this article, will yield sources. Finding a great, true ice wine is certainly worth the effort, though: there is nothing else quite like this spectacular dessert wine specialty.

The Beauty of Red Wine - A Beginner's Guide

The hit comedy film Sideways is about a road trip in the wine country of sunny California where the two main characters, Miles and Jack, taste copious amounts of red wine while dealing with major life dramas. It's a hilarious film that touched so many people with its dark comedy and truly moving portraits of people dealing with love, pain, and wine-tasting.

But perhaps the greatest thing about Sideways was how it inspired so many people to go out and become connoisseurs of fine wine! According to the Internet Movie Database, the movie made so many of its fans want to buy Pinot Noir (a dry red wine) that sales significantly increased in the US and UK during and after its release. Talk about the effect of movies on people!

If you want to learn a bit more about red wine, dry red wine, and its other variants but feel clueless as to the whole thing, here's a quick wine guide; a red-wine-for-dummy guide if you like!

Why is Red Wine... Er... Red?

Red wine is so colored because of the grape skins involved. There are a multitude of grape types, each as diverse and colorful as the next. You have purple, maroon, deep red, light red--the list goes on. Each variety brings a unique shade of red to red wine and the various colors you can see in wine stores are a direct result of the many grapes used in worldwide wine-making processes. An individual wine's color depends largely on what type of grape was used to make it and how long the skin was left in with the juice before being extracted.

What Are The Different Types of Red Wine?

There are many different types of red wine but they are usually judged by their "body." For example, a light-bodied wine is not too demanding on the mouth and taste buds. It goes well with food that is flavor intensive. A good example of this kind of wine is the French red wine Beaujolais Nouveau.

On the other hand, there is the medium-bodied red wine which is a slightly heavier wine (e.g. Shiraz, Merlot, etc.) but not as heavy and as powerful as a full-bodied wine like French Bordeaux wines and Italian red wine like the Super Tuscans. Full-bodied wines are denser and have a higher alcohol content.

How Is Red Wine Served?

You may have noticed at some parties, tasting events, or formal gatherings that red wine is served in a particular glass. It is said that an oval or egg-shaped glass that narrows as it reaches the top (compared to a slim, tall glass) is the best way to appreciate red wine as it allows the wine to breathe and swirl better. The best temperature to serve red wine is 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve it too hot and the alcohol can be overly emphasized; too cold and it will taste bitter.

Red Wine--What Are The Different Varieties?

There are a number of red wines available from all over the world from dry red wine to full-bodied wine to age-old wine. There is really no such thing as the best red wine--what is tastiest to you should be considered the best. But then there are many red wines that come highly recommended like Californian red wine, Australian red wine, and then of course, every other kind of wine throughout Europe, like Spanish red wine and the ones previously mentioned. In time, you will be able to determine exactly what your type of red wine is. For now, why not sample the many great tasting wines out there like Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc... ?

How Healthy IS Red Wine?

Red wine 101 these days will tell you that red wine or dry red wine is actually good for you. There have been recent studies by scientists in the UK that suggest a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon-derived wines will do the heart very good.

So, if you're looking to spice up your meals or simply want to develop a healthier diet, red wine or dry red wine may be just the thing for you. Hopefully, this has been enough information to whet your appetite. Happy wine drinking!

How to Choose a Wine Rack to Fit Your Style and Budget

Cultivating an appreciation of wine is a growing trend in the US. Shops
specializing in wine are appearing throughout the country, not just in the
traditional vineyard regions of California, Oregon, and Virginia. People
who may not have grown up around wine are now drawn not only to sampling but
also to collecting it. Tasting parties and special wine pairing events are
a common theme in restaurants and in the home. With this comes an increase
in interest in home storage. While proper storage can help wines become
even more exquisite, improper storage can lead to ruined wine.

A freestanding, temperature controlled wine rack is ideal, but much more
expensive than a simple wooden or metal wine rack. However, it is not
necessary to spend several thousand dollars to enjoy wine in your home. If
you can find a dark, cool, slightly humid location in your house, you will be
able to then select a simple rack that will keep your wine for years to
come. The ideal location will be 50-60 degrees, with constant 60-70
percent humidity.

Wine Rack Kits

One way to cut down on cost is to build your own wine rack. For
first-time enthusiasts, it is probably best to stick to a wine rack kit.
There are many considerations when designing a wine rack, and starting from a
kit will keep the wine in the rack where it should be - the last thing you want
is the whole thing to come crashing to the floor due to a miscalculation.

There are many commercially available wooden racks that offer snap-together
assembly, requiring nothing more than a hammer. These inexpensive kits are
usually made of redwood or pine, and can be bought for under $35.

The most important thing to keep in mind when building your own wine rack is
to consider the strength of the rack. A bottle of wine weighs
approximately 3 pounds, so the weight adds up quickly. Make sure not only
the rack but the floor itself can handle the weight, keeping in mind the weight
of the rack.

If the kit is wooden, make sure the wood has been dried properly (no more
than 14% moisture), and that the cross sections are no less than 3/8" (1/2" is
better).

Also, make sure the wine is stored horizontally so that the wine stays in
contact with the cork. A dry cork signifies that the wine has been
damaged.

Wine Rack Capacity

How much wine do you need?

While having 1500 bottles of wine on hand sounds exciting, most people have
neither the space nor the wallet to support such a venture. If you would
like to have something for everyday, a 15-30 capacity rack should meet your
needs. That way, you can have 2 bottles of sparkling wine, 3 bottles of
red (merlot or cabernet), 3 bottles of white (chardonnay, pinot grigio, or white
zinfandel), one bottle each of red and white cooking wine, and still have room
for a few special bottles that you plan to let age for years. Also keep a
nice red ready for company, and a reisling or shiraz for a spicy meal.
Have one bottle of white wine on hand in the refrigerator (it will only last in
there for a week), and you'll be ready for any gathering. A 30-bottle
capacity rack is enough for a wine-tasting, an extended gathering, or for
someone who likes to try a different wine every day.

Also, keep in mind that most wine rack manufacturers list the total bottle
capacity. This may be different from racked wine capacity, as total
capacity may have bottles stacked directly on top of each other. While
this will not damage the wine, it is not as aesthetically pleasing and may be
inconvenient when getting the wine out of the rack.

Styles of Wine Racks: Location is Key

Wine racks come in many styles. Racks can be freestanding cabinets,
counter top, or wall mounted.

When choosing a style, keep the following in mind:

    How much space do you actually have?
    Do you want the wine rack to be visible, or would you rather have a large, hidden wine rack that does not necessarily match your home's decor?
    Where can you put the wine rack?

The most important part of your choice is the location. If you choose a
rack that is not freestanding, make sure it is protected from vibrations.
It is not a good idea to put the wine rack next to the sink where the disposal
will rattle it. Never place the rack on the top of the refrigerator, as it
gets very warm. Also, keep the rack away from a window, as the temperature
may vary too much, and UV light will damage the wine.

If you can not find a wine rack to fit in that perfect location and you are
not confident of making your own, consider having a custom wine rack created
just for you. While this option is more expensive than an off-the-rack
version, it is still much less than the freestanding units, and can keep your
wine for years to come.

Wine Rack Material

Wine racks come in a variety of materials, from wood to metal to glass.
Whether you choose one made of mahogany or steel depends on a variety of
factors, include cost, weight, and appearance.

Wooden Wine Racks

The most common type of wine rack is the wooden wine rack. It is
generally easier to assemble and relatively light. Common woods are pine,
cedar, spruce, oak, and redwood. Another less common wood is
mahogany. Mahogany is a high quality wood and is used in both moderate and
expensive racks.

Metal Wine Racks

Metal wine racks are becoming increasingly popular, especially those made of
steel. They are very B and last longer than wooden racks with less
care. They can be painted to match any home. They can also be formed
into a wider variety of shapes while maintaining their strength.

Choosing a wine rack should be an enjoyable process. Consider it an
investment for all the wines you will try today as well as those you will keep
for a special occasion down the road.

A Guide to Buying Australian Wine

Why buy wine?

In Australia, wine has become the new beverage of choice for people in all walks of life. Moreover, Australia has developed an enviable reputation amongst wine drinkers and appreciators the world over. Myshopping.com.au can help you make the right selection of wine for any occasion and to suit any taste. Listed on our website, you will find some of the most celebrated labels and award winning wines and you can make a selection based on reviews, price and supplier, regardless of why you want to purchase wine.

There are essentially three reasons that we can think of why you might want to buy wine: to drink in some social occasion, to give as a gift, or as an investment with a realisable future.

Buying wine to drink

Winemaker Greg Gallagher at the Charles Sturt University, South Australia, says judging a good wine is simple. "It starts with asking, 'do you like it?' " he says, "and finishes with 'did you like it?'" When you have a list of favourite wines, all you need to do is find them on Myshopping.com.au, and you will find out where it's sold for the best price.

But, because it's not always easy remembering the name, style and vintage of the wine you enjoy, it's a good idea to keep a record of wines you drink that you really like (and those that you'd prefer to avoid), for future reference.

When you're buying wine to drink, there are a number of considerations you might like to bear in mind, the first being: what is the occasion? It stands to reason that a wine for an intimate dinner with a partner might be a different choice than one for a footy night with the boys. Sharing a wine with someone is a lot more than simply sharing the drink. It's also sharing your taste, your values and your standards, so it pays to think carefully about the occasion and the company with whom you are sharing the wine.

A second consideration might be, what is accompanying the wine? Wine is often enjoyed with a meal, but you might like to consider also how the occasion (or meal) will develop. Matching the perfect wine with the perfect food and mood is an exhilarating experience, and is often at the heart of great memories.

You may also want to consider the ambience of the occasion. A wine for enjoying at an evening symphony concert will have a different character to that enjoyed at a beach picnic.

Buying wine as a gift

Wine makes an excellent gift for many reasons. It's an easy purchase; you can buy a wine to suit practically any budget. And it is a demonstration of your taste and standards, subtly imparted to someone whom you may care for.

However, as well as meeting your taste standards, you also need to choose a wine that will meet the tastes of the receiver. It pays to find out what sort of wine that person enjoys, and buy within that person's style or region preferences. A person who enjoys sweet white wines will appreciate a gift that matches that personality.

Buying wine as an investment

Some wines make a good investment because they are rare and have an established reputation causing them to appreciate in value. Possibly the most famous of these in Australia is Penfolds' Grange Hermitage, a Shiraz style Claret that has been made since 1951 (a bottle of that vintage now might set you back $50,000 or more if you can find one). Although young in terms of wine heritage, Australia has some notable wines that do and will appreciate in value.

A good investment wine is not necessarily a guarantee of a high quality drinking wine. The investment values are arrived at by reputation. A particular vintage may have enjoyed popularity for any number of reasons and become scarce because only a limited number of bottles were produced. What results is a collectors market and wine changes hands through auctions, private sales, estate dissolutions and wine club memberships.

What makes a good investment wine however, is the fact that you are able to sell the wine at some future date for a sum greater than what you paid. Therefore the condition of the wine-or more importantly, the bottle-is of paramount consideration. The provenance of an investment wine is important. Before buying, you need to establish its history of origin and previous ownership. Satisfied that the bottle is in good condition, once in your possession it needs to be cellared correctly in the absence of heat, light and movement. You should document your ownership and the conditions of its cellaring before selling it to a new buyer.

What makes good wine?

The winemaking process

The quality of a wine is affected by a wide variety of factors that occur in and as a result of the winemaking, cellaring and handling processes. One of the key factors is the terrain and climate, commonly referred to as a 'region', where the grapes are grown. Different conditions affect different varieties differently. A Shiraz style from McLaren Vale in South Australia, for example, is a heavier and darker wine than the same style from the Swan Valley in Western Australia, which tends to be lighter and more peppery. A Chardonnay from the Hunter Valley is more full-bodied than one from Margaret River.

While knowing which vines are best suited to a soil type and climate is one aspect, another is knowing when to pick the fruit for particular effect. The fruit's flavour at the time of picking is a major character of the residual flavours of the wine. After initial fermentation, some winemakers choose to ferment in oak, others not to. Using oak affects the reduction of tannins in the wine. Different types of oak-English, American, old-affect the flavour and character of the wine as it matures to its nominal alcohol level. It is in the barrel that a lot of transformations in flavours and character occur, and a great deal of skill is required to know exactly when to bottle the wine.

Different winemakers have different techniques and, while a good wine can't be made from bad grapes, it is largely the winemaker's skill that produces a good wine.

Taste

One of the ways we can tell the quality of wine as judged by its taste, is whether it has had successes in any of a number of wine shows held around the country. Experts from the wine industry judge wines on their quality and medal winners enjoy the benefits of being recognised and written about in the main media.

While not every medal winner is a wine that suits our taste, it is as a direct result of the shows and competitions that Australian wines have grown in popularity and quality. At Myshopping.com.au you can compare many award winning wines.

What's your taste?

Regions and style

When you are shopping for wine, one of the first questions to answer is whether you are choosing a red wine or a white wine. Once you have decided this, you can then start to narrow down the different styles. Begin with the question of whether you are seeking a dry wine or a sweet wine.

Styles of wine are named after the region from which the grape originated. In the popular dark reds you have the Cabernet Sauvignon, Shiraz and Merlot styles that tend to be drier wines. Lighter reds feature Beaujolais, Pinot Noir and Rose styles and these tend toward sweeter wines.

Popular white wines include the Chablis, Riesling, Semillon, Chenin, Sauvignon Blanc and Chardonnay styles in dry wines, with Traminer Riesling, Moselle and late picked Verdelho in the sweeter styles. Aperitifs include sweet and dry sherry and Marsala. Dessert wines include Sauternes, Muscats and Ports.

Many wines are now presented as blended wines, a way to offer wider variety in taste and a way to use up less popular grapes and thereby minimise waste in the industry.

Australia has more than a dozen identified wine growing regions that produce distinctive wines of the main styles. The Barossa Valley in South Australia is possibly the most famous region with the richest heritage, and features many labels from subregions such as Claire Valley, McLaren Vale, Langhorne Creek and the Adelaide Hills. These regions produce some of the most spectacular Riesling wines, and Shiraz styles in the country. East of this region, near the border with Victoria lies the Coonawarra district (also known as Riverland), famous for its Cabernet Sauvignon. In Victoria lie the Yarra Valley and Mornington Peninsular districts. The Goulbourn Valley lies on the border with New South Wales. The Hunter Valley in New South Wales produces some of Australia's finest wines, while in the West, Margaret River, t4he Swan Valley and the Plantagenet districts all produce fine wines.

Trends

Recent economic conditions and consecutive years of oversupply have changed much of Australia's wine market. There are many small boutique wineries whose products can be bought direct from the cellar door. Many of these wines are featured on Myshopping.com.au by style and region.

The wine industry is encouraging the buying of wines and cellaring them (storing them in a cool place) for a period of time and enjoying them at a later time. To cellar your wine, store it somewhere cool, dark, airy, and free from vibration and dampness. Temperature stability is the most important factor in preserving wine in the cellar. Storing wine in an environment where the temperature varies gradually with the seasons is better than in a room that varies with the day and night.

For long-term storage, the ideal cellar temperature is 18 degrees Celsius and a relative humidity of 60-75%. Warmer conditions accelerate the development of wines, which could mean a reduction in the pleasure of drinking them.

The second phenomenon to occur through oversupply is the introduction of cleanskins, a method of selling wine without a brand label. This is presented as being 'money saving' because of a reduction in marketing expense, however the real cost saving per bottle is around 3-5 cents (the cost of printing and applying a label).

Cleanskins enable a wine producer to present a lower cost bottle, but this is mostly achieved by not having to identify the origins of the grape, or the varietal blends that make up the wine. And while it is true that some cleanskins are eminently drinkable wines, evidence suggests that they are generally of a far poorer quality than branded label products. It is suggested that you taste the wine before purchasing any cleanskins.

The Beauty of Red Wine - A Beginner's Guide

The hit comedy film Sideways is about a road trip in the wine country of sunny California where the two main characters, Miles and Jack, taste copious amounts of red wine while dealing with major life dramas. It's a hilarious film that touched so many people with its dark comedy and truly moving portraits of people dealing with love, pain, and wine-tasting.

But perhaps the greatest thing about Sideways was how it inspired so many people to go out and become connoisseurs of fine wine! According to the Internet Movie Database, the movie made so many of its fans want to buy Pinot Noir (a dry red wine) that sales significantly increased in the US and UK during and after its release. Talk about the effect of movies on people!

If you want to learn a bit more about red wine, dry red wine, and its other variants but feel clueless as to the whole thing, here's a quick wine guide; a red-wine-for-dummy guide if you like!

Why is Red Wine... Er... Red?

Red wine is so colored because of the grape skins involved. There are a multitude of grape types, each as diverse and colorful as the next. You have purple, maroon, deep red, light red--the list goes on. Each variety brings a unique shade of red to red wine and the various colors you can see in wine stores are a direct result of the many grapes used in worldwide wine-making processes. An individual wine's color depends largely on what type of grape was used to make it and how long the skin was left in with the juice before being extracted.

What Are The Different Types of Red Wine?

There are many different types of red wine but they are usually judged by their "body." For example, a light-bodied wine is not too demanding on the mouth and taste buds. It goes well with food that is flavor intensive. A good example of this kind of wine is the French red wine Beaujolais Nouveau.

On the other hand, there is the medium-bodied red wine which is a slightly heavier wine (e.g. Shiraz, Merlot, etc.) but not as heavy and as powerful as a full-bodied wine like French Bordeaux wines and Italian red wine like the Super Tuscans. Full-bodied wines are denser and have a higher alcohol content.

How Is Red Wine Served?

You may have noticed at some parties, tasting events, or formal gatherings that red wine is served in a particular glass. It is said that an oval or egg-shaped glass that narrows as it reaches the top (compared to a slim, tall glass) is the best way to appreciate red wine as it allows the wine to breathe and swirl better. The best temperature to serve red wine is 60-65 degrees Fahrenheit. Serve it too hot and the alcohol can be overly emphasized; too cold and it will taste bitter.

Red Wine--What Are The Different Varieties?

There are a number of red wines available from all over the world from dry red wine to full-bodied wine to age-old wine. There is really no such thing as the best red wine--what is tastiest to you should be considered the best. But then there are many red wines that come highly recommended like Californian red wine, Australian red wine, and then of course, every other kind of wine throughout Europe, like Spanish red wine and the ones previously mentioned. In time, you will be able to determine exactly what your type of red wine is. For now, why not sample the many great tasting wines out there like Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc... ?

How Healthy IS Red Wine?

Red wine 101 these days will tell you that red wine or dry red wine is actually good for you. There have been recent studies by scientists in the UK that suggest a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon-derived wines will do the heart very good.

So, if you're looking to spice up your meals or simply want to develop a healthier diet, red wine or dry red wine may be just the thing for you. Hopefully, this has been enough information to whet your appetite. Happy wine drinking!

Choosing Wine - The 3 Best Tips To Choosing The Perfect Wine

Wine is a pretty magical beverage. There is just something really fascinating about every aspect of it. The different grapes from different parts of the world, the blending of fruits, nuts, and other flavors, the aging, the ceremony of consuming.

"Wine is constant proof that God loves us and loves to see us happy." --Benjamin Franklin

So how do you find the perfect wine? It is very intimidating to buy wine at first. It almost feels like you are exposing your lack of refinement if you don't ask the right questions at the wine store. I wanted to alleviate this possibility with the most powerful of tools, information. After all, it is not to be expected that we all know everything about all things. The trick is knowing where to look.

Tip #1 - Wine - Food Pairing Chart

This tip is helpful for any wine buyer. It depends on the situation, of course, but usually wine is purchased to accompany some type of food. Whether you want to find the wine to serve with salmon or you just need something to accompany your cheese. My suggestion is really pretty simple. Enter "wine food pairing chart" into a Google search, when the results come up-click on the images tab at the top of the screen. There are more here than you will ever need. These charts vary slightly because they are created with the bias and taste of the creator. There is no right or wrong here, these will just put you in the ball park as they are all basically the same.

Tip #2 - Attend A Local Wine Tasting

Local wineries and even wine stores will host wine tastings with some regularity. A simple internet search for wine tasting in your town or inquiring at your local wine store should help you find one. These are great because they are truly geared toward the novice. I have been to a number of these and the people are usually quiet at first but as more wine is sampled, more questions start coming out. Pretty soon everyone is asking questions and no one feels uncomfortable. The hosts are (or should be) very friendly and helpful. They want you to buy stuff, ultimately, so they want you to feel comfortable and have fun. Believe me, you will have fun. Nothing sounded stuffier to me than a wine tasting a few years ago, now it's like an excuse to go out and be silly and have great conversation with strangers. Throughout the samplings, you will figure out what you like and don't like. They have all types of whites, blushes, and reds. They have dry wines and really sweet wines. This tip is especially helpful for the first customer type that I illustrated above but everyone benefits from this education.

Tip #3 - Store Your Wine Smartly

There are some wines that are designed to be consumed fresh and some that are designed to be stored. Not all wines improve with age. (This tip is for customer type 3 in case you hadn't figured that out yet) Usually, someone that has decided to lay out the considerable dollars involved in a wine cellar could teach me quite a bit about wine. However, if you just have piles of money but no wine knowledge, I would ask your local wine store owners or sign up to some wine cellar blogs or forums to get advice. Find out the best wines for your taste to age and then purchase wine racks. There is a science to aging wine and the angle of the bottle in storage is important to keep the wine from evaporating or the cork drying out.

There you go. Not "everything you ever wanted to know about wine but were afraid to ask" but it should get you started and most importantly get you started comfortably. With anything, the hardest part is getting started. Good luck, and happy wine buying!

Best Red Wine for Beginners

 Just as with white wines, you want to start out with simple reds. Then, as your wine palate develops, move on to the complex, full-bodied reds. Here are a few suggestions for a jumping off point:

1.Pinot Noir: Light to medium bodied and super food friendly, it's so easy to fall in love with a Pinot Noir even if you don't fancy yourself a red wine enthusiast. Need some suggestions? Try Lindeman's Bin 99, Devil's Corner from Tamar Ridge or McMurray Ranch Pinot Noir.

2. Syrah: Syrah and its Australian sibling, Shiraz, are one and the same. Australian Shirazs tend to be a bit on the peppery side while Syrahs tend to be a bit more fruity. For Shiraz, pick up a bottle of Penfold's or d'Arenberg. As for the Syrah's, try a bottle of Qupe Central Coast or Eaglepoint Ranch.

3.Beaujolais Nouveau: This French wine is meant to be drunk young. It releases in November of every year and usually sells out before Christmas. The wine is fruity and light, without heavy tannins, making it a favorite for new wine drinkers.

Simple Wine Drinking Tips for a Better Wine Experience

1. Let your wine sit.

After pouring wine into your glass, let it sit in your glass for at least 1 to 2 minutes before drinking it, or until you see most of the little bubbles disappear.

The bubbles you see in the wine is CO2, which is a byproduct of the fermentation process. CO2 may also be added to wines by the winery, because it acts as a preservative. In its liquid form CO2 is called Carbonic Acid. When you pour wine into your glass you will see lots of little bubbles which is the CO2 (carbonic acid) escaping the wine. Carbonic acid has a very harsh taste, so waiting a couple of minutes after the wine is poured, will give you a smoother tasting wine experience. In fact this is what aeration does, it strips the CO2 our of the wine.

2. Coat your wine glass.

As wines today are becoming higher in alcoholic percentage compared to wines in the past, it is critical to downplay the perception of alcohol in maximizing the enjoyment of wine. Alcohol does in fact impede us from enjoying all of a wines flavors. Wine experts tell us to swirl your wine to release the aromas.Unfortunately, the major aroma that will be released first comes from the alcohol. The alcohol produces a medicinal taste that can be perceived quite easily and affects other aromas.

I would suggest instead of swirling your wine, coat your glass with the wine by gently holding the glass as horizontally as possible, while rotating it in your hand. The more you coat the glass with the wine, the more intense the wine drinking experience..

3. Serve your wine at colder temperatures.

Instead of serving or storing red wine at 62 degrees or higher as most experts recommend, I recommend storing and serving it at 55 degrees. Lowering the temperature to 55 degrees reduces the perception of alcohol. The wine will slowly warm up in the glass to 62 degrees,and avoid getting to temperatures in the mid to high 60's that promotes the perception of alcohol. Keeping your wine in your fridge at 55 degrees also helps with reducing oxidation better than any contraption on the market.

4. Use a large and deep wine glass.

Pouring 5oz of wine in a large 30oz glass vs a small glass typically 12oz to 15oz, will provide a more powerful tasting experience. In the 30 oz glass there is 25oz of capacity free for the aroma to occupy, while in the 12oz there would be only 7oz of capacity free for the aroma to occupy. The aroma in the smaller glass is escaping simply because there inst enough free capacity to contain it.

5. Approach.

The approach to wine can be just as important for its enjoyment, as the wine itself. We can be convinced that a wine is good simply by giving it importance. Think of a nice juicy fillet mignon that you are being served on a paper plate with plastic utensils. Your mind downplays the expected taste experience because it relates the fillet mignon to the cheap, low end place setting. That same fillet mignon served in a high end restaurant on fancy dinnerware, will taste better simply because your conditioned to equate a high end restaurant with great tasting food. Stemware does the same for wine. When you pour wine into a beautiful over sized crystal glass, your mind relates the wine's significance to the beautiful wine appropriate glass The same wine served in a typical 10 to 12oz clunker downplays the expectation regarding the wine's taste.

4 Tips to Taste Wine Like a Pro

1. Stay Hydrated

Super simple to do – just drink water more often than you normally do. Your nose has lots of tiny aroma receptors in mucous membranes and they can shrink up when you’re all dried out. Also, you lose saliva when you drink/spit wine so remember: a moist a tongue is a happy tongue!

2. Smell Everything

Smelling and ‘filing’ scents is important so you can recall them when you are tasting a wine. Smell your fresh blackberries, get your face right in there when you’re baking, and go nuts at a farmer’s market.

3. Practice Thinking

The trick to this one is to just ask yourself questions and not try to over analyse. Instead of searching your brain for the EXACT aroma or taste you’re experiencing, just ask yourself simple questions to guide yourself there. For example, we know that the wine is fruity and it smells like there is a sweetness to it, and it sort of just smells purple. Is it a berry, cherry, or plum smell that’s purple? It’s really hard to come up with the bulls-eye on your own so asking questions is easier and gets you to practice thinking.

4. Count The 5 Basic Traits On Your Hand

Sweetness, Acidity, Tannin, Alcohol, Body. Sweetness is easy to identify because we’ve all had sweet things in our mouth before – we hope so anyway. Acidity can be tricky but this is just measured by your mouth watering after you take a sip. Suck on a lemon and pay attention to what your mouth does. That’s acidity. Practice Acidity with Sauvignon Blanc. Tannin is the dry feeling around the roof of your mouth and your gums. Think of black tea. Alcohol will make the wine feel weighty in your mouth, and have a slight heat or burn. Body goes in tandem with alcohol and tannin levels and is more a ‘feeling’. Imagine drinking whipping cream vs. skim milk.

How to Choose a Sweet Tasting Wine

Mark Twain said, "There are no standards of taste in wine... Each man's own taste is the standard..." Sweet wines are often a person's initiation into wine drinking, but this doesn't make them inferior choices. Winemakers from around the world produce superior sweet, semi-sweet and fruity wines that are as well respected as dry wines and champagnes. Whether your preference is for a sweet wine or you're looking for a dessert pairing, consider your own taste to be the standard.

Look for an off-dry white wine like a Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Moscato or Asti Spumante. There is a range of sweetness within each varietal, from some being not very sweet to those that are considered dessert wines. Very sweet Rieslings are designated Beerenauslese, Eiswein or Trockenbeerenuslese. Asti is a sparkling wine that's a good introduction to wine drinking.

Try the slightly sweet or fruity red wines. Beaujolais, Syrah and Shiraz are fruity red wines, as is Italian Lambrusco, which should be served chilled.

Try a blush wine, such as White Zinfandel. Blush wines are pink, but they're made from red grapes whose skins are separated during the winemaking process. They're slightly sweet and pair well with light dinners.

Opt for a very sweet dessert wine. Late-harvest wines are made from grapes that have been left on the vine longer, so they're naturally sweet. French Sauternes and Hungarian Tokai fall into this category.

Finish a meal with a fortified port wine. To make port, alcohol is added to red wine for a more potent result. True ports come from Portugal. Vintage ports are matured in the bottle, and other ports are ready to be served as soon as they come to market. The variation in sweetness among different ports is not as pronounced as in other varietals.