What Wine Really Is (Just In Case You Thought You Knew)
by: Neil Best
Although millions of people across the globe enjoy wine, very few of them know exactly what it is about a particular wine that they enjoy. By understanding each of the different components of wine, you can quickly establish the parts you prefer, and therefore choose your next bottle with more confidence.
Sugar
Sweeter wines have more sugar than dry wines. During the fermentation process a lot of the natural fruit sugar is fermented. However, in some wines, residual (remaining) sugar may be higher and therefore a sweeter wine is produced.
Alcohol
Most people know that one of the key components of wine is alcohol! Alcohol is fundamental to the taste of wine. The alcohol volume most wines range between nine and fifteen per cent. Fortified wine can be as high as twenty per cent alcohol.
Tannin
Tannin comes from the skin of grapes. Therefore, tannin is much more fundamental as a taste component in red wine than in white.
Too much tannin in a wine is not a good thing and can result in the wine tasting spoiled.
However, tannin helps to preserve a wine, which means that some wines can be kept for years and even improve with age.
A small amount of tannin is also a positive taste characteristic to regular wine drinkers, if a little over-whelming for novice wine drinkers.
Water
All wines contain water that has been extracted naturally from the grapes from which they were produced. Very rarely, if ever, would extra water be added to a wine. In fact, some wines will be criticized for being excessively watery if the other flavors are not sufficiently powerful.
Acid
Acid found in wine balances against the residual sugar that is left after the fermentation process has finished. There are three key types of acid in wine, tartaric, malic and citric. All of these acids are found in varying quantities in the skins of grapes
Alcohol may react with bacteria within the wine to create acetic acid; this is not generally a good thing as too much acetic acid will make a wine taste more like vinegar than anything else!
Fruit
This is what tends to differentiate one wine from the other. Fruity tastes are what we look for in a wine and different grapes will produce a myriad of fruit flavors. It is the combination of tastes that makes each wine unique and special.
Carbon Dioxide
During every fermentation process, carbon dioxide is produced. Most of this is normally released, however, in some wines a degree of fizz can be left in a wine to add a little extra to an otherwise very ordinary wine. Of course, in sparkling wines, the carbon dioxide is retained and is fundamental to the taste.
Oak
No longer an essential component of everyday quaffing wines, oak barrels are still used on occasions to add a vanilla, oaky flavor. Oak barrels can add an extra dimension to plain wines that will make them much more saleable and enjoyable.
All of these components make the wine that we see in our glasses. Next time you pour yourself a glass of wine, take some time to think about which elements are supporting your enjoyment, and which you could do without.
About The Author
Since Neil Best first pondered the question "Who made the first wine anyway?" he's been recording his findings at http://www.goodglug.com. This article forms part of the new and free Good Glug Wine Appreciation Mini Course. Visit http://www.goodglug.com/free-wine-course.php and get your copy now.
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Why Australia for Fine Wines?
Why Australia for Fine Wines?
by: Lindsay Lewis
Australia, the land DownUnder, has become a major and exciting force in international wines. Australian wine is taking the world by storm, due to the quality of the grape stock combined with the skill and experience of its winemakers. This enables it to produce a superb and wide range of Australian wine styles.
This island continent features wines as varied as its terrain. Most people know of Australian Shiraz ? that fruit-forward wine now known and enjoyed around the world. These fabulous ?fruit bombs? represent but a small part of the overall Australian winemaking scene.
Australia is sometimes described as the perfect wine producing country. It has a land mass as great as the United States or Western Europe, with a diverse climate from cold to cool to warm, and a wide variety of soil types, including the famous Coonawarra terra rossa. These natural advantages coupled with the irrepressible...
Why Australia for Fine Wines?
Fruit > Why Australia for Fine Wines?
The Right Way to Eat for Better Health and Weight Loss
The Right Way to Eat for Better Health and Weight Loss
by: Ryan Cote
Did you know that how and when you eat is important for good health?
For most of your life, you probably have eaten breakfast, lunch and dinner. Now depending on your eating habits, this may be okay...but many people skip breakfast because they don't have the time, they have a semi-normal lunch and then a large dinner. Avoid this at all costs...
When you wake up, your body is screaming for food- it's been many hours since you last ate.
By skipping breakfast, you're depriving your body of the nutrients it needs and forcing it to go into hibernation mode- this slows down your metabolism. Dinner should be your lightest meal of the day because your metabolism is slowest in the evening...yet for many people, it's their largest.
That being said...
The ideal eating schedule is to have a small, healthy meal every 2-3 hours (healthy sandwich, protein shake,...
The Right Way to Eat for Better Health and Weight Loss
Fruit > The Right Way to Eat for Better Health and Weight Loss
10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family?s Diet
10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family?s Diet
by: Susanne Myers
We all know by now that we should be eating at least five servings of fruits and vegetables each day. But knowing and doing are two different things, aren?t they? Sometimes it is just not easy to get them all in there. We are constantly tempted to fill up on convenience and junk food. If your family is anything like mine, they?d much rather fill up on a bag of chips or a bowl of rice or pasta instead of trying an apple or a plate of steamed broccoli. So we?ll have to get creative. Here are a few ideas to ?sneak? some extra vegetables and fruits in your family?s diet.
1. Start the day with a breakfast smoothie. All you have to do is throw some fruits, low-fat yogurt and ice in a blender. You may also want to add a scoop of protein powder in there for good measure. Just blend for a few seconds and you have the perfect breakfast ready to go. I like to sip mine...
10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family?s Diet
Fruit > 10 Ways To Sneak Some Extra Fruits And Vegetables In Your Family?s Diet
Quick And Easy Snacks For Your Toddler
Quick And Easy Snacks For Your Toddler
by: Christine Steendahl
Your growing toddler needs to snack quite a few times a day in addition to eating regular meals with the rest of the family. Here are a few quick and easy snack ideas that you can put together in just a few minutes. You toddler will enjoy these yummy snacks.
Ham and Cheese Crackers
Cut up some pieces of ham and cheese and serve them with some crackers. If you want to make it fun, use a cookie cutter to cut fun shapes out of the cheese.
Fruit Dip
Caution, this can get a little messy!
Cut up some fruit in bite size chunks and serve with a small bowl of yogurt. Encourage your toddler to dip the fruit in the yogurt. This is an easy way to get your toddler to eat a serving of fruit, while also getting some extra calcium and protein in his/her diet from the yogurt.
Low Sugar Cereal
I always keep a box of low sugar cereal like cheerios in my pantry....
Quick And Easy Snacks For Your Toddler
Fruit > Quick And Easy Snacks For Your Toddler
Cholesterol
Cholesterol
by: John Moore
Ways To Keep It Low
These days we hear a lot of warnings about cholesterol, but the funny thing is, cholesterol isn't all bad. Your body produces it naturally and it performs some pretty vital jobs - helping to build new cells, as well as produce hormones and insulate nerves. Only when you've got too much do you have a problem.
Unfortunately, there's a lot of confusion surrounding this substance because it's made up of both good and bad cholesterol, and is known as HDL and LDL. So which is the good guy, and which is the bad guy ?
HDL (high-density lipoprotein) cholesterol is the good guy (higher the better), and LDL (low-density lipoprotein) is the bad guy - the artery-clogging little devil.
Every Day Ways Of Keeping Your Cholesterol Low.
Watch your weight.
The more overweight you are, the more cholesterol your body produces. So if your weight is up, this is one more reason to bring it...
Cholesterol
Fruit > Cholesterol