We’re all familiar with the basic shape of a wine glass, a base, stem and bowl. This basic design allows us to hold the glass by the stem and not transfer heat from the hand to the wine. Also it makes it easier to swirl the glass and to look at the wine without the [...]
The French have a much lower incidence of that scourge of our modern diet and lifestyle, heart disease. The difference between the French diet and the rest of the western world was the volume of red wine consumption. Red wine contains polyphenols which help to keep our arteries healthy even if they don’t sound [...]
Cabernet Sauvignon was the world’s most widely grown red wine grape until the 1990s when Merlot took over.
Originally from the Bordeaux region of France, it’s a relatively new variety which was produced by an accidental crossing of Savignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc in the 17th century.
Cabernet Sauvignon is a hardy and easily cultivated variety that [...]
The grapes are hand picked or mechanically harvested, often at night to keep the grapes cool as it’s very important to the quality of the wine that the grapes arrive freshly picked.
On arrival at the winery the grapes are destemmed then crushed to break the skins. Red varieties and some whites are left in contact [...]
Decanting wine is not common place these days. In fact who owns a decanter?
In days gone by, before the advent of modern wine making and refining techniques, wines were often decanted. Wine was carefully poured into the decanter ensuring any remaining solids that had settled in the bottle stayed in the bottle.
However if we have [...]
Only 70 kms North East of Adelaide the Barossa Valley is one of Australia’s most famous wine producing regions and twenty per cent of the country’s wine is made here. Charming countryside, historical buildings and a strong German influence as well as lots of wine make this area a popular holiday destination.
The traditions of grape [...]
Riesling originated in Germany where it has been grown since the 1400s and is noted as being one of the noble grape varieties. It produces aromatic, intensely flavoured wine and is very popular with connoisseurs.
The first Riesling vintage in Australia was produced in 1850. Prior to losing its place to Chardonnay, riesling was the white [...]
Wine making goes back 8000 years and is thought to have originated in Persia. It is almost certain that wine was discovered by accident due to the natural fermentation of the grapes.
Wine was known in all the ancient civilisations around the Mediterranean region. Ancient Egyptians are credited with developing pruning methods and stored wine in [...]
The Shiraz grape originated in the Northern Rhone region of France and is known there as Syrah. Now widely grown throughout the world the variety was introduced into Australia in 1832. Shiraz is the most popular Australian red wine variety today and also gave Australian wine making its first international recognition back in 1878 at [...]
Strictly speaking wine is an alcoholic drink made from the fermentation of crushed grapes. Wines can be made from other fruits but are always named as in elderberry wine.
The ripe grapes are picked and crushed. Then naturally occuring yeasts already present on the grapes will cause fermentation. The yeast consumes the sugars in the grape [...]
