Enjoying Wines

Archive for April, 2009

People who are new to wine drinking often start with a sweet red or white wine before their palate can learn to appreciate a dry wine. This article looks at some of the types of sweet white wine that are available on the market.

Sweet White Wines from France

Many people’s first taste of wine comes with a sip of champagne at Christmas or at a wedding, but champagne is generally considered to be in a class of its own rather than included with France’s sweet white wines. There are eight varieties of white grape used in French wines, but not all of them are sweet.

Chenin Blanc can be used to make both dry and sweet white wines. Coteaux du Layon is well known for its sweet white wines made from Chenin Blanc grapes. The most highly regarded of these wines are the ones coming from Chaume.

Muscadelle is a white grape from the Bordeaux region that is used in making Sauternes, sometimes called “the king of sweet white wines”. It is a delicate dessert wine that also goes well with seafood and foie gras.

Sweet White Wines from Italy

Passito wines are a type of Italian dessert wines made with dried, late harvest grapes. Vinsanto is a type of passito that comes in white or red varieties and is usually served with a type of almond cookie called cantucci, which are dunked in the wine before eating.

Asti spumanti is the Italian equivalent to champagne; a sweet, sparkling white wine with more sugar than its French counterpart. Asti spumanti goes well with strawberries and is best served at 41 degrees Fahrenheit.

Sweet White Wines from the Rest of the World

I will not deal with New World wines here, since they generally use imported grape varieties from Europe. Instead, I will briefly survey some of the most popular sweet white wines from other countries.

Cava is another champagne equivalent, this time from Spain. It used to be referred to as Spanish champagne, but this is no longer permitted under EU law, which specifies that only wines actually produced in the Champagne region of France are allowed to be referred to as champagne. Cava ranges from extra dry to sweet, with sweet varieties being labeled “Dulce”.
Greek wines have a bad reputation due to the cheap, nasty retsinas served at the tourist hotspots, but wine lovers have started to discover some fine varieties in recent years. Moschato Aspro (white Muscat) is the most popular variety of grape and produces the sweet wines of Samos, which have even been praised by the French, who are not quick to compliment wines other than their own.

Finally, China, as in so many other areas, is emerging as a wine producing nation. The preference among Chinese wine drinkers is for sweet white wines, which are starting to appear in American stores. As yet, these are not highly regarded by wine lovers, but then neither were Californian wines at one time, so who knows what the future will hold?

About the Drink Absinthe

Absinthe is a strong liquor which is generally between 45 and 75% ABV (alcohol by volume), which is about twice as strong as other types of alcoholic beverages such as whisky and vodka.

Otherwise known as “The Green Fairy” Absinthe was the drink associated with Bohemian Paris. It was first given to French soldiers in the 1840s to treat malaria and they bought the drink home with them. Absinthe bars opened over Paris and Absinthe hours or “L’heure verte” took place daily. During the middle of the 19th century, Pernod the distillers of Absinthe, were producing over 30,000 liters of the drink for sale to the French people!

All About Absinthe History of Absinthe

Legend says that Dr Pierre Ordinaire created Absinthe in the town of Couvet in the 18th century as a tonic for his patients. The Absinthe recipe eventually got into the hands of Henri-Louis Pernod who first distilled Absinthe in Couvet and then later in Pontarlier, France under the name of Pernod Fils.

Distillers Pernod began with a wine base together with various herbs including common wormwood (artemisia absinthium), aniseed, fennel, lemon balm, hyssop, angelica, dittany, star anise, nutmeg and juniper.

Known drinkers of the Green Fairy were Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Oscar Wilde, and Ernest Hemingway.

When Absinthe became more popular than wine, in France, the prohibition movement campaigned to get Absinthe banned because:-

- Thujone, in wormwood, was thought to be very similar to THC in cannabis and considered to be psychoactive.
– Absinthe was linked with the loose morals of the artists, writers and courtesans of Montmartre.
– Absinthe was thought to cause hallucinations, convulsions and to drive people insane.

It was claimed that an Absinthe drinker murdered his whole family – which was just the excuse that the prohibition movement were looking for to persuade the government to ban Absinthe. The selling, buying and consumption of Absinthe in France was made illegal in France in 1915 and in other countries around this time.

Many studies have shown that Absinthe, including vintage Absinthe, only contains small amounts of thujone and is safe to drink. Absinthe has been legalized in many countries since the 1990s and here has been an Absinthe revival in many countries, including the USA who have only recently allowed a few brands to go on sale.

About the Drink Absinthe The Essences in Absinthe

To enjoy Absinthe, you can either order bottles of Absinthe online or you can make your own Absinthe using essences from AbsintheKit.com. These essences are used by the Absinthe industry and are made using traditional herbs such as wormwood, fennal and aniseed. To make your own Absinthe, mix with either Everclear or vodka. Four varieties of essence are available.

Preparing Absinthe

The proper way to prepare Absinthe is to follow this interesting ritural:-

– Pour 25 to 50 ml of Absinthe into a glass.
– The slotted Absinthe spoon may be rested on top of the glass.
– A sugar cube is put on the slotted spoon.
– Drip iced water over the sugar using an Absinthe fountain or pour very slowly from a carafe.
– Look for the Absinthe louche.
– Drink your wonderful Absinthe drink.

I hope you have now learned all about Absinthe, the mysterious drink with a very interesting past and a great taste.

Are you planning to have a party at home? If you are planning to throw a party for your friends at home, you should start shopping for sweet red wines as early as possible. Yes, a couple of your friends may bring some sweet red wine for the party but it is still a good thing to buy your own sweet red wine to avoid running out of beverages during the party. You don?t really want to leave the party and go out of the house in the middle of the party just to pick up a few sweet red wine bottles at the store. To make sure that you and your friends will have a great time at the party, here are some things that you should do.

Getting Ready For The Party

You need to know many people are coming to the party so that you can estimate correctly how much food to prepare and how many bottles of sweet red wine and other beverages to buy. As much as possible, send out your party invitations early and ask your guests to confirm whether they are coming or not at least two days before the party. This should give you enough time to prepare the right amount of food and wine for the party. Now, some of your friends may cancel at the last minute and some may decide to come after they said that they are not coming to the party so you might as well prepare a few extra helpings of food and sweet red wine. Yes, there is always a big possibility that you will have plenty of excess food on the table if you prepare a few extra servings but then again, it is always better to have excess food on the table than have some of your friends go hungry because you did not have enough food for everyone.

When preparing food for the party, use only the best ingredients that you can find. For instance, you may use red wine vinegar instead of just ordinary vinegar for your cooking. Fruit based vinegars are always better than those non-fruit based ones. Moreover, you should serve more whole grains, fruits and vegetables during the party. Forget about those foods that are loaded with carbohydrates and fats. Those types of foods are not good for the body. Instead of serving the usually cholesterol laden party foods, serve something more healthy. Your friends will thank you if you serve healthy food during the party.