Enjoying Wines

Archive for May, 2009

We all hear about wine storage, but what about storing our wine glasses? It is just as important that you have proper wine glass rack, not only to keep your wine glasses from getting chipped or broken, but also to display them in an attractive and decorative way. Especially if you have gone all out and bought yourself some high quality wine glasses, of course you are going to want to show them off. There are many excellent options when it comes to wine glass rack, and the first step is to become more educated on the selection and on which wine glass rack devices will be most suitable to you.

Wine Glass Racks

One of the best ways to store your wine glasses is on a wine rack. A wine rack like this will not only be stable and hold your wine glasses safely, but will also be decorative and add an elegant touch to your home décor. These racks are available in a variety of different sizes and colors, and you will have to consider your own needs in order to choose the one that will work best for you.

The wall wine rack is usually available as a wooden piece and it is designed in a manner that makes it easy to fit it into a shelf, or it may even is laced beneath a cabinet. The upshot of buying a wine glass rack is that it is available in many styles and so you can choose to keep them on a table top though in such an instance, the numbers of glasses held will only be a few. It may be a better idea to go in for a wine glass rack that can be hung from the ceiling because such a rack will also hold additional glasses, besides saving space.

Hanging Wine Glass Rack

It is also common to find very stylish wine hanging wine glass racks that are also very suitable for holding wine glasses made out of crystals and which gives a very elegant appearance and which are charming and which also add value to the home. However, many people prefer the traditional wooden wine glass rack, which is more conventional in its looks and which lends an air of solidity as well as is old fashioned.

The hanging wine glass rack is also very functional and once the wine glasses have been washed, they can then be slid back into the rack where they can dry and thus lessens your worries. The hanging wine glass rack can also enhance your kitchen where it makes an excellent decoration piece and which is also easy as far as space requirements go, since you can always choose to have a small wine glass rack when space is at a premium.

You will truly appreciate taking the time to provide your wine glasses with the proper rack devices, as it will keep them from chipping, cracking, and getting fogged up. You can even buy the proper materials and make a rack box yourself, just make sure that it is durable and will be protective for your wine glasses.

We don’t often think of Michigan as a wine producing State do we, but look at the facts:

• Michigan has 13,500 acres of vineyards making Michigan the fourth largest grape-growing state.

• All of this acreage is devoted to juice grapes such as Concord and Niagara.

• About 700 hectares are devoted to wine grapes, making Michigan the eighth in wine grape production.

• Vineyard area has increased 24% since 1997.

• Michigan’s 45 commercial wineries produce more than 200,000 cases of wine annually, making the state 13th in wine production. Over 95% of the production is from Michigan-grown grapes.

• Wineries are popular tourist destinations, attracting more than 600,000 visitors annually. Some of these wineries also have retail stores where it’s possible to purchase anything from a wine cellar kit to a wine cooler refrigerator.

• Wine production and winery tourism annually contribute $75 million to the state’s economy.

• Three types of grapes are used for wine in Michigan:

• • Vinifera varieties — these are the classic European varieties such as Chardonnay, Riesling (the most widely planted white), Pinot Noir (the most widely planted red), Pinot Grigio/Gris and Cabernet Franc; 58% of Michigan’s wine grapes are vinifera. Since 1998, 71% of the new plantings in Michigan have been vinifera varieties.

• • Hybrid varieties (sometimes called French/American hybrids) — these are botanical crosses between vinifera varieties and grapes native to North America. Typical names are Vidal, Chambourcin, Marechal Foch and Vignoles; 41% of Michigan’s wine grapes are hybrids.

• • Native varieties — actually close relatives of true native varieties. Usual names are Concord and Niagara. Only 3% of Michigan’s wine is made from these hybrids.

• Most of Michigan’s quality wine grapes grow within 25 miles of Lake Michigan. Here, the “lake effect” protects the vines with snow in winter, retards bud break in spring helping avoid frost damage, and extends the growing season by up to four weeks.

• Michigan has deemed four federally approved viticultural areas (AVAs). In the northwest part of the state, near Traverse City, lie the Leelanau Peninsula and the Old Mission Peninsula. This area has a growing season averaging 145 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,350 growing degree days; 51% of Michigan’s wine grapes grow here. In the southwest part of the state lie the Lake Michigan Shore and Fennville appellations, where 45% of Michigan’s wine grapes are grown. This area has a growing season averaging 160 days and an average heat accumulation of 2,750 heat units or sometimes called growing degree days. Each are Region 6 on the USDA plant hardiness zone map.

• Harvest begins for early hybrid varieties at the end of late August in the southwest and may extend into mid November for late-ripening vinifera varieties in the northwest.

• Michigan wines win numerous medals at prestigious competitions every year. More than 16% of the wines entered in the Michigan Wine & Spirits Competition had already won Gold Medals in regional, national and international competitions. A list of winners is available upon request.

• Michigan wineries make many styles of wine, from dry to sweet including Ice Wine, sparkling, fortified, fruit wines and eau-de-vie (fruit brandy).

• Michigan wines are usually “cool climate” – clean, crisp, balanced wines that exhibit real varietal charact.
• Michigan Wines are very popular choices in the offerings of Wine Clubs
  where you set up a monthly subscription to order wine online

Next time you’re savoring your favorite Chardonnay, check the label. It just may not have originated in California!

Since Absinthe is once again legal in many countries around the world, people are asking “What are the effects of Absinthe?”, “Will it make me trip?”, “Will this cause me to see the Green Fairy?”.

Absinthe is a mythical drink with many legends and stories surrounding it. Created in Switzerland as an elixir or tonic by Dr Pierre Ordinaire, Absinthe quickly became a best selling alcoholic beverage when Henri-Louis Pernod started distilling it in France. In fact, it overtook beer, cider and even wine as the most popular drink in France in the period known as La Belle Epoque, the golden age leading up to the First World War.

Among the famous drinkers of the Green Fairy was Oscar Wilde who said “After the first glass of Absinthe you see things as you wish they were. Next you see them as they are not. And in the end, you finally see things as they really are, and that is the most horrible thing in the world.”

Pernod made Absinthe from a base of wine which he then flavored with natural herbal ingredients such as wormwood, fennel, aniseed, star anise, veronica, dittany, lemon balm, hyssop, nutmeg, angelica and dittany. Some manufacturers used additional herbs such as coriander, calamus root and mint.

So, what are the effects of Absinthe?

Absinthe was popular in the time known as “The Great Binge”, a time when beverages which contained cocaine were popular and heroin was thought safe to use in medicine. It was linked to other types of drugs and was thought to be psychoactive and to cause:-

– Hallucinations
– Extreme or hyper excitibility
– Spasms and convulsions
– Weakening of the intellect
– Insanity
– Addiction
– Causes of brain damage
– Violence
– Death

Artistic types consumed Absinthe to help them gain inspiration and many artists and writers said they it was responsible for their genius. Famous Absinthe poetry.

Absinthe, so the prohibition led people to believe, was going to drive the French people insane, make them immoral and cause the collapse of the nation. After doctors tested wormwood and thujone, the chemical in wormwood, they claimed that it was like cannabis and could cause epileptic fits. The prohibition movement blamed Absinthe for causing a young man to murder his whole family after only consuming a few glasses. The consumption of Absinthe was also famously blamed for Van Gogh cutting off his own ear and for his suicide.

Absinthe was thought to contain huge amounts of thujone, up to 350mg per liter but high tech tests on vintage bottles have proved these claims to be completely false. Absinthe contained a small amounts, up to 6mg, not enough to cause anyone to even hallucinate a little. Studies show that Absinthe is just as safe as any other alcoholic drink.

I’m afraid that Absinthe won’t help you to see green fairies but it is a very strong drink, up to 75% alcohol by volume, and so will get you drunk rather quickly and easily. The mysterious blend of alcohol and herbs in Absinthe will give you a strange drunken experience, a “lucid” or “clear headed” drunkenness – a completely new experience!

What are some of the effects of Absinthe? Well, there are no bad effects except if you overdo it and perhaps get a hangover. Absinthe is a drink to be enjoyed slowly and to make you have a feeling of well being. Buy Absinthe of good quality which contains real wormwood or make your own with essences from AbsintheKit.come and enjoy the exciting taste of the Green Fairy. Absinthe kits are available from http://absinthekit.com/.