Enjoying Wines

Archive for August, 2009

What did the grape say when it was rolled over by a beer keg?

Nothing – it just let out a little “wine”!

What we drink says a lot about who we are – if you believe the marketing companies who target the mass markets with multi-million dollar commercials and campaigns. But is this really true?

Enjoying both beers and wines is not a mutually exclusive pastime – I personally drink both and conform with neither stereotypical image of either drinker – I’m not a young stud hanging out with great looking babes in a bar while ice-cold longnecks are guzzled by the truck load nor a wrinkly, liberal-looking, spectacle-wearing foodie with leather patches on my elbows.

The global cultural significance of wine and beer is due mostly to their extremely long histories. Who actually invented beer and wine is lost in time, but both originated from the Middle East and probably have been made since Neolithic times (around 5000 B.C.) – certainly the ancient Egyptians and various empires based to the East of the Mediterranean Sea have documented wines and beers as well as irrefutable archaeological evidence.

Certainly in those ancient times, there was no such thing as an NFL or Nascar event while cheese & wine parties were not exactly on the social menu. The division of potential consumers using marketing, and by extension, social stereotypes for beer and wine markets has created a false picture of who actually drinks them. Since wine producers in California started making headway in international markets bck in the 80’sWine was the alcoholic drink of the masses in Europe and not the upper crust – beer was drunk as water, simply because it was safe to drink due to the alcohol content and in fact, beer was not brewed for the purpose of getting drunk, at least, not in the beginning but to purify water.

Mass production of beer really started in the 20^th Century – in previous centuries other forms of alcohol dominated demand for getting smashed – and wine was one of the dominant beverages. With mass production came mass marketing and for beer sales, blue collar workers were targeted with drinks which were ice-cold and quenched thirst after a hard day’s work. Girls, cars, smiling friends and being Mr. Popular in the bar were all part of the marketing mix thrown at potential beer drinkers being sold on fizzy, yellow brews. The self-owned breweries that have a good brew have been left out of the mainstream beer industry but appreciated by beer aficionados.

Marketing perception is rarely an accurate reflection of reality, if you consider that wine was discovered probably at an earlier date than beer from the archaeological evidence, wine would appear to have been the caveman’s first choice of fermented brew. If a caveman preferred wine to beer, this hardly matches the marketing perception that beer drinkers do not have taste nor being a hard-working macho-man precludes you from enjoying wine. Wine is also a more potent drink than beer for those who are looking to race to a hangover fast.

On the other hand, wine experts and followers will probably point to the labor and skill which goes into creating a fine wine – the reality is that brewing beer also requires just as much artistry and imagination as producing a good bottle of plonk. The plethora of small breweries and family-owned brewers that have maintained their tradition for generations gives testimony to the great diversity of skill, taste, and ingenuity when it comes to making the best alcohol possible.

The bottom line – downing a beer or slurping a wine is not predetermined by social status or marketing categorization – it all comes down to one thing no matter who you are or what you do – your own taste.

By Mark Trumper, the guiding force of MaverickLabel.com, the Internet’s leading provider of labels, custom stickers and custom wine labels. From asset tags, to shipping labels to custom wine labels, MaverickLabel.com can provide all of your label needs. Call 1-800-537-8816.

Wine enthusiasts are familiar with the importance of proper storage. The finest wines will turn to vinegar if they are exposed to constantly changing temperatures, too much light or high humidity. Your wine can be protected in a wine storage cabinet. The trick is to find the right one for your needs.

There is a large selection of wine storage cabinets for sale and they will not all work the same. Even those of us who just enjoy an occasional bottle of wine need a safe place to keep it. Decorative modern wine racks are a popular way to store wine. The biggest problem with wine racks is that the expose the bottle to changes in the humidity, temperature, and light. This can all ruin the wine.

Nice wine cabinets can maintain the climate conditions at a constant level. The easiest and cheapest way to store wine is to put in the room of your house which does not see much change in conditions such as a cellar. These are good short term storage solutions but will not provide the same type of protection as a wine storage cabinet. There are many designs and styles of wine storage cabinet available. Glass, metal, and wood can all be used to make wine storage cabinets.

They are often so well designed that they improve the look of your home. With so many different types it will not be difficult to locate one which works well with your home’s design scheme. Be careful about purchasing a cheap wine storage cabinet. Often they are poorly made from low quality materials. This can lead to leaky air seals which can cause varying temperatures and bad wine.

From the very first days after man discovered the art of making wine it has always been their habit of storing extra wine with which to celebrate important occasions and even to enjoy while in the company of their family and friends. What’s more, in these modern times whenever people travel to countries that are famous for making wine they come across certain wines that they would like to buy and store at home. Such wine bottles are excellent reminders of some very interesting moments in those wine producing countries and so in order to keep these wines in pristine shape often requires constructing custom wine cellars.

Wines Won’t Get Spoiled In Your Custom Wine Cellar

The main intention behind constructing custom wine cellars is that these cellars will ensure that your favorite wines never get spoiled. In addition, custom wine cellars help to provide the most optimal conditions in which to store reds and whites and even dessert wines and then they will also help in the aging of your favorite red wines and this in turn ensures that with the passage of time, your wines will improve in their flavor and aroma.

In fact, only custom wine cellars help in allowing fine wines to gradually age in a manner that will ensure subtle improvements in their flavor and in their undertones and also in their aromas. By carefully aging your wines you can ensure that your vintage wine bottles hold wines that boast of unique taste which will be a joy to drink at a later point of time.

There is no fixed size as far as custom wine cellar goes and so you can find some that are truly enormous in size and which can hold as many as fifty thousand bottles while others will hold a very select few numbers of wine bottles. The size of the custom wine cellar depends on the space and the number of wine bottles that a person has to store.

Be sure to understand that constructing a custom wine cellar can often be quite expensive though this is a feature that does not seem to affect the true wine lover and collector that will pay anything to ensure that their wines remain at their very best.

Information about proper wine cellar management is necessary for a person. This management includes purchasing of wines, storing them, organizing them and then taking care of data management.