Enjoying Wines

Archive for September, 2009

The Absinthe fairy was used on Absinthe label and posters. Singer Kylie Minogue famously played the Green Fairy in the film Moulin Rouge which was based on the french Bohemian culture of Montmartre in Paris where Absinthe, the Green Fairy, was the favorite drink of artists and writers. 

Absinthe Fairy Followers

Famous devotees of La Fee Verte, the Green Fairy, were Vincent Van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, Charles Baudelaire, Paul Gauguin, Oscar Wilde and Ernest Hemingway who created his own Absinthe cocktail “Death in the Afternoon” – a mix of Absinthe and champagne. Writers and artists claimed that they developed their inspiration with the help of Absinthe and several pieces of art of the time feature Absinthe or Absinthe drinkers. Absinthe’s hey day was the Belle Epoque period of history.

Absinthe is prepared from herbs and essential oils. Absinthe is prepared from the herb wormwood. Wormwood gives Absinthe its characteristic bitter taste and herbs like aniseed, anise and fennel give the spirit its anise flavor.

Thujone, a chemical found in wormwood oil, was thought to be psychoactive and to give psychedelic effects, cause hallucinations and eventually insanity. Absinthe was banned in France in 1915 due to the loose morals of the drinkers in Montmartre. Buying or selling Absinthe was not legal. It was banned in many other countries also. Spain, where Absinthe was called Absenta, Portugal, the UK and the Czech Republic never restricted the Green Fairy.

Absinthe Fairy and Prohibition

During the prohibition period, distilleries, such as the Pernod Fils distillery, started producing Absinthe substitutes such as Pernod Pastis to market to the people who were missing the anise flavor of Absinthe. Ricard was one of the substitute of Absinthe.

In many countries bootleg absinthe was still distilled and sold and fortunately this has meant that knowledge regarding the distilling of Absinthe has never been lost.

During 1900 Absinthe was made legal in most of the countries except in Switzerland which was home of Absinthe. You can now buy Absinthe and Absinthe essence kits online along with Absinthiana such as glasses, spoons and fountains. Drinking Absinthe out of a special antique or replica glass with a proper spoon give effects to the Absinthe preparation ritual.

Absinthe was legalized because studies showed that the liquor only contained minute quantities of thujone and that it was just as safe as drinking other strong spirits. Although Absinthe is much higher in alcohol than other spirits but it was never designed to drink neat. The clouding that happens when the water mixes with the alcohol can be enjoyed by mixing it with iced water.

By purchasing real wormwood Absinthe from the websites a person can prepare his own bottled Absinthe.com.

Wine appreciation is something that has increased over the past few years. There have been TV shows, films and even online podcasts dedicated to the appreciation of a good bottle of wine.

Many British wine lovers would love the opportunity to buy some of the more exclusive bottles from vineyards across the world. However, traditionally there were geographic and also awareness reasons that may have prevented this from being the case.

Fortunately you can now order wine over the internet and the range of wines available is staggering and includes labels such as Lavilla Nanni Montepulciano, Lavilla Nanni Pinot Grigio and Olive Hills Pinot Grigio. From old world Italian or French wines to adventurous new world varieties from South Africa, Australia and South America you can find all sorts of different wines from all over the world online and have them delivered to your doorstep within a few clicks.

The benefits of buying wine online as opposed to finding them yourself are:

• The variety on offer – you are able to see a whole host more wines online and there is no need to be finding what they have in stock as it’s all there laid out for you like a menu in a restaurant.

• Home delivery – by buying online you save yourself the added effort of collecting the bottle yourself.

When ordering online you will often find many networks or forums of fellow wine lovers and you’ll be able to find recommended wines and enter the debate if you gave developed your own preferences. If you like a particular style or brand then this is an excellent way to broaden your appreciation of wine but also know whether you are going to find more of what you already like or something new and exciting to try.

If you know what you want then entering the name, brand or variety you want to find out more about on the internet then you should find plenty of advice as well as outlets selling this wine.

When buying online it’s often worth buying more than just one solitary bottle. Many retailers may only ship items over a certain quantity and even offer discounts on shipping if you order a case instead. The concern some people may have is over shipping, will my bottle arrive intact? Well many of these shippers use companies that will safely transport your wine in properly secured packaging straight to your door step.