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06/20/08 - Wines

Wines For Your Reading Pleasure

The Niagara region's Icewineries: wine tasting in a new light

Wine tours have long been popular in the realm of unique vacations; but for anyone who'd like to take the novelty of such a getaway to a whole new level, Canada's Niagara region - and its famous Icewineries - await.

One of the most intriguing aspects of a wine tour is learning the history behind a type of wine, a winery or a region that yields the wine - none of which are an exception when it comes to Icewines. The discovery of Icewine in 1794 was accidental when, out of necessity, winemakers in Germany pressed frozen grapes - the resulting juice of which was found to have an unusually high concentration of sugar. It wasn't until the mid 1800s, however, that the winery intentionally began to produce Icewine for distribution.

The production of Icewine did not extend to Canada until 1973, after which time the venture proved to be a huge success. Today, Canada - and particularly, Ontario's Niagara Peninsula region - is the largest producer of Icewine, a product that's often referred to as "liquid gold". That's because the juice from Icewine grapes composes about one-fifth the amount that would be extracted from unfrozen grapes. For instance, if the grapes of an unfrozen vine produced a bottle of wine, the grapes of a frozen vine would produce just one glass of Icewine.

The Icewine harvest begins in the winter months - typically, in December - once temperatures drop below -10 to -13 degrees Celsius and grapes have frozen on the vines. Natural freezing concentrates the sugars, acids and extracts, thus intensifying the flavors of the juice; then, as the frozen grapes are pressed, the highly concentrated, sweet juice is extracted. The natural water portion, however, remains in the grape skins as ice crystals. The juice is then fermented very slowly over the course of several months to produce Icewine. Typical grapes used for ice wine production include: Riesling Seyval Blanc, Vidal Blanc and the red grape Cabarnet Franc.

The Niagara region hosts an ice wine festival every January to celebrate the fruit of each year's harvest. Locals and tourists alike can indulge in ice bars, frozen art exhibits and tours through Niagara's famous wine routes - alongside, of course, a taste of some of the region's most exquisite Icewines.

If you're considering taking an Icewine tasting tour in the Niagara region this winter, rest assured that there are plenty of fantastic options for accommodation in Niagara Falls. The Doubletree Resort Lodge & Spa Fallsview, Niagara Falls, for example, features an award-winning VQA wine list, including Icewine by the glass or bottle at Buchanans Chophouse. So you can get started on the wine tasting before you even hit the festival or your tour!

By touring Niagara's Ice wineries, you'll learn about the unique processes involved in making Icewines, as well as have the opportunity to try some of the most exceptional wines in the world. So what are you waiting for? Take the novelty of a wine-tasting tour to a whole new level - experience the Niagara region's famous Icewines.

About the Author

Martin McAllister is an online freelance journalist. He lives in Scotland.

A Short Wines Summary

The Niagara region's Icewineries: wine tasting in a new light

Wine tours have long been popular in the realm of unique vacations; but for anyone who'd like to take the novelty of such a getaway to a whole new le...

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Torciano - Cabernet Sauvignon del Veneto

This Cabernet is a wine with aristocratic character. You will find this wine to have an ample and intense perfume, slightly grassy with overtones of raspberry and other wild fruits. The palate is dry with good body and a flavor of blackberries and bramble with a persistence in the mouth. The deep ruby color is indicative of the wine's youthfulness. Serve this wine at room temperature along with appetizers such as pate, or with roasted red meats and seasoned cheeses. TTOW04 TTOW04

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This article on Gold Book is supposed to be very useful to one seeking more information on Gold Book . Do you think so?

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Valentines Day Wine And Food Ideas

Once again Valentines Day is here and even though it may not be official holiday it is a very important day for that special women in our life. So while we have some time lets plan ahead for the big even and make it a great day for that special someone.

There are many different ways to celebrate this special day from the simple method just buying flowers and maybe some candy to the much more involved level of not buy the above items but also other items like jewelry. It will very depending on how you feel about this holiday after we all don?t celebrate it. But below are some good ideas that you can try this year and that will help make this day special.

Lets start off with a simple plan for Valentines day start off by buy some flowers usually a Roses are nice but you cant mix them with other flowers as well along with a nice vase if you don?t already have one. The next step is to get some candy and wine because in this step we are going to do some pairing of wine food. When pairing wines with chocolate, your best bet is to match lighter, more elegant flavored chocolates with lighter bodied wines and likewise, the stronger the chocolate, the more full-bodied the wine should be. A good example is a bittersweet chocolate tends to pair well with an intense California Zinfandel now a more subtle white chocolate ends to be mellower flavor, making it an ideal candidate for a Sherry. This could make a very interesting and unique Valentines Day. Of course you might not need the chocolate candies at all depending on what your mate likes a good wine can be by itself can be nice way to celebrate.

Another good idea plan is to go with more then just the flowers and candy plus but you add a romantic dinner with wine. Something about a candle light dinner with that special someone and if by chance you have children find a baby sitter after all it is pretty hard to set a romantic setting with your children playing with there food. If you feel like making the dinner yourself then go for it you can find lots of great recipes on our website listed below as well as others. Now if you don?t feel like cooking then order out from a good restaurant which I would recommend you do ahead of time well before that evening.

Another good idea plan would to plan a get away possible to nice bed and breakfast in Wine country. Not only is this a great way to spend time together for this holiday but it can also be a great way to celebrate other special events. There is nothing like getting away from it all and relaxing in the country and enjoy local wine food matching. Of course this idea you need to plan ahead for the event and make sure that you get your get your plane tickets and reservations at the bed and breakfast and I would suggest calling at least 4 to 6 months head of time depending on where you plan on going.

Hopefully these Valentines Day ideas will help you this year or at least give you some new idea?s for that special day. Of course with any special day remember to have fun and enjoy each others company and maybe dance the night away with each other.

The most important thing to remember as you celebrate trying new wine food matching is to have fun and enjoy yourself with your family and enjoy the food, wine and conversation.

We hope you enjoyed this article and that you will take the time to visit our site listed below.

About the Author:

John Maier is an experience wine and food and part time cook. His wine experience comes from being raised in a small American town that had multiple wineries and with a Europe style and has traveled the world. For more information go to: http://www.wine-food-matching.com or ? Copyright2006

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After writing all this matter on Bronco Wine , we have undergone a sense of a gratification on its completion. If this information is utilized, we will feel even better.

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The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of the scale it makes up the bulk of the cheap and cheerful red wines in the everyday bottled brands such as Jacobs Creek, Oxford Landing and yellowtail.

But Shiraz has not always held such a hold over the market. Until the mid nineties Cabernet Sauvignon was regarded as the superior variety and this was reflected in the prices paid at the cellar door. But the demand for exports has been mainly for Australian Shiraz and Cabernet has lost ground in the battle for consumer preference in Australia as well.

Shiraz's reign at the top of the tree really started in the middle of the 1950s when it replaced Grenache as the most popular red winegrape variety. In those days a much larger proportion of the wine market was devoted to fortified wine, what we used to call Port.

Looking into the future the role of Shiraz seems unassailable, but there are a few challengers on the horizon. The wine consumer is a fickle creature and fashions can change fairly quickly.

Merlot is the third most popular red winegrape variety in Australia. Much of the production goes into blends with Cabernet Sauvignon, reflecting its major role in Bordeaux. There are quite a few varietal merlots also produced. There are two reasons for thinking that Merlot won't displace Shiraz as our major tipple. Firstly there are viticultural problems relating to poor clones and it performs poorly in cooler regions. Secondly at the consumer end the wine often lacks a distinctive varietal character. There seems to be no consensus among winemakers about what a good merlot should be like. Meanwhile consumers think of Merlot as meaning mellow. It is hard to find any passion, for or against, this variety.

Another contender is Grenache. This variety is widely planted in South Australia, particularly in the Barossa and McLaren Vale regions. In the 1980s it was subject to government sponsored vine pull schemes in the belief that its days were over. Its star is on the rise again both as a varietal and as the key to blends with Shiraz and Morvedre. Notwithstanding this recent return to favour, Grenache will not seriously challenge Shiraz because of its need for a relatively warm climate.

Sangiovese is a variety with a large and growing fan club. There are now over a hundred winemakers using this variety. One factor which has held the variety back in the past has been clonal variation, this has been overcome by careful selection by vine nurseries. Over the past few years a significant number of producers have been able to show just what the variety is capable of. The wines show plum and cherry flavours and to my mind these flavours as well as the Italian wine textures will mean that the bandwagon for this variety will keep rolling for quite a while. The number of winemakers and consumers in Australia with an Italian background continues to provide plenty of champions for the variety.

Spain's answer to Sangiovese is Tempranillo. It is growing in popularity in many Australian wine regions. To a large extent the jury is still as many of the plantings are still quite new. Among the champions of the variety are James Halliday and Mark Walpole of Brown Brothers. Tempranillo matures a little earlier than Shiraz or Sangiovese so it can be grown in slightly cooler regions, Indeed Manton Creek Vineyard in the Mornington Peninsula is one of the more highly regarded producers.

The Durif variety is regarded as a warm climate variety, indeed it seemed as though Rutherglen held a monopoly on the variety. But in fact is relatively early ripening, as demonstrated by John Vale at Balnarring on the Mornington Peninsula. The outstanding feature of Durif is the high level of tannins, but if these can be mastered then

There are a few other varieties attracting attention which will figure in the mix over the next decade or so. Petit verdot is becoming much more popular in the warmer areas. It was pioneered in Australia by Pirramirra in McLaren Vale but it is now grown extensively in the Murray Darling and Riverina.

Barbera and Nebbiolo are the two other Italian varieties which are highly regarded in Australia. Lagrein is a little known Italian variety, in fact it is from the North East of Italy. It is an early ripening variety and as such can be grown in the cooler climates. Cobaw Ridge in the Macedon Ranges region has a wonderful Lagrein.

So what is the verdict? Which red winegrape variety will be the next Shiraz? It seems to be a contest between Sangiovese and Tempranillo, with both camps having some firm adherents. My money at this stage goes with Sangiovese, it has the runs on the board.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Darby Higgs is an expert on varietal wines made from less common grape varieties. He is founder and editor of vinodiversity, an information resource. See http://www.vinodiversity.com

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The next Shiraz, varietal wines for Australia

Shiraz is the dominant red winegrape variety in Australia. It is the key component of Grange, the flagship Australian wine label. At the other end of ...

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