BC Wine

Tis the season to be Jolly! Nothing gets you jollier faster than a few swigs of the glass. Celebrations nowadays are almost synonymous with champagne. Champagne, is categorized as a sparkling wine though not all sparkling wines are champagnes. What sets champagnes apart from other sparkling wines is that champagnes only come from the Champagne region of France. Sparkling wines however, are produced by all major wine producing nations and are known by different names, Crémant being from France if the origin is unknown.

French Champagne like all other wines comes with its own terms, which may confuse the novice. A particularly confusing term that is used with champagne is “dryness”. French champagne ranges from Extremely dry or “extra brut” to “doux” which is just an indicator of the sweetness of the wine, an “extra brut” will have no sweetness at all while a “doux” shall be extremely sweet. A general order of sweetness would be extra brut, brut, extra dry, sec, demi-sec and doux.

Many sparklers are a blend of more than one vintage, the single vintage ones are generally rarer and more expensive. Another thing to consider while purchasing a wine is the process involved in making the wine. Methode Champenoise which is an imitation of the process used in France is widely held as the only technique for complex and fine champagne.

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Gourmet wines have been around forever now, gourmet chocolates are a recent trend, but it’s the first time where a chocolate has been designed especially for wine. Brix Chocolates are manufactures of premium grade chocolates and have recently launched a new range of chocolates which are meant to be paired with wines. It is actually rather surprising that the concept hasn’t been thought of before given the popularity and the health benefits of both.

According to Brix, a lot of trial and error went into the development of the final product because during initial tests both the products were fine on their own, but did not lend themselves well to pairings. Therefore the company has developed a blended range because it says that one product could not go with all wines. The pairings based on coca content are given below:

Milk chocolate is designed for lighter reds and dessert wines, while the chocolate itself is described as creamy and spicy.Dark chocolate is the most versatile of the lot with an option of pairing it with the lighter cabs or the heavier pinots.

Extra dark is designed for the deepest of the reds with a high coca content do stand up to the massive tannins found in these wines.

All the wines come with suggestive pairings on their covers.

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White Wines

Leib Family Cellars, North Fork Pinot Blanc 2006, $17
A crisp wine with delicious peach and apricot flavours, with food or on its own.

Spy Valley Pinot Gris, Marlborough, New Zealand 2007, $19
With a mixture of floral aroma’s and stone fruit, peach and apricot flavors this is a good winter wine

Revolution Viognier, McLaren Vale, Australia 2007, $19
The French versions sell in excess of $50. Excellent price for a excellent winter wine.

Johann Donabaum Gruner Veltliner Weinland, Wachau, Austria 2007, $18
The signature grape of Austria makes this a very food and palate friendly wine.

Crossroads “Destination Series” Chardonnay, Hawkes Bay, New Zealand 2007, $16.
A great cheap chardonnay period.

Red Wines

Melipal Malbec Mendoza, Argentina 2005, $18
A dark, rich, wine perfect for the holiday foods. 
One version in a one liter paper board tetra pack comes for $14.

Walter Glatzer Zweigelt Riedencuvée, Austria 2006, $17
The perfect party wine.

Descendientes De Jose Palacios Bierzo Petalos, Spain 2004 $18
A fresh wine with a big wine feel to it. Goes well with food.

D’Arenberg The Stump Jump Grenache-Shiraz-Mourvedre, McLaren Vale, Australia, $9
Not high on quality but still a crowd pleaser at a fraction of the cost of a Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

Heller Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Cachagua, Carmel Valley, California, $15
A refreshing wine which manages to be bright and less weighty rather than dense and heavy.

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During the 1970’s winemaking was mostly an experimental undertaking in Washington, without prospects of commercial return. Today however Washington comes second only to California in the United States in premium winemaking, estimated being close to $3 million dollars.

Some believe that global warming is responsible for the thriving industry in the northwest. According to a 2003 study by Gregory V. Jones, a professor and climatologist at Southern Oregon University, average temperatures have risen by over 2 degrees in 50 years in major wine producing regions and are expected to rise another 2 in the coming 50. The northwest according to the professor has never been more suited to wine production.

Further climate changes which seem imminent have done nothing to dampen the spirits of the local winemakers, who assert as winemakers being more flexible and more resourceful. Although the wine industry in the state is only about 30 years old, it does not show any signs of slowing down, coupled that with the tourism and hospitality the industry appears to have a rosy future in front of it.

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With the worst economic downturn in recent times, even winemakers are feeling the thirst, weak sales and what looks to be a gloomy holiday season, winemakers like the rest of the corporate world are looking towards new and innovative ways to cut costs an increase their profits.

At the recently concluded two-yearly Vinitech trade fair, France’s biggest wine industry equipment event, underlined how the industry was racing to cut costs and innovate. From using oak chips instead of traditional barrels to soil turners which turn the soil burying weeds eliminating the need for traditional weed killers. Another area which received a lot of focus was the use of commercial yeasts to speed up the fermentation process essentially putting the wine on the market sooner than traditional methods.

However on the other end of the market winemakers are pushing luxury and exclusivity in order to boost sales like come barrels made from a specially fine grained wood, bound with orange leather, and decorated with a Swarovski crystal, the barrels come at 1,150 euros, more than double a normal barrel.

About 40,000 people attended the show, according to the organizers.

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Omega-3 fatty acids, mainly derived from cold water fish like salmon, are known to help prevent coronary heart disease and sudden cardiac death. Now European researchers have found that moderate wine drinking acts like a booster for omega-3s — it raises the levels of the beneficial fatty acids in plasma and red blood cells. This major finding of the European study IMMIDIET will be published in the January issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, an official publication of the American Society for Nutrition, and is available on line now (www.ajcn.org).

However, as the scientists point out in the study, this benefit of red wine could be attributed to polyphenols instead of the alcohol content of wine. Polyphenols, which have strong antioxidant activity, are naturally occurring compounds found in a different variety of foods including berries, tea, beer, olive oil, chocolate, cocoa, coffee, walnuts, peanuts, pomegranates and grapes used in wine-making.

More good news for moderate wine drinkers: A study by Cornell University scientists recently published in the journal Neurochemistry International found that resveratrol, a polyphenol found in red wine, peanuts, and pomegranates, could help treat neurodegenerative diseases. In an animal study, the scientists fed resveratrol for forty-five days to mice with Alzheimer’s type plaques in their brains. The result? The polyphenol diminished plaque formation. This supports the idea, the researchers concluded, that neurodegenerative diseases may be delayed or mitigated with use of dietary agents such as resveratrol.

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Reno, NV - Reno’s Atlantis Casino Resort Spa will host the 9th Annual Reno/Tahoe Winter Wine & Ski Expo on Thursday, January 29, when Atlantis’ Grand Ballroom will be bustling with more than 50 wineries from around the world, microbreweries and local restaurants. Area ski resorts will be represented as well, and you can make a bid in the silent auction with more than 150 items from ski and snowboard gear, wine and dinners to luxury room stays.

All proceeds from the Reno/Tahoe Winter Wine & Ski Expo will help fund The Heuga Center for Multiple Sclerosis, a nonprofit organization that leads the way with comprehensive programs that empower people and families living with MS to transform and improve their quality of life. Based in Vail, Colo., the Heuga Center’s one-, three- and five-day programs teach people with this incurable neurological disease how to manage it to the best of their ability.
The Winter Wine & Ski Expo kicks off at 6 p.m., and you must be at least 21 years old. Tickets are $55 in advance or $65 at the door. Tickets are now available at the Atlantis Gift Shop, Bobo’s Mogul Mouse, Whispering Vine or by calling (775) 824-4467 or toll free at (888) 551-7007 or online at www.heuga.org.

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Winemaking accessory innovators of Celeras unveil the latest technology in wine aeration and bring you the Respirer – a wine aerator that features innovative designs and functions.

This new aerator actually looks like a port wine glass, sparing it from the gaudy appearance of some mechanical device and making it a nice addition to one’s kitchen collection. It’s also specially designed to deal with the infamous problem of dripping which causes a mess in the kitchen. The Respirer is simply placed above the open wine bottle and drips don’t happen at all because its shape fits that of an open wine bottle, making sure that unused wine goes back into the bottle and not elsewhere.

At a competitive price of $34.95, the Respirer is also printable for logos that winemaking companies would want to impose on this elegantly frosted aerator. These logos are made using non-toxic epoxy ink, making it durable. This product is available online and on selected retail outlets.

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Now that wine products aren’t really that scarce anymore, consumers are confused, intimidated and even disturbed with the seemingly endless varieties of wine that are stacked up on shelves upon shelves of the very popular beverage on the market.

You want to get help on being able to make the right choices in buying wine, especially for all sorts of holidays? Then you might want to try Debra and Keith Gordon’s “Wine on Tuesdays”.

This book is technically a self-help resource for those wine enthusiasts who, according to the co-authors, unknowingly trap themselves in confusion whenever they over think the concept of buying wines for different occasions. By sharing their own experience along with a heap of genuine anecdotes and suggestions, the authors aim to demystify their readers into being able to make wine choices again without any trouble.

At $19.99, readers will get the much needed information for their decision-making as well as get brief histories on wines, vocabulary and other useful information.

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With all the economic drawbacks that are going on in the global setting, we’re all expecting everybody to be affected somehow and sustain a few deductions here and there. But according to Wine Business Monthly’s 2008 results in its Wine Industry Compensation Survey Report, salaries in the wine industry have increased by 4.7 percent overall as opposed to 4.1 percent growth in 2007.

Despite the global economic setbacks, the survey shows that the increase in annual base pay was present in 80.5 percent of wine industry jobs, compared to 2007’s 64.2 percent. The increased base pay involves a 12.1 percent increase from 2004 to 2008.

Of course, the variety of employment positions in the wine industry had larger increases than others. Executive positions have the higher bulk of increase with twice as much growth in terms of digits. Furthermore, marketing and sales positions were dominating the increases in both salaries and bonuses than any other aspect of the industry. This then trickles down to base positions that generally have 11.1 percent averages in the survey.

All in all, growth in the salaries in the wine industry tops the list in all other major industries with their 3.8 percent lead.

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