Wine Guides Tips
Read these 9 Wine Guides Tips tips to make your life smarter, better, faster and wiser. Each tip is approved by our Editors and created by expert writers so great we call them Gurus. LifeTips is the place to go when you need to know about Wines tips and hundreds of other topics.
On-line wine dictionary
Ever feel out of place when people start talking about wine? You are not alone. Many people enjoy a glass of wine, but cannot decifer what it is that they are tasting or smelling. Learning about wine jargon can help you express your uncertainity. Chiff.com offers a list of their on-line " top picks" when it comes to speaking wine. Check it out!
Wine Blogs Can Be Wonderful Guides
Sure, there are plenty of published wine guides in the book stores and online. But in the 21st century, wine blogs have become an increasingly important tool for wine tasting information. Blogging has become an important source of information and many wine blogs are written by professionals who enjoy dropping the formal tone to share knowledge in a casual way. Food & Wine Magazine have named these seven blogs worthy of watching: 1. joedressner.com: a wise and outspoken wine importer tells it like it is. 2. vinography.com: a self-professed wine geek gives restaurant reviews, wine information and links to articles and other blogs. 3. wineanorak.com: a British wine writer is refreshingly candid about his daily life as a wine writer. 4. drvino.blogspot.com: a real doctor who intelligently explores the mixing of wine, politics and business. 5. alicefeiring.com: she is the wine and travel columnist for Time Magazine who says she wants wine to tell a story and speak the truth. 6. vinocibo.typepad.com: the most in-depth and knowledgeable blog on Italian wine from a former Italian wine importer. 7. wineterroirs.com: a French photographer roams his country and talks about the wines he encounters along the way, coupled with photos of his journeys.
These blogs are individual, and therefore represent the individual blogger's likes and dislikes. You can also find blogs at some of the different wine sites.
Wine Guides Currently Offered by the American Society of Wine
If you're looking for wine education books, the American Wine Society periodically publishes the following wine guides and books. These wine guides touch on everything from making your own wine to judging wine. The following publications are currently for sale on the American Wine Society Web site for relatively low cost (less than $20): - Growing Wine Grapes - The Complete Handbook of Winemaking - How to Test and Improve Your Wine Judging Ability - Wine Appreciation Through the Senses - University Wine Course - The Wines of the East: The Hybrids - The Wines of the East: The Vinifera - The Wines of the East: Native American Grapes - Wine Analysis - Basic Guide to Pruning - Wine Grape Growing - Still Wines from Grapes - The Use of Sulfur in the Preservation of Wines - The Review of the Origin of Interspecific -- Hybrid Grape Varieties - Organizing and Conducting Wine Tastings - Wine Acidity: Taste, Measurement, Control - A Home Winemaker's Guide to Making Wine from Fruits - Sparkling Wine: A Home Winemaker's Guide to Methode Champenoise - Planting & Care of Grafted Grapevines - American Wine Society Journal
Guidelines for Drinking
This is the American Wine Society guidelines on what drinking in moderation means and who should not drink at all. The following people should not drink: - Children and adolescents. - Women who are pregnant or trying to conceive. Major birth defects, including fetal alcohol syndrome, have been attributed to heavy drinking by the mother while pregnant. While there is no conclusive evidence that an occasional drink is harmful during pregnancy, a safe level of alcohol intake during pregnancy has not been established. - Individuals who plan to drive or take part in activities that require attention or skill. Most people retain some alcohol in the blood up to 2 or 3 hours after a single drink. - Individuals using certain prescriptions or over-the counter medications. What counts as one drink: - 12 ounces of regular beer - 5 ounces of wine - 1.5 ounces of 80-proof distilled spirits
Stock your library with a few great wine books.
My favorites? The Windows on the World Complete Wine Course by Kevin Zraly is a great basic wine book updated yearly that follows the course syllabus week by week. The Oxford Companion to Wine by Jancis Robinson is more of a tome than a book to sit down and read, per se, but it's an excellent reference about all wine-related terms -- everything's in there. Andrea Immer's Great Tastes Made Simple is an approachable and fun read about food and wine pairings, both classic and non-traditional. Finally, The World Atlas of Wine by Hugh Johnson and Jancis Robinson is perfect when you want to locate the exact vineyard where the grapes in the wine you are drinking were grown.
Wine Price Guides for 2006
There are many wine price guides on the market. If you'd like to keep a wine price guide handy when you peruse the wine stores, then consider some of these recent ones published in 2006: - Anthony Dias Blue's Pocket Guide to Wine 2006 - Oz Clarke's Pocket Wine Guide 2006 - Parkers Wine Buyers Guide 6th Edition - Andrea Immer Robinson's 2006 Wine Buying Guide for Everyone: Revised Edition
Find Great Wine at Wine Bars, The New Coffee Shops
Wine bars are being called the coffee shops of the 21st century. More and more of them are cropping up across America. And they are proving to be a great place to relax, taste great wine and enjoy great company. Newspapers across the nation are reporting that 20- and 30-somethings are flocking to these bars to meet friends and casually share a bottle of wine after work, after the gym, or after a round of golf. Wine is a more casual drink today and 20-somethings are not afraid of it the way 30-somethings admit they were a decade ago. Some wine bars even open at noon and offer classes during the day. Go to www.localwineevents.com or check your local listings to find a wine bar near you.
Who is a Sommelier?
A sommelier is a restaurant employee who is an undisputed expert in the wine industry. He or she should be an expert in viticulture, vinification and wine regions on a broader and more advanced level He or she should also know all about wine laws, labeling laws, grape varietals and up-to-date wine industry news. He or she can recommend a wine to you and tell you every nuance of that wine. When dining, it is a good idea to ask the sommelier to your table for help in choosing a wine. It's an excellent way to find great wine among an extensive restaurant list. And more often than not, the sommelier would be thrilled to help you.
French Wine Guides and Books
In France, the average yearly production is 9 billion bottles. With all that wine, it's easy to feel lost when searching for a French bottle you'll like. Look for a French wine guide to help you. There are plenty of published books and wine guides on French wine and also some good user-friendly French wine guides right online. Learn the history of French wine, French wine classifications, the 19 French grape varietals, browse a wine glossary, learn what French wines pair well with salmon or caviar, learn basic knowledge about wine such as bottle size and temperature, shop French wines, learn where French wine events are taking place across the U.S., play virtual wine games and more. For actual books that offer guidance on French wine, check out: - French Wine - An Encyclopedia of the Wines and Domaines of France - The New France: Guide to French Wine - Hachette Wine Guide
