If you have a growing collection of wine, it may be time to consider constructing a wine cellar. Some time ago the custom wine cellar was a rarity; today more and more wine lovers are learning about wine cellar construction or contracting the work out to those who know how to do the job correctly.

Wine cellar rooms are more than a dark, cool place to hold an assortment of wine bottles. Today's custom wine cellar is a controlled environment where humidity and temperature are regulated to allow wine to correctly age without harm to corks, labels or the wine itself.

There are two styles of wine cellars. One is a room that has been particularly constructed to store wine in the perfect environment and the other is a stand-alone unit that mirrors those conditions. A stand-alone wine cellar is not as valuable as a custom-built version, but some people desire the aesthetics of a small cooled refrigerator over a custom wine cellar. Those who do choose a custom cellar have three simple considerations for proper design.

Temperature Control and Venting

A wine cellar room is used to hold and age the wine in the bottle rather than keeping it at a serving temperature. (A stand-alone wine fridge is excellent for bringing wine out of the cellar to store at serving temperatures.) Aging wine is a balance of time, temperature and the chemical reactions that occur as an outcome of the two.

Wine should be aged in conditions ranging between 55 and 65 percent humidity and a solid 55 degrees Fahrenheit, give or take one degree. Wine stored at higher temperatures will age quicker and wine experiences chemical reactions at higher temperatures that devalue the flavor over time.

In some areas of the country, homeowners with basements often find that conditions are right for basic wine storage, but seasonal temperature and humidity variations should be avoided. The best storage solution is a custom-built or DIY-construction wine cellar with climate and humidity control using a wine cellar cooling component to maintain the temperature at a stable 55 degrees.

These units come in a variety of sizes and the dimensions of your wine cellar will control what size you need to purchase. In no way select a wine cooling system too small for your room; you most likely will never get an accurate, optimal storage temperature and the cooling unit will become overtaxed trying to keep up.

Wine cooling units demand proper venting, and your wine cellar construction job requires either a hole in the wall to permit venting outdoors or enough vent space to move warm air out of the room. Check the specs of your wine cooling unit; most require a venting space at least two times as large as the wine cellar space itself.

Electrical power is also an issue. Custom wine cellar builders recommend a devoted power source to run a wine cooling unit. Those who want to use a shared power source frequently find the system overloading with blown fuses and other electrical issues.

Insulation and Vapor Barriers

The wine cooling unit is only part of your climate control plan for a custom wine cellar; you also need a vapor barrier made of plastic sheeting used on the "hot" side of the wall. Some people cover the interior of the wine cellar previous to placing the insulation, leaving the plastic loose so that insulation can be positioned between the studs in the wall. Wrap the ceiling and the walls, or your vapor barrier will be incomplete. After the barrier is installed, the insulation will come next.

Good wine cellar construction requires the right kind of insulation for your walls and ceiling. For example, if you are building a 2x6 wall, R19 insulation is recommended, but if you have a smaller wall of 2x4, R13 may be your best bet. (The "R" designation represents the heat resistance of the insulation.) Ceilings need R30. Custom wine cellar builders should never set up the insulation loose without packing the material into the sections, as this lessens the insulation's effectiveness.

The next step is to install a kind of drywall called green board, which is moisture-resistant, making it a bit more expensive than normal drywall. Install an exterior-grade door to the wine cellar and your climate control plan is finished.

Lighting and UV Exposure Control

Wine is destroyed by UV exposure, which is why the bottles are usually made out of dark glass. Avoid putting in fluorescent bulbs in the wine cellar room, as they give off UV radiation. Control the brightness by using recessed lighting on a dimmer and avoid shining light directly on your wine bottles for long periods of time. Some wine racks are constructed with compartments that hide bottles from the light which can help reduce exposure, but if your bottles are stowed in clear view, try to avoid the "spotlight" effect on your bottles.

Other Concerns

Just about any kind of flooring can be used in your custom wine cellar. If your home is big enough for a tasting room to complement your cellar, you may want to give them both a matching look, but by no means use carpet and rugs in the cellar area. They simply can't hold up to the required humidity levels without giving away to mold. Mold growth will spoil your wine, as can any powerful odor from chemicals or cheeses. A wine cellar should be used only to hold wine; store food in a separate area.

At all times check the temperature and humidity in your wine cellar with an external sensor or gauge. Never assume that the wine cooling component will always function properly. A quick look at the external gauge can offer you early warning if the wine cooling system is having difficulties, or if the unit is showing a wrong readout because of a bad sensor or other technical problems.

Making a custom wine room may ask for some attention to the design demands of good wine storage, but once correctly built, you may realize that your collection grows rapidly; it's simple to invest more money in wine when you know it will be held securely for maximum delight.

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Natirar Park in Peapack-Gladstone in Somerset County will host the annual Blues & Wine Festival on Memorial Day Weekend, May 26-27, from noon to 5 p.m. The festival will be sponsored by the Garden State Wine Growers Association (GSWGA).

This year, the association’s first outdoor wine tasting event of the year will offer a sampling of more than 250 award winning New Jersey wines from over 20 wineries and gourmet foods within the confines of one of the most beautiful park settings in the state.

Admission is $25 per person at the door and includes a souvenir wine glass. Attendees will be able to purchase wine by the bottle and case. Advance tickets are also available for $20 by going online at newjerseywines.com. All of the wines available for sampling have been locally produced and feature a number of gold, silver and bronze award winning vintages from major national competitions including the San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, The Los Angeles County Fair Wine Competition, the Finger Lakes International Wine Competition and the Beverage Testing Institute Wine Challenge.

“We think our event menu of great food, award-winning wine and classic blues provides the perfect way to celebrate Memorial Day weekend,” said Ollie Tomasello, Chairman of the Garden State Wine Growers Association and owner of Plagido’s Winery in Hammonton. “There’s no more beautiful a setting than Natirar Park. We hope everyone can come out and spend some time sampling the best that New Jersey wineries have to offer.”

Local musical talent is scheduled to perform at the festival. Featured performers include Slackjaw Blues Band featuring Nasty Ned (slackjawbluesband.com) on May 26 and the Shade Tree Mechanics Band (shadetreemechanicsband.com) on May 27.

Slackjaw is a blues and rock band from New Jersey. Founded by John Thompson and Randy Marinelli, they have created a band with a style all their own. With influences such as Joe Bonamassa, Eric Clapton, BB King, all the way to Steve Vai and Joe Satriani, they have made an impact on the local band scene. Carl Capodice and Lenny De Piano soon joined the band and now Slackjaw has a new sound of blues and rock.

Shadetree Mechanics Band has been the runner up for JSJBF, Memphis Blues competition the last four years in row. The band consists of guitarist, Redman and blues harp player JP Palooch. Bassist, Elmo John and drummer Ray G and Pat G on keyboards. Rounding out this high energy band is The Rev (Mike Rochelle), originally from Chicago, now residing in New Jersey. The band plays a mix of standard and contemporary blues covers, as well as original songs from their last two self-produced CD's.
Winners of the recent New Jersey Wine Competition will be showcasing their medals at the event where the 2012 New Jersey Winery of the Year will be unveiled.

Wineries at the Festival include 4JG's, Almathea Cellars, Auburn Road Winery & Vineyard, Bellview Winery, Cava Winery, Chestnut Run Farms, Coda Rossa, Cream Ridge Winery, DiBella Winery, DiMatteo Winery, Four Sisters Winery, Heritage Vineyards, Hopewell Valley Vineyards, Old York Cellars, Plagido's Winery, Renault Winery, Sharrott Winery, Silver Decoy Winery, Tomasello Winery, Unionville Vineyards, Valenzano Winery, Ventimiglia Winery, and Wagonhouse Winery. The event comes on the heels of the GSWGA’s indoor Spring Fever Wine Festival at Branches in West Long Branch, which drew over 1,500 attendees on April 1.

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Could a wine glass shaped roughly like a closed tulip blossom revolutionize the savoring of fine vintages by taming the alcohol in the wine?

That's the hope of French luxury crystal glassmaker Baccarat, which recently began sales of its new line of glasses in Hong Kong, where wine imports have remained strong on the back of strong demand from mainland Chinese buyers even amid global economic uncertainty.

"People tend to confuse good wine with alcohol in wine, which is not what we want," said Bruno Quenioux, technical adviser of the Chateau Baccarat collection of professional wine glasses, which went on sale in France earlier this year.

"What is complicated with wine is to get the balance between the fire and water. Get too much fire in the wine and you lose the message of the water... But if you put too much water in the fire, then the fire is dead."

The glass has a broad base that evokes the tastevin, a saucer-like cup used by winemakers and sommeliers to taste wines, sloping sides and an unusually narrow lip at the end of a vertical "chimney" that the company says prevents the alcohol from overpowering other aromas since it sinks down when the glass is swirled prior to tasting.

"The main subject in the final stretch should no longer be the alcohol anymore, but the aromas and the bouquet the fine wines have to offer," Quenioux told Reuters, adding that the new glass made the aroma more subtle.

"You can see the smokiness, some flowers, definitely the glass leads you to have the mineral side of the wine... When you go back to the regular glass, you have rusticity. You have something not so subtle."But other glassmakers disagree, saying there is still merit in time-honored variations tailored to the different wine varieties - variations to which they have given subtle modern twists.

"I think as people start appreciating wine more, that they will appreciate a pinot glass, a cabernet glass, a shiraz glass. They're all a little bit different," said Suresh Kanji, a Hong Kong-based distributor for Riedel Crystal, based in Austria.

The ubiquitous Riedel has put efforts into developing different glasses for different varieties through the years and in the 1970s discovered that each separate variety had a specific DNA. "Based on that DNA, the shape of the glass actually makes the experience for the consumer very, very different," said Kanji.

"The big bowl - great for red wine. The smaller glasses - good for white wine... Every glass was fine-turned for the specific DNA of what you're drinking."Wine experts agree that given the differences in how "forthcoming" each variety may be, proper handling of the alcohol in fine wines is key.

"Burgundy is very delicate wine, so it needs a larger surface area to release and free its aromas," said Debra Meiburg, a Master of Wine and wine journalist. "Burgundy (glasses) comes to quite a narrow lose at the chimney in order to capture the aroma and trap them in the glass."

And yes, she said, the glass does matter. "Of course any glass would work. But just as you would prefer not to drink your coffee in a paper cup, it's always nicer to have the right quality of glass."

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Not everyone is familiar with the history of Hungarian Wines; but there is a long wine tradition in that country with some of the most famous sweet wine around. As Hungary comes to the foreground, more are becoming familiar of this tradition faster than ever. They've been in operation since the days of the Roman Empire and contain many different grape varieties. Radical temperaturee differences in Hungary's weather plays a large role in the viticulture of the country.

This different atmospheric conditioncreates a mixture of soil conditions that allow wine makers to produce quite a variety of wines, many of them sweet. Many people are unaware of the fact that it is the diversity of climate that accounts for the flavor of many of the fine wines in the world today.

The most renowned sweet wine of Hungary is the Tokaji Aszu. It has been part of the Hungarian Wine tradition . Noble rot did not have a part in making Tokaji until the 16th century. During the delay, the grapes developed noble rot, or had the fungus botrytis cinerea grow on them. The resulting grape, called aszu in Hungary, has a high concentration of sugars.

Only four types of grapes can be used to make to Tokaji: sarga muskotaly, oremus, furmint and harslevelu. Furmint grapes are the most frequently used grape used in tokaji wines.

There are several reasons why furmint grapes work well with noble rot. First, as furmint grapes become ripe, their skins become thinner, allowing evaporation that leads to a higher sugar content. Then these grapes grow a second skin that prevents the grape from rotting. Furmint grapes stay on the vine until they develop noble rot, further concentrating their sugars. Conditions that enable the creation of aszu grapes do not happen frequently, with roughly 3 vintages every 10 years. Not only is the area where the grapes for these wines limited, the weather conditions must be right. This makes aszu wines rare.

This is not to say that the grapes that are not aszu go to waste. They are used to make other kinds of wines. Thought to have healing powers, the popularity of Tokaji Aszú was spread in the middle 17th century by European aristocracy who sought after the sweet dessert wines. Today it is still one of the most popular dessert wines available to the world and is even sung about in the Hungarian National Anthem.

When looking at tokaji wines, you may find "puttonyons" on the label, indicating the sweetness of the wine that you are buying. Puttonyons range from 3, or 60 grams of sugar per litre, to 6, or 150 grams of sugar per litre or even to Eszencia which can be up to 600 grams of sugar per litre #/2# There are 4categories of Hungarian Tokaji: Aszu, Szamorodni, Aszu-Eszencia, and Eszencia. Aszu is the premium wine and is made from late-harvest grapes. Szamorodni combines all of the grapes left over at the end of the season, regardless of their condition. This mixture is fermented, resulting in a strong, dark-yellow wine that does not have as good a reputation as the other types. Eszencia is the rarest of the wine types and must have a minimum 500 grams of sugar per liter.

Members of the European Union can no longer label their wines tokaji or tokay. Since the United States is not bound by agreements of the Europena Union, wine labeled as tokay might be produced here. For real tokaji sweet wines, look for wines imported from Hungary.

Bikaver, or Bull's Blood of Eger, is another common Hungarian food wine. From the name you might surmise this is a red wine, and you'd be correct. It is a sweet red wine of rich dark color. Despite it being a sweet red wine and going well with desserts Egri Bikavér is made more for pairing with food.

Whether it's a bottle of Aszu or the rich Egri Bikavér, Hungarian Wines will prove to be of high quality. As more doors open to the world of wine within Hungary, you will be able to find more styles of sweet wine for beginners in your local wine shops.

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Freud struggled to find an answer to the question “What does a woman want?” Ninety-odd years later, some in the wine industry think they know. According to the new “girly-wine” brand marketers, we want to be skinny, to toss our hair playfully like ponies as we pick our bottles to match moods, not foods. We also crave an easy-sipping flavor profile with a naughty edge of sweetness.

High-heeled shoes star in our fantasies. Well, maybe they got that one right. But aren’t Canadian wine maker Strut’s labels featuring photos of long, shapely, perfect legs emerging from short skirts a guy fantasy?

Just looking at them makes me want to forget about drinking and head for the gym.
In the past few years the wine world has finally discovered that women drinkers are a coveted customer niche.

Hello? We’re the sex that makes up nearly 60 percent of U.S. wine consumers, according to the Beverage Information Group’s 2011 Wine Handbook. Which is why there are so many companies are starting up lines of wines for chicks. Most are targeting women 21 to 34, but their marketing efforts often treat this audience as if it had no more sophistication than a bevy of sorority sisters on spring break.

Flirty Moscato
Recently, global giant Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) launched four wines under the “Be.” label: Flirty, a pink moscato; Bright, a pinot grigio; Fresh, an unoaked chardonnay; and Radiant, a riesling. I guess so-called Millennial women are supposed to only turn to wine when they’re feeling upbeat, not when they’re tired and grumpy at the end of the day. Treasury’s website describes the pinot grigio mood: “Your sunny disposition sets your soundtrack to the soothing sounds of a steel drum band as you flip flop through fabulousness.”

This new marketing vision also assumes all women are diet- obsessed. Last month, three lower-calorie Skinnygirl wines from Beam Global Spirits & Wine Inc. hit retail shelves. Beam claims a five-ounce glass of any of the Skinnygirl wines contain 100 calories. (Typically, most wines contain 110 to 125, unless they’re sweet dessert bottlings.)

‘Real Housewives’
The white, red, and rose “guilt-free” blends are the first wines released by Skinnygirl which has been making premixed cocktails since it was founded in 2009 by reality TV- star Bethenny Frankel from “The Real Housewives of New York City.”

New York’s Mister Wright Fine Wines & Spirits stocks the rose, and so far the wine isn’t exactly flying out the door, according to manager Jodie Leishman. She also carries another “fun” wine brand for women, Mommy’s Time Out. “Moms buy it for a joke, when they’re going on a play date with their kids,” Leishman says. “They buy it for the name, not the wine. I keep it on a low shelf.”

Barbara Insel, president of St. Helena, California-based wine consulting firm Stonebridge Research, says men’s and women’s motivations are very different. “In focus groups, women say they buy wine to go with food, to relax, to drink with friends, to have fun.” Men, on the other hand, “say they drink for health, but off the record, they admit they buy wines that will impress their friends.”

Emotional Connection
The Middle Sister wine brand reflects this lifestyle approach, according to Mary Ann Vangrin, one of its three partners. She says women look for wines that offer an emotional connection. Its 10 sassy-style wines have personality-profile names like Drama Queen (pinot grigio), Smarty Pants (chardonnay) and best-selling Rebel Red (a blend). All share a flavor-phobic house style. “Women don’t want a wine that bites back. They like ripe, fruit-forward wines without a lot of tannin and oak,” says Vangrin. She should know: Middle Sister regularly solicits feedback from its 115,000 Facebook friends.

Deutsch Family Wine & Spirits, which brought us the ubiquitous Yellowtail, has launched its own new wine marketed to women, Flirt, a blend of syrah, zinfandel, and tempranillo. Its approach is obvious yet more subdued and somewhat less cringe- worthy than other brands. Think lipstick advertisement.

Blind Tasting
I almost forgot taste. I sampled a selection of all these blind alongside a few “non-women’s wines.”
What can I tell you? The girly brands tasted like neutered commercial plonk. Only three stood out as barely acceptable chilled plastic cup party fare: 2011 Skinnygirl White, 2011 Skinnygirl Rose, and 2011 Be. Fresh (chardonnay).

The bottom line? For the $10 to $15 that most of these cutsey bottling go for, drinkers seeking an emotional connection with what they swill in their glass could have real wine made by real people -- think rieslings, proseccos, roses, Beaujolais, Argentinean torrontes and malbecs -- you know, the kind of vino even guys like.

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It was 2:30 in the morning at the Wine Library Lounge and the last guests have bid their farewells.   Sam sat down on a small corner table to fill out the sales report.  With him was a half-empty bottle of 1979 Chateau Fonplegade, a lovely Grand Cru Classe from St. Emilion.  This one was from a collector's series featuring Van Gogh's "Route aux Cypress" on the label.   Earlier in one of the private rooms of the Wine Library Lounge a party of three had polished off three delicious Burgundy 1er Crus from vintages in the 70s.  Prudently, they decided to quit after finishing half of the fourth and last for the night.  The host was a compellingly elegant woman in a slender red business suit.  In a stylish gesture of generosity, she said to Sam. "Please remove the bottle at once before I force my guests to help me finish it."

Life as a sommelier is full of perks when the guests you serve have the style and the finesse.  Sam gets a kick out of serving guests who know how enjoy the game.   They get to enjoy the evening so much more than the others.

The Ch. Fonplegade was exactly the kind of company Sam needed after a hard-working evening.  Wine guys – sommeliers to students of the old school - are frequently regarded as necessary evils.  It is unfortunate but often true that a sommelier is perceived by customers as an obstacle to overcome because they can get what they want.  

C'mon, tell me one, please?"  She asked with the desperate charm of a whinchat.
Sam's good side completely dominated the man tonight.  "There was this gentleman the other evening.  He came in very late with a lovely lady as his date.  He opened doors for her, removed her coat and pulled her chair – the works.  It's the game – one of those things that make it fun to be a woman. He did it so well and she was soaking it up.  You can see it in her eyes trying to hide her adoration of the man.  Then I presented him with the wine menu."  Sam paused for a sip.

"What?" She exploded grabbing his hands with a fierce squeeze.  Sam went on to explain.

There aren't any logical explanations to why some customers feel intimidated about wine.  Dining out is a game.  Wine makes it more fun to play the game.  As a paying customer, you want to get the most out of your money.  That should include the full treatment which we don't get if we don't learn how to play the game.

Selecting the playground
Ordering the wine
Inspecting a bottle
Giving serving instructions
Tasting and approving the wine
Drinking and conversing
Corkage, tipping and BYO etiquettes
Let's look into these components one at a time.

The Ch. Fonplegade was exactly the kind of company Sam needed after a hard-working evening.  Wine guys – sommeliers to students of the old school - are frequently regarded as necessary evils.  It is unfortunate but often true that a sommelier is perceived by customers as an obstacle to overcome because they can get what they want.  

An eager young waitress sat down timidly in front of Sam.  Ordinarily she and her little dimple on her left cheek would have been woofed away.  Tonight, she even got a small glass of the wine.   She took that as a cue for permission to speak.

"Sam, you've been a wine guy for a number of years.  I'm sure you have some stories cellared in that wisdom chest inside your head.   C'mon, tell me one, please?"  She asked with the desperate charm of a whinchat.

Sam's good side completely dominated the man tonight.  "There was this gentleman the other evening.  He came in very late with a lovely lady as his date.  He opened doors for her, removed her coat and pulled her chair – the works.  It's the game – one of those things that make it fun to be a woman. He did it so well and she was soaking it up.  You can see it in her eyes trying to hide her adoration of the man.  Then I presented him with the wine menu."  Sam paused for a sip.

"Our suave Cary Grant froze into a bronze statue.  He just sat there forever staring at the menu without so much as a word or a hint that he was still breathing.    Now what could cause someone like that to stop dead on his tracks?"  Sam paused and looked into those big young shinny eyes.

"What?" She exploded grabbing his hands with a fierce squeeze.  Sam went on to explain.

There aren't any logical explanations to why some customers feel intimidated about wine.  Dining out is a game.  Wine makes it more fun to play the game.  As a paying customer, you want to get the most out of your money.  That should include the full treatment which we don't get if we don't learn how to play the game.

Learning the game is a lot simpler than most beginners might think.  But let's get one hang-up out of the way right now.  You don't need to learn French.   Whew!   And this game is definitely easier than singing or dancing. Every component of a little game is an opportunity for the player to have fun.  Once you know the game, they won't be obstacles anymore.

Selecting the playground
Ordering the wine
Inspecting a bottle
Giving serving instructions
Tasting and approving the wine
Drinking and conversing
Corkage, tipping and BYO etiquettes
Let's look into these components one at a time.

Selecting the playground
Divers and skiers are just as zealous when it comes to choosing a venue to satisfy their thirst for thrills and discoveries. Wine enthusiasts shouldn't settle for anything less either.  The fun and thrill of dining out is to experience something that we don't get at home.  If the wines served in a restaurant are stuff that you find in the neighborhood wine store, you have probably picked the wrong restaurant.  Good food can take you half way there at best.

A good restaurant always offers wines that are not readily available on retail.  They do so by investing in and maintaining a cellar to collect and age many bottles of the wine.

Reading the restaurant's wine menu may not be as engaging as reading Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, but it shouldn't feel like re-reading The Goblet of Fire (book 4 for those who is one generation behind) for the 18th time.   A great restaurant is obliged to offer a wine selection so wide and deep that it will keep you intrigued for endless return visits.

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Gifts have been into existent since time immemorial. Gifts are a way of showing love and affection towards an individual during an occasion. Gifts are being offered without any occasion just to show the other person the love and care. Gifts are a way of symbolizing Love and affection. Personalized gifts go a long way in expressing feelings. With a touch of personalization in any gift object one's own feelings comes to the surface without speaking.Now, the question of what to give as a gift object comes to the forefront.

The answer to this particular question is different for different people and is generally based on the age group and liking of a person. Most adults have a common choice while gifting a person of the same age group. This common choice of gift is nothing but Wine. Wine is a beverage which is alcoholic. It is basically made of fruit juice which is fermented. Grape is the main constituent of most of the wines in the world. Wines can be gifted in almost any occasion and when gifted in personalized wine bottles then it just adds to the celebration.

Personalised wine gifts lets an individual personalize the wine bottle with messages for the occasion. Messages usually vary according to occasion. If it is a birthday then birthday quotes on a wine bottle just does great. If it's an occasion of romance, then romantic quotes adds the necessary spice. Whatever it may be, a kind of magic is spread by personalised wine gifts. Gifting wine also has its disadvantages. Types of wine are into existence and not all types are preferred by all. White wine is preferred by many.

The color of the wine generally depends on the variety of the grape used in its making. White wine is generally the name given to wines of light color. Again color is not only the attribute upon which classification of wine is done. There are types of white wine too. Types of white wine are generally due to the difference of grape in use. Chardonnay is considered to be the queen in the domain of white wine. There are other varieties in existence too. Gifting a personalized wine bottle is always a great idea, however before gifting one's preference should always be known. None of us would ever want to end up gifting to our dear ones a type of wine that is disliked by them.

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As wine tasting is considered to be a very sophisticated practice there is a specific etiquette you have to follow. This etiquette should remain the same whether you are at a vineyard, a wine tasting private party, or in a restaurant.

When you have a wine tasting party you should only invite the amount of people that you can fit comfortably in the room you want to have your party. A crowd may be intimidating. You do not want any of your guests to feel like they are being rushed when they are pouring a glass or tasting the wine.

Always be sure to have bottled water on hand when you are having a wine tasting. This allows your guests to rinse their mouths out between tasting different wines. If you have just tasted a very heavy wine you must have water ready for the guests. If you do not then their next tasting may be tainted due to the heaviness lingering in their mouths. In addition, water is good because guests will get thirsty and they need to drink something other than the wine.

When you have a wine tasting it is important to provide foods for your guests. However, you also want to be sure to have food on hand that will not change the way the wine tastes in any way. The best snacks to have on hand include unflavored things like bread or unsalted crackers.

Decanting
Some people practice decanting before they serve wine at a wine tasting. This is very controversial to many different wine enthusiasts. Decanting is the process of letting wine breathe before you serve it.

Some people let their wine breathe for a few hours before they serve it. However, decanting is not just letting your wine breathe but it is when you pour your wine into a completely different container to allow the breathing. Some people even apply a special filter when decanting to remove bitter sediments that might have formed in the wine.

Younger bottles of wine benefit more to an aeration process than the older bottles. However, the sediment is more common with the older bottles. Many people say that airing out the bottle can relax the flavor of the wine, making them taste smoother. The wine might have better integration. However, all wines do not benefit from this method. Some wines are meant to drink immediately after popping the cork from the bottle.

The best way to tell if you need to let a bottle of wine air out or be decanted is to taste it first. As soon as you pull the cork off of the wine bottle you can tell by tasting if it needs to air out a little.

Blind Tasting
The best way to hold a wine tasting is by blindly serving the wine to your guests. This means that you do not want the guests to know what you are serving to them. You might want to serve the wine in a black wine glass. However, the guests should also not see the shape of the bottle of wine nor should they ever see the label on the bottle.

You never want a wine taster's judgment to be altered because they know specific details of a certain wine. Certain considerations that can alter a taster's judgment about wine include the price, reputation, color, and the geographic region the wine came from.

People have expectations about wine when they know these considerations. If a wine is very expensive or comes from a certain geographical region some people tend to have expectations of the different varietals. Eliminating expectations of the tasters allows a wine tasting to go smoother and the scores of the wines will be more accurate.

Vertical Tasting
When you have a vertical wine tasting you will have one varietal of wine from the same vintage. This means you might have the same wine from different years; 1999, 2000, 2001, etc. The most common purpose of tasting wines like this is to get a good idea of a certain wineries style and composition. You can also get an understanding how the different weather patterns affect grapes during certain years.

Horizontal Tasting
When a horizontal tasting occurs you will use the same wine from many different producers. This type of tasting will allow you to determine which wineries you think produce the better wine. This wine will be from the same year and the same type of wine but from different wineries.

Tasting Flights
When you hold a tasting flight you will have many glasses of wine out for the tasters to test. Next to each glass of wine you will have a card including the specifics of the wine; winery, geographical demographics, type, and more. Some flights include up to 50 glasses of wine to be tasted.

This gives a taster an idea what types of wines come from certain parts of the world and more. You can also get a good idea of the different tastes of the different types of wines when you taste wine through a flight.

Old World versus New World Tasting
Many people enjoy this type of wine tasting. The Old World according to wine enthusiasts is considered to be countries like France, Italy, Austria, Spain, etc. The New World is North America, South America, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia.

The reason these countries are considered to be the New World is because they are new to the wine producing industry and late starters. However, these countries are significant in producing wines.

Many people like to feature the same types of wines from the old and new worlds to determine which they like better. Some people like to do a horizontal or vertical method with this also. There are many ways to mix it up so you can make your wine tasting successful.

Wine and Cheese Tasting
There are many different palate influences that cheese has when you drink a particular wine. When you taste specific wine combinations properly you will understand how well cheese and wine really do go together.

The best way to serve a Cabernet sauvignon is with blue cheese. All you need is just a little. You might serve the blue cheese with an unflavored French bread also. The blue cheese acts by coating the mouth and laying a foundation which will soften the wine and make it taste very good.

The best way to test this is by taking a taste of the wine first. Wait a minute. Then take a bite of the cheese and take another drink. You will see a big difference.

Wine and Chocolate Tasting
Chocolate and wine can go together if you do it right. Some people completely disagree but this is because they do not know how to pair up the two together. When you drink wine with chocolate it is important to be sure the wine is as sweet as the chocolate you are serving. If you have a wine that is not as sweet as the chocolate it will cause the wine to taste very sour.

If you want to serve lighter wines at a wine tasting with chocolate it is best to stick with chocolates that are lighter also. For instance, the white chocolates are the best with the lighter wines. A white zinfandel will go very well when you pair it with a chocolate that is bittersweet.

Priceless Tasting
Priceless wine tasting is not telling the guests how much the bottle of wine costs. If you have several bottles of wine you don't want to let anyone know the price of the wine. When guests know what the price of the wine is their judgment is tainted. Never reveal the price of the wine.

If you feel you must tell the guests the price of the wine, be sure you tell them after the tasting is over. This is because it is a natural perception that an expensive wine is superior to a wine that costs a low dollar amount of money. This may be true in some circumstances but it isn't always the case. You don't want assumptions to be made before the wine has been tasted or it will ruin the wine tasting.

Price point Tasting
The price point tasting method is very similar to the priceless tasting. However, you will use wines that are in the same price range when you serve the wines. The important factor is to establish a baseline for the dollar amount and stick to it.

Big 8 Tasting
A Big 8 tasting includes a wine tasting of the different varietals of the Big 8 wines in a tasting flight. The big 8 wines include red and white wines. The red wines included in the Big 8 are Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, and Merlot. The white wines included in the Big 8 are the Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot, and the Sauvignon Blanc.

This is a great way to have a wine tasting if your guests don't know the differences with the different varietals. They can work their way through the wines and find out for themselves what each of the wines taste like and the differences.

This is a fun way to learn about the wines. When you have newer wine tasters this might be the first type of wine tasting you want to have at home. This way, the next wine tasting you have your friends will know what to expect with the different blends of wine.

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Not everyone is familiar with the history of Hungarian Wines; but there is a long wine tradition in that country with some of the most famous sweet wine around. As Hungary comes to the foreground, more are becoming familiar of this tradition faster than ever. They've been in operation since the days of the Roman Empire and contain many different grape varieties. Radical temperaturee differences in Hungary's weather plays a large role in the viticulture of the country.

This different atmospheric conditioncreates a mixture of soil conditions that allow wine makers to produce quite a variety of wines, many of them sweet. Many people are unaware of the fact that it is the diversity of climate that accounts for the flavor of many of the fine wines in the world today.

The most renowned sweet wine of Hungary is the Tokaji Aszu. It has been part of the Hungarian Wine tradition . Noble rot did not have a part in making Tokaji until the 16th century. During the delay, the grapes developed noble rot, or had the fungus botrytis cinerea grow on them. The resulting grape, called aszu in Hungary, has a high concentration of sugars.

Only four types of grapes can be used to make to Tokaji: sarga muskotaly, oremus, furmint and harslevelu. Furmint grapes are the most frequently used grape used in tokaji wines.

There are several reasons why furmint grapes work well with noble rot. First, as furmint grapes become ripe, their skins become thinner, allowing evaporation that leads to a higher sugar content. Then these grapes grow a second skin that prevents the grape from rotting. Furmint grapes stay on the vine until they develop noble rot, further concentrating their sugars. Conditions that enable the creation of aszu grapes do not happen frequently, with roughly 3 vintages every 10 years. Not only is the area where the grapes for these wines limited, the weather conditions must be right. This makes aszu wines rare.

This is not to say that the grapes that are not aszu go to waste. They are used to make other kinds of wines. Thought to have healing powers, the popularity of Tokaji Aszú was spread in the middle 17th century by European aristocracy who sought after the sweet dessert wines. Today it is still one of the most popular dessert wines available to the world and is even sung about in the Hungarian National Anthem.

When looking at tokaji wines, you may find "puttonyons" on the label, indicating the sweetness of the wine that you are buying. Puttonyons range from 3, or 60 grams of sugar per litre, to 6, or 150 grams of sugar per litre or even to Eszencia which can be up to 600 grams of sugar per litre #/2# There are 4categories of Hungarian Tokaji: Aszu, Szamorodni, Aszu-Eszencia, and Eszencia. Aszu is the premium wine and is made from late-harvest grapes. Szamorodni combines all of the grapes left over at the end of the season, regardless of their condition. This mixture is fermented, resulting in a strong, dark-yellow wine that does not have as good a reputation as the other types. Eszencia is the rarest of the wine types and must have a minimum 500 grams of sugar per liter.

Members of the European Union can no longer label their wines tokaji or tokay. Since the United States is not bound by agreements of the Europena Union, wine labeled as tokay might be produced here. For real tokaji sweet wines, look for wines imported from Hungary.

Bikaver, or Bull's Blood of Eger, is another common Hungarian food wine. From the name you might surmise this is a red wine, and you'd be correct. It is a sweet red wine of rich dark color. Despite it being a sweet red wine and going well with desserts Egri Bikavér is made more for pairing with food.

Whether it's a bottle of Aszu or the rich Egri Bikavér, Hungarian Wines will prove to be of high quality. As more doors open to the world of wine within Hungary, you will be able to find more styles of sweet wine for beginners in your local wine shops.

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If you will be hosting a dinner party for friends, family or colleagues, it is always a good idea to put some thought into correctly pairing the wine to the food. Certain wines go better with certain foods. This is usually true when dinning at an upscale restaurant, where the menus have wine recommendations next to the food selections. For wine food pairing ideas, search the internet or contact one of those restaurants where they are more than willing to help you. For your dinner party to go smoothly, and for it to be as memorable as possible, selected your wines and foods according to wine food pairing techniques and plan everything down to the smallest detail. This will surely have them talking about your dinner party for a long time.

Wine food pairing is important because some wines are sweet, others are bitter, and these flavors go better with certain foods. Just about every wine goes great with cheese, for example, that's why you see that wine and cheese are sold in the same places. However, some don't go very well with some foods. Wine tasting will help you to see which ones go best with certain foods.

Red wine
Red wine pairs great with foods containing pasta and red sauce, like Italian food. It also goes well with beef and chocolate. In addition, certain red wines, like Pinot Noir, go well with pork. There are many types of red wine, so you should do more research to determine if the food you plan to serve goes well with it.

White wines
As for white wine food pairing, it's excellent for poultry and Asian food. It also pairs great with seafood, such as mussels shellfish. You can also pair it with certain appetizers.

Sparkling Wines
A perfect choice for after dinner is a sparkling wine. It goes well with desserts and fruits. Like white wine, they also pair great with some appetizers.

This is simply a general list of wine food pairing options. If you are unsure about pairing, you always have the internet at your disposal or you can read a good wine guide. You can even ask a chef or call your favorite restaurant. Pairing your wine and food properly will certainly contribute to your dinner being a great success and your guess walking away satisfied.

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