Monthly Archives: December 2010

Brown Brothers Australian Wines

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Lovers of wine know that some of the best wines are produced in the so-called “new world” such as Australia and South Africa. It’s no longer the case that the “old world” wines, traditionally from France, are better. In fact, the phrase, “new world” is not very appropriate when you consider the number of years that some Australian wine makers have been in business. For example, the Brown Brothers have been producing grapes and wine in Australia for many years. The actual vineyards date back to 1885 when John Francis Brown started cultivating ten acres at Milawa, Victoria, Australia in a partnership with his father. In 1896 John Francis Brown bought out his father and named the vineyard, “Brown Brothers”. He hoped his brothers would join him, but they never did.

Despite various problems, both economic and with pests ruining the vineyards, Brown Brothers expanded over the years, producing fortified wines such as Muscat and Port as well as Shiraz, Tokay, Malbec, Pedro Ximines, Riesling and Golden Chasselas. John Francis passed the running of Brown Brothers to John Charles Brown, his son, but it’s John Francis Brown’s picture that’s been printed on every label since 1970.

Tarrango is a unique slow-ripening Australian grape variety which was created in 1965 at the Horticultural Research Station at Merbein, Australia by crossing the Portuguese red grape variety Touriga Nacional and the white sultana table grape. The wine has good acidity but is low in tannin. Named after the small township of Tarrango in the Mallee area of Victoria, Brown Brothers have been making winesfrom Tarrango since 1980 and, in recent years, a small amount of fruit has been fermented in the same manner as used in the production of Beaujolais.

The Tarrango wine has light flavours of ripe cherry, raspberry, redcurrant and subtle hints of spice. It’s a light red wine made from the tarrango grape variety. This wine is sometimes called, “Australia’s answer to Beaujolais”, and is best served chilled. The most suitable food to eat with tarrango wine is either a spicy Indian curry which blends wonderfully with the fruitness of the wine, or, alternatively, a spicy Italian sausage pizza! Continue reading →

How To Host A Wine Tasting Party

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Hosting a wine tasting party is a great option for someone who wants to have a get together with friends, but wants to try something different.  Less labor intensive than a dinner party, a wine tasting party is both fun and educational for everyone. Here are six sure fire tips to hosting the perfect wine tasting party.

Step 1: Preparation
Wine tastings work best with small groups, usually eight to twelve people. The supplies you need are a corkscrew, one wineglass per person, a wine charm for each glass, paper and pencil for each person, a plastic cup each guest, room temperate water and/or bread to cleanse the palate between tastings.

Step 2: Wine Selection
Here your choices are wide open, depending on your personal taste. For a simple tasting, select 3 bottles each of white and red wines. Another option is to select a theme for the evening, such as Chardonnay wines in the $10 to $20 price range, Provence wine tasting, cabernet wine tasting or even wines less than $8. Find a theme that is a good match for your group and sample wines based on that theme.

Step 3: Set Up the Tasting
It’s nice to have a table or counter to display the wines for everyone to view. A nice extra touch is to have a note or card which tells a little about the wine: the vineyard, year and perhaps a description from the wine label or a wine review.

Each guest should have a place mat for their wine glass and each wine glass should have a wine charm. This will keep the glasses from getting mixed up.

Everyone will also need a notepad or tasting card to keep write down their thoughts about each wine. And last but not least, everyone will need a plastic cup. Continue reading →

Purse your passion for Home Wine Making

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Wines have always fascinated men and women due to their rich and exclusive taste and wine making at home have been a favorite activity with wine lovers. Wine making is a simple process provided one is equipped with the right Wine Equipments and a suitable Wine Kit. Home-made wines have become such a rage among wine lovers that there is growing demand for these products in the market to produce fine quality wines.

Today, many people are involved in refining the art of wine making and generating some great varieties of wines just sitting at their homes. As the process doesn’t involve much paraphernalia but a handful of instruments, it has been taken even by those who have very little knowledge as to how to make wine at home. However, there are several suppliers of wine making kits, wine equipments, ingredients and other wine making supplies that have provided the much required support to wine enthusiasts thus helping them to pursue their passion.

Some people indulge in home wine making out of their genuine interest to produce wines of rare quality and taste while some take it as a leisure activity. No matter what the reason may be, the art of wine making is enough to keep one interested and engaged till the time wine is ready to consume. In simplest terms, a wine is made by adding yeast to grape juice or any other juice as one may like, the yeast then acts on sugar to produce carbon dioxide gas and alcohol. The gas bubbles out while the alcohol content remains and is called wine. It is the basic principle behind wine making at home. Continue reading →

What is a Dry White Wine?

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If you are wondering what a dry white wine is, it’s basically a white wine with less sugar in it.  This means that you’ll get a taste that has very little sweetness to it since most of the natural sugar in the wine has been consumed during the fermentation process.  You’ll also notice a higher than average alcohol content as opposed to sweet or fruity white wines since the sugar consumed are converted into alcohol during the process.

Dry white wines are usually those wines that have less residual sugar to them or a higher acidity value.  A very interesting thing about wine is that there are those wines that taste a lot sweeter than over ones even though they have less residual sugar in them.  The level of acidity the wine suppresses the sweetness the wine gives out so a white wine with 15% residual sugar with high acidity can taste less sweet than a wine with 8% sugar to it.  Dry white wine is definitely a nice addition to your cooking whenever it calls for something crisp with it.

The Common Dry White Wines

If ever you’re looking for some neat dry wines to use on your cooking, remember that using cooking wine isn’t at all advisable since it will give the end product a very inferior taste.  You should never use undrinkable wine on your cooking if you really want the best out of your cooking experience.  There are several dry white wines for you to choose from and each of them has their own characteristics and flavors.  If ever you’re looking for something that has a crisp, yet citrus flavor, you’d best go for Sauvignon Blanc.  It has a bright acidity to it and you’ll be able to recognize traces of fruit, herbs, and minerals as well. Continue reading →