Wine Road Less Traveled Articles About Fine Wine and Dining

Calories in Wine

Sat, 24 Oct 2009 17:48:07 -0400

Ever wonder how many calories there are in a glass of wine? Many, especially those trying to lose a little weight, have probably wondered. Unlike lite beer, wine bottles typically do not carry calorie information...

Wine Resources / Wine Information From the United States

Sun, 21 Jun 2009 17:04:28 -0400

Following you will find links to useful resources for wine from Unites States. In the United States there is less government sponsorship of wine promotion sites, with the exception of some state governments, and more sponsorship from grape grower and wine producer organizations. Following you will find links to grape grower associations, wine grower associations, winery associations, and state sponsored sited promoting wine...

DVDs and Videos About Wine

Fri, 22 May 2009 08:48:36 -0400

An excellent way to learn more about wine, wine regions, wine tasting, and other wine topics is from online videos about wine as well as DVDs on various wine topics. While perhaps not the most extensive subject in the DVD/Video catalog, there are still numerous excellent sources of online wine videos, as well as many good DVDs on wine topics...

Wine Making Supplies / Wine Making Equipment

Thu, 14 May 2009 18:07:18 -0400

The supplies needed by the home wine maker to make wine are not too extensive and not very expensive. Supplies needed fall into two categories:

The basic wine making equipment that you will use every time you make wine
The wine making supplies that you will need for each batch of wine that you make (e.g., grapes or grape juice etc.)...

Books About Making Wine

Tue, 12 May 2009 08:41:53 -0400

For those who are more adventurous, there are many excellent books that can take you through the process of making your own wine...

Wine Making / Home Wine Making

Tue, 5 May 2009 08:38:07 -0400

At its most basic, wine making is simply the combination of ripe grapes or grape juice with yeast. What ensues after these two ingredients are combined is a process known as fermentation. In fermentation, the yeast consumes the sugar in the grapes and produces carbon dioxide and alcohol.

While that all seems simple enough, as with anything, the devil is in the details. So let's take a step back and review the whole process of making wine from vineyard to bottle...

What's In the Bottle of Wine - Italy

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 08:42:38 -0400

As with most other European countries, knowing what is in a bottle of Italian wine can be difficult. That is because many Italian wines are labeled with the region of origin rather than grape variety. In fact, Italian wine can be labeled in one of there ways:

By geographic region or appellation of origin such as Chianti, Barolo, or Barbaresco
By region and varietal such a Barbara d'Alba (literally a wine made from the Barbera grape from the region of Alba)
By varietal

Obviously, the later two methods of labeling wine are the most helpful, as they both let you know what grape was used to make the wine...

What's In the Bottle of Wine - United States

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:34:31 -0400

The United States is one of the easier wine growing countries when it comes to understanding what is in a bottle of wine. That is because the vast majority of wineries in the United States label by wine variety. Therefore, a wine that says Chardonnay on it contains wine made from the Chardonnay grape.

While that is pretty simple and straight forward, there are a few nuances that are worth noting.

Riesling Grape

Mon, 6 Apr 2009 08:46:32 -0400

The Riesling grape is widely considered to be one of the top 3 white wine varieties, along with Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. It is a green skinned grape variety of Vitis Vinifera used to make white wine. The Riesling grape originates from the Rhine region of Germany and is Germany's most planted wine grape. It is a grape variety that prefers cooler growing regions....

Wine Tasting - Getting to Know White Wine

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 09:10:37 -0400

Learning about wine can be the beginning of a life-long adventure. Wine can add to social occasions and enhance almost any meal. Part of learning about wine is tasting wine to determine what you like and dislike.

Most people start their journey of wine discovery with white wine. That is why the first wine tasting that we have designed is focused on white wine....

Wine Magazines / Wine Publications

Wed, 25 Mar 2009 08:57:37 -0400

There are numerous wine magazines published for both wine consumers and the wine trade. Many are world-wide in scope covering wine and wineries from around the world. Others are regional in focus, only covering the wines and wineries of a particular wine growing region.

Wine publications are an excellent source of information, education, and wine industry news. They also tend to cover food, fine dining, and pairing wine and food. This article provides a a listing of many of the more popular wine magazines...

Wine Education / Wine Classes

Thu, 12 Mar 2009 12:39:10 -0400

An excellent way to learn more about wine is to attend a wine class or other wine education event. Many wine events include classes on both wine and food. In addition, there are many wine schools and other educational institutions that provide wine education...

Number of US Wineries by State

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 09:21:35 -0400

According to WineAmerica there were 4,712 wineries in the United States in 2007. This article provides a listing of the number of wineries by state ordered from the states with the most wineries to the states with the fewest wineries.

Decanting Wine

Wed, 4 Mar 2009 08:40:31 -0500

Decanting wine is the act of pouring wine, almost always red wine, from the bottle into a clear glass container from which the wine will later be served. There are really three reasons why one would want to decant wine, two of which are practical, while the third is more cosmetic....

Wine Serving Temperature

Tue, 3 Mar 2009 13:07:49 -0500

The temperature at which a bottle of wine is served can impact the way a wine tastes. At the "right" temperature, a wine will best display its aroma and flavor - too cold can mask aroma and flavor, and too hot can emphasize less desirable characteristics such as the alcohol. As a general rule of thumb, white wines should be served chilled, and red wines should be served "at room temperature" (more on room temperature in a minute)...

Storing an Open Bottle of Wine

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 09:15:06 -0500

So you have an open bottle of wine that you have not finished with your evening meal and you want to save it to drink later. What to do?

Wine Storage

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:15:44 -0500

Wine storage can serve several functions. The first function is practical - wine needs to be stored somewhere before it is consumed, and the "somewhere" should not be detrimental to the health of the wine in the bottle.

Serving Wine

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:15:40 -0500

Serving wine should not be a big deal. At its most basic level, serving wine is simply the process of opening a bottle of wine and pouring it into a glass. There are, however, a few things that can help with the enjoyment and appreciation of the wine being served. In this section we provide a few suggestions that may make the wine drinking experience more pleasant, enjoyable, and memorable.

Understanding Organic Wine

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:15:37 -0500

Interest in organic food is growing substantially, and wine is no exception. Many wine consumers now actively look for organic wines. This begs the question - "what is an organic wine?"

Wine is both an agricultural product and an alcoholic beverage. As such, it comes under the jurisdiction of two U.S. regulatory organizations - the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF)...

American Viticultural Areas / AVAs

Fri, 27 Feb 2009 09:15:34 -0500

An American Viticultural Area or AVA is a designated wine grape-growing region in the U.S. AVA boundaries are defined by the U.S. Department of the Treasury Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).

An AVA may also be referred to as an Appellation of Origin.

According to the TTB, there are 191 AVAs in the United States as of May, 2007. As one would expect, well over half of these (108) are in California. While there are wineries in all 50 states, there are only AVAs in 30.

This article provides a list of the states with the most AVAs.