Essential Vine Training and Pruning Tips

Essential Vine Training and Pruning Tips

Vine Training Tips

As springtime approaches, winemakers and vineyard experts turn their attention to the crucial task of training and pruning their vines. Proper training and pruning ensure the health and longevity of the vines and contribute to the quality of the grapes. This post explores types of vine training methods to help make informed decisions on how to train your vines.
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Sta Rita Hills AVA

Sta Rita Hills AVA

A True California Wine AVA

The Sta Rita Hills AVA (American Viticultural Area) is a wine-growing region located in Santa Barbara County, California. The cool climate, marine influence, and diverse soil types create ideal growing conditions for a variety of grape varietals, including Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. Read More

Oak and Wine – A Beautiful Relationship

Oak and Wine – A Beautiful Relationship

The Traditionally, Oak & Wine Forever Married!

Oak & Wine is like peanut butter & jelly! It is one of the biggest influences on the flavor of the wine. It simply affects the maturity, flavor, and subtle texture. Some people are prejudiced against oaked wine and complain of even the slightest hint of oak. It is common for experts to agree that if a wine is =carefully aged in oak it does not taste like wood, but has improved characteristics. Read More

Finding Wine Deals

Finding Wine Deals

Finding Wine Deals is a skill!

Finding wine deals can leave you feeling discontent and agitated after getting a bad bottle of wine. In fact, there is an air of satisfaction just knowing that you have found true wine values in your purchases. Read More

Racking Wine

Racking Wine

Racking Wine is a Timing Game

Racking wine is one of the most essential parts of making stellar wine. Generally, you will need to rack the wine at least two times and in some cases, you may need to rack it as many as four times. Making sure that you rack in a timely fashion will ensure the wine is properly clarified as well as prevent off-flavors. Read More

Sangria Summer Nights

Sangria Summer Nights

What is Sangria?

For years now a staple to my summertime diet has been to have a glass or two of sangria while sitting out on my patio on those warm summer evenings with friends. Sangria is a wine-based punch that originates from Portugal and Spain. The word “sangria” is derived from the Spanish word “sangre” which means blood. Sangria is usually made from red wine, sliced citrus fruit, sugar, and a spirit such as brandy or triple sec. Read More

The Joys Of White Wine

The Joys Of White Wine

Red wines have been very popular lately, thanks to medical reports about their antioxidant and heart-protecting properties. It’s true that red wines are amazing, but that doesn’t mean the other less noticed kinds of wine are bad. White wines are in fact divine, when it comes to their subtle aroma and taste it’s more than the senses with a right amount of sweetness and delicately combined with mild sources. Read More

Aging Wine

Aging Wine

Aging wine allows many of the components of the wine to mellow out over time, and bring a harmonious balance to the flavor.

Wine HangoverWine is a complex substance. Open a bottle of it now, and it may taste fine. Open a bottle of the same wine several years from now, and the wine becomes something else entirely. Rough edges in the flavor will have smoothed out and the overall flavor of the wine will be more balanced and mellow. Read More

Buy California Wine

Buy California Wine

Most American wines are mass-produced general wines; often having the brand name of the region where these are produced.

About 90 percent of American wines are produced in the California region. Cold areas like Napa Valley, Sonoma Country, etc are the primary wine-producing regions. The most prestigious wine in California is the Pinot & Chardonnay from the central coast area of Lompoc. This wine is almost equal to any classic European wine. California wines have higher alcoholic contents, aroma & flavor compared to any European wine. Read More

7 Tips To Get Rid Of A Wine Hangover

7 Tips To Get Rid Of A Wine Hangover

How about teaming up your favorite meal with the best of wine this weekend? It sounds like a great idea but you might overindulge, and, well, you may not mind this but what about the wine hangover you have to face, the other morning. How about spending your entire Sunday afternoon sitting inside the bathroom, with one hand on your forehead and the other on your stomach? Scary isn’t it? Read More

Have You Tried Local Wines?

Have You Tried Local Wines?

You may have your favorite imported French wine or that exquisite Italian red wine you love. Yet, you may find that your local area also has more than a few wine choices available to you, too. Local wine may be a great investment for the individual who is looking for quality wines that may have a new twist in taste or be something that is excellent in flavor to match local dishes. Take some time to find out if there are local wines made within your own state that could be added to your wine collection. You may be surprised at what you do find. Read More

Choosing a Dessert Wine

Choosing a Dessert Wine

Most people know you should choose white wine with white meat and red wine with red meat, but what about dessert wine? Is there a protocol for choosing a dessert wine? One of the most important things to remember is to not serve desserts that are so sweet that they give the wine an overpowering taste. You want to choose a wine that will complement your dessert and add to an already elegant taste. If you do anything less you are not doing a service to your dessert, wine or guests. Read More

Red or White: Making the Right Decision

Red or White: Making the Right Decision

When it comes to wine, choosing the right one can sometimes create a challenge. Should you choose red or white? When and why? Certainly, there is protocol such as red wine with red meat and white wine with white meat, but is that always necessary? Some people prefer to simply serve their wine of choice without worrying about choosing a wine to go with a particular meal and though that may be fine in most cases, there are times when it might not be acceptable. For instance, a red fruity wine with fish may cause a metallic taste if the wine includes tannin. That means if you want to serve red wine with fish you have to make sure you choose one that does not include tannin. Read More

Different Approaches to Wine Tasting

Order of Tasting

When you have a wine tasting party or you taste wine with your friends it is very important to serve the wine in the proper order. The appropriate order of wine tasting goes like this. Elderly tasters are always served first, no matter what the gender is. Women will be served next. The men should be served after the women. The host is always served after everyone in the room has a glass.

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Wine Glass Choice & Care

Choosing a Wine Glass

When choosing wine glasses it is important to think about a few things. You usually want a large bowl on your wine glass when tasting red wines. This gives you adequate room on the glass to swirl the wine and more of a surface area. These glasses should allow you to pour in from 10 to 20 ounces of wine in them. The best red wine glasses are oval shaped and they narrow slightly at the top of the glass. Read More


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