The main reason I do it is so that the natural light coming in from the window doesn’t interfere with the wine.  If you don’t do this you could fall prey to the following:

1. The colour of your wine could fade
2. The heat from the light could cause temperatures of your wine must to go up and down throughout the day.
3. The UV light could damage your wine

I’m sure you’ve heard that you should store your wine in a cool dark room and not use clear bottles for your wine and this is why.

I was reading the December 2008 - January 2009 edition of WineMaker Magazine and saw a great idea, which I wanted to pass along. It basically takes my idea and gives a bit of a nudge.

Instead of using an old towel Scott Freedman from http://homemadewine.wordpress.com/ suggested using an old t-shirt instead.

It sounded like a great a idea so I gave it a try this evening and it works perfectly!

Think about it, the hole for the head fits nicely over the neck of the carboy (we wrapped it around the neck) and a large shirt is long enough/wide enough to fit around a 23-litre carboy.

Give it a try and let me know what you think!

- Scott “The Wine Making Guy’

I call it the “Double Whammy”!

Step 1 - Pink Solution (Sani Brew)

It’s comes as chlorinated pink powder that you dissolve 3.5 g per litre of cold water (5 tsp. per gal). Soak stained equipment up to 48 hours. Rinse thoroughly with hot water. Because it’s a chlorine product you want to be careful with stainless steel equipment and you’ll also want to make sure you rinse really well. I like soaking my wine and beer bottles in it for several days to clean all the “gunge” out of them, especially if they’re used. It’s also great for removing stains from your equipment (especially your primary).

Step 2 - MetaBisulphite spray down.

This is a good sanitizer as well but doesn’t clean like in step one hence why I do both.  I use a spray bottle like the one below as it really helps get you good coverage.  The nice thing about the MetaBisulphite solution is that it is reusable for up to a month.  Note that it has a strong sulphur smell so use it in a well ventilated area so you don’t irritate your lungs.  I typically rinse my equipment after using it but some people just let their equipment drip dry as it won’t be a bad thing if it gets into your wine as it will help prevent oxidization.

Anyhoo, that’s basically what I do to clean my equipment.

Oh … one thing you might want to do is go to your hardware store and invest in a short garden hose that you can attach to a tap as this’ll help you clean your primary and secondary.  I was able to pick one up that was about 6 feet long with one end open and the other with the tap connector. I’ve used it for years and it makes things really easy. Make sure that you clean this out first (i.e. in step 1) so that you clean out any bugs that might be lurking in it as well.

If you’re interested in some more details on how to clean your equipment here are two good resources for you:

• http://www.clickabrew.com/cn-0903.html (scroll down the page and look for “Cleaning & Sanitising your Winemaking Equipment”
• http://www.eckraus.com/Cleaners_-and-_Sanitizers.html (an online store where you can buy some of the sanitizers)
• http://www.grapestompers.com/sanitation.asp (lot’s of great detail here)

If you have any interesting cleaning methods please share below!

- Scott

Food Selections With Red Wine

Red Fruit Wines is said to enhance the flavors of the food and in most cases provide a set of supporting not overpowering tastes to your meal. Red wines are described in terms of body, depth of color, smoothness and mix of tastes and tannins. Cabernets and merlots are red wines that should not bite when they go down and should be soothing to the palette. It is for these reasons that the traditionalists favored food and wine pairings that combined these red wines with red meats such as beef, and exotics such as ostrich and emus. Other red wines that are usually paired in this way are varietals from Spain, such as the Rioja and the red Bordeaux’s from France and some of the Tignanellos from the Tuscany region in Italy. Of course not all red wines should be thought of in this way.

There are many red wines today that are more sweet or lighter in nature. Food and wine pairings for Texas red, Beaujolais Nouveau or a Valpolicella can be extended to almost anything you eat. These wines are often drunk a little chilled and can add to any meal. Roses can also be included in this category and outstanding food and wine pairings with a good Rose are easy.

The other most frequently drunk red Fruit Wine in Italy is the Chianti. It has been said that the right Chianti can be paired with almost any food and it is truly hard to argue that there is food and wine pairing that is wrong for good Chianti. However, there should be a warning on the label, bad Chianti ranks among the worst things anyone can imbibe. If you are serving up a grand meal make sure that you choose a good Chianti or the occasion will be a real disaster.

Food Selections With White Wine

Food and wine pairings for white wines and Liqueurs are traditionally very broad. Often lighter and crisper in taste many white wines can be used at all stages of a meal, depending on your palette and taste. Common main course food and wine pairings for white wine include Chardonnays with fish, poultry and roast pork. As deserts are offered sweeter desert wines such as a Sauterne may be offered. In fact, as with red wines there are perhaps no food and wine pairings that are bad if good choices are made. Wines such as Fume Blanc, or Cabernet Blanc or even a good Chablis or German wine can be served with any food. Who is to say what is right and wrong, as long as the particular food and wine pairing provides a pleasant eating experience.

A Tuscany wine tour typically starts around nine in the morning and ends around six in the evening. Also, the preferred ones include lunch in a unique setting as well. The prices of these tours can start at two hundred Euros and go up from there, and this price is simply for the mini-van and guide. The primary form of transportation for tours in Europe is the European styled mini-van. The more folks in the van the less expensive the tour will be on a per person basis. Some of the even better tours may actually include lunch and the wine as part of the fee. There are also evening Citrus Wine tours in Tuscany. The events of wine tasting and dinner are spectacularly merged with dinner facing the vineyard. These occasions are extremely memorable for the guests attending the dinner. Of course there are all forms of wine tours in Tuscany available and may include chauffeured limousines and individualized service. The choice is, of course, all dependent on your needs and budget. The second component of the decision is the vineyard and the wine.

The Perfect Chianti

The resulting Fruit Wines from the fermented grapes of the sangiovese vines in the region between Florence and Siena in central Italy are known as Chiantis. These are the primary target of the wine tour in Tuscany, though other wines might be thrown into the mix. Cabernet Sauvignon may be added to the base wine to provide additional robustness and body to the Chianti. Regardless of the form of grape, the color of the grape in Tuscany should be red, with but one or two white exceptional wines only. When selecting your tour check out the vineyard, consider its age and the size and the forms of wine being produced. The last thought on selecting your wine tour in Tuscany is the area. Depending on the time of year you arrive the scenery will vary from exciting to breathtaking as the combination of rolling hills, verdant green and purple colors dazzle your mind.

Preparing To Take The Tour

A Fruit Wine tour in Tuscany should be fun, so prepare appropriately, and don’t let the occasion get you. If it is a day tour make sure you are prepared for a little hiking. If the tour is in the evening make sure you are dressed as the brochure indicates and make sure that you heed the drivers timelines or you may end up in the Tuscany hills all alone.

Wine bottles are available in a large variety of sizes and styles, and they are typically sealed with a cork, although screw-top caps have become especially popular recently. When you purchase wine from a store you will just get it in whatever wine bottle it is offered to you in, however if you bottle your own wine, then you are able to choose whatever sort of bottle you like.

Bottling Your own Wine

As long as your wine as been fermented and racked, meaning that it is cleared of sediment, then you are able to put it into a wine bottle and store it. The first step is to choose the actual wine bottle that you are going to use, and then if is new and unused, you just need to rinse it with hot water and dry it.

You want to prepare the corks by soaking them in water for a couple of hours, and then rinsing them off with cool water and letting them stand to dry. You then want to place the bottles below the wine container, insert the notched end of the siphon tube into the container of wine, making sure that the tube is not touching the bottom of the container.

Then you need to suck on the other end of the tube until the wine begins to flow through it, and then insert the tube into the wine bottle. You want to fill the bottle up until it is about

How To Host A Wine Tasting Party

If you did not know this before, there is a little secret you should know before you host your party. There are actually wine tasting party kits that you can not only purchase online but also from various local shops. Of course, there is no rule stating that you have to purchase a kit, but if you want to make sure that things go smoothly, there are some things that you are going to need to have on hand for your event.

Of course, any good party is going to need some guests. You should take some time to think about who you know that likes and drinks wine. Make sure that you do not invite a lot of people though as this should be a small, intimate affair.

You are also going to need to purchase a few bottles of Citrus Wine that you think you might enjoy. More than likely you will not need more than 2 bottles of each red and white wine that you purchase. Of course, you can also ask your guests to bring their favorites with them. However, you will need to know what they plan to bring ahead of time so that you can print up cards that tell you what each type of wine is.

It is also a good idea to have some pens or pencils for guests to write with; 2 wine glasses per person; some plain saltine or oyster crackers and plain water for guests to use in order to cleanse their palates; and some nice, soft music. You can also introduce wine charms to people for them to choose from for on their glasses. These are fun things to attach to your glass.

If you would like to throw a twist into things you can serve champagnes instead. If you choose to do this, you should have cava, prosecco, sparkling wine and champagne available for sampling.

Above all else, make sure that you drink responsibly.

However, it is true that most white wine is only a mixture of alcohol, water and flavoring. The grape juice that begins the process is acted on by the yeast added by the winemaker. The sugar and oxygen found in the grape is converted into alcohol and carbon dioxide. Water does not have calories and the amount of calories in the flavoring is small, therefore, it is only the alcohol that contains any calories. If it is calories in white wine that you are counting, then having one glass of wine occasionally is fine, but if you can’t stop with one glass of your favorite white wine then you might want to try cutting back your calories elsewhere. Of course if you prefer red, the flavorings of red wine include antioxidants that are helpful to you. Whether your preference is white wine or red wine both provide a degree of digestive comfort that is hard to duplicate or value.

Selecting Your White Wine

Now that you have made your choice that you prefer white Low Alcohol Wine and you are prepared to monitor your usage as part of your weight control program, you should select a wine that you can afford and is commonly available. There are tons of white wines available in the stores. From the cheapest Chablis and German varietals to the most expensive wines from France and California, there are thousands of bottles of white wine available at any time.

Your choice needs to be based in your palette. Do you prefer sweeter tastes or do you like tastes that are more robust and have perhaps an oak or other wooden taste. There are white wines with both these tastes. In fact, there are today wines available that are mixed with pears, apples and other fruits to provide a variety of tastes for all drinkers. There are even peppery wines that are developed in rather special soils that actually give the grapes a little bite to them.

Of course you should not mix exercise and white wine. This can be disastrous as wine is mostly alcohol and your capabilities are typically diminished after drinking. So if an exercise program is included as parts of your weight control program then you really need to consider only drinking Liqueur Recipes when you do not exercise shortly thereafter.

Here are my opinions on the videos and is worth watching if you’re thinking about buying his videos yourself.

>> Check Out “BeerEasy” Now!

I was able to find one of Justin’s beer making on YouTube, which’ll give you an idea of his style:

>> Check Out “BeerEasy” Now!

Wine As A Fuel Source

There is typically about 60-80 calories in an average glass of wine. In a regular bottle there are perhaps five to six glasses of wine at most, depending on the size of the glass. Some of today’s red wine glasses can in fact hold almost a complete bottle. So, therefore, in a typical bottle of wine there is typically anything from 300 to 500 calories for the sweeter reds and whites. The existence of calories in wine is a fact, but compared with other things we eat it is perhaps a minimal consideration. A hamburger can have up to one thousand calories in it, and if you add bacon, almost as much fat as your body needs in a month. There is not a lot of fat in wine, if any at all. There is sugar and some small amount of carbohydrates, but even the amount of carbohydrates is relatively small compared to a slice of bread. Hence, one should consider wine as a good source of calories and with an appropriate choice of varietals, a worthwhile human fuel source.

An additional benefit to wine is the general feeling of wellness it provides to the digestive system and brain, this can not be overlooked when considering the amount of calories in wine as part of dieting plan.

The Benefits Of Drinking Wine

Regardless of the fact that calories exist in wine and Liqueurs, wine may benefit you, and should, therefore, be considered as part of a normal person’s diet. Wines in general, aid in digestion, enhance the food we eat, and certain red wines may even provide enough antioxidants and other goodies that the issue of calories in wine should be a second tier discussion.

What Can Red Wine Do?

While red wine and Fruit Wine isn’t considered a cure all (and certainly not a substitute for visiting your doctor), there are some widely agreed upon benefits to drinking red wine. The most promising benefit is that red wine is believed to protect against certain forms of cancer & heart disease. In fact, some studies show up to a 30%-50% reduction in heart disease of those who consumed a glass of red wine each night. It also appears to have a positive effect on cholesterol & blood pressure. And finally, drinking red wine has been shown to lower the risk of heart attacks in middle-aged (30-50 years old) adults.

Why Red Wine?

Experts started to study the benefits of red wine and Liqueurs when they started to notice a correlation between populations who drank red wine regularly and lower incidences of disease. This was especially evident in the Mediterranean region, where red wine is plentiful. They also studied the so-called “French Paradox,” where the French have a lower rate of heart disease and obesity even though they consume a higher-fat diet. Most of the benefits of red wine come from the antioxidants present in it. Studies show that red wine has a high concentration of antioxidants, which are known to have anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties. The antioxidants have been found to increase HDL cholesterol (the good kind of cholesterol) and help prevent blood clots and plaque from forming on arteries.

How Much Should I Drink to See the Health Benefits of Red Wine?

Most experts believe that it takes very little to see the health benefits of red wine and Homemade Wine Recipes. Moderation is truly the key – one glass of wine per day for women and one or two glasses for men. Keep in mind, as well, that a glass of wine is considered to be four ounces. This isn’t to say that you should be drinking a bottle of red wine each night. In fact, most experts believe that the health benefits of red wine are lost if wine is consumed to excess. There is also the concern that those who have a family history of alcoholism or other pre-existing health conditions should not be drinking red wine. In these cases, the benefits do not outweigh the risks.