Nestler

You can’t eat them but you can make a lovely wine out of elderberries though, if you know how. You certainly would not fancy eating a raw English elderberry, sloe, quintz or indeed many of the other multifarious ingredients English wine makers transform into their “wine”. To be quite honest nor would I, but many people do drink the wine. Not even 20% of home made wines in England are even “just about drinkable” to someone who has grown up in the lands of the grapevines; some, around 10% don’t give you a massive chemical hangover; some are quite nice but too new; but around 5% are really very pleasantly wine-like. The Romans used to do the same.

Many people nowadays get a taste for the chemicals (if they drink a lot of home-made wine) and so don’t notice them, whilst if one is not used to the taste it’s horrid. Some, but very few, wine-makers at home never use chemicals or clearing mediums. They just wait until it’s ready. The Romans used to do the same.

The chemical user will go to the supermarket and get his Pack of “home made wine“, with all the instructions as to how to carry out this chemical process in the least possible time and to gain the maximum alcohol advantage out of the finished item (I hesitate to call it wine). It will taste disgusting but will certainly pack a punch. Many Romans used to do similar.

Romans far from home in England had to improvise their wine. No grapes? We will have to make some wine out of local fruit, and at the same time plant some vineyards. So the noble art of wine-making was taken to England. Well, actually, that’s entirely wrong. The locals had been making wine for a few thousand years, although they, as today, were considered a Nation of beer drinkers, “wine” was made from berries.

When you put a bit of honey or sugar into a pot of fruit it will ferment from the natural yeast in the fruit. If the fruit has a high sugar (fructose) content then it will ferment itself, but if like elderberries the fruit is bitter and with a low fructose content it will need a bit of a helping hand from sugar and yeast. The Romans, when they invaded Britain, brought with them the ability to make much better wine than the English.

However, even the best Roman wine made without grapes was not as good as the “real thing”, so English vineyards were started and the Romans taught the English how to make wine properly. Decent grapes really don’t need sugar or yeast, as these are in the fruit itself.

Of course English wine, even 2000years ago, was not as good as Italian wine, but it certainly cheered up many a Roman soldier consigned to the freezing wastes of Hadrian’s Wall. However, when they returned to Rome after a few years service they didn’t bother to take any elderberry wine with them. They were going home to the real thing.

SEO Solutions and one way link publicity services provided by LinkAcquire.

David C Skul - CEO LinkAcquire.com and Relativity, Inc. can provide global market exposure and solutions

About the author:

None

Jason Connors

So you’ve decided to take a large step, and move from wine lover to wine connoisseur. You are going to buy a wine cellar. This guide will give you all the information you need to make this purchase.

Wine Bottle Storage The ideal location for storing wine is a dark, draftless area that stays at a constant 50-60 degrees, with 60-70 percent humidity. The bottles should be kept on their sides to keep the corks moist, and should be exposed to limited vibrations. This will ensure that you will be able to keep bottles at their best for years to come. One thing to consider if you decide to purchase a large wine cellar: make sure the unit will fit! This sounds obvious, but many times stand-alone wine cellars are much wider than a standard door. Another thing to think about is weight. Consider not only the weight of the storage unit, but be sure to calculate 3 pounds each for a standard bottle of wine. You might not want to store your wine upstairs. This is another reason that wine is typically stored in a cellar.

Types of Wine Cellars If you are lucky enough to live in a house, maybe you can use the existing cellar or a spare room, or have one built. Just be sure not to skimp on building materials - it would be silly to have 400 bottles of wine crashing to the floor because you wanted to save a few bucks on thinner wood. Also, be sure the condensation will be able to evaporate; otherwise, the humidity will increase beyond ideal levels.

Consider the cellar as an investment. If you don’t have a large amount of space, you can buy a freestanding wine cellar. While not actually a cellar in the traditional sense, these are large units that can be stored in a house or apartment. They are available commercially for a wide variety of prices. Always consider where you are going to be storing the wine. If it will be kept in your home, you will not need to have as much insulation or as strong of a cooling unit, but a unit kept in the garage will have to be much higher quality.

Building Your Own Wine Cellar

The best location for the cellar is below the level of the house. If your basement has outside walls, keep in mind that north-facing walls will get the least amount of light. Some smaller crawl spaces may not work very well if they experience extreme changes in temperature. The same goes for a garage. The first floor of the house can also be used, and as long as the house stays at a fairly constant room temperature, the cooling unit will not have to work too hard.

Framing The first step in building a wine cellar is the framing. The outer walls of the basement or room should be framed with 2″ by 6″ wood studs. If the floors are cold, use 2″ by 4″ studs.

Insulation The next step in the creation of a wine cellar is insulation. The room needs to be kept at the most constant temperature possible. The best type to use is sprayed 2 pound polyurethane, although less expensive methods can used, especially if the cellar is on the first floor of the house. Once again, consider the cellar to be an investment.

Doors Don’t forget about the door! It needs to have weather stripping and also be insulated. Otherwise all the work done to insulate the walls will be wasted.

Drywall To finish the walls, use a drywall that is resistant to moisture. Other wall material can be used, but make sure that it will not soak up moisture and that it will not impart an odor on the wine.

Racks Don’t leave the design of the racks until the end. Start first with this design to make sure that you have enough space for the number of bottles you’d like to store. A good place to start would be to look at the smaller racks available at your local wine store. These will give you ideas on the design you would like. Once again, make sure the construction is sturdy enough for the weight of the wine.

Temperature and Humidity and Wine As mentioned before, the ideal temperature for wine is between 50 and 60 degrees. If the temperature is too high, it will spoil quickly. If it is too low, it will not age properly. If the temperature changes often, the cork will expand and contract. This may lead to air getting into the wine. Keeping this in mind, never buy wine chilled at a store, as you have no idea how long it has been that way. Also, don’t keep wine in your own refrigerator for more than 1 or 2 days.

Humidity can also damage wine. If the humidity is too low, the cork can dry out. While a tipped bottle will keep one side moist, the rest of the cork can become cracked and brittle.

Also, ensure the wine will be kept in a dark place, away from vibrations. Colored bottles help keep the light out to some extent, but don’t rely on the bottle to keep the light out. Movement may cause the bottles to shift. Wine needs to stay in contact with the cork so it will not dry out and crack, so limit the movement the bottles are exposed to.

Wine Cellar Cooling Units After you cellar is complete, you can purchase a commercial wine cooling unit. Many of these work similarly to a window AC unit. They vent through a wall rather than being installed in the ceiling. However, if you are below ground or for some other reason cannot use a window unit, there are commercial units that can be installed. These are slightly more costly, but work well in those situations.

Every wine has an ideal aging time. If your wine cellar is built properly, it will keep your wine for years to come.

About the author:

Jason Connors is a successful writer and wine connoisseur providing valuable tips and advice on wine cellar design, wine making, and wine basics. www.about-wine.net

Marcy Roth

Here at the gateway to the California wine country, choices abound in wine. Many of the best never make it out of the Golden state (unless we ship them there.) And, many of the finest are small-scale, low-production wineries – often called boutique or “garagistes”, referring to vintners who make their wines in small quarters such as garages, rather than lavish châteaus.

Norman Kiken, winemaker at Reverie, high atop Napa’s Diamond Mountain, puts it this way, “It’s about controlling your own destiny – good, permanent people who know every vine in our vineyard – they almost treat each one as an individual. I think that leads to higher quality fruit, which of course, leads to higher quality wine.” www.bacchusandvenus.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?action=specs&&item=1106264732&choice=Cabernet%20Sauvignons%20&%20Bordeaux%20Varietals/Bordeaux%20Blend

“The downside is an incredible inefficiency in the use of equipment. For example, we use the same expensive equipment as Mondavi, but we’re only using them 100 hours per year, whereas they are using them 7 hours per day.”

A tiny new label may have major start-up costs, while a big player sees the cost-per-bottle go down as production goes up. There are tremendous economies of scale for a brand that sells millions of cases of wine versus brand of the same quality from the same region.

Grapes, including the labor involved in growing and harvesting them, are usually a winery’s biggest single cost—up to 60 percent of the production expenses. Winemaker David Ramey adds, “With our Chardonnay, we do all whole-cluster pressing, as opposed to using a destemmer-crusher. You get half as much material in the press, and it takes twice as long, so the labor is twice as high. But we think it adds to the quality.” Ramey and his wife Carla founded Ramey Wine Cellars in 1996 after nearly two decades of creating benchmark wines for such California wineries as Matanzas Creek, Chalk Hill, Dominus and Rudd. “Owning one’s own winery is the dream of every winemaker.” www.bacchusandvenus.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?choice=Cabernet%20Sauvignons%20%26%20Bordeaux%20Varietals/Claret

As a retailer of boutique wines, half the fun is finding the small producer, who is often making fewer than a thousand cases. These vintners are more willing to take risks, to be flexible and innovative. Our passion is finding these unknown, boutique wines and introducing them to our friends and customers. Parador is a perfect example. Winemaker Steve Ventrello makes only 38 barrels of Parador Red Blend, an unorthodox blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (originally a French varietal), Sangiovese (the most famous grape from Italy) and Tempranillo (the grape you’ll find in Spanish Rioja). He even went so far as to travel to Europe to clip some of the vines from their country of origin and bring them back to Napa. Ventrello says, “Small lots allow for complete control in winemaking and blending. And, you can have a more maverick entrepreneurial approach, breaking out of the Merlot, Cabernet, Chardonnay rut.” Given the quality and richness of these boutique wines, wineries such as Parador, Ramey and Reverie will never be in a rut. www.bacchusandvenus.com/cgi-bin/shop/shop.cgi?action=specs&&item=1108849943&choice=Cabernet%20Sauvignons%20&%20Bordeaux%20Varietals

For more information on or to order these wines, contact Bacchus & Venus at (415) 331-2001 or www.bacchusandvenus.com

About the Author

Marcy Roth fulfilled her longtime dream three years ago when she opened Bacchus & Venus, a wine tasting room and art gallery in the beautiful San Francisco Bay Area town of Sausalito. Bacchus & Venus features hard-to-find wines from premium California wineries, provides daily wine tastings and seated wine tasting seminars in its gallery overlooking the Bay. www.bacchusandvenus.com