|
|
Are the ascetic qualities and functionality of a home wine rack important for you? Would you trust just any home wine rack?
 Wine,
It is more then just the fermented juice of the grape. It is in a lot of ways life for a lot of people. It is passion, art, creativity, and fine balance all contained within a beautiful glass vessel held in place by a single piece of cork.
It is tradition, and has the ability to bring friends and family together. It is style with each bottle containing pleasant memories of past. It is excitement while anticipating the first splash of a new experience upon the palette.
Being all of these things and more, wine deserves to be stored properly and elegantly as well.
The storage of wine has a lot to do with how long a wine can be aged and what it’s final flavor profile will be. Because wine is alive and continues to mature after bottling there are a lot of factors that play a role in proper storage, and one of the most important is choosing the right wine rack for your home.
Style:
Home wine racks may be made of many types of materials including glass, wood, metal, and stone. While choosing a wine rack, careful attention should be paid to where it will reside in your home, and what style will compliment it’s surroundings the best. Are you looking for a cabinet, counter top rack, or perhaps a hanging rack.
Modern, vintage, eclectic, or artistic. All of these variables are important in finding the right wine rack for you.
Functionality and Proper Storage:
Not everyone is able to have the luxury of a cellar, so for most of us a good home wine rack will suffice to control the elements.
1. Careful attention should be paid to sunlight, U.V. rays can ruin a wine, and while bottles are engineered to block some light it is best to store in an area that is not directly in the sunlight.
2. Humidity plays a large roll in storing wine as well. Controlling the humidity will lessen the chances of the cork becoming contaminated ( what we call being corked which imparts a mothball or musty character ), or oxidized, meaning the cork has allowed oxygen into the bottle and turned the wine into sherry. This is evidenced by a vinegar like profile to the wine. We want the cork to stay nice and supple, not to dry and not overly moist.
3. Temperature should be kept somewhat cool. Heat will age a wine faster and plays a roll in the effects of humidity. If your wine rack has a temperature control we want it at 55-60 F.
4. Stability also plays a role in storage, we do not want the bottles jostling around and disturbing it’s slumber, this is especially important if in an area prone to earthquakes, make sure your home wine rack will be able to withstand and protect your bottles in an extreme situation. Bottles also should always be kept on there side while being stored which ensures that the wine is always in contact with the cork maintaing it’s moistness. So now that we have taken all factors into consideration we are ready to select are home wine rack. Enjoy, drink responsibly and have fun.
Technorati Tags: wine rack furniture
Alright, for the last few days we’ve been going over wine’s you should have in your home wine rack for Thanksgiving. So far we have paired a turkey sausage herb-ed stuffing with apples and dried cranberry’s with a NZ Sauvignon Blanc, and also a pork sausage wild rice dish with fresh herbs and shitake mushrooms with a South African Pinotage or a buttery Californian Chardonnay. So today we’ll go over the rest including a side dish of Maple-Glazed Yams with Pecan Topping and for the main event Turkey with Herb-es De Provence and Citrus. Click the links to be taken to the recipes.
As far as the yams go lets take a look at the ingredients. We have yams that we’ll add a nice starchy-ness to the dish, also maple syrup for it’s deep richness and earthiness. We also have pecans which we’ll give a really nice candied nuttiness.
So two ways to go after this one that I am thinking about off the top of my head. A yeasty sparkling wine would be real nice to cut through the rich and sweet flavor of the dish or we could go with a complimentary sweet wine such as an Argentinian Torrontes. However because this will not be for dessert and just a side dish I will pair it with the bubbly, otherwise the combination of the sweet dish with the sweet wine will over exert the taste buds, and we have a lot of eating to do. So with that said lets look at some bubbles shall we.
One of my favorite places to visit in Napa as well as one of my favorite bruts we have “Mumm Napa Brut Prestige” 
Another nice Gloria Ferrer Brut  
Alright and now for the real reason we have been stocking our home wine racks… THE TURKEY!!!! Every year I like to try something a little different. For last year I ended up breaking the turkey into pieces, marinating them in throwing them on the grill. Talk about tender and juicy. The family loved it and friends wouldn’t believe it was actually turkey they eating due to the tenderness. I recommend this method to anyone, but this year I wanted to try roasting it in a little different method. So I was surfing around the other day and found Turkey with Herb-es De Provence and Citrus which looks and sounds amazing. As far as pairing it lets give it a try.
The turkey is roasted with fresh sage, rosemary, and oregano as well as Herb-es De Provence. Because of the strong herb presence I am thinking I’ll go with a red on this one. The citrus however throws a bit of a curve ball at us, and will make me a bit more picky as to what flavor I am going for. Well what should we do folks, a dry Chianti has done exceedingly well with these herbs for ages, or would we like to throw some funk at it and go with aTempranillo/Grenache blend (been all the rage with me lately). Last year we went with Zinfandel, which I was a big fan of for sure. I’d go with Pinot Noir but I am leaning towards other routes this year. Beaujolais Anyone?
Honestly the truth of the matter is anyone of these would be able go very well Thanksgiving turkey. As for me I’ve decided to go with the great American grape Zinfandel again. The delicious Jammie- ness of the red berry’s go extremely well with the subtle flavor of the turkey without over bearing it. The spicy notes will also compliment the herbs while not conflicting with the citrus to much. Plus it’s the American wine folks. So lets empty our home wine racks and celebrate it alongside our most American of traditions!
Welcome back to Home Wine Rack’s Thanksgiving special pairings! In our last post we paired an herb-ed sausage stuffing with dried fruit with a Marlborough region sauvignon blanc. So lets go for the next dish which is Thanksgiving Wild Rice, complete with pork sausage, shitake mushrooms, and fresh herbs (what I like sausage, a lot) click the link if you would like the recipe. The rice is boiled with chicken broth and onions, so I am expecting it to come out very savory and buttery, with a chewy sponge like exterior and very soft center.
Just thinking about this dish makes me feel like an earthy South African Pinotage. South African Pinotage is a pinot noir grape mixed with a cinsaut grape. Pinotage differ considerably from your flinty Burgundy’s pinot’s or the bright and bursting red fruit of a Napa Pinot. To me they are usually real robust, and earthy. While definitely not my favorite afternoon sipping wines, they tend to complement other earthy type flavors extremely well.
Because of this I feel the combination of the earthy Pinotage coupled with the shitake and the toothy texture of the wild rice would be a real winner. Now if I were to go with a white on this one I am thinking a very smooth and buttery Californian chardonnay with hints of nice caramel. Below are some nice wines to that will go well with the wild rice dish and to fill your home wine rack up with.
A sensual Fairview Pinotage would go nicely  
As far as buttery Chardonnay goes how about a Iron Horse Estate Chardonnay 2006  
Stay tuned for more Thanksgiving extravaganza, and remember a full home wine rack is a happy home wine rack!
Technorati Tags: home wine rack, wine rack furniture
It’s Thanksgiving time again, and there’s no better time to start filling your new home wine rack full of delicious varietals for your feasts to come!
Around this time of year there are great bargains to be found, especially online. There are ton’s of amazing pairings to do over turkey day depending on what your going to be eating. I myself am going a littlepsycho with the menu, as I am leaving this winter for greener pastures (from Minnesota to Thailand, can you blame me?) and would like to have one more really nice meal with the family. I thought it would be fun to list my menu items in blog posts and then find a pairing for them and discuss why. So why not stuff yourself silly, unbutton that top button, watch the game, fill up that home wine rack and drink some wine. Let’s take a stab at some pairings shall we. I’ll start with the small items and get up to the turkey in a few days here.
So what to start with then? How about the stuffing, always one of my favorite items of the Thanksgiving extravaganza. This year I’ve decided to go for a whole wheat sausage stuffing with sage, thyme, apples and cranberries. If you would like the recipe you can find it right here sausage stuffing recipe. Now when we are thinking of a pairing we want to keep several things in mind. These will help us narrow down what we want, notice I said “want”, there really is no right or wrong (well that’s not exactly true). If you like a certain varietal or style with a certain food, then more power to you. But as far as the stuffing goes lets take a look.
The texture is going to be soft, gummy, and a bit chewy due to the sausage and fruit. It will also be very heavy. This makes me lean towards something more on the acidic side to cut through the heaviness. As far as body goes I will go for a happy medium. Something to light and dainty will be indistinguishable, heavy would work here as well but I am wanting to contrast with the stuffing a bit, so medium body it is.
The flavor will be savory from the sausage and also the turkey juices that will all so lovingly be soaking into the stuffing. There will also be a nice herbaceous flavor from the thyme and sage that will complement the sweetness of the apple and dried cranberries. Again I am leaning towards acidic.
I am thinking a nice Marlborough region Sauvignon Blanc will do the trick nicely. This region of Sauv Blanc is famous for there acidic grapes with bright in your face flavors of passion fruit, grapefruit, and goose berry while also maintaining a very nice dryness. The Marlborough region as well as most other NZ Sauv Blancs are also non herbaceous wines. As there is already heavy herb notes from the sage and thyme I will not want to over do it. Furthermore the acidity will cut through the grease and heavy texture. While the tart and tangy fruit will help the apple and cranberry flavors pop out! Damn my mouth just started to water!
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc would be ideal  
We also have Matua which is a little more economical  
So what are you waiting for? Start filling that home wine rack up! I hope you have a great Thanksgiving and stay tuned for more of my pairings.
Technorati Tags: home wine rack
As an environmentally conscience home wine rack owner you may be interested in an article I recently read on a growing trend in the wine industry.
A special certificate has been awarded to the oldest winery in the Medoc region for ecological wine making and reponsible selling of products. If you are interested in the story follow the link below. Also given in the article is a link to a website specializing in environmentally friendly wines for you to fill up your home wine rack. Go check it out.
Click here for story
Stay tuned to the Home Wine Rack blog for more interesting articles and stories.
Technorati Tags: wine rack furniture
 Just read a great article on preparing your home wine rack for Thanksgiving. The author talks about the americanness (not sure if thats a word, probably not) of Zinfandel. Truly an American success story, The zinfandel grape come over seas to settle in our great soil and has made a name for itself since.
Zinfandel is very jammy and depending on which growing region it is from may have notes of raspberry, strawberry, grape, blackberry, etc… Coupled with a pleasing spiciness, the varietal goes great with a meal such as traditional thanksgiving fair. It is paired nicely with cranberries, excentuates sweet potatoes blissfully, and is amazing with pies, not to mention chocolate. So when thinking of stocking your home wine rack this thanksgiving how about giving zinfandel a spot.
If you would like to check out the article click here
Thanks again for visiting the Home Wine Rack Blog.
Technorati Tags: wine rack furniture
Today we will talk about UV rays and your home wine rack.
     Keeping wine’s exposure to UV rays should be kept to a minimum. In the past this was a major problem but luckily today most modern wine bottles have UV filters in them. Unfortunately they cannot protect them 100%.
There is a condition that can occur in wine called “light struck” when light penetrates the glass. This condition shows up as an unpleasant aroma which negatively affects your wine. When storing wine it is beneficial to use a dark space such as a basement and to use Incandescent bulbs instead of fluorescent which give of more UV. There are also home wine racks that can protect your wine as well by hiding the bottles from direct sunlight.
As always stay tuned for more valuable information on the home wine rack blog!
Cool Stuff and Recommended Reading:
Technorati Tags: wine rack furniture
 Wine racks can be placed anywhere in your home, and come in many different styles: freestanding versus hanging, diamond storage versus rectangular. But before buying, it’s important to know how well they really do store wine. To find out all about wine racks Meghan Carter of http://www.AsktheDecorator.com visited Wine Cellar Innovations.
Duration : 0:2:12
Continue reading Wine Racks
 From temperature to placement, some tips for optimum wine storage. This video is part of American Shopper show hosted by Lesley Machado . SHOW DESCRIPTION  o you struggle every time it comes to buying your husband a birthday present? What does every 12-year-old girl want for her room? Which television set is the best for your lifestyle? Fueled by the power of Shopzilla.com, FINE LIVING TV NETWORK’s American Shopper empowers you to feel confident in your purchasing decisions. From the ergonomically correct positioning of your new plasma television and the best luggage for your needs, to the safest and most durable tools and gadgets, we take real consumer concerns, compare products and prices, then advise the consumer what to do when the product arrives at their door. Make the right choice every time with FINE LIVING’s American Shopper!
Duration : 0:1:11
Continue reading Proper Wine Storage
 So why have a home wine rack full of nice bottles if you can just go to a restaurant and conveniently be served from an extensive list from a professional server and get a nice presentation while your at it?
Alright here’s the low down with buying bottles of wine at a restaurant.
Convenient yes, fun presentation and bottle service sure. However you may not know that most restaurants do not have the proper means of storing wine. WHAT!!!! that can’t be right you say.
Unfortunately…
The majority of restaurants, and nice ones at that, store there wine in very hot rooms, this is because of space issues and is sometimes limited to a closet. I know right, shame on them. If you would like to know more about how temperature affects wine please visit my blog post. Out of the 15 restaurants I have worked for, 10 of them had extensive bottle lists. By extensive I mean over 50 on the list, expensive, some very expensive, in the $4,000 to $5,000 range, and some very hard to find. Albeit the very expensive ones were usually properly cared for, but are you really going to go out and spend that much for a properly cared for wine? Probably not and most of these restaurants never plan on selling these very rare bottles, they just want them on the list for bragging rights.
So do not assume just because a bottle is $$$ that it is cared for properly.
So how can you know if a restaurant is properly caring for there wine? Well a good rule of thumb is if you cannot see the room where the wine is being stored in they probably are not being cared for correctly. Sure they may be laid on there side keeping the cork moist, and they might have a cellar (most likely not) then the climate it is being stored at and incorrect humidity level is causing irreparable damage to the wine that you are purchasing and assuming is being taken care of with the utmost respect. This causes extensive damage to the wine. While it may still be very pleasing to the palette it is not doing justice to the wine and not worth what you are paying for.
So where does a home wine rack come into play you ask? Well, many people are not aware that bringing your own wine to a restaurant is a totally acceptable practice. This is beneficial to you for a number of reasons.
1. Restaurants mark up there wine exorbitantly, sometimes up to three and a half times the value of the wine, when bringing your own wine a corkage fee is charged usually $20 a bottle and the server still offers bottle service. Not a bad deal at all if you think about it. Just don’t bring wine that is offered on there list this is considered bad form.
2. You have painstakingly cared for your precious wine and know that the bottle has been taken care of with respect.
Now please by any means do not stop purchasing nice bottles from a list, it is an enjoyable experience for the most part, in fact some great wines are only available at restaurants and you will not find them at wine stores, except online of course. Buying wine online is great and I strongly advise you to check it out. Also bear in mind some restaurants do take care of there wines impeccably, especially if they are known for their list. But this is another great example of why having a home wine rack is beneficial to you.
Please stay tuned for more useful information at the Home Wine Rack Blog. 
Technorati Tags: wine rack furniture
|
|
Recent Comments