Wine Blog » Wine Bottle

Grape Wine – Ultimate Wine Tasting Kit

Wineguy — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 07:00:17 +0000

The editors at the distinguished Wine Spectator, America’s definitive publication on wine, reveal the secrets to tasting wine like the experts do, utilizing the magazine’s well-established 100-point system. This Ultimate Wine Tasting Kit contains everything necessary to conduct more than 25 different tastings, in addition to fundamental information about buying, storing, and serving wine. The comprehensive book-plus kit, designed for holding at-home blind tastings of wine for up to six participants, contains Harvey Steiman’s Essentials of Wine, Wine Spectator’s Pocket Guide to Wine and Quick Guide to Wine Tasting, bottle bags, tasting checklists, stemware tags, and bottle tags. It’s an impressive package, and there’s nothing else this complete in bookstores anywhere. With new, more efficient, and buyer-friendly packaging, we are bringing this exceptional kit back into our frontlist and have the opportunity to emphasize the high quality of its combined elements.

Customer Review: A Decent Gift
I purchased this as a gift and included some wine. It made a nice compliment to the wine, although I’m somewhat reluctant to say it would hold up on its own.

Customer Review: It’s very easy to keep your eye on the prize…
I found that with this kit I was able to stay focused on what to look for in each tasting. The tasting sheets helped me tremendously when there were characteristics present that I couldn’t identify. The book inside is quite easy-to-read and flip through. I loved everything about this kit and will continue to use it as a guideline in future tastings.

Make Wine – Wine Cellars: An Exploration of Stylish Storage

Wineguy — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 13:00:12 +0000

Wine Cellars: An Exploration of Stylish Storage
This thorough and inspiring book provides a vicarious tour of the best in wine bottle storage. Visit more than 100 absolutely stunning, private wine cellars in over 200 beautiful color photographs. Peruse racking systems, tasting tables, and artful touches, created by leading wine cellar designers, including Paul Wyatt, Kathleen Valentini, Gary LaRose, and Doug Smith. Additionally, this is a guidebook to wine cellars in some of the world’s most renowned hotels and restaurants, where private parties can reserve a table and dine amidst coveted vintages. The book also visits handsome displays in restaurants that showcase wine programs to customers. The result is thousands of wonderful ideas for wine storage and display. This is the first work of its kind, making it an invaluable guide for architects, designers, and discerning homeowners and restaurateurs.

Customer Review: Acceptable, but overall disappointing
This book does not live up to expectations. Found that many of the photos are poor quality/amateur in nature. Some cellars displayed are spectacular but many are ho-hum. Nor does the book have any substantive material. Simple text descriptions accompany photos but only so much can be learned by looking at pictures. I agree with other reviews that this is a good coffee table or “idea” book. However, I expected more interesting photos with meaningful descriptions of the space, conditions, materials, lighting, etc… If you have to have it buy it used.

A much better book is: The Home Wine Cellar: A Complete Guide To Design And Construction by Perry Sims. While it doesn’t have as many photos, those it does have are more inspiring and accompanied by good information on cellar design and construction.

Customer Review: Cellar space
Its a good coffee table book, Some great photos with good ideas, and some general information for those looking to build a cellar. I’m glad to have it.

Wine gift – Port and the Douro (Classic Wine Library)

Wineguy — Wed, 28 Dec 2011 15:00:23 +0000

GreenBottle cardboard wine and milk bottles could help green the RV lifestytle
The cardboard wine bottle – which is claimed to have a carbon footprint just 10 percent of that of a glass wine bottle – is made of two parts: a sturdy paper outer shell and an inner liner made of plastic which holds the wine. The paper outer is recyclable

The Joy of Wine Clubs
Whether you’re an amateur wine buff, an aficionado of fine vintages and lesser known grape varieties, the perfect dinner party host or simply someone who appreciates a decent glass of good quality wine with which to relax and unwind

Port and the Douro (Classic Wine Library)

Fully revised and updated in its second edition, Port and the Douro recounts the fascinating history of the Port region and explores the vineyards, grape varieties, and the many styles of port available. It describes all aspects of the beverage’s production, and includes a directory of producers, as well as details about the key vintages. Expert Richard Mayson also examines the prospects for port in the 21st century.

Customer Review: Port and Douro wine library
The book was exactly what I ordered.It was received in a very short period of time.

Customer Review: Definitive, comprehensive, informative, articulate.
Port And The Douro is the fascinating story of Port over the centuries and surveys the remarkable physical conditions of the wine growing region of Portugal, the grape varieties, and the vineyards that make the Douro valley so special. Richard Mayson draws upon his many years of experience in the wine trade in general and his remarkable expertise in Port wines and how they are made. Port And The Douro is definitive, comprehensive, informative, articulate, and greatly rewarding reading for connoisseurs, dealers, and the nonspecialist general reader seeking to select just the right Port for the occasion.

Ice Wine – The Wine Tasting Party Kit: Everything You Need to Host a Fun & Easy Wine Tasting Party at Home

Wineguy — Wed, 07 Dec 2011 23:00:21 +0000

WestConn to host 13th annual wine tasting on Sunday
Sample fine wines from around the world and enjoy a generous buffet of hors d’oeuvres Sunday, Dec. 4, at Western Connecticut State University’s 13th annual Holiday Wine Tasting. The tasting will take place in the Grand Ballroom of the Westside Campus

The Wine Tasting Party Kit: Everything You Need to Host a Fun & Easy Wine Tasting Party at Home
Whether it’s a casual afternoon in the backyard or a more formal soir e, a wine tasting party is fun and educational for everyone from novices to sophisticated sippers. Within this all-inclusive kit are the elements to be a terrific host, including cloth wine bottle covers, tasting score pads, a cheat sheet, glass markers, and an entertaining book that introduces you to the ins and outs of tasting wine in a comfortable, festive, social setting your own home.

Includes:
– 64-page illustrated book
– Tasting notepads
– Wineglass markers
– Six reusable linen wine bottle covers
– “Cheat sheet” of tasting terms

Customer Review: Very Fun
This kit is perfect for beginners. I didn’t have a clue of how to get started in planning a party and this kit took the guess work out of EVERYTHING. However, it is very interactive and I reccomend keeping your guest list small (4-5 people/4-5 bottles).

Customer Review: Lives up to title
The Wine Tasting Party Kit was a real hit and included six reusable cloth bags to hide the wine bottles, rating sheets, and wine glass stem labels. The enclosed book is very basic but can provide a jumping off point to select a theme for your party. A good investment if you want to have a series of parties with your friends.

Wine Rack Kit

Wineguy — Sat, 03 Dec 2011 21:00:11 +0000

Redwood Barrel Bin Wine Rack (5 Bottle)
Dimensions: 14 1/4? (w) x 14 1/2? (h) 9 1/2? (d) Handcrafted from premium redwood Great for table and counter tops Ideal for parties or everyday use Makes a great gift Looking for a unique counter top wine rack with style? The Redwood Barrel Bin

12 Bottle X Cube-Stack Wine Rack
Stack racks high and save on space! One level, two levels, three…. Easily adjust the size and configuration of your wine collection with this 12-bottle*, stackable hardwood rack! Designed to fit securely one on top of the other for space-saving storage. Strong, weighty hardwood allows you to stack from floor to ceiling safely. Stand alone or stack with the 12-Bottle Cube Rack and Wine Glass Rack for flexible storage. Perfect on a countertop. Easy to assemble. No hardware required to stack, but should be secured to the wall if 3 or more are stacked high. Walnut-stained hardwood. View entire line of Cube-Stack Racks. Size: 15-1/2″H x 18-7/8″W x 10-9/16″D *Bottle capacities are when storing standard Bordeaux 750mL bottles.

Wine gift – To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle

Wineguy — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 08:00:35 +0000

Ask the Barman: Taking tips from the Greek god of wine – Jerusalem Post
Eyal Dobinsky explains how he uses his wealth of knowledge to bring fine reds and whites to the masses at his intimate TA wine bar, Juno. Even though Eyal Dobinsky spends his days, or more accurately nights, serving alcoholic drinks to the discerning

Milwaukee native eases wine worries in New York City restaurant – Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Let’s say you are having a big night out at Gotham Bar and Grill, one of New York City’s best restaurants. And let’s just say the wine list, which has over 700 selections, is giving you an anxiety attack. You are mopping your Midwestern brow, sweating the

To Cork or Not To Cork: Tradition, Romance, Science, and the Battle for the Wine Bottle
In Judgment of Paris, George M. Taber masterfully chronicled the historic 1976 wine tasting when unknown California wines defeated top French ones, marking a major turning point in wine history. Now he explores the most controversial topic in the world of wine: What product should be used to seal a bottle? Should it be cork, plastic, glass, a screwcap, or some other type of closure still to be invented?

For nearly four centuries virtually every bottle of wine had a cork in it. But starting in the 1970s, a revolution began to topple the cork monopoly. In recent years, the rebellion has been gathering strength. Belatedly, the cork industry began fighting back, while trying to retain its predominant position. Each year 20 billion closures go onto wine bottles, and, increasingly, they are not corks.

The cause of the onslaught against cork is an obscure chemical compound known as TCA. In amounts as low as several parts per trillion, the compound can make a $400 bottle of wine smell like wet newspaper and taste equally bad. Such wine is said to be “corked.” While cork’s enemies urge people to throw off the old and embrace new closures, millions of wine drinkers around the world are still in love with the romance of the cork and the ceremony of opening a bottle.

With a thorough command of history, science, winemaking, and marketing, Taber examines all sides of the debate. Along the way, he collects a host of great characters and pivotal moments in the production, storage, and consumption of wine, and paints a truly satisfying portrait of a wholly intriguing controversy. As Australian winemaker Brian Croser describes it: “It’s scary how passionate people can be on this topic. Prejudice and extreme positions have taken over, and science has often gone out the window.”

Customer Review: An interesting book with a limited audience
To really enjoy this book I think you need to like wine, have some interest in the chemistry of wine, and enjoy stories of marketplace battles between products. The book worked for me, but many will find parts of it uninteresting.

The cork has a long, generally distinguished tradition as a wine bottle stopper. But in the last three decades poor process control started to allow corks tainted with a foul-tasting contaminant to reach market, and the “corked” bottle of wine became an increasing challenge to vintners.

This set off a wave of entrepreneurs trying to build a better “cork” (or at least a better seal). The book tells the story of many brands, and their challenges, successes, and failures. Many fell by the wayside, but several are still expanding in the marketplace, each having its proponents and detractors. Ultimately, there is probably no ideal stopper for every bottle. Different approaches may apply to different wines with different aging requirements and different life expectancies. And wines may need to be made differently depending on the stopper chosen.

While the need for new stoppers seemed obvious five or ten years ago, corked bottles are clearly less of a problem in recent years. At the end the author explains how the cork industry has brought this about by cleaning up its act. So cork is likely to remain the stopper of choice for wines intended for years of bottle aging for some time to come. But as wine production expands the need for seals that don’t rely on the bark production of some old oak trees is certain to increase. The battle for that market will continue. At least as long as bottles hold out against bags in boxes …

Customer Review: Fantastic read
I’m a wine industry professional and this book was packed with new information that was fascinating while not being overly technical. I think my favorite parts were little facts about TCA 2,4,6. I highly recommend reading this if you ever have to deal with the question of cork vs screw cap. However it doesn’t draw a definite conclusion but gives you enough information to formal an intelligent opinion.

Make Wine – The Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition

Wineguy — Thu, 26 May 2011 06:00:25 +0000

Same Wine Bottle, Four Different Prices – Wall Street Journal
At Caprice, roughly 25 bottles of wine are sold a day. Quantity The more cases of a particular kind of wine you buy, the lower the purchase price. And having a relationship with a wine estate can work in the restaurant’s favor as well. “If you have a

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The Oxford Companion to Wine, 3rd Edition
With more than 3,000 entries on every aspect of wine from vine pests to specific grapes, this hefty tome has something for both the seasoned connoisseur and novice alike. Edited by one of today’s premier wine columnists, the work covers all aspects of wine, travelling back in time to early Greece to examine wine’s role in Dionysian revels, then returning to today’s wine centers to explore all aspects of wine appreciation. A full third of the book is dedicated to specific wines and wine-producing regions. All those technical terms you’ve heard and puzzled over at tastings are clearly explained, making this the perfect reference for newcomers to the world of oenology.

For the true connoisseur, The Oxford Companion offers detailed information on the history of the vintner’s art, as well as a plethora of details on everything from climate effects on vine disease to the function of the second malolactic fermentation. If you buy only one wine book, this should be it.

Customer Review: It’s all there
I would recommend this for anyone interested in wine from the novice to Robert Parker (I’m betting he has a copy). Four friends have purchased this book after looking at mine.

Customer Review: Great Encyclopedia
The Oxford Companion to Wine is a great encyclopedia for wine lovers. It covers a great breadth of topics, deeply enough to be informative, but in a short enough fashion to keep this under 1000 pages. Coverage includes wine growing regions, wines, vine varietals, wine making, barrel making, bacteria, and on and on.

One thing this is not – it’s not a review/criticism of specific wines (which tend to become out of date too quickly to be useful in book form).

Highly recommended.

Purchase Wine – White Wine Vinegar “Grand Cru”

Wineguy — Thu, 12 May 2011 04:00:08 +0000

White Wine Vinegar “Grand Cru”
This is White Wine Vinegar “Grand Cru” in Bottle of Delouis Fils (France).

Make Wine – White Wine Vinegar

Wineguy — Mon, 09 May 2011 06:00:44 +0000

White Wine Vinegar
This is White Wine Vinegar in Bottle of Delouis Fils (France).

Best Wine – White Wine Vinegar

Wineguy — Sat, 07 May 2011 06:00:22 +0000

White Wine Vinegar
This is White Wine Vinegar in Bottle of Delouis Fils (France).