Heap « In Vino Paratus

Feuerzangenbowle, fire-tongs punch

Winter is here, the holiday spirit is in the air, and it’s time for something not only warming but also cheerful. Feuerzangenbowle is a traditional German drink based on Glühwein (hot mulled wine).

Continue reading Feuerzangenbowle, fire-tongs punch

Mulled Wine

Winter has arrived, making it the perfect time to talk about mulled wine—and more importantly, to prepare it and warm yourself with such aromatic drink. Mulled wine, gluhwein, glogg, bisschopswijn, izvar, vin chaud — these are just a few of the many names for this spiced, heated wine. It is popular in nearly every country where wine is consumed and where the weather occasionally turns cold enough to crave a warming beverage.

Continue reading Mulled Wine

Eggnog

December is a month filled with decorated Christmas trees, skyrocketing electricity bills from billions of Christmas lights, shopping madness, and, in countries touched by the legacy of the British Empire, the beloved tradition of eggnog.

Continue reading Eggnog

Learn to Read Labels. USA.

Unfortunately for wine lovers, USA does not have similar to EU requirements for winemakers. Labels on US wines provide little to nothing information, nonetheless some of it can still be helpful.

Even though European immigrants brought grape vines to American continent long time ago, reasonable winemakery developed in the US only in the mid-twentieth century. Prior to that, usual troubles, such as phylloxera, Prohibition and others occurred on a regular basis. Then it had gradually diminished. At last, currently, the US winemakery is on the ascent (as most of the other wine world). Nowadays, all 50 American states, including Alaska, produce wine. As a matter of fact, some of them use different fruits more often than grape, or they buy grape from other states; it is a fact, that wine produced in any state can now be found on the market. Yet, only four states: California, Washington, Oregon, and New York, represent valid

Continue reading Learn to Read Labels. USA.

Sangria

Summer, bright sun, heat…It’s the season when we crave everything vivid, vibrant, and refreshing. And it’s the perfect time for Sangria.

Continue reading Sangria

Chateau Beau Joubert. South Africa on the American Market

South Africa has been growing grape and making wine since the middle of the XVII century, from times when first Dutch colonists came to the continent of Africa. French Huguenots arrived after Dutch and brought their homeland vines and winemaking experience with them. In XVIII – XIX centuries, South Africa exported perfectly good wines to Europe. However, the country’s winemaking was almost ruined in the XX century. Phylloxera, Anglo-Boer Wars, apartheid and its economic consequences undermined the wine industry. Fine wine production was set aside; grape was mostly used for distillation and in fruit juice industry. Fortunately, latter years of the XX century were marked by changes in politics, economic recovery and restitution of winemaking. South African wines increased their presence on the American market in recent years, and it’s definitely worth to pay closer attention to them.

My favorite shop, Arista Wine Cellar, had recently arranged a tasting of wines from South African Winery,

Continue reading Chateau Beau Joubert. South Africa on the American Market

Isenhower Cellars. Aroma of Northern Rhône in the cellars of the American Northwest.

Sometime ago, while looking for a few missing wines to complete my lecture, I found a little wine shop called Arista Wine Cellars in Edmonds, WA. The shop has an interesting wine choice and a friendly staff, and there are thematic wine tastings held there on Saturdays. The week that I happened to visit, they happened were tasting wines from Isenhower Cellars, a winery in Walla Walla, WA. The shop offered seven wines for the tasting. The first glass I was handed had white wine and was said to be: “77% Marsanne with Roussanne and some Viognie”. I was a bit confused as I estimated the distance between Walla Walla and the traditional place for Marsanne with Roussanne. All things considered, my glass contained a smooth rich wine with a Northern Rhone aroma.

I should explain. Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognie are classics of the Northern Rhone white wines. While Viognie is spread widely throughout the

Continue reading Isenhower Cellars. Aroma of Northern Rhône in the cellars of the American Northwest.

Wines for the sweet tooth

Let’s talk about naturally sweet wines, about the method of their production, about importance of a long, warm sunny fall, and about useful mold.

Naturally sweet wines are wines that are made by natural fermentation, without fortification.

Broadly speaking, the process of conversion of grape juice into wine can be described as transformation of sugar from juice into alcohol by yeast. For dry wine, yeast simply convert all of the sugar into alcohol and die from hunger afterwards. The amount of alcohol depends on the amount of sugar. There is no sugar left into the wine.

How to make wine with presence of both components, alcohol and sugar?

There are several different approaches to make sweet wine.

1. Stop fermentation before all of the sugar is eaten. It is common knowledge that fermentation can be stopped by alcohol supplementation. Although yeast produces alcohol themselves, a large concentration of alcohol is toxic for them. Most strains

Continue reading Wines for the sweet tooth