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How to Make Wine, The Special Kind

By on December 16th, 2009

Knowledge about the evolution of winemaking has already probably crossed your path. Through the years, people both ancient and modern, have discovered ways and means to produce wine that are much simpler and easier to make. Perhaps you have already discovered some recipes on how to make wine that make use of other sources aside from grapes.  Read the following examples…

Fruit Wine

Citizens from North America and Scandinavia  love the idea of how to make wine from various kinds of fruits. They prefer this from any other kind. They include this kind of beverage in their meals and it’s simply not acceptable without it. This is brought about by the fact that their regions really do produce excellent tasting wines that are good for everyday consumption. Why everyday you might ask. It’s because the cost of production is cheaper while the quality is superb. In instances when sweetness of the wine is not acceptable, wine makers just supplement it through the process of chaptalization. This way, the process of how to make wine gets to be simple and easy.

What is this chaptalization process on how to make wine?  In effect, it’s just a process that makes the fruits produce enough amounts of alcohol great for making wine. When they want the acidity level to go down, they add more sucrose (sugar). This happens to fruits with high malic acid content or citric acid content.

To help promote fermentation in the process of how to make wine, wine makers add potassium, phosphorus and nitrogen. This is especially the case for fruits that don’t have enough amounts of natural yeast nutrients.  Fruits don’t last as long as the regular grape wine. They also have the tendency to lose their great taste as they are stored for much longer. Therefore, it is best to consume fruit wines within the year following its bottling.

Starch Wine

This seems a bit surprising but yes, in knowing how to make wine, there are wines made from starch. Two examples of this are the Sake and rice wine. The process of its fermentation is similar to beer making but it’s wine that they produce.

Other Wines    

There are still other wines that are produced from more unique sources. There’s fish wine by the Chinese people. Turnip and carrot wines by the Scottish folks while others make wine made of marijuana, herbs, leaves, oranges and lemons. There are even wines that come from dandelion from the Celtic regions, and wines from palm trees by the Africans.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. You can find more information about how to make professional quality wine at your own home, at Simon’s popular site: www.homemadewinesecrets.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/how-to-make-wine-the-special-kind-1586031.html

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Homemade Carignan Wine

By on December 15th, 2009

Carignan is more affordable than the other varietals perhaps because of the following qualities:

Its ripening process takes quite longer than the others.

Because it takes long to ripen, its susceptibility to spring frost is decreased therefore, it can produce huge quantities.

However, it tends to be sensitive to powdery and downy mildew.

Having said all these things, Carignan grapes must be carefully chosen and picked. As a winemaker, especially novice ones who are dabbling into wine homemade, make sure that the grapes you pick are free from rot and mildew to make sure that the wine you produce later on is not contaminated.

Carignan is also popular in France but not as popular as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. The reason for this is that compared to those two, Carignan is quite more acidic and tannic in nature. This makes it a bit harder to produce great tasting wine. One needs to keep balancing the flavor by either adding more sugar and less tannin to the mixture. On the other hand, these characteristics are also the very reason why Carignan grapes are affordable than the other varietals and are also the best choice for everyday consumption and for making wine homemade.

Would you like to find out how to make Carignan wine homemade style? It’s just very simple actually. There are basic wine directions you can follow which are pretty similar  with the instructions on how to make Merlot wine homemade style. What I’ll add here are more important things you should remember when making Carignan wine homemade.

As I’ve mentioned, it takes a longer period for Carignan grapes to become ripe. So when you start choosing the grapes, be very careful and thorough. Once you pick the ripest of the bunch, you’re sure to produce a richer and more flavorful kind of wine. Although, it will also depend on whether the grapes used are crushed or uncrushed. The kind that responds best to fermentation are the uncrushed ones. For smokey aroma, take out the twigs and stems. If you were not able to take them out, then you’ll produce sweet wine.

If you want to produce earthy and fruity wines, you just have to make the process of fermentation cool and short. Otherwise, you can heat the fermenter under the heat of the sun to get the opposite result. Just be careful because you wouldn’t want your wine homemade to be spoiled. Regarding the overall time period consumed in making your wine homemade, the size of your container or vat or fermenter is a huge factor.  In case you have smaller vessels, you can still produce quality wine if you keep the time period short.

New wood is not needed when storing your homemade Carignan particularly if it’s just less than 100 gallons in quantity. You may use a glass of stainless steel instead. If you like your wine to have some oak character added in it, you can just drop some oak chips at the bottom of your container.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. His latest book, “Homemade Wine: Great Secrets on How to Turn Your Winemaking Hobby Into a Profitable Business” is available at http://www.homemadewinesecrets.com.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/homemade-carignan-wine-1579717.html

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Great Opportunities for Chinese Beer Industry

By on December 14th, 2009

www.shcri.com – Since the 1990s, Chinese beer industry begins to develop rapidly. Chinese beer production and consumption per capita have been increased significantly. From 2003 to 2007, all economic indicators in Chinese beer industry saw increase: the beer production was raised by 14.26 million kiloliters with the growth rate of 56.9%; the sales revenue was increased by RMB 45.52 billion with the growth rate of 88.6%; the tax went up by RMB 4.704 billion with the growth rate of 47.7%; the profit was raised by RMB 3.583 billion with the growth rate of 137.8%.

 

From January to November of 2007, the total industrial output value, product sales revenue and profit of Chinese beer producers (above designated size) amounted to RMB 95.444527 billion, RMB 91.098629 billion and RMB 5.814904 billion, rising by 17.54% YOY, 16.30% YOY and 21.01% YOY respectively.

 

From January to August of 2008, the total industrial output value, product sales revenue and profit of Chinese beer producers (above designated size) came up to RMB 79.466673 billion, RMB 78.209671 billion and RMB 4.657958 billion, growing by 12.90% YOY, 16.00% YOY and 4.21% YOY separately.

 

 

There are huge potentials for Chinese beer consumption. Globally, the beer consumption per capita in developed countries grows slowly while the beer demand volume and production growth rates in economically fast growing areas such as East Europe and China are much higher than the international level. The growth rate is 3% higher than that in developed countries. Chinese beer consumption is featured with regional imbalance. The development route of Chinese beer industry is basically in accordance with that of the global beer industry, transferring from developed areas to undeveloped areas. The regional imbalance also provides opportunities for beer enterprises to occupy more market shares as well as growth space for the beer industry. Presently, beer enterprises concentrate in the development of undeveloped areas.

 

With the improvement of residential consumption level, the high-end and middle-end beer market, especially the middle-end beer market develops quite rapidly. However, over 90% beer of most Chinese beer enterprises is low-end beer. Except a few national beer brands such as Tsingtao Brewery and Yanjing Beer with definite positioning, most of Chinese beer brands stay in the development stage with indistinct positioning. Thus, beer enterprises must build their brands. With the strengthening of brand influence, more enterprises will value the development of their brands.
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In the following years, Chinese beer industry will still receive favorable development opportunities. The sustainable and high-speed development of Chinese national economy and the improvement of the urbanization level will provide gigantic demand space for the industry; those important development strategies such as the Development of the West Regions, rejuvenation of old industrial bases and building a new socialist countryside will bring new development opportunities for the beer industry; the acceleration of the global economy and regional economy integration process will promote Chinese beer industry to allocate resources and expand markets in a wider range.

In the future, the prospect of Chinese beer industry remains optimistic. With the improvement of residential living standard and the strengthening of health awareness, the demands for beer will be raised exceedingly. Chinese governmental policies including the RMB 4 trillion stimulus package will definitely drive the development of Chinese beer industry.

 

The report mainly focuses on

1 General Situation of Chinese Beer Industry

2 Supply & Demand in Chinese Beer Industry

3 Competition in Chinese Beer Industry

4 Key Regions of Chinese Beer Industry

5 Key Manufacturers in Chinese Beer Industry

6 M & A in Chinese Beer Industry

7 Risk Analysis on Chinese Beer Industry

8 Investment Opportunities in Chinese Beer Industry

 

For more details of the report: http://www.shcri.com/reportdetail.asp?id=327

Based on the database, Interviews and research methods from China Research and Intelligence, CRI analyzes the development and opportunities in this industry clearly.
Contacts:
Eileen Gu
China Research and Intelligence
www.shcri.com
Email: eileen@shcri.com
TEL: 86-21-6852-1029
86-21-5842-6733

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/great-opportunities-for-chinese-beer-industry-1576673.html

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Wine from New Zealand-Where do I start?

By on December 12th, 2009

It has been some time since New Zealand burst onto the wine scene in the 1980′s with their Sauvignon Blanc, which at the time was a complete revelation in comparison to the oak/butter flavor profiles being proliferated by California Chardonnay. At the time their focus on high acidity to keep flavors on the palate for the longest possible time was a unique winemaking event.

What makes wine from New Zealand interesting and unique today you ask? The terroir as the French would say. New Zealand is the most southern wine growing region in the world today. They site approximately the same distance from the equator that Washington State sits north of it, for comparison. This distance from the equator gives the winemakers some unique aspects to build on. Grapes often lose acidity during warm summer days, however in New Zealand their temperature still drops quite severely at night year around, so the grapes actually gain acidity at night. This dichotomy gives the wines their higher acidity and allows for more intense flavor profiles because the grapes can be left on the vine well into the fall without as high of risk as you’d have in other regions. Additionally, as a long thin island(or two island for that matter) nation these natural temperature changes are emphasized by the lands interaction with the ocean.

New Zealand follows the lead of the United States and other new world wine producers by labeling their wine by varietal. To carry a label of Cabernet Sauvignon for example, the wine needs to include at least 75% Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemakers in New Zealand often will go farther then that though, they typically only label their wines as single varietals if they are 100% of that varietal, for example 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. Additionally if more then one varietal is used they list them in decreasing order which makes rational sense, but is fairly unique in the wine world.

One area many wine drinkers do wish New Zealand would upgrade their regulations comes with the use of place names. Although there are no laws currently acitve regarding place names, unlike the United States New Zealand winemakers typically list the place as where the grapes were grown.

Ok, so what do they grow? New Zealand grows the typical cast of characters in the wine world. Almost all New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc carries the traditional style from the 1980′s and the winemakers of the region have taken that success and transferred it to other wines. Specifically the Kiwi’s do quite well with Riesling, Pinot Gris and Chardonnay. Red wine varietals are not as well thought of internationally, but the opportunity is there to make some truly outstanding Pinot.

In conclusion, if you’re looking to try a wine from New Zealand, try a white wine and specificaly a Sauvignon Blanc. I’ll bet you’ll be happy you did as the acidity and flavor profiles may be quite different than you are used to.

Mark Aselstine is one of two Proprietors of Uncorked Ventures. UCV provides three different wine club membership options as well as many different wine gift services. I hope you’ll consider joining one of my wine clubs in the future!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/wine-from-new-zealandwhere-do-i-start-1566880.html

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How to Make Cabernet Sauvignon

By on December 12th, 2009

The grapes used for this type of wine are also unique. They are round, small, very dark with a very rough skin. The roughness of their skin actually protects them from being damaged especially when the autumn rains start to pour in. This also prevents them from being contaminated. These are the very qualities of the Cabernet Sauvignon grapes that makes them one of a kind hence, the wine they produce are one of a kind too.

These very qualities they possess made them a favorite among wine collectors which in turn made them valued very highly in the market. If you will notice, Cabernet Sauvignon is priced higher than the other wines. Now, you know the reason why.

Let’s now proceed to answering the how to homemade wine particularly how to make homemade Cabernet Sauvignon.

The following are the steps in learning the how to homemade wine which are described in summarized details below:

First step in the how to homemade wine is Crushing

Clean the grapes with tap water. Take out the stems but you can leave the little twigs.

Stomp on the grapes to produce the juice. This has always been the traditional way of making grape juice.

Gather the juice together with the crushed grape skins and twigs. This is called your must. Pour it all in your first fermenter or vessel.

Second step in the how to homemade wine is Primary Fermentation

Get the acidity level of your must as well as its sugar content. There’s an acid and sugar level testing kit which you can buy in  a wine store or supermarket.

Add more sugar or acid when applicable.

Based on these results, you will know how many campden tablets you need to add.

Put an airlock on your must and let it stay for 24 hours.

Pour in the wine yeast in to the must. Seal it again with the airlock and let it ferment for one week. In that one week, stir it twice every day with a wooden paddle. Plastic ladle is allowed as well.

Third and fourth step in the how to homemade wine is Racking  and Aging

Siphon the must while taking out all skin and twigs through straining. What you will have now is the juice which wine makers call “green wine”.

Acidity levels will once again be tested at this point. Try to balance the levels by adding spring water (the least preferred choice), potassium bicarbonate, or calcium carbonate into the mixture.

Siphon once again the “green wine” into another empty vessel. Preferably, use oak barrels. But since it’s expensive for homemade wine makers, you can just add pieces of oak chips into your vessel.

Seal your vessel very tightly. Store it in a dark, cool place for 3 weeks.

After those three weeks, top off the vessels. The vessel that is least full should be siphoned.  Just in case microorganisms have penetrated you’re your vessel, kill them by pouring a spoonful of sulfite. Then seal it off tightly.

The leftover wine must be discarded. Otherwise, put it in a smaller vessel.

Waiting period after this is 4-6 months. Then bottle it.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. You can find more information about how to make professional quality wine at your own home, at Simon’s popular site: www.homemadewinesecrets.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/how-to-make-cabernet-sauvignon-1570349.html

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Copain Monument Tree Pinot Noir Review

By on December 12th, 2009

So I’ve been saving a specific bottle of wine to enjoy with my wife since my first trip to Napa and Sonoma after starting Uncorked Ventures, a Copain 2007 Monument Tree Pinot Noir.

I believe I’ve talked a little about Copain before in this space, but I am a fan of much of the wine they make and their winemaker Wells Guthrie. He has a rather unique style for the area and has really been at the forefront of pushing other winemakers to attempt to control the alcohol levels in their wine. Much of the wine that Copain makes ends up with alcohol content 1-2% lower then the competition. They’re able to do this by being very careful about where they source their grapes (usually colder climates) as well as how/when the fruit is harvested (middle of the night when possible to control heat transfer during fermentation).

From a business to business perspective I appreciate the way that they’ve treated us as a start up and as a consumer I greatly appreciate the fact that their wines occupy a range of prices starting at around $20 for their Tous Ensambles series. I do believe they leave some money on the table on a number of their wines which are sold in the $40-$50 range-which are consistently great values many scoring 90+ ratings from Parker and the Wine Entusiast.

Ok so about that Pinot…..as good as I remember it. In fact maybe a bit better given the 6 months or so of rest as well as the thirty minutes of decanting (yeah, yeah I know not ideal). On the nose it’s hard to pick up individual flavors, but it definitely is a dark berry type of smell. On the palate it is noticeably brighter then you’d imagine with cherry being the predominant flavor-the structure of the wine is quite good and really shows Wells ability as most Pinot’s don’t hold up this well.

Overall at around $50, to me it is a clear buy. I am an unapologetic Pinot Noir fan (both because of the flavor profiles and the story of the grape itself) which comes sometimes much to my business partner and father in laws dismay, but I will be interested in comparing this Pinot to some of the more highly hyped Oregon versions.

Lastly I would be remiss if I did not mention where the Monument Tree moniker comes from. Monument Tree is a vineyard about a two hour drive north of San Francisco. Since Copain aims to trim alcohol levels they source fruit from both the Central Coast of California (think on the ocean just north of Santa Barbara) as well as some of the cooler valley’s north of SF. As you can see Monument Tree vineyard is named after a redwood tree which still stands in the middle of the vineyard.

Mark Aselstine is one of two Proprietors of Uncorked Ventures. UCV provides three different wine club membership options as well as many different wine gift services. I hope you’ll consider joining one of my wine clubs in the future!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/copain-monument-tree-pinot-noir-review-1566888.html

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Good Argentinian Malbec

By on December 11th, 2009

As the Malbec vineyards decrease in the south of France they are growing in Argentina. Argentine Malbec is becoming more and more popular among the area and Argentina is becoming more known for the production of good Argentinian Malbec blends.

Malbec is a red grape that was originally grown in the south of France, and is used to make red wine. The grape is known for being mixed with other varieties of grape to create a Bordeaux or Claret. Malbec is a thin skinned grape at low altitude which needs a lot of sunshine to fully ripen. As France is struggling to keep up with the grapes demands for ripening, the Malbec grape is now grown widely in other sunny countries.

Argentine Malbec has been rising in popularity over the past few years, as it provides the grape with a suitable climate for its ripening. Almost all of Argentina’s wine growing regions can support the growth of the Malbec grape as they are all at altitude and sheltered from the rainfall from the Andes, providing the grape with around 320 days of sunshine a year.

Due to the successful plantation of the Malbec in Argentina, they are now producing world class red wines, including Bordeaux based blends. Argentina’s red wine is dominated by Malbec with 20,000 hectares of the Malbec grape being planted in the country.

Unfortunately as the popularity in good Argentine Malbec and other Argentinian wine varieties rises you are not guaranteed a good quality Argentinian wine just by purchasing a wine that is from Argentina. Unfortunately there are a lot of companies who are producing Argentinian wine on the back of its rising popularity and reputation. So it’s important to look at wine reviews and read up on long running Argentinian companies who have been producing good Argentinian Malbec for years.

To buy a good Argentine Malbec blend try Good Wine Online.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/good-argentinian-malbec-1568629.html

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Important Directions in Making Wine

By on December 11th, 2009

The following are some of the most important wine making instructions that you must always remember when creating your own homemade wine.

Cleanliness

Of all wine making instructions most winemakers can never mention this enough. Always be clean in your wine making processes, equipment and station. Cleanliness in this sense does not only mean physically cleaning everything concerning your wine making venture but you must also sanitize them to make sure that bacteria and vinegar flies are out of the way. You wouldn’t want to produce vinegar instead of wine, now would you? If right at the start, you follow this one simple rule then the rest will follow smoothly.

Fermentation

Of all wine making instructions, fermentation is another crucial part that one must take note of. It is what basically produces your wine. It is when your yeast feeds on your sugar from which carbon dioxide and alcohol are produced. There are two stages in the fermentation process — primary and the secondary.   It usually takes a lot of time for this to happen. 14 days for the primary stage and 10 days for the secondary stage. But when done right, you will be able to produce exquisite tasting homemade wine.

Below are also other important wine making instructions that will help you make good tasting wine:

Dos

  • This can never be stressed enough: Clean and sanitize!
  • Always tightly seal your first ferment and second ferment. This will ensure that the vinegar flies and bacteria are at bay.
  • Fermentation traps must be used.
  • Fill the bottles up to ¾ inches of the cork.
  • Always thoroughly siphon and strain off the must.
  • In order to maximize your wine making possibilities, make the dry kind of wine first. If you think you don’t like it, then it’s easy to just add sugar to turn it into sweet wine later on.
  • There are a lot of yeast brands to choose from so use that which is reliable. Do your research.
  • Sugar must be added little by little to maximize the kinds of wine you can produce.
  • When it comes to racking, do it twice or thrice.
  • Taste your wine every now and then at proper intervals.
  • Sterilize everything including corks whether new or recycled.
  • Dark bottles must be used when storing red wines.

If there are things to do in wine making instructions, then there are also things that you shouldn’t do.

Don’ts

  • Never ever distill your wine.
  • Resinous wood should not be used in any of your equipment.
  • Don’t try to hasten the process of fermentation by increasing the temperature used.
  • Don’t be unwilling to wait.
  • Don’t forget to strain off the dead yeast and sediment.
  • Don’t rush in filtering your wine. This takes up time.
  • Don’t immediately bottle when you know your wine is still fermenting.

Remember all these wine making instructions and you’ll be on your way to making some wonderful tasting wine for your own pleasure or for gift giving and business.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. You can find more information about how to make professional quality wine at your own home, at Simon’s popular site: www.homemadewinesecrets.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/important-directions-in-making-wine-1566136.html

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What is the difference between white wine, red wine, and rosé wine?

By on December 10th, 2009

Unless you’re a wine aficionado, you may only have a vague idea of the differences between white, red, and rosé wine.  While it’s true that all three do share some characteristics, it’s also true that there are some very large differences between the three, and it doesn’t all have to do with taste, though that is one of the biggest differences.  Some people may wonder why it matters to know the difference between the three.  Choosing the wrong wine to go with a meal, especially in a social setting, can be a major faux pas in some social circles.

All wines are made from grapes, and this is where the differences between the different types of wines begin.  There are actually six different types of wines: white, red, rosé, sparkling, dessert, and fortified wines.  However, white, red, and rosé wines are the most popular.  One of the sparkling wine, especially champagne, is also fairly popular, especially at events like weddings.

White wines have very little pigmentation, and almost all white wines are made from white grapes.  However, black grapes can also be used because their juices are actually clear.  The grape skin is removed before the wine is fermented.  White wines vary in taste—some are quite dry, while others are fairly sweet.  There are a number of popular white wines, including Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, and Gewurztraminer.  White wines work well with pork, fish, and chicken, among other things.

Wine makers use black grapes to make red wine, as well, but unlike White Wine, red wine has a red or sometimes even a blue colour to it.  This colour comes from the grape skins, which are kept with the juice during the fermentation process.  These skins include tannins, a polyphenol that causes a dry feeling in the throat and mouth.  These tannins also make red wine last longer, so it can be aged longer than white wine.  Red wines include Zinfandel, Merlot, Pinot Noir, and Cabernet Sauvignon.  Red wine is perfect for red meat, pasta, and grilled food of all types.

Some people have never heard of rosé wines.  This is because they are sometimes called pink wines or blush wines.  They are also made from black grapes, but unlike red wines, the skins are removed after a few hours.  This gives the wine a slight pink colour and a bit of that dry taste caused by tannins, but not as much as red wine.  Rosé wines are usually pretty sweet, although traditional rosé wine from Europe is some of the driest wine available.  Rosé wines include White Merlot and White Zinfandel.

Finally, champagne is a type of sparkling wine that is usually drunk on New Year’s Eve and at major events.  Technically, a sparkling wine can only be called champagne if it is made from grapes from the Champagne region of France.  The major difference between champagne and other wines is that champagne contains carbon dioxide.  This is what gives champagne and other sparkling wines their bubbles.

Adnams Cellar and Kitchen is UK wine merchant which supplies a wide selection of White Wine, red wine and rosé wines from around the world which can be purchased by the bottle or by the case.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/what-is-the-difference-between-white-wine-red-wine-and-ros-wine-1564613.html

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A Day of Botteling at Winery

By on December 10th, 2009

So, over the weekend I had one of, if not the most, enjoyable day since starting Uncorked Ventures, my wine club company. My wife and I went to Eagles Nest Winery in Ramona, CA about 15 miles east of where we live) to help with the bottling of their free run Cabernet Sauvignon.

We arrived around 9am and had a couple of moments to chat with Dennis and Julie, who fill the multiple functions of winery owner, vineyard manager and winemaker. They were both extremely pleasant and both my wife and I enjoyed chatting with them both throughout the day, even though I imagine my thoughts about meeting the two of them are similar to what people think about my wife and I….Julie is much more chatty then Dennis is….just as Michelle is much more chatty then I am.

After meeting some of the volunteers, including Bill Eyer of Cuvee Corner we went with Julie down to another part of the farm to help organize some of their standing inventory because we would be bottling approximately 75 cases later in the day. We spent about two hours moving boxes, organizing wine and generally trying to create some extra space where available. I’m not the most organized guy in the world (far from it) so it was good to have Michelle there to help….plus we weren’t complaining in being an air conditioned room as summer has made another appearance in California.

After getting last year’s vintage organized we moved up to the bottling room with the other volunteers. What we found there was a bottle filler….A pump moves the wine from the barrel up into a holding tank and then four bottles can be filled at once, there is a sensor to shut off the filler once a bottle is filled to the correct level.

After being filled they are moved over to be corked. As we found throughout the day the ladies did a better job with the new corking machine as they weren’t as impatient as the guys. The guys typically moved too quickly and would cause the machine to lose pressure and necessitate a couple minute wine drinking break….maybe it wasn’t such an accident lol!

After corking it came time for the seal to be placed over the cork. Here we found another new machine of Italian origin. After getting a good laugh at the instruction manual (yes it was in English as well as Italian) because it never suggested a setting for the heated element, we tried out a few different techniques. It seems that the correct technique to have a balanced melt of the seal is to move downward quickly and then slightly pause at the bottom, before moving up again quickly. I can definitely say, this was not a strong suit of mine….I enjoyed filling the wine bottles much more! It was a much different experience then when we typically only sell a wine gift or even just a normal membership to one of our wine clubs.

Normally you’d also apply the label at that time and near the time when we left they started applying some of the labels, but Eagles Nest does a lot of custom labeling for customers so much of the wine is not labeled until directly after sale….which also necessitates part of the organizing of the wine storage area!

All in all both Michelle and I had a great time. Eagles Nest served a lunch of lasagna, garlic bread, salad and wine as well as sending us home with two of their dessert wines. They have a cottage on the property which is like a really, really nice studio apartment which is available for rent. It is just a ways down from where Julie and Dennis (the owners) live and is in the middle of the vines as well as having an amazing wrap around porch with a view of the entire Ramona Valley.

Since this is mostly a wine blog and I am starting a wine business it would not be complete without a mention of the wines we tasted.

During the bottling process we were able to taste their free run Cab…which we generally thought was ok. At lunch we had a glass of Souzaoo which I thought was pretty good and an excellent pairing with the lasagna.

After seeing the winery up close and seeing the amount of time, effort and capital that Eagles Nest is spending to improve its product I have a new appreciation for the struggles that new wineries face. It also makes me understand the old adage from Napa that in the wine industry it takes a large fortune in order to make a small one.

This is the type of family owned, small production winery that we’d love to be able to work with, assuming they are producing world class wines.

At this time, to be perfectly honest I’ve tasted wines in that same price range that I’ve been more impressed with. We have been invited to come back and taste some other wines with Dennis and Julie and may take them up on that offer in the future.

I would encourage anyone in the San Diego area, if you want to spend a night at a very nice location with very nice people and take home some wine that’s better then what you find in Temecula, give Eagles Nest a try. Frankly speaking the Ramonda AVA may produce some world quality wine if the investment is made in the equipment and farming techniques.

Mark Aselstine is one of two Proprietors of Uncorked Ventures. UCV provides three different wine club membership options as well as many different wine gift services. I hope you’ll consider joining one of my wine clubs in the future!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/a-day-of-botteling-at-eagles-nest-winery-outside-of-san-diego-1562235.html