Chardonnay grape is the most known type of white wine, found all over the globe.  The flavour, taste, and aroma of it will though, depending on where it was made and what processing methods were used.  Chardonnay has a lot of different styles and flavours, and remains a major type of grape.  As a consequence of it’s popularity, this fine wine spread throughout Europe and other places of the world like Australia and California.

As more and more wine makers discovered Chardonnay, the fine wine began to grow pretty well in South Africa and other areas as well.  With it being a non aroma type wine, oak seems to work perfectly with it.  The richest and most complex are American and French Chardonnay, that are also among the most preferred white wines.  Although it suffers from fatigue, the flavor and richness of this wine will keep it loved by many for years to come.

Chardonnay originated from the Burgundy and Champagne area of France.  Although white Burgundy is a popular wine that is prepared with Aligote, a lesser known grape, the fact remains that white Burgundy can’t be made without the use of Chardonnay grape.  What this goes to show, is that Chardonnay grapes have more than a few uses.

In appearance, Chardonnay grapes are green in color with thin skins.  The grape is a result of the Pinot and Croatian Blanc grape, which are extinct to this day.  Chardonnay on the other hand is still popular, fermented and aged using oak barrels that help to bring out the vanilla flavor the wine is well known for.  It can also be aged and fermented using bottles, although it won’t age quite as much as red wine.

Almost all Chardonnay wines are considered to be chilled, making them work extremely well with dishes that contain butter and cheeses.  The wines also have less acid content as well, which makes them work well with seafood as well.  There are a lot of food that you can pair Chardonnay with, which is what makes it so popular.  A lot of fine restaurants serve it as well, especially Italian and seafood restaurants.

The Chardonnay grape can also be used in making Champagne and other types of sparkling wines.  Although Chardonnay wine is the most popular use, there are several other uses for the grape that lead to some truly fine wines.  Oak is often times used with the wine as well, which provides it with some great flavors as it ages.  Even though it can be a bit on the expensive side, it still remains one of the most preferred types of wine.  You can find it at any wine or alcohol store - making it a great addition to your wine or drink collection.

Tags: chardonnay, chardonnay grape, white wine

Although there are several types of wine that you buy, one of the most unheard of is ice wine.  Ice wine is a very rare form of wine, a wine that is produced under certain types of weather conditions.  Ice wine is mainly produced in the Pacific Northwest region, where the weather conditions are right for the wine. 

As ironic as it is, ice wine is produced in very small quantities.  With the wine requiring only the fines of quality and a lack of availability, the product is extremely rare indeed.  Truth be told, there are only a lucky few who are actually able to purchase the wine.  Ice wine, due to the scarce amount, can be extremely expensive and out of the price range for a majority of us.

Much like the beauty of owning a diamond, ice wine is something that many of us hope and dream to experience at some point in our lives.  Although the materials are rare, the weather conditions are even more crucial to producing this wine.  Once the right weather conditions arrive, the wine maker prepares to produce this extremely rare and priceless wine.

The basic requirements needed to produce ice wine are fully ripened grapes and a temperature of around 5 degrees C.  The temperature needs to stay that way for several days, so that the wine maker can complete the process of making the wine.  Grapes that are frozen during these extremely cold temperatures are hand plucked at night by the wine maker and his assistants.

To produce a bottle of ice wine, full vine grapes may be required. Once the grapes have been collected, they are gently pressed, in order to collect the running juice only.  The temperature creates the frozen water crystals, which are fermented along with sugars and the particles that are found in the free running juices.  Through this process, the wonderful and rare ice wine is created.

If you have been looking to try ice wine, finding it may be very difficult.  As you probably already know, most alcohol and wine stores don’t sell this rare wine.  Finding it online is very hard to do as well, unless you catch it at the right time.  Even then, if you are able to find it, it can easily cost you hundreds of thousands of dollars for a single bottle.

The best way to experience ice wine is to find the right wine maker in the Pacific Northwest region.  Even though bottles go extremely fast once they have been made, you may be able to catch a wine maker with some on hand.  Be prepared to spend a hefty amount though.  Although it can cost a lot and be extremely hard to find - the taste of ice wine makes it well worth the effort.

Tags: ice wine, wine

Among the many types of wine available, red wine is among the best. There are many types of red wine available, although most are made using the same methods.  This very exhilarating type of wine is made from black grapes, drawing their color from the skins of the grapes. 

During the beginning stages of making red wine, the grapes that have been picked are put into a crusher.  Here, the crusher will gently break the skins of the grapes.  Depending on what type of wine is being made and the tannin that’s required, the stalks will either be used or discarded at this point.  Next, the grapes are put into a fermentation vat with the skins.  This can be a long process, taking several weeks to complete.  If a higher temperature is used, more tannin and color will be extracted from the grapes.

When making soft wines, the whole grapes are fermented using sealed vats.  The carbon dioxide that becomes trapped in the sealed vats ferment the grapes under pressure, which is normally a quick process, taking only a few days.  Keep in mind, the color and tannin content of the wine is based on how long the fermenting process takes.  If the fermenting process takes a long time, the wine will generally hold more flavor and color.

The remaining bulk of the grapes will go through a press, being crushed to create a tannic wine.  Sometimes, this tannic wine is added with a free run wine in order to add a bit more structure to the wine blend.  Both the press and vat wine are then mixed and transferred to either tanks or barrels for a second fermentation.  The second fermentation will take the longest, although it brings out the quality and taste from the wine.

All types of fine red wine will spend a minimum of a year in the barrels.  Some types of red wine will spend a lot more time in the barrels, possibly several years.  Red wine is also fine tuned with egg whites, which will suspend the yeast and other solids found in the wine downwards, before the wine is racked, filtered, and eventually bottled.  Once the wine has been bottled, it is then shipped off and sold.  Some wine however, will be stored for a period of time in the bottle before it is offered for sale.

The time a wine spends in the bottle is very important, although not every wine needs to spend a lot of time in the bottle.  The more complex and more expensive types of red wine will benefit the most from aging in the bottle, to preserve flavor and color.  The simple types of red wine however, don’t need to spend much time at all in the bottle. 

Tags: making red wine, red wine