Based upon my life experiences, there is no doubt in my mind that the more we learn about any task or topic, the more we will enjoy that activity or discussion about a topic. For example, when you and I were kids, how well did we ride the bicycle on our first attempt? Of course, we fell or crashed more than once until we kept on trying and practicing until it was a snap. As we corrected our mistakes and learned how to balance and ride the bike properly, the enjoyment of riding it became exciting and fun. The same is true of every goal or topic of interest we pursue in life. The more we study and learn about the topic and/or activity, the better we become and we will maximize our enjoyment. Does learning about wine really enhance its enjoyment? Check Out These Tips For Maximum Wine Enjoyment.
Now, let’s review the topics below that could help to increase your level of wine enjoyment.
Well, we can’t talk about wine and food without includine wine pairing can we? There are several great options in Gruene to enjoy a fine meal with that great wine of your choice. Whether you want a juicy top sirloin cooked the way you like it, a fine sandwich, chicken, fish, great barbeque pork ribs, or Mexican food, you’ll find it in one of the excellent restaurants in Gruene within a block or so from the Gruene Dance Hall. In closing, we hope you enjoy the two videos, below.
It will soon be 2013! So, let’s prepare to celebrate another New Year! When did New Year celebrations begin? Do you know why we celebrate New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day? What are the New Year’s traditions? For Example, what’s the deal about “Father Time and the “New Year’s Baby?”To fully appreciate and enjoy the beginning of a new year, it helps to know about the history of the New Year holiday. And, of course, many of us want to know what will bring us good luck for the coming year!
A typical New Year’s Eve celebration can be an entertaining and memorable experience. Of course, it may include music, dancing, lots of talking (and laughing); and the finale at midnight that includes lots of hugging, kissing, noise-makers, and possibly a fireworks display.
Of course, toasting is very popular in a New Year’s party. If you don’t think you can come up with a witty or humorous toast, you may get a few ideas from these New Year’s Eve Toasts and Quotes. Although a toast may be done with a red or white wine, the favorite is to ring in the New Year with Champagne or other bubbly beverage (sparkling wine). Plus, you can top off pretty much any cocktail with a little champagne.
Obviously, eating is another favorite activity on New Year’s Eve. There will be at least a variety of appetizers, and maybe a full meal. If you are hosting the party, it will be wise to know what appetizers are best for pairing with champagne. Also, you may find tips in this New Years Eve Survival Guide that may be helpful in preparing to attend that fabulous celebration in the city.
While New Year’s Eve is a celebration (usually at a New Year’s Eve party), New Year’s day is a day of healing from the effects of the party and enjoying family and/or friends with a great meal; and, maybe watching a ball game on TV. This is also the time where we began to look forward to the coming year and hope it will be better than the previous year. On New Year’s Day, why not enjoy a meal that may increase your good fortune? What’s the history behind this idea of good luck foods on New Year’s Day? So , What Are The Lucky Foods for the New Year? Now, we know certain foods to eat for luck in the New Year. Today, we’ll focus on Roast Pork and Hoppin John. First, we suggest these recipes for roast pork. Of course, we need to know which wine(s) pair best with pork, don’t we?. Check out these great Hoppin John recipes.Also, you may enjoy the following New Year’s Quips and Quotes:
Good resolutions are simply checks that men draw on a bank where they have no account.” – Oscar Wilde
“Ring out the old, ring in the new, Ring, happy bells, across the snow: The year is going, let him go; Ring out the false, ring in the true” – Alfred, Lord Tennyson
“An optimist stays up until midnight to see the new year in. A pessimist stays up to make sure the old year leaves.” – Billy Vaughn
“Cheers to a new year and another chance for us to get it right.” – Oprah Winfrey. Please don’t leave until you’ve checked out the New Year’s videos.
Christmas is coming again soon! Are you ready? In previous posts, we discussed wine pairing with Thanksgiving dinner and what was served at the first Thanksgiving. Today, we focus on wine and other traditional drinks for our Christmas celebrations. Drinking wine during the Christmas season has been a tradition for a very long time.
However, the first commercial Christmas cards were commissioned by Sir Henry Cole in London in 1843 and featured an illustration by John Callcott Horsley. The picture showed a family with a small child drinking wine together. Although the picture was controversial, the idea was shrewd; and two batches totaling 2,050 cards were printed and sold that year for a shilling each.
“He who loves not wine, women and song remains a fool his whole life long.” –Martin Luther, German theologian (1483-1546)
It appears obvious to me that a good wine, like a good song, is one that is shared with friends or Lovers. A man or woman, who never opens a bottle of wine with one or more a companions, is a person who has never lived a good life.
Also, did you know that the majority of U.S. wine drinkers are women? That’s right! According to the Wine Market Counsel, 53 percent of wine drinkers in the U.S. are women; and women have matched men as “core drinkers,” those who drink wine at least once a week. That trend may accelerate, if women heed the results of a recent survey of 20,000 women over 13 years by Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital. The poll showed that women who regularly drink a moderate amount of alcohol, particularly red wine, are less likely to have long-term weight gain than nondrinkers. Also, a nightly glass of wine may protect boomer women’s bones. What do Women Want in Wine? Plus, you may be interested to review other benefits of drinking wine.
Now that we’ve established the fact that wine pairs well with women, let’s pursue the ideal song to complete the wine, women, and song scenario. This is a good time to remind ourselves of the major role that music plays to enhance our enjoyment of drinking wine with one or more companions. After a little research, I found what seems to be the ideal song to complete our wine, women, and song topic. The song is appropriately titled, “Wine, Women and Song.” Watch and listen to that song video performed by Loretta Lynn (below this article).
Wine Quips & Quotes, … , Wine Pairing and Recipes:
Today’s Wine Quotes are actually song lyrics:
Yeah, I love that Sangria wine. Just like I love old friends of mine. They tell the truth when they’re mixed with the wine.
That’s why I blend in the lemons and limes.
Yeah I love that Sangria wine — Just like I love old friends of mine
They tell the truth when they’re mixed with the wine.
That’s why I blend in the lemons and limes.
So I’ll just live on wine and water my vines
And sleep on the wind with the fires right behind
And sing on the beaches and dance through the night
Oh we’ll cry ‘pass the wine, pass the wine, pass the wine.’
National Food of the Month (December): Fruitcake
Food and Wine Pairing: Fruitcake pairs well with: Port, Riesling or Orange Muscat.
It’s hard to believe that Thanksgiving is already here again. Time flies when we’re having fun!
What Did the Pilgrims Drink? Although the drinks available on the first Thanksgiving Day were not factually recorded, it is likely that the pilgrims drank what was commonly available to them — mainly water, fruity juices, cider, and scarce amounts of alcoholic beverages, such as mead, a wine made from honey. Yes, it’s very likely that the Pilgrims had wine with their meal. Although, there was no other choice for wine pairing options, it was certainly adequate under the circumstances.
What Did the Pilgrims Eat? If you were eating at the First Thanksgiving in 1621 (or 1623), you would discover that some of your Thanksgiving favorites might not have been served. Our current traditional Thanksgiving menu typically consists of turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin, vegetables, pie and sweet potatoes. We may eat these foods on modern day Thanksgiving, but that first feast did not consist of all these items. The foods served for that first meal were very different than what we typically think of as a modern Thanksgiving feast.
Instead, the Pilgrims dined on a more modest (and probably healthier) meal of what was available to them at the time. The first Thanksgiving feast lasted three whole days providing enough food for 53 pilgrims and 90 Indians. On the first feast, the meal included any type of meat and seafood that the pilgrims hunted or gathered, such as wild turkey, duck, geese, swan, venison, fish, lobster, clams, mussels, and eel. Pumpkin pie wasn’t on the menu, because there were no ovens for baking, but they did have boiled pumpkin. Cranberries weren’t introduced at this time. Due to the diminishing supply of flour, there was no bread of any kind. Other foods included in the first feast were berries, dried fruit, squash, corn, cabbage, red and white grapes, red and black plums, and berries.
Why are turkeys traditionally eaten on Thanksgiving? Turkey’s are traditional for Thanksgiving, because when the Pilgrims came to America, wild turkeys were abundant. Because of the prevalence and other reasons, Ben Franklin supported the turkey as a national symbol. However, the eagle finally won the debate. Instead of a turkey, the Eagle is displayed on the U.S. Seal, established by the Continental Congress on June 20, 1782. Don’t leave yet! The video below provides, in a realistic way, the story of the first Thanksgiving.
The wine we choose for our special dinner should pair well with the menu that is selected by the chief cook of the family. If there will be appetizers before dinner, you may consider offering champagne with it. When we think about Thanksgiving, we usually expect a turkey with dressing. But, it is not unusual to see a pork roast, ham, or goose instead of, or in addition to, the turkey. Naturally, stuffing, potatoes, gravy, corn, and other vegetables are included. And, let’s not forget the baked bread (or cornbread), cranberry sauce, yams and desserts. Now, how can we possibly select a wine (or wines) for all of that? It may seem to be a challenging task. It’s definitely worth the effort, because the wine can make any fine meal even better!
To keep it simple with a minimum number of wines (and minimum cost), we will not attempt to pair each dish with a specific wine. The best approach is to choose wine that is versatile. For example, you may choose to provide Merlot or Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, because they go well with a variety of foods. If you want alternative choices, consider Cabernet Sauvignon, Riesling, and/or Zinfandel.
Most importantly, when you’re at the table on Thanksgiving Day with family and/or friends, give thanks for your blessings; and raise your glass and toast! Get an additional insight about pairing wine with Thanksgiving dinner by viewing the video below, titled: Top 5 Wines For Thanksgiving.
Today, we will discuss three types of wine accessories that are seldom written about. We will address the purpose and importance of each. Let’s begin with a short review about protecting our wine from deterioration. So, what are the threats to wine; and how should we protect our wine? In a nutshell, to protect wine from deteriorating, it must be stored within the right conditions.
The wine bottle stopper (also know as a wine closure) is among the most important wine accessories, as it helps to protect the wine from ruining due to “cork taint.” You may want to learn more about stoppers and cork taint.
A Wine Glass Charm is a popular and special item for your personal collection, and can be used to dress up your glass, or for presenting to dear friends to celebrate a Birthday, Engagement, Wedding, a corporate event, and any other occasion. It’s really the essential and wonderful favor for all the parties. In addition, your guests will not lose their wine glass, as it defines which one is theirs. Wine charms are typically purchased in a set.
Now, let’s discuss wine accessory sets. Why be interested in accessory sets? The primary benefits of having an accessory set is: (1) Each set provides two or more accessories with one purchase. For example, a 3-piece set may contain a stainless steel winged corkscrew and two stainless steel corkscrews in a fine cherry wood case. (2) You may prefer a 6-piece set with a winged corkscrew, 2 polished stainless steel bottle stoppers, a polished stainless steel leak proof ring, a stylish foil cutter, and a wine thermometer. Accessories are available in chrome, pewter or stainless steel. (3) Also, you always have the option to purchase a single wine accessory of your choice in addition to or, instead of, the Wine Accessory Set. (4) Of course, the Wine Accessory Set is a great gift for a wine lover to receive for any occasion.
Before you leave, don’t forget to review this week’s wine pairing, recipes, wine quips and quotes… and the video about the top 3 wine accessories, below.
Now, our featured food for wine pairing and recipes is peanut butter. Yes, would you believe that November is National Peanut Butter Month? I was also surprised. But, I must honestly admit that I definitely love peanut butter! Plus, it’s pretty darn good for us!
Today’s Pairing: Peanut Butter Dinner Recipes pair well with Port, German Riesling, Rose, Cabernet Sauvignon and Gewurztraminer.
Wine gives great pleasure; and every pleasure is of itself a good experience. It is a good, unless counterbalanced by evil… Samuel Johnson, Boswell’s Life of Johnson.
Wine is one of the most civilized things in the world and one of the most natural things of the world that has been brought to the greatest perfection, and it offers a greater range for enjoyment and appreciation than, possibly, any other purely sensory thing. Ernest Hemingway, Death in the Afternoon
To begin, consider the reason(s) why we would want a wine cellar. It is important that YOU determine YOUR answers to the following questions: (1) Do you love wine enough to invest the sufficient amount of time and money to have the kind of wine cellar you want? (2) Would you enjoy hosting Wine Tasting Parties in your home? (3) Do you often socialize with groups of people in your home? (4) Are you interested in buying and storing high quality wine as an investment? (5) How many bottles of wine do you need (or want) to store?
If your answer to the first four questions is yes, and you can comfortably answer question 5, then you may be ready to begin planning for that ideal home wine cellar!
Obviously, if you want to store wine as a long-term investment, you need to identify how many bottles you will store–so that the right number of racks are planned to hold all the wine you have (or will have) in your wine cellar. For example, if you will be storing 600 to 3,000 or more bottles of wine, you will need a wine cellar room that is large enough to adequately store that much wine. This room will require an appropriate cooling unit, as well as a wine tasting table, chairs, and other features that you want to include in your Custom Designed Wine Cellar. However,if you wish to store less than600 wine bottles, you will need to obtain a wine cellar that holds less and costs less.
Keep in mind the definition of a wine cellar with ideal conditions. Then, you need to review the options for smaller wine cellars that will adequately store your wine conveniently, while maintaining the ideal wine storage conditions and enhancing your home décor. For example, do you need to store 200 to 400,140 to 200, or 12 to 52 wine bottles?
Contact us when you are ready to take your first steps toward your home wine cellar of 12 to 400+ wine bottles, or to design and estimate your needs and cost for that great wine cellar room.
Now, take a look at our Wine Quotes, Wine Pairing, and Recipes provided below.
Wine Quotes:
Consuming wine in moderation daily will help people to die young as late as possible.
~ Dr Philip Norrie
Wine is the thinking person’s health drink.
~Dr. Phillip Norrie
“Men are like wine – some turn to vinegar, but the best improve with age.”
~ Pope John XXIII
This month is National Chicken Month. So, our chicken recipes and wine pairing are:
Wine Pairing: We suggest that you pair your chicken (or turkey) entree with Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc. However, if you are preparing a spicy chicken dish, we recommend that you pair it with Viognier Wine.
Today, we’re going to review the basics of wine tasting. The goal of many of us wine lovers is to become more knowledgeable and proficient at properly tasting and analyzing the wine. This is important so that we can maximize our enjoyment of wine tasting experiences among our friends and others. You may be more confident in a crowd if you first practice at home with a few simple steps in proper tasting. Most experienced wine tasters will use a series of steps to guide them through the most efficient and effective tasting process. The most basic procedure is the use of three simple steps … ”The Three S’s: The See (look), Smell (aroma), and Sip (taste). Then, there is the four step process: See, Smell, Swirl, and Sip . Next is the five step process: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Savor and…the six step process: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Swish, and Swallow (or Spit). Or, there is the seven step process: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Swish, Savor and Swallow (or Spit). What exactly does it mean to savor? Savor is the quality that makes something interesting or enjoyable. It is to enjoy an experience, activity, or feeling as much as you can and for as long as you can. Or, to enjoy the flavor of something as much as you can by eating or drinking it slowly. Oh, and some of you may be wondering … Why spit? To answer that question and obtain other tips about wine tasting, it can be interesting and helpful for you to review this article about Attending a Wine Tasting Event.
Here’s ourWine and Food Pairing, Recipes and Wine Quotes of the Week! Today, Aug 29th is Chop Suey Day. So, that’s why Chop Suey is our selection for wine pairing and recipes, probided below:
Wine Pairing with Chicken Chop Suey: Pinot Grigio or White Burgundy
For when the wine is in, the wit is out. (Catechism, 375); Becon, Thomas | (1512-1567) British Protestant Reformer
A hard drinker, being at the table, was offered grapes for dessert. ‘Thank you,’ said he, pushing the dish away from him, ‘but I am not in the habit of taking my wine in pills.’; Brillat-Savarin, Jean-Anthelme
The discovery of a good wine is increasingly better for mankind than the discovery of a new star; Da Vinci, Leonardo (1452-1519) | Italian Artist
Based upon my life experiences, there is no doubt in my mind that the more we learn about any task or topic, the more we will enjoy that activity or discussion about a topic. For example, when you and I were kids, how well did we ride the bicycle on our first attempt? Of course, we fell or crashed more than once until we kept on trying and practicing until it was a snap. As we corrected our mistakes and learned how to balance and ride the bike 
properly, the enjoyment of riding it became exciting and fun. The same is true of every goal or topic of interest we pursue in life. The more we study and learn about the topic and/or activity, the better we become and we will maximize our enjoyment. Does learning about wine really enhance its enjoyment? Check Out These Tips For Maximum Wine Enjoyment. 
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