Kosher Wine

Today I was finally able to go to dinner in the Jewish Ghetto at a Kosher ristorante with Ilana and her mom. To go along with my dinner I decided to try some Kosher wine. While doing some research about Kosher wine in Italy to my surprise I found an article that said Kosher wine is on the rise in Italy, especially in Milan and Rome.

To be considered Kosher wine there are many rules that must be followed. First, to abide by Jewish law only followers of the Jewish faith may come in contact with the wine. Second, no yeast products made from animals may be used in the production of the wine. Finally, the vineyard producing the wine must shut down production every seven years and rest.

There are about twelve vineyards in Italy currently producing Kosher wine. "Giordano is the biggest, producing two million bottles a year, all of which is destined for the markets in the United states and Canada". I have to admit that back in the States the only Kosher wine I have ever had was Manishevitz, and I am not very fond of it. The wine I had tonight at dinner was delicious. It was a little sweet and so much better than the cheap Manishevitz wine we typically have for Jewish holidays.

"Kosher wine production in Italy on the rise." Italy 16 June 2008 25 Jun 2008.

Cinque Terre Wine

After hiking all day through the five towns that make up the Cinque Terre region I was eager to try some fresh fish and local wine. In Cinque Terre two types of wine are produced: Cinque Terre and Sciacchetra. I tried the Cinque Terre the first and was hooked for the rest of the weekend.

Cinque Terre is a white wine that is dry but still has a sweet after taste. Since it is produced by the ocean, it compliments the fish caught in the region. It also goes well with the pesto dishes (which Cinque Terre is known for).

Sciacchetra is a dessert red wine that only gets better with age. Although it is said to be rather dry, it provides a nice balance to your sweet dessert.

Phillips, Kyle. "Le Cinque Terre." About.com. 22 Jun 2008. http://italianfood.about.com/library/weekly/aa011497.htm.

Homemade Wine in Boys' Town

While we were in Boys' Town of Rome, we were able to see the cellar where they store and sell the wine that they produce. The cold and musty room with cement floors and white, subway tiles that covered the walls had spouts all along the walls where the wine would come out.

You have the choice of either white or red wine to purchase. Anyone wishing to purchase the wine can bring their own water bottles or they can use the liter and a half bottles that they have in the shop to be filled with wine. It costs about 1,20 Euro for white and 1,50 Euro for red per liter.

I purchased a liter and a half of the red table wine. It is sweet and goes perfectly with all of my pasta dishes that I have been making for dinner. I really enjoy knowing where my wine came from and that my money is going to help boys that are in need.

Chianti

Having just spent a night in Tuscany and immediately falling in love with the region, I thought it would be nice to learn more about the wine they are most known for: Chianti.

Chianti is a red wine that received its name in 1716 from the wine area Chianti. This area has grown almost 40 percent from three villages in 1716 to more than twelve. Many recently added villages simply add in Chianti to the end of their name to show that they are now apart of the region.

Most Chianti can be purchased in traditional wine bottles from as low as ten dollars and to as pricey as a few hundred dollars for a more sophisticated Chianti. Some wine makers still bottle their Chianti in a "squat bottle enclosed in a straw basket, called fiasco"[1].

Chianti is usually served and drank at room temperature, similar to other red wines. It is, however, considered a Super Tuscan wine because "it is made from a blend of grapes with Sangiovese as the dominant" grape [2].

[1]"Chianti." Wikipedia. 10 Jun 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chianti.

[2]"Italian Wine." Wikipedia.4 June 2008. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Italian_wine

Home Wine Making

The other day, my boyfriend was telling me how him and his friend decided to learn how to brew their own beer. I thought it was such a great idea. It allows you to understand what you are drinking and enjoy your beer so much more.

So, I wondered if it would be possible to make your own wine, since it is a blog topic of mine. Much to my delight, it is extremely possible to do and fairly inexpensive once you complete the process a few times. All you need to do is a little research online and buy a few kits to begin.

To get started it is easiest to purchase an equipment starter kit and a wine ingredient kit. Since both kits contain everything that you need to create the perfect wine for your taste all you need to do next is add water. This will cause the fermentation process to occur and soon your wine will be ready.

• please click here for a list of the contents of both kits
• please click here for step-by-step instructions
• a recipe for dry red and white table wine can be found here
  

"An Introduction to Homewinemaking & Homebrew." Home Wine Making. 2 Jun 2008. http://www.homewinemaking.co.uk/.

"I want to make my own wine and beer!." Brewery Lane. Brewery Lane Ltd.. 2 Jun 2008. http://www.brewerylane.com/getting_started.html.

Crowe, Alison. "your first wine from fresh grapes." WineMaker. 2 Jun 2008. http://winemakermag.com/yourfirstwine/grapes.html.

Wine Etiquette

I will be traveling to Tuscany next weekend, so I thought it would be extremely important to learn wine etiquette before I entered a wine tasting. Although it may seem intimidating to enter a wine tasting at 21, I found that these guidelines helpful in easing my nerves. I also think it will enlighten my experience while I am there, having all this knowledge prior to arriving.

If you are planning on trying more than one wine, it is important to try white wines before red wines, light wines before dark, dry wines before sweet, and simple wines before complex.

There are 5 steps one can follow when tasting wine. They are color, swirl, smell, taste, and savor.

The color of the wine can give you a sense of how old the wine is, which type of grape was used to produce it, and if the wine was aged in wood.

It is important to allow your wine to breathe, that is why people swirl the wine in their glass before trying it. The oxygen in the air helps to open up the flavors in the wine, especially for red wines. That is why some red wines are served in open glass containers, instead of bottles.

Smelling the wine, after you swirl it, is said to be the most important step in the entire process. You are supposed to smell it three times, so that each time you encounter more of the essence of the wine. It is suggested that you the smell the wines you prefer often, so that you can begin to identify the better ones.

Once you finally take a sip of the wine, it is important not to just swallow it immediately. You should allow all the taste buds in your mouth to experience the flavors in the wine. If you just swallow it right away, you will never fully taste the wine.

The final step is to savor the wine you just had. It is a good idea, after you finish, to reflect on the wine you had and exam what you liked and disliked about it. This will help you decide which types of wines you prefer!

"Maggie's Wine Etiquette ." 28 May 2008. http://www.geocities.com/NapaValley/9705/wine/wine.html.
"Wine Etiquette." Pick A Restaurant. 28 May 2008. http://www.pickarestaurant.com/reference/wine_etiquetterecommended_wine.htm.

Vino Bianco from Sorrento

This weekend I had the chance to visit Sorrento, Italy and taste the 'vino locale bianco' at dinner. The wine that comes from Sorrento falls into the Campania region. This is because there are 20 different wine regions in Italy, that correspond to the different political regions. There is also over 350 grapes that have been documented by Italy's Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry and given "authorized status".

The wine I had for dinner, from Ristorante del Fino, had a hint of fruit but was on the dry side, which I adored. It was one of the best white wines I have ever had. I always wanted to have a glass of Italian wine and be in the city it was from. I felt like I was living a dream, drinking my glass of wine, while the sun set over the sea behind us. Our waiter, Roberto, recommended the wine, and having read about this restaurant in Rick Steve's book I was confident in Roberto's suggestion. He said the wine was made not far from where we were staying and eating dinner in Marina Grande.

Although not considered wine, I also had a chance to try the limoncello made in Sorrento. The lemons in this region are amazing. They grow extremely large and are very sweet. Every restaurant we ate at gave us free samples of limoncello to try. The people in Sorrento are extremely proud of this product, and they should be because it has a wonderful taste and quality. It is sweet and refreshing but with a strong kick at the end. I had to buy some for my family back home!

Reference: "Italian Wine." Wikipedia. 20 May 2008. 21 May 2008 .

Some History on Wine in Italy

Italians have been proudly growing grapes to harvest for wine for over two-thousand years! In the second century BC. Romans used their intelligence to their advantage and began developing their own vineyards to produce wine using advanced storage techniques like barrel-making and bottling.

Today, grapes are grown on over 1 million vineyards in Italy, with most of the wines being produced in wineries to increase production. Wines created in Italy "tend to be acidic, dry, light-to-medium bodied, and subdued in flavor and aroma". I was surprised to find that because of these characteristics Italian wine is preferred to be companied with food, rather than drink it on its own. I am really looking forward to going to this wine bar in Trastevere and seeing if they serve an aperitivo (appetizer) with a glass of wine.

There are four main categories of wine under Italy's classification system, with two in the EU category and two in the 'table wine' category. The EU category refers to the quality wine of produced in specific regions. Under the EU category are Denominazione di Orginie Controllata (DOC) and Denominazione di Orginie Controllata e Garantita (DOCG). These zones define specific regions and grapes that have been tested for quality. Under the 'table wine' category are Vino da Travola and Indicazione Geografica Tipica, which define wines from Italy and wines from specific regions in Italy respectfully.

As one is probably aware there are many varieties of wines in Italy, from rosso (red) to bianco (white) to super tuscans for which I will save for another blog.

Reference: "Italian Wine." Wikipedia. 20 May 2008. 21 May 2008 .

The more vino the better!

When one thinks of Italy some of the first things that come to mind are the food, the architecture, and of course the wine. This is because Italy is second only to France when it comes to the amount of wine that is produced by all the countries in the world. In the Italian language wine is called vino, and it is an extremely important aspect of Italian culture.

Almost every cafe, restaurant, and food store has wine to serve or buy. In the city of Rome there are numerous wine bars where one can sample different types of wine and many of the restaurants give suggestions about which type of wine should be paired with your meal. Outside the city, there are vineyards covering the entire country of Italy. A good glass or bottle of wine is extremely easy to come across in Rome. The prices are also fantastic. A delicious and tasty wine can run you as little as 5 Euro! I am a wine lover, but I don't really know that much about how wine is made, how to properly smell, taste, and drink wine, or when and why people drink wine so much here in Italy. I am hoping that observing and researching about wine made in Italy will allow me to become a real wine enthusiast as opposed to someone that only enjoys drinking wine. I have found a few wine bars right in our neighborhood that I can't wait to visit, and I plan on visiting a vineyard in Tuscany. They seem like good places to start to learn more about wine. I could imagine being in a more perfect place than Italy to learn about wine!