How to make wine?

With a basic history out of the way, what are the actual steps to ferment your first batch of wine?  Well, if you want to start at the beginning, buy the fruit that will eventually become your final product.

Sourcing wine grapes does not need to be complicated.  In fact, these days you can even do it over the internet.    Unless you want to just get the basics in place, don’t turn to grapes or fruit from the local grocer, but instead find a regional source of wine grapes that will ship directly to you.

Once you have your fruit supply, the initial step is simply to mash the fruit and create an extraction.  Depending on the grape, wine can be made from the straight juice without additional liquid or sugar added.    However, often additional sugars, fruit juices and water will need to be added to create the desired concentration of fruit flavor before fermentation.  The end product of this first step is known as a must.  During subsequent steps yeast will be added to the must to ferment the juice.

Wine and food pairing

Wine and food pairings is an individual choice. Every person's sense of taste is different. In general, each person should decide for him or herself what combinations of wine and food taste good - don't worry about what anyone else says should work. However, I understand this is difficult when a wine drinker is just starting out.

Wine and food matching is the process of pairing food dishes with wine to enhance the dining experience. In many cultures, wine has had a long history of being a staple at the dinner table and in some ways both the winemaking and culinary traditions of a region will have evolved together over the years. Rather than following a set of rules, local cuisines were paired simply with local wines. The modern "art" of food pairings is a relatively recent phenomenon, fostering an industry of books and media with guidelines for pairings of particular foods and wine. In therestourant industry, sommeliers are often present to make food pairing recommendations for the guest. The main concept behind pairings is that certain elements (such as texture and flavor) in both food and wine react differently to each other and finding the right combination of these elements will make the entire dining experience more enjoyable. However, taste and enjoyment are very subjective.

Ribadouro's wine selling online

Great news for our costumers!

From now one you can buy our wine by internet, follow this link:

http://livraria.vidaeconomica.pt/69-vinhos

Enjoy!

Decanting a wine

A decanter is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters are normally used as serving vessels for wine. Decanters vary in shape and design. They are usually made of an inert material (such as glass) and will hold at least one standard bottle of wine. A similar kind of vessel, the carafe, is used for serving wine as well as other drinks, but is not supplied with a stopper.

Decanters serve two basic purposes, besides looking great on the bar or buffet. When you pour wine into the decanter from the bottle properly, it allows the sediment to separate from the wine. This is especially important for older wines, because they have a tendency to have more sediment which may impart a bitter flavor. Having bits of something floating around in your glass can be less than appetizing as well.

Calories in wine

With 7 calories per gram, the number of calories in alcohol is second only after fat (9 cals/g).
The calories in alcohol are metabolised first by the body, ahead of burning fat - which is not desirable if on a weight loss diet.
Nutracheck's weight loss service doesn't ban alcohol, but instead gives you a tool to monitor the number of calories in your diet from alcohol. Your food diary includes an Alcohol Monitor that tracks daily and weekly intake.

Wine accessories

Part of the drinking wine is some of the nice accessories –  chillers, gorgeous glasses, corkscrew, alcohol thermometer, wine stoppers and decanters all the excellent stuff that goes with wine.

Wine chillers - a refrigerated wine cooler is one of the best ways to keep your wine properly stored and maintained.

Glasses - Choosing the right types of wine glasses is necessary in order to completely enjoy a certain type of wine (white, red, rose, fortified wine).

Decanter - is a vessel that is used to hold the decantation of a liquid (such as wine) which may contain sediment. Decanters are normally used as serving vessels for wine. Decanters vary in shape and design.  

Corkscrew -  is a kitchen tool for drawing corks from wine bottles. Generally, a corkscrew consists of a pointed metallic helix (often called the "worm") attached to a handle. The user grips the handle and screws the metal point into the cork, until the helix is firmly embedded, then a vertical pull on the corkscrew extracts the cork from the bottle. Corkscrews are necessary because corks themselves, being small and smooth, are difficult to grip and remove, particularly when inserted fully into an inflexible glass bottle.

Alcohol thermometer -  is a temperature measuring equipment that is made up of a glass capillary tube that is marked with Celsius or Fahrenheit degrees symbols and contains alcohol that rises when it expands or falls when it contracts due to the change in temperature. Alcohol thermometers are also known as spirit thermometers.

Wine stoppers -  are usually made from glass, pewter, crystal, and stainless steel for sealing your bottles instead of corks.

Gastronomic festival

Cooperative Agricola RIBADOURO invites you to visit our stand in Gastronomic festival of SABORES MIRANDESES in Miranda do Douro (Portugal), that will be open 17-20 of February 2012.

Try our best wines with traditional food of North region of Portugal.

Portuguese wine history

Portuguese wine history is longer than the foundation of Portugal. It is believed that wine was first planted in the Iberian Peninsula (in the Tagus and Sado Valley) around 2000 B.C. by the Tartessians. The Phoenicians took over the Tartessian trade, including wine trade around 10th century B.C. and have introduced new grape varieties. In the 7th century B.C. the Greeks settled in the Iberian Peninsula and developed wine growing. In the 6th century B.C. the Celts brought their own grape varieties into the Iberian Peninsula.

Exhibition FEIRA DO FUMEIRO in Vinhais

Cooperative Agricola RIBADOURO invites you to visit our stand in exhibition FEIRA DO FUMEIRO in Vinhais (Portugal), pavilion Nº2, that will be open 9-12 of February 2012.

Try our best wines with traditional food of North region of Portugal.

Older wine bottles

Lhéngua Mirandesa 2001, red wine 0.75 L


Mirandum red wine 2001, 0.75 L                             Pauliteiros rose wine 2002, 0.75 L