Monday 29 April 2013

Buy Fine Wine Online


Wine makes a wonderful present. It can be a gesture of apology after an argument to a gift of thanks - for a wonderful visit or dinner. It can be a symbol of age - being given a beautiful fine wine to mark an important occasion and it's also used to celebrate, from graduations to weddings.

When you come to buy fine wine, online is the way to go. It is only once you get online and start researching that you realise the huge variety, quality and value of wines available from across Europe and beyond. From specialist merchants to online supermarket retailers, you're sure to find something to fit the occasion.
Buying wine online often comes with an added benefit; you'll find that if you buy a certain number i.e. 6, they'll add in an extra two for free. And it's not just the cheap wine they give away. Several specialist wine merchants now offer online packages where they will send you a variety of wines every month, at a discounted rate. This allows you to test your palette and expand your range of wines; who knows? You may find a good Australian that knocks the spots of your normal French red.

It's also the case that different retailers will specialise in different types of wine. By and large, Old World wines have been slower to get onto the online market, just because they have traditionally been far more successful in retail than New World wines. So when you're buying wine online today, you may find New World wines more abundant or at better rates to Old World.

The same goes for good quality champagne and dessert wine. Harder to find in store because their prices and taste makes them a slower turn around, it is easy to find good quality dessert wine and champagnes at a reasonable price online, where the issues a traditional supermarket faces are reduced. http://ezinearticles.com/?Buy-Fine-Wine-Online&id=5524586

Saturday 27 April 2013

The anticipated worldwide economic recovery is yet to materialise and the key financial markets from Tokyo to New York are still in an unfavourable state. Confused investors who are being forced to look for secure havens that will prove to offer good returns during recessions and financial commotion, are looking narrowly at the high returns yielded over the past few years from Fine Wine investment.

Few know that Fine Wine has outperformed almost every major financial index in the last two decades, and in some periods has even outperformed gold and crude oil investments. 5 year average performance of wines quoted on the Liv-ex 50 and Live-ex100 indices, the global marketplace, have showed growth of 270% and 192% respectively, effortlessly matching returns from other riskier investments.
Wine investment is not a new trend, however historically this lucrative division was traditionally the province of the knowledgeable few, but now an increasing number of investors are taking their first steps into this exciting market.

There is a wide choice of fine wine investment companies to assist people get into the market and help them throughout the process, whereby investors need not know anything about vintage wine. Buying investment wine from a reputable source and having it correctly stored is the very first step to ensuring the investment potential of a fine wine.

Generally, it is recommended investors consider Fine Wine as a medium to long term investment. Recent years have seen major price growth in the short term for specific wines, however, an investment period of 3-5 years should allow investors to benefit from the opportunities of a full market cycle and a longer phase of 8-10 years or more could see maximum returns.

Prices per case vary, but the top performers will demand over £5000 per case which can double in money. Given the current nature of the market first time investor's budget should ideally contain a mix of traditionally good performing wines, such as one of the so called Big Nine most prestigious Bordeaux's along with less well established, vintages.

Prices of cases may go down as well as up, and the ultimate endeavour is to depart at a profit. The catchword for any canny investor in these difficult economic times diversification and fine wine makes a great addition to any investment portfolio. What better companion could be asked for as we navigate through this rough economic period than some fine wine! http://ezinearticles.com/?Investing-in-Fine-Wine&id=6573411


Thursday 25 April 2013

To Let Wine Breathe Or Not To Breathe



We've all heard that we should let wine breathe... Okay, but for how long? At what temperature? Or, should we let the wine breathe at all? The whole concept of letting wine breathe, or aerate, is simply exposing your wine to the surrounding air. By allowing wine to mix with air, the wine will warm a little and the wine's bouquet will open up, the flavor will soften and mellow out and the overall full flavor characteristics should improve. Allowing a wine to breathe is to oxidize the tannins or molecules in the wine that give it the puckering on your tongue. The best way to know if a wine has to breathe is to taste it. If the pucker is too sucky then you might want to let it breathe a little.

Here are some simple guidelines to help:

An oakey chardonnay generally can be served straight from the bottle. No breathing time is required.
Your lighter, fruitier grapes such as merlot, shiraz/syrah, and pinot noir usually don't need to breathe. They get all the aeration they need just being poured into your glass. If you taste it and it's too tannic, just swirl it around in your wine glass and let it rest a minute or two.

Young wines usually need help, but most vintners these days design their wines to be served young. In our society today, no one wants to wait for anything and that includes letting wine breathe!
The boldest wines, red zinfandels and cabernets, are the most likely to benefit from breathing a few minutes. You can always test it by tasting it to see if it has mellowed enough.

Italian and Spanish wines often need a few minutes in the glass, so do some French burgundies and Bordeaux. They're designed to be tannic; that's the way the Europeans prefer them. We Americans like it softer before drinking. We would need to let it breathe a while.

If a wine does need to breathe, though, just popping the cork isn't going to help. You would need to pour it into a decanter and swirl it around a couple of times. Personally, I never would pour wine into a decanter. I would do it for ambiance or to impress my dinner guests at the table but the wines of today are designed to be easy to drink without waiting, especially the ones in my price range.


Wednesday 24 April 2013

The Many Health Benefits of Fine Wine

I enjoy a glass of wine, but is it actually good for you? Read this interesting article and find out.



When it comes to family celebrations and gatherings, a bottle of wine should always be present. You can't have a toast without everyone's favorite wine. Apart from that, it's always been a tradition to include different kinds of wine during outings and parties. All over the world, the custom of drinking wine after a hearty meal is very popular and have been done by civilizations from all over the world. And now, there's a new reason why you should start drinking wine after meals.

Health experts have found out that resveratrol, an antioxidant that helps in cellular growth and structure, is a main component inside wine. Resveratrol comes from the skin of red grapes, which is the main ingredient for red wine. It's interesting though that health buffs always recommend red wine, since, it's undoubtedly, a great source of resveratrol and other beneficial goodies. It is still a hot topic for research for now, but it has been proven that if taken moderately, red wine helps prevent arterial wall damage, clogging arteries, and raising HDL, otherwise known as "good cholesterol".

According to old folks, this liquor also serves as a good way of fighting depression. Well, I do see a lot of people get a few glasses of it whenever they have problems, but studies does show that people with depression feel better after a few glasses. But this is where I tell my friends about the fine line between drinking in moderation and drinking in excess. As they all say, drinking too much wine is bad for you. In fact, one of the leading causes of most diseases is related to alcohol abuse. Liver problems, hypertension, and diabetes are just some of the many problems associated with alcohol abuse.

What's the good practice of drinking this liquor? It actually depends on you. If you'd like to drink a few shots after dinner, then that's fine. It is usually acceptable to drink red wine after eating dinner, since it helps with digestion. Also, don't just limit yourself with the usual red-colored drink. There are other kinds of wine that are healthy as well. More importantly, always remember that wine is still alcohol. Don't drink too much to the point of getting drunk because you'll definitely regret it.

There are many types of wines as well. Red wine is just one of the many types available in the market. But why is it called "red wine" anyway? During the fermentation process, the skin of the red grapes are mixed together with the juice, therefore the reason for its appearance. As for white wine, it comes from white grapes, but the skin of the said fruit is not mixed with the juice.

Choose the kind of wine you want to get for your loved one or family member. Whether it's for weddings, anniversaries or for the holidays, these alcoholic drinks are sure to bring good cheers to your parties and events! http://ezinearticles.com/?The-Many-Health-Benefits-of-Fine-Wine&id=7400882

Sunday 21 April 2013

Wine Tips to Save You Time, Money, and Stress

They say wine makes glad the heart of man, but for many people, the experience gives them stress instead of happiness. The good news is there are plenty of ways you can enjoy your favorite bottle to the fullest, from the moment you open it and taste it to the moment you finish off the last drop.

Stress-Free Way to Open a Wine Bottle
Opening a bottle of wine is no joke. Before they can enjoy their wine, most people would spend several minutes trying to figure out how to open the bottle without damaging the cork. Believe it or not, there's a way to open a bottle of wine that won't take you forever. In fact, it will only take you 3-5 seconds, and that's with the help of a cork pop. The cork screw is a prehistoric tool, so if you don't want to take forever just to open your wine, use a cork pop instead. It's faster, it's easier, and it's more convenient to use.

How to Turn a $10 Bottle of Wine to a $30 Tasting Wine
Do you know that you don't actually have to spend more than $10 to get a bottle of tasting wine? The secret lies in the way you drink your wine. Three things to keep in mind are temperature, aeration, and glassware. Combine all three together and you'll make your wine super. All you need to do is get your bottle of wine and dip it in an ice bucket to bring the temperature down to what a wine cellar would be. Next, focus on aeration. You want to see all the bubbles in the wine so what you need to do is pour the wine to a large glass pitcher. That will give the wine a good amount of aeration. Finally, make sure you use the right wine glass and give your wine a good swirl for further aeration that will cause all the aromas to rise upward towards the top of the glass.

How to Keep Your Wine Fresh After Opening It
Leftover wine starts to go bad after five days. To make sure your wine stays fresh up to a week, store it in a beer bottle instead. Empty out the beer bottle, wash it, pour your wine there, and seal it using a screw cap. The screw cap will keep the bottle air tight, preserving your favorite wine for up to a week.

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