Taking the Mystery Out of WineWine. Such a seemingly simple beverage, yet potentially complicated at the same time. But, it doesn’t have to be. How does one go about choosing and serving wine? How do you know which wine to serve with what type of food? How do you know if the wine is fresh? These and more  questions will be answered with these easy-to-follow guidelines and suggestions. You will be calling yourself ‘wine sommelier’ in no time. What is Wine?Wine, by definition, is fermented grape juice. It can be white, red, or pink (blush). The alcohol content is determined by the amount of time that it is fermented. Red wine is made from the entire grape, including the skin. White is made from the juice only. For blush, or rose wines, the skins are removed after the process of fermentation has begun. This gives the wine a pink tinge. Purchasing WineThe price range of wine runs the gamut. Wines such as those $5 jugs in the grocery store to those from established wineries such as Beringer at $50 or so can leave an inexperienced wine taster quite confused. You can enjoy a fine wine at prices ranging from $8 to $18 without breaking your budget. How do you find a decent wine at a reasonable price? A specialty wine store is a good place to start. Ask questions. What does the wineseller recommend? What are his/her favorites? What are good sellers? Pick the brains of the staff at the shop. I visited a shop called WineStyles today. It opened around the corner from me a couple of months ago. The store was neat, attractive, and appealing. Each brand of wine had one demo bottle right side up and the rest of that brand on their sides. The store was easy to navigate and fun to browse. I asked for a white wine to eat with sushi. The owner recommened a dry white wine - Santa Alicia Reserve sauvignon blanc 2005 from Sonoma, CA. I purchased that, along with another, slightly sweeter, white wine - Cycles Gladiator 2005 Pinot Grigio.

Wine is something that people have been passionate about for centuries. In most cases wine gifts are appreciated even by those who are not passionate about wine, simply because they are interested and would like to learn more. Here are some great wine themed gifts for the aspiring wine  enthusiast in your life:A Good Bottle Of WineNothing beats a good bottle of wine. If you don’t know anything about wine then simply going and purchasing a bottle that has a cute label is not a good idea for a gift. In most cases the wines with the cute labels sell for their label, not for the quality of the wine inside. Take this gift giving opportunity to make a visit to your local wine merchant. For most smaller wine shops, wine id a huge part of their employees life. Go into the shop with an idea about how much you would like to spend on a bottle and what type of wine you may be interested in purchasing. If you are unsure of the type of wine you may want to purchase, a desert wine is generally a unique gift that is enjoyed across the board. Other excellent choices include Sauvignon Blanc and Red Zinfandel.AWine BookIfBookIf someone is trying to learn more about wine there are a variety of great books on the market that can help them learn more. I worked as a wine consultant for a wine store for quite some time, and was very impressed with “Wine For Dummies”. While I typically try to stray away from that particular series of books, that particular volume has a good deal of valuable information that would be very helpful for a novice. A few other good book choices are “The Renaissance Guide to Wine and Food Pairing” which is an excellent resource for deciding what wine would go best with your meal, and “The Ultimate Wine Book” which covers the basics of different wine appellations and how to pair wine effectively with your food. NiceGlassesDifferentferent wines should be consumed out of different wine glasses. There are specific wine glasses that have been designed for almost all of the different types of wines available. A specially made wine glass will allow you to accurately taste all of the flavors in a wine and enjoy it tofullest.Alest.ARackWineck