Rhone wine

The Rhone valley is the finest wine producing region in France. The Lyon city is the boundary between the Burgundy and the Rhone valley. The Rhone valley is divided into two regions: the northern Rhone and the southern Rhone.

Northern Valley: The northern valley is the land of steep and the grape varieties grown here are

• Syrah: This is the red wine grape .the grape is also called as Shiraz in Australia

• Viognier: for white wines and also it is used in little proportion in reds

• Marsanne: Grown for white wines.

• Roussanne: are also grown for white wines.

The northern valley produces the finest wines in the world the most recognized wines are Syrah reds. Some great wines from this region are Hermitage, Côte-Rôtie, Cornas, Condrieu, Château-Grillet, St.Joseph and St.Péray.

Hermitage: The hermitage wines are famous of all Rhone valley wine varieties. The red hermitage is solely produced from syrah grape. The Red hermitage wines are known for their long life, generous full bodied, strong aromas and a complete bouquet. The white hermitages are produced from Marsanne and Roussanne grapes. It is a dry, rich vintage white wine. The straw wines are also produced in the same region.

Côte-Rôtie: The Côte-Rôtie is the classic red wine produced in the northern slopes of the Rhone valley. It is produced from the syrah grape variety and little amount of Viognier. The Viognier is added for its aroma. It is elegant and finely structured wine with complex aromas.

Château-Grillet: The Château-Grillet is the full bodied aromatic white wine produced from Viognier. It is very unique among French wine appellation as it is one of the few wines to be considered as single producer.

Southern Valley: The southern valley region consists of varied variety of grapes. Châteauneuf du Pape is the famous wine produced in the southern valley.

Châteauneuf du Pape: The Châteauneuf du Pape is thick, harsh, and powerful red wine. This wine is the mixture of 13 variety grapes. According to AOC rules, red varieties allowed are Cinsaut, Counoise, Grenache Noir, Mourvèdre, Muscardin, Piquepoul Noir, Syrah, Terret Noir, and Vaccarèse .White and pink varieties are Bourboulenc, Clairette Blanche, Clairette Rose, Grenache Blanc, Grenache Gris, Picardan, Piquepoul Blanc, Piquepoul Gris, and Roussanne. There are no restriction in Châteauneuf-du-Pape red and white wine preparation both red and white varieties are allowed.

The Côtes du Rhône: The Côtes du Rhône is the blended wine. The red grapes permitted to use it are Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. There are two sub regions of Rhône wines: Côtes du Rhône septentrional, Côtes du Rhône méridional.

Wines for Beginners

Wines are nothing but the fermented grape juice. Beginners can prefer to sip simple, less complex wines. It is much preferred to taste which is light on the palate. Generally the best wine to begin up is white wines. The white wines are normally light bodied and light on the palate. People suggest that dessert wines are good startup for beginners because of its sweetness and stuff. 

The best white wines for beginners are,

• Pinot Grigio - It is light bodied and crispy wine.
•  Chardonnay - It’s a good dry wine for beginners. It is familiar all over the world and has high production values. It has different flavors like buttery oak to apple, pear, citrus and melon
• Pinot Blanc - It’s a light flavored white wine with citrus and lemon. It pairs well with sea foods, light flavored meats and mild cheeses.
•  Riesling - its varietals wine. It goes well with spicy Asian foods and work well with appetizers, desserts, poultry, pork and fish.

The best red wines for beginners are,

• Cabernet Sauvignon-This wine is originated in the Bordeaux region of France. It’s varietals wine. It simply pairs well with red meat.
• Pinot Noir- Pinot noir is light to medium bodied. It is also a varietal wine. It pairs well with grilled salmon, lamb, and chicken.
• Shiraz-It’s an Australian wine. Shiraz is spicy and peppery wine, it pairs well with spicy dishes.

Suitable wines for summer

Hot Sizzling summer started! Crisp white, rosé and lighter red wines are perfect dude for summer. People prefer red for winter and white for summer. While choosing red wines for summer just look for a lighter bodied drink that are low in tannin, higher in acidity and full of fresh fruit flavors. Don’t forget to chill those wines.   

Some suitable red wines for summer are,

Beaujolais: This wine is produced from Burgundy. Beaujolais is prepared from gamay grape variety. It is naturally light in tannins and body.

 

Barbera: The wine prepared from barbera grape is also light enough to sip it in summer. The young and light version is appropriate for summer than serious version.

 

Pinot Noir: The lighter pinot noir wines are good for summer. Wines with lots of cherry and red berry flavors are delightful and refreshing

 

Cabernet Franc: The Loire valley in France produces lighter and tasty versions of cabernet franc.

 

White wines for summer are,

Albarino: This white wine is prepared from region of France. There are flavors like ginger lime and kiwi. It combines greatly with sea foods.

Riesling: This German wine has elegant flavors like peach, lime

Sauvignon Blanc: This refreshing wine belongs to France and it is famous all over the world. Its herbal and grapefruit flavors are recommended for summer.

Prosecco: The wine is crisp and fresh tasting grape grows best in Italy.

In summer alcohol consumption can rapidly dehydrates you and raises your blood pressure. It interferes with your body temperature regulation and makes you weak. Avoid drinking of wine in hot season. The alcohol should be lesser than14 percentage is preferable.

Serve your wine with your favorite food and also make sure that you present it in targeted temperature.

Ice Wine

Ice wines are also known as Eiswein .It is a typical German product originated in 1794. Ice wine is a type of dessert wineat which the grapes are left on the vines until it gets deeply frozen. Ideally the temperature should get to -10°C to -13°C before picking, so that the juice is highly concentrated and very sweet. Vidal and Riesling grapes are the wine making grape varieties used for ice wines. The grapes should be free of botrylis. The Riesling grapes belong to white grape variety of Germany. The Vidal Blanc is also the hybrid white grape variety. During the winter season it produces grapes with more sugar content.

The most famous ice wines are German Icewine and Canadian ice wines. The Canadian ice wine producers should follow VQA (Vinters quality alliance) that the wine must be naturally processed and it should not undergo any artificial freezing techniques. Ice wines usually have lower alcohol content than table wines. Generally a vine of grape is enough to produce a bottle of wine but the same amount of frozen grapes will produce only one glass of ice wine.

The different flavors of ice wines are

• Peach
• Pear
• Apricot
• Apples
• Honey
• Caramel
• mango

The alcohol content varies from 8-13%. Only a small amount of ice wines are being produced as it is a very labor intensive process along with some risky methods like the fruit is left on the vine for freezing so the iced wines are generally quite expensive.

Sparkling wines vs. Champagne

Sparkling wines contains dissolved carbon-di-oxide in it. It is also called as carbonated wine. The fizzy nature differentiates sparkling wines from other table wines. There are different types of sparkling wines.

• Champagne
• Asti 
• Cava
• Sekt

Champagne is a sparkling wine produced in Champagne region of France. Champagne is produced by a unique method known as champagne method. In champagne, during the second fermentation process, small bubbles are created due to the creation of CO2 by the yeast. The yeast is removed from the bottle using the process of riddling.

The champagne wines are made from a mix of 3 different grapes:

• Chardonnay 
• Pinot Noir 
• Pinot Meunier 

Depending upon the sugar levels champagne are classified into different styles,

• Brut - very dry, best quality and good with food 
• Extra dry - A little more sweet than Brut i.e. semi dry 
• Sec – medium dry good for parties 
• Doux - sweet, dessert style Champagne.

Sparkling wines can be prepared in many ways. Champagne is the most well known and one of the costliest sparkling wines in the world. Champagne and sparkling wines are also categorized as "vintage" or "non-vintage" wines. The vintage is costlier than non-vintage wines.