Wine

In order for wine to be labeled “organic”, the wine has to be produced with organically grown grapes and be sulfite-free. It may have some naturally occurring sulfites, but the sulfite level must be really low. Wine’s which contain sulfites, but are grown with organic grapes will have “made with organic grapes” or “made with organically grown grapes” labels on them.
Many people insist that wines, which are sulfite-free or have very low levels of sulfites don’t taste as good. I happen to think organic wine has more personality. Organically grown wine is processed less and relies on grape perfection for flavor. For those who want to lighten their carbon footprint while also discovering the depth of individuality wine can achieve, organic wine is a great choice.

The Bonterra Syrah 2006 is one of my favorite wines. Maintained through an organic growing process, the Syrah vineyards are entering their prime. The Bonterra Syrah blends a touch of Rhone varietals like Mouvedre and Viognier for a powerful floral note. And the berry flavors and toasty oak spice (from the wine aging in French oak), makes this wine a delicious, yummy does of organic goodness. you can purchase a bottle and many other great organic wines at Wine.com.

Wine tasting parties are a great excuse to get together with friends and enjoy an evening of laughter and good tastes. Green living doesn’t mean cutting corners. It means making responsible choices. When throwing a party for your eco-friendly wine-loving friends, you can have an entertaining evening while protecting and preserving the environment at the same time. Here are a few tips for hosting a great eco wine tasting.

• Wine tastings should take place before a dinner, so plan for a 7:30 start time. Invite around 12 people to attend; any more and it may be difficult to share observations and compare notes.

• Send out email invitations for your wine tasting instead of mailing paper versions. Care2 has awesome e-cards and for every e-card sent, Care2 makes a donation to an environmental nonprofit to save a square foot of rainforest.

• Ask guests to bring their own wine glasses so you won’t have lots of clean up. This will also save you water. Serve organic snacks on biodegradable paper plates or recycled tableware rather than plastic. Use linen in place of paper napkins.

• Prepare or purchase organic, local food. Dry crackers, bread and a variety of mild cheeses are good companions for wine. They help neutralize the palate between tastings. Purchase wines made of certified organically grown grapes harvested in an eco responsible manor.

• Four to six wines, (from within two types), is the approximate number of wines to compare and rate. For the best tasting, start out with the lighter bodied wines and then move on to fuller bodied wines. The general rule is white before red, dry before sweet and light before heavy. Give each person 1 to 2 oz. of each variety and discuss the aroma, taste, body and finish.

• Let guests take home the leftover wine, (if there is any), so there’s no waste. Give a wine saver as a gift to keep any remaining wine as fresh as possible. Often organic wines don’t hold up as long as nonorganic versions once they’re uncorked.

• The goal at your green wine tasting is to have fun and enjoy the company. Here are a few of my favorite organic wines to get you started.

The Sterling 2008 Sauvignon Blanc offers aromas of lime and a hint of fig. The flavors are of grapefruit, lemon-lime and tropical passion fruit-perfect for summer. The Amity Eco-wine 2007 has an aroma of berries and red fruits, with a spice of vanilla. It’s smooth with a long pleasant finish.The Cline Zinfandel 2007 showcases a wide array of dark fruit including black cherry and raspberry. Spicy notes of vanilla and oak add complexity to this wine. Seresin Sauvignon Blanc 2008 displays passion fruit and ripe gooseberry and is textured with a slight creaminess.

As the recession continues to hurt people and companies, some tech-savvy wineries have contemplated the convention of jetting their winemakers around the country for in-person tastings with top connoisseurs.

Instead, wineries such as California’s Kendall-Jackson are adopting low-cost, eco-friendly virtual tastings via the Internet. “We’re reinventing the time-honored tradition of winemaker tastings for leaner and greener times,” says Kendall-Jackson spokeswoman Caroline Shaw.The tastings, which Kendall-Jackson launched earlier this year, come at a time when the slow-moving wine industry has begun to examine the new communication options surging across the Internet, specifically social media. The Kendall-Jackson tastings are set up with winemaker and critic interacting one-on-one. Here’s how it works: wine critics are sent the bottles that will be sampled and e-mailed tasting notes. If they don’t have a webcam, the winery sends that along, too. The winery’s tech people do a test run to make sure everything is set up and ready to go.

The tastings are the same as in-person sessions but instead of sitting across a restaurant table, critic and winemaker view each other by videoconference.

Pretty interesting I think. I find it empowering that people and companies all over are trying to be greener. Let’s hope their eco efforts remain long after the recession ends.

Today’s wine lover knows that a good wine may take an assortment of forms. You can get a relatively high-quality wine in a box, twist-off cap or the traditional corked bottle. Wines that don’t have to age for more than a year are perfectly fine in a box or screw top.

Drink it now or let it age? In most cases, there’s no need to wait to open up that bottle! Only a few varieties of wine, (vintage Champagne, premium Cabernet Sauvignon and a number of European reds), truly benefit from a few years in the bottle. They become smoother and more complex over time.

However, the majority of wines available today are ready to open and enjoy just as soon as they’re put on the shelf. This is especially true of many whites as well as big, fruity reds such as Merlot, red Zinfandel, and Shiraz from the New World. Many of these wines actually start deteriorating within a few years of release. So if you’ve been hoarding any, it’s time to pull those corks!

My organic wine pick for the weekend is this delicious 2004 Château Maris Old Vine Grenache. It’s a full-bodied wine with scents of cherry and flavors of chocolate and fresh blueberries. It’s the perfect bottle for opening right away.

Living a full, healthy life is the sum of many parts. For many people, one element of that equation is drinking a glass, (or two,) of wine each day.More than 400 studies over the past 70 years have analyzed the health benefits of drinking wine. Moderate drinking of red wine helps prevent heart disease, cancer, and many other conditions.

Wine is one of the oldest alcoholic beverages on the planet. Its history spans thousands of years. I happen to enjoy wine especially with friends and family. And when it comes to food pairing, there’s no comparison to how enjoyable an experience it can be.

De Martino Organic Cabernet grapes are from the Maipo Valley and blended with distinctive grapes, (Malbec and Carmenere), to produce a deep red wine with the aroma of blackberries and cherries.

It is the perfect combination for Pace Webb’s savory Fingerling Potato and Leek Soufflé. What a great winter dinner treat. Enjoy the combo!

The most important principle when pairing wine and food is balance. When the elements align, the food and wine match is “in balance,” but when the attributes are off, the pairing is “out of balance.”

To strike a balance, seek to obtain similar qualities in the wine and food, or diversify the flavors in combination. Food and wine pairing is a highly subjective process. The old rules are: primarily red wine with red meat and white wine with fish and poultry. In my opinion, this doesn’t take into consideration the complexity of today’s multi-ethnic foods and the wide range of wines from around the world that are now available.

These days you’re more likely to hear food and wine pairing suggestions that don’t abide by the old rules. There’s tons of room for experimentation and expression of your own personality in pairing. Rules were made to be broken. Not conforming to a “rule-of,” can sometimes lead to amazing results and is the sign of a true artist. But, it is important to develop a familiarity with convention and an understanding of why the suggested combination usually works. This will give you a good foundation for wine and food experimentation.

I do like to play with my food and wine pairing, but I can’t take the credit for the amazing combinations that Pace Webb comes up with for us each week. That’s all hers and once again she has an amazing dish for us to pair with this Vida Organica Sparkling Chardonnay. This well-balanced, medium-bodied, deliciously fruity Chardonnay works wonders with Paces’ Miso Glazed Cod. Wait until you try this. Make sure to send us your comments on how it turned out!

When it comes to wine the terms “legs,” “nose” and “body” do not refer to any part of the anatomy. Instead, these words help define and describe particular characteristics of the varietal being enjoyed.

Legs are the rivulets of wine that run down the surface of the glass after swirling or sipping. Legs are not an indication of quality; rather they denote alcohol content, (the higher the alcohol, the more distinctive the legs).

Nose refers to how a particular wine smells, its aroma, or bouquet. The body describes how the wine feels in the mouth: whether it’s full like a Cabernet Sauvignon or light like some types of Sauvignon Blanc. Wines are generally classified as light, medium, or full-bodied.

Just a few wine tips I thought you might enjoy. Now onto the delicious food pairing for this weekend. When you eat foods that are in season you get the best flavors and nutritional value. Pace Webb has paired this Yalumba Organic wine with her delicious Pumpkin Coconut Soup, a great in-season dish, perfect for this weekend. Enjoy!

The U.S. is predicting to be the largest wine makers by the year 2010 if we continue our current trend in wine consumption. Among the world’s top five wine-consuming nations, the U.S. is seeing a significant rise in the total number of wine consumed. The total consumption in the other four countries, (France, Germany, Italy, Spain), is declining a bit, according to the Wine Institute.

The growth of U.S. wine consumption has been fueled by a few factors. These include health benefits, fine wines being produced at great value, the industry’s campaign to demystify wine and the eco green agricultural practices that have risen over the years.

When you buy organic wine you are doing more then buying a healthier wine. You are helping change the way you live in the future.

My organic wine pick for the weekend is the Palin Cabernet Sauvignon 2007 from Chile. This organic wine has serious hints of chocolate and deep, rich fruits. The finish is fairly strong, yet light. It is the perfect paring for Pace Webb’s Green Lentil Salad, a wonderful culinary addition to this Cabernet.

Maintaining healthy, biologically active soil is the main objective of organic wine making. In the vineyards it means cultivating the soil instead of applying herbicides. It means using natural fertilizers, such as composted animal manure, versus chemical fertilizers.Organic farmers promote “biodiversity” and allow plants other than vines to grow in and around the vineyard. Biodiversity helps regulate the vineyard’s soil by attracting beneficial insects, spiders and predatory mites, as well as provide shelter and food, (pollen, nectar and other bugs), and replaces the need for chemical pesticides or insecticides.

Now, doesn’t just knowing this small bit of information make you want to enjoy a great bottle of organic wine?

My wine pick for the weekend is lovely Sobon Estate Rocky Top Zinfandel 2006 from Sierra Foothills, California. The aromas are of blackberries, cherries, and cocoa and the wine is made entirely from certified organically grown grapes. It’s the perfect fall pairing for Pace Webb’s Pomegranate Braised Tofu dish. Enjoy!