The Best Book About Wine

I was busy working on a blog post last Friday, when I heard a large thud outside my door. Not knowing if it was two cars colliding or a someone falling on my steps, I got up to take a look. To my surprise, my copy of Wine had arrived. Wine is published by Langenschedit Publishing Group.

This book is awesome!!! A huge 928 pages full of wine info from around the world. Very well written, but what struck me the most was the maps and pictures. They are just plain excellent.

The tips are very informative and will really help those just starting out in the wonderful world of wine.

Here's a little more from the publisher:

This abundantly illustrated book is an atlas, reference work and buying guide to the world of wine. Following a classic organization, readers are introduced to the history of wine, wine production, wine cellars and the enjoyment of wine. The reader is then invited on a journey through all the wine growing countries and regions of the world. Expert authors introduce each area, illustrated with detailed maps, including Canada, Japan and China. Newcomers to the passion of wine will find Wine an invaluable resource to deciphering the vast wine offerings around the world while wine aficionados will savor browsing through this gorgeous volume and discovering new wines and regions.

Features

• More than 1,200 full-color illustrations and photographs


• 150 detailed maps of the world’s wine growing countries and regions


• Numerous producer tips that convey highly useful recommendations


• Updated select producers, tables, maps and photographs


• New and extensive information on southern and eastern Europe and the new European countries


• Information on new wine growing countries and areas around the world

If you need to find a present for that special wine person, this should be the present that you buy.









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Is The IPA Myth, A Myth?

Written by DJ Spiess
Monday, 10 November 2008

Was the IPA invented or did George Hodgson shoot Liberty Vallence too?

I try to stamp out every beer myth I come across, so when Virgil G. another beer blogger pointed out I may be perpetuating a beer myth in my Thanksgiving, Pilgrims, and Beer Myths article I was surprised (and somewhat embarrassed). It would be pretty bad if I wrote an article about myths and perpetuated one of my own - especially in the same article. Damn.

The IPA legend

The IPA legend goes like this. Beer brewers were looking for a beer to take to India. The trip to India is hard on beer, since the beer is exposed to dramatically high temperatures including crossing the equator twice and a very long journey over time and distance. Time and high heat can be very harsh on beer.

Read more at: Fermentarium

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We Turn 3!!

Happy Birthday to Us!!! It's amazing to think that after three years, I would still be blogging about making wine and beer. I want to thank all of you that have visited or subscribed to the site over the past three years.

Now that we have turned 3, there will be some major changes with this blog. Weekly posts will now be done at Makinghomemadewineandbeer.com and I will be posting on the original blog (this one) on a monthly basis. If you are a subscriber, I encourage you to change your feed to: http://feedproxy.google.com/makinghomemadewineandbeer/VYrd or if you want posts delivered to your email, you can do that here.

Thanks, and see you soon at Makinghomemadewineandbeer.com

Benefits of Red Wine

Photo by: kingriversza's

We have heard over the past few years that drinking a couple glasses of red wine each day is good for you. So, is wine good for you. Let's look at some evidence.

"Many studies investigated the benefits of red wine suggested that moderate amount of red wine (one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) lowers the risk of heart attack for people in middle age by ~ 30 to 50 percent. It is also suggested that alcohol such as red wine may prevent additional heart attacks if you have already suffered from one. Other studies also indicated that red wine can raise HDL cholesterol (the Good cholesterol) and prevent LDL cholesterol (the Bad cholesterol) from forming. Red wine may help prevent blood clots and reduce the blood vessel damage caused by fat deposits. Indeed, studies showed that people from the Mediterranean region who regularly drank red wine have lower risks of heart disease." Source: Health Castle

"Research scientists in North Carolina have announced discovery of how a chemical found in red wine helps to fight cancer.

The study may help explain the controversial "French paradox," the apparent lower rates of heart disease and some cancers among the French, despite a typical national diet high in fat.

Compared to other nationalities in Europe, the French eat more beef, cheese, butter and other artery-clogging foods. But they also drink more wine, and researchers have speculated that certain compounds in grapes and grape products like wine offer some kind of protection from the negative effects of the high-fat diet.

The new research identified the workings of a key cancer-related substance: trans-Resveratrol, often called Res.

In addition to red grapes, Res is found in mulberries, raspberries, peanuts, muscadine grapes, including scuppernongs, and many other fruits and nuts, said the research scientists at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.   Source: CNN

Ok, so far we have found evidence that red wine is good for the heart and may fight cancer. What are some of the other benefits?

* Reduced risk of death from nearly all causes

* Red wine, with or without alcohol, decreases the harmful effect of smoking on the endothelium - layer of cells that provide a friction-reducing lining in lymph vessels, blood vessels, and the heart.

* Heart disease

* Blood Clots - Red wine produces anticlotting, or antithrombotic, action.

* Atherosclerosis - Red wine may prevent the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis (hardening or "furring" of the arteries).

Hypertension - two glasses of red wine (250 ml), taken together with the meal, lower post-meal blood pressure in hypertensive persons.

* Kidney stones: Red wine intake reduces the risk of kidney stone formation.

* Alzheimer's disease: Moderate wine drinking correlates with a lower risk for Alzheimer's disease. Researchers found that resveratrol, a red wine polyphenol, produces neuroprotective effects.Source: C. Simmons of HealthAssist.net  Dumb Little Man

So what makes red wine so healthy?

All of a grape’s protective flavonoids are in the “must”, a chunky mixture of grape skins, pulp, seeds, and stems that is used to make wine and grape juice. When must is fermented to make wine, a lot of flavonoids are drawn into liquid. Since grape juice isn’t fermented, you get only flavonoids that are drawn into the juice during processing stages. The compounds that end up in the drink are still pretty strong...

Since flavonoids are what give juice its reach purple hue, if you’re looking for the grape juice with most flavonoids, pick the darkest variety. Source:  Foods That Heal

Pretty strong evidence that a couple of glasses of red wine a day are good for you.    Just another reason why I make my own.