GoGoKitty’s Wine Secrets

Last weekend was yet another booze filled one for me.  Now I reach a point on Saturday afternoon when I feel the need for a drink and it doesn’t matter what drink it is.

This Saturday I had polished off a bottle of Spanish Wine before 4pm.  The problem is I can knock back a whole bottle of wine, like it’s just a drink of water.  In all honesty I feel it’s getting a bit of a problem and I know in my heart I am going to have to stop it right away.

When I do my weekly shop on a Friday, I used to just buy one bottle of wine to enjoy over the weekend. Now I buy at least 3 bottles of wine so we can have one a night during the weekend.

Last week the supermarket had offers on Chilean wine and French wine, so I really went for it and got a couple of each.

My problem is that if its in the house I will drink it and in all honesty, I’m not fussy about what the drink is. For Christmas we were given a bottle of Sambuca and a bottle of Baileys.  Over the past few weeks, these 2 bottles have been finished.  One of the problems is that we don’t use shot glasses as we really should, but instead fill up a wine glass!

I think the only solution is going to be stopping drinking alcohol for a while.  It’s going to be tough, but I think it is necessary.

I’m sure the other half will have a moan about this, but I’m sure he will understand why I am doing this.

Having said all that though, I think the ban can come into force at the weekend, so that gives me a few extra nights to finish off any alcohol still at home.   I’m sure I still have a whole bottle of gin in the cupboard, so perhaps I had better buy a bottle of tonic to go with this!!

The market for wine in a strange one. It is essentially a luxury product and yet millions of bottles are produced each year.  A wine might be worth than one 10 years older than it and the price can come down how one person thinks it taste. One thing is certain though, there is a lot of money to be made from wine and now is a better time than ever to invest.

The cost of picking up a good bottle has been rising quite quickly over the last few decades. As better storage facilities and more advanced manufacturing methods produce higher quality wines, so too does the price people are willing to pay for them go up.The wine expert as Sotherby’s, Jamie Richie actually commented that “Prices had risen to nearly unsustainable levels last April”.  However, now that the recession is upon us, the prices of these exclusive wines are coming within reaching distance. 2009’s January figures showed a decrease in prices of close to 1.2% according to the index that tracks 100 of the top collectible wines, known as Liv-Ex 100.  This is trend that experts expect to continue for while and can in fact be seen throughout the wine sector, from wine production to the sales of standard shot glasses.

Recently, at a Chicago auction a bottle of Montrachet Domaine Romanee-Cont (1978) went for $3,783. That same bottle went up for sale at Sotheby’s a couple of years back for $23,929. This sudden drop basically means that if you’ve ever had an urge to start collection yourself, either as an investment or just a hobby, the best deals are just around the corner.  Experts think that the market will be at its lowest point by the end of the year, after which it will start to pick up again slowly. Tableware and drinking accessories are expected to improve as well.

Wine investment expert, Joss Fowler has some words of wisdom for doing well. He recommends that a very good bet is, and always has been, a Red Bordeaux as they age beautifully. Also, play it safe and get the best wines your money can buy from the best vintages. Stay true to this rule and you’ll be filling up your wine racks sooner than you think.

Australia has produced some very popular wines over the years and has a climate conducive to producing bottles considered some of the best in the world. However, Fiji and New Zealand have also come onto the scene in recent years and has increased their market share largely as a result of their flexible wine producing policies.

Very recently there was a great deal of contention over the allowing of wine produces to make rosé wine, simply by mixing together the white and red varieties. Rosé is normally made by separating the juice from the red grape skins before too much of the red colour can be absorbed into the liquid. However, this method has been somewhat ‘adapted’ by some producers who are feeling the pinch in the recession and many are simply adding a small amount of red wine to white and calling it rosé.

Countries such as France, widely considered the finest wine producing country in the world, were not best pleased with this “mutilation” of rosé wine and did not agree for it to be sold in their country, or even be given as wine gifts. However, those countries that have not set such strict rules for themselves, such as those in Australasia and Eastern Europe have profited from their liberalism. A spokesman from the New Zealand alcohol authority defended his country’s move by stating that people are free to consume whichever wine they wish. The companies that produce this blended form of rosé wine do not use any trickery to try and sell it as the traditionally made variety, and there are clear differences in the pricing. The spokesman argued that if people can make milk chocolate in a thousand different ways, why can the same not be done for rosé?

The blending together of some of the most popular wine varieties is another practice that is really taking off in Australasian countries.In Fiji for example you can buy Pinot Blanc mixed with Albarino and Pinot Noir blended with Zinfandel. Mirroring the laid back approach of New Zealand, the Fijian wine makers suggest that wine is able to be blended just as easily and with the same success rate as whisky. They state that companies all over the world, and in particular Scotland, produce some very fine blended whiskies that not only often taste superior to single malts, but that are also able to sell at more modest prices. Next they will be telling us which tableware we must use when consuming the wine, stated one official.

The new blended wine has proved to be a real hit internally with the Fijian population, with producers selling around 120,000 bottles in 2008. When compared to the wine consumption of some of the top bottles in the world, this figure is relatively low, but considering that the population of Fiji is not much more than 750,000, you can see just how successful this wine really is. There are plans to start exporting this fully blended wine very soon and given the fact they are able to undercut many ‘single malt’ wine produces, they are almost certain to do well.

To complement a good dinner you often need a good wine to go with it. When having a smart slap up meal the waiter would ask you what you would like to drink to which you would answer, “A bottle of your finest Nashik region sauvignon blanc wine or an original Maharastran Shiraz”. Like any good meal there are some essentials that you need, for example, crystal glasses, an ice bucket to keep the wine cold (if it’s white) and ideally someone to pour it for you. Whilst all of these are most often associated with fine French or Italian cuisine, India are now making a move for the market.

Indian wine is desperately trying to emulate the immense success of the sub-continents beer (Cobra Beer) and food (Curry). However India’s oldest winery only dates back to early 1982 so the industry is still really in the starting phases. India as a nation are trying to increase their revenue stream as much as possible by broadening their own horizons. Exporting Indian wine as well as Indian beer and food will be a great move for India as a nation as this will un-doubtedly help their relation and profit prospects.

White wine and red wine go well with any meal and normally you would go for a wine that has been brewed and made in France or Italy for example, but Indian wine could change all of that. Sales have grown by a massive 30% to 35% in India every year since as early 2002 and although only 2% of the population drinks wine, that still accounts for a staggering 20 million people. Last year alone the Indian wine market accounted for 1.two million cases of wine being sold, representing a doubling of domestic consumption in only just five years. Compared to global players in the wine industry – America last year produced 270 million cases – India remains a viticultural minnow but now producers believe they have spotted a receptive export the globe and an avenue to make plenty of money.

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There are a great many people who consider themselves as something of a wine connoisseur these days. You cannot blame them for being hooked by some of the wonderful wines out there, and lots of people find they develop it as a hobby without really realizing it. They’ve invested in a vintage collection of wine wines, they’ve converted their spare room into a storage cellar, bought a selection of different wine glasses so that they can get the maximum enjoyment of each wine variety, and have all the required tableware gadgets for opening and pouring their wine.

The one thing that very few wine buffs have however is a wine map, which can show you more about wine regions that most books can. There have been some big leaps forward in wine map production in recent years and they are now meticulously researched.  The California wine map for example is updated every year due to the complicated layout of the area, especially after Napa Valley was officially recognized as an American Viticultural Area in 1981. In total then there are 108 AVA’s in this region alone, with myriad terrains, varieties of grape and production methods.

You could of course just rely on the information on each bottle or the recommendations of friends when buying a bottle, but the true wine expert should know exactly where the grapes came from and why they taste the way they do. It is even more important if you decide to visit and area of wine production to have a wine map with you as things can get a little confusing if you don’t. It is not always clear to see where one vineyard or region ends and the next begins, and that’s without evening considering which varieties of grape and growing conditions each is known for. A wine map will allow you to not only understand the wines better but also identify where the tastes and aromas coming from your wine glasses came from