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One of the things I’ve learned already in this adventure of starting a wine club is that many people have tons of questions about grapes and different varietals of wine. In an effort to help educate people and answer some of these basic questions I’ve put together a few basics about some popular wines.

California Chardonnay:

The undisputed queen of the California White Wines, Chardonnay is a popular choice for many reasons.

Tasting Notes:

People generally describe Chardonnay as a crisp clean white wine. You’ll find small fig, citrus, tropical fruit or apple flavors in most bottles. More recently Chardonnay has started to be aged in oak barrels which gives the resulting wine a much deeper oak flavor which can be the strongest of all the flavors in the wine. One common thread with Chardonnay from all over the world, the balance of sugar and acid is outstanding and makes it an entirely drinkable wine for wine lovers and novices alike.

What Grape is It?

Genetic studies show that the grape is actually a cross between the Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc grapes. California Chardonnay is typically grown in cool valleys because the fruit ripens so quickly that producers need to slow the process down in order to keep the alcohol content to a reasonable level.

History of the wine in California:

Although first planted in the 1800′s the grape was nearly forgotten during prohibition when farmers and wine makers were forced to take Chardonnay fields out and replace them with grapes with thicker skins so transport and concealment would be easier. A few patches in more rugged terrain survived, especially in the Santa Cruz mountains and the grape started a full scale comeback in the 1970′s. It is now the stable of the California white wine industry and the most popular white wine in the world.

Important Notes:

Chardonnay is generally thought of as one of the easiest wines to create. In fact many observers of the wine industry feel that any average winemaker can create an outstanding Chardonnay given the growing conditions within California’s cool valleys.

Pricing Structure:

Chardonnay under $8 or so per bottle will have some significant issues.

$8-$20 Typically good balance and complexity, but lacking in oak flavoring.

$20-$40 Great Chardonnays in this price range

$40+ Unless your palate and nose for wine is exceptional, you most likely will not be able to tell the difference between a $20 bottle scored at 92 points and a $80 bottle scored at 94 points by the major wine critics in the world.

To Sum It Up:

We don’t plan to offer Chardonnay through either of our initial two Uncorked Ventures wine clubs. Frankly you can find many good bottles of Chardonnay at lower price points that are readily available.  We will sometimes include an outstanding bottle of Chardonnay in our entry level Wine Exploration Club.

Vintage Guide

2007 92 D/H
2006 88 D
2005 94 D/H
2004 91 D
2003 90 D
2002 95 D
2001 96 D
2000 88 D
1999 89 D
1998 85 D
1997 93 D
1996 90 D
1995 91 D
1994 94 D
1993 90 D
1992 92 D
1991 94 D
1990 90 D

RATING:
95-100 Spectacular. Most producers made very good wines at all levels
90-94 Excellent. The best wines should be great. Consistency throughout the vintage.
85-89 Very Good. The best producers made top wines. Inconsistent through the lower levels.
80-86 Good. Many producers made good wines with some inconsistency at the bottom.
75-79 Middling. Choose your producers carefully. Only the best may have made a top wine.
70-74 Below Average. Tough vintage to make good wines.
Under 70 A Poor vintage. Spend your money very carefully.

STATUS:
D=Drink
D/H=Drink or Hold
H=Hold

I hope this has helped you make an informed decision when buying a bottle of Chardonnay. Just remember, vintage is important with wine. For more information on purchasing a wine gift please visit our website!

Mark Aselstine is one of two Proprietors of Uncorked Ventures. UCV provides three different wine club membership options as well as many different wine gift services. I hope you’ll consider joining one of my wine clubs in the future!

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/california-chardonnaya-short-introduction-1562530.html

One would need proof of course, in order to deduce these things. And tons of evidences were then gathered. These evidences convey that humans who lived a long, long time ago already had sufficient knowledge in the basic processes of homemade wine making. If we ask them now “how do you make wine?”  they will tell us that they did so at their very own homes and backyards, using the grapes they picked from their own vineyards.

“How do you make wine?”

The following will tell you many details:

-    Georgia and Iran were the two regions where early evidences of wine making were first found. The evidences date back to 6000-5000 B.C.
-    In Macedonia and Europe, there were evidences dug up by archeologists depicting that people 6,500 years ago already had knowledge in wine making.
-    Ceremonies were the center of life among the Egyptians. True enough, there have been paintings on ancient tombs and walls depicting wine making as being included in their rituals and ceremonies.
-    In China, evidences of wine making among the Chinese trace back to 2000-1000 B.C.

The diets of the classical Greeks and Romans were not complete without at least a glass of wine. This is very essential in their meal plans and couldn’t actually eat without being served a glass of it. They make sure that this is the case because they were very proud of the technology they have discovered at that time. This technology I am referring to is what they called the Wine Press technology.   This technology particularly made wine making very simple, easy and fast for them. “How do you make wine?” They used it to produce wine from various kinds of grapes, it helped them create various techniques in land growing and made them become creative in barrel making, wine storage and shipments.

We ask them again, “How do you make wine?”  We all know that a time came called the fall of the Roman Empire. When this happened, the Catholic Church imbibed their tradition and incorporated wine in their ceremonies particularly in the celebration of the holy mass. The use of wine as a symbol of the blood of Christ is a high point in the Catholics’ Eucharistic celebration. Wine then became a necessity for them which brought about the spread of wine use sometime in the 15th century. This is the case for the Catholics. For other religion like Islam, use of any alcohol was forbidden unless it was for healing or remedies.

During the prehistoric times, there were little or no evidence at all as to wine making. “How do you make wine?” Archeologists only speculated that prehistoric people also concocted their own homemade wine from wild grapes and fruits and eventually led to other evidences in the early times.

With these things, we can say that it is indeed quite hard to pinpoint where wine making really started. Evidences point to all sorts of different directions. Some say it originated from the vastness of the African continent while others point to the huge lands of South and Central Asia. We can never really know for sure.  What we can be sure of is that our contemporary or current wine making activities did stem from the ancient Greeks’ tradition. This is because the grapes being used in modern day Greece are similar to those used in the ancient Greek period.

Simon Thomas is a homemade winemaker, enthusiast and author. He lives in California and spends his time teaching others how to setup an amazing boutique winery. You can find more information about how to make professional quality wine at your own home, at Simon’s popular site: www.homemadewinesecrets.com

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/wines-and-spirits-articles/how-do-you-make-wine-a-short-history-1551282.html

Question by Chip: How does one “Short Stocks” and make money?
I’ve heard you can make money “Shorting Stocks”, but quite frankly the concept is quite confusing. I am new to Answers, and have been stumbling around in Google results trying to find how to make money when a stock goes down instead of up. Can someone, hopefully a savvy investor, let me know how this all works, if I need a special brokerage account, or what specific signs to look for when a stock is about to “Short”. Thanks for all your help.

Best answer:

Answer by Steve B
When shorting, you essentially agree to sell shares at a given price, betting that at some time in the future, the price will be lower when you buy.

Read here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Short_(finance)

Give your answer to this question below!

Cuban cigars originate from the Caribbean, which has a tropical climate very different to Europe. As a natural product, your Havana cigars need to be kept carefully. They are used to being in a warm climate with a relatively high humidity.

Therefore they will need to be protected from extremes of temperature and humidity (particularly low humidity). This is particularly difficult to achieve in air conditioned and centrally heated buildings, where the air tends to get de-humidified and cigars can dry out very quickly. Some cigars come in aluminum tubes which can help preserve them in dry climates, however they tend to mature at a much slower rate than ‘naked’ boxed cigars.

Maintain a temperature of 16 C to 20 C and a relative humidity of 65% – 70%.

In the UK you will need a humidor to maintain the humidity of your cigars at various times of the year:

Humidity

At the least, keep your cigars in a tight fitting cupboard, drawer or box, away from radiators and other sources of heat. Pick the coolest indoor spot in your house. Leave the cigars in their original boxes as this will help preserve them, stop them from being damaged, and prevent any cross-tainting of flavours between different varieties of cigars stored in the same area. If the humidity in your make-shift humidor is low, a damp sponge in a cup will serve as a basic provider of humidity.

When you purchase your cigars from Tomtom, they will be packed in an airtight zip-loc bag, which will maintain the humidity of your cigars while you transport them from the shop to your humidor. These bags are a very efficient short term humidor, however we would not recommend that you leave your cigars sealed in these bags for more than one month. Although humidity will be maintained, cigars also need to be exposed to some fresh air to allow them to ‘breathe’ and age correctly.

A variety of desk-top and travel humidors can be purchased (see ‘Accessories’) and are an essential item for the dedicated cigar smoker (more information below).

Temperature

The danger of excessive temperature (combined with too much humidity) is that the cigars can either go moldy or be damaged by weavil attack. If cigars go moldy, this is generally not a problem, as long as it is spotted reasonably soon and the mould (or bloom) only appears on the wrapper leaf. The mould can be removed with a soft brush (e.g. a badger shaving brush) and then the cigar can be returned to store in the correct conditions. If mould gets into the end of the cigar, we recommend that you do not smoke it. Weavil, or tobacco beetle, is a more serious problem. If you see any small holes in your cigar, you should take immediate action. Please call Tomtom for further advice. Never store cigars near direct sunlight or for long periods exposed to sea breezes (salt will not enhance your smoke). The lower the temperature, the higher the humidity required to compensate.

Desk-Top Humidors

There is a very wide selection of these humidors on the market. The basic design requirements are that they are sealable (and generally lockable!), but allow the cigars to breathe. This is normally achieved by leaving the base of the box unvarnished: and no portion of the inner cedar box should be laminated. The box contains a fitting, which provides the humidity: this is normally a pad containing a sponge or chalk, which can be dampened. The box may also contain a dial showing humidity and temperature.

As a rule of thumb, the smaller the box, the harder it is to maintain a steady level of humidity within its confines. These humidors do not regulate temperature. The price range starts from about 125 for a plexi glass humidor, which will hold approximately 50 cigars to 2000 and above. A comprehensive selection is shown on our accessory page. Fabulous humidors can also be created out of antique boxes which many families have inherited as writing slopes or medal cases and which have since become redundant. This is a very cost-effective way of storing your cigars in a unique and personal humidor.

Travel Humidors

Ranging in price from 100 upwards. These are not suitable for long-term storage of cigars, however they are essential if you are moving about: the wrapper leaf on a handmade cigar is very thin and delicate and will easily damage. The safest way to prevent this is to keep the cigars in their original box, in tubes or in a purpose-built travel humidor.

Cigar Cases

Generally these do not offer humidification systems built in, but will protect your cigars if you take them in your pocket for the day. There are some metal tubes with hermetically sealed screw tops that will act in the same way as a cigar tube and seal in moisture. The majority are made from leather and offer protection from damage as well as limited protection from fluctuations in humidity and temperature.

Reviving Dried-Out Cigars

This is not an exact science and not always successful. Dry cigars need to be rehumidified very slowly and with care. We suggest you speak to us

Footnote

We do NOT recommend that cigars are kept in a refrigerator for storage. It is likely that the cigars will be dried out by this process and irretrievably damaged.

Electronic Cigarettes Review

A Long Time Smoker Speaks Out

For me smoking cigarettes is an addiction, an obsession. I have smoked most of my adult life. Sure-I quit several times-10 years being the longest period of abstinence. So if I could make it that long-what happened?

Well mostly it was a separation and ultimately a divorce that weakened my resolve.

We smokers make all sorts of excuses for continuing, but I am intelligent enough to realize that I’m just lying to my friends and family, and more importantly, I am lying to myself.

We smokers will grasp at any evidence that smoking is OK! My step-grandfather smoked a pack of unfiltered Camels for as long as I knew him. He was in his mid-nineties when he died-not of cancer or heart disease.

We can call the cause of death simply old age…

Now this is, of course, a pretty weak excuse for me since he wasn’t a blood relative, so I can’t claim any hereditary benefits. Electronic Cigarettes Review

I’m Really in The Nicotine Rut

My days all begin about the same way: During the week I drag my weary butt out of bed at 5:00 a.m., shower, dress and then walk the dog. All this time until I hook up Cindy’s leash I’m thinking about that first cigarette.

And so it goes throughout the day. Oh, I have cut back a bit. One pack usually lasts a day and a half. As I write this I often think of myself as a 73 year old idiot. But you see…I am addicted to nicotine.

Government at every level has come down on us smokers. Most places are off limits and smoking has been banned anywhere I go.

Is There Any Hope?

At times over the years I’ve been given something to hang onto. Medical science will come up with some new finding that gives me a glimmer of hope. But is there really any defense against the myriad health problems that smoking lays claim to? Quitting seems like medical science’s only solution.

A short time ago -in an email exchange, a lifelong friend said, “You’ve been smoking so long that it probably won’t make any difference if you did quit.” Unfortunately I tend to believe him.

So what is on the horizon for us smokers? The most recent flash of light came from a report I read about a very amazing discovery. I was researching material for an article I was writing on “free radicals.” The free radicals I speak of are not a bunch of 1960′s flower children who avoided prison. The free radicals in this case are inside our bodies and they are an enemy of our good health. Electronic Cigarettes Review

On a beautiful summer’s afternoon Ken and Rob sit down to review a controversial cigar. The Cohiba Esplendido always falls short for Rob, however Ken thinks its always a winner. For further review of the cigar head to www.friendsofhabanos.com

Cigars are mostly named according to their measurements and sizes, but these are not at all strict definitions. In the bunch pressing process, once made, the bunch of cigars go into a mould consisting of 12 to 20 chambers. When the mould is full, it goes to a press and the bunch will get dried during the pressing time. It is a vital and very necessary operation done before the process of wrapping. After 20-30 minutes being under the press, the moulds are opened. Now, the cigar makers will turn the bunch in a right angle to avoid forming prominent lines in the part where both the parts of the mould are joined. After they are kept another 20-30 minutes under the press, the bunch is ready to be wrapped.

In fact, for creating better quality cigarettes and cigars, hand made cigar makers make use of some particular tools. The bunching machine is one such device and it serves particularly to improve the construction process. A rigid frame holds on to a belt and a moving cylinder is activated with the help of a lever. It is the same principle as that of a pocket cigarette rolling machine. Once the belt is filled up in the right manner, the bunch will be rolled evenly by the rotating movement of the machine. This thwarts the fillers from being getting twisted, which happens most of the time, when the bunch is made solely by hand.

Tobacco cigars are either hand-made or machine-made. In both these cases, they can act as long fillers or short fillers. Just imagine the picture of a crisp roll of homogenized tobacco binder, some natural wrappers cut out in advance and placed on an unwoven bobbin, and a short filler dispenser. All the things mentioned above are installed on a machine which has got the capacity to produce more than 20 cigars every minute. If you have a few tobacco leaves in your hand, and if you do not have any tools or accessories, the only way to smoke your stuff is by rolling it into a cigar. Cigars of premium quality are supposed to be hand-made and fall under the category of long filler cigars. There are two ways for setting the quality tobacco leaves in a bunch. The wrong way is to stack the tobacco leaves and to roll them together into shape. This is called as the book method, and it does not provide enough room for air circulation and can demand a heavy draw.

The right method would be to fold each tobacco leaf in accordion style and to place them side by side so that air can pass through and the smoke would deliver a pleasant experience. Handmade long filler cigars contain two to six full tobacco leaves, depending on the size. Tobacco leaves are oval in shape; getting a cylindrical shape with a highly uniform compactness is not very easy. Often, wrapping that comes with something spectacular fascinates people who smoke. But, the aspect of making the bunch requires a lot more skills and expertise.

Alex from CigarBunch.com showcases a Romeo y Julieta Short Churchill box of 25

Incoming search terms:

• romeo and juliet short churchill

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