If music be the food of love, what is wine? Most stories, articles, films and plays about love and seduction always include a mention of wine and the drinking of it.
Articles about Wine.
Wine is an immense subject and there is a Mystique attached to wine and wine drinking. This can easily be dispelled when you consider one simple fact.
Drink the wine you enjoy at a price you can afford and if in doubt always order a wine that is 13% alcohol content or above and you will almost certainly enjoy drinking that wine
one of the major magazines about wine and spirits is The Wine and Spirits Magazine where you will find many great articles about the best wines, best buys and discussion on wineries and wine making
but rather than listing hundreds of links on this page there is a canadian site that has hundreds of links and listings of wines all over the world with web forums, mailing lists. wine news from all over and reference materials from everywhere. if you are at all interested in wines, there should be articles here to grab your attention so have a look HERE
Dean Tudor the compiler makes an attempt to keep up with online resources devoted to wines, beers and spirits. Editions are posted bimonthly. He says that it's not hard to be a wine writer. You just have to have opinions about wines and find someone to pay you for those opinions.
He goes on to say that you have to recognize that there's nothing really free, and that you're getting wine samples, trips, invites and parties not because you're so great and so cool. You get these perks because it serves a purpose: ultimately, it's a wine writer's job in association with our industry partners to sell wine. Dean is not a commercial operation so does not advertise sites where you can purchase wines so we will suggest one or two that in our opinion can save you money.
Virgin Wines
Sunday Times Wine Club
Search4Offers.
another great site that enhances your ability of purchasing wines online is The Wine Resources site and this article below about The Harmony between Food and Wine is written By Dan Phillipe who correctly writes that wine is a social drink which should be enjoyed in the company of friends and food.
he goes on to say that the right combination between food and wine is a source of ultimate bliss for every connoisseur. both wine and food can benefit from the right pairing. the right wine can accentuate unexpected gastronomical aspects of food and vice versa, wine can shine in a new light when accompanied by the right dish. in order to savor the splendor of such combinations, one does not need to frequent expensive restaurants and buy overpriced wines. rather, when combining food and wine it is one's intuition and curiosity that are of paramount importance.
most rules for agreeable food - wine combinations date back to the 19th century and are made by french cooks who travel around europe showing other nations the french savoir-vivre. it is since then that we know that champagne goes well with oysters, white wine - with seafood, and red wine - with game and red meats. those rules, however, have been broken many times throughout the years because the nature of certain dishes and the rich wine variety available allow for a much freer interpretation. for example, some red meats could be made more enjoyable by stronger white wines.
a more practical approach for combining wine with food is to avoid any possible dissonance between them. for example, an exceptional wine stands out much better when accompanied by a not so sophisticated dish that will bring out the wine's superb qualities instead of fighting with it. certain wines and foods have "found" each other over the years and represent especially suitable combinations. generally those are the regional wines and foods. almost all local dishes go best with the wines from their regions.
dan phillipe also gives some great tips for making good food and wine choices:
try to balance the weight of both, i.e. heavy dishes and those with a strong taste, such as game and red meat should be enjoyed with an equally heavy wine. in most cases those are red wines but some full-bodied whites could be an equally suitable alternative.
dry wines could develop a very unpleasant sour or even bitter taste if served with desserts. generally deserts are served with wines that are at least comparably sweet, if not sweeter.
wines with high acidity go best with heavy, rich in fat dishes. this is because the high fat content negates the impact of the acid.
high-tannin wines should be combined with foods rich in proteins. the proteins combine with the tannins, thus diminishing the tannin taste. wines made from grape varieties that contain a lot of tannins, such as cabernet sauvignon and syrah are an excellent match for red meats and other protein-rich foods. on the other hand, high-tannin wines acquire an unpleasant metallic taste if combined with fish and other seafood. or they could have an extremely bitter taste when combined with salty dishes.
So finally... which wine? You could have in mind the rules above when making your selection but don't be blinded by them and never take things for granted. Even when you are convinced that you have found the perfect wine for a certain dish, a small change, such as a bad yield, a change in the production technology, or other, could disappoint you. So have an open mind and be ready to experiment. Needless to say, a lot of times the results would be a bit strange but that's what will make the whole experience interesting!!
www.wines-resource.com
or if you go here you may well be able to save some money on the available offers.