Tips for Beginner's: Wine Making Supplies

It's important to do some homework and learn exactly what's entailed before undertaking the hobby of wine making supplies. It is not something that can be simply plunged into and then learned along the way. Without the vital research required to have the necessary foreknowledge of each and every critical winemaking step and process, failure is a certainty. When it comes to winemaking, failure can taste as awful as success is sweet.

Homemade wine is a fun hobby that can easily be done in one's spare time and at the end of the process--provided everything goes well--there will be a glorious result. Many people find wine making to be an addictive past time, because no matter how well they might do they always envision room for improvement, in the next batch. As more is learned about wine making and as more wine making experience is gained the wine will get better and better. As more and more tips and tricks are learned to help improve the final product, and endless process begins of improving the next batch, and then the next batch, and then the next, and so on.

The vast majority types of wines are made from grapes for a very good reason: the grape has nearly all of the ingredients necessary to making wine already infused into it. Success in winemaking entirely wrapped up in the balance of chemicals, and the grape has many of the necessary chemicals in it already, in balanced ideal for winemaking.

The right balance of sugar, tannin, moisture and nutrients, are vital to create a quality wine, and it just so happens that the grape perfectly fits the bill. This natural balance allows the grape to ferment exactly as it needs to for successful winemaking. However, selecting the proper grape is only the beginning of a successful winemaking journey.

There are of course many different grapes that can be used in different combinations. As the hobbyist becomes more skilled at winemaking they may want to try adding a bit of some other fruits to the mixture to give the wine some extra depth and flavoring. Reading about the different grapes that can be used in winemaking and how they affect the outcome of the wine making process can be enormously helpful. Knowing what kind of wine the maker prefers will give them a good idea of which direction to set out in.

As with any hobby it is important to keep close in mind that wine making supplies is supposed to be fun. Mistakes are bound to be made, and no one takes up winemaking without making a few along the way. Don't let mistakes destroy the fun of the hobby. Rather, learn from them and seek to correct them.

Wine Cellars Tips: Making The Most Of Your Treasure

Wine has been set apart from the other beverages consumed by humans, rather like the gods and goddesses themselves were set apart from mere mortals in their aerie on Mount Olympus, since the first flagon of grape was allowed to ferment. Wine has had a role to play in religious ceremonies form the time of the ancient Greeks to the Christian rituals of today, and when it is released from its bottle like a genie, wine has almost the same effect.
Yet wine, for all its mystery, requires some rather mundane care. Wine which is not to be consumed immediately needs to be sorted, and its proper storage has certain rituals of its own. For those uninitiated into those rituals, wine storage tips

Might prove helpful.

Although many people love to store their wine in plain sight of the envious eyes of their visitors, or because the shade of the burgundy exactly matches the roses on Grandmother’s china, the first of the wine cellars tips is that wine should be stored away from light and heat. If you’re not going to be drinking the lovely burgundy within a few weeks, put it back in the wine cellars rack in a dark cool part of the house.

Watching The Humidity

And while you’re putting it back, check the humidity in your main wine storage area. The second of the wine storage tips is that you don’t want the humidity to drop to a level at which the bottle corks will begin to dry out and shrink. If they do, air will get into the wine bottles and the wine will eventually deteriorate.

Wine making supplies

Another of the more useful wine storage tips regards what you should do after the party with the wine in your half-empty bottles. Feeding it to the kitchen sink hardly seems justified; if you can find the cork and it still fits, just replace it and make sure to finish the wine in the next couple of days. wine cellars Temperature.

Nitrogen Sealing

But if you’ve had as much wine as you can take for a while, and you can find one, get yourself a nitrogen wine cellars unit. It has a cylinder of nitrogen attached to a hose, and the hose is fitted to the bottle of leftover wine, pressurizing it with nitrogen gas so that the wine is protected from oxygen in the air. Oxygen will destroy the wine’s magical properties, but nitrogen will leave them intact.
The final, and most obvious, of the wine cellars tips, is to forego the entire storage process and drink the wine as soon as you bring it home. That’s why you bought it!

The Benefits Of Having Wine Knowledge

Sitting down at my family dinner table one night, my brother brought out wine bottles that contain of red wine and poured my family a glass each. I being a non-drinker refused the glass, however my brother vehemently insisted that I take it and drink it for the good of my health. My health? I'm supposed to drink alcohol to better my health?

It's true actually. Studies show that having wine knowledge, consume moderate amounts of alcohol on a regular basis are at a lower risk of heart disease. This is more prevalent wine knowledge than with any other alcohol. Study show that types of wines have even shown to help prevent cancer. This is thought to be due to the presence of a chemical called resveratrol in red wine.

Resveratrol is produced by the natural reaction of grape skins to the yeast used in the fermentation process of red wine. Resveratrol combined with antioxidants and flavanoids present in the wine are all thought to help contribute to the health benefits of wine. Recent studies have even shown that the regular and moderate consumption of wine may actually help to reduce signs of aging and promote a longer life span.

Amazing isn't it? That small vice of having a glass of wine with your dinner has turned out to be a healthy practice. Now this isn't to say that everyone should suddenly start to drink red wine daily. As always with alcohol certain precautions must be taken. First it is wise to take in wine with a meal and not alone, and of course do so when it will not be a hindrance and put you or those around you in danger.

Also certain medications are not to be taken with alcohol so make sure that any prescription medication you take is safe to take in with a moderate amount of alcohol. Those with asthma should also take precautions as sulfites that are naturally present in wine may cause restricted breathing and other allergy symptoms.
Of course a serious concern anytime alcohol is consumed is to make sure that you do not overindulge yourself.

A glass or two is all that is needed to take in the benefits from drinking the wine. Drinking too much can lower your blood pressure to dangerous levels and over time cause damage in the liver leading to cirrhosis
Just remember that the key to the health benefits of having Wine Knowledge are moderation and regularity.

It will not help to go out and drink a bottle one night and never drink it again. Try going to a winery and ask for suggestions for first time drinkers and find a taste that you like.

When you've found something you like keep a few bottles in a cupboard and have a glass with dinner a few times a week. Drinking a glass of wine every now and then doesn't seem like too harsh of a routine does it? Especially when there are so many health benefits that comes from it.

Wine Making Supplies and make it Aging Wine

Wine is a complex substance. Open a bottle of it now, and it may taste fine. Open a bottle of the same wine several years from now, and the wine becomes something else entirely. Rough edges in the flavor will have smoothed out and the overall flavor of the wine will be more balanced and mellow.

Why wine making supplies? Well, as stated above, the many components of the wine will mellow out over time, and bring a harmonious balance to the flavor of the wine. The tannins, present in red wine, bring a bitter and astringent flavor. Given time, the tannins help to age the wine. As wine ages, the tannins precipitate out of the wine, leaving a smoother and mellower flavor. As the wine ages, the acids will lose a bit of their bite, allowing the fruit to come out more. As the components of the wine age, they also bring more complexity to the flavor. What you end up with after several years of proper aging is a complex and balanced wine.

What wines should be aged? There are certain guidelines as to what wines should and should not be aged, but they are simply guidelines, not hard and fast rules. Most wines from California are meant to be consumed immediately, and should not be aged. Most white wines should not be aged, as they have a lower amount of tannins than red wine. It is the tannins that are present in red wine that allow the wine to age well. There are types of wines; however that will improve with a couple of years of aging. Most wines under $25 don't need to be aged. Many homemade wine are meant to age and mature over several years. There are exceptions to these rules. Go into a wine shop, and ask which wines they would recommend for aging. They can recommend several good wines, along with some ideas of how long to age the wine.

How do I age wine? Proper storage is essential for a wine to age well. Cooler temperatures slow down the aging process, allowing time for the complexity of the wine to develop. The wine should be stored at a constant temperature of 50-60 degrees F. Fluctuating temperatures will cause the wine and the cork to expand and contract, loosening the cork, and exposing the wine to oxygen. The wine should be stored on it's side, so that the wine is in contact with the cork, preventing it from drying out. The storage area should be dark, and have plenty of moisture to keep the cork from drying, which may loosen it, and subject the wine to oxidation.

Once you have a proper storage area for your wine, go to your local wine shop, and get their recommendations on a good wine making supplies. Buy a case of wine, and then open up one of the bottles when you get home and taste it. Put the rest of the bottles in storage, and start opening them after a couple of years, and note how the flavors and the complexity of the wine have changed. New wine bottles may be good, but a properly aged bottle is even better.

Lots Of Idea To Wine Tasting

There is no better way to get to know a variety of wine than going to a wine tasting. It is a unique opportunity to taste wines, have an expert guide you through the tasting, give those points according to your own tastes, and then, by the end of the evening, have a great idea of the types of wines that is your favorite.

When you are at a wine tasting, you taste the wine with a group of people, sometimes familiar people, sometimes strangers, making it a great opportunity to get ideas from others. Other people will have tried different wine bottles to you previously and will be happy to share their views on which wine goes with which type of food and how to keep wine at its best once the bottle has been opened.

Wine tastings happen regularly across the country and beyond. They are usually held in interesting locations in city centers, such as art galleries, museums, or other heritage buildings. They often have producers of wine in attendance as well as experts, to guide you through the evening and offer advice if needed.

In addition to wine on offer, canapés or hors d’oevres are often served as well, making for a great night out, discovering new tastes and hopefully finding a new wine to fall in love with.

Not only are wine tastings a great way to get to know a new wine, it is also a fantastic way to meet fellow wine lovers and who knows, by the end evening, you could have made a new friend or two.

Most wine tasting only last for a couple of hours – any longer and you would have forgotten the first wine that you have tried. It is a good idea to make sure you don’t drink too much too quickly, as you will be mixing different types of wines, and you don’t want to end up buying something you didn’t really like, or having a splitting headache in the morning.

Wine tasting are held all over the country, from Bristol to Durham, at Lancaster to Salisbury.
There is bound to be one close to you. In addition to wine tastings, some companies hold wine dinners, where you get to taste wine in conjunction with indulging in a great meal.

Wine knowledge tastings come in a couple of different formats. There is a more formal, intimate set-up, which could feature fine wines and more information on a smaller number of wines. There is also the less formal setting where you walk around tasting a larger variety of wines, but this lacks the intimacy and the expertise of the more formal gathering.

If you are interested in wine tastings, why not check out an independent online retailer where you will find more information on this service.

Types of Wines And Various Flavors

If the four main flavors - sweet, salty, sour, and bitter are all your tongue is really capable of tasting, the long lasting impression that wine leaves in your mouth is far more complex. When you drink or taste wine, your taste buds and your sense of smell are involved, adding to the way you interpret wine overall. The flavors, aromas, and sensations that wine is comprised of provide the interaction that you taste when you sample wine.

Sweetness is something that wines are well known for. With most types of wines, grapes are responsible for the sweet taste. Grapes contain a lot of sugar, which breaks the yeast down into alcohol. The grapes and yeast that were used to produce the wine will leave behind various sugars, which your tongue will be able to quickly discover. Once your tongue detects these various sugars, the stimulation of sweetness from the wine will be ever so present in your mouth.

Alcohol is also present in wine, although your tongue doesn%u2019t really know how to decipher the taste of alcohol. Even though the tongue doesn%u2019t really taste alcohol, the alcohol is present in the mouth. The alcohol found in wine will dilate blood vessels and therefore intensify all of the other flavors found in the wine. After you have samples a few types of wines, the alcohol level can easily have an effect on your taste buds, making it hard to distinguish other drinks that you may have.

Another flavor is acidity, which will affect the sugars. With the proper balance of acidity, the overall flavor of wine can be very overwhelming. Once you taste wine that contains it, the flavor of the acidity will be well known to your tongue. Although acidity is great with wine, too much of it will leave a very sharp taste. With the right levels, acidity will bring the flavors of the grape and fruits alive in your mouth - providing you with the perfect taste.

Yet another effect of flavor is tannins, which are the proteins found in the skins of grapes and other fruits. If a wine has the right amount of tannins, it will give your tongue a great feel, and bring in the sensations of the other flavors. Once a wine starts to age, the tannins will begin to breakdown in the bottle, giving you a softer feel to the taste. Tannins are essential for the taste of wine - providing the wine has been properly aged.

The last flavor associated with wine is oak. Although oak isn%u2019t put into the wine during the manufacturing process, it is actually transferred during the aging process, as most wines will spend quite a bit of time in wine cellars. Depending on how long the wine is left in the wine country gift baskets or cask, the ability to extract the flavor will vary. Most often times, wine will be aged just enough to where the oak taste is visibly there - and adds the perfect sentiment to the taste.

Although there are other flavors involved with the taste of wine, they aren%u2019t as present as those listed above. The above flavors are the most present in wine, and also the flavors that you need to get more familiar with. Before wine tasting or distinguish flavors, you should always learn as much you can about the components responsible for the flavors. This way - you will know more about what you taste and you’ll truly be able to appreciate wine.

Wine Knowledge For Beginners

Attending wine tasting events can be a great experience and a lot of fun, although a lot of people choose not to attend out of fear - or not knowing what to do or what to expect. Even though there are no mysteries to wine tasting, there are some things that you should always remember.

During a wine tasting event, women are always served before the men. Some tastings will serve you bottled water between tastings, so you can clean your mouth out and be ready to taste all types of wines that is served. Wine knowledge when you take the wine, you should always handle the glass by the stem, to avoid heating it with your hands. There will also be crackers and other goodies on hand as well, to help you cleanse your mouth between wine tastings.

As you may already know, you can tell quite a bit about the wine by the color. When you attend a wine tasting for the first time, you’ll notice that the glasses are clear. This helps you to examine the wine better. There should also be white tablecloth on the table as well, to help you see the color the wine more clearly. You should never go by the name of the wine alone, as it can easily fool you.

You’ll also notice the more experienced wine tastes swirl their wine around in the glass before they taste it. Although it may look weird, slightly swirling the wine actually helps to bring out the flavor. Most wines have been aging in bottles for long periods of time, sometimes even years. When the wine is swirled around in the glass, the swirling will release the flavors in the wine and bring them out when the wine is tasted.

At wine tasting, you’ll need to look at the wine, smell it, then after swirling it around in the glass - taste it. Smells play an integral part of the process, as you’ll get a lot more from the wine by smelling it first. Wine has quite an intriguing aroma, which helps to bring out the taste that wine is so well known for. Once you have smelled the wine, you should allow a few moments to take in the smell and think about the wine that you are smelling.

Last but not least, you’ll want to know how to properly taste the wine. Your tongue has taste buds in the front and the back, which helps to detect flavors. Wine is full of flavors, and how you taste it will make the biggest impact. When you put the wine in your mouth, you should always swish it around in your mouth for a few seconds, and allow the flavors plenty of time to dance on your palate. Once your taste buds have started to discover the wine, you can think about what you are tasting. After swallowing the wine, the aftertaste that remains in your mouth should give you even more of an idea as to the type and flavor of the wine.

Before you attend a wine tasting, you should always learn as much as you can about the many types of wines and varieties of wine. This way, you’ll have a better understanding of what you should look for in both taste and flavor. Even though you may be new to wine tasting, you should never pass up an opportunity to go. You’ll get a great experience in the world of wine tasting and get to experience wines that you may have never heard of before.

Some Wine Knowledge And Wine Making Supplies

Collecting wine can be a very fun and exciting hobby and you also need Wine Knowledge - especially when you try to find the a good wine. If you are looking to wine making supplies, you may end up spending a bit more money than you thought. Wine collecting is a great hobby, although it can be very expensive. If you are just starting out, the tips below may come in very handy to help you get started.

The first thing to do, is find a place to store your wine like. You can store your wine at home or buy wine cellars, although you’ll need to have a location with the proper amount of space and cooling temperature (between 50 and 65 degrees F). You’ll also need to determine what brands and types of wines you are planning to collect. There are several options to choose from, including red and white wine. You’ll also need to find some places with good quality and refinery to buy your wine from.

You can always participate in tastings and trade shows as well. Here, you can meet other people who are into wine collecting, and get to know local traders. You should also strive to learn as much as you can about wine. You can learn a lot about wine on the Internet, or by reading magazines and newsletters dedicated to wine. By doing so, you can also learn more about storage, buying wine, and even cooling your wine.

To better prepare your wine for storage, you can try tasting different varieties. List of liquor names this way, you can identify which wines you need to age more. You’ll learn more about wine this way as well, such as how to distinguish tastes. You may also want to learn how to identify the flavor quality as well. As you may already know, there is a difference among rare vintage wines and wines that are instantly processed.

If you are just beginning to collect wine, you should avoid purchasing in bulk until you know for sure what types of wines you wish to collect. When you visit a wine trader, you should let him know that you are a collector. This way, he can inform you whether or not the wines you are collecting are available in his inventory. If you hope to collect wines from other areas, he may be able to give you contact information for finding the wines you are interested in.

Keep in mind that wine making supplies isn’t all about fun - it’s also a great way to eventually start your own business. You can attend wine shows and wine tasting events to learn more about the different brands, and also find wines that will bring in higher profits. Once you have collected some rare bottles of wine - you can start selling and watch your profits soar.

Wine country Gift Baskets For Any Occasion

For any celebration or glorious moment in life, wine is essential to have. Parties and celebrations are thought of as being incomplete unless there is wine present, which makes it ideal gifts for wine lovers for virtually any occasion. Wine gift baskets are a great gift; they are very affordable and perfect for nearly any occasion - such as birthdays, weddings, festivals, parties, or anniversaries.

Wine country gift baskets are trendy gifts that are very popular - in terms of price and taste. Along with the bottles of wine, wine gift baskets also contain various accessories as well, such as wine glasses and corkscrews. With most wine baskets, fruit and chocolate is included as well. You can also find cheese in some baskets, which most consider to go perfect with fine wine.

Depending on the occasion, there are suitable wine gift baskets to choose from. When you select a basket, there are several factors that you’ll need to consider in order to make the basket a truly special gift. If you are giving a basket as a wedding present, then you’ll obviously want to choose a different basket than one you would give to a friend at a party. There are wine baskets out there that are cheap in price - to those that are more expensive and more suitable for a wedding gift.

If you are buying a wine gift basket for a beginning enthusiast, you may want to include a book on wine that will help them learn more about wine in general. If you are giving the basket to a wine enthusiast with a lot of experience, you may want to include a stopper. No matter who you are giving the basket to, a wine gift basket with an assortment of fine wine is a great gift that can bring joy to anyone.

Types of wine for wine lovers, you can find gift baskets that include fruity red wine, tangy white wine, full bodied wine, dry wine, sparkling wine, and even sweet wine. Red wine is ideal for main course meals such as meats, while white wine is ideal for seafood and white meat. Sparkling wine on the other hand, is ideal for special occasions. If you are giving the gift basket as a wedding present, sparkling wine is a choice that you can’t go wrong with. Sparkling wine is one of the most popular types of wine - perfect for weddings and anniversaries.

If you have a bit of difficulty choosing a wine gift basket, you can’t go wrong with mixed baskets that offer a mixture of wines. You can find these types of baskets in local stores or on the Internet. They are affordable, starting around $20.00 and going up from there. If you are thinking of getting fine wine gift baskets in Florida, you should keep in mind that it can be a bit more expensive.

Great Gifts For Wine Lovers

For virtually any occasion, such as special moments and holidays, wine makes gifts for wine lovers.
From informal meetings to wedding celebrations and bashes, wine is a gift that is truly hard to beat.
There are list of liquor names gifts you can get that relate to wine.
No matter who it may be that you are giving the gift to - wine is something that is truly appreciated - a gift from the heart.

Among the several gifts of wine that you can give, is personalized wine.
There are several companies that offer personalized wine and champagne gifts,
Complete with custom made designs and labels.
For corporate events and parties, a personalized gifts for wine lovers is an ideal way to showcase your
Gratitude and give a gift that truly shows how much you care.

If you prefer, there are also ways that you can create your own personalized gift.
First of all, you’ll need to select a wine label from one of the numerous custom wines available.
Next, you will need to personalize your text by adding your own messages and ideas.
Last, you’ll need to select a container or wrapper that is best appropriate for your gift of wine.
You should be as creative as possible, as it will help to make your wine gift to have a bit more impact.

Another great wine related gift that you can give is corkscrews.
Corkscrews make for a truly great gift, allowing you to open wine bottles with the corks intact.
Wine lovers who want to open a bottle of wine every now and then,
And keep the cork in great shape will truly appreciate the gift of a corkscrew.
Corkscrews are also used in restaurants as well, as they can easily remove even the toughest of corks.

Wine cellars protect alcoholic beverages from potentially harmful external influences, providing darkness and a constant temperature. Wine is a natural, perishable food product.
Left exposed to heat, light, vibration or fluctuations in temperature and humidity, all types of wine can spoil.

You can find many other wine gifts to give as well. If you look on the Internet, you can find all different types of wine gifts that you can give to virtually anyone.
You can also find great gifts in local stores as well, many of which are available at great prices.
If you aren’t sure about what to get someone, you can always ask.
Although there are many different gifts that you can give for a variety of occasions, few gifts have the impact of wine.
If you choose - you can always give the gifts for wine lovers - a bottle that is sure to please anyone.

Types of Wines History

Many wine tasters are decided that an optimum glass in terms of size and volume exists for a certain types of wine or even style.
that it is absolutely imperative that the correct glass be used if maximum enjoyment is to be had. But how much of this idea has truth in fact, and how much is the result of concerted marketing efforts on the part of some glass manufacturers to effect a marketing point of difference.

Before we can answer this question in an intelligent way, we must first define what is meant by "taste" in a wine. In lay-mans terms, the term "taste" encompasses a combined result of a broad variety of sensory experiences including the perception of:

1. the strength and profile of the wine%u2019s aroma
2. the strength of the wine%u2019s individual flavors, and the overall or combined impact
of these flavors
3. the impact of the three important basic tastes in wine; acidity, sweetness and
bitterness and,
4. the mouth-feel or tactile sensations imparted by the wine. These include amongst
other things, body, and (in red wines), astringency.

The separation of these is not just an academic exercise as for a variety of logical reasons it is likely that the size and shape of the glass should affect these to largely varying degrees.

Despite these strong beliefs about the importance of glass shape, little scientific research has been conducted in this area, but two recent reports have thrown some light on the effect of glass type on the aroma of wines.
The role of the Church in the production and marketing of Type Of Wine declined with the Reformation, particularly in northern Europe, but this did not convulse the wine world half as much as the discovery of the usefulness of corks about a century later. For the first time since the Roman empire, wine could now be stored and aged in bottles. Throughout the Middle Ages wine had been kept in casks which had presented a dual handicap: first, too long kept in wood could rob a wine of all its fruit; second, once the cask was opened the wine inevitably deteriorated unless drunk within a few days. The bottle, with its smaller capacity, solved the former problem by providing a neutral, non-porous material which allowed wine to age in a different subtler way and removed the latter problem by providing sealed containers of a manageable size for a single session's drinking.

However, the cork and bottle revolution was not an instant success; bottles were then so bulbous they would only stand upright which meant the corks eventually dried out and as a consequence let in air. But, by the mid 18th century, longer, flat-sided bottles were designed which would lie down, their corks kept moist by contact with the wine. As a result wine making now took on a new dimension. It became worthwhile for a winemaker to try and excel, wines from particular plots of land could be compared for their qualities, and the most exciting could be classified and separated from the more mundane plot wines. As a result today's great names of Bordeaux, Burgundy and the Rhine first began to be noticed.

In the early 19th century, Europe seemed one massive vineyard. In Italy 80% of people were earning their living from wine and in France there were vast plantings rolling southwards from Paris. Also the vine had moved abroad thanks to explorers, colonists and missionaries. It went to Latin America with the Spaniards, South Africa with French Huguenots, and to Australia with the British. Could anything stop this tide of wine expansion?

Well, yes and it came in the form of an aphid called phylloxera, that fed on and destroyed vine roots. It came from America in the 1860's, and by the early 20th century, had destroyed all Europe's vineyards and most of the rest of the world's as well. The solution was to graft the vulnerable European vine, vitis vinifera, onto the phylloxera-resistant American rootstock, vitis riparia, naturally a very expensive effort. The most immediate effect in Europe was that only the best sites were replanted and the total area under vines shrank drastically as a result. Elsewhere the havoc wrought was comparable and vineyard acreage is only now expanding to old original sites destroyed over a century ago.

The 20th century brought more change as science and technology revolutionised viticulture and wine making. But despite the chemical formulae and computerised wineries, the grape retains its magic and allure that attracts wine enthusiasts from all over the world.

Airen Wine Knowledge

A white grape that is Spain's and the world's most widely planted grape variety. Airen blankets central Spain's hot, arid regions of LA MANCHA and VALDEPENAS and is used for both red and white wines. The Airen grape's reputation for creating dull white wines is still widely dependable but-thanks to modern equipment and new winemaking techniques-these wines have recently gained a better image. There are now white Airen wines being produced that are light, crisp, fruity, and slightly aromatic. Spain's Valdepenas region, which has a good reputation for red wines, actually grows much more Airen than it does the local red-grape favorite Cencibel (TEMPRANILLO). In fact, often a small amount of Airen is blended with the Cencibel to create the region's popular red wine. Much of the blander white wine made from Airen is processed further to create BRANDY. Airen is also known as Lairen, Manchega, and Valdepenera Blanca.

You look down the wine aisles and see row after row of Chardonnay and Cabernet. You would think, logically, that one of these two grape varieties must be the most planted grape on the planet. Guess again!

While Chardonnay is the first or second to the highest planted grape in the US, France, Australia and New Zealand, it is not the most planted grape in total area. This honor belongs to Airen. Yes, Airen, a grape you've probably never heard of! The second-most planted is Trebbiano, used in France and Italy.

Airen is planted extremely heavily in Spain, and in the 80s covered around 1.2 million acres of land. It is planted with a low number of vines per acre, and is used in the production of brandy as well as standard dry white table wines. The light-skinned grapes create wines that are typically inexpensive and not well known for their flavor.