There are a number of points towards refining your taste for wine and enhancing your judgment as to what makes a good wine. Naturally, one being wine is made from fermented grape juice. You also should know the grape varieties wines are made from and the process of wine making itself.

There are many different kinds of wines, and the more commonly known ones - red, white, rose and champagne - are only a few of many. Wines are usually classified according to the grape varieties used to make them. One variety that is often used for red wine is the Barbera. Grown mainly in Piedmont, Italy, this variety is quite adaptable to other regions, and is also grown on a limited scale in the United States. Barbera grapes have a high natural acidity and produce wines with a full-bodied fruity taste.

Wine Varieties

There is a vast selection when choosing one of the many varieties of wine. Wine enthusiasts all know about one variety grown in many parts of the world, the Cabernet Sauvignon. Grown primarily in Medoc, France, this grape variety has found its way to California, Australia and other wine-making countries. Cabernet Sauvignon wines are considered by wine enthusiasts as among the best red wines in the world. They have a distinct aromatic flavor, and have hints of the taste of berries, olives, coffee, mint and herbs all blended together. One of the most popular white wine varieties and producing some of the world's finest, is the Chardonnay. The types and varieties are overwhelming at times, but you soon become familiar with the wine values.

A basic understanding of the wine-making process is important to a wine enthusiast especially if he intends to go into wine production, if only for his personal use. Wine making is really quite simple and is an age-old technology. It is not necessary to have sophisticated equipment to make wines.

To start you have to know what type of grapes to use and where they are grown, the right age for picking, and things like acidity and sugar levels. If you are after a particular aromatic flavor, there are grapes that will produce that kind of flavor and you should be able to tell which ones. After the  picking comes the pressing to extract the juices, then fermentation.

Fermentation is quite a delicate process. It involves adding yeast to the juice in order to stimulate the fermentation process. In simple terms, fermentation is the conversion of the sugar in the juice into alcohol. The success of the process, that is, your grape juice turning into good wine, has a lot to do with the kind of yeast you use, and the absence of any contaminants getting into the mixture during the entire process.

There is so much more to knowing the difference between a Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon, but the knowledge to the types of wine available is just the beginning for a wine enthusiast.

Normal 0 false false false MicrosoftInternetExplorer4 “Pale plonk packs an acidic punch!” says the BBC, Well, it does and it doesn’t. It also depends on the types of wine grapes as to how acidic the wine is and how long the wine is held in the mouth, as to how much damage is done. People who taste wine are much more likely to suffer from rotting teeth than your normal wine drinker, this is because they hold the wine in their mouths longer. Loads of noise on twitter for the story on http://twitter.com/winewarecouk and http://twitter.com/thirstforwine.

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So what does White wine actually do to teeth?

It should be pointed out that the erosion of teeth by wine is the result of extensive wine use that would also lead to damaged liver and all sorts of other problems. The typical wine drinker who sips a glass of wine at dinner or with their evening meal should not be ‘scared off’ by the tooth decay headlines, remember 100 year old women in Italy swear that wine was the secret of their longevity.

White wine stains teeth:

I think that anyone who has drank a few glasses of Red would agree that, yes, it does. Has it ever crossed your mind how this is? “Red wine, unlike white, contains a highly-pigmented substance known as chromogen," explained Dr. Wolff of New York University College says "The acids in wine create rough spots and grooves that enable chemicals in other beverages that cause staining, such as coffee and tea, to penetrate deeper into the tooth”.

Dr Wolff pointed out that all wine has the abilty to damage the tooths surface, red wine merely lets us know where that damage is.

Stop wine erosion on teeth?

1) Alkaline mouthwashes are highly recommended

2) Proper brushing of your teeth with a soft tooth brush is encouraged.

3) Food and drink go together very well, acid in your food and acid in the wine can both be combatted at once with your mouths natural mineralisation.

4) To help the remineralisation work, wait 30 mins after eating before brushing your teeth.

5) Cheese can also help as it contains calcium in a high concentration

I hope this is helped a little towards taking away the fear factor of White wine.

Think I need a drink after all that …

Like us, we know you appreciate delicious food and fine wines.at the end of the week there is nothing better than chilling with a nice glass of wine and great food.its the best way to let steam off. Drinking a good wine delivers a real sense of place and character and brings a little slice of the vineyard into your own home.

First hand experience of La Rioja

Imagine how much more your appreciation would be enhanced if you could experience the sights, sounds and flavours of your favourite wine region first hand.you don't have to be a massive wine connoisseur, just a fan!   There are dozens of wine tasting holiday packages available, ranging from the commercial tourist treks that  whisk you  through the terroir on an air-conditioned coach to the more intimate walking holidays that give you the space and time to walk through a wine region, drinking in the atmosphere and sampling the local food as well as tasting the wines.

La Rioja

We think an active holiday for wine buffs is best done at your own pace.  For a truly personal holiday, we like companies that offers tailor made packages to the smaller, beautiful and often underappreciated regions of Spain, such as La Rioja for example.going with a small group of friends and a trust worthy guide will help you appreciate wine even more.

Why La Rioja

The gateway to La Rioja is Bilbao, famous for Frank Gehry’s titanium-clad Guggenheim Museum and the magnificent Mirador de Tolono is less than an hour away with magnificent views across the wine growing region.if you head down into the valley of Rio Ebro your right amongst the wine production are in La Rioja where a combination of wine tasting and walks and meals can be enjoyed.The local food comprises of seafood from the northern coast and meats from the plains to the south of Rioja.  Expert chefs and sommeliers serve up dinners known as a “maridage” where each course is accompanied by its own wine selected specifically to complement the flavours of the food.

going to a traditional winery gives you sample of how much care and attention goes into making a bottle of wine.one the oldest wineries called Muga uses traditional methods in winemaking, using only oak barrels and casks.If your a wine lover and enjoy active holidays then La Rioja is the perfect place to go.you can experience the lifestyle behind the wines and enjoy the history of the region and culture. there are shorter weekend packages if you don't fancy the normal 9 day package which also involves walkng through the countryside.

At Classic Wine Direct we’re pretty upfront about what we do – we can’t compete with supermarkets on price so we offer wines from off the beaten track instead. wines are more flavoursome and interesting. people who drink wine don't really know the true value of wine.

the chief executive for the wine trade confirmed many of the deals are a rip off.

The fact that a leading player in the wine business had admitted that consumers were being conned caused many a raised eyebrow.

Spiret confirmed that many of deals in retail supermarkets are not deals at all. Put simply, a bottle reduced from £7.99 to £3.wines are often only worth £3.99.99 in the first place.

Retailers use a policy called “marking up, only to mark down” where they put a product on sale at a high price in a select number of regional outlets for a long enough time to ensure they can legally claim the product was being sold at that price before then offering it nationwide at a lower ” was/now” price. wine customers will believe they are getting a bargain price. Confused? thats what we think generally.

The industry beleives that the “mass market” wine drinker is obsessed by the £3.99 price point and this affects the way that retailers are selling us wine and the way that some suppliers are now producing their wines.

In Spiret’s mind ’Consumers know they are getting misled … they get used to it. this leads to the wine trade not havng any money.

Spiret's gives us an inside view of the true tricks in which wine is sold by the big retailers. it gives the impression that big retailers view their customers to be lazy and ignorant.

In many ways Spiret was simply highlighting the types of marketing practices that are in play in many industries and it would be unfair to single out the wine trade as unique in using such tactics.

due to the fact that supermarkets represent two thirds of the sales in the UK, this changes the public perception of the value of wine.

if the normal drinker believes that they are getting a £7.00 bottle.99 of value from a £3.99 bottle then it follows that it will be much harder for the independent wine retailer to sell something whose real value is (and always was) £7.99.

this type of marketing leaves it open to all sorts of underhand practices.

However, if the political mood continues to be against discount selling for alcohol, it will be interesting to see how the big retailers find a real price for wines they have knowingly mis-sold for the last 10 years.

Friday lunchtime is fast approaching. This week seems to have been very long and busy.

However, the countdown is on to the weekend and that means a few bottles of my favourite wines.

Usually it's a few bottles on Friday and Saturday nights and then just one bottle on Sunday. Regrettably on a Monday morning I have to be up bright and breezy ready for another hectic week at work.

I am still a bit of an amateur when it comes to choosing the right wine and I will admit to sometimes getting it wrong. I know every now and then I serve a white when it should be a red.

For Friday's dinner I was contemplating serving up a nice piece of steak. To accompany this I think I should be choosing a nice Cabernet Sauvignon. However my predicament is I am an absolute lover of any sort of Shiraz, so perhaps I should get a couple of bottles of this.

At my house this Saturday we are having a family get together and I am organising a nice buffet. I expect my family will do their usual and not bring their own wine, so I will have to make sure I have extra supplies in. My absolute favourite wine is Cava, so I will definately buy some of this. My dilemma will be should I get Rosado Cava or Reserve Cava, or perhaps, as it’s a big event, I should just get a case of each.

On Sunday night there will be just be the two of us and I think after our weekend of heavy drinking we will just enjoy a nice cup of tea.

Well that will be another weekend done and dusted. Unfortunately Monday morning will soon be here, the alarm will be buzzing nice and early and another busy week will be here.  Oh roll on Friday.