The Syrah grape, the Australians know this grape as a Shiraz, this grape is used for a more fancy lighter, fruity wine. Syrah is grown in France this grape produces a full bodied dark colored wine full of Tannin. You may be asking what Tannin is; Tannin is the “feeling” of a dry wine. Better to be explained by biting into a grape seed or even a banana peal and tasting the dry or bitter taste.

The Tannin level is determined by how long the grape stays in full tact with the stem, seed, and skin, the longer intact the more robust the Tannin.

On the opposite end of the spectrum with very minimal Tannin is the Pinot Noir, the wine made by using this grape is harder to find.

The Pinot Noir is generally aged in oak barrels to encourage the taste and help bring more tannin into the wine. Merlot is a type of wine people are more familiar with. Merlot often takes on the taste of prunes or even chocolate also very low in Tannins. A Zinfandel can also be red, this is one of the oldest grapes to be grown n California. A red zinfandel is very rich and colorful also the alcohol content is high.

There are so many types of grapes grown to make red wines. Some wine is high in Tannin and some are very low. Now that you know what makes your wine taste the way it does invite all your friends over and make a toast

The trouble with Indian cuisine is that is has the most possessive and over-zealous of people to protect it – us Indians. So opposed are we to any form of change or modification that any form of change or modification that anyone may try and induce in this style of cooking that it is rejected as substandard and compromised even before being given a fair dueling chance.

But then that is true of most countries. France wouldn’t give a chance to what can be best described as an Oriental take on their cuisine; the Italians are worse still and nothing made outside of their family kitchen can even be classified as food!

The only trouble for us Indians is that our food, as it traditionally stands, is not exactly wine conducive. This is perhaps why we, of all populations, need to look at our cuisine again and to see how to adapt it to more contemporary moods.

Plated service was one big move towards this notion. The idea od serving one dish at a time, pre-plated could reduce the confussion of flavours in courses and make pairing more plausible, and explorable.

Fire, the Indian Restaurant at the park did it but it was well before its time and also, they relented easily to the staunch Indian guest who still insisted on their food being silver served onto their plates. Varq has recently reintroduced the same with much success but I still find Indian families having difficulty adapting. The latest endeavour is the restaurant Indian Accent at The Manor good hotel in Delhi the posh southern reaches of the capital.

The last thing, and perhaps the most important thing, that will make this place a sure shot success is their pricing. Super affordable lunch deals and paired multiple-course dinner s – this place is set to take over the capital. I definitely like Varq at the Taj but for the food they serve here at this charming boutique property and the detailed pairing that has been incorporated into the menu, I think my loyalties will be affected. All in all, fine Indian dining is gradually settling in and is here to stay. We Indians will finally be rescued from ourselves.

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Let’s say that you like the taste of nonalcoholic wine. Well there are many vineyards that produce these non-alcoholic drinks, Sutter Home being the one with the best distribution. Well the taste is a direct product of the fermentation process, so fancy grape juice is not what you’re looking for. There are several processes that take the alcohol out of wine – look for the cold pressed kind. The non-alcoholic wines that were heated to remove the alcohol also lost some of the nutrient value.

(Stay Tuned for the list of vineyards. . .)

But let’s say you really just want the health benefits of wine. That’s an easy one because grape juice actually has the health benefits of wine. You can’t get the health benefits of alcohol without the alcohol. Did you know that Welch’s – the folks who make grape juice – were the first to make nonalcoholic wine? There was a ban on alcohol in the New Jersey town where Dr. Welch lived so he invented a way to pasteurize grape juice instead of fermenting it. His success grew from there. There just happens to be a couple vineyards that make gourmet juice and sell it in wine bottles – very cool.

So check out these wineries to buy your next nonalcoholic wine or ‘gourmet’ grape juice:

Ariel Vineyards
Sutter Home Fre Wines
RedLand Juice
Emmanuel Winery
Sweet Water Cellars

If you’re just looking to look hip at your next party – without the alcohol – fill up the punch bowl with this, it not only tastes fantastic – but it looks pretty too:

4 parts lemonade
2 parts club soda
1 part pomegranate juice
crushed ice

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What a difference a glass makes! If you are drinking wine at a college frat party or on an airplane the quality of your wine glass is not an issue. However, when you expect an excellent experience both aesthetically and in taste, these six features of the perfect wine glass will be very important to you.

After personally discovering the truth in the statement, “It really does matter what glass we choose to drink wine,” I conducted a survey asking, “Have you ever had a bad wine tasting experience because of the glass your wine was in?” Some very interesting answers were shared.

By far the worst tasting wine had been poured in styrofoam with cheap throw away plastic glasses a close second. Have you ever had alcohol on an airplane in plastic cups? Airplane wine is not the best anyway, however, taste the same vintage in fine crystal stemware and it is a totally different and more acceptable experience.

Taking a look back in history wine has been consumed in animal skins and horns, hard, baked clay, wood, leather gourds and very ornate, heavy metal vessels. There certainly must have been alot of “off” tasting wines! We have come a long way both in wine making and glass making. The science and precision of design in wine goblets today is extraordinary making the drinking of wine a wonderful pleasure.

The material of choice for glasses is crystal. Wine really does taste best in crystal. So, what other features are important in the perfect wine glass?

1. A great crystal wine glass should always be clear. One of the pleasures of drinking wine is enjoying the ruby – red or deep purple color of a red wine or the golden amber or lemon gold color of a white wine. These beautiful colors cannot be experienced in a colored wine glass or one with a fancy design or etching. They may have been inherited from Mom and are gorgeous but they will interfere with your ability to evaluate the wine’s true color. As a matter of fact your glass should appear “invisible” making the wine the main focus.

2. Select a glass with a long stem. Not only is stemware beautiful but it serves a very practical purpose as well. The stem of your wine glass is where you hold the glass. Yes, that is correct! The temperature of wine matters and if you hold the bowl (where your wine is) the warmth of your hand will warm the wine changing its temperature and your enjoyment of the wine. Now, if your wine is too cool, then do cup your hands around the bowl and gently swirl your wine. The warmth of your hands will increase the temperature rather quickly so you can enjoy it even more.

3. Another important feature is the size of the glass. Small is out, except for sherry, dessert wine and port. You will want enough capacity so that you can easily swirl the wine without spilling. The swirling will release the aromas of the wine so you can experience its exquisite aroma. A general rule of thumb for capacity is 12 ounces, but many wine drinkers choose even larger goblets of 16 to 24 ounces, especially for red wine.

4. A thick wine glass makes drinking more difficult , so a thin rim is preferred. A thin rim allows your wine to glide over the rim easily and into your mouth.

5. The shape of your glass does matter as you want the wine to have some room. For reds a generous, rounded bowl with a narrower rim will allow you to swirl easily, let the aromas evolve and the narrower rim focuses the aromas to the nose. A white wine glass can have a slimmer bowl to help preserve the cooler temperature at which white wine is served. This glass should also be narrower at the rim to focus aromas to the nose.

6. The width at the top of the wine glass should be adequate so that you can easily put your nose in the glass and take a deep sniff. The aroma of wine is truly one of its most special features.

To keep it simple, select a Burgundy or Bordeaux wine glass for your red wines and a Chardonnay wine glass for your white wines. If you enjoy toasting and celebrating with Champagne and sparkling wine then having a few crystal Champagne glasses at your home wine bar is recommended also. A Champagne glass is tall and narrow helping to preserve the rising bubbles which are a great part of the enjoyment in drinking Champagne.

What a difference a glass makes! Cheers!

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