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Freezing to Stop Secondary Fermentation:
Since the vast majority of the alcohol is produced in the first 30-40 days and most wine is drinkable at that point the main purpose of secondary formation is to wait for the yeast to consume all available sugar and die so the product can be safely bottled. One method of speeding the process up is to freeze the wine. This ruptures the yeast cells and stops fermentation. However, alcohol that is in the batch to be frozen may gather together in the freezing process and create an unfrozen pocket of liquid in which a few of the yeast cells may be able to survive. It only takes one or two yeast cells coming into contact with sugar to kick off fermentation again once the mixture is thawed.

Therefore, freezing the mead in small batches (2 liters to a gallon size at a time) at very cold temperatures (deep freeze) for several days in a row is recommended. Remember to leave a few inches in the freezing container for the water in the mead to expand as it’s frozen. Once the mixture has been frozen for several days, remove and let thaw with a tight lid on the bottle to keep the wine from being infected with air born bacteria. Let the wine thaw completely and rack off the sediment (discussed below) and attach and air lock. Wait a few days and watch the pressure in the bottle by monitoring the water level in the air lock.  Read more...

Why buy wine?

In Australia, wine has become the new beverage of choice for people in all walks of life. Moreover, Australia has developed an enviable reputation amongst wine drinkers and appreciators the world over. Myshopping.com.au can help you make the right selection of wine for any occasion and to suit any taste. Listed on our website, you will find some of the most celebrated labels and award winning wines and you can make a selection based on reviews, price and supplier, regardless of why you want to purchase wine.

Wine

There are essentially three reasons that we can think of why you might want to buy wine: to drink in some social occasion, to give as a gift, or as an investment with a realisable future.

Buying wine to drink

Winemaker Greg Gallagher at the Charles Sturt University, South Australia, says judging a good wine is simple. “It starts with asking, ‘do you like it?’ ” he says, “and finishes with ‘did you like it?’” When you have a list of favourite wines, all you need to do is find them on Myshopping.com.au, and you will find out where it’s sold for the best price.

But, because it’s not always easy remembering the name, style and vintage of the wine you enjoy, it’s a good idea to keep a record of wines you drink that you really like (and those that you’d prefer to avoid), for future reference.  Read more...

Wine Making: The Steps It Takes

Making wine is something that you can and should be doing. If you enjoy wines you’ll enjoy making them yourself. Accomplishing this process is one that will please anyone who has a bit of creative energy and anyone that wants to really experience the process. The first step of making wine is to get the flavor of the fruit from within the fruit into your wine. You can use grapes or many other types of fruit, depending on what you would like the wine to taste like.

To extract the flavor, most commonly, the fruit is pressed. Most fruits, besides that of a citrus fruit can be pitted (if necessary) and pressed. But, there are other ways to get the fruit from the wine as well. For example, another option would be to use cold maceration. To do this, the fruit is first crushed and chopped. Then it is added to its fermentation vessel and all of the ingredients from the recipe that will be used such as the sugar and waters will be added. It must then be set aside for eight hours. Once pectin enzyme has been added and mixed well, the wine must be refrigerated for up to two days, no less than one. When it is brought up to room temperature, more ingredients are added and stirred in before the yeast is added.  Read more...

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 an ideal gift 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.

Used for drinking and tasting wine, the proper use of wine glasses is also an important part of cuisine etiquettes. Part of the frequently neglected yet highly obvious thing about the correct use of wine glasses is the stem part of the glass. The proper manner to drink a wine from wine glasses is to hold its stem, then drink.

The temperature of the wine, which turns out to play a favorable factor in the overall taste of the drink, is not at all affected if your follow the correct way of holding wine glasses. This is obtained since the stem of the glass is not directly in contact with the drink. The wine temperature will be a lot harder to control had one grasped the glass by its bowl since it is directly in contact with the drink.

Glasses for the white wine are narrower with tulip-shaped or straight sides. Its narrowness lets a chilled white wine to keep its temperature. Champagne wine glasses are tall, with narrow bowl on the top. This design is intended for the sparkling wines to remain desirable when consumed.  Read more...