Your Resource for Wine Region Travel  |
Dear Reader,
I
know, you're saying... Where is ViciVino.com? Are they still
around? Where in the world is Lori? Well, yes we are still
here, alive and kickin'. I have continued to be busy with
ViciVino.com, but due busy lives, (as you will read below), not to
mention working around another part-time job, things have been pushed
back a bit.
So much has happened since we last chatted. Of
course, as a lot of you know the most exciting thing is that I became a
grandmother! Elliana Nita was born April 29th. She is
almost 3 months old now and her personality is starting to shine.
Brandon and Kim are very proud and good parents. I've been
visiting them about every other week to watch her grow. Other
exciting news is that Larry and I turned 50, our son Jacob graduated
with his masters in counseling psychology from John F. Kennedy
University, and Brandon became head winemaker at Armida Winery
in Healdsburg, CA. If you can handle it, there are a couple more
milestones, Larry and I just celebrated our 30th wedding anniversary
and we are getting ready to have a party to celebrate the engagement
Jacob and Brittany. Such a busy Spring/Summer!
Things will
begin to quiet down starting Labor Day weekend. I'm actually
looking forward to that. Of course, as my life will start to slow
down or at least get back to the new norm, Harvest 2010 will be
starting. This year the vintage has a very good chance of being
one of the best in a long time. With all the rain this Spring and
a pretty cool Summer, depending on how fast harvest comes in it could
be a great year for the grapes. In the past 5 years my favorite
vintage has been 2007, especially for Pinot Noir. What's yours?
Now
is a good time to start planning your Fall escapes to different
wineries in the California region. Don't forget to use ViciVino.com to check out all the data and information we have on our website to make your travels easier. Did you ever check out the live interviews we did with Winemaker B for harvest 2008 and 2009? Have you looked at our recipes and wine pairing lately? What about all the unique gifts we offer in our Boutique? Please use and abuse our website. That's what it's there for.
If
you have any type of question about wine and winemaking, please send it
to Winemaker B at winemaker@vicivino.com, as he is more than happy to
answer your questions. Also, if you've had any wine travels,
tasting, or pairing experiences that you would like to share, please
write about it on our discussion forum or blog
It's really so easy to do. If you're not comfortable writing on
our discussion forum just send your article to info@vicivino.com and we
will post it for you. Reading about your experiences adds to all
our knowledge, education, and depth about wine.
Don't worry, drink happy!™
Lori Lapides
Founder
ViciVino.com
July 2010
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INFORMATION STATION
In the last newsletter we talked about making white wine. This month we are going to talk about making red wine.
Red
wine is made from red/black grapes. Much of the character of the
red wine comes from tannins, which are chemicals in the skins and seeds
of the grapes. They play a key role in the aging of a red
wine. During crushing the stems and stalks are removed. The
grapes are then lightly crushed to release their juices, thus allowing
fermentation to begin as quickly as possible.
Both juices and
skins are put in a fermentation vat, where conditions are subject to
very strict temperature control. Grape solids give the juice
color and tannins. After fermentation on skins, free-run wine is
drained off, and solids squeezed to release press-wine. Most wine
at this point are put into oak casks or stainless-steel tanks to
age. Racking (running wine off sediment) and fining (clarifying
wine) may be part of the process. After a number of months the
winemaker will then begin the blending process if there is going to be
any and then the wines will be bottled. Once in the bottle there
can be an additional waiting period which could be as short as two
months or as long as the winemaker feels it will take to be ready for
sale.
Next newsletter - "How is Sparkling Wine Made?"
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Check out our new data on TEMECULA
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ViciVino.com
is a website dedicated to help you learn more about wine region
traveling through education: How each wine region is unique and
what each one has to offer, the art and science of wine making, some
FAQ's on wine etiquette, recipes that go great with different wines,
plus much, much more.
Our Website Features:
Articles and Recipes which has the Ask the Winemaker column where our dedicated consultant, Winemaker B, answers your questions about wine and wine making;
Interviews where we get to know different wine industry personalities; Our Haiku Contest; Wine FAQ's, & Food and Wine Pairing Recipes.
Wine Region Info
offers you detailed data from California wineries and lodging to
restaurants, spas, golfing and other activities to do while in that
wine region.
Educational Wine Tours is
where you tell us what you want to see and do on your next wine region
getaway, and we will plan it for you from an itinerary style to all
inclusive. We have the Seeker, the Explorer and the Ultimate Adventurer Tours.
Botique is where we sell our unique wine related items such as books, wine glasses, decanters, art, cheeses and chocolates, etc.
Forum or Blog to write about your wine experiences and read what others wine and food lovers have to say.
Links to other companies that are related in someway that we feel would be interesting to you.
About Us - Here you can read the bio of Lori and Larry Lapides, the founders.
Be
part of helping our website get off the ground, it's easy! All
you have to do is to forward this newsletter to as many of your friends
and family who you think would enjoy reading and learning more about
wine and the experiences that traveling in the different wine regions
offer. We would greatly appreciate it.
We will send you periodic newsletters to update you and keep you informed with our most recent adventures and sippets of what's going on in the wine world.
Check it out at ViciVino.com
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Ask The Winemaker
Winemaker B Discusses:
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Vineyard Views
Interviews
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