Wine

I usually do not discuss certain things that I am not comfortable discussing in my blog. One of those is on alcoholic beverages. I do want to open the floor a bit to talk about wine. I don't drink alcoholic beverages. If was to admit to something I would drink, however, it would be wine. I am not any kind of expert on any alcoholic beverage of any kind. Therefore, do not expect any professional analysis or commentary on wine from me. This blog entry is about wine. I'm about ready to pop the cork on another blog post of mine!

BEFORE I BEGIN...

Just so you know... I am honestly concerned doing a blog post on a topic like this. "Anything and everything that crosses my mind" is what I live by in picking topics for my blog. Then too, I limited some of the material in my go-go dancing blog entry (for example) because most of it wasn't suitable for a world audience. Despite my concerns, I must keep blogging and providing many topics for people to read about.

Because this blog post concerns a certain topic that is not suitable for all audiences (alcoholic beverages), I will provide a Jump Break to keep my blog as world-friendly as possible. You are reading at your own risk if you are not of legal age. Please click "Read More" if you are not reading this full blog post and are of legal age.

--- Wine in General ---

I've had only two kinds of wine- white wine (my favorite) and red wine. One time, my brother took me to an Indian cuisine restaurant. We had red wine with the food we had. My brother told me to swish around the red wine in my mouth to get rid of some of the lingering taste from the food.

There is just something to wine that makes it attractive to drink. Wine is a classy beverage with a sweet taste. I am used to white wine for the few times I've had wine before.

Health Benefits of Wine.

Can an alcoholic beverage like wine offer health benefits? In moderation, wine can actually help to reduce tension and anxiety. Moderation in drinking red wine regularly can lead to lower risk of coronary disease and certain cancers. Wine can help the elderly retain their cognitive functions. Light to moderate wine consumption also lowers the risk of peptic ulcers. The main factor in wine's health benefits are mostly upon healthy people who are regular drinkers of wine.

So when considering wine and health, drink wine regularly and in moderation. To learn more about the health benefits of wine, please visit my source for this portion at "Wine and Health" at www.winepros.org.

Making Your Own Wine.

I wouldn't think of making my own wine if I ever wanted to consider making wine. If you want to make your own wine, one attractive way to do so in the United States is to take part in Fresno State Winery. You can actually learn how to make your own wine by attending Fresno State and getting into their winery program. Of course, northern California is often referred to as Wine Country.

--- Wines of the World ---

Time to go on a world tour of wine. This is mostly a digest of places that make wine rather than specific brands of wine. I will not mention any specific wine makers in this blog post. If anything, I will just mention one maker and move on. All material is provided for educational purposes.

American Wine.

The biggest concentration of wine in the United States is mostly in northern California. In fact, I mentioned you could enroll at Fresno State University to take part in the Fresno State Winery. One of the most popular locations for wine making in NorCal is Napa Valley. Many fresh grapes and such are grown in northern California to make such savory wines. In fact, the states of California, Oregon, and Washington are some of the biggest in producing wine. Only the state of New York is the only non-West Coast state famous for its wines.

Chilean Wine.

Chile has a vast variety of vineyards. According to a YouTube video I saw released in 2009, Chile has been seen as a victim of its own success with overproduction of grapes.

Argentinian Wine.

The Argentinians are somewhat new to the wine industry. They hope to be one of the premier countries for wine making. The biggest winery in Argentina is Trapiche Winery with the Malbec one being their most popular wine. Perhaps the Napa Valley of Argentina is Mendoza, Argentina.

French Wine.

Bordeaux, France is often considered the Wine Capital of the World. There are many regions across France that are great wine-producing regions besides the western France city of Bordeaux. Other wine regions in France besides Bordeaux include the following: Alsace, Burgundy, Champagne, Côtes du Rhône, Languedoc-Roussillon, Loire Valley, Provence, Corsica, and South West.

Italian Wine.

The only other country I know best for wine is Italy. Even if you haven't been to an Olive Garden restaurant, you at least have to know that Italy loves their wine about as much as the French do. Italy is obviously as important a country in the wine industry as France (or any other big market wine nation). The only one that immediately comes to mind for me is Tuscany (since I mentioned Olive Garden).

Spanish Wine.

I honestly know very little about Spain being a wine industry capital. Spain is a beautiful country with many beautiful cities. I just know France and Italy better in wine than I do Spain. Some of Spain's regions for wine includes (but is not limited to) the autonomous community of Andalusia, La Rioja, Ribera del Duero, and Catalonia among many others.

German Wine.

Honestly, I know Germany better for beer than wine. Germany has 13 wine-making regions. Riesling is one of their most popular wines.

South African Wine.

It is generally southwestern South Africa that is the biggest wine maker not only in South Africa, but Africa in general. The Western Cape is responsible for most of the wine making and grape growing in South Africa. There are six major regions contributing to the production of wine in South Africa: Klein Karoo, Breede River Valley, Overberg, Cape Point, Coastal Region, and the Olifants River Valley.

Japanese Wine.

I only know Japan for sake as far as wine is concerned. Rice and water are the main ingredients of sake. Two of the largest regions for wine in Japan are Hokkaido and Yamanashi Prefecture. Yamanashi Prefecture grows its own grapes. Hyogo Prefecture (where Kobe is) has lots of independent wineries. Of Japan's prefectures, and including Hokkaido and Yamanashi Prefectures, about eleven Prefectures in Japan have wineries.

Australian Wine.

Believe it or not, Australia is the fourth-largest producer of wine in the world. One of the largest wineries in Australia is Yalumba. One of Australia's largest regions for wine is the Barossa Valley. Of all Australian States, the majority of all wine regions are either in New South Wales (Riverina in NSW is the largest-size region) or in Victoria. There are no wine regions (or no significant ones to my knowledge) in Northern Territory or Tasmania.

New Zealand Wine.

The largest producer of wine in the South Pacific (excluding Australia) is New Zealand. There are about nine wine regions in New Zealand; five of them on the north island and four on the south island. One of their finest wines is New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Pinot Noir is also popular in New Zealand.


No matter where in the world you are, you can be assured that you'll have some wine to enjoy from various countries.





That concludes this blog post for the most part. If you want to learn more about various wines around the world, I can help you with some websites. Feel free to visit these links to learn more about certain varieties of wine worldwide. This section does not necessarily contain actual wineries themselves. Use these links to find wineries worldwide or to learn more about wines of various nations. I may add more links in future edits to keep this blog post fresh.

REMEMBER: You must be of legal age to view or interact with most of these sites.

--- Wine Links and Resources Online ---

IMPORTANT NOTE: You must be at least 18 years of age to view most of these links.


--- Wines of the World: General and Tours ---
These are non-regional sites you can use to learn more about wine, shop for wine online, and other things.

* the Wine Web - find wines from around the world from major wine producing nations.
* Wine-Searcher.com - search the Internet for various wines.
* Internet Wine Guide - overwhelming amount of wine resources online in one site.
* Lisa Shea's WineIntro - all the basics on wine and champagne with other resources are available here.

Wine Tours.

* Worldwide Wine Tours - plan a wine tour in one of many different locations!



--- Wines of the World ---
Region-by-region wines of the world. Remember- no links to actual wines or wineries are be featured here.

Wine: North America and South America.

* Napa Valley (wineries link)
* Fresno State Winery (America's only commercial winery on a college campus)
* All American Wineries
* Winery Locator by State (a directory of wineries in every US state! The District of Columbia has no wineries.)
* AmericanWinery.com
* American Wineries
* Wine Country - various resources on American wines including tours and blogs.
* WineAmerica - The Voice of America's Wineries
* Wines of Canada - learn more about Canada's wine industry.
* Wines of Chile - learn more about Chilean wine and find Chilean wineries.
* Wines of Argentina - other languages available
* Argentine Wines - learn more about wines of Argentina's Mendoza region.

Wine: Europe.

* Wineries of the United Kingdom on internetwineguide.com
* English Wine Producers - learn more about English wine.
* French wineries on wine-searcher.com
* Italy and Wine - learn more about Italy and its wines and wineries. Wine tours also can be planned here.
* Spanish Wineries - the wines of Spain are features here.
* German wineries on wine-searcher.com
* European Wineries - a directory of all wineries in Europe, including regions and countries I didn't mention in this blog post.

Wine: Africa.

* South African Wine Information - portal of information on South African wine.

Wine: Asia.

* Asian Wine Regions - besides Japan, find wine from other Asian nations.
* Wine of Japan | Ultra-Premium Sake
* Japanese wineries on internetwineguide.com

Wine: Oceania and the South Pacific.

* Australian Wines of Distinction
* Find a Winery - Australia - map-based directory of Australian wineries
* Wines of New Zealand
* NZ Wine - learn more about New Zealand's wines and wine industry.

(I tried to see if any South Pacific nations make wine, but Australia and New Zealand are the only significant ones in this international region.)




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