How about a romantic bottle of wine?  As wine becomes more and more popular, wine seems to be a perfect gift for about any occasion, but especially on Valentines day. 

You could go to the wine store and buy a traditional bottle of her favorite variety.  But you could even take that idea one step further.   How about a personalized bottle of wine with a custom label? 

On Valentines Day, think how much she would appreciate sharing a bottle of her favorite wine with you that had a picture of the two of you on the label.  Better yet, it also included a special personalized message telling her how much you loved her.  I don’t think Cupid could do any better himself.

www.AmberCrestWinery.com  can help you do just that.  The process is very simple.  Use the online label maker to upload your image or use one of the pre-designed label templates to design your wine label.  Then choose her favorite wine variety to complete the process.  The label is printed and applied to the bottle, then shipped to you.

The only thing left is to enjoy the day.

Cheers!

Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of Amber Crest Winery and is an author and frequent speaker on wine.  To learn more about wine go to www.wineclassesonline.com

By Mark Adams – Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com, a frequent speaker and writer on wine and host of the www.ReallyFunWineShow.com  For more tips on wine go to www.WineClassesOnline.com

Finding the perfect Valentine’s Day gift seems to get harder every year.  The time to show them you love them, you appreciate them. Guys, we know, fall short of their gift expectations on this special day and the next several days will be rather long.  But on the other hand, go to just a little effort finding the right gift and the next several days will be rather extraordinary…

One really good gift idea is a personalized bottle of wine with a custom label.  Think how much she would appreciate sharing a bottle of her favorite wine with you that had a picture of the two of you on the label.  Better yet, it also included a special personalized message telling her how much you loved her.  I don’t think Cupid could do any better himself.

www.AmberCrestWinery.comcan help you do just that.  The process is very simple.  Use the online label maker to upload your image or use one of the pre-designed label templates to design your label.  Then choose her favorite wine variety to complete the process.  The label is printed and applied to the bottle, then shipped to you.

OK, fun idea but maybe you would also like to add chocolate with your wine.  It would be tough to go wrong with that combo.  So I’ve put together a list of some perfect Valentines wine varieties and the perfect chocolate match.

When you’re matching wine and chocolate, here’s the simple rule to remember.  The redder the wine, the darker the chocolate. 

To determine the darkness, simply look at the wine.  Pinot Noir is much lighter than Zinfandel.  That would be the red zinfandel, not the pink.  Chianti is more red than Pinot Noir, but lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon.

Here’s all you need to know about chocolate.  Cacao is the part from the chocolate bean and the main ingredient that makes chocolate.  The darkness of the chocolate is determined by the amount of cacao in the final chocolate.  To determine the amount look on the chocolate label and look for the percentage.  Sometimes it’s on the front, sometimes it’s on the back. 

Any brand of chocolate will do, but dark chocolate is far better than milk chocolate to have with wine.  Milk chocolate is too sweet and will not be a good match for red wines. 

Chocolate in the low 50’s percent is perfect for lighter color wine.  High 50’s to low 60’s is perfect for a wine that is a little darker.  Chocolate in the high 60’s to low 70’s is perfect for dark full bodied red wines.

Instead of worrying too much, I have made a chart for you to make it really easy.

Wine                                         Chocolate % of Cacoa

Pinot Noir                                  Low 50’s to Mid 50’s

Chianti                                      High 50’s to Low 60’s

Cabernet Sauvignon                 Low 60’s to High 60’s

Zinfandel                                   High 60’s to Low 70’s

Gentleman, I hope this helps make your Valentine’s Day of wine and chocolate truly special.

 Best Wishes and Cheers!

By Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com an author and frequent speaker on wine and host of the wine TV Show www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

Well, my friends, Chardonnay is like the popular kid.  The one everybody knows. 

The reason it’s so popular is because it grows almost anywhere and can grow well in a variety of climates.  Combine that with high consumer name recognition, great taste and voila, the number one selling white.

The main distinction of chardonnay is that probably 99% of the time, it’s made with a heavier oak flavor.  Most whites have no oak or a nominal amount.  So if you like an oak or woody flavor, this wine is for you. 

Usually all or most reds are stored in oak.  The fuller flavors of red can handle the oak.  Chardonnay on the other hand, is full flavored enough that the oak becomes a compliment to the flavor.  It doesn’t overpower the wine in most cases like it would with other whites.

May times you will hear people describe chard as buttery or have a flavor of vanilla.  Huh?  OK, here’s why.  The vanilla is derived from the oak.  Since most whites are not in oak, the vanilla is somewhat unique to chard.  Stick the ole schooze in your glass and look for the vanilla.  It’s actually very pleasant. 

The butter is actually a factor of how the wine is fermented.  Without getting into details, the fermentation is similar to what milk goes through to make butter, ergo the buttery flavor.

So here’s the wine skinny on Chardonnay:

*Typically drier and more full bodied that most whites

*One of the few whites with an oak flavor

*Usually has a butter and vanilla flavor with hints of citrus

*America’s most popular white wine

Give Chardonnay a try, you’ll be glad you did.

 To order custom labeled wine, go to www.AmberCrestWinery.com

 By Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com an author, frequent speaker on wine and host of the Wine TV show www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

For one sip of wine…same grape or not??  Actually, yes.  For two sips of wine…same flavor and style or not??  Actually, no.  The grape is technically called pinot gris (gris means grey but the wine is really gold but is called white) Still with me? 

It is grown and fermented throughout the world.  Most winemakers believe and logic would suggest that somewhere some bored winemaker grafted parts of the pinot noir (red grape) onto some other form of white vine to create pinot gris.  Kinda of confusing. 

Its called pinot gris throughout the world except in Italy.  There it’s called pinot grigio.   I seem to be able to remember the different names because pinot grigio sounds like Italian.   All this wordplay is good and fine but don’t worry too much about it. The taste is what’s important.

This wine is usually a favorite of people who are starting out learning about white wines.  The pinot gris style has neutral flavors and low acidity that make it very easy to drink.  It’s usually unoaked.  The dark gold color make it visually appealing and the flavors and aroma can suggest subtle flavors of peaches or citrus.

The pinot grigio style although the same grape actually tastes like a completely different wine.  Our Italian friends make the pinot grigio in a lighter style that has even more muted flavors and a paler color. 

Compare both and see the differences.  By doing this you can see one of the prime examples of how much of a difference where a grape is grown and the style of how a wine is made makes on the final taste.

But regardless, get to know this wine.  It may become a good friend.

*Low acidity make it a great first white wine to try.

*Neutral flavors and a strong finish

*Two distinct styles the lighter pinot Grigio and the more full body and darker pinot gris

*Pinot Grigio in Italy, Pinot Gris most everywhere else

*Best with neutral foods.

 go to www.AmberCrestWinery.com to design your wine online

Thank you for visiting Amber Crest winery.  We are a custom winery where you can design your wine online.  We believe wine is fun and have always felt that wine bottle labels are an expression of your personality. 

So whether you want customized wine bottle labels to make personalized wine or corporate wine gifts or wine bottle labels for your wedding, take a look at our online wine label maker and have some fun uploading a photo or logo to make your personalized wine bottle labels.

*If you are interested in something other that custom labeled wine, take a look at our wine gifts section.

*If you would like to have your own wine store for your charity or organiation and raise some extra funds click that section to learn more.

*If you would like to make some extra money by referring people to our site, maybe the Amber Crest wine affiliate program is for you.

*Maybe wine clubs are your interest.  We have the only Create your own label wine club in America.

*If you would like to learn more about wine, take a look at our weekly wine TV show at www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

*Amber Crest was designed to give you the option to personalize your wine.  We hope that will visit and enjoy our site.

By:  Mark Adams   Winemaker and Owner of www.AmberCrestWinery.com

By Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com an author and frequent speaker on wine.  He is also the host of the wine TV Show www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

I always thought riesling was like the girl next door.  Great personality, easy to know and like, but not particularly exotic.  But like the girl next door, riesling can be many things.  Sometimes it will downright surprise you. 

Riesling is originally from Germany, but today has spread to many other grape growing areas.  In particular, the American northwest areas of Washington and Oregon make large amounts of this wine.

 I say this wine can surprise you because it can be made in two very distinct styles.  The $9 bottle from the grocery store is usually sugary sweet.  It has been made for the sweeter than the rest of the world, United States palette.  That’s OK.  This style of riesling is fine if that’s what you like.  You will also get flavors of citrus, green apple and very low acidity. Usually around 9 percent in alcohol.  This is a great style of wine to serve at a party or cookout or take to the beach.

The other style of riesling is a different animal.  It is full bodied, dry and acidic and a little higher in percentage of alcohol.  Its usually around 11-12 percent.  I think of this style as perfect for food.  This style would be one of those wines that you might not like by itself, but with food it’s wonderful.

To me this style of riesling is the perfect seafood wine.  The acidity brings out the flavors or a baked or broiled fish.  The acidity is the “bite”.  Acidity in a wine actually works like salt.  Think of it like this.  You already squeeze lemon on your fish, right?  The reason you do that is because lemon has acidity, a sourness if you will.  When you combine this type of fish with a wine that is higher in acidity, it brings out the flavor.  If you had this fish with the other style of riesling, the sweetness would make the fish even more bland and rubbery.

To determine the difference between to two styles of, look at the alcohol percentage.  Typically, less than 10% will be sweeter and higher a little drier.

So the moral of dealing with our girl next door wine riesling, is…be good to her, she can be many things and is great to have around and even surprise you!

Interesting Trivia

Ever wonder why Riesling is in blue bottles?  The story goes like this.  Think back a few hundred years when all economies were local.  Yes way back before Fedex or even the internet.  Hard, I know but try.  We take it for granted today that you can get anything from anywhere overnight if we want it, but that actually hasn’t always been so.  In the past of local only economies, the local glass maker in Germany only wanted to make blue glass, so all of the local wineries had to use blue bottles.  As the wine became more popular and began to be exported, people did not believe the wine was Riesling unless it came in a blue bottle.  So to this day you will still see most Rieslings in blue bottles.

Riesling 411:

*Great first white wine to try.  This is the only white that many people like.

*Typical flavors of green apple and citrus

*Usually comes in a blue bottle

*Originally from Germany, popular production areas include Oregon and Washington

*Two distinct versions, one is pretty sweet and easy to drink, the other is much drier, more acidic and great as a food wine

To order custom labeled wines go to www.AmberCrestWinery.com

By Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com  An author and frequent speaker on wine.  He is also the host of the wine TV Show  www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

This question came from someone who I met at a wine festival.  The name has been changed to protect the innocent.

Dear Mark:

My friend is a wine snob.  He’s always spouting off about some exotic wine he’s had or the 6422 different aromas he sniffs in a glass of wine or telling me how much he spent on his last bottle.  When he talks about wine he’s really no fun to be around.  Any suggestions?

Corked off in Charlotte

Corked…I feel your pain.  That was my best Bill Clinton impersonation BTW.  Corked, Parker no doubt suffers from bottle envy.  You gotta resist the temptation to kick him in the shins!  You might spill some of your valuable wine.

The Parkers of the world spoil the joy of wine for everybody.  Parker hasn’t learned that wine can be appreciated on many different levels.  Wine certainly doesn’t have to be expensive or exotic to be enjoyed. 

Never let anyone tell you what wine you should like or what you should drink.  The true joy of wine is one of exploration.  Taste lots of different wines and then decide for yourself.   Most wine drinkers are like you and simply want to experience one of life’s great pleasures without all the snootiness. 

So Corked, have faith.  Even though wine is becoming more and more popular, there will always be more people like you than Parker.

What are your thoughts on wine snobs?  Feel free to add a comment and tell us your best wine snob story.

www.AmberCrestWinery.com is a custom winery where you can design your wine online

By:  Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com an author and frequent speaker on wine.  He is also the host of the web wine TV Show www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

There has always been a difference of opinion on what temperature is best to serve your wine.  The real answer is that the right temperature is the temperature you like.  You are not trying to  impress anybody but yourself.  But I have included some standard rules of thumb below.

Lets talk about white wines first.  The idea temperature is to serve whites wines is about 55 degrees.  Most people drink their wine way too cold.  Your refrigerator is about 40 degrees, perfect for soft drinks and beer, but way too cold for wine. 

The reason we swirl our wine is to create friction, then heat, so some of the wine will vaporize and the flavor will turn into aroma, making the wine taste better.   Having your wine too cold will do just the opposite. The cold will literally slow down the flavor molecules and eliminate any flavor vapors and cause the wine to lose most of its taste.  

Try letting you wine set on the counter for about a half hour.   The temperature rises about 3-4 degrees every 10 minutes or so.  But waiting for your wine to warm up can be like torture.  Its like going through the drive thru and putting your fries on the passenger seat, you look at them and tell yourself you’ll wait to eat them until you get home. It can’t be done…

Red wines are actually better if served slightly chilled.  The temperature of red wines should be about 64-65 degrees.  The old saying about room temperature comes from a few hundred years ago when the French chateaus walls were a couple of feet thick.  Think of the times you’ve been in buildings like that.  They are very cold.  Room temperature back then was mid sixties. 

Today, most people think room temperature is about 72 degrees.  If you like it at 72 then by all means drink it at 72.   But just for kicks and giggles try it slightly chilled and see what you think. 

I would be interested to know what temperature you drink your wines.  Leave a comment below and we can see what the range is.

 www.AmberCrestWinery.com is a custom winery where you can design your wine online.

By:  Mark Adams

Mark is the owner and winemaker of  www.AmberCrestWinery.com an author and frequent speaker on wine.  He is also the host of the web wine TV Show www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

Amber Crest Winery is a custom winery where you can design your wine online

As sitting on my deck enjoying a class of wine and thinking about my health, I thought it would be a perfect time to talk about the health benefits of red wine.

The health benefits of red wine are a very popular topic now.  It all stated with something called the “French Paradox” Most of you know my thoughts on the French, so you can insert your own joke here…

But the French Paradox is that the French typically eat lots of thick creamy sauces and foods high in cholesterol, but live longer, weigh less and are usually healthier than most other people.  That’s the paradox.  Researchers have finally determined that since their diet is usually accompanied by red wines, there must be something in the wine that is good for you.  OK, besides the alcohol…

What they found is a large number of anti-oxidants and something called Resveratrol.  It’s a naturally occurring chemical that can aid in:

 *anti-ageing

 *cancer prevention

 *helping to control obesity

 *helping to control type 2 diabetes

 *preventing heart disease. 

Since this substance is mostly in the skins and as we know the skins are what give red wine its color, the health benefits work best with red wines. 

Remember to drink in moderation, but a glass or two every day will help keep the doctor away.  What the heck, try an apple a day, too.  It can’t hurt.

 Who’d a thunk it?  The French actually doing something productive….

 To see our video on this topic go to www.ReallyFunWineShow.com or visit us as www.AmberCrestWinery.com

By:  Mark Adams –

Mark is the owner and winemaker of www.AmberCrestWinery.com    a  custom winery where you can design your wine online.  Mark is also an author and frequent speaker on wine and host of the wine TV show www.ReallyFunWineShow.com

The big day, the celebration, the promotion, the anniversary, the birthday, all big days, right?   If you plan on going to a restaurant and ordering wine, you’re probably more nervous than a grape on crushing day.

Over the years, I have literally seen usually confident, self assured people break out in a cold sweat at the prospect of going through the “wine ritual” of approving the cork and wine in front of the rest of the table.  (They no doubt have not read my book!)  Well, I’m here to demystify this age old process for you.  In a few paragraphs, you will realize it’s all pretty simple.

 The Sequence

The first thing the waiter or waitress will do is present you with the bottle of wine you ordered.  Usually they will place it over their other arm, draped over a white cloth napkin.  Besides verifying that this is the wine you ordered, the whole purpose of this is to make you feel good about your choice and to set you up as the big cheese in front of your table.

Hey, they know your are paying the bill and they want you to look good, too.)  They are thinking big tip here.

Smile and nod your approval.

Next they will methodically open the bottle as if it’s a gigantic stage production.  This above all else has a significant purpose.  It’s simply to verify in front of you that the wine you are receiving is from that bottle.  Although today I don’t believe it goes on at all, in the past it was not been above the realm of possibilities for an unscrupulous person to refill an empty bottle of expensive wine with far lesser priced product.

Ah, then the cork sniff.  If you know what to do here, this is where you see the unknowing break down.  You can see it in their face every time.  They sniff, then nod and try not to look foolish.  Then regardless of what they say or do, the waiter will say “very good sir or madam”. 

So, OK, what are you sniffing for?  All you are looking for is that the cork does not have some type of funky, swampy smell.  Think burned match, think sulfur.  If it smells like wine, you’re fine.  The reason you smell the cork is that if the cork smells bad, the wine has probably gone bad.  In times past this could be a problem and certainly happened to a fraction of bottles.  But it’s now the 21st century, computerization and modern assembly lines fill and cork most bottles.  This very rarely happens.

So after you approve the cork the waiter will pour a tasting sample into your glass.  All eyes are on you, the big moment…. If you’re a ham, this is your time!  Enjoy the attention, let the momentum build, and then with authority, swirl and sniff you wine.  The table waits.  The world stops, you take a sip, the anticipation grows.  Oh no, is the wine good?  Is the wine bad?  The waiter begins to sweat.  The clock ticks.  You can hear a pin drop.  What will you do?

Sorry to be so anticlimactic…but you say its very good!

The waiter will then smile, say thank you, pour a glass for everyone and then you can put the pretense behind you and enjoy your wine and meal.

And people have anxiety over this?  Go figure.  Not so hard is it?  You can do this and do it with confidence!

Next time you’re at a restaurant in this situation, do yourself a favor and laugh a little before you go through this.  You’ll be glad you did.

To see our video for more information on ordering wine in a restaurant go to www.ReallyFunWineShow.com  or www.AmberCrestWinery.com