by Charlotte | May 8, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Lock your wine cabinet or lock by the bottle.
Wine drinking is a pleasure and wine collecting a joy, but the fun and games are over when someone who shouldn’t sneaks into your wine cellar. Yours doesn’t have to be a cache of the world’s most expensive wines to be a collection others covet or find to be an irresistible curiosity. A security system comes standard with custom wine cellars from Rosehill Wine Cellars, and every wine cabinet should be secured under lock and key. The following are two good reasons to keep your wine in a locked wine cabinet or a secured wine cellar.
The kids, of course
Some parents have the opinion that allowing children to sip wine or other forms of alcohol when they’re young will prevent alcohol abuse later on. Unfortunately, studies don’t support this argument. In fact, the opposite seems to be true. A child who is allowed to taste alcohol at age 10 is much more likely than other kids to have a drinking problem by age 14.
All of the health experts agree that alcohol and kids don’t mix. Children can’t handle the short-term effects of drinking, and the long-term health risks are serious.
Children are no dummies. They see how much adults enjoy decanting, swirling, smelling, and drinking wine. Parents do well to have a discussion with children, to help them realize the importance of saying “no” to alcohol until they reach the legal age—and then, it’s important to drink responsibly.
Party folks
When you have friends over, there could be someone in the crowd who gets so tipsy they excuse themselves for nabbing a bottle or more for themselves from your wine cabinet. This is just a bad idea, and it’s a good reason to keep up with the bottles you’re storing. You don’t want to reach for that perfect bottle of Cabernet one day and discover that it has been removed. Besides, real friends don’t steal friends’ wine. Be careful who you invite over for a wine and poker party.
There is so much to enjoy about wine, it’s not hard to forget that there are many serious reasons to keep your collection under lock and key. A secured cellar or wine cabinet is the best way to avoid any of these potential problems. Contact Rosehill Wine Cellars for a locked wine fridge, locking wine cabinet, or a custom wine cellar with a locked door and a security system.
by Charlotte | May 8, 2017 | Thirsty Thursday
Wine Storage
If you are a wine enthusiast you need proper wine storage. Having a wine collection means some responsibilities (mostly the fun kind.) It’s important that your wine is stored in an area where the temperature and humidity are constant. At Rosehill Wine Cellars we have the ability to design and build the perfect wine storage cellar. But if you’re just starting out check out our wide selection of wine storage cabinets.
Proper Wine Glasses
Every wine lover needs a nice set of wine glasses. Having the right wine glass definitely, makes a big difference. Therefore, don’t skimp and waste your time drinking out of the wrong stemware!
A Good Wine Opener
I think we can all agree that nothing is more embarrassing than not being able to open your fancy bottle of wine. This is especially true if you have guests! At Rosehill Wine Cellars we have a wide range of lovely and fully functioning wine openers designed for wine enthusiasts everywhere!
A Wine Serving Bucket
Owning a wine bucket may not seem important but makes all the difference if you want to keep a nice white wine cold. It will also keep you from having to run back and forth from the fridge during a dinner party!
Make sure to check out Rosehill Wine Cellars for all of your wine storage and wine drinking needs!
by Charlotte | Apr 27, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Keep vins de soif wines in your wine fridge or custom wine cellar, especially for spring and summer.
Spring and summer both are ideal seasons for vins de soif wines. This French phrase means it is thirst-quenching and highly drinkable, providing instant pleasure; and such wines are also suited to be paired with a wide range of delicious meals. This is just one of many wines that fuel our passion for proper wine storage at Rosehill Wine Cellars. The following are four wines that are ideal for stocking your wine fridge or custom wine cellar and quaffing in spring.
Muscadet
Muscadet, also known as Melon de Bourgogne, is produced in western France along the Loire River. Muscadet is the name of the region and the name of the grape varietal. The wines produced are tart, almost translucent, and bone-dry white wines. It is high in acid, has minerality that could almost be described as salty and flavors and aromas of lemon peel. Muscadet has a bread-dough aroma and a rich texture. It is sometimes bottled directly, which is probably a unique feature among the other selections you may have in your custom wine cellar or wine fridge. It makes a classic pairing with oysters and is also an ideal accent to any shellfish or fish entrée.
Castello Di Luzzano ‘Tasto Di Seta’ Malvasia
Castello Di Luzzano ‘Tasto Di Seta’ Malvasia 2013 is a superb aperitif white wine, which means that it is the ideal alcoholic beverage to take before dining, to stimulate the appetite. Enjoy it with spicy prosciutto semi-firm salty cheese, which is able to stand up to the wine’s fruitiness without overwhelming the more subtle aromas. The name of the wine – Tasto di Seta – means “touch of silk,” which gives you a clue to the structure and delicate texture of this drinkable wine.
Brendan Tracey Pineau d’Aunis
Pineau d’Aunis is a very drinkable light French wine originating from the Loure Valley in France. Pineau d’Aunis is a dark-skinned grape variety that had its beginnings in the Middle Ages and is now increasingly rare. The wine has a spiciness that’s gently peppery. This light red wine is named after a monastery that still stands among the ancient vineyards. Pull this thirst-quencher from your wine fridge or custom wine cellar to enjoy with savory roast chicken or with the red meats at a spring barbeque.
Pheasant’s Tears Rkatsiteli Amber Wine,
You don’t have to settle on an excellent easy-to-guzzle red or white wine, thanks to the country of Georgia. Locals have nicknamed it “fire wine.” Pheasant’s Tears Rkatsiteli is an orange or amber wine made with a unique technique using oranges. All you need to do is taste this exquisite, creamy wine to know that it is truly perfect for springtime. Any light spring meal is perfect with this treasure.
These are just a few of many beautiful wines you can enjoy on a sunny spring day. Are any of these in your wine fridge or custom wine cellar? What is your favorite vins de soif wine?
by Charlotte | Mar 15, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Pair wine with your St. Patrick’s Day meal for a scrumptious celebration.
St. Patrick’s Day is on the anniversary of the day the “Apostle of Ireland” died, March 17. St. Patrick was a 5th Century missionary who is believed to have introduced Christianity to Ireland. He taught about the Holy Trinity using a common clover, which has three leaves. And, of course, drinking green beer is one of the most prominent of St. Patrick’s Day traditions. Another way to celebrate is to pair wine with popular Irish dishes. The type of wine you pull from your wine cellar or wine fridge can be a perfect match for Irish Stew or Corned Beef and Cabbage. As long as your wine has been properly stored, your taste buds are in for a lucky pairing.
Irish Stew Wine Pairings
Traditional Irish Stew contains a healthy amount of beer, such as Guinness Stout. It also has ingredients such as boneless roast beef and Worcestershire sauce. The rich flavors in Irish Stew are enhanced when paired with certain types of wine. Recommendations of wine pairings with Irish Stew include the following.
Tanis Cabernet Franc is a high priced wine for the region, and it is an ideal pairing with Irish Stew. Tasting notes have mentions of tobacco, dark spice, and herbaceous accents as well as vegetal characteristics.
Cuda Ridge Merlot is an “easy drinking” wine. Merlot grapes are somewhat large in relation to the thickness of skins and their pips, which is where tannins come from.
Corned Beef and Cabbage Wine Pairings
Corned Beef and Cabbage has obvious ingredients and is an absolute Irish classic. Pair an ideal wine with this dish, to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day in style. A Pinot Noir or a Chardonnay will do perfectly.
Pinot Noir has medium low tannin and medium high acidity. You can store Pinot Noir in your wine cellar or wine cabinet for 2 to 8 years, depending on which style you have chosen. Tasting notes show that fruits in this wine include cranberry, cherry, and raspberry. Other flavors include vanilla, clove, licorice, mushroom, wet leaves, and caramel. The taste of corned beef and cabbage is even better when enjoyed with a glass of Pinot Noir.
Chardonnay that is very ripe has tropical flavors, with fruits such as pineapple, mango, and guava. The flavors of lemon and green apple can be detected in a barely ripe Chardonnay. Select Chardonnay to go with corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick’s Day; of course, serve all to a group of close friends.
On St. Patrick’s Day and year around, the delights of pairing wine with the right foods is something to celebrate. For wine that can age to perfection, storage in your wine cellar or wine cabinet will ultimately make you feel as lucky as if you found an 4-leaf Irish clover.
by Charlotte | Mar 9, 2017 | Rosehill Wine Cellars News
Invite your friends and favorite family members to your wine tasting club.
If you enjoy wine and the company of friends, why not initiate a wine tasting club? This type of club shouldn’t be confused with the wine clubs focused on the marketing of wine. Instead, a wine tasting club is a social gathering that has a focus on tasting, judging, and discussing wine.
Rosehill Wine Storage Blog has a lovely piece outlining some best practice wisdom and ideas for how to organize a wine tasting event at home or in a restaurant.
Wine Clubs are Like Book Clubs with Refrigerators
A good comparison as to what it takes to start a wine club is starting a book club. Everyone loves books and once a month you decide to share what you’ve found and force it on others to experience. This is the same idea behind a wine club. At book club, you try to impress everyone with your literary insights and you often leave wondering if you sounded like an idiot. At wine club, it doesn’t matter if you sound like an idiot because everyone was too tipsy to ever remember what you said!
One thing we learned after our first meeting was actually not to pour everyone full glasses of wine. They don’t need regular portions. It’s smarter to pour smaller portions and at tastings, two ounces is a standard pour. Smaller portions will allow participants to taste more bottles. Get a silver wine tasting spittoon as spitting wine is semi – disgusting but the having the proper silverware ennobles this otherwise base act.
How should the event be organized? Go through each bottle of wine and let the person who brought it share why they like the wine as well as few little facts that they picked up from the wine merchant or by doing research on the internet. Once you’ve tasted each bottle, have the group vote on their favorite and let the winner choose the next theme.
Every wine tasting club can have its own particular flair. Generally it’s a good way to learn about wine without all the pomp and pretension. Some are more educational than others.
Some groups have mentors and lean toward helping members become serious wine connoisseurs, much like the club Frasier and his brother Niles attended in the popular television series Frasier, which ran for 11 seasons, each involving wine. The scene below is where Frasier demands that Miles stop swishing and procrastinating and give his opinion of the wine. He says “Oh come on Miles, that wine spent less less time in the bottle!” That’s the best line in the scene.
Other wine tasting clubs are intended more to provide opportunities for plenty of routine fun. Lots of wine is also needed, which means proper wine storage is a necessity. You don’t need to hire an expert or even have someone in your midst who knows much (or anything) about wine. To start, you just need someone who’s organized and willing to take the reins, get the ball rolling and help guide the club. They need not be a wine connoisseur but willing to accept that they are on a path to learn more about their own palettes.
If you don’t have your own custom wine cellar, such as we build at Rosehill Wine Cellars, you can get a wine fridge or wine cabinet to provide wines for tasting that have been stored in the proper environment.
Tips for starting a wine tasting club
Outside of the wine storage consideration, there are a few things recommended when starting up a wine tasting club. The following are helpful tips on what to do during a wine tasting club start-up meeting:
- Plan for a membership total of 8 to 16 people, which can start with a few and build up.
- Make plans to host the very first wine tasting party.
- Designate a recorder or secretary for the first meeting. Their primary duty is ultimately to keep track of wine scoring results and share them with club members.
- Provide details about the event, when sending invitations. Put an emphasis on fun more than on education, careful not to intimidate anyone into thinking they need to be a wine specialist to attend.
- Decide on the following: A club name; theme for the next meeting; hosting assignments; meeting dates; and whether food pairings will accompany appetizers or dinner.
- Make a determination about how to choose and purchase the wine featured at the club meetings. Each person, as one example, could bring one bottle and the favorite could be named as the evening’s winning wine. The most common approach is for the host to purchase the wine for the meeting and then get reimbursed.
- Determine the scoring method to be used consistently, and bring score cards to every meeting.
- After scoring of wine, discuss the wine with a focus on various comments. This should be a fun, light-hearted debate, based on each individual’s opinion of the various wines served.
Everyone in a wine tasting club will probably end up needing a wine fridge or wine cabinet and wanting their own wine cellar. Rosehill Wine Cellars would love to build the cellars that store the wine for your wine tasting club. Contact us today for the wine storage of your dreams.
