Shake it Baby

When you think of wine tasting, images of long drives in the country on a beautiful day surrounded by hills filled with grape vines come to mind- Smelling all the sweet scents in the air as you approach an old rustic barn. Inside the barn you find several oak wine barrels filled with wine that is ready to be bottled. People are all around wishing to be the first to have a taste.

Now, what if you can bring that same feeling into your own home and invite your friends to experience it as well, wouldn’t that be great?

Wine

When planning a wine tasting party, the first place to begin, of course, is with the wine. There are so many different varieties of wines, wine makers and regions in which they come from, that it is impossible to try them all in one evening.

Compare Regions – Picking a type of wine from one region and comparing it to the same type of wine from another region is a good place to start. For instance, you may want to try a Cabernet Sauvignon from California and one from Oregon. It’s good to have red and white wines available.

Same Price Range – Remember to make sure that the wines are in the same price range. If you take a £7.00 bottle and compare it to a bottle that is three times as much, there will be a noticeable difference. You want to try and keep likes with likes to create a fair comparison.

Try to have several different wines but not too many. Somewhere between 4-6 bottles is a good place to be. If you have too many, guests will be overwhelmed and with too few they will be bored.

Food

Importance of Food and Wine – Food at a tasting is a must on so many levels. First, certain foods just go with wine, like cheese, crackers, and bread. Second, people are able to cleanse their palettes by eating bread, and last, but really the most important, is when drinking any alcohol it is always a good idea to have food around to help absorb and balance the effects of it.

Choose cheeses that compliment the wine. Keep breads and crackers on the plain side. The crackers and bread are good at cleansing the palette which is a must when tasting wine. The palette needs to be ready for the next wine to fully appreciate the different flavours.

You can’t have a party without the guests! Once the wine and food is decided, the guest list is next. Choose people who will enjoy a tasting and are willing to learn about new wines.

Decorate your home to go with the wine tasting theme. Have candles, music and a comfortable place for people to sit.

Make sure to have detailed cards made up for each wine that describes the type, maker and region where it is from.

End the evening by giving each of your guests a basket which includes a list of the wines that were tasted that night, maybe a bottle of your favourite wine, a wine bottle opener and any other fun novelty that will remind them of the evening.

No Comments » Posted by April / Food and Drink

Perfume was first used by the Egyptians during religious ceremonies as a cleansing ritual either by burning incense or the use of balms and ointments.  Incense is a combination of aromatic organic materials that release a fragrant smoke when burned.  The smoke is comprised of the materials that burn and bits of the organic scented materials.   When burnt, the organic compound condenses into fine droplets and scents the surrounding cooler air.

Not Just a Pretty Scent

Perfumed oils were also used as medicine and skin treatments.  During Egypt’s New Kingdom (1580-1085 BC) period, women’s perfume began being used as a cosmetic.  Legend has it that Cleopatra conquered the Romans with her perfume and Bathsheba seduced King Solomon with perfume.

Perfumes spread to the Greeks and Romans, probably in part because of Cleopatra. The Romans were extravagant in their use of perfume.  At banquets, and even during daily life, flowers and perfumed waters were used abundantly everywhere from atriums, spas and bedrooms.  Perfumery was a flourishing business in Rome with spas and beauty shops becoming meeting and greeting places.  It has been said that Nero just by himself burned more incenses than Saudi Arabia could produce in an entire year.

The Greeks gave perfume a value nearly equal to that of food.  The first perfume factory was thought to have been established in Greece.  Guests at banquets went through a ritual of washing their hands in perfume and at the banquet’s end were given a vial of perfume to take home.

This era of abundance and some say decadence began to fail as the Roman empire fell.

During the 12th century usage of perfume was on the rise again.  France became the centre of the perfume industry during the 16th and 17th centuries.  Perfume was incorporated into gloves, applied on clothing and even furniture.

Perfumed cloths were used to disguise the smells and unpleasant odour of the streets.  There was some thought during the Black Plague that some scents such as rosemary and lavender could ward off the disease.

Essentials oils from lavender, rosemary, and bergamot form the basis of eau de cologne.  A simple recipe is 1/8 teaspoon of lemon oil, ½ teaspoon of lavender oil, and ¼  teaspoon of bergamot (orange)  oil mixed with 4 ounces of high proof vodka.  Eau de cologne can also be made by steeping lavender flowers, rosemary springs, lemon peel and orange peel in the vodka.

Napoleon was said to have used 60 bottles of perfume a month, even on the battle field.

No Comments » Posted by April / Beauty