How to Select Wine

If you are at the wine store and want to purchase something to put in your new wine cooler what do you do when all you have to go by is the label?

The Wall Street Journal recently wrote a wonder guide on what a wine label can tell you.

I find the follow tips to be very helpful.

Vintage: Most stores stock wine that is meant to be drunk right away. So if you see a 5 year old Pinot Grigio you should move on to the next bin.

Alcohol Content: Look for wines with an alcohol content of 14% or less. Wines with higher alcohol content tend to be unbalanced.

Cute Critters: Inexpensive wines with cute animals should also be avoided – especially if the critter has a long story. There are some exceptions to this rule such as Stag’s Leap or Iron Horse.

Estate Bottled: It’s generally a good sign when the people who made the wine also had a hand in growing the grapes on their own land.

Phone Number: A highly personal winery will print their phone number on the label with an invitation to call. Be mindful that you may have to search some very fine print to find it.

Other Details: If the winery adds extra information such as harvest date or when the wine was disgorged then you know that they are trying to communicate with the consumer.

November 24, 2007

Who knew?

Clean your dishwasher with Lemonade Kool-Aid?

According to the folks at Life-Hacker, running your empty dishwasher with a

Lemonade Kool-Aid packet in the detergent cup will clean lime deposits and iron stains.

Don’t try using other flavors, it’s the citric acid in the Lemonade that attacks the stains.

I’ve heard that Tang works too but I have not tried it.

November 20, 2007

Greener Gifting from Kitchen Design Notes

With Black Friday quickly approaching I thought I’d share a post from Laurie at Kitchen Design Notes.

She writes about the importance of being mindful this Holiday Season of the waste our wrapped gifts can create. If each American family wrapped just three presents in recyclable materials, we would save enough paper to cover 45,000 football fields.

For people who aren’t crafty I like one of her suggestions of “wrapping” a gift in a towel. If you are staying with a relative or friend for the holiday a monogrammed hand towel wrapped around your gift tied with a grosgrain ribbon is perfect.

My family often decorates packages with ornaments. It adds a great decorative touch and can be enjoyed year after year.

I’d love to hear about other great things people do.