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6:42 PM

Wednesday April 23, 2008 - Wine Store

Today's Wine Store Article

Wine Classes: When School Gets Cool


When most people think of school, they are usually transported back to their elementary school days, a time of crayons, grumpy cafeteria ladies, and tennis shoes filled with playground gravel. Because they are taken back to a time of youth, people don?t usually think that ?school? and ?wine? belong in the same sentence; the school board would have had a fit the instance cartons of chocolate milk were replaced with bottles of Pinot Noir.



However, in adulthood wine and school often go together, merging with each other in the form of a wine class. A wine class, despite what some people may think, isn?t merely a class where students read the Grapes of Wrath or A Raisin in the Sun. Instead, a wine class teaches its students about wine tasting, wine clubs, wine glasses, wine openers, wine corks, and just about every wine related subject on the vine.



Why Take a Wine Class

From the newest novice to the ripest connoisseur, wine classes offer all sorts of things. For beginners, wine classes teach people how to truly taste wine, savoring its aroma and intricacies. This wine tasting helps novices to learn their preferences, get to know the vintages they really like, and allows them to identify the differences in wine, arming them with the ability to provide evaluation.



For the connoisseur, there is always more wine knowledge to obtain, no matter how much is already known. This is because wine contains so much information. From learning about the variety of wine glasses to learning about the differences in wine corks, the most accomplished wine drinker will still benefit from a class. When it comes to wine, the knowledge is nearly bottomless.



Wine classes also provides an outlet for people with commonalities to get together, discussing their hopes, their dreams, their Merlots. The classes are fun, lacking the monotony of reading a book or watching a film, and give the learner more hands on learning, a chance to grab the grape by the vine.



What Happens During a Wine Class?

On the first day of a wine class, people may understandably feel nervous, they might not know anyone or be worried that they have forgotten their corkscrew. But, of all the classes known to ever fill a schoolroom, wine classes are among the neatest to take. Trigonometry has nothing on ?em.



The syllabus of a wine class will differ from class to class and level to level. Overall, however, classes touch on a variety of topics. Some of the lessons include the basics of wine tasting, how to recognize specific flavors, how to compare wines, wine history, reading a wine label, navigating a wine store, at-home wine tasting, compiling a wine tasting kit, the differences of wine regions, using wine vocabulary, pairing food and wine, wine openers, wine corks, and ordering wine in a restaurant. Many of the courses include several in-class wine tastings as well as a few bottles for practicing at home.



Different Types of Wine Classes

Wine classes, like wine itself, come in all shapes and sizes. There are classes aimed at teaching people the specifics of wine glasses and there are classes that focus only on pairing wines with desserts. Some classes only offer instruction on tasting Italian wine, while some are focused on the tasting of wines from Australia. Certain classes may instruct a person how to purchase wine, while others may focus on the variety of wine openers.



While there are a variety of wine classes offered all over the world, some people may not be able to locate one near them. Others, wanting to get a leg up on other students by doing extra ?homework,? may simply be better off not driving. For these folks, online classes are offered. While these don?t allow for the interaction of physical wine classes, they are the next best thing. Some people, wanting to study independently or go at their own pace, may even prefer online classes to others.



The length of the wine class, as well as the cost, can drastically vary. Some classes are only a few hours long and cost around 40 dollars while other classes can last for several weeks and cost a few hundred dollars. Many of the classes have access to study materials online and offer, upon completion, certificates and diplomas (to frame and hang from the wall of your wine cellar).



Wine classes are a great, easy, and quick way to learn about wine. They allow you to go from novice to connoisseur in no time at all, arming you with the knowledge to impress friends, family, and yourself. Along these lines, they are also fun and enjoyable; while a pottery class takes a field trip to an art store, you may find your wine class taking a field trip to Napa Valley.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.



Another short Wine Store review

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5:16 PM

2008 - Wine Dictionary

Wine Dictionary For Your Reading Pleasure

Wine Cork Recycling














When a person thinks of cork, they may think of a variety of things. Some people may think of the material used for bulletin boards, while some may think of material used for coasters. Others, thoroughly confused, may simply think of cork as the other white meat. Chances are, however, when most people think of cork, they think of wine. Part of each others' lives, the two are nearly inseparable, especially without a wine opener.





What is Cork?





It would be easy to define a cork with a simple, unrefined answer. We could say that cork is "a lightweight, inert substance providing blockage of liquids" and leave it at that. But, because cork is an elemental part of wine, it is bestowed with certain elegance and sophistication. For this reason, wine cork deserves a more grandiose introduction: "Cork hails from the bark of the Cork Oak tree, Quercus Suber. Produced extensively in Portugal, cork enjoys being fire resistant, providing insulation, and the company of fine alcohol."





Since cork is very elastic and impermeable, it makes a great bottle stopper; for cork, just like for many of us, wine was destiny. Its adaptability, additionally, makes it an easy material to compress without change to the original shape. It was these qualities that intrigued Dom Perignon, a French Benedictine monk, to use cork in a bottle of champagne, thus influencing the world of wine from that moment on.





How Do Wine Corks Affect the Environment?





Wine corks are environmentally friendly, like a material that is always willing to lend a helping hand or an encouraging word to the ecosystem. This makes wine corks stand out from other forms of packaging, forms that often hinder their surroundings rather than help them.





Wine corks are biodegradable, natural, and renewable. They also don't go to waste, with each aspect of a wine cork having the potential to become something else. Even cork dust can be used for fuel and cork residue can be used to make other cork products.





Cork forests, where cork oak trees reside, are important to the balance of the ecosystems with several species, including endangered species, calling these forests home.





What is Wine Cork Recycling?





Many places, such as Europe and Australia, have programs set up for wine cork recycling. Dropping wine corks off in designated areas, the wine corks are granulated and turned into products such as pin boards, tile, engine gaskets, hockey balls, safety mats, and boat decks. Recently, wine cork has even been used in rocket technology.





Because wine cork is one of the easier materials to recycle, there seems little reason to not recycle it. However, the US does not routinely engage in wine cork recycling, leaving some environmentalists to wonder why.





This wonderment, not limited to individuals, has been adopted by a few US based companies. One of these companies, Yemm and Hart, a firm specializing in the recycling of products, is conducting an experiment asking for wine corks that they can recycle. Theorizing that cork is a valuable resource that should not go to waste, Yemm and Hart plan to begin manufacturing tack boards, coasters, plaques, and floor tiles all made from wine cork.





What Are Creative Ways to Recycle Wine Cork?





If the concept of wine cork recycling catches on, recycling wine cork in the US may someday be as simple as recycling newspapers or soda cans. In the meantime, however, those who live in America can recycle their wine corks through a few creative means.





While some people have donated wine corks to children's museums, for use in displays and dioramas, others have made wreaths and decorative pieces out of old wine corks. Some people wire together wine corks and make hot pads while others suggest gluing sliced wine corks to the bottom of vases and knickknacks, as a means to keep these items from scratching tables and shelves. People have even found old wine corks useful as door stops, knife scrubbers, and pin cushions.





Just as wine should never go to waste, neither should wine corks. A highly useable material, there are several ways wine corks can be recycled, even if it's not routinely done on a national level. With all the kinds of packaging that can destroy the Earth, cork is an exception. A special material, cork is able to protect wine and the world by putting a stop to wastefulness.









About The Author

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at http://www.savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.








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