Is white wine better for my teeth than red wine?
I had this question asked of me and assumed that white wine would be better on your teeth. It made do some research. Though white wines contain far less pigment than reds, both wines contain acid, which is the component that damages your teeth. Red wine can cause tooth discoloration, but if you are substituting white wine to prevent tooth stains, you might reconsider your choices. White wine is extremely acidic. The acid eats away at your tooth enamel, creates rough spots, and grooves that leave your teeth open to stains from other foods or drinks.
Even though you might not see stains after drinking a glass of white wine, it can still stain just as badly as red wine provided it's consumed along with foods and beverages containing a great deal of pigment. According to a study done by the New York University College of Dentistry, in which cow teeth (which are very similar to human teeth, who new) were soaked in black tea alone, and also in white wine followed by black tea. The teeth soaked first in wine picked up a great deal of brownish-red pigment, while the teeth soaked only in black tea were unstained. The findings were that the wine helped to erode some of the enamel, and left the teeth exposed to the staining pigments in the tea. Also, the New York University College of Dentistry studied the effects on tooth whiteness, and found that although red wine discolors, white wine actually dissolves a micro layer of tooth, making it rougher and more vulnerable to staining. A group from Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany, confirmed their findings and also discovered that the longer the time you spend drinking white wine, and the more frequently you drink it, the worse the damage will be to your teeth. Ouch!
If you love your wine, here are some tips on how you can protect your teeth:
1. Eat smart. Pair your wine with foods that have low acid content. Nuts, non-acidic fruits and vegetables and cheese are excellent options, not to mention that they go well with wine!
2. Wait to brush your teeth. Brushing too soon after white wine will cause more damage to their already weakened state. Wait 30 minutes or longer before brushing your teeth after drinking the wine.
3. Rinse with water after drinking. This will help neutralizes acid throughout the mouth -- and will help cleanse your palate between tastings!
Red or white? That’s for you to decide! If you have further questions, check in with your dentist!
Until next time, cheers!
Thursday, April 24, 2014
Friday, March 28, 2014
Wine and Fondue
Wine and Fondue
Cheese fondue conjures up memory of friends sitting around a warm vat of cheese while everyone tries to make sure their bread doesn’t fall off the long fork into the mix. Most people think of fondue as just cheese and bread.
Fondue became popular centuries ago in Switzerland, where hard cheeses likc Gruyère, Emmental and Raclette were mixed with Kirsch (fruit brandy made with morello cherries), and a sturdy crust bread was dipped into the creamy cheese mixture on cold winter days. Fondue is also made using a dry white wine.
The cheese mixture is often paired with a crisp dry Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Brut Champagne or Brut sparkling wines, which cut through the rich fatty Gruyère. These wines will also pair with apples or pears dipped in the cheese. Other wines to consider are Chablis and Aligoté. Avoid oaky California Chardonnay. You want a wine with acidity.
After you have had the cheese fondue, jump into making a hot oil fondue. Use vegetable or corn oil, and make sure the temperature remains about 375 degrees. Any lower and the food will absorb too much oil. Use small cubes of raw beef, chicken, mushrooms, and potatoes. Also give fish a try, like swordfish. You can still stay with a sparkling wine from your cheese fondue if you wish, as fried foods pair well sparkling wines. If you want to change it up a little, go with a Spanish Cava.
After this, move on the desert fondue with chocolate. Use a high quality dark or milk chocolate, and get creative by stirring in flaked coconut, mini-marshmallows, toasted hazelnuts or almonds. Here is where you can get creative. Try some cubed pound cake, strawberries, banana slices, and pineapple cubes. Move to a red desert wine like Banyuls or a Tawny port.
Gather a group and have a party with fondue! Start with the cheese, move to the oil and finish with the chocolate fondue. Celebrate National Cheese Fondue Day on April 11th; invite some friends over for a fondue party. Ask everyone to bring something like bread, vegetables, meats, and fresh fruit. Oh don’t forget the pound cake and marshmallows for the chocolate.
Bon appétit!
Cheese fondue conjures up memory of friends sitting around a warm vat of cheese while everyone tries to make sure their bread doesn’t fall off the long fork into the mix. Most people think of fondue as just cheese and bread.
Fondue became popular centuries ago in Switzerland, where hard cheeses likc Gruyère, Emmental and Raclette were mixed with Kirsch (fruit brandy made with morello cherries), and a sturdy crust bread was dipped into the creamy cheese mixture on cold winter days. Fondue is also made using a dry white wine.
The cheese mixture is often paired with a crisp dry Riesling, Chenin Blanc, Brut Champagne or Brut sparkling wines, which cut through the rich fatty Gruyère. These wines will also pair with apples or pears dipped in the cheese. Other wines to consider are Chablis and Aligoté. Avoid oaky California Chardonnay. You want a wine with acidity.
After you have had the cheese fondue, jump into making a hot oil fondue. Use vegetable or corn oil, and make sure the temperature remains about 375 degrees. Any lower and the food will absorb too much oil. Use small cubes of raw beef, chicken, mushrooms, and potatoes. Also give fish a try, like swordfish. You can still stay with a sparkling wine from your cheese fondue if you wish, as fried foods pair well sparkling wines. If you want to change it up a little, go with a Spanish Cava.
After this, move on the desert fondue with chocolate. Use a high quality dark or milk chocolate, and get creative by stirring in flaked coconut, mini-marshmallows, toasted hazelnuts or almonds. Here is where you can get creative. Try some cubed pound cake, strawberries, banana slices, and pineapple cubes. Move to a red desert wine like Banyuls or a Tawny port.
Gather a group and have a party with fondue! Start with the cheese, move to the oil and finish with the chocolate fondue. Celebrate National Cheese Fondue Day on April 11th; invite some friends over for a fondue party. Ask everyone to bring something like bread, vegetables, meats, and fresh fruit. Oh don’t forget the pound cake and marshmallows for the chocolate.
Bon appétit!
Tuesday, February 11, 2014
Corked
Corked
Have you ever wondered where the cork in your bottle of wine came from? The most logical answer would be Portugal or Spain, where over half of the world’s cork is harvested. In fact, it is the “national tree” of Portugal.
Cork is harvested from the outer bark of the cork oak tree, which has a thicker layer of bark than other trees to help protect the tree from the harsh Mediterranean conditions. Cork trees can live up to 200 years, but they are not ready to harvest their cork until they are 25 years old. A tree, in its lifetime, can be harvested about 15 times. When the cork is harvested, it doesn’t kill the tree. The tree is stripped every nine years in a process known as extraction. The extraction takes place in the summer, when the tree is least susceptible to damage. The first two harvests produce a lower quality cork that is not suitable for wine stoppers. These harvests are typically used for cork flooring and insulation. The third harvest would be suitable for wine closures. It’s not until the tree is in its forties that premium cork will be harvested. The average cork oak tree produces one ton of raw cork, which equates to 65,000 wine stoppers.
How is the cork harvested? The skilled extractors make two cuts into the tree with a sharp long-handled hatchet. The first cut is horizontal and cut around the tree, known as the necklace. Then, a series of cuts are made vertically which are called openings. Then the cork is pried off and set aside to dry.
When cork slabs are processed, holes are punched out to make the bottle stoppers. Cork has been used as bottle closures for more than 400 years. It is possibly the best suited material to use for this because it contains a natural waxy substance called Suberin. This substance makes cork impermeable to liquids and gas, and prevents the cork from rotting. About 60 percent of all cork harvested is used for wine bottle closures.
Scrap cork is grounded up, molded into large blocks, and used to make other cork products such as badminton shuttlecocks, cricket bats, and lines the center of some baseball bats. Cork is also a great material for insulation as its non-allergenic; its fumes are non-toxic if it does catch on fire.
The next time you pull the cork from your wine bottle, think about the neat old cork oak tree that gave its bark to secure your bottle of wine!
Until next time, cheers!
Have you ever wondered where the cork in your bottle of wine came from? The most logical answer would be Portugal or Spain, where over half of the world’s cork is harvested. In fact, it is the “national tree” of Portugal.
Cork is harvested from the outer bark of the cork oak tree, which has a thicker layer of bark than other trees to help protect the tree from the harsh Mediterranean conditions. Cork trees can live up to 200 years, but they are not ready to harvest their cork until they are 25 years old. A tree, in its lifetime, can be harvested about 15 times. When the cork is harvested, it doesn’t kill the tree. The tree is stripped every nine years in a process known as extraction. The extraction takes place in the summer, when the tree is least susceptible to damage. The first two harvests produce a lower quality cork that is not suitable for wine stoppers. These harvests are typically used for cork flooring and insulation. The third harvest would be suitable for wine closures. It’s not until the tree is in its forties that premium cork will be harvested. The average cork oak tree produces one ton of raw cork, which equates to 65,000 wine stoppers.
How is the cork harvested? The skilled extractors make two cuts into the tree with a sharp long-handled hatchet. The first cut is horizontal and cut around the tree, known as the necklace. Then, a series of cuts are made vertically which are called openings. Then the cork is pried off and set aside to dry.
When cork slabs are processed, holes are punched out to make the bottle stoppers. Cork has been used as bottle closures for more than 400 years. It is possibly the best suited material to use for this because it contains a natural waxy substance called Suberin. This substance makes cork impermeable to liquids and gas, and prevents the cork from rotting. About 60 percent of all cork harvested is used for wine bottle closures.
Scrap cork is grounded up, molded into large blocks, and used to make other cork products such as badminton shuttlecocks, cricket bats, and lines the center of some baseball bats. Cork is also a great material for insulation as its non-allergenic; its fumes are non-toxic if it does catch on fire.
The next time you pull the cork from your wine bottle, think about the neat old cork oak tree that gave its bark to secure your bottle of wine!
Until next time, cheers!
Wednesday, February 5, 2014
Wines of Georgia
Georgia on My Mind
This may be the Peach State, but grapes are gown here to produce wine! Georgia is producing some award winning wines, which are gaining national recognition. Our mountains combine the perfect terrain, soil, drainage, and elevation necessary for our vineyards to produce wines that reveal this "sense of place," or terroir (soil). Georgia's Wine Country stretches from Savannah to Young Harris, and everywhere in between.
Georgia wine making has had a long tradition of producing sweet to semi-sweet wines from the native Muscadine grape, a hybrid, also known as the "less noble" variety, vs. traditional grapes for wine making. The Muscadine is one of the first indigenous grapes to be cultivated in the US. Muscadines are truly a southern treasure, and Georgia leads the nation in the production of Muscadine grapes, developed primarily by the University of Georgia. Our state is the largest producer of this grape as it grows naturally here and thrives in the hot, humid climate of the south. Be sure to try it with Goat Cheese! Muscadine wine also will pair well with spicy foods, chicken and is a nice sipping wine in the hot months.
In the mid 1990's, grape pioneers started plowing pastures to create a new rush of vineyards and wineries in the North Georgia Mountains. As these pioneers began to select locations for their wineries, consideration of elevation, soil and slope had to be considered. Elevation was an important factor, if they planted the grapes too high, severe cold would hamper ripening and too low with a warmer climate would foster disease problems. North Georgia has its lowest rainfall in the harvest months of August-October, which reduces the risk of rot and mildew. This provides for good harvest conditions to ripen and mature quality fruit. The soils are usually a blend of sandy red clay. Clay doesn't absorb water very easily, allowing most to run off a slope in heavy rain. The ability of the soil to shed the rain, the proper elevation and slope, and the cooling drying breezes allow for optimal conditions for grapes to be grown here in Georgia for wine.
The state is also producing traditional premium wine grapes as well. French-American hybrid grapes of Sevval Blanc, which produces a white wine, are best found at Crane Creek and Tiger Mountain vineyards. The Habersham, Three Sisters, Wolf Mountain and Frogtown Cellars wineries produce wines from Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Take a trip down the Georgia Wine Trail (http://americaswinetrails.com/wine-trails/georgia-wineries/) and taste what the North Georgia wineries have to offer!
Until next time, cheers!
This may be the Peach State, but grapes are gown here to produce wine! Georgia is producing some award winning wines, which are gaining national recognition. Our mountains combine the perfect terrain, soil, drainage, and elevation necessary for our vineyards to produce wines that reveal this "sense of place," or terroir (soil). Georgia's Wine Country stretches from Savannah to Young Harris, and everywhere in between.
Georgia wine making has had a long tradition of producing sweet to semi-sweet wines from the native Muscadine grape, a hybrid, also known as the "less noble" variety, vs. traditional grapes for wine making. The Muscadine is one of the first indigenous grapes to be cultivated in the US. Muscadines are truly a southern treasure, and Georgia leads the nation in the production of Muscadine grapes, developed primarily by the University of Georgia. Our state is the largest producer of this grape as it grows naturally here and thrives in the hot, humid climate of the south. Be sure to try it with Goat Cheese! Muscadine wine also will pair well with spicy foods, chicken and is a nice sipping wine in the hot months.
In the mid 1990's, grape pioneers started plowing pastures to create a new rush of vineyards and wineries in the North Georgia Mountains. As these pioneers began to select locations for their wineries, consideration of elevation, soil and slope had to be considered. Elevation was an important factor, if they planted the grapes too high, severe cold would hamper ripening and too low with a warmer climate would foster disease problems. North Georgia has its lowest rainfall in the harvest months of August-October, which reduces the risk of rot and mildew. This provides for good harvest conditions to ripen and mature quality fruit. The soils are usually a blend of sandy red clay. Clay doesn't absorb water very easily, allowing most to run off a slope in heavy rain. The ability of the soil to shed the rain, the proper elevation and slope, and the cooling drying breezes allow for optimal conditions for grapes to be grown here in Georgia for wine.
The state is also producing traditional premium wine grapes as well. French-American hybrid grapes of Sevval Blanc, which produces a white wine, are best found at Crane Creek and Tiger Mountain vineyards. The Habersham, Three Sisters, Wolf Mountain and Frogtown Cellars wineries produce wines from Chardonnay, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.
Take a trip down the Georgia Wine Trail (http://americaswinetrails.com/wine-trails/georgia-wineries/) and taste what the North Georgia wineries have to offer!
Until next time, cheers!
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