According to a recent study conducted by the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the University of Barcelona, a compound found in grapes (and grape products) may actually help protect skin cells from harmful UV rays. Researchers “evaluated the in vitro capacity of several antioxidant polyphenolic fractions from grape, which differ in their degree of polymerization and percentage of...
Almost a year ago, we wrote a blurb about Corkbin, an easy-to-use app that lets you make tasting notes and share them with your friends. Originally for the iPhone, the app now works with all iPhones, iPod Touches (iOS 3.0 or later), and Android phones. The latest version supports new features for friending: “share your wines with your friends and...
Happy Labor Day! Hope you're all enjoying your day off. We'll be sipping some wine and enjoying the remaining summer sun. Right now, though, we're reviewing an app that will let you keep a few notes on the bottle you're enjoying without taking up a lot of time. If you want a quick, simple way to remember a good wine...
It’s travel time! Remember Jake Austad’s trek through California’s wine country? Here’s a handy, travel app specifically made so that you can enjoy such an adventure: Winery Quest Pro. Designed for the iPhone, iPad, and iPod Touch, this informative winery reference tool gives you everything you need to plan your California wine trip. With 20 regional maps, filters for your...
Ever have questions when pairing food and wine? With WineStein Pro, a “genius” application for your iPhone, you can select the perfect wine for every meal. It’s like having a sommelier in your pocket, on call to offer advice. Simply enter your meal’s main ingredients, sauces and sides, and WineStein is ready to help! Using cutting-edge artificial intelligence, the app...
WineToMatch, an app available for both Android and iPhone, features a streamlined process that allows you to select your meal’s main ingredient, type of cuisine, additional traits, and other flavors. From there, WineToMatch offers recommendations of wines that will best accompany your meal. And for lovers of sweets, WineToMatch even suggests pairings for dessert items, too! Overseen by Master Sommelier...
Aging wine in oak barrels is expensive. A single, 55-gallon barrel can easily cost more than $1,600. Barrels made from oak found in the forests of Allier, Nevers, Limousin, and central France are worth even more. What makes these barrels so costly? Are wineries paying for the quality of wood, craftsmanship, or both? The answer is: both; wineries pay for...
When we talk about aging wine, rarely do we realize just how recent a phenomenon wine aging actually is. As mentioned in a previous post (Fun Wine Trivia), wine was not originally stored in bottles. And when wine was not transported in animal wineskins, it was stored in large clay containers and secured with sealants called terracotta amphorae. While these 7000...
Today, most red wines are produced using a process similar to this one... First, a vintner decides when the grapes are ripe. This is done by taste, concurrent with today's technology of taking accurate sugar readings. The grapes are then harvested and placed into a machine that removes their stems. The machine also crushes them (without pressing them) so that...
In 2011, over 60% of the most popular domestic wine brands were sealed with natural cork. This statistic comes from the Cork Quality Council, a Napa-based organization. Based on surveys of A.C. Nielsen data, the executive director of the Quality Cork Council, Peter Weber, claims that there has been “a sharp increase in the sale of wine sealed with cork.” ...
Technology has certainly been keeping the wine world on its toes! With the latest wine app releases, to devices with unparalleled scanning, pairing, and locating capabilities, what new wine gadgets will they think of, next? Here is one that we find quite a catch! It’s called the eSommelier, and it’s a complete wine collection management system. Perfect for people...
Let’s face it, people make mistakes. And when it comes to wine storage, a lot of people make innocent mistakes that end up costing them a few (or more!) good bottles of wine. Here's how to avoid some common wine storage blunders. The Top Five Wine Storage Mistakes 1. Storing wine upright. If you store wine with your bottles standing...
Have a wine cellar, but not enough room to install a proper cellar cooling unit? That’s what some people believe. Avoid a big wine storage mistake in your small cellar by investing in the WhisperKOOL Slimline cooling system; it’s designed to fit in that frequently-unused space above your cellar door! Even if your cellar is small, the WhisperKOOL Slimline’s over-the-door...
There’s been a lot of discussion about the benefits of wine consumption, lately, but a new trend has appeared that takes wine enrichment to the next level: bathing in it! That’s right, it’s called “vinotherapy,” and it purportedly reduces wrinkles, repositions unsightly cellulite, and even helps lift the face. Begun in the world’s first “wine spa” in France (appropriately...
American studies have shown that drinking wine helps to prevent type-2 diabetes, and a recent study conducted in Europe concurs. The results, soon to be published in the Journal of International Medicine, were derived by examining numerous variables among thousands of participants. These included detailed lifestyle and eating habits of individuals living in Italy, Spain, the UK, and other European...
Instead of giving traditional (and often non-useful) gifts to your folks this Mother’s or Father’s Day, considering celebrating with the gift of a good bottle of wine that will really make them smile! Sure ties, socks, and ceramic hippo nicknacks are the norm when you’re not really sure what your parents want or need, but a bottle of wine--a classy...
Have a good bottle of wine? Need the perfect music to set the proper mood? Have no fear; Wine DJ is here! Wine DJ is an iPhone app designed to help you build the perfect playlist based on your desired mood, coupled with the Liberty School wine you’re drinking. Simply enter the type of wine you’re planning to drink, use...
I'll admit it: I go through a lot of wine bottles. I love drinking the wine, but there's something I really hate about tossing all those bottles in the recycling bin. Luckily, creative people all over the web are one step ahead of me. They've found tons of creative ways to transform old wine bottles into cool crafts and works...
You're hosting a dinner party. You've wined and dined your guests--important clients of yours--through the appetizer course, and things are going without a hitch. You head down to your wine cellar to grab the bottle of very special Cabernet you've been saving for an occasion just like this one. But the bottle isn't there. You scan your shelves, growing increasingly...
Vintage Cellars started building custom wine cellars in 1990. Based in San Macros, California, we have built custom wine cellars throughout the United States.
Our wine cellar design experts are waiting to turn your custom wine cellar dream into a reality. Tell us the style, size, budget, and other details and we will design a custom wine cellar for you.