A Guide in Wine Bottle Printing
May 30, 2011
While bottle printing, also known as wine printing, sounds like something only professionals can accomplish, almost anyone could do this too if given the right materials and inspiration. With the materials for the process available on the market, there’s no more excuse why you shouldn’t do this yourself. The following are steps on how to start the bottle printing process so you can start displaying these or giving them as presents.
1. Plan your design
If you have talent in drawing or sketching, you can probably do the design freehand using pencil and paper. If you’re computer-savvy, you can do this via your laptop or PC. The only rule to follow is to do your own when it comes to the style you want to see. In case you don’t have talent in freehand drawing or in computer-drawing programs, you can always surf the net for photos and download these from websites offering free pictures. You may also consult with friends or relatives for other ideas so you’ll have more choices.
If you want to, you can also try matching the design for the occasion you’ll be using it. For instance, you can choose winter scenery if you’ll be giving the bottle for the Yuletide celebrations or you can use fireworks photographs if you will be giving it some time in the New Year season. Once you’ve executed the design, you should save it on your computer so you can print these out easily later.
2. Note what’s important
The whole point of wine printing is to remember the occasion so remember to mark important details such as the occasion, date, wine information, and the celebrant or receiver’s name. You can also include your name as the giver if you want to and even incorporate your signature.
3. Prepare the necessary materials
You’ll need label papers, adhesive, the wine bottle you’ll be using, and a printer. You may also use a fixative spray if you want, so you can reinforce the label’s strength on the bottle. Out of all these materials the trickier one to obtain is the fixative spray because you may have to go to an art supply store to get it. If you worry about getting label papers, you can always search online to get leads if you can’t find these in local craft or hobby shops.
4. Print and Label
Print out the designs using the printer and wait for this to dry fully before you do anything else. If you don’t wait for the ink to settle on the paper, you might ruin it and you’ll need to print out more. Spray the fixative material to the labels when you’re sure that the ink already dried, follow the manufacturer’s instructions, and allow some drying time too.
When you’re done with the process, you can now start placing the labels one bottle at a time by using the adhesive you bought. Do this in a well-ventilated area so you won’t have to breathe in some fumes into your lungs.
If you find the steps too complicated, review these until you’re ready. Remember, the whole point in bottle printing is to add a personal touch so don’t sweat on it too much.
| Rochelle is a wine connoisseur that manages a wine printing venture. There are plenty of bottle printing options available online.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Rochelle_Lambert |
What Kind of Wine is Pinot Noir?
May 23, 2011
For the initiated, looking at the labels on a variety of different wines can be more than a little confusing. After all, unless you have extensive background knowledge of what names and varieties to look forward, the bottles themselves are no help at all; each wine, naturally, professes itself to be the greatest. It is therefore worth looking into some of the most common varieties of wine, so one can understand what is to be expected from a bottle containing a certain name on the label. One of the best known wines to begin an introduction with, is pinot noir.
Pinot noir – best pronounced ‘pee-no nwaah’ – is a red grape, and tends to produce red wines. Rose wine, though uncommon, is not unheard of when it comes to the pinot noir grape. It is more likely, however, that you will find yourself looking at a red wine when the name is mentioned. The name is taken from the French words ‘black’ and ‘pine’, a reference to the tight clusters formed by the grapes when on the vine – the grapes, naturally, being black.
Pinot noir can be manufactured almost anywhere in the world, though is particularly popular in cooler regions such as the north of France. It is a notoriously difficult grape to cultivate and turn into wine, though the results are said to be worth the considerable effort it takes to produce a bottle. Overall, it is largely considered to be among the best wines in the world.
The most famous region for producing pinot noir grapes is Burgundy, France. Due to the necessity for cooler temperatures, it is rarely seen in the New World wine industry of California. There is an attempt to buck this trend and produce pinot noir in California, noticeably in Sonoma County, with some success. However, it is unlike anywhere will ever replace Burgundy as the natural home of pinot noir.
The grapes are smaller than those used for wine such as Cabernet Sauvignon, though are not the smallest used in general. The smaller the berry, the more intense the flavour associated with it usually is; this is certainly true of pinot noir. Floral flavours are often associated with the pinot noir, particularly from Burgundy, and the flavour increases depending on the maturity of the wine.
Numerous flavours beyond the standard floral are associated with pinot noir, and learning them may help you associate exactly the type of wine pinot noir is. Black cherry tends to be the overriding flavour mentioned, with other notable hints such as vanilla, spice, raspberry, plum and black licorice. A good pinot noir should have a fair balance between tannis and acid flavours, and there should be an aftertaste of black cherries. Serving temperature is optimal at 61 – 69 degrees farenheit.
Pinot noir, therefore, is a wise choice for those who enjoy wines that are rich in flavour and taste. If you prefer crispness in wines, it may be best to look elsewhere, perhaps to some of the wines that are produced by mixing pinot noir with something more tart. Hopefully, you should now have a good idea of what kind of wine pinot noir is – all that’s left to do, is taste it.
| Caterina Christakos is a published author and wine aficionado. To learn about wine and discover a new wine each month go to: http://wineclubsworldwide.com/american_cellars_wine_club.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Caterina_Christakos |
Make Good Homemade Red Wine – Cheap and Easy
May 10, 2011
How about some good homemade red wine for about $2 a bottle? No problem. I am not talking about using an inferior grape or grape juice. I’m talking about wine from a vinifera grape, the best grapes in the world for wine making.
Let’s do some home wine making. First you have to have a supplier of grape juice preferably in your local area. In the metropolitan Philadelphia area there are several places I can get wine grape juice originating from Italy, California and Chile. It comes in refrigerated 6 gallon pails. The average price is about $50 per pail depending on the variety of grape. Six gallons will yield approximately 30 bottles maximum (there will be a little waste). At best that is $50 divided by 29 bottles, so that gives us $1.72 per bottle. This assumes that you are not buying new bottles which can cost you about $1 a piece. Save your bottles and / or get more from your wine drinking friends.
OK, let’s get started. This is how to make wine. After you have your pails of grape juice in your basement…here’s how I do it. I buy 4 pails of juice. I pour about 3 inches of juice out of each pail into another clean pail. (Remember that sanitary conditions are the number 1 rule for wine making. You must clean all tools and pails with a solution of potassium metabisulfite. You can get this and other wine supplies from a local wine supply store or on the web.) So now I have 5 pails about 80% full. I then add a packet of yeast to each pail. The yeast should be the type best suited to the type of wine you are making – ask your supplier. Replace the tops of the pails onto each pail (loose is fine as we just want to keep things or critters from getting into the wine).
About 2 weeks later I siphon the new wine out of the pails into glass carboys (5 gallon or 6.5 gallon glass jugs) or into a stainless steel variable capacity tank. With using the carboys you may need extra bottles to make sure that you don’t end up with a carboy being half full. For example if you are doing 24 gallons (4 full pails) then that works out to about two 5 gallon carboys and two 6.5 gallon carboys to equal about 24 gallons minus some waste. The stainless steel variable capacity tank has a lid that floats on the surface of the tank so it makes the logistics easier. While siphoning the wine into these containers, make sure that you leave the lees behind in the pails. The lees are that stuff at the bottom of the pail that is left over from the yeast and the fermentation process. I find that by using wine juice I typically don’t have very much sediment; hence less racking (siphoning from one container to another) is required. After the racking is complete, add some metabisulfite to the wine (per instructions).
My stainless steel tank has a valve at the bottom. About 6 months after racking I start to tap the wine (first with a glass then later with bottles). You will know when it is ready to drink. If you don’t have a stainless steel tank, you will have to siphon the wine into clean bottles. Cork them.
Then open and drink with food and friends! Salud!
For more information on home wine making tips, techniques, stories and wine recipes visit http://homewinemaking.thepinot.com
| Joe has been a home winemaker for many years. He makes wines from Italy, California and Chile from fresh juice and wine kits.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Joe_Bello |
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