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12:56 AM

Wednesday 06/25/08 - Wine Makers

Another Great Wine Makers Article

Gourmet Wine Gift Baskets

Another heady gift basket that can bring smiles is the gourmet wine gift basket. A sure-fire hit with boss, family, friends or business associates, they toast any occasion with ?lan and encourage the art of hedonistic living! Weddings, Christmas, Thanksgiving, New Year?s, housewarming or birthday, get-well-soon wishes ? all are appropriate occasions for these generous gift baskets.

Elegant gourmet wine baskets offer interesting wines with a snack or food combination that heightens dining pleasure. You can select your own match or pick a ready-made basket according to your budget or preference, and the occasion. Usually, light wines work with easy snacks and heavy wines for heavy food. Highly spiced foods restrict your choices, as the alcohol in the wine can clash with the spices on your palate. It?s all about trusting your taste buds while experimenting, as well as looking at the region?s favorite combinations.

These baskets usually cater to universal tastes, with red, white or dessert wine or champagne accompanying crackers, cookies and chocolates. Interesting packages can also be created with assorted nuts, tortillas, chips, pretzels, smoked salmon, gourmet sausages, cheese, jelly, savory breads and dips. Other medleys include sauces, purees, extracts, syrups and spreads, exotic coffee or tea, oil and vinegars, herbs and spices, ethnic food ranging from Indian and Japanese to Spanish and Italian, or desserts and sweets.

Ready-made meals with that perfect wine can be presented as a surprise gourmet wine gift offering. Soups, salads, grilled or cooked meats, casseroles, fondues, pies, pastas, desserts and an accompanying wine or two can instantly lighten up an evening. So a Chicken Picata with Chardonnay or Kung Pao chicken with a cool Gewurztraminer, chocolates with port or apricot custard with Sauternes can bedazzle your friends like never before!

The baskets can be elaborately decorated with ribbons and satin trimmings. They can even include hand-painted glasses, wineglass charms, hand-carved wine art, wine ceramics or other wine accessories to give it that exclusive touch. Delectable, divine or plain sensational, you can never go wrong with a gourmet wine basket unless it is bequeathed to someone who abstains from alcohol or whose religion forbids it. Check your foreign business contacts? cultural background before presenting something that should ideally cheer and uplift.

Light up the candles; lay out the charm, soft music and gourmet wine basket magic ? that taste of wine offers a taste of Heaven!

Wine Gift Baskets provides detailed information on wine baskets, wine gift baskets, wine picnic baskets, wine and cheese baskets and more. Wine Gift Baskets is affiliated with Bakery Management.

A Short Wine Makers Summary

Gourmet Wine Gift Baskets

Another heady gift basket that can bring smiles is the gourmet wine gift basket. A sure-fire hit with boss, family, friends or business associates, th...

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Featured Wine Makers Items

Personalized Chateau Rug - "B" Initial

These personalized rugs are perfect for your wine cellar kitchen foyer or entryway to your home. Fun colorful images of grapes wine corkscrews and cheese surround a bold initial or your own “Chateau” name up to 14 letters. For the Initial Rug select from A B C D G H J K L M R S T or W. Both are hand-hooked of 100% wool and have a non-slip backing. Initial Chateau Rug (allow 1 to 2 weeks for delivery)

Price: 69.95 USD

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Posted by John Johnson | 0 comments

10:07 PM

Monday April 21, 2008 - Sweet Wines

A Sweet Wines Artilce for Your Viewing

A Taste Worth The Wait: One Step Beyond A Good Wine, Villa Bellentani Balsamic

Just a little beyond a good wine is an aged vinegar. In Modena it?s revered as balsamico. Gourmet chefs seem to have embraced the allure of balsamic vinegar in the last two decades, but it was tradition passed down in Italy from father to son over centuries that resulted in the large scale acceptance of the finest vinegar condiments the world has ever known.

?Italy, and the spring and first love all together should suffice to make the gloomiest person happy.? ? Bertrand Russell

The strains of classic Italian folk music are heard in the distance as the doors open on something new, yet something altogether regal. The villa in Carpi is one of Italy?s national historic landmarks and the Villa Bellentani sits as one of its crown jewels. Built in the 18th century, the Villa Bellentani harkens to an era of rich heritage and rural sensibilities. Now, this same villa is a perfect blend or uncommon historic beauty coupled with state of the art facilities for aging balsamic vinegar for yet another appreciative generation.

It?s plain to see that the world has discovered a special love affair with Modena balsamic vinegar, yet it is also true that two other facts are equally evident. 1) There doesn?t seem to be enough quality balsamic vinegar to meet growing world demand and, 2) while inferior vinegars are easily obtained they spoil the pristine image and taste of true, aged balsamic vinegar. The Italian producer Villa Bellentani is making efforts to offer some of Modena?s best vinegar, yet preserve the integrity of the balsamico heritage.

It was with a deep respect for the thousand year history of balsamic vinegar that Italian vineyard growers join with producers at Villa Bellentani to develop quality aged balsamic vinegar that holds to the timeless traditions of Italy?s finest producers.

Americans discovered balsamic vinegar in the 1980?s, but it was tradition passed down from father to son over many centuries that resulted in the ?overnight success? of the finest vinegars the world has ever known.

The same country that brought you such notable artists as Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci as part of the Renaissance also provides a culinary artistry that offers incomparable quality and taste - the wonderfully adaptable aged balsamic vinegar, aceto balsamico di Modena.

It is certain that such taste has value far beyond the purchase price. Long standing Italian history comes into focus when the balsamic vinegars of Villa Bellentani are tasted and found worthy to attain the ranks of the ?world?s finest?.

Producers around the world have attempted to duplicate the Modena balsamic vinegar, but few pay regard to the tradition and taste that find customers willing to pay hundreds and even thousands of dollars for well aged blends. It is a shame to see something so precious treated in such a common way by many who will claim a product of comparable quality. In truth, much of what sells as balsamic vinegar is little more than common vinegar mixed with caramelized brown sugar. Yet in Carpi there?s a wooden cask of balsamic vinegar that has aged for more than a decade, and one day some of the precious liquid inside could find its way to your table. Your eyes will close and you take in an appreciative breath, for the taste was worth the wait.

The pace of life in Carpi is a world removed from most urban cultures. Perhaps it is that slower pace that is beneficial when you discover the difference in well aged balsamic vinegar in the grand tradition of Italy. Villa Bellentani a family estate producer seeks to fill that void.

About the Author:

James Zeller writes for gourmet gift related websites and blogs. Here is a selection of gourmet gifts that he found, culinary gourmet gifts.

Another short Sweet Wines review

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Wine storage racks are the cornerstone of just about any cellar, whether for your house, restaurant, retail store, or vacation property. Intended for ...

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The FTD One Dozen Roses with a Bear

12 roses in a glass vase arrive with a soft plush teddy bear. Bear size and color may vary. Available in red, yellow, pink, peach and white. EO-82DB

Price: 99.99 USD

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