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The History of California Wine |
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California has always had the perfect growing conditions to make great wine but it has not always been a world famous wine producing area. From the eighteenth century right up until the twentieth century, the Spanish, missionary-planted Vitis Vinifera vines were responsible for producing religious sacrament wine and table wine. New wineries appeared during the gold rush period when the demand for wine increased.
Alcohol prohibition laws and the phylloxera epidemic were both major setbacks in California wine production, but the second half of the twentieth century saw the wineries getting back on their feet.
The highlight for California winemaking came in 1976, when California wines beat the best French Bordeaux and Burgundy wines in a Parisian blind tasting event. California's reputation as a premier wine producing region skyrocketed and attitudes to California wine changes, once people realized just how good it really was. The history of California wine assures us that Californian wineries have gone from strength to strength since that historic day.
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| Learn More About Wine>> California Wine Country Mini Articles are spread through out the site get a list of articles at this link.
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Photo Description:
A Picture of a traditional French chicken casserole recipe for making fresh homemade French Coq Au Vin you can make with your ingredients and our traditional French chicken casserole recipe and is a favorite of many families. It features button mushrooms, bacon, shallots, and a red wine sauce, and is served with mashed potatoes. Nothing goes quite as well on a cool Autumn night’s dinner than hot homemade chicken casserole Coq Au Vin does. Accompanied by a refresh glass of wine and you have the makings for a wonderful and hearty family dinner.
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A Guide to California Wine Making |
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When making wine, the processes are usually growing, harvesting, crushing, and pressing, fermenting, aging, and finishing. The wine grapes become ripe between August and October so, as soon as the winemaker decides the grapes are ready, it is time to harvest them. Winemakers often separate the best grapes to make premium wines. Red and white wines are made in slightly different ways.
First of all, when making wine, the grapes are crushed and de-stemmed. Next, cultured yeast is usually added to the fermentation tank, to turn the sugars into carbon dioxide and alcohol. This process can be done twice with white wine, to encourage softness and buttery flavors.
After fermentation, some wines are barrel aged. Old or new barrels are used, depending on the desired flavor, and sometimes oak chips are added. When the wine is sufficiently aged, it is bottled and stored to age further, before being bottled and shipped. Some red wines, such as Cabernet Sauvignon, continue to age in the bottle because of the tannin content. Knowing about the wine making process can increase your appreciation of California wine.
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Explore the Wonders of California Wine Country |
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Why California Wine is So Popular
California wine is known and loved all over the world. However, what exactly is it that makes it so popular? The answer to that is probably that California wine comes in many different varieties but is consistently pleasing in flavor. There is literally something for everybody, flavor-wise and budget-wise, and you will not be disappointed by any of the results from the six wine regions of California.
California Wine Country
There are plenty of vineyards and wineries in California wine country, each producing slightly different wines. These California wine regions are responsible for bringing us such delights as robust, meaty Cabernet Sauvignon, sweet and flavorful Riesling or any type of Chardonnay from the bold and dry to the light and fruity.
The range of quality wines to emerge from California wine country is both impressive and reassuring. When you pick up a bottle of California wine, you can be comfortable in the knowledge that it is a good wine, simply because there is too much competition from excellent wineries to allow anything less than good wine any share of the California wine market. Any vineyard or winery on the California wine regions map will be producing an excellent range of wines, to please almost any palate.
California Wine Regions Map
To find out more about different kinds of California wine, it is a good idea to discover more about the different California wine regions. It is fascinating to find out how the slightly different soil and climatic conditions in each area can produce different types of wines and which types of wine each California wine region is famous for varies.
California Wine Guide
The California Wine Guide is dedicated not only to the wines of California wine country but also the taste and flavors that make this region not only a top wine producing region in the world but also amongst the best places to sample food there is. From the restaurants of the Napa Valley and the dinning establishments of quaint Sonoma County but to the modern metropolitan taste of San Francisco.
This area has produced some of the finest chefs America has to offer and they love to show of the wonderful dishes they create around California wine country. Our site is dedicated to bringing you a selection of fine recipes that you will find in our wine recipes link on every page.
As this area is also one of the worlds premier wine producing regions in the world we bring you a selection of articles from our staff writers and guest writers alike that help tell the story of California wine and California wine country. If you enjoy our site please bookmark us and return the next time you are in the mood for some California wine or wine recipes.
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Featured Recipe: The Best Coq au Vin Chicken Recipe |
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Traditional Coq au Vin Recipe |
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With chicken, bacon, mushrooms, and red wine, this coq au vin chicken recipe is a classic dish, found on the menus of many top restaurants. If you want to recreate this deliciously rich stew type meal at home, the following recipe will give you the same mouthwateringly good results. Traditional coq au vin is made with a rooster from Bresse in France and a Burgundy wine.
The older the poultry is, the better your coq au vin will turn out. This coq au vin recipe is started the day before. If you want to cook it in one day, you will need to add ¼ cognac or brandy to the pan when you put the chicken and vegetables in the pan together. Ignite the cognac with a match and shake the pan. Then pour in the wine and follow the rest of the recipe.
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| Ingredients - |
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1 rooster or 3 ½ lbs chicken, cut into at least 8 pieces
½ bottle of full bodied red wine (preferably Burgundy or Cotes du Rhone)
6 diced bacon slices
½ lb fresh button mushrooms
12 small white onions
2 peeled, quartered carrots
3 mashed cloves garlic
Herb bouquet - 1 bay leaf and 2 sprigs thyme tied together with string
¼ cup cognac or brandy (only required if making coq au vin in one day)
Sunflower oil
Unsalted butter
Parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
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| Preparation: |
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Clean and cut the rooster or chicken. Pour the red wine over it. Add the white onions, carrots, and herbs. Cover and refrigerate. The next day, remove and drain the chicken and vegetables. Set the wine aside for later use. Brown the chicken pieces in oil in a skillet and remove with a slotted spoon. Add the vegetables and garlic to the skillet and cook for 2 minutes.
Put the chicken and vegetables in a large pan and add the wine, salt, and pepper. (Add the cognac before the wine if you are making this in one day, as explained above). Bring to the boil over a medium heat. Cover and cook on a low heat for 1 or 2 hours.
Heat the onion, bacon, and mushrooms in a skillet until browned. This will take about 10 minutes. When the chicken is done, add the onion, bacon, and mushrooms to the pan. Cook, stirring frequently, for 2 or 3 minutes. Taste and correct the seasoning if necessary. Add some parsley to the dish and serve immediately with potatoes or rice.
Serves 6
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