The Australian wine index has as much diversity in wine quality and styles as anywhere in the world

Wines- fine wines are part of your everyday meal…they participate with you in every emotion and Occasion of your life. But if a special or a huge exciting occasion is lying ahead? What to drink? The same old repetitive one? Here the Australian wine index comes to us for planning our special occasion with Australian wine index.

Whether you are organizing a big formal, or a simple family barbecue, a little pre – planning can help to make your event enjoyable for all – including the host of the party. Here we look at how to choose the most suitable type of wine for your guests; how much wine to buy; how to serve it effortlessly.

So…what is the occasion? Hmmm

A big, one off celebration – a wedding reception, or a birthday party- calls for the best wine you can afford. If people are sitting down to meal, match the wine to the food. And if you are planning a drinks party, either with canapés or a more substantial buffet, keep it simple by serving only one or two choices of wine.

It is very necessary to see the timing of the year, and which wine suits the weather well – the season and the outdoor temperature should be considered well while choosing the wine. For summer parties or barbecues, keep the wine light and cool and make sure the wine is served chill. Also have sparkling mineral or soda water on hand, so that people can make spritzers.

If you are choosing wine for a more formal picnic, such as a special racing event, or an evening of opera or outdoor theatre, the most popular choice is good quality champagne, or a hot wine drink.

In the winter, almost anything goes, but keeps heavy red wine for dinner. If serving only canapés, try champagne, or a hot wine drink. Few tips given by the Australian wine index as in that you’re bar table must be away from the food served place, which can provide easy access for the guests.

And you must remember to have plenty of water on offer. If any of your guests don’t drink alcohol, you may want to get in a supply of their favorite soft drink. I hope this special winy tip will help the hosts to enjoy the party with the sip of Australian wine index…

WINE CONSUMPTION AND HEALTH BENEFITS

Well the first thing we think is ‘is wine good for our health’ may be yes or you may say may be no. well it has been proved from further research and surveys that yes wine is definitely good for our health . But you must not exceed your consumption limit.

The Australian wine Index certifies us the wine contents –the alcohol content and non-alcoholic photochemical (natural occurring plant compounds), wine has been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, certain cancers and slow the progression of neurological degenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease. These days wine help us more than it use to hurt us earlier.

However, the amount of wine you drink matters tremendously. Drink more than what’s recommended, your health benefits are lost and your health risks go up.

This is what we consider safe and effective:

One drink is defined as a 5-ounce glass of red or white wine, 12 ounces of regular beer (1 bottle) or 1.5 ounces of 80 proofs distilled spirits.

Now let’s talk about the benefits we get from wine proper consumption

When it comes to wine’s health capabilities, here’s what we know

Moderate amounts of alcohol can raise your good cholesterol (HDL-cholesterol) and thin your blood. This is thought to be one of the primary cardiovascular benefits from wine (red and white), as well as hard liquor and beer.

Non-alcoholic photochemical in wine, such as flavanoids and resveratrol act as antioxidants and prevent molecules known as “free radicals” from causing cellular damage in the body. Although some studies which have focused on the health benefits much as greater dosages than you’ll find in an average glass of wine, resveratrol has been shown to prevent blood clotting and plaque formation in arteries by altering lipid profiles and plasma viscosity. Findings from a recent study suggest that resveratrol can produce potent anti-thrombotic agents that can potentially improve cardiovascular health and lower the risk for coronary heart disease. In animal studies, resveratrol reduced tumor incidence by affecting one or more stages of cancer development.

Red wine provides much more resveratrol compared to white. That’s because the longer the skin is kept on the grape during the wine making process, the greater the concentration of resveratrol in the wine. In the case of white wine production, the skin is removed before fermentation, giving white wines a lower concentration in resveratrol compared to red wines. Also, wines made in cooler climates have greater amounts of resveratrol too. Thus, red wines from cool climates have the most resveratrol. The Australian wine index has helped us with the consumption amount and with \its benefits.

The Australian Wine Index and Its Viticulture

By reading the title the first question arises is that what is viticulture? First let us define that what is a vineyard and how it is related to viticulture – a vineyard is a plantation of a grape bearing vines, grown mainly for wine making, but also raisins, table grapes and non alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production are known as viticulture.  So now it is clear that what exactly viticulture is.

A vineyard is often characterized by its terroir also termed as a sense of place which refers to the specific geographical and geological characteristics of grapevine plantations, which may be imparted in the wine. The person who takes cares of the vineyard and of its production is called viticulturist.

The Australian wine index further explain what is a role of a viticulturist ; There are numerous activities that a viticulturist perform as in like monitoring and controlling pest diseases, fertilizing, canopy management , irrigation, harvesting , vine pruning during the winter months.etc … a viticulturist has a main hand in ,making the special and the fine wine.

Viticulture is bit related to the ancient history of wine with evidence of man cultivating wild grapes to make wine dating.

The Australian wine index also gives a brief weather cast in which the vineyard grows into a wine yard. The vast majority of the world's wine producing regions are found between the temperate latitudes of 30° and 50° in each hemisphere. Within these bands, the annual mean temperatures are between 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F). The presence of large bodies of water and mountain ranges can have positive effects on the climate and vines. Nearby lakes and rivers can serve as protection for drastic temperature drops at night by releasing the heat that the water has stored during the day to warm the vines.


The vine needs approximately 1300-1500 hours of sunshine during the growing season and around 690 millimeters (27 in) of rainfall throughout the year in order to produce grapes suitable for winemaking. In ideal circumstances, the vine will receive most of the rainfall during the winter and spring months: rain at harvestime can create many hazards, such as fungal diseases and berry splitting. The optimum weather during the growing season is a long, warm summer that allows the grapes the opportunity to ripen fully and to develop a balance between the levels of acids and sugars in the grape.

There are few viticulture hazards which affect in wine making as it destroys the vine. You must prevent your viticulture from these hazards like oidium, frost, powder mildew, downy mildew, phylloxera, plant virus.  

If these issues are taken care then your vineyard is taken care.

Fine wine with Australian wine index

The Australian wine index tells that what exactly is a fine wine - it is a nebulous area to provide a definitive assessment on the quality of wine due to varied personal preference. However, a fine wine must meet certain base objective requirements.

Balance

Balance in a wine is determined by these key elements:

* Flavour – acidity and sweetness

(if present), oak (if present),

* Tannin, and

* Alcohol

Balanced wines bear the greatest potential for cellaring. They will also mix well with food and have a smaller chance of providing fatigue to the palate.

Structure

This could be described as the "shape" of the wine or how it feels in your mouth. Wines with a good structure often have a front, mid and back palate that is well defined.

The cellaring of fine wine- the Australian wine index: - The cellaring of wines before consumption allows for the complexity of aromas and flavours to emerge and for palate integration. Although many wines are capable of ageing the duration successfully, cellared wines do vary. This variety also extends to each vintage.

When to drink a wine is part of fine wine appreciation and is highly dependent on personal preference. A preference for wines that are fruity with vivid acidity and tannin would lead to a shorter ageing process. The converse would be to age a wine longer for a softer more complex wine. Regular assessment ensures a wine is not overdeveloped.

Ideal cellaring conditions for fine wine includes:

* A constant temperature between 14°C - 16°C / 55°F - 60°F

* A relative humidity between 70-75%

* Dry, dark, odour-free conditions with good ventilation

The Australian wine index garbs the best fine wine of Australia! And tells us why….

The average price of investment quality Australian wine is much lower than that of investment quality Bordeaux wine. For example, one might spend up to S$13,500 for a case of vintage 2005 Bordeaux from Chateau LaTour or Chateau Margaux, but the same amount will garner over half a barrel of the Tahbilk 1860 Vines Shiraz, a blue chip wine from Australia.

Australia's finest glories are the great, classic old vine cuvées of Shiraz and Grenache from South Australia, particularly those from the Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale, and Clare Valley. Cooler years such as 2002 and 2004 have produced more streamlined, restrained wines that may even be mistaken for some of their counterparts produced in the cool micro-climates of Western Europe.

Another myth about Australian wines is that they all taste alike. There are completely different styles of wine made in Barossa as there are in McLaren Vale, Coonawarra, Eden Valley, Heathcote, and the far-flung Western Australian regions of Margaret River or Frank land River.

The Australian wine index has as much diversity in wine quality and styles as anywhere in the world...

Investing with Australian Wine Index

Andrew Basset, director and founder of the Australian Wine Index (AWI), discusses why investing in wine, particularly Australian wine, may be a good bet for investors going into the second half of 2011 on CNBC .

Wine investment has risen to A$30 million over the past two decades in Australia, and interested continues to climb. Basset argues that Australian wines can compete in quality and demand with leaders in the market such as France and that growing interest, particularly in the Asia Pacific region.

According to Bassett, Australian wine is extremely undervalued, and AWI was established in 2000 to address the problem by responding to increasing demand in the Asia Pacific Region. Its services, based out of Singapore, include assistance with purchasing of wine and providing logistical support and advice to investors and dealers in the region and beyond.

The focus of AWI is in opening up the market to quality Australian wines that may not have the established vintage pedigree required to make it onto Australia’s more seasoned fine wine indices. This way, Bassett contends, more Australian growers and winemakers  are represented while the world gets to enjoy even more fine wine from the region, making it a win-win for everyone, and one that investors are recognizing.

How wine investment is useful for wine lovers!

"Wine is the intellectual part of the meal," is surely an apt statement given by Alexandre Dumas. Wine holds a rich historical heritage and is highly drunk all around the world. Interestingly, it is momentous even in the world’s most orthodox cultures. One surely remains open-mouthed seeing their incredibly vast variety. Glasses of rich wine toasted with a delicious mélange of snacks, makes eating experience lavish and worth remembering. Wine is even not restricted to just tasting, rather it can also be associated with numerous emotions, joyous celebrations and profitable businesses. Wines are synonymous to an impeccable collection of fondness which can be transformed into a unique and flourishing investments plan. With Australian wine index, investing in wine becomes as simple as smelling their soothing fragrances. Abiding some good knowledge of few important aspects and things which are crucial while choosing a wine for investment, you become ready to shake hands with one of the most useful investments for wine lovers.

Before glancing on how the wine investment is useful for wine lovers, the investor must fulfill some basic requirements for a lucrative investment. One of the most foremost requirements is that a person has to be an affectionate wine lover and an absolute admirer. Secondly, one must be versed with fine knowledge and stupendous understanding of wines and finally one must carry out effective research in order to grasp a deep insight and sagacity of the trends of wine market. Apart from these, a person also needs to place just the right wines with the perfect cost at the time of investing. The investment is long term, so it is always inane to expect an overnight production of profits. One should be well prepared to invest money for some long 5-10 years. The wine has to be worthy enough of maturing with an age limit of minimum 25 years. The wine must behold a famous name which is probably highly lauded by critiques. Also it should be in extreme demand worldwide accompanied by a constant boost in price track.

For wine lovers, this investment turns out to be a golden spoon in a silver plate. Wondering how? The Australian wine index helps you in clearing these clouds of confusion. Firstly the investment comprises of those flavorful drinks on which you are completely bowled upon. If you are a wine lover, it directly indicates your utter amour and passion about wines. This exclusive liking will encourage you to grab all the knowledge about the same with great devotion and interest. Wine lovers clearly understand that wines get richer and valuable by age. Also a wine lover is able to very easily distinct between the price and the quality, having a special conscience of the same. Like a layman, a wine lover for investing in wines prefers their quality over price tags. A wine lover holds high chances of purchasing some of the best wines at the auctions being held from time to time. Today, wine investment is experiencing entrepreneurship like never before. Most importantly the world is full of millionaires who eagerly wait to spend a huge amount of their fortunes to flaunt them in their manors, resulting in soaring costs of wines. Also wine investment is also a much lesser volatile than other markets, offering consistent revenues even at the times of financial crisis. It is a onetime investment that eventually offers you double profit. So, now when you know how wine Investment is useful for wine lovers, this profitable investment awaits you.

Australian Wine Index tells when wine is ready to Drink.

Tasting a wine as it matures in one of the greatest joys of owing a cellar. It is better to drink wine too early than too late, but it is largely a matter of personal taste at what maturity you enjoy a wine. Quality red Bordeaux, for example, is generally enjoyed by typical French drinkers earlier than by traditional British claret lovers.

Australian Wine Index ensures that only wines sufficient complexity will improve with ageing. Some wines are meant to be drunk young and fresh. A wine at perfect maturity is in complete balance and has a complexity of flavor, both on the nose (smell) and the palate (taste), while retaining a long finish. However, personal taste varies widely. Some people prefer a wine that has lots of structure, other prefer wine once it has developed a softer, smoother taste. In addition, not everyone enjoys the flavors that develop in a wine with age.

There is no doubt that today more and more wines are made to be consumed over a wide range of ages. In the reds, finishing fermentation in barrels used to mitigate the impact of tannins the wine is more accessible when young. And whites, the careful determination of sulfur indicates that the fruit is available from the first day. It is desirable and necessary that consumers some of the best wines, even have a good amount of wine or a wine shop worthy of the good bottles are consumed increasingly younger.

Assessing how long a wine is capable of ageing is one of the most difficult aspects of tasting, and experience is everything. This is why many wine lovers rely on professionals to give them to open a bottle. Any good producer or merchant who sells fine wines destined for ageing should provide a guide to their optimum drinking period. There are also plenty of specialist wine collector magazines and “tip sheet” available that guide you.

Quality and service remain Australian wine index is the best place to buy wine. The average price of the investment quality wine in Australia is much lower than for Bordeaux wines as investments best pleasures Australia. These are classic wines from old vines of Syrah and Grenache South Australia, including Barossa Valley, McLaren Vale and Clare Valley.