Here is another one. I brightened the foreground and people and deepened the hue and saturation on the sky to make it more blue.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
My New Hobbie: Photoshop CS3
Last night was the final class for my photoshop layers instruction - boo! We learned how to retouch pictures - yay!! Here are a few that I have been working on:
Here is another one. I brightened the foreground and people and deepened the hue and saturation on the sky to make it more blue.
Here is another one. I brightened the foreground and people and deepened the hue and saturation on the sky to make it more blue.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Wine Tasting Basics
What is it ?
How often have you had your nose in a glass of wine, and you think 'I know what that aroma is' but you just can't put a name to it, even though it's on the tip of your tongue..... literally. Outlined below are the tasting technique used by most connoisseurs. By taking just a few moments to think about how you drink, you will learn to taste – and more fully appreciate your wine experience in the process.
Proper Tasting Technique
(1) Look
The appearance of a wine, examined in a clear, un-etched glass against a white background, will tell you several things about the wine. The color indicates age, grape variety, and potentially the type of extraction and maturation during the wine making process.
What color is it? If it’s a red wine, is it ruby, garnet, red or purple, for example? If it’s a white wine, is it straw-like, golden, pale yellow or light green?
Move on to the wine's opacity. Is the wine clear, cloudy, transparent or opaque? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a little swirl - look again, you are looking at color, clarity, brilliance. An older red wine will be more translucent than younger red wines.
(2) Smell
Did you know that smelling a wine accounts for approximately 75% of what you actually taste. But, not only does it help you taste the wine, it also lets you assess the intensity, age, fruit character and even the faults of the wine. A wine’s aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics.
Gently swirl the wine in the glass to help the aromas surface. Then sniff the wine to gain a first impression. Now stick your nose down into the glass and inhale deeply (through your nose). Are the aromas powerful or subdued? Is the wine developing, or is it still fresh and fruity? Do you smell red or white fruits, herbs, minerals or spice? How about freshly mowed grass or cigar box.
(3) Taste
Now, take a taste. Start with a small sip and let it roll around your tongue. Let it mingle with the air by pulling in a little air through your lips. It may sound funny but it helps the wine to further expose its full range of character. This is your first impression of the wine's components and flavors. What do you taste? Often, reds will have berry, woody and bell pepper tastes. Whites often have floral, apple or citrus flavors.
Notice if the wine is smooth or harsh. Do you feel the back corners of your mouth watering? Does the wine seem heavy or light on your tongue?
(4) Spit / Swallow
If you are tasting versus drinking wine, you spit. Otherwise, you won’t be able to assess wines accurately after a while. But when you are determining a wine’s finish, you swallow. The finish is how long the flavor lasts after it is swallowed. Did it last several seconds? Usually, the longer the finish, the better the wine.
(5) Evaluate
Now, it’s time to evaluate what you have tried. Think about the overall character of the wine. Is it simple and easy to drink or complex? Does it require aging or does it drink well now? Overall, is it well made? And probably the most important question is, do you like it?
One thing you should remember is that when you go to purchase your favorite wine, environment plays a big part in the taste. For example, a crisp white wine sipped on a warm summer evening while listening to music by the lake will taste quite differently when sipped during a chilly mid-winter evening by the fire. Likewise, an elegant wine rich in complexity may not be fully appreciated in a casual, stand-up party setting.
How often have you had your nose in a glass of wine, and you think 'I know what that aroma is' but you just can't put a name to it, even though it's on the tip of your tongue..... literally. Outlined below are the tasting technique used by most connoisseurs. By taking just a few moments to think about how you drink, you will learn to taste – and more fully appreciate your wine experience in the process.
Proper Tasting Technique
(1) Look
The appearance of a wine, examined in a clear, un-etched glass against a white background, will tell you several things about the wine. The color indicates age, grape variety, and potentially the type of extraction and maturation during the wine making process.
What color is it? If it’s a red wine, is it ruby, garnet, red or purple, for example? If it’s a white wine, is it straw-like, golden, pale yellow or light green?
Move on to the wine's opacity. Is the wine clear, cloudy, transparent or opaque? Tilt your glass a bit, give it a little swirl - look again, you are looking at color, clarity, brilliance. An older red wine will be more translucent than younger red wines.
(2) Smell
Did you know that smelling a wine accounts for approximately 75% of what you actually taste. But, not only does it help you taste the wine, it also lets you assess the intensity, age, fruit character and even the faults of the wine. A wine’s aroma is an excellent indicator of its quality and unique characteristics.
Gently swirl the wine in the glass to help the aromas surface. Then sniff the wine to gain a first impression. Now stick your nose down into the glass and inhale deeply (through your nose). Are the aromas powerful or subdued? Is the wine developing, or is it still fresh and fruity? Do you smell red or white fruits, herbs, minerals or spice? How about freshly mowed grass or cigar box.
(3) Taste
Now, take a taste. Start with a small sip and let it roll around your tongue. Let it mingle with the air by pulling in a little air through your lips. It may sound funny but it helps the wine to further expose its full range of character. This is your first impression of the wine's components and flavors. What do you taste? Often, reds will have berry, woody and bell pepper tastes. Whites often have floral, apple or citrus flavors.
Notice if the wine is smooth or harsh. Do you feel the back corners of your mouth watering? Does the wine seem heavy or light on your tongue?
(4) Spit / Swallow
If you are tasting versus drinking wine, you spit. Otherwise, you won’t be able to assess wines accurately after a while. But when you are determining a wine’s finish, you swallow. The finish is how long the flavor lasts after it is swallowed. Did it last several seconds? Usually, the longer the finish, the better the wine.
(5) Evaluate
Now, it’s time to evaluate what you have tried. Think about the overall character of the wine. Is it simple and easy to drink or complex? Does it require aging or does it drink well now? Overall, is it well made? And probably the most important question is, do you like it?
One thing you should remember is that when you go to purchase your favorite wine, environment plays a big part in the taste. For example, a crisp white wine sipped on a warm summer evening while listening to music by the lake will taste quite differently when sipped during a chilly mid-winter evening by the fire. Likewise, an elegant wine rich in complexity may not be fully appreciated in a casual, stand-up party setting.
Wine Tasting Trip is Officially Booked!
We decided to take a weekend trip to Virginia to do some wine tasting with a couple friends of ours. I am really looking forward to this trip. One of the vineyards boasts a wine cave and another has an organic farm with a restaurant right across the street.
We will be staying at George's Mill Farm B&B
On Saturday we plan to visit 8 Vineyards/Wineries. Ambitious, I know but we will try our best to get to all of them!
Saturday Wineries
Breaux Vineyards
Open every day 11-6
offers gourmet food and has a restaurant, Grandale Farm, across the street
$5-10 tasting, $3 tour
Corcoran Vineyards
Open 12-5 Sat and Sun
$5 tasting
Doukenie Winery
Open 10-6 everyday
Hiddencroft Vineyards
Open 11-6 Sat & Sun
Hillsborough Vineyards
Open 11-6 Fri thru Mon
Loudoun Valley Vineyards
Open 11-5 Sat & Sun
Complimentary for 4 wines; $4 for 14 wines
Notaviva Vineyards
Open 11-7 Sat; 11-5 Sun
$5 tasting
Village Winery
Open 11-5 Sat; 12-5 Sun
Also offer tours of the vineyard
Sunday Wineries
Tarara Vineyard and Winery – This one sounds really neat! I had to post a picture of the cave.
They are open 11-6 on Sundays and offer a tour of their Wine Cave
$5 tasting
Lost Creek Winery
Open 11-5 Sat and Sun and give tours of the vineyard upon request
$3 tasting
Hidden Brook Winery
Open 11-5 Sat and Sun
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Wordle
I found a new site on the web thanks to one of my favorite blogs, Life in a Venti Cup and decided to "wordle" my wedding. Check it out:
