Italy's Tre Venezie Wine Regions
The three wine regions in the northeastern corner of Italy are often referred to as the Tre Venezie — the Three Venices — because they were once part of the Venetian Empire. Each of these regions produces [more…]
Getting to Know Spanish Wines and Regions
Spain is a hot, dry, mountainous country with more vineyard land than any other nation on earth. It ranks third in the world in wine production, after France and Italy. [more…]
The Dry Wine Varieties of Portugal
Portugal is justifiably famous for its great dessert wine, Port. But gradually, wine lovers are discovering the other dimensions of Portuguese wine — its dry wines, especially its reds. Most of these wines [more…]
Germany's Wines and Wine Regions
Germany has 13 wine regions — 11 regions in the west and 2 regions in the eastern part of the country. German wines are mostly white. They’re fruity in style, low in alcohol, rarely oaked, and often off-dry [more…]
Understanding Germany’s Wine Laws and Styles
Germany’s wine classification system is not based on the French AOC system, as those of most European countries are. German wines (like most European wines) are in fact named after the places they come [more…]
Wines Produced in Switzerland
Switzerland is in a perfectly logical location for growing grapes and making fine wine, nestled between Germany, France, and Italy. Switzerland's vineyards grace the country’s three faces — French-speaking [more…]
The Wines of Austria
Austria's wines come from the eastern part of the country, where the Alps recede into hills. Most of the wines come from small wineries. Austria makes less than one percent of all the wine in the world [more…]
The Re-Emergence of Hungarian Wines
Hungary has a wealth of native and international grape varieties and plenty of land suited to vineyards, with a wide range of climates, soils, and altitudes. Hungary's winemaking tradition dates back to [more…]
Wines Produced in Greece
Greece practically invented wine back in the seventh century BC, yet it is considered an emerging wine region today. Greece never stopped making wine for all those centuries, but her wine industry took [more…]
The Wine Regions of Chile
The Spanish first established vineyards in Chile in the mid-sixteenth century, and Chile has maintained a thriving wine industry for its home market for several centuries. Chile's wine industry has grown [more…]
Less Common White Grape Varieties Used in Wine
Some less common white grape varieties used in many wine regions today include Albariño, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Grüner Veltliner, Muscat, Pinot Blanc, Sémillon, and Viognier. Although these white [more…]
Wines Produced in Argentina
Argentina produces about four times as much wine as Chile does — almost as much as the entire United States. It boasts the largest wine production in South America and the fifth-largest wine production [more…]
Beer Style Guidelines Hierarchy
The following list has been compiled by the Beer Judge Certification Program and is used by the American Homebrewers Association for competitive purposes. This hierarchical list presents an overview of [more…]
Homebrewing Abbreviation Slang
Quite a few technical (and wordy) homebrewing terms exist, so to make it easier to read homebrewing recipes and directions, terms have been abbreviated. Here’s a handy guide for homebrewing abbreviations [more…]
Basic Conversions for Homebrewing
In case you need the metric equivalents of basic measurements, keep this simple conversions guide close by when you’re brewing your own beer at home: [more…]
Homebrewing For Dummies Cheat Sheet
When you’re brewing your own beer at home, get to know the abbreviated versions of homebrewing terms to help read your recipes and directions, keep a basic measurement conversion chart handy, and check [more…]
Condiments You Must Have behind the Bar
Running a bar is more than just mixing alcohol, mixers, and ice. You might be surprised by what you need to have on hand to keep the drinks flowing to happy customers. This short list contains items bar [more…]
Classic Cocktail Recipes That Are Great for All Occasions
The cocktail recipes listed here are classics for a reason: They taste good. Whether you're a professional bartender or just someone who likes to throw cocktail parties at home, you should know these mixed [more…]
A Basic Bar Setup for a Limited Budget
Setting up a home bar can become quite costly. The variety of liquors available today is mind-boggling. How do you pare down your shopping list to the essentials? Some bartenders might scoff at the idea [more…]
Necessary Supplies for Your Bar
Bartending, even at home, requires lots of supplies, mixers, and garnishes. In addition to beer, wine, liquors, and liqueurs, a decent home bar should have the following supplies if you plan on serving [more…]
Bartending For Dummies Cheat Sheet
Good bartenders pride themselves on being knowledgeable about cocktail recipes and also being proficient in the art of properly serving their guests and patrons. With a healthy repertoire of popular mixed [more…]
Alcohol Consumption Limits
If you’re bartending, you not only need to know how to mix drinks, you need to know when to stop mixing drinks for a customer. In some states, the law requires you stop serving alcohol to clearly inebriated [more…]
Measurement Chart for Bartenders
It’s completely appropriate that bartending is also known as the art and science of mixology. As a bartender, you need to know who to mix and measure not only a jigger, or shot, but how much to add when [more…]
Terms Every Winemaker Needs to Know
As a home winemaker, you ferment grapes to produce your own wine. Along the way, you use some unique tools and techniques, as well as some words that have distinct meaning for winemakers. Brush up on your [more…]
Critical Conversions for Home Winemaking
If you’re a home winemaker anywhere in the world, at some point you’ll probably need to convert metric measures to U.S. measures and vice versa. The following table shows some of the key conversions winemakers [more…]
