Bottle shock is a phrase used to describe what happens when wine goes through tough conditions (travel, heat, cold, vibration) and changes for the worse. Symptoms such as muted flavors or a general disjointedness can be found in a wine that has experienced bottle shock. But don’t fret! Usually it resettles and fixes itself once stable for a period of time.

When we design custom wine cellars we build them to avoid anything that might cause botttle shock. Learn more about the enemies of wine, here

Bottle shock was also mentioned in the March issue of Wine Enthusiast Magazine. Find more wine articles at Winemag.com.

As lovely as a great bottle of luxury Champagne is, it often commands a hefty price tag, while the lesser-known grower Champagnes can offer great value. Like any wine, Champagne is only as good as the fruit that goes into it, so the attention-to-detail that goes into Grower Champagne can pay off, both in the bottle and in your pocket!

The handcrafted stone cooker cradles the bird, while the wine of your choice steams the inside, allowing its flavors to steep throughout the meat. Many of us have tried it at home and yielded moist, delicious results. You can even get creative with other beverages. A member of our staff used Red Stripe beer with curry seasoning!

Here are 5 creative recipes you can use, to make the most of your chicken cooker:

(Still need to purchase one? Find it here.)

Chef’s Tip: Always start your chicken in a cold oven i.e. , do not preheat.

Roast Chicken with Wine
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1- 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 3-4 pounds, thoroughly rinsed
1/2 cup white or red wine
1/2 cup of olive oil
2 tbsp. Italian spices
2 tbsp. oregano
2 tbsp. thyme
3 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp. salt and 1 tsp. pepper

Preparation:
Thoroughly mix the ingredients together in a bowl. Add 1/2 of the mixture to the well of the chicken cooker and the other 1/2 of the mixture to season the outside of the chicken. Plug the chicken with a piece of aluminum foil. Place the chicken into a “cold” oven and bring the temperature up together. Cook at 350F uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with the drippings.

When finished, the internal temperature should be 180F when taken at the meatiest part of the thigh without touching the bone. Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Beer Can Chicken
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1- 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 3-4 pounds, thoroughly rinsed
2 tbsp. paprika
2 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. red pepper flakes
2 tbsp brown sugar
1/2 cup cooking oil
16 oz. can of beer

Preparation:

Thoroughly  mix ingredients together and add 1/2 mixture to the well of the Chicken Cooker. Use remainder of the mixture to rub on the outside and inside of the chicken. Plug the neck with a piece of aluminum foil. Place the chicken in a “cold” oven and bring to desired temperature together.
Cook at 350F uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with the drippings.
When finished, the internal temperature should be 180F when taken at the meatiest part of the thigh without touching the bone. Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Southern BBQ Chicken
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1- 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 3-4 pounds, thoroughly rinsed
1 1/2 cups of BBQ sauce
2 tbsp. brown sugar
7 cloves garlic
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:
Mix BBQ sauce and garlic together. Rub the chicken with the olive oil. Mix together the BBQ sauce, brown sugar and minced garlic. Fill the well with 1/2 of the mixture and place the chicken neck up, into the Chicken Cooker. Brush chicken with remaining BBQ mix. Plug chicken with 2-3 cloves of garlic and aluminum foil. Place the chicken in a “cold” oven and bring to desired temperature together. Cook at 350F uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, brushing with the BBQ mixture 2-3 times during the cooking process.

When finished, the internal temperature should be 180F when taken at the meatiest part of the thigh without touching the bone. Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Asian Soy Chicken
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1- 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 3-4 pounds, thoroughly rinsed
1 cup soy sauce
1 cup sesame oil
1 orange (cut into 4 pieces)
1 tbsp. garlic powder
1 tbsp. powdered ginger
1/2 cup sesame seeds
salt and pepper to taste

Preparation:

Combine soy, sesame oil, garlic powder, ginger and the juice from 1/2 of orange. Pour 1/2 of the mixture into well of the Chicken cooker. Use the remaining mixture to pour over the chicken and sprinkle sesame seeds, salt, pepper and squeeze the other 1/2 of the orange over outside of chicken.
Plug the neck of the chicken with the orange peel so the neck is securely covered. Place the chicken in a “cold” oven and bring to desired temperature together. Cook at 350F uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with the drippings. Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Sweet and Smoky Chicken
Prep Time: 15 Minutes
Cook Time: 1- 1.5 hours

Ingredients:
1 whole chicken 3-4 pounds, thoroughly rinsed
1 cup Bourbon
1 tbsp. salt, pepper, paprika, and brown sugar
1 tsp garlic powder and onion powder
BBQ sauce

Thoroughly mix ingredients together and add to the well of your chicken cooker. Use the remainder of the mixture to coat the outside of your chicken. Plug the neck of the chicken with aluminum foil.  Place the chicken in a “cold” oven and bring to desired temperature together. Cook at 350F uncovered for 1 1/2 hours, basting occasionally with the drippings. Let chicken rest for about 10 minutes before serving.

Cult wines are a particular set of wines which command fanatical followings due to their low supply and high quality. A cult wine can be from any region but the phrase is most often used to refer to cult Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa Valley, California. A cult wine usually commands high prices of over $100 per bottle or thousands at a wine auction. “Rockstar” winemakers are at the helm of the limited production, and to own one of these wines is usually a sign of status, connection, pride and wealth. Some of the longstanding top names are:  Harlan, Screaming Eagle, Caymus, and Dominus

As featured in Wine Enthusiast Magazine, for more wine information visit WineMag.com.

After reading thousands of creative entries, we have finally selected our grand prize and 1st place winners for the Blitzen caption contest. We knew what Blitzen had to say, but what’s on Vixen’s mind? The answers were more hilarious than we could have imagined! Congratulations to our Grand Prize winner Sandy M, who will receive a FREE 18-bottle Touchscreen wine refrigerator. Plus, our first prize winners Stephen, Sandy B., Charlie, Madonna and Rob will receive $50 gift certificates to Wine Enthusiast. Check out their winning captions, here!

Then, celebrate our winners during our Blitzen Blowout! Find up to 60% off all Blitzen accessories.

In the past decade we’ve seen an increasing number of biodynamic wines in the marketplace. A biodynamic wine is entirely different than an organic wine. Wine that is made in a biodynamic fashion incorporates various methods of vineyard preparation that specifically correlate to the phases of the moon and seasons of the year.

The methods can include anything from grounding quartz and flowers into animal skulls and horns to adding tea to the compost.

As strange as the practices may sound, many wineries swear by biodynamic agriculture. Many argue that biodynamic wines are more terroir-driven and of higher quality.  There are now hundreds of biodynamic wine producers all over the world, and the list is growing.

The Demeter Association provides biodynamic certification to wineries that fit its criteria.

For more information, visit A Green Glossary at Winemag.com

Always a favorite, our Blitzen Caption Contest is back and the entries are rolling in faster than ever! This year Blitzen is accompanied by his sweetheart, Vixen, who is busy putting on her lipstick as Blitzen snoozes. It seems that Blitzen had a fun Christmas with his favorite beverage: wine of course! We know what Blitzen is thinking, as provided by our 2008 Blitzen caption contest winner: “I’ve fallen and I Chianti get up!” But what’s on Vixen’s mind?

Tell us what Vixen is thinking for a chance to win an 18-Bottle Touchscreen Wine Refrigerator, our Gift of the Year! 5 Runner Up’s will win $50 gift certificates. The contest expires on 12/25. That means there are two weeks left to wow our panel of judges with your witty entry!

Here is just a handful of the exciting captions we’ve received:

Pinot attention to him Santa, I’ve been good!

No rhyme or Riesling to it, red lipstick is always a must.
Wine Drinkers Make Grape Lovers
If you can’t handle the Cab, you pick up the tab.

The heart has its Reislings…

Wine on the lips, never goes to the hips!

Lips that touch WINE…will always touch mine!

Fruity and full bodied, sure and so is the wine!

I shiraz am havin’ a good holiday!

Chianti he see how beautiful I am?

Colorful lips for Merlot sips

I’m not that type of Gallo!

I’m hot enough to join the Cabernet!

Please remember to enter on the contest page, and not in the comments here, to be sure that your submission is received. Twitter members, follow BlitzenWine on Twitter, he’s posting the latest clever captions!

Here is David’s story:

As we were determining an ideal space to create a cellar, we decided on a multi-level  storage area that was detached from the home. We needed to bring a contractor in to build out the space to ensure that proper temperature and humidity could be maintained. In terms of racking, we created customized wood cases to hold loose 6 packs or full cases. We created a waterfall with led lights on both sides to maximize bottle capacity in the center of  the room. We added a custom cooling system with a separate heater along with humidification to ensure that the room would not vary in temperature from season to season.

Our customer, Glen, was ecstatic with the results, and had this to say:

I wanted to again thank you for everything that you did in designing and delivering my custom cellar.

After working with you for 5 years now, your customer service had more than earned my loyalty, and the Wine Enthusiast became the only place that I buy all of my wine accessories and my Eurocave units.

Looking at the displays in your showroom and the samples that David showed me, I became very excited about the possibility of my own cellar. The Wine Enthusiast more than exceeded my expectations and I’m over the moon with the result.

From Alan’s recommendation of the contractor, to David’s fantastic designs, to the quality of the wood from your mill to the installation by Larry, everything was excellent. In particular the extra details that David designed and brought everything together are really amazing.

Please let me know if I can help in any way acting as references for potential customers that are interested in their own cellar. I’m happy to do whatever I can to repay you for the outstanding job”

We love hearing feedback from these happy Wine Cellar Design customers!

If you are interested in building a cellar like this or of a different style, simply call us at 800.377.3330 and one of our wine storage consultants will be happy to help!

In order to convert the grape’s natural sugars to alcohol, wine must go through fermentation.  But a winemaker may also decide to put the wine through a second fermantation, called malolactic fermentation (malo, for short). Malolactic is almost always used in red wines but is sometimes used on whites, most often on Chardonnay. Malolactic fermentation converts the malic acid (tart, like a green apple) to lactic acid (mild, creamy). This calms the acidity and can give the wine a buttery, rich mouthfeel.

What are the special benefits of an N’Finity unit?

As a restaurateur, wine retailer or wine maker you will be able to provide proper and convenient wine service for your customers with a unit designed to fit your needs.

•    The N’finity cellars allow easy access to wines by simply sliding out one of the many included rolling shelves to find a customer’s selection
•    The front vented technology enables you to place the unit in a corner of the restaurant, on your selling floor or in any storage room without occupying important floor space.
•    Smooth, elegant, blue interior lighting will add to the ambiance of your space, rather than taking away from it.
•    Reversible doors mean you’ll find an N’Finity unit that is perfect for your space
•    Two-zone digital temperature control gives you flexibility with storage and service temperatures for both reds and whites.

About 2 weeks ago, a client of mine in the NY metropolitan area was handling a major corporate event party. Unfortunately, they ran out of Chardonnay within the first hour of the event! Because of the dual temperature zones, the sommelier was able to re-stock the N’Finity’s top (cooler) compartment and chill the whites down to 44 degrees, making them ready-to-serve by the time the main course was out. A major fiasco avoided! The flexibility this unit has brought to that establishment has been huge.

Myself and the team are so happy to have this custom-built, dream wine service unit to offer, with many happy customers already putting them to great use. Any questions? Give us a call at 800.377.3330