When Is it Wine Time?

Fellow STEEMian @jaynie (AKA JaynieLea) has been teasing us with WINETIME and again and again. I say teasing, because when some people read her posts about wine, it is definetely during working hours. So, unless your job is to sip wine, you are far from a bottle.

Which does beg the question (drunkedness on the job with standing);

When is it time to have wine?

To those who enjoy the grape without guilt, any time could be wine time. But, let's look at some ideal times to have wine.

Champagne is a wine, a specially made wine. It is used as a generic term for sparkling wine, like Kleenex is used for face tissue. But, only wine created from grapes grown in the Champagne region of France (among other criteria) can be called Champagne. However, if you aren't a Champagne snob, you can have your sparkling wine in the morning.

The traditional way of having sparkling wine in the morning is to mix it with orange juice. However, there are many ways to have a mimosa, you just need fruit juice and a sparkling wine.

Source : WorkWearWander.com

Personally, I prefer Mimosa when traveling to warmer climates or on a cruise. Maybe it is the fruit juice that gives it a more tropical feeling. Ironically enough, it is rumored that Mimosa was created at a hotel in Paris in 1925.

Since sparkling wine also comes in a non-alcohol variety, you can enjoy your Mimosa if you are not a wine drinker.

And for those of you who are a little late getting to breakfast, Mimosa is traditionally a brunch cocktail, so you can have it all the way up until lunch is served.

Now that we are at lunch, maybe it is a good time for a summer wine.
Summer wines are light-bodied, aromatic and fruity. Most wine snobs hate them. In fact, they were mostly frowned upon in wine tastings until relatively recent times. I am guessing is that summer wines do not have the depth and character of red wines or other white wines, which is what the judges were looking for during the competitions. Good news for those who just don't care, there are plenty of summer wines available.

In The Great North State, we have scuppernong and muscadine grapes. All scuppernongs are muscadines, but not all muscadines are scuppernongs. I won't get into that here, but the point is, they are used for light fruity wines.
Duplin Winery is the state's biggest and oldest operating winery, established in 1975 (another hint as to why judges don't like summer wines, even if muscadines are native grapes).

Not only are summer wines made with grapes, but they are also made with cherries, like they do at St. Julian in Michigan. Of course, if you go to Michigan during the spring, make sure you go to the Traverse City National Cherry Festival.

Source : stjulian.com

Basically, almost every fruit and berry has been turned into a summer wine. Summer wines are great for sitting on the porch during the southern summer heat and just relaxing. They also pair well with grilled food. So, the next time you go have some grilled up meat for lunch, order yourself a nice light summer wine.
Obviously, the non-alcohol version of summer wines is just juice.

But, maybe you don't want something light, but still want the fruit. Good news for you, because someone has mixed up a picture of Sangria.

Source : The Blognonian

Sangria is traditioanlly a red wine mixed with fruit. Basically, getting your cake and eating it to. A Sangria blanca is a white wine mixed with fruit, but you really need to stick to the red.
There is another drink that uses clear alcohol and fruit, but is made in trashcans. I only suggest trying out PJ if you are planning on moving upto moonshine.

Sangria is like a summer wine, but has a richer flavor to it, because of the red wine. And it has a little party feel to it, because of the fruit floating around.
Since Sangria uses a traditional table wine as a base, you can drink Sangria for lunch and on up to dinner. Of course, it is also an after dinner drink as well.
Mountain Dew makes a great Sangria flavored non-alcoholic drink, you just have to find the Taco Bell that is serving it.

So, as you can see, there is always a right time for wine, if you have the right wine.

Source : star2.com

Of course, if you have bees, honey and little bit of time, Mead can be your wine of choice at anytime. Who can argue with kings and gods about the best and oldest alcoholic drink in the world.

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