The Cat asked:

I love Merlot, but they have difficulty in finding someone who is not very expensive, but are still nice and smooth. Any suggestions for good vinter? I like their fruity, not dry.

Share This

Italy is a fascinating country with historical cities, scenic countryside, mountains, beautiful coast and art treasures. There are countless museums and artifacts for the history enthusiast. It’s a modern country too and offers the best in designer clothes shopping and fine cuisine. Holidays in Italy can be very expensive but tourists on a budget can still have a great time if they look around for the cheaper accommodation and eating places. There are top class hotels, bread and breakfast accommodation and campsites. Many people stay on farms in rural areas, looked after by a family and eating delicious home cooked meals.

Food and wine is an enjoyable aspect of any stay in Italy. Italians love their food and are proud of their wine. In fact, menus do not usually include foreign wines. It’s worth noting that standing up at a bar is less expensive than sitting at a table. Breakfasts tend to be small affairs, perhaps coffee and pastry or bread and cheese or cold meats. Holidays in Italy involve so much more than pizza and pasta. The menus are extremely versatile and there are regional differences. Risotto, a creamy rice dish, is popular and gelato is the word for the many varieties of ice cream. Tiramisu, a coffee flavored cake, is another favorite dessert.

A trip to Rome is always memorable and there is so much to see. The highlights are the Vatican City with the great art works of Michelangelo and Bernini, the Coliseum where the ancient Games took place and numerous churches and museums. Florence is another city, steeped in history and the work of the great, Renaissance artists. The domed cathedral of Santa Maria del Fiore is most impressive, as is the Campanile Tower, the Medici Chapel and the Uffizi Art Gallery. For romantic holidays in Italy, the place to head for is Venice. Its canals, squares, bridges and narrow streets give the city a unique atmosphere.

Rural Italy is becoming more and more popular with tourists. Tuscany is particularly beautiful with hilly and mountainous terrain in much of the region. There are lovely valleys too and attractive Tuscan farm houses. The southern region of Campania includes the city of Naples and there are many tourist destinations, including the Greek Temples at Paestrum, Sibyl’s Cave at Cumae, the Roman ruins at Pompeii and the volcanoes at Vesuvius. Holidays in Italy, whether in town or country, offer variety, sunshine and a warm welcome from the friendly local population.

Technorati tags: italy there holidays with city country

Share This

If your experience with drinking this divine alcohol harvested from grapes is limited to ordering a glass now and again in a restaurant you may not realize that different wines taste best at different temperatures. It?s a very common and easily made mistake to put every bottle of wine purchased in the regular kitchen fridge. This can drastically alter the taste of the wine which may result in the loss of a great deal of its flavor. Using a wine refrigerator for selected wines can not only enhance their taste but it will improve it as well.

The deepest red varieties are best served at a moderately cool temperature. Because a standard fridge is designed to keep perishable items cold, its normal running temperature is much colder than the optimum needed to enhance the flavor of wine. A wine refrigerator can be set at a temperature that is ideal for this beverage. If you prefer the sparkling bubbles found in champagne you can adjust the temperature on the wine refrigerator to be warmer when you are storing it.

Most models are fairly compact and are designed to be put in a small space. Although many people store their wine refrigerator in a cellar, you can actually find some that are made for fitting within a kitchen. A popular design that is being built into many new homes is a small silver one that fits right under the kitchen cabinet. This allows for the convenience of easy storage and adds a nice designer touch to the look of the room.

Many people are concerned with adding an electrical appliance to their home that needs to be run at all times. Naturally a wine refrigerator does require energy but it?s not substantial enough to impact your energy costs by much. You can certainly purchase the smallest design which holds just six bottles of wine if that will meet your requirements. The larger twelve bottle wine refrigerator won?t use much more energy and it does allow for extra storage which is appealing.

Technorati tags: wine refrigerator people glass it?s small

Share This