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Over the last century, food production in industrialized nations has become highly efficient and mechanized. Industries have grown up around food production, preservation, and distribution. These industries have prospered while providing a stable food supply to nations around the globe at relatively affordable prices. Despite its undeniable benefits, mechanized food production has several distinct flaws.

Recent generations believe that the grocery store is a source of food. They have lost knowledge of how to produce food locally, and of the nurturing connection between the human race and the land that nurtures us.The broad food production and distribution networks that support us handle so much food that adequate testing and safeguards are not always possible. This is evidenced by recent bacteria contamination episodes in whole foods.Regional and local economies are often bypassed and diversity in our diets is lost because local food production is often not economically feasibleIt is time to get back to supporting locally grown and produced food resources. We can enrich our understanding of food production by calling local farmers and producers. We can return to gardening and seek out the knowledge of those in our communities with a green thumb to help us begin to produce our own high quality whole foods for our families.

It’s time to go local! Almost every community has farmer’s markets or a food co-op. Recently, some grocery stores have begun to add locally produced foods to a designated area of their stores. Though this does not remedy the problem of children perceiving a grocery store as a food source, it will help make a difference for local food producers. Let’s do what we can to return to locally thriving economies!

Marvin Widrick produces mapleshanty.com/ high quality New York Maple Syrup products for sale on his Web site and locally in Lowville, New York.

Ah, champagne. It’s a French discovery synonymous with romance, celebration, and, for those who don’t know how to properly open a bottle, safety goggles. Filled with flavor, essence, and history, champagne is a wine that people sometimes know little about. Often overlooked for a bottle of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild or a Grand Reserve Pinot Noir, champagne is frequently to the alcohol industry what the garter belt is to the fashion industry: it’s only given attention during wedding receptions.

It’s not the champagne’s fault; it didn‘t insult drinkers in a drunken, outspoken moment. Instead, it’s the fault of the wine drinking community. The blame lies on our perception – or more pointedly misconception – of champagne.

This misconception often happens because champagne has a reputation for being sweet, like a wine with a cheerful demeanor. This leads drinkers to limit its pairing, often pairing champagne only with foods that complement sweetness. Some common pairings include chocolate or cheese. And, of course, everyone knows few things beat getting under the covers and welcoming a romantic night cap of strawberries and champagne. Yes, we all know that champagne has a reputation for being good in bed.

However, champagne is so much more than chocolate, cheese and strawberries; champagne is a drink that can be paired with many different food items. Full of celebration, and a bubbly personality, it is quickly becoming a drink everyone wants to take to dinner.

The Categories

First and foremost, it’s important to understand the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine. They have a lot in common and people tend to use them interchangeably. However, they are not the same. Both sparking wine and champagne is made the same way – with a second fermentation that causes carbonation – but only wine made in the Champagne area of France is allowed to be called Champagne. Those made outside this region, are simply called sparkling wines (pardon our French, Prosecco, we didn’t make the rules).

Many types of wine can be categorized by flavor and champagne is no exception to this rule. Just like other wines, some champagne is sweeter and some is drier. Overall, the categories to keep in mind when pairing food are the following:

Doux

Demi-sec

Dry

Extra Dry

Brut

Extra Brut

On the spectrum of sweetness, Doux is the most sugary, while Extra Brut is the driest. Brut, teetering between dry and very dry, is the most popular; many champagne drinkers raise their glasses to it.

The Foods

Doux and Demi-Sec: If the French fries we dipped into our chocolate milkshakes as children taught us anything it was probably that saltiness goes well with things that are sweet. This rule is now carried over from childhood into adulthood: salty dishes complement the Doux and Demi-secs very well.

Asian dishes, rich with soy sauce, potato chips, Mexican dishes, and fish, when it has a salty tint to it, all go well with Doux and Demi-secs. And, of course, nothing beats a nice glass of sweet champagne and a brand new salt lick.

As for desserts, Doux and Demi-sec shouldn’t be paired with something more sugary than they are: that kind of sweetness may just too sappy. Instead, these champagnes are good with slightly sweet dishes, such as pound cake and angel food cake, and bittersweet chocolates. For desserts that are sweet, a Doux or Demi-Sec is the best chance for enhancement. However, the sweeter the dessert, the harder if may be to pair with champagne. Some desserts may be so sweet that no champagne will work.

Dry and Extra Dry: The word “dry” in a drink may sound contradictory. After all, a drink shouldn’t leave you parched. Dry and Extra-dry champagnes aren’t drinks built on aridness; instead, they are simply champagnes that aren’t as sweet as they could be: think of them like champagnes with a chip on their shoulder.

These types of champagne go well with fried food and sushi, particularly when the sushi is slightly on the salty side. They also go well with almonds, vegetables, Asian food, poultry, light and heavy cheeses, and, everyone’s favorite, liver.

As far as dessert is concerned, Dry and Extra Dry makes an ideal match for Flan, semi-sweet chocolates, and dishes that aren’t overly sugary, such as fruit tarts.

Brut and Extra Brut: Over achievers of the champagne world, Brut and Extra Brut go well with many, many dishes. The dryness of the champagne opens up a doorway allowing champagne to walk – scratch that – gallop, through. Among some of the dishes that go well with the driest champagnes include turkey, dishes made of eggs, pasta with cream or mushroom sauce, lobster, shrimp, poultry, nuts, and scallops.

This type of champagne, despite its reputation, does not go well with sweet desserts; the dryness makes an awkward combination, like a glass of champagne and a slice of frosted cake that don’t know what to say to each other.

Among some of the dishes that typically go well with any category of champagne are fish, oysters, and dishes with olive oil.. And, of course, many types of champagne go well with mushrooms, which is ideal both for people who love mushrooms and Alice in Wonderland.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at savoreachglass.com savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.

Wine bottles should be stored in specially designed wine racks so that they can be preserved properly without any damage to the quality of the wine. These wine racks are available in a variety of materials, shapes, and sizes such as different kinds of wood, iron, metal, wrought iron, and even in fibers in some cases such as thick and durable plastic.

Wine racks made from wood could be made of cedar, pine or fir. Cedar is the darkest of all the three woods. Some customers express their concern over the pungent smell of cedar but after processing the wood, the wine rack has almost no bad odor. Even though this wood is dark in color, it can be easily stained and painted for decorative purposes just like any other type of wood.

Cedar wine racks are also very durable and stable, which makes cedar racks ideal for wine storage. Wines are sometime stored for years. Hence, cedar wine racks that can stand the test of time should be purchased. They can also be easily modified to fit into any given space and area, as wood is more adaptable than metals. Cedar wine racks are also stainable, hence give a classic old-world feel to the buyer. No doubt, it is the preferred choice of many wine connoisseurs.

It is relatively inexpensive as compared to other kinds of wine racks and is extremely easy to assemble and install. Similarly, its maintenance is hassle free and virtually requires no upkeep. The shipping cost of cedar wine racks is also nominal compared to metal wine racks. Their replacement pieces are also easily available in local stores and showrooms.

The best quality cedar wine racks can be bought from online stores. Wine lovers can opt for the available designs and styles or get a custom made rack that suits their budget, storage requirements, and décor of the home.

e-wineracks.com Wine Racks provides detailed information on Wine Racks, Wine Storage Racks, Metal Wine Racks, Wood Wine Racks and more. Wine Racks is affiliated with Wine-ontheweb.com Food and Wine.

For years now, we’ve been praising the health benefits of red wine, raising our glasses and toasting Merlot as bottles of white wine sit in the corner, fermenting with jealously. Because red wine has been known to have a positive impact on the human body, with particular profits to the cardiovascular system, we drink it and we heart it.

Not to be outdone by its colorful adversary, studies have recently found white wine to be beneficial to health as well. While both red and white wine aid in lung function, white wine has a more positive impact on lung health.

According to a study by the American Thoracic Society, a positive link between white wine and lung health was found for people who drank between one and three glasses a day. These people possessed overall better lung function than those who drank red wine, or other alcoholic beverages. This study also took into account several other variables such as the wine drinker’s general health, age, and whether or not they were a smoker.

Because white wine contains higher levels of flavonoids, a group of plant substances known for their antioxidant activity, researchers believe that white wine soaks up the toxins in the blood, like a “mop and glo” for the thorax, reducing inflammation of the airwaves in the process. This helps protect the lungs.

Drinking white wine may also be beneficial because of the presence of free radicals lurking in the human body. If antioxidants are the “peacekeepers” of the chemical compound world, with their main goal being to keep the body void of disease and destruction, free radicals are the bad seeds, often caught red handed spraying graffiti of cancer and illness on internal organs. Consumption of white wine, however, possesses the ability to stop the creation of free radicals, taking away their can of spray paint and leaving them enervated.

All of these factors add up to better lung function, with each glass increasing respiratory performance. According to a study at the University of Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, one glass of white wine produced 1.5% higher lung function. Three glasses of white wine produced 3.0% higher lung function. This is not to say that people should be chugging gallons and gallons – huge amounts of white wine won’t give people the ability to breathe underwater – but drinking white wine in moderation may make a human’s lungs operate at a higher level of performance. This can, on average, add one to three more years to a person’s life span.

With red wine bragging about its ability to lower cholesterol and lower blood pressure, white wine has been left in the shadows, unable to boast about a benefit of its own. But, with new studies, people are learning that white wine may be as beneficial as red, its benefits just involve a different organ. If our hearts belong to red wine, our lungs belong to white, allowing both white wine drinkers and bottles of overzealous Pinot Gris to breathe a little easier.

Jennifer Jordan is the senior editor at savoreachglass.com savoreachglass.com. With a vast knowledge of wine etiquette, she writes articles on everything from how to hold a glass of wine to how to hold your hair back after too many glasses. Ultimately, she writes her articles with the intention that readers will remember wine is fun and each glass of anything fun should always be savored.