What Wine Will You Have With Chicken?

If you said "A white wine" you are partially correct. But here is a more complete answer.

The basic rule for food pairing is "white wine for white meats and red wines for red meats."

This rule is fine as far as it goes, but there are many different styles of white wine as well as many different ways to cook chicken. So the simple answer is not always the most informative.

It isn't always even correct. The classic French dish of Coq au Vin uses red wine as a key ingredient and in fact is best accompanied by red wine. You can of course make Coq au Vin Blanc, in which case you would use a full bodied white wine.

Another classic French dish is Poulle a Bonne Femme. Here the chicken is poached in a broth made with herbs, vegetables and white wine. A dry Chenin blanc or a Viognier might be called for.

To get the most out of food pairing you need to match your wine selection with the whole dish, not just the main ingredient. For example Thai Chicken in Green Curry could be paired with a crisp Gewurztraminer which would complement the spiciness.

Other Asian chicken dishes might be best with crisp dry whites, but you need to consider the dominant flavour of the dish; it is often not chicken.

Some dishes with heavy sauces require full bodied wines. You might try an oaked Chardonnay or a Viognier with Roast Stuffed Chicken.

Deep Fried Chicken is an occasion for a young crisp wine such as an Australian Verdelho or perhaps a Semillon Sauvignon Blanc blend.

If you are serving Barbecued or Grilled Chicken it might be an occasion to use red wine, especially if you are using a spicy BBQ sauce.

Italian or Provencal Chicken dishes with tomato and garlic sauces call for a rose or light Italian red wine, say a Sangiovese or an Barbera.

In summary you need to consider the total dish are there any dominant flavours? Then choose your wine, or perhaps you like to choose your wine first then start browsing for recipes.

Darby Higgs is the compiler of the Albarino to Zinfandel guide at http://www.albzin.com where you will find many food pairing ideas and recipes for varietal wines. Iphone Firmware 2 0 Hands On

Fixing A Chip In Your Gemstone

When people tell me that they have a nice four ct. aquamarine stone ring, they tell me that they just noticed that the stone was chipped and do jewelry shops actually repair stones? This is a good question and one that lots of people have to deal with. I want to say first that I am glad you have an aquamarine! This makes me smile in a sentimental and special way. Why? Well, with so much blue topaz on the market today, the wonderful aquamarine has almost faded in the public eyes.

Unfortunately, many do not even know about this much more valuable and beautiful gemstone. In years past, the aquamarine "was" the stone of choice for those special shades of blue nature makes. Aquamarine is a superior stone in all aspects to the irradiated blue topaz, a stone not naturally the rich blues in nature.

First of all, most jewelry shops do not have the capability to recut chipped gemstones. Some of this depends on the cut of the stone to start with, whether a cabochon, round top, like an opal or onyx might be cut, or faceted as with diamonds, rubies and other stones with little faces, the facets, on the surface. The person who cuts gemstones does the work called "lapidary" or stone cutting. This work requires the cutting and polishing equipment needed for gemstones. Almost all stones must be worked with tools the jeweler simply does not use for working metals.

Stones are much harder than metals and require special and sometimes very specialized machines to work the gem, whether in cutting a gem from a piece of rough material from the earth or in repairing a chip in a stone already cut. While many folks do cut and polish cabochons, rounded tops without facets, the number greatly lessens when looking for those who do facet cutting. The equipment is very different since each individual facet is cut one at a time, through different grades of cutting from rough abrasives to the final polish.

What Do Most Jewelers Do? When a chipped stone needs repair, the jeweler generally sends the stone to a lapidary craftsperson. This usually means sending the stone to a company where the work may be done. Sometimes, the jeweler might have a local connection to either a professional or amateur, some are the best going, for the repair work. The cabochon work is easy and more locals can do this work. For faceted gems, having a local cutter is not common and most stones are shipped to a factory offering the service.

The middle of the stone, between the top, crown, and the bottom, pavilion, is called the girdle of the gem. If the chip is here, repair is relatively simple for a small chip and will not affect the rest of the stone in a noticeable way. If the chip is higher on the stone, say on or between a couple of the facets on the crown, the repair is more difficult. Why? Look at the at your aquamarine, and you will see the faces line up and meet each other. To repair a chip on one of the higher facets will mean cutting and polishing the stone down deep enough to remove the chip.

This will change the face where the cutting is done and the facets will not line up as before. To do the job properly, often the entire top, crown, of the stone will need to be re-cut. This means all facets are re-cut and polished so all line up as before. This is done to prevent one large repaired face from messing up the arrangement and standing out easily to the eye.

How the repair is done depends on the location of the chip and whether the stone is faceted or a cabochon cut. Then, where and how well the work is done depends on the contacts the jeweler has. To find a jeweler with in-house lapidary service is a rare find, indeed.

Be sure to ask if the work is done in-house or sent to a cutter. Ask for an estimate before having the work done. Ask if the repair will change the over dimensions, width and length, of the stone since that will affect how it fits back into your jewelry mounting. Ask if the cutter can give you at least an idea of how much stone must be cut away to do the repair. I do know how it is done and what is needed to make a stone look right when repairing a chip. This is not easy work to do.

Victor Epand is an expert consultant for http://www.FashionJewelryStore.info/. FashionJewelryStore.info carries the best selection of fashion jewelry, watches and fragrances on the market. Start looking for diamond jewelry here: http://www.FashionJewelryStore.info/stone/diamond.html.270369417