Goodbye wine stains .......and Hello Wine Spectator!

These are too good, not to pass on. Sorin, a wine loving young fellow from Edmonton, Alberta came up with this interesting little video. He obviously likes his red wines but does not like the stains they can leave on your shirt. You could bring a spare shirt or top to the party but have a look at this anyway.

How To Remove Red Wine Stains - The most amazing home videos are here

Oh and yes, Jathan MacKenzie over at Winexpression came up with this brilliant way of getting at Wine Spectator. Have a look at this entry on his site. Easy to follow instructions and below is what you should end up with when you have followed the directions and as Jathan directs be sure to switch back to default when you are finished visiting the Spectator.
Now pour yourself a glass or two of red wine,
mosey on over to the Wine Spectator and if in
all the excitement you should spill some of that
precious wine, you will know how to deal with it. Happy drinking everyone!

Wine is a food.....and its Good for you!

Lets begin with a definition of "food". According to regulation (EC) No 178/2002 of the European Parliament the definition of food includes drinks. So now that we have established that wine is a food, consideration should be given to the many health benefits it bestows on humankind and then reduce all taxes on wine. Imagine my dismay when I read about a proposal for a "carefully targeted fat tax" on food by a group of UK academics. Over 3000 deaths due to cardiac disease could be prevented if we could just stop people from consuming fat. You can accomplish the same of course by consuming a moderate amount of red wine.
But NO, add more taxes. and magically people will stop consuming all those fat inducing foods. Heard anything more ridiculous lately? I have quoted him before but it bears repeating. Thomas Jefferson had the right idea when he said " "I think it is a great error to consider a heavy tax on wines as a tax on luxury. On the contrary, it is a tax on the health of our citizens. " Today research is carried out in an institute bearing that wise man's name. The Jefferson study once again shows the benefit of red wine for cardio-vascular health.
It is obvious is it not? More wine, less tax and voila... better health.
I think the Irish have it right.
According to folklore from the Emarald Isle:"The Irish believe that fairies are extremely fond of good wine. The proof of the assertion is that in the olden days royalty would leave a keg of wine out for them at night. Sure enough, it was always gone in the morning."
I believe in fairy tales and have left a keg of wine outside my front door. Perhaps all the fuzzy thinking academics would do well to come and take it away, have a party and forget about dreaming up this nonsense. Cheers everyone!

No New Zealand Wines........!!

Food-Mile Researchers are on a roll.
Who would have thought a few short years ago that you could earn an income by becoming a "food-mile researcher". There is a whole new industry out there funded by your tax dollars. In a recent article by British journalist Anna Shepard she suggested to : "Buy a bottle of French wine instead of a New Zealand vintage" to reduce "food miles" This of course had New Zealanders up in arms.
According to professor Gareth Edward Jones, a
"leading" researcher on food miles the answer perhaps in saving the planet is "don't drink any wine". Not so fast says Dave Pearce, chief winemake of the New Zealand Wine Company.
"Don't be fooled by food miles".
Meanwhile according to a report published last year by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, the global livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transport. But if you are a potato farmer in the UK, things are looking up. According to Julie Sloan "With potatoes on our doorstep, there is little doubt that more modern carbohydrate alternatives, such as rice and pasta, cannot compete with the clear conscience
shopping of buying home grown potatoes"
So if you are a "meat and potato" kind of person, like myself, you will only get half the enjoyment. Lots of potatoes but no meat please! Now I am all for cleaning up the environment and not just for future generations. Lets start with fines for people who spit their gum on sidewalks and an equally repulsive habit by those who throw their cigarette buts there as well.
And all you food mile researchers, I am sure the bike pictured above is available in a beautiful environmental green. So get a group of you together and bike to work. And perhaps you can have your local wines delivered by this energy saving mode of transportation. Click on the picture to the right to get the idea. But PLEASE, lets not get carried away. I love my meat, I love my potatoes and above all, I love my wines. But an even more important issue is that people are going to suffer badly because of an over-enthused approach to this "food-mile" fad. Now that I have got that out of my system, I am going to enjoy a delicious glass of Spanish Tempranillo, all the way from Spain.

100 Point Wine = 100 % plus increase in price!

Two of the most distinguished "Grand Ladies of Wine" have spoken out on the future and pricing of Bordeaux wines. Baroness Philippine de Rothschild, at a lavish dinner at her Chateau Mouton Rothschild spoke of her concerns about the Bordeaux wine trade and suggesting wine was not for investing but rather for drinking.
Meanwhile Jancis Robinson in a podcast conversation with Berry Bros and Rudd's Bordeaux sales director Simon Staples, openly states "I hope 2006 will not be a success. I hope it will really show the Bordelais the shortcomings of the system" Listen to the podcast.
Could these excessive prices be blamed on the Emperor? You can find an interesting observation on pricing and who is to blame over on Slate . However the status seeking nouveaux riche in China, Russia and other Asian countries are driving prices into the stratosphere as well.
According to Timothy Tong ( that name has kind of got a ring to it, doesn't it? ) imports to Asian countries will increase dramatically. Imported wines make up only 5.6 % of Chinese wine consumption. Currently there are over 500 wineries in operation in China. The top 10 Chinese producers make around 10-12 million litres of wine annually. Expect plantings to increase as the Chinese become a wine consuming society. I recently had the opportunity to taste the the 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon from China's Great Wall vineyards. Certainly not great but quality will improve dramatically over the next decade. Then watch for a flood of their wines to hit the export market. A survey carried out for Vinexpo 2007 by the London-based International Wine and Spirit Record (IWSR) predicts global wine sales will increase 45 percent by 2010 and production by 41 percent with subsequent price increases. Europe's wine lake may be drained but is there a new one in the making behind the Great Wall of China?

Hurray for...Rosé!

Just a quick follow up on my previous post. It seems that Rosés
are getting more popular. According to the the Nielsen Company's annual state of the industry as reported in Wines&Vines, they are up 23.9%. And these are real
Rosés, not your blush kind of pink drink.
Also they are coming from all over the map, not just home grown varieties. Happy summer time sipping everyone!

Rosé wine by any other name.... just not the same.

You might say I have come full circle. In college the "in" wine to drink was pink and was none other than Mateus. A light and sweet Portuguese rosé in that cute little dark green bocksbeutel.
From the archives of Wines&Vines comes this interesting article on rosés. Then 1973 saw the "invention" of White Zinfandel at Sutter Home.Today they sell more than 4 million bottles annually. Beringer Vineyards produces one of the most popular white Zinfandels on the market and today White Zinfandel accounts for 10% of all wine sold by volume, making it the third most popular varietal in the US. Had not touched much of anything pink or blush for years till visiting France during the 2005 vintage. Even ordinary "house rosés" are very quaffable and very enjoyable, especially on a hot day.
Couldn't resist going to The Great Canadian Pub on the left bank in Paris though, for a quick Canadian brewsky.
More than half of the wines produced in Provence are rosés. Some of the very best rosés in the world come from the Southern Rhône Valley. The appellation of Tavel produces rosés only.
Rosés are becoming more popular with North American wine drinkers and there is a trend to produce a drier style of rosé. British Columbia produces some outstanding rosés and now that
they are done in a drier style I am beginning to quite enjoy them. The two bottles on the left in the picture are a couple of the best examples.
St.Hubertus and Quails'Gate. ( click to enlarge )
So a Rosé by another name may not be the same but a Riedel glass by another name is the same. Riedel has just released a Vinum Rosé glass. They claim of course that a lot of tasting and testing went into the production of this glass. But other than a "pink" stem it is the same glass as the one that used to be called their Chianti glass. This then, again after much tasting and testing became the Zinfandel glass and then the Riesling Grand Cru. Talk about a misnomer. Grand Cru Riesling? And now its also the Rosé glass. Look at the pretty box with the pink ribbon. That's the Rosé glass. Look at the glass on the right. That is the Zinfandel glass. Some smart marketing going on? White Zinfandel popular, rosés more popular. Hmmm! Give Riedel credit though. Riedel will donate 15% of the proceeds from the sale of this glass to support "Living Beyond Breast Cancer". Living Beyond Breast Cancer, founded in 1991, is a national nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering all women affected by breast cancer to live as long as possible with the best quality of life. A very worthy cause indeed. I have my order in for a few sets of these. Besides liking the funky pink stem, this glass (Zinfandel, Chianti, Riesling) is one of my favorite all around good wine glasses. I often take one to various wine tastings around town.

A New Wine Star ......on the Yellow Brick Road!

"Il est arrivé" Another first for Boisset, La Famille des Grands Vins. Two years ago Boisset teamed up with the Liquor Control Board of Ontario and became the first French winery to launch a vintage-dated wine in a cardboard Tetra Pak called the French Rabbit. It has since expanded to other provinces and countries, including the United States, Ireland and recently in France, where it goes by the English name. According to Mr. Boisset "The French love it" Now Ontario has again been chosen to launch what is sure to become another winner, the Yellow Jersey. David Bantey of Boisset Canada confirms that plans are well in hand to launch the product in British Columbia and then into the US and other markets. Boisset, known for quality wines and with this unique packaging is sure to have another successful product in their line-up. Alder, over at Vinography, with a recent post on another yellow product, should be happy with this one. My bike is ready and waiting to travel down the yellow brick road.

Terroir in a Tank!

A lot of research went into this project and the results are in. Shipping wine in bulk is the answer! According to this report "Results of a Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) report revealed bulk wine imports to the UK offer the greatest potential reduction of CO2 emissions." Imagine that!! Who would have thought. Bring a bunch of think tankers (WRAP) together and come up with this brilliant idea.
I am all for energy conservation but it appears to be creating a whole new industry. You have to wonder whether a "profit" motive is not involved. Shipping wine in bulk will lead to significant cost reductions . Will those savings be passed on to the consumer? I think not!
And how about those new "voluntary" labeling proposals? Voluntary is the key word here. It won't be long before some British parliamentarian will introduce legislation to make it mandatory. Another nightmare and great cost for vintners and in the end for consumers. Think and drink locally while the drinking is good. As Roger Dial proclaims "somewhereness" is good.
Bulk tanker wines with "anywhereness" wines not good.

Its the water... or rather its in the water!

A short 5 minute drive from my home gets you to Gold Stream Park and then another short 5 minute hike along a rocky trail gets you to this beautiful scenic waterfall. (Click on the pic.)Pure, fresh, clean water.
The Olympia Brewing Company with their well-known slogan "Its the Water" has attributed the excellence of their beer to the high quality of water used to make their beer.
The most famous beers in the world have always depended on a special source of water to create their version of the highest quality beer. Its not just the water, its what's in the water that counts. Switching thoughts slightly, its what is in the irrigation water derived from the Murray-Darling river system in Australia and subsequently returned to the river, that is a cause for great concern. An increase in salinity in vineyard soils is becoming a significant problem. With the severe drought that Australia has suffered, an increased dependency on irrigation is inevitable. But not so fast says John Howard, the Australian prime minister, who in April announced that irrigation will not be allowed next year without significant rainfall in the next few months.
European vineyards are now starting to use irrigation on a larger scale. Global warming is one of the triggering factors here. France has just recently allowed the use of irrigation but on a restricted basis.Organic and bio-dynamic vineyards with their reduced dependence on irrigation will become more prominent.
It will be interesting to see how the new rules will play out in tradition bound Burgundy. I am betting the dynamic trend setter, the Boisset Family with their corporate family of wineries called La Famille des Grands Vins, will lead the way. (See my March 18 entry "Snap a Cap.." on a bold move by this Burgundian firm.)

A Pressing Problem.....!

An excellent review of wine press terminology and types of presses available today, may be found in the reference library at WINE BUSINESS.com
As well an interesting article in the January issue of Wines&Vines discusses the re-appearance of basket presses on winery cellar floors. Basket presses use the force of grape against grape as opposed to grapes being pressed against a screen. This less grinding action
results in less extraction of harsh components from grape skins and seeds. According to some winemakers this results in higher quality wines.
While basket presses are still used in the making of Icewines,(scroll down to my Dec. 3 Entry) bladder presses are faster and more efficient. The first Willmes bladder presses appeared in the 1960s and resulted in a significant increase in German Eiswein production. Icewine grapes in their frozen state are as hard as marbles and require considerable pressure to extract their golden nectar. The bladder can be inflated rapidly and result in a fast extraction of the juice. By Icewine law grapes must remain in their frozen state while being pressed. So time is of the essence. The newer versions of bladder presses are gentler and operate at lower pressures so as not to impart harshness to the must but are also slower. If temperatures rise before the extraction is complete, the grapes will thaw and cannot be used for Icewine. One of British Columbia's best Icewine producers, the Gehringer Brothers Estate Winery in the Okanagan Valley, snapped up the old Willmes presses when the German Eiswein producer Schloss Schonborn, replaced their presses in the mid-1990s. So there you have it. Basket presses may be making a comeback but not in the Icewine sector.
As always my thanks to the world renowned Icewine expert, John Schreiner for his invaluable information on Icewines.