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NEWS BITES
Toasting the holidays on a tighter budget
Source: seattletimes.nwsource.com
By: Paul Gregutt - Special to the Seattle Times
It's no secret that consumers are trimming their wine budgets. According to wine-industry analyst Jon Fredrikson (quoted in Los Angeles Times), sale of wine priced at $9 or less is now the fastest-growing segment for the wine market. Previously unobtainable Napa cult wines are suddenly available, while sales of all high-end wines (especially Champagne) are dropping fast.
That said, there is a lot of room between the under-$9 stuff and the cult wines priced in the hundreds of dollars. Even the simplest holiday celebration is elevated by a nice bottle or two. So if you are on the hunt for something a little special that won't break the bank, here are some suggestions.
• Buy Australian, Chilean or Argentine wine. These countries all make excellent varietal wines that are value-priced. Argentina is great for malbec, and Chile for carmenère or any of the Bordeaux reds. These are all hearty and tannic enough to work well with your holiday roast.
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Grapes of Wealth, Potentially
Source: washingtonpost.com
By: Jenna Johnson and Megan Greenwell - Washington Post Staff Writers
A region once known for its leafy tobacco fields is trying for a new image: a mini-Napa in the heart of Southern Maryland.
As vineyards sprout on erstwhile tobacco fields, farmers are finding that the soil, equipment and perseverance that served them well with one cash crop could work for a new one. And wineries attract highly sought-after tourists, who rarely turned out to watch tobacco drying.
With help from a regional cooperative and buy-in from county government, some growers envision creating a vintner's enclave near the District. Others would much rather crack open a cold beer and enjoy the extra income grapes could provide.
But they agree on this: Growing grapes for a fine wine, or even just a decent one, is a challenge.
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Classy canines: Vick dogs featured on wine labels
Source: msnbc.msn.com
Georgia, Handsome Dan, Curly and other pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick's dogfighting operation are getting a shot at fame as stars of a line of boutique red wines.
The Vicktory Dogs Wine Collection features colorful portraits of 22 dogs confiscated from Vick's Bad Newz Kennels that now live at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah.
"As a signature collection, it's through the roof," said Matt Hahn, co-owner of Carivintas Winery, a Southern California company that combines wine selling and philanthropy.
Each bottle includes a portrait of one of the dogs on the label. On the back, instead of a description of the wine, there's a brief story about each four-legged friend.
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Online Wine Retailers See Shift - Not Drop - in Wine Sales
Source: prweb.com
Despite the economic downturn, consumers are still buying wine for home consumption.
Napa, CA (PRWEB) November 11, 2008 -- Online wine marketer, My Wines Direct (www.mywinesdirect.com), reports a shift in consumers' buying behavior towards lower priced wines rather than less buying overall. Despite reports of lighter traffic in tasting rooms and higher dropout rates from wine clubs, My Wines Direct is recording double digit growth during the financial meltdown.
When comparing top selling wines From October 2008 to October 2007 My Wines Direct reports that total order volume shows a remarkable increase of 172%, even though the average price of its top selling wines has dropped just over $2 per bottle from $12.93 to $10.87 (16%).
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Experts: Wine consumers focus on price and palate
Source: mercurynews.com
By: MICHELLE LOCKE Associated Press Writer
SAN FRANCISCO—The helter-skelter economy is giving wine taster Wilfred Wong's tongue quite a workout.
Wong, cellar master for the Concord-based chain Beverages & more!, usually tastes 8,000 wines a year in search of products. But this year he's up to 10,000 because of the pressure to find good wines at lower prices.
"The consumer has definitely changed buying habits," says Wong. "They are buying wines, which is good for us, but they are being more careful. People don't need another $50 cabernet. What they need is a really good wine at $10."
So far, the effect of the economy on the wine industry is "a mixed picture right now," says Robert Smiley, a management professor and director of wine studies at the University of California, Davis.
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Does drinking alcohol shrink your brain?
Source: cnn.com
By: Theresa Tamkins
People who drink alcohol -- even the moderate amounts that help prevent heart disease -- have a smaller brain volume than those who do not, according to a study in the Archives of Neurology.
While a certain amount of brain shrinkage is normal with age, greater amounts in some parts of the brain have been linked to dementia.
"Decline in brain volume -- estimated at 2 percent per decade -- is a natural part of aging," says Carol Ann Paul, who conducted the study when she was at the Boston University School of Public Health. She had hoped to find that alcohol might protect against such brain shrinkage.
"However, we did not find the protective effect," says Paul, who is now an instructor in the neuroscience program at Wellesley College. "In fact, any level of alcohol consumption resulted in a decline in brain volume."
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Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science has grand opening
Source: californiaaggie.com
By: ANGELA RUGGIERO
Guests gathered at the brand new Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science on Friday morning to officially open the 130,000 square-foot center.
Located near the Robert and Margrit Modavi Center for Performing Arts, the $73 million facility is home to the viticulture and enology and food science and technology departments.
"What we are celebrating today is two great departments," said Chancellor Larry Vanderhoef. "The contribution that UC Davis has made to the industries has been tremendous."
Previously the ever-growing viticulture department and one of the largest food science programs in the nation were housed in far too small of quarters, Vanderhoef said.
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Study Suggests Red Wine May Protect Against Lung Cancer
Source: health.usnet.com
By: Steven Reinberg
Men who drink a moderate amount of red wine may lower their risk of lung cancer, even if they smoke, researchers report.
"An antioxidant component in red wine may help to prevent lung cancer," said lead researcher Chun Chao, a research scientist with the Kaiser Permanente Southern California Department of Research and Evaluation. "The findings provide an impetus for future research to find out if there is something in red wine that may help to either prevent or treat lung cancer."
But the researchers cautioned that the findings don't mean that it's OK to smoke.
For the study, Chao's group collected data on 84,170 men who participated in the California Men's Health Study. Among these men, the researchers identified 210 cases of lung cancer.
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Wine Spectator Announces New Mobile Platform
Source: cbsmarketwatch.com
By: Wine Specator
WineSpectator.com has announced the release of a new mobile platform, Wine Spectator Mobile, an optimized version of its Web site, tailored specifically for wine-buying information on the go.
With Wine Spectator Mobile, members of WineSpectator.com can:
-- Search for scores and tasting notes in Wine Spectator's database of more than 200,000 wine ratings
-- View vintage charts of all the major wine growing regions to determine the best years to buy
-- Reference their customized shopping lists and current cellar inventories via the Personal Wine List feature on WineSpectator.com
Wine Spectator Mobile has taken some of the most popular features from the Web site -- wine ratings, vintage charts and Personal Wine List -- and made those the centerpiece of its mobile site, in a streamlined interface that is easy to navigate.
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Truck loaded with nearly 2,000 cases of wine stolen from Fort Myers truck stop
Source: news-press.com
By: Rachel Myers
A tractor-trailer loaded with nearly 2,000 cases of wine was reported stolen Monday from a truck stop in Fort Myers. Lee County deputy Mark Bonora reported the driver, Luis Ramirez, was working for Arch Express trucking company in Miami Springs. He made a stop at the Pilot Truck Stop on Plaza Drive, and went inside for little more than three hours between 2 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. When he returned, his truck — containing more than $100,000 worth of wine — was gone.
Ramirez said the truck wasn't locked because the locks weren't operable, and was not equipped with a security system.
He said he was not sure of his exact destination, and it's not clear what type of wine was in the cargo hold.
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Palin Syrah: Wine Drinkers Balk at a Chilean Wine With Hints of Alaska
Source: Foxnews.com
By: Jennifer Lawinski
An organic wine from Chile has oenophiles in San Francisco turning up their noses. But there’s nothing wrong with the wine. It’s the name that bothers them: Palin Syrah.
The wine from a boutique vineyard in Chile was once a strong seller, but now it’s an outcast in the City by the Bay because its name comes way too close to a certain governor from the state of Alaska, says Celine Guillou, co-owner of the Yield Wine Bar.
Palin Syrah — pronounced Pay-LEEN — takes its name from a ball used in a Chilean-style hockey game, and it has been on the bar’s wine list for a while. But sales have plummeted ever since John McCain named Sarah Palin to be his running mate.
"Before McCain made his announcement it was selling very well, because it’s an affordable wine and it’s from South America,” Guillou said. “Then he made his announcement and we hear people making comments constantly about the wine."
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Award-Winning Filmmaker Creates Series of Wine Films
Source: Earthtimes.org
By: Wilson Daniels Ltd.
ST. HELENA, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- Bret Lyman, a Napa Valley-based filmmaker and proprietor of B.Napa Studio, has turned his camera on the vineyards, wineries and principals of Wilson Daniels Ltd.'s French and Hungarian properties to create a series of compelling, short films.
A trailer for the entire film series is available online now at www.wilsondanielsfilms.com. Individual films will premiere online over the next six weeks, beginning with the October 2, 2008, debut of "The Renaissance of Tokaji," showcasing Royal Tokaji. All films will be available for download to iPods, as well as web-based viewing at Wilson Daniels Films, YouTube (Wilson Daniels channel), Facebook (Wilson Daniels page) and Vimeo.
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Beer, coffee and red wine may lower sperm count
Originally From: telegraph.co.uk
By: Chris Irvine
The drinks, along with brazil nuts, peanuts, brown ale and red wine, contain phytoestrogens, naturally-occurring plants compounds scientists believe can lower sperm count.
The Medical Research Council in Cambridge found they all have particularly high levels of the chemicals.
Researcher Gunter Kuhnle said the study showed more food and drinks than previously thought to contain the compounds.
It is thought a particular type of phytoestrogen, called isoflavones, which mimic the female sex hormone oestrogen, are to blame.
The latest study measured levels of isoflavones and lignans, a second oestrogen-like chemical, but did not speculate on the effects on health or fertility.
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News Bites
Scientists use particle accelerator to date wine
Originally From: in.reuters.com
PARIS (Reuters) - French scientists have devised a way of using particle accelerators to authenticate vintage wines, one of France's top research bodies said this week.
The new method tests the age of the glass in wine bottles by analyzing X-rays emitted when the bottles are placed under ion beams produced by a particle accelerator, the National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) said in a statement.
"This enables the age of bottles and their origin to be verified and thus a vintage to be authenticated, a bit like the signature of a painter on a masterpiece, all without opening the bottle and without affecting in any way the content," it said.
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