Wine News

36° 10' N

THE BORDEAUX THAT COULD 

A tasting in Nashville on March 11 will recreate a historic blind tasting of the Château de Reignac Bordeaux that occured on June 29, 2009. The original tasting took place in Paris, France, with some of the top tasters of Europe. The Château de Reignac, which retails for $35 US, took second place behind Château Angelus, and ahead of top houses Petrus and Lafite Rothschild. The sold-out tasting in Nashville will recreate the experience for 60 guests. Château de Reignac was purchased by Yves and Stephanie Vatelot in 1990 and completely renovated before producing its first vintage in 1996, which was voted as one of the top 50 Bordeaux wines by the European Grand Jury. (Karin Nybo)  

48° 25' N

A SILVER OPPORTUNITY

A Canadian antiques dealer recently beat out bidders from across North America and the U.K. for a piece of oenophile history. Kilshaw's Auctioneers in Victoria, B.C., auctioned off a set of four matching sterling silver wine coolers for a record price of $65,000 on February 18, 2010. A local antiques dealer bought the set, which is extremely rare because it is a matched set. The coolers were made in England in 1815, during a period that saw the upper classes compete for social status through lavish entertaining. The wine coolers are urn-shaped and are fitted with a liner to keep a bottle separate from the crushed ice used to cool it. The winning bid was a new record for an antique objet d'art at the auction house. (KN) 

36° N

LOSING THE GOLD

The Italian wine that sets the golden standard for dessert wine is facing extinction. Passito di Pantelleria is a dessert wine golden in colour that is produced from the moscato grape. The wine is only produced on the island of Pantelleria, located between Sicily and Tunisia. The grapes grow on steep slopes and must be harvested on hands and knees, as the island is very windy. New winemakers have been scared away by the harvest conditions, and the wine is in danger of disappearing completely within the next ten years. It is believed that the wine was first produced by the Carthaginians in the third century BCE, and was enjoyed by the Greeks as well. Passito di Pantelleria was believed by the Greeks to have helped the goddess Tanit capture the heart of the sun god Apollo. (KN)

31° 45' N

A PRESSING DISCOVERY

A remarkable, 1400-year-old wine press was recently uncovered in Israel, revealed archaeologists on February 15. The press was found near the kibbutz of Hafetz Haim, 40 km south of Tel Aviv. The wine press dates from the Byzantine era and is considered to be highly advanced technology for the sixth and seventh centuries. The octagonal press originally measured 49 feet by 54 feet, and the large amount of wine produced in the press was likely used for export to markets such as Egypt and Europe. Grapes would be pressed on the treading floor, which was paved with mosaic tiles, and the resulting juice would be distributed to large vats on either side of the press. The site will be conserved and open to the public, said local officials. (KN) 

49° 16' N

FROM THE EAST COAST TO THE WEST COAST 

It isn't just gold medals shining during the 2010 Olympics as Nova Scotia wines will get a chance to dazzle the international guests in Vancouver. The Winery Association of Nova Scotia (WANS) is presenting Nova Scotia wines at the Atlantic Canada House in Vancouver from February 13 to 28. Bruce Ewert, owner and winemaker of L'Acadie Vineyards, will be on hand to represent his label, and other wineries on the wine list include Sainte-Famille Wines, Benjamin Bridge, Domaine de Grand Pré, Jost Vineyards, Gaspereau Vineyards and Lunenburg County Winery. (KN) 

51° 32' N

A MILLION LITTLE HELPERS

A contest held by Encyclopaedia Britannica to find the oldest edition of the venerated publication remaining in England revealed an interesting 18th century remedy for indigestion. The recipe advises the reader to infuse one ounce of crushed millipedes with eight ounces of Rhenish wine to aid with natural detoxification. The entry touted the wine as having been "commended as an admirable cleanser of all the viscera, yielding to nothing in the jaundice and obstructions of the kidneys or urinary passages". The unusual concoction was published in 1797 in the third edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica, fifteen editions of the encyclopaedia have been published since 1771. (KN)

 38° 53' N

 BORN SOBER

Imagine having an amazing bottle of wine open in front of you and not being able to partake. It is estimated that 1 billion people worldwide suffer from a form of alcohol intolerance that is caused by a genetic mutation that results in a defective alcohol metabolism enzyme. Alcohol molecules are usually broken down by the enzyme aldehyde dehydrogenase 2 (ALDH2), but the genetic mutation causes the body to produce an inactive form of ALDH2. Recently, research was published in the online edition of Nature Structural and Molecular Biology by researchers working with the American National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The research identified a molecule called Alda-1 that activates the defective enzyme and breaks down toxic compounds in alcohol. Alda-1 may also be effective in treating heart disease and fighting hangovers. (KN)

 40° 19' N

PUT A CORK IN IT

Decreasing demand for cork wine bottle closures, combined with the recession, is a source of concern for Portugal's cork industry and threatens 12,000 jobs in the Alentejo region. Looking for alternatives, local firms partnered with DynAero, a French-owned aviation company, to launch the Aerocork project. DynAero is currently working on a cork prototype plane at its plant in Alentejo. Cork is a natural fire retardant and would be combined with carbon fibre to make parts for two- and four-seater ultralight planes. Ultralight planes are typically produced with oil-based PVC, but with the rising costs of oil and environmental concern some in the industry have started looking for alternatives. Portugal produces 157,000 tonnes of cork annually, just over 50 percent of the world's cork market. (KN) 

 41° 47' N

 BIG FREEZE IN CHINA

Chinese beverage company Wang Cheng has broken a world record with their latest bottle of ice wine, revealed at a food festival in Shenyang, China. The 15-foot-high bottle holds 1,850 litres of wine, a massive amount compared to the previous record-holder, a 490-litre bottle of Grand Cuvée by Austrian winery Kracher. The wine, known as Ice Wine 41, is produced in the Liaoning region of China, which is considered a primo location for the production of ice wine as it sits at 41° N. Ice wine is still a relatively new industry to China, but has been gaining popularity as a top-notch wine with a high nutritional value, and supermarket chain Great Eastern Food Stores has started stocking the chelves with regional ice wine. (KN)

33° 56' S

THE LIGHTER SIDE OF SOUTH AFRICAN WINE

South African wineries will soon have the option to use bottles that save both the earth and jobs. Wines of South Africa announced that starting in April 2010, wineries will have access to lighter bottles for export. A 750ml wine bottle with a screwcap will weigh 350 grams, compared to the previous weight of more than 500 grams in 2006. The average weight of bottles sealed with corks decreased as well, from 570 grams to 460 grams. The local wine industry considered shipping wine in bulk but determined that 107 jobs would be lost for every 10 million litres of wine shipped. Because sustainability in the wine world usually includes social and economic responsibility, the industry decided to keep looking for an alternative until they found one that would cut down on shipping and would save jobs. (KN)

50° 01' N

TOOTHPASTE, FLOSS AND CHEESE

Pairing wine with cheese doesn't just please your palate; it also preserves your teeth. Researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University, located in Mainz, Germany (50° 01' N), have completed a study that shows white wine, especially riesling, wears away tooth enamel. Human teeth were soaked in white wine for a day, and lost a significant amount of calcium and phosphorous in the tooth enamel, while teeth soaked in red wine did not show as much damage. Cheese is thought to neutralize the effects of the acids in white wines on teeth and prevent damage. (KN) 

38° 17' N

DON'T RECYCLE, REUSE

People put their wine bottles in the recycling bin because they want to reduce their impact on the earth, but, even if the glass is recycled, it is the creation of a wine bottle that makes up 60 percent of the bottle's carbon footprint. A Sonoma-based company, Wine Bottle Recycling, will be one of the first businesses in the United States to sterilize used bottles instead of melting them down. Right now 70 percent of wine bottles in the United States end up in the landfill, while in Europe, a wine bottle is re-used an average of eight times before it is retired to the garbage bin. Melting down a recycled bottle is a process that isn't that environmentally friendly once you consider the energy it takes to melt the glass. Other companies have tried their hand at this venture unsuccessfully, but Wine Bottle Recycling now has the advantage of the popularity of the green movement to boost business. Several Sonoma wineries have already shown interest in the process, even though the company hasn't officially launched yet. (KN) 

47° 49' N

WINING, DINING AND CHOCOLATE

Valentine's Day and wine go together like a good Chablis and oysters. Combining wine with another Valentine's staple, chocolate, is a delicious way to finish off a romantic dinner. There are several varieties readily available that make for a great dessert wine or a delicious dessert topping. Chocolate is commonly combined with port and ice wine, or occasionally with a zinfandel. Another twist is orange chocolate wine or a berry chocolate wine. You can easily create your own custom chocolate and wine combinations at home, which allows for some very fun experimentation. And if you were thinking of pampering a loved one with a spa day, look for red wine treatments. Red wine is believed to have anti-clotting, antioxidant and relaxation benefits for skin; body scrubs, pedicures, and facial peels featuring vino are becoming popular worldwide. (KN)

38° 26' N

WATER INTO WINE 

A winery has to use massive amounts of water to produce the perfect wine, but that may change thanks to one wine company in California. Jackson Family Wines has finished a year-long pilot project of a new winery water system that will cut water consumption by 70 percent per year. The system recycles and filters the hot water used for rinsing grapes while retaining 75 percent of the water's heat, which will save money and energy. Jackson Family Wines is employing the water system at their Kendall-Jackson winery in Sonoma, and expects to save six million gallons of water, 133,000 kWh of electricity and 73,000 therms of natural gas yearly. The company developed the system with the University of California at Davis, civil engineering firm Riehers Spence and winery waste-water specialist Heritage Systems, and is looking forward to assisting other California wineries implement the process. Water-strapped California will save one billion gallons of water a year if 35 percent of the state's wineries switch to this new water system. (KN)