| Spirited Glass: Global warming affects vineyards | | Posted Tuesday, February 06, 2007 1:15:40 PM by Blog57 Team | | Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth" is having an impact on the world's wine growing regions, and the threat of global warming has Oregon winemaker Tony Rynders concerned. "The climate is becoming tumultuous, but we don't yet know enough to take definitive steps," said Rynders, a Milwaukee-area native who attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison before entering the wine business. "Temperature changes will affect our growing regimen and could change the nature of our wines." Rynders has been making wine for Domaine Serene, a leading Oregon pinot noir producer, since 1998. His wines have earned accolades and 90-plus scores from Robert Parker, Anthony Dias Blue and other wine critics on a regular basis. Unfortunately, that exalted status could be compromised by continued global warming.... | |
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| | | Foie gras, truffles, wine all in a day's training | | Posted Thursday, February 01, 2007 3:12:51 PM by Blog57 Team | | For a week in France, they sampled foie gras and black truffles, sipped wine from barrels and analyzed menus and the composition of countless dishes. This was no vacation for seven management staff and chefs at Baltimore's French-inspired Petit Louis Bistro and Charleston restaurants. Instead, it was hands-on education paid for by Tony Foreman and Cindy Wolf, husband-and-wife restaurateurs, who took their staff on the trip to two French wine regions this month. .... | |
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| | | WINEMAKERS TO WATCH ADAM AND DIANNA LEE: Siduri Wines and Novy ... | | Posted Saturday, December 09, 2006 1:19:39 PM by Blog57 Team | | Adam and Dianna Lee have come a long way since their college drinking days -- Adam recalls drinking bottles of Ernest & Julio Gallo, while his wife, Dianna, says she was "drinking wine out of the box." Since they released their first Pinot Noir in 1994, the Texas natives have become known for turning out some of the most coveted single-vineyard wines in California under the labels Siduri Wines and Novy Family Wines from a Santa Rosa industrial park. Though the Lees weren't the first winemakers to make great wines without their own vineyards -- they were inspired by Williams Selyem, for instance -- they have set an example for other up-and-coming winemakers that you don't need an estate to make great wine. It is a template likely to become more common in coming years. Because they don't own any land, the winemakers source their fruit from all over the West Coast, from the Santa Rita Hills to the Willamette Valley.... | |
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| | | Steam-powered cider mill offers a feast for the senses | | Posted Wednesday, November 15, 2006 7:15:20 AM by Blog57 Team | | STONINGTON, Connecticut (AP) -- A cider mill that hasn't changed in more than a century has become a seasonal tradition for weekend visitors to southeastern Connecticut. From September through December 31 each year, B.F. Clyde's Cider Mill turns on its steam engine and goes into full swing, infusing the crisp autumn air with the potently sweet aroma of newly crushed apples. The mill, built in 1898, is the last steam-powered cider mill in New England and the oldest continuous producer of hard cider. On weekends, the cozy, two-acre property on tree-lined Route 27 is usually clogged with visitors who come to watch an engineering relic at work while sipping some of the freshest apple cider around. The processing of apple cider in the United States dates back centuries, to the first English settlers.... | |
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| | | Sour grapes and mud in Napa Valley | | Posted Sunday, November 12, 2006 11:22:17 PM by Blog57 Team | | Recently, I spent several days touring the California wine country, and I must say that it was a wonderful experience that I will remember until long after I get this mud out of my ears. I'll explain the mud in a moment, but first I should explain that the wine country is an area near San Francisco that is abundantly blessed with the crucial natural ingredient that you need to have a successful wine country: tourists. There are thousands and thousands of them, forming a dense continuous stream of rental cars creeping up and down the Napa Valley, where you apparently cannot be a legal resident unless you own a winery named after yourself. Roughly every 45 feet, you pass a sign that says something like, "The Earl A. Frebblemunster And His Sons Earl Jr.... | |
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| | | Know what it is you re toasting | | Posted Friday, November 10, 2006 11:39:19 AM by Blog57 Team | | Wine is symbolic for friendship and impeccable taste. It never fails to bring an atmosphere of success to any occasion. It should always be had when celebrating milestones, for when wine is good, everything about it—from its color, aroma, texture and taste—is simply pleasurable. The same is true in many other countries around the world, as the Filipino wine lover will discover at the 6th Grand Wine Experience, November 17 at the ballroom of The Renaissance Makati Hotel. An amazing collection of wines, totaling 500 varieties from the vineyards and wineries of Argentina, Australia, Austria, Chile, France, Italy, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Romania, South Africa, Spain, Portugal and the United States will be ready for the sipping. A cheese station, bread station, meat station with lamb, salmon and Angus beef will be ready for the pairing with such luscious liquids as Michel Lynch Reserve Graves White '04, Wenta Riva Ranch Reserve Chardonnay, Cathedral Cellar Sauvignon Blanc, Bolla Valpolicella and Fond de Cave Cabernet Sauvignon, from among the 500 varieties.... | |
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| | | Harvest meals in wine country | | Posted Tuesday, November 07, 2006 11:15:12 PM by Blog57 Team | | The grapes are picked, their sweet, plump fruit safely out of crow's reach. Some are bubbling in fermenters, others already pressed into liquid and resting in barrels. Wineries are no long buzzing with fruit flies and the pickers have retreated from the vineyards, giving their backs a rest. Cellar rats still log long days, but as winemaker Eric Hamacher says, "Most of the crew is going out for beers after work -- a sure sign they're getting some sleep again." Six weeks into a fevered harvest, winemakers and their assistants have plenty of work remaining, but on this late October evening, the autumn air holds the last hint of balminess, dozens of wines are uncorked and a feast is laid before a group of 40. It's the perfect night for a party. This year marks the fourth annual harvest party for the Carlton Winemakers Studio.... | |
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| | | Crush time in the Valley | | Posted Monday, November 06, 2006 1:57:50 PM by Blog57 Team | | Crush in the Napa Valley signals the end of the annual grapegrowing season. When the grapes are harvested from the vines, the cellar crew takes over.At Trefethen Winery, north of Napa on Oak Knoll Avenue, crush started on Sept. 14."We have a permanent crew of six people," said winemaker Peter Luthi. "At crush we hire about eight more cellar workers to pair up with our permanent people. There are two operations going on at once. There is the crushing and pressing as well as fermentation taking place in the cellar."White and red grapes are treated differently in the cellar. .... | |
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| | | Big doses of wine extract help mice live longer | | Posted Sunday, November 05, 2006 11:20:14 AM by Blog57 Team | | A new study says fat mice can thank huge amounts of a red wine extract for living longer while still eating a high-fat diet. The study by the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Aging reports that heavy doses of red wine extract lower the rates of diabetes, liver problems and other fat-related ill effects in obese mice. Fat-related deaths dropped 31 percent for obese mice compared to untreated obese mice. While all of this is fine for mice, the big question is, can it work the in humans? Scientists say it's far too early to start swilling barrels of red wine, but some are calling the latest research promising and even "spectacular." For years, red wine has been linked to numerous health benefits. But the new study shows that mammals given very high doses of a red wine extract can get the good effects of cutting calories without having to actually do it.... | |
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| | | Red wine extract helps obese mice live long and healthy lives, study says | | Posted Friday, November 03, 2006 7:52:44 AM by Blog57 Team | | WASHINGTON -- Huge amounts of a red wine extract seemed to help obese mice eat a high-fat diet and still live a long and healthy life, suggests a new study that some experts are calling "landmark" research. The big question is, can it work the same magic in humans? Scientists say it's far too early to start swilling barrels of red wine. But some are calling the latest research promising and even "spectacular." The study by the Harvard Medical School and the National Institute of Aging shows that heavy doses of red wine extract lowers the rate of diabetes, liver problems and other fat-related ill effects in obese mice. Fat-related deaths dropped 31 percent for obese mice on the supplement, compared to untreated obese mice, and the treated mice also lived long after they should have, the study said.... | |
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