A friend of mine showed this to me the other day and I wanted to share it with you. I’m not a big fan of GM foods, I think there is still a lot that we don’t know about the effects on our own bodies, but its interesting to see that at least some GM products might have positive effects on us!

Super-wine might boost lifespan
07 January 2008
From New Scientist Print Edition.

From issue 2637 of New Scientist magazine, 07 January 2008, page 12

On October 1st tickets for the largest wine expo in America go on sale. The wine expo, held every year in Boston Massachusetts, is the largest trade and consumer wine show in the country. Celebrating it’s 16th year, the show at the World Trade Center is going to house over 440 domestic and international wineries from 13 countries across the globe, equalling over 1800 different wines!

Over the two day event you can wander around sampling world class wines, or watch one of the 15 celebrity chefs on 2 large stages creating delicious meals, or perhaps you would rather sit in on one of the 25 continuous tasting seminars with topics for both the novice and the connoisseur.

The Seaport World Trade Center is huge, with a 118,000-square-foot exhibition hall, a 400-seat, state-of-the-art amphitheater, 35,000 square feet of conference and meeting space it is no wonder that the Wine Expo has chosen to call it home.  And what better way to spend a cold February weekend than surrounded by thousands of your best friends enjoying some good wine?

In the news today I caught glimpse of an interesting article. Australian scientists have been able to identify the compound in red wine that gives it the peppery aroma.  For the last 5 years they have been working on figuring out what gave Shiraz the distinctive black pepper fragrance.  A compound called alpha-ylangene has been discovered to be the culprit; this compound is so strong that, according to the article on TheStar.com, a single drop can turn make an Olympic size pool smell of pepper.

This development means that some day in the future winemakers could alter the pepper aroma in red wine in the same way they now are able to alter it characteristics with different yeast varieties or oak barrel fermentation.

If you are looking for a bargain wine that won’t leave you disappointed pick up a bottle of Tedeschi, Capitel dei Nicalo Valpolicella 2004.  This wine is a blend from various vineyards but still fantastic, even though it has become a bit softened over time.  In spite of this there is still a lively fresh flavour and tart aftertaste, spicy and fantastic aromas.  Try it with grilled chicken, lasagne, or even pizza, it’s one of those wines that is suitable for light or rich food.

Everyone knows that Italians love their wines, Prosecco being a favourite, but did you know that more and more they are acquiring a rather expensive taste for the Italian bubbly’s Franco equivalent?  Italy is now the 5^th largest importer in the world of Champagne.  Despite this, red wine is still favoured roughly 60% over other alcoholic drinks and white wine and sparkling are on par with each other.

For those looking to make wine from the comfort of their home with no fuss and mess, have no fear, the WinePod is here!

Standing at around 4 feet tall, this digitally networked machine does it all. It ferments, presses, and ages wine in one self-contained stylish looking device. The heat and fermentation are controlled and maintained using thermoelectric heating and cooling and all the data that you need to know while fermenting your wine are sent wirelessly to your PC.

It can produce up to 60 bottles at a time of your favourite varietals.

I know that when I have the space for one of these beautiful and versatile machines I will be more than willing to hand over the low price of $3,500 for one!

As a bit of a compliment to my article the other day about Sangria I thought I would share my favourite sangria recipe.

3oz triple sec
3oz brandy
2oz rum (dark rum works well)
2oz vodka (Ketel One or Absolut Vodka work best)
1 cup strawberries, blended
Chopped fruit to taste (apples, mango, peaches, pear, etc)
1 bottle sparkling wine (you can use Cava, Champagne or just plain old sparkling wine. Rose sparkling wines work wonderfully!)

Mix everything but the sparkling wine together and let soak overnight. Add the champagne just before serving so it doesn’t become flat and enjoy!

Looking for a creative and tasty way to serve champagne for that special occasion?  The following gelatin recipe is a great way to do just that and it is very easy to put together.

1 1/4 cups champagne, chilled
1/4 cup granulated sugar (you can use a sweetener such as Splenda as well)
1 teaspoon unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup fresh raspberries (or any other kind of berry if you would rather something else)

In a saucepan heat ¼ cup of champagne with the gelatin and sugar until the sugar is completely dissolved and comes to a simmer.  Remove from heat, and in a heatproof bowl combine the remaining champagne with the heated mixture.  Chill in the fridge for 1 to 2 hours until the gelatin mounds on a spoon.

In two champagne flutes add a couple of your berries to the bottom of the glass.  Fill about half way with your champagne mixture, add a few more berries and then fill with remaining champagne mixture.  Using a straw or the handle of a spoon, move the berries in the champagne mixture so they are scattered at various depths and “floating.”  Put back in the fridge for another 2 hours or until set.

Makes a great dessert and very beautiful to look at!

For those who have accomplished successfully making traditional wine from home, or for those who are looking to try something a little different here is a great little recipe to make strawberry wine that is very easy to follow.

Take 7 pounds of washed and hulled strawberries (preferable to use ones that are fresh picked, but if this is not possible standard supermarket strawberries will do too) and put them in a large earthenware crock and mash well.  Add the juice of one lemon and 2 gallons of boiling water and stir briskly for 2-3 minutes.  Cover the mixture with a clean linen cloth and then put in a dark and cool place for once week.  Be sure to not disturb the mixture during this time.

After a week, take the mixture and strain it using a double layer of cheese cloth into a clean bowl.  The strawberry pulp can be thrown away after it is strained.  To the juice add 5 pounds of sugar and stir until it is completely dissolved.  Once the mixture it completely combined pour the juice and sugar mixture into another clean crock and let it stand another week, making sure this time that you mix is daily so that the sugar does not settle on the bottom.

Once this second week is over take the mixture and pour it into one gallons glass bottles and loosely cork or use fermentation locks if you have them.  Place the bottles in a cool dark place for 3 months; when the wine stops fermenting (bubbling) it is time to pout it into individual wine bottles and tightly cork.  Even though it is now finished, this wine needs to age for at least 12 months before it will be completely ready to drink.

Once it is ready be sure to have your taste buds tickled!  Try this wine chilled accompanying chocolate cake or even use it as a sangria base on a hot summer day.

Today it is very popular for people to be buying organic products. Most people realise that organic meats and produce are very important especially with the adverse affects that the added chemicals and hormones can have on the human body but few people realise that there is a large range or organic wines on the market too.

The Organic Wine Company is based out of San Francisco and is an importer of organically grown and produced wines from France, Italy, Spain and even New Zealand. Their website is quite informative in terms of educating on what qualifies as “organic” which for many people might be different than what they originally thought.

The catalogue isn’t the best in terms of style but is quite easy to navigate and all of the wine labels are shown to help the customer better identify a bottle of wine. Not the biggest selection of organic wines I have seen, but the variety is good for those not necessarily looking for a particular wine. A good website if you do not have an organic wine shop near you and are looking to have a bottle of GM and chemical free wine or bubbly!