Chilean Earthquake

It seems more than likely that there will be some disruption to Chilean wine supplies as a result of the serious earthquake of Saturday 27th February. Owing to the 6-8 week lead time for shipping Chilean wines this is not likely to be immediate, but at least two wine producing areas (the Bio Bio and Maule valleys) have been affected. For the vineyards this is unlikely to be more than a relative inconvenience but the logistics of exporting are going to be a much greater challenge. As wine consumers we can of course easily switch to another country's production, but in the meantime Chile looses that export income. We thought some customers might like to make a small donation towards providing tents for those without shelter through the innovative Shelterbox scheme. Either use the link above or by ordering a quantity of one or more of this item here we will pass on the same amount to Shelterbox.

Flying Cork

The Portuguese cork industry is branching out in a bid to find new markets for its declining cork stopper business, where the screwcap has made painful inroads. Of course there will probably always be a place for a good unblemished long cork in a bottle of vintage Port or Claret, which is designed to mature in the bottle. But most wine is consumed in the month after purchase and in this market the cork share is only about 70% (down from over 90%). The industry needs to consider the long term - the cork bark is first harvested when the tree is about 20 years old and then again about every 10 years for the next two centuries. The future plan is to make aircraft wings out of carbon fibre and cork instead of PVC, whilst resistance to fire (and oil prices) will be used to advantage inside the aircraft too. But they may have some unexpected competition in that land of the screwcap: Australia is considering planting the Quercus Subur to exploit its resistance to bushfires. At least the Portuguese know they have to give a minimum of 20 years notice...

Scottish Wine at last?

A vineyard has been planted in Perth and is due to give its first vintage in 2010. Jokes about global warming seem inappropriate this year but as anyone who has spent a winter in Burgundy will know, it's not the winter but the summer that's important. So here's to a blistering Perthshire 2010 vintage!

Brand New Red Bicyclette

What is it with bicycles? Various wineries and co-ops in the South of France are being prosecuted by the French authorities for selling cheap Pinot Noir, that wasn't, to Gallo for its 'Red Bicyclette' brand. One might have thought Gallo should have been able to smell and taste the difference but, as one wag has already pointed out, probably the overwhelming aroma was that of a nice fat, high margin...

Make Mine A Swimming Pool - continued

Making derogatory remarks about lager has - of course - prompted a 'friend' to point out that you can bathe in red wine too. At Kanagawa in Japan there is a health resort where bathing in red wine is said to be a rejuvenation treatment for the body. Well perhaps, but the last time this writer so much as trod grapes for half an hour it took two months for the legs to tone down from bright pink to pallid white. If it had been total immersion there would need to be a racial type created. Closer inspection of the spa does reveal - doubtless to the relief of passport authorities everywhere - that there is quite a lot of water with it - so it is more of a dark rosé colour. Just enough probably to put you in the pink..

The Tractor Factor in New Zealand

Grove Mill, the world's first Carbon Zero winery, has modified a tractor to run on vine prunings, which as a tractor is often going six hours a day they consider well worth the cost. Although we had visions of this new tractor looking rather like Stephenson's rocket it turns out that the vine prunings undergo gasification first and the result can then be used as fuel. But the real pity is that those steaks grilled over the vine cuttings will loose that unique tangy flavour that is so delicious... Still, perhaps that's progress, perhaps not.

Make Mine A Swimming Pool

Word reaches us from Starkenberg in Austria that a health spa is offering a recuperative break where the spa's bathing pools are filled up with - er beer. Apparently bathing in beer has health benefits such as improving skin tone and blood circulation. Pure prejudice leads us to suggest that this must be the proper use for lager and is for certain miles better than drinking the stuff...