Head hurting

A food chemist at the University of British Colombia has received approval from the authorities in Canada and the USA to use a genetically modified yeast which achieves malolactic fermentation (though the malolactic is not strictly a fermentation but a bacterial reaction see here - but we digress) at the same time as the alcoholic fermentation. This produces fewer biogenic amines (the neurotransmitter, histamine is an example) that produces allergic reactions -particularly headaches- in some people. The modified yeast doesn't introduce any genetic material that would not be present anyway in the normal bacterial malolactic fermentation. A gene from malolactic bacteria was, apparently, spliced it into the DNA of some wine yeast and the resulting yeast completes the alcoholic fermentation and the malolactic fermentation simultaneously. Clever - and quicker. But not all wineries like to add yeast - many prefer to let naturally occurring yeasts do the job. And because it is genetically modified nobody will admit to using it - so if you are looking for that wine that's not going to give you a headache you might get the headache just looking for it. And being genetically modified it has not been approved in Europe. So at least that's one headache we won't - or perhaps will - be getting.

Logical Moderation

Word reaches us that a book by Robert Beardsmore called Guilt-free Drinking concludes, with irrefutable logic, that if moderate drinking actually improves health then reducing moderate drinking or giving it up altogether makes health worse and should not be encouraged. It would be unkind not to drink to that - in moderation of course.

Britain on the Pink

What we forgot to say is that the same Vinexpo research established that Britain consumes 10% of world Rosé production! Still the Brits are not the only ones - we are only fourth in the world!

Wine by numbers

Vinexpo, the Bordeaux world wine exhibition, has commissioned research which reveals that China is the most rapidly expanding wine market - but that 90% of the production is home produced. So whilst the French cry into their Perrier (or whatever it is they drink now, because it's much less wine!) it has been established that France, Italy and Spain are still the largest producers of wine but their production is expected to decline (lower yields and grubbing up of poorly performing vineyards apparently). Argentina, Chile, South Africa and of course China are on the up. The UK meanwhile has become the world's largest wine importing country both by volume and value. And in the wine consumption league per head? Britain is languishing at tenth.

Weathering the storm..

The weather has naturally been hampering some deliveries and indeed supplies (it has been snowing in Perpignan for example) but our carriers have generally been doing a sterling job and we are suffering - if any - only minor delays in this, the third week of December. We have had a problem with corks on Casal Garcia so we had to suspend sales of certain lot numbers and this situation is likely to be back to normal only in the week before Christmas - apologies are in order for those of you still waiting for supplies and we must hope the weather does not get too ferocious. Weather updates appear regularly on our delivery page here. Perhaps, after all, a white Christmas is not all it's cracked up to be...

Location..location..

This is rather belated news principally because few countries seem up to speed - although this change was instituted from 1 August 2009. We seemed to have missed the rejoicing in the streets but the EU wine regime is being brought into line with that of food. So the Appellation d'Origine Protegée (AOP) replaces Appellation d'Origine Controllée, the Italian DOC becomes Denominanazione D'Origine Protetta (DOP), and so on. The Vin de Pays are replaced by IGP - Indication Géographique Protegée. Gradually sub regions will disappear - so no more Chianti - all will be Chianti Classico, no more Premières Côtes de Blaye just Côtes de Bordeaux. So simpler in the end. But this simplicity will take about 10 years to 'transition'! We are likely to have two lots of regulations running alongside each other for some considerable time, which is likely to be confusing. Additionally in France (and potentially in other countries if they wish) Vin de Table has been abolished! In its place is Vin de France, which like Vin de Table, can come from anywhere in France but, unlike it, can declare the constituent grape varieties and the vintage on the label. There is a rather strange website which gives further details here. This is really a reposte to the New World, who have for so long sold their wines by grape variety rather than by area and is likely to help in France's export markets - whilst the French home market remains blissfully unconcerned by grape varieties and is much more interested in location..location..

Not so think as ..

There is much fuss and reflection about the British propensity for drink (although it seems to have gone unnoticed that Britons are actually consuming less alcohol than we did 10 or even 5 years ago) with some even suggesting that it is indicative that English has more words for drunk than Eskimos have for snow. Whereas the sober French for example have it so imbued into their culture that they rarely get drunk and do not require or have the variety of synonyms that English has. (The small matter of not actually knowing how many words the Eskimos have for snow doesn't seem to impair the debate.) These suggestions rather miss the fact that English has a larger vocabulary than most other languages - including French. England and the English speaking world has Protestant traditions (the country of the Plymouth Bretheren after all) where drinking was frowned upon - if not made illegal. So when you examine the other words for drunk it turns out that most terms are borrowed and are either ironic or euphemistic or just emphasise disapproval. Have you been slaughtered or just pickled? Or only whoozy or tight? After all none of these words is unique to alcohol consumption - far from it! This doesn't prove that Britons are more drunk - or less sober - than other nations but just that they are linguistically inventive. And no, I haven't been on the sauce.