Nukes and Nebbiolos: Atomic Testing Exposes Wine Fraud

Loved the headline and photo. I think I've seen this technique explained on "Bones," or possibly "CIS Napa-Sonoma." But Matthew extracted this version of the story from Scientific American.

by Matthew Zuras — Mar 25th 2010 at 6:30AM

We all know how carbon dating works, right? No? Well, as you should know, carbon makes up the chemical basis of all known life. Carbon, the fourth most abundant element in the universe, can be found in just about everything, albeit in different types of isotopes. Carbon 12 is all over the place, but carbon 14 (C14) is the rare and finicky little sister. The natural ratio between the levels of these two types of carbon in a given substance has remained constant throughout history, with one notable exception: when we were testing nuclear bombs in the atmosphere back in the '50s and '60s. Those high-altitude mushroom clouds inadvertently altered the level of C14 in the air.

Graham Jones at Australia's University of Adelaide thought he might exploit this variation by correlating the C14 levels in atmospheric samples from that period with the levels in vintage wines. It turns out that some vintners may be trying to pull a bit of a scam. Since, as they grow, grapes absorb a certain amount of C14 from the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, Jones and his team discovered a way to match air levels of C14 with the wine in the bottle; a spike in C14 means your bottle is no older than a Boomer. So, if you're concerned that your Two Buck Chuck is a bit younger than advertised, just grab your trusty liquid scintillation counter, and get to tallying your decaying atoms.
[From: Scientific American]

Wine Geek Gift Guidelines - Best We've Seen

We get this question numerous times every year and this time we found a really helpful article by Helen Smeaton, entitled, Wine Gifts for Wine Lovers, Cheap or Expensive in Old World Wine is owned

Instead of the usual shilling for specific products or retailers, Helen offers some general ideas and great suggestions in several categories.

I suggest you bookmark this or, better yet, iCyte it and keep it stashed for future reference ... like next birthday or holiday when the question comes up again.

Read more: http://oldworldwine.suite101.com/article.cfm/wine_gifts_for_wine_lovers_cheap_or_expensive#ixzz0YSbbW49c

Calling All Cork Dorks

"Cork dorks," is a term of endearment for all lovable enogeeks.
The name of this software, however, first caught my eye because of it's similarity to Vinoteca, one of Paso Robles' favorite wine bars and gathering spots.

Vinotekasoft (www.vinotekasoft.com ) has unveiled a new version of Vinoteka, Vinoteka 1.2.2, the ultimate wine cellar management software for Mac.
In a unique and gorgeous interface showing bottles, cellars and tasting notes, Vinoteka brings the best wine cellar management experience to Mac users.

Extremely easy and fun to use, Vinoteka offers a fantastic and realistic environment to manage your references, your bottles (wine, liquors or spirits), recreate your cellar, save your tasting notes and add your own food and wine pairings.

The new features provide autofilling of some reference fields, and, overall, the most advanced technology in computer aided wine management. Customizable and user-friendly and thoroughly professional; Vinoteka is billed as, "the ultimate companion every wine lover needs."

Vinoteka is based on the latest Mac OS X Leopard OS and packs a full house of high-performance and innovation.

Features & Enhancements

FEAT: Mac OS X 10.6 (aka Snow Leopard) support.
FEAT: New CrashReporter (CMCrashReporter).
FEAT: New filter field in the not racked bottles view.

Minimum Requirements:
Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard or higher

Single user license: $34.90

Hey Kids, Let's Open a Restaurant!

Want to try out for "Last Restaurant Standing?" Think you have the chops to make the cut? Ready to enjoy fine food, snappy cocktails, and exploring restaurants, farmers markets and subject of the hour - street food?

All without gambling with all your 401K funds? Then you should give RESTAURANT CITY a whirl. Restaurant City (made by Playfish) is an online social game where you can open your own restaurant and enjoy the trials and tribulations of dealing with menus, guests and overflowing restrooms all the while employing your friends as waiters and chefs. It's one of the top 10 most popular games on Facebook with over 10 MILLION people having installed it so far in the past 3 months .. that means 10 MILLION restaurants have opened in 3 months. One's not lacking for choice of eateries.

Here you can try it out directly on Facebook http://apps.facebook.com/restaurantcity/?pf_ref=x1035 And with a wealth of different decorations, furniture and equipment to choose from you can make your mark with a completely unique restaurant. You can visit your friends' restaurants too and even trade ingredients with them to help you create a menu. It took only 3 months for 10 million restaurants to be created in Restaurant City, whereas it took McDonald's 55 years to open 32,000 restaurants. Just saying.

Green Wine Before St. Patty's Day!

Most of the U.S. thinks all of the wine action in California happens in Napa.
Can't blame them, even Central Coasters don't know that our wine region (3rd largest in the WORLD) leads the nation in sustainable vineyard practices.

Be that as it may there was what the press called, "a groundbreaking summit on green agricultural and business practices" up in Santa Rosa at the end of '08.

This event drew capacity crowds. The summit provided a comprehensive look at the wine industry's leadership in green practices and opportunities for continuing evolution in best practices in the future.

Congressman Mike Thompson's (D-CA) keynote address explored how the election outcome is likely to change the future outlook for the environment.
"The wine industry has been leading the way in developing cleaner, greener practices to combat climate change and promote sustainable business models," said Congressman Thompson. "We can't afford not to follow their lead in creating a new green economy. Our country faces great challenges, and by investing in new energy technologies we can create good green jobs and develop the infrastructure we need to rebuild our economy."

With more than 50 well respected speakers, the Green Wine Summit was a who's who of green leaders in the wine industry and beyond. Green wine champions including Chris Benziger, Jean-Charles Boisset, Paul Dolan, Peter Mondavi, Jr., Karen Ross, Ann Thrupp and John Williams, among others, covered the latest in sustainable topics.

"We founded the Green Wine Summit because we recognized the wine industry's historic foundation in social responsibility, farming with the long view and future generations in mind and care for the environment. Today, the combination of these is at the heart of sustainability. We saw a need for a forum to explore and share," said Lesley Berglund, Summit Co-Chair.

Looking beyond the world of wine, attendees explored relevant lessons with real take home value from companies like National Geographic's Green Guide, SPG Solar, and Whole Foods, as well as from the Dairy Industry.

The 2009 Green Wine Summit will take place December 1st and 2nd at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa, CA. Potential speakers and sponsors are encouraged to emailCo-Chair Lesley Berglund, or (707) 246-6827.
For more information on the Green Wine Summit, please visit www.greenwinesummit.com.

This Riesling's Drier Than My Sense of Humor

Up 'til now assessing the relative sweetness of a Riesling was as scientific as this post's headline.

When a producer says the wine is "Dry," how do you know what that really means? "A little spicy," to my palate could cause bullets of sweat to shoot forth from the foreheads of some of my compatriots, for instance.

Riding to the rescue is the International Riesling Foundation (the logo on their capes is IRF). This band of Rhine Rangers have designed a simple, ruler-like scale divided into four quarters, from dry to sweet. For each Riesling carrying this scale, an arrowhead marks the wine's relative sweetness.

Harry Peterson-Nedry (his real name), an IRF board member and owner of Oregon's Chelhalem Winery has already included the scale on their three 2008 Riesling cuvées.

Wine geeks already appreciate the fine range of Rieslings made in California, but this will help us take the message to those who still proclaim, "I don't like Rieslings, they're too sweet."

My two local favorite dry, excellent Rieslings come from Claiborne-Churchill and Wolff Vineyards, both in San Luis Obispo's Edna Valley. Fantastic with Thai food and just plain revitalizing as a quaffer on one of our numerous warm afternoons.

And Jekel Vineyards, our eno-neighbor to the north, will be the first California winery to incorporate the Riesling Ruler Scale on their labels.

Source – Santé Magazine, May.2009

Think Locally, Drink Globally!

Tired of drinking wine straight from the bottle? That was rhetorical -- it never gets old. But N2Wine decided to make these Wine Globe systems anyways.

Kind of a GQS, Global Quenching System. Wine globes are glass containers capable of holding 33 or 70 bottles of wine (depending on the size) that are specifically designed to thwart oxidization, the chemical reaction that ages wine, by preventing any air from entering the system.

Instead, the globes vino-filled spheres constantly topped off by "food-grade" nitrogen (who knew this gas came in grades) when liquid levels deplete, essentially freezing wine's flavor in time.

The wine is also under constant water-cooled temperature regulation so that it's served perfectly every time and, obviously, the system can offer more wines by the glass than most restaurants currently offer.

Each globe costs about $1,000 but can be run in line off the same nitrogen tank. I'm not sure this pencils out, but let's hoist a glass and let someone back at the office make a PowerPoint presentation about it.

You Live in Wine Country When....

... Another Albertson's Announces a Monthly Wine Tasting Event.

Whilst traveling about the States I often get stopped at Reality Checkpoints when, in mid-enosentence, it becomes clear that not even most New Yorkers, for instance, weave the vocabulary of vinifera into daily casual conversation.

Meanwhile, here on the Central Coast, a large grocery chain's store in Paso Robles has featured popular weekly wine tasting events for the past three years.

Now it's "Attention shoppers in Atascadero," as their local Albertson's launches a similar monthly wine event. You can stock up on groceries and have a great opportunity to learn more about our area's favorite agricultural product from winery representatives. Sometimes the wines will be paired with appetizers from North County restaurants.

“It’s not just tasting … It’s more of an educational process here,” explained event coordinator Linda Cooks.

She said the Paso Robles store was the only Albertsons in California to offer wine tasting with the nearby Atascadero store becoming the second.

The Atascadero Albertsons sells wines from 84 local wineries, including Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles, Wild Horse Vineyards in Templeton and Laetitia Vineyard and Winery in the Arroyo Grande Valley.

Red wine cleanup on isle 6!

Chef Rick's Prime Orcutt's

We so often have the pleasure of tasting Chef Rick's marvelous morsels at events that he caters but seldom make it to his cozy bistro in Orcutt (just outside of Santa Maria, CA).
Any foodie with a half palate in this area is most likely to be an avid (sometimes rabid) fan of one of our area's all time favorite
Chef's with flair.

Besides wonderful food, Rick is an amazingly charming and witty guy. It must be that same Southern charm that infuses his cuisine, as well.
On this recent field trip to the shopping center Chef Rick calls home, we tried his Vegetarian Hero Sandwich and Ed's Blackened Shrimp Quesadilla.

I had to reign myself in to prevent spontaneous inhalation of the Quesadilla. I declare! Veggie Hero was mighty fresh, aromatic and satisfying. His special slaw was a delight.

Great wine list, too. We went with the Wild Horse Chardonnay and it was perfect for this meal.

As you can see, the interior of Chef Rick's is as colorful as the man himself!

My Favorite Flavor; Affordable

Yes, that's how this weekend's Flavor of SLO event is being promoted. "A delicious event we can all afford."

And, I have to admit, it is one of the more innovative pricing schemes I've seen for a wine/food/live music/benefit event. The two bands that are booked for this extravaganza sound really interesting.

It all happens in Mitchell Park in San Luis Obispo on Sunday, May 31st, from 12 - 4 pm. Lots of great wines and restaurants and foods will be on hand, including some long time local faves that I've never seen at these events like Tio Alberto's, the Far Western Tavern and Sweet Earth Organic Chocolates.

It's a "I'm Full" Indigo Moon in Cambria, California

You can see it rising through the pines!

Actually Indigo Moon is a cozy restaurant that's been a fixture in Cambria for many moons.
I had one of their specials; pecan encrusted Halibut that was perfect. My dinning companions had crab cakes, nut dusted goat cheese salad, and an Angus burger with sweet potato fries .... and then desserts!

Turns out our friend Sara, who was part of our party, makes the desserts. The raspberry cheesecake was melting people upon the first tastes and the chocolate cake with house-made coffee ice cream (pictured) was just stunningly good.

Just writing about it has revived my craving!


The service was warm and friendly, atmosphere is cozy and comfy and the outdoor garden seating is perfect for a sunny, California coasting lunch.





And they have a wine/artisan cheese tasting bar area in the front!

Call 'em up: (805) 927-2911

Wine - Adult Education

Every so often, those of use who are up to our neck in vast vats of wine knowledge, trivia and gossip, need to take a step back and extend a helping hand to those who, by age or interest, are just beginning to explore Enotopia.

My thanks to new Wine Whisperer follower, Kevin Zraly of New York for three nicely done (and visual) primers on How to Read Wine Labels, The Red Wine Texture Scale, and All You Need to Know About California Wine. I don't know how that last one is possible... I can barely keep up with just the wines of California's Central Coast.

Kevin's website and book is found at: www.kevinzraly.com
Mr. Zraly, btw,is the winner of the '06 Wine Literary Award, European Wine Council's Lifetime Achievement Award, and has been featured in the NY Times, Newsweek and GQ.

Wine Whisperer on "Chardonnay-sayers"

At a recent tasting event, attended by yours truly (incognito), I chanced to overhear one of those ABC people .. Anything But Chardonnay.

I know that those of us who spend a large part of our waking hours thinking about, and sometimes even drinking, wine are often shocked to discover that some perceptions about certain wines that we thought had changed years ago still persist.

Like when rosé re-bloomed in California and was newly infused with elegant, delicate touches and we coaxed, teased and cajoled our non-eno friends into tasting something they swore would never pass their lips again; an oath usually taken during their college years.

I can't believe that old prejudices against this noble grape still walk among the tasting room rompers, just because, 15 years ago or so, Mrs. Butterworth's Chardonnay served in a freshly-hewn oak bowl, laid her heavy hand across the land.

Chardonnay, the Queen of the white wine grapes. The backbone of world's most cherished Champagnes and sparkling wines. Tasty companion to warm summer afternoons, East Indian food and shellfish.

Click here, if you dare, to hear me rant on about those who think they're being hip by being critical because they put fashion before palate!

Wine Centre Coming to Center of Paso Robles!

Soon, Paso Robles will have is very own Enomatic equiped tasting room in heart of historic downtown.
Paso Wine Centre (love the Euro-spelling, maybe SLO's new double decker bus will stop there, too) will feature Enomatic tasting technology and specialize in wines from the region.

Best of all, net proceeds will benefit charities that provide clean drinking water and sanitation projects around the world.

I've often commented on how it is possible to spend three days wine tasting just in the heart of downtown Paso ... now here goes a whole afternoon at one stop!

This welcome addition, a project of the Paso Robles Wine Country Alliance, will afford visitors the opportunity to discover great Paso wines and then plan their Wine Country tours accordingly. And benefit a great cause in the process.

The Wine Whisperer calls that a , "Win Win!" Ahhhh, how I do love the double W's!

Ladies and Gentlemen; Put on Your Logo Glasses

Every year, following on the heels of the Easter Bunny, is the launch of Wine Fest Season on California's Central Coast.

From Earthwise to Sideways, there's something for everybody. This weekend kicks off with the Ultimately Fine Blues and Wine Dinner at Costa d'Oro featuring wine maker, Gary Burk's blues band....right off U.S. 101 in Santa Maria. Besides being quite a gitar picker, Gary makes some great wine.

Saturday you have a tough choice between the Earth Day Food and Wine Festival which takes place in a spectacular locale; the historic Santa Margarita Ranch.

Head south, in the opposite direction, to Lompoc for the Santa Barbara County Vintners' Wine Festival.

At the end of April is the internationally acclaimed (and attended) Hospice du Rhone in Paso Robles. And this is just the beginning of the season!

"China Grove" Brand in Your Future?

BEIJING (AFP) - One of the great names in wine-making, Domaines Barons de Rothschild, said Sunday it plans to develop a vineyard in China to take advantage of growing interest in wine here.

The owners of the famed Chateau Lafite wine brand will plant the vineyard on 25 hectares (62 acres) on a peninsula in eastern China's Shandong province, according to a statement.

The joint venture vineyard will be developed with China International Trust and Investment Company (CITIC), a state-owned investment company.

"I am very pleased to develop a vineyard in a country where the interest in fine wines is increasing every year. It is particularly exciting to participate in the creation of an exceptional Chinese 'grand cru,'" Baron Eric de Rothschild said in the statement.

The Penglai peninsula was chosen as the site after a nationwide search because "it proved to be the most promising area to produce a great wine, in terms of both its climatic and geological conditions," the statement said.

Consumption of wine has surged in China along with that of other consumer goods as its economy has boomed in recent years.

The country became one of the global top ten wine consumers in 2005, but there remains a lot of potential for foreign labels as 95 percent of the wines now consumed are Chinese-made.

The pleasing minerality was balanced with just a hint of melamine.

Is Pizza Machine a Bunch of Bologna?

ROME (Reuters) – A vending machine that bakes fresh pizza in minutes for a few euros has got Italian chefs in a whirl before it hits the streets in the coming weeks.

The bright-red "Let's Pizza" machine uses infra-red rays and technology developed at the University of Bologna to knead flour and water into dough, spread it with tomato sauce and a choice of topping, and cook it -- all in less than three minutes.

Its developer, Claudio Torghele, says the machine has proved popular in trials in two Italian regions, but gourmets say it is an affront to traditional methods of cooking the classic dish.

"This is not just a vending machine, it's a mini-pizzeria," said Torghele, 56. "It has windows where you can watch the pizza-making process. Kids, including my own, love it: when the machine is working, there's always a crowd."

The device was developed with help from Anglo-Dutch group Unilever, which tested it in Germany, Torghele said. He hopes to launch the machines across Europe and in the United States, with ingredients varying according to local tastes.

At present it offers four toppings -- cheese and tomato, bacon, ham and fresh vegetables -- at an average cost of 4 euros. Torghele thinks "Let's Pizza" will appeal to Europeans looking for cheap options as a recession hits their pockets. "If I want to eat a great pizza, I go to a pizzeria. But our product is satisfactory, low cost and available 24-hours a day," he said. "This is crisis proof ... McDonald's is increasing its sales. Low cost, fast food is in demand."

Italy is famed for its cuisine and has seen a movement develop against fast food, called "Slow Food." But it has more vending machines than any other country in Europe, according to an industry body, mostly doling out hot coffee drinks.

Purists say the Italian pizza -- invented in the 18th century in the southern city of Naples -- cannot be rushed: the dough must be mixed and left for 12 hours, the ingredients kept fresh, and the oven pre-heated to around 300 degrees.

"This machine is a toy," Pino Morelli of the Association of Italian Pizzerias said. "Perhaps it will find a niche overseas, but Italians are born with pizza: their mothers feed it to them as babies. They understand it.

In Pizzeria Brandi, nestling near the center of ramshackle Naples, the reaction to Torghele's invention was cool.

The restaurant invented the pizza Margherita in 1889 in honor of the queen of the newly unified country, its tomato, mozzarella and basil toppings mimicking Italy's flag.

"Unfortunately, today people invent many things, but you can't make any comparison, especially in terms of quality," said chef Marcello, taking a break from sliding pizzas on a wooden pole into the dome-shaped oven. "The only benefit is the price."

"We should scrap this 'pizza machine' and bring back the old jukeboxes: at least they were charming," said Paolo Pagnani, who owns the historic restaurant.

(Additional reporting by Cristiano Corvino, editing by Paul Casciato

Who's Dan? And Why Do You Need to Know Him?

During my day job of consulting wineries on how to best market their brands I encountered a unique web based "human powered network." It's called iKnowDan.com.

They are still in beta at this moment and are preparing a section dedicated to wine tasting rooms and wine related events. Which is kinda how I got involved.

The interesting part, to those of you interested in fine wine and good food, is that you can sign up for "savings based" alerts on lunches, dinners, tickets to events, etc.

From my perspective (helping wineries market themselves) I could see the situation where it's the day before an event and you've got 15 unsold tickets. The business can fire an email to iKnowDan.com and send subscribers (who have signed up to be alerted to such deals) and offer them $10 off the ticket price.

One example, the Winery Music Awards offers 10% off a pair of tickets to their big finals event when you buy online at www.BrownPaperTickets.com and use the promo code "iKnowDan."

I do quite a bit of web based research and helping clients improve their web based marketing tools and I've never seen anything like iKnowDan.com. I signed up two days ago!

The Blog Catalog

Where's Chuck On This Chart?

In Memorial x 2

At right is Michael Jackson (circa early 90's) tasting the line of SLO Brew Ales. Pouring the brews is owner, Mike Hoffman.

Acclaimed beer writer Michael Jackson left us 8/31/07 at age 65

I met Michael at ye olde SLO Brew in the very early '90's when I was handling the marketing duties for the brewery. His encyclopedic knowledge of beers from around the world was perfectly paired with his droll sense of humor.

Michael Jackson, England's renowned beer historian, writer and television personality on both sides of the pond has died at his home in London.

His longtime partner, Paddy Gunningham, said Jackson died from a heart attack. He had suffered from Parkinson's disease for years. She said he had planned to write a book about his ailment.

"He was simply the best beer writer we've ever known," Tim Hampson, chairman of the British Guild of Beer Writers, told the Associated Press. "He told wonderful stories about beer, breweries and far away places. He told the story of beer through people, and he was humorous and erudite at the same time."

Among Jackson's books are two dealing with his favorites, Belgian brews: "The Great Beers of Belgium" and "World Guide to Beer." In his work, he wrote for magazines, did television appearances in the UK and the United States, and wrote a series of books about beer and whiskeys that were published in 18 languages.

Happy Beer Hunting, Michael. We trust that the lyrics from the popular Polka, "In Heaven there is no beer, that's why we drink it here," is only a fiction.


Alfred Peet passes on 8/31/07 at age 87

Just as SLObispoians get ready to celebrate the opening of our first Peet's Coffee & Tea, word comes that Alfred Peet, who founded Peet's Coffee & Tea and opened its first store 41 years ago in Berkeley, died Wednesday at his home in Ashland, Oregon, the company said today.

Mr. Peet opened the coffee roaster's first store in 1966, followed by outlets in Menlo Park (1971), Piedmont Avenue in Oakland (1978) and another Berkeley store across from the Claremont Hotel in 1980. He retired in 1983.

Mr. Peet was born in Alkmaar, Holland. He cleaned machinery and did other odd jobs at his father's coffee roastery in Alkmaar before World War II.

After the war, Mr. Peet became an apprentice at Lipton's Tea in London, then moved to Indonesia to work in the tea business there.

He immigrated to San Francisco in 1955 and went to work at a coffee importer, E.A. Johnson & Co. He opened his first Peet's at Walnut and Vine streets in Berkeley, installing a small roaster in the shop's back room.

Legend has it that the founders of Starbuck's sought Mr. Peet's advice on how to buy and properly roast coffee before opening their first shop.