Free Republic

Red-Wine Researcher Charged With 'Photoshop' Fraud Robert Lowes   January 13, 2012 — A University of Connecticut researcher known for touting the health benefits of red wine is guilty of 145 counts offabricating and falsifying data with image-editing software, according to a 3-year university investigation made public Wednesday. The researcher, Dipak K. Das, PhD, is a director of the university's Cardiovascular Research Center (CRC) and a professor in the Department of Surgery. The university stated in a press release thatit has frozen all externally funded research in Dr. Das's lab and turned down $890,000 in federal research grants awarded to him....

For 62-year-old Christian Vanneque, a love of wine has taken him to one particularly unexpected place: the Guinness Book of World Records. Vanneque became the owner of the most expensive bottle of white wine ever sold when he paid US$117,000 for a bottle of 1811 Château d'Yquem earlier this year. The gaudy buy caps an impressive wine-industry career. At the tender age of 20, Vanneque was head sommelier at Paris’ famed three-Michelin star La Tour d’Argent, making him France’s youngest chef sommelier, and in charge, at the time, of the largest restaurant wine cellar in the world. In 1976, Vanneque...

HOUSTON (KTRK) -- A couple of thieves are helping themselves to some high-end champagne. It may seem like small potatoes, but these thieves aren't just stocking the bar for a holiday party. Investigators believe they may be behind multiple thefts, and the brands they're taking are worth hundreds of dollars. **snip & edit** Thieves are going to the back of the store to the locked cabinets and picking out the most expensive stuff before leaving without paying a nickel. At a time when many are in the spirit of giving, others are acting more like the Grinch, especially at one...

The French call pinot noir "the noble grape" and have long considered it a source of inspiration. Now it can also be appreciated as the reason for an extensive, localized climate record. A study found a close match between pinot noir grape harvest dates in Burgundy, sea surface temperature trends and the Western European climate. The relationship could be used to forecast harvest dates months in advance. Yves Tourre, from the Lamont Doherty Earth Observatory in Palisades, N.Y. and the French meteorological service, Meteo-France, in Toulouse, presented research on the significance of a nearly 700-year record of pinot noir grape...

As I mentioned in a previous entry, I went experimental on this batch of mead. I was concerned that fermentation was stuck and I honestly was afraid I might have to start over. My curiosity finally got the best of me last evening so I decided to sample and bottle it, if it was any good. Here is a list of what you need to bottle your mead. Getting ready for a cold winters night. EVERYTHING MUST BE STERILIZED! Bottles (20-24 per 5 Gal) Corks A container of water big enough to hold the corks Press to place the corks...

It's a wine lover's nightmare - thousands of bottles of the world's finest grape juice crash on the floor, leading to a tsunami of undrinkable vino. At Superior Discount Liquors in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, that disastrous scenario really did happen. A 78ft long shelving unit suddenly becoming detached from its anchoring wall. Standing four shelves high, a total of 6,810 bottles of wine and champagne smashed on the floor. The liquor turned into a sea of red and broken glass. Managers at the store are stumped as to why or how it happened, but did admit the shelves are 31 years...

Despite the warnings, I never used to worry too much that my lifestyle might one day show on my face. After all, there was always make-up, moisturiser, even a touch of Botox as the years advanced. Surely my guilty habits couldn’t make that much difference to my looks, could they? And what habits would those be? Well, like most women, I crave chocolate and have been known to scoff three bars of Galaxy in one go if I desperately need a sugar fix. I smoked in my 20s and, although I officially quit at 30, I still succumb to the...

A damned interesting event occurred recently that has nearly slipped under the radar. "Damned interesting" may seem hyperbole to most of you but to those who gravitate toward the historical, political and regulatorial (that's not really a word), this event is pretty interesting. Not long ago, the good people at the Center for Alcohol Policy (a National Beer Wholesaler of America creation) took it upon themselves to see to the re-printing and re-release of what might be the most influential book on alcohol ever written in United States: "Toward Liquor Control". Written in 1933 and underwritten by John D. Rockefeller,...

By J.D. Long-García | Sept. 23, 2011 | The Catholic Sun Plans are underway in the Diocese of Phoenix to implement new local norms for the distribution of Holy Communion that will bring the local Church in line with universal Church guidelines.As a result, the Precious Blood will not be offered at every Sunday Mass, but instead be reserved for special occasions, left to the determination of each parish pastor. The change will bring local Catholic celebration of the Eucharist into union with the practice of the faithful around the world. Receiving Communion under both kinds is uncommon in most...

In a report issued today, Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner says the state liquor control board's wine vending machines, a wonderful illustration of what happens when a government monopoly tries to act more like a business, are operating at a loss, costing taxpayers more than $1 million since they were introduced a year ago. "We think the wine kiosk program has failed," Wagner said at a press conference, "and it needs dramatic, radical changes if the program is going to continue to exist." His report attributes the failure largely to mechanical problems that caused an embarrassing month-long shutdown of...

A Drink a Day May Keep Alzheimer's Away Fran Lowry   August 26, 2011 — Light to moderate drinking seems to reduce the risk for dementia and cognitive decline, according to a new study published in the August issue of Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment. A meta-analysis of 143 studies on the effects of alcohol on the brain showed that moderate drinking, defined as no more than 2 drinks a day for a man and no more than 1 drink a day for a woman, reduced the risk for Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia by 23%. "It doesn't seem...

Dear Friends,This is an urgent reminder - this is your last chance to sign up for a very special benefit dinner for the Napa Tea Party happening tonight!  We hope you'll join us this evening in Napa for a special night filled with amazing food and wine, entertainment, with like-minded patriots. This event will help the Napa Tea Party fund their ongoing battle against the left... and in California, they need all the help they can get! The dinner is Friday (tonight), from 6pm-11pm, at the Plaza tented lawn area at the Napa Valley Expo. Champagne and hors-de'oeuvres will...

Imagine pulling up to a gas station, and rather than being offered the usual choice between regular or premium unleaded, the gas pump instead read "Chardonnay" or "Pinot Noir." Not for you, of course, but for your car! Well, if one new experimental car, called the Lotus Exige 270E Tri-Fuel, ever catches on, this scenario may not be so far-fetched. The specialized Exige is capable of running on an ethanol fuel made from wine that isn't up to drinking grade, or whey, which is also a byproduct of the cheese or chocolate-making process. It was one of several new cars...

More than A$1m ($1.07m; £664,000) of wine has been destroyed in a forklift accident in Australia.The 2010 Mollydooker Velvet Glove shiraz sells for A$185 a bottle ($199; £122), the AFP news agency said. Winemaker Sparky Marquis told reporters he was "gut-wrenched" that 462 cases of wine had been smashed while being loaded for export to the United States. "When they opened up the container they said it was like a murder scene," he said. "But it smelled phenomenal." 'Massive loss'

As strange as it sounds, a new research study published in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), suggests that the "healthy" ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, may prevent the negative effects that spaceflight and sedentary lifestyles have on people. The report describes experiments in rats that simulated the weightlessness of spaceflight, during which the group fed resveratrol did not develop insulin resistance or a loss of bone mineral density, as did those who were not fed resveratrol. This study also suggests that resveratrol may be able to prevent the deleterious consequences of sedentary behaviors in humans.

(Reuters) - Global warming could make it more difficult for California's prized Napa Valley to make high quality wines over the next 30 years, but could improve grape-growing in Oregon, a study published on Thursday suggests. A research team led by Stanford University scientists examined four premium wine-growing counties in the West.

New research in the FASEB Journal suggests that a daily intake of resveratrol prevents the ill effects of simulated weightlessness on muscle and bone metabolism Bethesda, MD—As strange as it sounds, a new research study published in the FASEB Journal (http://www.fasebj.org), suggests that the "healthy" ingredient in red wine, resveratrol, may prevent the negative effects that spaceflight and sedentary lifestyles have on people. The report describes experiments in rats that simulated the weightlessness of spaceflight, during which the group fed resveratrol did not develop insulin resistance or a loss of bone mineral density, as did those who were not fed...

Before I came to live in Utah I was mostly a law-abiding citizen. Is say "mostly" because you have to obey a bajillion laws and statutes just to drive a car. There's plenty of opportunity to break the traffic code even in semi-innocent ignorance. So, like an average citizen I occasionally get caught violating a traffic law. I say "occasionally" because the last time I paid a fine for a traffic violation was a quarter-century ago. So, up until 1999 I scrupulously tried to come to a full stop at stop signs, didn't run red lights, drove within the speed...

A Cardiff University study has established a link between pub violence and happy hour-style drinking promotions. The findings also show that pub staff themselves need to do more to stop heavily intoxicated customers from continuing to drink. The team studied pubs and nightclubs with a history of violence across five different cities and towns in the UK. Customers entering and leaving the premises were breathalysed. The team also recorded data about the price of beer and any drink promotions at each establishment. Their findings were then linked to police and hospital data about assaults inside or immediately outside the premises....

The Board of Equalization has proposed taxing certain wines as distilled spirits, which would increase the excise tax on the wine from 20 cents a gallon to$3.30 a gallon, a 1,550% jump. The higher tax is on wines to which distilled alcohol has been added, such as wine specialties, flavored table wine, wine cocktails, wine coolers or blends of wine from different fruits. It is set to go into effect Jan. 1, 2012. The issue exemplifies the slippery slope that government starts down with a well-intentioned tax increase with unexpected consequences.

I mentioned earlier today that my friend Jan Null, former lead forecaster for the NWS in San Francisco and now operator of Golden Gate Weather Service pointed out that a number of cold records were set overnight. Looks like we are in for a second night, and it looks even colder for some areas. Napa’s wine valley may hit 26-27 tonight. 2011 may not be a good year for wine then. We’ll see. Other grape growing areas in coastal valleys will also be affected:

Patricia Kluge, the 1980s society queen and ex-wife of billionaire media mogul John Kluge, has fallen on some hard times. Kluge was famously awarded the largest divorce settlement in history (a reported $1.6 million a week) but she seems to have figured out a way to spend it – and then some. She's allegedly in default of nearly $23 million on her gilded mansion in Virginia, which made headlines for its outlandish $100 million price tag when it first hit the market in October 2009. Sotheby's didn't get that asking price, nor the drastically reduced $24 million it was...

TAMPA — A few times a month, the sommeliers at Bern's Steakhouse go hunting for wine lost and forgotten in the restaurant's cellars. They climb the shelves, crawl over cases and shine a flashlight on anything not on the inventory list. It's like mining for gems, says restaurant owner David Laxer. You never know what you'll find. This spring, they struck gold. A double magnum 1947 bottle of Chateau Latour. The selling price: $30,000. The first-growth Bordeaux will be on the 61st edition of Bern's wine list due out in early January. It's by far the most expensive wine in...

How obscenely anti-progressive... lol Cures what ails ya... Disease Medication Dosage Allergies Medoc 1 glass Anemia Graves 4 glass Bronchitis Bordeaux (+ sugar/cinammon!) 3 cups Irregularity Anjou Blanc, Vouvray 4 glass Coronary Arteries Brut Champagne 4 glass Diarrhea  Beaujolais Nouveau 4 glass Fever Champagne Sec 4 glass Heart Burgundy, Sentanay Rouge 2 glass Uric Acid Gout Sancerre, Pouilly Fume 4 glass Hypertension Alsace 4 glass Menopause Saint Emilion 1 bottle Depression Medoc 2+ bottles Obesity Burgundy Until you don't care anymore... Via e-mail... Gracias Roberto!

Wednesday 1st December, 2010 (IANS) France's top diplomat in Hong Kong was suspended and recalled to Paris after allegedly stealing two expensive bottles of wine, a news report said Wednesday. Marc Fonbaustier, 46, was recalled after he was reportedly caught on security cameras taking bottles of Bordeaux from the elite Hong Kong Country Club, the South China Morning Post reported. Beijing officials sought his removal after security video showed him slipping a bottle of wine into his jacket at the prestigious club in early November, according to the newspaper. An investigation was under way into the theft when Fonbaustier allegedly...

Scholars have always suspected that the ancients had odd tastes. If you believe Homer, wise old Nestor, veteran of the Trojan War, enjoyed a few scrapings of goat's cheese and a dollop of honey in his wine. And Homer might have been right: archaeologists often find little bronze cheese graters in later Greek graves which they think were part of a drinking kit. But until now there has been no good evidence that the Minoans and their mainland neighbours the Mycenaeans knew how to brew beer or mead, let alone mixed them into cocktails. After painstaking chemical analysis of cups,...

The quest by wine and beer wholesalers to maintain their “middleman” role within the liquor industry is simply bad news. A bill making its way through the House (H.R. 5034) sponsored by Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) supports wholesalers' promises to limit consumer choice and disadvantage retailers, wineries, breweries, distilleries, and importers.

Napa Valley winegrape growers are discovering they can cope with the European grapevine moth. While the industry’s ultimate goal is to eradicate the pest within the next few years, major progress is being made in reducing the insect population in vineyards. Organic and non-organic spray treatments, as well as chemicals that disrupt mating are proving effective in dealing with the problem, experts say. “We have learned that the moth is fairly easy to control. I think we can eradicate this moth,” said Anne Steinhauer, Napa Valley Vintners community relations manager. Napa County has deployed flights of traps since the infestation...

Time for another contest! This one is based on the old word search standard, but, there are two hurdles! First, you have to find the appropriate words. And secondly, you have to show Bruce where the words lie in the puzzle. Let’s start with the puzzle itself…

The excavation being carried out at Tal-Log'g'a in Mg'arr ix-Xini. An archaeological site being excavated at Mg'arr ix-Xini has further enforced the notion that viticulture and wine production have been an important part of the Maltese economy since the Classical period. The excavation site, at Tal-Log'g'a, is in a field next to where two troughs dug into the rock were found and is believed to have been used for grape pressing. The field is being excavated in a bid to shed more light on the troughs' use. Some 15 sets of troughs have been found in Mg'arr ix-Xini valley to...

PATERSON, N.J.- A New Jersey novelty gift company announced the release of the Wine Rack, a polyurethane sports bra that enhances the bust with up to 25 ounces of wine. BaronBob.com, based in Paterson, said the $29.95 Wine Rack, available in sizes ranging from 32A to the 38C, holds enough wine to boost the bearer's bust by up to two sizes with a drinking tube attached to the right cup giving women a way to sneak sips of wine on the sly, the New York Daily News reported Friday. "You won't find this at Victoria's Secret," said Paul Krasulja of...

Swipe your driver's license, look into the camera, blow into the breath sensor and - voila! - you have permission to buy a bottle of wine from a vending machine. Pennsylvania, which has some of the most Byzantine liquor laws in the nation, recently introduced the country's first wine "kiosks." If the machines are successful in their test run inside two grocery stores, the state Liquor Control Board could place the high-tech alcohol automats in about 100 others.

Living with perils such as invasive moths, extreme temperatures and fluctuating grape prices, winemakers always have plenty to worry about. But this year they’re concerned about something that could be far more destructive to their business: HR 5034. House Resolution 5034 is a bill working its way through the House Judiciary Committee. Written and promoted by the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA), with support from the Wine and Spirit Wholesalers Associations (WSWA), the bill was introduced in April by four congressmen from states with few wine growers or wineries. Disingenuously named the CARE Act, the Comprehensive Alcohol Regulatory Effectiveness Act...

A Nevada woman is accused of stealing a bottle of wine from a store while she was topless and intoxicated. Brandi Smith, of Gardnerville, acknowledged her behavior was "mind-boggling" during an appearance Wednesday before a judge to face charges of indecent exposure, felony drunken driving and burglary. Authorities say the 41-year-old was arrested May 10 after stealing a $20 bottle of wine, then driving to a nearby fast-food restaurant, where an off-duty sheriff's deputy kept her in the vehicle until other deputies arrived. A preliminary test revealed a blood-alcohol level of 0.14 percent, nearly twice the legal limit. A records...

MINDEN, Nev. (AP) -- A Nevada woman is accused of stealing a bottle of wine from a store while she was topless and intoxicated. Brandi Smith, of Gardnerville, acknowledged her behavior was "mind-boggling" during an appearance Wednesday before a judge to face charges of indecent exposure, felony drunken driving and burglary.

What do you say to those who claim drinking is OK because Jesus drank wine? You say, "I think you meant to add just a word or two to that sentence, like 'drinking can be OK' ... OK?" The statement "It's OK" may or may not carry in their mind a pattern of life that's healthy. I would say some drinking is definitely not OK, like drinking to drunkenness. That's clear in the Bible. Another one that's not OK is drinking with a person who is manifestly having their conscience wounded and being tempted or drawn into something that they...

The battle over direct shipping of wine from producer to consumer has returned to Congress. Last month, Rep. Bill Delahunt (D-Mass.) introduced legislation pushed by beer and wine wholesalers that could make it nearly impossible for consumers to have wine shipped to their door. Delahunt's bill would effectively overturn a U.S. Supreme Court ruling issued five years ago this month in Granholm v. Heald, a case brought by the late Virginia vintner Juanita Swedenburg. The ruling held that states had primary responsibility for regulating the distribution of alcoholic beverages, but that they could not discriminate against out-of-state producers by allowing...

Come to free and wild Arizona. We don't allow open container but we allow open carry. There always seem to be a gun show. Bring your weapon and get it outfitted or buy a new side piece. http://www.tucsonguns.net/Gun_Shows.php This is a reprint of the list of Southern Arizona wineries I posted Wednesday. CALLAGHAN VINEYARDSKent & Lisa Callaghan 336 Elgin Road (Elgin) (520) 455-5322 www.callaghanvineyards.com CANELO hILLS VINEYARD & WINERYTim & Joan Mueller 342 Elgin Road (Elgin) (520) 455-5499 www.canelohillswinery.com CHARRON VINEYARD & WINERYMilton & Susan Craig 18585 S. Sonoita Hwy (Vail) (520) 762-8585 www.charronvineyards.com DOS CABEZAS WINEWORKSTodd & Kelly Bostock...

Johns Hopkins researchers discover pathway in mice for resveratrol's apparent protective effect Researchers at Johns Hopkins say they have discovered the way in which red wine consumption may protect the brain from damage following a stroke. Two hours after feeding mice a single modest dose of resveratrol, a compound found in the skins and seeds of red grapes, the scientists induced an ischemic stroke by essentially cutting off blood supply to the animals' brains. They found that the animals that had preventively ingested the resveratrol suffered significantly less brain damage than the ones that had not been given the compound....

LONDON, - A buyer believed to be a Russian tycoon spent $75,000 including tip on a bottle of Dom Perignon champagne at a London bar. The purchase is believed to set a new record for a wine sale in Britain, The Daily Telegraph reported. The buyer plunked down 35,000 pounds (more than $50,000) for the methuselah of 1996 Rose Gold and added a tip of more than $15,000 on top of the service charge. The upscale transaction took place at the Westbury Hotel on Tuesday at a party following a screening of a new movie, "Boogie Woogie." The bottle was...

MONTEREY, Calif. -- Local wine growers said a proposal in California to tax wine $5 a bottle will kill their business, and the California economy along with it. The Alcohol-Related Harm and Damage Services Act of 2010 would increase the excise tax on a bottle of wine 12,675 percent. That means the current tax of 4 cents on a bottle would go up to $5.11. Money from the tax would fund programs that address alcohol-related injuries and damages.

"When the wine was gone, Jesus' mother said to Him: They have no more wine." John 2:3 This incident is a very fitting illustration of the failure of all this world's joys. The wine gave out at a wedding-feast. There was not enough of it to last through to the end of the feast. It is just so with all earth's pleasures. It comes in cups--not in fountains; and the supply is limited and soon exhausted. It is especially so with sin's pleasures. The prodigal soon ran out of money, and began to be in need. A poet compared the...

JOHANNESBURG – Baboons, it seems, prefer pinot noir. They also like a nice chardonnay. Largely undeterred by electric fences, hundreds of wild baboons in South Africa's prized wine country are finding the vineyards of ripe, succulent grapes to be an "absolute bonanza," said Justin O'Riain of the University of Cape Town. Winemakers have resorted to using noisemakers and rubber snakes to try to drive the baboons off during harvest season. "The poor baboons are driven to distraction," said O'Riain, who works in the university's Baboon Research Unit. "As far as baboons are concerned, the combination of starch and sugar is...

Some women avoid drinking calorie-filled cocktails, wine, and beer because they're worried about packing on the pounds. Now, a new study suggests that women who are moderate drinkers actually tend to gain less weight over time than teetotalers. The risk of becoming overweight or obese falls as alcohol consumption rises, even when factors such as smoking, fruit and vegetable consumption, and physical activity are taken into account, the study found. Women who consumed between 1.5 and 3 drinks daily had a 27 percent and 61 percent lower risk of becoming overweight or obese, respectively, than women who didn't drink at...

Chile earthquake rattles wine industry as millions of bottles' worth is lost By Jonathan Franklin Washington Post Foreign Service Thursday, March 4, 2010; A12 SANTIAGO, CHILE -- The massive earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to one of the world's most popular wine industries, sending rivers of merlot and cabernet sauvignon pouring from cracked barrels and vast storage tanks onto warehouse floors. "That was hard to watch," said Pablo Morande Jr., who said he looked on as 2 1/2 million liters of wine sloshed into the ground at his vineyard in Chile's...

SANTIAGO, CHILE -- The massive earthquake that struck Chile on Saturday caused hundreds of millions of dollars in damage to one of the world's most popular wine industries, sending rivers of merlot and cabernet sauvignon pouring from cracked barrels and vast storage tanks onto warehouse floors. "That was hard to watch," said Pablo Morande Jr., who said he looked on as 2 1/2 million liters of wine sloshed into the ground at his vineyard in Chile's battered wine country. Vintners and analysts of an industry that is the fourth-leading wine exporter to the United States after Italy, France and Australia...

Virginia's new Republican governor, Bob McDonnell, has ambitious plans for his state. He wants to put young Virginians back to work, make Virginia the first East Coast state to drill offshore, and to compete with California to become the wine capital of the United States. McDonnell made these points in his keynote address to the inaugural conference of the American Action Forum, which its Web site calls a new voice for "center-right ideas and action." With jobs as the focus of the conference, the governor said that "the scariest unemployment statistic we face" is the hidden unemployment that is masked...

French Producers Found Guilty Of Selling Fake Pinot Noir Wine To US Supplier 22 hours ago (RTTNews) - A court in France on Wednesday found a group of 12 French wine producers and traders guilty of selling millions of bottles of fake Pinot Noir wine to U.S. wine-industry giant E. & J. Gallo Winery. The judge in Carcassonne, south-west France, ruled that the producers and traders involved in the case had severely damaged the reputation of the Langedoc region, and handed out suspended jail terms and hefty fines to the defendants. "The scale of the fraud caused severe damage for...

E&J Gallo being hoodwinked by French vignerons is funny and depressing, but not surprisingThe news of E&J Gallo, the world's biggest single wine producer, being hoodwinked by a group of errant French vignerons is funny and depressing at the same time. It isn't, however, surprising. The comedy comes from Gallo's clumsy attempt to ride the post-Sideways pinot noir craze by peddling Red Bicyclette as an authentic French pinot when it turned out to be anything but. It doesn't say much for Gallo's professionalism that its buyers couldn't tell the different between pinot, merlot and shiraz. It is a sad...

With a pedigree dating back thousands of years, the vineyards of France have long regarded themselves as the toast of the wine world. But in a humiliating blow to Gallic pride, winemakers have been accused of trying to pass off their bottles as New Zealand produce to cash in on the popularity of brands from down under. Sauvignon blanc from New Zealand has soared in popularity A tribunal in Australia has ruled Loire Valley-based firm Lacheteau labelled its sauvignon blanc Kiwi Cuvee in a nod to the quirkily-named New Zealand and Australian white wines. The wine is currently sold in...