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The Alamo Drafthouse Cinema will present The Princess Bride Quote-Along & Feast on February 14th. In conjunction with the event, they are launching their signature wine collection called The Bottle of Wits, featuring Inconceivable Cabernet and As You Wish White. The wines will debut at the Valentines Day event, then will be offered for sale to the public only through the end of 2012. Link -Thanks, Andrea Kinnison!
Elisabetta Rogai isn’t the first painter to use wine, but she may be the first to make it work. The challenge is that the color of wine changes over time, sometimes in unplanned and unpleasant ways. But Rogai found that adding flour to the wine helped and has been using the mixture ever since. View more of her paintings at the link.
Link -via Bit Rebels | Artist’s Website | Photo: Marco Gemelli
Juergen Horn found a shop in Palermo, Italy, that will “fill ‘er up” -with wine! A five-liter jug pumped full will run you €7. See more pictures and watch a video of the wine pump in action at For 91 Days. Link
Amelia Harnas carefully and repeatedly stained fabric with wine using a wax resist dyeing technique. Then she embroidered highlights onto the fabric, creating lovely and unique portraits.
Link -via Nag on the Lake
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Rattlesnake Wine Bottle Holder – $34.95
Halloween is right around the corner. Are you looking for a way to protect your favorite bottle of wine from sneaky ghouls, ghosts, and roommates? You need the Rattlesnake Wine Bottle Holder from the NeatoShop. This realistic looking snake will have everyone thinking twice about pilfering your favorite brew.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more unusual Cocktail & Barware items.
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Zombie
Wine Bottle Stopper - $9.95
Got an undying love for wine? Use your braaaaiiiinnsss and get this gruesomely useful Zombie Wine Bottle Stopper from the NeatoShop. Handcrafted in the United States by indie artists: Link
See more Zombie stuff | Quirky Bottle Stoppers
Educated Guess, a wine produced by Roots Run Deep Winery in California, summarizes the wine making process on its label. Running clockwise from the top-right corner, you see sucrose conversion, sulfide production, bleaching with sulfur dioxide, its relationship to wine quality, and the formation of acetylaldehyde.
Chemistry Information and Winery Link -via Diary of a Death Starlette | Photo: GeekFeed
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Squirrel Bottle Stopper – $14.95
Is your current wine bottle stopper driving you nuts? You need the fantastic cast metal Squirrel Bottle Stopper from the NeatoShop. This great little find will have your squirrelly friends gnawing with envy.
Be sure to check out the NeatoShop for more fabulous Cocktail & Barware items!
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Do I detect a note of pestilence? Farmers in Virginia, Oregon, Washington and California are battling an invasion of the Asian brown marmorated stink bug, an invasive pest with no native enemies which has been decimating farmers’ fruit and vegetable crops; now, the stink bug has moved into the vineyards.
The bugs are a nuisance to farmers due to using their tongues to suck juice from fruits and vegetables. While this does not influence the flavor of the produce, it does leave visible damage that makes it less appealing to shoppers. Crops such as apples, peaches, blackberries, sweet and field corn, soybeans, tomatoes, lima beans and green peppers were all damaged last season.
This year, wineries have noticed the insects clinging to grapes that are being harvested for wine, according to usnews.com. If the stink bugs get crushed with the grapes, it only takes 10 of them crushed into one ton of grapes to affect the flavor of the wine. Workers who harvest the grapes have been removing the insects from the clumps by hand.
Scientists have been searching for a way to combat the stink bug problem. One area of research involves using the Asian wasp. The non-stinging wasps lay their eggs inside of the eggs of the stink bugs. The developing wasps then eat the developing stink bugs.
Tests are still being done to determine if the wasps would cause additional problems if they were introduced to areas of the U.S. The tests could take an additional two years to complete before the wasps would be approved for use in orchards, vineyards and gardens.
Every time the idea of controlling one pest species involves introducing another non-native species, I spend a few minutes thinking about the episode of The Simpsons in which Bart lets loose a frog in Australia. Let’s hope this wasp they’re thinking of introducing isn’t like that.
Have you ever seen someone open a champagne bottle with a saber? The act is called sabrage, used for ceremonial occasions. The cork and the glass collar of the bottle are removed in one smooth move, leaving the neck of the bottle intact. You can learn to do it, if you have a proper saber. Do you?
When performed correctly, as noted above on a suitably chilled bottle of Champagne, the cork and glass ring will fly away, spilling little of the precious wine and leaves a neat cut on the neck of the bottle. Now, the Champagne is ready to be enjoyed. Not to worry, the internal pressure (100 psi) of the Champagne bottle always ensures that no glass falls back into the bottle making it safe for consumption.
If you do try this, let us know how it turns out! Link -via the Presurfer
Don’t Break The Bottle CorkScrew - $24.95
Are you looking for a fun, and slightly aggravating, gift to bring to a dinner party? You need the Don’t Break The Bottle CorkScrew game from the NeatoShop. Slip your favorite bottle of wine into this contraption and watch the mayhem begin. There will be no drinking here until they solve puzzle.
Be sure to check out all the fabulous Party Supplies available at the NeatoShop.
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Napoleon Wine Bottle Stopper – $11.95
Do you know someone who is a bit of a petty tyrant when it comes to fine wines? Get them the Napoleon Wine Bottle Stopper from the NeatoShop. This essential wine accessory has never been so authoritarian.
Be sure to check out all the impressive Cocktail & Barware available at the NeatoShop!
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Splash! Wine Bottle Stoppers – $6.45
Are you looking for an fun gift for your favorite wine lover? Check out the Splash! Wine Bottle Stopper from the NeatoShop! It’s a little gift that’s sure to make a big impact.
Don’t forget to check out all the amazing Cocktail & Barware items now available at the NeatoShop!
Comments Off Let’s all sing together- “99 bottles of wine on the wall..” Hey, what if ALL of those bottles should happen to fall? This video contains one mild expletive in the audio commentary, and so might be NSFW, but the audio is not necessary for the clip. -via Arbroath
Archaeologists have announced the discovery of the world’s oldest winemaking facility. The winery was found in an Armenian cave near the village of Areni -the same cave where the oldest shoe ever was found last year. Carbon dating shows that the winery dates back 6,100 years!
In September 2010 archaeologists completed excavations of a large, 2-foot-deep (60-centimeter-deep) vat buried next to a shallow, 3.5-foot-long (1-meter-long) basin made of hard-packed clay with elevated edges.
The installation suggests the Copper Age vintners pressed their wine the old-fashioned way, using their feet, Areshian said.
Juice from the trampled grapes drained into the vat, where it was left to ferment, he explained.
The wine was then stored in jars—the cool, dry conditions of the cave would have made a perfect wine cellar, according to Areshian, who co-authored the new study, published Tuesday in the Journal of Archaeological Science.
Analysis of residue found malvidin, a plant pigment found in red wine. Read more about the discovery at National Geographic News. Link -Thanks, Marilyn Terrell!
(Image credit: Hans Barnard)
Ivan Simonic, a Slovenian winemaker, plans to build a wine cellar beneath the ocean. He states that conditions beneath the ocean produce excellent wines:
A Slovenian winemaker revealed a unique technique for maturing wine when he retrieved 600 bottles that he laid six months ago in clay-made amphoras on the Adriatic seabed.
The sparkling wine, named Poseidon after the Greek god of the sea, was placed at a depth of 30 metres where the temperature is between 12 and 13 degrees Celsius, perfect for storing and maturing wine, Ivan Simonic said.
The constant movement of the sea means the usual techniques used to mature sparkling wine are not necessary, he added.
Link via Born Rich | Photo: AFP
There are a lot of bottle opener/keychain combo for beer lovers, but what if your beverage of choice is wine? And not the "in-the-box" kind?
Fret not! Here comes the world’s smallest corkscrew that just so happens to double as a keychain as well:
This ingenious keyring-friendly gizmo comprises a 4mm stainless steel bar that passes through the centre of a full size corkscrew helix. When your cork needs popping simply slide out the bar, thread it through the top of the screw section and you’re good to go.
Handlebar Wine Corkscrew and Bottle Opener – $11.95
What goes great with a great mustache? Why, a bottle of wine, of course!
With the Handlebar Wine Corkscrew from the NeatoShop, you can have a great mo’ and drink mo’ wine too. Plus, as if this ‘stache isn’t awesome enough, it can also pop open bottle caps, if beer be your thing.
Link | More Mustache-inspired items | Fun Party Supplies
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Buying wine in bottles and boxes is so old-fashioned. In select supermarkets in France, customers can now fill up containers with gas station-style pumps:
Bring your own resealable bottles, Poland Spring containers, jerrycans, whatever. Or you can get one at the store. Select your grade (red, white, or rosé). Pump. Print receipt.
Astrid Terzian introduced this concept that hearkens back to a bygone era when wine would arrive in Paris shops in tonneaux and consumers would bring their own flagons to fill. But today, Terzian says, she started this scheme in fall 2008 to fill a niche, tapping into two key themes, environmental awareness and the economy.
Link via Geekosystem | Photo: Dr. Vino
Wine Monkey – $9.95
Invited to a party? Don’t monkey around and arrive empty handed! Slip a Wine Monkey from the NeatoShop onto your bottle of wine (red, white, or even chimpagne) and break the ice with this clever bottle caddy. If that fails, don’t worry – the alcohol will kick in soon.
Link | More Fun Party Supplies
Divers exploring a shipwreck near the Åland Islands in the Baltic Sea found bottles of what is thought to be the world’s oldest drinkable champagne. They probably date back to the 1780s and have an estimated value of $65,000 each:
They tasted the one bottle they’ve brought up so far before they even got back to shore.
Diving instructor Christian Ekstrom said the bottles are believed to be from the 1780s and likely were part of a cargo destined for Russia. The nationality of the sunken ship has not yet been determined.
“We brought up the bottle to be able to establish how old the wreck was,” he said. “We didn’t know it would be champagne. We thought it was wine or something.”
Ekstrom said the divers were overjoyed when they popped the cork on their boat after hauling the bubbly from a depth of 60 metres.
“It tasted fantastic. It was a very sweet champagne, with a tobacco taste and oak,” Ekstrom said.
The oldest known champagne currently on record is from 1825.
Link | Photo (unrelated) by Flickr user Waldo Jaquith used under Creative Commons license | Previously: World’s Largest Champagne Flute
Pennsylvania now has vending machines from which you can buy a bottle of wine -IF you are sober enough for a breath test, have a valid driver’s license proving your age, and don’t mind having your picture taken by a machine. If that sounds too complicated, you should know that wine vending machines are a plan to make it easier for people to buy a bottle, because of the complicated liquor laws in the state.
Individuals can buy wine and liquor for home consumption only in state-owned stores staffed by public employees. Private beer distributors sell cases and kegs only. Licensed corner stores, delis, bars and restaurants can sell beer to go, but only up to two six-packs per customer.
Numerous attempts at reform have been turned back by special interests intent on keeping their slice of the pie. So simply stocking Chianti and cabernet on supermarket shelves is not an option under the state’s post-Prohibition liquor laws.
The liquor board has tried to be more consumer-friendly in recent years, including opening 19 full-service state stores in supermarkets. The board touts the kiosks as another step toward modernization – “an added level of convenience in today’s busy society,” liquor board Chairman Patrick Stapleton said in a statement.
Not everyone is convinced that the vending machines are a good idea. Some say the machines will not be effective enough in keeping underage drinkers from using them. At the same time, others say the machines will be too difficult to use. However, customers have given the machines thumbs ups in early surveys. Link
(Image credit: AP/Bradley C Bower)
Since wines range from dirt cheap to astronomically expensive, fraudulent wine dealers are raking in the dough by diluting expensive wines with cheaper varieties, or mislabeling the vintage. How to catch these crooks? Carbon dating! Scientists can detect a wine’s vintage to within a year using methods to detect traces of radioactive carbon-14 released into the atmosphere by nuclear testing.
Almost all the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere contains the stable carbon-12 form of the element. Each atom of carbon-12 has six neutrons and six protons in its nucleus. But atmospheric atomic bomb tests, which ended in 1963, released vast amounts of radioactive carbon-14 into the air. A carbon-14 atom has two extra neutrons.
When grapes grow on the vine, they absorb carbon dioxide, which contains both stable carbon and traces of radioactive carbon-14 left over from bomb tests, from the air. As time goes by, carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel burning dilutes the amount of carbon-14 in the atmosphere.
The proportions of the different types of carbon pinpoint the wine’s age. This method could be used to date other consumables, if we didn’t have expiration dates. Link -via Arbroath
From the cartography blog Strange Maps comes this Portuguese-language chart of per capita wine consumption around the world, shaped like a bundle of grapes. It was created by Brazilian graphic designer Alexandre Suannes. Luxembourg appears to be the largest consumer, with 5.91 liters per person. You can view a larger image at the link.
These days, it seems like everybody and their uncle are making their own wines. Even 7-Eleven (yes, that 7-Eleven). Here’s "Yosemite Road," the company’s brand of affordable Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon:
And, whoa, Yosemite Road is quite the bargain: Says the press release, both the Chardonnay and a Cabernet Sauvignon will sell for $3.99 a bottle. Who needs a Trader Joe’s, anyway?
"We prefer to think of it as value," says 7-Eleven spokesperson Carole Davidson, when Unfair Park said of the Napa Valley-produced product, "Wow, that sure is cheap." She also laughed. "But, yes, it is inexpensive. …
$3.99? Apparently, they’ve never heard of Two Buck Chuck! Link
These are the kinds of wine that people buy just for the name. Are they good? Who knows? No one wants to open a bottle, they just want everyone to see the name on their wine shelf! The wine pictured was named (Oops) because it was made from grapes that had been mislabeled for years. Link -via Blame It On The Voices
A group of researchers at Johannes Gutenberg University, reporting in the journal Nutrition Research, have suggested that frequent drinking of white wine may damage the teeth.
In the lab, adult teeth soaked in white wine for a day had a loss of both calcium and another mineral called phosphorus to depths of up to 60 micrometers in the enamel surface, which the researchers say is significant.
The effect is pH-mediated, and is most noticeable with Riesling wines, and was exacerbated by brushing the teeth soon after drinking wine. Red wines were noted to be much less damaging to teeth, and the researchers suggest that the deleterious effect of white wine might be mitigated by the ingestion of calcium-rich cheese.
BBC link. Photo: Bacchus (Caravaggio)
Winestein – $19.95
Is that an elegant wine glass or a manly beer stein? Actually, it’s both! Behold the Winestein, a double-walled beer mug with an internal cavity shaped just like an elegant wine stem.
You’ve only got a few more days till the end of Oktoberfest … but if you think about it, every day can be just like Oktoberfest if you have this puppy! From the Neatorama Shop: Link
WebUrbanist has pictures of 61 clever, elegant, or funny wine labels, such the Barossa Grenache pictured above. Perfect for Valentine’s Day!
Link via The Presurfer
From Bloomberg News:
Half a glass of wine a day may add five years to your life, a new study suggests. Drink beer, and you’ll live only 2 1/2 years longer.
Dutch researchers followed 1,373 men for more than four decades, noting their eating and drinking habits. Men who had about 20 grams of alcohol daily — equivalent to a half a glass of wine — had 2 1/2 years added to their life expectancy at age 50, compared with men who didn’t drink at all, according to the research published today in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health. Men who consumed only wine had twice as much added longevity.
Your assignment: in the comments, devise rules for a Neatorama-themed drinking game.
Image via flickr user rpeschetz
