Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Heaven, I’m in heaven

So, when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston split, he had to sell his Frank-Gehry designed wine cellar. But, he’s not moping around.

It's rumored that the movie star, who was adept at stomping people in Fight Club and Troy, could soon be stomping grapes, thereby putting him among the ranks of celebrities with their names on wine labels.

Pitt stayed in a village in the Piedmont (Italy that is) and visited 2 different wineries that were for sale.

Monica Tavella, spokeswoman for the Fontanafredda estate in Piedmont, told the newspaper that Pitt stayed there after the Winter Olympics and expressed interest in the art of winemaking and viticulture.

Holy Jesus. Brad Pitt and super exclusive cult Barolos?? Shhhh…. I need a moment to myself.

Okay, let's move on............

A Votre Sante

In France when you want to “cheers” you say A Votre Sante which translates “to your health.” Over the past 5 years we have heard a lot about compounds in red wine which are beneficial to your health, specifically resveratrol. Studies have shown that moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the likelihood of a heart attack. But check out the other things they are testing it for look at how good it actually is. Also, in the quote below MDWD refers to a moderate daily wine drinker.
While our doctors and government don't recommend wine, British health officials routinely do. A growing mound of studies, reflecting sources such as the American Heart Association and The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms wine to be precisely the potent and nutritious medicine our ancestors assumed it was. Besides the magic in polyphenols, which you could get from grape juice, and in alcohol, which you could get from gin, wine adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
In contrast with bingers and abstainers, as well as beer and spirits drinkers, moderate daily wine drinkers (MDWDs) are better-educated and earn more. Their higher cognitive skills propel them through the Alzheimer's years with a 50 percent lower risk of dementia, one reason they're half as likely to end up in nursing homes even though they live longer, succumbing to cardiovascular diseases at half the rate of abstainers and heavy drinkers.
Since moderate daily wine raises "good" cholesterol and reduces inflammation and clotting, MDWDs recover better from heart attacks and surgery and have a lower risk of stroke. They also have a 30 percent lower rate of Type 2 diabetes.
Both red and white wine pack powerful, cancer-fighting antioxidants. Incidence of endometrial cancer is 83 percent lower in female MDWDs. Wine with meals halves your risk of colorectal cancer. Wine even eases blood-vessel constriction in smokers, while its polyphenols alleviate certain lung diseases.
MDWDs get fewer colds with lighter symptoms. Their bones are denser, and they have nicer teeth, due to wine compounds that zap gum-disease bacteria.
But wouldn't all that alcohol play havoc with your liver and kidneys? Nope. In fact, MDWDs have 30 percent lower risk of kidney dysfunction, and liver disease decreases as wine consumption rises.
MDWDs have narrower waists and half the obesity rate of bingers and abstainers. Mysteriously, adding wine to a diet appears to melt pounds. It could be antioxidants and flavanoids speeding the breakdown of fat. It couldn't hurt that red wine, at 1.37 grams per liter, provides 8.5 percent of recommended daily fiber. It might have to do with metabolism or pleasure centers, which might explain why wine also helps with anorexia.

Craziness. Not only are wine drinkers cooler, more educated, and more successful, we’re also tons healthier. Now, drink up!


English Lit, Geometry, and Vinology?

How cool is this? In Australia high school students can actually take a class to teach them how to make wine. The rules are that they cannot taste or drink wine at any point in time during the class, nor can they attend events where their wines are tasted out (bummer). But they actually get to go through the process from start to finish of making their own wine. Even cooler is that the school has now gotten their proper licenses so that they can sell and market the wine to the public. At my school the electives were art, French, and agriculture class.

Viticulture started at the school in 2000 with the planting of 450 vines on four old sand tennis courts, comprising 215 durif vines, 175 shiraz vines and 70 viognier vines.
The course, designed for year 11 and 12 students, was developed by the Wine Industrial National Education Training and Advisory Council and is competency skills-based with students achieving an Australian Qualification Framework Certificate I in Food Processing (wine).
Mr Adamson said students worked in the school vineyard and then did placements at local vineyards.
Wine is stored in barrels at the school and bottled at Cofield’s.
Mr Adamson said the proceeds from the sale of the wine would be used for further equipment for the course.

He said the course had plenty of success stories to day with graduates doing well in the field.
One is former student, David Whyte, now assistant winemaker at Cofield’s.
“David is our technical adviser and I take samples to him for advice when we make our wine,” Mr Adamson said.
“Now he’s the teacher and I’m the student.”

Um, is it just me or do they look like something more than just "student and teacher"? Cool concept, gay picture.

I, for one, think that it is incredibly important and hip as hell to be teaching these kids a craft that they can take into the real world and be successful with. I wish they would do that more in American school systems. If there was such thing as a mini-homebrew kit for toddlers I know that my husband would have already bought one for my son. Hmmm… maybe we can just send him to school in Australia. Ha!



Anheuser Busch’ new seasonal beers?
The latest trend in beer drinking in America has been that drinkers are opting for hand crafted, more flavorful beers from micro-breweries. With that, Anheuser-Busch’ market share has decreased so we knew it wouldn’t be long before they tried to up the ante.

Budweiser. Michelob. Natural Ice. Busch.

What do these beers all have in common? They are all brewed by Anheuser-Busch and are beers most craft beer drinkers would not think of imbibing unless there was absolutely nothing else available.

I’d go for water first.

But Anheuser-Busch, at least on a small scale, is trying to change the minds of craft beer drinkers.

They have released Demon’s Hop Yard IPA, brewed in the company’s Portsmouth, N.H., brewery and only sold in New England on tap.

McGualey said, "These are just a fun way to let people take a peek inside what our company is doing. It’s all about consumers today. I think consumers are looking for products like these."

I don’t know about you guys but the tap handle alone is frightening. I can’t imagine what the beer is like. I mean on one hand I’m glad that they are paying attention enough to know they need to step up their game, but on the other hand, my opinion of their company is so innately flawed that I probably won’t even try their new seasonals. Oh, BTW the new seasonals are the Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, the Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale, the Spring Heat Spiced Wheat and the Beach Bum Blonde Ale. If any of you get to try them email me with info. I am super curious about them.



Today is hump day and I am on coast until I get outta here. My last day is tomorrow so as soon as I finish some filing I'm done!! I've got some web surfing to do do I'm out!
Cheers!