Wine Cork Art by Albanian Artist Saimir Strati.
June 9, 2012Artist Saimir Strati may have a slight drinking problem! Nevertheless, he put his affliction to good use!
It took almost 230,000 corks to create “Romeo with a crown of grapes playing the guitar while dancing with the sea and the sun,” a homage to life living in the Mediterranean. Over the years, Saimir’s art has earned him the title “The Master of Mosaics” and also four Guinness Records.
He allegedly worked 14 hours a day, for 28 days to make the the cork masterpiece which measured 42 ft by 22 ft in size. No doubt by the time he was finished, he probably opted for a cold beer….never wanting to see another wine cork as long as he lives!
Making Clothing from Wine.
June 9, 2012
Bioalloy, a research group from the laboratories at the University of Western Australia, have developed a formula to grow seamless garments through wine’s fermentation process.
Called Micro’be’, the “fermented fashion project” investigates the “practical and cultural biosynthesis of clothing” that the scientists expect will change traditional interactions between clothing and the body. Their eventual goal is to create a full seamless clothing garment formed by bacterial fermentation without a stitch.
The project uses a colony of Acetobacter bacteria (the kind that ferment wine into vinegar). This process creates micro strands of cellulose (similar to cotton) that is used to fashion the garments. The Micro‘be’ material, initially fermented from red wine, has now been produced from white wine, beer and even Guinness.
Wine Myths…Busted: Never Put Ice-Cubes in Your Wine.
June 8, 2012
Click here for the rest of my Wine Myths Busted series.
Posted in Facts | Tagged red wine serving temperature, Wine Myths Busted, Wine serving temperature | Leave a comment //Orange-Glazed Chicken Wings Paired with Batasiolo Gavi, Piedmont, Italy.
June 7, 2012
Gavi and chicken wings….a match made in….ermmmmmm…..some alternate universe….where people do those kinds of pairings…
Always one to defy convention, these fancy-schmancy chicken wings are perfect as a quick and easy meal, or for a party. The orange may sound kind of unusual….but trust me on this one! They’re pretty awesome!
If you’re attempting this recipe (because you should, as it’s one of the easiest recipes I’ve ever posted), don’t be tempted to just buy orange juice and forgo the grated orange zest. It’ll probably sound weird, but the zest was actually what made this dish! In combination with the brown sugar, it caramelized on the grill and added a nice alternative to the usual BBQ sauce from a bottle.
Posted in Pairings | Tagged Batasiolo Gavi, Cortese, Gavi, Italy, Piedmont | Leave a comment //When is a Wine Not a Wine? When European Regulations Say So!
June 6, 2012
The New York Times has reported that the Chapel Down Winery (England), recently crushed more than two tons of refrigerated Malbec grapes that had been air-freighted over from Mendoza, Argentina, in hopes of producing an English take on the popular South American wine.
The problem came when it was time to bottle. Frazer Thompson, chief executive of Chapel Down, was told that he had breached regulations that prohibit the use of grapes from outside the European Union to make wine inside it. Since the wine doesn’t adhere to the guidelines, it is not allowed to call itself “wine”, and instead be forced to use lingo such as “fruit-based alcoholic beverage,” if it is to ever be sold.
“Calling it ‘Chapel Down Malbec, made from Argentinian grapes’ is illegal,” Thompson stated. “It’s not debatable, it’s illegal.”
The only other problem is that even if the Chapel Down winery did use lingo such as “fruit-based alcoholic beverage,” it still wouldn’t be allowed to be sold alongside wines in supermarkets and other stores.
Posted in News | Tagged Argentina, Chapel Down winery, England, English wine, Malbec | Leave a comment //Quinta de Roriz “Prazo de Roriz” Douro, Portugal.
June 5, 2012
Grapes
35% Touriga Nacional, 35% Tinta Roriz, 28% Touriga Franca and 2% Tinta Francisca
Facts
- I don’t think there’s any argument as to how Portugal made its name in the wine world, but I’d like to go on record and say that I honestly believe the future of Portugal lies not in its Port, but in-fact in its red table wines.
- It will be interesting to see over the coming years how Portugal copes with the Millennials becoming the dominate wine consumer. I say this, as I consider Portugal to be one of the most “old school” out of all the European wine producing countries. If anything, it’s the Portuguese Vinho Verde producers that seem to be stepping-up and getting innovative with their marketing and packaging.
- There are over 100 different grape varieties permitted in Port wines, and what we have here in this blend are just 4 of them (thankfully).
I want to make this as painless as possible, but I think it only right that I give you a very brief overview on each of the grapes in this blend:
– Touriga Nacional is the most respected of all the Portuguese grapes. The berries are small with a high skin to juice ratio, which translates to very tannic and concentrated wines.
– Tinta Roriz is actually just the Portuguese name for Tempranillo (of Spanish-fame). Roriz is the second most planted grape in Portugal.
– Touriga Franca is the most widely planted grape in all of Portugal, mainly due to its reliability for ripening. The grape was formally named Tinta Francesa, which probably created quite a bit of confusion with this next guy…
– Tinta Francisca is often compared to Pinot Noir. The grape yields a little more sweetness and isn’t as concentrated as the grapes the make up the rest of this blend.
Did you get all of that? Great! 4 down, 90+ grapes to go! - The word “quinta” is a Portuguese word meaning ‘farm’ and may also refer to a wine-producing estate. When applied to Port, a “single-quinta” is a fortified wine made from a single year and from a single wine estate.
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