How do you open a wine bottle without a corkscrew? You use your SHOE!
Yes, the video is in French, but you can turn the subtitles on, or watch and be amazed!
Yes, the video is in French, but you can turn the subtitles on, or watch and be amazed!
Otherwise, Mirabeau Wines owner Stephen Cronk has shown internet users how to uncork a bottle using only a shoe, a wall and a bit of muscle power.
Ancient wine cellar reveals new discovery
Calling all ancient wine aficionados! It turns out that wine appreciation is an ancient art, in fact 3,700 years old!
Calling all ancient wine aficionados! It turns out that wine appreciation is an ancient art, in fact 3,700 years old!
" Scientists have uncovered a 3,700-year-old wine cellar in the ruins of a Canaanite palace in Israel, and chemical analysis shows this is where they kept the good stuff. "
"'It's not wine that somebody is just going to come home from a hard day and kick back and drink,' said Andrew Koh of Brandeis University. He found signs of a blend of ingredients that may have included honey, mint, cedar, tree resins and cinnamon bark. "
Wine that lasts a little longer
"The researchers added chelation compounds that bind with metals to inhibit oxidation, or oxygen's ability to react with some of the trace metals that are found in the wine, according to Gal Kreitman, a doctoral candidate in food science, Penn State."
"The researchers added chelation compounds that bind with metals to inhibit oxidation, or oxygen's ability to react with some of the trace metals that are found in the wine, according to Gal Kreitman, a doctoral candidate in food science, Penn State."
If it all sounds a bit too technical your liking, then we at AIRD have a suggestion to help slow down the oxidation of your wine... Drink it before it oxidises (responsibly of course)!
You can read the full article here - it's promising research to help consumers enjoy every last drop!
Winemaking 2.0: Optical grape sorting
Well this is pretty cool tech. Basically some German scientists have developed a machine/software that can identify the sugar content of grapes using the various optical properties related to sugar levels, and then sort them correctly for wine production.
Well this is pretty cool tech. Basically some German scientists have developed a machine/software that can identify the sugar content of grapes using the various optical properties related to sugar levels, and then sort them correctly for wine production. This could be a great way for Australian wineries to increase productivity, whilst still maintaining quality - when it has been proven and ready for production.
"After the scan, the system's software takes over. Based on its analysis of the colors of individual items on the belt, it controls air jets that blow bad grapes and detritus off the belt and sorts the remaining berries into grades for production of various qualities of wine."
Read the full article Optical Technique Sorts Grapes for Wine Quality
Swapping stainless for concrete?
If you have been following our blog, you should have seen the post we put up earlier about natural wine. As a follow up, a new trend (or maybe anti-trend, it's so hipster) has been to use porous concrete wine vats, instead of the traditional stainless steel.
If you have been following our blog, you should have seen the post we put up earlier about natural wine. As a follow up, a new trend (or maybe anti-trend, it's so hipster) has been to use porous concrete wine vats, instead of the traditional stainless steel.
"It's about coming back to the beginning,” [Bartier] says. “To revolve back to what is correct and traditional is to go back to the original vessel for winemaking, earthen pots buried in the earth. This is not technology at all. It’s anti-technology."
For what it's worth, being "traditional" doesn't necessarily equate to being good, and that's something worth considering. If the quality is kept under control, there's no reason why concrete wine vats can't produce excellent quality wine. Then there's hygiene...
"The giant tanks are not lined with anything on the inside. The rough, stony surface is constantly in contact with the aging wine, and that surface is home to a world of yeast and bacteria."
If you understand what is going on in your tanks, and what strains of bacteria are present, then this may be beneficial to your final product. We like to think that as wine is a publicly consumed drink and that equates to maintaining high standards of hygiene so as to reduce negative contamination.
What are your thoughts? Keen to try some natural wine?
**Update**
So the boffins in the lab have said that you just need to treat the cleaning of your concrete eggs like you would your oak barrels. So if you wanted to keep your concrete vats clean, apply your oak cleaning regime to them! If you don't have an Oak Regime, then why not chat with us and we can help you develop a sustainable cleaning program for your concrete or oak vessels.
One for you, and one for your cat
"Today, in Japan, bottled wine created especially for cats goes on sale. This is not a joke. Apparently."
That's not a typo in the heading.
"Today, in Japan, bottled wine created especially for cats goes on sale. This is not a joke. Apparently."
We don't really need to elaborate on this concept - but check out the full article here!