ANIMALS GET THEIR DRINK ON
HUMANS AREN’T THE only ones who enjoy their libations. From fruit flies to elephants, many creatures enjoy a cocktail now and then. Or, even a bender. Their source? Fermenting fruit. Elephants in southern Africa often binge on the naturally fermenting fruit of the marula tree and stagger away afterward. Howler... Read More
ENDANGERED COCKTAIL OF THE MONTH: THE OLD PAL
Valentine’s Day arrives this month, the first holiday to officially call for eating and drinking since our New Years’ shenanigans were put to bed last month. It’s said to be the busiest day of the year in restaurants with couples arriving in droves, turning an otherwise sleepy winter evening into... Read More
RESVERATROL VERSUS CANCER – A LITTLE DRAM WILL DO YOU
TOO MUCH of a good thing may be, well . . .too much. Sometimes less is more. This may be the case in the red-wine compound resveratrol’s protection against cancer. It is a biological truth, eruditely termed hormesis, that some materials exert their beneficial effects maximally at modest dosage, and... Read More
KURNIAWAN WINES HOT AT AUCTION
NOTHING DRIVES demand like a scandal. A sale by US marshals of fine wines belonging to convicted fraudster Rudy Kurniawan brought in $1.5 million – while thousands more deemed fake were destroyed. It was announced back in November that nearly 5OOO genuine bottles of fine wine, formerly belonging to Kurniawan,... Read More
BUT BRITISH SPARKLING IS BUBBLING OVER
CHAMPAGNE SHOULDN’T just be concerned about Cava and Prosecco. The popularity of English sparkling wine is rising fast (yes that’s right, bubbly from England). Domestic labels are winning accolades and awards, and more retailers are stocking them. And Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, scion of the French Champagne family and president of the... Read More
A BIG POP FOR CHAMPAGNE
CHAMPAGNE SALES had a record year, driven by solid demand from export markets, favorable currencies and stabilizing sales in France. Estimates gathered by Reuters showed that about 312 million bottles of the prestige sparkling wine were dispatched in 2O15, a rise of about 2% from 2O14. Revenue has risen 4.4... Read More
LOIRE VALLEY SAUVIGNON BLANC
ORIGINALLY FUELED BY EXCITEMENT over the wines from the Marlborough district of New Zealand, Sauvignon Blanc’s multi-year surge in popularity has only accelerated over the past year or two. Once shunned, the grape is now a fashion statement. It’s understandable that consumers have also shown a renewed interest in the... Read More