Last year at the International Wine and Food Festival at the Banff Springs Hotel, we had the pleasure of enjoying a tasting of Austrian wines, featuring, of course, the premiere Austrian varietal, Gruner Veltliner.
Now Von Strasser, a Napa winery, has harvested California's first commercial crop of the grape. It will be interesting to see what they come up with.
For our part, we found that, alas, as with so many other varietals, the bottles we really, really liked were the ones that were really, really expensive.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
More good health news about wine
A new study has found that "moderate red wine consumption in a form of Cabernet Sauvignon may help reduce the incidence of Alzheimer's Disease (AD)."
Saturday, September 16, 2006
Using high tech to determine grape-picking time
California winemakers are probably more amenable than most of the world's vintners to using the latest technological advances, as we discovered at the International Wine and Food Festival in Banff last fall listening to a presentation from Cakebread Cellars outlining their use of remote sensing and other technology.
Here's another example (the "Modeston winemaker" in question is E & J Gallo):
A Modesto winemaker is using the latest 21st century analytical chemistry technology to supplement the time-honored practice of tasting a mouthful of grapes to determine when the fruit is ready for picking.
The winery has turned to spectroscopy and chromatography to evaluate aroma, color, taste and mouthfeel of grapes...
Here's another example (the "Modeston winemaker" in question is E & J Gallo):
A Modesto winemaker is using the latest 21st century analytical chemistry technology to supplement the time-honored practice of tasting a mouthful of grapes to determine when the fruit is ready for picking.
The winery has turned to spectroscopy and chromatography to evaluate aroma, color, taste and mouthfeel of grapes...
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Unprofessional behavior...
...from CKOM News Talk 650 Radio in Saskatoon.
Two days ago a producer there called to ask me (Ed) to do a short telephone interview Thursday morning at 6:10 a.m. (!) about wine drinking in Saskatchewan. He agreed. The producer did mention there was a possibility that the segment would be bumped because of the then-breaking news of the shooting in Montreal, but that the call would happen in any event.
I got up at 6 a.m. (about 40 minutes earlier than usual) to be ready for the call, which came. As half-expected, I was bumped, but the call was rescheduled for this morning, same time.
Again I got up at 6 a.m. Came 6:10--no call. No call at 6:15. Or 6:20. Or...well, you get the idea.
At just after 6:30, I finally called the producer, who said the segment had been bumped again for the same reason and she hadn't called because she didn't want to bother me.
As if sitting around for half an hour when you'd much rather be sleeping is better than getting a call saying, "I'm sorry, you've been bumped again"--or as if I'd prepare for a morning radio interview by waiting for the phone to wake me.
"I would have preferred to get a call," I said.
"I've obviously wasted your time," said the producer, in tones far frostier than the oh-so-warm-and-won't-this-be-wonderful tones she used when originally booking the segment. "So let's just pretend this never happened."
The conversation ended with reasonably polite goodbyes, but I was, and continue to be, steamed that this flighty radio-type a) thought it was better to leave someone booked for an interview sitting by a telephone waiting without calling him to tell him his interview had been cancelled rather than "bother" him with that little detail and b) far from being apologetic, became downright huffy when questioned about it and suggested we just "pretend this never happened."
A simple, "I'm terribly sorry, of course I should have called" or "I don't think we'll be able to reschedule and we're terribly sorry for all the inconvenience we've caused" would have been nice--and would have prevented this blog post.
Which is also going up at Hassenpfeffer.
A big thing? No, not really. But an annoyance--and absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable behavior.
And should CKOM wish to interview me about anything again, I will make a point of telling them so before the interview goes ahead.
Two days ago a producer there called to ask me (Ed) to do a short telephone interview Thursday morning at 6:10 a.m. (!) about wine drinking in Saskatchewan. He agreed. The producer did mention there was a possibility that the segment would be bumped because of the then-breaking news of the shooting in Montreal, but that the call would happen in any event.
I got up at 6 a.m. (about 40 minutes earlier than usual) to be ready for the call, which came. As half-expected, I was bumped, but the call was rescheduled for this morning, same time.
Again I got up at 6 a.m. Came 6:10--no call. No call at 6:15. Or 6:20. Or...well, you get the idea.
At just after 6:30, I finally called the producer, who said the segment had been bumped again for the same reason and she hadn't called because she didn't want to bother me.
As if sitting around for half an hour when you'd much rather be sleeping is better than getting a call saying, "I'm sorry, you've been bumped again"--or as if I'd prepare for a morning radio interview by waiting for the phone to wake me.
"I would have preferred to get a call," I said.
"I've obviously wasted your time," said the producer, in tones far frostier than the oh-so-warm-and-won't-this-be-wonderful tones she used when originally booking the segment. "So let's just pretend this never happened."
The conversation ended with reasonably polite goodbyes, but I was, and continue to be, steamed that this flighty radio-type a) thought it was better to leave someone booked for an interview sitting by a telephone waiting without calling him to tell him his interview had been cancelled rather than "bother" him with that little detail and b) far from being apologetic, became downright huffy when questioned about it and suggested we just "pretend this never happened."
A simple, "I'm terribly sorry, of course I should have called" or "I don't think we'll be able to reschedule and we're terribly sorry for all the inconvenience we've caused" would have been nice--and would have prevented this blog post.
Which is also going up at Hassenpfeffer.
A big thing? No, not really. But an annoyance--and absolutely unprofessional and unacceptable behavior.
And should CKOM wish to interview me about anything again, I will make a point of telling them so before the interview goes ahead.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
Who needs a sommelier?
In Japan, there's a new robot that can identify wines and cheeses.
At the end of the robot's left arm is an infrared spectrometer. When objects are placed up against the sensor, the robot fires off a beam of infrared light. The reflected light is then analyzed in real time to determine the object's chemical composition.
***
When it has identified a wine, the robot speaks up in a childlike voice. It names the brand and adds a comment or two on the taste, such as whether it is a buttery chardonnay or a full-bodied shiraz, and what kind of foods might go well on the side.
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