Wine Legend Blog

As the great saying goes; “prevention is better than cure”. Better learn how to prevent a hangover before you get hungover.

-by jim bauer @ AskMen.com

Picture it: You and the boys are planning a big night out on the town — the kind of night that gives rise to those legendary stories. Well, just because you plan to have a smashing time, doesn”t mean that you have to have a smashing reminder. (more…)

Researchers in the USA have developed an intelligewnt wine glass. The idea is to allow partners living separately to enjoy mutual wine drinking.

Using sensors and GPS-supported wireless contact, the wine glasses are able to communicate with each other. For instance, one glass could light up when the partner, who can be thousands of kilometres away, lifts his or her glass to the mouth. The idea was developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston, and it is believed the concept could improve loyalty and fidelity.

Source: Agencies

How much would you pay for your favourite bottle of wine? £50, £100? or may be a $500 for the top wine? One wine connoisseur has just bought what is thought to be the most expensive bottle of white wine in the world at US$100,000 (£55,000): a Château Yquem 1787. 

When the grapes for this wine were harvested George Washington was the first President of the United States, the French Revolution was imminent, George III was King of England and James Watt was developing the steam engine.

The valuable bottle was acquired by a UK-based company from a private collector in France.

The interesting thing is that no-one has tasted it, but a number of interesting things come to light. Any wine will slowly evaporate in the bottle, and hence over the years the levels will have been “topped up” – like taking your car into the garage, Bordeaux chateaux will “service” your bottles of fine wine – re-corking, topping-up and often supplying a new label with a certificate of authentication. If you have old or rare bottles of wine it will be important to have some evidence of its provenance (where it came from) and how it has been stored. (It is hard to believe that during this “topping-up” someone was not tempted to try a little sip – for quality control purposes of course! )

Enjoying a glass of red wine may help you hold on to your teeth. Red wine is good for your teeth, claim scientists from Laval University in Quebec, Canada. They say its polyphenols stave off diseases such as periodontitis which affect the gums and bone around the teeth.Periodontitis is a progressive disease of the gums and the bone that surrounds and supports teeth. The disease is caused by bacterial infection. The infection triggers an inflammatory response that is responsible for the gradual degradation of the bones holding teeth in place.

Results from a study conducted by Canadian researchers show the polyphenols in wine modify the immune response to bacteria. The wine inhibits the free radicals made by macrophages, a type of immune cell, and control intracellular proteins involved in their release.

Red wine, green tea, and fresh fruits have all been touted in recent years for their cancer and heart disease-fighting properties. These properties are all attributed to polyphenols.