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Archive-name: drink/wine-faq/part8
Posting-Frequency: monthly Copyright: (c) 1995-2000 Bradford S. Brown (Notices/Disclaimers in pt. 10) Last-modified: 2000/06/01 U.S. WWW (HTML) Mirror: http://www.sbwines.com/usenet_winefaq [newest] U.K. WWW (HTML) Mirror: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~su3ws/wine-faq/wine-faq.html See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge _Printed Materials_ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- I don't have any affiliation with any of the following. I provide absolutely no representation about the value, worth or usefulness of any reference. Most of the information here is the opinion of others. Where known, I've provided price/publication information. Please feel free to send me information on these and any other publications. _BOOKS _ _*Adventures on the Wine Route*_ by Kermit Lynch. "Lively, somewhat nonconformist, and passionately devoted to good wine, full of fascinating characters and interesting insights. A great read, even if you aren't particularly interested in wine. Warning: Lynch, while American, does not look kindly on the American emphasis on rating wines and on favoring "big" wines. But even if you don't agree, it's good to hear a different point of view." _*American Wine Society Publications*_. Source for technical wine publications. In the U.S., call (716) 225-7613. _*California Wine Atlas*_ by Bob ???. "Considered by many to be the best reference for California wines." _*The Game of Wine *_by Forrest Roberts and Gilbert Cross. "Charming, witty and full of anecdotes, recipes and advice." Sounds like fun reading about the entire concept of drinking wine, not just another tomb about wine drinking. _*How and Why To Build a Wine Cellar*_, by Richard Gold. _*How To Test and Improve Your Judging Ability*_ by ? Marcus. 97 page booklet. Describes common wine flaws. _*Assorted books by Hugh Johnson*_. Several classic and well-regarded works, including the annual Pocket Guide containing varietals, terms, regions, producers and vineyards, vintages, wine and food, etc. One poster did mention about the pocket guide: "not recommended for the extremely myopic." Non-pocket version available at a higher price. "Hugh Johnson's Modern Encyclopedia of Wine" "is a excellent book talking about all wine regions around the world. It is very indepth and well written." Also, "Hugh Johnson's Atlas is a classic, with detailed maps of winemaking areas around the world." _*Kellgren's Wine Book Catalog*_, Specialty Books Company, P.O. Box 616, Croton-On-Hudson, New York, 10520-0616, 1-800-274-4816. Book store or service. Free catalog may be available at the phone number shown. _*Masterglass*_, Jancis Robinson. Contains (I'm told) an excellent, unpretentious list of wine terms. _*Parker's Wine Buyer's Guide*_, Robert M. Parker, Jr. (Simon and Schuster/Firestone): Notwithstanding negative comments one might hear about "Parker," this is an excellent reference. It lists 7500 wines from around the world and can give you a very good idea of what is good or bad (though, as always, _you_ may not agree with the tastes of the author). There is introductory information on, among other things, how to buy and store wine and aging of the wine. There is an overview of wine growing areas, ideas about the quality of the wine in recent years from those areas and commentaries about specific wines. A numerical rating system is used. Over 1000 pages, my latest copy (1993, 3rd edition) was US $21.00. _*Sotheby's World Wine Encyclopedia*_ by Tom Stevenson (1988, 480 pages.), US $40, Bulfinch Press, Little Brown & Company; 25 British Pounds, Dorling Kindersley UK. Glossy format with colored pictures. Wine regions, producers, maps, aging, varieties. Comprehensive wine reference. Probably dated if no new publication since 1988. _*The Wines of France*_ by Steven Spurrier, Steven. "Great addition to any library, and his section on the grapes used in wine is excellent, comprehensive and to be trusted." *_University of California at Davis Book Catalog_ *contains a number of books about wine. _*Vines, Grapes and Wines*_ by Jancis Robinson. Publisher Mitchell Beazly of London, England. "More concentrated information covering all major wine producing countries than anything else I have read." _*Vintage Time Charts*_ by Jancis Robinson. Descriptions of how long to age particular wines. Described as the "classic" work. _*Windows on the World Complete Wine Course*_ by Kevin Zaraly. Sterling Publishing Company. My copy printed 1993, marked at US $22.95. "Helpful for people getting started." _*Wine Appreciation Guild Catalog*_. Wine Appreciation Guild, 155 Connecticut Street, San Francisco, California 94107. Large selection of books; retail and wholesale orders. Catalog has blurb on each book and therefore is a good reference all by itself. _*The Wine Book *_by Oz Clarke. _*Wine Appreciation Guide Catalog*_. 155 Connecticut Street, San Francisco, California 94107. From a correspondent: The catalog lists (and describes) just about every English language book on wine published in the last 30 years. _*Wine Spectator's Ultimate Guide to Buying Wine*_, Wine Spectator Press, a division of M. Shanken Communications. (212) 684-4224 or fax (212) 684-5424. US $19.95. _*Wine Tasting*_ by Michael Broadbent (Fireside/Simon and Schuster; my copy reprinted 1990, marked at US $10.95). This pocket sized book is very nice, small (with tiny print), yet in-depth. It isn't about particular producers, its about _WINE_. What it looks, smells and tastes like. How to taste. Color plates to show how wine changes. Nice section on how to put on a serious wine tasting. X. LEARNING ABOUT WINE --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Miscellaneous --------------------------------------------------------------------------- COURSES ON WINE _*The University of California at Davis*_ confers college degrees. Their web site is http://wineserver.ucdavis.edu/. _*The Wine and Spirit Education Trust Diploma*_ is recommended to UK students considering studying for the "Master of Wine" examination. However the Master of Wine is an international qualification with study courses and exams run in Boston, Sydney, Montpellier and London. It is open to any one in the trade who can demonstrate adequate experience and knowledge as it is a difficult exam to pass. It takes two years with a dissertation on an aspect of viticulture or vinification in year 1 with written and tasting exams in year 2. Potential candidates should contact the Institute of Masters of Wine. Five Kings House, 1 Queen Street Place, London EC4R 1QS, Great Britain; +44 171 236 4427, fax: + 44 171 329 0298. _WINERIES_ Many people have asked for an on-line compendium of every winery in existence. The best place to get this information is from a book. If you insist on using the Internet, then you are relying on the talents of some dedicated compilers or the commercial leanings of the wineries themselves. (I'm not saying they may not have altruistric motives, the Internet is cheap, but let's be real.) For some lists of wineries on the Internet, see the section on Internet Resources. As of this writing, more wine magazines are setting up web sites. They probably will provide a great deal of information (perhaps for a fee) on specific wines and wineries. Wineries are an excellent place to learn about wine when approached with the proper frame of mind: drunkeness is not a particularly good way to remember much about what you were drinking. Another very important point to remember about tasting at wineries is that you probably aren't tasting the wine the way you would at home. Besides the somewhat crowded, sometimes rushed situations you face in the winery, the bottle might have been open for hours or even days. In my mind, however, the most important thing is that you probably will drink the wine with food at home. The differences in the way a wine tastes when you are eating can be momumental. What might be a so-so wine in the winery might be wonderful at home, and vice-versa. Nevertheless you can usually get a good idea of the wines you like when tasting a various wineries in a particular area over a short period of time. Take notes, have a good time, and use the "dump bucket." While traveling through wine areas, you will find that many wineries let you come in and taste their wines free of charge. Since we aren't really out to get drunk on these trips, we find ourselves constantly asking the pourers to "go easy". Purists may say that you need more than we ask for in order to get enough wine in the glass to swirl and smell. We find that we get along just fine without a large pour. Makes us feel better about not "wasting" wine. Perhaps we are naive about the wasting part, since the wineries know what they are doing when it comes to the promotion and sale of their wine. But this brings us to the subject of charging for tasting. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch, so the saying goes, but free wine tastings seem to come awfully close. Once you're used to the concept, walking into a place and being charged for the "priviledge" of finding out whether you want to spend a lot of money on buying something you can't otherwise personally know anything about seems almost offensive! (Really, how much more subjective can any subject be than the choice of wine to drink?) Or course it all comes down to supply and demand. Wineries that find that people will pay may charge. Answer? There are still _lots_ of wineries making great wine that do not charge. If you are so inclined, tell the charging winery so and walk out. (We're not going to get into the argument that charging cuts down on drunkeness; there are enough people that will pay and get drunk anyhow.) A winery may not often be pouring their best wines, which, in many cases, are in short supply. However, if you look like you are somewhat knowledgeable about what you want to drink, know a bit about the particular winery's wine, and are genuinely interested in purchasing the more expensive wines (and show up when things aren't so busy), you may find that you will be allowed to taste them, for the asking. Sometimes a winery will charge for tasting the better wines. This seems a fair compromise (so maybe we'll support them on this one, though perhaps we're still naive). Some wineries, for a price (if not outrageous, certainly justified, this time), go all out and will pour much older "library" wines which they have stored and are now again releasing for sale. Such tastings are very informative, for even if you can't afford to buy the wine, you can get some idea of how more current wines will "age," or just what all the hoopla is about when people talk about drinking wines that have been around for a long time. For a more personal look at visiting wineries, check out the section on Learning About Wine: Starting Out. _WINE TASTINGS_ Horace Rumpole, aging Old Bailey hack (also known as a barrister practicing law in the criminal courts in London), attending what undoubtedly was his first wine tasting after many years consuming the less than stately Chateau Thames Embankment, given a somewhat more pleasing claret, found that it was a vintage "Cool'd a long age in the deep-delved earth, tasting of Flora and the country green." And while he reveled in drinking the "flavour of Dance, and Provencal song, and sunburnt mirth, mixed with a dash of wild strawberries," he was bedeviled by a fellow taster who demanded: "can't you spit?" [For a fun time, read Rumpole and the Blind Tasting, in Rumpole's Last Case, by John Mortimer, Penguin Books. Or read any Rumpole story! Also a popular TV program. Also a popular audio series, especially when performed (not just read) by Leo McKern--doing all the voices. OK, so wine isn't the only thing I like....] Poor Rumpole. All he was trying to do was enjoy a decent wine and he is reproached for failing to use the expectoration area. Of course the idea is that you don't _drink_ the wine, you merely _taste_ it. Among other things, this means that you don't get drunk. The concept of spittoons, or sandboxes, properly placed, is real factor in "real" tastings. It should be OK to drink the wine when there aren't many being served and care is taken. But if there is a large number of wines to sample, drinking them all is going to become a problem. On the other hand, you don't have to be all uppity about tasting wine. Friends gathering to try out a number of wines (in moderation) is a good way to learn about wine. "Dumping" the glass eventually is a good idea just to avoid the drunkenness, which, among other things, will prevent you from learning anything at all. The really serious also get into "blind tastings" where the participants (often contestants) must identify not only the type of wine, but the vintage and producer. There are those who can do that; there are also those who think the only way you _can_ do that is to practice it 3 or 4 times a week. Having never participated in a blind tasting (and since I have an abysmal memory, I doubt that I ever will), I cannot attest to how much fun such a contest is. There are certainly those who take great pleasure in it. Many people seem to think that you add something to the wine tasting experience by injecting something like a contest into it. For many this can be intimidating. Of course, the best reason for tasting wine under blinded conditions (meaning where the identity of each wine isn't known until after the tasting is done) is so that the tasters can judge the wine on its own merits, uninfluenced by any prejudices or expectations based on where the wine is from or what year it is. Blind tastings often yield surprising results, such as when an obscure wine is strongly preferred by the tasters over the first growth Bordeaux that was also in the tasting. Most people who taste blind do so in order to evaluate the wine entirely by its taste, rather than by its label. A very knowledgeable wine person tells me: "What can be really amusing when you have a wine snob (not a knowledgeable connoisseur, but one of those who likes to put on airs and brag about how anything except first-growth Bordeaux is junk) over for dinner is to decant a bottle of something good bug cheap into a bottle with a posh label on it. Then, after the snob has gushed rhapsodic over the wine, show him or her the other bottle and explain what you did." I'm not necessarily a promoter of deception, but I certainly don't advocate snobbery; do this at your own risk! An interesting idea in any event is to taste a "first label" against the "second label" of a vintner. Some wineries will put out their best wine under their own name, and then use a different label for wine that they like but don't think is worthy of their normal production. Tasting between the two can give a good opportunity to see what the winemaker thinks about similar products. _WINE CRITICS_ Robert Parker, an attorney who was able to do something which suited his interests and perhaps to many is a whole lot more fun. He got to become the ultimate wine expert. Lots of people "don't like Robert Parker." They miss the point. Robert Parker, like all of us, has his own likes and dislikes. The fact that "Parker" likes a wine is completely of no consequence; if _you_ don't like the wine (or vice-versa). If you wish to follow Parker because you know nothing about a wine and want to know where to begin, that's certainly fine, and not a bad idea. If you like a wine and Parker doesn't and you change your mind about it because you believe Parker over your own palate, then I'll wonder about you. Taste is on the tongue of the beholder. The only _true_ problem with Parker is that if he _really likes_ a wine, don't wait around long trying to find it. It'll be gone before you get a chance to buy (or the price will increase out of your range). Fortunately there are quite a few wines that Parker doesn't like that many find absolutely wonderful and remain bargains. Since wine making is an annual event, you get to figure this out every year. Mr. Parker has been found on the Prodigy service at EXP42B@prodigy.com. (A note: Posts indicate that Mr. Parker has an investment in a winery (with his brother-in-law) in Oregon; that he does not review the wine, nor mention the name of the wine in his writings and reviews. Posts generally liked the Pinot.) XI. PHYSIOLOGIC NOTES ON WINE_ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Alcohol can damage your liver. On the other hand, there has been much suggestion that the drinking of wine is somehow "good for you." While it might calm your nerves a bit, what many want to say is that, for whatever reason, it can protect you from heart disease, perhaps by lowering cholesterol. Some point to those parts of the world where people eat high fat diets, drink lots of wine, and live to a very old age. Some of the problems here are statistics. A good statistician can prove black is white, more or less. There may be other factors that are overlooked. The bottom line is that, at this stage of knowledge, it probably isn't a good idea to _start_ drinking to obtain hypothetical protective effects. Whether it helps you if you are drinking is controversial. Most people will agree that if you drink "too much," it is _not_ good for you (for a variety of reasons). _ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO WINE_ The biggest complaint here is that some people develop headaches from drinking wine. There are several proposed causes. One is that sulfites added by the producer (or can be naturally present in lesser amounts) cause the allergic reaction. Furthermore, it has been suggested that cheaper wines are likely to have more sulfites as a cheap substitute for careful grape selection and winemaking. Some people say that it is only red wine that causes them a problem. Sulfites are present in both red and white wines. Another possible cause is anthocyanin pigments which are what makes "red" grapes red. These are also present in blue cheese. If both cause you problems, maybe you've found a reason? While there are wines that claim to be sulfite free, most people will tell you that this is not possible, as sulfites exist in nature on the grape. However, the amount would be less if not artificially introduced. But since sulfur dioxide is used to control how the wine is produced (getting rid of unwanted yeasts, molds and bacteria), some feel that you may not get as good a wine. United States law requires that wine with over 10 parts per million of sulfites state that the wine "contains" sulfites. Solutions suggested by some (but not recommended or approved by me in any way) are: Drink lots of water before drinking the wine. Take a pain-killer first. The problem with this last one is that is known to enhance the alcoholic affect. The best answer is, if this is a problem, don't drink wine. Some suggest wines not made from grapes. I have received notes (and welcome more) from people indicating that the following wineries may produce wine that claim to be "sulfite free." If this is important to you, you should directly with these producers: + Organic Wine Works, Felton, California. Entire line of reds and whites + Chateau Le Barradis, Monbazillac, France. _CALORIES IN WINE_ Most of the calories in wine come from alcohol, though some additional calories come from the "food" that came from the fruit (proteins, carbohydrates [like sugar], etc.). Since some wines are more dry than sweet (that is, they have less sugar), those wines would have a little less calories. Also, wines vary in alcohol content, which would, of course, also affect the number of calories from alcohol. The United States Department of Agriculture says that 100 grams of "table wine" (12.2 percent alcohol by volume) has 85 calories while 100 grams of "dessert wine" (18.8 percent alcohol by volume) has 135 calories. In any event, a pretty good rule of thumb is that table wine has approximately 25 calories per ounce. When cooking with wine, you can end up boiling out the alcohol. The result is that the calorie impact from the wine is drastically reduced. _PREGNANCY AND WINE_ Heavy alcohol use in pregnancy can lead to birth defects. Some doctors feel that the safest course is not to drink any alcohol at all during pregnancy. Others feel that light, occasional drinking has not been shown to be harmful. Check with your doctor! _WINE AS A SLEEPING AID_ The general consensus is that alcohol might help you fall asleep immediately but that you'll be up in the middle of the night. A warm glass of milk seems to be a better idea. _LEAD IN WINE_ Some people are concerned about high levels of lead in wine. A possible reason is that the high acidity levels in wine help to cause lead to leach out of things that it touches. Lead "capsules" (the foil at the top of the bottle) have all but disappeared from new bottles of wine for this reason. You can wipe the top of a bottle with a damp cloth before pouring if you have an older bottle with a lead capsule. There is some reason to believe that lead can be leached out of lead crystal glasses. Whether this occurs in significant numbers in the short run I do not at this time know, but I have read some material that indicates it is not a good idea to store an alcoholic beverage in crystal decanters for long periods of time. -- User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: |
Throughout history, we can see how we have been strategically conditioned to come to this point where we are on the verge of a cashless society. Did you know that the Bible foretold of this event almost 2,000 years ago?
In Revelation 13:16-18, we read,
"He (the false prophet who deceives many by his miracles--Revelation 19:20) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."
Referring to the last generation, this could only be speaking of a cashless society. Why so? Revelation 13:17 says that we cannot buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast. If physical money was still in use, we could buy or sell with one another without receiving the mark. This would contradict scripture that states we need the mark to buy or sell!
These verses could not be referring to something purely spiritual as scripture references two physical locations (our right hand or forehead) stating the mark will be on one "OR" the other. If this mark was purely spiritual, it would indicate both places, or one--not one OR the other!
This is where it really starts to come together. It is shocking how accurate the Bible is concerning the implantable RFID microchip. Here is information from someone named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID chip:
"Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places the Bible says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, criminal record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark” spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark” is “charagma,” which means a “scratch or etching.” It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,” with the last part, “stigma,” also meaning “to stick or prick.” Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip."
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying (...)