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Tag: Alcohol

  • What You Need to Know about ‘Natural’ Wine

    Natural wine has been trending over the past decade or so, and these days certain wine bars, restaurant lists and retail stores are solely devoted to it. The latest annual poll from Wine & Spirits magazine in the US noted that diners are requesting natural wines at establishment restaurants such as Le Bernardin in New York City. As sommelier Aldo Sohm explained: “It’s different. That’s what they liked about it.”

    But what exactly is “natural wine”? Here are five things to know:

    1. There is no one definition of “natural wine,” and the term is controversial.

    The controversy is easy to spot. Nobody wants to acknowledge (or be accused of) making an “unnatural” wine. Natural wine’s champions emphasise minimal intervention by the winemaker in the vineyard and in the winery. This generally means no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides (no modern chemicals) sprayed on the vines, no cultured yeasts used in fermentation, and – in the extreme – no sulphur added to stabilise the wine.

    “There is no single definition, but the way we define it is that all the grapes in the wines we sell are farmed organically or biodynamically, fermented with native yeast, and bottled with minimal, if any, sulphur,” says Jeff Segal, co-owner of Domestique wine store in Washington DC, which specialises in natural wines.

    Sulphur is the controversial aspect of natural wine. It’s a natural substance, used for centuries to stabilise wine and prevent spoilage in bottle. But because it is an additive, natural wine’s early advocates campaigned against it. That led to a strong backlash among winemakers and critics who said the new movement was celebrating faulty wine.

    2. Natural wine isn’t new.

    “People who have been drinking wines all their lives have been drinking natural wines, they just haven’t been calling them that,” Segal says. “A lot of the world’s classic wines have been made with these principles for a long time.”

    Many natural wine producers are small family producers, making wine the way previous generations did, without modern chemicals or techniques.

    “I look for wines made with care, by families, by hand,” says Helen Johannesen, wine director for the Jon & Vinny’s restaurant group and proprietor of Helen’s Wines, a boutique wine shop in Los Angeles. “A lot of the wines I sell fall in a natural spectrum, in that there isn’t a lot added or taken away from them in the way mechanisation can do.”

    Natural wine celebrates ancient winemaking techniques, such as fermenting and aging wines underground in clay qvevri, the traditional method in Georgia. That country was the birthplace of wine, according to current archaeological research. The wine might also be aged in concrete eggs but never in new oak barrels – those are, after all, a source of added flavours not inherent to the grape or vineyard.

    3. Natural wine is anti-science. Or is it?

    Natural wine, at its extreme, rejects modern science and technology. Those interventions, chemicals and additives natural winemakers deplore have made modern wine reliably free of many types of spoilage and faults. Rejecting those tools and techniques for ideology’s sake often results in wines that are downright awful and unstable, spoiled by bacteria, reeking of bad vinegar. Modern winemaking has been so successful in eliminating these flaws that some people actually relish them simply because they are different.

    But it needn’t be this way. “It’s easy to let a bunch of grapes ferment and do nothing to prevent the wine from going bad, but it takes talent and effort to make a clean natural wine,” Segal says.

    Johannesen agrees. “A wine doesn’t have to be cloudy and [messed] up to be amazing to drink,” she says.

    Natural can be an excuse for lazy winemaking, and I am not just posing a straw man here. I have heard pretentious importers claim their wines were so natural they represented the “true terroir” of their region, while I could only conjure the terroir of a toilet bowl. And I have tasted electric and vibrant natural wines that seized my attention and held on until I drained the last drop from the bottle. That type of winemaking requires meticulous care, in the vineyard and in the winery.

    4. Even some adherents are leery of the term “natural wine”.

    While Segal and his partners embrace the natural wine label at Domestique, Johannesen is leery of adopting it for Helen’s Wines, even though her reputation is squarely in that camp.

    “Natural wine has become such a movement that I shy away from attaching my programs to a label like that, even though it simplifies to a consumer what I’m doing,” she says. “The basic foundation is organic farming. I don’t want to buy wine that has been exposed to a lot of herbicides and pesticides.”

    “We try to stay away from the term natural wine, even though we follow those principles of minimal intervention and natural yeast fermentation,” says William Allen, owner and winemaker at Two Shepherds winery in California’s Sonoma County. Two Shepherds has become a darling of natural wine fans.

    5. “Natural” has changed the discussion about wine.

    Despite its controversy and polemical aspect, the natural wine movement has contributed to an increasing focus on environmentally friendly viticulture and a hands-off approach in the winery. Sensing a market niche, some are producing experimental wines without added sulphur to challenge the accepted modern doctrine that wine needs sulphur to survive.

    So natural wine has helped shape the discussion of wine. And that’s a good thing.

    Source: https://www.goodfood.com.au/drinks/wine/five-things-to-know-about-natural-wine-20190331-h1d0rv

  • What Science Says about Red Wine’s Benefit on Your Health

    Almost 30 years have passed since those early “red wine is good for you” studies came to light. While some newer research on saturated fat makes the French paradox seem a little less paradoxical—that is, there’s some disagreement about whether saturated is truly unhealthy—public and scientific interest in red wine’s longevity benefits is still strong.

    Unfortunately, the evidence supporting those benefits is mixed.

    For example, a 2017 review in the journal Circulation found that the bulk of evidence suggests that low-to-moderate red wine consumption is good for the heart. And there’s a lot of research linking light, regular drinking—not just of red wine, but of any alcohol—to longer lifespans. On the other hand, a study published last year in The Lancet concluded that even very small amounts of alcohol raise a drinker’s risk for cancer and early death.

    Findings are inconsistent, but researchers are searching for explanations. “It’s been hard to tease out why small amounts of alcohol seem to be linked with decreases in various diseases,” says Aaron White, a senior scientific advisor with the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. While red wine has gotten a lot of attention, he says there’s evidence that any type of alcohol, as long as it’s consumed in moderation, may confer longevity benefits.

    “Alcohol could be beneficial through biological mechanisms like increasing [healthy] HDL cholesterol, affecting clotting mechanisms and blood platelets, or [having] effects on the vascular system,” says Dr. Claudia Kawas, a professor of neurology at the University of California, Irvine whose research has found that some of the oldest-living adults tend to drink alcohol in moderation.

    Source: http://time.com/5552041/does-red-wine-help-you-live-longer/

  • New Types of Wines You’ve Got to Try

    Kicking back at the end of a long, hard week of work with a fabulous glass of wine in hand is one of life’s great pleasures. Taking a few minutes for oneself, to relax, unwind and debrief. And, similar to the food scene which now caters to numerous dietary and lifestyle choices, the wine scene now caters to many different tastes. The wine experts at Vineful give us the low down on the new crop of wines.  

    1. Organic wine

    “The main difference between organic wine and traditional wine is that organic wines are made from grapes grown without artificial and chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides, with a focus instead on maintaining a healthy ecosystem. Organic farming is mindful of the environment and minimising any impact on the land. A bottle labelled organic means the grapes have been grown in accordance to strict rules that adhere to organic farming guidelines. There are a number of different certification bodies including Australian Certified Organic, NASAA Organic, Certified BioGro Organic. Look for the logo on the bottle to confirm the wine is Certified Organic.”

    2. Natural wine 

    “Think of natural wine as the cousin of organic wine, but natural wine may not always be organic. A wine is considered natural when the grapes have been handpicked and crushed and nothing is added to tanks during fermentation, such as acid, sugar or enzymes. This allows the fruit to ferment on its own using the naturally occurring yeast on the grape’s skin. Natural wines are unfiltered, so you’ll often see sediment or ‘cloudiness’ in the bottle. Unlike organic wines, there is no consistent regulation or certification in relation to natural wines.”

     
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    3. Biodynamic wine

    “Biodynamic wines are like the big brother or big sister to organic wines. Biodynamic winemaking is all about enriching the processes, from planting to harvesting. Biodynamic winemaking shares the organic approach of no chemical intervention, but adds in practices for enriching the soil, planting, pruning and harvesting based on the moon cycle and astrological signs. All biodynamic wine is organic.”

    4. Preservative-free wine

    “Some preservatives in wine are a natural by-product of the winemaking process, which means that if you are sensitive to sulphur dioxide, look for wines that are labelled as ‘free of’ or ‘no added preservatives’. However, minimal amounts of sulphur dioxide (SO2) may exist due to the fermenting process. Preservatives can also be added during the winemaking process to stabilize the wine for longevity.”

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    5. Vegan friendly wine 

    Wine is made from grapes, so you might think it’s vegan. However, it’s the things winemakers add during the winemaking process that makes most wines non-vegan. To counteract the cloudiness, winemakers introduce fining agents that act like magnets to attract unwanted molecules to make them easier to remove. These agents are often made from animal-derived proteins and products. The good news is there are a range of animal-friendly fining agents that can be used to make vegan wine, such as clay (bentonite), limestone and silica gel to name a few.

    Read more at https://www.bhg.com.au/5-new-types-of-wine-you-need-to-know-about

  • People are Drunk Shopping Online – Here’s What They’re Buying

    Research from finder.com has found men are more likely to drunk shop than women (though tend to buy food over other purchases), millennials spend the most while drunk, and 52 per cent of women say they’ve bought shoes or clothes while tipsy.

    Given one of my chief hobbies, and modes of relaxing, is wish-listing items on the Net-a-Porter app, I enter fraught territory after a glass or two of wine.

    I once ruthlessly tracked down a pair of Alexander Wang sandals online after a long, long lunch, triumphantly finding them on sale on an obscure website and feeling as though I had a won a prize (my credit card statement revealed I had not, in fact, won anything).

    Meanwhile, the shoes, a half-size too small (“they’ll stretch out,” I reasoned with myself out loud, cheeks flushed with success and rosé ), were returned. My lesson was probably not totally learned.

    Fashion e-tailer The Iconic says customers aged 18 to 24 are more likely than any other demographic to be late-night shopping and at midnight on a Friday and Saturday night the percentage of daily sales by 18 to 24 year-olds is at least 30 per cent higher than The Iconic’s average customer.

    Weirdly, Calvin Klein receives its highest product views between the hours of 10pm and 6am, with the Calvin Klein Modern Cotton Bralette ranked as the 4th highest selling item for these late night shoppers.

    According to eBay, a lot of people are buying makeup in the early hours of the morning with 15 per cent of Australian shoppers making purchases between 12am and 9am.  A clear indicator that people have fallen down a wine-fuelled YouTube beauty vlogger tunnel on a quest to nail the perfect smoky eye, for instance, and now have all the tools, but perhaps not the confidence from the night before, to do so.

    There are whole corners of the internet dedicated to people sharing the purchases they made while drunk and then later regret. A personal stand-out is the person who bought their pet toad (?) 100 tiny top hats while under the influence.

    And, yes, there is much to be concerned about here when it comes to conspicuous consumption and making bad decisions while inebriated. Of course it is a bad thing to wake up the next day with not just a searing hangover and a vague recollection of doing The Nutbush with Bill from accounts at the staff Christmas party, but making a sizeable, regrettable dent on your credit card is another source of shame. We’re definitely not advocating problem drinking or a shopping addiction.

    But sometimes it’s OK to do something silly. To throw caution to the wind, fire up your favourite shopping app after two espresso martinis and buy the puffy sleeve blouse that sensible and sober you would have refrained from because it’s not your “style”. Maybe drunken you has better style? Or least a sense of giddy adventure and a willingness to experiment.

    Sometimes, too, it’s OK to UberEATS 20 chicken nuggets to your door after your best friend’s hen’s do, and high five yourself as you eat them with relish.

    So long as your actions aren’t impacting on others, or sending you broke, the occasional champagne-fuelled ruthless hunt to find the perfect pair of strappy mules you absolutely have nowhere to wear, or a spontaneous fiddle leaf fig purchase, after drinks with the girls is A-OK.

    There’s much to learn about yourself in discovering the tastes of your tipsy alter-ego in the cold, harsh light of the morning, and, at the very least, it makes for a highly enjoyable dinner party anecdote.

    Source: https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/fashion/drunk-shopping-is-big-business-20190412-p51dip.html

  • Survey Reveals How Australians Rank in Terms of Drinking Compared to Other Nations

    In the last 12 months, Australians had more emergency medical treatment for alcohol consumption than residents of any other country.

    We also got drunk an average of 47 times, or approximately once every eight days.

    That’s according to data from the 2019 Global Drug Survey (GDS), which covers the drug consumption of more than 120,000 people from over 30 countries, including 7684 Australians who took part this year.

    Here’s how we rank.

    Australians the fourth biggest drinkers

    Maybe this comes as no surprise, but we ranked pretty high for alcohol consumption.

    We were the fourth biggest drinkers behind the UK, US and Canada.

    Women were more likely to receive emergency medical treatment for alcohol than men, and 39.1 per cent of Australians said they wanted to drink less next year.

    Alcohol, cannabis, tobacco and MDMA were the highest ranking drugs used in the last 12 months.

    Source: https://www.abc.net.au/triplej/programs/hack/global-drug-survey-how-australia-ranks/11108690

  • Good News About NSW Violent Venues List

    The number of licensed premises on the NSW Government’s violent venues list has halved from 12 to six in the past six months, with no venues in the most restrictive level one category.

    A further nine venues have been removed from the list entirely.

    The six remaining on the list, ‘Level 2 venues’, are as follows, with the number of violent incidents in a 12-month period shown in brackets:

    1. Ivy,  Sydney (16)
    2. The Coast Hotel, Coffs Harbour (13)
    3. Belmore Hotel, Maitland (12)
    4. Ivanhoe Hotel, Manly (12)
    5. Penrith Rugby League Club Ltd, Penrith (12)
    6. The Argyle Sydney, The Rocks (12)

    Liquor & Gaming NSW Deputy Secretary Paul Newson said these latest results are the best in several years and part of a long-term downward trend in the level of violent incidents.

    “Our state’s hotels, clubs and bars recognise that running a violent venue is not just bad for patrons; it’s also bad for business,” Newson said.

    “For just the second time since the scheme began in 2008, there are no venues in the highest level one category, while the number of level two venues has fallen from 10 to six.

    “These results indicate our state’s licensed venues are now safer than they’ve ever been.

    “The NSW Government has taken strong action and worked closely with industry to achieve these highly encouraging results.”

    Newson said the violent venues and three strikes schemes have motivated industry to do better and maintained downward pressure on alcohol-related violence.

    Data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows alcohol-related non-domestic assaults have been dropping at around seven per cent a year.

    “This continuing decline and the removal of nine venues from the latest list show this longer term trend is continuing,” Mr Newson said. “We have more work to do and some venues need to take action to curb excessive consumption and alcohol-related violence and anti-social behaviour in and around their premises.”

    The list reflects the number of violent incidents at venues over a 12-month period. Venues with 12 or more incidents make the list, with those recording 18 or more incidents classed as level
    one. Venues on the list face strict conditions and increased monitoring by Liquor & Gaming NSW.

    Venues removed from the list entirely are:

    1. The Sunken Monkey Hotel, Erina
    2. Sydney Junction Hotel, Hamilton
    3. Amaroo Hotel, Dubbo
    4. Narellan Hotel, Narellan
    5. King Street Hotel, Newcastle West
    6. Beach Road Hotel, Bondi Beach
    7. Camden Hotel, Camden
    8. Sugar Lounge (NSW) Pty Ltd, Manly
    9. Fusion, Cronulla

    Source: https://www.theshout.com.au/australian-hotelier/nsw-violent-venues-list-reduced-by-half-liquor-gaming-violence-crime-government/

  • Ancient Brewing Resumes at Belgian Abbey

    Grimbergen has revealed plans to build a new microbrewery inside the walls of Grimbergen Abbey near Brussels, which will combine modern techniques with brewing traditions from ancient books. Pictured is Father Karel Stautemas, subprior at Grimbergen Abbey, who is studying to be a brewer to join the microbrewery team.

    (CNN)Connoisseurs of Belgium’s world-renowned beer will soon be able to taste a range of special brews made according to recipes that have been sitting untouched in the archives of Grimbergen Abbey for more than 200 years.

    Monks at the Norbertine abbey recently delved into a collection of books that was almost destroyed by a fire during the French Revolution. They uncovered details on how Grimbergen beers were brewed in the past — the last time in 1798.
    Its name is probably familiar to beer-lovers since Danish giant Carlsberg has a licensing deal to produce a beer known as Grimbergen for the international market.
    But now the brothers of the abbey, which is located near Brussels, want to brew the original beer themselves. They are combining ancient traditions detailed in books — some dating back to the 12th century — with modern techniques to craft limited-edition batches.
    “Beer has always been part of life in the abbey and we are proud of the beers we have today,” the Rev. Karel Stautemas, subprior at the abbey, said in a statement.
    “We’ve really enjoyed reading more about past brewing traditions in the pages of these ancient texts. We’ve spent hours leafing through the books, which are written in Latin and Old Dutch, and have discovered ingredient lists for beers brewed in previous centuries, the hops used, the types of barrels and bottles, and even a list of the actual beers produced centuries ago.”
    Karel will undertake additional formal brewing training to help with the production himself.
    The books were saved by the monks when a fire ravaged the abbey in 1798, destroying it for the third time. They knocked a hole in the library wall and secretly funneled about 300 books to safety before the blaze. The microbrewery, which will be inside the abbey and will feature an on-site bar and restaurant, will open to the public in late 2020 and is projected to produce about 10,000 hectoliters.
    One of the new brews is the limited-edition Grimbergen Triple D’Abbaye, which has been aged in whisky barrels for five months, a technique similar to those used in the production of Belgian beer back in the 1500s.
    “To begin with, the beer is aged in French oak barrels, which were previously used for bourbon and whisky, and yeast is added to give it a slight refermentation. During this time, the coriander, fruity and spicy phenolic flavours decrease allowing the malty, sweet, vanilla flavors from the whiskey barrel to infuse itself,” reads an official description of the beer.
    The Triple D’Abbaye has notes of malt, vanilla, and sweet flavors from the first barrel, supported by subtle, smoked notes from the second, the description says. All with an underlying note of spiciness and a high alcohol content of around 10.8% – so better not imbibe too much.

  • Your Preferred Wine Could Say More About Your Personality Than You Think

    If you like Game of Thrones, consider yourself an introvert, and enjoy travelling, results found you’re probably into red wine.

    A survey of 2000 Americans looked at the differences in personality traits between those who drink red wine to those who prefer white.

    The findings revealed that white wine drinkers are more likely to be night owls and extroverts, as well as more likely to listen to punk music.

    Commissioned by Coravin and conducted by OnePoll, results found white wine drinkers were also more likely to identify as curious, sarcastic and perfectionists. On the other hand, red wine drinkers were more likely to identify as adventurous, humble and organised.

    Red wine drinkers were also more likely to identify as early birds, listen to jazz, and consider themselves to be “wine aficionados” (45 per cent vs. 31 per cent).

    In addition to looking at the differences in personality, the survey also examined each groups’ knowledge when it came to drinking wine, as well as hosting and attending events.

    It found that red wine drinkers had the knowledge to back up their claim of “wine aficionado” — they were more likely to know how to correctly hold a wine glass (73 per cent vs. 65 per cent), know what “tannins” are (53 per cent vs. 45 per cent) and know how long it takes for wine to oxidise (64 per cent vs. 54 per cent).

    They were also more likely to consider it a turn-off if a date wasn’t knowledgeable about wine (46 per cent vs. 40 per cent), and were willing to spend slightly more on wine — averaging $40 a bottle.

    The average respondent, in any group, drinks four glasses of wine per week, and the favourite place to drink — regardless of wine preference — was found to be at home (72 per cent). But 62 per cent will forego drinking a glass of wine after work or with dinner, because they don’t want to open a new bottle.

    In addition to drinking in the comfort of their own home, the survey found that 49 per cent of respondents enjoy drinking wine at events or gatherings, preferred over drinking at a bar (43 per cent).

    Source: https://www.news.com.au/lifestyle/food/drink/everything-from-your-choice-of-pet-to-your-favoured-style-of-music-may-be-linked-to-your-preferred-drink/news-story/57bb2262ead8bcc3dc90114d1f7e654b

  • The Woes of Second-Hand Alcohol Consumption

    Source: Pixabay.com

    A recent post on Smh.com.au mentioned a new study published in the Journal of Studies on Alcohol Drugs, that found that 1 in 5 Americans experience second hand drinking damage annually.

    The writer suggested that Australian figures may be even higher.

    According to Professor Robin Room, of the The Centre for Alcohol Policy Research at La Trobe University we only consider drinking related harm in extreme forms such as drink driving, alcohol fuelled violence and foetal alcohol spectrum disorders but those aren’t the only examples. There are other examples of alcohol harm such as harassment or insults, vandalism, family or marital problems, financial problems fuelled by alcohol etc.

    Researchers highlight that the rate that people report alcohol harm is higher in the USA than it is in Australia, so our figures may actually be alot higher, taking into account that in the US, one third of adults don’t drink at all whereas in Australia, less than 20 per cent don’t drink.

    The study found that harm tends to be higher among young adults which isn’t surprising given that more young people drink to “get drunk”.

    Read more at : https://www.smh.com.au/lifestyle/health-and-wellness/second-hand-drinking-damage-is-more-common-than-you-may-think-20190715-p527do.html

  • Bartenders – 5 Pouring Methods You Should Know

    If you’re a beginner bartender, you’ll quickly realise that forming a good relationship with your patrons is important, not only so you can serve alcohol responsibly but also because it affects your tips.

    Flairbartending has become popular because it elevates the role of the bartender and patrons love it. If your bartending skills aren’t quite ready for the World Championships, here are 5 basic pours to practice to make you look like a professional.