Wine Education - DemographicsMartin Field
Quotes You can never have too much red wine; you can only have not enough red wine
Wine education - demographics So who attends introductory wine courses? My totally unscientific study of the participants in my classes came up with the following. Age group: typically early 20s to late 30s Education: mainly tertiary Employment: in no particular order, information technology, law, medicine, architecture (lots of these, why?) sommeliers, wine retail, students. Goals: to taste and understand different wine types and to be able to talk sensibly about wine, to learn about wine and food matching, to purchase and cellar confidently. Common pursuits: dining out Favourite wine style: red (about two thirds) Gender: 60% male, 40% female - approximate Budget: prefer wines under $AU20 Hangover cure? A journalist friend asked me if I'd tried the latest reputed prophylactic hangover cure. The idea, it seems, is to take a prescription-only anti-ulcer drug, which I'll call 'Zantac' (for that is its name) before you go out on the town drinking. "Yeah" she said, "I took one and then drank about 10 cocktails." I asked her how she felt the next morning. "Not bad." I looked Zantac up on the GlaxoSmithKline site. Along with general clinical details and precautions it stated, under 'Pharmacodynamic Properties', "Ranitidine is a specific rapidly acting histamine H 2 -antagonist. It inhibits basal and stimulated secretion of gastric acid, reducing both the volume and the acid and pepsin content of the secretion. Ranitidine has a relatively long duration of action and so a single 150mg dose effectively suppresses gastric acid secretion for twelve hours." (PDF file - requires Acrobat Reader) Does it work? Don't know, but I won't be taking any until I ask my doctor. The best prophylactic hangover cure? Drink moderately. PS My self-prescribing Zantac guinea pig has been known to suck Black Sambucca through a chocolate-coated Tim-Tam (Australian cookie). 'Nuff said. Wine adviser Norman of Carlton replies to my tongue-in-cheek suggestion that a lady serve her husband red wine in a pewter beer mug "May I also ask a question re the 'metallic' qualities supposedly imparted by pewter vessels - to the detriment of wine stored in them. It is my understanding (and experience) that pewter, of all materials, leaches into wine, and therefore probably any other liquid placed therein, imparting a flavour element not experienced in other 'clean' vessels such as glass. Is this so?" Yes, maybe. Every time I've tried tasting wine out of metal vessels - including stainless steel - I've detected a distinct metallic taste. This could be due to leaching but the time span is probably too short. I suspect it is more to do with an electrolytic reaction occurring between the electrolyte (the acid in the wine), the metal vessel, and the mercury ingots in my remaining teeth. In effect, with every sip I create a small battery and the result is a tiny transfer of metal molecules from the vessel (anode) to my fillings (cathode)* - my eyes then light up. (*Or is it the other way around?) Pewter (an alloy of tin) originally contained lead but modern pewter is lead-free so it is unlikely to induce lead poisoning. Lead crystal decanters however, have been shown to leach lead into spirits stored in them for significant periods. The other obvious problem with pewter and similarly opaque stemware - such as ceramics - is that you cannot properly assess the colour of the wine. Send your questions on wine and etiquette. Wine myths cont… A bottle of vintage port, so the myth goes, must be consumed within 24 hours of opening. Only if you're really thirsty, that is. VP, like fine red wine, matures in the bottle and on opening should show vibrant colour, freshness, and aromatic fruit. As soon as the bottle is opened the wine will start to oxidise and certainly in the first 48 hours will lose some youthful characteristics, but it will not be unfit to drink. Left in a decanter for a weeks or months the VP will turn a tawny hue and oxidation will transform it into a kind of tawny port. Tawny port is, in its simplest sense, a blend of vintage ports oxidised over time in large oak barrels. If a bottle (750ml) of VP is too much to face at one sitting, first decant the wine then immediately transfer half into a 375ml bottle and re-cork with the original cork. In my experience the leftover VP will remain sound for months. Wine on TV Series 2 of SBS TV's Winelovers' Guide to Australia starts Tuesday August 7 at 8pm. Over 13 weeks WLGA's Three Muscateers, Maryann, Pria and Grant meet many wine personalities and take their audience on an in-depth grand tour of viticulture, winemaking and wine tourism across the countryside. Having previewed the first four episodes I can say that viewers who enjoy frenetic, in yer face, up yer nose, infotainment will not like it. The 13-week series is a no frills, no-nonsense look at the Australasian wine scene focussing more on info and less on -tainment issues. A must for winelovers and students of wine. Highly recommended. Banana Bandits - Not about wine My sister in law phoned - her husband and five other Gold Coast business folk were recently on the island of Lombok (near Bali) for a surfing holiday. They bought the bananas - for the equivalent of $AU2.00 - and the roadblock and bandits disappeared into the bush. The surfers went back to their hotel for a few stiff G&Ts - one imagines they avoided the banana daiquiris. Diary Media release: "The Exhibition of Victorian Winemakers at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre from August 16 - 19, is the feature event of Victorian Wine Week 2001 and the easiest way for you to experience the Victorian wine renaissance. In 1999 over 6,000 visitors tasted a huge range of Victoria’s wines. In 2001, over 500 premium wines will be on tasting from across our diverse wine regions." Surfing the vintnernet Wine maker gets into bed with chef - Yalumba and Jamie Oliver: The Age Southcorp puts Rouge Homme and Tulloch wineries out to tender The Times: "Kiwi Cuvée" French wine-maker's cheeky little number ABC: More grape rust causes concern in Darwin ABC: US wine giant breaks into Australia Herald Sun: Local wine a corker - Victorian wine industry booming Decanter: Mondavi and Southcorp confirm $16m deal Study says beer better than wine when it comes to heart health - Lawrence Journal-World Major Scientific Breakthrough for Wine Industry - ignoble rot control: Individual.com Wine closes gap as beer sales fall flat: Advertiser Receivers take control at Normans winery: Advertiser Man Misses Winning $1M in Wine Contest: ABC News.com via Yahoo! Beer and Guarana - CUB launches Carlton G: B&T Marketing & Media (What next, Guarana Grenache?) Links More on removing wine stains from Fanny Farmer - a favourite cookbook Local Wine Events: Database of worldwide wine and food events Wines Beers and Spirits of the Net: Dean Tudor's comprehensive list of world booze links Bookfinder: Book meta-searcher - especially good for rare and out of print wine and food books Australian Wine and Brandy Corporation: List of Australian Wine Regulations vinXchange: "Industry participants… exchange information about their companies and products and services." The Planet: World music for netsurfing and wine drinking - 10 programs on-line anytime from ABC Radio National ___________________________________________________________________ An occasional commentary on the world of trivia, wine and alcohol distributed free of charge to wine enthusiasts, wine media and the food and drinks industry. Letters and input welcome - no payment entered into. Freelancer Martin Field has written about wine since 1978. See past Articles in the Alsop Review. Permission to quote is freely given as long as acknowledgment is made. No responsibility is taken for the content of linked sites. Copyright ©Martin Field 2001. Melbourne, Australia. ____________________________________________________________________
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