I spent the afternoon today with some guys I have been friendly with for about 20 years (damn I’m getting old).  We went out to the suburbs and enjoyed a football Sunday.  But this was not your typical “guys, beer & football” afternoon.  Today included wives & kids (of which I have neither…yet).  (Of import of course my beloved Giants CRUSHED the Baltimore Ravens (30-10) and improved to 9-1.  Looking good G-men!)

Of the women in attendance today 2 were pregnant and 3 others have had babies within the last few months.  Although I am not a medical doctor, and not even a Wine doctor (maybe one day), I do encourage pregnant women to drink wine (in moderation!) when pregnant (I believe a half a glass or so 2-3 times a week). While I don’t think my encouragement has changed anyone’s previously made up mind, it has not prevented me from throwing my two cents into the equation.

There have been countless studies supporting both both moderate drinking and abstaining during pregnancy, but I recently read one posted a couple of weeks ago on Wine Spectator online.  Researched at the University College of London and published in the International Journal of Epidemiology, the study proudly states:

“…not only can pregnant women safely drink a glass or two of wine per week, but  their children performed better three years after birth when compared to children of women who did not drink at all.”

For more information please read the rest of the article.  If you are pregnant (or intend to become pregnant) and want to drink alcohol during your pregnancy PLEASE consult your physician, conduct your own research, and DO NOT use this one study to make your decision.  And if you do decide to drink (pregnant or not) PLEASE do so in moderation.

Happy (pregnant or not) Wine Tasting!

WTG

I bet you thought the title was referring to the recently released movie that retells the story of the great 1976 wine standoff between France & Napa.  Although the story is a very interesting one and I hear the movie was entertaining as well, that is not what I am writing about tonight.  Sadly I have not seen it yet, but I do hope to catch it at some point.

What I am writing about is a phenomena that happens to wine.  I enjoyed the description from the David Girard Vineyards website:

“Bottle shock is real. It is also a fairly simple concept.  Wines, like people do not necessarily travel well.  That’s true even if the trip is only for the short distance from barrel to bottle.  You might think of it as analogous to travelers who get out of their car after a drive from Sacramento to Los Angeles.  All of their parts are still there when they arrive.  Nevertheless, they may need a while to stop feeling the vibration of the road.  They may need to straighten out their clothes.  They may need to look in a mirror to attend to the finer details.”

So as I understand it there are two variations on bottle shock.  The first is the shock the wine goes into when first bottled (or as referred to above when transferred from barrel to bottle).  And the second is the shock wine experiences when it goes on long journeys - especially those taken via plane across continents.

Those of you who read my post from last night know I attended the “Kosherfest” food & wine convention today.  I am writing about “bottle shock” as I tried a few wines from a very well regarded purveyor of Israeli wines today with some wine aficionados.  I am quite familiar with most of this winery’s wines, and smelled a wine that one of the aforementioned aficionados said was corked.  I was sure that the wine was not corked, but he was right, it was definitely OFF.   The three of us then tried yet another wine and sure enough this too was “off”.  I am proud to say that yours truly theorized that the wines were not corked but actually suffering from travel sickness AKA bottle shock.  I spoke with a winery rep who confirmed that the wines were all flown in from Israel and arrived just a day or two prior to the event.  We all then agreed that many of the wines that seemed off must have been suffering from bottle shock.

While I thought you might enjoy hearing that this phenomena actually does exist and is real I must admit that I am a bit embarrassed to be writing about it given how highly I speak of Israeli wines.  That said, the wines are all excellent, it is the judgement of those who decided to fly the wines in the night before that should be brought into question.

Happy SHOCKLESS wine tasting!

WTG

I went out with some colleagues tonight to an upscale kosher restaurant.  This restaurant is very well regarded.  Sadly, kosher restaurants (whose certifying organization holds to the highest standards) in the US only allow kosher “mevushal” wines.  Without getting into the whats, whys, and hows of “mevushal”, simply put - mevushal wines are those that are put through a flash pasteurization process which then allows them to be handled by everyone (rather than just observant jews).

(A quick aside, most Israeli wines, considered by some [myself included] to be the best kosher wines in the world, are NOT put through this process.)

In any event, this fancy restaurant and its kosher certification meant that if we were to order wine it would have to be a mevushal wine.  Although I would never choose a mevushal wine over wine that had not gone through the flash pasteurization, when not given a choice I’d rather have wine with my dinner.  Especially since this restaurant is known for their steaks and I wanted to order a steak.  Can you imagine, a steak without some nice red wine.  Seemed sacrilege to me, but that is exactly what happened.  My colleagues felt strongly about not ordering a wine that was mevushal.  And not wanting to be the only one at the table with wine, I too had my steak with…a glass of water.

“A meal without wine is like a day without sunshine”.  It was a dark dreary day today.

I’m off to kosherfest for the next two days.  I’ll be working in the wine area, but i will do my best to walk around a bit and see if there are some standout items worth reporting back about.

Happy steak and WINE tasting!

WTG

Why do art and music always seem to go hand in hand?  This question was posed to me by a musician at an event I attended last week.  The musician is a harp player, and he was playing with a jazz musician at the art exhibition.  I thought the question was a good one.  And my response was an obvious one, but I wonder if there is more to it?

I responded that art, music and wine are all cultural STUFF.  Things that can be pondered.  Things we wonder about, are curious about, and want to learn about.

And what I find most interesting is that these are all things people either like or don’t like and can’t be wrong about - at least their preference.  You can love or hate a wine, a picture, or a song.  And nobody can tell you otherwise.  They can have the exact opposite feeling about that wine, art or music.  But they would be right also.  We are all individuals and have personal likes and dislikes.

What do you think about the link between art, music & wine?

Happy culturally enhanced wine tasting!

WTG

I hope that all who celebrated had a nice Rosh Hashana holiday, filled with fabulous wine & great food.  I know I did!  So much food & wine that I was compelled to hit the gym last night after returning home from 48+ hours of overeating.  A good workout & I felt a whole lot better.

Now I must admit that I did not really crave a glass of wine after last nights workout but I often do like a glass of something with whatever I am eating following a workout.

Don’t tell my fellow blogger Kevin about this one 

Having recently read a Wine Spectator Health Q & A question regarding drinking wine after a workout, I thought I’d share.  The answer to whether one can/should drink wine following a workout came from a registered dietitian, who advised against it stating “Drinking wine, which contains around 10 to 13 percent alcohol [yeah, more like 12-15%], can interfere with the refueling of your muscles by stopping your liver from sending out any glucose. Alcohol delays recovery from exercise.”

The whole answer, found via the link above wasn’t all negative.  And frankly for every “professional expert” against a behavior I feel like there is another for a behavior, but…

Just something I found interesting that I thought you might appreciate hearing about.

Happy muscle strengthening wine tasting!

WTG

I’m sorry for the delay in writing this post.  I have gotten MANY requests for my Rosh Hashana suggestions.  I’m pressed for time (aren’t we all) so here goes…

I decided not to write about wines that typically retail for more than $30.  If you are spending in the $30+ price range please feel free to contact me through the site and I’d be more than happy to discuss your best options with you. (more…)

Just wanted to let everyone know about an upcoming event held at what I expect to be a very cool facility.  I’ll be there and it would be great to see you there…

WTG

WHAT A WEEK!  And it was only 4 days long.  Feels a bit more like an 8 day week.  Don’t get me wrong, I was busy running around selling wine and I had a blast.  Oh yeah, there was also a bit of NFL FOOTBALL thrown into the busy mix.

But for the most part The pre-Jewish holiday rush has officially begun and I have been selling fabulous Israeli wine all around the NY Metro area.   While for the most part it is referred to as “kosher” wine I am plugging the idea of Israeli wine.  The industry people hear it, respect it, and then let me know it is not viable…YET.  But it will happen…eventually.

Have a great wine tasting weekend everybody.  Hope you will be popping a special bottle!

WTG

Following up with the theme of increased wine consumption, here is a piece indicating that Americans are drinking more beer and less wine. 

Americans are drinking less alcohol, particularly beer, according to a study published in the August edition of The American Journal of Medicine.

Interestingly enough, I had been under the impression that alcohol consumption does not decrease during troubling economic times.   People drink the same amount.  They just purchase it differently.  Instead of drinking at bars and restaurants, they but their wine (or whatever) at shops and take it home.

But most importantly, “ Americans are drinking significantly less beer and more wine, while hard liquor use has remained fairly constant.”

Happy WINE tasting!

The future is here.  Robot wine tasters have arrived…

Fear not wine critics, they are not after your jobs.  Rather, as reported in “Machines Like US - Science News“, these robots, developed in Barcelona , Spain have been  designed for quality control.  It is actually a handheld “electric tongue” that through the use of six sensors can help to determine the grape variety and vintage.

Pretty cool stuff, huh?!

Happy ROBOTIC wine tasting!

WTG