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You're Over the Limit, Buddy. |
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Daily News
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Written by Fred Swan
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Wednesday, 14 July 2010 05:39 |
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Yeah, Kombucha, the regulators are talking to you. Kombucha has been an "it" drink lately. It is a fermented tea which dates back to at least the 19th century and, in the past, has been popular primarily in China and Japan. This tea is distinguished not by particular leaves, it can be made with black or green tea, but by it's fermentation with cultures that include a combination of yeast and bacteria.
Much of Kombucha's new popularity in the west is due to claims that drinking it can benefit one's health. There is some evidence that it contains glucaric acid which is thought might have some benefit in reducing the incidence of cancer. However, health claims for Kombucha, like snake oil and other magical elixirs, range widely. It is touted as everything from an energy drink to a tightener of skin and an improver of eyesight. On the other hand, due to the active fermentation processes, contamination can also occur in the beverage fostering growth of unhealthy molds in the drink. Ick.
But now it seems that Kombucha tea isn't for teetotalers. It's a fermented tea which contains small amounts of alcohol. The alcohol percentage can actually increase in the bottle while it sits on a retailers shelf too. U.S. regulations stipulate that drinks containing more than 0.5 percent of alcohol by volume be treated as alcoholic beverages. In most cases, Kombucha is under the limit. However, old bottles can develop as much as 1.5% alcohol.
Many resellers, including Whole Foods, Inc. have removed Kombucha from their shelves while regulators, muckrakers and Lindsay Lohan's alcohol-sensing ankle bracelet try to determine how to treat the tea. If it is ruled and alcoholic beverage, product labels will have to reflect that. Sales would likely also be limited to persons of legal drinking age.
This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved. |
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The Most Expensive Wine Cooler You'll Never Drink? |
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Daily News
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Written by Fred Swan
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Thursday, 08 July 2010 11:26 |
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Oh. THAT kind of wine cooler.
Still, 2,500,000 British Pounds is a lot of sterling for this silver. To be exact, 14,064 Pounds per pound. It was sold at auction on Tuesday in London by Sotheby's to an Asian buyer. I hope Sotheby's threw in a case of Carrauades. [Sotheby's]
This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved. The cool cooler photo belongs to Sotheby's.
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Are You Buying What You Think You're Buying? |
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Daily News
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Written by Fred Swan
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Thursday, 08 July 2010 10:48 |
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For quite some time now, it's been popular in the West to get tattoos featuring Chinese language characters. I've always thought that was risky. The vast majority of people getting these tattoos don't read Chinese. They trust a tattoo artist they've just met to give them permanent ink that means what they want. The tattoo above is supposed to say Love, Balance, Unity, Eternity and then have the family's name in the center. It could actually be giving World Cup scores and we non-Chinese speakers would be none the wiser.
French and English are equally cryptic to people who don't know them. If the person is from a country that doesn't use the Latin alphabet, confusion is even more likely. So, if you're a wealthy Chinese person in Bordeaux looking to buy the latest vintage of Chateau Lafite-Rothschild but don't speak or read a word of French, what do you do? You either trust your guide not to rip you off or you try to match up the characters from the notes your friend wrote for you. If that friend is the same guy who translated this sign, you're in big trouble.
Andy Xie, writing for MarketWatch, speculates that the meteoric rise in prices for Carruades de Lafite is due in large part to mistaken identity. This wine, the second wine of Chateau Lafite, has risen 10x in price just since 2005 and sometimes sells for as much as First Growths. Much of this, he says, is due to Chinese buyers who think they're buying the top-of-the-line Lafite. He's seen it first-hand, "I personally witnessed Chinese tourists unloading cases of little Lafite at enormous prices in Bordeaux to ship back to China." Oops. He says a bunch of other really interesting things too. You should read the article. [MarketWatch]
This article is original to NorCalWine.com. Copyright 2010 NorCal Wine. All rights reserved. Tattoo photo by Chris Lai. |
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Take Arms Against the European Grapevine Moth! |
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Daily News
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Written by Fred Swan
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Sunday, 25 April 2010 21:15 |
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The European grapevine moth infestation seems to be spreading. Reports came in yesterday of the moth, Lobesia botrana, being found in a Suisun Valley, Solano County trap. This disaster comes on the heels of quarantine being declared in Napa Valley. .Two moths have also been found at Kenwood Vineyards in Sonoma Valley, causing the quarantine to be extended to parts of Sonoma County too.
The moth is said to have originated in Southern Italy, but has been spreading around the world. It damages grapevines when the larvae eat their way into unripe grapes contaminating the fruit and leaving it vulnerable to other diseases. The moth infestations can be controlled to a certain degree with pesticides and ant-fertility chemicals. More technical details are available from the University of California Integrated Pest Management Website. In the mean time, I think we should all grab fly swatters. [Examiner.com, Contra Costa Times, UC IPM] |
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