To kick-start my new program I enjoyed the 2006 Gadais Pére et Fils Muscadet Sèvre et Maine from the Loire Valley. Something interesting was happening here, there was a sweetness on the nose of vanilla and chocolate chip cookie dough. When I tasted it though, there was a slight sweetness upfront, but then the dryness came out with a mild effervescence. On the palate I was picking up a gummy bear fruit flavor ending with sugar cookies. Sounds delicious, well it was, and this certainly has Wine Your Diet written all over it.

For those of you not familiar with Muscadet, it is a region within the Loire Valley in North West France. The grape is Muscadet, but if outside of this area will go by Melon, such as Melon de Bourgogne. This wine can be both white and red. Though the name is similar to Muscat, it is not related.

If you are looking to eat something with this, I would go with something light such as seafood. This is great wine with Read the rest of this entry »

As I was watching the Paris Marathon last Sunday I couldn’t help but think about this horrible rumor I had heard, that wine slows down the metabolism. Just the thought of it sends my mind spinning in twenty, that’s right, twenty, different directions. Let me take this time to set the record straight. As a medical professional, which I am not, I can honesty tell you that the enjoyment of wine does not slow down your metabolism.

We have red wine, say a delicious Côtes du Rhône, which is excellent for the heart. It’s a scientific fact; trust me. The heart is in control, the “boss” of the rest of the body. I think we all know that if the boss is happy then everyone else is going to work efficiently, including metabolism, who is the one in the office that’s usually late all the time, everyone likes him, but he also gets on everyone’s nerves. At this point if you don’t know what I’m taking about, then I’m sorry but you’re metabolism. If the boss doesn’t have her wine, then we all know how the boss acts and then everyone works differently as well.

I think the real lesson here is to make sure your boss is drinking on the job. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a little bit of Grape Thinking for you — it was just announced last week that University of Rochester medical researchers have showed for the first time that Resveratrol, the powerful antioxidant found in grape skins, helps destroy pancreatic cancer cells - Read more here. There is a lot of controversy over this topic and the researchers are calling it a very ’seductive’ area of study right now.

We love this because it’s one of the main influences in our brand name — we’re all about a healthy lifestyle and we think that wine is a vital component to healthy living. Read the rest of this entry »

I received this Press Release in the inbox a few minutes ago, and thought we could share. We had several conversations with Chris at ZanMedia a while back concerning this film, and really like the direction it is headed in promoting the wine industry. Just a helpful tip to anyone marketing movies… It is ALWAYS a good idea to put your trailer on youtube. (I would have embedded it into this page for our readers if I could have found this one)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

For More Information contact:
Niki Scioli, Associate Producer
Zan Media
(415-897-8393)

The University of Rochester Medical Center yesterday, released research information concluding that the antioxidants in red wine not only enhance the effectiveness of radiation and chemotherapy treatment, but also appear to kill cancer cells. Read the rest of this entry »

So lately I’ve been infatuated with the whole idea of wine’s health benefits. It just seems so righteous. Wine is consumed by all nationalities, ethnicities, races, and religions and has been around since the roots of civilization. It’s not surprising that it gives us a little more than a buzz.

In the Fortune article pictured left, it was discussed that wine, more specifically red wine, has a double attack on aging. It works right at the core of our life force… the energy producing components of our cells known as mitochondria, which convert sugars into energy and ultimately power the human body. However, just like a coal plant produces energy and pollutes greenhouse gases that harm our planet, mitochondria also pollute in the form of free radicals that cause damage to our cells and our bodies. These free radicals also harm other mitochondria, causing them to become more inefficient and give off more free radicals, thus sparking the cell-degrading snowball effect that is thought to be a major cause of aging.

We may have an answer, however. We now know that wine has not one, but two ways to combat free radicals. First, it has antioxidants, which most people are familiar with. Antioxidants are also found in green tea and orange juice and they serve to soak up the free radicals produced in the body, thus eliminating their harmful potential. Secondly, and more importantly, red wine possesses a compound known as Resveratrol (topic of Fortune article), which activates an enzyme that creates new and increasingly efficient mitochondria. To put this in perspective: Whereas antioxidants will just make you feel better, new efficient mitochondria can lead to weight loss, increased endurance, and even disease prevention, including cancer, diabetes, and Alzheimers!

Could wine become the human elixir?… More on this later