Niche Wine Blog

Grapes Respond to...Music?

I'm sure many of you remember learning about the famed research study, or studies, in Psychology class about how babies hear and remember music played for them while still inside the mother's womb.   Now, I almost majored in Psychology, but  ended up drifting toward another concentration, benevolent in theory, yet quite capricious in practicality, Environmental Studies.  While I have a huge amount of respect and support for both fields, I have some trouble believing certain things when it comes to research, unless there is substantial evidence.  In this case, I don't know that I can allow the fact that the fetus can hear fully from 20 weeks on, or that 12 months later the amount of time the baby focuses on the sound of "familiar" music, signifies that it recognizes it from when it heard the music initially.  I know this may sound a bit harsh, and as such, maybe I should just give in and believe it.  After all, music helps grow healthier plants, right?

Yes, you read me right, plants benefit from the sound of music!  In a brand new study, Italian scientists have been analyzing vineyard exposure to classical music to see what happens to the plants in terms of growth - do they grow larger, more quickly?  The specific grapes being researched are Sangiovese, best known for making Tuscan Chianti, at Il Paradiso di Frassina. 

Just like any other research, there are specific conditions in which the vines "respond" to the music, namely frequency, intensity and exposure time.   According to research done in China, it was found that low-frequency sound waves enhance enzymes, causing increased cell-membrane activity and promoting replication of DNA.

Quite interestingly, "Sound exposure has some positive effects on vine growth in the vineyard, especially shoot growth," says lead researcher Stefano Mancuso, a professor of agriculture at the University of Florence. "The results aren't conclusive yet, but total leaf area per vine was always higher in sound-treated vines, both in the vineyard and in the pots. The silent control pot-grown vines also showed delayed development."

The initial start of all this began when the vineyard was wired for sound years ago as a way to keep pests away.   Cignozzi, the owner of the vineyard used to serenade grape pickers with his accordion and his acute sense of awareness allowed him to realize that the vines were maturing faster under the influence of soft sounds.  It is expected that conclusive evidence will be available in 2008, sometime.  To read the original article written on this, please go here. 

 

Wine Tasting Stations, Enhancing or Diminishing COPIA's Wine Programs?

                                                                   

Most of us know wine offers much depth in the way of discovery and results in curiosity, not only independently, but also within its relation to food and the significance it has on cultures around the world.   To satiate this curiosity, COPIA, The American Center for Food, Wine, & the Arts, residing in the heart of California's wine country, Napa Valley, was initiated as a means to provide visitors with an exceptional wine and food experience.  Since its inception in 2001, COPIA has offered wine and food pairing workshops, art exhibits, organic gardens, films, concerts, dining and more, but has continually struggled to create the optimal experience, .  Regardless of the venue's efforts, it has fought a constant battle to stay afloat in order to win over its target audience.  Recently, it seems as though someone has had an epiphany, in that it has been realized COPIA should focus more on offering an abundance of wine programs, while lessening, but still carrying on, the supplemental programs related to food and art. 

In this effort to stay in touch with and meet the needs of the wine community, an announcement was made last October, marking the beginning of a major restructuring of COPIA by enhancing its wine programs.  With that, today there is an abundance of wine seminars offered, aimed at appealing to differing palates, from novice to advanced in knowledge.  These events are meant to be fun, as well as to provide guidance in furthering one's professional wine education. 

The latest "icing on the cake" is the arrival of wine stations, which allow visitors to experience wine tasting in a self-serve way.  These stations operate with the use of something that looks and acts just like a credit card.  Visitors pre-pay, with various amounts to choose from, and they go from station to station trying one-ounce servings of wine on display.  Peter Marks, Master of Wine and senior director of wine and food at COPIA, has put together numerous educational themes with each of these stations.  To read about the specifics of these concepts and learn more about COPIA's ever-increasing wine focus, please check out this article, written by Jack Heeger, in the Napa Valley Register. 

For those of you who are familiar with COPIA, do you feel this is an endless effort with no beneficial gain ever to be had, or do you feel this latest feat will be a resounding success?

Winerybound...Your All American Guide to Wineries

Have you ever wondered what wine from Arizona, Idaho, or even Hawaii tastes like?  It may be wonderful, it may be terrible, but you never know until you try it.  As a wedding gift, my husband (still not quite used to saying this yet) and I received a bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot from Sonoita Vineyards in Elgin, AZ.  While I haven't tried it yet, I was so excited to receive it because it's an unknown, something different from the all too common California wine monopoly.  Don't get me wrong, I love California wines, not as much as Old World, but I like them in a different light.  However, I am always looking to try something unique, mysterious, and that's exactly what wine from places such as Arizona bring about...an inquisitiveness, making me want to learn more about it.  I guess that's what wine in general does to me though.  If you're looking for a different kind of wine, but don't know where to look, I think I've found your answer...

If your not familiar with it yet, Winerybound is a neat website dedicated to helping you plan your next winery getaway.  Mapping the way to local winery, lodging, and restaurants all across the country, it's a great tool for learning about those lesser known, non-Californian, U.S. wine regions.  Winerybound provides maps of all wine regions in all 50 states.  It allows you to select the destinations you're interested in and you can add them to "My Getaway," a cool feature that allows you to plan your trip, stop by stop.  In building your getaway, you can search for certain features, such as Art Galleries, Carriage Tours, Local Shops, and other Extracurricular activities - for when you get sick of wine (not that that's possible). 

What I also like about the Winerybound website is it highlights different categories, such as:

Feature Destinations
Research Wines
View Regional Maps
Feature Stories

This website is still a baby in my mind, but I think it's going to flower into much more as it grows and develops.  I think it will provide an abundance of information, in due time, with regard to U.S. wine regions so keep tabs on it!