Saturday, December 16, 2006
GRAPE JUICE is one of the best anti-aging foods as touted by msm.com recently, along with sunflower seeds, spinach, beans, sweet potatoes and cheese. In a blurb headlined “Eat Right, Look Good: Foods that fight the effects of aging”, the article noted that besides providing protection from heart attack and stroke, grape juice can also help keep your middle-aged skin from aging. A health authority said, “Grapes are filled with antioxidant polyphenols that help to keep your skin flexible and elastic.” Some of the health benefits of grape juice will be discussed at Viticulture 2007 on February 9 by Dr. James Joseph of USDA’s Agricultural Research Service at Tufts University in Boston; and we will soon be launching a major publicity program on the health benefits of juice made with Concord grapes. Meanwhile, I’ve asked Dan Martello, the talented and creative chef at the Wine & Culinary Center, to try combining all those anti-aging foods in one recipe so visitors can stop aging and start younging.
“RED HEART” is the name of a wine being strongly promoted for its health benefits by the massive Saintsbury supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. Selling for about $8 a bottle, the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot is being advertised as a heart-healthy pleasure to capitalize on the increasing consumer awareness of wine and certain other foods with cardio-protective benefits. This type of promotion is totally illegal in the U.S., where the Federal Alcohol Advertising regulations strictly prohibit any industry mention of wine’s health benefits even if they’re true and well documented by scientific and medical evidence. It will be interesting to watch how sales go on the other side of the pond.
LONG ISLAND got a nice mention as an “Up-and-Coming Wine Region” in the current (January) edition of Food & Wine, which is probably the most influential publication of all among wine enthusiasts. The magazine listed 100 things to try, and Long Island wines were among them, with specific mention of Osprey’s Dominion, Lenz, and Channing Daughters. Other regions cited include the Douro Valley (Portugal), Guadalupe Valley (Mexico), Slovenia, and Tasmania (Australia). In a separate piece, “2006 Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand” got well-deserved praise with a note that “an entire country is famous for a single grape”. That’s why we have imported some New Zealand experts for Viticulture 2007 (February in Rochester), who will unveil the secrets of “Farming for Flavor.” Why shouldn’t we be able to do the same with Finger Lakes Riesling or Long Island Merlot? In fact, Long Island Merlot got a nice plug this week from Eric Asimov of the New York Times in a post-“Sideways” look at trends for that wine, which was soundly panned by the movie. A key excerpt: “And let’s be clear: Not all American merlot is bad merlot. Yes, California does produce some good merlot, though I could make a case that better merlot is coming from Long Island than from California, albeit in very small amounts.”
CALIFORNIA GRAPE AND WINE INDUSTRY, the granddaddy of winegrowing in the U.S., contributes $51.8 billion annually to the Golden State’s economy, and $103 billion to the national economy, according to a study by MKF Research that was unveiled this week by Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers in San Francisco. California represents about 90% of the nation’s grape and wine production, and is the world’s fourth largest wine producer after France, Italy, and Spain. A few of their key numbers: 500,000 acres of vineyards (for perspective, New York has about 30,000), 309,000 full-time equivalent jobs, $10 billion in gross wages, $2.9 billion in taxes to California and $1.8 billion to the federal government plus another $10 billion in state and local taxes in different states around the country. In short, it’s BIG! California’s study, along with those from New York, Michigan, and several other states, are now being folded into a national economic impact study by MKF Research that will be unveiled in mid-January in Washington, with follow-up presentations at the Unified Symposium in Sacramento and Viticulture 2007 in Rochester. The national study will also incorporate the grape juice sector of the industry, along with table grapes and raisins, and will illustrate how the humble grape is actually a gold mine for the American economy.
NGWI stands for National Grape and Wine Initiative, a broad-based strategic planning group which met this week in Modesto, CA to further refine common priorities for research to benefit the industry. Taking a page from our savvy friends in Australia, NGWI is taking the long view with a broad perspective under the leadership of current Chairman Tom Davenport of National Grape Cooperative Association (which owns Welch’s). The two-day meeting at Gallo winery was a prelude to 2007, when NGWI representatives will visit Washington in April to make the case for research funding and specialty crops. If the California grape and wine industry by itself contributes nearly $2 billion in federal taxes, doesn’t it make sense to reinvest a small portion of those funds for research to fuel industry growth?
DIABETICS who have suffered recent heart attacks may reduce their risk of another by consuming a glass of red wine daily, according to a recent study published in Diabetes Medicine. The study included people with type 2 diabetes who had survived a heart attack, all of whom were advised to eat a Mediterranean-style diet and to exercise; but half were advised to abstain for all alcohol, with the other half advised to consume one glass of red wine per day. After 12 months, the wine consumers showed much better cardiac performance and much higher levels of HDL-cholesterol (the good kind).
HAPPY HOLIDAYS! Whether you celebrate a specific tradition, or just the incredible gift of life, I hope you will have a safe and joyous holiday season filled with food, wine, family and friends. Cheers!
“Consuming wine in moderation daily will help people to die young as late as possible.”
--Dr. Philip Norrie
A Votre Santé To Your Health
Jim Trezise, fax
JimTrezise@nywgf.org, email
http://www.newyorkwines.org/, web