This article is interesting, it suggests that it is possible to turn young wine into something more pleasant simply by passing an electric current through it. A study was carried out on a three month old Cabernet Sauvignon from a Chinese winery. The batches of wine spent one, three or eight minutes in various electrical fields before being analysed and sampled by a panel of tasters. It was found that the wine which was initially "harsh and pungent" had become "harmonious and dainty" and tests found the chemistry of the wine had changed making it less acidic and more fruity and fragrant. I wonder if there is a way to do this at home?

This article suggests that smokers who regularly drink red wine could reduce their risk of developing lung cancer. Research suggests that smokers who drink at least a glass of red wine daily are 60 per cent less likely to develop lung cancer. Men who were heavy smokers, saw a greater reduction in risk with a 4 per cent lower likelihood of developing lung cancer seen for each glass of red wine consumed per month. White wine does not have the same benefits.

The cold summer may not have been that good for sun lovers but it has been good for sparkling wine. The summer has boosted the acidity in Cornish vineyards producing a much higher quality of sparkling wine than usual. Whilst the poor weather reduced the overall crop of grapes by around 80% the remaining grapes are perfect for making sparkling wine. The Camel Valley Vineyard will use them to make its wine called "Cornwall" which came second at the inaugural sparkling wine contest in Italy beating vineyards from Champagne but losing to Bollinger. This years bottling should produce and even better vintage that the vineyard owner believes could rival even France's best champagne. Now where do I buy some of this?

When wine started flowing through the taps in a small Italian village it was hailed as a miracle because it coincided with Marino Grape Festival. During the festival the sparkling wine flows from the main fountain in the square, however on this occasion it came through local peoples taps. It turned out, however, that there was no miracle, the situation was down to a technical error with a plumbing problem at the local vineyard. An error had switched the pipes from the local vineyard into the domestic water supply rather than to the intended destination of the fountain. As word spread the local people filled buckets and plastic containers with as much wine as they could. Wine on tap, this sounds great.

I watched a documentary last week that looked at what goes into some of the leading brands of wine. The results were rather disturbing. Many leading brands of wine and champagne were found to contain flavourings and additives that are added to disguise the poor flavour of inferior grapes. Wines are also bulked up with water, sugar and hydrochloric acid and often oak chips are adding to give an the impression that the wine has been fermented in oak barrels. The main problem is that because the wine industry does not have any regulations forcing manufacturers to list the ingredients of a particular wine, you can never be entirely sure what is in it. Some examples included traces of fungicides in champagne made by Moet, Veuve Clicquot and Lanson. The well know brand Hardy's adds yeast to its merlot and egg, milk and gelatine to the wine to make it less cloudy. Jacob's Creek uses tartaric and ascorbic acid in its Chardonnay and Blossom Hill also uses tartaric acid, enzymes and tannins to the grape juice. It does make me wonder how the consumer can be sure what is in a bottle of wine when these ingredients are not listed on the label.

I was running a bit low on wine so decided to do an order from Majestic. I haven't ordered from them in a little while mainly because I have had plenty of wine from my various wine clubs. I had actually forgotten what a great service Majestic provide. Within 30 minutes of placing my order on the website a lady called me from my local Majestic outlet in Sunningdale to find out when I wanted my order delivered. They were able to deliver between 6 and 8 that same evening. The fact that they can offer evening delivery is unusual in itself but means you can have the order delivered to suit you rather than during business hours as with most companies. At around 6.05 my order arrived. Great service and so far really good wine.

Wine prices are likely to rise as much as 10% this year according to this article. The chief executive of Majestic has said that the increases are to cover increases in wine duty and currency costs. It will mean that bottles of wine that currently cost £6 or £7 will go up as much as a £1.00. That's quite a lot on the price of a case, maybe its time to cut back and save some cash.

Researchers have found that a chemical derived from red wine can help keep the heart "genetically young". The chemical called resveratrol appears to stop age related changes in the function of heart genes producing an effect similar to eating a very calorie diet. Unfortunately the chemical does not stay in the blood for very long and a researcher said "In order to have any effect, you would have to drink literally gallons of wine, and that is not recommended."

I have just found another reason (excuse) to drink wine. According to this article drinking five or more glasses of wine or beer a week can halve your chance of developing rheumatoid arthritis. It is thought that alcohol helps to suppresses the inflammatory process behind the condition.

If you like Champagne, then you might be interested to know that Sainsbury's own brand Champagne has recently won a gold medal at the annual wine awards. Judges rated the Champagne as highly as Piper Heidsieck, Taittinger and Veuve Clicquot's 1998 La Grande Dame which cost around £85. The Sainsbury's Champagne, however, has a rather more modest price tag at just £23.99 a bottle.

I was in Sainsbury's the other day and came across a rather disturbing sight (pictured left). Wine in plastic bottles, it just doesn't seem right somehow, wine is supposed to come in a glass bottle with a proper cork. Whilst I appreciate it is probably packaged in this way to cut costs, it has the look of fruit juice and comes across as somewhat cheap and nasty. This is only my first impression, as I haven't actually tried the wine, if I can bring myself to purchase a bottle (or should I say carton) of this wine, then I will review here later.

I was on the Virgin Wine website the other day, checking to see when my discovery club case was going to arrive and I discovered wine auctions. Basically they have about ten cases of wine in an auction which usually lasts a couple of hours. The cases start at 99p and have no reserve. However, I haven't seen any cases actually sell for under £30. Anyway I placed a bid, not really thinking I would win and ended up with a case of Merlot, which I will review here shortly. I got the case for just over £30, so it works out to less than £3 a bottle. It looks like I have just found a new way to spend my hard earned cash.

I just opened a bottle of Spier Shiraz 2005. The wine is from the Cape of Good Hope. It has a fruity smell and a full bodied colour. It doesn’t taste as fruity as it smells but has a plum like flavour with oak undertones and a hint of spice. At only £4.99 it’s a good wine for the price.

I just opened a rather nice bottle of Circular Quay Shiraz 2006 Bin 30. From South Eastern Australia it is a rather smooth wine with a slight blackcurrant taste and a hint of cedar wood. For around £6.00 a bottle, I think its quite a good buy.

Farmers in Macedonia have found some cognac which dates back to the First World War. The batches of cognac were buried in trenches used by French soldiers and recently several cases have been found. They are expected to fetch around £3,360 each.

With the long hot summers we have been seeing in the UK (not this year) English wine seems to be enjoying something of a boom. I read this interesting article which talks about several different vineyards here in England and what type of wine they produce. It’s given me a few ideas about new wines to try and I will certainly be looking for some English wine next time I visit the supermarket.

I found a bottle of Fetzer Barrel Select Merlot 2005 in Tesco. I must admit I brought it because it was on offer at Tesco for £3.99 and I thought at that price it was worth a try. The bottle blurb boasts of a range of tastes including plums, vanilla, raspberries, cherries and chocolates. When I tried it the taste of plums was evident and it was a really fruity wine. It did however lack body, although to be honest at £3.99 I was not surprised. In all, it was a nice enough wine that went down fairly well, but about what I would expect from a £3.99 offering, ok, but not great. Not a wine I would buy again.

I read this article about the alcohol content of wines. It’s interesting that most wines used to be around 12% per bottle and nowadays most bottles that you see are around 14 or 15%. More alcohol does not necessarily mean a nicer wine and I find that some wines are spoilt by the fact they are simply so strong. Like the author of this article I would much rather have a nice bottle of wine rather than have one glass and start to feel tired because it is so strong. Luckily some supermarkets are now starting to stock some wine with lower alcohol content. The article suggests some to try including a Moscato from Brown Brothers.

I just opened a bottle of L'Oc de la Bouysse, a wine that featured in The Times Top 100 Summer Wines of 2006. At only £4.99 a bottle, this blend of Grenache, Noir, Syrah, Mouvedre and Merlot grapes is a full bodied wine with a nice fruity flavour.

I received an email from Nectar the other day advertising a new Nectar wine club. It's similar to the Virgin Wine Discovery Club, in that they send you a case of wine every quarter. The email advertised a special joining offer meaning you got the first case of wine for only £39.99 and also got three extra bottles free. I thought this was too good an offer to miss out on so clicked the buy now link on the email, only to find the website was down. I tried the site again today and still no luck. I wonder how many potential customers they have lost in the last few days. I will persevere and may give them a call on Monday to tell them they have a problem, but many people have probably given up already.

I have had a bottle of Chateau Clos Renon 2005 sitting in my wine rack for a couple of years now and decided to open it today. The wine is a blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. I originally purchased two bottles of the wine and opened the first one whilst it was still young, however the two years of ageing have certainly improved what was already a particularly nice wine. The taste whilst young was fruity but a lacking a little body, but when aged even for a short time the wine has pleasant cherry like smell and a slight edge of oak to the flavour.  

A man in Herefordshire has been building a dome in his garden made out of wine bottles. He has used 3,000 empty bottles already and needs around 2,000 more to complete the structure which stands 11ft high.

Apparently having a regular glass of wine can help prevent tooth decay and gum disease and can even cure a sore throat. That's according to a study carried out by some Italian scientists. It seems to me like another good excuse to drink wine.

As someone who drinks quite a lot of wine I am always in need of a constant supply. I recently signed up for Virgin Wines discovery club. Basically what that means is they will send me a case of wine every quarter, based on the wines I would usually choose. If I don't like any of the selected wine then I just let them know and I don't pay for them. I also get 15% off any of the wines in the case if I want to purchase more. My first case arrives in September, so I am interested to see how the service works for me and also if their money back guarantee is as good as it seems. More updates on this to follow.

Tesco has started selling a bottle of wine that costs £100 per bottle making it the most expensive supermarket wine on sale. Made by Penfolds the wine is being sold in certain stores where there is demand for something more expensive that the usual supermarket wine. I would love to try it but its a little out of my price range.

As a wine lover I found this article interesting. It lists the top 10 most expensive bottles of wine ever sold and includes a slideshow with information about each of the wines. Much as I love wine I can’t imagine why someone would pay over $100,000 for a bottle.