May, 11, 2011 Wine yeasts reveal prehistoric microbial world

Yeasts are unicellular fungi and so far over 1 500 different species have been described. Among them are important industrial organisms, pathogens and model organisms which help us to understand how eukaryotic cells work.However, one of the most well-known characteristics of yeast is the ability of ...

May, 10, 2011 US: Potential, hurdles noted in Arkansas wine industry

Grape and wine production has been a steady growth industry for U.S. agricultural products and agri-tourism in the past decade. The 2007 Census of Agriculture listed grapes as the 6th largest crop harvested in the U.S. with more than 25,000 farmers dedicated to grape growing. Additionally, U.S. grap...

May, 10, 2011 California: Grapegrowers Accused in Fish Kill

Santa Rosa, Calif.—Before 8 a.m. on April 29, a federal agent and a fisheries biologist found 159 juvenile steelhead trout stranded along a branch of the Russian River in Mendocino County; 21 were confirmed dead. According to Dan Torquemada, assistant special agent in charge, the National Oceanic ...

May, 10, 2011 Britain's winemakers revel in prospect of early harvest

Vintage year in offing as unseasonal sunshine cause buds to emerge earlier than normal.For the hardy British winemaker who has the tough task of trying to create a vintage to compete with the great European and New World producers, spring can be a cruel season. But thanks to this year's unseasona...

May, 10, 2011 U.S. wine industry weighs implications of label laws

Wine quality can only be assessed by opening a bottle and tasting the wine. For that reason, labels and label information are extremely important in wine marketing, since they allow consumers to make quality judgments without actually tasting a wine. In an extremely competitive international mark...

May, 10, 2011 Salud! Blend (but don’t microwave) to improve a mediocre wine

Go ahead, pair white wine with lamb or red wine with salmon. Drink it in a juice glass or a plastic cup. But be warned: Some rules about wine were not meant to be broken. Wine likes certain temperatures, usually around 50 to 59 degrees Fahrenheit for storage, cooler than the average kitchen ev...

May, 10, 2011 California: Central Coast Vines Hit by Frost

Vintners along California’s Central Coast are evaluating their vineyards after one of the worst frosts in years struck the area’s wine regions last month. For two nights beginning April 8, temperatures dropped as low as 24° F in some areas and stayed below freezing for several hours. The cold d...

May, 10, 2011 German frosts 'worst for 30 years'

German vineyards have been devastated by some of the worst frosts the country has seen for 30 years. Temperatures dipped as low as -5C on the night of 3-4 May in areas including the Pfalz, Rheinhessen, Franken and Württemberg. The German Wine Institute (DWI) said it was too soon to assess the im...