Champagne can improve spatial memory - a bonus!
Who reading here would equate the term “good Muslims” with the “good Germans” during prewar and wartime Germany? I believe that people of any belief who sit idly by, allowing others to be tortured or exterminated are accomplices. During my checkered past I have had various coaches, managers and grand poobahs stand at the podium and proclaim, in a strident voice, some version of, “You are either part of the solution or part of the problem.” I agree with that dictum, and that’s my whine for this week. Love to read your opinions. Try chjonmc@yahoo.com or letters to editor.
Did you attend the Polar Bear Plunge Sunday in Rehoboth? The slightly warmer weather drew large crowds of revelers, always a fun event. I’m very proud that my eldest, Maggie and her best bud Jessica have been raising cash and taking the plunge for the past five years. This year’s donation was $1,530.
They came down with their significant others and spent the weekend with Barbara and me. Large quantities were consumed. One stand-out was Monmousseau Clos le Vigneau Vouvray 2012.
These were bottled by Clos D’Oliver and produced by a smaller local vigneron. They were given as a Christmas gift and spirited into Delaware from parts unknown. I will be searching to locate more and will inform all where it can be found. Lovely pale-green-tinged golden color. We served it at 60 degreees F. The aromas of peaches and nectarines were well expressed. It has 12.5 percent alcohol with a tiny bit of sugar, and there was sufficient acidity, which when combined with the very slight sweetness, provided a terrific frame for a creamy, peppery, saline mineral-flavored combination. Lovely clean finish repeated the nectarine, 91 points.
Read a fun article titled, The Three Wine Events that won’t Happen in 2015, written by Wink Lorch, a pen-in-cheek guy. Excerpt, “The human race loves a good argument, especially if people can feel virtuous and good about holding what they perceive to be the moral high ground. And that moral wine high ground can exist on both sides of the organic and natural versus wine quality debate.” You may read the entire article here: www.wine-searcher.com/m/2015/01/the-three-wine-events-that-won-t-occur-in-2015.
A team of researchers from UK’s University of Reading (that’s a city) have discovered that drinking one to three glasses of Champagne per week will improve your spatial memory, due to the phenols found in red and white grapes used in their production. Please keep in mind, a group of researchers at a nearby GB university were recently discovered to have misrepresented global warming research.
Don’t allow those bad apples to hamper your enjoyment of the Champagne. Some of those phenols (resveratrol) are also known to enhance HDL. The alcohol also helps induce sleep. That’s the good news. There is some bad news.
Alcohol also alters your sleep homeostasis, reduces REM cycles and may cause you to wake up more frequently, especially if you drink three per night.
“Just when I thought I was getting out, they pulled me back in.” If any of your peeps are teetotalers they need not despair. Resveratrol extract may be purchased, sans alcohol, from several outlets. Check out BioHarvest.com.
Morgan Winery Cotes du Crow’s was a name-driven choice, a blend of 60 percent Grenache and 40 percent Syrah from the Arroyo Seco and San Lucas in Monterrey. 2012 was a near-perfect growing season in Monterrey, and Morgan received its highest rating ever for Crow’s, an 88 from many critics. A huge wine, it spent 10 months in French oak, has a purple-rimmed ruby color and opens to a pleasing bouquet of cherries, oak-driven spices and vanilla with some lavender notes. I was a bit surprised at the soft tannins, since the wine color appeared well extracted but the nicely balanced blackberry and plum flavors provided a fruit sweetness that brought good balance and depth. Best of all, it can be found well under $20; 2 price points for those who buy some under $18.
