This week I've decided to cast the net wide for wine-related nibbles from our international news desk. Actually there is no such thing; it's really just me trawling the internet for something other than new "stuff on my cat" websites and cake decorating blogs. However, I've uncovered some current newsworthy nuggets which could, if used in the right manner, win friends and influence people.
Bird is the word Right now New Zealand winegrowers are working hard to give their grapes all the care and attention possible to shepherd them from the vine and into the bottle. It's common practice for those wanting a low-impact method of manicuring their vineyards to call on flocks of sheep to nibble away at the grass between the rows and the leaves shading those valuable bunches. But according to an article featured on www.winesearcher.com, the latest must-have in vineyard maintenance is chickens.
"The chickens scratch and aerate the soil, mow, eat grass and insects. They will be doing a lot of the work for me," said Philippe Boucard, a cabernet franc producer in France's Loire region. He has just let 250 chickens loose in an acre of his vineyard to do their good work. However, the vineyard is not some kind of chicken utopia according to the article. Boucard has teamed up with a local restaurant owner in the village of Ingrandes de Touraine who will use the birds' free-range eggs in his dishes. The chickens themselves, sadly but tastily, will eventually end up in the oven.
Water whisperer Imagine being able to find out just how "thirsty" your grapevines were? Research between Adelaide University and Coonawarra Wine and Grape Incorporated is helping grapegrowers figure out how much water is in their grapevines. This is important because at some point during the growing season, you want the vine to be a tiny bit stressed so that the plant puts its energy into making tasty berries rather than lots of leaves. Thanks to a new hand-held device, otherwise known as an infrared spectrophotometer, growers can now scan a leaf on a vine and instantly get an indication of what the water stem potential of the plant is. Essentially it'll help growers learn when the vine is getting too stressed or "thirsty". When that happens there's the risk the berries could lose flavour and concentration - so being able to give it water at just the right time could be the difference between a gold medal or the garbage heap.
You'll be scratching Pharmacies in Oxfordshire, England have adopted an interesting approach to teaching customers about drinking responsibly by handing out scratch cards to keep track of their consumption. An article published by thedrinksbusiness.com last week, announced the Oxfordshire County Council had launched interactive scratch cards designed to find out about people's drinking habits by posing a series of questions to inform the user if their drinking could be more than the recommended level.
