14.5

Amount in millions of U.S. dollars of revenue from canned wine sales last year, a 125% increase over the former year. This summer, sales are expected to soar again. Canned wine, a leading option when glass would be dangerous, is also now a strong candidate for use as a cooking wine. According to retailer Bev Mo, the leading canned wines are Francis Ford Coppola Sofia Blanc de Blancs Mini, Infinite Monkey Rosé, Babe Rosé and Underwood Pinot Gris.

What is rotundone?

A. The name of the racking system used to barrel-ferment red wines by rotating the barrels on mechanical arms

B. The compound that makes some wines taste peppery

C. The step in the process of disgorging Champagne when the temporary crown cap is pulled off by what looks like a round bottle opener

D. A type of Burgundy barrel with an especially deep bilge for extended lees contact

Rotundone (row-TUND-own) just might make you think someone had surreptitiously ground up some black pepper into your glass. The compound—often (but not always) found in the syrahs of France’s Rhône Valley and the shirazes of Australia—is the exact same compound that exists in peppercorns. It can be found in grapes themselves and survives the fermentation process. Syrah/shiraz is of course famous/notorious for the black and/or white pepper aroma and flavor, but rotundone can also occasionally be found in pinot noir, gamay, durif, schioppettino and the white grape grüner veltliner, among others. The compound was discovered by the Australian Wine Research Institute in 2005.

Crafty Opossum Downs Craft Spirit

According to The Drinks Business, this merry marsupial snuck into Cash’s, a Florida liquor store, the day after Thanksgiving, broke a bottle of bourbon then drank the entire contents. The brand was not revealed. Found… Continue reading

14.5

Get WineSpeed