Odd hits...

Now I don't want to spook all you nice visitors out there, but occasionally I check the listing of various hits to this site to see who's showing up...and sometimes why they show up...

There are always odd hits - people who end up at your site without intending to do so - but some are really odd...take the following hit from Disney Worldwide services in Orlando:


Wine jelly beans? Are we getting a sneak peak at the creative processes of the Diz-Biz Imagineers at work during an all-nighter...or just a bored employee at 3:57 AM?
Perhaps it was a concierge looking to fulfill a late night VIP request for munchies, but they found my post from 2005 regarding the jelly beans put together by the nice people at Jelly Belly, DeLoach and what was WineX...

Then there's the hit from Zurich, Switzerland, looking for information about the level of "Argentinian wine consumption"...but I'd count that one as pretty mundane and benign...especially when contrasted with the hit from the PENTAGON right after it:


Hmmmm.
Did Dick or Dubya receive a leaded glass decanter as a "present", and the pentagon is checking to see how dangerous it might be? Was it from Hugo Chavez?
Or, maybe they're thinking of sending one as a present to an unsuspecting foreign dignitary? Perhaps they know where binLaden is hiding, and want to send him something special? Oh, that's right...he probably doesn't drink wine...wonder how long it'll take for the peep's at the Pentagon to figure that one out...
My, how insidious (and painfully slow) a plot that might be...though that hit should probably have been routed through the CIA in Langley, VA.
(That raises a good question: if the CIA, NSA, or DIA visited your site, would you know about it if they didn't want you to know about it? With the amount of recent malfeasance in the current administration it's possible they might not remember to "wipe their feet" before entering your site - so to speak - so maybe you would.)

All things aside, I'd like to thank them for showing up for a full minute to read my Riedel posts- but somehow I don't feel as though my tax dollars are very hard at work...but maybe, just maybe, they're here to check out the NRW conspiracy...

Pardon me, I think I need to take a closer look at the logs and see if I can find any of those missing RNC emails for Karl Rove...and maybe run all my anti-viral and anti-spyware programs again....

More Riedel nonsense

This from an IPNC press release:

"After two years of research, comparative tastings, and evaluation of prototype glasses, Oregon winemakers and Georg Riedel have arrived at a new shape of wine glass designed especially for Oregon Pinot noir. What began as a wishful conversation between IPNC Executive Director Amy Wesselman and Georg Riedel has now been given form, literally, and the first shipment of the new tulip-shaped glass is currently on its way from Kufstein, Austria."

...and this lovely nugget...

"Ms. Wesselman shipped a selection of some of Oregon's best Pinot noirs to Austria for Mr. Riedel to work with in his own facility. Six months later, an answer was delivered in the form of a large-bowled, tulip-shaped glass that flares out gently at the top. This glass was presented along with 11 others in a workshop similar to the first. Tasters agreed that the slightly narrower opening of this glass seemed to focus aromas. Its flared lip reproduced the mouth-feel tasters had experienced with the Grand Cru Burgundy glass. Every single workshop participant agreed that the new glass offered Oregon Pinot [N]oir lovers the best of both worlds."

[sigh]...I've gone on record as pointing out that mouth-feel isn't affected by the shape of the glass, and I feel this is just more of the same "suggestibility" of the panel participants. But I agree that a slightly narrowed opening helps concentrate the aromas, and the tulip shape bowl for more surface area within the glass will also help on this point...

Now, did we really need this new glass?

Of course not, but it makes a great partnership for both Oregon Pinot Noir growers and the Riedel company - which could now have yet another region recommending those glasses to it's clients. And Mr. Riedel gets to be invited over to be the MC for the whole shebang as part of his reward (see the release).

"This is a significant development in the advancement of Oregon as a premier Pinot growing region," said Tony Rynders, winemaker at Domaine Serene. "It's all about having the right vehicle to show off our wines, and the group of winemakers and wine professionals involved in developing this glass unanimously agreed that it made an enormous difference."

Uhhhhm, right.... So now an appellation won't be complete or validated without a new creation by Riedel to showcase it...? And I suppose of course, that it WILL have to be varietal specific as well... (I think it's obvious from the tone of the quote that this is more of a marketing coup than necessity for the enjoyment of these wines...)

Perhaps next we'll see a Lodi Chenin Blanc glass being offered, or Chalk Hill Malbec glasses, or some other truly obscure wine/varietal pairing glasses showing up in the catalog...

Frankly, this is just another opportunity for the neophyte, uninformed or impressionable to be separated from their cash by buying yet another supposedly "necessary" piece of stemware.

More on Riedel

There's an interesting thread on Robert Parker's bulletin board that pretty much sums up each of my previous posts on Riedel. Buy quality glassware with a bowl bigger than the mouth to enhance aromas but don't buy into the marketing BS about having a different glass for each varietal. I'm still waiting for somebody who endorses the varietal glass line to do my blind taste test....

Pour 4oz. of Chardonnay into 5 Reidel/Spiegelau "Chardonnay" glasses and 1 "Burgundy" glass. Have a friend mix up the glasses and blindfold you. If what you believe is true, then you should be able to pick out the Burgundy glass by taste every single time. Try it, you'll be surprised what your preconceived notions (marketing) can lead you to taste (or not taste). Its quite revealing....

Still using leaded stemware?!

It must be time to post about…
Wineries sued over lead glassware!

"Dozens of California wineries are now among the hundreds of businesses that have been hit with what many are calling "predatory" lawsuits relating to lead in stemware.
The lawsuits are based on the California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, also known as Proposition 65. Businesses that fail to provide proper warning signs about chemicals in glassware, including lead and cadmium, can be liable for penalties of up to $2,500 per violation per day, which when calculated based on the number of individual sales can be significant."

Like I wasn't already aware of this as a cause for concern...I had mentioned this on a post back of mine back in July of ’04 regarding Riedel glassware. [See the greatest-trick-riedel-ever-played.] Studies showing the link between leaded glassware and lead in acidic beverages have been around for a good decade-plus [see below for some links]...

Currently I don’t intend to focus solely on Riedel, but rather on all purveyors of leaded crystal glassware, though I still think the Riedel party-line-dogma of a different shape glass for each wine varietal to direct it to a different part of the tongue to be pure bunk.
But the problem here I guess shouldn’t be that the lawsuits are limited to the wineries, who frankly I don’t believe have given the issue any fore thought at all, but should focus on the manufacturers who are making a product known to contribute lead to your acidic beverages.

In fact, those who manufacture these items should be held accountable also for propagating the “leaded crystal” equals “high class” myths – among others – so I guess the marketing arm should be under the microscope as well.


Crystal may leach lead into food FDA Consumer May 1991
"Leaded crystal decanters may be beautiful, but they also may pose a serious health threat, a recent study suggests.
Researchers from FDA and Columbia University's College of Physicians and Surgeons found that when alcoholic and other beverages are stored in crystal decanters, the decanters release lead into the liquid. As a result, FDA is advising people not to use crystal decanters or other crystal ware to store beverages or foods.
FDA warns that infants and children are particularly vulnerable and may experience adverse health effects even from low levels of lead exposure. The agency advises the following:
* Don't store foods or beverages, especially alcoholic beverages and other products with a high acid content (fruit juice, tomato sauce, vinegar, wine, etc.), in crystal glassware.
* Don't feed infants and children from crystal baby bottles or glasses.
* Pregnant women should not use crystal glassware.
* Decrease the frequency of use of crystal wine glasses, particularly by women of childbearing age.

FDA tested 60 samples of crystal ware from 17 different countries for leachable lead content. In the experiments, FDA scientists used in the glassware an acetic acid solution similar in acidity to household vinegar. Results showed that over a 24-hour period, amounts of lead released into the solution ranged from non-detectable levels to 7.2 parts per million. One experiment shows that when acidic juices or warmed infant formula were poured into crystal baby bottles, lead levels in the beverages rose. FDA and the crystal ware industry are performing additional studies on the release of lead by crystal glassware.

FDA presently has no maximum allowable level for lead leached from crystal ware. But experts recognize that lead is hazardous to health. Because lead accumulates in the body, limiting exposure to it is essential."


LEACHING OF LEAD AND OTHER METAL IONS FROM "LEAD CRYSTAL" GLASS 1992

HOW MUCH LEAD LEACHES FROM CRYSTAL GLASSWARE? 1993
"The rate of leaching of lead from production processed glassware containing about 24% PbO (lead oxide) was investigated. The glassware was exposed to acidic wines, orange juice and distilled water, at room temperature and at 60 C, at periods of up to 41 days. Leaching was low initially, for up to 2 days, followed by a rapid increase in Pb (lead) levels in the contact liquid, and finally by slower increases in Pb (lead) levels, from the 24th day onwards. Levels as high as 8.5 ppm of Pb (lead) were recorded. Wine leached more Pb (lead) than orange juice, and distilled water showed no detectable Pb (lead) levels after 41 days. Fine polishing increased the rate of leaching, whereas acid polishing resulted in a decrease."


Co-operative study on the release of lead from crystalware 1998
Older (antique) is better...?
"The whole spectrum of lead-bearing glasses from 7 up to 32% PbO was investigated. Short-term extraction tests carried out with 4% acetic acid on three sets of 24% PbO stemware of different composition, show that lead release is closely related to the hydrolytic resistance of the glass. A linear correlation was found between sodium released from the bulk glass and lead released from the surface at any time after the first leach. Experiments of repeated leaching with wine and brandy showed that lead release decreases with increasing number of extractions, similarly to the decrease observed with 4% acetic acid. Long-term experiments carried out with brandy on a set of six decanters for three months at room temperature confirmed the well-known square root dependence of lead release with time. On the basis of these results an estimation of the risk associated with the conditions of consumer use is attempted."

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So, I guess the guidelines should be as follows: Don't use leaded stemware (for anything except pencil holders), but if you do, try to find some antique glassware or glassware which has been acid washed to remove some of the surface lead prior to your use. Also, leaded glass decanters aren't a good idea, so we should probably just get rid of them all.