There are books also, but apps for your iPhone are cooler, assuming you have an iPhone. Apps like Wine 101 by FuzzyBeta claim to educate the uninitiated and remove the stress of wine selection. At the cost of $3, (of course not including the cost of the iPhone and service) Wine 101 provides a list of names for red wine when you launch it. Tapping on a varietal opens a window detailing where the grape comes from, how the wine smells and tastes, and foods it might pair with.

A similar service is provided by Hello Vino, a free app, available through iTunes, which selects the perfect type of wine to go with a meal or occasion, or to give as a gift. Wine shoppers need only install the app, and answer a few simple questions to get a specific wine recommendation.

These days, I hope the only stress you have is which wine to serve with dinner. But if you’re concerned about ordering wine in a fancy restaurant, I have one word for you, Sommelier. Providing this information is their job. Ditto for a manager in a wine shop. Tapping on your iPhone for a wine recommendation while on a date is not very suave.

The U.S. Senate Finance Committee is considering raising taxes on wine, beer and liquor and imposing a new levy on soda and other naturally sweetened drinks to help pay for overhauling health care. Committee members believe the so-called “lifestyle tax proposals” would help pay the $1.5 trillion tab over the next decade to revamp the system while slowing sales of unhealthy products that contribute to rising medical costs. All alcoholic beverages would be taxed at the same rate, based on their alcohol content, eliminating the lower rate that beer and wine now have. The tax on a six-pack of beer would rise from 33 cents to 81 cents. The tax on wine would increase from 21 cents a bottle to 70 cents. The tax on hard liquor would rise from $2.14 to $2.54 for a 750-milliliter bottle. Overall, the higher taxes would raise an estimated $60 billion over 10 years.

Another set of taxes would hit sugar-sweetened drinks, which are not currently taxed by the federal government. Although the exact rate has not been set, the Senate Finance Committee has proposed taxing per 12 oz container of these beverages. It would cover carbonated and noncarbonated drinks sweetened with sugar, high-fructose corn syrups and similar sweeteners. These would include sodas, iced teas and coffees, energy and sports drinks, fruit and vegetable drinks and flavored milks. It would not apply to artificially sweetened drinks. The Congressional Budget Office estimated a tax of 3 cents per 12 oz container, which would raise an estimated $50 billion over the next decade.

Rep. Mike Thompson is dubious. The St. Helena Democrat and co-chairman of the congressional wine caucus said the proposal “would be trading tax dollars for jobs and makes absolutely no sense for the wine and wine grape community, health care reform or our economy.”

So, why not tax fast-food instead of further damaging an already frail California economy or slugging a wine industry that’s already on the ropes? Because at this point, McJobs are the only avenue left for job growth, and the Big Mac is subsidized food for the poor.

The first comprehensive survey of women’s attitudes toward wine has overturned several preconceived notions. Over 4,000 women in the UK, France, Japan, Germany and the US responded to a survey commissioned by Vinexpo, revealing a preference for red wine and skepticism for marketing campaigns that target them specifically (e.g. White Lie and Slender Wines). Among the more surprising results were that women prefer red wine to both white and rose, and consider wine compatible with a balanced diet. 79% of the women said they drink wine because they like the taste – as opposed to its compatibility with food or fashion status. Of the 1300 UK-based respondents, 80% choose the wine for their household, with price as the main criterion, followed by varietal and country of origin; and 54% said they were undeterred by government health warnings. Consultant and presenter Angela Mount said other results, notably that women continue to be more price-led than brand or quality-led, was worrisome, with only 10% choosing wine over $15 a bottle.

1. The longest recorded Champagne cork flight was 177 feet and 9 inches, 4 feet from level ground at Woodbury Vineyards in New York state, on June 5, 1988.
2. Marilyn Monroe was said to have once taken a bath in 350 bottles of Champagne. Vintage not confirmed.
3. The largest cork tree in the world is known as The Whistler Tree. This tree is located in the Alentejo region of Portugal and averages more than 1 ton of raw cork per harvest, which is enough to cork 100,000 bottles of wine. Or one really big keg of beer.
4. Demi Moore tried to seduce Michael Douglas in the 1994 movie Disclosure with a bottle of the limited edition Pahlmeyer 1991 Chardonnay (Napa Valley, California). She seduced Ashton Kutcher in real life with a case of Red Bull.
5. A jar of red wine was found in Tutankhamen’s tomb, inscribed with the winemaker name, Khaa, and the vintage, “Year 5.” Those who tasted it remarked that it was “kinda funky.”

Barone Ricasoli’s original formula for Chianti has been a source of controversy for over 100 years. In the 1890s he came up with the basic blend: an average 70% Sangiovese as the varietal base, along with 15% Canaiolo, and 15% Trebbiano (a white grape), and sometimes a little colorino (red). What the perfect Chianti blend should be has been a matter of impassioned debate since then. Well the debate is over, his recipe will be released this year. Bettino Ricasoli, famed as the man who invented Chianti as well as being one of the founders of Italy (along with Cavour and Garibaldi), celebrates his 200th birthday this year. At Brolio, his Tuscan estate, he experimented widely and hit upon the idea of a blend that could be served every day as well as being able to improve with age. As part of the bicentennial celebration, the current Barone Ricasoli will release a book of unpublished letters between Bettino and a Professor Studiati of the University of Pisa in which Ricasoli describes the “sublime wine” he is creating.

The wine industry was battered and bruised in 2008, the astronomical prices for top-level wines plunged, and as if in an act of repentance more winemakers went green. For example, Boisset, the second-largest producer of Beaujolais Nouveau, bottled its entire 2008 harvest in lightweight plastic bottles. Biodynamic and organic wines increased. Yet many still doubt the wine industry’s sincerity when it comes to carbon neutrality because they still ship wine in wooden crates as opposed to the much lighter corrugated cardboard. The Liv-Ex 100 Fine Wine Index, the wine world’s Dow Jones Index, has fallen more than 20 percent from its all-time high. Among the
hardest hit was Domaine Romanee Conti 1990, which commanded more than $20,000 a bottle in November 2007, but sold last fall for $6,500 - a 67.5 percent drop. The global credit crisis has threatened Bordeaux’s en primeur sales. And as wine buyers search for bargain-priced bottles, Bacchus seems to be favoring Chile and Argentina.

A San Francisco cooperative is selling futures in a new wine called “Bailout,” inspired by the economic crisis. Crushpad, a custom crush facility, will sell the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon at $39 per bottle. But there’s a twist, for every 100-point drop in the Dow Jones from the date of purchase to the projected bottling date of 14 August 2009, the final price will be discounted $2 per bottle. If the Dow is higher on the bottling date, the price is still $39 a bottle, making Bailout futures a minor hedge on the economy. Only 500 cases will be produced. Crushpad is doing this for fun and exposure, but it may be instructive for high-end Bordeaux winemakers who refuse to lower their exorbitant 2008 futures prices given the current environment. According to those in the wine trade, Bordeaux must lower it’s prices by 50% or the 2008 en primeur campaign could be a disaster. Crushpad is an urban winemaking facility that enables budding entrepreneurs to make their own wine with the expert help of the staff.

Recent research indicates that different types of music stimulate different parts of the brain, and prime us to taste wines in a corresponding way. For example, powerful rock music like Jimi Hendrix or The Rolling Stones is a good accompaniment to a Cabernet Sauvignon, while opera buffs might prefer a 2006 Syrah. “This is the first time it has been scientifically proven that music can affect perception in other senses and change the way wine tastes,” said Professor Adrian North of Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh. The idea for the study was triggered by Chilean winemaker Aurelio Montes, who plays Gregorian chants to his maturing wines, arguing that the gentle vibrations improve the quality of the wine. Researchers recommend the following wine / song pairings: Cabernet Sauvignon - All Along The Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix; Chardonnay - Atomic by Blondie; Syrah - Puccini’s Nessun Dorma. Merlot: Sitting On The Dock Of The Bay by Otis Redding. Sorry, no Reggae.

When People magazine reported seeing an unopened bottle of Kendall-Jackson chardonnay in the Obamas’ kitchen, the California winery fired off a couple of cases to No. 44. Just another gift? Hardly. Winning over the presidential palate is a big deal for the wine industry, leaving vintners and vinophiles curious about what’s on tap for the next occupants of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. Wine and the White House go back to No. 1, who tried his hand growing vines at his Mt. Vernon estate in Virginia. But it was Thomas Jefferson who really embraced enology, building and stocking White House Cellars. He also introduced guests, not always successfully, to fine, dry vintages vs. the sweet, fortified wines then in vogue. Kendall-Jackson hasn’t heard back about its shipment. But Lettie Teague, executive wine editor for the magazine Food & Wine, said K-J chardonnay seems a good choice for modern times, popular and reasonably priced at around $11 a bottle.

Who woulda thunk it? That a small organic wine from Chile would cause such an uproar. Palin Syrah, now in its second release, and named for the ball used to play Chilean field hockey is losing sales, at least in San Francisco. The reason? The similarity of its name to Sarah Palin, the now famous hockey mom and Vice-Presidential candidate. Before politics played a role, Palin Syrah was described as a good organic, affordable wine, now it’s likened to moosemeat and gunpowder, and it doesn’t help that it’s red. Perhaps a white wine would do better. Obama Sparkling Wine, made by Larry Mawby in Suttons Bay, Michigan might fit the bill. However, unlike Palin Syrah, this wine has political purpose. For every bottle of Obama sold one dollar is donated to the Obama campaign. I wonder if San Franciscans are also boycotting Budweiser. Given Cindy McCain’s family business, there’s no doubt Sen. John McCain’s a Busch man.