Innovative Wine Dress
While most would still prefer to just drink their wine, Donna Franklin and Gary Cass have put their wine to use creating a seamless garment. Inspiration struck when Gary Cass noticed a skin-like rubbery layer covering a vat of wine which was contaminated with a certain bacteria. Working together with artist Donna Franklin they used the bacteria to transform alcohol into a cellulose fabric. The resulting material clings to the body and is completely seamless. This 'fermented fashion' is made of red wine, white wine, and beers like Guinness, all retaining their natural aroma and colour. The concept is innovative and has loads of potential for the industry, however, as of yet, the concept is still commercially corked. [ Yahoo ]
Also see [ Bioalloy,] official home of the Micro'be' wine dress.
50-Year-old Jamaica Rum
Claiming to be the world’s oldest, Appleton Estate Jamaica Rum has unveiled a 50 Year Old Jamaica Rum. Set aside just before Jamaica received it's independence, this special blend is meant to celebrates the 50th anniversary of their Independence, " now the 50 year journey from barrel to bottle is complete and the world can now share in this very rare and exquisite collector’s item". A limited 800 bottles will be available for international sale at a whopping £3,200 (that's just under R 42 000) a pop. [ thedrinksbusiness ]
Sea Aged Wine - Arrr
So apparently not all drinks aged in the sea smell like crap... Bordeaux's Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion experimented by partially submerging one barrel (cement encased) of its 09 wine into the oyster beds at Cape Ferret. While another barrel from the same batch was left to age at the Chateau. The results? French wine critic Bernard Burtschy thinks: " The [sea barrel] was better than it should have been. It was softer, with greater complexity than its land-locked cousin.’ According to laboratory analysis the wine from the sea had softer tannins and slightly lower alcohol, although saline levels had also slightly risen. Very interesting indeed, would love to see some SA wineries giving it a go. [ Decanter ]
10 Great Wine Movies
A good compilation on the top ten wine movies around. The most interesting of which must be The Billionaire's Vinegar, based on a novel by Benjamin Wallace, and starring Brad Pitt, the movie follows the true story of the fake Thomas Jefferson bottle scandal - " The mystery of the world's most expensive bottle of wine." [ thedrinksbusiness ]