In France the English are (not so) affectionately known as ‘Les Rosbifs’, simply I guess, because of our affinity with this Great British dish, although calling someone a ‘Roast Beef’ hardly constitutes an insulting nickname. More derogatory is our nickname for the French…. ‘the Frogs’, which you could probably argue is because of their taste for eating frog’s legs. Anyway, that anecdote has really got nothing to do with today’s story. 

The other dish that the Brit’s are well known for consuming in copious amounts is fish & chips. In days gone by a large proportion of this delicacy would be consumed in the street, packaged and kept warm by wrapping the food in old newspapers! Sounds pretty uncivilised I have to admit, especially by today’s largely obsessive hygiene standards, but when I was a boy, eating fish and chips out of a newspaper, seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of salt and malt vinegar, was always something of a treat. (I should add that there was always a layer of greaseproof paper between the outer wrapping and the food, to prevent the latest news headlines from being reproduced on on the side of your portion of fish!)

So, only today I learned of a very original, new interpretation of this national dish – fish and chips….. but baked in a pie! It has been developed as a ‘ready meal’ by one of the UK’s top (and most respected) high street retail chains, Marks & Spencer. Judging by the photo, it’s not quite as disgusting as it may sound, albeit we do know that food photography is quite notorious for being PhotoShopped (even more than some celebrities). Unfortunately this is not something can I can order from Amazon, and so I will have to wait until the next time I visit the UK to try it – and try it I will. Watch our future blogs for photos and tasting notes! 

(Incidentally, the green layer at the bottom of the pie is ‘mushy peas’, almost like a pea purée, but then that’s another story)

In France the English are (not so) affectionately known as ‘Les Rosbifs’, simply I guess, because of our affinity with this Great British dish, although calling someone a ‘Roast Beef’ hardly constitutes an insulting nickname. More derogatory is our nickname for the French…. ‘the Frogs’, which you could probably argue is because of their taste for eating frog’s legs. Anyway, that anecdote has really got nothing to do with today’s story. 

The other dish that the Brit’s are well known for consuming in copious amounts is fish & chips. In days gone by a large proportion of this delicacy would be consumed in the street, packaged and kept warm by wrapping the food in old newspapers! Sounds pretty uncivilised I have to admit, especially by today’s largely obsessive hygiene standards, but when I was a boy, eating fish and chips out of a newspaper, seasoned with a liberal sprinkling of salt and malt vinegar, was always something of a treat. (I should add that there was always a layer of greaseproof paper between the outer wrapping and the food, to prevent the latest news headlines from being reproduced on on the side of your portion of fish!)

So, only today I learned of a very original, new interpretation of this national dish – fish and chips….. but baked in a pie! It has been developed as a ‘ready meal’ by one of the UK’s top (and most respected) high street retail chains, Marks & Spencer. Judging by the photo, it’s not quite as disgusting as it may sound, albeit we do know that food photography is quite notorious for being PhotoShopped (even more than some celebrities). Unfortunately this is not something can I can order from Amazon, and so I will have to wait until the next time I visit the UK to try it – and try it I will. Watch our future blogs for photos and tasting notes! 

(Incidentally, the green layer at the bottom of the pie is ‘mushy peas’, almost like a pea purée, but then that’s another story)

Hybrid grapes are often created to improve resistance to disease, or perhaps by way of creating a hardy varietal that will survive in difficult climates, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a grape being conceived solely for its shape. However, one fruit producer in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley has just developed a new grape known as ‘witch fingers’. (I should quickly add that these are not wine producing grapes but are intended purely as a sweet, eating varietal). In fact, apart from their unique shape there is nothing that really distinguishes these ‘fingers’ from other table grapes. The producers themselves simply hope that they might appeal to children, or perhaps be a way to simply enhance the presentation of your cheese board – they do not make any other extravagant claims.

From the picture you can probably work out for yourself where the name comes from.

Hybrid grapes are often created to improve resistance to disease, or perhaps by way of creating a hardy varietal that will survive in difficult climates, but I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a grape being conceived solely for its shape. However, one fruit producer in California’s fertile San Joaquin Valley has just developed a new grape known as ‘witch fingers’. (I should quickly add that these are not wine producing grapes but are intended purely as a sweet, eating varietal). In fact, apart from their unique shape there is nothing that really distinguishes these ‘fingers’ from other table grapes. The producers themselves simply hope that they might appeal to children, or perhaps be a way to simply enhance the presentation of your cheese board – they do not make any other extravagant claims.

From the picture you can probably work out for yourself where the name comes from.

Now I think I’ve seen it all. The latest invention to hit the market….. wine flavoured popcorn! Spain is, of course, the creator of  the tapas phenomena, and having a bite sized snack with your wine is a very common practice. Indeed, it would be almost unthinkable to have a drink without some small, delicious titbit to accompany it. Nearly every bar in Spain, no matter how small, will automatically give you something with your drink, whether it be some olives, a piece of bread with a ham or cheese topping, or sometimes even a warm dish of rice, lentils or some other creation. All in all it’s actually a very civilised practice, and the fact that it is given free makes it even more agreeable.

This new wine popcorn has been created by a New York based company called Populence. Apparently its founder noticed that an increasing number of people were eating popcorn whilst they enjoyed their glass of wine and so created two (non-alcoholic) flavours to go with two selected Kim Crawford wines from New Zealand. They have suggested that the popcorn would be best enjoyed with a glass of the corresponding wine. The flavours in question (or should that be grape varieties?) are Pinot Noir Chocolate Drizzle and Sauvignon Blanc Kettle.

Personally I have never tried popcorn with wine, but that could be because I just don’t like popcorn. Having said that I guess it could make life a bit more interesting for cinema goers, but at a price of £23 for a one gallon tin ($36 or €27) I rather doubt it!

Now I think I’ve seen it all. The latest invention to hit the market….. wine flavoured popcorn! Spain is, of course, the creator of  the tapas phenomena, and having a bite sized snack with your wine is a very common practice. Indeed, it would be almost unthinkable to have a drink without some small, delicious titbit to accompany it. Nearly every bar in Spain, no matter how small, will automatically give you something with your drink, whether it be some olives, a piece of bread with a ham or cheese topping, or sometimes even a warm dish of rice, lentils or some other creation. All in all it’s actually a very civilised practice, and the fact that it is given free makes it even more agreeable.

This new wine popcorn has been created by a New York based company called Populence. Apparently its founder noticed that an increasing number of people were eating popcorn whilst they enjoyed their glass of wine and so created two (non-alcoholic) flavours to go with two selected Kim Crawford wines from New Zealand. They have suggested that the popcorn would be best enjoyed with a glass of the corresponding wine. The flavours in question (or should that be grape varieties?) are Pinot Noir Chocolate Drizzle and Sauvignon Blanc Kettle.

Personally I have never tried popcorn with wine, but that could be because I just don’t like popcorn. Having said that I guess it could make life a bit more interesting for cinema goers, but at a price of £23 for a one gallon tin ($36 or €27) I rather doubt it!

At your next dinner party there is a question about wine that you can ask your guests, which I can almost guarantee everyone will get wrong. Which country was the world’s leading wine exporter in the 1950’s? France? Italy? Spain or perhaps even Germany? All wrong…… it was Algeria! Now, where it all went, and how it was consumed is another story.

The story of the Algerian wine industry is quite interesting, and also more significantly, precipitated the creation of the French laws of appellation. After the disaster of phylloxera in the 1860’s the French were initially left scrambling about in Spain and Italy in an attempt to satisfy the demand for wine in their domestic market. In the late 19th century the French turned to their relatively new Colony of Algeria to try to fill the gap. With the aid of French wine growers who had settled there, they produced enormous volumes of cheap, high alcohol wine which arrived in France tax-free (as the country was treated as a part of France). At this time the total volume of wine exports accounted for around one third of Algeria’s gross domestic product and half of its total export revenues!

Originally this was advertised as French wine, which, as the French vineyards themselves started to recover from disease, was not well received by the growers still residing in France. In response to protests (made most vigorously by the producers of Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy), the French government created some rather flimsy laws in an attempt to protect their home-grown wines. These were eventually formalised into the French rules of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, thus authenticating the origin of wines. Although these new rules protected the French quality wines, the table wine producers of the Languedoc still faced still competition from Algeria, and so instead of taxing the wines themselves, which would have been somewhat unpalatable (pardon the pun), the French government decided to tax the over productive vineyards. This in itself however, did not cause the demise of the industry, as recently as 1961 Algeria was still the world’s 4th largest wine producer – it was really when the French withdrew altogether from the country, and the industry was Nationalised and consequently badly mismanaged, that the wheels well and truly fell off and production volumes tumbled back to the original 19th century levels.

Historically therefore, Algeria has inadvertently played an important part in the history of world wine production, not only for its sheer size, but also for being instrumental in the creation of the original AOC laws. 

And who or what  is Sidi Brahim? Well, it’s actually a famous Algerian wine brand named after the Battle of Sidi-Brahim, which to this day is still sold quite widely in France. Indeed, as recently as the 1960’s people in France used to joke about one or two of the more feeble Burgundy or Bordeaux wines being ‘boosted’ by adding a bit of the heavier, more alcoholic Sidi Brahim!!

At your next dinner party there is a question about wine that you can ask your guests, which I can almost guarantee everyone will get wrong. Which country was the world’s leading wine exporter in the 1950’s? France? Italy? Spain or perhaps even Germany? All wrong…… it was Algeria! Now, where it all went, and how it was consumed is another story.

The story of the Algerian wine industry is quite interesting, and also more significantly, precipitated the creation of the French laws of appellation. After the disaster of phylloxera in the 1860’s the French were initially left scrambling about in Spain and Italy in an attempt to satisfy the demand for wine in their domestic market. In the late 19th century the French turned to their relatively new Colony of Algeria to try to fill the gap. With the aid of French wine growers who had settled there, they produced enormous volumes of cheap, high alcohol wine which arrived in France tax-free (as the country was treated as a part of France). At this time the total volume of wine exports accounted for around one third of Algeria’s gross domestic product and half of its total export revenues!

Originally this was advertised as French wine, which, as the French vineyards themselves started to recover from disease, was not well received by the growers still residing in France. In response to protests (made most vigorously by the producers of Champagne, Bordeaux and Burgundy), the French government created some rather flimsy laws in an attempt to protect their home-grown wines. These were eventually formalised into the French rules of Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée, thus authenticating the origin of wines. Although these new rules protected the French quality wines, the table wine producers of the Languedoc still faced still competition from Algeria, and so instead of taxing the wines themselves, which would have been somewhat unpalatable (pardon the pun), the French government decided to tax the over productive vineyards. This in itself however, did not cause the demise of the industry, as recently as 1961 Algeria was still the world’s 4th largest wine producer – it was really when the French withdrew altogether from the country, and the industry was Nationalised and consequently badly mismanaged, that the wheels well and truly fell off and production volumes tumbled back to the original 19th century levels.

Historically therefore, Algeria has inadvertently played an important part in the history of world wine production, not only for its sheer size, but also for being instrumental in the creation of the original AOC laws. 

And who or what  is Sidi Brahim? Well, it’s actually a famous Algerian wine brand named after the Battle of Sidi-Brahim, which to this day is still sold quite widely in France. Indeed, as recently as the 1960’s people in France used to joke about one or two of the more feeble Burgundy or Bordeaux wines being ‘boosted’ by adding a bit of the heavier, more alcoholic Sidi Brahim!!

How do you know if you’re becoming a Wine Geek? Here are a few of the tell tale signs: 

1). You worry that you’ve left a bottle of wine in the car with the windows closed

2). You’re really upset that you weren’t born in the year of a great vintage

3). You’re convinced that you’re suffering from compulsive glass swirling syndrome

4). You’ve installed humidity control in your basement

5). You keep separate wine stocks for ‘normal’ and ‘knowledgeable’  dinner guests

6). You don’t consider a red wine great unless you can ‘taste’ the vineyard in the sediment

7). You can recite the names of all the 1st growth Bordeaux wines but can’t remember your own home phone number

8). You can happily consume Champagne at any time of day and for absolutely any reason

How many of these symptoms do you recognise?

How do you know if you’re becoming a wine geek? Here are a few of the tell tale signs: 

1). You worry that you’ve left a bottle of wine in the car with the windows closed

2). You’re really upset that you weren’t born in the year of a great vintage

3). You’re convinced that you’re suffering from compulsive glass swirling syndrome

4). You’ve installed humidity control in your basement

5). You keep separate wine stocks for ‘normal’ and ‘knowledgeable’  dinner guests

6). You don’t consider a red wine great unless you can ‘taste’ the vineyard in the sediment

7). You can recite the names of all the 1st growth Bordeaux wines but can’t remember your own home phone number

8). You can happily consume Champagne at any time of day and for absolutely any reason

How many of these symptoms do you recognise?

With almost the entire world economy in recession it is hardly surprising that even wine sales are reflecting the general trend and have taken a bit of a dive. The cru classé wines of Bordeaux that have traditionally been a ‘safe haven’ for investors have also not been immune to the downturn. As a result of all the turmoil probably one of the most difficult areas of the market is that of the mid-priced wines, including our very own albariño.  At the top end, the expensive, luxury wines will always sell as consumers push the boat out and treat themselves for special occasions. On the other side of the coin, as they try to reduce their outgoings and save a few pounds, dollars or euros, then lower end wines can also feel the benefit of this ‘trading down’. This then leaves the selection of mid-priced wines slightly in limbo, perhaps left on the shelf as unsold.

Now, it could be that I’m really quite an evil person, or maybe it’s just because I am naturally suspicious (living in Spain certainly does not help, especially amidst all the recent tales of political  and financial corruption), but when I read stories of strange wine ‘thefts’ I simply can’t help but wonder. 62,000 bottles of wine, valued at AUD 500,000 recently went missing whilst in transit across New South Wales. The point that makes this story a bit curious is that the transport company who were moving these wines went into administration whilst they were in possession of the stock. Now forgive me for thinking, that strikes me as being a bit bizarre to say the very least.

Then there was a local tale, much nearer to home, here in Galicia. A wine cellar (perhaps overstocked with too much old vintage wine), was apparently broken into, and several tanks of wine were inexplicably emptied down the drain. As far as I know nothing was actually stolen, and there was no clear motive for the break-in. Vandalism? I’m not so sure I have to admit. In the meantime I have no doubt that the respective insurance companies will be studying these uncanny losses quite closely.

With almost the entire world economy in recession it is hardly surprising that even wine sales are reflecting the general trend and have taken a bit of a dive. The cru classé wines of Bordeaux that have traditionally been a ‘safe haven’ for investors have also not been immune to the downturn. As a result of all the turmoil probably one of the most difficult areas of the market is that of the mid-priced wines, including our very own albariño.  At the top end, the expensive, luxury wines will always sell as consumers push the boat out and treat themselves for special occasions. On the other side of the coin, as they try to reduce their outgoings and save a few pounds, dollars or euros, then lower end wines can also feel the benefit of this ‘trading down’. This then leaves the selection of mid-priced wines slightly in limbo, perhaps left on the shelf as unsold.

Now, it could be that I’m really quite an evil person, or maybe it’s just because I am naturally suspicious (living in Spain certainly does not help, especially amidst all the recent tales of political  and financial corruption), but when I read stories of strange wine ‘thefts’ I simply can’t help but wonder. 62,000 bottles of wine, valued at AUD 500,000 recently went missing whilst in transit across New South Wales. The point that makes this story a bit curious is that the transport company who were moving these wines went into administration whilst they were in possession of the stock. Now forgive me for thinking, that strikes me as being a bit bizarre to say the very least.

Then there was a local tale, much nearer to home, here in Galicia. A wine cellar (perhaps overstocked with too much old vintage wine), was apparently broken into, and several tanks of wine were inexplicably emptied down the drain. As far as I know nothing was actually stolen, and there was no clear motive for the break-in. Vandalism? I’m not so sure I have to admit. In the meantime I have no doubt that the respective insurance companies will be studying these uncanny losses quite closely.

I remember once, many years ago, going to a summer evening dinner party at a friend’s house in London. He lived in a very good area, in a very nice house, and I thought he knew a bit about wine, so accordingly, I turned up at his door with a nice bottle in my hand. In fact, more than 20 years on, I still remember what the wine was….. a Pouilly Fumé from Domaine de Ladoucette (sorry, I don’t remember the vintage). To cut yet another long story short, it turned out that some of his guests enjoyed rather good ‘spritzers’ as an aperitif – he had diluted this beautiful wine with sparkling water and served it pre-dinner!

You might know that I am a bit of a purist when it comes to wine. For example, I prefer my Chablis (and my Albariño) without oak, and cringe at the thought of adding orange juice to Champagne. I don’t really like Cava, and I have to say that I think I would even baulk at the idea of adding OJ to Spain’s favourite sparkling wine. I just don’t believe in mixing a good wine with anything. What’s the point?

However, the other day I discovered a new product (new to me at least) that takes this idea to a new level – Chocovine! Yes, as the name implies it is a blend of red wine, cream and chocolate! Created in Holland it is apparently very popular, and its’ website claims that it is the number one selling chocolate wine in the United States. This claim makes me wonder, how many chocolate wines are there on the market? Perhaps I have been living with my head in a bucket, but I have never seen or heard of this product before.

Now, I do know that a robust red Zinfandel, or perhaps a powerful Cabernet Sauvignon might sit well with a bittersweet chocolate dessert, but the idea of actually blending them together makes my stomach turn. I’ll just stick to a nice glass of Sauternes with my Christmas dessert, or perhaps even a nice moscatel from Spain.

I remember once, many years ago, going to a summer evening dinner party at a friend’s house in London. He lived in a very good area, in a very nice house, and I thought he knew a bit about wine, so accordingly, I turned up at his door with a nice bottle in my hand. In fact, more than 20 years on, I still remember what the wine was….. a Pouilly Fumé from Domaine de Ladoucette (sorry, I don’t remember the vintage). To cut yet another long story short, it turned out that some of his guests enjoyed rather good ‘spritzers’ as an aperitif – he had diluted this beautiful wine with sparkling water and served it pre-dinner!

You might know that I am a bit of a purist when it comes to wine. For example, I prefer my Chablis (and my Albariño) without oak, and cringe at the thought of adding orange juice to Champagne. I don’t really like Cava, and I have to say that I think I would even baulk at the idea of adding OJ to Spain’s favourite sparkling wine. I just don’t believe in mixing a good wine with anything. What’s the point?

However, the other day I discovered a new product (new to me at least) that takes this idea to a new level – Chocovine! Yes, as the name implies it is a blend of red wine, cream and chocolate! Created in Holland it is apparently very popular, and its’ website claims that it is the number one selling chocolate wine in the United States. This claim makes me wonder, how many chocolate wines are there on the market? Perhaps I have been living with my head in a bucket, but I have never seen or heard of this product before.

Now, I do know that a robust red Zinfandel, or perhaps a powerful Cabernet Sauvignon might sit well with a bittersweet chocolate dessert, but the idea of actually blending them together makes my stomach turn. I’ll just stick to a nice glass of Sauternes with my Christmas dessert, or perhaps even a nice moscatel from Spain.

After my last entry on our blog (which had a decidedly political bias), I thought that I’d better compensate by writing something a bit more light-hearted. I think it was last year that I posted an article about useless holiday presents (in 2011 it was a ‘grape holder’ for the Spanish celebration of New Year – don’t ask), so I thought I would follow this up with another wine related suggestion for 2012….. the wine bra!

In the States this product is actually known simply as the winerack, I guess because the word ‘rack’ has a double meaning over there (I will not elaborate but instead leave it to your imagination).

Perhaps the reasoning behind this invention is that these days there are an increasing number of concerts, functions and sports events that prohibit the consumption of alcohol, and these products are intended as a way of bypassing gate security. I confess that I already had seen an artificial ‘beer belly’ intended as a way for men to smuggle their beverages into a stadium, but this is the first I have seen targeted at women.

The idea is actually quite simple, you simply fill your cups with wine (this is not a deliberate pun), and then drink your Chateau du Monde* through a long plastic tube. To avoid any possible embarrassment the cups can be re-inflated with air once the liquid has been consumed. I can’t help but wonder if the two cups can be filled independently, perhaps one with white wine and the other with red? Of course this would then permit you to blend your own rosé! (Available from Amazon – honestly!)

*du Monde is a reference to my very favourite colloquial French expression: On seeing a particularly well-endowed French lady a man might be heard to say “il y a du monde au balcon” the literal translation of which is “there is a crowd on the balcony”. No further explanation required.

After my last entry on our blog (which had a decidedly political bias), I thought that I’d better compensate by writing something a bit more light-hearted. I think it was last year that I posted an article about useless holiday presents (in 2011 it was a ‘grape holder’ for the Spanish celebration of New Year – don’t ask), so I thought I would follow this up with another wine related suggestion for 2012….. the wine bra!

In the States this product is actually known simply as the winerack, I guess because the word ‘rack’ has a double meaning over there (I will not elaborate but instead leave it to your imagination).

Perhaps the reasoning behind this invention is that these days there are an increasing number of concerts, functions and sports events that prohibit the consumption of alcohol, and these products are intended as a way of bypassing gate security. I confess that I already had seen an artificial ‘beer belly’ intended as a way for men to smuggle their beverages into a stadium, but this is the first I have seen targeted at women.

The idea is actually quite simple, you simply fill your cups with wine (this is not a deliberate pun), and then drink your Chateau du Monde* through a long plastic tube. To avoid any possible embarrassment the cups can be re-inflated with air once the liquid has been consumed. I can’t help but wonder if the two cups can be filled independently, perhaps one with white wine and the other with red? Of course this would then permit you to blend your own rosé! (Available from Amazon – honestly!)

*du Monde is a reference to my very favourite colloquial French expression: On seeing a particularly well-endowed French lady a man might be heard to say “il y a du monde au balcon” the literal translation of which is “there is a crowd on the balcony”. No further explanation required.

I remember, in the olden days, long, long ago, when customers would judge your wine by pulling the cork, and tasting the contents of your bottle. True, a nice presentation would always help, and perhaps even add a bit of gravitas to your brand, but it now appears that this old-fashioned notion might have changed somewhat. There’s a new generation of rude, budget-priced wines that have forced their way into shops and supermarkets, not necessarily because of their quality, but possibly based more upon the shock value of their labels…..

For example, you can now buy any number of ‘Bitchin’ wines – Sassy Bitch, Jealous Bitch, Tasty Bitch, Sweet Bitch, Royal Bitch and Happy Bitch. Then of course there are the more ‘macho’ brands such as Big-Ass Red, Ball Buster and Fat Bastard Shiraz (the latter actually made by an old friend of mine!)

These labels might go down well at a stag or hen party, but can you seriously imagine presenting one of these wines as a gift to you mother on Mother’s Day? They are quite obviously targeted at a certain type of consumer, and I am reliably informed that “this irreverence reflects an evolution in the cultural presentation of wine”. Casual apparently became cheeky, and cheeky has now given way to saucy, or perhaps even downright rude.

In an increasingly competitive market it’s quite clear that some winemakers have been frantically trying to popularise their products, and have been discovering new ways to move their bottles from the shelf without necessarily changing the contents!

Now, if only I could think of a good name for our b*@!$* Albariño.

I remember, in the olden days, long, long ago, when customers would judge your wine by pulling the cork, and tasting the contents of your bottle. True, a nice presentation would always help, and perhaps even add a bit of gravitas to your brand, but it now appears that this old-fashioned notion might have changed somewhat. There’s a new generation of rude, budget-priced wines that have forced their way into shops and supermarkets, not necessarily because of their quality, but possibly based more upon the shock value of their labels…..

For example, you can now buy any number of ‘Bitchin’ wines – Sassy Bitch, Jealous Bitch, Tasty Bitch, Sweet Bitch, Royal Bitch and Happy Bitch. Then of course there are the more ‘macho’ brands such as Big-Ass Red, Ball Buster and Fat Bastard Shiraz (the latter actually made by an old friend of mine!)

These labels might go down well at a stag or hen party, but can you seriously imagine presenting one of these wines as a gift to you mother on Mother’s Day? They are quite obviously targeted at a certain type of consumer, and I am reliably informed that “this irreverence reflects an evolution in the cultural presentation of wine”. Casual apparently became cheeky, and cheeky has now given way to saucy, or perhaps even downright rude.

In an increasingly competitive market it’s quite clear that some winemakers have been frantically trying to popularise their products, and have been discovering new ways to move their bottles from the shelf without necessarily changing the contents!

Now, if only I could think of a good name for our b*@!$* Albariño.

Sometimes when you read a story your first reaction is to check the calendar to see if it’s April Fools Day (or the Dia de los Inocentes if you live in Spain)!

Would you believe that it has, apparently, been proved that cattle produce less methane gas if you feed them on grape ‘marc’? When fed the stems, seeds and skins that were left over from making (red) wine, material known as the ‘marc’, methane emissions from the cows dropped by 20 per cent!

Sometimes when you read a story your first reaction is to check the calendar to see if it’s April Fools Day (or the Dia de los Inocentes if you live in Spain)!

Would you believe that it has, apparently, been proved that cattle produce less methane gas if you feed them on grape ‘marc’? When fed the stems, seeds and skins that were left over from making (red) wine, material known as the ‘marc’, methane emissions from the cows dropped by 20 per cent!