US' Yellow Tail Fever Taints Aussie Wines

No, it's not part of some weird plot to mess with your bowels

(NEWSER) - Those with delicate bowels may want to steer clear of wine from the Land Down Under. Winemakers there are now allowed to add sodium carboxymethyl cellulose to wine—a chemical lauded for its laxative powers. But in small quantities it can thicken liquids, and when it comes to wine, adding the chemical can eliminate crystallization and cloudiness from whites, reports California Watch . Dealing with the former is an expensive problem, explains the country's winemakers, usually achieved using energy-draining methods like cooling and filtration. More»

Last time Special Bin 620 was made was 1966

(NEWSER) - You can buy a single bottle of Penfolds for right around a ten-spot—or with about a hundred $10 bills, depending on which bottle you pick up. Australia's News Network reports that Penfolds today releases the country's "most expensive table wine," a 2008 Special Bin 620 that sells for $1,018 a bottle. It's the first time since 1966 that Penfolds has made the specific blend of Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz, reports the Wall Street Journal . A tidbit for history buffs: When it last made the red, the grapes were partially foot-crushed. More»

You won't be able to tell the difference: Brian Palmer

(NEWSER) - Studies have shown that wine drinkers can’t tell the difference between cheap and expensive bottles, and may actually prefer the cheap stuff in a blind taste test—so why are we still paying at least 15 bucks for a supposedly “everyday” bottle of wine? Because, as other studies have shown, American consumers think they prefer more expensive wine—even if they're unknowingly comparing two glasses of the same vintage. Europeans, conversely, are happy to drink a $1.79 bottle or break out “a 1-euro tetra-pak of wine for guests,” writes Brian Palmer in Slate . More»

Critics applaud vino from local grape

(NEWSER) - For decades, critics wouldn’t give Japan’s wine industry a second sniff—but a new wine from a local grape could change all that. One firm’s koshu wine has won over taste buds from France to the US, the Guardian reports. The “crisp and pleasant” Cuvée Denis Dubourdieu is “clearly meant to be a wine to guzzle with sushi or sashimi,” noted wine critic Robert Parker. More»

How one country ducked the economic downturn

(NEWSER) - Australia has weathered the financial crisis better than any other developed country. Last week its central bank raised interest rates, indicating its primary concern is now inflation, not growth. What were the keys? Phil Dobbie of BNET explains:

• Befriending China: Australia used to export much of what it made to the US and UK, but over the last decade much of that trade has shifted to China. In fact, some economists argue that Australia didn’t need a stimulus package—Beijing’s stimulus was enough.