Milk and wine sounds a pretty disgusting mixture, but a by product of the wine making process is helping make healthier, greener milk. The Department of Primary Industries (DPI) in the Australian province of Victoria have been feeding cows on the seeds, stems and skins of grapes that have been wrung of their juice by winemakers and found it's a double winner - the cows produce less of the greenhouse gas methane and their milk is better for humans.

DPI researchers at Ellinbank Centre for Dairy Excellence used the waste product, called grape marc, and were delighted to discover that their dairy herds produced a 20% reduction in the amount of methane they produced, upped their milk production by five per cent and made the milk healthier by increasing the amounts of healthy fatty acids it contained.

Methane is a major greenhouse gas and cattle have been reported to be responsible for 16% of the annual total put into the atmosphere. This experiment has produced the best ever results for emission reductions achieved by changing cattle feed.

The cattle in the study were fed a supplement of five kilos of the grape waste over 37 days and measured milk output, the make up of the milk and the methane emissions compared against cows being fed their usual diet of fodder.

DPI scientist Peter Moate said has team were astonished at the positive results. He said: "We now know that supplementing a dairy cows' diet with dried grape marc increases the healthy fatty acids in milk by more than six times that of standard autumn fodder.

"These particular fatty acids are extremely potent in their ability to benefit heart health and are also known to help fight cancer, diabetes and arthritis."However, this health benefit may only occur when cows are fed grape marc and not green fodder. Early results also suggest that the grape fed cows also produce milk with more anti-oxidants.

This is good news for milk lovers, the planet and the wine producers who now have a lucrative new use for something they previously threw away: Australia, a major wine producer, churns out about 200,000 tonnes of the stuff every year.

The five per cent boost to milk production was another surprise to the scientists who will now repeat their work in the early part of the cow's lactation cycle when milk yields are already higher and the increase could be even greater.

Other feeds that have produced methane emission reductions include brewery waste, canola meal, cottonseed meal, and hominy meal but grape marc's extraordinary effect could produce a reduction equal to the emissions of 200,000 cars.

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LAUGHTER and the sound of clinking glasses of wine filled the restaurant at Ballandean Estate on Saturday as 60 visitors enjoyed lunch at the winery. Owner Angelo Puglisi was seen chatting with a pair of visitors before breaking into a laugh, patting them on the back and moving down the table to greet the next guests.

In the next room, inside the cellar door, daughter Robyn Henderson served wine to another group of guests with a smile, joking that what they were tasting had suddenly turned into a limited edition drop. Yet only 100m away from these seemingly normal scenes, the large shed that once stored 150,000 bottles of wine lay smouldering.

The Puglisi family said the difficult few days had been made easier by the flood of support they received from the local community, as well as loyal Ballandean Estate wine drinkers. "I got a phone call from one of our customers saying, 'You need the money so I'm buying a carton of wine right now'," daughter Leeanne Puglisi-Gangemi said.

"We've just been blown away by all the phone calls from people. It's been amazing."Leeanne said the family was taking solace in the fact there was "still wine to sell".

Her mum, Mary Puglisi, who was still recovering from an eye operation at the weekend, has been reminding her family that this wasn't the only hurdle they had come across. "We've had tragedies before and we've pulled through them," she said. The Puglisis are also thinking of turning the tragedy into an opportunity to make some changes.

"We are considering changing our labels," daughter Robyn Henderson said. "We had been talking about it previously, and this would enable us to do it all in one hit, instead of phasing it out over three years."Meanwhile, investigations are continuing into the exact cause of the fire. Ballandean Estate is still open for business.

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I think it's hard to beat fizz, though even with all the cut-price offers around, you might not want to make it champagne. In terms of less expensive sparklers, there's a good deal on the attractively creamy Cave de Lugny Sparkling Burgundy blanc de blancs (11.5% abv) in larger branches of Waitrose and online until Tuesday 6 December, where it's 25% off, at £8.99. Or, at almost the same price as cheap champagne, but much, much nicer, the lovely prosecco Asolo Extra Dry Bele Casel (£12.95, or £11.65 if you buy a case, Berry Bros & Rudd; 11% abv). In terms of whites, the best offers by far are on New Zealand sauvignon blanc, which is the only wine retailers seem to think we want to drink these days. Majestic always has sharply priced deals, of which I'd pick out as star buy the Wither Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2011 (13% abv), on offer at £5.99 if you buy two or more. Majestic also has one of the best party reds, the Château Jouaninel 2009 Fronton (10, see overleaf; 12.5% abv), a vivid, fresh, fruity blend of negrette and cabernet franc, which is also £5.99 if you buy two or more. And if you're in Lidl, pick up some Dornfelder 2009 (£5.99; 13% abv), a delicious, soft German red that would be great for a Boxing Day bash.

I'm a guest at my in-laws over Christmas. What should I take to thank them for all the graft?

You have to assume they've got the Christmas day wine sorted, so take a bottle they'll perceive as a treat. Champagne, of course, never goes amiss, but if you feel that's a shade obvious, raid the souped-up spirits ranges that the likes of Waitrose, Sainsbury's and Marks & Spencer have installed for the festive season. Heading my list would be Chase's extravagant new Marmalade Vodka (6, £30 to order in Majestic, £31.95 in larger branches of Waitrose and online; 40% abv), which you could use to make everyone a marmalade martini on the big day. M&S has a moreish new Gingerbread Rum (£13.99; 37.5% abv), which I'd recommend for anyone with a cold, while over at Sainsbury's there's the award-winning Sloane's Dry Gin (£22.99, or £24.95 at the Whisky Exchange; 37.5% abv), as well as some fantastic new whiskies and sherries, among them the deliciously nutty Hartley And Thomas Amontillado (at a knockdown £5.99 until Tuesday 6 December, so fill your boots; 17% abv). Or how about a bottle of Adnams' new Copper House Sloe Gin (1, £18.49 for 50cl, Adnams Cellar & Kitchen shops and adnams.co.uk; 26% abv) with a great hunk of stichelton (the unpasteurised version of stilton, available from Neal's Yard)?

What should we drink on Christmas Day?

Chardonnay! Surprisingly, this was the best match for turkey in a tasting I did for Decanter magazine a few months back (the results are in the January edition). We went for a Chassagne Montrachet, but one of the top new world chardonnays would be equally impressive, such as the beautifully creamy Maycas Quebrada Seca Chardonnay 2009 (5, £20, Wine Society; Berry Bros & Rudd has the 2008 at £24.95; 14% abv), from Chile, or Kumeu River Coddington Chardonnay 2008 (£19.90, Tanners; 13.5% abv). Louis Felipe Edwards Gran Reserva Chardonnay (on offer at Majestic for £6.99 if you buy two or more; 14% abv) would be a keenly priced alternative. Prefer a red? For me, the Rhône hits the spot with turkey, and you'd be hard pushed to find a better bargain than the handsome-looking Ogier Lirac Reserve 2010 (2; 15% abv), currently on offer in larger Co-op stores at £6.99 and far better value than most cut-price châteauneuf-du-papea. Or the totally delicious Domaine du Grand Montmirail Vacqueyras 2009 (£13.29, waitrosewine.com and John Lewis Oxford Street food hall; 14.25% abv). And with the pud? I see no reason to change my perennial Christmas favourite, the deliciously orangey Torres Moscatel Oro (3, £7.99 at Morrisons, £8.99 at Waitrose for a 50cl bottle; 15% abv). See suggestions for other Christmas meals on my website.

My mulled wine never tastes like it ought to. What am I doing wrong?

Just as when cooking with wine, the wine you use for mulled wine should be drinkable. I prefer simple, traditional southern French, Spanish or Portuguese reds rather than modern styles with lush fruit flavours, because I think they stand up better to heating. Sainsbury's Basic House Red (£7.20 for 1.5 litres; 12% abv) or Waitrose Cuvée Chasseur (£4.35 at larger branches; 12% abv) would both do the job. My own version is quite orangey – add 100g of soft brown sugar to two bottles of wine and 500ml of water, then add an orange studded with six to eight cloves, the thinly pared zest of half a lemon, two cinnamon sticks and six lightly crushed cardamom pods. Heat the mixture to just below boiling point, then leave it on the lowest possible heat for about 30 minutes. Then add 100ml of an orange-flavoured liqueur such as Cointreau or Grand Marnier, or brandy, and reheat gently. Cheaper than buying it ready-made? Not necessarily, but it's a lot nicer. If you do want to cheat and buy some in, go for Lidl's comfortingly warming Christkindl Glühwein (9, £4.49 a litre; 9% abv), which has a fabulously kitsch label.

I don't like mulled wine. What's the alternative?

Well, there's mulled cider for a start, and I'm not sure I don't actually prefer it. Mix 500ml strong dry or medium dry cider with 750ml cloudy apple juice and 125ml calvados or cider brandy, add 75g soft brown sugar, a thinly pared strip of lemon rind, two cinnamon sticks, eight cloves and a handful of dried apple rings, then warm through as for mulled wine. You can also mull ale, either by mixing it with cider as in the old wassailing recipe for lambs' wool, or by heating it through with cloves and rum or brandy, Mrs Beeton-style. If you don't drink or want to give the kids their own grown-up mulled drink, Belvoir has a delicious new Mulled Winter Punch (4) based on red grape juice, elderberries, blackcurrant and orange juice (£2.75 for 75cl from Waitrose and some branches of Tesco local to Belvoir in Lincolnshire), though I'd add an extra dash of water and a slice of orange to cut the sweetness. Belvoir also does a Spiced Winter Berry Cordial (8, £2.89 for 50cl, Waitrose and Sainsbury's) that has the advantage of keeping longer once open and that you could even mix with red wine and some extra water.

I want to give Uncle Jim some wine as a present. What case should I buy?

Even if you buy the bulk of your bottles from a supermarket or large online retailer, do give at least some of your custom to a local wine merchant. They generally come up trumps when you need advice about a gift. That said, there are many tempting mixed cases that will save you even that effort, most notably from the admirable Wine Society, which seems to be able to solve every present need: two that caught my eye this year were the Serious Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc case (£75 for six bottles), which includes one of my favourites, Greywacke Wild Sauvignon (7), and the Spanish Tour Dozen (£90 for a full case), a great way to explore the new Spain. On the other hand, someone may prefer to have a supply of a wine they really enjoy – for example, I'd be thrilled with a half-case of the elegant Schloss Gobelsburg Grüner Veltliner 'Lössterrassen' 2010 (£74.20, Clark Foyster Wines; 12% abv), a great wine to drink with Vietnamese food. Or, despite what I said about multiples, a half-case of the headily perfumed Baron de Ley Varietales Graciano Rioja (£56.95 a case of six from Tesco Wine online, £9.99 a bottle in store; 13.5% abv), which is too good a deal to overlook.

Help! I'm running late for a party and forgot to buy wine. Is there anything drinkable I can grab from the local corner shop?

Funnily enough, there is the odd gem. I came across a perfectly decent Isla Negra Merlot Reserva 2010 (12.5% abv) in my local offie for £5.49, a soft, fruity red that would make a great party wine. (It's also on promotion at £4.49 at Tesco, though it's been selling there for £8.99.) At this sort of price level, Chile, Spain and New Zealand tend to provide wines of better quality than South Africa, California and France. In general, though, I'd stick to rioja – Campo Viejo Reserva (13% abv) and Faustino V Reserva (13.5% abv), which are both around the £8-£10 mark, are reliable, crowd-pleasing buys. Or fizz – though you'll probably pay over the odds for it. Freixenet's suave, black-bottled Cordon Negro Cava (around £10; 12% abv) at least looks the part and doesn't suggest you've raided the local newsagent. A well-known brand of gin or whisky such as Bombay Sapphire (£18-£25) or Famous Grouse (around £17-£23) – both 40% abv – should also go down well, as would a bottle of Disaronno amaretto liqueur (around £15; 28% abv), which everyone sneakily enjoys. A general tip: avoid older vintages (especially whites and rosés), dusty bottles or ones positioned under hot lights.

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In last week’s column on Madeira, I didn’t mention much about the way it was aged — and didn’t really mention much about the way Madeira was aged in last week’s column and that is an integral part of the story, even with younger wines.

Gone are the days when Madeira casks make six-month voyages on warm ships. Today, estufagem, which is the process of deliberately heating wine, is employed. There are three methods used, with canteiro being the one preferred for the highest-quality wines. It’s really the simplest of all, just aging the casks in rooms that are heated by sunlight. No steam pipes or coils.

With the exception of vintage Madeira, the casks are blends from many years. For example, a 10-year malmsey comes from a number of vintages, with the youngest spending at least 10 years in wood. However, solera-dated Madeiras are a little bit more complicated.

Let’s say you come across a Madeira that says it is 1900 solera. That means the first wine is from 1900. In 1901, some wine from that vintage may have been added to the 1900, with the rest being used for possibly an older solera — or to start a new one that would then be dated 1901. Come 1902, the same might happen. So, the 1900 solera has many, many vintages in it, all of which would have been aged together in casks.

The beauty of Madeira that’s destined to become either vintage or solera is that it must spend a minimum of 20 years in wood and another two in bottle. You may also see some colheita Madeiras, which are vintage dated but spend less time in casks and are generally meant for short term (that being relative) aging.

A young — say, 1985 — vintage Madeira will seem young when compared to older wines. If you are ever so lucky as to try one that has five decades until its belt, you will feel the magic. And, yes, they can age for centuries.

Sadly, many of these older wines are not exactly priced for the current economy. However, there are others to choose from that offer plenty of quality. Here are a couple for those who have a sweet tooth.

Broadbent 10 Year Malmsey

Renowned port and Madeira expert Michael Broadbent inspired son Bartholomew to add Broadbent Madeira to his import business after the initial success of Broadbent Ports. Made from 85 percent malvasia and 15 percent tinta negra mole, this malmsey has an odd combination of black currants and citrus contrasting the more typical dried stone fruit and nutlike flavors, making for a delicious — and certainly not typical — wine. Suggested retail: $40

Rare Wine Company Boston Bual

As Boston was one of the major ports for the Madeira trade during colonial times, it is only fitting it would have a Madeira named after it. A blend of 85 percent bual and 15 percent old-vine tinta negra mole, this stuff is so, so good with caramel, hazelnuts, vanilla bean, spice and a long, semisweet finish. Suggested retail: $46.50

Barbeito 20 Year Old Malvasia Old Lot 10292

Chosen from the best lots available, this is a special small-production bottling from one of Madeira’s top producers. With interplay of hot buttered nuts, toffee and vanilla leaving a matrix of everlasting flavor on the palate, this is a great substitution for vintage Madeira. Suggested retail: $75

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Now that Thanksgiving is over and Christmas is right around the corner, our mail boxes will be stuffed full of national magazines advertising their most popular products.

From Pottery Barn to Toys R US, we’ll be inundated with the must-have products of 2011. While most people will give these magazines a quick scan then toss them into the recycle bin, I will be searching for the latest and greatest wine accessories.

Each year, I look forward to what I call “magazine mayhem.” Wine Spectator, Wine Enthusiast, True Fabrications, Food and Wine Magazine, Oenophilia and Rhino Wine Gear are just a few of the many wine magazines that I’ve already received. I’ve already discovered some new, ingenious, state-of-the-art products that I know will be on my list to Santa, in addition to being on the list of gifts to give to my wine aficionado friends.

From Williams-Sonoma, I’ve finally found a decanting funnel that makes absolute sense. Made of polished and brushed stainless steel, this sweet little gizmo has dispersing holes that gently aerate the wine. It comes with a mesh filter to trap sediment, and it’s designed to fit easily into most decanters. But what I love best about this product is the $20 dollar price tag and the stand it comes with that prevents wine from dripping onto your bar or table! If you don’t have a glass decanter, simply hold the funnel above your glass while you’re pouring the wine into it, and you’ve got wine that’s instantly decanted and ready to enjoy.

Another product I came across that really caught my attention is the Corkcicle. It may look like your bottle of wine is freezing from the inside out, but this icicle lookalike wine chiller that’s attached to an actual cork, will keep your white or red wine chilled to the perfect temperature, –or so they say. I haven’t used one yet, but believe me, this is one wine product I know will be under my Christmas tree this year. At $22.95 apiece, it’s going to be a unique gift for friends, too. To watch a video on how the Corkcicle works, click here.

For those of you who are eco-conscious, the Recycled Wine Bottle Tea Lights and Recycled Wine Bottle Tumblers from AWI Inc. are rustic yet elegant. It’s easy to imagine myself on a candlelit patio in September, enjoying a chilled white wine with friends, — using the Corkcicle, of course, to keep our wine at the perfect temperature.

These are just a few of the many unique wine-related gift ideas that I’ve seen already, and I’m looking forward to seeing what other innovative companies have come up with. So before you toss those magazines out, make sure you give them a good once-over. You never know what creative product you may find for yourself or someone else. Cheers!

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Wine and chocolate have plenty in common, but they don’t always get along. Beefy red wines and dark chocolate may both express hints of coffee, ripe fruit, tobacco and toast. But as soon as either starts to get a little too sweet, things can fall apart. Theirs is a relationship that requires careful management.

“Chocolate works really well as a savoury item,” said Jasen Gauthier, chef de cuisine at Vancouver’s Provence Marinaside restaurant. “The only caveat being that you have to use bitter chocolate.”Gauthier advocates bringing the complementary flavours of chocolate, coffee and wine into one dish, in particular his espresso and chocolate braised short ribs.

“Processed cocoa or high cocoa dark chocolate is really complex and when you add a little coffee to complement the flavours in red wine it works really well,” he said. “The toasted oak of a new world Cabernet Sauvignon with those smoky, earthy notes, those are the same notes that you get from a really good dark chocolate. The wine mimics those flavours and highlights them.”

High-cocoa dark chocolates also channel the leathery, tannic qualities of rich red wines such as zinfandel, shiraz or cab sauv, which makes any of those wines a good match with a savoury dish flavoured with chocolate, he said.

Avoid Dutch cocoa for cooking, he advised. Look for Valrhona, Belcolade or Scharffen Berger chocolate with a cocoa content above 80 per cent. Generally speaking, if the chocolate is complex, the wine should be complex, Gauthier said.

“A thin one-note wine won’t show against complex chocolate, strength with strength,” he said. “It has to be a balance.”New world reds from Argentina or Chile with higher alcohol and more wood are more forgiving in pairings than softer, fruitier European reds, he opined.

The chemosensory apparatus for tasting sweetness in human beings is massive and sweet flavours can easily overwhelm your ability to taste the subtle notes in both chocolate and wine.

“You need some acidity and some spice so that the first thing that comes to your palate is that tartness or spice,” he warned. “If the first thing that hits your taste buds with chocolate is sweetness, it dumbs down your palate and takes over the dish.”

For that reason, pairing sweetened eating chocolate and wine is a high-wire act. You’ve got to keep your balance, said wine educator Ceri Cornwall. “The flavours in wine and chocolate are really very similar if you think about it,” said Cornwall.

Pair sweeter chocolate with a sparkling wine or champagne to add dryness and sensation to the experience. White chocolate contains no cocoa solids, but has a healthy portion of cocoa butter with a creamy mouth feel. “With a sweet chocolate or white chocolate, a prosecco would be perfect,” she said. “A white chocolate would also match with sherry.”

Milk chocolates range from around 10- to 35-per-cent cocoa content and usually aren’t terribly complex or bitter. A B.C. riesling with a hint of sweetness is a good match with a sweet milk chocolate. A light red such as Pinot Noir or Merlot will stand nicely with a more robust milk chocolate.

As the chocolate gets darker and more complex, so should your wine. Many dark bar chocolates have the cocoa content displayed prominently on the package, with fine Belgian chocolate often around 72 per cent and a dark eating chocolate such as Scharffen Berger at 62 or at its most intense, 82 per cent. Above that are the bitter baking chocolates.

Local artisanal chocolate makers such as Cocoa Nymph, Chocolatas, Thomas Haas and Mink generally work with dark chocolates in the range of 42- to 72-per-cent cocoa, often adding embellishments such as fleur de sel, orange, ginger and even lavender to the mix. Delicate and fruity Pinot Noir will work well with artisanal chocolates, matching their complexity and intensity.

“I go with intense reds with a really spicy taste like a cabernet or a zinfandel with bitter chocolate,” said Cornwall. “A dark chocolate around 80 per cent cocoa will really explode. Get a deep intense dark chocolate and use the wine to add some spice to it.”

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Winemakers are facing a perfect storm of adversity, writes Eli Greenblat. The nation's biggest and best-known family-owned wine companies have posted flat revenue and shrinking earnings for the past financial year, as the sector faces a maelstrom of external shocks, led by the high dollar, which has cut exports, and a grape glut and competition from new world producers.

The only bright spot on the horizon is the growing wine boom in China, although the market remains too small and immature to compensate for lost sales in developed markets such as Europe.

The revenue of the 150-year old Tahbilk Wines, in the Nagambie Lakes region of central Victoria, where it directs production of 100,000 cases a year, fell to $13.675 million for 2010-11, from $13.887 million previously, as its net profit dropped to $235,137 from $341,804. "As far as our industry is concerned, we are still in the eye of a perfect storm," Tahbilk's chief executive, Alister Purbrick, said.

"I started work in the Coonawarra. My first vintage was 1976. This is absolutely the hardest time that you could ever imagine the industry could be in. There is nothing else that could go wrong in our industry that's not [already] wrong at the moment.

"It's still impossible to achieve price increases and, of course, your cost base continues to increase, so your margin is impacted on a continuing basis. And the retail chains and banner groups are, if anything, asking for even greater promotional contributions than they were 12 months ago and, of course, that erodes margins as well.

"The Australian dollar is still strong in all our main export markets, so we have margin erosion there as well."The impact of the high dollar for winemakers, not just those that are privately owned, is that it makes Australian wine more expensive for overseas drinkers – allowing competitors, such as New Zealand and the new world producers of Chile and Argentina, to steal Australia's markets on price.

The double hit is that imported wine is also cheaper in Australia, robbing these same Australian companies of domestic sales as well. "We are seeing growth at higher price points" ... Ross Brown.  heads of family-owned wine companies said Australian wine was especially being undercut in Europe, Britain and North America by wines from South America.

"At entry-level [prices], we have lost the fight to Chile and Argentina and I don't think it will ever come back," said Peter Toohey, the managing director of Beelgara Estate. Beelgara is Australia's 20th biggest wine group, with a history that stretches back to 1930.

"UK supermarkets, like Tesco etc, [are] commodity-driven. There is also a tax-free kick in South America that we don't have – but also their wines are very good, they are clean, the packaging is very good and their input costs are just at a level we can't replicate," Mr Toohey said.

Beelgara recorded a fall in revenue from $18.2 million to $16.6 million in 2010-11, as profit dropped from $388,164 to $172,179 for the latest period.

Mr Toohey said Beelgara had sought to diversify its exposure away from troubled markets overseas by pulling out of key European and North American regions to focus on Australian cafes, restaurants and bars, also known as "on premise".

"We are very, very strong in the on-premise market, and that isn't part of potential duopoly of Coles and Woolworths, and that's not a criticism, it's an honest observation. We are very strong in a market where no multinational will ever have a massive hold," he said. Beelgara had also made a successful push into China at both premium price point and entry level.

The currency remains the single biggest problem for wine companies, and Mr Purbrick believes weaker overseas currencies have helped imported wines go from a 5 per cent market share three or four years ago to more than 20 per cent of the Australian market.

"The imported wines are certainly squeezing local product off retail shelves," he said. Ross Brown, who until this year led Victorian wine group Brown Brothers for a decade, said cheaper wine from Chile and Argentina not only posed a threat to Australian winemakers but cheaper wine from within Europe was also finding its way into the British market.

"'When the exchange rate changed by 40 per cent, that's a dramatic change to be able to compete with and that's beyond our control. The only thing we have in our control is to leverage our premium price points and reposition the quality and image of Australian wine."

Brown Brothers reported flat revenue in 2010-11 – it had targeted growth of around 8 per cent – and its profit fell sharply after booking a writedown on losses linked to a poor vintage.

The sales and marketing general manager at d'Arenberg, Philip Jeffries, said a contributing factor to its lower earnings in 2010-11 was the currency, with up to 70 per cent of earnings for the 100-year-old wine group flowing from exports. D'Arenberg had flat sales of $25.06 million in 2010-11 as profit slid to $435,000 from $1.65 million. Mr Jeffries said stronger sales in China and Hong Kong had helped ease the earnings pain.

"It [Asia] is a positive thing at the moment. It doesn't replace more mature markets of the UK and those areas, but it can help balance a little bit in difficult times," he said. The chief executive of Taylors Wines, Mitchell Taylor, said his company had increased revenue to $48.82 million in 2010-11 from $44.33 million as it focused on quality wine sold at higher prices.

"The sweet spot we found in the market was for quality premium table wines above $15 to the $30 segment. There is good growth in that segment, domestic growth," he said. Taylors Wines lost $3.19 million in 2010-11 against a profit of $1.08 million, the fall triggered by accounting changes and a $4 million writeoff from a poor vintage.

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When life gives people lemons, some make lemonade. When life gives Clem Blakney sour grapes, or Prairie Star, Niagara, La Crosse, Mars or Reliance grapes, he makes wine. Blakney owns and operates Younity Winery & Vineyards on Albion Road. He and his wife, Jeri established the vineyards in May 2007 and registered Unity Winery in 2009.

Soon after, they were notified that a winery in California had trademarked the word "Unity.""We took what could be considered a bad situation and turned it into an opportunity," Blakney said. "Do not let adversity set you back." Blakney, who enjoys plays on words, said he considers "you," or each individual customer, to be the "Maine ingredient" in his wine. So he tweaked the name of the business to Younity Winery & Vineyards.

The couple enjoy coining catchy names for their wines, all of which are made with Maine grapes and other Maine fruits. For instance, their cranberry wine, which is pale pink, bubbly and slightly sweet, is called Tickled Pink. The rhubarb wine, a semi-dry white, is named Rhuby Slippers.

Star Crossed, a dry white wine, is made by combining Prairie Star grapes with Lacrosse grapes. Somethin' Blue, a full wine made from wild blueberries, has an apt name to be served at weddings. The Palmer Sisters, a spicy, complicated elderberry wine aged with oak chips, is named for Clem Blakney's grandfather's sisters. And, Over A Barrel, which has a fruity, slightly sweet taste, is made with Niagara green grapes.

Blakney envisions a nonalcoholic homage to John Wayne made from grape juice called John Wyne. Connie Bellet, an artist living in Palermo, designs delightfully themed labels around the Blakneys' creative names and concepts. Her label for Tickled Pink features an ecstatic dancing pink hippopotamus wearing a tutu.

She imagined green rhubarb leaves in the shape of elegant footwear for Rhuby Slippers. For the Star Crossed wine, Bellet created a Romeo-and-Juliet-style scene with a male suitor standing below a balcony on which his lover stands. Grapevines frame the balcony and above the star-crossed lovers, a night sky is alive with twinkling stars and a moon with a man in it.

Blakney described the Palmer Sisters, who all lived to ripe old ages, as spinster teetotalers. Bellet's label shows three women wearing hats seated at a table. A fourth, who is standing, clutches a bottle of wine behind her back.

On the Over A Barrel label, a hand holding a wine glass sticks out of a small hole in a wooden barrel as it plunges over a steep waterfall. The designer labels have been so popular, Blakney said, that guests at wine tastings want to purchase the artwork on posters.

Blakney, 60, learned about making wine from his father in Washington state. After he moved to Maine a few years ago, his hobby turned into a business venture. Each of the 1,200 vines in the vineyard stretching alongside Albion Road, produces about 10 pounds of grapes. "The yield increases every year," he said.

Someday, Blakney said, each vine might produce 20 pounds of fruit. Maine's grape-growing season runs from June to September and Blakney said vines can climb six to eight feet each season.

Grapes and vines are like children, he is fond of saying. "Every one has a personality," said Blakney, who sings to grapes while he prunes vines. "If you let them go wild, you pay for it," he said. "You have to nourish and guide them and they'll grow up rewarding you."

Blakney said the entire process is satisfying -- from planting vines to sipping wine with guests in his cozy tasting room, which contains a small wooden bar, stained glass lights, and a view of the vineyard.

"I want to get people enthusiastic about wine," he said. "The more wineries, the better it is."People will appreciate Maine wineries even more, he said, if there is a whole bunch. "You see one grape, you say, 'What's wrong with that?' You see a cluster and you say, Wow!'"

Younity Winery & Vineyards is one of 15 members of The Maine Winery Guild dotting The Maine Wine Trail, which winds from Prospect Hill Winery in Lebanon to Dragonfly Winery in Stetson, to Shalom Organic Orchard Farm & Winery in Franklin, to Oyster River Winegrowers in Thomaston.

Guild members open their vineyards and tasting rooms to the public. Next to Blakney's tasting room, in the basement of the home, wine ages in two 120-gallon barrels. Blakney said each barrel, which is covered in homemade cheesecloth, produces about 500 bottles of wine.

"Never judge a wine on the first taste," he said. "The first wakes up your taste buds; the second taste is the true flavor."And if a batch of wine doesn't turn out as he wished, well, that's part of life. "Do not be afraid you might get your toes stepped on," he said. "If you don't stick your feet out, you never move forward."

Wise words from a man who is barefoot most of the time. "I like to feel the earth with my feet," he said, explaining that as a child, to save his shoes from getting scuffed on gravel roads, he walked with his shoes slung over his shoulder.

Mistakes, said the self-described barefoot vintner, are opportunities to learn. And Blakney rather relishes them. When a batch of Somethin' Blue didn't taste quite right for wine, it became a tasty, tangy spread for crackers -- BB's Maine Blueberry Sting.

"Beware of a wicked sting" reads a warning on the label, which instructs users to shake, open and devour. Blakney said his tasting room will likely be open for a couple of weekends before Christmas, then he will hibernate and remodel until spring.

Calling ahead is recommended for those interested in a weekend wine-tasting, conversation and a walk with Blakney through the vineyard. Those who get his answering machine will hear his cheerful voice say, "Drop in, we can talk. And certainly we can drink."

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“It’s because Ibiza has so much sunshine,” exclaims Juan Bonet, owner of Bodega Sa Cova, when I remark on the strength of the wines he makes. As I understand it, sun equals sugar equals alcohol, and in the somewhat secret valley of Sant Mateu in Ibiza’s north-west, there is plenty of the bright stuff. Not that I’m suggesting that Sa Cova’s wines should be considered merely for their anaesthetic qualities, because they are quite delicious.

Walking holidays in Ibiza
Sa Cova is one of several vineyards in the west of the island, all of them making hand-crafted wines on a relatively small scale. Juan Bonet was the pioneer of the commercialisation of wine-growing on Ibiza about 20 years ago, though he checks himself to admit that the Phoenicians started the process at least a couple of millennia before him.

Sa Cova enjoys a perfect environment for growing grapes, with rich, red earth and sunshine almost every day. Juan is semi-retired and his younger family is taking over, but it is clear he still loves the business he created. “The big growers use machines that hoover up everything,” he explains as we look out over the 22 acres of vineyards. “Here, we hand-pick every grape so we can choose only the best quality.”Ibiza culture and festivals The personal care extends to a refusal to force the filtering process, instead opting to settle the brews as many times as necessary.

We are chatting on the terrace on which tastings are conducted for groups, with nibbles of bread and cheese. We’re briefly interrupted by a Spanish couple dropping in to pick up a few bottles. Other vineyards are also happy to make appointments for visitors. Sa Cova’s market for its reds, whites and rosés are Ibiza’s restaurants and wine shops, with a small number of the 25,000 bottles produced annually going to Germany. “You won’t find us in Tesco,” says Juan with a laugh.

I put his work to the test. The white made from malvasia grapes is full of fresh citrus flavours, sharp but not sour. A red from syrah and monastrell — the island’s grape, as Juan calls it — is rich in berry fruits.
My favourite is the rosé, structured and complex and a fine example of why this previously underrated style is now highly fashionable. I was actually quite pleased that I had the car with me, otherwise I would not have been able to resist taking a little too much advantage of Juan’s hospitality.

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Washington: Italian researchers have found a very similar inverse association between the consumption of beer and the consumption of wine in relation to cardiovascular outcomes. Research by Costanzo S, Di Castelnuovo de Gaetano G et al has sought to separate the effects of wine, beer or spirit drinking in relation to fatal and non-fatal cardiovascular events.

They carried out an updated meta-analysis on the relationship between wine, beer or spirit consumption and cardiovascular outcomes, using state-of-the-art statistical techniques. Results from 16 studies confirmed a J-shaped relationship between wine intake and reduced vascular risk, with maximal protection — an average 31 percent was observed at 21 g/day of alcohol.

Similarly, from 13 studies a J-shaped relationship was apparent for beer with maximal protection of 42 percent at 43 g/day of alcohol. From 12 studies reporting separate data on wine or beer consumption, two closely overlapping dose–response curves were obtained suggesting maximal protection of 33 percent at 25 g/day of alcohol approximately (2 drinks/day by US standards and 3 units for the UK) for vascular diseases.

A statistically significant association between spirits intake and vascular disease was not found. But the data presented do not permit the conclusion that the key effects on cardiovascular disease are primarily due to the polyphenols in beer and wine. Similarly, the results do not permit the conclusion that the effect on cardiovascular disease is due primarily to the alcohol in these beverages. The findings were published in the European Journal of Epidemiology.

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