#beveragegrades

In a class action lawsuit, filed in the USA on Thursday, 28 wineries producing 83 wines have been accused of producing wines containing high levels of arsenic. The lawsuit alleges that the wines contain up to five times the levels of arsenic than the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) allows for water. The varieties listed include bottles from prominent brands and all retail for less than…

We’ve all been there – preparing to host a nice cocktail party with all of your friends, family and coworkers. The menu is set and you have all the groceries you’ll need to really “wow” your guests, all except for the accompanying wine. You arrive at the wine aisle at the grocery or liquor store, and stare aimlessly, overwhelmed by options and preoccupied by pricing. You’ve spent a fortune on all of the right appetizers and the main dish, but you don’t want to spend a fortune on alcohol.

Facing hundreds and hundreds of bottles in the store aisle, you start running through the questions in your head: 

“Which wine holds the best value?”

“What quality wine can I buy without breaking the bank?”

“Is that top-shelf brand really worth that much money?”

Copy Cat™ is here to help answer these questions.

Copy Cat™ can find beverages that are virtually identical in their chemistry composition, and therefore in taste. With this information you can be sure not to overspend on a bottle that has a lower-priced chemical twin! Simply select your favorite bottle of Chardonnay, Pinot Noir or whatever your preference, and Copy Cat™ will find a handful of other bottles with near identical composition and flavor profile at a range of prices. You may find that your favorite bottle of wine has a taste match that is half the price!

Welcome to the new and improved BeverageGrades®! We have worked hard to redesign our site to give you the most helpful information when it comes to selecting and enjoying wine, beer and spirits.

Here’s a quick sample of how we have changed the site:

Easy to Navigate – whether you want to learn about the difference in sulfites in red versus white wine (spoiler alert – you might be surprised) or find less expensive beverages with the same flavor profiles as some of your favorites, easy-to-navigate drop down menus make finding the information as satisfying as an ice cold beer on a summer day.

Flavor Profiles – Our unique Copy Cat® TasteMatch™ tool allows you to enter your favorite wine and find other wines that have a similar flavor, aroma and taste profiles at a variety of price points. By using Copy Cat®, you just might find that your favorite bottle of wine has a twin at half the price.

Top Categories – we have analyzed thousands of wines, so finding what you are looking for can sometimes feel like looking for a needle in a haystack. We’ve grouped together wines in popular categories, such as “Top Value Wines”, “Top Healthy Wines”, “Low Calories Wines” and more so you can find the information when you need it.

TRuPrice – If you are a believer that it’s what’s inside the bottle that matters, than look out for the TRuPrice. This is the price of the wine once you strip away its pretty label, brand name and advertising budget. The higher the TRuPrice is in relation to the retail price, the higher the value for that wine.

Detailed Information – now when you view one particular wine, you can review all relevant information in our database, including its nutritional profile, average price and Copy Cat® flavor profile

Doctors at the University of Colorado-Denver analyzed the wine consumption habits of 5,832 participants using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination survey (2003 – 2006). They found a correlation between moderate wine consumption and lower rates of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Participants who drank less than one glass of wine a day had healthier kidneys than non-drinkers. Moreover, participants who already had CKD and who drank less than a glass of wine per day had a lower risk of cardiovascular disease as compared to non-drinkers.

This does not mean that people who do not already drink should start now. This is also not a conclusive study. It simply shows that a correlation exists between moderate wine consumption and CKD, and thus, more research needs to be done to prove the hypothesis.

About 26 million Americans have CKD, often caused by high blood pressure and diabetes according to the National Kidney Foundation. With the increased incidence of diabetes, this number has been growing and is expected to grow significantly over the next 10 years.

According to one of the lead scientists, Dr. Tapan Mehta, “The polyphenols found in wine have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which may help explain the protective heart effects.” And, since heart disease is linked to kidney disease, there may be an association.

  Most people assume that a drink is just a drink. But, when you factor in the varying alcohol contents and pour sizes, this could not be further from the truth. With April being alcohol awareness month, we would like to educate our users about responsible drinking, which I must say, is no easy task.

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines one standard drink based on a variety of factors including beverage type (e.g. beer, wine and spirit), pour size and alcohol by volume (ABV). So, a beer = a glass of wine = a distilled spirit at the following levels noted below:

Beer: 12 oz glass at 5% ABV

Wine: 5 oz glass at 12% ABV

Distilled spirit (e.g. whiskey, vodka): 1.5 oz shot at 40% ABV

Okay, so besides the math headache required to determine the number of drinks one consumes, let’s delve a bit deeper.

Fact: About 85% of the wines BeverageGrades has lab tested exceed 12% alcohol, with many wines having 15% and 16% alcohol levels.

Fact: Beers can be sold at up to 16% ABV. That’s more than 3 times the ABV drink equivalent.

Fact: Craft beers are springing up everywhere and the average ABV is usually more like 8% or 10%.

Fact: Most restaurant portion sizes are greater than the CDC standard. Wines are usually served at 6.4 oz and beers on tap at 16 oz. And, don’t get me started on whiskeys, vodkas and other distilled spirits. The fact that an average martini glass holds 7 ounces says it all.

All these facts lead to one major problem: people are drinking much more alcohol than they realize. And, the repercussions are devastating.

Alcohol is the #1 cause of death nationwide and worldwide. Alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of preventable death. The key is to understand the trend towards higher alcohol drinks and larger serving sizes. Check our Website (and soon our phone app) to know the amount of alcohol in a given brand. Again, they vary widely, and, always factor in the size of the drinks.

Enjoy a nice glass of wine or beer tonight. But, remember the trend.

The TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) has approved a powered alcohol product called Palcohol. Is this a good idea or not? Forget about the irresponsible nature of the product, and the numerous reporters and bloggers out there, afraid that youngsters will snort this stuff or sprinkle it on their food. Yes, bad idea of course. Let’s instead focus on the business concept and what problem it intends to solve.

If you visit their Website, their pitch is simple, “Wouldn’t it be great to have alcohol in powder form so all one had to do is add water? Since it’s light and compact, it wouldn’t be a burden to carry.” Okay, so their key selling point is convenience. Well, boda bags and other liquid receptacles are fairly convenient too.

Then, there’s the Kool-Aid-like powder selling point. “Just add water.” Clearly, their demographic is young drinkers, probably in college. I cannot see 35+ year old adults sneaking this powdered substance into an event. It just seems too juvenile to me. Their Website does not include pricing, but I’d figure a packet to be between $5 or $10 – for powder. It just seems silly. It screams of fad. And, yes it’s irresponsible.

Lastly, the spirits business is highly competitive to say the least. So, beyond the niche market they are targeting, this company needs to find distributors and retailers to carry it. Distributors will be especially cautious since they also sell products like Smirnoff and Captain Morgan’s that will have a "small (uh hum)" say in their future. Good luck with that Palcohol!

I wrote an article about a week ago referencing a wine tasting expo in England that for the first time in 34 years was bringing beer companies into the mix. I know there are a whole host of wine and beer festivals that take place today. My initial question was (for more the wine and beer purists), are you happy having wine and beer drinkers mix and mingle?

The Drinks Business may have helped to answer this question. With my background in data analytics, I always like to have information on my side. And, here are a few key points to consider:

- There are 101 million US wine consumers according to the Wine Market Council.

- 34 million of these consumers are considered “high frequency drinkers” and “are responsible for 85% of all wines consumed.”

- Of these 34 million, 11 million wine consumers are “high end buyers” meaning they purchase 90% of all wines over $20 and 40% of those between $10 and $20.

- High end wine consumers “are really and truly into craft beer” according to The Drinks Business.

It’s safe to assume that most people who attend these festivals are high end wine consumers and craft beer drinkers. So, it makes all the sense in the world that wine and beer festivals coexist today. And, with the explosion of craft beers, more than likely, this trend will continue.

So I ask you high end consumers: are you following this trend? Is it a good thing? Are you wine lovers starting to dabble into craft beers? Does the same trend apply to craft brew fans; are you drinking more wine?

This is it! And, for many of you out there, I’m sure you’re thinking, “Finally.”

Tonight at 9:10 PM ET, The UConn Huskies take on the Kentucky Wildcats in the finals of the NCAA basketball tournament. In the spirit of March Madness, we will have our priciest white wine square off against our priciest red. The prize: bragging rights as to which wine is most healthy in the trophy wine section of our site. May the best wine win.

A few things to understand before I introduce our competitors. BeverageGrades has been lab testing fines for about a year now, and if there’s one truism that I can attest to, it’s that price has no correlation to quality. (In fact, it’s our expensive wines that we suggest you scour for Copy Cat TasteMatches—but that’s a separate topic for another day.) A couple of lab tips I can share as well about white wines versus red wines: 1) White’s typically have fewer calories than reds, and 2. Contrary to popular belief, a typical white has more sulfites than a typical red.

Without further ado, let’s check out the competition:

Far Niente Chardonnay (2012) - $49 171 calories | 1.1 g sugar per glass (6.4 oz typical serving)

VERSUS

Opus One Red Blend (2009) - $191 187 Calories | 2.5 g sugar per glass (6.4 oz typical serving)

From a price perspective, clearly you would put your money on Opus One; but, remember, like I said, lab testing has proven that price has NO correlation to quality. Since both wines are from Napa Valley, I’d say this is a pretty fair contest. And the winner is…

Far Niente Chardonnay, by a hair, with a health rating of 3.6 versus Opus One’s 3.4 (out of 5 stars).  

As for my hoops pick tonight, I’m going with the Vegas underdog and taking the UConn Huskies. I’m a sucker for underdogs.