Its the start of February and the the new challenges of 2009 are causing the good and bad times of 2008 to quickly become part of the past.
One of the highlights for us which we are still revelling in, was being awarded a Winestate Trophy for Cabernet Sauvignon of the year, for our Angas Plains Estate PJ's Cabernet Sauvignon 2006. We are very proud of this achievement.
We are also pleased with the notoriety afforded by this award as more people visit our cellar door to taste our wines. We have found that many of our visitors agree with the judges, and our Cabernet 2006 became our top seller for January 2009. The good news for those of you who haven't tasted it or purchased some yet is we still have good stocks and so have retained this as our wine of the month.
The Grand Slam Tennis has drawn to a close, how inspiring to watch the determination exhibited by the young players and the great shots they hit. Personally we can only dream of hitting shots like them.
With every new year we think about our goals, dreams and desires. Health and fitness is on our minds, so in this newsletter we have included a good health story worth reading.
We are currently experiencing a very severe heat wave in South Eastern area of South Australia and particularly in Langhorne Creek. Phillip is working extremely hard to keep the water moisture level up in the soil for our vines. Until last week it had been a mild summer and a very good growing and ripening season for the grapes and we are hopeful there will not be too many more days of above 40 degrees. Our fingers are crossed this heat wave doesn't continue and the grapes can ripen before we run out of water in our dams.
This is certainly agriculture and natures way to keep us on our toes.
Vintage is a time for finishing the growing season and we like to mark the occasion each year with a celebration and to provide some fun for our friends. We are hosting our Annual Grape Stomping Party, Sunday the 8th March (Adelaide Cup long weekend) 12 noon. Book and come along, you will be ensured of having an awesome time.
Our guests will relax with their freinds and enjoy a wine while being entertained by our songbird "Linda McCarthy" The chefs from Zoot's of Henley Square will be preparing their scrumptious lunch for all to enjoy.
After lunch the feet of many will be dancing on "ye old dance floor" or stomping in the grapes to the upbeat music played by Linda. The dark red juice squelshed from the berries by many toes will be used to help water the lawns. Guests are asked to bring a sense of humor and clean feet.
Visit the website for more details and book now online or phone Judy on 8537 3159 or fax 8537 3353. We have photos of previous events online, so check them out.
As the holiday period season is over we are now opening our cellar door every weekend 11am to 5 pm. If your wishing to visit during the week please contact us.
We will open the cellar door for your personal tasting and offer our taste tempting delights menu to share over a bottle of wine, with your friends in our beautiful surroundings, with prior arrangement .
Scroll down this page to read Judy's tip on how to help you maintain your healthy lifestyle in 2009.
Is a glass of red wine a day good for you?
plus special offers for you!
Cheers
Phil and Judy
Judy's Tip
Is a glass of red wine a day good for you?
Tuesday, July 4, 2006
"Does red wine deserve its reputation as a healthy choice?
It has been linked with all sorts of health benefits over the years: the heart, the lungs, prevention of breast cancer, prostate cancer, tooth decay, longevity and just general wellbeing. But can this be true and how can one drink affect so many parts of the body?
Our reporter Dr Andrew Rochford uncorks a few reds to investigate the truth.
The whole idea that red wine keeps us healthy comes from something called the French Paradox. Scientists noticed that despite a diet loaded with saturated fat, very few French people actually croak it from heart attacks.
Just 83 out of 100,000 Frenchmen die from heart disease compared with 230 in the US. The difference? The amount of red wine they drink.
Family doctor Philip Norrie is such a red wine advocate and fan that he bought his own vineyard in the New South Wales Hunter Valley. He's also written several books and a thesis on red wine and its health benefits.
"We're all going to die from something and what I'm trying to do is delay your death," says Dr Norrie. He says the wine has been used medicinally for over 5000 years for antiseptic (treating wounds, water and preoperative), as a tranquiliser or sedative, and as a hypnotic.
This 'wine doctor' is a devoted disciple of red wine — he recommends it to many of his patients.
Heart attacks are the leading cause of death in Australia. They're triggered by a build-up of plaque in your arteries. So how does red wine help? It contains anti-oxidants, and the most important of these is resveratrol. It keeps your arteries clear of plaque therefore reducing the risk of heart disease.
"An anti-oxidant is a thing that stops oxidation. Oxidation is basically rusting, so when we're ageing we're oxidising or degenerating or rusting, so if you can block that process then you get all these health benefits because vascular disease, dementia, diabetes, all these cancers are forms of degeneration or oxidation," says Dr Norrie.
So drinking red wine is good for your heart, lungs, kidneys, brain and more.
But it's important you only drink two standard glasses of wine a day. Anymore and you risk the downsides of excessive alcohol intake: raised blood pressure, potential damage to the heart, liver, kidneys and brain. Over consumption of alcohol can also cause impotence and infertility, while during pregnancy it can damage the foetus.
"You've got to get the Goldilocks dose: too much is bad for you and abstinence is bad for you, whereas moderation's good for you," says Dr Norrie.
Also, people with high blood pressure, enlarged hearts, liver disease or anyone with a family history of alcohol abuse shouldn't be downing this daily dose.
So we've established that red wine is good for us in moderation, but is there any difference in the kind of wine we knock back? Most of us have champagne tastes on a beer budget so is a cask wine as good for you as an expensive bottle of red?
Professor Geoff Skurray has the answer. He researches the molecular content of red wine and the ways to increase the medically beneficial compounds in wine for the University of Western Sydney at its Yarramundi winery in Richmond.
Using some fancy machinery, the Professor can measure the levels of resveratrol — the good compound — in different bottles of wine and tell us which one is best.
So is there any difference between cheaper wine and the more expensive wine? Actually, yes.
According to Professor Skurray "there's much less anti-oxidants in the cheaper wine but you probably drink more of that than the other one so you make up for it."
It comes down to the way the wine is made. Cheaper wine doesn't have the rich fruit. You have to have really good fruit that has a lot of colour and anti-oxidants — this is what goes into the more expensive wines.
Professor Skurray's tests showed a $300 bottle of wine had twice as much resveratrol as a bottle costing about $10, while the cask wine had a quarter of it.
But wine lovers shouldn't despair.
According to Professor Skurray while the cheaper wines may contain less anti-oxidants, it doesn't mean we have to go without anti-oxidants because there are still health benefits in drinking two glasses of cask wine.
So why just red wine? What about the white varieties? It's because red wine is made using the skin and seeds of the grape and that's where all the goodness is. If you're not a wine lover, you might decide to just eat grapes. But you'd have to eat half a kilo a day to get the same amount of resveratrol contained in one glass of wine. Anyway why not make the most of it?
It's not often something so nice turns out not to be naughty after all.
Great news for wine lovers!"
A medical doctor tasting at cellar door read our sign A red wine a day is good for the body and soul and commented "Yes I agree, I prescribe it to many of my patients, especially those with a cardiac condition."
This is a great tip, especially knowing Angas Plains grapes and wines are known for their deep rich colour and the wines are affordable.
I now cherish my glass of red each day, you can too!
Cheers
Judy
Special Update
A special offer to help you afford your glass of red per day!
Angas Plains Estate PJ's Shiraz 2005 is our spicy red,
save $60.00 per dozen was $19.95 per bottle now only $14.95.
Purchase a straight dozen or make your own mixed dozen if you prefer.
Our aim is to make it easy for you to have that glass of red each day for your health and well being.
Preferably drinking a Angas Plains wine.
Order now and we will have it delivered to your door.
Bookings are open now for the Grape Stomping Fun Lunch 8th March 2009
3 course scrumptious lunch, music by Linda McCarthy and a lot of fun
to be had while enjoying a Angas Plains Wine. Tickets $50/Adult $10/Child
Book your tickets now and purchase your wine now.
We have developed our website to take secure payments or
phone 08 8537 3159 fax 08 8537 3353 email info@angasplainswines.com.au
Real People, Real Fun, Real Wine at Angas Plains Wines