Onion, garlic, red wine keep heart forever young: "Treat your heart - healthy or ailing - to onions, garlic, grapes or red wine and you will never have to visit a cardiologist. This healthy heart tip came from a team of US-based doctors visiting PGI to attend a conference on cardiology and to install pacemakers in five patients, free of cost.... In Wine News

New Zealand: Wine festival promises to be a great party: "Organisers are expecting a sophisticated day at tomorrow's BMW Wine Marlborough festival, but emphasise that it is wine appreciation, not snobbery, that has seen the festival change over the years. In Wine News

'Passionate About Pinot': "Are you passionate about Pinot Noir? Does your mouth start to water just thinking of this supple and sexy wine? The true Pinot Noir enthusiast has reason to take note and celebrate. Sonoma Coast Villa Inn & Spa is offering the ultimate Pinot Noir lover's experience as it hosts a Passion and Pinot Weekend April 4-6, 2003.... In Wine News

Australia: Wine industry unfazed by domestic sales fall: "A drop in domestic sales of Australian produced wine is not concerning Western Australia's wine industry. The Australian Bureau of Statistics says $36 million of Australian wine was sold domestically last December, a 4.4 per cent drop from the same period last year.... In Wine News

For 2 bucks, go with the Merlot: "If you're Fred Franzia, owner of Bronco Wine Company, you buy a lot of bulk wine, blend them together and release four cork-finished varietal wines under the Charles Shaw Winery label. And you sell them at Trader Joe's for $1.99.... In Wine News

It's here, it's queer, start drinking it: "Out of Rome comes Rosso Gayardo, the first wine celebrating gay culture .... In Wine News

Villagers rebel against sale of vineyard to Depardieu: "They are not toasting the health of Gérard Depardieu in the small southern French village of Aniane, where local wine producers claim the movie star and multimillionaire wine buff has done them out of a vineyard that should rightfully be theirs.... In Wine News

Tough markets to curb Australian winemaker profits: "Australia's major wine and beer producers face a sobering profit-reporting season, with earnings growth limited by tough conditions in key domestic and international markets.... In Wine News

Sauternes: spinning rotten grapes into gold: "The "oohs" and "aahs" were audible as professional connoisseurs gargled and spat vintages spanning nearly a century, all from the same chateau in Sauternes.... In Wine News

In Vino Veritas: When is a Chablis not a Chablis?: "French wine makers from Bourgogne -- or Burgundy -- do not agree that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. Show them a California vintage with "Chablis" on the label and they are far more likely to cry foul than take it as a compliment.... In Wine News

Learn everything you ever wanted to know about wine: "At the height of Hong Kong's dizzying economic success, a bottle of 1982 Chateau Mouton Rothschild sold for as much as HK$18,000 a pop. Since then, the price for this sought-after trophy wine has dropped to.... In Wine News

Winery Owner to Donate All Profits to Charity: "A new winery founded by industry veteran Judd Wallenbrock brings a new business plan to a very traditional industry. Wallenbrock's winery, aptly named "Humanitas," (Latin for "Philanthropy, kindness and human nature") is dedicated to giving all profits to charities working on issues of hunger, sheltering and illiteracy.... In Wine News

Red-Wine Extract Extends Shelf Life of Fruit: "Apples that turn mushy a few days after being purchased from your local grocery may one day become a thing of the past -- thanks to a natural preservative found in grapes. Researchers in Spain have found that dipping fruit in trans-resveratrol, a chemical compound in red wine, keeps it fresh longer.... In Wine News

Winegrower says 'Balls' to spy base spending: "Winston Oliver's Big Balls wine is about communication, goodwill and fun. Pleiades vineyard has been a neighbour of the huge white spheres of the Waihopai, 20km west of Blenheim, spy base for more than a decade now.... In Wine News

Lacoste refuses to be made ward of court: "Lily Lacoste, the 96-year-old former owner of Château Pétrus in Pomerol, last week resisted efforts to place her under the legal guardianship of the local court of protection.... In Wine News

New Zealand Wine Hits Trendy Suburb: "A trendy offshore suburb of Auckland held its first wine festival last weekend, making it the latest beneficiary of New Zealand's ongoing wine boom.... In Wine News

Wine from Italy, label from Malta: "The European Union does not allow wine, which has been bottled in Malta but is made from Italian grapes, to be marketed and labelled as a quality wine.... In Wine News

Trouble in Aust's wine industry: "Premium Australian wine has been selling at bargain prices for months now as the top wine makers compete aggressively for market share. But the days of the cheap drop may be numbered following the sacking of Southcorp's Chief Executive, Keith Lambert.... In Wine News

Australia: Torbreck back in business: "Torbreck winery, whose wines have been described by Robert Parker as 'some of the most exciting on planet earth' is back in business after winning financial backing from fast-food businessman Jack Cowin. The company was forced into receivership in October when winemaker David Powell's marriage to co-owner Christine Powell collapsed.... In Wine News

Cabernet Franc now charging ahead as its own varietal: "Cabernet Franc is known primarily as a grape to blend with one of the four other Bordeaux red varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Now Cabernet Franc is making a bid in California to become a significant stand-alone varietal wine.... In Wine News

New Zealand: Food industry ready to grow: "Hawke's Bay's reputation for fine wine should pave the way for the development of the region's food industry, the newly appointed manager of Food Hawke's Bay says.... In Wine News

Taste The Great Wines Of South Africa: "Cape Wineland Tours is pleased to announce its partnership with Great Wines International, a leading U.S. importer of South African wine, to present a simply delightful, behind-the-scenes wine and gourmet journey to South Africa!... In Wine News

Wine firm offers help in Super Bowl bet: "An online wine company has offered to make good on a Super Bowl bet between Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and California Gov. Gray Davis that got stymied by Florida alcoholic beverage laws.... In Wine News

French Scientists Develop White Wine That Acts Like a Red: "Finally, a promising innovation for those who don't drink red wine. A team of French scientists has developed a Chardonnay that, at least as indicated in tests on diabetic rats, could have the same health benefits associated with red wine.... In Wine News

The many pleasures, and history, of champagne: "Like many of life's seductive pleasures, champagne and its "foaming whirls as white as Cleopatra's melted pearls" is an accident of geography. In Wine News

Wining and Dining, the Bordeaux Way: "The wise old men of Bordeaux, whoever they were 60 or 70 years ago, made a remarkable discovery: the press. Not the kind that crushes grapes; the Romans knew about those presses. I mean the press that tells the world about Bordeaux wine. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that few business groups anywhere are as astute as the Bordelais when it comes to presenting their image to the rest of the world. In Wine News

Wine festival's auction raises $5.14M for local charities: "Hold a glass of 1961 Latour up to the sun, and it glitters like a jewel. But that's not why Retta Singer paid $180,000 for it. The real jewel, Singer said, was the help that money would funnel into local children's charities. In Wine News

Baja wine industry aims to showcase its 'Grape Corridor': "California has the Napa Valley, and France its Bordeaux region. Now, Baja California wants to create a "Grape Corridor" to showcase its growing wine industry. In Wine News

Humanitas Winery Bottles a Business Plan Based on Giving: "A new winery founded by industry veteran Judd Wallenbrock brings a new business plan to a very traditional industry. Wallenbrock's winery, aptly named "Humanitas," (Latin for "Philanthropy, kindness and human nature") is dedicated to giving all profits to charities working on issues of hunger, sheltering and illiteracy. In Wine News

Champagne is made in Champagne: "The winemakers in Champagne are trying to educate people about the difference between sparkling wine and authentic champagne, made in the region about 90 miles east of Paris.... In Wine News