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Confidence in the British wine industry is at an all-time high with the UK Government pledging new funding of £1.5 million to complement its rapid growth. On Tuesday, April 16, Steve Barclay, the Environment Secretary, unveiled significant new financial backing for the wine sector during the annual WineGB conference at Plumpton College in East Sussex. This support aims to propel the ongoing success of the rapidly growing English and Welsh wine industry. British wine employment figures The government has allocated £1.5 million this year for the Future Winemakers’ Scheme (FWS). This initiative will concentrate on education, training, and upskilling opportunities,...

National Beer Day is celebrated every year on April 7th. This unofficial holiday was first celebrated in 2009 via social media activity by a man named Justin Smith. Shortly after, a beer drinking app called Untappd created a National Beer Day badge that was awarded to users. And the hashtag has been trending on social media ever since. But why April 7th? National Beer Day will be celebrated on Sunday, April 7, 2024. New Beer’s Eve is Saturday, April 6, 2024. April 7th was selected as National Beer Day because it marks the date that the Cullen-Harrison Act went into...

NORTH WILKESBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A possible moonshine cave has been discovered under the stands at the North Wilkesboro Speedway, according to a statement released by the NWS on Tuesday. During cleaning and inspection last week, staff noticed cracks in concrete in section N. Crews began removing seats to evaluate damage and repair needs. “When we began renovating and restoring North Wilkesboro Speedway in 2022, we’d often hear stories of how an old moonshine still was operated here on the property under the grandstands,” said Steve Swift, senior vice president of operations and development at Speedway Motorsports. “Well, we haven’t...

It turns out space helmets serve a dual purpose - to keep air in and stink out. Just like Earth, the universe emits various smells from every corner of the never-ending universe, often of which are generally unpleasant, Space.com reported, citing numerous space expeditions over the decades. Although it is impossible to take a whiff of the cosmos without facing certain death, astronauts have long described strong odors clinging to their space suits after they return to their air-locked chambers. Metallic, burnt meat Those aboard the Apollo moon landings described the scent as gunpowder-like, while others who traversed the International...

Archaeologists in Greece have discovered a 1,600-year-old wine shop that was destroyed and abandoned after a "sudden event," possibly an earthquake or building collapse, left broken vessels and 60 coins scattered on the floor, according to new research.The shop operated at a time when the Roman Empire controlled the region. It was found in the ancient city of Sikyon (also spelled Sicyon), which is located on the northern coast of the Peloponnese in southern Greece. Within the wine shop, archaeologists found the scattered coins, as well as the remains of marble tabletops and vessels made of bronze, glass and ceramic.The...

It's no secret that the ancient Romans were lovers of wine. So gripped by the grape were they, that they even worshiped a god—Bacchus—devoted to wine and merriment.But, little is known about what their wine actually tasted like. Was it bitter or sweet? Fruity or earthy? According to a pioneering new study, it was rather spicy and smelled like toast...By comparing these vessels, which have long been overlooked, to similar containers used in modern wine-making, researchers were able to demystify the ancient flavors and the processes that created them.The findings "change much of our current understanding of Roman winemaking," researchers,...

On the bank of a picturesque river in southern France sat a collection of ancient ruins. A buried cellar and empty pools are all that remain of a Roman-era winery.Archaeologists found the ruined winery in Laveyron during excavations for a factory's parking lot, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research (Inrap) said in a Nov. 30 news release.The large-scale winemaking operation was built in the first century A.D. and probably produced drinks for ancient Romans...On either side of the platform, archaeologists found basins where the grape juice was collected...The basins were in turn linked to two larger rooms that...

And they aren't even done exploring the massive space.The tomb of Queen Meret-Neith, an Egyptian royal who was most likely the most powerful woman of her era — if not the first female pharaoh — was discovered by archaeologists well over a century ago, but there are still mysteries surrounding both her and her burial site. A team of German and Austrian archaeologists organized by the University of Vienna are currently excavating her sprawling, complicated tomb, and they’ve already made some surprising discoveries. Including lots and lots of wine. Earlier this month, the team revealed that they had unearthed...

A German-Austrian team led by archaeologist Christiana Köhler from the University of Vienna is investigating the tomb of Queen Meret-Neith in Abydos, Egypt. She was the most powerful woman in the period around 3,000 BC. Recent excavations prove her special historical significance: the researchers found 5,000-year-old wine and other grave goods. This fuels speculation that Meret-Neith was the first pharaoh of ancient Egypt and predecessor of the later Queen Hatshepsut....Her true identity remains a mystery...The archaeological team found evidence of a huge amount of grave goods, including hundreds of large wine jars. Some of them were very well preserved and...

Humans have extensively shaped animals and plants through domestication. Although wine and table grapes have been important culturally for thousands of years, their origin has been difficult to pinpoint because of uneven sampling of modern cultivars. In new research, geneticists from Yunnan Agricultural University and elsewhere analyzed genetic data from 3,525 cultivated and wild grape varieties from around the world.

...Warmer temperatures and more humidity may have helped the forests in the region grow and expand north into present-day Siberia. The theory hinges on the presence of pollen in the region's sediment record...It is also likely that both warm and cold climates would have played a role in this travel. The Pleistocene Epoch is known for huge climatic shifts...To piece together what the climate could have looked like during a possible warm period about 45,000 to 50,000 years ago, researchers working on the study created a record of the vegetation and pollen from the Pleistocene found around Lake Baikal in...

An engineer was conducting a regular survey of the Mediterranean Sea off Egypt's coast when he noticed something in the water.It turned out to be a 2,300-year-old shipwreck, according to an Aug. 5 news release from Egypt's Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities.The ancient ship was discovered less than a half-mile off the coast of El-Alamein — which was an important commercial region during the third century BC, Mostafa Waziri, secretary general of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, said in the release. The find gives more insight into Egypt's role as a center for trade, economy and tourism in ancient times.Archaeologists...

On its website, California wine company Ocean Fathoms praises the waters of the Santa Barbara channel as “the perfect environment” for aging its wines. “[T]he set of special characteristics of the Channel Islands’ environment gives Ocean Fathoms a superior product,” the company claims, before praising the abundant underwater flora and fauna that attach itself to each bottle. In 2017, Ocean Fathoms started to submerge specially designed crates of its wine in the channel, and when the bottles were retrieved 12 months later, they were sold for up to $500 each. The problem — and this is a significant one —...

Jason Kingsley, the Modern Knight, discusses three very popular medieval institutions, the Inn, the Tavern and the Alehouse. Many people think these are the same, but they're not really. Each had it's own place in medieval society.What's the difference between medieval inns, taverns and alehouses? | 17:44Modern History TV | 758K subscribers | 128,108 views | July 27, 2023

Here's what it tastes like.We’ve all heard the expression “aging like a fine wine,” which implies that, like the best bottles, certain things get better with time. But what would happen if, say, that aging took place at the bottom of the ocean in a remote location just shy of the Arctic Circle? That’s the question that Norwegian boating company Hurtigruten wanted to test when it partnered with British Rathfinny Wine Estate to lower bottles of its 2018 Classic Cuveé to the ocean floor in hopes of bringing back a higher-quality, more mature product and, if not, to at least...

The anise-flavored drink Ouzo is deeply connected with the nation of Greece. It is simply the spirit of Greek summer which no one can copy. It’s probably the most social drink ever distilled. Those who share this particular flavor, come closer and speak more easily. Ouzo is the drink of companionship and confession. Ouzo drinking is an art. Or maybe it’s a way of life, says Matt Barrett, an American who writes about Greece. However, it’s not the ouzo but rather who you drink it with that really makes the experience, he adds. A unique Mediterranean experience When Greeks say...

When researchers set out to study the canvas preparation practices of the Danish masters, they were searching for traces of proteins that indicated the use of animal-based glue—and in eight of the ten paintings they studied, that's what they found...Seven of the paintings also contained the byproducts of brewing beer, according to a recent study published in the journal Science Advances. Researchers examined works made by Christoffer Wilhelm Eckersberg (sometimes called the "father of Danish painting") and Christen Schiellerup Kobke during the Danish Golden Age, a time of cultural revitalization in the early 19th century when painters were known for...

Homebrewers will soon be able to time travel with their taste buds and brew beer similar to what the Philistines in Goliath’s hometown of Gath drank. An interdisciplinary team of researchers, archaeologists and brewmasters in Israel first isolated 5,000-year-old yeast in 2019, as published in the peer-reviewed mBio journal in 2019. But now, the fruits of that discovery are about to become available for hobby brewers and sourdough aficionados everywhere, when the first batch of commercially available ancient yeast ships in December. Pre-orders are open now. “We want to create an opportunity for every person to connect with this story,...

But maybe don't drink it.In the mid-1930s, British beermaker Greene King brewed and bottled a special ale to commemorate the coronation of King Edward VIII. The only problem? That king was never crowned. In 1936, Edward surrendered his chance to wear the crown, abdicating the throne only 325 days into his unofficial reign so that he could marry American socialite Wallis Simpson. His coronation — which had been scheduled for May 1937 — was called off, his younger brother George VI became king, and all 2,000 bottles of that Coronation Ale were put into storage. Remarkably, that beer stash wasn’t...

Bones, ancient grooming tools, even gold – these are all things you might expect to find if you go poking around an Iron Age burial site. What you might not expect to find is your new favorite tipple. But, back in 2016, archaeologists were stunned to uncover a 2,500-year-old cauldron that contained the remnants of an ancient alcoholic beverage.Project lead Bettina Arnold, from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, was investigating a burial mound – called a tumulus – dating back to between 400 and 450 BCE, when she and her team came across what appeared to be a bronze cauldron. But...