Punt!

Okay, we know what the bottle shapes mean, now let's find out about that indention in the bottom of most bottles. Does it have anything to do with the quality of the wine? Not according to Wikipedia!

Punts
A punt, also known as a kick-up, refers to the dimple at the bottom of a wine bottle. There is no consensus explanation for its purpose. The more commonly cited explanations include:

• it is a historical remnant from the era when wine bottles were free blown using a blowpipe and pontil. This technique leaves a punt mark on the base of the bottle; by indenting the point where the pontil is attached, this scar would not scratch the table or make the bottle unstable.
• it had the function of making the bottle less likely to topple over -- a bottle designed with a flat bottom only needs a small imperfection to make it unstable -- the dimple historically allowed for a larger margin of error
• it consolidates sediment deposits in a thick ring at the bottom of the bottle, preventing it from being poured into the glass
• it increases the strength of the bottle, allowing it to hold the high pressure of sparkling wine/champagne
• it holds the bottles in place on pegs of a conveyor belt as they go through the filling process in manufacturing plants
• it accommodates the pourer's thumb for stability and ease of pouring
• According to legend the punt was used by servants. They often knew more than their master about what was happening in town, and with a thumb up the punt they could show their master whether a guest was reliable or not.
• it provides a grip for riddling a bottle of sparkling wine manually in the traditional champagne production process.
• it simply takes up some of the volume of the bottle, giving the impression that you're getting more wine for your money than is actually the case
• Taverns had a steel pin set vertically in the bar. The empty bottle would be thrust bottom-end down onto this pin, puncturing a hole in the top of the punt, guaranteeing the bottle could not be refilled [folklore].
• The punt acts as a lens, refracting the light to make the color of the wine more appealing.
• Prevents the bottle from resonating as easily, decreasing the likelihood of shattering during transportation.
• Allows bottles to be more easily stacked end to end.

compiled from internet sources to include wikipedia

Why do wines come in different shaped bottles

You can’t judge a book by its cover, but you can judge a wine by its bottle. Here are common bottle types which are of French origin but have become norms for the rest of the wine world as well.

BORDEAUX
This straight sided bottle with tall shoulders and a pronounced punt (indentation on the bottom of a wine bottle) is widely used for Italian, New World and wines from the Bordeaux region. The glass can be dark green, light green or clear for reds, dry whites and sweet whites respectively. Apart from wines from the Bordeaux region, the grape varieties used are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon and sometimes Zinfandel.

BURGUNDY
This gently sloped-shoulder bottle with a small punt has a fatter girth than other bottles and can contain both red and white wines. This shape is used for New World Pinot Noir and Chardonnay and also Loire Valley wines.

RHONE
This is similar to the Burgundy bottle except that it is slightly slimmer. It comes in a green glass for both red and white wines. Besides Rhone it is used in the new world Shiraz.

CHAMPAGNE
This bottle has a deeper punt and is made with thicker glass, more for a scientific reason than for design - to withstand the pressure of the wine inside. It is used not just for Champagne but for all sparkling wines.

ALSACE/MOSEL
This lean bottle without a punt is distinctive to the Alsace region of France and Mosel of Germany. It is used for wines like Rieslings, Gewürztraminer and Muller Thurgau. The wines could be of different styles ranging from dry to sweet dessert wines which can be read on the label.

RHINE
This one is the same as Alsace or Mosel, except that the glass is brown in colour. It is also known as ‘hock’.

FORTIFIED
This bottle is sturdy and has a bulged neck to capture the sediment. It is used for wines that are best had young like Port, Sherry, and Madeira. Hence, it comes with a cork stopper rather than a long cork. The colour of the glass ranges from dark brown to black.

UNIQUE BOTTLES
These are used more for new world or non-classic wines. No particular norms are followed when it comes to the shape, size or colour of the bottle in relation to the wines.

Why the colours?

Wine bottles can be found in various shades of green, brown or could be clear. The type of wine decides the colour of the glass in most cases. Dark coloured bottles are used to protect the red wines from exposure to light which in turn prevents oxidation and the pigment greatly depends on the materials available in that region. White and Rose wines are kept in clear glass bottles to show off the clarity and rich hues. The colours of the wine bottles also depend on the history of the particular regions and the ability of the glass industry in those areas.

Now that you know your wine bottle shapes, you're one step closer to being a wine guru!

*compiled from internet sources to include: wikipedia

Deep Thoughts

Darkening hair can lead to rich, lustrous color…perfect for the new season coming up. Think chestnut, caramel and honey. As the seasons change, transitioning your haircolor makes moving into the cooler weather more fun!
Don't worry if you've been lighter for the summer, to prevent hair from appearing dull or lifeless when darkening, we'll apply a glaze to prevent premature color fading and add life to your color.

Headaches from wine?

From the WSJ: Why Do I Get Headaches From Wine?
Posted By Chris Hardesty On April 30, 2009 @ 1:40 pm In Wine Tips and Tricks

Let’s talk headaches and wine. No, not hangovers. If you drink too much and you’re like most people, you will get a headache. And we’re not talking about migraines or cluster headaches, which are sometimes triggered by wine. Those are special cases, and you should be talking to a doctor about them anyway. We’re talking about otherwise headache-free people who drink a glass of wine and are seized by headaches.
We’re not doctors, and even doctors have disagreements about why some wines cause headaches. But because we’re asked about headaches and wine so often, we did some research. Here’s what we found.
First, sulfites. Many people seem to think that sulfites in wine cause headaches. The scientists and physicians we talked to said that’s not true. “Sulfites can cause allergy and asthma symptoms, but they don’t cause headaches,” says Frederick Freitag, associate director of the Diamond Headache Clinic in Chicago and a board member of the National Headache Foundation.
We hear all the time from people who were on vacation somewhere overseas, had a wine that didn’t cause headaches and figured the wine didn’t contain sulfites because, unlike wines in America, the label didn’t say “Contains Sulfites.” Actually, sulfites occur naturally in all wine. It’s just that in the U.S., the government requires winemakers to print that on the label because sulfites can trigger severe reactions, even death, in some people, especially asthmatics with this sensitivity.
Many winemakers also add small amounts of sulfites to their wines to help preserve them and to kill wild yeasts that can ruin a wine’s taste. “I grow a small number of grapes and make my own wine,” says Dr. Freitag, “and if you don’t do something to shut down the native yeasts and bacteria that come in with the grape skin, you’re going to get wine that is absolutely horrific. Sulfites are the most benign way of doing that, but they don’t cause headaches.”
Some people think wines labeled “organic” don’t have sulfites, but that’s not true, although those wineries might not add any additional sulfites. Frey Vineyard, of Mendocino, Calif., for instance, doesn’t add any sulfites, and its labels say that. Lolonis Winery, also of Mendocino, makes “wines that are low in sulfites or have a small amount added, but sulfites will never have anything to do with headaches,” says Maureen Lolonis. “Without sulfites,” she says, “a wine has no shelf life.”
Although experts say more study is warranted, and there is dissent, a lot of research suggests that the headache culprits might be histamine and tyramine, other chemical substances that are naturally present in wine. Histamine dilates blood vessels and tyramine first constricts then dilates blood vessels — ouch! Dan L. Keiller, president of the newly formed Medical Wine Interest and Education Society in San Diego, says several studies from Europe show that “red wines, in general, contain more histamine than Champagnes or sparkling wines and those usually contain more histamine than [still] white wines.” Indeed, headaches from red wine are so common that the phenomenon has its own name, “RWH syndrome”-that’s “red wine headache.” But, Dr. Keiller hastens to add, “Histamine content does not correlate consistently with color, bouquet or taste characteristics of the wine.”
People who most often have trouble with histamine in wine, Dr. Keiller and others say, are those who lack an enzyme in their intestines that can help them metabolize histamine. Tyramine, meantime, can cause your blood pressure to rise, and that triggers headaches in some people. These same people might get headaches from aged cheeses, smoked or cured meats, and citrus fruits.
Dr. Freitag, who has studied the health effects of wine for more than a decade and makes Riesling from the 18 vines in his yard, adds, along with other researchers, that other substances that contribute to the flavor and special characteristics of wine, such as congeners, are also suspect. Even the wood in which the wines are fermented or aged can make a difference. “Some people are sensitive to the differences in the growing regions. Some can drink a California red wine but God help them if they drink a French Bordeaux or Burgundy,” Dr. Freitag says. “There are different characteristics of the soils that are picked up and translated into the chemical mix in the grape itself.”

Variations From Grape to Grape
The amount of tyramine varies depending on the type of grape, Dr. Freitag says. “Riesling is one of the higher tyramine-containing wines,” he says. “Chardonnays and Sauvignon Blancs are low … Chiantis are higher than Rieslings, Sauternes are low and Bordeaux are low. Californians are, as a rule, pretty low.
“A lot of European wine country is very rocky, limestony, and how the grapes grow and the amount of protein they produce, maybe even differences in the kinds of yeasts that are used, may make a difference,” Dr. Freitag adds.
But once again, nothing here is absolutely clear, or without controversy. When we asked for information from the Wine Institute, the California-based industry advocate, it sent a 1996 paper on wines and headaches by Mark A. Daeschel, professor of Food Science and Technology at Oregon State University. We tracked Dr. Daeschel down while he was harvesting Pinot Noir grapes for a friend. “There’s really nobody out there who wants to support the type of research that needs to be done to definitely nail all of this down,” he told us. “We can’t go to the federal government. They’ll say ‘just stop drinking.’ And wineries are hesitant because they don’t want to raise the issue that there may be a problem. But it’s a complex situation. It’s a combination of things and also the physiology of the consumer. Some people’s triggers go off quicker than others’.”
There is some research that indicates psychological issues also are important. Several researchers noted that people responded differently to substances that cause them headaches depending on their state of mind, which might explain, in part, the-wines-on-vacation syndrome. Think about the common question: Why does Champagne give me such a headache? Maybe the answer is that the bubbles carry alcohol to the bloodstream faster. But maybe part of the answer is that people drink more Champagne than they think they do during the festive occasions at which it’s often served, and aren’t eating food with it.
And that brings us back to alcohol. When we posed the question of headaches and wine to Stanford professor and heart surgeon Thomas Fogarty, the owner of a California winery by that name, he straightaway said with a chuckle, “The most common reason is overdose. The other is histamine in wine.”
Bob Green, an owner of Union Square Wines and Spirits in New York City, points a finger to crude alcohol in cheap wine. When sugar is added to grape juice to produce alcohol to boost the alcohol content of a wine, it creates a less pure kind of alcohol, he suggests, and that helps trigger headaches. How about going the extra mile, to wines without any alcohol at all? Removing the alcohol “may not remove the headache-related factors from a wine,” says Dr. Freitag.
So what’s a body to do?
Elizabeth Holmgren, director of Research and Education at the Wine Institute, suggests you drink in moderation and with food, and that if you’re sensitive to histamine, consult your doctor and take precautions. Some doctors and researchers say taking antihistamines, ibuprofen or aspirin before you drink is effective in preventing headaches. Also, Vitamin B6 can help your body metabolize histamine, some say. But, remember, some people can have harmful reactions to the use of these over-the-counter drugs with alcohol, so ask your doctor first. Drinking plenty of water when you’re having wine might also help. Dehydration can cause headaches, too.
Red vs. White
Dr. Freitag says, “I would recommend that someone choose a white wine over a red and drink modest amounts. If you drink wine with any regularity and if you find there’s a type of wine that you enjoy and that doesn’t give you headaches, try to stick with it or something similar. If you’re at a dinner and you get headaches from red wine, there’s nothing wrong with taking a few sips of it, but your glass should never get terribly empty.
“If you’re sensitive in general,” he says, “most people tend to tolerate the wines from California, Washington and Oregon more than European wines, grape type to grape type.” We know there are a million other explanations for all of this- and everyone has a point of view. But this is truly the bottom line: If headaches are preventing you from fully enjoying wine, you really should talk to your doctor.

This article was adapted [1] from a Tastings column by Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher published in October 2000.
Article printed from Wine: http://guides.wsj.com/wine
URL to article: http://guides.wsj.com/wine/wine-tips-and-tricks/why-do-i-get-headaches-from-wine/

Hair, or lack of it

I am definitely new to the blogging thing. Summer is in full swing and the lack of a defined schedule has me flyin' by the seat of my pants! (on oh so many levels)

Hair, we are bombarded by TV, magazines, media in general, showing us what is hot, instyle, sexy, the best color, you get the picture...:) Our appearance is what people judge us by, first impressions are long lasting, even if they are not correct.

Back to the hair, or rather lack of it. Alopecia Areata. What the heck is that? It literally translates to baldness in spots. Most of us think of baldness as happening to older men. Well, it can happen to any one of us, it affects children, adults, any race, religion or creed. It is a disease that does not discriminate.
As a hairstylist, I learned about it during my training and have seen some clients who have it to varying degrees. Now, as a parent, I am experiencing it first hand. My 5 year old daughter Coty has been diagnosed with Alopecia Areata.

There is no cure for Alopecia. There are treatments that help some patients; no guarantee that the hair will grow back or if it does that it will stay. Of course the possibility that the hair returns to its normal state does exist. Some patients experience intermittment bouts throughout their lives, while others live with total hair loss. The National Alopecia Areata Foundation is doing research to find out even more about the disease.

Alopecia Areata is an auto immune disorder. That basically means the white blood cells of the person affected are attacking the involved hair follicles rendering them incapable of growing hair. Research is being done to find any genetic links that may exist between other autoimmune disorders and Alopecia.

You can visit the Alopecia Areata Foundation's website, www.naaf.com for more information and to help support research by making a contribution.
Stay tuned, I will keep you up to date with events that are planned in the future to raise public awareness and support.

Halo Coiffure

First day! There are a lot of first days in life; first day of school, first day on the job, first day in your own place, you get the idea.
Today is the first day that Halo Coiffure was open for business!

I have begun a new adventure and I invite you to join me. Stay tuned for tidbits about hair, styles and colour. My mission is for this to be the go-to place for all things related to hair!

I'll even be throwing in some wine ideas! Tonight's glass is a Petite Sirah from Fog Vineyards. Beautiful, rich purple color! Long oaky finish and a hint of raspberries. Mmmm.