All You Need to Know About Wines

Wine is nothing but a mixture of wild species of grapes, rice and different types of yeasts without the use of sugar, enzymes or any lactic acids. The word "wine" is a Latin word derived from indo-European countries.

Composition of wines: Wines consist of water to a large extent. In addition to this, wines also contain variety of acids such as lactic acids, ethyl acid, minerals such as iron, calcium, sodium, potassium, sulphates and vitamins such as vitamin A and vitamin P.

There exist different types of wines according to the base product, two of which are listed below:
1) Fruit wine: ex-apple, berries
2) Vegetable wine: ex- wheat, barley

The production of wines was first found in places of Georgia and Iraq at around 6000 BC to 5000 BC. Traces of wines were also found in Greece, ancient Europe.

Cultivation of wines was started in North East areas at around 3000 BC. Cultivation of red and white wine, as we know them today, first started in Egypt, but wide-scale cultivation of wines began in Rome, which produced the best quality wine. They produced different flavors of wine.

Dry wine is one of the most popular types of wines. During fermentation, when sugar is converted into alcohol, the toxic alcohol kills the yeast and the resulting wine is called as dry wine. Wines are mainly produced from the grape species known as Vitis vinifera.

There exist different types of wines like red wine, white wine etc. They are distinguished on the amount of sugar used and the time required for fermentation.

A few types of wines are listed below:
1) Vintage wines: In order to produce a vintage wine it is a must that at least 95% of the volume of grapes used, are produced in a single year. They are mostly produced in USA.
2) Non vintage wines: They are produced from vintage wines itself. In these, at least 50% of the grapes used should have been produced in the same year.
3) Organic wines: Organic wines are produced from grapes without the use of fertilizers and pesticides. They do not contain any harmful material and are used to cure a number of diseases.
4) Red wines: They are produced from black grapes and are red in color. It prevents cancer and heart diseases because of its anti-inflammatory properties.
5) White wine: They are produced from white grapes; and they are pale yellow in color.
When alcohol is added in a wine it is called as fortified wine. Taste of wines depends on the drinker's palate.

Vintage wines are costliest of all wines. They can cost thousands of dollars per bottle.
Some of the most expensive wines are Bordeaux and Cult wines.

Production:
France is the largest producer of wines. Italy is the second largest producer.
Italy is the largest exporter of wines.

Uses: Wine is the most popular beverage, and can also be used as a flavoring agent.
Wines also have a good effect on cardiovascular problems. Wines can also used for religious and ritual purposes.

Hoodia Diet Patch

Hoodia Diet Patch discovered many centuries ago, by the Bushmen of the Kalahari, Hoodia reduced their cravings for food and water in the extreme desert surroundings and satisfied their hunger after eating only small amounts. Hoodia Gordnii Extract which effectively makes the Hoodia Diet Patch #1 in the diet aid world.

Tom Mangold (from the BBC) has been quoted as saying after trying the Hoodia Diet Patch: "It is a magic plant with a miracle ingredient which could help us all become thin once again."

Leslie Stahl of 60 Minutes stated after using the Hoodia Diet Patch:

"it's very different from diet stimulants like Ephedra and Phenfen that are now banned because of dangerous side effect. Hoodia does not stimulate at all. Scientist say it fools the brain by making you think you're full, even if you've just eaten a morsel. Stahl said she felt no after effects. There wasn't a funny taste in her mouth, no queasy stomach, and no racing heart. She wasn't hungry all day.

The New Hoodia Patch is the most effortless way to lose weight. It is also the most powerful diet patch on the market. The Hoodia Diet Patch is 100%, pure Hoodia Gordonii Extract. It has been heralded on 60 Minutes, the BBC and in O, The Oprah Magazine. As mentioned before, there are no side effects, the extract is completely natural and safe.

The process is simple. Apply the patch to a relatively hair free part of the body, and after 24 hours replace the patch with a new one in a slightly different part of the body to allow the skin to breath. By using the Hoodia Diet Patch a 100% of the essence of Hoodia is transfered directly into your body

benefits of chocolate

Although healers in ancient Latin American societies used chocolate extensively in medicinal practice, modern societies took a dim view of chocolate as having benefits. Chocolate has been reputed to cause acne, cavities, and a host of other health problems. Recent scientific evidence however, has been debunking what they call "chocolate myths." And, to the chocoholics delight, concluding that not only is chocolate not detrimental to your health, it can actually be beneficial.

Let us look at the acne myth. There have been two scientific studies devoted to this subject, one at the University of Pennsylvania and one at the US Naval Academy. Both studies concluded that ingesting chocolate had no effect on acne. There have also been other studies which have found that there is no relationship between diet and acne.

Studies have also been done on the effect of chocolate on tooth decay. While chocolate does contain sugar, the Eastman Dental Center found that chocolate contains certain phosphates and other minerals which minimize the effect of the sugar. Therefore chocolate is one of the least likely desserts to cause cavities. Another study at Osaka University in Japan stated that there are antibacterial agents in cacoa that actually counteract tooth decay.

Then what are the health benefits that can be derived from chocolate? Chocolate contains flavonoids, powerful antioxidants, stearic acid, phenylethylamine, theobromine plus many essential minerals such as magnesium and iron.

Flavanoids or phenolic phytochemicals are compounds present in plant foods which have been recognized as having health benefits. In humans they have been found to fight against cancer and heart disease. They exist in a wide variety of foods and beverages such as apples, peanuts, onions, cranberries, red wine, and tea. Two important

In a study conducted at Cornell University, Dr. Chang Y Lee, team leader, compared the presence of the phenolic compound gallic acid and the flavonoid epicatechine in chocolate with red wine and green tea. Chocalate had 611 mg of gallic acid (GAE) as compared to 340 in red wine and 165 in green tea. Chocolate contained 564 mg of epicatechin (ECE) whereas red wine had 163 and green tea only 47.

Antioxidants are important for their ability to destroy free radicals. The effectiveness of antioxidants is measured in ORAC units. Dark chocolate contains over 13000 ORAC units. If the body does not have sufficient levels of antioxidants damages takes place which leads to an increase in plaque formation on arterial walls and an increase in LDL choresterol.

Another nutrient which is the subject of many myths is fat. Nutritionists continually recommend avoiding saturated fats and opting for monosaturated fats as saturated fats raise cholesterol levels.

The fat content of chocolate is one-third oleic acid, one-third stearic acid and one-third palmitic acid. Oleic acid is a mono-saturated fat like olive oil. According to research studies, stearic acid has not effect on cholesterol. Palmitic acid is a saturated fat and does affect cholesterol levels. However, according to Dr. Phillip Drew Minton who has written a book about the health benefits of chocolate, some saturated fat is necessary in diet as saturated fats provide protection against skin cancer and unsaturated fats do not do this.

So, although one can eat chocolate now without guilt, you must eat it properly to derive the maximum health benefits. Dark chocolate is more beneficial than milk chocolate. The chocolate should be high quality to have a high cacao content. It should also be pure chocolate not combined with marshmallow, caramel, nougat and other unhealthy substances. And like all foods, moderation is the key. Don't gorge the entire box but restrict yourself to no more than 3.5 ounces per day.

Notebook vendors flock to Indonesia

If you wonder why I have been reviewing so many notebooks lately, it's because notebook vendors have been upbeat about the Indonesian market and aggressive in promoting their products here.

Their highly positive outlook conforms to International Data Corporation (IDC)'s report I received last week. The IDC says that the shipment of PC microchips reached record levels in the second quarter of 2008. Intel drove the growth with a market share of almost 80 percent. The company particularly dominated the mobile PC processor segment by achieving a market share of 86.5 percent.

Desktop computers are still selling well in the country, but notebooks are now becoming the first choice thanks to lower prices. As quoted by Bisnis Indonesia on Aug 21, Intel's country manager for Indonesia Budi Wahyu Jati said that in Indonesia the sales of notebooks had already surpassed the sales of desktop PCs.

Vendor enthusiasm is also seen in the amount of ads placed in major local newspapers. Take a look at any Indonesian newspaper and you will see notebook product advertisements from various vendors.

These days, it is also far easier for me to get a demo unit than it was before. In a lot of cases, I don't even have to request a loan of the demo unit, as the vendors themselves offer me the opportunity to review their products for two to three weeks.

In fact, I sometimes have to politely decline offers because the models they are about to let me try out are too ordinary or have too many weaknesses.

Further proof of the PC vendors' strong confidence in the Indonesian market is perhaps the scale of their presence in the country. Lenovo and Dell are just two among the newcomers in Indonesia, while the incumbents include companies such as Acer, Asus, Fujitsu, HP, NEC, Sony and Toshiba.

Lenovo has a rep office in Wisma BNI, in the same prestigious building as Acer Indonesia. Earlier this month, Dell inaugurated what it called a "Liaison Office" in the newly built Grand Indonesia Menara BCA

centrino 2 consumess less power

Up to a few years ago, CPU makers -- especially Intel and AMD -- were obsessed by speed. The faster their processor, the more they could say to strike a blow against their competitors.

However, faster clock speed required more electricity and generated more heat. Because the machines were hotter, more cooling was necessary. Cooling also consumed a lot of energy.

Now, with Green becoming the color of the technology everywhere, chipmakers have shifted their attention to making processors perform better while consuming less electricity. This is even more relevant to mobile computers.

To begin with, nobody likes a notebook that becomes as hot as a toaster after it has been used for a while. On the other hand, energy-efficient components will reduce power consumption and prolong battery life, which is a very important consideration for any mobile worker.

Intel, which makes the processors inside the majority of computers in the world, announced last week the latest platform for mobile computers: Centrino 2.

Intel is very good at creating marketing confusion, as there is also Centrino Duo. It is no surprise that many of us prefer to call Intel's technologies by their codenames. The new platform is called "Montevina".

The power consumption of the new Centrino 2 family of processors has been reduced from 35 watts to 25 watts. The amount of L2 cache memory in some processors has also been raised to 3 and 6 MB, which means computers can now have more space for data to move at a faster speed.

With the proliferation of High Definition content, Intel has also designed Centrino 2 to include HD encoding capability. Another new feature is the possibility to switch graphics engines. Then, while the original Centrino supports the IEEE 802.11 a/b/g wireless connection, the Centrino 2 has a native support for the n standard.

When this new standard is adopted here in Indonesia, the speed of data will reach up to 450 megabits per second (Mbps). Support for WiMAX is also included.

The new processors come with or without the vPro management and configuration features that used to be available only on desktop computers. Company-provided notebooks can take advantage of the Centrino 2 with vPro processors; home users will not need it.

The processors themselves are made using 45-nanometer (nm) technology. Again, to go Green, Intel claims that it does not use helium in the production process.

Clock speeds range from 2.26 GHz to 2.8 GHz. For true speed buffs, there is the Intel Core 2 Extreme with a clock speed of 3.06 GHz.

In around three months, the first quad core processor for the notebook will be available. Of course, these high-speed processors may not fit into the ultra-slim and lightweight notebooks. They are more likely to be used to drive large notebooks such as the 18.4-inch Acer Aspire Gemstone Blue.

There will be 14 different processors to choose from. So, folks, get ready for even faster notebooks with longer battery life

anti - aging diet

An anti aging diet should consist of three different components. If you focus on these three as your base, you'll be on your way to looking younger and feeling younger.

1. Fats.

First you should eliminate all the "bad fats" from your diet. These are such a huge contributor to aging it isn't even funny. On top of that they contribute to having low energy and even sickness and disease. Bad fats are that which contain high amounts of saturated fats. Generally these are the foods you pretty much know you should stay away from: fried foods, greasy foods, much of what is considered junk foods and fast foods.

On the other hand, there are "good fats" which you can, and should, consume in moderation. These fats are actually healthy for you, and don't contribute to disease as do the bad fats. These good fats are such things as olive oils, avocados, and fish oils.

2. Antioxidant Foods.

Antioxidant foods are huge in a anti aging diet. They essentially prevent heart disease as well as cancer, reduce blood pressure and slow the effects of aging.

Let's get right to it. Here are some antioxidant foods which you will definitely want to include in your anti aging diet:

Blueberries, raspberries and blackberries, broccoli, tomatoes, garlic, spinach, green tea and carrots.

There are more, but these are some of the common foods which are heavyweights in the antioxidant department.

3. Raw Vegetables.

This is another big one. Consuming your vegetables in the raw form, uncooked, will hold in all the anti aging qualities you are looking for. When you cook you veges, you unfortunately cook out some of the anti aging benefits.

The good news is there are actual raw vegetable restaurants opening up which prove you can have delicious meals with raw veges. There are also online guides available which will provide great recipes for an all around anti aging diet rich in antioxidants, healthy fats, and raw veges.

bye-bye BEIJING, see you in LONDON

Finally, the Beijing Olympic Games have come to a superb end.

Looking back on the Games' preparation, such a great success holding the world's top sporting event seemed unlikely.

China began its preparations in shaky fashion as obstacle after obstacle threatened to derail the event.

The worldwide torch relay faced numerous rallies calling for a boycott of the Games in light of human rights abuses in Tibet. Its readiness as the host was also heavily questioned by the international media over issues ranging from air pollution to food safety.

Back home, when it rains, it pours: a huge tremor devastated Sichuan province on May 12, killing more than 69,000 people in what was to become a national tragedy.

Then, four days before the Games were set to kick off, two men drove a dump truck into a group of jogging policemen and threw explosives into their barracks, killing 16 and casting dark shadows over the event's security preparedness.

Such formidable hurdles failed to dampen the spirit of the 1.3-billion strong nation. Instead, it was a baptism of fire.

China awed the world with a lavish and dazzling display at the opening ceremony in the iconic stage of the Bird's Nest stadium.

Then, Chinese athletes turned the sporting world on its head by fighting off their contenders from the beginning until the very end, allowing no letup.

Their efforts paid off as they won most of the gold medals up for grabs -- even in events they had never won before -- to dethrone traditional world No. 1 the United States, despite no icing on the cake following the abrupt withdrawal of Chinese hero hurdler Liu Xiang due to injury.