Scientists in France and Italy have discovered what gives a wine its flavors.

They deciphered the DNA of some pinot noir vines and found 30,434 genes that give instructions to the vine, and 89 of those genes are responsible for the flavors and aromas in pinot noir.

An item in the Modesto Bee indicated that the scientists also found 43 grapevine genes that are involved in the creation of resveratrol, the compound in wine that has been credited with all sorts of health benefits.

It’s speculated that this knowledge can someday help winemakers in improving wine, and blogger Tom Wark said it will add to the tools they already use in “creating the wines they have in their imagination.”

One of the scientists said that typical plants have only half as many such genes as grapevines.

(Maybe that’s why so many wines are described as being “complex.”)

Have a scorpion with your wine

Jim Eagles, a New Zealand travel writer, recently took a trip along the Mekong River in Laos and wrote about some rice wine he had in a pub there. The winemaker told him, through an interpreter, that he washes rice in the filthy waters of the river (which the writer described as the “mighty brown Mekong”) then ferments it in large clay pots.

As described on nzherald.co.nz, after fermentation the wine “is poured into an oil drum, heated over a wood fire, and distilled through a rusty pipe into another clay pot. Pour the resultant spirit into whatever bottles he has managed to collect — add a poisonous snake, spider or scorpion — and it’s ready for drinking.”

The role of the poisonous creatures is difficult to determine, Eagles said, but it’s believed they give the wine Viagra-like powers, or maybe it’s just to make the bottles more interesting for tourists.

He reported that he could not taste the difference between the snake rice wine and the scorpion rice wine.

(Imagine the tasting notes — “Fruity, smooth and mellow with a hint of scorpion.”)

More on direct shipping

The Wine and Spirits Wholesalers Association, the long-time foe of direct shipping of wine, is asking the U. S. Supreme Court to look at a ruling that would give states primary legal authority over alcohol distribution and regulation, rather than surrender state authority to the federal government.

Winespiritsdaily.com said the request stems from a law in Maine involving a requirement that tobacco sellers must verify the age and identity of the purchaser when delivering their products through a carrier. “Since most state laws concerning alcohol delivery are worded similarly to the Maine tobacco statute, the WSWA hopes to prevent the Supreme Court from possibly ruling that those state laws are collectively preempted by federal statute,” the Web site said.

The site also said that state laws governing the shipment of tobacco and alcohol are fundamentally different, then quoted the WSWA CEO as saying, “ … there is no credible way to verify the age of the purchaser through an anonymous online sale … and carriers have repeatedly failed to ensure that deliveries to minors are prevented.”

Which is a more likely scenario? A teenager orders a bottle of wine online using a credit card, pays the shipping costs, then waits a week or so and has someone sign for it; or a teenager stands outside a convenience store, hands someone money and asks that person to buy a bottle of wine or spirits.

(The WSWA should concentrate its efforts on something that is more realistic instead of continually ranting about minors buying wine online.)

Manatee Merlot

Oreana Wine Company in Santa Barbara has teamed up with the Save the Manatee Club in Florida to raise awareness of manatees, an endangered species, by producing a limited edition “Manatee Merlot,” which is currently being distributed in Florida but will be expanded to other states soon.

The winery’s owner/winemaker, Christian Garvin, said he is a “long-time manatee advocate” who wanted to “give something back.”

(Maybe in California someone can produce Dolphin Dolcetto, Seal Syrah or Porpoise Pinot.)

Alcohol in China

If anyone still wonders whether China is a potential market for wine, here’s a startling statistic: Chinese drinkers consume 20 percent of the world’s alcohol products, which translates into $59.5 billion in sales.

Wines-info.com, quoting Bloomberg, said beer is the most popular alcoholic beverage, but liquor, with only 9.8 percent of alcohol consumption, accounted for 43 percent of the sales value.

Rising affluence is expected to expand the market for more sophisticated beverages, and the item quotes a U.S. Foreign Agricultural Service report as saying, “Chinese are increasingly interested in drinking better rather than drinking more.”

Although wine was barely mentioned, the report did say that Chinese are drinking more red wine.

(How do you say “Two Buck Chuck” in Chinese?)

Quote of the week:

“I made wine out of raisins so I wouldn't have to wait for it to age.” — Steven Wright

Jack Heeger can be reached at jheeger@napanews.com.