The Physics of Cold Spots: Part 1 of 2

Cold spots are one of the hallmarks of a haunting.  Any ghost hunter worth the title will carry some sort of thermometer for testing the temperature of the air.  Many people report that the ambient temperature drops when ghosts are present (or about to be present).  The standard explanation is that the spirits are drawing the energy from the air in order to manifest.  But what does that mean, and is it plausible?  

The phenomena of cold spots is well-known enough to be featured in television shows like Supernatural and movies like The Sixth Sense.  Just before a ghost appears, things get chilly enough that you can see the actors' breath.  There is no shortage of anecdotal evidence regarding cold spots.

A lot of "cold spot" accounts can be written off as a case of misidentification.  I know that I frequently mistake feeling hungry for feeling tired.  I think "Man, I'm really tired!"  But then I eat something, and magically I am no longer tired.  

Imagine then how easy it is to misidentify a physical sensation under stressful circumstances, like investigating a hallway where you just heard footsteps, even though you're alone in the house.  Under these terrifying situations, it's understandable that people could mistake the physical characteristics of fright - like the hair standing up on your neck and arms - for being cold.  

I immediately write off any accounts of cold spots where the cold spot is no colder than the ambient temperature outside.  Let's say it's 75 degrees inside a house, and 58 degrees outside, and a researcher measures a drop inside from 75 degrees to 62 degrees.  That's not a cold spot - that's a draft, straight up.  It may be a strange, irregular draft, or it may be a blob of cooler air from someone having opened a door earlier.  But it's not ghosts.

We're used to thinking of the air inside a house being pretty much the same temperature.  But if you start paying attention, you will notice it's not as homogenous as you think.  As you move through your home, you're constantly moving between pockets and zones of different temperatures.  You may never even notice - until a ghostly experience puts you on alert, and sharpens your attention.

As for the explanation that the spirits draw energy from the air in order to manifest.  This is possible, although incredibly inefficient.  You can tell it doesn't work very well just based on the fact that we don't do this!  Just look at how expensive it is to cool your house with an air conditioner.  

If it was possible to extract heat from air and use it as energy in any meaningful way, you wouldn't have to plug in an air conditioner - it would be able to suck energy from the air to run itself WHILE it cooled your room!  As awesome as that would be, it's not the way the world works.

In the next article, we will take a look at the Peltier effect, and why it may or may not be what ghosts are using.

Creative Commons-licensed image courtesy of Flickr user Kansas Poetry (Patrick)

Vinas Chilenas Trader Joe's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc Valle Central Chile 2009

I've been looking out for

Chilean wine for some time, ever since a Chilean friend told that because of the earthquake earlier this year, wineries had to pour out wine (in addition to losing wine from damaged barrels and bottles) because of various legal requirements about food storage, export, and then of course, insurance. Chile has a robust, vibrant tradition of wine production. Vinas Chilenas Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is one of those bottled wines that are exclusively available at Trader Joe's. There's a note in the fine print that makes reference to the American Beverage Group, in California. The grapes were grown in Chile's Valle Centrale, or "central valley," the most important wine region, located right across from Argentina's most important wine region. It looks to me like the wines are actually produced and bottled for Trader Joe's by Videma S. A.

Vinas Chilenas Trader Joe's Reserve Sauvignon Blanc is a light gold in color, with a floral, faintly citrus aroma. In flavor, this Sauvignon blanc is delightfully dry, more like a tart apple than a sweet apple or pear, and with a lovely acidic citrus note. This is very much that "crisp" taste that Sauvignon Blanc is supposed to have. It reminds me very much of the Washington Barnard Griffin Fumé Blanc. I picked up this bottle of 13% ABV Chilean Savignon Blanc for $3.99 at Trader Joe's in Washington; I'm told it's $2.99 in California. It's a wonderful summer wine, and this is the perfect time of year for it. We'll be going back for more. I'm not the only fan, either; see the Underground Wine Newsletter.

Malbec

There's a historic precedent

for specific wine blends or varietals to have brief bursts of popularity. For a while, probably because of the film Sideways, Pinot Noir has been the wine to buy, even at the table wine level, and Chardonnay has been on the wane along with merlot, in terms of popularity. Now, granted, I suspect that the Chardonnay glut of the 1990s has more than a little to do with the public's fickle response, evidenced by the flash of popularity of cheap Charles Shaw Chardonnay, but I also suspect the bulk California artifically oaked Chardonnays also played a part.

I noted in a post last year that I suspected Malbec, in part because of the popularity of Malbec blends, was going to be the next Fashionable Wine to Order and Impress Your Friends, even if the sommelier was underwhelmed. That prediction does in fact seem to be coming true. Malbec is particularly well known as one of the vital blending wines in Bordeaux. Cahors, in France's south west, is famed for its Malbec. You'll often see wines made with Malbec or all Malbec from Cahors called Côt Noir, or even Auxerrois. Malbec grapes are very dark, a blackish-purple, with thin skins and lots of tannin. They favor much more sun exposure, and warmer climates than other red wine grapes, particularly Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot. It ripens later as well, in mid-season, and is often used in blends because of a ripe plum flavor, its robust tannins, and its deep color.

In the mid-1800s French growers brought Malbec to Argentina, where it was widely planted and thrives still as one of the most important Argentinean varietals. Argentinean Malbec grapes are often left to hang on the vines a little longer than in France, and the wines tend to be a bit softer in terms of tannins, with a nod at a more dense blackberry flavor rather than the typical plum of France.

For a long time, a Malbec varietal would almost certainly be Argentinean in origin, in part because many French vineyards were badly afflicted with the phylloxera epidemic. But Malbec has successfully been cloned and grafted, and is now flourishing in Washington State, South Africa and New Zealand. On a recent trip to Trader Joe's I noticed Malbec from Washington, Argentina, and Cahors, in price ranges to suit any purse, and even the local Washington State Liquor store has a range of Malbec and blends from Old and New World vineyards. Even Robert Mondavi produces a California Malbec varietal in several price ranges; those Malbec grapes in the image are from Mondavi's vineyards. I'm seeing Malbec and Malbec-based blends from Argentina's Gascón winery for every price point. It's a good robust wine to serve with spicy, tomato-based foods, and red meats; I'm rather fond of the hint of fennel it sometimes has. Malbec is a great choice for a summer barbecue or steak grilled with mushrooms, and I heartily recommend the Mount Baker Red, a Washington blend with 50% Malbec.

Image Credit: IanL

Box Wines Get a Make-Over With Sexy Packaging

Most boxed wines have only a slightly higher reputation than Boone's Farm Strawberry wine, but some wineries are trying to change the image of their box wines by re-branding them and improving the packaging. Box wines have the advantage of being easier to transport and are more easily recycled, which makes them more environmentally friendly than bottled wines. In addition, because of the foil packaging, the wine lasts a lot longer before it goes bad. However, despite the benefits, not many wine drinkers have converted to box-wine drinkers.  

In order to change that, Underdog Wine Merchants, who are partnering with six wineries,  are unveiling a series of box wines that they are hoping will look “sexy” on the dinner table. The sexiness of the boxes is due to their shape- octagon and their price- $2-3 cheaper than a bottle. Wineberry’s America’s Boxes has a different idea for improving on the traditional box wine- they are using wooden boxes instead, which is a definite improvement aesthetically speaking on the usual box wines.

The wineries who are using the innovative packaging are claiming that the packages are not what’s important about their wines and insist that the grapes and the wines themselves are the major selling points of each wine. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen, but the packaging has definitely moved a step forward in the right direction.


Willow Crest Riesling 2007 Washington Yakima Valley

This wine is

another find from the Bargain Grocery Store, and we'll be going back to see if there's more available. The good news, Willow Crest Winery's Riesling is a Washington Riesling that's not overly sweet or so fruity that the qualities of traditional Riesling are lost. This is a fragrant, light faintly pineapple aroma on opening. In the glass, it is a pale straw in color. It's light and fruity, and the pineapple carries over into the taste, with just enough acid. At $4.99 a bottle, this is a steal; we'll be going back for more. I note that the winery lists it as $8.00 a bottle, and even at that, I think this is more than worth it. I'm hoping to find enough to enjoy this summer.

This small family winery, which began as a grape grower in Washington's Yakima valley in 1982, was created by David Minick in 1995, with an interest in making wines from a portion of carefully selected Pinot Grigio and Riesling grapes from the family vineyard. The winery did well, production expanded, and they created a state of the art winery, and a shared tasting room in Prosser. They produced Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Chardonnay, Late Harvest/Dessert/Ice Wine, Merlot, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Syrah, and a Rosé. There were more than a few awards won, with particular success with Pinot Gris. At some point, they were acquired by Precept. That's what, frankly, seems like bad news to me, though I hope it was good for the Minicks. The thing is, that it seems to me that Precept is buying up these small family wineries, and selling off the stock, after which, the winery simply disappears for all practical purposes. I know that that's the nature of capitalism, and free enterprise, etc. etc., but I still don't like it, and I think its a loss for the local economy and for the long-term benefits of wine culture.

Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot 2006 Washington

This Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot is very dark

in the glass; I'm slowly beginning to realize that that's maybe a Merlot thing. On the nose, this is mostly dark cherry and blackberry, and a hint of something . . . well. Else. It's a little closed, even a good twenty minutes after opening. The first thing I noticed on tasting this Merlot was a startlingly robust fruit fullness. Just on the safe side of not being so fruit dominant that it drowns out the hint of chocolate. It's a 13.5 % ABV, and yes, this is the basic mid-tier wine for Columbia Crest. The 2006 is this year's release, so I don't know but what it might be very different by, say, June. I plan on trying it again though; this was tantalizingly promising, and, well, I'm a die-hard Columbia Crest fan. I note that Sean Sullivan has some fairly positive things to say about the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot 2006; do read the comments as well. I'm thinking about trying including this particular Merlot in a casual Washington and California Merlot comparison with a California Merlot fan. I'd also like to try comparing it with Columbia Crest's base tier equivalent, the Two Vines Merlot. Two Vines is generally available at around $5.99; the Grand Estates at around $10.00.

Mount Baker Mountain White and Mount Baker Mountain Red

These are both blended

non-vintage table wines from Mount Baker Vineyards and Winery. I've written about their Mount Baker Syrah 2005. We bought both wines at a local Haggen with a wine manager who picked Mount Baker as their featured winery as part of the Washington Wine Month celebrations at $6.99 for a 1.5 liter bottle. Both wines are part of the Mount Baker Washington State wines tier of table wines.

Mount Baker Mountain White

The white was crisp and pleasant, with a floral-citrus aroma, but a little on the sweet side. I think Mount Baker Mountain White would work very well for someone one who knows they like sweet whites. I suspect it's primarily Riesling, but there's absolutely no information about this wine on the Mount Baker Winery Website, or anywhere else. This is a good wine for spring and summer sipping on a deck with a cheese plate, a Thai take-out dinner, or marinated Asian-style grilled salmon. I wish I could ship a bottle to my mother; she would love the combination of slightly sweet, floral, and citrus.

Mount Baker Red

In the glass, the wine is a rich dark crimson. The aroma is fruit-forward, with a touch of coffee or perhaps cocoa. There's some real body to this wine in terms of the tannins, but the mouthfeel is almost watery. No legs on the glass at all, but nontheless, this is a very enjoyable table wine. It's substantial enough to stand up to rather hearty fare. This is one of those wines that improved the longer it was opened. It changed rather dramatically in aroma as well as in flavor; the flavor opened up and became much more complex. The Mount Baker Red blend is a richer, deeper Burgundy style blend, with a slight resinous finish. It's a blend of 50% Malbec, 20% Merlot, 15% Sangiovese, 15% Cabernet Sauvignon. The Malbec is definitely dominant, but it's a pleasant change from more fruit forward Washington reds. This is a robust, vibrant wine, and would work quite well with steak, or spicy Mexican, or as the burgundy in boeuf-bourguignon. In our case, it worked quite well paired with a pasta salad with hearty chunks of peppers, olives, brocolli, pepperoni and grated mozarella

Red Diamond Merlot 2007 Washington

This Red Diamond Merlot is the most fruit-forward of

all the Washington Merlot I've tasted. I suspect it may be because it's a blend of Merlot 80%, Syrah 15%, Cabernet Franc 3%, Cabernet Sauvignon 2%. The Merlot is still very present, with a tannic finish. I love, in particular, the aroma. This is also quite attractive in the glass, though not as dark a red as I'd expect from a Merlot. About an hour after my first glass, the aroma has opened up quite a lot, as has the flavor. There's definite plum and blackberry here, and a slightly softer tannic finish than on the first glass.

I'm seriously contemplating picking up a bottle of the Red Diamond Shiraz, the Red Diamond Cabernet, and the Merlot to take to a friends for a group tasting and comparison. The fact that all three of the wines are made with, well, all three of the wines, interests me. I think blending wines has got to be both incredibly challenging and incredibly fulfilling when it works. I note that from what little we have about late Medieval and early Renaissance wine making, blending was all important, so I'm deeply interested in how it works. I may screw my courage up to ask some probably very stupid questions about it at some of the wineries that are known for blending.

I note that at around $7.99, which is a fairly common sale price for Red Diamond wines, this is a reasonable grab-and-go bottle to accompany takeout— it worked quite well with a burger, and I can absolutely see grabbing Red Diamond Merlot on the way to a local park to grill a steak. It also went very well with beef tacos, accompanied with jalapenos, and salsa. I'm not alone in writing a positive review; the Wine miser likes it too.

Sagelands Vineyards: Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon

Born in the 1980s as Staton Hills

winery, and soon thereafter acquired by California based Chalone Wine group and renamed, today Sageland Vintners in Wapato, Washington is owned by giant international conglomerate Diageo. I confess that this is a little heartbreaking for me, and not just because I've never really recovered from learning Diageo owned Guinness.

Sagelands produces Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec, Riesling Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, a Dry Rosé and a red blend called Freddie's Blend. I've never seen Freddie's Blend, the Malbec, or the Dry Rosé for sale, though it is listed on the Sagelands Website. Their grapes are from Washington's Columbia valley, and more specifically the "Four Corners" of Wahluke Slope, Horse Heaven Hills, Rattlesnake Hills and the Walla Walla Valley. They've contracted with a number of vineyard owners in these areas for their grapes. Sageland's winemaker Frederique Spencer is a native of Provence, France. Spencer came to Washington state in the late 1990s and worked at Covey Run, then worked in Australia for a while before being hired as the Staton Hills assistant winemaker. She was appointed head winemaker at Sagelands by Chalone. Spencer's philosophy, practice at Sagelands is to focus on blending for with the best combination for any given year, blending not just the various vineyards and plots, but varietals as well.

The Sagelands winery visitor's center is currently closed while they repair damage caused by a broken water main (the production areas are not affected). In the meantime, visitors can sample and purchase Sagelands wines at retailers as well as at their "sister winery," Canoe Ridge Vineyard in Walla Walla Washington.

Sagelands Merlot 2006

In the glass this Sagelands Merlot is almost as dark as port in color, with an acidic, almost piney aroma. In flavor, it's dry, not fruity at all. I like this wine, but it reminds me a bit of retsina, very tannic. I'm very curious if that's the effect of the Cabernet Franc that's been blended with the Merlot, according to Sagelands. There are distinct legs on the glass. I am very curious about how this Merlot would pair with braised pork with dried fruit and coffee sauce.

Sagelands Columbia Valley Cabernet Sauvignon 2007

This is dark garnet in color in the glass. On the nose, there's a rich aroma of black berries and currant on opening. After breathing a bit, the currant aroma is dominant, and it's the dominant fruit in taste, with a bit of tannin at the back. It works surprisingly well with chicken fried steak, but I think that next time I'll try braised short ribs, or maybe a traditional pot roast.

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