By BARBARA NOWAK
and BEVERLY PITTMAN
The Saucy Sisters, for Brentwood Home Page

While we missed raising a glass in celebration of the day, we got to wondering:  Did the King prefer red wine or white wine?  Fortunately, for the sake of history, researchers also asked the question – and a process was invented to determine the color of ancient wine.  It turns out that the boy king liked reds.

Egyptians wanted the dead to have the same food and objects that they had in life.  But because the wine in King Tut’s tomb had dried out over the 3,000 years it had been sitting there, the color was unknown.  Just like modern wine labels, the wine jars were inscribed with the details of where and when the wine was produced, who made it, and the quality level.  But not the color.  Then Spanish researchers came up with a new technique to analyze the residues in the jars.  When they applied this new procedure, they discovered syringic acid, which is left by compounds in red wine.

We find researching wine and grape history amazing.  Not that we want to do it.  We just want to learn about the latest findings with a glass of, well, anything.  Take yesterday when Australian researchers claimed a breakthrough in preventing spoiled wine.  Now if the breakthrough turns out to be a reality, no more pouring the elixir down the drain.  This would be good news.

Here’s to more research!

Cheers!

Barbara and Beverly

The Saucy Sisters are wine and spirits experts with a twist. A twist of humor, that is, that they use in their books and in their live performances.  Their new book, The Saucy Sisters Guide to Wine – What Every Girl Should Know Before She Unscrews, was published in October.   You can call them at 615-807-1743, email them at Saucies@SaucySisters.com or find them at www.SaucySisters.com.