Posts Written ByTom Mansell

An eNose for Riesling? Machine trained to sniff out pleasant aromas

by Tom Mansell, Science Editor What do humans like to smell?  One would think that smell preference would vary from person to person, given cultural and genetic differences. Some smells, though, seem to smell good to pretty much everyone, cross-culturally. In a paper released recently in PLOS Computational Biology, researchers working in Israel reported experiments with an "eNose," a chemical detection device that approximates the ability of the human nose to sense odor molecules.  Human subjects were given aroma samples and asked to rate their "pleasantness".  The machine was then trained on this data, enabling it to detect the chemical…

Mansell to Ignite Ithaca with Wine Science

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Tonight at 7 p.m., at Ithaca geek haven Pixel Lounge, a unique and interesting gathering of ideas will occur.  According to the website… IGNITE ITHACA is a high-energy evening of 5-minute talks by people who have an idea–and the guts to get onstage and share it with their hometown crowd. Run by local volunteers who are connected through the global IGNITE network, IGNITE is a force for raising the collective IQ and building connections. Some of the scheduled talks include: “Grand Theft Faust — Illegal File Sharing at the Dawn of Print” “Ithacka: Why Ithaca…

Wine 101: The Things I’ve Learned About Wine

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor About a year ago, I started my own blog. About six months ago, I became the science editor for this publication. Several years ago, I was a scientist (I still am), but I knew next to nothing about wine culture. Luckily, I read a lot of magazines and websites so that I could learn all about things that didn't quite make sense to me from a scientific point of view. Wine needs to breathe. People say wine is a living thing, right? So living things have to breathe! Getting oxygen into wine actually softens the…

Growing Up Gewürztraminer: Varietal Character and Ripeness

Just-harvested Gewurztraminer at Keuka Springs Vineyard on Keuka Lake By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Photo courtesy of Keuka Spring Vineyards I recently reviewed Sheldrake Point's 2008 Gewürztraminer for my own site, and as I looked over the technical notes, I noticed that winemaker Dave Breeden added acid to the wine. I was curious about that, given the fact that many wines inthe Finger Lakes are supported by their natural acidity. The concept of adding acid in a cool-climate region like this was a bit strange to me. And, the alcohol content on this wine was listed at 13.6%, pretty high…

Bubbly! Brings Finger Lakes Sparkling Producers Together

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor On Saturday night in Watkins Glen, the corks were popping and the bubbly was flowing. Bubbly, a unique event organized by Finger Lakes Wine Country, featured 16 sparkling wine producers from around the Finger Lakes pouring about 28 different sparklers. It also included the up-and-coming Finger Lakes Distilling, which brought cassis and raspberry liqueurs for tasting and mixing with sparkling to create Finger Lakes Kirs Royales. The event took place in the ballroom of the plush Watkins Glen Harbor Hotel along the shore of Seneca Lake. Food offerings included lots of rich creamy goodies (e.g.,…

Ice Wine Science, Part 2: Frozen Assets

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor In my last article on ice wine, I talked about how volatile acidity is an important aroma characteristic in ice wine and how it can contribute to peach and pineapple aromas. To conclude our discussion, let's talk about some other famous ice wine descriptors, including honey. For our purposes, it's best to think of ice wine grapes as late harvest (well, really late harvest).  Grapes are left to hang until December, January, and even February until they are frozen on the vine.  During this time, all kinds of physical, chemical, and biological changes are happening…

Ice Wine Science, Part 1: Volatile issues

By Tom Mansell, Science Editor I recently had the opportunity to participate in part of the ice wine grape harvest at Sheldrake Point Vineyards, located on the west side of Cayuga Lake. Ice wine grapes can and should be harvested under specific conditions. Sheldrake Point winemaker David Breeden likes to harvest between 12 and 18 degrees Fahrenheit, but it's a delicate balance. In frozen grapes, some of the water crystallizes into ice, segregating sugars and acids into a more concentrated solution. The degree of "frozen-ness" of the grapes will determine the concentration of the syrupy solution which will be extracted…

DEC Defends Hydrofracking, but Opponents Worry About Impacts on Finger Lakes Wine Industry

By Evan Dawson, Finger Lakes Editor with Tom Mansell, Science Editor There is energy under our feet, and companies want to access it. The Marcellus Shale formation is about a mile deep, consisting of a rock-bound reservoir that runs through New York and Pennsylvania, among other states. According to experts, it's a natural gas basin that could provide 400 trillion gallons of natural gas. For sake of comparison, that's nearly 20 times the current national output. Crews can access the gas by drilling down — and then horizontally, hundreds of feet below the surface. The shale contains tiny pores where…

Boilo: Champagne of the Schuylkill County Coal Region

by Tom Mansell, Science Editor Nothing scientific about today's post. After all, there's really nothing scientific about a recipe… unless it involves careful record keeping and experimentation, which it almost never does.  Anyway, if your family is anything like mine, Christmas is only the beginning of a slew of holiday parties culminating on New Year's Eve. So if you're hosting or attending a holiday party, allow me to suggest a hot drink to serve (in small amounts) to friends and family. Since Lenn and I are both of Lithuanian heritage, I thought I should post this Eastern European treat, which…

A Rare and Interesting Wine Fault: Ladybug Taint

One stinky bug: The Asian ladybeetle (Photo courtesy of USDA Agricultural Research Service) By Tom Mansell, Science Editor Have you ever picked up an ant and squished it between your fingers? In some cases, the ant has the last laugh, leaving your fingers with a sickly sweet, pungent odor sometimes described as "rotten coconuts." Ants secrete all kinds of different chemicals for communication, stress, antibacterial, antifungal and many other reasons. Unfortunately, this is also true of insects in the vineyard.  One particular insect can secrete a chemical so potent, as little as one bug per liter of juice can ruin…