French researchers have figured out how to keep your champagne robust with bubbles according to a new study published in the August 11 print edition of the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

Gerard Liger-Belair, a professor and author of Uncorked: the Science of Champagne, led the study with a team of scientists and found “a beer-like way of serving” champagne at lower temperatures preserved the bubbles or CO2 best.

Pouring the champagne slowly into an angled glass “impacted its concentration of dissolved CO2 significantly less.

Moreover, the higher the champagne temperature is, the higher its loss of dissolved CO2 during the pouring process, which finally constitutes the first analytical proof that low temperatures prolong the drink’s chill and helps it to retain its effervescence during the pouring process,” noted Ligger Belair et al.

On August 13, internationally renowned British champagne and sparkling wine expert Tom Stevenson told the prestigious wine resource Decanter.com, “Pouring Champagne like a lager is seen as a really naff way to serve it. You would not see a sommelier doing it in a million years,” expressing another opinion on the matter.

“Pouring it like the sommeliers do, does you a favour by letting the free CO2 escape from the glass so the bubbles don’t get up your nose,” explained Stevenson, author of The World Encyclopedia of Champagne and Sparkling Wine, the Annual Champagne and Sparkling Wine Guide, Sotheby’s Wine Encyclopedia and the definitive Wines of Alsace reference book.

Perhaps you want to test it out for yourself. Here are some tips from the wine vlog IntoWine.com along with Belair’s teams beer-like pour recommendation to help you get the most bubbles out of your champagne:

- First, chill the bottle to four to seven degrees Celsius. This requires 3-4 hours of refrigeration or 30 minutes in an ice bucket to get your champagne to the proper pouring temperature.

- Second, open the bottle by holding it away from anyone at a 45-degree angle. “Hold the cork and gently turn the bottle in one direction. Turn the bottle and not the cork. The cork should not pop. You waste bubbles when you pop the cork.”

- Finally pour like a beer, slowly into an angled glass.

W Hotels officially opened the W New York Downtown August 18, a towering structure just steps away from the planned Freedom Tower on Ground Zero.

The 58 floor tower features 217 guest rooms in the new hotel and more in private condos, both offering views of the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Hudson River and Battery Park.

Starwood says that the interior has been designed around the creative notion of a “ripple effect”, featuring a light installation by UK artist Bruce Munro which features 1,260 hanging lights capable of changing color to create glowing waves of energy.

This effect extends all the way into the Living Room Bar & Terrace, which serves cocktails created by mixologist Charlotte Voisey and includes an outdoor terrace.

Other restaurants include the BLT Bar and Grill restaurant, a new concept split over two floors and offering “flavorful American classics”.

The hotel’s rooms are standard to the W Hotels chain, featuring the Munchie Box (W’s take on the minibar), walk-in showers and iPod connectivity.

The W New York Downtown was one of the year’s most anticipated openings, as the first luxury hotel and residential tower to be built in Lower Manhattan and the first new project not part of the WTC complex to begin construction since 9/11.

The view from the top of the Jumeirah Beach Hotel has been ranked the best hotel rooftop view in the world by users of price comparison website Trivago.

The luxury Dubai hotel, which offers views of the Persian Gulf from a man-made island accessible via a walkway or from the 24th floor “Uptown Bar” in the main building, topped the list of global hotels that offer impressive views.

In second place was the Lebua hotel at State Tower in Bangkok, which offers sprawling views of the Thai capital from its protruding bar on the 63rd floor.

The world’s best rooftop pools have also been a matter of some contention recently, with Concierge.com and HotelChatter both publishing lists recently.

Concierge.com included the London West Hollywood in California and the Marina Bay Sands Hotel in Singapore among others in its “World’s Sexiest Rooftop Pools” selection.

HotelChatter also included the Marina Bay Sands, as well as the W Hong Kong’s infinity-edged hot tub and the overhanging pool of The Joule in Dallas among its “Death Defying Rooftop Pool” lists.

Trivago’s 15 Most Spectacular Hotel Rooftop Views
01. Jumeirah Beach Hotel (Dubai)
02. Hotel at Lebua State Tower (Bangkok)
03. Hotel de Rome (Berlin)
04. Bairro Alto Hotel (Lisbon)
05. The Ritz-Carlton (Moscow)
06. NH Parque Central (Havana)
07. Hotel Gansevoort (New York)
08. Grand Hotel Central (Barcelona)
09. Hotel U Prince (Prague)
10. Terrass Hotel (Paris)
11. Hotel St. George Roma (Rome)
12. The Trafalgar Hotel (London)
13. Fresh Hotel (Athens)
14. Palms Casino Resort (Las Vegas)
15. The Marmara Pera (Istanbul)

WOW. What a weekend. I’ve only written this now as it was a big weekend and it started in style, thanks to Patrón and ended with taking some time to recover…

Día de los Muertos also known as Day of the Dead is originally a holiday celebrated in Mexico where families celebrate and remember those who have passed on. Aside from the celebrations, families dress up in their best and join the festivities and amongst the foods served for kids and adults, Tequila is served to the adults members of the families.

Friday August 13th may not traditionally be known as Día de los Muertos in South Africa but in Cape Town, folks have their own traditions and Cape Town is known for not only doing things differently but better. The scene was set and the Friday the 13th came and what a night it was.

Keeping with tradition, what better Tequila to be served with this celebration than Patrón. On the subject of dressing up, Friday the 13th was a big mix of glamour, voodoo and all the witch doctor darkness you’d expect and local celebrities looking nothing short of sizzling and sexy while those who were made the extra effort for the theme, definitely looked the part as if they had come straight from the grave.

Dark damp lighting and an artistic atmosphere together with the perfect blend of Patrón Tequila and VIP guests, ensured what would set the scene for a perfect evening. A mixture of burlesque and dark performances and music to match accompanied the atmosphere perfectly. VIP’s were treated to the smooth Patrón Silver. Believe us when we tell you, it went down. Well.

This is one of the best Tequila’s you’ll find and in terms of the range of Patrón, it comes a close second next to Gran Patrón Platinum. Well some prefer Gran Patrón Burdeos but Silver is definitely second not only in my books but many of the VIP’s on the night.

As the evening unfolded and the Tequila flowed, attendees celebrated the night as well as the whole range of Patrón Tequilas. Once the acts had completed the floor opened up to quality DJ’s and music at which time I’ll simply say, if you were not there you definitely missed out because in some cases what happens at the party, stays at the party.

Speaking of parties though, honestly I’ve had a number of brands and if you want quality, try Patrón. If the Silver or Gran Burdeos is not for you, there’s also the Añejo, Reposado and XO Cafe flavours which will definitely get you in the mood.

If you’ve missed out, take a look at some of the pictures, which offers just a small glimpse into this sexy evening. Can’t wait for the next one… [Some videos will be uploaded in a few days]

To commemorate Snoopy’s 60th anniversary, Hong Kong’s Fine Jewelry Brand, TSL has made a stunning 207 Carat Diamond Snoopy.

The Diamond Snoopy is 5.5 inches tall and is festooned with 9,917 diamonds, 783 black diamonds and 415 rubies.

It took 8 months to complete and its proposed retail price is HK $2,888,880 (US $370,380). What a way to celebrate a character…

Madonna has borrowed Roman Abramovich’s brand new yacht “Luna” while filming W.E., the new Duke of Windsor movie she’s directing in the South of France.

The luxurious yacht provides convenient accommodation for Madonna as she films the movie’s beach scenes, London’s Daily Mail reports. With a swimming pool, sunbathing deck, gaming area and two helipads, the 115m boat is the largest expedition yacht in the world.

Abramovich also recently bought the $488 million super yacht Eclipse,  complete with missile-detection system, two helipads, luxury spa, swimming pool and miniature submarine. You can read more about Roman Abramovich’s Eclipse Yacht In This Story.

Continuing from the story where the World’s Oldest Champagne was found in a shipwreck, as it turns out, the two century old bottle of champagne found in a shipwreck at the bottom of the Baltic tastes great but is not from the house of Veuve Clicquot.

Last month Swedish divers working off Finland found 30 bottles perfectly preserved at a depth of 55 metres or 180 feet, perhaps part of a consignment sent by France’s King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court.

Because the corks still retained a trace of an anchor logo, experts thought the champagne might have come from the historic Veuve-Clicquot estate. But, after inspecting and trying a sample of the perfectly preserved vintage, the firm said it was in fact from the now defunct Juglar house.

“For this wine, time has stood still,” said Veuve Clicquot’s chief cellarman Dominique Demarville, one of a tiny number of people who has been allowed to taste a few millilitres of the find. “It seems to me that it must taste the same as it did when it was made.”

The bottles were found in only slightly salty water, with low currents, a constant temperature of five degrees Celsius or 41 Fahrenheit, under pressure from the sea and in total darkness as if in a cellar. “It has an intense golden yellow hue with grey-brown reflections. The taste starts strongly with sugars, but progressively acidity takes over and a fresh sensation invades the palate,” Demarville said.

“As it lies in the mouth, impressive smoky sensations dominate, marked by the same peat and tobacco notes that you sense in the nose.” He estimated that the wine dated from the first third of the 19th century, which means it is not clear whether it is the oldest champagne ever drunk, as an 1825 Perrier-Jouet was tasted by experts in London last year.

The remaining bottles, which could number more than the 30 uncovered by the divers, will remain on the seabed for the time being. Their exact location is being kept secret. Authorities on land will decide who legally owns the contents of the wreck. The archipelago at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia belongs to Finland, though it enjoys autonomy from Helsinki and locals speak Swedish.

The ball used in Spain’s World Cup final win over the Netherlands has fetched almost $74,000 in a charity auction on eBay.

The famous Jabulani ball was sold for the ‘46664′ HIV/AIDS charity – named after Nelson Mandela’s prisoner number when he was held at Robben Island. The balls used during the World Cup were critiqued for their unpredictability and were nicknamed “supermarket balls”

The gold version used in the final was named ‘Jo’bulani’ because the game was played in Johannesburg, known colloquially as Jo’burg. A total of 133 bids from 55 participants came in for the ball. It eventually went to a group of Spanish fans.

Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, who is rated by Forbes magazine as the world’s 37th richest person, plans to give away most of his $13.5 billion fortune.

In the statement, Allen said his estate would support causes including not-for-profit scientific research such as the Allen Institute for Brain Science.

His declaration came a month after Gates and fellow billionaire Warren Buffett launched a campaign dubbed the “giving pledge” that urges America’s richest individuals to commit half of their fortunes to charitable causes.

Allen co-founded Microsoft with Bill Gates in 1975. He left the company in 1983 and became an investor in a range of industries including media and cable

Allen also owns one of the largest private yachts in the world, a vessel named Octopus, which is often moored in Monte Carlo.

Divers have found bottles of champagne some 230 years old on the bottom of the Baltic which a wine expert described Saturday as tasting “fabulous”. Thought to be premium brand Veuve Clicquot, the 30 bottles discovered perfectly preserved at a depth of 55 metres (180 feet) could have been in a consignment sent by France’s King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court.

If confirmed, it would be by far the oldest champagne still drinkable in the world, thanks to the ideal conditions of cold and darkness. “We have contacted (makers) Moet & Chandon and they are 98 percent certain it is Veuve Clicquot,” Christian Ekstroem, the head of the diving team said.

“There is an anchor on the cork and they told me they are the only ones to have used this sign,” he said, adding that a sample of the champagne has been sent to Moet & Chandon for their analysis. The group of seven Swedish divers made their find on July 6 off the Finnish Aaland island, mid-way between Sweden and Finland, near the remains of a sailing vessel.

“Visibility was very bad, hardly a metre,” Ekstroem said. “We couldn’t find the name of the ship, or the bell, so I brought a bottle up to try to date it.” The handmade bottle bore no label, while the cork was marked Juclar, from its origin in Andorra.

According to records, Veuve Clicquot was first produced in 1772, but the first bottles were laid down for 10 years. “So it can’t be before 1782, and it can’t be after 1788-89, when the French Revolution disrupted production,” Ekstroem said.

Aaland wine expert Ella Gruessner Cromwell-Morgan, whom Ekstroem asked to taste the find, said it had not lost its fizz and was “absolutely fabulous”. “I still have a glass in my fridge and keep going back every five minutes to take a breath of it. I have to pinch myself to believe it’s real,” she said.

Cromwell-Morgan described the champagne as dark golden in colour with a very intense aroma.
“There’s a lot of tobacco, but also grape and white fruits, oak and mead,” she said of the wine’s “nose”.

As for the taste, “it’s really surprising, very sweet but still with some acidity,” the expert added, explaining that champagne of that period was much less dry than today and the fermentation process less controllable.

“One strong supposition is that it’s part of a consignment sent by King Louis XVI to the Russian Imperial Court,” Cromwell-Morgan said. “The makers have a record of a delivery which never reached its destination.”

That would make it the oldest drinkable champagne known, easily beating the 1825 Perrier-Jouet tasted by experts in London last year.

Cromwell-Morgan estimated the opening price at auction of each bottle at around half a million Swedish kronor (53,000 euros, 69,000 dollars). “But if it’s really Louis XVI’s wine, it could fetch several million,” she added. The remaining bottles, which could number more than the 30 uncovered by the divers, will remain on the seabed for the time being. Their exact location is being kept secret.

Meanwhile local authorities on Aaland will meet Monday to decide who legally owns the contents of the wreck. The archipelago at the mouth of the Gulf of Bothnia belongs to Finland, though it enjoys autonomy from Helsinki and its inhabitants speak Swedish.