Fizzy Wines & Fluffy Ducks
Something I Learned: Thomas
This month we got some fizz in with a label explaining it was produced in the 'Methode Ancestrale', which I had not yet encountered. Most sparkling wine will indicate how it got its gusto, and you're probably familiar with a few methods already. The traditional Champagne strategy involves the addition of a 'dosage' of yeast and sugar into the bottle followed by disgorgement and corking. Prosecco takes a different strategy, employing simplicity and just injecting carbon dioxide to otherwise still wine. But this Methode Ancestrale is more akin to the very trendy Pet-Nat style in which the wine is bottled while the yeast is still actively consuming sugar from its first bulk fermentation, just without the barnyard-esque yeast strains! Every day is a school day.
A Very Lucky Ducky: Anthony
We found a tiny, lost duckling outside of the shop the other day. It was very early in the morning, so mercifully the roads were quiet, but the wee thing had clearly lost its brood. We assumed they might have been heading to the nearby duck pond in Queens Park, but not being experts, we opted to keep an eye on the wee fluffy friend and call the SSPCA for advice. They very helpfully told us that we could pick up the duckling and pop it in a box with some tissue to keep it warm. Ducks aren't scent-based, so they won't reject a youngster if another creature comes into contact with it - something we were worried about. The SSPCA turned up lickety-split, and took the baby off to be reintegrated with a suitable family! All's well that ends well.
