Land of Enhancement
Seems like I routinely get SPAM inviting me to enhance one thing or another. But I was surprised recently to see that wines can and should be "enhanced" as well. A couple of days ago, Jim Shea at The Harford Courant wrote a humorous column about a product called The Enhancer.
The Enhancer basically looks like a New Age coaster. Supposedly, you put your bottle of wine on it for 6-12 minutes and any tannins in the wine are softened right out. Forget having to age big wines -- The Enhancer will smooth out the texture and bring out the wine's peak flavors, at least that's what the manufacturer says. And, fringe benefit, it will prevent red wine headaches.
Call me a skeptic, but it all sounds too good to be true. Jim said his test of the product did seem to find some subtle difference in taste between enhanced wine and non-enhanced wine. But as for preventing red wine hangovers, a complete failure, according to Jim. Yet, The Enhancer offers all kinds of testimonials on its website, including one from the almighty Spectator.
It's not cheap, either -- anywhere from $45 for a mini to $150. I'm not inclined to spend that kind of money on something so bizarre, but I am curious as heck to know more about how it's supposed to work. Here's what the manufacturer says:
"It is composed of a combination of organic (epoxy) and non-organic non-magnetic metals (copper and others) placed in a matrix with various crystals (12) also known for their specific vibrational frequencies. This combination of elements produces a powerful field of subtle energy/ frequency. . .Anything placed on the enhancer that has fluid in it will have its atoms resonated by the enhancer and the randomness of that fluid's molecules will begin to harmonize to the specific beneficial, natural frequency."
Very new agey. Now, I take vitamins, drink lots of tea and red wine for health, believe in copper bracelets, and I've read my Dr. Andrew Weil. But I'm still finding this one hard to swallow, er, so to speak. Besides, there already exists a great tool for softening tannins -- it's called a decanter. Hello?
But I'm willing to listen to other consumers, bloggers and non-bloggers alike. Help me out, here. Anyone tried it?
The Enhancer basically looks like a New Age coaster. Supposedly, you put your bottle of wine on it for 6-12 minutes and any tannins in the wine are softened right out. Forget having to age big wines -- The Enhancer will smooth out the texture and bring out the wine's peak flavors, at least that's what the manufacturer says. And, fringe benefit, it will prevent red wine headaches.
Call me a skeptic, but it all sounds too good to be true. Jim said his test of the product did seem to find some subtle difference in taste between enhanced wine and non-enhanced wine. But as for preventing red wine hangovers, a complete failure, according to Jim. Yet, The Enhancer offers all kinds of testimonials on its website, including one from the almighty Spectator.
It's not cheap, either -- anywhere from $45 for a mini to $150. I'm not inclined to spend that kind of money on something so bizarre, but I am curious as heck to know more about how it's supposed to work. Here's what the manufacturer says:
"It is composed of a combination of organic (epoxy) and non-organic non-magnetic metals (copper and others) placed in a matrix with various crystals (12) also known for their specific vibrational frequencies. This combination of elements produces a powerful field of subtle energy/ frequency. . .Anything placed on the enhancer that has fluid in it will have its atoms resonated by the enhancer and the randomness of that fluid's molecules will begin to harmonize to the specific beneficial, natural frequency."
Very new agey. Now, I take vitamins, drink lots of tea and red wine for health, believe in copper bracelets, and I've read my Dr. Andrew Weil. But I'm still finding this one hard to swallow, er, so to speak. Besides, there already exists a great tool for softening tannins -- it's called a decanter. Hello?
But I'm willing to listen to other consumers, bloggers and non-bloggers alike. Help me out, here. Anyone tried it?
posted by JD at 1:24 PM
1 Comments:
Let's return to a theme
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