The impact of the Multicolor Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) on wine quality /

The Impact of the Multicolor Asian Lady Beetle (Harmonia axyridis) on Niagara Wine Quality The possible influence of Harmonia axyridis (the Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle) on the sensory properties of wine was investigated. H. axyridis beetles were added to white and red grape musts at a rate of 0, 1 or 10 per L, and a trained panel evaluated the finished wines using flavor-profiling techniques. Significant modification of both wine aroma and flavor characteristics were observed in the 10 beetlelL treatments, with smaller effects noted at the 1 beetlelL rate. Vinification in the presence of H. axyridis gave higher intensity scores for peanut, bell pepper and asparagus aromas and flavors in the white wines, and peanut, asparagus/bell pepper, and earthy/herbaceous aromas and flavors in the red wines. In addition, sweet, acid and bitter tastes were affected in red wines, and a general trend of decreasing fruit and floral intensities with increasing beetle rate was observed in both white and red wines. 15 ngIL Isopropylmethoxypyrazine was added to control wines and sensory profiles similar to high beetle treatments were obtained, supporting the hypothesis that methoxypyrazines from beetles are implicated in the taint. A trained panel evaluated the treated wines after 10 months of aging using the same sensory methods described above. Sensory profiles were very similar. Fennenting in the presence of Harmonia Axyridis (HA) had little influence on the chemical composition of the ftnished wine. The notable exception IS Isopropylmethoxypyrazine content, which was assessed usmg GC-MS analysis and showed increased concentration with increasing beetle nwnber for both white and red wmes. The influence of potential remedial treatments on the sensory properties of white and red wines tainted by Harmonia axyridis were also investigated. Bentonite, activated charcoal, oak chips, de-odorized oak chips, and UV or light irradiation were applied to tainted wine, and these wines evaluated chemically and sensorially. Both white and red wines treated with oak chips had strong oak characteristics, which masked the Harmonia axyridis-associated aroma and flavour attributes. In red wine, asparagus/bell pepper characteristics were decreased by bentonite and charcoal treatments. Only activated charcoal significantly decreased methoxypyrazine levels and only in white wine.

Average White Band poster, ca. 2000

The Average White Band's debut album, Show your hand, was released in 1973. The "classic funk and R & B" band included members Alan Gorrie, Owen "Onnie" McIntyre, Malcolm "Mollie" Duncan, Roger Ball, Robbie McIntosh, and Mike Rosen. Rosen was quickly replaced by Hamish Stuart. The band, comprised of Scotsmen, released a second album in 1974 that featured the US number 1/UK Top 10 single "Pick up the Pieces". That same year, Robbie McIntosh died of a heroin overdose and was replaced by Steve Ferrone. The song "Cut the Cake" from their third album made the US top 10, and subsequent releases in the late 1970s and early 1980s proved successful. The members largely pursued individual projects in the years that followed, but re-formed in 1989 (with original members Gorrie, Ball and McIntyre, and new members Alex Ligertwood and Eliot Lewis) and released the album Aftershock. Over the years, the band's members have changed, and the band is currently comprised of Onnie McIntyre, Rocky Bryant, Alan Gorrie, Fred "Freddy V" Vigdor and Klyde Jones. Their most recent album, Times Squared, was released in 2009.

Methoxypyrazine removal in grape juice: Development of a removal system using odorant and pheromone binding proteins coupled with bentonite fining

Multicoloured Asian Lady Beetles (MALB) and 7-spot Lady Beetles that infect vineyards can secrete alkyl-methoxypyrazines when they are processed with the grapes, resulting in wines containing a taint. The main methoxypyrazine associated with this taint is 3-isopropyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IPMP). The wines are described as having aroma and flavours of peanut butter, peanut shells, asparagus and earthy which collectively, have become known as “ladybug taint”. To date, there are no known fining agents used commercially added to juice or wine that are effective in removing this taint. The goal of this project was to use previously identified proteins with an ability to bind to methoxypyrazines at low pH, and subsequently develop a binding assay to test the ability of these proteins to bind to and remove methoxypyrazines from grape juice. The piglet odorant binding protein (plOBP) and mouse major urinary protein (mMUP) were identified, cloned and expressed in the Pichia pastoris expression system. Protein expression was induced using methanol and the proteins were subsequently purified from the induction media using anion exchange chromatography. The purified proteins were freeze-dried and rehydrated prior to use in the methoxypyrazine removal assay. The expression and purification system resulted in yields of approximately 78% of purified plOBP and 62% of purified mMUP from expression to rehydration. Purified protein values were 87 mg of purified plOPB per litre of induction media and 19 mg of purified mMUP per litre of induction medium. In order to test the ability of the protein to bind to the MPs, an MP removal assay was developed. In the assay, the purified protein is incubated with either IPMP or 3-isobutyl-2-methoxypyrazine (IBMP) for two hours in either buffer or grape juice. Bentonite is then used to capture the protein-MP complex and the bentonite-protein-MP complex is then removed from solution by filtration. Residual MP is measured in solution following the MP removal assay and compared to that in the starting solution by Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). GC/MS results indicated that the mMUP was capable of removing IBMP and IPMP from 300 ng/L in buffer pH 4.0, buffer pH 3.5 and Riesling Juice pH 3.5 down to the limit of quantification of the instrument, which is 6ng/L and 2ng/L for IBMP and IPMP, respectively. The results for the plOBP showed that although it could remove some IBMP, it was only approximately 50-70 ng/L more than bentonite treatment followed by filtration, resulting in approximately 100 ng/L of the MPs being left in solution. pIOBP was not able to remove IPMP in buffer pH 3.5 using this system above that removed by bentonite alone. As well, the pIOBP was not able to remove any additional MPs from Chardonnay juice pH 3.5 above that already removed by the bentonite and filtration alone. The mouse MUP was shown to be a better candidate protein for removal of MPs from juice using this system.

Photograph - Wedding #2

A photograph of a bride and groom, holding a wedding cake as they stand in front of a barn. The reverse of the photo has some handwritten notes in ink, a portion of the notes reads "'Ercildoune' Pembroke Bermuda" . There is also a separate note in different handwriting that reads "Mrs. Band".