bottled Archives - usatoday24

In 1945 someone bottled 75 centiliters of wine in Burgundy. And now that wine is the most expensive in history: 700,000 euros

April 10, 2026 by usatoday24

With 812,500 dollars in your pocket (almost 700,000 euros, at the exchange rate) you can buy a good house in a wealthy neighborhood, embark on a business adventure or simply face life with much more peace of mind, at least on a financial level. In New York there are those who have decided to use that amount of money on something very different: buy a bottle of wine most expensive ever sold at auction, a very exclusive burgundy made from a 1945 vintage that has shattered the previous record, which It dated from 2018. This is still ironic if you take into account that the wine industry (at a general level and in France in particular) does not go through his best moment. An $812,500 wine? That’s how it is. The milestone was reached a few days ago, during an auction held in New York. Of course neither the wine nor the date were normal. The sale was closed during bidding Acker’s Pauléeone of the reference events for wine collectors in the world and (especially) lovers of wines from the Burgundy region, France. Those responsible they boast that in just three days sales of 25 million dollars were made and a good handful of records were achieved. Among all of them, however, there is one that arouses interest beyond the world of viticulture: the bottle for which the most money has been paid in a bid. And what is it like? Special, of course. The piece in question is a 750-milliliter bottle of Romanée-Conti 1945. Said like that, it may not seem like a big deal, but there are several reasons why this wine is so attractive to wine lovers. To begin with, its history. The broth in question was made with grapes collected in 1945 in Romanée-Contiwhich is interesting in itself. Not only because of the symbolic value of that date (the end of World War II). It was also the last harvest before the winery decided to uproot its vineyards to replant them, strengthening them against phylloxeraa plague that dealt a severe blow to the European wine industry, especially in the 19th century. This peculiarity made the 1945 vintage an object of desire for collectors around the world. Not only was it good for Burgundy itself, but it marked a before and after in Romanée-Conti’s production. To make matters worse, there are very few bottles of that vintage. Only 600 were produced. If we trust the most trained palates, the wine obtained at that time also offers a “depth and complexity” difficult to find in other broths. Is it so extraordinary? John Kapon, president of Acker, gives an idea how extraordinary it is to have a bottle like that. “I have had the privilege of tasting the 1945 Romanée-Conti three times in my life, but I have not tried it again in more than 20 years and probably never will again.” “To this day it is still the best wine I have ever tasted. The 1945 vintage was the last harvested before the vineyard was replanted in 1947. As a result of the fight against phylloxera, for many years production was reduced to only 10%. What was made was almost impossible to acquire.” Does it stand out for something else? Yes. Acker stands out that the bottle that has just been auctioned for almost 700,000 euros was part of the personal cellar of Robert Drouhinthe late patriarch of the Drouhin and a reference in the world of wines and more specifically Burgundy. It is not a minor detail because it affects the history (and especially the traceability) of the bottle, giving it even more value. Is it just wine? No. It is also a magnet for investors. Proof that the Romanée-Conti 1945 is exceptional is that the record has been ‘taken from itself’. Right now the Guinness World Records identifies as “the most expensive wine sold at auction” a bottle of that same vintage that reached $558,000 during an auction organized by Sthevby’s in New York in 2018. That its price has gone from $558,000 to $812,500 in less than a decade shows that, in addition to a wine with oenological and historical value, French bottles are an interesting asset from an investment point of view. The Telegraph assures In any case, the (secret) buyer is a citizen from outside France who was moved by his love for vines, not by dollars. A great irony. That a bottle of wine sells for almost 700,000 euros is striking in itself, but it is even more so when we remember that the operation catches the sector at low times. Not that of luxury, but that of wine. For some time now, the indicators used by the industry have pointed to an undeniable and prolonged decrease in consumption or at least a stagnationin the best of cases. His future is not too rosy either. a report The recent European Union (EU) report on agriculture anticipates that demand will fall by 0.9% annually until 2035, leaving per capita consumption at approximately 19.3 liters, significantly lower than the figure recorded at the beginning of the last decade. Images | Acker Wines and EU Via | DAP In Xataka | Europe had placed its hopes in China to continue selling wine to the world. They didn’t have “morality”

Millions in advertising convinced us that bottled water was healthier. Until microplastics arrived

October 8, 2025 by usatoday24

On many occasions we can associate bottled water as a higher quality option to hydrate ourselves above tap water. But the reality is that the latest scientific analyzes indicate that bottled water is a direct source of exposure to nano and microplastics (NMPs). This means that regular bottled water consumers may be ingesting up to 90,000 additional plastic particles per year compared to those who drink tap water. Something that breaks with the idea that we can reach everyone that bottled water is much healthier as they have always tried to sell us. The invisible enemy. The studypublished in the magazine Journal of Hazardous Materials defines microplastics as particles between 1 micrometer and 5 mm and nanoplastics as those smaller than 1 micrometer. Ultimately, very small particles that are released from plastic bottles throughout their life cycle. How they are released. According to the study, the particles are released not only by the natural degradation of plastic, but also by everyday physical and environmental stressors. For example, the simple act of opening and closing the cap or squeezing the bottle to drink generates friction that ends with the release of particles into the water. Another very common case is leaving the water bottle in the sun for a certain time. Many plastic particles are being released here because the degradation of the packaging is increasing. But in the opposite case, in freezing, we also have this same problem because it has also been shown that it is a factor that increases contamination by microplastics. Size matters. Once these particles are ingested, Its effect will depend on the size it has.. In general, the smaller it is, the more worrying it is for our body, since the more easily it will be able to cross biological barriers. If we talk about particles larger than 150 micrometers, the truth is that we can rest assured because they will directly pass through the digestive tract to the feces. But if they are smaller than 150 micrometers, they will be able to cross the intestinal cavity and enter the lymphatic and circulatory system, being able to reach the organs with particles smaller than 20 micrometers. But the real danger is in particles smaller than 100 nanometers that are considered nanoplastics. In this case, the particles are small enough to reach all organs, including the ability to cross such critical barriers as the blood-brain barrier and the placenta. The dangers. Continued exposure to nano- and microplastics is linked to a number of chronic health problems. This is not acute toxicity, but long-term cumulative damage. Among the main risks that have been identified are respiratory diseases, reproductive products, disruption of the immune system or increased oxidative stress. The challenge. One of the great challenges for researchers is the lack of standardized methods to analyze these plastics. Right now different tests can be found, but they vary in sensitivity and precision, which makes it difficult to reach a common criterion between the different studies in order to have a general image of the big problem before us. Right now, some techniques can detect very small particles, but not their composition, while others do the opposite, which is a very important limitation. But despite these, some studies already point to significant differences between the water brands we find on the market. For example, research cited in the report found that Nestle Pure Life and Bisleri had some of the highest average concentrations of microplastic particles. Regulation. This lack of standardization in studies has contributed to a large “legislative vacuum” in our society. And while there has been legislation on plastic bags, straws or single-use cutlery, water bottles have largely been left out of the regulatory focus. In this way, the author of the study points out that the consumption of water in plastic bottles should be done in emergency situations, but not as a daily practice due to the high consumption of microplastics that we are going to end up ingesting and that would generate a long-term problem. And we have already witnessed precisely how they have appeared microplastics in human testiclesthe breast milkthe blood, archaeological remains or also in the foods we eatlike the vegetables we consume. That is why in the long run we will have to specifically see the impact that prolonged consumption will have through different means, and not just bottled water. Images | Jonathan Cooper In Xataka | From causing diarrhea to making biodegradable plastics: the E. coli bacteria has a new job in Japan

Some researchers analyzed 280 samples of bottled water. Only one of the brands was microplastics free

February 20, 2025 by usatoday24

Better flavor and smell and health reasons. Those are the two main reasons why people drink bottled water, according to A study of the Autonomous University of Barcelona. Spain is, in fact, The third European country that consumes more bottled water (up to 107 liters per inhabitant). That clashes with one thing: that bottled water is not only Much more expensive than tap waterbut now we know that it also has micro and nanoplastic in amounts much greater than those estimated. The original study. Some researchers from Columbia University They analyzed Three popular bottled water marks in the United States (whose names names have not transcended) in search of micro and nanoplastic. To do this, they used a new technique called Raman stimulated dispersion microscopy Based on probe samples with two tuned simultaneous lasers to resonate specific molecules. Analyzing seven common plastics, the researchers developed an algorithm to interpret the results. According to Wei Min, co-inventor of the technique and co-author of the study that concerns us, “one thing is to detect and another to know what you are detecting.” The findings. On average, this study discovered that a liter of bottled water contains 240,000 detectable plastic fragments, between ten and 100 times more than previous estimates. Specifically, the researchers claim that they found between 110,000 and 370,000 plastic fragments in each liter, of which 90% were nanoplastic. In that sense, it is important to remember the difference between micro and nanoplastic: Microplastics: those whose size varies between 100 nanometers and five millimeters. Nanoplastic: those whose size is equal to or less than 100 nanometers. The most frequent plastics. To anyone’s surprise, one of the most common plastics was the Terephthalate polypropylene, better known as PET. It is the material of which many bottles are made. “It is probably introduced into the water when pieces are detached when the bottle is squeezed or exposed to heat,” says the researchers, who cite another study that suggests that they can also detach themselves when the cap repeatedly opens and closes. Usual. And although the presence of PET is common, this plastic is overcome by the polyamide, a type of nylon that “probably comes from the plastic filters used to supposedly purify the water before bottling it,” says Beizhan Yan, a researcher of the study. Other common plastics found by the researchers were polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride and methyl polymetacrylate. And the rest? The technique used contemplates the seven most common plastics, but there are many other plastics. According to exposes Columbia University, “the seven types of plastic that researchers sought only represented about 10% of all the nanoparticles found in the samples; They have no idea what the rest are. If all are nanoplastic, they could be dozens of millions per liter. ” And what about those sold in Spain? That’s what he wanted to find out A study by CSIC and the Global Health Institute of Barcelona. They have developed a technique To quantify particles of between 0.7 and 20 micrometers, as well as the chemical additives released to the water and, for this study, analyzed 280 samples of 20 trademarks of commercial water. Only one of the brands did not contain microplastics, but all, the 280 samples, contained plastic additives. More specifically. The result is that, on average, a liter of water contains 359 nanograms of micro and nanoplastic, an amount comparable to that obtained in the tap water found in a previous study made by the same group. “The main difference we find is the type of polymer: in tap water we find more polyethylene and polypropylene while in bottled water we have mostly detected polypropylene terephthalate (PET), although also polyethylene,” said Cristina Villanueva, a researcher of the Isglobal and Author of the study. Quite microplastic. Considering that we drink two liters of water a day, the authors estimate “an intake of 262 micrograms of plastic particles per year.” With regard to additives, 28 plastic additives, mostly stabilizers and plasticizers have been detected. According to the researchers, “our toxicity study showed that three types of plasticizers had a higher risk to human health and, therefore, should be considered in risk analysis for consumers.” Images | Jonathan Chng in Unspash In Xataka | The US has decided to leave paper straws because everyone hates them. The problem is the alternative: plastic In Xataka | After the failure of the yellow container, the government has reached a conclusion: it is time for the returnable bottles *An earlier version of this article was published in February 2024

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