"statistics" news and stories

I'm a bit of a statistics wonk (hey, I'm a journalist! We make our living off of stats) and have compiled some of the more interesting wine stats of 2008 that I've gotten in industry emails and studies lately.

• People still see wine as an affordable indulgence, but in honor of the recession they're drinking more at home and cutting back in restaurants, according to a Nielsen survey.
• In supermarkets, Pinot Noir reigns king, followed by Sauvignon Blanc, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Meritage. The losers were Shiraz and White Zinfandel.
• Top supermarket brands gainers: Barefoot Wine, Folie A Deux, Chateau Ste. Michelle, Estancia, Gnarly Head, Mirassou, La Crema, Red Diamond, Toasted Head, and St. Jean. Losers: Black Swan, Beringer, and Almaden.
• Red wine will beat white in popularity again in 2008, with 121 million cases over white's 118 million cases. Prior to 2006, red wine had not outsold white since 1976.
• In spite of the economy, wine sales are still healthy, growing at around 5 percent. Value wines are gaining, of course. Constellation Brands has seen a pickup in wine below $5 and in "tried and true" brands as customers are less willing to experiment.
• California sales are growing faster than imports, but New Zealand, Spain, and Argentina are the hot new foreign wine markets.

The Zagat Survey recently released some stats from its new 2007 edition of America's Top Restaurants. According to Zagat, the citizens of Houston, Austin and Dallas/Ft. Worth dined out the most, all about four times per week. (Houston also frequently tops the Men's Fitness list of America's fattest cities.) The average meal is also a little cheaper in Houston ($27.04), compared with some of the more expensive dining cities on the survey, such as New York City ($39.43) and Palm Beach, FL ($38.56). Also, west coast diners apparently tip a percentage point or so less than East Coast diners, according to Zagat. Average tips out west hovered around 18 percent, while averages on the other side of the country were around 19 percent. There are still plenty of chowhounds out there too, apparently; 63 percent of those surveyed said they would drive 45 minutes each way for a good meal. Restaurant News Resource has the full Zagat press release with lots more info.

July is National Hot Dog month and summer is certainly an appropriate choice, as Americans eat 7 billion hot dogs during the summer (from Memorial Day to Labor Day), cooking up two thirds of them in the backyard or at home, and a total of 20 billion every year. On the 4th of July alone, 150 million hot dogs will be eaten in the US and most will be grilled, since 60% of Americans say that they prefer to eat them that way.

Want to test your hot dog trivia knowledge? Take the National Hot Dog and Sausage Council's online quiz and see if you have the goods on one of America's favorite foods. I have to admit that I only got 7 out of 10. What are you waiting for? Test the test and let us know how you scored in the comments!

 

More hot dog stories:

• How do you dress your dog? 
• Peanut butter hot dogs 
• Slashfood Ate (8): Best Hot Dogs 
• How hot dogs got their name 
• Microwaveable hot dogs... with buns? 
• Heinz makes the best ketchup 

Source

I love most kinds of coffee and I love espresso. There is one misconception about it - whether you like the taste or not - that bugs me. It has to do with the caffeine content and I know otherwise sane adults who shudder at the very thought of having an espresso-based drink while happily downing cups of regular brew. They think that the strong flavor of espresso directly correlates with an exponentially high caffeine content.

Espresso has plenty of caffeine in it and, ounce for ounce, it has more caffeine in it than drip coffee. Here's the thing: one serving of espresso is 1-2 ounces, while a serving of drip coffee ranges from 6-12 ounces. To approximate, as the exact brewing method and quantity of beans used can affect caffeine content, one serving of drip coffee will have 100-200mg of caffeine (17mg/oz). A serving of espresso, which we'll say is 1.5 ounces here, has approximately 50 mg of caffeine (30mg/oz). So, if you only drink one ounce of coffee, you would get less caffeine than with one ounce of espresso. Otherwise, it is likely that you are drinking both more coffee and more caffeine with a regular drip than with a drink that uses one or two shots of espresso, like a latte.

The moral of this story? If you're that concerned with caffeine, order the smallest available size of a drink or ask for decaf. Otherwise, you can relax and enjoy your latte without having to worry that you'll be kept up for the next week.

[Photo by Nicole Weston]

Food allergies may be on the rise. While doctors report that in the past only a small segment of their patients, around 5%, were afflicted with allergies, today a much larger portion are. Unfortunately, there is not a lot of hard data to support anecdotal evidence like this because there is not a lot of money that goes into food allergy research. The problem is of particular concern because some doctors also believe that near-fatal reactions are becoming more common.

Since even medical professionals are relying on what they're seen and not necessarily what they've studied, does anyone else feel this way?

It seems that more and more people are claiming to have "allergies" and "sensitivities" or, even more vaguely, "to have issues with" various food products. While many people do have food-related problems, is it possible that this is just hypochondria, or are allergies really getting worse?

Source