And one is available for this peculiar little four bottle $40 wine rack. If nothing else, it's a quirky take on the venerable counter top wine rack. [Etsy via Cool Material via Gear Fuse]

The Expendables is a kind of supergroup action movie, starring Sly Stallone, Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Mickey Rourke, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis. It has absolutely nothing to do with tech, gadgetry, or science, but enough members of the Giz staff went crazy for it that we had to put it somewhere—so it finds its way to Remainders. My take? Looks dumb, but not transcendently dumb like the Crank movies. [Expendables Trailer]

I'm in a weird place with plants right now. You see, I had this pretty flowering hanging plant in my window, but I went on vacation for ten days and came back to find that it had not only died due to lack of care from a certain roommate I won't name, but in death had afflicted my bedroom with a large and tenacious family of tiny black ants. I tried to save its life with gallons of water over the next two days—I pleaded with it, I begged it to hold on—but while the plant didn't survive, those fucking ants did. In short, screw plants.

But now, I'm starting to think there's more to plants than meets the eye. Research has shown that mustard plants actually favor members of their own family (plants also descending from the same mother, at least) by sharing nutrients and not competing for sunlight. That's adorable, isn't it? Maybe I'll buy a mustard plant next. [Wired]

A Tokyo wine bar has begun selling not just wine by the glass, but self-serve wine by the glass, poured from a luxury vending machine. What's nice is that you can actually see the bottle, though you don't get that weird thrill of approving a wine to a waiter without having any clue if it's good or not. (Side note: The last time somebody asked me what I thought of a particular wine, I learned that saying "I get a distinct grape flavor" will not win you much respect from oenophiles.) Anyway, it's pretty cool, but ends up here in Remainders because it's not new; apparently similar contraptions have been installed all over the States in the past year or two. But it's new to us, and a pretty cool idea to boot. [CrunchGear]

True, there's no elegant solution for the iTunes Music Store under Linux. And that's a fair enough point. But when it comes to player software, Linux has plenty of options, including Banshee. And the iPod, most MP3 players, and printers work fine under Linux.

True, Linux won't run every Windows program, but Wine supports a bunch of them. Special versions like CodeWeaver's CrossOver Games actively support World of Warcraft.

Video chat on all major IM networks? Try Pidgin or Skype. Windows Live Essentials? There's plenty of free alternatives.

There's some extra steps involved in the above, so I'm not saying that Linux is suitable for each and every newbie, particularly those who would ask Best Buy for advice in the first place. But some of Microsoft's info is a little…distorted. [Overlock.net via CNet]

And the best part is that the wines featured all cost under $15. It's a great way to save a little money on appetizers if you have guests—but the best part is that you will look sophisticated and creative instead of plain old cheap. [Dallas News Image via The Sarah Show]

Taste Test is our weeklong tribute to the leaps that occur when technology meets cuisine, spanning everything from the historic breakthroughs that made food tastier and safer to the Earl-Grey-friendly replicators we impatiently await in the future.

To put that into perspective, 200 gallons will fill roughly 2000 12 oz bottles of beer or about 1000 standard 750mL bottles of wine. You can't sell it, that's illegal, but you can drink it yourself. While setting sail on a river of beer might seem enticing, many people are wary of homebrewing because it appears to be overly complex and scientific—but the truth is that basic beer and winemaking isn't much more difficult than making soup. And the best part is that doing it yourself can have you enjoying a better quality of beverage at a substantially reduced cost.

Ingredients
With both wine and beer, your finished product is only as good as your ingredients. As a beginner, I urge you to stick with all-in-one ingredient kits or extract recipies until you are ready to commit the time and additional equipment expense to branch out into more complex recipes like all grain brewing and wine from whole grapes. Kits are relatively inexpensive and include all of the ingredients and instructions to make a particular style of beer or wine. For example, I recently purchased a Hefeweizen kit (with liquid yeast upgrade) for about $40. Throw in six gallon jugs of spring water and I'm going to end up with about 50 bottles of quality beer for about 85 cents apiece. Even the cheapest beer costs around a buck a bottle when purchased at a store.

Wine kits work in much the same way and will usually run you between $70 and $200 on average. So, if you were looking for an everyday wine, a $70 kit with a bag of corks and six gallons of spring water (for the concentrated grape juice) would yield 30 bottles of wine at less than $3 a bottle. It's not going to be a world-class wine or anything, but its probably going to be on par with bottles you would pay twice as much for in a store. Keep in mind that ingredient kits are sometimes bundled with starter equipment kits, which could mean greater savings.

Sanitation and Water
Outside of the main ingredients, various sanitary compounds and bottled water will usually be your only other repeat purchases. Near obsessive compulsive sanitation practices are of the utmost importance, so you will definitely need compounds like One-Step no rinse sanitizer or Sodium Metabisulfite (wine only). These compounds only cost a few dollars for a decent supply and can be bought in bulk if necessary.

Homebrewers are fussy about their water and there are a lot of contradictory opinions floating around about what type of water you should be using. Generally, the rule of thumb is spring water for beer because it lacks off odors and flavors and it possesses nutrients that feed the yeasts needed for fermentation. Some claim that distilled water is best for wine because of its purity while others claim that it should be avoided because it has been stripped of nutrients. As far as I'm concerned, spring water is probably your best bet in both cases. Obviously, buying this in the store will bring your overall costs up—but tap water is going to be fine as long as it is thoroughly filtered.

Equipment
There is a startup cost associated with this hobby of course, but your investment will eventually pay for itself if you are brewing in any significant quantity. As I noted earlier, the ingredients and various sanitation compounds that you will be buying again and again are inexpensive when compared to a finished product you buy at the store. Most homebrewing stores or online merchants will offer a starter's set that will provide most if not all of the necessary gadgets and equipment for up to $100 (without ingredients). Plus, basic beer and winemaking can be done at home with (mostly) the same set of tools. You may even have some of this stuff lying around the house already.

Standard Beer Starter's Kit:
• 6.5 gallon plastic fermenting bucket
• Bottling bucket with spigot
• Airlock - Allows gases to escape during fermentation without air exposure; comes in several varieties
• Triple-scale hydrometer - Lets you take measurements on sugar percentage, alcohol potential and specific gravity
• Bottle capper - There are several varieties, but most kits will come with a standard handheld version
• Racking stem - Part of the siphon system that is used to "rack" or transfer wine/beer into different containers
• Siphon tubing
• Spring-loaded bottle filler
• Cleaning brushes
• Rubber stoppers

Necessities That Might Not Come With Your Starter Kit:
• One big-ass brew kettle - 20 quart is fine, but I urge picking up a 30 quart that allows you to brew up more wort (unfermented beer) without worrying about boil over. Stainless steel is recommended. I was able to purchase the kettle above for $75 at my local brewmaster store, but you might be able to find something even cheaper at Walmart or on Craigslist.
• Floating thermometer - These are only a few bucks at Walmart.
• Long Handled Spoon - You probably already own something that would work.
• Around fifty 12 oz brown glass beer bottles, forty 16 oz bottles or thirty 22 oz bottles for a standard 5 gallon batch - Start saving your empties now, because these are a ripoff to buy separately.
• A long, shallow plastic bin - These are great for sterilizing your instruments with a minimum of water and solution. You may also want to consider a large, deep bucket if your sink isn't big enough to properly fit your kettle and icewater when it comes time to chill the wort. If you don't already have these on hand, both should only set you back $5-$10 apiece.
• A funnel - Useful in both beer and winemaking, you probably have several lying around in your home right now. Larger sizes for racking and filtering beer can be found for $10 or less.

Standard Wine Starters Kit:
A wine starter's kit comes with just about everything that a beer version does. The differences are that the fermenting bucket may be a bit bigger, the bottling bucket will be replaced with a 6-gallon glass or plastic jug known as a carboy (though some beer starter kits do include a carboy) and the capper will be replaced with a corking instrument. There is no need for a kettle since wine is not boiled, but the other extras will definitely be useful. Again, remember to save your empty bottles—about 30 for a standard 6 gallon batch. You may also need to buy a set of 30 corks, which usually run less than $10.

Gadgets You Might Want To Consider:
Although not necessary, you will probably find yourself looking for these time-saving gadgets somewhere down the line, (mostly) regardless of whether you're making wine or beer.
• Drill-mounted stirring rod - Takes the armwork out of stirring liquid in the fermenter or carboy and its excellent at removing or "de-gasing" CO2 from wine. Also good for aerating wort to promote yeast action. These can usually be had for around $20.
• Auto-siphon - Racking wine or beer requires you to create a vacuum that will transfer the fluid through the siphon assembly to another container. An auto-siphon handles this with a simple pump action. It's also great at preventing sediment from going along for the ride. These run $10 to $15.
• Wine or beer thief - Used for cleanly extracting samples of your brew for hydrometer testing—some even double as a hydrometer tube. You can get proper instruments at a homebrew store for under $10, but a turkey baster will work just fine in most situations.
• Floor corker - If you are making wine, you may not be satisfied with hand corkers. They are super easy to use and insure a proper fit every time, which reduces the chance of oxidation. These usually run from $50 to $120, but can be rented for a day at most brewmaster stores.
• Bottle sterilizers/rinsers - Makes the job of sterilizing bottles easier and it uses less water. Basic versions can be found for $20 or less.
• Carboy handles - Glass carboys are slippery and fragile. If only I had one before I broke a six gallon carboy full of wine all over my kitchen floor. It was epically bad. Less than $10 will save you from this horror. Plastic carboys are also available.

As you mature as a homebrewer, you will find even more ways to cut costs down—experienced all-grain brewers can make bottles of beer for 50 cents or less (although you will need more expensive equipment). However, in the beginning it pays to get your feet wet with the basics. It also pays to look for quality bundles—there are an endless array out there that range from starter sets to super deluxe packages. Just make sure to shop around at local stores and online before you buy. For example, a starters kit from Northern Brewer includes an auto siphon and 144 bottle caps for the same price as one from Brewer's Outpost without the pump action siphon and only 50 caps.

Because of all the factors involved, determining how long it will take to recoup your equipment investment is hard to say. Even time is a factor: Many kit beers are drinkable in a month's time while basic kit wines usually take at least 3 to 6 months—longer if you want improved quality. If you are comparing the cost of your craft beer and wine to the cheapest of swills, the craft brews will lose every time. It's about quality—and quality beer in the store is going to probably run $9 or $10 for a six pack. If you are producing beer of a similar quality at home for less than a dollar a bottle, the math works out well. Plus basic wine and beer making use [mostly] the same set of tools, so you can get more out of your equipment by producing both throughout the year.

Many of you readers are homebrewers and winemakers too. How about sharing your own tips for saving money while expanding your beverage horizons?

Taste Test is our weeklong tribute to the leaps that occur when technology meets cuisine, spanning everything from the historic breakthroughs that made food tastier and safer to the Earl-Grey-friendly replicators we impatiently await in the future.

Top Image via Spewing Obscenities

N2Wine, makers of 'wine globes' believe that yes, yes you are ready to buy wines distributed from big vats. They argue that the aging process is overrated and that 90% of wines are as good when bottled as they'll ever be. (Sommeliers in the audience are welcome to affirm or refute that point in the comments while we move on.)

Wine globes are glass containers capable of holding 33 or 70 bottles of wine (depending on the size) that are specifically designed to thwart oxidization, the chemical reaction that ages wine, by preventing any air from entering the system. Instead, the globes vino-filled spheres constantly topped off by "food-grade" nitrogen when liquid levels deplete, essentially freezing wine's flavor in time.

The wine is also under constant water-cooled temperature regulation so that it's served perfectly every time and, obviously, the system can offer more wines by the glass than most restaurants currently offer. A $20,000 wine globe system holds 24 varietals of wine—or 168 bottles in all—putting each wine globe at about a $1000 price but eliminating the need for a cellar.

So would you order wine from a spigot? If the science is legit and the quality control is high, I'd try it out. [N2Wine via gizmag]

Apparently, air pressure and water pressure insure that a consistent amount of fluid from the tank runs into the glass as the user drinks. I can see how that might work, but it doesn't take a genius to realize that a glass vessel like this one would probably snap at the stem like a twig when tilted only slightly (a serious challenge for the tipsy drunk). My suggestion is to drink straight out of the bottle or, if you are a more civilized alcoholic, buy one of those giant glasses that can hold an entire bottle of wine. Not surprisingly, the Glass Tank is only a concept. [Kyouei via Trends Now via DVICE]

No matter how you look at it, the elegance of the complicated design is mesmerizing. Unfortunately, only 100 of the devices will be produced (as the name of the studio implies), and they will surely be outrageously expensive. So, most of us will have to continue relying on simple corkscrews to get the job done. Me? I'll continue to drink boxed wine in an alley thank you very much. [Oneofonehundred via Cooking Gadgets]

In addition to being certifiably badass, a spiral wine cellar uses the ground to keep bottles at an ideal temperature without needing any fancy electronics. It saves space and, sure, why not, let's call it cost effective.

The Spiral Cellars come in sizes that can hold between 1000 and 1600 bottles, which is about 997 to 1597 more bottles than I usually have on hand. But if I had a trap door in my floor leading to a spiral cellar? I'd have closer to 15 bottles. Believe it!

Oh, and these start at $30,000, which is a lot of wine money, so you'd better have some serious scratch if you want to get on board. [Spiral Cellars and The Kitchn via Notcot.org]

Scientists and oenologists (did you know there's a word for wine dorks? Other than wino?) have discovered that they can rapidly age and thus round out the flavor of cheap, gross wine by using powerful electrodes. This technique is mostly being applied to raw, young wines, but it very much improves the flavor and "mouthfeel" of cheap and dirty wines as well. Wine is pumped through a pipe running between two titanium electrodes, which increases the reactions between alcohols and acids. Those reactions produce esters, which contribute to fruitiness and flavor.

They also found that too much electricity can create gross new flavors from new aldehydes, rendering it worse than it began, but a few super snobs have testified that the artificial aging really does work. The efforts were begun in China by chemist Xin An Zeng, and now a number of Chinese wineries are investigating the possibilities. Personally, I've been waiting for electrified wine for years. [The New Scientist]

The label maker, 6 West Design, also reveals that the USB-tree on the front is composed of binary code that translates to "Peltier Station." And in case you still don't get the pun, there are several fill-in-the-blanks on the back label like "an im____ant agreement" or "in your ____folio." So cheers to "Peltier Stanton" for sticking it to the EU in the geekiest way possible while still getting us drunk with our cigars. But can we plug in a cooling USA USB fan for the hangover the next day? This is American wine after all. [Peltier Station via TheDieline via Wired]

The reason for this is because it's not a real port of the original code: this version of Chromium uses Wine, a technology that acts as an envelope for Windows application, allowing them to run inside Mac OS X or Linux straight away. This is the reason why, even while it works and you can try it, developer CodeWeavers warns against using it as your main browser.

Absolutely not! This is just a proof of concept, for fun, and to showcase what Wine can do. Chromium itself is just beginning. As the Chromium project progresses, they will be providing more compelling support for Mac OS and Linux, particularly with process security and memory management. Those future versions from Chromium will be better suited for daily use than this version.

[CodeWeavers—Thanks Oscar]

The size of a sugar packet and sitting on the bottle's neck, if everything was OK, an embedded light (LED, we're sure) blinks green. If things went wrong, it'll blink yellow. The system even records the temperature for downloading to a computer spreadsheet by suppliers.

The catch is that these thermometers run about $1.60 apiece. Obviously intended for better wines, it's still tough to swallow that all that many vineyards will adopt the technology in an era when traditional corks are dying to cheaper screw tops and rubber stoppers. But hey, who are we to question progress? [AP]