Monday, March 17, 2008

The Week in Alcohol

Another reason for Russia to join the European Union One million revelers marked St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, celebrating Ireland's status as the binge-drinking capital of Europe. Alcohol consumption in Ireland has risen 50% over the last 20 years, with binge-consumption now twice the average in the rest of the continent. "Prime Minister Bertie Ahern, often pictured drinking Bass ale, last week called for a crackdown on drinking. His initiative followed the murder of two Polish workers who were stabbed with a screwdriver in the south city suburb of Drimnagh on Feb. 23. The Dublin-based Irish Times said they were killed for refusing to buy alcohol for a teenage gang."

...But the Asian Tigers respond to the challenge The South Korean Health Ministry announced that binge drinking was costing the country 2.9% of its gross domestic product per annum. "They often continue boozing past midnight, entering a second round or a third round of drinking at karaoke bars or restaurants, drenching themselves with 'Bombshells' -- cups of beer mixed with whiskey".


A name that just had "wine" written all over it Niagara Vintners Inc., the Ontario winemaking co-op that produced "20 Bees", has gone bankrupt. Originally the brainchild of a group of 19 growers "they built a 43,000-square-foot winemaking facility near Niagara-on-the- Lake, Ont., opened a retail outlet and announced plans to hire 400 workers. They also set a target of producing up to 100,000 cases of 20 Bees and 20 Ice annually, roughly five times what many established wineries produce." The consensus of analysis is that they set their sights too high, too early: their ambitious first run was 30,000 cases, 21,000 of which remain unsold with the receiver---along with 3.6 million liters of bulk wine




They're going to call her first fragrance "hangover"
Actress Eva Mendez, fresh from a spell of rehab at Utah's Cirque clinic, signed a new contract with Calvin Klein, which includes her own line of perfume









Flash! Australian nation now on suicide watch!
Last year 1.3 million bottles of Arrogant Frog were exported to Australia, a 20 percent increase on 2006, according to Jean-Claude Mas, the wine's Languedoc-based producer.






Click on map to enlarge... In response to greater demand for Champagne, particularly from "emerging [read Asian nouveau riche] markets", France's Institut National des Appellations d’Origine has enlarged the official Champagne appellation from its current 270 villages to 310. "For those joining the exclusive club of Champagne producers, the move will be extremely lucrative, according to Gilles Flutet of the I.N.A.O. On one side of the divide, land is worth about $3,000 a hectare, but its value rises to nearly $1.5 million a hectare on the other side."

Thursday, March 6, 2008

The Week in Alcohol

I will do such things--- what they are, yet I know not---but they shall be the terrors of the earth! The French wine producer's lobby group Vin et Société has threatened French President Nicolas Sarkozy with industry-wide action if he doesn't act on a campaign promise to repeal or gut the 1991 Evin Law, which radically limited the industry's ability to promote itself. Recent court decisions have resulted in the closing down of Heineken's French website, Champagne house Moët & Chandon being fined 30,000 euros, and newspapers being forced to post government warnings along with articles about wine


That'll clarify things The Bordeaux Syndicate has voted to rename the Bordeaux Supérieur AOC "Bordeaux Premier Cru". Not surprisingly, the Medoc's 1er Crus from the 1855 classification are protesting. In other news, the appelation "Cru Bourgeois" is making a comeback


It seems smokers were spontaneously combusting In a voice vote this week, the Missouri Senate voted to ban alcohol vaporizers. The machines (also referred to as AWOL) allow users to inhale alcohol directly into the lungs and bloodstream. "Sellers promote it as a way to get a buzz without the calories, carbohydrates or much of a hangover."


You just have to flawlessly type "super-saver shipping" 10 times as a sobriety test Amazon.com has announced its intention to sell wine on its website.



They knew something was up when they found the alcohol vaporizer in the ladies room According to the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission, "An administrative assistant whose job duties include testing Entergy Nuclear employees at the Vermont Yankee nuclear plant for possible drug and alcohol use was suspended for two weeks after she was found to exceed allowable alcohol limits." According to Raymond Shadis, a senior technical advisor for the anti-nuclear New England Coalition, "You have real problems when those people who are in charge have a hard time staying straight and sober."


When they ask why I drink all day I'll say because I can Breathalyzer evidence against Nickelback front-man Chad Kroeger was ruled admissible by a judge, and the 2006 impaired-driving charge against him will go ahead. "When Kroeger stopped for police, an officer noted he had red, glossy eyes and a red, flushed face. He allegedly handed over his credit card when the officer asked for his driver's licence."