tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39703207844825616532024-03-05T18:55:11.423-08:00The Week in AlcoholNews and abuse from the world of drinkUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger84125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-32732734606650264952010-04-03T09:32:00.000-07:002010-04-03T09:51:23.138-07:00We're Coming Back! (again)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHEH2HCVavXGyLXDXiBXPmgmUDSfKgHhLFjLUUEO72IpPs-uhVuBUQmVTOm-dD5LIpSD1Zz-mmyEkjvo-0ruvciDLYImGXRCqpn2J27bpecfxL6IrVFoyKGAKr5K9KoELxsotNSyHPQo/s1600/please_stand_by.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiHEH2HCVavXGyLXDXiBXPmgmUDSfKgHhLFjLUUEO72IpPs-uhVuBUQmVTOm-dD5LIpSD1Zz-mmyEkjvo-0ruvciDLYImGXRCqpn2J27bpecfxL6IrVFoyKGAKr5K9KoELxsotNSyHPQo/s400/please_stand_by.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5455950302024383202" border="0" /></a>Archives from The Week in Alcohol's most recent home at Zoomer will be posted here a few at a time until we're back up to date and publishing anew. Stay Tuned!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-55211077322257174932009-05-27T10:12:00.000-07:002009-05-27T10:18:57.865-07:00We've Moved! (again)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQliDflYwhzbTTMa___kt7L6cqb-Gplj-HY_tovbwZqjRsBPy4nK45sljYheWfS3THXeQpeLn5epn2cd4lK6yP6T0TmJbZk-RoUhqSLXhR2_4EujghnJygPu3qMnQsjh0Z3qjiBng6mU/s1600-h/detour.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBQliDflYwhzbTTMa___kt7L6cqb-Gplj-HY_tovbwZqjRsBPy4nK45sljYheWfS3THXeQpeLn5epn2cd4lK6yP6T0TmJbZk-RoUhqSLXhR2_4EujghnJygPu3qMnQsjh0Z3qjiBng6mU/s320/detour.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5340553606073475506" border="0" /></a>After a few more months on hiatus, you'll now find The Week in Alcohol up and running again bi-weekly or so <a href="http://www.zoomermag.com/mt/mt-search.cgi?blog_id=29&tag=Week%20in%20Alcohol&limit=20">over at Zoomer Magazine!</a> It's good to be back!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-3066501401862651782008-11-20T11:28:00.000-08:002009-02-24T11:28:38.386-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.slate.com/media/79/020612_RobertParker.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 231px; height: 266px;" src="http://img.slate.com/media/79/020612_RobertParker.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">The 'she could end up rotting in Hell' part was taken out by his Firefox grammar-checker</span> A Paris judge <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/10/europe/EU-France-Wine-Critic-Case.php">has filed charges against critic Robert Parker</a> for defamation of his former assistant, Hannah Agostini, author of <span style="font-style: italic;">Robert Parker: Anatomy of a Myth</span>. "The charges were filed Friday against Parker for writing on his Internet site that Agostini 'could end up stagnating in prison,' and for misrepresenting the penalties that she faces, officials said.... The critic declined comment about the case. He was fined €2,000 ($2,820) by a Paris court in March for violating Agostini's presumption of innocence."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.californiawinehikes.com/winehiker/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/internet_wine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 186px; height: 262px;" src="http://www.californiawinehikes.com/winehiker/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/internet_wine.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">As a sobriety test, </span><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">you just have to type out "Super Saver Shipping" without slurring your words </span> Amazon.com announced that they would soon be selling wine online<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/uploaded_images/T-Shirt-Sake-2-me-787392.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.mchenrycountyblog.com/uploaded_images/T-Shirt-Sake-2-me-787392.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">The return address on the rice bags to the Lepage factory in Mianzhu, China should have been a bit of a giveaway</span> <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/life_and_style/food_and_drink/article4753698.ece">Japan's Sake supply has been compromised by tainted rice</a>. "Shipments of pesticide-ridden, rotting rice, intended for use in glue factories, have ended up in the human food chain, principally as ingredients for brewing the national tipple. In the past week more than a million bottles of shochu and saké - drinks made from rice - have been recalled over safety fears."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.labattlife.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/melissa_keiths.JPG"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://www.labattlife.ca/wp-content/uploads/2007/10/melissa_keiths.JPG" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Their "drink beer and be impotent" campaign didn't seem to work too well</span> The Brewers association of Canada announced that <a href="http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8192709a-b5dd-4d0d-be97-f0f20fc44f8f">over the next five years it would be donating $1 million to the study of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome</a> in Canada<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.joeydevilla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/strike_or_no_strike.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 121px;" src="http://www.joeydevilla.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/04/strike_or_no_strike.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">...but especially when somebody's applying for a job as a T.T.C. executive</span> The Toronto Transit Commission announced that <a href="http://network.nationalpost.com/np/blogs/toronto/archive/2008/09/12/ttc-drivers-found-drunk-on-job-says-report-that-calls-for-random-testing.aspx">it would soon be testing some workers</a> for alcohol and drugs. The report "recommends that employees in 'safety sensitive' jobs like vehicle operators or track workers, their supervisors, and members of the TTC executive be subject to six stages of drug and alcohol testing: when applying for a job, when there is 'reasonable' suspicion of impairment, after an incident, after a violation, after treatment and randomly."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.ecorazzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/oliver.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.ecorazzi.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/oliver.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">He then went on to observe that they had bad weather and produced crummy soccer players as well</span> Celebrity chef <a href="http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/entertainment-news/2008/08/25/britons-like-big-tvs-and-getting-drunk-says-jamie-oliver-86908-20711379/">Jamie Oliver complained that Britons didn't appreciate decent cuisine</a>, and that "the only people who drink more than us are the Irish and the Scottish"Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-85391320946081055432008-10-15T11:23:00.000-07:002009-02-24T11:24:30.230-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sandia.gov/media/images/detector.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.sandia.gov/media/images/detector.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">The only problem is that Yellow Tail sets off the alarm as well</span> Scientists in France <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/267078.html">have designed a technique</a> to detect counterfeit wines. "The results reveal the age of the bottle, and the wine within it. This data is then compared to results from bottles known to be authentic."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.redwhiteandrose.com/WineBottleImages/Australian/Whites/YellowTailChardText.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 207px; height: 174px;" src="http://www.redwhiteandrose.com/WineBottleImages/Australian/Whites/YellowTailChardText.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Your ticket there on Air Canada will cost you $1259.99</span> Macau---which has recently eclipsed Las Vegas as the gambling capital of the world---<a href="http://www.indianwineacademy.com/item_1_247.aspx">has eliminated it's 15% tax on wine</a> "in a bid to become a dominant player in the regional fine wine market".<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.superstarcouples.com/wp-content/uploads/pamtommy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 268px;" src="http://www.superstarcouples.com/wp-content/uploads/pamtommy.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br />It was followed by a sex-free orgy at Tommy Lee's hotel room</span> Motley Crue played a concert at Toronto's Molson Amphitheater <a href="http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/M/Motley_Crue/ConcertReviews/2008/08/29/6606191-sun.html">at which alcohol was banned</a>.<br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.wineterroirs.com/images/vm_11.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 273px;" src="http://www.wineterroirs.com/images/vm_11.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br />However, the age of consent still stays at 10</span> France <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4608210.ece">plans to raise it's drinking age</a> to 18<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%A5Artist%20GIF%20Images/Hooligan-Child.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 163px;" src="http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/%A5Artist%20GIF%20Images/Hooligan-Child.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br />It all happened when Becks and Posh left Real Madrid for Hollywood</span> The Foreign Office in London released figures showing that the number of British tourists in Spain <a href="http://www.monstersandcritics.com/news/uk/news/article_1423352.php/Foreign_Office_Drink_to_blame_for_more_Brits_arrested_on_holiday">arrested for being drunk grew by a third</a> over the course of the previous year<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5556739,00.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 278px; height: 190px;" src="http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5556739,00.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Racing in front of Gordon Brown will do that to a guy</span> In Britain, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/horseracing/2650961/Top-jockeys-in-drink-and-ride-scandal.html"><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">a dozen jockeys have been caught drinking and riding by random alcohol testing</span>.</span></a> "But as only a tiny fraction of those who ride each day are tested under the system, it is thought many more jockeys are still slipping through the net and riding under the influence of alcohol".<br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42072000/jpg/_42072074_athletics_416_300.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 229px; height: 165px;" src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42072000/jpg/_42072074_athletics_416_300.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">He actually thought he was riding in the fifth race at Epsom</span> Russian high-jumper <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/09/05/sports/ATH-IAAF-Ukhov.php">Ivan Ukhov was banned</a> from a Swiss track meet for jumping while inebriated. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZq-6PL8L6A">Film at 11:00</a>.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-74106253420078427472008-09-08T16:05:00.000-07:002009-02-24T11:26:48.358-08:00No, We Haven't Moved! (But take a look at Larry's Page anyway.)<div><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRvROghUhf10yzYOOwGhb7l9wTcKDcMtRJHE-_E9ENmAttF39JZ5EkT_V-QZvJJjC1F4O1YgEtGndY0d12SXByFC9x2hL8NQBFHQrrEq4RNnCi3P8aI_mhal-P2b_qD2c_tiV3LH8Fpo/s1600-h/drunkspacepig.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5243792663188024834" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWRvROghUhf10yzYOOwGhb7l9wTcKDcMtRJHE-_E9ENmAttF39JZ5EkT_V-QZvJJjC1F4O1YgEtGndY0d12SXByFC9x2hL8NQBFHQrrEq4RNnCi3P8aI_mhal-P2b_qD2c_tiV3LH8Fpo/s320/drunkspacepig.jpg" border="0" /></a> <em>The Week in Alcohol</em> is coming back from it's hiatus at a new site! <em>The Week...</em> is now being hosted by <a href="http://spiritmerchants.blogspot.com/">Larry's Page, over down Spinnakers' way</a>! Thanks for your patience and continued patronage! Come by and give us a look!</div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-28263646961367970572008-04-30T09:12:00.000-07:002008-12-12T00:44:59.575-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/122973/2078164/2092508/031231_Wine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 230px;" src="http://img.slate.com/media/1/123125/122973/2078164/2092508/031231_Wine.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Wonderful news! Big Brother has raised the bread ration from 500 grams to 250 grams!</span> Initial signs are that prices for the mostly inferior 2007 crop of Bordeaux wines are going to be inflated: the first Bordeaux chateaus to declare prices <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/253457.html">have kept them at 2006 levels</a>. Meanwhile, Robert Parker, the man who usually gets the blame for 20 years of upwardly spiraling Bordeaux prices, <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hjWukyfye9Su6DSF8AWiROUq5hIg">has called the majority of the wines coming out of Bordeaux</a> in 2007 herbaceous and disappointing. In related news, Rising prices of European wine <a href="http://www.gismondionwine.com/article.php?key=992">have been traced to a tax</a> on... bunker fuel<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/moore-legacy-l.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 301px;" src="http://www.starstore.com/acatalog/moore-legacy-l.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br />At least neither's thinking of bringing out a Roger Moore line of products</span> A dust-up has developed between Champagne houses Bollinger and Taittinger <a href="http://commanderbond.net/article/5085">over which is fictional spy James Bond's champagne of choice</a>. To celebrate the 100th anniversary of the birth of Bond creator Ian Fleming, both champagne-makers hosted self-promoting Bond-themed events in London.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOQgycYRRn5KBANhxzb5LbkglBrJz9gC3FfJJ_IZoa16vQbk5uY6HXquP_RKCoB0HmACt1Tbep4wgNW_fbphbXNcC8zc5WX0SlrJ0fYdtCZtyF7s6_GsJ-nl1nMHyeJYjoZG9oK3f8NY/s400/jancis1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 185px; height: 269px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOQgycYRRn5KBANhxzb5LbkglBrJz9gC3FfJJ_IZoa16vQbk5uY6HXquP_RKCoB0HmACt1Tbep4wgNW_fbphbXNcC8zc5WX0SlrJ0fYdtCZtyF7s6_GsJ-nl1nMHyeJYjoZG9oK3f8NY/s400/jancis1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">She declined to lower the admission price to her private weblog, though</span> Critic and wine-writer Jancis Robinson <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/253184.html">was quoted as calling wine critics "parasites</a>". Meanwhile, Clive Coates, in <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wines of Burgundy</span>, <a href="http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/o/content/shared-gen/blogs/dayton/wine/entries/2008/04/25/clive_coates_sl.html">has come out against Robert Parker</a> and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Wine Spectator</span>: "Wine Critics are often misinformed or just plain pig-ignorant."<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.prettyboring.com/files/images/keith.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 216px;" src="http://www.prettyboring.com/files/images/keith.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">They were trying for </span><span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Satisfaction</span><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"> but Keith and Mick were asking too much</span> "Ex Nihilo Vineyards, in Okanagan Centre north of Kelowna, <a href="http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/2008/04/09/5241356-cp.html">will be producing a limited release of an icewine labelled in honour of the Stones' hi</a>t <span style="font-style: italic;">Sympathy for the Devil</span>."<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/9f3c21896330b4898825687b007a0f33/1d0a22cd49243ca388256a7700552f5f/$FILE/hermiston%20jugs.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 271px; height: 204px;" src="http://yosemite.epa.gov/R10/CLEANUP.NSF/9f3c21896330b4898825687b007a0f33/1d0a22cd49243ca388256a7700552f5f/$FILE/hermiston%20jugs.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Its makers had just arranged a deal with the Broken Social Scene to call it <span style="font-style: italic;">Finish Your Collapse and Stay for Breakfast</span></span> <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080430.wwine30/BNStory/National/">Toronto police raided an illegal winery in Toront</a>o and found tens of thousands of liters of wine stored in desperately unsanitary conditions, intended to be sold in local convenience stores at $15 a gallonUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-80924648438436055622008-04-22T11:23:00.000-07:002008-12-12T00:44:59.588-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTPnR3cl1JIyo3NUXnLHETYKbOonBWJqzo6LQXUrXbjoSPYVnplfnPfe1MVKyTg8JCg94o93BlC-xQHlfsfSe5IsD0M5JNMNX9QfOE0F3lVzOkp6T8X68ZUme_XpOIR1AGCmnJ5Q7RrM/s1600-h/Grapes(2).jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipTPnR3cl1JIyo3NUXnLHETYKbOonBWJqzo6LQXUrXbjoSPYVnplfnPfe1MVKyTg8JCg94o93BlC-xQHlfsfSe5IsD0M5JNMNX9QfOE0F3lVzOkp6T8X68ZUme_XpOIR1AGCmnJ5Q7RrM/s320/Grapes(2).jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5194891600310345282" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">It was just the homemade beer talking</span> Premier Brad Wall of Saskatchewan <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/canada/saskatchewan/story/2008/04/07/wall-apology.html">apologized for derogatory remarks he made</a> towards Ukrainians in general and one-time NDP Leader Roy Romanow in particular at a conservative gathering 17 years ago. In the 1991 video released to the media recently, Wall speaks in a bad Ukranian accent and jokes about sending bombs to labour leaders. In the same video, Saskatchewan MP Tom Lukiwski referred to gays as "faggots with dirt on their fingernails that transmit diseases." Prime Minister Steven Harper has declined to discipline Lukiwski.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tuscan-wine-tours.com/images/Brunello2000.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 234px;" src="http://www.tuscan-wine-tours.com/images/Brunello2000.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">They're sending in Silvio Berlusconi to investigate</span> Several of Italy's top Brunello producers <a href="http://www.independent.co.uk/news/europe/brunellos-reputation-questioned-as-producers-face-fraud-inquiry-804907.html">have been charged with adulterating their wines</a>. "None of the producers has yet been charged, but investigating magistrates have blocked the bottling of 2003 vintage Brunello by three of the most important producers, Antinori, Frescobaldi and Argiano, and quarantined 10 vineyards and 600,000 bottles belonging to Castello Banfi. Top managers at two firms have received formal warnings of impending investigation."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k129/melissybeth/Twits-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i87.photobucket.com/albums/k129/melissybeth/Twits-1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">If only it prevented dementia in Saskatchewan Tory politicians</span> Evidence was recently presented that women who consume wine <a href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/editorial/story.html?id=602b802c-abd1-4144-9034-7a224f71b063">are up to 70% less likely than abstainers to develop dementia</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8288/20178cop3.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 176px;" src="http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8288/20178cop3.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Afterwards, lawyers arguing the losing position were heard to make rude remarks on the lack of wine consumed by female justices on the majority side </span>In a 7-2 decision, the Supreme Court of Canada <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080417.wscoc0417/BNStory/National/?page=rss&id=RTGAM.20080417.wscoc0417">struck down the so-called "two-beer defence</a>", where drunk-driving defendants bring in their own experts to claim that they metabolized alcohol faster than could be measured by a breathalyser.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8858/faceydressdm468x577su1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 213px; height: 249px;" src="http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8858/faceydressdm468x577su1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer's hookers could have told you something like that years ago</span> <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/252602.html">A study found that the more expensive you think a wine is</a>, the more likely you are to like it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.jklawyer.net/blog/butterbean%2520punch.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 232px;" src="http://www.jklawyer.net/blog/butterbean%2520punch.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">In a later statement, he tried to use the ten-beer defence</span> In Wales, ex-Tory Minister Rod Richards <a href="http://icwales.icnetwork.co.uk/news/wales-news/2008/04/18/why-i-hit-out-at-tory-canvasser-by-former-conservative-minister-rod-richards-91466-20782362/">got into a drunken punch-up with Conservative canvassers</a> on his doorstep. "The conversation developed into a heated argument involving Mr Richards and four Tory canvassers. The ex-MP claimed he hit one of them after he was pushed to the ground and hurt a finger. He said: 'The guy who pushed me was rude and arrogant. I don’t regret clipping him.' "Unknownnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-76587473117322009622008-04-02T14:06:00.000-07:002008-12-12T00:45:00.205-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.slate.com/media/79/020612_RobertParker.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 233px; height: 268px;" src="http://img.slate.com/media/79/020612_RobertParker.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">And we think you're full of shit about the '07 Bordeaux as well</span> Robert Parker <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/199751.html">was fined 2000 Euros by a French court</a> for uttering false accusations against former associate Hanna Agostini, author of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Anatomy of a Myth</span>, which (among other things) claimed Parker often wrote about wines he'd not tasted. In related news, it was announced that <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/201337.html">Javier Bardim was to portray Parker in a new movie</a>... oh---April Fool.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh592Cjoq0iyKwn1J29yQ2ACIbuCqDx9swjG5cNTEziAtHRugUSI-iinN1eT4sdm1nYYO8suPCnw22kjQZYxF7R-56gwL_RJeXQcgZ8EMb5zFxeTG5bi0KCNWQw89WSIyDMnYWMXqBlrdI/s1600-h/Parker+20+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh592Cjoq0iyKwn1J29yQ2ACIbuCqDx9swjG5cNTEziAtHRugUSI-iinN1eT4sdm1nYYO8suPCnw22kjQZYxF7R-56gwL_RJeXQcgZ8EMb5zFxeTG5bi0KCNWQw89WSIyDMnYWMXqBlrdI/s320/Parker+20+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184873125397104738" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">America drinks and goes home</span> Bordeaux producers, faced with a less-than-stellar 2007 vintage to take to market this year, <a href="http://business.maktoob.com/News-20070423146510-US_losing_stature_with_Bordeaux_wine_producers.aspx">are seeing little but sour grapes in the American market</a>. "'America is not the world, it is a bit bigger than that,' said Patrick Maroteaux, president of the <span style="font-style: italic;">Union des Grands Cru de</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> Bordeaux</span>, and organiser of the annual primeur tastings", when asked about the softness of the US market for the '07's. One American who will still be welcome is new felon Robert Parker: "If I get a good Parker score, which makes it so easy to sell my wines, that is great" according to Bordeaux producer Didier Marcelis<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blog.kievukraine.info/uploaded_images/5162-726132.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 263px;" src="http://blog.kievukraine.info/uploaded_images/5162-726132.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">We're also asking the public to interpret $2.8 million in liquor industry contributions as mere public-spiritedness</span> Against the advice of the state's Attorney General, the <a href="http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/local/bal-md.alcopops02apr02,0,4130031.story">Maryland Legislature is considering a bill to regulate alcohol-pops</a> (such as Mike's Hard Lemonade and Jack Daniel's Black Jack Cola) as beer rather than liquor. "If the legislation makes it through the House, the drinks would continue to be taxed at lower rates than alcoholic beverages such as rum and whiskey and would enjoy wider distribution than spirits."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.liquorstoreboston.com/uploads/events/LIQUOR%20STORE%20ad%20STUFFweb%28model%20bull%2002-06%29.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 293px;" src="http://www.liquorstoreboston.com/uploads/events/LIQUOR%20STORE%20ad%20STUFFweb%28model%20bull%2002-06%29.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">It was followed by an alcohol-pop happy-hour at the student-union pub</span> A judge <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/04/01/AR2008040101121.html">has overturned Virginia's ban on alcohol-related advertising</a> in college newspapers. "U.S. Magistrate Judge M. Hannah Lauck sided with the student newspapers at the University of Virginia and Virginia Tech, which said the restrictions on alcohol references -- including phrases such as 'happy hour' -- in print and online media hampered their ability to make money because they've had to turn down potential advertisers".<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblaLM8hlKjrUpz6dZBo5lkSeagPIh5EXe4DFtljREx2SIrWX0y75MyF1hHOnxgvfAOFIscJohQsYIBHc0ElUJVTKkqpyM0EOF0QXlkip9xlC9geOna2IQZ10gVCHQ7OV3uZuGKHMVVH0/s1600-h/nickelback+cans.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 255px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiblaLM8hlKjrUpz6dZBo5lkSeagPIh5EXe4DFtljREx2SIrWX0y75MyF1hHOnxgvfAOFIscJohQsYIBHc0ElUJVTKkqpyM0EOF0QXlkip9xlC9geOna2IQZ10gVCHQ7OV3uZuGKHMVVH0/s320/nickelback+cans.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5184879743941707890" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Now if we can just keep him from songwriting when he's sober</span> Hanna Alta. native and Nickelback lead singer Chad Kroeger (real name Chad Turton) <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/cp/entertainment/080401/e040161A.html">was convicted of drunk driving and will be sentenced May 1st</a>. He's been caught driving his Lamborghini 160 km/h through Surrey, BC at nearly twice the legal blood-alcohol limit.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-83656896609577706762008-03-17T08:34:00.000-07:002008-12-12T00:45:00.393-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.tshirtbordello.com/images/irish-drunk-lg.gif"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.tshirtbordello.com/images/irish-drunk-lg.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Another reason for Russia to join the European Union </span>One million revelers marked St. Patrick's Day in Dublin, <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a8j5GJFnHYFU&refer=home">celebrating Ireland's status as the binge-drinking capital of Europe</a>. 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 <span style="font-style: italic;">Irish Times</span> said they were killed for refusing to buy alcohol for a teenage gang."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://eastwindupchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/ads.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://eastwindupchronicle.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/11/ads.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">...But the Asian Tigers respond to the challenge</span> The South Korean Health Ministry announced that binge drinking <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hdXV76HvJZz2r8Ste1yJNjHI5hjA">was costing the country 2.9% of its gross domestic product</a> <span style="font-style: italic;">per annum</span>. "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".<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.20bees.com/img/iOurWinesBacoNoir.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 407px;" src="http://www.20bees.com/img/iOurWinesBacoNoir.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">A name that just had "wine" written all over it</span> Niagara Vintners Inc., the Ontario winemaking co-op that produced "20 Bees", <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/196511.html">has gone bankrupt</a>. Originally the brainchild of a group of 19 growers "<a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20080317.RWINE17/TPStory/National">they built a 43,000-square-foot winemaking facility near Niagara-on-the- Lake</a>, 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<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://blogs.orange.co.uk/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/08/eva_8nov07_campari_250.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 194px; height: 272px;" src="http://blogs.orange.co.uk/photos/uncategorized/2007/11/08/eva_8nov07_campari_250.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />They're going to call her first fragrance "hangover"</span> Actress Eva Mendez, fresh from a spell of rehab at Utah's Cirque clinic,<a href="http://www.marieclaire.co.uk/news/celebrity/198370/eva-mendes-new-ck-lingerie-model.html"> signed a new contract with Calvin Klein,</a> which includes her own line of perfume<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3H1A2_HOP3BqkDKKFcey2Gvp3CO4CX20wwHV3ZhN6uIbx91PUHLzXJLz4wIARGsWlgLZv6ptVuIqZbRp9p84BoXVfTu3gZpj2V-xN8OLkqQVDAGAzdVvrKRoUPNka5rWPnzLuumjz-w/s1600-h/Bois-Moi.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjY3H1A2_HOP3BqkDKKFcey2Gvp3CO4CX20wwHV3ZhN6uIbx91PUHLzXJLz4wIARGsWlgLZv6ptVuIqZbRp9p84BoXVfTu3gZpj2V-xN8OLkqQVDAGAzdVvrKRoUPNka5rWPnzLuumjz-w/s320/Bois-Moi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5178785865329959090" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Flash! Australian nation now on suicide watch!</span> Last year 1.3 million bottles of Arrogant Frog <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gZ7H7af6HH2DJhG4C4Ffw70ajscg">were exported to Australia</a>, a 20 percent increase on 2006, according to Jean-Claude Mas, the wine's Languedoc-based producer.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.paulmarcuswines.com/newsletters/2003-12-champagne_map.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.paulmarcuswines.com/newsletters/2003-12-champagne_map.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Click on map to enlarge...</span> In response to greater demand for Champagne, particularly from "emerging [read Asian nouveau riche] markets", France's Institut National des Appellations d’Origine <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/14/world/europe/14briefs-champagne.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=champagne&st=nyt&oref=slogin">has enlarged the official Champagne appellation from its current 270 villages to 310</a>. "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."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-33217048130630497212008-03-06T12:05:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:00.538-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJP7LrcsvhzO4w6ZS0Uo4NKVSQUe_4ndZPcsrhbWZXX038i8nml5CrShzNmk_lPUDLhadt3ferdifiFrSVPK_BeCN3Y6e7i9dwc2MwORbL0ssUHy5nyK_i_v6vtM-SHvv4QoMLW2oXZY/s1600/Molotov_Cocktail_by_MelodyTuttle.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 233px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 351px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJP7LrcsvhzO4w6ZS0Uo4NKVSQUe_4ndZPcsrhbWZXX038i8nml5CrShzNmk_lPUDLhadt3ferdifiFrSVPK_BeCN3Y6e7i9dwc2MwORbL0ssUHy5nyK_i_v6vtM-SHvv4QoMLW2oXZY/s1600/Molotov_Cocktail_by_MelodyTuttle.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">I will do such things--- what they are, yet I know not---but they shall be the terrors of the earth!</span> The French wine producer's lobby group Vin et Société <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/196079.html">has threatened French President Nicolas Sarkozy with industry-wide action</a> 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 <a href="http://www.drinksint.com/articles/55956/Mo%C3%ABt/Chandon-fined-over-Champagne-ads.aspx?categoryid=9048">being fined 30,000 euros</a>, and newspapers being forced to post government warnings along with articles about wine<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrk_grDDgqX6GrU5turkESkDuacMNYmsCMf7qO-ZUi9hhdip5XPZ7l31iTtmPXP4WIjYkqLaNRUXNFj8X6WGCewFyv2r2yUxkYMji_6uHBDtxAM-KNfXzsUYuM2qqxVB3PSL4xV5Chn2TL/s400/BORDEAUX_mascot02_ab.png"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 246px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 205px" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrk_grDDgqX6GrU5turkESkDuacMNYmsCMf7qO-ZUi9hhdip5XPZ7l31iTtmPXP4WIjYkqLaNRUXNFj8X6WGCewFyv2r2yUxkYMji_6uHBDtxAM-KNfXzsUYuM2qqxVB3PSL4xV5Chn2TL/s400/BORDEAUX_mascot02_ab.png" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">That'll clarify things</span> The Bordeaux Syndicate <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/195684.html">has voted to rename</a> 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" <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/184450.html">is making a comeback</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8288/20178cop3.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://img85.imageshack.us/img85/8288/20178cop3.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">It seems smokers were spontaneously combusting</span> <span style="font-size:100%;">In a voice vote this week, t</span>he <span style="font-size:100%;">Missouri Senate <a href="http://www.khqa.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=104566">voted to ban alcohol vaporizers</a>. The machines (also referred to as <a href="http://www.awolspirit.com/">AWOL</a>) allow users to inhale alcohol directly into the lungs and bloodstream. "</span><span style="font-size:100%;">Sellers promote it as a way to get a buzz without the calories, carbohydrates or much of a hangover."<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/2839/nose1vg0.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 264px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 197px" alt="" src="http://img220.imageshack.us/img220/2839/nose1vg0.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">You just have to flawlessly type "super-saver shipping" 10 times as a sobriety test</span> Amazon.com has announced its intention <a href="http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f15d68a2-ea55-11dc-b3c9-0000779fd2ac.html">to sell wine on its website</a>.<br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://images.google.ca/url?q=http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/ShahNuclearPlants488.jpg&usg=AFQjCNE_xzB3hsnrZ4N8_FUCsVoPLMDRVQ"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 271px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 387px" alt="" src="http://images.google.ca/url?q=http://mrzine.monthlyreview.org/ShahNuclearPlants488.jpg&usg=AFQjCNE_xzB3hsnrZ4N8_FUCsVoPLMDRVQ" border="0" /></a><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">They knew something was up when they found the alcohol vaporizer in the ladies room</span> 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."<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)"><br /><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://z.about.com/d/animatedtv/1/7/e/T/914_dui_test.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; WIDTH: 280px; CURSOR: pointer; HEIGHT: 216px" alt="" src="http://z.about.com/d/animatedtv/1/7/e/T/914_dui_test.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">When they ask why I drink all day I'll say because I can</span> Breathalyzer evidence against Nickelback front-man Chad Kroeger <a href="http://www.canada.com/globaltv/globalshows/et_story.html?id=ba0e498b-91f8-4767-8feb-0f2f98eb87f1">was ruled admissible by a judge</a>, and the 2006 impaired-driving charge against him will go ahead. "</span>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."Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-38364811093633394092008-02-20T10:23:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:01.297-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJCIP2Csei72eSIFA6BEelQ58479koPGJVQp61zUFqd5TCWeeFca9lid5l0ecahxBRS_JKHXTT4wWimFvslvzfLaYEE2KJhzBPnjdk2sC4W_awfwg6o2SA2DEYAze6k3ClD4saau5euY/s1600-h/Girls+of+germany.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5169131269827633170" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPJCIP2Csei72eSIFA6BEelQ58479koPGJVQp61zUFqd5TCWeeFca9lid5l0ecahxBRS_JKHXTT4wWimFvslvzfLaYEE2KJhzBPnjdk2sC4W_awfwg6o2SA2DEYAze6k3ClD4saau5euY/s320/Girls+of+germany.jpg" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><strong>He declined to discuss how little he settled for</strong></span> Massachusetts wine collector Russell H Frye, a litigant at the center of <a href="http://www.montereyherald.com/ci_8312391">the notorious "Jefferson Bottles" lawsuit</a>, has settled <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/181813.html">his suit against California's The Wine Library</a> out of court. In related news, <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/177868.html">two movies about the case </a>are currently in development; while the <a href="http://eatwineblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/wein-weib-und-gesang-geschichten-aus.html">man at the center of the storm, Hardy Rodenstock</a>, hangs out at his castle and giggles<br /><div><br /><div> </div><br /><div> </div><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOQgycYRRn5KBANhxzb5LbkglBrJz9gC3FfJJ_IZoa16vQbk5uY6HXquP_RKCoB0HmACt1Tbep4wgNW_fbphbXNcC8zc5WX0SlrJ0fYdtCZtyF7s6_GsJ-nl1nMHyeJYjoZG9oK3f8NY/s400/jancis1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 210px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDOQgycYRRn5KBANhxzb5LbkglBrJz9gC3FfJJ_IZoa16vQbk5uY6HXquP_RKCoB0HmACt1Tbep4wgNW_fbphbXNcC8zc5WX0SlrJ0fYdtCZtyF7s6_GsJ-nl1nMHyeJYjoZG9oK3f8NY/s400/jancis1.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">That's kind of shameless for a start</span> Wine commentator Jancis Robinson <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/20080205">has started a "name and shame" campaign on her website</a>, devoted to exposing wine producers who for arcane delusions of prestige, irresponsibly sell their wines in overly heavy (and environmentally insulting) bottles. Unfortunately, to either name a bottle or shame a winemaker, you have to be a subscriber to the pay portion (the so-called 'purple pages') of her site, at a cost of 99 Euros <span style="font-style: italic;">per annum</span>. In related news, <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5gJwAoeWodWLd_hldugiQGzZqTOiA">Southern France is suffering a glass bottle shortage</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/red-bull-and-a-smoke_329x464.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 224px; height: 316px;" src="http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/red-bull-and-a-smoke_329x464.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Miller found out that Britney was adding alcohol to hers after she'd opened it</span> Several US Attourneys-General <a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ay3eL3GC1lg0&refer=africa" onmouseover="return escape( popwQuoteShort( this, 'SAB:LN' ))">are demanding an inquiry into</a><a href="http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ay3eL3GC1lg0&refer=africa"> SABMiller Plc's Miller Brewing</a>, whose "Sparks" alcoholic energy drinks contain double the amount of caffeine allowed under Federal regulations, and 17% more alcohol than stated on the label<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgH0-NVNeQglW3uvsmu-tp9qmjhRCy4fWdJWoTYbYaGjggXW1pD_2TTYNKuPQfphcaaSDrpPfNB0zfFjypEuoQ7Y4n3W5yAS75MFVV06ymnk2liUN3o4zhKc6xW1KijvPOk05QrwRCpE/s400/IMG_7625.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 274px; height: 205px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVgH0-NVNeQglW3uvsmu-tp9qmjhRCy4fWdJWoTYbYaGjggXW1pD_2TTYNKuPQfphcaaSDrpPfNB0zfFjypEuoQ7Y4n3W5yAS75MFVV06ymnk2liUN3o4zhKc6xW1KijvPOk05QrwRCpE/s400/IMG_7625.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Wait 'till they find out what they were fried in</span> The food standards committee of the Muslim Council of Britain <a href="http://www.cokepubandbar.co.uk/CokePubandBar/lic_news.jsp?article=18479540">has called for an investigation of several snack-food manufacturers</a> for using trace amounts of alcohol as a flavoring agent in their potato chips<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/photogallery/070518_WineCocaine.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.customs.gov.au/webdata/resources/photogallery/070518_WineCocaine.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Another reason to use screw caps</span> A Surrey, BC man <a href="http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5gnDZnd3vu3JMYE5duFy035AjhhPw">has been sentenced to 9 years in prison</a> in Australia for smuggling two kilos of cocaine into the country. The drug was found <a href="http://www.customs.gov.au/site/page.cfm?c=8890">dissolved in three 1.5 liter bottles of wine</a> in the convicted man's luggage. Customs agents were possibly tipped off by the fact that the bottles were all a bargain BC brand, but were being brought in from Hong Kong. (Or the idea that <span style="font-style: italic;">nobody </span>brings crummy Chardonnay to Australia and gets away with it)<br /><br /><br /><div> </div></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-8826526197808666912008-02-14T20:47:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:01.593-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/baronhilton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.popcrunch.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/06/baronhilton.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Good bloodlines</span> Paris Hilton's weedy little brother, the ominously named 18 year-old Barron Hilton, <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=8465a72a-e34d-4125-8221-939be5eeba1f&entry=index">was arrested this week for DUI</a>. He registered almost double the legal limit on the breathalyser test, was found to be carrying a fake California drivers license, and was carrying a female passenger who had sideswiped a Ford Ranger earlier in the evening. The Hilton family declined to post bail.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRJYpbRKjt7PKWjB7kbA4ZZtv3KQrFiBPIvlzgNQCGxYu_NmokDkXW8KEYr1B8QuP8tn5rVYgPPqKFobjLmYEq6FlBlY2vQFIXUwnrEdFYin-dlZOVV-1uauOPQIwgyLwEtBuKfArR60/s1600-h/gas+copy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuRJYpbRKjt7PKWjB7kbA4ZZtv3KQrFiBPIvlzgNQCGxYu_NmokDkXW8KEYr1B8QuP8tn5rVYgPPqKFobjLmYEq6FlBlY2vQFIXUwnrEdFYin-dlZOVV-1uauOPQIwgyLwEtBuKfArR60/s320/gas+copy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5167258986209124338" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br />But they have not yet banned the Fois Gras dispensers from the washrooms</span> France has banned sales of wine, beer and spirits <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3371806.ece">at gas stations</a>. In a related story, a French court <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jcR9gUWQNh_PLQCqjWlyhtZplWmw">has upheld a lower court's ban</a> on alcohol advertising on the internet in France.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.sfmission.com/gallery_files/site_pics/Belgium/Art_and_History/Hercules-drunk.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 267px;" src="http://www.sfmission.com/gallery_files/site_pics/Belgium/Art_and_History/Hercules-drunk.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Of course, he was only 7 1/2 times over the limit for Manitobans</span> In Bosnia, a driver pulled over for zig-zagging <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jcR9gUWQNh_PLQCqjWlyhtZplWmw">blew 0.6 on a shocked police officer's breathalyser</a>, which is both 20 times the Bosnian legal limit of .03, and well past the point where he should have slipped into a coma.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://boingboing.net/images/drunkspacepig.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 243px; height: 172px;" src="http://boingboing.net/images/drunkspacepig.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">That's 'subtropical' as in backwoods Louisiana, right? </span>According to Russia's National Alcohol Association president Pavel Shapkin, <a href="http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2008/02/14/044.html">sales of bootleg alcohol in Russia last year</a> dropped 14% from almost half of total consumption to a mere 28%. "Our country is shifting from a temperate pattern of beverage consumption to that of a subtropical way of life."<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOU_dEz2cw6e0CnuGoMf5dEHPiBJDhzXHgCMEt35MtDYKjgUMg5Oude_dI8u_c7Mjodyuwg2RjtKgrKMKcaO0HqBzKN0ZvEl8BQ3_ZJ1OWk-RJ3TtVMj-JywtOKVEuNk3hmo7kMLzzMzs/s1600/Woody+Mouton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 225px; height: 335px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOU_dEz2cw6e0CnuGoMf5dEHPiBJDhzXHgCMEt35MtDYKjgUMg5Oude_dI8u_c7Mjodyuwg2RjtKgrKMKcaO0HqBzKN0ZvEl8BQ3_ZJ1OWk-RJ3TtVMj-JywtOKVEuNk3hmo7kMLzzMzs/s1600/Woody+Mouton.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Taking them out of the gas stations forced them to raise prices</span> Alain-Dominique Perrin, CEO of the Richemont Group (which owns Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc, Piaget and Dunhill, among other concerns), <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/178587.html">described high <span style="font-style: italic;">en primeur</span> prices anticipated for the 2007 Bordeaux first growths</a> as "immoral". Perrin noted that prices for top Bordeaux are generally 8000% above what it cost to produce them, whereas the standard markup in the luxury trade is closer to 1700%.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-41521799122697450222008-02-06T13:13:00.000-08:002008-02-06T13:21:45.028-08:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.spiritmerchants.ca/store_images/customcontent/1/larrycubecropped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 249px;" src="http://www.spiritmerchants.ca/store_images/customcontent/1/larrycubecropped.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>A shameless plug for the Bill James of B.C. wine gurus, Larry Arnold---whose <a href="http://spiritmerchants.blogspot.com/">Blog for Spinnaker's Spirit Merchants</a> has finally gone more-or-less live. We look forward to regular abuse and sermonizing from the ol' sage, and wish him the best of luck---or if he can't find that, a good ghostwriter. Good luck Larry!Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-19269242220830437622008-01-30T15:34:00.000-08:002008-01-30T19:40:46.555-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/y/fotos/young_sean.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 264px; height: 282px;" src="http://www.biografiasyvidas.com/biografia/y/fotos/young_sean.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">But it was when she called him "sugar tits" that he got really pissed off</span> Actress Sean Young <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/30/wyoung130.xml">entered rehab this week</a> after <a href="http://reporter.blogs.com/goldrush/2008/01/video-exclusive.html">heckling director Julian Schnabel</a> during a drunken episode at the DGA awards, yelling "hey, get <span style="font-style: italic;">on </span>with it" when the director of <span style="font-style: italic;">The Diving Bell and the Butterfly</span> rambled on aimlessly during his acceptance speech<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.aero.com/ballooning/commercial/images/moet.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 301px;" src="http://www.aero.com/ballooning/commercial/images/moet.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br />Those French</span> Moet and Chandon <a href="http://www.drinksint.com/articles/55956/Mo%C3%ABt/Chandon-fined-over-Champagne-ads.aspx?categoryid=9048">were fined 30,000 Euros this week</a>, essentially for making their champagne look too attractive in a poster advertisement<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/f/f/P/harrypotter5pic75.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 188px;" src="http://z.about.com/d/movies/1/0/f/f/P/harrypotter5pic75.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Let the pissing match begin</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Bottle Shock</span>, the first of two movies about the infamous 'Judgment of Paris' winetasting of 1976, <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/174931.html">was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival</a>. Steven Spurrier, who organized the original tasting and is a backer of <span style="font-style: italic;">Judgment of Paris</span> (a competing movie whose production is currently held up by the screenwriter's strike) has gone on the record as being unimpressed with Alan Rickman's portrayal of him<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bsornot.whipnet.net/images/Gallery/images/drinking.decathalon.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 216px; height: 251px;" src="http://bsornot.whipnet.net/images/Gallery/images/drinking.decathalon.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Alcohol doesn't kill people, bad American comedies aimed at teenagers kill people</span> David Reid, 22, <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=511234&in_page_id=1770">died of alcohol poisoning</a> when he and a friend attempted to recreate a 'last man standing' drinking game they had seen in the teen comedy <span style="font-style: italic;">American Pie. </span>(In a related story, <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2008/01/28/2147822.htm">Rehab wannabees copycat celebrity screwups</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> )</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/241/528928000_669a53fca7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 198px; height: 252px;" src="http://farm1.static.flickr.com/241/528928000_669a53fca7.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Gay customers didn't much like it either</span> In Britain, Marks and Spencer has launched 'Pink Port'; a variation on the renowned Portuguese sweet wine, only lightened in color and aimed at the female consumer. <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/176215.html">Initial expert reaction has not been favorable</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cmbHH1wML._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 211px;" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51cmbHH1wML._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-dp-500-arrow,TopRight,45,-64_OU01_AA240_SH20_.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br />It's from bowing down before all those monster Cabernets</span> Robert Parker <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/174727.html">is undergoing back surgery</a> and will likely miss this winter's Bordeaux tastings, thus throwing their futures prices into chaosUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-89285334069880548722008-01-17T15:00:00.000-08:002008-01-17T15:11:06.502-08:00RSVP Tasting: When the boss takes home what he wants<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p180/FrankFolsom/ParisKim.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p180/FrankFolsom/ParisKim.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Wine </span>Golan Heights Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 2003<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">From </span>Israel<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>39.64 (BC Liquor Stores)<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Alcohol Content</span> 14.5%<br />The first of the Parker 90’s from his Israeli tasting to make it to our table; wine exhibits a new-world style leaning more towards Chile than, say, Australia. No particular nose on opening; tannic finish. The philosophical taster is impressed by everything but the price: “this is nice and balanced… nothing out of place.” The Boss is less impressed: “there’s a reedyness up front… I’m going to have to think about it…” Which means he’s seen the price too, and isn’t going to think about it much past the next wine.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Estampa Malbec-Syrah 2006<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Chile<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$13.90 (BC Liquor Stores)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 14.4%<br />Emphatic nose draws ohhs and ahhs around the table, with people finding everything from licorice to tobacco in it. The wine shows a palate that’s fairly typical of the blend if not the country of origin; tannins are still a bit green. Much enthusiasm; lead taster is even a little over-the-top: “Incredible---this is delicious.” He puts the cork in the bottle and quietly puts it aside to take home---either the most telling complement of all, or a snapshot of the poor state of his mutual funds.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Quinta da Espiga 2005<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Portugal<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>12.99 (Spinnakers, BC)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 12.5%<br />A peppery nose and black cherry on the palate raises eyebrows all around; lots of enthusiasm---mostly for the price. One taster finds the tannins a bit green on the finish: “there’s a sort of under-ripe banana aftertaste to this.” But for the most part, never is heard a discouraging word; and Fearless Leader puts this one aside to take home as well.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Glorioso Rioja Crianza 2004<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Spain<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>16.95 (BC Liquor Stores)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 13.5%<br />Not your mother’s Rioja, this: sweet fruit and a mild nature lead to shrugs from some tasters; enthusiasm from others. Context says a lot; coming on the heels of the Espiga above, it’s a relative letdown---although not for the boss: “I taste strawberries; there’s good acid and good structure to this.” One more reason to favor Spain in the great scheme of things; one more bottle for him to take home.<br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Bogle Chenin Blanc 2006<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>California<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$17.99 (BC Liquor Stores)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 12.5%<br />A sniff, a sip, and the lead taster draws himself up to his full height: “You can quote me on this,” he says, “this is a fruity little bastard: crisp, tart… I like it a lot”. Noted, dude. Plenty of positive comment from the peanut gallery as well: sweet fruit but a tart, apple finish and decent balance even at room temperature. Pricey, perhaps, considering what you can get in BC already.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Golan Heights Yarden Muscat 2005<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Israel<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$24.77 (BC Liquor Stores)<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 13.9%<br />Sweet, aromatic, and terrific: a nose of candied pears; a complex palate with good, sweet Muscat notes; universal acclaim. The philosophical taster tries to sneak this one home and fails, settling for the Yarden Cab as a sort of consolation prize.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-72502534113197116072008-01-11T11:57:00.001-08:002008-12-12T00:45:01.625-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.gamerevolution.com/oldsite/games/ps2/action/narc_bad_lieutenant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 307px;" src="http://www.gamerevolution.com/oldsite/games/ps2/action/narc_bad_lieutenant.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Handing out speeding tickets can drive a man to drink for sure</span> Northern Ireland Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7180564.stm">was criticized for envisioning extenuating circumstances</a> for police officers caught drinking and driving<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.didntyouhear.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/burger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 255px; height: 172px;" src="http://www.didntyouhear.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/03/burger.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">I guess it was the drunk driving through the carwash with the triple whopper that proved to be too much for them</span> Fulvio Brunetta, president of the wine growers association of the Italian city of Treviso (where Prosecco is made)<a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSL1059783120080110"> condemned ads for Rich Prosecco, featuring Paris Hilton</a><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/06/253_warning.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.democraticunderground.com/top10/06/253_warning.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Warning: pregnant French women should not read this newspaper article</span> A Paris county court ruled that an editorial piece in the <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Parisien</span> newspaper entitled 'the triumph of Champagne' could be constituted as advertising, and <a href="http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=55477">thus must carry the same health warning</a> that a liquor ad does.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8goNQkwdiVJIXwUtVqzdfZjMlnuAaPfb6gXXGRV-IqJjzc3-OIcScr3g5obvd0muyxwUe5ffLdmXAwulI7RkvLCmLIr9ZKN69CpEMxjq7xuMvx6wZB3D3noe-IxB5rNAP6QyEK7uwkA/s1600-h/Parker's+rubbing+alcohol.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 184px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA8goNQkwdiVJIXwUtVqzdfZjMlnuAaPfb6gXXGRV-IqJjzc3-OIcScr3g5obvd0muyxwUe5ffLdmXAwulI7RkvLCmLIr9ZKN69CpEMxjq7xuMvx6wZB3D3noe-IxB5rNAP6QyEK7uwkA/s320/Parker's+rubbing+alcohol.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5154337180308500946" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Hey, Adam---you've got company</span> Celebrated California winemaker Adam Tolmach of the Ojai Vinyard admitted that by chasing favorable reviews by Robert Parker, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/01/11/wvino111.xml">he now makes wines with so much alcohol</a> that he doesn't like to drink them any more<span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cdn.channel.aol.com/aolr/britney-spears-bald-400a030207.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 204px; height: 204px;" src="http://cdn.channel.aol.com/aolr/britney-spears-bald-400a030207.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">All the a-list celebs were released from the show after serving 10% of their sentence</span> VH1's reality series <span style="font-style: italic;">Celebrity Rehab</span> <a href="http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view.bg?articleid=1065532&srvc=home&position=7">continues to draw horselaughs and terrible press</a>. In other news, DUI jailbird <a href="http://www.eonline.com/news/article/index.jsp?uuid=8e4acb2a-bb8c-4ac0-b359-4dcb71a2cc7e&entry=index">Michelle Rodriguez</a> is now available if neededUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-16792261795635549762008-01-03T09:48:00.001-08:002008-12-12T00:45:01.866-08:00Happy New Year: The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-BEtVVHCcWGU8iED8r0N4ZYaR0XlksUhP_WL-eldIuA6ibMahPbM3Lu-wHZJ0e0Wv4JIbXNCH9LVoPLgw2X9jrMWn8ZRMUXIByexu5dgBtG9mGRfg9_tLcgXP7ZIPqhv-b1xO1akewc/s1600-h/Workers-at-the-Blue-Plains-Waste-Water-Treatment-Plant-Intercept-Sewage-Photographic-Print-C12460372.jpeg.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 280px; height: 187px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv-BEtVVHCcWGU8iED8r0N4ZYaR0XlksUhP_WL-eldIuA6ibMahPbM3Lu-wHZJ0e0Wv4JIbXNCH9LVoPLgw2X9jrMWn8ZRMUXIByexu5dgBtG9mGRfg9_tLcgXP7ZIPqhv-b1xO1akewc/s320/Workers-at-the-Blue-Plains-Waste-Water-Treatment-Plant-Intercept-Sewage-Photographic-Print-C12460372.jpeg.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5153582387050869186" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Guess those cork closures are permeable after all</span> The Sovereign General Insurance Company <a href="http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5jq0Aw6mTfkrk5Ewc5SAJnsZeq9FA">was successfully sued by a Vancouver couple</a> after their $5-10 million wine collection was partly destroyed by a 2003 sewer backup in their cellar. Sovereign General had refused to pay off, claiming that they didn't know of the existence of the wine.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.derok.net/images/entertainment/cisco%20adler%20mischa%20barton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 252px; height: 180px;" src="http://www.derok.net/images/entertainment/cisco%20adler%20mischa%20barton.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">It seems she looked better with her clothes on than he did with his off</span> Former <span style="font-style: italic;">OC</span> star Mischa Barton was charged with possession of drugs, <a href="http://showbizblog.ctv.ca/blog/_archives/2007/12/27/3433944.html">driving under the influence</a> and driving without a valid license in West Hollywood. To add insult to injury, musician ex-boyfriend <a href="http://fametastic.co.uk/archive/20080102/9111/mischa-barton-looks-so-hot-in-mugshot-says-her-ex-cisco-adler/">Cisco Adler was quoted</a> as saying she looked "so hot" in her mugshot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v515/bloodylamer/bastardly-photos/0505/album8/drunk-michelle-rodriguez010601.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 180px; height: 313px;" src="http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v515/bloodylamer/bastardly-photos/0505/album8/drunk-michelle-rodriguez010601.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">I guess the judge didn't like her performance in </span><span style="font-style: italic;"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Girlfight</span> </span>Hispanic actress and <span style="font-style: italic;">Lost </span>star Michelle Rodriguez <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/entertainmentNews/idUSN236593120071224">began serving a 180-day sentence</a> after violating terms of probation for a drunken driving conviction. For racial and class conspiracy theorists, that's 108 days, 21 hours and 16 minutes longer than Kiefer Sutherland, Lindsay Lohan, Nicole Ritchie and Paris Hilton's DUI jail time combined. <span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Update:</span> Rodriguez <a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080110.wrodrig0110/BNStory/Entertainment/home">was released after serving 18 days</a>, or 10% of her sentence. So she's luckier than Paris, at least.<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/1569625975_222cc69ee7.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 281px; height: 226px;" src="http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2175/1569625975_222cc69ee7.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Now, if they can just get rid of those brass bands and short pants as well</span> On January 1st, the state of Bavaria passed Germany's most stringent anti-smoking legislation, which will likely <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/travel/chi-1230newsinbriefdec30,0,70178.story?coll=chi-news-col">make Munich's famed Oktoberfest a non-smoking event</a>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OEGH2xsH8twwHHEHseCeb0mHlZ5w7enr2WRnBVpdjrZmJthDuAUM36MId9_OOa9hIbj8-o5O7ZKHx1TdIGDz7DV1Q3BRQ4jKxoEEZQ6kcHmLSLKkfGImBc_lXpBd7LZj15i0-gAonu4/s1600-h/MosesTablets.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9OEGH2xsH8twwHHEHseCeb0mHlZ5w7enr2WRnBVpdjrZmJthDuAUM36MId9_OOa9hIbj8-o5O7ZKHx1TdIGDz7DV1Q3BRQ4jKxoEEZQ6kcHmLSLKkfGImBc_lXpBd7LZj15i0-gAonu4/s320/MosesTablets.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5151330424028426674" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">What did we ever do to deserve this?</span> Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, in its "first-ever generic tasting of Israeli wines," <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/171847.html">awarded 14 scores of 90 points</a> or higher, 11 to Kosher wines.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-549582917227376232007-12-18T20:58:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:03.725-08:00Happy Christmas---The Year in Alcohol<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JGuAmgF7PFlqtI15xB0iOmDQ4Uz9rXt41HBp_U1pIowCcn46UY1pE_5yfDbjuRVr13M_v5YxX7nnpykQBJbL5eOHQpNKBiFhNIQHzw-_4Un6YCoYCwY_Tf1KQ5lkf-6Dllot857E4c4/s1600-h/DavidLeeRoth.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5038698270714414130" style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-JGuAmgF7PFlqtI15xB0iOmDQ4Uz9rXt41HBp_U1pIowCcn46UY1pE_5yfDbjuRVr13M_v5YxX7nnpykQBJbL5eOHQpNKBiFhNIQHzw-_4Un6YCoYCwY_Tf1KQ5lkf-6Dllot857E4c4/s320/DavidLeeRoth.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(255, 102, 102);">Next month, David Lee Roth on the Super-Tuscans</span> In <a href="http://www.winespectator.com/Wine/Features/0,1197,3671,00.html">The Wine Spectator</a>, Ex-Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar the Horrible reveals an unexpected fondness for classic Bordeaux; together with praise for the guys he considers the greatest noses in rock-and-roll: Boston's Fran Sheehan, and <span style="font-style: italic;">The Year of the Cat's</span> Al Stewart<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV230WigNzODpQ-jZTzuI2JrXVH9cHVBDGq2zh1EFjUYVumW0xx3zEeSUbhTi90fflAUicKNKn-PxoTQTc9DfxyJLpzmV8yLuns22mxiMVE3DxrNqKvZBC4S2x2GFltiurxLAoEvc53AU/s1600-h/Altered+Women+and+Guns.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV230WigNzODpQ-jZTzuI2JrXVH9cHVBDGq2zh1EFjUYVumW0xx3zEeSUbhTi90fflAUicKNKn-PxoTQTc9DfxyJLpzmV8yLuns22mxiMVE3DxrNqKvZBC4S2x2GFltiurxLAoEvc53AU/s320/Altered+Women+and+Guns.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5044089644920561298" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);"><br />I asked her if she was game---she said yes, so I shot her</span> Organizers of the 75th Minneapolis Northwest Sports Show announced the innaguration of a "Women, Wine and Wild Game" day<br /><br /><span class="verdana11000000"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.saharamet.com/desert/photos/desert2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 291px; height: 186px;" src="http://www.saharamet.com/desert/photos/desert2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span class="verdana11000000"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">That'll be $49.99 for your bottle of Yellow Tail</span> <a href="http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/news/article.html?in_article_id=419629&in_page_id=2">It's official</a>: the worst drought in living memory has cut Australia's grape harvest by 30%. Grape pickers have been referred to </span><span class="verdana11000000">by commentators</span><span class="verdana11000000"> as 'search parties'.<br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvs9-U5eDG-IQ8RmLfBOp_HdZ4KjGkt7WDk9-7Bq-hl6VPD_ljKQMLce5szGJ-xhsRnp1OuzN42OXc_IE5qQO9ZnC8On33qmRvkTHNNeZHs3t6YE4rKSUOoqGReu4ajCpsZ0ZPjErIXyc/s1600-h/sarkozy.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 208px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvs9-U5eDG-IQ8RmLfBOp_HdZ4KjGkt7WDk9-7Bq-hl6VPD_ljKQMLce5szGJ-xhsRnp1OuzN42OXc_IE5qQO9ZnC8On33qmRvkTHNNeZHs3t6YE4rKSUOoqGReu4ajCpsZ0ZPjErIXyc/s320/sarkozy.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5061117547760649458" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">But would you want to have a beer with him?</span> An informal <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/117910.html">poll of French winemakers</a> revealed a preference for right-wing candidate Nicolas Sarkozy over the socialist Segolene Royal in the upcoming French Presidential election. Sarkozy has hinted that he might roll back the <a href="http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/comcom/newsletter/edition09/page04_en.htm">Evan Law</a>, which bans most forms of advertising for alcoholic beverages in France. (A teatotaler, Sarkozy has also hinted at changes to France's 35 hour work week.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKtAvTGYwesHBoYHY7-5d8us7JovBrdmtEkN8qAFQelf7mRTp6iwbGGlme5Y9XnqQjOs1HKwnSNooZU3Nr-Vpyu8NaWOuX4xoP1Hs988n4GpCXInRxzFRcwdnpSjS-qMgdzfRw0SCmio/s1600-h/Girl+with+Wine+flipped.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxKtAvTGYwesHBoYHY7-5d8us7JovBrdmtEkN8qAFQelf7mRTp6iwbGGlme5Y9XnqQjOs1HKwnSNooZU3Nr-Vpyu8NaWOuX4xoP1Hs988n4GpCXInRxzFRcwdnpSjS-qMgdzfRw0SCmio/s320/Girl+with+Wine+flipped.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5063005830132335970" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Bring on the Asian Billionaires Part II</span> On the heels of the third or fourth ‘vintage of the century’ in the last 50 years, and with prices largely beyond the reach of the mass market, top-rank Bordeaux growers are in a bind: how to keep prices up with a 2006 crop universally derided as a lousy investment? <a href="http://wijn.blog.nl/frankrijk/2007/05/10/parker-vindt-bordeaux-2006-beter-dan-verwacht">A hint at the answer</a> is provided by Gary Boom of Bordeax Index. Describing the first growths as “completely overpriced”, Boom forecasts that the 2006’s “won't sell well and will be a bad investment” but might also prove to be “a classic vintage for new buyers – especially in the Far East – who want to secure allocations in future.” Translation: We’ll sell inferior, overpriced wine to the suckers of the nouveau riche, with the promise that this will give them entry into the club in time for the next vintage that’s really worth buying.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJP7LrcsvhzO4w6ZS0Uo4NKVSQUe_4ndZPcsrhbWZXX038i8nml5CrShzNmk_lPUDLhadt3ferdifiFrSVPK_BeCN3Y6e7i9dwc2MwORbL0ssUHy5nyK_i_v6vtM-SHvv4QoMLW2oXZY/s1600-h/Molotov_Cocktail_by_MelodyTuttle.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsJP7LrcsvhzO4w6ZS0Uo4NKVSQUe_4ndZPcsrhbWZXX038i8nml5CrShzNmk_lPUDLhadt3ferdifiFrSVPK_BeCN3Y6e7i9dwc2MwORbL0ssUHy5nyK_i_v6vtM-SHvv4QoMLW2oXZY/s320/Molotov_Cocktail_by_MelodyTuttle.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5067592968858292002" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">French Terrorists we can understand, part II</span> <a href="http://eatwineblog.blogspot.com/2007/04/week-in-alcohol.html">As reported last month</a>, France's <span class="verdana11000000">Comite d'Action Regionale Viticole bombed grocery stores as an unorthodox method of forcing the national government to support prices in the flagging Languedoc wine industry. With the election of the tea-totaling but apparently wine-friendly president-elect Nicolas Sarkozy, <a href="http://www.beveragedaily.com/news/ng.asp?n=76670-crav-french-wine-militants">the group has stepped up its rhetoric</a>. In a tape sent to local television, balaclava-clad gunmen whipped up support for their industry: "Winemakers, we call on you to revolt. We are at the point of no return: If Sarkozy does not have the sense to support the wine sector, he will be responsible for what happens."<br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.keynamics.com/images/airline-passenger-laptop.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 269px; height: 190px;" src="http://www.keynamics.com/images/airline-passenger-laptop.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">But they gave Jancis Robinson the pull-down baby-changing station in the business-class washroom</span> US Airways <a href="http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2007/05/30/BUGR4Q3IAV1.DTL&type=business">will be laminating <span style="font-style: italic;">Business Week</span></a> articles by Robert Parker into their pull-down tray-tables on their economy-class seats. According to <span style="font-style: italic;">BW </span>Publisher Geoff Dodge, "This unique partnership affords <span style="font-style: italic;">Business Week</span> a great opportunity to place our content in front of a captive audience of potential users."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img149.exs.cx/img149/1127/smwpe48zc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 242px; height: 181px;" src="http://img149.exs.cx/img149/1127/smwpe48zc.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br />I guess it helps her get through a day with Jamie Burke</span> Actress and philosopher Sienna Miller recently <a href="http://people.monstersandcritics.com/news/article_1322580.php/Sienna_Millers_wine">stopped presses around the globe</a> by claiming that the most meaningful relationship she has is with wine.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://rangelife.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/img_0822.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 234px; height: 311px;" src="http://rangelife.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/img_0822.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />On the other hand, France now makes the better action movies</span> According to <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/06/22/wfra122.xml">a new report</a>, the United States is on the verge of replacing France as the world's largest wine consumer. America remains only the fourth largest producer, after France, Italy and Spain.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/09/beerglass_389x600.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 330px;" src="http://img.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2006/09/beerglass_389x600.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Don’t drink and proselytize </span>A survey <a href="http://www.christianpost.com/article/20070926/29470_Study:_Majority_of_Protestants_Say_Alcohol_Consumption_is_Not_a_Sin.htm">published by the evangelical Christian firm Lifeway Research</a> claimed that while the majority of lay Protestants believe consuming alcohol to be biblically sanctioned, three quarters of senior Southern Baptist pastors surveyed believed that drinking made evangelism less effective. (90% of Protestant clergy surveyed believed that “a Christian drinking alcohol could cause other believers to stumble or be confused.”)<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://joefriar.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/keeeeeith.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 245px; height: 200px;" src="http://joefriar.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2007/04/keeeeeith.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Extra! New drug for alcoholic rats!</span> An anti-smoking drug, varenicline, <a href="http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-07-12-voa26.cfm">has been suggested effective</a> in <a href="http://www.ecanadanow.com/news/health/anti-smoking-drug-chantix-may-help-treat-alcohol-dependence-20070710.html">combating alcoholism</a>. But “...no research on the drug as a treatment for alcoholism has been done yet on humans. But one study on rats shows varenicline cuts desire for alcohol by 50 percent. The rats do not exhibit excessive drinking even after they are no longer given the drug.”<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.stereogum.com/img/mary-kate-olsen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 264px; cursor: pointer; height: 198px;" alt="" src="http://www.stereogum.com/img/mary-kate-olsen.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br />Start with high-calorie beer. Please.</span> Actress-tycoons Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen <a href="http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20042512,00.html">are now old enough to legally</a> drink in all 50 states.<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.iamfan.com/%7Ebritney_spears/images/pictures/britney-spears-1.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 261px; cursor: pointer; height: 174px;" alt="" src="http://www.iamfan.com/%7Ebritney_spears/images/pictures/britney-spears-1.jpg" border="0" height="182" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Jeez, Brit, Rockstar comes with the alcohol already in it</span> Songstress and mother-of-the-year finalist Britney Spears <a href="http://www.ecanadanow.com/news/entertainment/britney-spears-still-living-hard-20070711.html">has been spotted recently</a> pouring liquor into her energy drinks while out in public<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.benettontalk.com/Billydeesign.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 266px; height: 217px;" src="http://www.benettontalk.com/Billydeesign.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br />Extra! Pot smokers drink lousy beer as well</span> <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/07/070726185006.htm">A study published by the University at Buffalo's Research Institute on Addictions</a> (RIA) claimed either that people who abuse malt liquor also tend to abuse pot; or that people who abuse pot tend towards cheap malt liquor as their beverage of choice (coverage is unclear).<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.mica.edu/comics/images/mickey_rat.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 262px; height: 354px;" src="http://www.mica.edu/comics/images/mickey_rat.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br />Maybe if they'd just called it "Ol' Yeller"</span> Disney Studios <a href="http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/business/la-fi-ratwine28jul28,1,5108752.story?coll=la-headlines-business-enter&ctrack=1&cset=true">backed out of a product tie-in with Costco</a> for their new animated film <span style="font-style: italic;">Ratatouille: </span>Ratatouille Chardonnay.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia/exhibits/0012_spin/images/album9big.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 235px; height: 224px;" src="http://www.nyu.edu/library/bobst/research/aia/exhibits/0012_spin/images/album9big.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Drink up the cider, George</span> Singer, poet, and the best friend a bottle of Guinness ever had, <a href="http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/08/03/america/obits.php">Tommy Makem died of lung cancer</a> this week at age 74<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com/img/HCD15.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 286px; height: 262px;" src="http://www.betterlivingwithhypnosis.com/img/HCD15.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Depends on what you mean by 'occasion'</span> A new <a href="http://www.fftimes.com/node/203572">study released by the US Centers for Disease Control</a> shows that two-thirds of adult binge drinkers prefer to go on their benders with beer. On the other hand, teenage binge drinkers prefer hard liquor. The study defined 'binge' as five or more drinks on one occasion.<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kryon.com/inspiritmag/scrapbook-pics/Police/Police05.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 249px;" src="http://www.kryon.com/inspiritmag/scrapbook-pics/Police/Police05.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Put down the Brunello with its gobs of soft fruit on the nose and sweet tannins on the attack, and step away from the table with your hands up</span> <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/136812.html">According to Decanter Magazine,</a> Twenty-five members of the Italian military police have qualified as sommeliers in order to combat fraud in the industry.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.bcfiberals.com/images/mugshots2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.bcfiberals.com/images/mugshots2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Living in the same province as Gordon Campbell will do that to you</span> A study published by Toronto's Center for Addiction and Mental Health found <a href="http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/westcoastnews/story.html?id=cccaac1c-dfb5-4b6c-944f-bedec2c05014">alcohol abuse in British Columbia</a> to be almost 20% above the national average and 50% above the level observed in Quebec.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.skydiveradio.com/pic_of_week/potw13.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 270px; height: 197px;" src="http://www.skydiveradio.com/pic_of_week/potw13.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">But we're allowing alcohol at the shark-wrestling tank</span> Authorities have forbidden the organizers of <a href="http://news.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show=localnews&pnpID=909&NewsID=837106&CategoryID=13280&on=0">an Irish St Patrick's Day skydiving event</a> from selling liquor<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/red-bull-and-a-smoke_329x464.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 232px; height: 327px;" src="http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/images/gallery/red-bull-and-a-smoke_329x464.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /><br />Meanwhile, for hangover sufferers, science shows that the cure really is worse than disease</span> The journal <span style="font-style: italic;">Chemical Research in Toxicology</span> <a href="http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/09/26/food-and-drugs-can-create-a-toxic-mix.html">published a study</a> linking the combination of Red Bull (or other heavily-caffeinated energy drinks) and Tylenol to liver damage<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://cache.bordom.net/images/01208abef87193f460302c31edc7b054.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 260px; cursor: pointer; height: 311px;" alt="" src="http://cache.bordom.net/images/01208abef87193f460302c31edc7b054.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br />But Bullwinkle, that trick never works</span> Lindsay Lohan <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7031366.stm">emerged this week from two months in rehab</a>. It was her third crack at alcohol treatment this year<br /><br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eD0upjkAEUgxpw13VUVnYx8MLenSE6wGKs7N_F0YFI5Sm1vPyaj7h-O4FNAF0XI7Zc7XcElIu5dA99UUlPQRdhT84OvKuxbgQsRwRY-zVigkyArAriJHihautBLxhW3AWCCpIqNg2a4/s1600-h/Harry-PotHead-mocked-up-film-poster-following-success-of-Harry-Potter-film-and-revelations-that-Prince-Harry-had-smoked-pot-cannabis-ANON.jpg"><img id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5119046147546971522" style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2eD0upjkAEUgxpw13VUVnYx8MLenSE6wGKs7N_F0YFI5Sm1vPyaj7h-O4FNAF0XI7Zc7XcElIu5dA99UUlPQRdhT84OvKuxbgQsRwRY-zVigkyArAriJHihautBLxhW3AWCCpIqNg2a4/s320/Harry-PotHead-mocked-up-film-poster-following-success-of-Harry-Potter-film-and-revelations-that-Prince-Harry-had-smoked-pot-cannabis-ANON.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">So that’s what killed him</span> England’s Prince Harry, <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/london/7030133.stm">soon to be publicly immortalized in marble</a> as a dead soldier in a tribute to servicemen not allowed to participate in the gulf war, <a href="http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/0710_prince_harry_snorts_vodka.shtml">was photographed this week snorting vodka</a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.chris-hooley.com/images/DrunkBumBegger.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 275px; height: 206px;" src="http://www.chris-hooley.com/images/DrunkBumBegger.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">You want that bottle in paper or plastic, you drunken scumbag</span> BC Liquor Stores <a href="http://vancouver.24hrs.ca/News/2007/10/11/4566602-sun.html">announced a campaign</a> to encourage alcohol consumption in moderation by making “those who abuse alcohol feel rejected/marginalized.”<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.drunkhollywood.com/images/tara-reid-drunk-001.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 238px; height: 279px;" src="http://www.drunkhollywood.com/images/tara-reid-drunk-001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">No, I’m stupid like Mickey Rourke, Robert Downy Jr. and Courtney Love</span> In an interview with FHM Magazine, <a href="http://galleryoftheabsurd.typepad.com/14/tara_reid/index.html">failed television host, notorious party animal</a> and <a href="http://socialitelife.com/2005/07/28/tara_reids_still_drunk.php">Paris Hilton satellite</a> Tara Reid <a href="http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272616629.shtml">distanced herself from celebrity last-days- of-Pompeii culture</a> by claiming not to be as “stupid” as Hilton, Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://media.rivals.net/media/jpg%5C2006040500630927.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; width: 244px; cursor: pointer; height: 397px;" alt="" src="http://media.rivals.net/media/jpg%5C2006040500630927.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><strong>But that's pretty much average for a night out in Cardif</strong></span> Journalists came upon the <a href="http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/4252931a15596.html">New Zealand All-Blacks rugby coach passed out in a washroom </a>before the World Cup quarter-finals in Cardif, Wales. <a href="http://africa.reuters.com/sport/news/usnBAN424261.html">In related news</a>, Australian Rugby Union chair Peter McGrath was forced to resign his position when "one of Australian rugby's major sponsor complained in writing that McGrath was so affected by alcohol he could hardly speak at a function on the eve of Australia's quarter-final defeat by England in Marseille, France"<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com/king_kong_vs_g_front.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 337px;" src="http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com/king_kong_vs_g_front.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Good thing Parker didn't call him a New Zealander</span> Documentary filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter (2004's <span style="font-style: italic;">Mondovino</span>) <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCrCb7WBnLIdnhuzYHZc-NJcg27g">has released his first book</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Gout et le Pouvoir</span> (roughly, "Taste and Power"). Not unexpectedly, <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/152889.html">Robert Parker has thrown a fit</a>, calling Nossiter a "narrow-minded zealot" a bigot, and a member of the "scary wine Gestapo". (This may be no more than simple tit-for-tat; <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/63132.html">two years ago Nossiter accused Parker's partner</a> Pierre-Antoine Rovani of being "a Mussolini apologist, indirectly fascist and anti-semitic, 'monolithic and unscrupulously self-serving.' ")<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfTfZao6BvmqnT-H6MyJ-tQCV2R9O33IW5OB1NqYj6EWbrJmcR_cMI2eNjL7tHgCA2RAcVrQHRgNUtoj4dD8I7piBFTjd_lkEIlMhIVulIjDu2HTa9u9CffPyiTWaWp6s-aBuFDpa17k/s1600-h/paris-crying.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfTfZao6BvmqnT-H6MyJ-tQCV2R9O33IW5OB1NqYj6EWbrJmcR_cMI2eNjL7tHgCA2RAcVrQHRgNUtoj4dD8I7piBFTjd_lkEIlMhIVulIjDu2HTa9u9CffPyiTWaWp6s-aBuFDpa17k/s320/paris-crying.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134585991311776114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">She was really trying to draw attention to coke-snorting Bengal Tigers</span> A story claiming that Paris Hilton was taking up <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jz5-rV8c2xj6rJTVpB3tPPmWScJQD8SSTJ800">the case of binge-drinking elephants</a> in India ("The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them. There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn't chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad....") <a href="http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a79943/hilton-denies-helping-drunk-elephants.html">later proved to be fals</a>e.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRUhhmPvEIq1XJK3eXZOkG3FWpk4iNFZlxtmwMYnOevvlylpbR9zXRshJYf2JH08QXiTQCBBjw9UkNp5D7V59yeVjvDE2b0_uaRFV01XRxIKdFfPEzM4D9KwRqT6lpuxKBj8PlO33Xb5k/s400/gerard-depardieu-1g.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRUhhmPvEIq1XJK3eXZOkG3FWpk4iNFZlxtmwMYnOevvlylpbR9zXRshJYf2JH08QXiTQCBBjw9UkNp5D7V59yeVjvDE2b0_uaRFV01XRxIKdFfPEzM4D9KwRqT6lpuxKBj8PlO33Xb5k/s400/gerard-depardieu-1g.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The story that he raped a stable-girl in celebration was later dismissed as a mistranslation</span> French actor and noteworthy pounder Gerard Depardieu <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/163278.html">was named this year's "Pope"</a> of Bordeaux's Chateau Pape Clement<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdF7xnEbOcVpscZTbBSjA9FilPry9RZbC6a2NqmTCA94t9TvaGC2FAV75lAELr0YedMEbFFVuK3TfeWxvCWHx-8lbqXTOfqYe4Msadw7OKGOcgwX-KVga6XyySbowk-vbHcv1Vn3Htc8/s1600-h/i-have-seen-the-end.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdF7xnEbOcVpscZTbBSjA9FilPry9RZbC6a2NqmTCA94t9TvaGC2FAV75lAELr0YedMEbFFVuK3TfeWxvCWHx-8lbqXTOfqYe4Msadw7OKGOcgwX-KVga6XyySbowk-vbHcv1Vn3Htc8/s320/i-have-seen-the-end.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145421360777949602" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">It was around about then that a bottomless pit opened up and an evil host led by Abaddon the King of the Abyss came forth</span> A major British supermarket chain reported that in the lead-up to Christmas, <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/166507.html">English wine was outselling wines</a> from Bordeaux, California, Portugal, Alsace and GermanyUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-33335266478748433582007-12-13T20:31:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:03.984-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.lecornichon.qc.ca/galeries_1/polcan/000047-stephen_harper.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 250px; height: 310px;" src="http://www.lecornichon.qc.ca/galeries_1/polcan/000047-stephen_harper.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">In a related study, they were unable to see any significant difference between Steven Harper and Dick Cheney</span> The University of Victoria's Center for Addictions Research <a href="http://www.canada.com/victoriatimescolonist/news/story.html?id=795a6e0c-b78e-48a3-a9a9-77da79d8f346&k=57126">published a study which found</a> that a group of university-aged males couldn't tell the difference between regular-strength and low-alcohol beer<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLGSZwC03Ciz8XjJTejLXytPJXSbYBir7DFeThzj13xrAqrgs_0NYMSGYeEVxAD7BmB8c2NNsWv6nX3kX5wIOllbHc79Ulxw0phTg-dn8CyqeUDcZOaqszNet-mvOQ0qpKPlfDJquafg/s1600-h/Sell+more+Yellow+Tail.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDLGSZwC03Ciz8XjJTejLXytPJXSbYBir7DFeThzj13xrAqrgs_0NYMSGYeEVxAD7BmB8c2NNsWv6nX3kX5wIOllbHc79Ulxw0phTg-dn8CyqeUDcZOaqszNet-mvOQ0qpKPlfDJquafg/s320/Sell+more+Yellow+Tail.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5143704920047776146" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Well, when you're pissed, you can't tell whether the glass is half full or half empty</span> The Australian Wine and Brandy corporation released figures which were interpreted in the Rupert Murdoch-owned <span style="font-style: italic;">The Australian</span> as saying that "<a href="http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22886279-20142,00.html">wine exports grew 8% on pricey reds</a>", while its competitor <span style="font-style: italic;">The Age</span> interpreted the data as saying that "<a href="http://news.theage.com.au/wine-export-growth-slows-again/20071207-1fno.html">wine export growth slows again</a>."<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdF7xnEbOcVpscZTbBSjA9FilPry9RZbC6a2NqmTCA94t9TvaGC2FAV75lAELr0YedMEbFFVuK3TfeWxvCWHx-8lbqXTOfqYe4Msadw7OKGOcgwX-KVga6XyySbowk-vbHcv1Vn3Htc8/s1600-h/i-have-seen-the-end.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 186px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdF7xnEbOcVpscZTbBSjA9FilPry9RZbC6a2NqmTCA94t9TvaGC2FAV75lAELr0YedMEbFFVuK3TfeWxvCWHx-8lbqXTOfqYe4Msadw7OKGOcgwX-KVga6XyySbowk-vbHcv1Vn3Htc8/s320/i-have-seen-the-end.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5145421360777949602" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">It was around about then that a bottomless pit opened up and an evil host led by Abaddon the King of the Abyss came forth</span> A major British supermarket chain reported that in the lead-up to Christmas, <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/166507.html">English wine was outselling wines</a> from Bordeaux, California, Portugal, Alsace and Germany<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.junkopia.net/kelvinsdirtybits/Images/ackroyd.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 249px; height: 252px;" src="http://www.junkopia.net/kelvinsdirtybits/Images/ackroyd.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br />The John Belushi Blues Brothers Speedball was an especially hot seller</span> Former funny man Dan Aykroyd <a href="http://thechronicleherald.ca/Metro/9004868.html">spent the week barnstorming</a> Atlantic Canada promoting the Dan Aykroyd Discovery Series of wines<br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://24headquarters.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/kiefer-sutherland-with-his-pants-down.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 246px; height: 309px;" src="http://24headquarters.com/wp-content/uploads/2006/05/kiefer-sutherland-with-his-pants-down.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br />The "I <span style="font-style: italic;">will </span>kill you" to the police officer was interpreted as simple high spirits</span><span style="font-style: italic;"> 24 </span>star Kieffer Sutherland began serving his 48 day prison sentence for driving while intoxicatedUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-11386408595318557842007-12-10T11:16:00.000-08:002007-12-15T13:37:25.077-08:00RSVP Tasting: Six Wines in Search of a Character<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.goldenbeaverwinery.com/images/gbw%20small.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 320px; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://www.goldenbeaverwinery.com/images/gbw%20small.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Wine </span>Marley Farms Novine White<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">From </span>Saanich, BC<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Price </span>$14.95<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Alcohol Content</span> 10.4%<br />An Ortega – Pinot Grigio blend from a producer best known for non-grape fruit wines. A big Ortega nose gets everybody’s attention; what follows on the palate gets pleased murmurs from all around the table and a smile from Fearless Leader: “Crisp, clean, fresh, and there’s even some weight to it. This is very pleasant.” “Lychees” observes a guest taster, and the silence that greets him is taken to imply consent.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Wine </span>Golden Beaver Gewurztraminer 2006<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">From </span>Okanagan, BC<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Price </span>$19.00 (MSL)<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Alcohol Content</span> 13.5%<br />A case where you first have to digest the label (see above) before you get to the taste of the wine: According to the agent who represents their wines, these are nice people trying to do serious wines in modest amounts (and who also seem to be <a href="http://www.goldenbeaverwinery.com/custom3.html">trying just about everything</a> on their 8 acres) but they’ve chosen an image so at odds with their purpose that it’s tough to get past it to what’s in your glass: in this case, a big nose, good Gewurz sweetness on the palate, followed by a twiggy/stemmy/seedy aftertaste that’s made more emphatic by hot alcohol. “Young vines,” our host reminds us. "Compassion is a virtue" replies the Philosophical Taster, quoting early David Byrne, "but I just don't have the time."<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Wine </span>Lotusland Enigma<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">From </span>Abbotsford BC<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Price </span>$21.99 (MSL)<br />Memory does not preserve the group’s thoughts on the Lotusland Pinot Noir that preceded this, except that for everyone, this Pinot Meunier-Gamay combination represented a step in the right direction---up. There is a big, sharp, fruity nose which renders the winemakers purpose transparent----this is a way-station between Beaujolais-Gamay and Pinot Noir: more substantial than the former; more fun than the latter; with the stakes lower in each direction. Cunning stuff, which everybody finds simple and pleasant.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Wine </span>Lotusland Zweigelt 2003<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">From </span>Abbotsford, BC<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Price </span>$32.90 (MSL)<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Alcohol Content</span> 12.6%<br />Nothing is by the book with this Austrian hybrid---a grape in search of a better name---and nobody has any idea what it’s really supposed to taste like; happily, everybody thinks it a larger version of the Enigma, above. “Bigger, rounder, fleshier---I like this!” are the Boss’s words. “How much does it cost…?” A strangled cry when he finds out. Very pleasant, but in this price range you’re going to get much more than just pleasant elsewhere.<br /><br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Wine </span>Tinhorn Creek Cabernet-Merlot 2005<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">From </span>Okanagan, BC<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Price </span>$16.99 (MSL)<br /><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold; COLOR: rgb(153,0,0)">Alcohol Conten</span>t 14.1%<br />Tinhorn is a big brand and thus easy to take swipes at. The comments come thick and fast: “Very weedy.” “Like green peppers.” “I taste mint.” From the Boss: “Refreshing. Very nice… on the rocks.” Light on the palate and not at all unpleasant, there are a lot of indistinct proto-flavors, and a feeling you can’t shake (especially when you’ve just gone through a dozen other wines) that there’s something not quite right; that things are happening on the palate in the wrong order. It feels tannic, but the tannin’s not at the right place in the profile. Maybe it needs some age? The Boss shakes his head: “There’s a lot of winemaker intervention in this; these guys are notorious for stripping everything out and then building their wines up again from scratch. So this is as good as it’s going to taste; there’s no benefit to aging it; this is always going to be a reliable, picnic-chicken red and no more.” At that point, everybody notices the price, counts their blessings, and shuts up.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-55618915965281327112007-12-03T09:03:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:04.119-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://czechabsinthe.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/johnny_depp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 279px; height: 209px;" src="http://czechabsinthe.files.wordpress.com/2007/04/johnny_depp.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">That's nothing--- Marilyn Manson once bought Dita von Teese a distillery in Bryantsville, Kentucky</span> Actor Johnny Depp <a href="http://www.luxist.com/2007/11/30/johnny-depp-buys-his-girlfriend-a-vineyard/">bought his girlfriend a vineyard</a> in Plan de la Tour, near the French resort town of St. Tropez<span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRUhhmPvEIq1XJK3eXZOkG3FWpk4iNFZlxtmwMYnOevvlylpbR9zXRshJYf2JH08QXiTQCBBjw9UkNp5D7V59yeVjvDE2b0_uaRFV01XRxIKdFfPEzM4D9KwRqT6lpuxKBj8PlO33Xb5k/s400/gerard-depardieu-1g.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtRUhhmPvEIq1XJK3eXZOkG3FWpk4iNFZlxtmwMYnOevvlylpbR9zXRshJYf2JH08QXiTQCBBjw9UkNp5D7V59yeVjvDE2b0_uaRFV01XRxIKdFfPEzM4D9KwRqT6lpuxKBj8PlO33Xb5k/s400/gerard-depardieu-1g.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">The story that he raped a stable-girl in celebration was later dismissed as a mistranslation</span> French actor and noteworthy pounder Gerard Depardieu <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/163278.html">was named this year's "Pope"</a> of Bordeaux's Chateau Pape Clement<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOU_dEz2cw6e0CnuGoMf5dEHPiBJDhzXHgCMEt35MtDYKjgUMg5Oude_dI8u_c7Mjodyuwg2RjtKgrKMKcaO0HqBzKN0ZvEl8BQ3_ZJ1OWk-RJ3TtVMj-JywtOKVEuNk3hmo7kMLzzMzs/s320/Woody+Mouton.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 205px; height: 305px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOU_dEz2cw6e0CnuGoMf5dEHPiBJDhzXHgCMEt35MtDYKjgUMg5Oude_dI8u_c7Mjodyuwg2RjtKgrKMKcaO0HqBzKN0ZvEl8BQ3_ZJ1OWk-RJ3TtVMj-JywtOKVEuNk3hmo7kMLzzMzs/s320/Woody+Mouton.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">But for only $149.- they'll give you the phone number of the police</span> The extremely moneyed American wine collector Russell H. Frye (a business associate of fellow high-end collector Bill Koch, who was burned in the <a href="http://eatwineblog.blogspot.com/2007/03/wein-weib-und-gesang-geschichten-aus.html">Hardy Rodenstock phony 'Thomas Jefferson bottle' scandal</a>) has started a website that holds out the promise of authenticating the lineage of those dubious bottles you and I sometimes purchase at auction. <a href="http://www.wineauthentication.com/was/">Wineauthentication.com</a> is not cheap---membership costs for serious users<a href="https://www.wineauthentication.com/was/registered_members/new"> run from $499.- to the thousands</a> for commercial customers. And while <a href="http://www.wineauthentication.com/was/about">a business plan is being worked out</a>, there is of yet no word on how the system will work, or who will attempt to do the on-line authenticating.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-75982334043792745222007-11-25T11:33:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:04.272-08:00RSVP Tasting: Only in restaurants you say?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8aKkzzXVHcA9_uE53riFRNz84Ib9u5rWnpu6n2i1UaflZIkXs2KUhkw8A35GXsDhW3Zm330QESINo3g81guT2b50svMlhxfjyESpHN0RtLBhFAqcpDIW5RPVcDaE0CJIuvXBK96ZZtQ/s1600-h/Chinese+Restaurant.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjS8aKkzzXVHcA9_uE53riFRNz84Ib9u5rWnpu6n2i1UaflZIkXs2KUhkw8A35GXsDhW3Zm330QESINo3g81guT2b50svMlhxfjyESpHN0RtLBhFAqcpDIW5RPVcDaE0CJIuvXBK96ZZtQ/s320/Chinese+Restaurant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5136867233126275458" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Blue Mountain Reserve Pinot Gris 2004<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Okanagan, BC<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$25.90 (MSL)<br />High hopes for any Blue Mountain product arise at least partly from the difficulty in getting them: Allocations are tight enough to make a retailer asking for more to sell feel like an envoy sent to lobby King Darius of Persia. Also, <a href="http://eatwineblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/rsvp-tasting-absolutely-terrifying.html">previous experience</a> with their Pinot Blanc boded well. Unfortunately---perhaps because of over-praise from Darius’s rep, insults here fly thicker and faster than at a little-league baseball game: “Reminds me of a Sauvignon Blanc… or old sneakers” is Fearless Leader’s take. “Sweaty armpit” is another. The floodgates open: “I expected something softer.” “The fruit isn’t showing well.” “No varietal character whatever.” But mostly, the sense is one of irritation towards a ho-hum wine that’s been given a Paris Hilton-sized promo.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Church and State Chardonnay Decleva 2005<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Twilight Zone, BC<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$23.00 (MSL)<br />Young Grasshopper floats a theory for the lead taster: Expectation is not merely the source of all misery; expectation is the source of all <span style="font-style: italic;">everything</span>. In tasting a wine, your sense of its quality will depend entirely on how it fits into your expectation of what that type of wine has come to taste like for you. (F'rexample, a Pinot, however terrific it tastes, will seem weird and disconcerting if it doesn’t taste like what you’ve come to <span style="font-style: italic;">expect </span>from a Pinot.) So, after several faceless whites, the reason the group grabs onto this Church & State offering like a drowning submariner is because it actually tastes pretty much the way it is <span style="font-style: italic;">supposed </span>to: New world-style Chard with hefty fruit in balance with big toasty oak. But under different circumstances, we might not have been able to pick it from a dozen others just like it. (History does not record the lead taster's response.)<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Orofino Chardonnay 2006<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Similkameen Valley, BC<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$23.00 (MSL)<br />Orofino makes in-your-face products, and this one is no exception. We’re told that it’s a mix of 75% barrel-fermented and 25% in stainless steel, and this information leads to some hemming and hawing in the peanut gallery---among mere mortals, the distinction between 50-50 and 75-25 percent barrel/stainless fermentation is justifiably a teeny bit obscure. As a result, most taster's expectations are in limbo, and the comments become tentative: “Well, it tastes fairly sweet.” (And yes, it does.) “It has a sort of rhubarb aftertaste.” “Tastes more like a Pinot Blanc.” It’s left to the Boss to make sense of it all: “That bubble-gummy aspect you're tasting is a preservative.” He pours the rest of his glass out. “Terrifying.”<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Larch Hills Mad Angie 2006<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Shuswap Lakes, BC<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$9.99 (MSL)<br />“Mad Angie” equals Madeleine Angevine, a cool-climate white varietal. This example has an indistinctly fruity nose and a musky finish on the palate, with nothing particularly memorable (or, to be fair, unbearable) in between. Everybody sips and catches up on their conversation, except Fearless Leader, who grumbles that it “smells like my old aftershave.” And I suppose he ought to know---he’s drunk enough of it.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Wine </span>Summerhill Cabernets 2003<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Okanagan, BC<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$22.95 (MSL)<br />A 50-50 mix of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc turns out to be a killer blend: Everybody likes it---even the most dyed-in-his-Aussie-wool Steven-Cipes critic among us is impressed. The Boss, having rinsed the after-shave from his glass, finds himself moved to plain-spun profundity: “Wow, is that ever good!” And it is---swell fruit, nice tannins and a wonderful, lengthy aftertaste. Will it ever come to a BC Liquor store near you? <a href="http://www.bcliquorstores.com/en/products?keyword=summerhill">Stay tuned.</a><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Blue Mountain Pinot Noir Reserve 2004<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Okanagan, BC<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Price </span>$39.50 (MSL)<br />For once, the winery rep’s effusive praise doesn’t seem like overkill: This sends everybody’s eyebrows halfway up their foreheads. A very pale colour (almost a rosé) sets the tone for a far more elegant new-world Pinot than anybody felt they had a right to expect, with subtle fruit and a candy-like (but bone-dry), almost mystical finish. Everybody lingers over their glasses, nobody spits, and we all groan when we find out that restaurants have snagged every single bottle.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-23859095586928468032007-11-18T13:19:00.000-08:002008-12-12T00:45:04.637-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPoeQ5aLeJD9QvXkZ1vlo4V5jI4tBiKJmSBhYtWz9c2U-c0gcumgbf8dQpSyv1OXbh3pMcsy-f6WYnB80c7RArSwAXfHEfMYoQtbJpGVV03tLe6t5qLtvO3I8VfRGw6v4TS6e77mXyqo/s1600-h/DUI+plate.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwPoeQ5aLeJD9QvXkZ1vlo4V5jI4tBiKJmSBhYtWz9c2U-c0gcumgbf8dQpSyv1OXbh3pMcsy-f6WYnB80c7RArSwAXfHEfMYoQtbJpGVV03tLe6t5qLtvO3I8VfRGw6v4TS6e77mXyqo/s320/DUI+plate.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134293409549637986" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Je me ne souviens pas</span> The <a href="http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20071114/cell_ban_071114/20071114?hub=CTVNewsAt11">Quebec government tabled legislation</a> lowering the threshold for impaired driving to .05. The same legislation also outlaws the use of hand-held cellphones while driving, and bans trucks from traveling more than 105 km/hr.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/photoessay_2680_images/1115070808_M_111507_wine_spa2.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 202px; height: 260px;" src="http://www.foxnews.com/photoessay/photoessay_2680_images/1115070808_M_111507_wine_spa2.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br />Well, it's better than drinking the stuff </span>Following the release of this year's crop of Beaujolais Nouveau,<a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/15/wwine115.xml"> a spa opened in Japan</a> that allows patrons to bathe in it.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://my99cents.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/mailer.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 201px; height: 299px;" src="http://my99cents.files.wordpress.com/2007/08/mailer.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">He didn't want Gore Vidal to have done something he hadn't</span> Pugnacious author, filmmaker, one-time NYC mayoral candidate, and world-class pounder Norman Mailer <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/europe/11/14/ww.mailer/">died this week</a> of non alcohol-related illness.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><br /><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfTfZao6BvmqnT-H6MyJ-tQCV2R9O33IW5OB1NqYj6EWbrJmcR_cMI2eNjL7tHgCA2RAcVrQHRgNUtoj4dD8I7piBFTjd_lkEIlMhIVulIjDu2HTa9u9CffPyiTWaWp6s-aBuFDpa17k/s1600-h/paris-crying.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 222px; height: 251px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKfTfZao6BvmqnT-H6MyJ-tQCV2R9O33IW5OB1NqYj6EWbrJmcR_cMI2eNjL7tHgCA2RAcVrQHRgNUtoj4dD8I7piBFTjd_lkEIlMhIVulIjDu2HTa9u9CffPyiTWaWp6s-aBuFDpa17k/s320/paris-crying.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5134585991311776114" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">She was really trying to draw attention to coke-snorting Bengal Tigers</span> A story claiming that Paris Hilton was taking up <a href="http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jz5-rV8c2xj6rJTVpB3tPPmWScJQD8SSTJ800">the case of binge-drinking elephants</a> in India ("The elephants get drunk all the time. It is becoming really dangerous. We need to stop making alcohol available to them. There would have been more casualties if the villagers hadn't chased them away. And four elephants died in a similar way three years ago. It is just so sad....") <a href="http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/a79943/hilton-denies-helping-drunk-elephants.html">later proved to be fals</a>e.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-91912244858255293622007-11-12T08:30:00.000-08:002007-11-17T09:06:20.227-08:00RSVP Tasting: The Jadot Rep Comes to Call<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.kobrandwine.com/labels/ljj013.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px;" src="http://www.kobrandwine.com/labels/ljj013.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Jadot St. Veran 2005<br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">From </span>Burgundy, France<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 13.0%<br />It is explained that St. Veran is the Burgundy AC next door to Pouilly-Fuisse, which immediately leads to some skeptical conversation about the Burgundian worship of <span style="font-style: italic;">terroir</span>: somebody insensitively comments that bragging about your neighbor like this is a bit like claiming the player with the locker next door to Sidney Crosby for your fantasy hockey team; fortunately, the rep doesn't really understand the reference and we move on. Biggish Chardonnay nose without the oaky/buttery notes you'd get from a new-world style; the rep helpfully suggests notes of grapefruit, which the rest of us unfortunately can't get out of our minds. Fearless Leader likes its restraint; other comments range from an appreciation of its single-mindedness and lack of winemaker hanky-panky, to finding it a bit anonymous. People look around the table for the oysters that will complete the experience and are chagrined to find that this week, they aren't there.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Jadot Couvet des Jacobins 2004<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Burgundy, France<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 13.0%<br />Somebody notices that <a href="http://eatwineblog.blogspot.com/2007/10/rsvp-tasting-belle-des-jacobins.html">we've tried this wine a few weeks before</a>, but only the Boss can remember chapter and verse about it; and he's not talking. To most of the rest in the peanut gallery, this shares a lot with the first wine, except that you could taste the intervention of the winemaker: you could smell and taste the oak (very nice) and there was more... flexibility; sophistication. You could taste the winemaker---although that may not be the best way to put it. Sprightly acid and fruit aftertaste; some latitudinally-challenged tasters accuse those who think it's worth the extra bucks of cultish behavior.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Domaine Clair-Dau Rosé de Marsanne 2006<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Burgundy, France<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 12.5%<br />Attempts to bait the rep about rosé in general ("don't you guys make this kind of stuff when there's a crop failure...?") fall on stony ground; although he admits this to be a rosé made from Pinot Noir grapes. Smells like Pinot, too: minty-peppery---almost peppermint. Some shuffling of feet---European restraint in a rosé is a diminutive of a diminutive; this is sort of like going to the Paris Prèt a Porter the day that they're modeling winter raincoats. Underwhelming.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Jadot Cotes de Nuits Villages "Le Vaucrain" 2001<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Burgundy, France<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 13.0%<br />There is a sense that we're moving up in the world now: this has a nice, slightly gamy nose; light and balanced on the palate; tastes just the way you'd expect a basic Burgundy from a legit producer to taste. No huge depth, but a pleasant, longish aftertaste. The Boss: "It's all downhill from here."<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Jadot Combe aux Jacques Beaujolais-Villages<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Burgundy, France<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 12.5%<br />...Or not. Fruity nose... yup, it's Beaujolais all right. But it also has structure, which pushes some tasters back into their seats in confusion---structure in a Beaujolais is like structure in peanut butter; a sign that something's not quite right. This is a little less fun than you usually hope for; a serious younger brother to the prodigal Beaujolais son---and who tries to score A's in grade 2? Categorical confusion that nevertheless tastes pretty good.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Wine </span>Jadot Couvent des Jacobins Bourgogne 2004<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">From </span>Burgundy, France<br /><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">Alcohol Content</span> 12.5%<br />The nose is very much like the white---shows signs of both the barrel and the winemaker. But the fruit is muted---at this point, uncomfortably so; this wine is stylistically austere and acid to boot---too acid for the hemispherically challenged in the crowd. As is often the case with better wines tasted under these just-opened conditions, it's quite possible that it just needs to open up a bit---and with that optimistic thought, the Boss bundles the bottle up and heads out into the night.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3970320784482561653.post-23935337166667931882007-11-05T10:39:00.000-08:002007-11-05T14:04:00.607-08:00The Week in Alcohol<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/6/62/300px-Pentridge.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 211px; height: 256px;" src="http://content.answers.com/main/content/wp/en-commons/thumb/6/62/300px-Pentridge.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">We'll know it's a trend when Conrad Black buys the Don Jail</span> Graeme Alford, a former inmate of Australia's Pentridge Prison, (8 years for armed robbery)<a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5jD1BG6Tp2nzYZqF792IOhO76UWEg"> has purchased his old jail cell there.</a> A section of the prison, decommissioned in 1997, is being converted into a storage facility for rare wine. Alford no longer drinks alcohol.<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com/king_kong_vs_g_front.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 237px; height: 337px;" src="http://www.digitalmonsterisland.com/king_kong_vs_g_front.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">Good thing Parker didn't call him a New Zealander</span> Documentary filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter (2004's <span style="font-style: italic;">Mondovino</span>) <a href="http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCrCb7WBnLIdnhuzYHZc-NJcg27g">has released his first book</a>, <span style="font-style: italic;">Le Gout et le Pouvoir</span> (roughly, "Taste and Power"). Not unexpectedly, <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/152889.html">Robert Parker has thrown a fit</a>, calling Nossiter a "narrow-minded zealot" a bigot, and a member of the "scary wine Gestapo". (This may be no more than simple tit-for-tat; <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/63132.html">two years ago Nossiter accused Parker's partner</a> Pierre-Antoine Rovani of being "a Mussolini apologist, indirectly fascist and anti-semitic, 'monolithic and unscrupulously self-serving.' ")<br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.appellationamerica.com/images/appellations/features/falselabel.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 223px; height: 320px;" src="http://www.appellationamerica.com/images/appellations/features/falselabel.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">In a related story, the Museum of Modern art responded to the demand for more Warhols by purchasing a bigger photocopier</span> France has responded to the worldwide growth in demand for Champagne (consumption in India alone grew 126% last year) <a href="http://news.independent.co.uk/europe/article3101945.ece">by expanding the growing area that may market its grapes as Champagne grapes</a>. 40 new villages are to be added to the Champagne AC, an increase of roughly 15%<br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;"><br /></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/%7Es03830dh/mt/archives/redill.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 263px; height: 233px;" src="http://web.sfc.keio.ac.jp/%7Es03830dh/mt/archives/redill.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">And that was just in class </span>A study undertaken by the American Public Health Association found that <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7078603.stm">university students who mixed alcohol with energy drinks like Red Bull</a> drank more (and more often), were twice as likely to get injured, ride with a drunk driver, sexually take advantage of another, or themselves be sexually taken advantage of.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.blackfive.net/photos/uncategorized/lucky_charms.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 341px;" src="http://www.blackfive.net/photos/uncategorized/lucky_charms.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0); font-weight: bold;">On the plus side, sales of Red Bull are down</span> Alcohol consumption in Ireland rose 17% in the last 10 years, <a href="http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/134722.html">according to a recent study by the Ireland Health Research Board</a>. During the same period, hospital admissions for alcohol-related problems nearly doubled, with liver disease rising 147%<br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://ninapaley.com/Portfolio/this_is_your_brain_on_milk.gif"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 236px; height: 242px;" src="http://ninapaley.com/Portfolio/this_is_your_brain_on_milk.gif" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 0, 0);">My brain hurts</span> With 50% of young New Zealanders admitting to regular binge drinking, the Alcohol Related Brain Injury Australian Services ( ARBIAS ) <a href="http://tvnz.co.nz/view/page/1316907/1429784">recently claimed that one in five New Zealanders will eventually suffer serious brain damage</a> from alcohol abuse. "Claims of brain pain will now be taken to top New Zealand health officials as experts, who are meeting in Auckland on Monday to discuss the call for action on the looming crisis." <a href="http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/1/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10474243">In other news though,</a> New Zealand's abuse of illegal drugs is waningUnknownnoreply@blogger.com0