The Week in Alcohol

He declined to discuss how little he settled for Massachusetts wine collector Russell H Frye, a litigant at the center of the notorious "Jefferson Bottles" lawsuit, has settled his suit against California's The Wine Library out of court. In related news, two movies about the case are currently in development; while the man at the center of the storm, Hardy Rodenstock, hangs out at his castle and giggles

That's kind of shameless for a start Wine commentator Jancis Robinson has started a "name and shame" campaign on her website, 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 per annum. In related news, Southern France is suffering a glass bottle shortage




Miller found out that Britney was adding alcohol to hers after she'd opened it Several US Attourneys-General are demanding an inquiry into SABMiller Plc's Miller Brewing, whose "Sparks" alcoholic energy drinks contain double the amount of caffeine allowed under Federal regulations, and 17% more alcohol than stated on the label




Wait 'till they find out what they were fried in The food standards committee of the Muslim Council of Britain has called for an investigation of several snack-food manufacturers for using trace amounts of alcohol as a flavoring agent in their potato chips



Another reason to use screw caps A Surrey, BC man has been sentenced to 9 years in prison in Australia for smuggling two kilos of cocaine into the country. The drug was found dissolved in three 1.5 liter bottles of wine 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 nobody brings crummy Chardonnay to Australia and gets away with it)

The Week in Alcohol

Good bloodlines Paris Hilton's weedy little brother, the ominously named 18 year-old Barron Hilton, was arrested this week for DUI. 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.




But they have not yet banned the Fois Gras dispensers from the washrooms France has banned sales of wine, beer and spirits at gas stations. In a related story, a French court has upheld a lower court's ban on alcohol advertising on the internet in France.




Of course, he was only 7 1/2 times over the limit for Manitobans In Bosnia, a driver pulled over for zig-zagging blew 0.6 on a shocked police officer's breathalyser, which is both 20 times the Bosnian legal limit of .03, and well past the point where he should have slipped into a coma.

That's 'subtropical' as in backwoods Louisiana, right? According to Russia's National Alcohol Association president Pavel Shapkin, sales of bootleg alcohol in Russia last year 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."


Taking them out of the gas stations forced them to raise prices Alain-Dominique Perrin, CEO of the Richemont Group (which owns Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Montblanc, Piaget and Dunhill, among other concerns), described high en primeur prices anticipated for the 2007 Bordeaux first growths 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%.

A shameless plug for the Bill James of B.C. wine gurus, Larry Arnold---whose Blog for Spinnaker's Spirit Merchants 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!

The Week in Alcohol

But it was when she called him "sugar tits" that he got really pissed off Actress Sean Young entered rehab this week after heckling director Julian Schnabel during a drunken episode at the DGA awards, yelling "hey, get on with it" when the director of The Diving Bell and the Butterfly rambled on aimlessly during his acceptance speech





Those French Moet and Chandon were fined 30,000 Euros this week, essentially for making their champagne look too attractive in a poster advertisement






Let the pissing match begin Bottle Shock, the first of two movies about the infamous 'Judgment of Paris' winetasting of 1976, was premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. Steven Spurrier, who organized the original tasting and is a backer of Judgment of Paris (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

Alcohol doesn't kill people, bad American comedies aimed at teenagers kill people David Reid, 22, died of alcohol poisoning when he and a friend attempted to recreate a 'last man standing' drinking game they had seen in the teen comedy American Pie. (In a related story, Rehab wannabees copycat celebrity screwups )



Gay customers didn't much like it either 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. Initial expert reaction has not been favorable





It's from bowing down before all those monster Cabernets Robert Parker is undergoing back surgery and will likely miss this winter's Bordeaux tastings, thus throwing their futures prices into chaos

RSVP Tasting: When the boss takes home what he wants

Wine Golan Heights Yarden Cabernet Sauvignon 2003
From Israel
Price 39.64 (BC Liquor Stores)
Alcohol Content 14.5%
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.

Wine Estampa Malbec-Syrah 2006
From Chile
Price $13.90 (BC Liquor Stores)
Alcohol Content 14.4%
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.

Wine Quinta da Espiga 2005
From Portugal
Price 12.99 (Spinnakers, BC)
Alcohol Content 12.5%
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.

Wine Glorioso Rioja Crianza 2004
From Spain
Price 16.95 (BC Liquor Stores)
Alcohol Content 13.5%
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.


Wine Bogle Chenin Blanc 2006
From California
Price $17.99 (BC Liquor Stores)
Alcohol Content 12.5%
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.

Wine Golan Heights Yarden Muscat 2005
From Israel
Price $24.77 (BC Liquor Stores)
Alcohol Content 13.9%
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.

The Week in Alcohol

Handing out speeding tickets can drive a man to drink for sure Northern Ireland Deputy Chief Constable Paul Leighton was criticized for envisioning extenuating circumstances for police officers caught drinking and driving





I guess it was the drunk driving through the carwash with the triple whopper that proved to be too much for them Fulvio Brunetta, president of the wine growers association of the Italian city of Treviso (where Prosecco is made) condemned ads for Rich Prosecco, featuring Paris Hilton


Warning: pregnant French women should not read this newspaper article A Paris county court ruled that an editorial piece in the Le Parisien newspaper entitled 'the triumph of Champagne' could be constituted as advertising, and thus must carry the same health warning that a liquor ad does.


Hey, Adam---you've got company Celebrated California winemaker Adam Tolmach of the Ojai Vinyard admitted that by chasing favorable reviews by Robert Parker, he now makes wines with so much alcohol that he doesn't like to drink them any more


All the a-list celebs were released from the show after serving 10% of their sentence VH1's reality series Celebrity Rehab continues to draw horselaughs and terrible press. In other news, DUI jailbird Michelle Rodriguez is now available if needed

Happy New Year: The Week in Alcohol

Guess those cork closures are permeable after all The Sovereign General Insurance Company was successfully sued by a Vancouver couple 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.

It seems she looked better with her clothes on than he did with his off Former OC star Mischa Barton was charged with possession of drugs, driving under the influence and driving without a valid license in West Hollywood. To add insult to injury, musician ex-boyfriend Cisco Adler was quoted as saying she looked "so hot" in her mugshot.

I guess the judge didn't like her performance in Girlfight Hispanic actress and Lost star Michelle Rodriguez began serving a 180-day sentence 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. Update: Rodriguez was released after serving 18 days, or 10% of her sentence. So she's luckier than Paris, at least.



Now, if they can just get rid of those brass bands and short pants as well On January 1st, the state of Bavaria passed Germany's most stringent anti-smoking legislation, which will likely make Munich's famed Oktoberfest a non-smoking event.




What did we ever do to deserve this? Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate, in its "first-ever generic tasting of Israeli wines," awarded 14 scores of 90 points or higher, 11 to Kosher wines.