Archive for the ‘Culture and Wine’ Category

Nov 30, 2021

Wine Takes a Holiday

We are smack dab in the middle of Hannukah, that time when latkes make their annual appearance on Jewish tables when debates emerge as to the proper preparation for this dish and when no wine in particular is served at the Hannukah table. And why is that? Why has no one type of wine emerged as the de rigueur pour for the Hannukah table? For that matter why has no single wine become the go-to pour for Easter, Christmas, Thanksgiving,…

Nov 29, 2021

Yes! Go Ahead and Obsess Over Wine and Leave Bad Wine For Others.

No…No, let’s not defend bad wine. I stared at my phone with incredulity as I woofed down a morning pop tart and read Henry Jeffreys’ ode to icky wine drunk in memorable times over at PIX. Jeffreys, a man with a palate and a lover of fine wine who wants us to believe that good times past might have something to do with the wine we drank: “some of the best times in my life have been spent drinking very…

Nov 14, 2021

Let’s Discuss Lowering the Legal Drinking Age

It has been years since any state seriously considered raising the age at which it is legal to drink. But it’s notable that for decades that age was not near what the mark is today in all states. Most would consider it folly to make an attempt to lower the legal drinking age. And I understand that. But I’m not one of those who think it is a bad idea. And now it appears that there are others who also…

Nov 5, 2021

Pleasure and Worth Can Be Derived From A Wine’s High Price

Venturing somewhat outside his well-trodden cocktail lane at The Wine Enthusiast, Dylan Garrett makes a good point about the formula for enjoying wine. He makes the case that the worth or value of a wine ought to be properly defined by the enjoyment it brings the drinker and that this enjoyment is almost certainly related to the experience where the wine was consumed: “It’s time to step back and reevaluate how we define value. While there’s a thrill to sipping…

Nov 4, 2021

The Stench of Envy is Rising in the Wine Industry

Oliver Styles’ recent call for drinking equity for wine industry workers is a variation on a common theme. It’s not a theme you see so enthusiastically endorsed these days primarily because long experience has demonstrated that the Marxist/communist principle “from each according to his ability to each according to his needs” has proven to be such a disaster for humanity. But to Styles’ argument, laid out at Tim Atkin site, put simply he advocates that the most coveted wines in…