Archive for the ‘Culture and Wine’ Category
Almost every day, as the nation’s media scrutinizes the fallout of the economic downturn, we read somewhere that while sales across most industries are down, alcohol sales are up—at least sales of lower priced wines, beers and spirits are up. Almost every piece I read on this subject explains this seeming anomaly the same way they do in the Daily Collegian: “[Our sales] have been increasing since the economic situation started,” said Tim Kramer, manager of Beer Depot, in Ann…
The experiment known as "Prohibition" failed for one primary reason: The legal, law enforcement and regulatory means it used to promote its goals of curbing corruption and over consumption of alcohol so far exceeded what ordinary people thought reasonable that it actually promoted a disrespect for the law and with it even more corruption. The response to the failure of Prohibition, Repeal and the institution of a "three-tier system of alcohol distribution, has, ironically, failed for the same reasons. To…
There used to be an unwritten law that one does not start drinking before Noon. This silent law was usually acknowledged by the semi-serious question, "Is it noon yet?" Sometime in the last three decades of the 20th century that unwritten law was re-written to push noon back to 5pm. The push back came along with the end of the Martini lunch. I received a book in the mail yesterday that focused my mind on these sorts of unwritten rules:…
The European Community wants to ban the sale of U.S. wines that carry on their label the terms "Clos", "Chateau", "Vintage", "Vintage Character", and "Classic", among others. If you ever wanted really good, solid evidence that the European culture was speeding toward insignificance, this trade position just might be it. There was a time when the Europeans were in the business of imperialism and colonizing. And they were damn good at it too. Sure, they tended to point their colonial…
No, not that kind of scum. This kind of scum:"FRENCH WINE TERRORISTS ATTACK MERCHANTS SELLING FOREIGN PRODUCE" The most telling part of this article on the children that call themselves CRAV is this: " While nobody will own up to being a CRAV member, it is not hard to find sympathizers." It used to be that disobedient civilians understood that the very nature of Civil Disobedience entailed paying the consequences fo your actions. Remember Martin Luther King, the civil rights…
