Apr 2, 2009
I've revealed on a least a couple occasions that my desert island wine would be Champagne. This is assuming it's a really nice desert island. If it's more along the lines of a modest desert island then I'd settle for Sparkling Wine. No matter what shape this island is in, however, I'm definitely going to need electricity. I'll need it to keep my lifetime supply of Champagne or Sparkling wine cooled. But I'm also going to need Internet access on…
Apr 1, 2009
It's important for me to note that I endorse THIS in no way. THIS only minimizes the serious nature of wine and wine drinking. In fact, THIS purports to be humor, but in reality THIS is just another blow to the industry when the industry needs nothing like THIS. Is THIS really what people want to read? Only a few years ago THIS sort of thing would never fly. THIS would have been condemned. THIS really is harmful to a…
Mar 30, 2009
In the comment section of the previous post, a commenter inquired why I insist my Manhattan be stirred, rather than shaken. It's a good question and deserves a good answer. I prefer my Manhattan clear, not overly chilled and void of ice chips. This is what results from stirring, rather than shaking. The debate over what is a "proper" Manhattan is one that is usually had between folks who tend to like to measure appendages, the distances fluids can be…
Mar 24, 2009
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…
Mar 19, 2009
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:…