Can you spare 10 characters in your reviews of wine? That’s really all it would take, a measly 10 spaces in a wine review to add the alcohol level of the wine under consideration. And by adding this bit of information the consumer would be served mightily. I started thinking about this need for stating alcohol content in reviews upon reading Robert Parker’s reviews of Paul Hobbs wines on MSNBC.com. For example:"2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, 93 points. A dark…
Maybe wine IS God’s gift to man. Every year seems to bring new discoveries of how wine is good for us. The latest discovery, and one of the more intriguing, is one which iidentifies red wine as helping to induce sleep due to the high amounts of melatonin, a hormone that is produced in our bodies and that helps regulate our internal "body clock", which tells us when to sleep. Italian researches now tell us that some grapes they tested,…
Over the past few months FERMENTATION has tried to cover a variety of political battes involving wine and wine distribution and sales in particular. We’ve been candid in our position that money usually sways the outcome of these battles. That is to say, campaign contributions tend to deliver not only access to office holders, but too often results in success in state houses across the country and in Washington. With the 2006 campaign cycle roaring into high gear, we thought…
I’m a father. So, believe me when I tell you that I really do have concern for the welfare of my kids, and with the ability for all kids to interact with our culture and society safely. However, I can’t help but think that our nation’s obsession with "demon rum" too often goes over the line and just looks dumb. In Boise, Idaho there is a movie theater that is very unique. For a long time it has offered it’s…
Having grown up and lived all my life in California there is one thing I’ve never had to live with: Blue Laws. These are laws that usually take the form of prohibiting sales of alcohol on particular days, most often on Sunday. I simply don’t understand the laws. Well, that’s not true. Clearly they are a reflection of our country’s puritan origins, our continued commitment to religion as well as reflecting the prohibitionist streak that runs through parts of the…
