Wall Street Journal Nov 20, 08 7:56 PM CST
(Newser)
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Today is the third Thursday of November, which makes it a holiday of sorts for wine merchants: Beaujolais Day. It's the first day of the year (as dictated by French law) that the first wine of the season—Beaujolais Nouveau, made from Gamay grapes—can be sold worldwide. Wine purists generally dismiss the stuff, but wise marketing has boosted sales. This year, however, doesn't look to be a strong one, reports the Wall Street Journal .
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Associated Press Nov 13, 08 6:53 PM CST
(AP)
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Georgia, Handsome Dan, Curly and other pit bulls rescued from Michael Vick’s dogfighting operation are getting a shot at fame as stars of a line of boutique red wines. The Vicktory Dogs Wine Collection features colorful portraits of 22 dogs confiscated from Vick’s kennels that now live at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in southern Utah.
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WINE REVIEW
A panel of the Times' best and brightest drinks a bunch so you don't have to
New York Times Nov 12, 08 12:03 PM CST
(Newser)
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With all the potential stress implicit in the Thanksgiving family feast, wine is one arena that shouldn't leave the host sweating bullets, writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times . The rules "couldn't be simpler": Like the food, Thanksgiving wine selection is all about "versatility and plentitude," explains Asimov, who threw a Turkey Day dress rehearsal featuring bottles priced $25 and less.
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OPINION
What Obama's preferences say about him
NPR Nov 9, 08 11:45 AM CST
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Only time will tell what kind of president Barack Obama turns out to be. But looking at what he likes to eat might give us some clues, food journalist Todd Kliman writes for NPR's Monkey See blog. So what do we know so far? Obama took heat for talking up arugula, but his favorites are regular-guy foods like fried chicken and chili.
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Wannabe oenophiles takes cues from The Drops of the Gods
New York Times Oct 23, 08 1:32 PM CDT
(Newser)
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What do Freddie Mercury and a Jean-François Millet painting have in common? Both have been used to describe wine in The Drops of the Gods , a Japanese comic series that’s quickly becoming the go-to wine literature in Asia, reports the New York Times . Customers tend to ask for wines featured in the comic, leading wine sellers to snap up each issue.
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OPINION
Americans wine drinkers are bowled over by smuggled vines
New York Times Oct 22, 08 5:39 PM CDT
(Newser)
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If you believe the hype of many American wineries, you don’t have to travel to Burgundy to sample grand cru pinot noir—thanks to "suitcase clones": American wines that supposedly had their start as smuggled cuttings from the mother country. Though “such stories may excite gullible consumers,” wine columnist Eric Asimov asserts in the New York Times that a vine’s origin is “at best meaningless."
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opinion
Gourmet foods are safer than most assume
Gourmet Oct 18, 08 2:23 AM CDT
(Newser)
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Pregnant gourmands can stop panicking about sipping on the occasional—heck, daily—glass of wine, writes Lesley Porcelli in Gourmet . “The health people have not been talking to the food people,” and many warned-against drinks and dishes are fine in moderation. Porcelli’s research freed her to enjoy “eating rare steak, runny eggs, and soft cheeses” during her pregnancy, even if she had to deal with the ever-so-helpful judgments of colleagues.
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GLOSSIES
Perhaps a glass of Merlot should replace your cup of coffee in the morning
Esquire Oct 16, 08 4:17 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The eggs are scrambling, the bacon is sizzling, the toast is, well, toasting. So kick back and pour yourself a glass of red zinfandel, writes Ryan D'Agostino in Esquire. This isn't some sophomore-year-of-college attempt to undo the excesses of the night before, but rather an innovative approach to the day’s most important meal. The wine, which "must be red, is bracing," D'Agostino writes, and "gives you the perfect amount of buzz, and it doesn't make you groggy."
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GLOSSIES
Rich execs ditch fast-paced careers, look to winemaking
CNNMoney Oct 9, 08 1:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A new breed of winemakers is flowing into Napa Valley, writes Jeffrey O'Brien in a colorful look at the trend in Fortune . Investment bankers, tech entrepreneurs, and other wealthy refugees of the white-collar rat race are buying up vineyards at $400,000 per acre to pursue second careers that let them have a business—and a life. These "oentrepreneurs" aren’t just looking to make a buck; they’d rather generate buzz with sought-after, high-end cult wines.
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Wine meant to flow from town fountain in yearly festival
BBC Oct 8, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser)
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The highlight of an annual Italian wine festival is the flow of wine through a city fountain—but this year, a mix-up diverted the drink to faucets in nearby homes, the BBC reports. Tourists come for miles to see the festival, but this year, all they saw shooting from the fountain in Marino, Italy, was water.
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WINE REVIEW
The French wines have gotten sweeter, and its hard to tell what's in the bottle, writes Asimov
New York Times Oct 8, 08 1:48 PM CDT
(Newser)
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Fifteen years ago, a few Alsatian wines were sweet, and the rest were dry. But "dry Alsace wines have taken a turn to the sweet side, usually without warning to consumers," Eric Asimov writes in the New York Times . The change occurred at both ends of the market: cheaper wines are being artificially sweetened, and better vintages, using traditional practices, are simply bottling what riper grapes produce.
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WINE REVIEW
New York Times Sep 24, 08 6:00 PM CDT
(Newser)
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When it comes to wine, "the less spent, the better"—in both rich and lean times, writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times . Figuring the government "has bigger things to bail out than our wine bills," Asimov set out to find the French values in the "promised land": the $10-$20 range. Bordeaux's wines may be cheap, but "the real treasures lie in areas thought to be of lesser status."
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Alaskan's entrance gives SF drinkers second thoughts on Palin Syrah
Serious Eats Sep 24, 08 4:20 PM CDT
(Newser)
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A San Francisco wine bar says customers have soured on its star vintage since John McCain picked his running mate, Amy Monroe writes on Serious Eats. Palin Syrah, an organically grown red from Chile “was our best-selling wine before” Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin arrived, laments Chris Tavelli, owner of Yield Wine Bar.
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GLOSSIES
Hitching Post II owner makes famed wines with ex-fisherman colleague
Gourmet Sep 18, 08 12:34 PM CDT
(Newser)
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If you’ve seen the movie Sideways , you likely remember the Hitching Post II: the Santa Barbara County restaurant where Paul Giamatti nervously meets his future love. But even the most dedicated oenophile may not know that Hitching Post owner Frank Ostini and colleague Gray Hartley have been making wine nearly 30 years, Gourmet reports, after teaching themselves how.
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WINE REVIEW
New York Times Sep 17, 08 2:55 PM CDT
(Newser)
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It's time to discover the pleasures of aglianico wines, writes Eric Asimov in the New York Times . While many drinkers familiarly sip Chianti and Barolo, aglianico consumption has been largely confined to the diffuse Southern Italian regions where the grape is grown. And while some of the leading aglianicos are unavailable in the United States, there are still winners to be found.
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