Monthly Archives: August 2011

No. 209: Kosher Gin For New Years Eve, 5772

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

How can you pass over a gin made for Passover?  Or the Jewish New Year, Rosh HaShana (September 29-30, 2011)? True or False: When Rick Blaine said, “Of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gin | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Fin Vin: Serving Wine With Fish

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

Throughout the summer and fall, choose a seacoast, find a river bank with a fast riffle or slow eddy or plant yourself in the middle of a fresh water lake anywhere in the United States and chances are that there’s … Continue reading →

Posted in PAIRING WINE AND FOOD | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Sup a Cup of Cupcake; Leave the Lemon Chiffon for Grandma

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

In my best Seinfeld voice:  What’s the deal with all these cupcakes, anyway? Fake Jerry is right.  Prior to the last few months, the only space cupcakes ever occupied in my brain was when I woke up in a panic … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Central Coast | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Holy Trinity Wine: The Pope’s Got A Seat On High—And Another One Down Under

Posted on August 31, 2011 by

Barossa! Just growling out the word is sort of a charge, like it could be the name of some Somali warlord hijacking vessels off the Horn of Africa, or a military operation to liberate fertile swaths of Uzbekistan so that … Continue reading →

Posted in AUSTRALIA, Barossa, Grenache, Mourvedre, Rhône, Syrah/Shiraz | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Marlborough Country Minus The Lung Disease

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

These days, if you happen to be a Marlborough Man, you’d better sport a kiwi accent or risk falling afoul of the PC gestapo.  No worries, mate. I suppose that once having referred to New Zealand’s national bird as the … Continue reading →

Posted in Marlborough, NEW ZEALAND, Sauvignon Blanc | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Sauvignon Blonde: The Wit Just Keeps Gettin’ Harder To Find

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

Marilyn Monroe wasn’t really blonde. Oh, you already knew that? Okay, smarty pants; I suppose you also knew that Napoleon wasn’t really French, Cleopatra wasn’t really Egyptian, Hitler wasn’t German, Alexander wasn’t Greek and Stalin wasn’t Russian?   And even though … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Sauvignon Blanc | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments

Michigan Pinot Noir: Progress of a Work in Progress

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

They’ve discovered dinosaur bones in the Arctic, so maybe producing decent red wine in Snowball Michigan isn’t so far fetched after all—maybe it’s merely acknowledgement of evolutionary precedent. Okay, that’s an exaggeration.  Certain brave and ballsy Michigan vintners have been … Continue reading →

Posted in Michigan, Pinot Noir | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Ten Under Ten: Value Wines for Vicious Times

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

Eco-friendly, good.  Wallet-friendly, even gooder.  Just because the economy has sluiced down the global dumper is no reason to sign the temperance pledge; instead, you need merely adjust your drinking thinking. For example, some of the world’s most intriguing wine … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

2011 San Francisco World Spirits Competition: The Best Booze in the Biosphere?

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

First, you mint a coin in honor of ‘Dirty Jobs’—that enchanting cable TV show that finds host Mike Rowe up to his neck in manure, leeches, cucarachas or bull semen in the Discovery Channel equivalent of a ‘Stay in School, … Continue reading →

Posted in LIQUOR, Miscellaneous | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Middle Loire: White Soul, Red Heart, Pink Whatever

Posted on August 30, 2011 by

Thanks to a confluence of sauvignon blanc, melon de bourgogne and chenin blanc, the soul of the Loire Valley runs whiter than Willie Nelson’s rump. But the heart of the region—Chinon—is red.  Boiled lobster red; red as Christian wrath; redder … Continue reading →

Posted in Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment