Monthly Archives: October 2012

Digging A Re-Invented View Of Buena Vista Winery

Posted on October 24, 2012 by

There’s an adage in the wine business, on-premise and off: ‘Spend more than $100 for a bottle and you are starting to pay for the label’. What that means, of course, is that a lot of folks suffer from Veblen … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Sonoma | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Morning Wood vs. Evening Wood: Ravenswood For Halloween

Posted on October 21, 2012 by

In the past. I have joined the onslaught of wine writers who come up with something cutesy, silly and obvious to recommend for Halloween—something like Poizon (a wine to ‘die for’), EVIL (upside down label—either that or you’re supposed to … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Zinfandel | Tagged , , | 3 Comments

Predicted 2013 Wine Shortage To Affect Only The Lazy, The Weak And The Politically Disenfranchised

Posted on October 20, 2012 by

First, the bad news:  Thanks to piss-poor performances by our lollygagging allies in everything alcohol, 2011 output is down in Europe’s top three wine producing countries, Spain, France and Italy. According to an October 18 report in Bloomberg News, the … Continue reading →

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What Alcohol Really TRULY Does To Your Brain

Posted on October 19, 2012 by

Earlier this week—on October 16, to be precise—Forbes Magazine published a column by David DiSalvo called ‘What Alcohol Really Does To Your Brain’. Well, my friends, I read it and it is complete plonk.  Mixed with hogwash.  Sprinkled with poppycock, … Continue reading →

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Concept Wines: What A Concept

Posted on October 18, 2012 by

‘Science takes a giant leap… backward.’ That was a line from some old television commercial that aired when I was a kid; I can’t remember the product, but I do remember the tag line, which probably doesn’t say much for … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , | 14 Comments

Charbono: a.k.a. Douce Noir: a.k.a. Bonarda: a.k.a. Cheryl Sarkisian

Posted on October 17, 2012 by

It’s always a bubble to discover a new (ish) varietal, and a double bubble when it turns out to be a scrumptious steal.  Yesterday, someone handed me a bottle of Colonia Las Liebres Bonarda, 2011—an $8 Mendoza red that further … Continue reading →

Posted in Bonarda | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Symbiotic Synergies And Subsequent ‘Sins Of The Sommelier’

Posted on October 15, 2012 by

It may come as a surprise to the nine or ten regular ‘followers’ of this column, but I hate big words. I’m not really all that big on small words either—I find that they are constantly getting in my way … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL, PAIRING WINE AND FOOD | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment

What Is The TRUE Meaning Of Oktoberfest, Charlie Brown?

Posted on October 13, 2012 by

As mid-autumn in the Midwest moves musty mounds of maple matter to our midden-heaps, München remains but a memory and Frankenmuth, a mere flashback. But Oktoberfest should live year round in our hearts and steins, our souls and our livers. … Continue reading →

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Auld Lange’s Wyne

Posted on October 12, 2012 by

I have a nearly unhealthy fascination with twins; one I believe may rival that of Josef Mengele.  I’ll explain, but first, while the implication settles—a wine writer beginning any column, at any time, anywhere, with a direct reference to a … Continue reading →

Posted in Cab/Merlot, CALIFORNIA, Chardonnay | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

What Do Women Want? Phenylethylamine, Mr. Freud—Not a Scrotum

Posted on October 11, 2012 by

Sigmund Freud, The Psychical Consequences of the Anatomic Distinction Between the Sexes, 1925: “The great question which I have not yet been able to answer despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is: ‘What does a woman … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments