Category Archives: GENERAL

Chew Chew Charlie Was A Racketeer? Say It Isn’t So, Feds!

Posted on June 14, 2013 by

Of the many strange pearls of advice my father offered me, this one stuck:  ‘Never trust anyone whose name can be translated as ‘Vietcong Pig’s Feet’. I once—once—had dinner at Chuck E. Fromage—Charlie Trotter’s eponymous, over-priced, upscale pizzeria on W. … Continue reading →

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

French To Take Some Canned Heat at Vinexpo 2013

Posted on June 14, 2013 by

I’m going, I’m going, Where the water tastes like wine; We can jump in the water, Stay drunk all the time. – ‘Going Up The Country’; Canned Heat, 1968 Next week at Vinexpo in Bordeaux, Winestar will introduce a line … Continue reading →

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

No Honor-Roll Among Thieves: Balmy & Clod Rob Château d’Yquem

Posted on June 12, 2013 by

Granted, when Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker began their cigar-chompin’ shitstorm in 1932, the dessert wine industry had not really taken hold in the Midwest.  So, they are to be forgiven for targeting banks and gas stations rather than hundred-point châteaux … Continue reading →

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

When Is A Snow Cone A ‘No’ Cone? Ask Francis Ford Coppola

Posted on June 11, 2013 by

As a phenomenal film forger, a wicked wine whiz and a fellow Detroiter (by birth, anyway), it is hard for me not to harbor a soft spot for Francis Ford Coppola.  A forgiving and patient soft spot, too—one that is … Continue reading →

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

He Who Laughs Last Laughs Longest… At The Longest Word

Posted on June 10, 2013 by

I expect to take grief for what I am about to say, but taking grief is table stakes for this column.  Besides, deep inside the dustiest nook of our most politically correct consciences, we all know it is true: Once … Continue reading →

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

Drinking And Driving And Why We Can’t Swig Directly From The Marathon Spigot

Posted on June 7, 2013 by

Drunk driving is no laughing matter, as well the good folks at Archer Daniels Midland know.  As a world leader in renewable fuels, the Decatur, Illinois corporation is committed to (I quote) ‘increasing awareness among all colleagues of the importance … Continue reading →

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

Michael Green Decants His Dog; Pass It On

Posted on June 4, 2013 by

What’s the difference between wine writer Michael Green and moi? I mean, other than his five-star education, superior working knowledge, pixie-like profile and ability to see dead people? This: Michael Green proudly pronounces that he decants everything, while I assure … Continue reading →

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

I See Motown, I See France; I Just Bought ‘The Wedding Dance’

Posted on June 3, 2013 by

Although Detroit was founded as a New France fur trading post, the French themselves left us little by way of culture, and for that, we should probably be grateful.  But they did leave us a bunch of street names.  ‘Detroit’, … Continue reading →

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

Mazel Tov, Asimov: Your Label Scheme Doth Make Me Scoff

Posted on June 2, 2013 by

‘If it says ‘enzyme, enzyme, enzyme’ on the label, label, label, You should dump it  down the crapper while you’re able, able, able…’ – ‘70’s wine commercial from The Health and Red Tape Network, pre-cable, cable, cable Eric Asimov is … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , | 1 Comment

‘Tis Ignoble; The Grape’s a Bluffer…

Posted on May 23, 2013 by

‘There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow wines; true nobility is being superior to your former plonk.’ – Ernest Hemingway, more or less. Noble Grapes Earlier today, I had a spirited discussion about the genuine translation and import of … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , , | 8 Comments