Author Archives: intoxreport

News Flash: Red Wine Is Good For You And Guess What? I Couldn’t Care Less

Posted on September 17, 2012 by intoxreport

Other than my father, who is a sensible, conservative Swiss fellow who drinks only in moderation, I grew up in a family of sloppy, out-of-control lushes.  We drank together, we drank alone.  We drank to forget, we drank to remember; … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments

A Bit Of Gloss For The Schloss Sauce: 800 Vintages And Going Strong!

Posted on September 16, 2012 by intoxreport

Is Schloss Vollrads the world’s oldest winery?  Arguably so.  Sure, they’ve found the leavings of winemaking operations in Armenian caves dating back sixty centuries; there are Mesopotamian developments even older.  Egyptian texts attest that wine was popular among the New … Continue reading →

Posted in GERMANY, Riesling | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

A Smattering of Silly Scat From Michigan’s NWS Show, 2012

Posted on September 14, 2012 by intoxreport

(NWS = ‘National Wine & Spirits instead of ‘Not Work Safe’—which is the only reason I showed up, damn it.) Within the hallowed halls of St. John’s in Plymouth, where wannabe priests once learned their trade, where awe-inspiring interpretations of … Continue reading →

Posted in GENERAL | Tagged , , , , , | 1 Comment

St. Émilion Classification 2012: Vive la Meticulous, Compulsive, Anal-Retentive France

Posted on September 10, 2012 by intoxreport

I adore French cuisine. I am enamored of French history.  I love the sensuous roll of la langue française across the tongue—especially when it is accompanied by the crisp silk of a Cave des Vignerons de Buxy Chablis.  I dig … Continue reading →

Posted in FRANCE, Saint-Émilion | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Coke or Pepi?

Posted on September 9, 2012 by intoxreport

From that bizarre German grape called lemberger to Barefoot Wines to Frog’s Piss Red to Vin de Merde, I am not sure that I trust the mental stability of folks who name their wine after stuff that smells really, really … Continue reading →

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

Doused With The Divining Rod

Posted on September 6, 2012 by intoxreport

Some Sorcerers do boast they have a Rod, Gather’d with Vowes and Sacrifice, And borne about will strangely nod Mankind is sure that Rod divine, For to the Wealthiest ever they incline. – Samuel Sheppard, 1651 Miss Divine also had … Continue reading →

Posted in Cab/Merlot, CALIFORNIA, Chardonnay | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Beware That Bottle Of Romani-Contée: It May Be A Knock-Off

Posted on July 27, 2012 by intoxreport

It’s a side of human nature which we may not be proud of, but which we all possess.  That side that causes us inexpressible delight when our wealthy brother-in-law shows off his brand new luxury watch and we inform him … Continue reading →

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

Chinese People Are Really, Really Tiny; Pass It On

Posted on July 25, 2012 by intoxreport

Don’t get me wrong; I’m a smallish dude.  Not Chinese small, maybe—the average height of a Chinese person is 5’4”—but trust me, I was never the first kid with a finger pointed at him at the start of a pick-up … Continue reading →

Posted in CHINA | Tagged , | 2 Comments

Anatomy Of A Hangover And What To Do About It

Posted on July 22, 2012 by intoxreport

In the previous century, when I was at university as a psych major, B.F. Skinner was all the rage, and my Operant Conditioning and Behavior Analysis class focused on the relative non-efficiency of negative reinforcement.  It stressed that ‘punishment’ changes … Continue reading →

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A Boyd In The Hand Is Worth Two Anheuser-Busch

Posted on July 21, 2012 by intoxreport

If I was a chef (which I’m not, but I bet this conjecture is close to the mark) and one week I over-ordered, say, lobster, prime rib and maybe Macedonian weasel cheese, here’s what I’d do:  I’d purée them all … Continue reading →

Posted in CALIFORNIA, Chardonnay, Moscato, Riesling | Tagged , | Leave a comment