In last week’s Washington Post, Jason Wilson dipped into a slowly growing trend in the bar world: wine-based cocktails. But as Wilson points out, the pleasure to be found in these drinks isn’t entirely culinary: he writes, “Using wine in cocktails is a surefire way to scandalize the serious wine aficionados in your life. Which is always fun.” Mostly ignored until recently, wine-based cocktails date back to the earliest days of mixology: drinks historian David Wondrich writes that the sherry cobbler—made with dry sherry, sugar and fresh fruit—enjoyed great popularity in the mid-19th century, as did relatives made with sauternes, and with French and German wines then grouped under the now-archaic labels claret and hock. Mixing drinks with champagne as...
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How do you sell wine to young 20-somethings with a zest for life? The same way you sell beer: pools, parties, and babes. ...And an endorsement from the NFL. Watch the commercial after the jump and you too may replace your beer with Cabernet Sauvignon....
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Everyone knows that wine tends to loosen inhibitions. But this set of wine glasses from Hamilton Design takes it to the next level—each glass represents one of the Seven Deadly Sins. According to designer Kacper Hamilton's description, "The ‘7 Deadly Glasses’ are about celebrating passion and encouraging the user to be sinful in a theatrical fashion." If that's the goal, then these cleverly designed glasses are the ideal props, artistically rendering each vice while providing a vehicle for the alcohol that fuels them. Let the drunken revelries begin. [via NOTCOT]...
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Would he prefer a tie or red wine? For this dad, the best Father's Day gift is not a tough call. Here's a short list of wine and wine-related gifts for dads who went long oil futures—and those who didn't. Read Like a Billionaire The fantastic book Billionaire's Vinegar reads like page-turning fiction. This inside view of the world of fine wine collecting derives dramatic force from the intrigue surrounding the auction of some 18th-century bottles of wine from the collection of Thomas Jefferson—or not. For those of us who haven't had a 1921 Petrus from magnum recently, we can rejoice in the fact that many of the remaining ones are likely fakes. $14.97, from Amazon.com Uncork Like a Billionaire...
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Skip the traditional ties and grilling gear and try a bottle of wine this Father's Day. These selections are sure to please even the most discriminating palates; they're food-friendly and, fortunately, are priced so you won't have to hit mom up for a loan to buy one.
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Where do you go when your local liquor store won't do? Photograph from shortfatkid on Flickr In January, I vented about the difficulty of finding and purchasing various types of spirits, thanks in no small part to the bewildering system of state liquor laws that govern the trade in alcoholic beverages. Now, just as you’re trying to find that great bourbon you’ve been searching for in time for Father’s Day, Eric Felten at the Wall Street Journal is letting loose, too. After running a recipe that called for the somewhat hard-to-find maraschino liqueur, Felten writes of the experiences his readers encountered, epitomized by the liquor store owner who insisted that the complex Italian or Croatian liqueur was the same thing...
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Tired of wine's bullshit, webcomic artist Natalie Dee tells it how it really is: "It Pairs Well With Bad Fish Tacos and Spam." The label here also reads "Horrible Room-Temperature Rancid Grape Juice." Related Calling Out Molecular Gastronomy Let's Face It, Wine Is Pretty Weird Hot Dog Burrito Confession: I've Never Had a Cinnabon What Do You Expect from Olive Loaf?...
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I work at a wine bar. I pour a lot of wine. It goes with the job. When
Christopher Hitchens posted his rant last week on Slate, I couldn't help but feel personally attacked.
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Why is food more appealing when it's cheap, while wine is more appealing when it's expensive? Finance blogger Felix Salmon shares his opinion at Portfolio.com. [via kottke.org]...
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Slate's Christopher Hitchens tells his readers to "Fight back against restaurants' cruel abuse of wine drinkers," the abuse being the act of abruptly refilling your wine glass during your meal, thus interrupting the conversation of the table and conveying the message, "Hurry up and order another bottle."...
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