Archive for August, 2010
Why Does This Remind Me of Vegas?
August 30th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
If winery operators complain about the baboonish behavior of drunken tasting room patrons, imagine how it must be for wineries in South Africa, which occasionally face baboonish behavior from real baboons. “They are not just eating our grapes; they are raiding our kitchens and ripping the thatch off the roofs. They are becoming increasingly bold and destructive.” [...]
Posted in From the Web | Comments (2)
In Which I Detect a Flaw In India’s Logic
August 30th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
India is the world’s largest producer of mangoes, and economic development officials in the the world’s second fastest growing wine market think the country should make a name for itself with mango wine. I’ve never had mango wine, myself, so I can’t say for sure whether it has beyond-novelty potential. But the following justification doesn’t [...]
Posted in Oddities | Comments (1)
I Like a Wine That’s a Silk Blouse With Three Buttons Undone
August 30th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
In the vogue for finding ways beyond 100-point scoring to express wine worthiness, Brunellos Have More Fun puts forth a new theory: When I’m tasting a new wine and trying to remember what it’s like, I tend to jot down notes of colors or moods. Or clothes. I daydream about what I would wear while [...]
Posted in From the Web | Comments (1)
I Don’t Know What He’s Saying, But I’m Going to Try the Wine
August 27th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
Dirty South Wine on 1998 Castello Di Verduno Barolo Massara: Smells like funk and tastes like Christmas. OK, I’m intrigued.
Posted in Wine Writing | Comments (0)
Revenge of the Nerds: NZ Bloggers Go Righteously Apeshit
August 26th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
As part of their 40th birthday celebration, New Zealand’s National Business Review co-sponsored one of those seemingly simple social media contests with Veuve Clicquot. The winner gets his or her weight in Veuve Clicquot, and the way you enter is to go to the NBR website and write a paragraph on how you would dispose of so [...]
Posted in Marketing | Comments (12)
Let Us Raise a Monument to Dr. Aditya Mattoo
August 26th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
A physician who has earned the nickname “Dr. Buzzkill” for advising his patients “don’t drink, don’t smoke, don’t do drugs, don’t eat fatty foods, exercise more, and lose weight” takes a hard look at the data on moderate alcohol consumption and concludes: Although detractors often complain that the data is largely based on patients answering questionnaires reliably, [...]
Posted in health | Comments (0)
We Don’t Need No Stinking Badges
August 26th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
Winethropology writes a funny article I’ve wanted to write for a few days. Thus I am liberated to write funny articles I don’t want to write. Thanks, Steve!
Posted in Good Stuff | Comments (2)
Oops
August 26th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
The really attentive among you may have noticed a piece posted here for 23 minutes that is, in fact, a draft of something not yet postable. It had lots of sentence fragments and paragraphs set aside for later use. It was, in short, entirely incoherent. Sorry about that. Pushed the wrong button.
Posted in Junk | Comments (0)
Todays Do-It-Yourself Project: Wine Labels
August 26th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
If you’d like to combine your affinity for collage with a desire to hide from friends the brand of wine you’re serving, Bueno Bueno has a plan: when Jacob and I go to california, we stock up on 2 buck chuck. (charles shaw) it’s only $1.99 a bottle, but has won awards, great reviews, and [...]
Posted in Do It Yourself | Comments (1)
The Dark Side of Direct Shipping
August 26th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
It sets the marketers free: Recently, I got a cold call at the office from a wine club I recently had joined (mostly for research, actually). The club had a hot deal, what the caller said was a great wine at a phenomenal price, and the cases were sure to be gone soon. It seems [...]
Posted in Marketing | Comments (1)