Archive for October, 2010
Cosmology and the Cost of Rutherford Cab: A Thought Experiment
October 18th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
The Internal Revenue Service has decided that AVAs are shared brand names. It follows that the purchase price of a winery or vineyard within a highly valued AVA — Rutherford, for example — includes a premium paid over land not in that AVA. That premium, unlike the purchase of the land itself, is now tax [...]
Posted in News | Comments (3)
The People Over There Getting Stupid Are More Likely To Be Smart
October 17th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
A British study, based on decades of data collected about alcohol consumption, concludes that smart people drink more often. There is a clear monotonic association between childhood intelligence (measured before the age of 16) and the frequency of alcohol consumption in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. “Very bright” British children grow up to consume alcohol [...]
Posted in From the Web | Comments (0)
Zeitgeist Report: Chilean Wines
October 15th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
With more than a billion people worldwide watching the rescue of Chilean miners and feeling really good about a country not many usually think about, it is not surprising to note that Chilean wine sales are up substantially. Chi-chi-chi! Le-le-le!
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The Continued Miniaturization of Celebrity Wine
October 15th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
The most significant unintended consequence of the transition from broadcast to cable television is the creation of a whole class of “celebrities” no one has ever heard of. So we now have the “star” of Real Housewives of New Jersey — someone named Ramona Singer — announcing that “with the help of Opici Wines” she’s [...]
Posted in Celebrity Wine | Comments (3)
If Yoda Were a Wine Writer
October 15th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
In an article tracking the progress of direct shipping legislation in New Jersey, we have this nearly incomprehensible lede: Of the final dozen states that forbid wine vineyards from shipping their product to consumers, New Jersey is among the ranks.
Posted in English Translations | Comments (2)
Would You Drink This Man’s Juice?
October 14th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
Posted in Celebrity Wine | Comments (1)
Do It Yourself Project
October 14th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
Wine cork place card holders. Actually, kind of cool.
Posted in Do It Yourself | Comments (0)
Or, Perhaps, We Could Send a Wineblogger to Do Something About Robert Parker
October 13th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
Over at Balloon Juice they’re having a pretty serious discussion about what they’d do if they had a time machine. Would it be better to go back and kill Hitler in a beer hall brawl or prevent the Catholic Church from fusing with the Roman Empire to prevent the middle ages? It got me thinking [...]
Posted in Not Particularly Anything | Comments (16)
Proof, If Any Were Necessary, That Cheese Goes With Wine
October 13th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
Self-described “wine-tertainer” Phillip Silverstone laments that a gathering of sommeliers takes wine too seriously. It’s not really all that interesting, actually. I just wanted to use the term “wine-tertainer.”
Posted in From the Web | Comments (2)
WARNING: There is Haiku
October 13th, 2010 by Tom Johnson
DrinkLocalWine.com is hosting Regional Wine Week, a virtual hurricane of wineblogging about regional wineries — that is, wineries that aren’t in California, Washington or Oregon. I understand that if you live in California, Washington or Oregon, California, Washington and Oregon wines are regional wineries. But come on; give the rest of us a chance. My contributory essay [...]
Posted in Good Stuff | Comments (0)