Monday, July 17, 2006

Taste 3

Last week we noted that the legendary Mondavi Winery turned 40 on Sunday. I knew there would be some form of festivities but I had no idea how extravagant it would be. Seems the folks over at Mondavi came up with a celebration titled Taste 3. The “3” stands for wine, art, food. The invite list is nothing short of spectacular. Mondavi came up with speakers, artists, sommeliers and top chefs from all over the world. Andrea Immer kicked off the party with a session on Friday morning and the hits just kept on coming. More than 10 different wineries in the area hosted dinners at their wineries. But, what interested me the most was that
Mondavi invited the 50 top sommeliers in the country and then challenged them to a taste off. Ha! I would have loved to see those wine geeks all sitting around trying to out-do one another. What they should have done was given them wines from NC – that would have thrown them for a loop.

Oh yeah, one more thing. There were tickets by invitation only but they “strongly” encouraged you to request an invitation for a measly $2,350 per person. Tickets do not include airfare or meals. Hmmm, I think I’ll just read about it.


I’m not buying it

An Indian man has come forward saying that he hasn’t drunk water in 37 years. While impressive in itself, he adds that the ONLY beverage he has had for the past 37 years is beer!

Opacic went off water while working as a construction worker in Munich, Germany, in 1969. He said the water in Germany was of very poor quality, and therefore, he began to drink beer instead and never lost the habit. Opacic remains agile despite his 70 years and still works as a roofer.

Note: It doesn’t mention how many times he’s fallen off of roofs b/c of beer consumption on a hot day and uh…that must be one lenient employer.


Homemade Bubbly?

A few of you have sent me some of the links for an article on how to make your own champagne with just a few homebrew tools which (of course) we have. Take a look at this article and join in with me. I’ll keep everyone posted on the details.

We asked wine and spirits guru Lynn Hoffman--author of the new book, "The New Short Course in Wine" (Prentice Hall, $16.80)--to show us the process from beginning to end.
With a little planning, a few packets of yeast and a few bottles, you can produce a whole batch of summer's perfect drink in no time.
"We're not making champagne here, what we're making is an absolutely simple sparkling wine," said Hoffman. "It's perfect for summer, and it's so easy it's ridiculous.


Super short post today. I am currently writing this at 3 am on a Tuesday because I can’t sleep and don’t feel so hot. Take what you can get I guess.

Cheers!!