Monday, August 28, 2006

Dutty Wine

When I first saw this link, I didn’t quite understand what they were talking about. But, never fear my friends, I did the research and am now perfectly prepared to tell you about the Dutty Wine Dance.

There is a Jamaican rapper who wrote a song entitled “Dutty Wine”. To the best that I can decipher dutty should translate to dirty. The basis of the song is that he is poor and can only afford dutty wine that gets him very….um…inebriated. Apparently it also gets the women he is with very drunk as well and this is the dance they do for him while drinking it.

The middle class is in an uproar. All their little girls are doing the 'Dutty Wine'.
From left, right and centre, even disabled children, everybody is doing the 'Dutty Wine'.

Disabled children? Did they really go there?

Not wishing in any way to detract from the suggestive nature of the dance, I must point out that it is impossible to do it without long tresses. If you can't get your hair to swing round and round your head while you get down on all fours on the ground, you're not doing the 'Dutty Wine'. It requires supreme flexibility. Consequently, there's not a child who hasn't been stopped from doing it by a parent in the last few months

OK, why are CHILDREN in Jamaica doing this dance. I mean, it sure doesn’t sound like the hokey pokey to me.

The ones I feel sorry for are the disabled children. They don't have legs, so it's perfect for them. They can wine their little hearts out. But even when they do it, it's suggestive if not more so. All the adults hurriedly put a stop to it. Poor little children.

LOL! OMG, did I read that right? Why do they keep picking on the disabled kids? Are there just tons of disabled kids sitting around in Jamaica waiting to do a dance?

What’s worse is that I went on You Tube to see what it was all about and when I searched Dutty Wine I got like 50 million results. Here is one of the first ones I found but the most important question is …How in the hell could a disabled child do this?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lv4_EqjmOUk

http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/gleaner/20060827/cleisure/cleisure3.html


Enjoy!

PS-New season of Weeds has begun. Best show on TV. Check it out.

Cheers!

Monday, August 21, 2006

Dear Blog,

Hello blog, it's been a while. I'm not trying to neglect you I promise. It's the lack of high speed internet at work that's keeping me from you. I plan on paying more attention to you this week, I swear! The posts may be shorter but better short than nothing right??

Does insurance cover that??

Ulriksdals Wardshus is a famous restaurant that has made it into the Guinnes Book of World Records for their wine collection. Get this, they have a collection consisting of the 6 first growths of Bordeaux from every vintage in the 18th CENTURY!!!!!!!! That alone makes them beyond impressive, but here’s the dirt. They got robbed. Yes that’s right, robbed! I bet you can’t guess what they stole….



Ulriksdals Wärdshus, a restaurant and old event hall world famous for its French red wine was robbed on Saturday night. Its entire collection, valued at more than 3.5 million kronor, has vanished.The collection consisted of more than 600 bottles from every vintage of the 18th century from the six Grand Cru castles of the French Bordeaux region. The collection has been registered by Guinness Book of Records for years as a unique wine collection.
Ström said the alarm system was disabled allowing the thieves to have hours to burgle the place. She said the heavy-duty glass security door had been opened with a crow bar. “It must have taken hours,” she said, adding that they took the security tape before leaving.She said the thieves then went down into the cellar where the collection was stored at 16 degrees Celsius in semi-dark conditions. “They must have had boxes there to carry up all of that wine,” Ström said. “They took every bottle. It must have taken a long time to pack.”She said police did not find any fingerprints or DNA, but did find a footprint. She said police told her the only way to solve this case would be to have people call in with tips.“I can’t believe all of the wine is gone,” she said. “Guests used to love coming down and looking at it.”

Sounds like an inside job to me. But what do I know. The crazy part is that a collection like that is so rare that if it shows up on the market people would know where it came from. Maybe somebody will have a party. Either way, it’s a damn shame.

http://www.thelocal.se/article.php?ID=4660&date=20060821

I'll be back again this week little blog of mine; I swear it!!

Cheers!

Wednesday, August 9, 2006

I'm not buying it!

The wine world is chock full of gadgets these days and this is one of the funniest I have seen in such a while. A physician by trade, Patrick Farrell claims that he has an invention that will improve the quality of a wine simply by pouring wine into a glass. Let me explain…

He has created a device that will fit around the neck of a bottle that uses magnets to enhance the wine.

Farrell started out tying magnets to the neck of a
bottle at the urging of business acquaintances who were distributing magnets to try to improve water quality. At the time, he thought the chance magnets would work on wine was “about the same as seeing pigs fly.”
But, he says, “I took the thing home, put it on a bottle of shiraz from Australia and was shocked to see it made it taste smoother and fruitier. So then I went down to my cellar and I got a bottle of Bordeaux from the Medoc and it made it taste softer and fruitier.”
Eventually, he came up with a molded plastic device that looks like a regular non-drip pourer and has an air hole to speed up oxygenation. That intensifies the effect of the wizard and differentiates it from other magnetic devices on the market such as The Wine Clip, which clasps around the bottle neck, says Farrell.

Um…magnets?? I guessing the pourer at the top actually aerates the wine and that’s what softens the wine as opposed to the magnets. But let’s see what the critics have to say.

“Testimonials are irrelevant. Tastings are not proof,” says Ball, a professor at Cleveland State University, and “amateur wine snob,” who says magnetic fields aren’t strong enough to change the shape of tannins.
“All that magnetic field is doing is separating you from your money,” says Ball, who won’t be trying the Bev Wizard any time soon.

Awesome! At $30 for the gadget you’re better off buying a $5 corkscrew and a $25 bottle of wine!!

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14229497/

Check it out!!

This really promises to be a cool event. I hope to see some of you there.

Seven North Carolina breweries - including all five from Buncombe County - are teaming up this month to host a Slow Food beer-tasting event at the downtown Asheville Brewing Company, 77 Coxe Ave.
Slow Food is an international group that works to preserve food traditions and sustainable agriculture. Proceeds from the beer tasting will be used to send local delegates to the Slow Food Terra Madre gathering, Oct. 26-30 in Turin, Italy.
The tasting, at 5 p.m. Aug. 27, will feature beers each from Asheville Brewing, Highland Brewing, Pisgah Brewing, French Broad Brewing, Green Man Brewing (all from the Asheville area) Catawba Brewing of Glen Alpine and Foothills Brewing of Winston-Salem.
Each brewery will have at least two beers at the event, and Asheville Brewing will likely serve all of their ales, said brewmaster Doug Riley. Beers will be served in four-ounce samples, and the evening includes pizza.
Tickets are $20, on sale now at Asheville Brewing and its sister operation, Asheville Pizza and Brewing, 675 Merrimon Ave.
http://www.citizen-times.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060809/NEWS01/60809012/1119

So, things have been really hectic at work and with dial up access only (and limited at that) blogging is very difficult. Anywho I am not giving up on it, just lagging behind. I expect the next post to be on Sunday unless the heavens open up and smile upon me. Tomorrow I am going to a Highland Beer dinner at Ganache so I'll post the deets then. Lay-tah!!
Cheers!

Tuesday, August 8, 2006

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!

Unfortunately, at my new job we have dial-up (effing historic) so the blogging thing will be very irregular. I promise to have a post tomorrow night though, so look out. As soon as I can get back to the regular schedule I will. Be patient my lambs....

On other accounts, the new job is great (obviously I'm not far enough in to have any probs...) and I am feeling very fulfilled. More deets tomorrow.

Cheers!
Mel

Wednesday, August 2, 2006

Heaven, I’m in heaven

So, when Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston split, he had to sell his Frank-Gehry designed wine cellar. But, he’s not moping around.

It's rumored that the movie star, who was adept at stomping people in Fight Club and Troy, could soon be stomping grapes, thereby putting him among the ranks of celebrities with their names on wine labels.

Pitt stayed in a village in the Piedmont (Italy that is) and visited 2 different wineries that were for sale.

Monica Tavella, spokeswoman for the Fontanafredda estate in Piedmont, told the newspaper that Pitt stayed there after the Winter Olympics and expressed interest in the art of winemaking and viticulture.

Holy Jesus. Brad Pitt and super exclusive cult Barolos?? Shhhh…. I need a moment to myself.

Okay, let's move on............

A Votre Sante

In France when you want to “cheers” you say A Votre Sante which translates “to your health.” Over the past 5 years we have heard a lot about compounds in red wine which are beneficial to your health, specifically resveratrol. Studies have shown that moderate consumption of red wine can reduce the likelihood of a heart attack. But check out the other things they are testing it for look at how good it actually is. Also, in the quote below MDWD refers to a moderate daily wine drinker.
While our doctors and government don't recommend wine, British health officials routinely do. A growing mound of studies, reflecting sources such as the American Heart Association and The New England Journal of Medicine, confirms wine to be precisely the potent and nutritious medicine our ancestors assumed it was. Besides the magic in polyphenols, which you could get from grape juice, and in alcohol, which you could get from gin, wine adds up to more than the sum of its parts.
In contrast with bingers and abstainers, as well as beer and spirits drinkers, moderate daily wine drinkers (MDWDs) are better-educated and earn more. Their higher cognitive skills propel them through the Alzheimer's years with a 50 percent lower risk of dementia, one reason they're half as likely to end up in nursing homes even though they live longer, succumbing to cardiovascular diseases at half the rate of abstainers and heavy drinkers.
Since moderate daily wine raises "good" cholesterol and reduces inflammation and clotting, MDWDs recover better from heart attacks and surgery and have a lower risk of stroke. They also have a 30 percent lower rate of Type 2 diabetes.
Both red and white wine pack powerful, cancer-fighting antioxidants. Incidence of endometrial cancer is 83 percent lower in female MDWDs. Wine with meals halves your risk of colorectal cancer. Wine even eases blood-vessel constriction in smokers, while its polyphenols alleviate certain lung diseases.
MDWDs get fewer colds with lighter symptoms. Their bones are denser, and they have nicer teeth, due to wine compounds that zap gum-disease bacteria.
But wouldn't all that alcohol play havoc with your liver and kidneys? Nope. In fact, MDWDs have 30 percent lower risk of kidney dysfunction, and liver disease decreases as wine consumption rises.
MDWDs have narrower waists and half the obesity rate of bingers and abstainers. Mysteriously, adding wine to a diet appears to melt pounds. It could be antioxidants and flavanoids speeding the breakdown of fat. It couldn't hurt that red wine, at 1.37 grams per liter, provides 8.5 percent of recommended daily fiber. It might have to do with metabolism or pleasure centers, which might explain why wine also helps with anorexia.

Craziness. Not only are wine drinkers cooler, more educated, and more successful, we’re also tons healthier. Now, drink up!


English Lit, Geometry, and Vinology?

How cool is this? In Australia high school students can actually take a class to teach them how to make wine. The rules are that they cannot taste or drink wine at any point in time during the class, nor can they attend events where their wines are tasted out (bummer). But they actually get to go through the process from start to finish of making their own wine. Even cooler is that the school has now gotten their proper licenses so that they can sell and market the wine to the public. At my school the electives were art, French, and agriculture class.

Viticulture started at the school in 2000 with the planting of 450 vines on four old sand tennis courts, comprising 215 durif vines, 175 shiraz vines and 70 viognier vines.
The course, designed for year 11 and 12 students, was developed by the Wine Industrial National Education Training and Advisory Council and is competency skills-based with students achieving an Australian Qualification Framework Certificate I in Food Processing (wine).
Mr Adamson said students worked in the school vineyard and then did placements at local vineyards.
Wine is stored in barrels at the school and bottled at Cofield’s.
Mr Adamson said the proceeds from the sale of the wine would be used for further equipment for the course.

He said the course had plenty of success stories to day with graduates doing well in the field.
One is former student, David Whyte, now assistant winemaker at Cofield’s.
“David is our technical adviser and I take samples to him for advice when we make our wine,” Mr Adamson said.
“Now he’s the teacher and I’m the student.”

Um, is it just me or do they look like something more than just "student and teacher"? Cool concept, gay picture.

I, for one, think that it is incredibly important and hip as hell to be teaching these kids a craft that they can take into the real world and be successful with. I wish they would do that more in American school systems. If there was such thing as a mini-homebrew kit for toddlers I know that my husband would have already bought one for my son. Hmmm… maybe we can just send him to school in Australia. Ha!



Anheuser Busch’ new seasonal beers?
The latest trend in beer drinking in America has been that drinkers are opting for hand crafted, more flavorful beers from micro-breweries. With that, Anheuser-Busch’ market share has decreased so we knew it wouldn’t be long before they tried to up the ante.

Budweiser. Michelob. Natural Ice. Busch.

What do these beers all have in common? They are all brewed by Anheuser-Busch and are beers most craft beer drinkers would not think of imbibing unless there was absolutely nothing else available.

I’d go for water first.

But Anheuser-Busch, at least on a small scale, is trying to change the minds of craft beer drinkers.

They have released Demon’s Hop Yard IPA, brewed in the company’s Portsmouth, N.H., brewery and only sold in New England on tap.

McGualey said, "These are just a fun way to let people take a peek inside what our company is doing. It’s all about consumers today. I think consumers are looking for products like these."

I don’t know about you guys but the tap handle alone is frightening. I can’t imagine what the beer is like. I mean on one hand I’m glad that they are paying attention enough to know they need to step up their game, but on the other hand, my opinion of their company is so innately flawed that I probably won’t even try their new seasonals. Oh, BTW the new seasonals are the Jack’s Pumpkin Spice Ale, the Winter’s Bourbon Cask Ale, the Spring Heat Spiced Wheat and the Beach Bum Blonde Ale. If any of you get to try them email me with info. I am super curious about them.



Today is hump day and I am on coast until I get outta here. My last day is tomorrow so as soon as I finish some filing I'm done!! I've got some web surfing to do do I'm out!
Cheers!

Tuesday, August 1, 2006

Mr. & Mrs. Pammy Pie

Pam Anderson and Kid Rock (aka Bob Ritchie) were engaged last week in St Tropez and decided to also marry there this past weekend in a yacht off of the coast of France. And boy does it only get better. Here are some pictures of Pammy pie a few days before her wedding looking rough and making *ahem* remarks about the upcoming nuptials.

One reporter asked how she's coping with nervousness before the big event.
"I have two words for you. Cham-pagne," she said. http://channels.netscape.ca/entertainment/article.adp?id=20060726210409990006

Okey Dokey then Pam. I sincerely hope you were kidding, otherwise you are an absolute idiot.
Note to self - Veils purchased from Prescilla's look HIDEOUS!!

Unfortunately, it just keeps getting better. Here are pictures of the bride and groom just after saying their vows. Wanna know what millionaires in the entertainment industry drink after getting married in St. Tropez on a million dollar yacht? Well, tried and true - American all the way through - Kid Rock drinks Corona.
Wait..Corona??? I guess when you are in France you don't have to honor your exclusive contract with Coors. At least he represents with a stunning (or stunningly retarded) American flag belt buckle made from rare blue diamonds along with red rubies on a titanium buckle. (The gift is rumored to be from Pam as his wedding present). Our precious Pammie pie is slugging....er...drinking Veuve Cliquot. In fact, they drank during the entire ceremony. I really think that the captains hat just makes the bridal bikini don't you??

In case you were wondering what to do for a gift for the couple....

Kid Rock instructed his fans to purchase their gifts at one of his favorite chain stores. "Yes, I'm marrying the girl of my dreams," he wrote on his Web site. "We are registered at Wal-Mart. Thanks for the support!"

It's true too. I actually searched for the link today and found it. Here it is...

http://www.walmart.com/giftregistry/gr_detail.do?registryId=26772116707



Your moment of Zen

Adding things to beer is the new hype these days. Sparks, for example, is adding a caffeine type mixture to their beer so why not add green tea to a beer? Wha??
Yep, it seems that the folks at BluCreek Brewery are launching their newest beer called Zen IPA.

BluCreek describes its Zen IPA as an "English-style India Pale Ale created with a mouth-watering blend of fresh Chinook, Cascade and Centennial hops infused carefully with an invigorating all-natural Green Tea."

BluCreek has also made beers produced from blueberries and ginseng in the past. I'm not so sure about a green tea beer but hey, to each his own.

A positive spin on Global Warming

The icecaps around the Arctic Circle are melting partly because of global warming. So in the philosophy of "when life hands you lemons, make lemonade" the brewers at Inuit Microbrewery are making a new beer produced from glacial arctic water called Icecap Pale Ale and Brown Ale.

A brewery in Greenland is producing beer using water melted from the ice cap of the vast Arctic island.
The brewers claim that the water is at least 2,000 years old and free of minerals and pollutants.
It is claimed that the Greenland beer, officially launched in Copenhagen on Monday, has a softer, cleaner taste than other beers, because of the ice cap water.

Right now the beer will only be offered in Danish countries but they plan on expanding into Germany and America within a year.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5234194.stm

Zorks!

Alternative closures (screw caps and synthetic corks) are on a lot of bottles these days. The one complaint that I hear from customers though, is that they miss the romance of hearing the cork come out of the bottle. It's that little "pop" that I miss is what they often say. Well, an ingeniuos company in Australia has come up with "Zorks". It's an alternative closure that actually produces that "pop" sound when it comes out of the bottle. It is even designed to act as a stopper when you put it back in the bottle. As far as I am concerened, this is one cool closure.

ZORK - the revolutionary wine closure that seals like a screw cap and pops like a cork.

http://www.zork.com.au/index.html#

But the best part is the " How to Zork movie". Check out the dudes unbuttoned shirt and cuffs and listen to the sweet B rate porn music in the background. LOL! You must check it out. Great product....horrible advertising.

Thanks Laurie for sending me the link on this one.

1999 Harlan Estates The Maiden

I pulled this wine out for Andi as a going away present (although she's not really going away) and when we first opened it we were underwhelmed. I gotta tell
you...when you spend well over $100 for a wine, the last word you want to consider is underwhelming. So, we saved it and I tasted it again in little sips Saturday and Sunday. By Saturday it was a lot better and by Sunday it was extraordinary. It was ripe and lush with heavy cedar notes. The palate was all blackberry and mulberry with a tinge of medicinal floating around. The finish was long and exposed its oak aging but not in an unpleasant way. I let several people try this wine and the adjective that I heard multiple times was "explosive". I must agree. When you get this wine in your mouth you have to seriously try to concentrate to get all of the little flavors that keep gliding across your taste buds.

Would I pay that much again for it? Probably - but only if it was a good vintage and only if I promise myself not to open it before it's ready. I mean...it's Harlan for goodness sakes. Everybody probably wants to drive a Lamborghini - Is the price worth the car - probably not... but at least you can say you drove one right?

You may have noticed the posts on weird days and I am really trying to get a handle on things. I may not even have access to a computer next week so please hang in there. Once things are settled in the new jobby-job I'll be back to my regular self.
Cheers!