Sorry, I just haven't been drinking.

Wine We Can Believe In

Mike Sternberger in Slate on the potential for changes in White House wine policy:

Even more dismaying, though, was what Shanks revealed about the process of choosing wines for state dinners. He told McCoy that because only 55 minutes are allotted for the actual meal, it is essential that the wines served on these august occasions "have presence." And what did he mean by "presence"? "A perfectly aged cabernet may be great in the glass," he explained, "but it can't stand up to the intense atmosphere of a White House state dinner. You have to have something with youth and vigor." Delicate wines will be overlooked; only strapping, assertive ones have what it takes to be "noticed in the context of the White House experience," as Shanks put it. In other words, the desired effect is shock and awe, achieved not with cruise missiles but fruit bombs.

(via clusterflock)

Imaginary Restaurant Wins Award of Excellence

Robin Goldstein, author of The Wine Trials won an award from Wine Spectator for her -ahem- conceptual restaurant, Osteria L'Intrepido, with a "reserve" wine list made up primarily of wines poorly reviewed by the Spectator.

I submitted the fee ($250), a cover letter, a copy of the restaurant’s menu (a fun amalgamation of somewhat bumbling nouvelle-Italian recipes), and a wine list.

Osteria L’Intrepido won the Award of Excellence, as published in print in the August 2008 issue of Wine Spectator.

It’s troubling, of course, that a restaurant that doesn’t exist could win an Award of Excellence. But it’s also troubling that the award doesn’t seem to be particularly tied to the quality of the wine list, even by Wine Spectator’s own standards. Although the main wine list that I submitted was made up of fairly standard Italian-focused selections, Osteria L’Intrepido’s “reserve wine list” was largely chosen from among the lowest-scoring Italian wines in Wine Spectator over the past 20 years.

Seven Deadly Sin Wineglasses

A set of beautiful (but deadly) wineglasses designed to bring sin into your favorite vice.

Robert Mondavi Dies at 94

From the NYT obit:

Under Mr. Mondavi, the winery grew into a $500 million-a-year business as it introduced to the United States European winemaking techniques like the use of French oak aging barrels and stainless-steel fermentation tanks.

An Italian immigrant’s son, Bob Mondavi, as he chose to be called, battled puritanical tradition, a hidebound wine industry, a skeptical public and even opposition within his own family as he fashioned himself into a symbol of America’s mid-century affluence and cultural coming of age.

With other promoters of good living like Julia Child and Alice Waters, he tried to lead the country away from shopworn Old World ways, insisting that Americans were second to none in creating elegance and enjoying it. Few did that better than he: he lived like royalty.

The Psychology of Wine

In a recent blind taste test which will be published in book form as "The Wine Trials" most people were unable to tell between low-cost and high-end wines. This is a fairly well replicated result; it's increased by two factors:

• Inexperienced drinkers don't seem to have a strong preference for really high-end wine. They can tell, but are generally just as happy with "good little drinkers". (small signal, flat indifference curves)
• Although winemakers are getting pretty good at setting prices for their releases, there are a sizeable number of "good little drinkers" out there, and a number of overpriced wines of specific vintages and labels. (lots of noise)

Last bottle I had was a Paso Creek Merlot. Smooooooth.
Not a very strong finish, but definitely worth a try to make
a decision for yourself. Of course, my opinion is somewhat
skewed since it was a gift. It's always easier to be more
generous with a "wine review" if your not the one who's out
the price of the bottle.

I drink champagne when I'm happy and when I'm sad. Sometimes I drink it when I'm alone. When I have company I consider it obligatory. I trifle with it if I'm not hungry and drink it when I am. Otherwise I never touch it - unless I'm thirsty.

-Lilly Bollinger

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A blog about wine and the things that happen around it: good discussion, pleasant meals, travel, art and literature.