September 17, 2009 – 12:22 pm
Remember the Where’s Waldo books? A modern classic series back in the Age of Print. Big hardcovers that opened to panoramic cartoons of countless people in quirky settings engaged in practically every possible human behavior except fornication. And somewhere on every spread stood Waldo, hiding in plain sight: round-frame glasses, goofy-cool striped hat, smile. The idea [...]
August 10, 2009 – 1:11 pm
Listen up, wine lovers: Fermented grape juice and hulking SUVs have something in common besides ethyl alcohol as an ingredient. The federal Cash for Clunkers program has been extended to wine.
The Wine Skewer has learned that thanks to secret negotiations hammered out this weekend over copious quantities of nondescript Merlot at an undisclosed wine bar [...]
It’s July, and America is still sweltering amid the extreme high pressure front of the Great Economic Downturn. Wine is not immune. In fact, the econo-doldrums have prompted some surprising, even outright bizarre, measures on the part of wine makers and marketers. To wit, consider the following wine ventures that the Wine Skewer—exclusively, mais oui—has [...]
Couch Potato America reclined and recoiled the other night upon learning that the Reality TV stars of Jon & Kate Plus 8 have filed for divorce. The split can not come as too great a surprise, what with mounting tabloid rumors, not to mention the cumulative stress of raising twins and sextuplets amid the relentless [...]
American Idol’s got nuthin’ on Murphy-Goode Winery. Why do people all over the country go ga-ga over this glorified camp talent show, when over in Sonoma, there is some serious career carrot being dangled? And drama building!
They’re starting to sweat out in wine country. Several major sales indeces in April indicated that the U.S. wine market—which had been holding its own while the rest of the economy swirled counterclockwise down the toilet—has flattened out, and now is tapering. Not only are people “trading down,” as in moving from Cakebread to CK [...]
It has become clear in recent months days that what is clearly needed in the wine world today is education.
Yes, education. But not about wines, and their myriad combinations of distinctive grapes from far-flung places. We’ve got that part settled. Everyone who knows anything about wine knows: it’s all about personal taste. Find and follow [...]
April 23, 2009 – 10:27 pm
I’m really trying to get the hang of this blogging thing. Went to a big tasting yesterday – Provence in the City – table upon table of jewel-like bottles of fresh rosy vins, with representatives at the ready to espouse as well as pour… Doing my best to poast at blogger’s speed, and yet, here [...]