So I was sent this link to an article in the Contra Costa Times about the effect the economy is playing on the wine industry, and how it's changing the way people drink wine. That someone must be psychic, since I was pondering something very similar while disposing of all the glass bottles I saved for recycling ( I need a job, and one with an employee discount would be awesome!). I kind of felt like *maybe* someone had a drinking problem, dumping out four cases of wine bottles in my apartment's recycling bins (no idea if they're strictly for the office or not), but in all fairness, they had been accumulating since April! And they're school related!! So shut up!!
This is going to sound bad, but I'm kind of thankful the economy is going down the toilet, because it's forcing people (who actually care about this) to focus on quality, not prestige. It's forcing people to look beyond their comfort zones, and making us all (I hope) stop and think about what we're buying. We're focusing on areas of production we don't normally look to, like South America. According to wine.com,sales of South American wines are up over 88% in the first half of 2008 over 2007. In fact, sales of Argentinean wines increased by 47%, the most popular variety being Malbec.
I'm glad we're looking for better values and demanding better quality. But I'm also really bummed, because this means all the local wineries will suffer. Gallo (and their evil empire of doom) will go on making crap like Boone's and Thunderbird, but we're going to lose small start up wineries! There will always be a market for Opus One, Screaming Eagle, Etude, and all the Grand Crus ( I included Y'Quem in that group, b/c seriously, 3 grand a pop? Are you kidding me?). Wineries are being bought out, or downsized. This idea depresses me.
It's like an alcoholic apocalypse!
(now you see why I have so many wine bottles everywhere, I'm not being "a drunk", I'm "saving the economy!")
And don't forget kids, next time you fart, you're not being outré, you're "Volatilizing your esters"!!!! (It's what you do when you swirl the wine in your glass and spill it everywhere, to bring out the aromatic compounds in the wine)
Friday, October 17, 2008
Monday, October 13, 2008
Atlantic City
Wow, Atlantic City was a BLAST!!!
It wasn't as glitzy or depressing as I imagined, nor was the wine scene all that. I was expecting more of an emphasis on beer and wine, and definitely more sparkling wine, but this was mostly liquor.
We stayed at the Tropicana, in a room of the Havana Tower. It wasn't bad, but next time I'd rather stay at Caesar's or The Borgata. The sheets felt cheap, but at least we had a good view! There was this little castle style church thing with this big sign that says "Christ Died For Your Sins" that we could see from the window that made me wonder if the sign creators were seriously that fervent, or had a very particular brand of humor....
All the restaurants in The Quarter were pretty expensive. We ate at Red Square, which had a really cool ambiance it was (you guessed it) Soviet Russian themed. The Muzak was pure Euro-Trash and we were loving it! The walls were done in red, there was this cool chandelier made to look like minarets, and two giant columns made of ice! I forgot to lick them on my way out.... The food was REALLY good! We had tuna tartare, steak tartare, lamb ribs with crushed hazelnuts, god I could go on for days... The wine was really great, I had a French Pinot Noir full of old world sexy dust and violets!! They had literally more than a hundred different vodkas from all over the world! They had vodka flights!! And they have this special vodka vault, the key to getting in is to buy a bottle of vodka, then you and your friends get to put on expensive furs (you can tell I didn't go in, I was tempted up to that point) and military uniforms and act like drunken fools. There are cameras all over the room, and they snap pictures of you and your drunken fool friends (because you're not a drunken fool) and they email them to you! It was way cool, and if you ever get the chance, I SERIOUSLY recommend you hit it up!! And take me, too!
We started gambling at the Tropicana casino, where I got carded every thirty feet until some kind old woman took pity on me and got took me to the security desk so I could have my hand stamped, proclaiming to everyone my license was indeed valid and I was indeed over the age of twenty one. There was lots of shiny things, and trampy women, so I was in heaven!
We took a walk on the beach, I got my feet wet and found some shells and got sand all over my pants and feet. I got my palm read, and apparently I'm bossy, I don't trust women, and I'm going to be getting married soon (ha!), as well as being rich, having "tree" kids (they have roots?), and I'm supposed to be a lawyer or something..
Caesar's casino was next on the list, after stopping to ogle some shirts with witty phrases like, "Tell your tits to quit staring at my eyes" and my personal favorite, "No Bitch Ass Ness". Caesar's was a nicer casino, the dealers and pit bosses made it a point to get your name and shake your hand. The women also seemed to be wearing more clothes, which, depending on your personal viewpoint may or may not be a good thing. We were there for a while, we broke even, and I came to the shocking discovery that Absolut Vodka, all on it's own, is absolutely NASTY!!!
The next day we met up with a friend and went to an Irish (that was more Scottish than Irish) Festival, and that was also a blast! Except for having to face three of my biggest fears, chickens, puppets, and clowns... It was terrible, I'm glad we stopped and got some wine before the arrival of the demoniacally demented clowns who almost came in to the store I was hiding in. I'm not sure if a certain someone told them to go in there, but thankfully I had someone else there, to warn the clowns that I get a little bit "punchy" when I'm scared, so instead they waved.... like that isn't creepy enough to make me need a month's supply of Valium!! I did get some AWESOME yellow pirate knee socks, so that kind of makes it better. And I got an adorable peace sign bracelet (it matched my flip flops) and a new purse with this adorable skull on it! So apparently I support peaceful pirates...
I can't wait to go back, maybe next time we'll stay longer, so we can take in a show or two!
It wasn't as glitzy or depressing as I imagined, nor was the wine scene all that. I was expecting more of an emphasis on beer and wine, and definitely more sparkling wine, but this was mostly liquor.
We stayed at the Tropicana, in a room of the Havana Tower. It wasn't bad, but next time I'd rather stay at Caesar's or The Borgata. The sheets felt cheap, but at least we had a good view! There was this little castle style church thing with this big sign that says "Christ Died For Your Sins" that we could see from the window that made me wonder if the sign creators were seriously that fervent, or had a very particular brand of humor....
All the restaurants in The Quarter were pretty expensive. We ate at Red Square, which had a really cool ambiance it was (you guessed it) Soviet Russian themed. The Muzak was pure Euro-Trash and we were loving it! The walls were done in red, there was this cool chandelier made to look like minarets, and two giant columns made of ice! I forgot to lick them on my way out.... The food was REALLY good! We had tuna tartare, steak tartare, lamb ribs with crushed hazelnuts, god I could go on for days... The wine was really great, I had a French Pinot Noir full of old world sexy dust and violets!! They had literally more than a hundred different vodkas from all over the world! They had vodka flights!! And they have this special vodka vault, the key to getting in is to buy a bottle of vodka, then you and your friends get to put on expensive furs (you can tell I didn't go in, I was tempted up to that point) and military uniforms and act like drunken fools. There are cameras all over the room, and they snap pictures of you and your drunken fool friends (because you're not a drunken fool) and they email them to you! It was way cool, and if you ever get the chance, I SERIOUSLY recommend you hit it up!! And take me, too!
We started gambling at the Tropicana casino, where I got carded every thirty feet until some kind old woman took pity on me and got took me to the security desk so I could have my hand stamped, proclaiming to everyone my license was indeed valid and I was indeed over the age of twenty one. There was lots of shiny things, and trampy women, so I was in heaven!
We took a walk on the beach, I got my feet wet and found some shells and got sand all over my pants and feet. I got my palm read, and apparently I'm bossy, I don't trust women, and I'm going to be getting married soon (ha!), as well as being rich, having "tree" kids (they have roots?), and I'm supposed to be a lawyer or something..
Caesar's casino was next on the list, after stopping to ogle some shirts with witty phrases like, "Tell your tits to quit staring at my eyes" and my personal favorite, "No Bitch Ass Ness". Caesar's was a nicer casino, the dealers and pit bosses made it a point to get your name and shake your hand. The women also seemed to be wearing more clothes, which, depending on your personal viewpoint may or may not be a good thing. We were there for a while, we broke even, and I came to the shocking discovery that Absolut Vodka, all on it's own, is absolutely NASTY!!!
The next day we met up with a friend and went to an Irish (that was more Scottish than Irish) Festival, and that was also a blast! Except for having to face three of my biggest fears, chickens, puppets, and clowns... It was terrible, I'm glad we stopped and got some wine before the arrival of the demoniacally demented clowns who almost came in to the store I was hiding in. I'm not sure if a certain someone told them to go in there, but thankfully I had someone else there, to warn the clowns that I get a little bit "punchy" when I'm scared, so instead they waved.... like that isn't creepy enough to make me need a month's supply of Valium!! I did get some AWESOME yellow pirate knee socks, so that kind of makes it better. And I got an adorable peace sign bracelet (it matched my flip flops) and a new purse with this adorable skull on it! So apparently I support peaceful pirates...
I can't wait to go back, maybe next time we'll stay longer, so we can take in a show or two!
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
Field Trip!!!
I've found the alcoholic's version of Graceland!
Apparently, it's got exhibits (like all respectable museums should, y'know?) on really cool alcohol related patents, and the origins of the cocktail!! They've even got seminars on mastering mixology, imagine getting drunk in a museum!
New Orleans anyone??
Apparently, it's got exhibits (like all respectable museums should, y'know?) on really cool alcohol related patents, and the origins of the cocktail!! They've even got seminars on mastering mixology, imagine getting drunk in a museum!
New Orleans anyone??
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