Pairing Wine with Snakes

by Nino Marchetti on

Here’s something which may or may not kill that old desire to wine taste. The Explorers
Club and Redwood Creek Wines of California have teamed for a
nationwide Taste of America tour in which exotic foods
are paired with wine,
according to this
article from The Oregonian. By exotic foods, I’m talking about things like sauteed rattlesnake, scorpions with
endive and herb cheese and caramelized smoked wild boar. The food and wine portion is guided by the winemaker for
Redwood Creek and Gene Rurka, the exotics chairman for the Explorers Club. Tasting is followed by tales of adventure
from explorers. The tour runs through June 2005.

Can someone pass the cracked locust please?

[link via Vinography]

Gift Idea: Travel Journal

by Erik Olsen on

I’ve kept a journal for almost fifteen years and have become such an extreme journal snob that I get very
particular about the size, quality and travelability of my journals. When I started, I’d write in just about anything:
old notebooks, spiral bound and otherwise; cheap, crappy ones I’d bought at the local bookstore. But over time I became
very particular about what I’d use to scribble down my life’s details. And so about ten years ago, I became a big fan
of journals made by Letts of London. While they can be pricey, Letts journals are
beautifully bound, solid and resistant to the awful yellowing and decay that happens most cheap journals within a few
years. And so, if you’re shopping around for ideas for your adventuring friends or family, I highly recommend stuffing
their stocking with a Letts journal. And if you’re heading out on a big trip next year, consider getting one for
yourself.

The Capital of Christmas

by Erik Olsen on

What Strabourgian marketing genius came up with the idea to call his city the
“Capital of Christmas”? I mean, brilliant! The Post runs a
basic travel piece on Strasbourg
written by Robert V. Camuto, that discusses the old traditions and what’s what during the holiday months in this
fine little French city. BTW: I am posting this link because I have been thinking about an interesting place to go for
the holidays, and while there are other locales that would probably be more exciting (i.e. Moab, Utah) there was
something about the “Capital of Christmas” idea that got me all warm and fuzzy, longing for egg nog and fat men in
tight suits….which, some to think of it, I could probably find right here in Greenwich Village if I were so, shall we
say, inclined. Which I’m not.

Anyway, more about Strasbourg. The city is nestled west of the Rhine River bordering Germany and east of the Vosges
Mountains. The Christmas “industry” dates all the way back to 1570, when this marketing genius I mention, who
would probably be a Wal-Mart executive today, turned the whole Christmas concept into an industry. There is
gingerbread, arts and crafts and apparently casks of vin chaud (hot wine), bursting at the staves.

I Said March, You Turkey!

by Erik Olsen on

Starting the second Saturday of every December (in this case the
11-12 December) in the small French town
of Licques,
in the Trois Pays area of Nord-Pas-de-Calais, there is a strange event featuring a turkey march. Yes,
turkeys. 

While they are (sadly) headed for Christmas tables around the country, they get one last gobble on the streets when
they are marched about in front of scores of (presumably drooling) on-lookers. This, just before they are slaughtered
and, well, stuffed. Many watch the turkey march in a besotted state on Sunday morning after quaffing small
glasses of a potent liqueur called the Licquoise, which the town itself produces.

Come on, doesn’t this sound like a fun place? 

Seal Hunting

by Erik Olsen on

This may be your ball of blubber…I don’t know. But
I’ll post
the
story while reserving judgment. The Norwegian government has a problem, they need to get rid of seals who are
munching sea food meant for humans and spreading disease. And so, new Norwegian wildlife regulations will
permit tourists to hunt seals to cull the population.

In capitalist fashion, there are several adventure travel companies providing holiday packages to experienced and
“rookie” hunters to shoot the seals as part of a kind of water-borne safari. One company expects to make six figures
from the seal safaris by catering to U.S. and European clients. One of them is called
Norsafari, charges about $1300 for a hunt.

Greenpeace, of course, is against the practice, as are other animal activists. It is hard to know what to think
about this, especially following a particularly festive turkey day.

Anyone have an opinion?