Wine Boot Camp

by Erik Olsen on

Sir, that tastes like a Chardonnay grape, sir!

Chardonnay?! You don’t know a Pinot Grigio when it hits your worthless palate, scumbag? Now, drop and sip me twenty!

Or so the dialogue might go if you were to attend a session of Wine Boot Camp, a new twist on the age-old experience of wine tasting. Myself, I love a good wine, and I adore wine country, and if I have to bang out fifty push-ups to enjoy a superb vintage, well, I suppose I could do that. Of course, there are no push ups. Wine Boot Camp is merely the catchy name given to these intense 12-hour workshops offered several times a year in Napa.

Billed as “the ultimate fantasy experience for wine lovers”, the camp is not just about drinking vino, it’s also about learning how the stuff is made and the science behind the grape. “At the end of the day, people feel exhausted and empowered,” says founder and director Barbara Drady. Yeah, and what about drunk? Anyway, the camps go to many different vineyards in Napa, and I am pretty certain that by the end of the day, you will not only know a lot more about wine, but that your head will be spinning from all that happy sipping.

Grapes of Bordeaux

by Iva Skoch on

You can’t go to the Bordeaux region of France and not became a wine aficionado. I learned quite a bit about the biggest wine region in the world this week. Some of the world’s favorite reds (think Margaux) come from right here here.

First of all, as you can see from the picture, the grapes are very low, about 5 inches from the ground. I am told it is because the soil here is very sandy and light, thus it reflects sun and provides even more heat for the grapes. Also, at night, when temperatures drop dramatically, the soil retains heat and so the grapes can ripen even at night. Their skins are apparently very thick so getting all the heat you can get is the key.

Also, all Bordeaux wine are blends, usually Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. Although, when I saw how many runners at the Marathon du Medoc (which I blogged about yesterday) urinated in the vineyards, it made me think that maybe it is not the Merlot that gives Bordeaux wines its specific aroma. The harvest starts in two weeks. So if you see a label that says “2006 blend”, think about that.

The Slowest Marathon in the World

by Iva Skoch on

Combining running with wine tasting? Leave it to the French to invent a marathon that actually sounds like fun. And reporting from Medoc, France over a glass of magnificent red wine, I can confirm that it is.

The annual Marathon du Medoc in the Bordeaux region of France ended just a few hours ago in scorching heat of some 100F. Although the fastest man ran the 42-kilometer (26-mile) track in 2 hours and 28 minutes, most other people did not run this for the adrenaline as much as the “vino”. Over 8000 people from all over the world came here to race through picturesque French villages dressed up in more or less creative costumes. I must say that there were disturbingly many men in drag or dressed up as babies, pacifier, diapers and everything. Pirates of the Caribbean and sailors of all kinds were a huge hit this year.

The marathon route goes through some of the best chateaux of this region and provide runners as well as spectators the opportunity to try Medoc’s wine. Hence the slowest marathon in the world title.

If you haven’t already, put this on your list of things to do before you die (or become lame). It is absolutely worth it.

Box o’ Wine

by Erik Olsen on

I’ll confess that I enjoy a good bottle of wine now and again. Maybe even a little more often than “now and again”. Hey, what can I say? I must have a bit of the Roman bacchanalian in me. One thing living in New york, though, is that wine is damn expensive. Even the cheap good stuff runs over $12 a bottle. Which is probably a good thing as the cost of dropping $24 a week or so can get expensive.

You know that whole stop your Starbucks drinking thing for would-be millionaires? Well it’s twice that bad for wine. Which has always made me wonder: how much of the cost of the wine we buy is due to bottles and all that fancy packaging? I mean, what if they put the stuff in boxes….the good stuff, I mean? Couldn’t you knock off a few bucks? I know, the snobs out there are like “Oh, a box of wine, that is so low rent.” Well, maybe, but we live in an increasingly sensible society (OK, big assumption). I guess what I mean to say is, there seems like there’d be a demand for good wine in a box or a bag or wherever so that it’s cheaper. Screw what the snobs have to say. Wine is wine. It’s the stuff you drink that’s important, not the thing it comes in.

Well, I’ve pondered this time and again and have long expected some entrepreneur to come up with a good boxed wine Looks like my waiting is over. This piece over at Slate talks about a company in No Cal that is doing just that. A brand called Three Thieves is run by Napa Valley wine maker Joel Gott and venture capitalist (of course) and vineyard owner Roger Scommegna, and Charles Bieler, a New Yorker whose family used to own Chateau Routas, in Provence.

The Thieves made its debut in 2003 (in a jug, actually) and started to sell really well. And now others from this company and some in Australia are giving the drinking public what it wants. The article here discusses many of the new box/jug/tube wines and gives a nice little review of them. It’s good to see the marketplace at work. Now drink up!

Hungarian Zoo Apes Love Their Red Wine

by Karen Walrond on

From Yahoo!News:  Monkeys and other zoo apes at the Budapest zoo have a thing for the grape — turns out, they drink their way through 55 litres of red wine each year, according to a statement released by the zoo on Monday.  The reason?  It helps boost their red blood cells.

“Obviously, they do not have it all at once and get drunk, but they get it in small amounts mixed in their tea,” said Budapest Zoo spokesman Zoltan Hanga.  He continued:  “And it’s not Eger Bulls Blood or some expensive wine that they are getting but simple table wine, as it’s mainly good for their blood cells.”

They don’t have it all at once — how disappointing.  Because soused monkeys? 

Now THAT would be a tourist attraction.