Friday, January 29, 2010

Bargains!


Tis NOT the season to be a wine seller. Check this out:


K&L Wines in California, a tremendously recommendable wine retailer, is selling 2003 Chateau Latour at $500 off. Not a price of $500 per bottle (that would be remarkable enough), but a price that is discounted by $500!!!!! Given 100 points by Robt Parker, this wine was priced at $1499 and is now offered at $999.


What a bargain! (not)
But I think this rampant discounting may be only temporary. There are greater trends at work which are pushing up wine prices over the long haul: I can remember a time, not more than about 8 years ago, when one could purchase a 100-point First Growth Bordeaux for about $150. I think the culprit here is a combination of (i) US dollar devaluation; (ii) inflation (both hidden and overt), (iii) growing demand from China and India for these wines. I believe that over the long term, all three trends are likely to continue (albeit jaggedly), so I don't expect a return to 2002 pricing, absent some kind of Global Depression.


Don't forget those great 90-94 point wines that you can buy for less than $30. They deliver fantastic flavor and value. And if you decide that you need a 100-point Bordeaux, by all means, CALL ME! ;)


Thursday, January 28, 2010

Greek wines



Salon has a good article titled "Greek Wines Ditch Their Tragic Past."



Just think about the role that wine played in ancient Greek art, literature, and mythology. It's great to see Greek winemakers up their game. I think the increasingly-complex web of international commerce is incentivizing all winemakers to get up or get out.


http://www.salon.com/food/2010/01/28/kolpan_greek_wine_ext2010

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

2010 Portland Indie Wine Festival

Indie Wine Festival:


75 craft wineries (this means they have very small production)and some great food, packed into an historic building where WWII ships used to be made.

Saturday, May 8, from 2-6pm. $75.

I'll be there. Sounds like fun!



More info at: http://www.pdxfoodpress.com/

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

On Wine



"One may dislike spinach, carrots, beetroot, or the skin on hot milk. But not wine. It is like hating the air that one breathes."


-Marcel Ayme'

Tuesday, January 5, 2010

Fast food burgers - unsafe at any speed!



The New York Times ran an amazing article about Beef Products, Inc., supplier of ground beef to McDonalds, Burger King, and other fast food chains.
This lovely beef company is adding ammonia, a known poison, to its ground beef, in order to kill any e.coli bacteria which may be lurking therein. In addition, it waters down its ground beef by adding something called "pink slime" to the beef--something that reputable butchers would never sell as ground beef. That is one reason why your hamburger at McD's and B.King can be so inexpensive. Sadly, the ammonia didn't even kill the e.coli--but it did cause several states to return the beef as inedible, due to the overpowering ammonia smell.
I admit that I occasionally drop by McD's, or B.King, or Dairy Queen, for a burger. No more.
Safe sources of beef (no pink slime; no ammonia added; no antibiotics or hormones added):
Burgerville
All McMenamins locations (Oregon Country Natural beef)
Lots of restaurants who grind their own ground beef, but you have to check.
Safe source of chicken: Chipotle; Panera
Safe source of pork: Chipotle (but note: Chipotle is not a safe source of beef)
Yuck. Sad day for our republic, when the government, which is so bought off by industry lobbyists, will not only do nothing to prevent something like this, but our government actually allowed it and tacitly encouraged it. All we can do as citizens is complain, "throw the bums out," and stop buying fast food burgers, while telling the food chains why.
http://newyorktimes.com/2009/12/31meat.html and search for "ground beef"



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