Hoose juice, blogs, cheap Pinot, wine in food stores – sipped and spit
SPIT: “pinot noir”
Pinot or dunno? The cachet and appeal of the fickle pinot noir has led to a proliferation of low-priced pinots, which, by US law, must only contain 75 percent to state the grape on the label. Decanter reports that French authorities have brought charges against 13 defendants in the the south of France for stretching pinot more than that, selling the equivalent of 16 million bottles worth of cheaper merlot and syrah to E & J Gallo for their $9 Red Bicylcette pinot noir. The court will likely hand down its decision in two weeks.
GULPED: “wine”
The scourge of Scotland is Buckfast tonic wine, caffeinated, sweet drink made by Benedictine monks. Weighing in at 15% alcohol and with the caffeine equivalent of eight cans of Coke, this low-priced drink has been dubbed “wreck the hoose juice” (hoose being the Scottish pronunciation of “house”) or “commotion lotion.” It has sparked a debate on whether to introduce minimum prices for alcoholic drinks in Scotland. [NYTimes.com]
SIPPED: wine in supermarkets
The editorial page of the NYT argues in favor of wine in grocery stores calling the campaign against it “an impassioned but utterly cynical defense of the little guy.”
SIPPED: science!
Have a vineyard fungus? Science has a solution: liquid spray-on glass! All those pears grown in glass bottles, move over! [Telegraph]
SPIT: blogs for young people
Younger Americans, aged 12 – 29, are abandoning blogging in favor or Twitter and Facebook. Why? Too long – LOL! But the study from the Pew Internet & American Life Project does find blogging on the rise in ancient people (over thirty) where more than one in ten maintains a blog.
On February 5th, 2010 at 3:11 pm ,Joe wrote:
Ancient by a year. Dammit.
And if I want Syrah, I’ll drink Syrah. Keep the Pinot pure!!
On February 6th, 2010 at 8:37 am ,Steve Winston wrote:
As I remember, Red Bicyclette carries a Healdsburg return address rather than Modesto as is usual with Gallo products. That is Gina Gallo’s turf and with even a little pillow talk with J.C., she would have known there is not that many hectoliters of Pinot Noir juice available in Languedoc. See no evil, hear no evil should not cut it in a company with the resources E&J Gallo employs.
On February 6th, 2010 at 1:48 pm ,Pete wrote:
I’m sure you know this, Dr. Vino, but some readers might not be aware that while federal regulations say a wine can contain as little as 75 percent of a particular variety to gain the varietal label, Oregon state law requires that wines labeled as Pinot Noir contain at least 90 percent Pinot Noir. (The state relaxes the requirement to 75 percent for Bordeaux and Rhone-style wines, of which there is relatively little produced in the state, though you will find some good ones from the Rogue/Applegate.)
On February 6th, 2010 at 3:22 pm ,Ed Thralls wrote:
As Pete mentions, Oregon law is more stringent requiring 90% for Pinot, which may account for why my wife and I enjoy their Pinot’s moreso than others and accounting for about 25% of my cellar.
I’m not telling you what kind of fungus I have…
Amazing how with the latest medical technologies, healthy focus, etc… allowing us to live longer and calling 50 the “new 40” and so on, how the world of the interwebs and social media still relegate me to “ancient” status… just can’t win
Cheers!
On February 6th, 2010 at 4:35 pm ,Dr. Vino wrote:
Pete – good clarification on Oregon. But it’s not just pinot noir that has to be 90 percent, it’s pinot gris, chardonnay, riesling, etc. (See a list of the exceptions at the Oregon Liquor Control Commission)
Do you think Gallo will do an Oregon Pinot any time soon?
Ed – Funny. I would say more but this comment is already too long. I have to go update my facebook status…
In all seriousness, I see blogs and FB and Twitter doing different things and, actually, quite compatible. And with a blog, at least you own your content, fwiw.
On February 7th, 2010 at 3:11 pm ,ian wrote:
MacMurray Ranch is doing an Oregon Pinot
On February 8th, 2010 at 4:08 pm ,Fred wrote:
They have been up here sneaking around…looking to buy some juice. I poured that “pinot pretender” at the end of a class recently asking what they thought might be the amount of PN in it..most thought none!
And Ed, you are far from “Ancient”..anyone who drinks the amount of Oregon’s good wine as you do..I heard you get carded now and then..or is that Hardy.
On February 8th, 2010 at 4:15 pm ,Steve Winston wrote:
Way back in 1999, in a Los Angeles Times article about Gina and Matt Gallo, Barry Stavro wrote: E.&J. Gallo Winery’s pitchwoman is a 32-year-old blonde who wears boots and blue jeans, works in the family’s vineyards, knows the difference between a petite sirah and a pinot noir and has the letter G in her last name.
Back then Gina Gallo told Barry that, “We knew what was inside our bottle, and we knew what was inside our competitors.” What song is she singing now?
On February 9th, 2010 at 12:31 pm ,Jeff Swanson wrote:
Interesting about MacMurray doing an Oregon Pinot. Who is supplying the fruit/juice?
We have plenty of Viridian ’07 100% Willamette Valley Pinot that retails for less than $15. Real Pinot for the people! Try it.