Archive for the 'wine and sports' Category

They grew the balls inside the bottle [photo]

tennis_ball_wine_bottleThere’s been a lot of good tennis on TV the past ten days or so thanks to the US Open. And more exciting matches are coming over the weekend as new champions will be crowned. (The weather looks good in the coming days so they might actually wrap things up on schedule the coming days.)

I was at a tennis shop the other day and saw this item and thought it a timely fusion of our interest in wine and these current events.

Clearly, like pear brandy where the branches adorn the tree limbs, they grew these balls inside the bottle. Vive Chateau du Wilson!

Kobe Bryant, aka Vino

kobe_bryant_vino

Kobe Bryant recently tweeted that he loves his new nickname: vino. Is the 34-year-old Lakers star insinuating he gets better with age? Apparently. But the Bleacher Report suggests convincingly that he’s not getting better with age, just getting better at managing his age-related limitations. Either way, he’s only about two to three years away from having the Knicks pick him up for $25 million and try to build an offense around him!

Raj Parr tweeted about the new nickname and asked which wine is Kobe most like? My take: before the All-Star game he was a pass-toutgrain. But now he’s more point-driven.

Bud Selig, major league champagne hater!

Bud Selig watched the San Francisco Giants spray themselves with bubbly and tut-tutted. The owner of the Milwaukee Brewers and MLB Commissioner told the LA Times, “This is something I am not happy about: spraying champagne all over. I’m not a fan of that.”

I agree; the ritual is a little absurd at this point. Allow me to quote myself. Here’s what I wrote in the wake of new rules on locker room celebrations that went into effect in 2010:

While I am generally all for defending wine consumption in the public eye, I find it difficult to get too worked up about this latest MLB ruling. Clubs decided to forego champagne in favor of cheaper sparkling wine long ago. And while wine producers might want to bask in the aura of victory, what vintner would want to have their wine consumed out of an athletic cup while wearing ski goggles? I mean really, that would make even more people shudder than just Max Riedel!

The victors certainly deserve a celebration. But they have all off-season to savor the Champagne, with food and friends, without having to wear goggles.

What do you think–are you in favor of players chugging bubbly in the locker room? Try not to let sour grapes influence your point of view…

The “Champagne” ritual in baseball gets icy reception
Yankees and Rangers spray Champagne–or is it?

Rally car plows through vineyard

Forget horses plowing vineyards; an Alsace vineyard had a rally car plow through it during a race.

The above video shows one perspective of Petter Solberg’s vineyard tour. But the best video a trio of camera angles over at The Guardian (be sure to catch the navigator’s reaction at the end).

For those vine huggers out there, the vineyard owner wasn’t concerned about the damage.

Tony Parker vs Robert Parker

Tony Parker is at the height of his game, bringing his own THUNDER by hitting an eye-popping 76% of his jump shots Tuesday night. It turns out that the three-time NBA champion and star of the San Antonio Spurs is–wait for it–French! So the inquiring wine mind wants to know–who is more popular in France, Tony Parker or Robert Parker, recipient of the Légion d’honneur? And will they ever go head to head in Paris, a battle Parker royale (with cheese?) via a game of HORSE followed by a blind tasting of French wines? Here’s what the tweeps had to say:

RT @lagramiere: @drvino Definitely Tony…
RT @glarange72: @drvino haha! I hope Tony!
RT @whyknowinphilly: @drvino Trey Parker!!!
RT @TishWine: @drvino Actually, in Paris, hoopsters play CHEVAL… And the winning Parker would no doubt be Tony.
RT @nicholaskolnik: @TishWine @drvino To even the odds at CHEVAL, maybe an extensive tasting should be done first. #NoSpitting
RT @TweetAWine: depends on the Region 😉 RT @drvino: I wonder who is more popular in France, Robert Parker or Tony Parker?
RT @serewine: @drvino Robert more famous, Tony probably more loved 😉
RT @amybcleary: @drvino It is an Olympic year. I’d think that would give an advantage to Tony. I’d watch HORSE followed by a blind tasting.
RT @VictordelaSerna: @drvino Do you have to ask? Le Tony, he da man. And he owns one of the best basketball clubs in France.
RT @GDWine: @drvino Ask me again when RP is featured in multi-million dollars advertising deals. Until then, Tony for sure.

The “Champagne” ritual in baseball gets icy reception

Major League Baseball seeks to make the absurd ritual of victors spraying each other with drinks a non-alcoholic one. Korbel weeps. Catawba producers may break out the bubbly.

The NYT reported on the new guidelines over the weekend: “Teams must limit Champagne; offer a non-alcoholic version; beer and other types of alcoholic drinks are banned; and teams are not allowed to bring the drinks on the field.”

Sadly, the Times echoes most other sports reporting, calling the bubbly uncorked and sprayed all over the players “Champagne” when, as you know, the Dr. Vino spy cam has yet to see an actual bottle of champagne in a plastic-draped locker room this post season.

While I am generally all for defending wine consumption in the public eye, I find it difficult to get too worked up about this latest MLB ruling. Clubs decided to forego champagne in favor of cheaper sparkling wine long ago. And while wine producers might want to bask in the aura of victory, what vintner would want to have their wine consumed out of an athletic cup while wearing ski goggles? I mean really, that would make even more people shudder than just Max Riedel!

The victors certainly deserve a celebration. But they have all off-season to savor the Champagne, with food and friends, without having to wear goggles.

Yankees and Rangers spray Champagne–or is it?

Baseball season is winding down and we all know what that means–time for plastic tarps to adorn locker rooms, wine goggles to come out, and grown men to spray themselves with Champagne. Or, getting technical, is it instead sparkling wine?

Thanks to the Dr. Vino spy cam, we have locker room footage! (No, not of Brett Favre).

After clinching their wild card birth, the Yankees sprayed themselves with Hankell Sekt, a sparkling wine from Germany. (The Dr. Vino cam was too shrouded in bubbles to tell what went down after the Twins series, but we do get one look here.)

The Rangers, so as to include their star player Josh Hamilton who has fought alcohol and drug addiction, sprayed themselves with ginger ale after beating the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Rays had used Chateau Ste. Michelle’s sparkling wine from Washington state to douse their AL East victory. The Phillies sprayed Korbel from California for their NLDS win.

While the bubbles are flowing, the wine fans are still waiting for a team to pop the cork on actual champagne from Champagne (assuming they aren’t into ginger ale). Perhaps they will wait for the World Series for that.

Le Tour: wine “to dull the physical pain”

When Fabian Cancellara crossed the line first in the short prologue of the Tour de France, his bike was impounded and put through an X-ray machine. So were 13 others. Apparently authorities are suspicious of tiny motors assisting riders in the Tour. None were found.

An article detailing the day’s events appeared in the NYT. In it, they also looked back at other ways riders have been suspected (or found guilty) of cheating in the Tour. This one caught my eye:

Some riders have been accused of guzzling alcohol along the way — including carrying wine bottles on their bikes — to dull the physical pain of the race.

Okay, then! Which wine do you think figured in the strategy there–something refreshing and low alcohol or a high-octane fruit bomb?

Image: reduced sized crop of an image attributed to Reuters


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