Tasting sized pours
Lawmakers in Massachusetts overrode the Governor’s veto yesterday and passed a law for shipping wine directly from wineries to consumers. The legislation also allows diners to re-cork an unfinished bottle at a restaurant and bring it home with them. With New York and Connecticut already open to direct shipping, opening up the densely populated Northeast should be a boon to boutique winemakers in California and the Pacific Northwest. Now, if only shipping costs can be reasonable…
In New York City, two restaurants are show just how much wine New Yorkers can drink. The Silverleaf Tavern is offering three grades of “all you can drink wines” at $35, $48, and $84. I like their description of the last one “endless wonderful wine, if you arrived drunk and pointed to the wrong grade of wine.” Yikes. Makes the bottomless cup of coffee look so benign…Cité throws in some food too for $69…more
And New Yorkers are mixing it up with many bartending classes available around town, reports James Oliver Cury in Time Out New York. Columbia even offers one–talk about shaking things up!
Winemakers in France staged protests across the south of France yesterday. They are the bulk producers who compete on price and find that they are losing business to New World competitors, who have better labels among other things that appeal to consumers. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin’s plan for the sector is still pending…




