For too long, oenology (een-ology, the study of wine) was considered off-limits to the average American consumer. Wine knowledge was a carefully guarded male stronghold of stuffy sommeliers, grumpy English professors with big, red noses and the wealthy. But in the late ’80s and early ’90s, the wine industry began selling its products in the United States with a more inclusive approach. A methodical marketing scheme began with easily understood White Zinfandel. Wineries started selling people on Chardonnay and then Merlot, varietals that were easy to drink, whose names had a ring of sophistication. People took notice. It was a […]
Culture & Wit
Cognition & Wine
Roots and brains Lalou Bize Leroy, a Burgundian winemaker, has a rallying call of ‘Respectez le terre!’ ‘I hate technology,’ she says, ‘it produces fake wines’ (in MacLean, 2007, p.30). She views vine roots, somewhat anthropomorphically, as brains. She recounts stories of her vines ‘withdrawing’ from chemical dependency when switched to a biodynamic approach, created by the Austrian ‘anthroposophist’ Rudolph Steiner in 1924. Steiner believed that agriculture should be in harmony with natural systems such as lunar cycles, for example by filling a cow’s horn with manure and then burying it amongst vines until the spring solstice. Many psychologists might […]
Wine Snobbery
In the vestibule of my home, the other dinner guests sweep past Sebastian as he clutches his bottle of wine like a talisman to ward off evil spirits—their wines. I have to coax him to join the group in the dining room by telling him about my antique corkscrew. While he’s distracted with its mechanics, I whisk his bottle into the kitchen to decant it. Later, as we sit down to dinner, he sniffs suspiciously at my stemware, holding it up to the light to check for spots. Then he clears his palate with several conversation-silencing throat noises while ceremoniously […]
High Tech Vintners
Cisco Systems just bought your little start-up for $350 million. Careful though — money without class lands you in a Rockcliffe glass house. If you have instant wealth, you need instant culture. Unfortunately, engineering school didn’t offer electives in Expressionist painting or Russian literature. A liberal education is useful only after you’ve made the big bucks – sadly, it doesn’t get you there. So settle for something more accessible, something conspicuous you can buy. You’ve already commissioned the yacht in Holland, Donatella Versace is coming to measure Thursday, and the Z8 is on order. What you’re missing is something Old […]
Celebrity Winemakers
Marilyn Merlot and Jailhouse Red aren’t high-end plonk, but they are among the better-known and widely consumed Marilyn and Elvis selections — celebrity wines with a hint of exploitation, a heavy aroma of kitsch and a nose for profit. Celebrity wines are in, to judge by this growing list: Madonna, Wayne Gretzky, Dan Aykroyd, Mike Weir, Tommy Lasorda, Jerry Garcia, Bob Dylan, Mariah Carey, Lorraine Bracco, Larry Bird, Fess Parker, Francis Ford Coppola, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Gérard Depardieu, Olivia Newton-John, Barbra Streisand, Sting, Mario Andretti, Michael Schumacher, Paris Hilton, Cliff Richard, Steven Seagal, Sam Neill and Mötley Crüe frontman […]
Wine Snobbery 2
I don’t know about you, but I’ve always found the world of wine just a tad bit pretentious. Perhaps I label it so because it is a universe of which I am not a citizen. Fermented grapes have never done much for me, even in the days when hops and barley did. My latest contact with the wine world came the other day at the Westnedge Avenue Meijer store, of all places. I’m walking down the wine aisle strictly as a shortcut to the Oreos, and a well-dressed woman felt the need to impart her wine wisdom on me. “This […]
Which Wine to Pair with Lost?
Following on the briliant outpouring of creative suggestions for wines to drink while watching 24, herewith, we launch the quest to find wines to quaff while vegging out in front of the last season of Lost. May I kick things off with a modest suggestion of Tyrell’s Lost Block? Okay, that’s not a stretch so give your most creative wine pairings and I’ll post them here. Cheers, Natalie PS They look really thirsty here … someone open a refreshing Sauvignon Blanc for Pete’s sakes.
