Musing

Finally, there’s proof: 3 glasses of wine can make you silly

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A Brazilian photographer crafted a new drinking game with his friends to test out his favorite saying and the results are masterful.

Marcos Alberti took four photos of his friends, one after they arrived at a party, drained from traffic and work, and then three more, each after a glass of wine. As his favorite saying goes, “The first glass of wine is all about the food, the second glass is about love and the third glass is about mayhem.”

The proof is in that final shot.

Below are a few of Marco’s experimental photos. To see the rest, visit his website.

A photo posted by Thamiris Dias (@thatasd) on

The Ultimate Wine Reviews for Suburban Moms and Goats

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Comedian Jeff Wysaski, a joke-planting connoisseur, has dipped his toes into the often stiff world of wine reviews. Robert Parker may have his 100-point scale, Wysaski has sass.

The comedian added his personal reviews to a store’s wine section and recommended the perfect pairing for each bottle. Popping the cork on a bottle of a red wine from Sterling Vineyards? Don’t forget to share some with your goat! It pairs well with “pasture grass and repeatedly headbutting a wooden fence post,” according to Wysaski. And his preferred use for Seghesio’s Zinfandel: using the bottle as protection against night Orcs.

Post by Obvious Plant.

My favorites, from Wysaski’s tumblr, Obvious Plant:

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[h/t Huffington Post]

The Original Wine Snob

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While working through my pile of New Yorker magazines, I came across a lovely little cartoon. The first thing I thought was this guy is the original wine snob.

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Do you have any favorite wine cartoons? I want to see them!

Robert Parker v. Robot

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You know Robert Parker, the wine guru? He’s the one who came up with the 100-point system widely used today. He also has a way with words.

Check out some of his stand-out musings:

When I put my nose in a glass, it’s like tunnel vision. I move into another world, where everything around me is just gone, and every bit of mental energy is focused on that wine

From a wine critic’s perspective, there are far too many innocuous, over-oaked, over-acidified, or over-cropped wines emerging from California. While those sins would not be a problem if the wines sold for under $20, many are in fact $75-$150. That’s appalling.

Readers often wonder what the difference is between an 86 and an 87, both very good wines. The only answer I can give is a simple one: when tasted side by side, I thought the 87-point wine slightly better than the 86-point wine.

Now Vinepair is challenging you to distinguish between Robert Parker and a robot in a new quiz game.

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It’s pretty fun if you’re a wine dork. And you like to guess. I loveeee to guess.

Idaho: premiere wine locale?

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Remember Paso Robles man? How can you forget this debonaire fellow?

Now, the Idaho Wine Commission has taken their own shot at a cheeky, sarcastic promotional video.

This one features two characters from Idaho–a potato farmer and the owner of a rafting company. Both are having trouble convincing people that they are not in the wine industry. Because didn’t you know, not everyone works at a vineyard in Idaho!

My favorite line: “Potatoes in Idaho? Crazy, right?”

My favorite fact, which I did not learn from the video: Idahoans have been making wine since 1864!

What do you think of the video? What about Idaho as a wine destination?

I’ve never had wine from Idaho. Have suggestions for me?

Vote for me to become a wine apprentice!

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I have the chance to learn about making wine first-hand at Oberon Wines in Napa Valley. But I need your help to get there.

I entered a video contest to win a free weeklong trip to Napa Valley that includes travel, lodging, meeting Tony Coltrin, the winemaker at Oberon, and being his apprentice for the day. My video made it to the finals! See, that’s me, smiling in my contest video!

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Now that I’m in the top 8, I need people to vote for me to get to that final step. Whoever gets the most votes, wins!

Vote here!

Hiking through deep snow to get wine

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Remember that mile-long trek in the snow for wine I mentioned, well here’s the scoop on that adventure:

After playing many rounds of “Things” and “Cards Against Humanity,” we were running low on wine and vodka, so we decided to make a trip to the liquor store. The snow had piled too high to drive a car down the long driveway of our friend’s woodsy lodge near Zion National Park, where we spent the weekend, so we donned hats, gloves and boots and went on a liquor run by foot.

As our fearless leader pushed a shovel through the thick white blanket of snow to create a path, we passed cows, sheep and horses along the way.

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I even saw a snow-covered teepee for the first time.

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Finally making it to the liquor store, which doubles as a gift and sundries shop–I’ve always liked that word, sundries, it just has a certain elfish quality about it–there wasn’t much variety. There was a lot of Sutter Home and Barefoot Wines. I ended up picking up a 2011 Malbec by Bodego Navarro-Correas and a Tisdale Cabernet Sauvignon. Neither of which are really wines to write home about and both were overpriced by about double.

The Tisdale Cabernet Sauvignon was too watery for my taste. I felt like it was too open. It couldn’t hold its attempt at berry and plum flavors together, so the wine just fella part and  tasted like a glorified grape juice. But, it turned out to be perfect for Sangria! I’ll share the recipe in another post. Here’s a picture teaser:

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You’ll also have to wait until later this week for my review of the Malbec.

Reuse leftover wine bottles as vases

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I love fresh flowers, but some stems last longer than others and when my full bouquet starts to wilt, I like to pick out the survivors from the vase and transfer them over to leftover wine bottles. So the next time you finish a Sauvignon Blanc or a Chardonnay, don’t save that clear glass bottle!

Check out the mini-bouquets I just whipped together:

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I chose to make the bouquet full because I like it that way, but one carnation or similar flower could stand on its own, as well.

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I love how you can see the varying lengths of the stems through the clear glass.

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Close up!

Some tips:

  • Cut your stems at different lengths to add dimension
  • Use more than one bottle (two if you have candles or three if you don’t) for your centerpiece
  • Gather flowers of different colors
  • Put some of the same flowers in all the vases, but mix it up so there are more of one kind of flower in one bottle than the other
  • Choose a clear glass to make the centerpiece look bright and fresh
  • If you only have dark bottles from red wines, I suggest spray painting them silver or another color with some shine that matches your dining room decor