Good Drinking

2 Glasses of Red Wine a Day to Stay ThinYou might be able to drink and stay thin at the same time. I’m not sure that I believe it because it sounds too good to be true, but that doesn’t stop me from wishful thinking about this one.

After a slew of studies about the benefits of moderate drinking, a new study conducted in the United States was released with surprising results - women who drink stay thinner than those who don’t drink at all.

Who knew?

Of the 19,000 female participants of the study, the non-drinkers gained the most weight. In fact,  according to the BBC (who we have to trust, right?), “there was an inverse relationship between alcohol drinking and weight gain.”
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Someone recently posed the question, "What flavor is Coke?"  Well, cola flavor, obviously.  But what flavor is "cola"?  Is there a magical cola root, from which we derive the taste?  I couldn't stop thinking about it, and I ended up having to research the question to save my own sanity.

First thing's first.  You have probably heard by now that Coca-Cola used to contain cocaine.  This is 100% true, although the amount was, in the words of a Coke spokesperson, "trivial."  And I believe this - particularly considering the patent medicines of the day, which were heavily laced with sweet cocaine.  I understand it was excellent for the digestion.
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Fake Grapes?Everyone in the “Land of Freedom Fries” is more than aware that the French are snobs when it comes to their wine, their cheese, and their food. Because of this, today's news should come as no surprise:   “A dozen French winemakers and traders have been found guilty of a massive scam to sell 18 million bottles of fake Pinot Noir to a leading US buyer” for the very reason that they were under the (mistaken) impression that they could get away with it.


The 12 wine producers mis-labeled and mis-represented the expensive and popular wine in exports to the United States. How they were caught is telling both for the French and for the United States wine drinkers.
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HangoverThe people who somehow or another always manage to abstain from drinking get more than a little sanctimonious about their non-drinking when around drinkers the day after a night out. While it’s always nice to have non-drinking friends who are willing and able to be the designated driver, it’s not as much when to listen to them gloat the next day as you pray to the porcelain God.

These same people would suggest not drinking at all as a method to avoid a hangover, but believe it or not, there are a few simple remedies to help out the situation, some of which are more obvious than others:

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In the middle ages in Europe when local economies were driven as much by barter as by hard currency, food found its way into the wages of everyday laborers as much, if not more often, than precious metals. Some fiefdoms ended up having to deal with drunk workers because many of them were paid in high-quantity spirits like beer. After all, alcohol kept for a long time and could be parceled out in discreet packages like bottles, bags and jugs. For your average feudal worker, an ale today had more value than a coin to be spent tomorrow. And why not get a little sloshed when there's wood to be cut and fields to be plowed? An alcohol buzz is distracting, pleasantly or otherwise. Though we today aren't permitted to drink on the job, there are plenty of us who would gladly take the opportunity to do so.

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Growler! Read more

Canned Beer“Schlemiel, schlimazel, hasenpfeffer incorporated!”

I’ll give you five dollars if you can tell me where these lyrics are from and who sang them. OK, actually, I probably won’t because it’s too easy. Of course, the lyrics are from “Laverne and Shirley”, which is definitely an iconic television show from the 70’s. What the lyrics actually might mean is another story altogether.

“Laverne and Shirley” was set in Milwaukee, WI, which is pretty much famous for one thing only: beer. Read more

The 100 ClubWho says college isn’t fun? I graduated quite a while ago, but still remember the good old days of watching the near-by guys religiously become members of “The 100 Club”, which was most definitely a rite of passage for many of them, even those who never joined the Greek system.

The idea behind “The 100 Club”, which now has its very own Facebook Group dedicated to the idea, is to drink 100 consecutive shots of beer, one every minute, for one hundred minutes without vomiting or running to the toilet. It is definitely debatable whether this is a positive drinking experience for most of the participants- my guess is that half of them can’t even remember it.
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I will confess I'd never heard of either Leaping Horse or their parent label, Iron Stone Vineyards, located in Lodi, California. This is a family winery, and a product of the Kautz family Vineyards. John Kautz begin as a grape supplier, growing wine grapes on twelve acres in Lodi. Today the Kautz family owns several thousand acres of vineyards in Lodi, and California Sierra Foothills. The Leaping Horse wines (Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel, Shiraz, Merlot, and Chardonnay) are from a single vineyard. Read more

Crane Lake is very much a budget table wine label. It's one of Frank Franzia's labels, part of his Classic California group, and owned by Bronco, best known as the makers of Charles Shaw wines, the "Two Buck Chuck" wines sold exclusively through Trader Joe's. I've been seeing Crane Lake at the local RiteAid at two bottles for $7.00, and I have to confess, I turned my nose up, after a less than positive experience with Charles Shaw wines. All of the Crane Lake wines (but not Crane Lake Down Under) are California wines. Read more