Wine in the News

[Stretch]

We're number one! We're number ... wait. What the ... ?

Perhaps not entirely unrelated to this ancillary factoid.

Shoulders to the wheel, peeps. Noses in the glass.

[Sthitch]

I think that I exceeded the average Italian by March.

[Mark Slater]

We're number one! We're number ... wait. What the ... ?

Perhaps not entirely unrelated to this ancillary factoid.

Shoulders to the wheel, peeps. Noses in the glass.

Favorite Simpsons episode: Krusty opens the fridge and says "mmmmm Slimfast or Champagne".... he then takes both out.....

2 6oz. glasses of wine every day for 365 days is a great deal more than 16 liters. The flyover space kills us everytime! No wonder E&J Gallo are/were billionaires.

[chuchelo]

I'm amazed to see that Japan is ahead of us.

[Waitman]

Based on this statistic, I'm carrying the burden for 51.14 other people.

[Heather]

Based on this statistic, I'm carrying the burden for 51.14 other people.

A heroic effort. Thanks.

[Sthitch]

I'm amazed to see that Japan is ahead of us. 

Actaully, I am surprised that the Japanese were not at the top of the list. I used to do business all over Asia, and am still quite impressed by how much wine my Japanese clients would put away.

[FunnyJohn]

New Gallup poll says that among those who imbibe, wine has edged out beer as the beverage of choice 39% to 36%

Edited July 19, 2005 by FunnyJohn

[zoramargolis]

New Gallup poll says that among those who imbibe, wine has edged out beer as the beverage of choice 39% to 36%

Interesting. Are these new wine drinkers former beer drinkers? Were there more than 25% drinking other alcoholic beverages the last time this kind of survey was done, in other words does this indicate that there are liquor drinkers who have switched to wine? Did they ask what varietal, brand or price level wine these folks were drinking? My guess is the answer would be heavily weighted toward Yellowtail/Two Buck Chuck. Then again I shouldn't be snobbish--wine lovers gotta start somewhere. I used to drink Lancer's, Mateus and Gallo Hearty Burgundy when I first came of drinking age.

[FunnyJohn]

Interesting. Are these new wine drinkers former beer drinkers? Were there more than 25% drinking other alcoholic beverages the last time this kind of survey was done, in other words does this indicate that there are  liquor drinkers who have switched to wine? Did they ask what varietal, brand or price level wine these folks were drinking? My guess is the answer would be heavily weighted toward Yellowtail/Two Buck Chuck. Then again I shouldn't be snobbish--wine lovers gotta start somewhere. I used to drink Lancer's, Mateus and Gallo Hearty Burgundy when I first came of drinking age.

Here is an excerpt from the story in yesterday's Washington Times

"Some have theories about Gallup's findings.

"Well, baby boomers have always been the primary group which has consumed wine," said Gladys Horiuchi, spokeswoman for the San Francisco-based Wine Institute.

"We have found recently that the twentysomethings are getting interested in wine. Anecdotally, people say that these are the children who grew up with wine as a mealtime beverage. Their parents served it; now, so do they," she said.

Gallup confirms this to a point. In 1992, 13 percent of drinkers up to age 29 drank wine. Now the figure is 16 percent. But Gallup also has found that this group has a taste for the hard stuff.

"Young adults are trading in their beer mugs for martini glasses in droves," the poll said.

Beer drinking has dropped from a high of 71 percent of that age group in 1992 to 48 percent now, while a preference for hard liquor has risen from 13 percent to 32 percent in the same time period.

Gallup also has found a "gender gap" in drinking. More than half of the male respondents - 52 percent - prefer beer, while only 23 percent of women preferred it.

The survey also revealed that "minorities are switching to wine," with 39 percent of nonwhites preferring wine and 38 percent beer. The figures stood at 22 percent and 53 percent, respectively, back in 1992."

I don't think the survey got into which or what quality wines were preferred. Just generic wine or beer or something else.

[Al Dente]

On a related note:

Alcoholic-Beverage-Consumer Confidence Skyrockets

[Pool Boy]

Clearly, foodies and wine-os alike are way far ahead of the 'average' us consumption. My pals over at Vinocellar all probably hit the 100 liter mark by Jan 20th.

[Meaghan]

From October 6 IHT

I saw another story about this on the tube tonight. Can this not be done with Colombia Crest Chardonnay, as well?

Edited November 1, 2005 by Meaghan

[MBK]

A history lesson from the folks at DCist...

[DLB]

The last sentence of this article makes you think!

In an Enclave of Serious Wine Lovers, a Mesmerizing Theft

[johnb]

The last sentence of this article makes you think!

In an Enclave of Serious Wine Lovers, a Mesmerizing Theft

Seems to me this could only happen because wines like this have long since passed out of the realm of things to drink with dinner to the realm of trophies, like big jewels and super cars, of interest primarily to the super rich who might or might not appreciate their intrinsic value but who surely want them as a way to flaunt their wealth, and who have driven their prices way out of line with whatever objective extra value they may bring (Veblen goods). If somebody comes along and steals them from such persons, that's bad but it's hard to get too worked up about it, at least from my more modestly endowed vantage point.

That said, I'll now be installing a machine gun nest in my cellar to protect the few remaining such liquids as I possess (I do have one remaining bottle of '29 Leoville Las Cases, and a few '61's, 66's, and '70's, but they have mostly been dispatched with various dinners).

As to the last line in the story, we have all become inured to such events, to the point that they lack "newsworthiness." Unfortunately, life, it seems, is cheap.

[Walrus]

Wine for Sale (in Chicago) - Largest named single-cellar wine auction

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the..._million_w.html

[deangold]

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/the..._million_w.html

I was so touched by the guy's wife and now owner of the collection... such humanitarian reasons to sell his cellar.... I guess the $6.3 million she is expected to recieve, less the sellers premium, has nothing to do with it.

[Mark Slater]

I was so touched by the guy's wife and now owner of the collection... such humanitarian reasons to sell his cellar.... I guess the $6.3 million she is expected to recieve, less the sellers premium, has nothing to do with it.

I knew Steve Verlin. He was a great and very generous guy. He died unexpectedly last year at the age of 51. I'm sure the proceeds will help his wife and children quite a bit.

[deangold]

I knew Steve Verlin. He was a great and very generous guy. He died unexpectedly last year at the age of 51. I'm sure the proceeds will help his wife and children quite a bit.

I am not saying that the widow shoiuld not get as much money for selling off the colection as possible. It is an impressive collection. But it is not altruism to auction off a cellar. It is a business transaction.