The Chicago Tribune on how to improve your BYOB experience. "If you spend $40 in a store, that's an $80 bottle in a restaurant. By-the-glass markups are even higher than bottles — much higher."
The Los Angeles Times on how to go swimming in Francis Ford Coppola's winery pool. "The winery itself is a kind of theme park for adults. It has a tasting room, of course, with more than 40 types of wines, a film gallery and two restaurants."
Jane Anson in Decanter on the impact of a Brexit for Bordeaux. "On top of that we all know that, whatever they say, the historical set up of Bordeaux means that châteaux don’t have to worry too much about whether Berry Bros, Corneys, Zachys or Watson’s are happy with the prices – they just have to worry about whether the Bordeaux négociants are going to buy."
With the 40th anniversary of the Judgment of Paris coming up and Alder Yarrow reflects on its impact. "The results shocked the room," recalled Taber. "Chateau Montelena had run away with the prize. When they moved on to the reds, the mood of the room was totally different. People were seriously concentrating. They knew what had happened in the first part of the tasting, and they probably felt they did not want to make the same mistakes again. But they got through all the wines, and the Stag's Leap Cabernet had won."
Winefolly on arsenic in wine. "The U.S. has not established a maximum arsenic concentration for wine, but Canada uses 100 parts per billion (ppb) and the 46-member International Organisation of Vine and Wine uses an upper limit of 200 ppb. No more than 0.3% (if any) of wines exceed the 100 ppb threshold."
Punch on tasting out the second cheapest wine principal. "But with the ever-increasing price for the well-known wines, the best place to find value—both for the restaurant and the guest—is in the esoterica."
Food and Wine pairs Girl Scout cookies with wine. "A Do-Si-Do is a delightful peanut butter sandwich cookie, and a Zweigelt is a pleasant, lightweight Austrian red that tastes like fresh berries and spice."
