Holiday Magic

The first Vintages Holiday catalogue arrived in the mail yesterday!  It actually sat in the mail pile for over 2 hours before my wife casually mentioned that “the LCBO Christmas catalogue arrived today“.   I squealed with delight, grabbed a Sharpie and tucked in.

In between the Don Pérignon gift set ($230), the magnum of Rioja (LAN reserva $40) and the enormous Chianti (Da Vinci 5000 mL) I found my favorite page.

“Save the Date! Beaujolais Nouveau arrives on Vintages shelves November 17″  - Beaujolais Nouveau!  I love Nouveau.  It marks the beginning of Christmas celebrations in our house.  Fresh, fruity, effervescent – it’s a  wine for the masses.

Now I work at being a wine snob as much as the next guy but I can’t help but be happy about this simple wine inexpensive wine.  It’s just fun for me – and hey, if wine isn’t fun then you shouldn’t be drinking it.

Also, after drinking Nouveau for a month that magnum of LAN and the 5000 mL Chianti are going to taste really good.

Educate Our Youth

I learned two things today.  First thing –  if you live near a University don’t go to the wine store on a Thursday night.  Thing two –  if you are in a wine store don’t listen to college kids recommending wine to their friends.  They are not the discerning demographic group.  I should have known that from the kid purchasing a bottle of vodka and a 6 pack of Miller Light cans – but that’s not even what tipped me off.  It was a conversation that I overheard in the aisle next to me.

“Girls’ Night Out is a great Rosé” was the comment that almost made me drop my imported British beer.  I really think we need to change our entire Education system. Girls’ Night Out is NOT a great rosé – neither is the Girls’ Night Out Sangria in a 1.5 mL bottle. Girls’ Night Out may be tasty, it may be a great value, it may even be cute – but we do need to educate our youth in the ways of wine.  Muga and Gran Fuedo are great Rosé wines – as is practically anything from Provence –  but a wine with a pink sundress on the label is not an indication of a great wine. Sorry girls – but I hope you did have a nice girls’ night out .

Of Course I’m a Wine Snob

First of all, everybody is a snob.   In fact my whole family is a bunch of snobs. My wife is a bathroom snob.  She is also turning into a cheese snob. This is the girl that in college kept a can of spray cheese under her car seat. When we told our daughters this they exclaimed, “You can get cheese in a spray can?”  They are not cheese snobs.  They are stuffed animal snobs – all Webkinz, all the time.

Secondly, a snob is not a jerk. A snob is simply somebody who will not accept sub-standard.  In fact they are intentional about their standards.  Couldn’t we use more of that in our world?  People who put forth that kind of effort are worth more of  my time.

Personal wine standards have to start and stop somewhere. I, for one, won’t drink a wine that includes a pun in its name (see A Wine by any other name) or that comes in an aluminium haggis.

Some people just happen to be wine snobs and I’m not sure why people don’t appreciate that more.

I know a wine snob.  In fact one of the things that I love about her is that she is a wine snob.  She is the only person who attends my Beaujolais party and doesn’t like ANY of the wines.  This year I gave her Mill Street beer.  It’s a level of snobbery a little higher than I am comfortable embracing, but I can appreciate the effort. I’m going to thank her for it tomorrow.