#WineWorldCup2018 predictor

As the only wine blogger with a Physed degree*  i feel it’s my duty to comment on, and predict a winner for the FIFA World Cup tournament happening right now in Russia.

Many methods are used to predict sportsing ball winners.  Paul the Octopus, Achilles the deaf Oracle cat, and Flopsy the Kangaroo are just some of the animals used to predict a winner.   So I thought, rather than use animals, metrics or “algorithms” [whatever they are] to predict a winner, let’s look at the wine produced by each country to predict a winner.  Here’s my argument for each team that i think has a chance to win.

4th Place – Germany.  Their Fußball team takes a back seat to nobody. But the fear of mispronouncing “Gewürztraminer” (German: [ɡəˈvʏɐ̯tstʁaˈmiːnɐ]) sadly places them low on the #WineWorldCup2018 list.

3rd Place – Portugal. I don’t love Portuguese wines that aren’t Port, with the exception of  a Vinho Verde on a warm day – but Portugal’s best and most beautiful player, Ronaldo, is a teetotaler – so his team can’t really be taken seriously. But hey, if you’re the best looking man on the pitch with over 2 billion people watching did you really lose?

Runner Up – France. My favourite thing about the French soccer team is their kit [or jersey as we say this side of the pond] featuring le coq. My second favourite thing is rose wine from any French region.

Le coq

Paparazzi photo of me drinking Rosé in Provence

#WineWorldCup 2018 Winner – Spain. One word – “Muga”. I have a well documented love affair with this pink nectar, the love child of Dionysus and Ariadne. It’s certainly the most photogenic wine in the world. Take that Cristiano Ronaldo.

Paparazzi photo of Muga in my back yard

Wines to drink this summer …

Muga Rosé 2017 Spain

—VINTAGES#: 603795   |   750 mL bottle $14.95 Released June 9

La Vieille Ferme Rose France

—LCBO#: 622134   |   750 mL bottle $11.95

Alianca Vinho Verde Portugal

—LCBO#: 75663   |   750 mL bottle $9.35

Pierre Sparr Gewürztraminer

it’s actually from Alsace but close enough right, and hey, another vote for France

—LCBO#: 373373   |   750 mL bottle $17.95

*footnote re. being the only wine blogger with a PE degree [a fact that i can’t actually verify so can somebody please add me as a reliable source on Wikipedia]

World Cup Observations again

Sitting down, sipping a glass of Royal City Brewing Gateway IPA I came up with a few more World Cup Observations – aside from the one that my IPA was delicious.

Puma is getting attention at these games with their stupid coloured shoes. The right foot is pink and the left is blue. Sorry did I say stupid? Good, I did say stupid. Besides looking like the pink and blue popsicles  the players look like they’re  annoying, “I’m so wealthy I buy 2 pairs of shoes and only wear one of each” kids.

Speaking of popsicles did you catch a look at the USA jerseys – now those look like popsicles. No matter how you love USA soccer don’t buy one of these, they will look 10 years out of date by  July 5th.

 

And finally, check out the new World Cup Adidas ball. Tell me it doesn’t look eerily like  like the one I bought my daughters 5 years ago at Old Navy for $2.

World Cup Observations

Day 1 – I couldn’t be happier knowing that there is a month of the beautiful game to watch.  Here is what I have observed from the opening match Brasil vs. Croatia.

1. FRED is my favourite name for a footballer 
2. HULK is actually an enormous man. His shoulders and pects alone probably need 10,000 calories each day 
3. David Luiz looks like Sideshow Bob
4. It appears that Gene Hackman is coaching Brasil this year
5. The vowel to consonant ratio in Croatian names is ridiculously low [Vrsaljko – time to  buy another vowel please]
6. Daniel Craig has given up on James Bond and is now a midfielder for the Croatian soccer team under the pseudonym Ivica Olić
7. My skills are wasted as a wine blogger – soccer analyst is clearly my calling

World Cup Predictions

Manatees, monkeys, and an octopus are all used as predictor of winners of major sporting events. Groundhogs too if you count Spring as a sporting event.

So this year I decided to open a Rioja and if it sees its shadow then Spain is going to win FIFA’s World Cup again. The proof is right before you.  Start singing “Campeones, campeones, ole, ole, ole!”

Thanks Bodegas LAN – you were delicious.