Yesterday, July 6th, was the first day of
San Fermín or Sanfermines in Pamplona, in celebration of
Saint Fermín. As is tradition,
it starts with a rocket, and turns into
a giant, joyous, drunken party in the streets. The
events to follow have changed over the centuries, with the addition of Riau Riau in 1914 (
actual singing,
words and lyrics,
Spanish Wiki page with lyrics) in 1914, and most recently,
leaving of candles and red bandanas at
the Church of San Lorenzo, following the singing of
Pobre de Mi. Oh, and there's
the running of the bulls (
route,
photos from yesterday's run,
previously).
[more inside]
posted by filthy light thief
on Jul 7, 2011 -
9 comments
Think making beer at home is legal? Depends where your home is.
In 1978, US President Carter signed H.R. 1337, which, among other things, provided an exemption from excise taxes on up to 100 gallons of
homemade wine and beer annually. It was still up to the individual states to decide whether or not to allow their citizens to brew.
33 years later,
homebrewing is a very popular hobby, legal almost all states.
Except
Mississippi and
Alabama. [more inside]
posted by Marky
on Jun 13, 2011 -
70 comments
"The most important event in the history of wine." Boutique winemaker Bill Wertzberger
announces a rather expensive new line of wine. "If you ever find a bottle of wine more expensive ... we will retroactively bill you for the difference, plus a few thousand dollars. Just to make sure that
you have the most expensive bottle of wine in the world."
posted by woodblock100
on Nov 21, 2010 -
32 comments
Have you ever wondered why you can't get what you want, but, if you try sometimes, etc.? Mark Hicken, a British Colombian lawyer,
is a great source of information on the state(s) of Canadian liquor regulations. Sure, a little localised and dry, but that's the terroir, man. Also, he does point out
some inanities that have a relatively universal appeal.
posted by converge
on Dec 10, 2009 -
27 comments
Alternative wine closures are being resisted. Alcoa's new glass stopper with
Dupont's vinyl ring costs nearly the same as a cork (50¢ to 70¢ each), but requires new bottling machines. Although cheaper screw caps also prevent
undesirable compounds from tainting wine, and eliminates the need for horizontal storage, they change the purist aspect of the bottle and are not biodegradable. Naturalists point out the problem of having
cork forests disappear in the Mediterranean region from low demand.
posted by Brian B.
on Aug 30, 2009 -
97 comments
"
Cochon 555 is a culinary event featuring 5 chefs, 5 pigs, and 5 winemakers in a friendly competition for a cause. Each chef will prepare a 70 pound heritage pig from head to toe for 200 enthusiasts." (flash site)
[more inside]
posted by mkb
on Apr 15, 2009 -
18 comments
How do different wines taste? An interesting visualization tries to answer the question of what is different about a Shiraz vs. a Pinot vs. a Cab, built from scanning keywords on 5,000 tasting notes over a five year period.
posted by mathowie
on Oct 31, 2008 -
42 comments
Codeweavers is offering their product line for free until midnight Central time tonight. They implement versions of WINE, which allows one to run Windows programs under Mac OSX and Linux, including implementations focused on running games.
[more inside]
posted by Kwine
on Oct 28, 2008 -
40 comments
Wildman of the Loire, Didier Dagueneau RIP Didier Dagueneau, iconoclastic motorcycle driving beard-sporting winegrower of France's Loire valley, died today in a private plane crash. Dagueneau pushed winemaking in his region to a new level; his Silex (100 percent sauvignon blanc), farmed biodynamically on flinty soil, is a profound wine. I recently tasted the '99 Silex, one word: incroyable. A wine that redefines sauvignon blanc and makes you happy to be alive. Dagueneau also pushed younger colleagues like the cidermaker
Eric Bordelet to pursue their craft at a higher level: the result is Bordelet's Granit pear cider, from 300 year old biodynamically farmed pear trees.
posted by Izzy
on Sep 17, 2008 -
45 comments
The best-known version of that joyful ode to getting smashed,
Drinkin' Wine Spo-Dee-O-Dee, would surely be the
Jerry Lee Lewis rendition, and Memphis rockabilly singer
Johnny Burnette recorded a
hopping little version of the tune as well. But the song was written and
originally recorded by
Stick (aka "Sticks") McGhee, who adapted it from a chant he learned during his stint in the Army. And yes, "spo-dee-o-dee" was a substitute for
another word, which, though fine for the Army, wasn't exactly radio friendly. Stick wrote a few other tunes in celebration of the alcoholic beverage, including
"Six To Eight" and "Jungle Juice". And as has been pointed out
previously, the song title was likely the inspiration for the alcoholic concoction known as the "
spodi". Drink up!
posted by flapjax at midnite
on Apr 13, 2008 -
8 comments
Italy
produced and sold at least 70 million litres of cheap wine containing acid, manure and fertiliser, Italian weekly L'Espresso said on Friday largely blaming organised crime in the south.
[more inside]
posted by preparat
on Apr 9, 2008 -
54 comments
Jack Keller's
winemaking site has not only the
basics of home winemaking in 5 parts [
12345], but also information on more
advanced topics, including
acidity,
blending, and
using a hydrometer. Equally interesting is his extensive collection of recipes for making wines out of things other than grapes, including
dandelions and other
edible flowers,
wild plants (including
nettles!),
cabbages and
beets,
tea and
coffee,
mint,
pomegranates, and
pumpkins. A complete list of recipes is
here, if you'd like to click through alphabetically, and a list of specially-requested recipes is
here (scroll down a bit).
posted by Upton O'Good
on Oct 28, 2007 -
11 comments
Moldovan wine was
famous throughout the former Soviet Union. The centerpiece of its industry was (and is) a huge network of caverns known as
Cricova where Stalin supposedly stored the remnants of
Goering’s wine collection. The collapse of the Soviet Union brought extreme economic hardship to Moldova. In the midst of this hardship, the Russian Government
imposed a ban on Moldovan (and Georgian) wines and cut off access to their largest export market. You might want to consider their plight if you visit the liquor store this weekend.
posted by jason's_planet
on Aug 12, 2006 -
11 comments
