Konstatin Baum, Master of Wine: The Truth about Alcohol and Why Andrew Huberman Is Wrong

Nov 10, 2024 | The true story about alcohol science.

Such a lovely, refreshing, and honest assessment of the drinking of alcohol, one of the pleasures of life. It is as if we are now living in a 'Neo-Puritanical Age', an age in which there are so many killjoys and do-gooders around, determined to destroy other people's pleasures. They forget that life is for living. They also appear to be unaware of the concept of joie de vivre, a concept which I believe is what is truly life-enhancing. Who wants to live a joyless life, and live forever anyway? And if one does give up on all the pleasures of life, how conducive is the abstemiousness to longevity anyway?

These days, if one listens to the so-called pundits, everything causes cancer and everything will kill you! From consuming wine to enjoying a smoke. We are admonished for enjoying any of the pleasures of life, and if we refuse to obey their crazy rules, we are taxed to the hilt, and often confined to our own homes to enjoy the pleasures to boot!

I repeat: We are living in a joyless age. It is so tiresome to listen to people's lectures. Mr Baum's talk is something quite different and quite refreshing. I can but wholeheartedly agree with his understanding and his sentiments. – © Mark Alexander

Whiskey, Rum, Wine, Bars | 60 Minutes Full Episodes

Jul 13, 2024 | From 2015, Bob Simon’s visit to the Scottish island of Islay to look at its many famous whiskey distilleries. From 2017, Sharyn Alfonsi’s report on the feud behind the two versions of Havana Club Rum. From 2008, Morley Safer’s profile of a family that has been in the wine business for 600 years. From 2022, Lesley Stahl’s story on the effects of climate change taking root in the wine industry. From 2023, Alfonsi’s look at how Georgian monks preserve their centuries-old winemaking techniques while researchers restore ancient grape varieties. From 2009, Safer’s investigation of the anti-aging properties of red wine. And also from 2022, Jon Wertheim’s report on the future of English pubs after their decline from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Make Smoking Cool Again! Especially with a Large Glass of Wine. | #shorts

The New Puritans are scraping fun from our lives! Katie Hopkins thinks these prudes should naff off (Katie’s vocabulary is rather more colourful!)
WARNING! Very strong language is used by Katie in this short!

Wine Definition to Be Watered Down in Post-Brexit Move

GETTY IMAGES
BBC: The government plans to change the legal definition of wine following Brexit, to reflect demand for low-alcohol versions of the drink.

Under rules the UK inherited from the EU, wine typically has to contain at least 8.5% alcohol by volume (ABV) to be marketed as such.

It means low and alcohol-free versions have to be sold as a "wine-based drink", or a similar product name.

That rule will now be scrapped in England next year.

The change is part of a wider package of measures designed to boost British winemaking in the wake of the UK's exit from the EU.

The government says Brexit presents a "unique opportunity" to review "overly complex" EU-era regulations governing the sector. » | Paul Seddon, Politics reporter | Tuesday, October 17, 2023

First there was talk of having a ridiculous and undemocratic, incremental ban on smoking for young adults; so, then they will be expected to fight for their country and maybe lose their lives in times of war, but they won’t be able to enjoy a fag after the fight. Now this crap!

But you have to hand it to the Tories! They are very adept at coming up with weird and wonderful ideas. The Tories are now going to turn wine into water! Jesus would surely be envious of the miracles that 'Sunak the Teetotaller' is able to perform! Jesus turned water into wine in a wedding in Cana; now, Sunak, in Westminster, is turning wine back into water!

They’ve taken long enough to come up with a single Brexit benefit; so this must surely be it! Now, people will be able to attend weddings and swig wine to their hearts’ content without getting pi**ed! Who said the Tories can’t perform miracles? And who said there weren’t any benefits to Brexit? – © Mark Alexander

£295,000 Bottle of Wine Stolen from Spanish Restaurant’s Cellar

THE GUARDIAN: Owner says 215-year-old Château d’Yquem was among 45 bottles taken by English-speaking man and woman

Bottles of wine in a cellar. The restaurant’s owner said he had not calculated the total value of the stolen bottles, which were insured. Photograph: Régis Duvignau/Reuters
Two thieves stole 45 bottles of wine, including an extremely rare 215-year-old bottle valued at €350,000 (£295,000), from a collection at an upmarket hotel and restaurant complex in south-west Spain, the owner has said.

The theft took place in the early hours of Wednesday, according to José Polo, one of the owners of Atrio, a complex comprising a hotel and a two-Michelin-starred restaurant with a cellar sheltering more than 40,000 bottles in the city of Cáceres.

“They were professionals, they knew exactly what they were doing” Polo said after deciding to make the robbery public through a letter to customers and friends.

The suspects are a man and woman who spoke English and gave staff the impression of being a refined couple, who checked into the hotel and dined at its restaurant. They asked a hotel front desk clerk to serve them more food and when he went to the kitchen, leaving security camera monitors unattended, the man slipped into the cellar and stole the bottles, Polo said. » | Associated Press in Valbuena | Friday, October 29, 2021

François Hollande-Hassan Rouhani Elysée Lunch Binned Over 'Wine Row'

THE TELEGRAPH: Official lunch between the presidents during the Iranian president's historic trip to Paris next week scrapped after French decline request to serve halal meal and no wine

Wine is considered a key ingredient of France's global prestige and the French president perhaps its ultimate ambassador.

So when Iran's president asked for bottles of Bordeaux and Burgundy to be removed from the table at the Elysée Palace during his historic trip next week, the answer was a polite "non".

Hassan Rouhani is visiting Paris as part of a four-day tour of Italy and France beginning November 14, making him the first Iranian president to travel to Europe in a decade.

He had been due to join François Hollande for a formal lunch at the presidential palace on November 17, but the meal was scrapped after the Elysée reportedly rejected Iran's request to serve a halal meal with no wine. » | Henry Samuel, Paris | Tuesday, November 10, 2015

LE MONDE : Hassan Rohani refuse de participer à un repas à l’Elysée où sera servi du vin » | Par Yves-Michel Riols | mardi 10 novembre 2015

Lebanon's Vines on the Frontline
It is estimated that Lebanon's winemaking tradition dates back 5,000 years. Photo: BBC
BBC: Lebanon's history dates back to Noah - the first winemaker mentioned in the Bible - and the winemaking tradition has defied many conflicts over the centuries.

One day not so long ago, I was driving from Damascus in Syria to Beirut.

After the border, the road winds down the Anti-Lebanon mountains. Ahead is the Bekaa Valley, laid out down below like a giant's play-mat.

On that morning, the road through the Bekaa was jammed.

The Lebanese army was rounding up some suspects and had put up a roadblock.

Dozens of soldiers with automatic weapons were outside a building and on the roofs opposite, while some of their colleagues pulled bearded, handcuffed men towards an army lorry.

The mood in the traffic jam was philosophical.

Military roadblocks and checkpoints are part of the scenery in Lebanon. So are contrasts that the Lebanese accept but which might surprise some foreigners. Almost Provence >>> Jeremy Bowen, BBC Middle East editor | Wednesday, January 12, 2011

French Winelovers Fight to Cork Their Bottles
THE TELEGRAPH: French defenders of natural wine corks have launched a multi-million pound offensive to counter the rise of the screw cap and plastic stopper, which they argue kill the mystique of bottle-opening.

Debate has been raging for years over whether the familiar sound of popping corks should be ditched in favour of alternatives that reduce the risk of a "corked" wine.

Cork stoppers have been used for centuries, but their dominance has gradually dropped from 95 per cent of the world wine bottle market to 70 per cent over the past 15 years.

But France's cork federation has hit back at those who say the spongy bark has had its day with a poll suggesting that almost nine out of ten French people prefer the traditional stopper.

They are using the figure to spearhead a massive poster campaign featuring wine and champagne bottles with bizarre alternative stoppers - from a perfume spray top to a plastic duck – with the slogan: "Always imitated, never equalled".

Eight out of ten French people, the Ipsos poll suggests, also equate real cork with quality wine, well-preserved aromas and long conservation. Almost all said cork perpetuated age-old savoir-faire. >>> Henry Samuel in Paris | Thursday, June 03, 2010

THE SHREWD ECONOMIST: Put a cork in it! >>>

WATCH SHORT BBC VIDEO: Cork harvest >>> | Friday, September 05, 2008

LISTEN TO BBC AUDIO: Cork industry under threat: Cork has been described as 'the ultimate green product', but the industry is under threat. >>> Paul Henry | Friday, September 05, 2010

French Law Drives Country’s First Television Wine Channel Into Exile
TIMES ONLINE: You might think that French officials would have raised their glasses in celebration of a project to create the first Gallic television channel dedicated to wine.

Instead, they appear intent on driving the station into exile, possibly to Britain, after deciding that it will fall foul of the toughest laws on alcohol promotion outside the Muslim world.

Edonys, a private group which hopes to start broadcasting later this year, has been warned by France’s Higher Audiovisual Council that it will receive authorisation only if it drops plans for programmes featuring wine-tastings and expert discussions. The broadcasting authority deemed these illegal under a law that prohibits “all direct or indirect propaganda in favour of alcoholic drinks” on television.

However, the station is refusing to amend its schedule and executives are now looking for a base outside France. Britain, Luxembourg and Belgium are among the options.

“France is the world reference when it comes to wine and yet we are the only non-Muslim country where you cannot talk about wine on the television,” said Jean-Michel Peyronnet, an eminent wine journalist, who is among the founders of Edonys. “It’s not just surprising, it’s a scandal.” >>> Adam Sage, Paris | Thursday, March 18, 2010

Wine Thrives in Muslim Morocco
Image: Google Images
ASSOCIATED PRESS: MEKNES, Morocco — The gently rolling hills planted thick with vineyards are an unlikely sight for a Muslim country partly set in the deserts and palms of North Africa. Yet the grapes, and the wine they produce, are thriving in Morocco despite Islam's ban on alcohol consumption.

Morocco has become one of the largest winemakers in the Muslim world, with the equivalent of 35 million bottles produced last year. Wine brings the state millions in sales tax, even though Islam appears to be on the rise politically.

"Morocco is a country of tolerance," said Mehdi Bouchaara, the deputy general manager at the Celliers de Meknes, the country's largest winemaker, which bottles over 85 percent of national output. "It's everybody's personal choice whether to drink or not."

The Celliers have flourished on this tolerance. The firm now cultivates 2,100 hectares (5,189 acres) of vineyards, bottling anything from entry-level table wine to homemade champagne and even a high-end claret, Chateau Roslane, aged in a vaulted cellar packed with oak barrels imported from France. The winery now dwarfs virtually any other producer in Europe.

On paper, wine is "Haram," or forbidden to Muslims. But Bouchaara said the firm's distribution is all legal since it only sells to traders authorized by the state, who in turn officially sell exclusively to non-Muslim tourists.

Statistics, however, show that Moroccans consume on average 1 liter (a quarter of a gallon) of wine per person each year, and the Moroccan state itself is the largest owner of the country's 12,000 hectares (29,652 acres) of vineyards.

The paradox illustrates Morocco's delicate balancing act.

The fast-modernizing country thrives on tourism and trade with Europe, but its people remain deeply conservative. The country's ruler, King Mohammed VI, is also "commander of the believers" and protector of the faith. Islamists authorized to take part in politics are the second-largest force in parliament, while support for non-authorized groups is believed to be even larger. >>> By Alfred de Montesquiou | Sunday, April 5, 2009