Friends, my new release the 2010 M by Martellotto Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from Spring Mountain Vineyard is available at www.invino.com

Check it out.

On the night the Bay Lights alight and after spending the day with financial types, I needed a proper drink. Here is my new, favorite tipple:

2 parts Bulleit Rye
1.5 parts Cocchi di Torino Vermouth
1 part Seltzer h20
3 muddled Maraschino/Luxardo cherries (not the fake kind)
Squeeze of lemon juice and rub rind on rim of glass

I’ve been a Carpano Antica Formula fan since discovering that nectar in college, but Darrell Corti has turned my vermouth fixation to the original 19th century recipe made only from moscato in Piemonte. I know our local vermouth fiend, Carl of Sutton Cellars liked it, b/c he drank half of the bottle in one sitting. Alla salute.

Hello Online Friends: It’s that time of year, as the cold settles in and weather keeps you close to family and friends, you’ll need and want more wine. For $120 you can get 12 excellent bottles of wine from yours truly (valued at $240). Shipping is not included.

Send me a private message if you’d like to take advantage of this short-term deal. Happy holidays!

*Fine print: This does not include Martellotto single vineyard Pinot Noir, Paso Robles Cabernet or M Napa Cabernet. You can let me know how many bottles of red vs. white you prefer. Otherwise, it’s Hobson’s choice.

www.amazon.com/shops/winedreamer

Study shows marriage stops men drinking - as their wives hit the bottle instead

Source: Daily Telegraph

By John Bingham

18 Aug 2012

Far from encouraging men to patronise a local pub to escape from domestic duties, marriage actively reduces their alcohol intake, according to research being presented at the American Sociological Association today.

However, the effect on women of walking down the aisle appears to be the opposite.

The researchers found that married women generally drink more heavily than single women, widows or divorcees.

By contrast, men who are happily married drink less than their bachelor friends and significantly less than divorced men.

The reason, the researchers conclude, is that while women can help keep their husbands’ drinking habits under control, men are simply a bad influence on their wives.

Previous studies have shown that, overall, married people tend to drink less than non-married people, suggesting that a more settled home life can promote good health.

But past research has not further separated married and non-married groups by gender.

A group of sociologists led by Corinne Reczek, an assistant professor at the University of Cincinnati, reviewed data from a long-running study of behaviour involving thousands of people in Wisconsin.

They also looked at a separate set of 120 interviews with married, divorced, widowed and single people about their lifestyles.

They found that while, overall, men consistently drink more than women and were more likely to have an alcohol problem, married men tended to drink significantly less than their male counterparts in every other marital status group.

They concluded that getting married or divorced had a “dynamic relationship” on drinking habits, but in very different ways for men and women.

The biggest difference in drinking levels was between men who were happily married and those who were recently divorced, suggesting that they turned to alcohol during their marital break-up.

Among women, the pattern was the opposite. Despite the stress of a break-up: divorced women generally drank less than those still with their husbands.

“Our qualitative results suggest this occurs because men introduce and prompt women’s drinking, and because divorced women lose the influence of men’s alcohol use upon dissolution,” they concluded.

“Additionally, our survey results show that continuously married men drink less than men in all other marital status groups, especially recently divorced men.”

They said this suggested that marriage changes the social condition of men’s lives in ways that promote lower alcohol use, and that the stress of divorce promotes men’s drinking.

Last year, a study by researchers at Cardiff University suggested that married people were more likely to eat healthily than other people and had a 15 per cent lower incidence of premature death.

The Office for National Statistics’ “well-being” study also found last year that married people were generally more content with their lives.

From Today to Tomorrow

This morning is hopeful,

Swooning in advance of her return

Interminable waiting and waiting has been the good exercise in patience.

Today anticipates fierce afternoon lovemaking,

Intense, admiring study of her pupils, her skin, her hair

Longing to be one with that third body.

 
Tonight desperation knocks, and the worldview rocks.

How could it be? Distorted truth or biased perception, irrelevant.

We are at an impasse. I love her and she loves me not.

I am weak and feverish, buckled over and forced to enjoy a kick in the stomach

For good measure.

Here is your holiday gift, devour it.

Downtrodden, speech waning, fire dying.

Welcome to living and loving.

Tomorrow will arrive. Stuttering and stumbling, confused joy, whatever her reasoning,

it’s not about you.

It’s all about you and her, and this time, now in this life.

Life’s lessons are opportunities, not punishment for transgressions.

Another day offers another love and this is your day to love again.

Euro cup 2012. Torn allegiance in this quarter final between england and italy. My mom’s parents are from england and my dad’s parents are from italy. Winner will play germany, with spain the team to beat.

Recently, I had the opportunity to test drive some of these fancy tools now available to monitor what people are saying on the web about you and your products. There is certainly some hesitation and ambivalence about putting one’s ear to the door to overhear something that may have never been said (or in this case written) for you. Nevertheless, I am rather cavalier and have learned that those of us who allow rain to bead off of our hides tend to live longer, happier lives and with fewer incidences of heart attack. At least, that’s the public health stats they fed me in graduate school.

Monitoring feedback about my wines was mostly positive. However, one negative comment warranted my attention. I have strong reservations about people who spend time commenting online about wines. It strikes me as a rather severe infatuation with the fuzz in one’s umbilical. Wine is inherently a social beverage and I suppose there is some credulity that people who share their wine notes online are seeking some sort of association and connection with far flung, anonymous (or in this case, a poster aka BEB) others who may have similarly imbibed a wine and thought to write about it online. But, I digress.

The comment was this: “This is the worst label I have ever seen. The graphics on the front label are very difficult to read and the font on the back label is probably size 4. A truly terrible label.” In response, I registered to post on this particular board where wine geeks commune and wrote this to the commentator:

I make the wine you commented on.
I thought I would let you know a bit about the wine label design you’ve decried.
If you’ve seen the back label, you may have noticed John Langdon’s name.
You can find out more about him here: http://johnlangdon.net/
It’s worth noting that John is internationally regarded for distinctive logo and art design and is the world leader in ambigrams. Don’t take my word for it, see his website and the breadth of work he’s undertaken for brands you’ll likely recognize. (brands like Aerosmith, John Mayer, Kelly Ripa, and the artwork in a small book/film sensation called the Da Vinci Code).
The front label is totemic, mirror image and symmetrical down the middle. The various mathematical and scientific approaches to presenting my long italian name play into the overall aspect of wine as both art and science. The rear label text is in the shape of a trullo, the same image you’ll find on the corks in my wines. Trullos are Unesco world heritage sites in Alberobello in Puglia, Italy where my grandparents are from.
I suppose that all of this is meaningless gibberish to someone who just doesn’t like the design, but I recall studying Byzantine and Renaissance art while in Florence as a college student. Much of the art from before Giotto, indeed room 1 at the Uffizi, was of no interest to me until I took the time to examine and appreciate the amazing story and development that singular room represents in the western cannon of art.
The wine is in fact sourced 100% from the Sierra Madre vineyard and is a pure expression of the fruit and the vintage from sandy soils with minimal intervention. 
It’s true the font is smaller than I’d like, and we’ll hopefully ameliorate that going forward. Wine labels are a small canvas to communicate such a personal product.

I know not whether my note will be received by BEB since his posting was some months ago and it’s highly unlikely I’ll be hovering around that particular posting board in anticipation of a response. It is amazing how tightly knit the world has become, but some things continue to ring true. Like when momma said, “If you can’t say something positive, don’t say anything at all.”

gm

PS: When I am forwarded or do come across people who post positive notes about my wines, I regularly extend special discounts to them for reorders.

Meanwhile, investors are betting on the U.S. wine market’s encouraging growth trends and are actively trying to expand their portfolios while the industry regains its footing and acquisition prices are relatively low. San Francisco-based private equity firm Bacchus Capital Management, which mostly provides financing to wineries but sometimes invests in them as well, purchased a stake in Sbragia Family Vineyards in October and is actively seeking out other deals. “The U.S. wine market is growing, so it’s a good place to be,” says Sam Bronfman, managing partner at Bacchus. “While the trend line dipped during the recession, it will go back up over time as people go back to buying higher-priced wines.” - from WineSpectator.com