TresSugar

Oh Snap! Not Your Typical Wine Snobs

TresSugar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:00:12 -0800

A sommelier pours a bottle of Beaujolais Nouveau at an open air wine spa in Japan. The crowd, which may or may not be of drinking age, looks like it's having a fabulous time. I think I know where I'm going on my next vacation!

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Friday Feel Good! Open Your Wine Bottle With Your Shoe!

TresSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

It's no wonder the French make the top-10 list of countries that consume the most alcohol per capita - they appear to have a special talent for opening wine bottles, without a corkscrew, even when they're totally plastered! Well at least one Frenchman can do such a thing. To get in the happy hour spirit, let the French teach you how to open a wine bottle with your shoe. Happy Friday!

What Do Your Drinking Habits Say About How You Vote?

LibertySugar — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 03:00:26 -0700

Beer guzzlers are more likely to vote Republican, and wine connoisseurs are more likely to vote Democrat. That's according to refreshing poll results released by CNN and the Opinion Research Corporation about how drinking habits correlate to voting.

John McCain's lead among brewski drinkers, however, evaporates against Barack Obama, as the two are tied among that group in a head-to-head match up. And, the most shocking result from the poll: about 50 percent said that they never drink, under any circumstance. I'm curious about the methodology.

Alas, you can bring it all back to gender and class stereotypes. The poll showed that women, people with a high income, and the college educated prefer wine. Men, and the working class, generally prefer beer.

Should the candidates bring their campaigns to the bars? Do your drinking preferences reveal anything about you?

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Conan Not Impressed By Wine Taster

GiggleSugar — Fri, 24 Aug 2007 08:00:00 -0700

Conan's expression when he eats this wine expert's concoction of grass (from Central Park?!) and grapefruit is priceless. I'll stick to just drinking wine, thank you very much...

The How-To Lounge: Developing a Taste for Wine

DearSugar — Fri, 27 Apr 2007 09:35:00 -0700

Have you ever been put on the spot on a date, or at dinner with friends by the wine sommelier asking you what type of wine you fancy? Many people know what they like by taste, but aren't quite sure how to put their preferences into words, so here are some tips to help you refine and master your taste in wine.

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Wine is meant to be enjoyed, and everyone has different taste so don't get boggled down with the specifics
Start with what you know and like and branch out from there
There are 5 components to tasting wine: aroma, color, taste, body, and finish
The aroma can be the most revealing characteristic of the wine so pay close attention to its smell. Smell for fruit, spice, smoke, leather, oak, etc.
The color of the wine can give you clues on its age. White wine tends to gain color with age where as red wines loses color
When you taste your wine, swirl it around in your glass before sipping and roll the wine around in your mouth for a few seconds before swallowing. Taste for sweetness, acidity, tannin, fruit, alcohol and overall body
The body of the wine refers to the texture and weight, oftentimes compared to milk-- strange I know! Deciphering if you have a full body or medium body can be best described by whole milk, low fat milk, and skim milk, etc.
The finish of the wine refers to any lingering after notes you taste after swallowing. Often time the aftertaste, or finish, is extremely different from what you tasted originally
Always feel free to ask for assistance when you taste wine. Explain the flavors you enjoy or if you can't pinpoint what you are tasting, name off some bottles you often drink and enjoy
Taste as many different wines as you can in the same genre. Report back to your sommelier what you liked and didn't like so he or she can steer you in the right direction for your pallet
Like everything else, practice makes perfect so I suggest going to as many local free wine tasting events as you can to teach your pallet about new wines
Keep in mind that the best wines are not necessarily the most expensive, so don't be fooled

Learning about wine can be really fun, so enjoy yourself, keep an open mind, and have fun with it. Make sure you keep notes on the wines and flavors you like and don't like so you remember how to order next time, and most importantly, never drink and drive!

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France: When babies whine, give them wine.

GiggleSugar — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 11:40:00 -0800

Yesterday, we asked you what you thought about junk food in American schools and you all found it frightening. Well, folks, fathom this: French parliamentarians are advocating the shameless promotion of wine amongst school-aged children. The wine industry in France is suffering, and winemakers are blaming young children because of their foolish preferences for "other" beverages. A report argued that France must launch an education campaign to teach kids how to appreciate wine because "learning about healthy living starts from childhood and primary school...To hold a forceful position in the world, French wine must first assume a strong position at home."

In other news, France loses 45,000 people to alcohol-related deaths a year.

Removing Wine Stains

DearSugar — Mon, 07 May 2007 09:30:00 -0700

Accidents happen, but when they happen with red wine, someone is bound to get quite upset. If the spill is caught in time, luckily there are ways to remove red wine stains.

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While your first reaction is to want to rub, wash, or even smear the stain, which could set it, the best thing to do, regardless of the fabric or surface, is to simply blot the stain and excess wine immediately with a dry paper towel
If you stain a dry clean only garment or table cloth, do not pretreat the fabric
If you stained a machine washable fabric, after you blot, mix one teaspoon of mild dish soap (Joy, Dawn, etc.) with one cup of hydrogen peroxide in a bowl. Soak a clean sponge in the mixture and blot the stain away. (Best to test a small corner of the fabric just to be safe the peroxide won't stain)
Make sure to place a towel or napkin in between the two layers of your shirt or pants so the wine doesn't bleed onto the stain free side
If your fabric is washable, wash immediately in cold water and air dry. Repeat if necessary. If your fabric is dry clean only, again, don't pretreat it and take it to the cleaners as soon as possible
If you do not have peroxide handy, club soda is another good home remedy. The carbonation has been known to lift stains right up
Pouring white wine over the red wine stain is another good tip. The white wine will neutralize the red. Blot with a thick towel and remember, do not rub or smear the stain
Salt is another proven household remedy that works on both fabrics and carpets. Simply blot the stain and pour salt on the surface. The salt will prevent the stain from setting until you can properly treat the surface
Baking soda is yet another option. Once the wine has been blotted, pour some water on the carpet, cover with excess baking soda, and once it is dried, vacuum

I hope these tips help you the next time you have a dinner party disaster or a spill at a restaurant. Wine Away is a great product sold at most grocery stores that every home should have and if any of you have tips that I have missed, please share below!

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Product of the Day: Wine "Rack"

GiggleSugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 02:00:00 -0700

Increase your bust size and smuggle wine into a venue all in one swift movement--with the Wine Rack. Classy!

Behind the Iron Curtain: Was Sex Better Before the Wall's Fall?

TresSugar — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 10:13:52 -0800

Life may be better since the fall of the Berlin Wall, but is sex? It was at first. Prostitutes came in vans, porn was everywhere, and sex shops opened like wine bars in a gentrifying neighborhood. Yet interest waned throughout the '90s, and nostalgia set in for "love as it was before."

Before, men and women didn't need porn to get excited or toys to orgasm. What did they need? Imagination, says former relationship columnist Jutta Resch-Treuwerth, and they had it. Poll after poll shows there was lots of "imagination" behind the iron curtain. On average, East Germans lost their virginity earlier, had twice as much sex, and had more orgasms than their Western counterparts.

So what made sex so "gut"? Find out after the jump

Which Will Be Legalized First: Pot or Gay Marriage?

TresSugar — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 07:00:46 -0800

Can you believe it used to be against the law in America to have a nice cold beer or a refreshing glass of wine? I can't! Perhaps that's what future generations will say when they look back at some of our more moralistic laws, specifically those banning marijuana and gay marriage.

Slate ran a piece yesterday arguing that America will soon get rid of these modern prohibitions. In fact, Maine is voting today on a referendum that would legalize gay marriage and another that would legalize medical marijuana, so I guess we'll get to test that thesis soon.

Now that we have a justice department that will not prosecute medical marijuana possession - not to mention a president who once said: "I inhaled. . . frequently. That was the point." - it's not such a stretch to think Americans might soon be able to get high without fear of the jail time. And while many states still have all-out bans on same-sex marriage, the public seems increasingly supportive of marriage equality. Which do you think has a better chance of becoming fully legalized first?