Happiness is savory with sweet

On smoaking lard they dine;

A sav'ry bit that serv'd to relish wine. 

-- John Dryden

Happiness is The Five Reasons Why Men Drink

 

 

If on my theme I rightly think,

There are five reasons why men drink:—

Good wine; a friend; because I'm dry;

Or lest I should be by and by;

Or — any other reason why.

 

-- Henry Aldrich (1647-1710)

Happiness is new research which may explain why small amounts of alcohol are heart healthy

"Shun the excess in either direction" Republic 10.619a

From the story here:

In tests on mice's hearts researchers interrupted the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the heart for 30 minutes to simulate myocardial infarction – a heart attack. This was less damaging for hearts which had been exposed to alcohol, they found. Some 50 per cent of cells died during the heart attack in the hearts which was not exposed to alcohol. However, in the hearts that had been exposed to the equivalent of two cans of beer or two glasses of wine for an average man, only 30 per cent of cells died. 'Our data suggest moderate exposure to ethanol causes minor stress in heart cells but not enough to kill them,' says Professor Julio Cesar Batista Ferreira. 'Heart cells eventually create a biochemical memory to protect against stress, also known as preconditioning. 'When the cells are submitted to a higher level of stress, they know how to deal with it.'

Happiness is a hobby, the occasional little biddle bottle, exercise and coffee

For when you want just one . . .

People with hobbies are 21% less likely to experience premature death, who drink a little 18%, who exercise 11%, who drink coffee 10%, who are slightly overweight 3%.

The story is here.

Happiness is saving $125 a month by giving up wine, and sleeping better too

Two people sharing cheap bottle daily now drink water and tea, saving $1,500 a year.

Happiness is Crane Lake Sangiovese

I'm consistently obtaining bottles of this marked 2013 for $5.29, and boy am I lovin' it.

Schadenfreude is learning that a Koch-bro had a wine cellar full of fakes not worth the millions of dollars he paid for them

Drink what you like, just make sure you don't pay too much for it.

From the story here:

Even more tenacious is the billionaire Bill Koch, the brother of Charles and David, who’s discovered that his wine cellar—a chandeliered wonder in his Palm Beach mansion—contains more than four million dollars in fakes. In his efforts to track down Kurniawan, Koch spends many millions of dollars soliciting cork experts, label gurus, former C.I.A. agents, and private investigators. ... The schadenfreude in seeing these entitled rich men get duped is compounded, in “Sour Grapes,” by the obvious pleasure the filmmakers take in exposing the broader illusions in the rarified world of wine. Very old bottles of the sort that Kurniawan faked are so few and far between—and often so inconsistent from one to the next—that few connoisseurs know exactly how they’re meant to taste.

Happiness is a three year old Crane Lake Cabernet for $5.29

Tonight I'm drinking a 2013 which isn't as smooth and silky as a Kendall Jackson or anything, but this one has aged very well in the bottle after three years. Better than any other cheap varietal I've tried in quite a while. Maybe I should start cellaring them on sale! If I remember correctly it's the hearty varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon which mellow well with age. Never thought a cheapo would do that, but I was wrong.

The Joke of the Day: I Quit Drinking!

Wine.












This morning.