I closed down the bar last night and then went to the restaurant next to the bar, ordered my food and then passed out in the booth before it came. I got woken up at 5:30 this morning by the waitress that served me. She said she just let me sleep there since I wasn't bothering anyone. That's a good night I guess.
Interesting, but I tend to get that info from a few sommeliers that I know, as well as the wine expert at the local specialty liquor store that deals in the better wines. I also do a wine tour in my area every few years, and taste the wines myself. I usually come back from those trips with 15-20 cases of wine, all less than $20 per bottle, that are small runs without any real distribution, and phenomenal. To me, it all comes down to how I think it tastes... sometimes, it's cheap as hell, other times it's stupidly expensive. And, even though it might shock some of the "don't drink alone" crowd, I've been known to enjoy a really nice bottle every now and then, all by myself.
No, that was yesterday. You don't gain an hour tonight so you will have the exact amount of time to sleep as usual.
Fantastic ideas all, but I'm not cool or important enough to know any sommeliers, and the province-run liquor monopoly isn't so great with knowledgeable staff. I've very rarely seen staff in an LCBO specifically for the purpose of helping people find a wine. Sometimes the stores will post ratings from wine magazines on the shelves but I've found the most consistent way to find a good bottle that I otherwise wouldn't have is to get recommendations from the internet and hope that one of the stores in walking distance carries it. For example, I would have otherwise dismissed Goats Do Roam (and its cousin The Goatfather) as marketing gimmicks, but someone from the wine thread on the old board recommended it and they're quite nice wines and really reasonably priced. Doing the winery tour thing is a good call, though. The only way to get their best wines is to be on a mailing list and visit the place, because liquor stores (esp. the LCBO) cares more about high volume sales than small production runs.
I'm sure there are exceptions, but to date the only met I've ever met who drank wine as their preferred alcoholic beverage were either old, gay* or douche bags. The only obvious exception is at the races, or if wine is the only free alcohol at the lame wedding/office Christmas party. If you're seriously watching wine tasting videos - I think you're probably reinforcing my prejudices. Also, I still don't understand the old person move from manly alcohol to wine - wine hangovers are fucking brutal - surely in your old age, you should have learned that clear spirits = less likely to pray for death the next morning. * I don't mean that to be disparaging, I think it's just become some kind of flagging thing at predominantly heterosexual events - A safe way to advertise your interest in other men. Maybe it's just my friends.
You live in London, right? <a class="postlink" href="http://www.thetastingroom.ca" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">http://www.thetastingroom.ca</a> They SPECIALIZE in wine tasting. It's on Richmond Street, right beside Garlics. I'd even bet that they have some sort of casual wine tasting nights or some sort of club. It's a really good way to be introduced to other wines and talk to people into that as well. And sommelier is nothing more than a fancy word for "wine guy". Most good restaurants (the ones without a salad bar or drive-thru) in the city will have one. Go out for dinner and ask for "the wine guy", and talk to him. Get his opinions on the wines, and what they are paired with, price, etc. In your case, in London, you've got a better than average chance that 99% of the wines they'll talk about will be relatively inexpensive. Not saying that the internet, the Spectator, and all that other stuff aren't good resources too, but I'd be willing to bet that a lot of your discounted sources of information aren't as bad as you think they are, you just have to learn how to take better advantage of them. And the LCBO at Wonderland and Southdale has a couple of good guys that seem to know their shit, and a pretty low-to-mid range selection. I've talked to the guy who has the keys to the "specialty lock up cabinet", and I'm sure he'd steer you right. Don't ask the tellers or the chick taking returns, go to the wine department and ask for someone to help you. They DO have people there that know their products, are trained, do tastings, and are there to do just that for you.
The two conversations happening on the last page were about the NASCAR race and the nuances of wine tasting. I love this place.
It's all about context. For instance, last night I had a nice, relaxing, 4 hour meal with a friend, and we went through 2 bottles of a nice French wine. It went really, really well with the roasted elk loin. Then we had an awesome dessert, and it went really well with the bottle of port, and was a nice touch to celebrate her birthday. Then we went to the jazz club, and I switched to Harvey Wallbangers. Now THAT is an old-man's drink, if there ever was one. I remember being 6 when I started making them for my dad and his friends, and most bartenders look at you with a "huh?" look if you order one these days. Never mind finding a bar that actually carries Galliano. But you know something? They're fucking tasty. And now it seems that screwdrivers made with vanilla vodka are the rage. Guess what? That's almost a Wallbanger! Then it's off to the 80's club, where it was double Crown and gingers short. Then it was off to the peeler bar where the Crown and gingers were supplemented with shots of Jagger. So yeah, if a guy goes to a club and tries to get a red wine, that's fucked up. But when you learn to relax and enjoy a nice meal with friends for a few hours, wine is a no-brainer. But, now that you're here, what is the drink of choice when you're in a gimp mask and electrocuting a sub's testicles while fisting a chick in a horse costume?
If by "league", you mean "series", then yes, that is part of it. There's a reason why a ton of teams are bailing out of Grand Am (like us), and heading to the American Le Mans Series. Want to know why that video is so funny? Because it's pretty close to the truth.
What-EVER. Watching a stock car race is more exciting than watching F1 or Indy. And, like I mentioned before, the fist fights are always great.
It's generally inappropriate to drink at a moment like that. I mean at that kind of high point in your life, why add a substance that might diminish the intensity of the high or your memory of the event? A neat scotch, or a tequila body shot would seem like most appropriate options if you were going to insist on drinking though. Also - anyone who thinks watching a bunch of guys make left turns is exciting, clearly knows more about drinking than I ever will (And I sometimes enjoy watching criket). Rally car racing at least does a passable impression of a sport.
I know it's much earlier in this thread but I just got back in town and I saw this Ark Of The Covenant ray of light: ....I SMASH ON THEE KEYBOARD, WITH THY HAMMER OF THY GODS!!!! A Voltron Of Awesomeness coming together. She's like our own cute little female Gary Busey. And just like him, I bet babysitters can't wait to rummage through her medicine cabinet.
Champ car has some interesting fights. Indy blows. ALMS, DTM, WRC, F1 are fun to watch. NASCAR's "good old boy" crap and BS gets old really fast. "Boogety Boogety Boogety" my ass. But hey, you probably like them because the audience knows the difference between concrete and see-ment.
Shows what you know. Waltrip only calls the races for the first half of the season. Now we're suck with quite possibly the lamest broadcast team to ever have drawn breath. I like the racing because of the contact and the fact that the races almost always come down to inches. Not like some other series where it's decided in the pits and passing on the track is unheard of.
Hey, if you've tried to listen to Rusty Wallace and Dr. Jerry Punch stammer through a broadcast, you'd know where I was coming from.
When was the last time you watched an F1 race? This is one of the closest years ever, and absolutely full of excitement. They've eliminated refuelling altogether, and the cars are passing like crazy. At least F1 races in the rain, which is the great equalizer. I will admit, though, that this was the funniest race I've ever seen. The one and only "rain" race. (It wasn't even raining... it was just a mildly damp track, and they freaked out and turned up the stupid). I'll lump Nationwide in with NASCAR as it's retarded little inbred cousin.