Posts tagged ‘lifestyle’
Costco or Sam’s Club for wine?
Sources: Consumer Reports. Costco vs. Sam’s Club: New reasons to join or switch. May 2007. And Wall Street Journal. Costco Cabernets. By Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher. Nov 15, 2008.
Which is the best place to buy wine, Costco or Sam’s Club?
Costco has higher-end wines, even $1,750 bottles of Château Cheval Blanc Premier Grand Cru Classé. It sells more wine than any other store in the U.S. Sam’s Club is trying to catch up, but still lags behind. Prices are reasonable at both stores, but Sam’s sells primarily lower-end wines, while Costco sells wines in all price ranges.
WSJ wine writers bought every American-made Cabernet in both stores (40 different types) and did a blind tast test. Their conclusions: most were lackluster. However, their criticisms were as much about the state of American Cabernets as they were about these stores.
Overall recommendations are that both stores have good wines and good bargains, but you’re mostly on your own in making your purchase decisions.
–S.S.
Chinese wine drinkers are an adventurous lot, and their numbers are growing
Source: Agence France Presse (AFP). Wine producers pin hopes on China in tough times. by Julie Desne. April 7, 2009.
No longer a luxury just for foreigners, wine has become a status symbol among China’s fast-growing middle class.
“China was one of the ten biggest wine consumers in 2008 and should be ranked number seven by 2012,” said Xavier de Eizaguirre, president of Vinexpo, the world’s biggest wine and spirits exhibition, which takes place in Bordeaux in southwest France.
In 2007, Chinese wine consumption topped 800 million bottles, according to Britain’s International Wine and Spirit Record Institute.
Between 2003 and 2007, wine consumption in China grew 61 percent and is expected to grow a further 36 percent between this year and 2012, according to the study.
And Chinese wine drinkers are becoming increasingly adventurous.
“Chinese have come a long way in being open to trying new wines,” said Vance Yeang, sommelier at Napa Wine Residence, a Shanghai restaurant that allows valued customers to store wines in private cellars on the premises.
— S.S.
No wonder you talk smart after drinking – wine helps you think!
Source: the Daily Mail, London. April 6, 2009.
Men and women did better in mental arithmetic tests after being given resveratrol, the ‘wonder ingredient’ in red wine.
It is thought that the plant chemical – said to have abilities from burning off junk food to warding off heart disease – increases blood flow to the brain.
Northumbria University researchers set 24 healthy adults a series of tests before giving them a resveratrol pill or a dummy tablet.
— S.S.
How to get women to like beer? In Australia, serve it in wine glasses.
Source: The Courier Mail (Australia). April 7, 2009 Tuesday. Women like chic beer in a wine glass. by Rory Gibson.
From the article:
Kirkegaard’s business Good Beer Lunches (www.goodbeers.com.au), holds regular beer education classes, matching food and beer.
“We had a lot of ladies coming along with their husbands and partners who at first claimed to not really like beer. During the course of the lunch they suddenly discovered that there was a lot more to beer and a far wider range of flavours than they realised — and they liked them, especially when matched with food.”
“The beer classes for women have shown that if you present beers with flavour, that pair well with a whole range of foods, and you make the experience slightly more elegant by serving the beer in a wine glass, champagne flute or anything other than the large glasses that men customarily drink from, women will take to it with enthusiasm.”
— S.S.
British women: wine in the tub or wine in the living room?
Just this week, a survey revealed that it’s women who buy eight out of every ten bottles of wine drunk at home.
Another intoxicating trend: a third of women are now drinking wine in the bath – proof enough that alcohol is being used as a way to relax and unwind. Threshers should introduce a ‘buy two, get one bubble bath free’ promotion.
Recent figures from the Office of National Statistics confirm the home truth. Sixty per cent of all female drinkers say the week’s heaviest drinking session happens in their living room.
Wine Teasers Wine Game 