Posted on 12/04/2004 10:04:19 PM PST by quidnunc
Paris – Some of the finest noses in the French wine world are snorting into their decanters over a new film which claims they are complicit in the American-led homogenisation of world tastes and the steady destruction of France's centuries-old tradition of "terroir."
"Mondovino", a low-budget documentary by American sommelier-turned-filmmaker Jonathan Nossiter, has been a surprise hit at the box-office since it opened last month — pulling in some 200,000 viewers — but the reaction among many in the wine-making establishment has been as sour as a corked bottle of chateau plonk.
"The most hacked off are the people with a great deal of power in the wine world: magazines that are hand-in-glove with the big Bordeaux dealers; multinationals with advertising and marketing clout. These people are very unhappy," according to Nossiter, who spent three years touring the world to make his two-and-a-quarter-hour sitrep on the state of the industry.
"There are some very powerful people who have done all that they can to censure the film. We have had a lot of libel threats — which we are ignoring," he said in an interview.
Setting out to "take the pulse" of the international wine business, Nossiter uses it as a metaphor for larger issues of globalisation and the defence of local particularity against the standardisation wrought by mass commerce.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at ttc.org ...
Time for a Whine-and-Cheese party!
I usually drink Oregon Pinot Noirs, Italian Barolos, Cabs from Cali and Chile, and Rioja from Spain. I must admit, however, that nothing can beat Chablis from France when it comes to pairing with oysters. California Chardonnays are AWFUL!
Drink beer. I suggest Pabst.
Ugh. I hate beer. Prefer mixed drinks... ever try an Electric Lemonade? (For those not in the know, that's two shots Absolut Citron Vodka, 3/4 shot Blue Curacao, 2 oz. sweet and sour mixer, and 1 oz. 7-Up. Drink it ice cold; Vodka tastes like gasoline if it's not cool.)
Fresh raw oysters on the half shell deserve something far superior to a French wine.........American BEER!!!
I've learned that its not a good idea to go to, say, Ruby's on Coney Island or Lenny's Clam Bar in Howard Beach and ask for anything BUT Bud with your Oysters. If you request Chablis in those places they will kick you a-s!
mmmmmmmmm.... Beeeeeeeeerrrrrrr....
I was actually just kidding. Personally I prefer to eat my oysters and then have something to drink afterward. I don't want to mess with the flavor of the oysters.
I can't for the life of me remember the place we used to go to in Sheepshead Bay, and it was very well known but now gone...........Libby's, Liddy's, Lindy's.....I think it's the last one.
But I do remember Walt's in Sarasota, Fla - 10cent oysters and 1/2 price beers at happy hour.
I understand the premise behind champagne and oysters - it's the idea of wealth and luxury. I just associated them with summer. And summer means beer.
I sure came in for a shock when I moved to DelMarVa where the "r" rule rules. However, I have now come to appreciate that because I have learned to differentiate the taste of where the oysters are coming from.
OOPS, seems like we semi hijacked the thread - but why give the whine frogs anymore time? /of nastiness
The French may be able to do whine, I mean wine, but they sure as heck can't do beer.
And one must have beer with BBQ or crabs.....and shrimp just can't be cooked without it.
Monty Python:
A lot of people in this country pooh-pooh Australian table wines. This is a pity, as many fine Australian wines appeal not only to the Australian palette, but also to the cognoscenti of Great Britain.
"Black Stump Bordeaux" is rightly praised as a peppermint flavored Burgundy, whilst a good "Sydney Syrup" can rank with any of the world's best sugary wines.
"Chateau Bleu", too, has won many prizes; not least for its taste, and its lingering afterburn.
"Old Smokey, 1968" has been compared favorably to a Welsh claret, whilst the Australian wino society thoroughly recommends a 1970 "Cote du Rod Laver", which, believe me, has a kick on it like a mule: 8 bottles of this, and you're really finished -- at the opening of the Sydney Bridge Club, they were fishing them out of the main sewers every half an hour.
Of the sparkling wines, the most famous is "Perth Pink". This is a bottle with a message in it, and the message is BEWARE! This is not a wine for drinking -- this is a wine for laying down and avoiding.
Another good fighting wine is "Melbourne Old-and-Yellow", which is particularly heavy, and should be used only for hand-to-hand combat.
Quite the reverse is true of "Chateau Chunder", which is an appellation controle specially grown for those keen on regurgitation -- a fine wine which really opens up the sluices at both ends.
Real emetic fans will also go for a "Hobart Muddy", and a prize winning "Cuiver Reserve Chateau Bottled Nuit St.-Wogga Wogga", which has a bouquet like an aborigine's armpit.
Only if it's a microbrew!!! (Michigan Brewing's Mackinac Pale Ale for example)
That would be Lundy's, which reopened about four years ago by the children of the last owners. The latest incarnation is NOT recommended. The Oyster Bar in Grand Central is still the Bivalve capital of the world, with at least 25 varieties on a daily basis.
One word, paisan: Frascati
BTTT
I'll never be able to eat another raw oyster as long as I live. I made the mistake of seeing The Road to Wellville.
ROFL - I love Monty Python, and I adore Australian wines.
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