In Italy call that same crap "Grappa" and charge up the ying-yang for it.
Posted on 11/30/2006 8:08:16 PM PST by quantim
Don't worry, you're DRC is safe it just may be harder to get as less of little is imported.
Some math fun:
But as more wine is distilled each year - reaching 2.8 billion litres in 2005
That translates to some 739,681,743 gallons US, liquid or about 100,000,000 cubic feet.
Nice lake.
Easy, yeasts convert sugar into alcohol via fermentation and then a distillation process separates that same alcohol.
No Einstein. I don't understand why they don't distill the wine and make it into a more profitable product. I understand the fermentation/distilliation processes.
Vodka's traditionally potato likker. (hic!)
"Vodka's traditionally potato likker"
An urban legend. Vodka is typically made from grain. You can find some Eastern European countries that use potato, you can also find some vodkas made from grapes.
The notion that vodka is made from (only) potatoes is wrong.
I didn't think of that. The millions of turbaned goatherds flooding Western Europe are prohibited from drinking alcohol. That does put a dent in the market.
As someone who at one time loved French wine, I have to say that I wouldn't drink French wine if given to me for free. I also harangue my local wine shop for selling it. I don't know if it has done some good or because people prefer wines from other countries, but the shop's stock of the stuff has gone way down. This pleases me much more than any glass of French wine with my dinner ever did.
I was under the impression that White Lightning can be distilled from virtually anything, that its what you do with the stuff after you distill it that turns it into vodka, gin, whiskey, rye, etc.
Am I right (more or less)?
>>>I don't understand this. You can distill wine into brandy, or something that's becoming more popular, into vodka.
I agree. In addition, the Asians don't drink wine frequently but they do drink brandy.
It seems most Asians are allergic to alcoholic drinks or don't tolerate them well.
The solution to France's problem is simple: require all Muslim ceremonies to use wine. I no longer drink French wines and have a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon from the Socialist Republic of California sitting by my keyboard right now. I used to drink Chilean wines until I read that they had the highest pesticide content.
I hope to start making some fruit wines for myself soon.
Yes, Einstein, what part of the title is confusing to you?
-ccm
In Italy call that same crap "Grappa" and charge up the ying-yang for it.
Bttt!
John Kerry knew, he spent his boyhood summers there.
Hey did you know John Kerry was in Viet Nam? He got a couple Purple Hearts there.
Who knew?
What makes the French believe for a second they can compete with amazing products coming from Australia and Chile or excellent vintages from California? Heck, I even adore Austrailian "Lindeman's" which is pretty cheap stuff, but an exceptionally palettable wine which will go with anything (at least their merlot.)
And I've said before, if there's a Chinese market to exploit, count on the Chinese to exploit it. The day after the first bottle of fine French spew lands in China, they will chemically break it down and produce a kool-aid based equivalent that will sell at 1/10 the price and taste better.
The French need to reconcile themselves with the fact that their arrogance helped to kill their market. They PO'd their customers in the US and now the free market has filled the void for people who no longer buy French. All those "wine protests" in the USA? That wasn't wine pouring, that was their industry's "blood" running down the drain. Those people found new brands and it's likely they enjoy them more than more expensive French brands. Those customers won't be returning, at least any time soon. Yet it's more than that...
Euro demographics are shifting tremendously as socialists slowly destroy European culture with uninhibited immigration policies permitting millions of non-Euros move in and not assimilate to Euro culture. The new folks don't drink French spew, they think it's filth. PC social laws have been implemented that further curtail wine consumption creating a group-think mentality againts the older culture of frequent consumption.
In short, socialist policies don't have room for wine, and the vintners are SOL if they think that's going to change any time soon. France had a nice run since we saved them in WWII. Too bad they didn't do anything with their last chance.
Guess they use their brains for other things, like kicking our @sses silly on trade agreements. : (
Now pass the bottle, please - lol!
White Lightening ia really nothing more than the first distillation of anything that has been fermented. Legit alky is normally made from grain, mashed and then fermented. It's the same process used to make beer. As a matter of fact, distillers refer to the fermented liquid as "beer" before it's distilled.
The popular handbooks for WL recipes usually use cane sugar since it's so simple to use (just open up a bag -- pour into water and add yeast) and readily available.
Ciroc Vodka (French) is made from grapes and CNN reports that the French, indeed, are distilling some of their grape runnings into vodka http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/11/20/grape.vodka/
I have the feeling this article is a bit of hooey. I also don't understand how they classify the alcohol as "industrial?" It's the same alcohol that could be used as vodka or further processed into brandy, cognac or even gin.
Grappa is made from the leftover grape skins and even seed, in other words, all the garbage that's left over after pressing the grape juice for fermentation into wine. They used to feed this stuff to pigs.
I've drank $80 a bottle grappa, and as I like to say, "Grappa is crappa." Benzine is smoother.
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