Memorable Drinks

Sakari Maaranen will I go blind?

A fascinating long read about Renaissance, a cult winery (literally). That is Apollo, the world headquarters of the Fellowship of Friends — legally classified as a religious group, known to many as a doomsday cult. Apollo is the sanctuary where, since 1970, the Fellowship’s members have sought enlightenment through the fine arts: ballet, opera, painting. And wine. Apollo today is eerily quiet and nearly deserted, a remnant of what it once was. Where the Fellowship’s membership once exceeded 2,500, today it has just 585 members worldwide, according to member Grant Ramey. Arguably, in the Fellowship of Friends’ 48 years of existence, the Renaissance Winery has been its most successful venture. At least it was until the Fellowship shut the winery down three years ago. https://www.sfchronicle.com/wine/article/The-lost-civilization-of-California-wine-13174708.php

#notwine The last of the original Johnnie Walker Green Label --- a bottle from before the recent 4 year drought. Johnnie Walker describes Green Label as representative of the Speyside, Highland, Lowland, and Island regions of Scotland. They have even gone so far as to name Cragganmore and Linkwood of Speyside, Islay’s Caol Ila, and Talisker from Skye as being chief components of the blend.

Surprisingly Good, Idaho

Originally shared by Jennifer Ouellette Aging Wine on the Bottom of the Sea Could Become a Thing in France. "Two years ago, a winemakers’ association in France dropped 120 bottles of red, white and rosé wine at an undisclosed location in the Mediterranean Sea, as part of an experiment to see if sea bed aging yields better results than traditional cellar aging." http://www.odditycentral.com/news/aging-wine-on-the-bottom-of-the-sea-could-become-a-thing-in-france.html http://www.odditycentral.com/news/aging-wine-on-the-bottom-of-the-sea-could-become-a-thing-in-france.html

An excellent essay in The New York Times explains how mass market wine is made to suit mass market tastes, often with great precision. More than 60 additives can legally be added to wine, and aside from the preservative sulfur dioxide, winemakers aren’t required to disclose any of them. This should have been the ultimate turnoff. Where was the artistry? The mystery? But the more I learned, the more I accepted these unnatural wines as one more way to satisfy drinkers and even create new connoisseurs. For one thing, winemaking has long fused art with science, even if that’s not the story drinkers are told. Ancient Romans doctored their wines with pig’s blood, marble dust, lead and sulfur dioxide. Bordelaise winemakers have been treating their wines with egg whites for centuries. And though the chemicals dosed into wine can sound alarming, some, like tartaric acid, already occur naturally in grapes. The only difference is that today’s winemakers can manage the process with more precision