27 February 2021
Fake Famous
If you haven't seen it, watch it on HBO. Basically, the director of the film sets out to make three people into "influencers" by granting them the fake fame of Instagram. For me, it starts off exceedingly strong and loses its way about 2/3 through as the pandemic tossed a big, heaping load of poo in the way of them seeing out their grand scheme for the film as influencers were kneecapped and stuck "influencing" at home. But there's good commentary on this phony industry and a lot to take away in terms of just how bullshit-y this whole thing is. You can read a balanced review on the New Yorker in case you don't trust me.
Grenache, of course
Well, it looks like people have squeezed all they can out of natural wines this year so that means it's time to turn to less-popular varieties like, Grenache. Both at the SF Chronicle as well as the NY Times, they've had pieces on this under appreciated grape. Naturally the comparison to Pinot Noir comes up which is always a bit loony, but at least it's getting a bit more column space. Now, if more producers could just stop making it so damned jammy in California, we'd really get somewhere delicious in a hurry as my home state is Grenache Land, dammit.
Aging wine, underwater, again
And of course, once you've exhausted natural wine and Grenache, what is it time for? Yes! This year's articles about aging wine underwater! This time, it's somewhere in Argentina, but it doesn't matter as the gimmick is location independent and eternal. It amazes me how this continually pops up as something "stunning" as of course the wines always have a price to match. The natural question everyone should be asking is, "If it's so amazing, then why hasn't every winery shifted over to this?" Uh...
12th Century Bathhouse Bar
Next time you're in Sevilla (in... 2025? :( ), feel free to stop in to Giralda Bar to enjoy the ambience of the Muslim bathhouse in which the bar has found itself ensconced. Discovered due to work being carried out, I see the potential for epic selfie material in due course.
No-Booze Gin?
Sure, there's a potential market for Zero Alcohol Tanqueray with Millennials who will come around to how great alcohol actually is shortly, but I don't really understand who would want to pay Near-Gin Prices for Non-Gin? I mean, it's 16 GBP/22 USD! And with no alcohol, that's just flavored water unless I've missed something about the (undoubtedly) artisan method in which it's been "crafted". Lemme tell you, my tap water is so incredibly hard that I'd love to serve it super chilled with a wedge of lemon and see if anyone could tell the difference between Un-Booze Gin and my foul village water. Free bottle of village water for anyone who can! Hell, free bottle of village water for all with the spine to attempt this challenge!