drinking and discover a whole new aspect o f
camaraderie and friendship.
Wine drinking
is, almost by its very nature, a bonding type
o f experience and it doesn’ t involve sports.
3.
I ’ ll be the first to say that the notion of
making New Year’ s Resolutions is a fairly
preposterous one.
From January 2nd to
roughly the end o f the month the health
clubs are teeming with diligent New Years
Resolutioners, Sara Lee sales take a dip and
checkbooks throughout the land are
balanced.
Then real life takes over sometime
in February and, for a brief while, an air of
failure hangs in peoples’ New Year’ s psyches.
I believe this contributes to making February
the lousy month that it is. But like any good
Cubbies or Brooklyn Dodgers fan can te ll you
there is always the rallying cry o f “ just wait
‘ til next year!”
W ell, Babalou I have got a New Year’ s
Resolution for you. . . along with 10 good
reasons to have a “ stick-to-it attitude.
It s
easy, fun and, as you’ ll see, actually quite
good for you. So my (and this applies to you
many readers out there) New Year's
Resolution is “ D rink More W ine!”
And with
apologies to the intellectual property o f NBC,
from the home office in Seal Rock, Oregon,
the Top 10 Reasons why you should Drink
More W ine.
10.
The Copenhagen Study. A follow up
to the French Paradox Report which showed
that the French, despite eating a high fat and
cholesterol diet, had less nasty sorts of
ailments generally associated with that diet.
The reason?
Moderate consumption of red
wine on a daily basis. This more recent study
shows that consumption o f 3-5 glasses o f wine
per day significa ntly reduces death rates for
every
type o f disease commonly associated
with the aging process.
Consumption o f red
wine was also linked to the quality of life at
older ages as well. Basically, because of red
wine's complex structure, it is beneficial to
your health to drink.
Cheers!
9.
Visit new places. W hile you could
travel around to all sorts o f famed wine
regions you can also simply get to know the
wines from particular areas.
Almost every
country produces wine.
O bviously some are
more famed than others. Get to know
A ustralian Shiraz, German Rieslings,
W ashington M erlots, C a lifornia Cabs,
Canadian Ice Wines and, o f course, Oregon
Pinots.
The wines say something about the
place from which they come because they are
a product o f that region’ s soil and climate as
w ell as the people’ s palates and attitudes.
8.
Improve your senses.
Wines offer
myriads o f flavors.
People who don’ t drink
wine often wonder about (and are sometimes
turned o ff by) wine drinker’ s quest to
describe the flavors, bouquets and textures of
their favorite wines.
In the past 2+ years of
wine drin kin g my a b ility to discern
particular scents and tastes has improved
m arkedly.
Not just while drinking wine
either, but in eating foods and just the overall
awareness o f my surroundings.
W hile the
color o f a wine is important and interesting
the least important sense in wine tasting is
your sight.
Open your senses and you open
up a little more of your mind.
7.
Discover new foods.
I have eaten
better (and maybe even healthier) in the last
2 years than at any time in recent memory.
W ine was made to be eaten with food. The
rig h t combinations can bring out flavors in
the food and wine that would not be
perceptible on their own.
I have improved
my culinary skills and have been w illin g to
try exotic foods, all because of my experience
w ith wine.
6.
Find creative uses for your
basem ent or closet. I f you really start to
get into wine it is almost inevitable that you
w ill start stockpiling it.
W ine’ s worst enemy
is heat.
Wine that sits in a consistently warm
environment (above 70 degree F) w ill age
poorly.
Dark closets and basements (such as
mine) become im prom ptu wine cellars for
those a fflicted w ith the collecting itch.
Make shopping more fun.
Grocery
shopping by its very definition is a tedious
event.
Sure, maybe the canned cat food w ill
be 4/99«: rather than 3/99tf this time but that
s till does not make the trip something really
to look forward to.
Having an interest in and
a knowledge of wine can help relieve some
supermarket boredom.
I check the wine
department of every store I go into. Okay, I
w ill admit to a slight neurosis that you may
not want to deal with.
However, I have found
some fabulous wine deals by poking around.
Getting a good deal on a nice bottle of wine is
something you can be happy about and even
relate to people who can appreciate your good
f o r tu n e .
Have a religious experience. This
may be going a bit far but it sounded better
than saying “ a really great experience.”
As
you drink more types o f wine your palate
becomes more sophisticated and you know
what you like. You also get a sense of what
you would really like.
And sometimes you get
to experience the wine that takes you to a
whole new level o f understanding and
appreciation for wine.
Maybe you get an
opportunity to taste a 1982 Margaux or a 1992
Leonetti Seven H ills Merlot or a 1990 Grange
or. . . whatever and new vistas open for you.
By the way, when this happens you w ill be
hopelessly hooked and there is no going back.
2.
Support an Oregon industry.
The
easiest way to learn about wine and wine
drinking lies practically right in your
backyard.
Oregon boasts over 100 wineries
now, most o f which are open to the public for
wine tasting. A t tasting rooms you can get a
sense o f a variety o f different wines and
winemaking styles and begin to determine
what you like to drink.
It is fun, picturesque
(most wineries are located in gorgeous areas)
and relatively inexpensive.
At the same time
you are learning something about
purchasing wine from other parts of the
world, you are developing an appreciation for
what we are fortunate enough to have right
h e re .
Casual Dining
Overlooking the nestucca River
S p irits • Hot Sandwiches
Fresh Seafood D inners • Home Baked Desserts
Live Music Every Saturday night
And the #1 reason to Drink More Wine in
1996. . .
1.
Enjoy life.
Recommended
(5 0 3 ) 9 6 5 -6 7 2 2
W ines
for
the
I believe that the resolutions less likely to
be kept are those more likely to be made.
- Rose MacCauley
Month: 1
guess I have it all wrong. December is
probably the biggest month fo r wine sales.
My feeling is December, with all its holidays
and what not is not an ideal wine drinking
month.
There's so much going on and holiday
parties aren't usually designed Tor drinking
great wines.
January is one of the slowest
wine sales months.
I think January is an
ideal time to get into wines. It's cold (and
most lik e ly rainy) outside, it gets dark early,
the only holiday is one that most people have
to work on and most things go into a dormant
phase for 31 days. What better time to find
some M erlots and Cabernets and hearty Pinots
to pass the time? Support your local wine
merchant in January by buying some wine!
Here are some to look for.
Penfolds
1992
Cabernet
Shiraz
Bin
★ * ★
389:
Most like ly Australia's top winery.
This wine
was recently ranked by The Wine Spectator as
one of the Top 100 wines of 1995 (#29). It is a
big, rich blend o f Cabernet Sauvignon and
Shiraz.
The use o f American oak barrels
lends a slightly smoky, toasty quality to the
deep, opulent fruits.
Flavors of dark
chocolate, leather and a touch o f mint and
anise combine for a long finish that glides
through the tannins.
Better in a couple of
years but at only $17 drink some now.
Northwest Best Places
A w a r t •! Bxcalltnce
77te Wine Spectator
1 2 * 7 S .H t a iU c k
C a a a « a Beach, 0 2 t i l i t
Ravenswood 1993 Sonoma County
Z in fa n d el: A mammoth wine. Loaded with
ripe raspberry and black cherry fruit.
S ilky
smooth already, even with the tannins being
so young. A long finish with notes o f tar,
anise, spicy pepper and a bit of cedar. A very,
very nice wine.
Appropriate for cold weather
drinking. A good deal at $18.
Ken W right 1994 Pinot Noir W illamette
V a lle y : The first release o f Pinot from the
form er winemaker o f Panther Creek.
Young
and tight but e xhibiting unbelievably
smooth, focused fruit.
Black Cherry, w ild
berry and spicy flavors dominate the wine.
A t $20 it may seem high but for the vintage
and the winemaker it is well worth the price.
I f you can find the single vineyard
designates (Freedom H ill and Canary H ill)
they are both sim ply spectacular Pinot noirs.
- < r / &
-------------------r
Q
5.
4.
Meet new people.
By and large the
people who work in the wine industry
(Oregon’ s at least) are great folks. I have
made many friends o f the past 2 years simply
because o f wine drinking.
You might even be
able to turn on some friends o f yours to wine
pacific city , O regon
That's what this is all about.
A
Cannon Bcsch
In Coaster Theater Courtyard
Established 1977
Featuring Northwest, California
& Imported Wines
Collector Wines From 1875
Through Current Vintages
Featuring Over 1000 Wines
Wine Racks, Glasses &
Wine Related Items
W ine Tasting
Every Saturday Afternoon
1-5 PM
Different Wines
From Around The World
Each Week
Open 11 AM-5 PM ■ Closed Tues
436*1100
124 N Hemlock
F O. Box 652. Cannon Beach OR 97110
Laurel's
Cannon
Beach
Wine Shop
263 N. Hemlock
(3 0 3 ) 436-1666
K Where to get an Edge
II C annon Beach: Jupiter's Rare and Used Books,
II Osburn's Grocery, The Cookie Co., Coffee Cabana,
I] Bill's Tavern. Cannon Beach Book Co.. Hane s
H Bakerie, The Bistro, Midtown Café, Once Upon a
H Breeze, Knoodlz
& Cleanline Surf
M anzanita: Manzanita News & Espresso, Bayside
Gardens, Cassandra's, Pacific Coast Books & Coffee&
* Nehalem Bay Video
R ockaw ay: Sharkey's
T illam ook: Rainy Day Books
Pacific City: The River House
O ceanside: Ocean Side Espresso
Lincoln City: Trillium Natural Foods, Driftwood
Library, & Eats 'n' Stuff
Newport: Oceana Natural Foods, Don Petrie's Italian
Food Co.. Café DIVA, Cosmo Café, Bookmark Café,
Newport Bay Coffee Co., Cuppatunes, Bay Latté,
Ocean Pulse Surf Shop, Coastal Coffee Co. & Canyon
Way
Eugene: Book Mark, Café Navarra, Eugene Public
Library, Friendly St. Market, Happy Trails, Keystone
Café. Kiva Foods, Lane C.C., Light For Music. New
Frontier Market, Nineteenth Street Brew Pub. Oasis
Market. Perry's, Red Bam Grocery, Sundance Natural
Foods, U of O, & WOW Hall
C orvallis: Not Necessarily News, & The
Environmental Center
Salem Heliotrope, Salem Library, & The Peace
Store
Astoria: KMUN, Columbian Café, The Community
Store, & Café Uniontown
Seaside: Buck's Book Bam, Universal Video, &
Cafe Espresso
Portland: Act 111, Barnes & Noble, Belmonts Inn,
Bibelot Art Gallery, Bijou Café. Borders, Bridgeport
Brew Puh, Capt'n Beans (two locations). Center for the
Healing Light, Coffee People (three locations).
Common Grounds Coffee, East Avenue Tavern, Food
Front, Goose Hollow Inn, Hot Lips Pizza, Java Bay
Café, Key Largo, La Pattisserie, Lewis & Clark
College. Locals Only. Marco's Pizza, Marylhurst
College, Mt. Hood CC, Music Millenium, Nature's
(two locations), NW Natural Gas, OHSU Medical
School, Old Wives Tales, Ozone Records, Papa Haydn,
• PCC (four locations), PSU (two locations), Reed
College. Third Eye, TransCcntral Library, & YWCA
Long Beach, WA: Pacific Picnics
N ahcotta, WA: Moby Dick Hotel
D uvall, WA: Duvall Books
Seattle, WA: Elliot Bay Book Co., Honey Bear
Bakery, New Orleans Restaurant. Still Life in Fremont,
Allegro Coffeehouse. The Last Exit Coffee House, &
Bulldog News
II
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