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drinkDrink1/123125/2202562/Drink.jpg4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091123111448AMMondayNovNovember1111/23/2009 4:14:48 PM63394571688469052520091123111448AMMondayNovNovember1111/23/2009 4:14:48 PM63394571688469052520091123111448AMMondayNovNovember1111/23/2009 4:14:48 PM633945716884690525false2008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM6335984700700000002008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM633598470070000000Wine, beer, and other potent potables.62152320drinkfalsefalsespacernulldrink1/123125/2202562/Drink.jpg4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse20091123111438AMMondayNovNovember1111/23/2009 4:14:38 PM63394571678953052420091123111438AMMondayNovNovember1111/23/2009 4:14:38 PM63394571678953052420091123111438AMMondayNovNovember1111/23/2009 4:14:38 PM633945716789530524false2008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM6335984700700000002008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM633598470070000000What To Drink on ThanksgivingMike SteinbergerfalseGlorious American cabernets.noWhat To Drink on ThanksgivingWhat to drink on Thanksgiving: Napa cabernet.noCabernet sauvignon—and particularly the cabernet produced in California's Napa Valley—is the signature American wine. When a Napa cab, the 1973 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, beat out some leading French wines in the Judgment of Paris, it heralded the coming-of-age of American viticulture and gave the phrase Napa cabernet international cachet. Nowadays, however, that phrase is more apt to elicit snickers than praise; in the minds of many consumers, it has become synonymous with overwrought, overhyped, and overpriced wines. Indeed, scorning Napa cabernets is almost as fashionable as dumping on California chardonnays. Plenty of Napa cabs deserve the derision, but even as the valley suffers through a richly deserved reversal of fortune, there are still producers turning out honest, delicious wines that demonstrate why people got excited about the valley in the first place. And if you are currently in the market for something homegrown and fowl-friendly to drink on Thanksgiving, these attitude-free Napa cabs will make fine choices.truenotochyperlinkno2009112061818PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:18 PM6339433789800000002009112061818PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:18 PM633943378980000000drink1/123125/2202562/Drink.jpg4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse2009112061829PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:29 PM6339433790963147972009112061829PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:29 PM6339433790963147972009112061829PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:29 PM633943379096314797false2008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM6335984700700000002008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM633598470070000000In Vino PompousnessMike SteinbergerfalseThe Michael Moore of the wine world is back.noIn Vino PompousnessWhat Jonathan Nossiter's Liquid Memory gets wrong about wine.noWho said there is no disputing taste? For many oenophiles, half the pleasure of wine is arguing about it. In recent years, the vinosphere has seen a contentious debate over what can be called, for lack of a less ponderous phrase, First Principles. What defines quality in a wine? How about authenticity? Is it ultimately more important for a wine to taste good or to taste true to its origins—to exhibit goût de terroir, as the French say? And if the end result is agreeable, does it matter how a wine was made? With much of the wine industry fixated on branding and marketing, and technology increasingly giving vintners the power to bend nature to their will, these questions have taken on added urgency, and the discussion of them has grown ever more acrimonious.truenotochyperlinkno2009103093437AMFridayOctOctober910/30/2009 1:34:37 PM6339249207700000002009103093437AMFridayOctOctober910/30/2009 1:34:37 PM633924920770000000drink1/123125/2202562/Drink.jpg4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse2009112061830PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:30 PM6339433791020720692009112061830PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:30 PM6339433791020720692009112061830PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:30 PM633943379102072069false2008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM6335984700700000002008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM633598470070000000What Would John Adams Drink?Brian PalmerfalseGet ready for the rebirth of cider in America.noWhat Would John Adams Drink?Get ready for the rebirth of cider in America.noDuring the 1840 presidential election, opponents of William Henry Harrison portrayed him as a hard-drinking bumpkin. In a savvy act of political jujitsu, Harrison embraced the charge, branding his campaign paraphernalia with a portrait of pure Americana: a log cabin and a barrel of cider. Harrison rode the image to a 234-60 Electoral College victory over incumbent Martin Van Buren.truenotochyperlinkno2009930115258AMWednesdaySepSeptember119/30/2009 3:52:58 PM6338990837800000002009930115258AMWednesdaySepSeptember119/30/2009 3:52:58 PM633899083780000000drink1/123125/2202562/Drink.jpg4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse2009112061821PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:21 PM6339433790160797922009112061821PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:21 PM6339433790160797922009112061821PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:21 PM633943379016079792false2008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM6335984700700000002008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM633598470070000000We're All Wine Critics NowMike SteinbergerfalseHow the Internet has democratized drinking.noWe're All Wine Critics NowHow the Internet has democratized drinking.noUnless you spend a lot of time in wine chat rooms, you may have missed the recent controversies involving critic Robert Parker. The short version: Parker's publication, the Wine Advocate, was found to be violating its own strictures against freebies and fraternizing with wine importers, and a contributor he hired gave a high rating to a wine based on a sample that seemed to bear little resemblance to what was available on retail shelves. The back-to-back scandals, which have damaged Parker's reputation for probity (one of his biggest selling points as a critic), came to light via several wine Web sites, including Parker's own online discussion board. The Internet angle is actually the most significant aspect of this story, for it underscores how profoundly technology is changing the relationship between wine critics and consumers—the relationship between you and me.truenotochyperlinkno200992543302PMFridaySepSeptember169/25/2009 8:33:02 PM633894931820000000200992543302PMFridaySepSeptember169/25/2009 8:33:02 PM633894931820000000drink1/123125/2202562/Drink.jpg4242http://img.slate.com/mediafalse2009112061819PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:19 PM6339433789931644252009112061819PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:19 PM6339433789931644252009112061819PMFridayNovNovember1811/20/2009 11:18:19 PM633943378993164425false2008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM6335984700700000002008101713007PMFridayOctOctober1310/17/2008 5:30:07 PM633598470070000000I'm Tasting Tar, Traffic Cones, Motor Oil …Mike SteinbergerfalseA planned bridge could ruin Germany's cherished Mosel wine region.noI'm Tasting Tar, Traffic Cones, Motor Oil …The planned bridge that could ruin Germany's cherished Mosel wine region.noTomorrow afternoon, protesters will gather on a vertiginous German hillside in an effort to prevent what would be one of the worst acts of desecration that the wine world has ever seen. Led by famed British wine writer Hugh Johnson, the group will be demonstrating against plans to build a four-lane, mile-long highway bridge across the Mosel river, a project that threatens a handful of Germany's most celebrated vineyards. The Mosel is Riesling country, and the endangered vineyards yield some of the most delicate, distinctive, and enthralling wines around. The possibility that these charmed plots of land may suffer lasting damage on account of a bridge should alarm oenophiles everywhere. The fact that the Mosel Valley, whose viticultural tradition dates back 2,000 years, is arguably the most beautiful wine region on the planet only compounds the travesty.truenotochyperlinkno2009910115345AMThursdaySepSeptember119/10/2009 3:53:45 PM6338818042500000002009910115345AMThursdaySepSeptember119/10/2009 3:53:45 PM63388180425000000020061027104113AMFridayOctOctober1010/27/2006 2:41:13 PM63297542473000000020061027104113AMFridayOctOctober1010/27/2006 2:41:13 PM632975424730000000falsetruetruetruetruetruetrue2006102651613PMThursdayOctOctober1710/26/2006 9:16:13 PM6329747977300000002006102651613PMThursdayOctOctober1710/26/2006 9:16:13 PM632974797730000000