So it’s big, big news that an overweight aging celebrity chef (really restauranteur) has diabetes. Much hand wringing ensues that her high calorie, high fat cooking must be the cause.
Karen De Coster points out the spectacular ignorance in the mainstream, including medical doctors on television. Put simply, fat doesn’t alter your blood sugar or create insulin resistance. Lots of carbs does, though. So does eating too much and getting old.
Wine Express is a local wine tasting/retailing company. They host regular tastings at Silo Point in Baltimore. For a reasonable cost in an awesome setting, you can taste a number of wines and discuss both with the host (Rita Blackwell) and the other participants.
It’s a great concept, and they execute it well.
A couple of comments on that execution, then I’ll run down the wines. The setting is outstanding. Silo Point is a spectacular building, and the tastings are hosted in a warm space on the 19th floor. The view is spectacular, and the space is large enough for the group, with plenty of seating options.
The folks running the tasting do a very nice job keeping things moving… I never waited more than a minute or so to get a pour of the next wine, and the wines were served at appropriate temperatures in appropriate glassware. Everyone had some knowledge of the wines, and had clearly tasted them. From a service perspective, the tasting is very well done.
Rita Blackwell, as the host, engages every guest. She’s got an uncanny ability to recall people, she remembers small details that matter. Clearly, she’s about service first. That said, she provides background and educates in a manner that everyone can appreciate, from novice to the experienced oenophile.
Most striking is the diversity of the group. I was really happy to see a varied group; instead of the wine tasting of your old perception (a bunch of wealthy white people over 40 with their pinkies in the air), this was a racially diverse group ranging from 20′s to 70′s. Everyone was friendly, and we had a great time talking wine with each other.
Wine is fun, and this tasting made fun the focus. I’m looking forward to attending more. Continue reading
The original bill to permit direct shipping of wine to the subjects of the State of Maryland and Liquor Distributors allowed for both wineries and retail outlets, and had minimal requirements to register.
The bill crafted behind closed doors by a few legislators and the liquor distribution lobby removed retailers altogether, and required a $1000 bond and $200 per year for wineries to register for the privilege to ship a legal product to grownups in Maryland.
With the restrictions on shipping going in to effect on Friday, just 11 wineries have applied.
Wine retailers are still not allowed to ship to consumers, which keeps popular Internet-based wine-of-the-month clubs off limits, though consumer advocates have vowed to continue lobbying Annapolis to allow retail delivery.
“If there’s a particular bottle that you want shipped, and it’s not offered by one of the wineries with a permit, you’re right back to the same problem as before the new law,” said Adam Borden, president of Marylanders for Better Beer and Wine Laws.
“There were people who felt, let’s get this done right the first time. But the General Assembly was more, ‘One step at a time.’”
Borden said the cost to sign up, including the $200 yearly fee and a $100 annual insurance payment on the required $1,000 bond, might be prohibitive for many of the country’s smaller wineries.
Which is exactly what they wanted. Free State, indeed.
The MD House of Delegates passed a bill ‘allowing’ shipping of wine from wineries directly to consumers in Maryland.
The bill requires wineries pay $200 for the ‘privilege’ of shipping wine to MD, and consumers can only have 18 cases sent per year. Still didn’t get all the way there, allowing for retailers to also ship into the state and eliminating the case limit, but I guess a partial win is a win in this state.
On a totally unrelated note, got 3 wines the other day from a winery in California (one of the very few who are willing to try to get around the current law by using a third party to ship something I already own.)
The Maryland Comptroller’s office finds kids aren’t really interested in buying wine on the internet.
But minors generally were not interested in abusing a direct-ship system to get an illegal fix, said Joseph Shapiro, spokesman for the comptroller’s office.
“Their number one concern is immediacy,” Shapiro said. “Your parents are going out of town this weekend, let’s have a party, that type of thing. With direct ship, the shipment just takes too long.”
And law enforcement agencies in states that allow direct-ship reported that wine is not the alcohol of choice for most underage drinkers.
“They’re more apt to be drinking beer or wine coolers,” said Shapiro, also pointing out the price concern. “A bottle of wine online is certainly more expensive than a six-pack of beer from the local store.”
The report also concluded that direct shipment from out-of-state wineries to Maryland consumers would not hurt in-state providers, because purchases from wineries are mostly motivated by availability.
Go figure. So the distributor lobby can’t argue that any longer. Which leaves them with arguing that it will hurt their business (and protecting their revenue is more important than the right of the people to purchase a product however they see fit), and of course spending lots and lots of money to purchase the votes, or at a minimum the non action, of our illustrious state legislators.
Del. Tom Hucker, D-Silver Spring, says he is drafting a bill for the General Assembly session starting next month. “It’s terrific that the report debunks the myth that special interests have been spreading for years,” said Hucker, who introduced the bill in 2008 and 2009, and served as a co-sponsor in the last General Assembly. “I think the comptroller’s report only pushes the ball forward, farther than it has ever been. This is the year we can expect some movement.”
Hopefully he can get it past Joan Carter Conway.
Crossposted at The Grand Crew
From a the Washington Post article on the passage of the new food “safety” bill:
The measure also gives the Food and Drug Administration the authority to recall food; now, it must rely on food companies to voluntarily pull products off the shelves. And the bill would give the FDA access to internal records at farms and food-production facilities.
That, and that alone, makes the bill unconstitutional. It’s not even debatable.
The 4th Amendment, for those of you who don’t remember:
The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.
And the Fifth:
No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation
In what reading of those two passages does the FDA have any authority or power to force a company to recall a product or have access to the records of any company?
Wow. I knew I got distracted, but I only posted two wines this month at The Grand Crew. I had much more than that, I attended a wine dinner with about six wines, and had several with Thanksgiving dinner, but no tasting notes.
One of these two is one of the best wines I’ve ever had.
