This one is probably a first, but one that has tremendous potential. Movie goers in Toronto now have the option to order alcoholic drinks along with the regular popcorn and soda thanks to a pilot program to see if movies and booze mix. The downtown Varsity cinema recently got a special liquor license and now serves alcohol in four of its theaters. Dubbed the VIP theaters, customers can have a drink while watching the movie although tickets to the theater carry a $5 surcharge. The theater considers the move an extension of services offered to the customers as it already had a bar in the lounge. The move was prompted, as theater officials put it “By repetitive customer demand”.
The theater isn’t worried about any drunken patrons as there is a two drink maximum currently being enforced by the servers who deliver the drinks right to the customer’s seat. Prices are kept reasonable with a bottle of wine local beer costing $4.50 while a glass of house wine will set you back $4.99 while the whole bottle is for $22.18.
Oakville, SilverCity theater, Ont. Are set to follow suit, provided their liquor licenses go through. While Ontario will be the second province where the pilot program will be launched.
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The wine producing valleys of Napa California have achieved world wide fame. Hyped with movies, magazines and food channels. People now have a sense of awe for the place. The common perception is that “big spending” is the only way to go in California. Though it is a possibility, it isn’t the only one present for wine and nature lovers. As the rest of America prepares for a cold winter, northern Californians head outdoors. The rains transform the landscape from a dull brown to a lush green. Trees start blooming in February and by March a full bloom is achieved. All the green then dies out in the summer for the regular tourists to enjoy.
Napa and the rest of California can be expensive during tourist season; tastings cost as much as $50 per person. For the budgeted traveler, the Sonoma County is a better alternative where tastings are mostly free on under $5. The rural western side offers a glimpse of the rural side of the County. Ninety minutes from the golden gate bridge the rural country side is criss crossed with winding back roads through vineyards making getting lost both imminent and a welcoming possibility. The County offers more than just vine yards and prides itself on its diversity. From cheeses to apple orchards it has a lot to offer for the entire family.
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Wine drinkers rejoice! An Australian doctor claims to have produced the world’s healthiest wine. Dr Philip Norrie who is based in Sydney Australia, claims to have developed a wine with resveratrol levels 100 times greater than those found traditionally. Resveratrol is a compound which is found naturally in the skin of grapes and is mainly responsible for the medicinal properties of wine and its claims to lower chances of a heart attack. Resveratrol helps maintain blood flow to the arteries by cleaning fatty deposits called atherosclerotic plaque that have a tendency to stick to the arteries and block them. A tasteless and odorless compound, which doesn’t affect the bouquet or the flavour of the wine. Resveratrol effectively helps clean the arteries as you drink the wine.
Currently two wines are being marketed by Dr Norrie; a chardonnay and a shiraz. The wines available in the Australian market under the name of “Wine Doctor” are endowed with resveratrol levels of 100 mg/L. This is about 70 times of that found in normal “whites” and about 15-20 times that of a normal “red”. Though certainly beneficial in the long run, Dr. Norrie stresses that benefits will only realized through “moderate consumption”.
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Everything has been hit in the wake of the credit crunch, from commodities to stocks everything under the sun has taken a beating. Wine is no different. Prices began to fall as things started looking bleak and according to the wine exchange Live-Ex there are no signs of things looking up this holiday season. The Live-Ex 100 index, which tracks the prices of 100 tradable fine wines, has fallen 5.5% since last November, almost a fifth since last August, ever since investors with cash opted for the money, supply outstripped demand and prices started to fall.
The worst hit, are the vintages of 2005 “the first growth” like the Chateau Lafite Rothschild which was described as an “exceptional vintage” owing to the perfect combination of rain sunshine and warmth. Some vintages have almost halved in prices seeing a steady drop in prices the Chateau La Mission Haut-Brion one such particular wine.
If the taste fine wine is what tickles you’re fancy and you never had the heart to splurge huge amounts on them now is your time to buy.
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A San Francisco co-operative “Crushpad,” has a new take on the fluctuation of the stock market. It has launched a new wine called “Bailout”. Bailout, which is a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon, will go on sale for $39 per bottle. What makes this wine unique apart from the “Bull and Bear” label is that Crushpad will offer a discount of $2 for every 100 points that the DOW slips after the projected bottling date of August 2009. So if you buy your wine when the DOW was at 8500 and on august 2009 it was at 7000 the wine will cost you a mere $9. Although if the DOW rebounds the price remains at $39, which for a Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon from a pedigreed vineyard is a great buy.
Crushpad which is a self proclaimed “combination of wine industry veterans and technology industry refugees that want to liberate winemaking from the stereotype of the 5th generation wine family living on the chateau with the Golden Retriever.” provides budding winemakers and wine enthusiasts a chance to make and market their own wines with the help of their in house facilities and experts.
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