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Wine Word Of The Day:
Hello everybody and today is March 2nd. And on this day in 1969 in Toulouse, France, the first test flight of the super-sonic aircraft, the Concorde, occurred.
The 1,350 mile-an-hour plane entered commercial passenger service in 1976 and flew transatlantic flights in half the time of other airlines. The fleet flew for about 27 years before retiring in 2003. Maintenance costs and reduced travel after 9/11 are sited as the reasons the Concorde was taken out of service.
The Concorde got it’s name from the French and English word Concord(e). (obvious, right?) The French put an “e” at the end. Concord in both languages means agreement, harmony or union. The name reflects the joint venture between the English and French to build the plane together.
I still think it was the coolest plane ever and am sad that I never flew on it. But I’m glad I wasn’t on the July 25th flight back in 2000, when a Concorde crashed after hitting some debris on the runway that fell off a lousy DC10. But I digress.
Before I get further off track, I think I should mention here that today’s Wine Word of the Day is: Concord. (And that’s Concord without an “e”, for all you francophiles)
We are talking about the Concord grape that is sometimes used for making wine, but is better suited for making jelly and grape juice. Rarely, if ever, will you see a fine wine made from Concord grapes, although there are a few Kosher wines made from them. And I find they pair well with peanut butter sandwiches. Chances are Concord wines were never served on the Concorde (See, there’s the connection between this day in history and wine!)
I think about half the states in this country have a town called Concord. But if you are in Massachusetts it’s pronounced “Cawn-cud”. And you guessed it, that’s where the Concord grape originates.
A man named Ephraim Wales Bull planted a bunch of wild seeds at his house in Concord in 1849. He sorted through 22,000 seedlings before he found what he thought was the perfect grape. (Hey, there was no Internet back then, sorting was considered great fun.) Anyway, he won first place at the Boston Horticultural Society Exhibition. Then some guy, okay he was a Methodist minister named Thomas Bramwell Welch, made some juice from Concord grapes in 1854. He was a hard-line Prohibitionist and staunchly opposed alcohol, so he offered his drink to churches as “Dr. Welch’s Unfermented Wine.”
I guess the rest is history. But I bet when you are pouring your kids Welch’s Grape Juice, you didn’t really think of it as unfermented wine. I guess the only difference between you and your kid’s drinking habits is what a little bit of yeast does to your grape juice versus that cute purple mustache. Come to think about it, you might both have purple mustaches!
For transcripts, links and more podcasts, please go to winewordoftheday.com. If you have any suggestions for more words, historical facts or tips on how the world can come up with another cool plane like this to be run by airlines who hire Masters of Wine sommeliers to stock their wine selections, please send emails to wwd@moonstonecellars.com.
And until next time, cheers to you!
Happenings In The Tasting Room:
- Lenny’s 1225 Mistletoe Lane
- Credit to Chris Storey for his photos
- Anniversaries
- MMM Winners
- 70-year-old delivery guy scales walls
- Tell your anesthesiologists how much you drink!
News:
Bubble Trouble
Romain Brunot, Brand Manager for Moet Hennessy, has been jailed and fined for stealing almost $100,000 worth of Champagne and vodka. Over a four year period, Brunot was hiding spirits, left over from events, in a storage unit under a friend’s name. He was then faking purchase orders to cover the losses.
Who Cares
Lady Gaga was spotted in Sonoma, shopping, dining and taking pictures with fans.
The New Wine Critic is You
Bloggers are the new “self-appointed” wine critics today. At most there are only about 25 “super critics”, or critics that write for publications that reach over 50K readers. In order for the super critics to rate every wine, they would have to taste over 16 wines a day, or 6000 wines a year. An impossible task. There are over 150K wines available in the marketplace.
Eat the Evidence to Destroy It
Future bottles could be eaten after scientists developed an edible material that can taste like the drink inside. The product, a membrane created using a biodegradable plastic combined with food particles, could either be peeled off or potentially eaten whole. But now U.S. Food and Drug Administration officials plan to investigate whether it is safe for consumers and if its manufacturer was right to brand it as a dietary supplement.
We Think You Shouldn’t See This
A bill under consideration in Utah would require that at least two of the five members of the Alcohol Control Commission be “drinkers.” Also, an obscure law in Utah makes it illegal to mix an alcoholic drink in front of the person who ordered it.
More Show Notes
- 20,000 Wine Word of of the Day Downloads!
- “Al in Good Taste” – Al reads the 2009 Cabernet Franc label
- Ask Grape Stomper Todd – Tina asks “What is the difference between dry wine and smoothing wine?”
Credits
Maria Talyor – Song “Leap Year”
Voice Over Talent – Andrew Dawson
Show Posting and Tagging – Robert Widmer
Jill, Al, and Todd – the rest of the nonsense
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