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Alcohol
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Old Is The New Young: Jack Daniel’s Gives Their Old No.7 A Facelift
24 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Venerable gentleman of bars the world over, Jack Daniels Old No. 7 Sour Mash Tennessee whiskey, has had a little work done in an effort to rejuvenate the legendary brand and reinforce its status as one of the globe’s most recognised, and most popular spirits.
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2oceansVibe’s Official Bubbly Nails Diamond Award
17 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Boschendal has cleaned up rather nicely at this year’s Wine Makers’ Choice competition. Hot on the heels of winning the Best Vintage Cap Classique, the Grande Cuvée Brut 2007 scooped a coveted Diamond Award at the 2011 WMC. Cheers to that. The Grande Cuvée Brut 2007 is one of only three Cap Classique Sparkling […]
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Five Star Platter Wines Announced – Cue Raised Eyebrows
12 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Yesterday the wines that scored 5 stars in Platter – South Africa’s foremost wine reference guide – were released. At this year’s launch, 18 tasters worked their way through the 7 000 submitted wines. Every now and then they came across one that astounded and delighted, a wine that made them smile and smirk, and hopefully, finish the bottle. Here’s my take on the affair.
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The Wine List And The Restaurateur – A Troublesome Union
05 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 11 Comments
There are some fantastic wine lists out there, please don’t get me wrong, but there is a disease of boring, careless, drek as well. Wine lists composed with the imagination of a brain bathed in tepid-water, whose purpose is more to nab bucks out your wallet than make your meal memorable. Considering restaurant wine lists in South Africa reminded me immediately of a recent South Park episode where Cartman’s mom doesn’t get him an iPad. His response:
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Record 7,9 Million Litres Of Beer Consumed At Oktoberfest
04 Oct 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
With another Oktoberfest coming to a close in Munich on Monday, the hung-over locals deserve to start boasting about their accomplishments. 7,9 million litres of beer were consumed by festival goers, despite this year’s price per litre rising to 9 Euros (R96, 00). Beeeeer.
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A Pill That Makes You Sober – R.I.P Beer Goggles
29 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
For all those shallow Hal’s, cheap dates and general sloppy drunks (we all know at least one), this little guy’s for you. The “stay-sober pill”, is still in development stages, but is said to allow you to drink as much as you want and still stay sober as a judge. Or prevent you from getting laid.
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Where Did We Go Wrong?
28 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 7 Comments
“The wines of Constantia became famous in Europe at the same time (mid 1700 s) as the red wines of Chateau Lafite. Makes you think.” Su Birch, the head of Wines of South Africa, tweeted this week. Lafite is a famous French first growth – the 2009’s are selling for around 14 000 bucks a bottle. Yes Su, it does make me think. It makes me think, “Where the fuck did we go wrong?”
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Wine As Art? Damn Straight
21 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Recently I was knocking back Meerlust’s new releases at a lunch. Drinking these rather scrumptious wines, we began to discuss some incredibly important issues. The things one discusses at a wine lunch – among other winos – are, of course of world importance. They solve world hunger, the middle-east issues, America’s debt, Malema, Greece, and hint toward what 42 actually means. To be honest, if it wasn’t for conversations such as these, the world would be in a worse place than it is. So on this blustery day in Stellenbosch, the question that arose was, “Can wine be art?” As I said, vital stuff.
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Lack Of Beer Drinking In Europe Is Contributing To The Recession
21 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
I know what you’re thinking. How can such a heavenly beverage be contributing to the current debt crisis? The answer is simple: people are still drinking beer, but they’re doing it from the comfort of their credit card bought couches. Problem is, 73 percent of jobs associated with the European beer industry are in bars and restaurants. BEEEEEER.
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Practical Tips For Enjoying Your Life, With Wine
14 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
I have been a bit airy-faery of late, mouthing off about elegance, the nature of language, bonhomie, and the like. Which, I must say, I prefer talking about at dinner where there is plenty room to bang my fists on the table. And as the banging of digital fists becomes slightly tiresome, I thought I would veer off in a more practical direction. So here are a few tips to making your wine drinking life more pleasurable.
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Let’s Drink Tonight Helps You Find People To Drink With
12 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
If people keep telling you that drinking alone is a sign of alcoholism, then you either need to drink less, or find a way to make sure that there are people to drink with all the time. The geniuses behind the social network app ‘Let’s Drink Tonight’ figured the latter choice made more sense too.
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My Drug Of Choice
07 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
Drugs are great. Don’t listen to those naysayers who offer hugs instead. Silly. Whoever heard of a hug that produced art, ideas, conversation and discovery? Some may have led to sex, sure, but then I reckon ecstasy wins on that count. Of course, drugs kill people and ruin lives. So do guns, politicians, earthquakes, religion, airline food, ignorance, baseball-bats, well timed punches, badly timed racing drivers, and a host of animals. But none of these things gives us the sheer pleasure while hastening our demise that drugs do. Wine is my drug of choice.
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Spot The Thunder MINI And Win A Bottle Of Thunder Toffee Vodka
06 Sep 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
A group of us cleaned a bottle of Thunder toffee vodka on Friday night and I can categorically state that I will gladly do it again. It just seems to hit the spot, and is welcomed by boys and girls alike. You can win your own bottle if you get a pic of the Thunder […]
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On Elegance
31 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 7 Comments
Every now and again I’ll post a column on a certain word that wine people – myself included – use to describe wines that can be slightly troubling. I am going to try and make it a little bit clearer as to how the word is being used in reference to wine. Because as much fun as it is pairing wine with death, one must try to be of some use. Slight disclaimer: This is a column that imagines its readers enjoy thinking about wine a little. If you are happy with the “Ja, not battery acid I’ll drink it. Fuck that it’ll kill you” approach to drinking wine, this may annoy you.
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Wine: The Liquid To Live And Die By
25 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
There is so much drama in the SA wine industry at the moment, what with caffeine conundrums, and now a damning (albeit one-sided) report from Human Rights Watch that Western Cape fruit farmers are treating their workers like it’s the 1860s. I thought I would steer completely clear of such depressing matters and uplift the wine drinking nation with some sound advice as to what wine to open when faced with certain situations in your life.
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Coffee Pinotage – The Sickly Sweet Plot Thickens
17 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 30 Comments
I’d really hoped that coffee-tasting wines had been put to bed in this column. I had had my rant and the comments were made; I had purged myself from the nastiness, hoping never again to have to speak of these wines here. But it reared its vile little head recently when I read that caffeine had been found in one of the coffee styled Pinotages. I diluted my Chianti Classico with bitter tears, as I knew once again I would write something.
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The Science Of Beer Goggles
15 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Finally, science has validated what those posters have been telling us for years. Apparently, beer goggles do turn ‘bow’ into ‘wow’. A team of scientists at London’s Roehampton University have killed a considerable bar tab investigating why people who are intoxicated by alcohol seem less critically receptive to the physical appearance of others, or for the rest of us: “Beer goggles – why?”
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The Wine Show In All Its Faultering Glory
12 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 9 Comments
I attended the Wine Show Joburg over the weekend. I had planned to write a column comparing the different drinkers at the shows in Joburg to those here in the Cape. I didn’t get very far there.
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They’ve Invented A Date-Rape-Detecting-Straw
11 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
Two Israeli scientists say they have developed a sensor that can accurately detect date-rape drugs in drinks 100 percent of the time – a tiny, drink-stirrer-looking device that, when dipped into your appletini or other refreshing beverage, can detect the presence of dissolved drugs. Nice job, science.
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Pablo Francisco Impersonates EVERYONE On 2ov Radio [Video]
07 Aug 2011 by Seth Rotherham / 1 Comment
One of the funniest men on the planet (proof here), Pablo Francisco cruised into the 2oceansvibe Radio studio last week, and proceeded to impersonate Johnny Carson, Jay Leno, Al Pacino (Scarface), Chris Rock, Sylvester Stallone, Ozzy Osbourne, Michael J Fox, Dr. Phil, Tracy Morgan, Bill Cosby, Pauly Shore, Mel Gibson, Dennis Hopper, Gary Busey and Danny […]
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“The World In Vogue – People, Parties, Places” – The Greatest Coffee Table Book You Will Ever Own
06 Aug 2011 by Seth Rotherham / No Comments
I had a dinner party last night at my penthouse at the Cape Royale Hotel, and I must just say that the star of the show (besides the Jack Daniel’s, Corona beer, Boschendal bubbly and La Fee absinthe) was “The World In Vogue” coffee table book I bought for La Muse a while ago. It’s […]
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Spoil Your Woman With Boschendal
04 Aug 2011 by Seth Rotherham / No Comments
Spoil the lady in your life.. by treating her to a breakfast at Boschendal overlooking the valley of Franschhoek. August is the month to spoil all Mothers, Daughters, Sisters, Grandmothers, Friends, Wives, and Girlfriends! Spoil the woman in your life this August, with a bottle of Boschendal Bubbly and upload a picture onto facebook. The […]
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How To Drink Wine And Not Look Like A Muppet
03 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 7 Comments
Forget history lessons, interesting facts, supermarket choices, hints of vanilla, toasted oak or residual sugar;. Let’s be honest, for most people the only reason they want to learn anything about wine – past the operation of a corkscrew – is so they don’t look like a tit.
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Super Dad And The Eight Year Old Designated Driver
01 Aug 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
On a family trip from Mississippi to Texas, this loving father of two not only handed his car keys to his eight year old son after a binge on the town, he also passed out while the kid drove. On the highway. Oh, and did I mention that his four year old sister was in the back seat as well?
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Naked Girls Lathered In Bubbly: Just Kidding, Bubbly History Lesson – Part 2
28 Jul 2011 by Jasmine Stone / No Comments
Last week I told you a bit about Champagne’s history, and left you at around the 16th/17th century. I was going to try and take you all the way up to the present in this column. I then realised that this would not be possible in 100 words. So I shelved the pot-holed history of […]
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Bubbly History Lesson: Part One
21 Jul 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 8 Comments
I love bubbly. I can drink it first thing in the morning, just before I sleep, and at every intervening moment. Its racy freshness and cleansing bubbles inspire celebration, comfort the sad and refresh the weary. I have another name for Champagne: joie de vivre.
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A Plague On The Mocha Choca Wine Brigade
13 Jul 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 25 Comments
At dinner the other night I was paging through a rather limpid looking wine list. Safe wines, boring wines; not one of which inspired in me even a trace of “Wahoo!” I saw one from a producer I have enjoyed before – a Shiraz that I thought may offer something of interest. Boy, was I wrong. It was as interesting as watching paint dry on a black and white television, showing curling. The reason for it’s complete drabness was that it had fallen into the trap that many South African reds are succumbing to. The wine maker was forcing the wine to strongly exhibit flavours and aromas of coffee and chocolate.
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Today’s Jack Friday Winner Is…
08 Jul 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 1 Comment
We are very pleased to see people catching on to the notion of work-free Fridays, and today’s entries have been no exception. Interestingly, this week ladies are taking the lead in embracing the art of Friday relaxation. A noteworthy mention goes to @em_skye, who is heading up the West Coast for the weekend, looking very […]
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Jean-Claude Van Damme OWNS New Beer Commercial [VIDEO]
08 Jul 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 3 Comments
“My nipples were so cold they started talking to me.” I don’t know where to begin. There is simply too much awesome in these videos for me to add anything else. That would spoil it. Ladies and gentlemen, please allow me to make your day, nay, your weekend, by checking out Jean-Claude Van Damme in these beer commercials for Coors Light.
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Of Age And Aging: Is Older Wine Better Wine?
06 Jul 2011 by Jasmine Stone / 2 Comments
One of the things that makes wine stand out in the world of beverages is its ability to age and develop. It is a miraculous thing, tasting something older than you are (frustratingly, this gets more difficulty and expensive as you shuffle along the mortal coil). To taste a living thing formed by the elements […]
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