Yoga & Wine: Together at last. Wait, what?!

From Trendhunter.com:

“Which asana goes best with Pinot Grigio? And when drinking a cab franc, should one invert or just go with the hatha flow?” asks Vital Juice Daily. “These are the quandaries that plague the nationwide trend of blurring yoga and wine—with workshops popping up like corks in yoga studios, wineries and on retreats worldwide. [ed's note: This is actually a nation-wide trend? Really?]

Experimenting with different wine pairings is fun, but who knew it could be really beneficial for your health too? No, I’m not talking about antioxidants; I’m referring to Vino-yasa! This innovative approach to pairing supplements your favourite reds and white with yoga stretches. It could just be the next big thing in health, taking exercise to a whole new level of bliss.

Read the full article here.

Interesting booze fact I learned today

Did you get a chance to try the Fuzion Shiraz-Malbec when it was released last year? Not sure which wine I mean? It was a big "viral" hit driven by its $7.45 price tag. This Argie bargain flew off the shelves in record time (1,000 cases a day in January). I mention this for two reasons:

1. Its cousin, the Fuzion Syrah Rosé is here
   
2. With more than 200,000 cases sold, the Fuzion Malbec is the LCBO's fourth-most popular item. Only Heineken, Smirnoff and Corona sell more. (note: this is the interesting fact referenced in the title of the post)
   

The fly in the ointment of this success story is that the wine actually doesn't taste very good, but why let that get in the way of a good story. 

I detect a hint of... fluoride?

From The Canadian Press:

LCBO recalls Italian wine found to be tap water

Ontario's Liquor Control Board is recalling an Italian wine, but not for the usual reasons. Some of the 1,500 ml bottles of 2007 D'Aquino Pinot Grigio delle Venezie are nothing but water.

George Soleas, the board's vice-president of quality assurance, said yesterday there is no risk to the public. "Basically, the chemical testing we have done, that was quite extensive, shows it is just tap water."

"The only reason we decided to do the public recall is because we stand behind the quality of our products 100 per cent," Soleas said. "And a lot of these products, because they are Christmas items, they are going to be gifted and I didn't want to have people surprised on Christmas Eve or New Year's Eve opening this product and finding water instead of wine.

"It was a human error basically, it wasn't a tampering issue at all," he added. The problem was at the bottling plant where the bottles are flushed out with water.

"I guess someone was waiting for Jesus to turn it into wine," he joked.

Customers returning bottles to the LCBO will receive a full refund.

Wines that make the world a better place: Crushing Addiction

From the Globe & Mail:

Monks make wine, and my neighbour used to make it in his garage. But drug addicts? Recovering drug addicts, that is, at San Patrignano, the largest drug rehabilitation centre in the world, located just outside Rimini in the Italian region of Emilia-Romagna.

Although San Patrignano's four reds and two whites are exported internationally, they've just become available in Ontario, exclusively at Toronto's Terroni restaurants.

Unlike the plonk made in that garage, the wines produced at San Patrignano are excellent. Their top crus consistently score tre bicchieri, the top grade from the most authoritative voice in Italian wine, Gambero Rosso, and 90 points in the Wine Spectator.

San Patrignano's working ideology also scores enthusiastic reviews. The idea is simple: Teach young people dealing with addiction how to work hard, be responsible, and take pride in producing something of the highest rank, and you help build their self-esteem. San Patrignano founder Vincenzo Muccioli believed that with that kind of positive work ethic, these ragazzi, as they are known, stand a good chance of integrating into society.

Click here for the full article.

Come for the Beaujolais, stay for the salvation

In an attempt to attract more followers (customers seems like the wrong word), the The Church of England is planning to open wine bars.

Life's too short to drink cheap wine. Cork'd can help you avoid making that mistake

Cork’d is a free service for reviewing, sharing and discovering wine. It offers a simple and easy way to review and share wine, making life easier for wine aficionados and drunks everywhere. You can use Cork’d to catalog, rate and review wines you’ve tasted. You can also keep track of wines you’d like to try and buy as well as subscribe to what your buddies have reviewed. At Cork'd you can:

• Catalog, rate, and review wines in your Wine Journal
• Find out what your buddies are tasting
• Discover and keep track of new wines you'd like to buy and try

Here's some additional value added extras you get with your free Cork'd membership:

• Wine Journal - Catalog, rate and review the wines you’ve tried.
• Wine Cellar - Your Wine Cellar is a list of bottles that you own, but haven’t tried yet.
• Shopping List - Keep track of wines you’d like to buy. You can instantly add wines from other member’s journal entries, or add your own from scratch.
• Drinking Buddies - You can add other Cork’d members as Drinking Buddies. By doing so, you’ll be alerted each time a buddy adds a new Wine Journal entry. You’ll be able to see what they’ve been tasting, what they thought and how they rated the wine.
• Recommendations - After you’ve reviewed a wine, you have the option of recommending it to any or all of your Drinking Buddies.

I think I've finally found the spa for me....

The Hakone Yunessun spa in Japan offers an entirely different way to enjoy Beaujolais Nouveau.