Friday, 12 January 2007
 

Our First Wine Column
Contributed by George Mellinger

These days it seems as if every media outlet feels the need for a Wine Column. From the Wall Street Journal and the Self-important New York Times on down to the irrelevant little local free shopping news papers. Without an occasional wine column, yew just ain’t got no class nohow nomore. Now Old War Dogs shall have one too. And Rurik does like wine anyway. So it was a good thing that I brought home a bottle with a new label to taste and to review.

The wine is Jarhead Red California Red Table Wine, which the back label informs us was vinted and bottled by Firestone Vineyards of Los Olivos, California. The back label informs us that

Jarhead Red is made by Marines for Marines. The net proceeds from the sale of this wine benefit the Marine Corps Scholarship Foundation who provide educational assistance to the children of fallen marines. Please consider directly supporting the Foundation at www.mcsf.org.

Reuben Dominguez, Sgt USMC ‘79-‘84 & Adam Firestone, Capt USMC ‘84-‘91.

The label does not tell us the type of grape used, but judging by the characteristics of the wine itself, I guess it is Carignane, an inexpensive, and prolific grape not used for premium wines, but much favored for jug and table wines, or for blending with other more prestigious grapes.

In the glass, Jarhead Red has a very deep and dark red color and a fruity grapey aroma. Like any good Jarhead, the wine is simple and straightforward. It is strong, bold, a little crude and short on polish. Sensitive palates may even find it harsh. The flavor is long-lasting and the finish is firm and assertive. This is not a wine to accompany delicate food. It will stand up to spicy and food and can take the heat. It will accompany foods with tomato sauces and might be an ideal choice to go with barbecue. Real Jarheads will tell us this wine may accompany MREs or C-rations. Except for Ham-n-Mammies, a military concoction which goes with nothing except warm canteen water and dire emergency. Jarhead Red is a wine totally without pretensions, but it will do the job.

At about $12 a bottle, this wine may seem a little overpriced since Carignane is not a serious grape. But the label is priceless, and the cause is much more serious than the wine itself. Remembering that this wine honors Jarheads and the proceeds support the MCSF, the wine is actually a remarkable bargain. On the Left Coast, where many of the winery owners are pinker than their Zinfandel Rose’, Jarhead Red deserves special attention. I’ll give it my highest rating and encourage you to buy Jarhead Red for your next picnic.

Semper Fi’

-Rurik

Note: After posting this review, I learned that Jarhead Red was not made from Carignane but from 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. So the hardness would imply youthful exeuberance, and suggests that Jarhead Red may have some potential to improve with age.

Contributed by George Mellinger on January 12, 2007 at 09:40 AM in Caring about our troops, Food and Drink, George Mellinger, US Marine Corps | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Tuesday, 10 October 2006
 

Shari'a at the Airport
Contributed by John Werntz

Note to the reader--Since our well-liked comrade, Zero Ponsdorf, is sorely missed at present, I thought I might depart from my usual drearily sober path, pick up Zero's fallen pennant, and run with it...

Daniel Pipes has a column in today's New York Sun that is certain to raise the hackles of every red-blooded booze-swilling American, not to mention those of us, now teetotallers, who managed to cram a lifetime of drinking into the first half of their lifespan. The issue is somewhat complicated, hence the column ought to be read in its entirety.  Briefly stated, Muslim cab drivers at the MSP airport--who happen to be the majority of drivers there--have refused to accept passengers carrying beer, wine, or liquor.  It's against their religion, don'tcha know? It seems that the governing body, the Minneapolis-St. Paul Metropolitan Airports Commission, has cravenly caved in to this outrageous demand, and proposes to equip Muslim-driven cabs with a special light that indicates "Booze Streng Verboten." Presence of the light on the cab will permit the shari'a-sodden driver to refuse service while remaining at the head of the taxicab queue.

Never mind that this gives an unfair advantage to passengers who conceal their contraband inside their valises instead of manfully lugging it in the transparent shopping-bag that they acquired at the tax-free boutique.  Never mind that this establishes Islamic Prohibition as the supreme law of the land.

What's next? Will the FAA rule that from now on all licensed long-distance carriers must schedule a certain number of M-D flights--signifying Muslim-Dhimmi--every day?  No booze, no jooze, no infidels?  No dogs in the hold?  Hostesses in burqas?  Halal Lean Cuisine?  RR must be rolling in his grave.

Dr. Pipes recommends that people write to the regulatory commission and lodge a protest.  I second the motion.  What follows is a copy of the letter I have just submitted.  It is in no way intended to be any sort of model, merely an indication of the kind of maddened blurt that ensues when public officials act like fools.

Minneapolis-St. Paul Metro Airports Commission

Gentlemen:

I cannot believe that you are actually prepared to cave in to the demands of certain cab drivers that they be permitted to refuse service to otherwise acceptable passengers who happen to be carrying alcoholic beverages.  This is reminiscent of President Reagan's beef with air-traffic controllers, except that he was determined to enforce the regulations.

These individuals are employed in a public service, which I have to believe is governed by rules promulgated by the people's elected representatives.  In the first place, shari'a law forbids its adherents from consuming alcohol, not from being in the same vehicle with the booze.  Even if it did, that would merely dictate that Muslims not work in bars or other places where they might be exposed to alcohol.  It does not entitle Muslims or anyone else to discriminate against others who are exercising their lawful rights.

You have got to show some backbone.  The correct response to these outrageous claims is to point out to these people that they are governed by rules. If they don't like it, they can seek employment elsewhere.  It is not as if the labor pool of potential cab drivers is somehow restricted.  We have far too many young people in this country whose only evident employable skill is the ability to maneuver through traffic in an automobile.

It is about time that public officials recognized that the United States of America stands for something more than the absurd proposition that everyone is entitled to go through life without ever being offended.

Contributed by John Werntz on October 10, 2006 at 07:56 PM in Current Affairs, Food and Drink, Islamism Delenda Est, John "72nd TCS" Werntz | Permalink | Comments (5) | TrackBack