... brought to you by your flirtatious friends at Vinesse
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Almost by definition, a wine bottle bearing
a picture of a nude nymph had to make our list of the 10 sexiest
wines. Who are we to argue with the language police?
The Top 10 Sexy Wines of All-Time
No. 6 -- Cycles Gladiator
Can a wine that retails for around $13 per bottle find
happiness... let alone fulfillment... in today's vinous marketplace?
It can if the wine carries the Cycles Gladiator label.
Except in Alabama.
Allow us to explain...
Cycles Gladiator is a line of wines -- including Cabernet
Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Pinot Grigio -- bearing "California" or
"Central Coast" appellations. The 2005 Cabernet garnered a rating of
89 on a 100-point scale from Wine Enthusiast magazine.
The label is based on a poster created in 1895 by French
painter G. Massias advertising the then-new Cycles Gladiator
bicycle.
The poster includes a depiction of a nude nymph flying
alongside a winged bicycle.
All pretty whimsical, if you ask us.
But not to the Alabama Alcoholic Beverage Control Board, which
found the label to be just a bit too sexy for the good people of the
Yellowhammer State.
The Board made that ruling last year, but it gained national
attention in late July of this year when the Board received a bottle
of Cycles Gladiator from a citizen claiming to have bought the wine
in a store.
That prompted the Board to send out a letter to stores and
restaurants as a friendly reminder that sale of the product was not
legal in the state.
And what, exactly, did the Board find objectionable about the
Cycles Gladiator label?
The ban was enacted as enforcement of the Alabama liquor
regulations that prohibit labels with "a person posed in an immoral
or sensuous manner."
We're not sure when riding a bicycle or drinking wine became
immoral. Furthermore, technically, the label does not depict a
person, but rather a DRAWING of a person.
A sexy drawing, yes... but a drawing nonetheless.
Then again, any kind of nude nymph is bound to attract
attention...
By Robert Johnson, Editor
Sep 3, 2009 - 8:00 AM
... brought to you by your flirtatious friends at Vinesse
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After visits to Portugal and the Champagne and Bordeaux
regions of France, today we stay closer to home -- the Central
Coast region of California -- to share a sexy American wine with
Italian flair...
The Top 10 Sexy Wines of
All-Time
No. 7 -- Martin & Weyrich
Moscato Allegro
Since Italian men are the sexiest men on Earth (so we've
been told), this list would not be complete without at least one
pseudo-Italian wine.
The Martin & Weyrich winery is located in the Paso Robles
growing area, and specializes in Italian-style wines.
And its Moscato Allegro may well be California's most
hedonistic Muscat Canelli-based wine.
Its aroma is fresh like a spring flower (think: orange
blossom).
Its flavor is fruitful, spicy and sweet.
Its finish is crisp and clean.
Moscato Allegro also is an extremely versatile wine,
equally enjoyable as an aperitif, a dinner companion, with
dessert or as dessert -- seductive in so many ways.
Even the packaging is sexy: Martin & Weyrich Allegro comes
in Italy's traditional "Renna Punto," a long and sleek bottle
reserved for the finest Moscato d'Asti.
The winery likes to say that the wine is "perfect with
flowers."
We cannot disagree.
In fact, gather together a bouquet of flowers, a bottle of
Moscato Allegro and a date, and you have the makings of a vinous
menage a trois.
By Robert Johnson, Editor
Sep 2, 2009 - 8:00 AM
... brought to you by your flirtatious friends at Vinesse
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As we continue "The Top 10 Sexy Wines of
All-Time," we venture to the Bordeaux region of France...ance...
The Top 10 Sexy Wines of
All-Time
No. 8 -- Mouton-Rothschild
Although its wines can vary greatly in quality from vintage
to vintage, Mouton-Rothschild remains one of the sexiest wines
on the planet.
This is due in no small part to its labels which, since
1945, have featured original works of art by some of the world's
most acclaimed contemporary artists, as well as other
individuals of note. For example:
* 1958 -- Dali.
* 1969 -- Miro.
* 1970 -- Chagall.
* 1973 -- Picasso.
* 1975 -- Andy Warhol.
* 1982 -- John Huston.
* 2004 -- Prince Charles.
It has been said that when there is a bottle of
Mouton-Rothschild on the dinner table, it's like dining in an
art museum.
(That probably was uttered after a few glasses of the
Bordeaux elixir had been consumed...)
The most famous release of Mouton-Rothschild came from the
1993 vintage.
The wine was quite good, receiving 90-point ratings from
both Wine Spectator magazine and renowned critic Robert Parker.
But it was the label that generated the fame.
Because the label included a drawing of a nude female, the
1993 Mouton-Rothschild was banned in the United States.
Not wanting to lose the revenue from the sale of the wine
in the U.S., Mouton-Rothschild came up with a cream-colored
label... sans artwork... for America-bound bottles.
Of course, many people automatically began coveting what
they could not have, so the price of a bottle with the original
label shot up by about $50.
And Mouton-Rothschild's sexy reputation became even more
risque.
You can see the label that caused all the controversy here:
http://www.mcnees.org/winesite/labels/label_library_pages/French_wine_label_pages/Label_Library_Mouton_Rothschild.htm
By Robert Johnson, Editor
Sep 1, 2009 - 8:00 AM
... brought to you by your flirtatious friends at Vinesse
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We continue with a sweet... and seductive...
treat.
The Top 10 Sexy Wines of
All-Time
No. 9 -- Any Port in a Storm
"It was a dark and stormy night."
So began Snoopy's never-completed romance novel in the
wonderful "Peanuts" comic strip of the late Charles M. Schulz.
It was the perfect kind of night for romance. The perfect
kind of night for wine.
Unfortunately, Snoopy was not a wine drinker; he preferred
to quaff a nice, cold root beer.
So we shall bid adieu to our favorite beagle and get on
with the romance.
And no wine says "romance" better on a dark and stormy
night than Port.
Crafted from grapes grown in Portugal's Douro Valley, Port
is a fortified wine made from a number of different indigenous
grape varieties -- a varietal orgy, if you will.
Visit the Douro Valley, and you'll feel as if time has
stood still. You'll have to look long and hard to find any of
the fancy winemaking equipment that fills the cellars of
California wineries. Instead, traditional techniques are
embraced, which lends a handcrafted quality to the finished
wines.
The three most common types of Port are labeled Ruby, Tawny
and Vintage -- and each scores high on the sexiness scale.
Ruby Port is young and vibrant, brimming with sweet red
fruit flavors. When the weather has kept you and your
Significant Other in for the night, it's the perfect complement
to a chocolate-dipped strawberry.
Tawny Port is golden amber in hue, and a big step up in
quality. Because it's aged in oak casks for a long period of
time -- sometimes 10 years, or 20, 30 or even 40 -- its flavor
spectrum veers away from fruit and toward brown sugar and nuts.
A bowl of nuts - hazelnuts, roasted chestnuts, etc. - or
chocolate-covered cherries add to its allure.
And then there is Vintage Port. It represents a single year
in time, a single harvest season, and not every year is good
enough to be designated a "vintage year." The wine must be aged
in oak casks for at least two years prior to release.
Some of the verbiage you may find on the label:
* "Late Bottle Vintage"
* "Traditional Late Bottle Vintage"
* "Vintage Character"
* "Reserve Port"
All Port wines will warm the soul and spark the flames of
romance. They'll just do it in different ways.
Think of Ruby Port as Drew Barrymore or Ashton Kutcher --
young and full of fun.
Think of Tawny Port as Julia Roberts or Antonio Banderas --
complex and engaging.
Think of Vintage Port as Bo Derek or George Clooney --
mature and sophisticated.
And think of any Port... particularly during a storm, with
flames flickering in the fireplace and your Significant Other
snuggled next to you... as among the sexiest wines on Earth.
By Robert Johnson, Editor
Aug 31, 2009 - 8:00 AM
... brought to you by your flirtatious friends at Vinesse
|
Let's face facts: Virtually everything in life has
sexual overtones.ertones.
Sex has spawned movie ratings (X and R) and music
ratings ("Warning: Contains Explicit Lyrics").
Sex sells products -- everything from cars to shaving
cream. Remember the commercial in which a blonde bombshell
urges a lathered-up Joe Namath to "take it off -- take it
all off... with Noxema"?
Even fruit can be sexy. One word: banana.
And so it is with wine.
Only with wine, our prurience is pushed to the limit
not only by its aphrodisiac alcohol, but also by its
alluring color, its sensual mouthfeel, and its occasionally
suggestive labels.
What's a healthy, vibrant, active person to do?
Only one thing: Give in to temptation. Uncork that
bottle and let yourself go.
Our list of "The Top 10 Sexy Wines of All-Time" should
help.
There's no need to thank us.
It's our pleasure.
So, slip into something more comfortable...
The Top 10 Sexy Wines of
All-Time
No. 10 -- Moet & Chandon
In a world populated by Dom Perignon and Krug, I never
gave much thought to the Champagnes of Moet & Chandon.
I'd sip a glass when it was offered at a party, but I
never sought it out. There was plenty of other bubbly in the
world to tickle my fancy (and nose).
And then, earlier this year, everything changed.
Moet & Chandon made news by announcing that actress
Scarlett Johansson had been signed to be "the face" of the
"Champagne of Cinema."
Only the pictures of Ms. Johansson weren't just about
her undeniably beautiful face.
One picture shows off her legs, and depicts her holding
a Champagne flute between her toes.
Another has her grasping the neck of a Moet & Chandon
bottle as fizz sprays out.
Lucky bottle...
In a press release announcing Ms. Johansson's signing,
she is quoted as saying: "Moet and the movies tell
compelling stories and share authentic emotions with the
world. I am honored to have been chosen as their ambassador
and to make history with the brand, as the first celebrity
face of Champagne!"
Face...
Legs...
Toes...
Drinking Moet & Chandon will never be the same.