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Sales (in millions of U.S.$) of Cali Red sold in the first six months of the wine’s inaugural release. A blend of petit sirah and zinfandel, the California wine is a partnership between rap icon Snoop Dogg and Treasury Wine Estates and is part of TWE’s wine brand called 19 Crimes. Snoop Cali Red was the #1 new wine item launched in the U.S. last year. 20% of Cali Red drinkers are new to wine. The augmented reality label has been viewed more than 3 million times.

The custom of clinking glasses before drinking a toast was originally based on discovering that what you were about to drink was not lethal.

Answer: True.

At least it’s one of the leading theories behind glass clinking. This theory considers that at the time of the Roman Empire, poisoned beverages were the modus operandi for assassinating unwanted political or economic rivals. By the Middle Ages, a kind of “poison epidemic” had grown, stimulated by the increased availability of medicinally-suspect ingredients from apothecaries throughout Europe. At about the same time, Arabs developed an odorless and transparent form of arsenic; woe to the Crusaders. Thus, self-preservation dictated that a visitor would insist his host drink some of what was poured for the visitor himself. Once the host drank “successfully,” the guest could imbibe with confidence. Eventually, in situations when the guest trusted the host, the process was done away with and supplanted by clinking—an acknowledgement that all was safe.

I, Harry, Do Solemnly Warrant…

As anyone who has tasted it knows, English sparkling wine is superb. (I personally think the top English sparkling wines are fantastic). Now, England’s Camel Valley Vineyard has become the first English wine producer to… Continue reading

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