The Croissant

The New York Times reports that the iconic French breakfast item, the croissant, will henceforth be made in a straight, rather than curved, shape–at least in several important outlets in Britain. The Brits say it’s easier to spread preserves on a croissant when it’s straight. (Bloody hell, jam is such a chore!). The word croissant refers to the pastry’s crescent shape. Croissants came to France from Austria, probably in the 1830’s.

The first cabernet sauvignon vineyard in Tuscany was planted in the Chianti Classico region, where the grape was technically not allowed.

Answer: False.

In 1944, Mario Incisa della Rocchetta planted Tuscany's first cabernet sauvignon vineyard along the coast of the Tyrrhenian Sea in a district called Bolgheri, known (until then) for its peach orchards. To plant a cabernet sauvignon vineyard there was, at the time, very unusual. First, the vines were not sangiovese but cabernet (allegedly from Château Lafite Rothschild). Second, Tuscan wisdom at the time held that no great red wine could be made from vineyards close to the sea. And third, the vineyard was far away from the Chianti zone, the brunello town of Montalcino, and the vino nobile town of Montepulciano. However, Incisa della Rocchetta persisted and called the wine Sassicaia—from Tuscan dialect, sasso for "rock"; and aia for "place of." Sassicaia was released commercially in 1968 and made quiet Bolgheri famous for remarkable wines.

Booze

Once spelled bouse, the word Booze comes from the medieval Dutch word Büsen, meaning “to drink excess.” Bouse dates back almost one thousand years, to medieval English, but was most commonly used in the sixteenth… Continue reading

The Croissant

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