Mousseux

French for sparkling. Some VIN MOUSSEUX are made by the MÉTHODE CHAMPENOISE (with SECONDARY FERMENTATION taking place in the bottle); other less expensive mousseux are made in large tanks.

What wine was served during the signing of the Declaration of Independence?

A. Champagne

B. Madeira

C. Port

D. Bordeaux

Madeira. Ultimately, no wine would become more a part of the United States’ beginning. Not only was Madeira drunk by the founding fathers during the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the wine was also what Francis Scott Key sipped as he composed “The Star-Spangled Banner.” George Washington (who reportedly drank a pint every night with dinner), Thomas Jefferson, and Benjamin Franklin all adored it. By the end of the eighteenth century, nearly a fourth of all the Madeira produced was being exported to the American colonies.

Read Karen’s People to Know interview with Bartholomew Broadbent, who helped revive Madeira-drinking in America here. And her review of several Madeira bottlings is here.

“Waiter, There’s a Person in My Soup!”

Billing itself as a “spa theme park,” the Yunessun Resort in Japan’s Hakone prefecture—an hour and a half bullet train ride from Tokyo—offers bathers the option of soaking in a pool filled with red wine.… Continue reading

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