Soxblog has a hard-to-believe post on the Boston Globe‘s latest attack on Mitt Romney.

Evidently, the Globe is now deploring Mormon-baiting and claiming they did none of it in Romney’s 1994 Senate big. Soxblog proves otherwise.

Although I haven’t seen Sideways, my general impression based on others who have seen it is that Merlot is out and Pinot Noir is in. This notion was confirmed during my lunch yesterday at McCormick & Schmick’s, in which Buena Vista head winemaker Jeff Stewart told me of this developing Pinot renaissance. “Without a doubt,” said Stewart, “consumption of Pinot is up and a lot of it has to do with Sideways.” Stewart, a cherubic fellow in constant good spirits, maintains, however, that Merlots are still a huge seller. (One distributor lamented Washington, D.C.’s lack of adventurousness, calling it “mainly a Bordeaux town.” “People are still reluctant to serve Pinot Noir with fish, a much better combination than Chardonnay, which tends to bounce off,” he added. Washington, D.C., incidentally, consumes more wine than anywhere else in the country.)

Nevertheless, Stewart and his colleagues were kind enough to share their latest and greatest Buena Vista products out of Carneros (wedged in between Sonoma and Napa). The first wine to be sampled was a 2002 Pinot Noir, full of earthiness (goût de terroir) but not as fruity as anticipated. The 2003 Pinot Noir, to be released this June, was extraordinarily complex, lighter, and definitely fruitier–but not jammy. According to Wall Street Journal “Tastings” columnists Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, “When a Pinot is especially rich with fruit, we often call it ‘jammy’ or ‘jamlike.'” Stewart slightly disagrees, deeming jamminess more appropriate for a Zinfandel. Into the mix I enjoyed a well-balanced 2003 Chardonnay, due out in May. But then Stewart slipped past me a Merlot, to which I was outraged. “Who ordered Merlot?” I slurred. (It was nevertheless a fine Merlot.) I then returned to the safety and comfort of the 2003 Pinot Noir (Carneros Estate Vineyard Series).

Some words of wisdom from the winemaker: Whites are often served too cold and reds too warm. 58 degrees for a red is perfect. Stewart hopes to revamp the entire operation, producing a whole new generation of superior wines. From what I tasted (and what I remembered), he is definitely on his way to doing just that.

Many thanks to Jeff, who probably has the greatest job in the world, and Kelly Keagy of parent company Allied Domecq for their extending Galley Slaves this hospitality. For more information on Buena Vista wines, visit their website.

I must heartily dissent from JVL’s posting below, which, even with its minimal editorial comment, appears to cheer on to what is obviously a scene of depravity and sexual abuse. Would that this story of teenage girls having oral sex with groups of male classmates was from a corny skin flick instead of the Boston Herald. I cringe that I just posted another, much more innocent, sex-related item next to it–as if these examples of our debased moral standards were somehow in the same league.

Noticed a punny euphemism in this month’s Premier magazine, in an article about a movie-themed dating service that arranges singles’ parties. The singles gather at a movie theater for drinks, then watch a movie. The author of the article, Jason Guerrasio, calls the set-up a “meet market.” Despite “ice-brakers” that include a “Truth or Dare version of Spin-the-Bottle.” The drinks (“swilling vodka”) and the subsequent darkness make it sound pretty MEAT-y alright, if not also MATE-y, but the not-quite-kissing version of Truth or Dare makes it sound more and more like eight grade.

I’ll link to this story but you’ll get not one word of editorial comment from me.

Yeah, baby!

Okay, that’s two words.

Galley Friend B.W. sends along this alarming story about a new Putin-sponsored youth group whose mission is to “get 300,000 people on to the streets to defend Russia” from the threats of “external governance,” “orange revolution,” and “American intrusion.”

Um, isn’t this a problem?

B.W. asks, “What’s the over-under that they’re printing graphic-novel versions of The Protocols of the Elders of Zion?” Let’s set the Vegas line at 18 months.

Steve Gilliard has an instructive reaction to Dean Barnett’s piece about the Daily Kos and the Democratic party.

Barnett ended his piece with this observation:

The Kossacks seem to believe that if they could just be heard by the entire country, the Democratic party’s losing streak would come to an end.

And Custer probably thought that if he could just get the Indians to come out and fight him at Little Big Horn . . .

Gilliard begins his response like this:

First, if Custer had used his weapons properly and not walked into a trap, then he would have won Little Big Horn. . . .

You couldn’t make this up!

But the really instructive core of Gilliard’s post is that he seems to want the Daily Kos and the Democratic party to aspire to Ann Coulter, Free Republic, and Jonah Goldberg stature.

Nothing wrong with those three, of course, but if I was the political out-party, I’d want to aspire to something that had a little more to do with actual governance and electoral victory.

Either Steve Gilliard is only concerned with carving out a media niche from which he can make a decent buck (hey, nothing wrong with that!), or he’s confusing the path to minor media celebrity with shrewd electoral politics. Either way, this doesn’t auger well for a Kos-led Democratic party.

Thomas Joscelyn has a long and important piece about Russia’s new allies. While America has (rightly) been preoccupied with Iraq and Afghanistan, there are emerging long-term challenges in China and now, it seems, Russia.