Hi, tonight is the night I am stepping in for BeerguyDan who is just back from Chile trying to sell stolen phones or something along those lines. This would be my virgin Open Thread blog and there is very little sportsing going on so I will just ramble then go off on a tangent.

Thursday, during football season I am a football lowlife, I do not care if Jacksonville plays the Sacramento Goldminers led by David Archer, I am watching, and I am drinking wine. In the summer it is whites on the balcony but that is with no football which may make me a wino. There is the CFL but I pay more attention to Aussie rules and I usually watch the replays in the morning so I abstain from downing a bottle at 7 am. In the winter it is go time and drink big reds as it is freezing here. The wine always turns out to be the best part of Jets v Factory or the inevitable dropped pass by the Eagles receiving corps. BUT NOT THIS YEAR FRIENDS!

I bartend part time because I love the business. I have done so for money in 4 countries and have stepped behind the bar to help out a busy place in 7, once was at Oktoberfest that was amazing. I love the industry but right now once a week is fine to deal with fuckwits and young staff who do the stupidest things (shakes fist on lawn). It is a fantastic part time gig if you have it in you. The things I love about being behind the bar are being social, making good drinks that people appreciate, having a night out with actually making money but most of all I love wine. By working one night a week you are still in touch with the wine industry and you get to see trends as well as go to industry tastings which are way different than those for the public. Vinexpo is a wine persons heaven and the time I attended I wandered around on the final day and filled 3 cases of random wines as I told the reps I was going to “educate my staff”. I had to take a train back to Scotland as that much wine is very expensive to transport by air.

Right now the current trend is that Malbec is a housewife varietal as it is imported cheaply and has a lot of residual sugar. That being said the good ones out there usually from Mendoza however the North American market has been flooded in the past years so they are all lowering their prices to compete. If you do enjoy Malbecs make sure that it says Mendoza on the label or else it could be grapes from Joaquin’s backyard. Kinda like cheap Naked Grape. Where in California is it from????

I do have to say to those commentists that live in Oregon I am very envious as your state makes unbelievable wines. Even the cheapest Pinot Noir from there is worth the money. Second trend which has been going on for a while is Pinot Grigio and cougars. I know that eighty percent of the time when a stagette or large group of women come in to the restaurant that it will either be an absolute crazy order with cocktails that I haven’t made in 10 years or a whole mess of over priced Pinot Grigio that tastes like toilet water.

Restaurants do this on purpose, never order the cheapest wine on the list, always order the 2nd or 3rd cheapest if you are not particular to the varietal. The cheapest glass pour is the money maker for the place and usually the 2nd cheapest is something they have dropped the price on in order to try to get rid of it. Third trend is not new, it has been going on for longer than me. If you are ordering a martini do not use special hooch if you are going to have it extra dirty, the olive brine kills the taste and you look like a tool, not James bond. If you want a twist that is fantastic with good vodka as it doesn’t change the taste too much

Things to drink now if you can find them, Gruner Veltiner from Austria. It is warm out everywhere, Austria’s wines are not overpriced yet and they are great on a summer evening as they aren’t overly fruity and you do not feel like you have been sucking on an oak tree like some Chardonnays. 

I drink dry Rose in the summer, I drink a lot of it as it is hearty enough at room temperature to be like a red, or when cold they are fantastic. I am not talking about White Zinfandel, do not drink that, it is just the worst. Little known fact that White Zinfandel was a mistake by Sutter Homes winery and it was a barrel left in the barn and when opened the result was so sweet and sugary that teenagers and geriatrics in retirement-land Phoenix would swoon.

After the boom that was going on during the Sideways film the fervoUr for Merlot has died down so a Merlot from the Columbia Valley in Washington is a great price and that’s what that region is known for. A wise man told me once that the more about wine the less you know. I think this holds true in most things.

Sportsing: NOT A WHOLE HELL OF A LOT

CFL : Argonauts v Blue Bombers  TSN 6pm DFO time, ESPN thinks that there are way too many live events to cover.

There seems to be SEC football media days on the SEC channel  if you are so inclined.

The NFL will be back soon and that is where we really shine.

• Teddy Bridgewater is practising again sans-knee brace. That was a horrible injury and even in my black heart I feel for the guy.
• AP wants to redefine himself this year. Sooo not a child abuser?
• How much did moving cost La Chargeres and RAMIT? Right here.
• I read this, it was interesting but I am still glad Greg Hardy hasn’t gotten a shot, both in the US and in Canadia. David Ash seems like he really shouldn’t have started playing again. File that under bad idea jeans. This guys still have hope for their dream which is admirable. To those that pissed theirs away, I have more on them later.

Recently we spoke at the clubhouse about it getting damn near to fantasy football season plus brothe in law cola stated that it has been quite quiet this offseason in the arrest category so I have compiled a crimebeat team of failed potential!

QB Todd Marinovich who is making a comeback people!

QB Ryan Leaf or Jamarcus Russell due to our love at DFO for the drank.

RB1 Maurice Clarett who has turned his life around which is great.

RB2  Joseph Randle because really, that many arrests?

WR1 Rae Carruth as he truly is a scumbag.

WR2 Donte Stallworth Grade A asshole. Can you believe Plaxico got more jail time than this guy?

TE1 Mark Chmura because when you can have all the ‘of age’ women why wouldn’t you want to hot tub up with the babysitter. Aaron Hernandez is dead so he cannot be on this list.

Have a great evening, thanks for bearing with me and next week you will be back to your regularly scheduled programming with BeerguyLuke.