Mad Coffee Party and All the Summer’s Pride

“How sweet I roamed from field to field, and tasted all the summer’s pride”
William Blake

Illustrations by Jiří Slíva, based on John Tenniel’s drawings

Oct 3

Out of a Wine Shop

“He had probably been thrown out of a wine shop, and it hadn’t quite dawned on him yet.”
Franz Kafka

Illustration by Jiří Slíva

Sep 30

Wine and Religion

Illustrations by Jiří Slíva

From its earliest appearance in written records, wine has also played an important role in religion. Red wine was closely associated with blood by the ancient Egyptians, who, according to Plutarch, avoided its free consumption as late as the 7th-century BC Saite dynasty, “thinking it to be the blood of those who had once battled against the gods”. The Greek cult and mysteries of Dionysus, carried on by the Romans in their Bacchanalia, were the origins of western theater. Judaism incorporates it in the Kiddush and Christianity in its Eucharist, while alcohol consumption is forbidden in Islam.

The use of wine in religious ceremonies is common to many cultures and regions.

Sep 30

Wine Upon the Lips

“Language is wine upon the lips”

Virginia Woolf

Jiří Slíva

Sep 30

Bottled Poetry

“Wine is bottled poetry”

Robert Louis Stevenson

Illustrations by Jiří Slíva

Sep 28

Tango and Celebration

“The tango is a direct expression of something that poets have often tried to state in words: the belief that a fight may be a celebration.” *

Jorge Luis Borges

Illustrations by Jiří Slíva

For Borges, the tango is Argentina’s Iliad, its Beowulf.

Sep 28

Vinoanalysis

Illustration by Jiří Slíva

Sensory analysis (also referred to as organoleptic analysis) is a scientific discipline that applies principles of experimental design and statistical analysis to the use of human senses (sight, smell, taste, touch and hearing) for the purposes of evaluating consumer products.

There are five basic steps in tasting wine: color, swirl, smell, taste, and savor. These are also known as the “five S” steps: see, swirl, sniff, sip, savor. During this process, a taster must look for clarity, varietal character, integration, expressiveness, complexity, and connectedness.

The results of the four recognized stages to wine tasting:
appearance
“in glass” the aroma of the wine
“in mouth” sensations
“finish” (aftertaste)

– are combined in order to establish the following properties of a wine:
complexity and character
potential (suitability for aging or drinking)
possible faults