Beppi Crosariol has his Decanter column in the Globe and Mail’s Life section. Great perspectives and advice on wine, liquor and alcohol of all types. Over time, via his quasi-educational reporting any pedestrian alcoholic could be brought to full literacy. It this installment we learn the depths of what types of wine - grape or vintage, in what sequence and what temperature it is ideal to serve several them.  For example, when and where you should serve a Chateau Mouton 1982.  To paraphrase Beppi, don’t put an acoustic set on stage after a Metallica show. And apparently, it isn’t sacrilege to cool down a glass of wine with ice. (Pity he doesn’t go into advising the stemware or decanters for that matter.)

The last time we covered a Kraken Opus book, it had an air of exclusivity surrounding it. There’s no change with this publication slated to hit their catalogue in 2010. Kraken Opus will team up with celebrity chef Marco Pierre White to launch an impressive wine book. The book weighing over 30lb. is to cover the top 100 wineries of the world. The selection process for the 100 wineries is two step. First, Kraken Opus’ experts compile a top 300 list. Then, 40 sommeliers decide on the short list based on a grading criteria at 2010’s wine UN in London. Thirdly, just to keep the ranking all the more exclusive, a top 10 selection will be decided upon. It’s mentioned that every wine producing country will be represented. Each book is accompanied with a six-bottle case of wine from the listed vintners, that’s 600 bottles. The publication series is very limited. There will be only 100 published. So far, there’s 25 that are already spoken for.

pic and info: Decanter