While you have your end of the year Champagne glass still grasp in your now gift wrapping, celebration weary fingers, congratulating yourself on getting through the holiday season once more, the Wineslacker would like to take this getting-your-breath-back moment to join with hundreds, perhaps thousands, of fund-raisers, and ask you to consider this. You have just a few days to jump on the opportunity to give away that extra holiday bonus cash, or give it to the government next April 15. Scroll down the screen a bit, and you'll see the Heifer International fund raising thermometer. Click on the icon and it will take you to a magic place where you can make yourself feel great and give yourself a healthy charitable deduction by contributing to the Wineslacker's own little fund-raising project.
Heifer International is a truly unique charitable organization, giving away reproducing farm animals to rural poor all over the world, with the provision that they contribute to their own community's improvement by giving away some of the offspring. They do much more than just that, including educating people on care of animals, providing education on sustainable farming and environmentally friendly practices, providing micro-loans for home businesses and many other great projects. Take a detour to their website and see for your self, but first, get out the plastic and give a little. Just the price of a bottle of good wine will help.
Upcoming soon: Wine of the Year!

We had a drinking party
To admire the peonies.
I drank cup after cup till
I was drunk. Then, to my shame
I heard the flowers whisper,
"What are we doing, blooming
For these old alcoholics?"

Liu Yu Hsi - 9th Century China

It's out of season for white wine, supposedly, but the 'slacker just needs to let his loyal readers (he says sooo bitterly) know about two of the nicest white's he's come across this year, as the year is quickly fading into ignomy. First, he's been meaning to mention this Southern France rarity since he popped the cork many months ago. He found this little gem at Long Beach's little gem of a store, Vin De Pays. It's a place that really cares about wine and it's fans that don't have so much money that they can just look in those slick, expensive magazines (you know the ones) and order a case or two. So, you can imagine that they click with the Wineslacker. No wines over $15 a bottle. Let the 'slacker say that again. No wines over $15 a bottle. The store is just barely visable in the block South of Third and Elm in the East Village Arts district of downtown Long Beach, California. Give 'em some business, folks, we need them! Telephone: 562-495-4499.

The wine the 'slacker is pushing is from the Languedoc region of Southern France, along the French Mediterranean coast. It's made by Domaine Des Lauriers in the small commune of Castelnau di Guers, and it is made from the Picpoul de Pinet grape. See, you learned something by logging on to the Wineslacker. Now, if you've never heard of the Picpoul variety or of Coteaux Du Languedoc, you are not alone. Even Robert Parker had only two minor references to Picpoul in his voluminous Wine Buyer's Guide, 5th edition, published in 1999. We're talkin' 1657 pages of information about wine. But it is an old, if not considered nobel, wine, long established in the torrid Mediterranean area. This inexpensive, but lovely, wine was made to sip chilled, on the patio, in the hot Summer days anywhere along the Equator to the Tropic of Capricorn. And dollars to donuts, this will be a delicious pair up with delicate white fishes or oysters, half-shell.

The other white wine the 'slacker quaffed this week was about as well known as the last was obscure. La Chablisienne advertises itself as 2002 "Grande Cuvee, Chablis Premier Cru". Awfully big words in French. Well, we couldn't find it in Parker, but, as always, we saw, we sniffed, we drank, and, by god, it was good. The Wineslacker wouldn't drink this with anything else. Maybe some nice, white, seeded bagette. But this is a layered and subtley delicious wine that you'd just rather not cover up with food. It was undoubtedly Chablis, real French Chablis, from Chardonnay with no oak within a hundred meters, and the neatest mineral finish. It's a real wine experience that we picked up at Costco, in Torrance, California for a mere $16. Have at it. Do somebody a favor and give it for Christmas, Kwaansa, whatever... maybe just because you like them.