On the Home Brew Front

Even now, 65 years after it was repealed, Prohibition has left odd legacies. It wasn’t until Dec. 2 that Michigan law explicitly permitted people to brew their own beer and give away up to 20 gallons (previously, giving away beer, for instance at a tasting, was tantamount to sale and required a license). FYI: California permits persons over 21 to brew up to 200 gallons a year and distribute any amount at organized contests and tastings.

The Usefulness of Wine, Part I: The Ivana Trump Diet

Gloria Ferrer, the excellent Napa Valley sparkling wine producer, has decided to promote sparkling wine as a calorie-conscious beverage. It points out there are only 113.4 calories in a five-ounce glass, as opposed to 121.4 for Chardonnay--that’s eight whole calories! Drink a glass of Champagne a day, and in just a year you’d save 2,920 calories over drinking a glass of Chardonnay a day!

The Usefulness of Wine, Part II: It’s for My Ulcer

Moderate consumption of wine, and even beer, might protect against a bacterium--Helicobacter pylori--that possibly causes ulcers, according to a study published in the British Medical Journal in December.

We thank the Wine Institute for bringing this to our attention, but maybe we could just stipulate that though wine won’t save the world, it’s not so bad for you, probably pretty good, and we like it.