This Week: A Babe and a Bottle

First up today—a quick diversion from wine and a few moments dedicated to our single female readers on the dating scene. To help discern whether or not your date is going to last longer than that appletini, self-declared Aussie “manthropologist,” Babe Scott, has penned Delicious Dating: The Single Girl’s Guide to Decoding Men by Their Wining and Dining Styles [Babe Media; ISBN 978-0-9844527-0-5; $15.95]. Scott interviewed more than 200 men and women to reveal how to judge your date’s potential as a lover and a husband simply by what the person eats!

Scott breaks down 10 male dining types, including “Adventure Eaters,” “Low-Carb Cowboys,” “Gourmet Gigolos,” “Five-Star Men” and “Food Sensualists,” plus many more.

Scott says men are turned off by women who eat faster than a boa constrictor. Take a breath, chew your food and swallow. This technique will ensure he’ll come back for seconds.

Scott also says if a chap makes an effort to please your palate at the table, then he will try and please you away from it. A man’s dining style is a window into his bedroom style. Delicious Dating is a very fast and enjoyable read. 

Now for some wine. Argentina tends to be overshadowed by Chile in the wine glass. Chilean wines have enjoyed their success thanks to reasonable pricing, customer satisfaction and some basic, quality PR. Somebody once said “customer satisfaction is job one.”—a bit corny,  but true. A wine drinker will always return to the grape variety or region they have tried, tested and enjoyed. Also, the thickness of their wallet will often guide them, perhaps foolishly, to a particular label.

But don’t forget about Argentina!

When I began in the wine world as a young Neanderthal, Argentinean wines were good quaffs at very low prices. Perhaps this is what many long time wine drinkers may associate with Argentina—incorrectly, I might add. The white Torrontes grape, widely grown in northwest Spain, is very heavily planted in Argentina.

The Alta Vista winery in the northern Argentina region of Salta produce their Torrontes in the area of Cafayate, in Salta, which has a micro climate ideally suited to the grape variety: high altitude and excellent soil drainage. The winery maintains the grapes’ character and the wine’s freshness by fermenting the juice in temperature controlled, stainless-steel tanks and by not introducing any oak aging into the equation.

Alta Vista Torrontes [PLCB Code: 22973  $9.99] is yellow green, and the fragrance is aromatic and floral. The taste is light, crisp and fresh with soft fruit flavors. If Argentina wasn’t already on your wine buying map, it certainly will be now.

Cheers!