HOLIDAY BUBBLY, BARAKA, and BARGAINS.

Wow, it's been so long since my last post... I could almost claim to have forgotten I had a blog. Or not. It's come to my attention that the Holidays are, ummm, here. Here are some informational tips to get the holiday spirit. I don't mean the holiday songs that are certainly overplayed in every retail outlet. I don't mean the Rent-a-Clauses, I don't even mean the people that consider it cute to wear jingle bells attached to their shoelaces.

I mean SPIRIT. As in Champagne, sparkling wine, and port wines. Now, granted, the whole world may know more than me when it comes to this stuff. But if you are really wanting to get up to speed fast on what to buy; here are a few links to find your most suitable bubbly.

There are tons of info sites on how champagne is made. I find the best is answers.com. It includes most of the wikipedia and about.com stuff in a more readable version. I can't even find the link anymore to about.com's page. In a nutshell, we all know it is the méthode champenoise and must come from the Champagne region in the Northeast of France. The sugar content (called dosage) defines how sweet the sparkling wine will be when corked.

The Wine Doctor has a great list of tastings with exceptional notes on most of the most popular champagnes available. If you're looking for something you've never tasted before, at least you can be armed with information before shelling out some serious hard earned cash. Worth a visit.

SparklingDirect.com has information on each and every major Champagne house in france, complete with tasting notes and history. Which is most suitable to your palette? Visit and find out who specializes in what and find something that will suit you better than a Saville Row tailor.

Brut is bone dry at 1.5% or less. Extra Sec or Extra Dry is 1.2-2.0%. Sec is medium sweet at 1.7-3.5. Demi-Sec is sweet at 3.3-5.0% sugar. Sec and Demi-Sec are usually considered dessert wines. I like sweet, so Demi-sec is just about right for me.

Which brings me to my next topic. Port wines. A fave of mine. Port wines can be made with slightly different grape varietals, but must hail from the Oporto region of Portugal. They are blended with slight Brandy contents to give them a sweet and lasting finish. The best years are claimed "Vintage" years; when the conditions, harvest, press, and product are all at their finest. Usually there are only about three claimed Vintage years per decade.

For the Top Port Wines and an excellent resource for all things Port, visit PortLover.com. To find vintages, you can visit WineExchange.com or WineBid.com.

Vintage ports are bottled without filtering, so they continue to mature in the bottle. They are not suggested to be corked for at LEAST 8 years. Most experts will say 12 years is the minimum to get the fullest, cleanest bouquet. And they will continue to age almost indefinitely.

Non-vintage years are filtered before bottling and can be enjoyed immediately. They will not continue to mature and will be less "round" in flavor and often not nearly as complex or as clean.

Like non-vintage's, Late Bottled Vintages are also filtered. LBV's are years when late in the press cycle, they are found to be at a premium, but cannot be declared vintage years. Usually, I've found the price of LBV's not worth the premium, opting instead for the less expensive non-vintage or a true Vintage.

Now, one of my favorite films, Baraka, is once again playing (annually) the week after Christmas at The Red Vic Moviehouse. For those already in the know, I love their "loveseat sofas" and their coffee served in real mugs. Plus what isn't cool about Black Cherry soda on tap at a movie theatre?

If you've lasted thru this entire post so far, you should be rewarded. Here are some great internet deals. If you've not purchased all your gifts yet, shame on you. If you've opened any early... Shame, shame on you.

Restaurant.com has a special for 60% off (coupon code :GIVE) their already low price coupons for restaurants. Personally, I think Gordon Biersch, Kabuto Sushi and maybe Sushi Tani are most interesting. At a meager $4 for a $25 dining certificate, what's to hate? (parking?). Coupon code from SlickDeals.net.

SportsAuthority has a 25% off one item coupon (code: 25DECFF) and like many other e-tailers, you can use Google checkout to save $10 off $30 or $20 off any $50 purchase, no code required. SportsAuthority has a great selection of performance winter tops like Under Armour. Again, thanks SlickDeals.net (and DealCatcher.com).

REI.com has a $20 off $100 coupon (code: HOLIDAY) that expires 12/24. I dunno if they fixed their site yet, but it used to not navigate in Firefox, so use IE 6.0 (or 7.0 if you're beta like that). Thanks DealCatcher.com.

SierraTradingPost has $20 off $75 (code: 51780) PLUS Google checkout $20 off $50 expires 1/4/2007. Thanks DealCatcher.com. Find that sweet softshell jacket you dint get for the holidays. SierraTradingPost has some of the best technical products and the best prices to start with on the internet! Imagine, a Sessions Works snowboard jacket that retails at $200 for $96, now $20 off makes $76 and $20 off from Google checkout makes it $56. Now that Works.

Have a good one. Cheers.

image credits: Veuve-Clicquot from SparklingDirect.com, Fonseca Vintage 1994 from golden-west-wine.com, Baraka image from Red Vic Moviehouse, Sessions jacket from Sierra Trading Post.