How do you take a food and wine pairing dinner to the next level? And how do you bridge the gap to those Millenials that are drinking a lot of wine but being increasingly seduced by craft beer? You add beer! At least that's what the folks at the Columbia Firehouse in Old Town Alexandria did recently.

They put together six courses of food, each paired with both a wine and a beer. And, because everybody — especially guys — likes contests, they made it a competition. Which pairs better, beer or wine? You can find out in Dave McIntyre's article.

On a side note, the restaurant has both a wine director and a beer sommelier! I know where you're eating the next time you're in Alexandria...

The Plastiki, a catamaran made from more than 12,000 'recycled' plastic bottles, arrived in Sydney today. The boat set off for Australia from San Francisco four months ago. The voyage was intended to draw attention to the dangers discarded plastic waste poses to the environment. It worked for me. I'll be getting seasick every time I see and empty bottle now.

The catamaran was propelled by sails, but powered some of its gear using solar panels and windmills. It bore a crew of six, and a vegetable garden through rough seas and dangerous storms. The amazing voyage, ship's construction, and environmental messages are covered in-depth at the cool Plasitiki web site. [AP]

Sales of California wine to overseas buyers improved every month this year (through May) and increased 17 percent overall by revenue, 25% by volume during that period. Part of the increase is due to an uptick in demand from Hong Kong & China which, taken together, are now the 3rd largest imporrting region for California wine.

All this is according to the California Farm Bureau Federation and they attribute the data to wine industry analyst Gomberg Fredrikson and Associates. GF&A don't make their data available to journalists, so I can't substantiate the CFBF report or provide further detail.

Not content with sabering the bottle, Michelle Obama used the bow of a ship to open some Champagne today. It took two tries, but she got it done. In all seriousness though, she looks like a solid left-handed hitter. The Washington Nationals should give her a try-out. [NPR]

photo from Associated Press

The Underdog Wine Bar, a new hot spot for wine and food in Livermore will be holding its Grand Opening on August 14 from noon to 8PM. Located in the recently remodeled and expanded facilities at Concannon Winery, Underdog Wine Bar will offer more than 48 wines by the glass plus tasty small plates by chef Barbara Llewellyn. The Grand Opening will include live music during the day and a DJ in the evening, fire jugglers, contortionists and plenty of good wine and food.

Underdog Wine Bar will emphasize the wines of it's parent company, Underdog Wine Merchants. These include a wide range of wines, imported and domestic. Their brands include Big House, Darcie Kent, Cupcake Vineyards, Helfrich, Montecillo and Albino Armani.

I recently attended a sneak preview of the wine bar and will post a full article on that next week.

Underdog Wine Bar
4590 Tesla Road, Livermore, CA 94550 (at Concannon Vineyard).
(925) 583-1581
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Twitter: @underdogwinebar
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