What IS going on with this weather? Seriously... a few short years ago you could pretty much guarantee warm sunny weather all through Spring. But a couple of weeks ago it was miserable and rainy, then we had a sudden heat-wave and now we seemed to have hit another cool patch. Someone explain this global warming thing to me again because I'm just not getting it. Or is this the work of El Nino? Anyone?

Whatever it is, our grape-growers can't be having an easy time of it. It's good news in the UK though, where there are now apparently 400 vineyards, with new ones springing up at a rate of one a week. There are also (unconfirmed) reports that the French are buying up land on the South coast to migrate their vines to when the climate prevents them from making wine back home... some say as little as 10 years from now!

Anyway, with the weather running hot and cold as it is, I find I'm still craving winter food to keep me warm instead of hitting the salad as I usually do at this time of year. And so tonight we're having oxtail soup: not the flavourless gunk you find in a can, but the real deal -- a full ox tail, braised with onions, potatoes & carrots, then slow-cooked in beef stock for 5 hours till the meat is melting off the bone... good soup is a thing of the gods. The problem is, what to drink with it? Pinot Noir, maybe? I'm open to suggestion. Phil? Roscoe? Ryan? Don't let me down, guys.

At the end of every week we ask the same question :: IT'S FRIDAY! WHAT'S HOT?!

:: NZ WINE ONLINE COMPETITION

Six bottles of premium New Zealand wine are on offer in this week's competition which ends on Sunday: enter now before you forget! All you need to do is answer ONE question (yes, only ONE... mad, isn't it?) to get your name in the hat. You'd be crazy not to...

:: "HOW TO..." VIDEOS

With eleven videos under his belt and another one bubbling under the surface for this weekend ("wine reviews") Marc is positively enjoying his new-found fame. He's still waiting to mobbed Beatle-like in the street by screaming girls (don't hold your breath buddy) but comments from well-wishers about his twitch, his cone-shaped head and his speech impediment are keeping his spirits high.

Here is the list so far: let him know if you have any requests (and please, try to keep them clean).

:: BLOG OF THE WEEK

Blog of the week goes to Roscoe for Yarra Valley Legends: can you believe it's not even a year since the fires? I wonder how the Yarra Valley is faring now?

:: FRIDAY CHUCKLE

No jokes today, just a link to a phenomenal website: I discovered it today via one of our new members and it is almost as amazing as it is digusting. THIS IS WHY YOU'RE FAT is simply a collection of food photographs, but food which seems to have been designed with heart-attack in mind. I think my favourite has to be "Deep Fried Chocolate Cake"... ewww!

And with that in mind, I'm off to tend to my soup/stew.

Enjoy the weekend.

Cheers!

Matt
http://www.BoozeMonkey.com
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