Tina Brown’s The Daily Beast has been hoping to nip at the heels of The Huffington Post, who have finally knocked Matt Drudge off of the top perch of online newsy/tabloidy/aggregator/muckracking fun.  I personally still prefer the Post, but hit up the Beast when I’m feeling a little trashy and getting too comfortable with the ultra-Leftiness of the Post and way too frustrated with the right-wing hypocrisy of Drudge. 

I just came across a great Keith Wallace piece on why most Cabernets are overpriced and why Merlot doesn’t get its fair shake.

From the article:

Most people dismiss Merlot as a fruity, easy wine. It’s a silly mistake, but understandable. The grape has been abused by California winemakers for at least a generation; they have gotten in the habit of pimping it out as a easy, cheap drink for so long that its noble heritage is nearly forgotten. When treated with respect, Merlot outperforms Cab for both quality and value.

Here’s the rub: It is nearly impossible to identify the difference between the two grapes. Every semester at the Wine School, I put together a blind tasting for sommeliers and other wine professionals. Less than 5 percent can tell the difference between the two grapes. This is because they are closely related genetically, and are traditional blending partners (almost all Cabernet is blended with Merlot, and vice versa).

You can read the whole thing here…

While we’re on favourite online reads, I’m perpetually happy that Slate, a pioneer in the field, still continues to be dynamic, informative and fun all these years later.  Yesterday, their wine writer Mike Steinberger gave “Two Cheers For France”!