Expanding the beat.

The ladies over at Jezebel have a post up today entitled How Much Alcohol To Drink So You Never Die. I found it amusing, and for some reason it actually caused me to reflect on my on drinking habits.  Over the past year I've made an effort to drink little alcohol during the work-week, and instead do my drinking over the weekend.  While this change has probably been overall good for my health, it is a major change for me.  During law school, I'd frequently enjoy a beer with dinner.  Now that I've been cutting back on drinking during the week I find that I'm not drinking as much beer as I used to.  I enjoy a wide variety of booze including most wine varietals and spirits.  Lately, I've been spending more and more time with wine, whiskey and scotch rather than strictly drinking beer.

So, while my previous posts have been devoted to beer, I've decided to broaden the purview of your noble West Coast correspondent to include these other beverages.  I'll still cover beer, but less frequently.  I hope that this change will be welcome. I certainly will have much to say -- I'm well informed on wine but a whiskey novice.  And, since I'm located in San Francisco, I've ready access to some of the finest vineyards in the world. Look forward to some dispatches from Paso Robles starting next weekend, as the boyfriend and I are taking a weekend to do visit the AVA for wine-tasting and see my favorite band in concert.

On a slightly related note, I learned today that there is no proof that Ben Franklin said that "beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy" (or similarly attributed quotes). Instead, Ben Franklin wrote this about wine:

We hear of the conversion of water into wine at the marriage in Cana as of a miracle. But this conversion is, through the goodness of God, made every day before our eyes. Behold the rain which descends from heaven upon our vineyards; there it enters the roots of the vines, to be changed into wine; a constant proof that God loves us, and loves to see us happy. The miracle in question was only performed to hasten the operation, under circumstances of present necessity, which required it.

This finding was clearly an auspicious omen for the newly expanded project.   A toast then, to beer (still proof God loves us if you ask me), wine (in vino veritas), and whiskey (the water of life).  Cheers!