This article claims some of the health benefits of grapefruit. I have heard it revered a lot and I find it enjoyable to eat. The cutting in half and eating it as in a bowl is enjoyable .

I also find it gives me a little kick in the morning when I need it.

Do you think there are any real drawbacks to eating it? Probably 3-5x per week with breakfast?

I just received this from one of France’s wine experts, a lovely woman who writes for the Revue des Vins de France (the most respected industry review in the country). Thought I’d share…

Which are the perfect wines for women?

Sauternes, obviously. I’d go for Château Climens, produced by a woman (Bérénice Lurton) in the Sauternes-Barsac appelation. The Sauternes from Barsac are said to show more minerality than regular Sauternes and Climens is said to be the only sauternes wine able to compete with Yquem (in terms of finesse (excuse my French!), elegance and aging potential).

Then Champagne, naturally. Carol Duval-Leroy produces a “Femme” cuvée that is quite famous. Or you have the “Amour” cuvée by Deutz. But to push the caricature even further, I’d go for a Champagne rosé. Obviously not the one from Krug (look at the price, it’s scary!!) which is already the flagship of the gay community in Miami… But that’s the thing : quite a few women wines are also gay wines! So probably the Brut Rosé from Bollinger. It’s brand new, just been created and released in the UK. Bollinger is James Bond’s Champagne so I guess the marketing people at Bolly wanted the James Bond girls to have their own as well. Or is it for the gay James Bond inside Sean Connery ? Or does is mean Ruppert Everett is going to be the next James Bond ??? hihi… Yes I’m having a lot of fun!

And what to pick for the third wine? Just plain rosé is popular, in the sweet and cheap New World version they call “blush” or a “real” European dry rosé, which they call gastronomic rosé nowadays… But the latter might be complex and require some (wine) education, so that can’t agree with women (simplistic and wrong ? no ! marketing-oriented and performance-based ! I hate marketing people!). Or port and sherry… or for that matter, all the sweet fortified grand’ma wines. But that’s another marketing caricature. You also have Chardonnay : Bridget Jones’ Chardonnay. The movie is said to have had a very positive impact on Chardonnay sales in the UK. SO let’s look back, we have selected women wines that have charactéristics related to women : they’re either sweet, simple or sparkling… How about a women wine that echoes to the characteristics of a man that women would fall in love with? The wine would have to be reliable, strong but not rough, fresh but not too thin, not too strong (in alcohol)… Well it echoes with how Angelo Gaja describes hte grape of his wines, Nebbiolo, as opposed to Cabernet Sauvignon, the international star : he says Nebbiolo is a Marcello Mastrojani character (with style and a mischievous grin), while Cabernet Sauvignon is John Wayne : broad, strong, unmistakable. Gaja says “You expect John Wayne to make love to you every saturday night at 9PM sharp for a precise 30 minutes. With Marcello, you never know how, when and where. Once you know that, you pick the character that suits you best”. I kinda like the idea… So I’d definetely go for a Nebbiolo wine, possibily from Gaja, if I have the money!

by Anne Serres