Unfiltered

Posh and Becks demand Cristal, Ditka releases da wines, and the Palms sells Pétrus with a burger (but not in the ad)

Posted: November 8, 2006

• If it's not Cristal, Victoria and David Beckham (aka Posh and Becks) don't want it. During a recent stay at London's five-star Hempel Hotel, Britain's golden couple--he's a midfielder for soccer team Real Madrid and she's a former member of the teenybopper band Spice Girls--turned up their noses at the Dom Ruinart chilling on ice in their room and demanded Cristal instead. Of course the hotel complied. After all, management spent nearly $38,000 on fresh flowers, plush Italian linens, scented bath oils and beefed-up security for the couple, a hotel rep confirmed. The Beckhams' rep, Simon Oliveira, had no comment on the incident. As a side note, though, Major League Soccer's LA Galaxy are aggressively trying to lure Beckham away from Real Madrid and put his soccer talents on display in the United States. So note to Galaxy management: When Beckham comes to town to talk, make sure you have Cristal on ice if you want to seal the deal. Oh, just indulge him completely--call it "football."

Da wine.

• This fall, former Chicago Bears coach "Iron" Mike Ditka swaps yardage totals and tackle statistics for Brix numbers and alcohol percentages. The coach who commanded the Bears to Super Bowl victory in 1985 is now entering the ever-expanding playing field of celebrity-branded wine. The NFL Hall-of-Famer and longtime wine drinker recently teamed up with Mendocino Wine Company to develop five wines. He personally chose da blends, including Ditka Da' Coach Pinot Grigio, as well as the more ferociously-titled Mike Ditka Kick Ass Red (a blend of Zinfandel, Syrah and Petite Sirah). The wines are available online and at Chicago-area retailers, as well as at his restaurant, Mike Ditka's Chicago. Diners can create pairings with familiarly titled dishes such as "Da Pork Chop" and the "Kick-Ass Paddle Steak." Enjoy da meal.

• We reported last week that James Bond's Champagne of choice is Bollinger in the upcoming Casino Royale, starring Daniel Craig as 007. Now it seems there's an additional scene in the new film in which Bond and Vesper Lynd (played by Eva Green), are dining on a train, sharing a bottle of Château Angélus. (We heard it's a 1982, though Sony VP of publicity Steve Elzer, an avid wine collector himself, wasn't able to confirm as of press time what vintage of Angélus is used in the film.) Bond's our hero since he drinks early and often, and still manages to squeeze in all that saving-the-world stuff. The only fault we can find is that, like his countrymen, he really seems to stick with older wines no matter what. First Bond preferred the '53 Dom Pérignon to Dr. No's offer of a glass of '55. And we have to admit, we prefer the 2000 Angélus to the '82. He may have the license to kill, but we know that older isn't always better.

What's pretending to be '82 Pétrus?

• Book your flight to Vegas. A new TV ad for West Coast fast-food chain Carl's Jr. shows the Maloof brothers, owners of the Sacramento Kings as well as the Palms Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, enjoying the most high-end offering on their room-service menu: a $6,000 burger. Actually, it's just a Carl's Jr. burger (that the hotel staff runs out and picks up for you) along with a bottle of 1982 Pétrus. Since that's a little out of most people's price range, at least Carl's Jr.'s parent company, which also owns Hardee's, was kind enough to issue a press release pairing the items on the Hardee's menu with wines that cost under $20 (the same will be done for Carl's Jr. with the help of a Los Angeles wine retailer). However, Unfiltered would like to bring up one slight point of dismay. If you look closely at the ad, the Maloof brothers aren't drinking Pétrus. It's a stand-in. Which is fine, because that means more Pétrus for those who actually want to order it. But we're not sure what wine is taking its place in the ad. Could it be even better? Look at the close-up of the ad to the right, or a full-sized still here, and then go to the forums to tell us what wine you think it is that the Maloofs are drinking.

• Unfiltered was excited to see the results of the latest study on the effects of the red-wine compound resveratrol receive international media attention. The study showed that resveratrol increased the lifespan of obese mice by more than 30 percent. However, for an average-size human to consume the quantities of resveratrol administered to the mice, they would have to drink more than 100 glasses of wine each day. Undeterred, consumers have been flocking to vitamin stores around the country, seeking resveratrol-containing supplements. A quick and extremely unscientific poll of New York-area Vitamin Shoppes informed Unfiltered that there isn't a bottle left on the shelves. According to Vitamin Shoppe category manager for vitamins and supplements Rob Maru, the franchise has experienced a "very significant bump in sales [of resveratrol] since the release of the study, [which caused] a lot of consumer excitement and opened up a lot of educational opportunities for us and our customers." That's all well and good, but Unfiltered still prefers to take our daily dose of resveratrol the old-fashioned way. We "taste" it.