Booze News: American Chardonnay Is Overrated; Yellow Tail May Suck On Its Own, But Try Mixing It

Guinness is testing out a new version of its trademark stout in 13 pubs in Fife and Edinburgh. The new version, dubbed Guinness Mid-Strength, has only 2.8 percent alcohol compared to regular Guinness’ 4.1, and has already been tested in Limerick and Dublin.
[Publican]

American Chardonnay is not only “simple, sweet, alcoholic, and false,” it’s also way too expensive. A recent tasting found that “most of the wines themselves weren’t good values at any price. They were too often disappointing, with too much oak, too little fruit and little care.”
[Wall Street Journal]

What should you do with those bottles of Yellow Tail your wine-dumb friends keep giving you? Mix it. The company has developed several good cocktails made with its wines, including a Manhattan variation using Shiraz and a version of a Dark ‘n’ Stormy using a Cabernet blend.
[Washington Post]

The current craft bartending craze has largely been influenced by Japanese bartending. So-called speakeasies are more like Japanese bars than original U.S. speakeasies, and the “hard shake” developed by Master Kazuo Uyeda is now used by many a young mixologist.
[Atlantic Food Channel]

A new report by Greenpeace suggests that climate change could threaten French wine regions, and Burgundy in particular. If climate change continues, vineyards will be displaced by 1,000 km to the north or south by the year 2100, and many will be lost altogether.
[NY Times/The Pour]