After one too many plastic cups of Pabst Blue Ribbon, I’ve moved on to wine as my new drink of choice. But, like beer, there are many kinds of bad wine that are too easy to accidentally drink. So what makes a good wine? And what’s the difference between a chardonnay and a Cabernet?

Here’s the rundown on the mot popular kinds of wine and what to drink them with.

Reds

Cabernet Sauvignon is produced mainly in France and California. This red is what’s called “full bodied,” meaning it’s got a rich, strong flavor of dark fruits like black current. The best Cabernets taste a bit earthy and dry and they tend to get better with age, so pick-up a bottle with the earliest date (as in, 2003 rather than 2008).
Pair with red meat, grilled vegetables, or pasta with red sauce.

Merlot is arguably the most popular red wine. Merlot can range from medium to full-bodied and is high in alcohol and low in acidity. Flavors include plum and chocolate (yum!). Grown all over the world, this wine is easy to enjoy.
Pair with pasta with red sauce, beef, or grilled or smoky meats.

Pinot Noir is made from a velvety grape that is one of the hardest to grow, which makes a good pinot great and a bad pinot terrible. A good pinot will be complex, with flavors ranging from black cherries to earthy spices. Pinot Noir grapes traditionally come from Burgundy, France, but are now being perfected in Oregon and California.
Pair with salmon, pasta, or pork. Read More »

First Britney Spears created a perfume. Then Jessica Simpson started designing clothes. Then Lindsay Lohan threatened to bring us leggings with built-in knee pads….

And now Kid Rock will be brewing beer?!

WTF is up with celebrities trying to do it all? Just because you are good at rocking the stage (or mediocre at best, if you are Jessica Simpson) doesn’t mean that you know how to design bedding. Or a nice smelling perfume.

And just because you happen to drink a lot of beer doesn’t mean that you should start brewing it. I drink a lot of beer; do you see me coming out with a Wolverine Brew? No! Because while I know how to consume beer quickly (beer pong), I don’t know the first thing about brewing mother f–king beer.

What’s next? Paris Hilton uses a ton of condoms (I imagine); is she gonna launch a line of Paris Couture Condoms? Is Britney Spears going to release her very own Spears-Anti-Psyhoctic meds? Will Snoop Dog create his own Super Snoop Weed?

Kid, I think you are pretty good on stage, but I don’t think you really have it in you to create a beer. I mean, you are Kid Rock for God’s sake; your lifestyle is more aligned with trailers and chewing tobacco than with a nice, smooth brew. We already have Keystone, Schlitz and PBR; do we really need another low quality keg?

Would you drink Kid Rock Beer?

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We all have our weird habits. And we have all learned throughout our lives that it is best to keep those things hidden. I mean, no one needs to know that I end an evening at the bar with a 100 Calorie pack and a jar of peanut butter.

We were discussing these things the other day - our guilty pleasures - and wondered if we were the only ones who had em. I can’t possibly be the only person out there who dances around to Britney Spears in my underwear, right? Right?

In an effort to make ourselves feel better (or less weird), we asked our writers this week to share their guilty pleasures. The good news is: ours aren’t nearly as embarassing as we thought.

Kathryn S: The most dirty, vulgar songs ever recorded. I love listening to my “Perv Mix” on my ipod at that the gym: the little old ladies on the treadmill next to me have no idea that I’m listening to Blink 182’s “F*** a Dog” or Liz Phair’s “Hot White C*m.”

K - NYU: Singing in my car. Back in the glory days when I had a car and lived in a real place instead of Manhattan. “Invisible Touch” by Phil Collins is wayyyy up there, as well as “Escape” by Enrique Iglesias. Read More »

Here at CC, we’re always looking for new and exciting ways to party. Especially when it comes to the 4th of July and alcoholic drinks associated with the holiday. The only thing is, one of your editors spent 25 years being completely unaware of the tepid, headache-inducing splendor that is Franzia. Below, she is schooled in the ways of celebrating with boxed beverages.