The bicycle holster scene is getting crazy on etsy these day. While I am unsure how safe it is to carry a bottle of wine in this manner on your top tube, someone clearly thinks it is cool. “The rack secures tightly to the frame so that the two parts do not separate. I’ve tried it with a bunch of different bottles and it’s nicely flexible.” It fits a 1inch TT. Measure twice.

More looks after the click.

Big news for wine lovers and those with Armenia friends/roots. “Archeologists have unearthed the oldest wine-making facility ever found, using biochemical techniques to identify a dry red vintage made about 6,000 years ago in what is now southern Armenia. The excavation paints a picture of a complex society where mourners tasted a special vintage made at a caveside cemetery… Carbon dating showed a desiccated grape vine found near a wine press was grown around 4000 BC, his team reported. This makes it 1,000 years older than any other wine-making facility discovered.” (armenialiberty)

Four years on and The Generic Man continues to produce fine footwear that stays in your wardrobe for seasons. Today, they announce the launch of a fine shoe and wine celebrating the past four years. With the help of Saarloos and Sons Vineyard in Los Olivios, CA, Generic Man has packaged together a wine and shoe set that is fairly limited – especially to the public. 40 pairs of shoes are being produced across their Naval and Chapman models. Both come in wine burgundy leather.

“For the wine, eleven cases of a well blended red, 44% Cabernet Sauvignon, 42% Merlot, 10% Cabernet Franc and 4% Petit Verdot were then produced for the project.”

Only 12 of these anniversary packages will be available to the public. They are for purchase for $425 through Mohawk General Store.

More looks after the click.

Situated on a lovely plot in Avondale, PA, Va La Family Farmed Wines manages something of a rarity in the region – drinkable wine.

The property consists of 6.73 acres of land, all tended by winemaker/farmer Anthony Vietri. He produces between 500 to 700 cases a year. Each variety produced in a batch of one to nine barrels. Yes, it’s small scale. But, that scale allows for a careful investigation of every step.

The wines are blended – for example the delightful La Prima Donna includes tocai, malvasia bianco, petit manseng, pinot grigio, and viognier grapes. The wines are also only available direct from the vineyard. Combined with some spectacular Mexican eateries, well worth a drive up the Gap Pike this summer.

A look at the bottles and the farm after the jump.

Here’s what I am reading over the coming holiday week. After finishup The Billionaire’s Vinegar which documents the “unregulated” and sometimes fraudulent world of the global wine market, I had to dig my teeth into another nasty category: art forgeries. Provenance: How a Con Man and a Forger Rewrote the History of Modern Art covers this topic and the description tells it best.

Provenance is the extraordinary narrative of one of the most far-reaching and elaborate deceptions in art history. Investigative reporters Laney Salisbury and Aly Sujo brilliantly recount the tale of a great con man and unforgettable villain, John Drewe, and his sometimes unwitting accomplices. Chief among those was the struggling artist John Myatt, a vulnerable single father who was manipulated by Drewe into becoming a prolific art forger. Once Myatt had painted the pieces, the real fraud began. Drewe managed to infiltrate the archives of the upper echelons of the British art world in order to fake the provenance of Myatt’s forged pieces, hoping to irrevocably legitimize the fakes while effectively rewriting art history.

Published by Penguin Press.

Available now through Amazon.

We do not report very often about Diesel on Selectim and to be honest we are not even sure whether Diesel Farm is rather new, but we only just came across it now.

Diesel founder Renzo Rosso is also behind Diesel Farm. Inspired by his passion for good food and wine, he ventured into agriculture and founded Diesel Farm. On the 6 hectares Diesel Farm estate Renzo Rosso produces white and red wine, as well as olive oil. The names of the product are rather obvious and go from Nero Di Rosso, Bianco Di Rosso to Olio Di Rosso. Packaging is simple and elegant.

This is definitely the kind of venture we would not mind pursuing at some point in time.

When invited to a dinner, or casual social engagement, it is good form to bring a bottle(s) of wine. Its part of that good etiquette that your father taught you. Problem is, we tend to acquire that bottle of wine on the way for said engagement while on th e road. The average wine shoppe will give you a nice paper bag to carry those bottles. If like the Selectism staff, you find a drab paper bag more in line with some social boozing on the streets, then consider this beautiful leather wine carrier from Qooqed. The Litron is stitched leather bottle carrier that will set you apart from the paperbag trail. The best part is the retail price 35$US. Look good for less.

More views of the Qooqed Litron Wine Bottle Carrier after the jump.