I love to travel. I’m the person that gets a pit of excitement in my stomach, knowing I’m hours away from getting on an airplane. Once in the air, I’m happy to pass the hours, reading, watching a movie, or just looking at the clouds below.

While I’ve never associated the two, I also love wine, but understand that the wine served tens of thousands of feet above the ground–in coach class, that is–in those mini twist-off bottles is simply drinkable, at best, and nothing more. I’ll rarely spring the 5 bucks for a mediocre, miniature bottle of wine.

Part of the investment for first and business-class passengers must be the wine, because they are drinking a whole different calibre of beverage (full disclosure: I’ve been one of those passengers on two occasions. It’s really nice up there.) Chosen from a selection of several reds and whites, business class wine is poured from a traditional 750 ml bottle. No twist offs for those folks.

As a matter of fact, the wine chosen for business class passengers has become such big business that there are awards for the category–the Wines on the Wing Airline Wine Competition. According to Global Traveler, a magazine for business and luxury travelers, in the most recent competition, 26 airlines submitted 46 white wines, 49 red wines, and 23 champagne or sparkling wines currently on their international Business Class and North American premium class wine lists for a blind taste test. Global Traveler is the only U.S.-based publication to conduct such a survey in the United States (see 2011 competition results here).

But things are looking up for domestic-flying wine drinkers in economy class. Airlines have recently begun offering more interesting selections, as listed on the Bottlenotes blog. And if you’re really particular about your vineyard and vintage, bring your own on board. You’ll cruise right through security with your own 50 ml (1.7 oz) bottles from the TastingRoom’s wine samplers.

Cheers. And safe travels.

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There is an answer to this question, but you’ll have to read on to find the answer (don’t cheat)…

Needless to say, the glass wine bottle reigns supreme. There has, however, been an increase in the types of containers storing wine in recent years. And it keeps on evolving.

For a long time, boxed wine has been looked down upon. But the quality of the wine has recently risen. Eric Asimov of the NYT explains the reasons in his piece, ”Reconsidering Boxed Wine.” Greater acceptance of the boxed wine notion is also good news if you’re counting carbon footprints–according to the Journal of Wine Research, shipping boxed wine produces half as many gas emissions as transporting heavier glass bottles.

Along with boxes, came the can. In a recent article on nytimes.com, “Cans of Wine Join the Boxed Set,” Bonnie Tsui provides great information on some of the newer, and finer, wines–drinkable not from a Bordeaux or Burgundy-shaped bottle, but rather from a specially-lined aluminum can.

Wine in a can isn’t entirely new, Tsui points out, and was “first sold by Barokes Wines, an Australian winemaker that invented a patented process called Vinsafe, which lines the aluminum to prevent any reaction that would impart flavors to the wine or degrade the container. The techniques are similar to what some craft brewers have been using, but wine’s high acidity and alcohol levels require a thicker lining.”

I wasn’t surprised to learn that Francis Ford Coppola was the first American winemaker to sell wine in a can–small, pink ones housing Sofia Blanc de Blancs, named for his daughter.

Wines on tap at Colicchio & Sons

I was surprised, however, when I ate recently at the latest of chef Tom Colicchio’s New York restaurants, Colicchio & Sons. The bar had an extensive selection of craft beers, as well as five “eco-friendly” wines…on tap. That’s right. On tap.

I’ve since learned that there are several advantages for serving wine on tap:

-Better for the environment. While bottles are recycled, wine served on tap is stored in environmentally friendly, air tight mini tanks that are reused.

-Cost-effective. Producers aren’t adding on the cost of the bottle, the cork, the carton and the transportation it comes in, so the restaurant owner pays less and so does the consumer.

-Freshness. Wine left over in a bottle used to pour wines by the glass is often discarded as it doesn’t last for more than a couple of days at most. Wine served on tap always tastes fresh, lasting for up to 60 days.

So I guess that’s what’s next…

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It will come as no surprise that drinking lots of alcohol often goes hand-in-hand with bad decision making. But up until now, scientists had yet to come up with a direct cause and effect relationship regarding alcohol and unprotected sex.

In the January issue of the journal Addiction, a new study reports that researchers in Canada conducted 12 experiments to test the theory. The results–yes, rather obvious–confirmed that drinking alcohol affects decision-making, and the more alcohol one drinks, the more impaired the decision making. As the results show, for every 0.1mg/mL increase in blood alcohol level, study participants were 5 percent more likely to engage in unsafe sex.

While the findings may not seem overly newsworthy, they do confirm the direct connection between alcohol and sexually transmitted diseases. The study’s conclusion states that  ”alcohol use is an independent risk factor for intentions to engage in unprotected sex, and as risky sex intentions have been shown to be linked to actual risk behavior, the role of alcohol consumption in the transmission of HIV and other STIs may be of public health importance.”

“Drinking has a causal effect on the likelihood to engage in unsafe sex, and thus should be included as a major factor in preventive efforts for HIV,” said principal investigator Juergen Rehm of the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, in a statement. “This result also helps explain why people at risk often show this behavior despite better knowledge: alcohol is influencing their decision processes.”

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Not sure about you, but I’ve been frisked going into concerts and football stadiums and it’s not fun. Why would anyone sneak booze in when you can buy it inside, right?

Well, it seems that enough people would to demand a new sort of product on the market–an alternative route for women–and it’s called the WineRack.

This is no joke–the website selling the WineRack ($30) boasts that that “the advantages are obvious.” It is actually a black sports bra (fits sizes 34C-D, 36A-D and 38A-C) that lets you carryup to 750ml (equal to the contents of one bottle of wine, or 25 oz.) of any beverage. The bra sports a polyurethane  bladder and a drinking tube long enough to route as you wish, along with an easy-to-use on/off valve to control the flow.

The big question: If the frisker feels the tube, what will she ask you to do–spill out its contents or remove your bra?

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It seems there’s an app for everything these days. So it’s no big surprise that there’s a growing number of iPhone, iPad, and Android apps for wine lovers–both novices and experts–and those who simply like to eat and drink.

For wine collectors and buyers, there are apps like  Cor.kz, Vintage Cart and Wine Searcher. Cooks and gourmands who want to pair wine with food can turn to Pair It!, Hello Vino, and Natalie MacLean’s Wine Picks & Pairings. (Drinking Diaries was proud to feature Natalie’s essay, The Making of a Wine Lover, in 2009.)

But apps are not simply popping up for pairing and buying wines, there are also apps for wine tastings and festivals, such as LocalWineEvents.com. And for the music and wine lover, there’s the WineDJ app. As the description reads: “The perfect wine deserves the perfect playlist. Discover music to match your mood and spirits with the Wine DJ app by Liberty School Wines…”

At this rate, smart phone users now have one more reason to break out their handheld in the liquor store, at the wine auction, with the restaurant wine list, and most certainly when opening up Itunes.

A votre santé!

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“What’s your favorite drink?” asked Chantal, our journalist-cum-tour guide. “Caipirinha,” I answered without hesitation (for those unfamiliar, it’s a Brazilian cocktail made with sugar cane liquor, or Cachaca, fresh lime, and sugar). Others replied, “Manhattan,” “Old Fashioned,” and “Dry Martini.”

Thus began our New York City walking tour, titled “About the Birth of the Cocktail: A Drinkable History of New York,” run by the Philadelphia-based Context Travel.

Once our group of five introduced ourselves on the sidewalk of 55th Street and received a brief introduction about the birth of the cocktail, we entered the St. Regis hotel. Through the lobby and around the restaurant, we made our way to the King Cole bar—opened in 1905—and allegedly famous for birthing the Red Snapper, aka the Bloody Mary. (We also learned on this tour that most claims to inventing cocktails are deeply controversial and there is no real way to confirm any of the lore.) Not only famous for its drinks, the towering painting that hangs behind the bar was painted by Maxfield Parrish in 1934, and depicts Old King Cole–you know, that merry old soul.

Next stop was the 21 Club, conceived 81 years ago in the early days of Prohibition as a speakeasy/restaurant by two guys known as Jack and Charlie. We were warmly greeted by Brian, the knowledgeable cellarmaster, who led us through the kitchen and down a flight of stairs to the basement level. Here, we watched Brian insert a meat skewer through a specific hole in what appeared to be a wall of bricks—quite a guise for those booze-seeking cops back in the day. Once engaged, the lock allowed us to push forward on the door (made of two tons of brick) and enter the wine cellar, still housing the vintage bottles once “laid down” for the likes of Jimmy Stewart, Richard Nixon, Elizabeth Taylor, and Sammy Davis Jr. We learned about the “meetings” (read: Tony Soprano types) and events that have taken place in the second and adjacent cellar which now houses a long table that can accommodate more than 20 (21?).

After a quick subway ride to the Flatiron district, we visited the offices of the Cocktail Kingdom. Actually, a mini museum of cocktail books and a barware business, the owner, Greg Boehm, fits the bill as a cocktail professor. Incredibly proud of his book collection (there was a book about ciders—the precursor to cocktails—dating back to 1676), he recounted stories about the origins of the Rainbow Room and the demise of the use of bitters.

Our final stop was the Raines Law Room on West 17^th Street. A few steps below street level, we knocked on the door and a man peeked his face through the door to ask us discreetly, “How many?” We followed him into the replica of a dimly lit piece of history—part Victorian, part Speakeasy.

Cozy booths with sheer drapes and tiny protruding tables line each side of the front room. Each booth has a button to push to alert the bar that you are in need of service. A small place that has just added a new back patio, the biggest draw is the bar kitchen at the back, where they have created a space for drinkers/customers to enjoy a close up view of the concoctions being created and poured.

While others drank Manhattans and the Corpse Reviver, I sipped an Old Cuban (rum, lime juice, mint, sugar, bitters and champagne). It was an eye-opening tour and I loved the history. But most of all, it made me grateful—that we don’t have to hide a glass of wine with dinner, or sneak through tons of brick to toast an occasion.

We always knew who wore the pants in the relationship, and now alcohol producers and entrepreneurs have come to the same realization. As a result, they are finally trying to deliver what they think women want.

According to recent articles in the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, women are closing the drinking gap, consuming more alcohol at restaurants and making most of the purchasing decisions for home.

Last week, Deerfield-based Beam Global Spirits & Wine, a unit of Fortune Brands, announced that it acquired Skinnygirl Margarita, a low-calorie, ready-to-drink cocktail sweetened with agave syrup.

“Women tend to be smarter customers in general,” said Michael Binstein, owner of Binny’s Beverage Depot. “They understand value, and they’re adventurous in terms of what they like to try and experiment with.”

Adult Chocolate Milk–a sweet, vodka-infused drink–and another fast-selling product, said Binstein, is developed by Tracy Reinhardt and Nikki Halbur in a home kitchen and sold in 28 states.

“The fact of the matter is that women in this country constitute the majority of vodka consumers, and they’ve been ignored,” said Adam Kamenstein, chief executive of privately-held Voli Spirits LLC, which a year ago rolled out Voli Light vodkas with the tagline “stay sexy.”

So, who chooses what alcohol to buy in your world?

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“Red red wine, go to my head, make me forget…”

There are drinking songs—songs that make you want to drink—and then there are songs that remind you of certain nights, certain drinks.

Every time I hear UB40’s song, “Red Red Wine,” I’m transported back to a night, freshman year of college, when the guy who lived across the hall from me and I decided to play “drinking” Trivial Pursuit (yes, this was back in the 80s).  Our drink of choice: a gallon jug of Ernest & Julio Gallo red.

I was pretty good at Trivial Pursuit, but there were still lots of stumpers like: Name the dancers on the Jackie Gleason show (Answer: The June Taylor dancers).

By the end of a few hours or so, my roommate walked in and found four legs, twined together. Turns out we were under the bed, making out while “Red Red Wine” looped over and over on the record player (yes, that’s how old I am).

We want to know…what’s your favorite drinking song? A literal drinking song, or a song that makes you think about drinking.

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How can it be that eighth grade students thought they’d get away with bringing alcohol into school disguised in a water bottle? As I sat and read the news on a local online news publication, theLoop! my mouth dropped open in surprise.

Living in a community that has a very high rate of alcohol use among its teenage population, our kids begin the D.A.R.E (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program in the public school in 5th grade at the age of 10. My son, now that age, will learn this year about the dangers of alcohol and drugs. And having two older kids who’ve already gone through this required school program, I can already predict that he will come home and put on a sad puppy-dog face, proclaiming how dangerous our dinnertime glass of wine is–and that it can kill us.

So, if they are starting this education so young, are kids so rebellious and empowered that they will not only experiment with friends and dip into their parents’ booze supply when they’re out to dinner, but also bring it into school to sip and share during lunchtime?

According to the Loop article, the students were suspended and upon their return to school will work with a “specialized substance abuse counselor.” I also wonder what the repercussions will be for the girl who was rushed via ambulance to the hospital with alcohol poisoning. The Loop wanted to know if readers thought the school acted appropriately. Call me naive, but I want to know how these kids had the guts to do it at all.

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Over the last several years, I have watched my mother’s memory come and go, lapse and return. She has had an MRI of her brain and does not have Alzheimer’s. As a matter of fact, her more-than-competent doctor has described her brain as “robust” for her age.

So, why then, at the age of 76, does my mother call me looking for my father when he’s been deceased for nearly four years? And why can’t she remember the names of her very close relatives? Although my mother is sober now, it seems that her on-and-off-again loss of memory is a result of a period of heavy drinking within the past ten years.

A new study conducted in Brazil focused specifically on cognitive problems caused by heavy alcohol use among 1,145 people who were 60 years old or older. The study found that 8.2 percent of the 419 men and 726 women studied were heavy drinkers, or drinking at levels that are considered high risk. (For women, heavy drinking is four drinks or more during a day or more than seven drinks a week.)

One of the more surprising findings of the study was that heavy drinking affects the cognitive function of women more than men. “The effects of heavy alcohol use on memory and other cognitive functions were more evident in women,” said Marcos Antonio Lopes, the author of the study. “Our findings suggest that alcohol use does not have a linear relationship with cognitive decline.”

In other words, women who continue to drink heavily into their senior years run the risks of losing cognitive function and are more prone therefore to falls and significant memory loss.

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A couple of drinks can–particularly on a bad day–make things feel a little bit lighter. And of course, inhibitions tend to decrease as alcohol consumption increases. (I know my conversational Italian become nearly fluent after I’ve had a Chianti or two.)

It seems, though, that in addition to taking the edge off and making us feel a bit more risqué, perhaps, drinking also makes us see people as more attractive, according to an article by Gad Saad, Ph.D. on PsychologyToday.com called ”The More I Drink, the Prettier You Get.”

Two different studies, one in Addiction and one in Alcohol & Alcoholism, have come to a similar conclusion, reports Saad. In both cases, men and women who had drank alcohol gave higher ratings of facial attractiveness than did those who had consumed either no alcohol or a placebo.

Sadd writes that “it would thus appear that not only does alcohol serve as ‘liquid courage’ but also it alters our judgment of others in ways that perhaps increases the likelihood of our interacting with them (as we are more likely to interact with attractive individuals).”

What do you think–when you drink does it make people look more attractive to you?

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As temporary home to the Olympics, Vancouver has been crowded with throngs of tourists for the past two weeks. With the excitement and thrills come lots of celebrations in the city’s bars, many of which have been spilling out into the streets.

So it’s only fitting that drinking should also make its way onto the art scene. In a recent article in the New York Times, Charles McGrath describes a new exhibit at Vancouver’s Playwrights Theater Center on Granville Island (the artsy area of town), which looks at the fine line between drinking and “drinking” and between the “bar as mere watering hole and as self-activating performance space.”

The installation, created by British neo-conceptualist Theo Sims, is set in a 12-by-20 foot plywood box, and recreates the Candahar, an Irish pub in Belfast, fully equipped with beer taps, a brass rail, and a TV tuned to Irish horseracing. The bar is tended by two Irish men wearing fedoras and thick Irish sweater—two real bar men (and brothers) who are also scripted performers for the exhibit.

“The purpose of the installation,” said the artist in the Times piece, “is to stimulate social interaction, encourage people to re-examine their preconceptions and start cross cultural conversations.”

It all sounds so civilized when you look at it this way. And it makes me think about the purpose of bars and the community gathering that must’ve been so integral for communicating and sharing events years ago. Now with Facebook and Twitter, people can “gather” virtually and video chat while sipping ale in their pajamas. Not quite the same.

*Photo source: Kim Stallknecht for the NY Times

I don’t know about you, but I drank like a fish in college. Part of the reason was that alcohol was everywhere: free and cheap. The “campus pub” across the commons from my dorm (yes, the drinking age was lower then) offered one dollar kamikaze shots in little plastic shot glasses, so we’d line em up on the bar. Fraternity parties lured unsuspecting freshmen girls with free beer (even if it did taste like water).

So–does free and cheap booze lead to binge drinking? Which came first–the chicken (in this case, the eager freshmen) or the egg?

The UK is dealing with this problem in a big way, especially since the statistics about rising alcohol use are sobering. According to the Economist: “In the past 50 years Britons’ consumption of alcohol has more than doubled, though it remains somewhat lower than it was at the start of the 20th century. British livers are feeling the strain: cases of cirrhosis are on the increase, just as they are declining elsewhere in Europe. The national binge has at least in part been caused by low prices: although booze has got more expensive in real terms over the past 30 years, it has become a lot cheaper relative to earnings, and is about 70% more affordable now than it was in 1980.”

In some supermarkets in Great Britain (Sainsbury’s and Tesco, for example), beer is cheaper than bottled water. At Sainsbury’s, a two litre plastic bottle of alcoholic “cider” costs the equivalent of $1.94, according to the Economist. Also on the shelves: an even stronger variety of cider, with the incentive that the more you buy, the deeper the discount will be.

Does dirt-cheap alcohol cause people to drink more than they normally would? Supporters of a growing temperance movement in the UK, along with health experts, are saying it does, and they are seeking to end the sale of cheap booze. A compelling parliamentary report released in December detailed Britain’s growing alcohol problems, but the government has yet to approve minimum pricing laws.

Instead, on Tuesday, according to the Huffington Post, the government said it would ban “irresponsible promotions and boozy contests such as the “dentist’s chair”–where alcohol is poured directly into customers’ mouths – in an effort to tackle Britain’s binge-drinking problem.”

Some feel that it’s unfair to take away cheap booze during a recession, and they argue that if minimum pricing is enforced, responsible drinkers will be unfairly penalized. I say: As much as I love my ice cream and my wine, those are luxuries, so I don’t mind if they’re priced a bit higher. And I don’t really need a stockpile of cheap ice cream or wine in my fridge to tempt me.

So what do you think? Do you think cheap booze encourages drinking? Do you mind paying a bit more for your luxuries?  Can you imagine if stores did 2 for 1′s and promos on fresh fruits and vegetables instead of junk food and cheap liquor? I’m just saying..

From time to time, we will post short interviews with interesting people about their thoughts and feelings on women and drinking. There is such a wide array of perspectives about this topic, and we are excited to gain insight into as many as possible and to share them with you.

Drinking Diaries: When was your first drink?

Laurie Lindeen:  If you don’t count the pulls off of my dad’s Budweiser cans as a small child, or the Dixie cups full of daiquiris during my parent’s gourmet parties, I’d say it was on New Year’s Eve in 7^th grade in a scene I describe graphically in my memoir, Petal Pusher: A Rock and Roll Cinderella Story. A throng of girls took turns taking swigs from my parent’s dusty liquor bottles stored in a cupboard in the hallway next to my bedroom.

How did your family treat drinking?

I grew up in the ‘70s in Wisconsin, therefore my parents had a very casual attitude toward drinking.  Both of my parents were what we call “social” drinkers.  I do remember in about middle school making an association between acting like an adult and drinking and smoking.

How do you handle the subject of drinking with your kid?

My son has a thicket of alcoholic branches in his family tree unfortunately, so we started talking to him about drinking and alcoholism when he was in first grade.

Was there a phase in life when you drank more or less?

I drank a lot more in college and when I was in a band.  Nowadays, I need to tone down the “sailor on furlough” in me that emerges whenever I’m sprung loose from domestic duty and out on the town.

When was the best time drinking ever?

The best time drinking ever happened when I was a sophomore in high school and Patty Vaughn, a junior, had an unsupervised New Year’s Eve party at her parents’ house and I drank beer, but not too much, and I made out with everybody.  Little did I know, I peaked early and should’ve hung it up, or at least toned it down, so I was a more productive young adult.

When was the worst time drinking?

I actually topped my “Mrs. Roper” story that I submitted to Drinking Diaries last spring in New Orleans this past November.  Had I gone back to the hotel instead of to the Absinthe House…I lost an entire day in an amazing city nursing my self-inflicted wounds.

Has culture or religion influenced your drinking?

I’m Catholic and I’m from Wisconsin.  You do the math.

What is the best movie about drinking?

I love the scene in the ballet movie “A Turning Point” when Shirley MacLaine’s and Ann Bancroft’s characters tie on one and get into a purse bitch slap fight.

I also adore Frank Sinatra and Big Crosby getting hammered while singing “What a Swell Party It Was” in the movie “High Society.”

Laurie Lindeen’s essay, “Uncool, Not Cute,” was posted on Drinking Diaries in July, 2009. Her work has appeared in Rolling Stone’s anthology Altarockorama and the online magazine, The Morning News. Find her on the web at www.laurielindeen.com

Last weekend, the New York Times ran a piece called “Baby Barflies,” by Risa Chubinsky, in the “Complaint Box” column of the Metropolitan section. In 500 words, Chubinsky, a 20-something who recently moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn, rants about her visits to neighborhood bars, where she and her friends are frequently faced with toddlers grabbing at their drinks while the moms chat away, and babies crying right up against the bar next to their martinis.

She argues enthusiastically that bars are not for kids, and how aghast she was to see a dad changing his kid’s diaper right there on a vacant table at the Bohemian Bar and Beer Garden. Why, she wonders, are parents not leaving their kids home with a babysitter when they feel the need or want to drink at a bar?

After her piece ran, 376 comments followed (mine is comment #154), with readers defending the author’s tirade, telling her to chill out, or shedding light on all kinds of ways for peace to ensue for bar-loving moms/dads and booze-loving non-parents alike.

As both a parent and social drinker, I love the idea of being able to be at a bar with my kids nearby (if I’m not trying to escape from them, that is), and so was immediately drawn to the notion of neighborhood pubs in England, where many have play areas for young children to stay in sight of mom and dad and vice versa. But with our country’s Puritan ideals and school campaigns teaching children as young as nine years old that drinking is ALWAYS bad, I don’t think that idea would fly.

What are your thoughts on kids frequenting bars?