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In BLOOMBERG NEWS:

Krug, Rubens Lure Wine Buyers as U.S. Fights Rise of Hong Kong

January 23, 2012 — At Christie’s International (CHRS)’s first New York wine sale of the year on Jan. 25, Krug Grande Cuvee champagne will flow in the presence of Old Master paintings to inspire buyers to bid big, or so the auction house hopes.

This cross-cultural branding is just one way auction houses, which started rushing off to Hong Kong four years ago, are refocusing in 2012.

Christie’s has discovered that their clients who collect classic paintings also dabble in wine, so the Wines of France sale at 5 p.m. follows Old Masters Part 1 at 10 a.m., with works by Peter Paul Rubens and Anthony van Dyck, and the Art of France at 2 p.m. featuring seductive paintings by Jean-Honore Fragonard. The theory seems to be: they won’t stop spending if you don’t let them leave the building….

In BLOOMBERG MARKETS:

Shaking Up Paris: The City’s Cocktail Scene

January, 2012 — Behind the Bar at Prescription Cocktail Club on rue Mazarine in Paris, a young, blond bartender shakes up a Very Old Cuban. The heady mix, for 12 euros ($17), includes rum, ginger liqueur and mint and is topped off with champagne. It’s tangy and refreshing on a warm September night. There’s indie rock on the sound system, candles flicker and a few chic couples are arranged on comfy loveseats.

Before 2007, Paris had no real cocktail scene to match those in London, New York, Sydney or Tokyo. A trio of 29-year-old French entrepreneurs and their clever speakeasy-style bars—Experimental Cocktail Club, Curio Parlor and the newest, Prescription—have changed all that….

In ZESTERDAILY:

Elin McCoy’s Wine of the Week: 2008 Lasseter Family Winery Amoureux Malbec Red Blend

January 23, 2012 – I’m hunting for Valentine’s Day wines early this year, and my first pick is the rich, full, velvety red blend 2008 Lasseter Family Winery Amoureux from Sonoma. What could be more in keeping with the day’s romantic sentiments than a wine whose French name means lovers and whose label features a bee sipping nectar from a red rosebud? Its backstory has an appropriate dose of romance too.

The wine’s bold blend includes about two-third Malbec, a fair amount of Cabernet Sauvignon, and small dashes of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. Hollywood couple John and Nancy Lasseter, who bought their estate on the outskirts of town of Glen Ellen a decade ago, say they selected the wine’s name because they first discovered and fell in love with Malbec while honeymooning….

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