TASTES >>>

Wine retailers have already heard every Sideways reference there is. Not that most local wine directors, however exclusive their places of employ, would disagree with the movie's attitude: a good wine, truly savored, is its own special occasion - while any occasion, truly savored, can make any wine taste good. Of course, the film seeks to define goodness more generally, to evaluate value: when is it an inherent quality, when is it a legitimate function of context, when is it mere market-driven illusion? Such questions lie behind every wine list, including Wine Spectator's annual Top 100 list.

The Wine Bank in University Place just received two new wines that are part of the Wine Spectator Top 100 Wines of 2009 list. I have listed them below with Wine Bank owner Bob Kinnaman's comments on each.

• #38 - Chateau Ste Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon. 2006 Horse Heaven Hills, Canoe Ridge Estate, 92 Points. This single vineyard Cabernet is sourced from a south facing ridge above the Columbia River planted in 1991. Winemaker Bob Bertheau aims for a soft mouth feel and employs daily, gentle pump-overs to extract tannin and flavor.  We have the wine at $27.97 and club priced at $23.77.
• #82 - d'Arenberg The Stump Jump 2008 Shiraz - McLaren Vale, 90 Points & Best Value. The Stump Jump wines may be built for daily drinking but this Shiraz is a knockout. The wine delivers fresh, ripe flavor and finesse. We have this wine for $10.97 with a club price of $9.32.

Pick up a bottle and judge for yourself.

The Wine Bank also hosts a Spanish wines tasting today from 2-4:30 p.m. The will pour tastes of Lagar de Castelo Albarino, Casa de Illana Tradicion, Bodegas Pinuaga Nature, and Bodegas Rejadorada Temple.

[The Wine Bank, 7017 27th St. W., University Place, 253.564.1101]

LINK: Taste wine today in the South Sound

MONDAY, MARCH 15, 2010 >>>

1. The Dana Lupinacci Band performs blues at 8 p.m. inside The Swiss.

2. Carolyn Burt's Boogie, Blues and all that Jazz paintings are on display at the Proctor Art Gallery from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

3. The Lakewood Big Band will perform music to dance to from 7-9 p.m. inside The Royale Lounge in Olympia. Jazz singer LaVon Hardison will perform after.

4. The movie FRESH - which celebrates the farmers, thinkers and business people across America who are re-inventing our food system - will screen for free at 7 p.m. inside the Tacoma Public Library's Main Branch.

5. DJ Jason Diamond now spins roots reggae every Monday at 9 p.m. inside O'Malley's Irish Pub.

LINK: Movie showtimes in the South Sound

WHAT WE'VE FOUND TODAY >>>

There's a new movie about rockin' '70s teen girl group, The Runaways called The Runaways.

Cellphone app Foursquare, which allows users to broadcast their location and let their friends (or creepy perverts) track their location, attracts at least 1.6 million check-ins per week.

The Weekly Volcano's Music Issue 2010 is now online.

MIT nerds discover new, nano energy source.

Will the national broadband plan come up short?

The battle over internet access.

WE'LL PRINT THE TACO BRACKET IN THURSDAY'S WEEKLY VOLCANO PRINT EDITION >>>

Tacos. Everyone eats them. Everyone has a favorite. Maybe your obsession is with the taco truck down the street that has those authentic Mexico City street tacos - or perhaps you drive across town for the one the size of your arm.

The best taco in the greater Tacoma area? You think you know where to find it. We all do.

With your help, we'll pit 64 of the greater Tacoma area's best tacos in a shell-to-shell battle - a titanic, tortilla-wrapped tournament the likes of which has never been seen in these parts. This will be a tournament, folks, not a playoff. Each match is do or die - one misstep and you're out of the dance.

Weekly Volcano's Tournament of Tacos begins Thursday, March 18, followed by three weeks of competition right here on our blog, Spew. Every day we'll post a matchup (or four) that you can vote on. We'll reveal the winners on the following day. You'll keep eating and voting until we're down to the final two tacos on April 5, which we'll announce live at Station 56 in Tacoma.

We will print the Tournament of Tacos bracket with the first round of competitions in Thursday's issue of the Weekly Volcano.

Get eating, fill out your brackets and root for your faves.

FUTURE THING IS COMING >>>

Live Nation has announced that international pop star Lady gaga will bring her Monster Ball Tour to the Tacoma Dome Saturday, Aug. 21.

"It's still called Monster Ball, but it's more of a musical and less of a concert," Lady Gaga said in a February interview with KIIS-FM's Ryan Seacrest. "It has a New York theme, it's a story, and the story is that me and my friends are in New York and we're going to the Monster Ball, and we get lost."

Tickets for The Monster Ball go on sale in select markets including New York, Vancouver, Toronto, San Jose, Los Angeles, and Boston beginning March 19 at LiveNation.com. Tickets prices and on-sale date for the Tacoma Dome show haven't been announced.

For tour and ticket information, visit: www.ladygaga.com

BURGERS AND DOGS FANCIED UP >>>

Burgerama

The history of the hamburger is fairly mythical. The Menches family of Ohio say they invented the hamburger at an 1885 fair in Hamburg, New York, when heat and humidity forced them to stop butchering pigs. In all probability, the hamburger was a good idea waiting to happen, and a bunch of folks stumbled upon it around the same time.

The Ram Restaurant & Brewery might not have invented the hamburger, but it has been serving them since 1971 when the Ram Pub opened in the old Villa Plaza in Lakewood. Ah, good times.

Today, The Ram has locations throughout the nation, and the burger is still front and center on its menu — more so than ever with its current promotion, Burgerama - "The transformation of the burger to an artform." The restaurant chain has created "10 works of art," according to promotions, which includes The Ricardo, Moody Blue Cheeseburger Salad, The Elvis, Reuben - Make Me A Burger ... and the two huge burgers I tried Saturday night at the Ruston Way location: the Hillbilly and The Cheeseburger Skirt. The Hillbilly comes with frizzled onions, blue cheese crumbs and blue cheese mayo. The Cheeseburger Skirt - and speciifically "The Skirt" is a bunch of cheese allowed to overflow and fry on the griddle, creating something like a dairy based piece of female clothing. It's a stretch, but it will fill your stomach. Both burgers, actually, are a lot of food - especially with fries included.

National Corn Dog Day

Like the hamburger, the origin of the corn dog is debatable. Doyle's Public House in Tacoma doesn't really care about the history. They know National Corn Dog Day is Saturday, March 20, and they're ready to celebrate. Held amidst the revelry of the NCAA March Madness hoops tourney, the Stadium District bar will offer $1 corn dogs from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday - in addition to tater tots for 5 cents a pop.

Bonus

By the way, the Varsity Grill in downtown Tacoma is offering something called the Mac 'n Cheese burger beginning tomorrow.

BORN TO BE BAD >>>

The Runaways were a teen-girl band of the '70s whose influence reverberates to this day. Its members included Joan Jett, Cherie Currie and Lita Ford.

The film The Runaways, which opens Friday at The Grand Cinema, follows Currie and Jett who become fast friends, drinking pilfered booze under the Hollywood sign and eventually front the teen proto-punk band brought together by weirdo/record producer Kim Fowley (Michael Shannon). Jett, incidentally, is being played by Kristen Stewart (Twilight) and Dakota Fanning stars as Currie.

The Real Thing

The Fake Thing

TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010 >>>

1. Bestsellers - the independent film that was written, shot, edited and produced entirely in Tacoma - will screen at 6:45 p.m. inside The Grand Cinema. A Q&A session with writer and editor Rick Gratzer about the film and production process will follow the screening.

2. Author Matt Hern will discuss his book, Common Ground in a Liquid City: Essays in Defense of an Urban Future, at 6 p.m. inside Orca Books. It's an engaging look at the future of urban life.

3. The Banned Book Club will discuss Living Dead Girl by Elizabeth Scott and cocktails at 7 p.m. inside the Tempest Lounge.

4. The Urban Onion in Olympia hosts Tough Guys Tuesdays film night at 7 p.m. The action double feature will include drink specials.

5. Kareem Kandi hosts an open jazz jam at 9 p.m. inside SAX Restaurant.

LINK: Music showtimes in the South Sound

WHAT WE HAVE FOUND TODAY >>>

Could parachute-wearing bears sniff out Osama bin Laden?

Today in 1999 the U.S. Department of the Interior listed nine salmon species as endangered, which impacted many people in the Northwest.

Don't feed those babies just to shut them up. A Penn State prof says the practice may increase the likelihood of your youngster becoming overweight or obese later in life.

Fearless Felix is back for his most daring plunge ever.

ONE OPENS, ANOTHER CLOSES >>>

People craving a cup of joe in Tacoma's Theater District can finally look further than their own kitchens and office coffee machines. Café Messina - located at 744 Market St. - opened this week for business. Serving Urban City Coffee Roasters coffee and baked goods from the San Francisco Baking Company, this roomy coffee shop also serves soups, salads and sandwiches.

It is with a sad heart that I announce that Vinum Wine & Coffee Lounge has closed at 10th and Pacific in downtown Tacoma.

UPDATE: Vinum has reopened as of April 2010.