Your daily dose of news and happenings from around the drink-o-sphere:
– Celebrated bartender and consultant, Nick Strangeway, offers his view of the increasingly pretentious field of bartending.
– Chianti Classico hopes to become a UNESCO world heritage site, joining the ranks of Champagne, Burgundy and Barolo.
– A shortage of specialty hops has contributed to the slowing growth of the craft beer industry.
– Archeologists have unearthed a 19th-century pub replete with unopened bottles of brandy in Manchester, England.
– The creators of Alcosynth envision replacing conventional alcohol by 2050, but The Daily Beast offers a different take.
– Finally, Bollinger is auctioning off a bottle of 102-year-old Champagne with a starting price of $10,000.
[Photo: Flickr/Billie Grace Ward]