Drunk on Petrology - Coal Mine Tempranillo

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is Coal Mine Tempranillo from the Coal Mine Vineyards.

Coal is a type of sedimentary rock that has a very high organic content. It is made up of prehistoric plant material that has slowly been compressed over time forming thin layers ranging from millimetres to several tens of meters thick. The large amount of plant material typically occurred in prehistoric swamps. Over time the plant material died and accumulated in the water. There was so much dead plant material in the water that there wasn't enough oxygen to cause plant decay, leaving the plant material behind to eventually be covered up by sediment as the swamp was slowly transformed into a different environment (i.e. beach, floodplain, lagoon, etc.).  

Drunk on Volcanology - Black Butte Porter

The next up in our Drunk on Geology series is Black Butte Porter from Deschutes Brewer, out of Bend, OR.

If we look at just the name of beer, "Black Butte", the geological definition of the term "butte" is an isolated, steep-sides, tower of rock with a flat top. The definition is remarkably similar to a mesa, which is generally the same except for scale. A butte is typically taller than it is wide, while a mesa is a shorter, wider feature. 

However, the name "Black Butte" in this instance refers to a specific mountain located within the Cascade volcanic arc of Oregon. Black Butte itself is a stratovolcano, a type of volcano that is built up over time from the repeated volcanic eruptions of ash, lava, and cinders. Stratovolcanoes are the most common type of volcano located within the Cascade range.   

Drunk on Mineralogy - Amethystos

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is Amethystos from the Domaine Costa Lazaridi Winery in Adriani, Drama, Greece.

And yes, in case you were wondering, "amethystos" is the Greek translation of the mineral amethyst.

Our puppy Oreo, back when she was a puppy, wanting to get in on the photography action.

Amethyst is the purple variety of quartz, which is one of the most common minerals on Earth, primarily due to its simple structure and chemical formula, SiO2. Quartz also has an extremely high hardness, 7 on Mohs hardness scale, meaning that it doesn't scratch very easily and therefore does not break down easily. 

Drunk on Mineralogy - Black Opal

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is Black Opal. Black Opal is a wine from Australia made by the Bronco Wine Company. 

To start off, what is opal? 

Drunk on Petrology - Jip Jip Rocks

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is Jip Jip Rocks Shiraz from the Jip Jip Rocks Winery in Padthaway, Australia. 

 Text from the back of the bottle:

"The Jip Jip Rocks are a striking outcrop of 350 million year old pink-red granite in the heart of the Padthaway region, which are sacred in traditional Aboriginal beliefs. 

Drunk on Mineralogy - The Logo

  The next Drunk on Geology category I am ready to announce is:

Drunk on Mineralogy

Mineralogy is the study of minerals and I thought what better use of minerals in drinks than the salt on the rim of a margarita glass. And any geologist could tell you that salt is a mineral, the mineral halite. When halite is examined up close, you can see that the pieces always break off in cubic chunks, called cubic cleavage. And if you were able to look even closer, the mineral structure would also be cubic with alternating sodium (Na) and chlorine (Cl) atoms.

Halite (salt) from the Solno Salt Mine in Poland. Image from Spirifer Minerals.

Drunk on Petrology - Las Rocas

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is Las Rocas wines (specifically Garnacha in this post) by the Las Rocas Winery

Las Rocas literally translates to "The Rocks" in Spanish. So it is a fitting inclusion to Drunk on Geology.

Drunk on Petrology - Obsidian Stout

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is the Obsidian Stout from Deschutes Brewery out of Bend, OR.

Obsidian is a shiny, very smooth, and (often) black igneous rock. It forms from the extremely quick cooling of lava, where no crystals have time to grow. This creates a glassy structure, where edges are able to sharpened to be sharper than a razor blade. 

Drunk on Petrology - Mönchhof Mosel Slate Riesling

The next up on the Drunk on Geology series is the Mosel Slate Riesling wine from the Mönchhof winery, which is from the Mosel region of Germany.

The Mosel Slates are comprised of two main slate deposits, Ürziger Würzgarten and Erdener Treppchen. 

Drunk on Petrology - The Logo

 The next Drunk on Geology category I am ready to announce is:

Drunk on Petrology

Petrology is the study of rocks, and so with this Petrology logo I wanted to highlight a ternary, rock identification diagram such as the one below for different sedimentary rocks, but using beer, wine, and liquor as the three endpoints.