A very merry Christmas to Pynchonites and friends the world over. I hear it’s a warm one for you Northern Hemisphere folks. Down here in Australia, we’ve enjoyed a relatively cool 33 °C (91 of your funny Fahrenheit degrees). Admittedly not eggnog weather. But this pink Champagne went down a treat.

It’s Moutard Père et Fils Rosé Champagne. The presentable bubbles come to us courtesy of Gravity’s Rainbow, where they show up in a merry, if not actually Christmassy, context. From page 213:

VULGAR SONG

Last night I poked the Queen of Transylvan-ia,
Tonight I’ll poke the Queen of Burgundee–
I’m bordering on the State of Schizophren-ia,
But Queenie is so very nice to me….
It’s pink champagne and caviar for break-fast,
A spot of Chateaubriand wiv me tea–
Ten-shilling panatelas now are all that I can smoke,
I laugh so much you’d think the world was just a silly joke,
So call me what you will, m’ lads, but make way for the bloke
That’s poked the love-ly little Queen of Transyl-vaayn-yaa!

Beautiful sentiments for the holidays. We did indeed polish off our pink Champagne for breakfast here, if sans caviar.  Anyway get back to your families! Merry Christmas! I hope everyone appreciates the Pynchon books you gave them!