tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-210773432024-03-07T10:32:12.344-08:00Wilf's Wine Press“Not only does one drink wine, but one inhales it, tastes it – and then talks about it.” A quote from King Edward VII.These days you can go one step further and write about and blog about it. Much has been written about wine and much will continue to be written about wine and all its seductive qualities.This is my humble attempt to share in all the tasting and talking. A toast to all you tasters out there!!Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.comBlogger148125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-66201746851575269442013-01-02T19:07:00.001-08:002013-01-02T19:07:35.640-08:00Out with the Old, in with the New <span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;">Yes, out </span></span><span style="color: #38761d;">with the year 2012 and welcome to 2013. It has been quite a turbulent year and the economy has taken its toll in the wonderful world of wine as well</span>.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib64Sdj-Ff7Y4pZkrLDSeuWcoTTm5tdPfIhv8DmDkBe3IbQNsYgmCksMF9hTD6XEmZMsKRrej9x-Y2viU_wumJJklezX4KntX0qhKxuE9JTTLEFMDwLLQcYfS2oAAKqrjXsskDfQ/s1600/Maddie+Lou.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib64Sdj-Ff7Y4pZkrLDSeuWcoTTm5tdPfIhv8DmDkBe3IbQNsYgmCksMF9hTD6XEmZMsKRrej9x-Y2viU_wumJJklezX4KntX0qhKxuE9JTTLEFMDwLLQcYfS2oAAKqrjXsskDfQ/s1600/Maddie+Lou.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib64Sdj-Ff7Y4pZkrLDSeuWcoTTm5tdPfIhv8DmDkBe3IbQNsYgmCksMF9hTD6XEmZMsKRrej9x-Y2viU_wumJJklezX4KntX0qhKxuE9JTTLEFMDwLLQcYfS2oAAKqrjXsskDfQ/s1600/Maddie+Lou.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib64Sdj-Ff7Y4pZkrLDSeuWcoTTm5tdPfIhv8DmDkBe3IbQNsYgmCksMF9hTD6XEmZMsKRrej9x-Y2viU_wumJJklezX4KntX0qhKxuE9JTTLEFMDwLLQcYfS2oAAKqrjXsskDfQ/s1600/Maddie+Lou.jpg" /></a><span style="color: #38761d;">This is my first post since June of 2012 and yes some turbulence in my own life as well has put regular postings on the back burner. Fortunately</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">I have not been affected</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">by the economy but friends, family and acquaintances know how much the loss of my dear little Madeleine in September</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">has affected me. Maddie Lou lived till she was 18 years old. A long time to have a devoted little friend. Her biggest thrill was to stand on my lap while going for a drive, rest her front legs on on my left arm and stare at everything and every one. Shortly after her passing I bought a Shelby GT 500 Mustang and of course I call it my "MadMobile".</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjouHn4JF7Me3c5AnJGma6bCyuKOs70LoRjoTRbdDpv-gILJKQx-tcwB90YRl76MXB0Kp1Mq-_x3EJkPdl-_q8vYco5omxfZcN85c-2T1JuKUuuiZR7DyTxkltgCcAAwKBY0N23eA/s1600/ur+health.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjouHn4JF7Me3c5AnJGma6bCyuKOs70LoRjoTRbdDpv-gILJKQx-tcwB90YRl76MXB0Kp1Mq-_x3EJkPdl-_q8vYco5omxfZcN85c-2T1JuKUuuiZR7DyTxkltgCcAAwKBY0N23eA/s320/ur+health.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #38761d;">But now moving forward into 2013 let me wish one and all a Happy, Prosperous and Healthy.New Year!</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">What a shocker it was when Canadian wine writer Natalie Maclean found herself accused</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">of being a content thief on <i><b><a href="http://palatepress.com/2012/12/wine/content-theft/#comment-47698">Palate Press</a></b></i></span>. <span style="color: #38761d;">It will take you hour upon hour</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">just to wade through all the comments.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Too many writers and critics out there? Well, our beloved fruit of the vine, work of human hands</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">certainly does not need</span> <span style="color: #38761d;">this style of writing.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Speak about writing, the three J's have recently released <b>"</b><b>Wine Grapes". </b></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><b> </b></span><span style="color: #38761d;">This book by <b>Jancis Robinson, Julia Harding, and José Vouillamoz </b>is very detailed, informative and will provide hours of outstanding reading.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"> I have read a few reviews that while on the whole were positive, also had some minor negative comments.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"> I ask, could you have done better?</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"> Its like when some wine critics have to find a fault of some sort about a wine they have tasted and are now blabbing about. I ask them, if you were given the same grapes and could use the same equipment, could you produce a better wine? </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Back to <b>"Wine Grapes"</b></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ9ysFM_6_GWCjUSK5897y1XCAAdjbFUe3cj6BBj0SmZjbPoOD6mjWWti0LCQuKkpO_7HNec_WC1PhAjcpJiqZ9hjlQPrfJ486fqZOLi4RJ4tSxIlOAGJ85V4oSn_acrNIZXKrw/s1600/Bacchus+grapes+2+b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoQ9ysFM_6_GWCjUSK5897y1XCAAdjbFUe3cj6BBj0SmZjbPoOD6mjWWti0LCQuKkpO_7HNec_WC1PhAjcpJiqZ9hjlQPrfJ486fqZOLi4RJ4tSxIlOAGJ85V4oSn_acrNIZXKrw/s320/Bacchus+grapes+2+b.jpg" width="293" /></a></div>
<b><span style="color: #38761d;"> </span></b><span style="color: #38761d;">The little Bacchus grapes certainly seem to be very happy with the write up they received.</span> <br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">For a thorough review I refer you once again to <i><b><a href="http://palatepress.com/2012/11/wine/all-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-wine-grapes-and-then-some/">Palate Press</a></b></i></span> <span style="color: #38761d;"> </span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d;">I am like the little Bacchus grapes. Quite happy to add this tome to my library of wine books.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">I promise to be much more diligent about postings to my blog in this year of grape expectations !!</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;">Once again Happy New Year !! </span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-72802282656000857022012-06-21T16:50:00.000-07:002012-06-21T16:50:54.665-07:00Like a Bridge Over.... the Troubled Mosel Wine Region....!<span style="color: #274e13; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Its on again...its off again. I am referring to the highway and bridge in the Mosel. Could not help it, but it made me think of the hugely popular song recorded and released by Simon and Garfunkle in 1969. So just to remind you what a great song it was</span><span style="color: #274e13;">......</span><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">watch this video.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><object height="360" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GYKJuDxYr3I?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0">
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<embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GYKJuDxYr3I?version=3&hl=en_US&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="480" height="360" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true"></embed></object> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As reported by<a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/529928/mosel-bridge-work-halted?utm_source=Cheetahmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter-010512&utm_source=cheetah&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=decanternewsalert010512&dec"> <i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Decanter</span></b></i></a> back in April, the work on the Mosel bridge had been halted indefinitely.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ooops....here is a little stronger language expressed by Sarah Washington writing an <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20120426.html"><i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">article</span></b></i></a> for Jancis Robinson.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">With an equally strong language in a follow up article by Sarah on the failure by the <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20110503.html"><i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Green Party</span></b></i></a> to make good on a pre-election promise to have the project cancelled.</span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I decided to contact <a href="http://www.selbach-oster.de/enweingut.htm"><i><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Johannes Selbach</span></b></i></a> to get his opinion on the Mosel Bridge. I had met Johannes a few years back while he was on a visit to Victoria. I had the opportunity at that time to taste his really impressive wines. </span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqPRAFfzl3agzzshyphenhyphenPUG_UG0XWy8CyzRoqEy6CHUfHhvR8PEtTsYocqqEy-XklpenCpqNJbHfyBUe5PEFPDqLGPQ4GEeDIja1NM_udN_Xzlc-4xL0ipc74vaxeaKtfWVi-cad_g/s1600/Johannes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="138" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijqPRAFfzl3agzzshyphenhyphenPUG_UG0XWy8CyzRoqEy6CHUfHhvR8PEtTsYocqqEy-XklpenCpqNJbHfyBUe5PEFPDqLGPQ4GEeDIja1NM_udN_Xzlc-4xL0ipc74vaxeaKtfWVi-cad_g/s200/Johannes.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I quote Johannes' opinion on the subject.</span></span><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">"<span style="color: #274e13;">As far as the bridge goes:</span></span><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #274e13; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"> indeed there seem to be some missing number for the statics
calculation of some of the pillars and this has caused a temporary moratorium.
Unfortunately, this will be relatively easy to remedy by providing new
calculations of the stability of the pillars which will have the work commence
again.</span></i></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';">I would be very happy if these were serious enough problems to
completely halt the construction of the bridge but I’m afraid this isn’t more
than a dream."</span></i></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Meanwhile back to Sarah's article and I quote again.</span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <i><b>" </b></i></span></span></span><i><b><span>Envy forged from mistrust is the backbone of German society and therefore politics. Or is it caused by rotten politics?</span></b></i><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"></span></b></i><i><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><b> " </b></span></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Why do I quote Sarah? Because it points out the basic difference between the German approach and the Italian way of looking at a similar situation.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">A year ago I had the great pleasure of visiting <b>Liguria</b> or as the Brits like to call it, the <b>Italian Riviera. </b>I was the guest of my cousin Ton and his wife Thea from Amsterdam. They have a delightful place in <b>Finale Ligure</b> and they flew me down to visit. Could not stay away from wine and vineyards too long, so Ton drove me to a local vineyard where he buys his wines while staying in Finale Ligure. In my next post I want to get into more details about that visit and focus on the Vermentino grape variety.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXEpI4WLTfDSYvJTwBHybTBhEpkgZZiSXlyhdAUc6VUEk2lbbwsAJY-9stIDH9INUadxhEKGJLLRG_Bk_1_-zGqNAWDDoMvGI-uKeKbe26vUoP6JR05fkkwyr_OHjx3J0kCA33w/s1600/DSC04429.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAXEpI4WLTfDSYvJTwBHybTBhEpkgZZiSXlyhdAUc6VUEk2lbbwsAJY-9stIDH9INUadxhEKGJLLRG_Bk_1_-zGqNAWDDoMvGI-uKeKbe26vUoP6JR05fkkwyr_OHjx3J0kCA33w/s320/DSC04429.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The A10/E80 Highway goes right through the vineyards. This major highway starts in France and continues in the North West of the Italian Riviera.</span></span></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2uOO5lp3UR1HMFv5-r3p8xX0TkCtcGoojovklKwzqeX29uwCtDGDd5-ApB1uTswy0pSr9icyguUFaW6-M5f8pyFFaJYMfuGUYCRXMMr-CF3M1Iuz-ornmamj_OVqp7m_TYfUdA/s1600/A10+E80.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgp2uOO5lp3UR1HMFv5-r3p8xX0TkCtcGoojovklKwzqeX29uwCtDGDd5-ApB1uTswy0pSr9icyguUFaW6-M5f8pyFFaJYMfuGUYCRXMMr-CF3M1Iuz-ornmamj_OVqp7m_TYfUdA/s320/A10+E80.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDb7SeVzLCU-UEPB2Fd_mnWee4RleLufXP89Rmui4ZaLEgWSRlf75Rb7DHwML5WxA_krifeCJ60hwNqjJ7wr6XuZ_-ymGcsmdzqDZ4JgYCpUaup-xgiHvHSWu25DKPmCSSY5_lg/s1600/Liguria.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">In the upper picture the house and winery show just at the right hand top of the picture. In the lower left hand corner of the lower picture you can see the railing of the patio sundeck. ( click on the pictures to enlarge them)</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Now, how is that for having some bridge and highway cutting through your vineyards? I asked the owner/winemaker his opinion on this and what if anything the locals had tried to do about this before construction. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDb7SeVzLCU-UEPB2Fd_mnWee4RleLufXP89Rmui4ZaLEgWSRlf75Rb7DHwML5WxA_krifeCJ60hwNqjJ7wr6XuZ_-ymGcsmdzqDZ4JgYCpUaup-xgiHvHSWu25DKPmCSSY5_lg/s1600/Liguria.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHDb7SeVzLCU-UEPB2Fd_mnWee4RleLufXP89Rmui4ZaLEgWSRlf75Rb7DHwML5WxA_krifeCJ60hwNqjJ7wr6XuZ_-ymGcsmdzqDZ4JgYCpUaup-xgiHvHSWu25DKPmCSSY5_lg/s320/Liguria.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Domenico looked at me and with a shrug of his shoulders asked 'What can you do about it? Now tell me what do do think of my wines?'</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Awesome!!! my reply.</span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Oh, yes, that is the highway and bridge showing in the background. </span></span></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span lang="EN-US" style="color: #1f497d; font-family: 'Calibri','sans-serif';"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And that is the difference between the German way and the Italian way </span></span></span></span></div>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-68949771184203768542012-05-07T14:16:00.000-07:002012-05-07T14:16:14.235-07:00Wines, Vines and Tattoos !!<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Recent "research" conducted outside bars in France, suggests that <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/16/people-with-tattoos-drink-alcohol_n_1429880.html"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>tattooed</b></i></span></a> individuals drink more</span></span></span>! <span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How unscientific can you get? And if you have seven or more tattoos you fall into the high risk category and may even be violent. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This type of research is not really useful and leaves many questions unanswered. For instance are these beer drinkers or do they have a preference for hard liquor? And were there any wine connoisseurs involved? </span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihR7a8GMIjolsIqMgr6UvLOywwTq3sHbLaM0dnnLMGxtRE_qW_c_V9Ipp1ZD2eDwkaHpFkKRkfdSf-lKcJ0gR_e82bEmdHKlbhSPyrtxfAn-kFDl6XlbAOu4wFBYI3VfNKd8OxEQ/s1600/winehouse_amy_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihR7a8GMIjolsIqMgr6UvLOywwTq3sHbLaM0dnnLMGxtRE_qW_c_V9Ipp1ZD2eDwkaHpFkKRkfdSf-lKcJ0gR_e82bEmdHKlbhSPyrtxfAn-kFDl6XlbAOu4wFBYI3VfNKd8OxEQ/s320/winehouse_amy_004.jpg" width="284" /></a><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Apparently Amy Jade Winehouse ( Yes Winehouse is her name ) liked her wines and her tattoos</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><i>Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011)) was an English
singer and songwriter, known for her eclectic mix of various musical genres
including R&B, soul, jazz, rock & roll, and ska. Winehouse was best
known for her soulful, powerful contralto vocals.</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">And how about Jennifer? Looks like a happy mix of tattoos and a good full bodied red wine.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> But Jennifer that is not how you hold a glass of good wine. Your finger prints will be all over that glass and if that was a white wine you would be warming it up pretty fast. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Recently attended a birthday party of a good friend of mine. Great food, good friends and yes the beautiful hostess shows how to hold a glass correctly.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> So I would like to make a suggestion to the French researchers. Go to Paris and talk to Olivier Magny owner of the very successful O Chateau. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> </span><img alt="O Chateau logo" border="0" height="100" hspace="5" name="ACCOUNT.IMAGE.55" src="http://ih.constantcontact.com/fs063/1102727623393/img/55.jpg" vspace="5" width="400" /><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;">Olivier and his staff have just celebrated their first anniversary and have become the hot spot wine bar in Paris. I wonder how many of his patrons have tattoos and is there a difference between someone just liking a glass of wine and a connoisseur? I am just being inquisitive for the sake of research. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: small;"> Be sure to click on the wine label and discover a new grape variety! </span></div>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-71585602992610344652012-04-22T17:34:00.000-07:002012-04-23T16:38:12.174-07:00Chinese Wine.....Color me Red !!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There is not a week that goes by without some news about China's wine consumption or production.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The key players are all names that are instantly recognized in the world of wine. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Among them are<b> <i><a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/484977/lafite-makes-historic-move-into-china-exclusive">Lafite</a></i> </b>and <b><i><a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/529752/mo-t-hennessy-to-make-red-wine-in-china?utm_source=Cheetahmail&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Newsletter-200212&dec">Moet Hennessy. </a></i></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But its not just wine companies moving into China, it is also a Chinese invasion into traditional wine regions and ventures outside of China. Can't afford the rent in Bordeaux anymore? No problem. Just make sure you clean up before you leave. New Chinese <b><i><a href="http://www.winechina.com/en/read.asp?id=2012022891">merchants</a></i></b> are moving in. And of course while you are at it, if you are in the mood for it, why not<b> <i><a href="http://www.winechina.com/en/read.asp?id=2012022891">buy</a></i></b> a vineyard in Bordeaux. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On a more serious note looking into the future, there maybe no future for the famed Chateau Latour. Or at least there will be no more negociants handling their futures. Is this<b> </b><a href="http://www.decanter.com/bordeaux-2011/en-primeur-coverage/529894/chateau-latour-to-leave-en-primeur-system"><b><i>Latour's</i></b> </a>way of ensuring a good chunk of the lucrative Chinese market? </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">While we are at it, we should consider another lucrative market. I am surprised that the world's number one wine glass company, Riedel, has not started a huge promotional effort or better yet, built a glassware factory in China. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> But never mind, The Wine Enthusiast will take care of that aspect. The wine accessory side of The Wine Enthusiast does a huge online business selling every conceivable wine gadget and of course wine glasses are a large part of that. Smart move<a href="http://www.grapewallofchina.com/2012/03/26/grape-wall-qa-wine-enthusiasts-adam-strum-on-yesmywine-partnership-china-mag/"> <b><i>Mr.Strum !</i></b></a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So I have discussed the more serious note about Chateau Latour. But now to the real serious matter of this blog post. Do you remember as a child coloring with crayons or pencils? How proud we were to bring home our master piece. My father was a great artist and his paintings were loved by all. Unfortunately I did not inherit his talent. I even had a hard time staying within the lines. But it was great fun. Put the fun of coloring and wine knowledge together and what do you get? Why of course Louise Wilson's brilliant idea of "The Wine Lover's Coloring book". You can get your copy at<i><b> <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Wine-Lovers-Coloring-Book/dp/1466275790/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1335132642&sr=1-1">Amazon</a>. </b></i> When it arrives, take a break, pour yourself a glass of wine, preferably from the region you are about to color and let the world go by one color at a time. But for the purposes of this post be sure to color China....red! </span></span></span><br />
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<br />Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-35863897370341615732012-01-14T21:12:00.000-08:002012-01-15T00:10:24.568-08:00Red Wine is Good for Your Health..Yes...No...Maybe!<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">It all started when 60 Minutes with Morley Safer aired their "French Paradox" show on November 17, 1991.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">Over 33 million people watched 60 Minutes that evening. Sales of red wine increased dramatically and were up 44 percent over the same month of the previous year. Sales of red wine for the entire year following the initial broadcast went up 39 percent. The American public embraced red wine as the newest health food. That was over 20 years ago but lets have a look at the show that started it all.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">Much has been said and written about the subject of wine and health since then. In April of 2009, the Wine Spectator published an article titled <b style="color: red;"><i><span style="color: #cc0000;"></span></i></b></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/Is-Drinking-Wine-a-Breast-Cancer-Risk_4745"><b style="color: red;"><i>Is Drinking Wine a Breast Cancer Risk? </i></b> </a> </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">Yes, according to this article! </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">Fast forward to January 2012 and the good news is NO.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"> Red wine could lower risk of breast cancer. </span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"> A Google search for breast cancer and red wine consumption turns up a staggering 32,500,000 entries. For your enlightenment I chose the following from the<b style="color: #cc0000;"> <i><a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/13/red-wine-breast-cancer-risk_n_1190647.html">Huffington Post</a></i></b><span style="color: red;"><b style="color: #cc0000;"> </b> </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">Along with the good, there is the bad.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">Getting plenty of news coverage, especially in the wine press, is the startling revelation about fraudulent results from researcher Dr. Das at the University of Connecticut. And yes a Google search will once again show plenty of entries. Here is what <b><i><a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/01/12/us-red-wine-heart-idUSTRE80B0BH20120112" style="color: red;">Reuters</a><span style="color: red;"> </span> </i></b>reported on the incident.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">But I can report on research that is both reliable and truthful. Years of personal research conducted by myself can attest to the very healthful benefits of wine consumption, particularly red wine.</span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;">I can also attest to the fact that no cuddly, furry little creatures were sacrificed in my extensive research.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-size: small;"> All that remains now for me is to wish you all a very healthy 2012. And may I encourage you to do your own research. All with moderation of course.</span><i><span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></i><br />
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<b><span style="font-size: large;"><i> à votre santé</i></span></b></div>
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<br />Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-46253181216143599402012-01-05T20:34:00.000-08:002012-01-05T21:17:59.619-08:00Trips to Wine Regions in France....Begin in Paris!!<span style="color: #274e13; font-size: small;">There has been a noticeable</span><span style="color: #274e13;"> absence of posts to my blog for a while. All for good reasons which belong in 2011. But this is 2012 and one New Year's resolution I am going to keep is to post regularly again.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">Let me begin with wishing every one a Happy and Healthy New year.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">I think we will see some significant changes in the wonderful world of wine, although I am not quite ready for paper wine bottles.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">One thing that will not change for me is that I begin and end my trips to French wine regions in Paris.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">More on that in a moment. But first if you are planning a trip to Paris, I can highly re<span style="background-color: blue;"></span></span><span style="color: #274e13;">commend<span style="font-size: large;"> <a href="http://www.bonjourparis.com/" style="color: #cc0000;">Bonjour Paris</a></span></span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #cc0000;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">Visit their site and be sure to sign up for their newsletter or sign up for their premium membership. </span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><b>Bonjour Paris </b>is the ultimate guide to Paris and France.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;">The city of light has been fascinating to visit but now there is another good reason.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">When I first started blogging I had the pleasure of receiving a comment from one of the first French wine bloggers, Olivier Magny and I have been following his career since then.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">Olivier has recently opened a wine bar in Paris that has become an overnight success and I am looking forward on my next trip to Paris, to visit him there. </span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">The</span><span style="color: #274e13;"> <b>Ô Chateau Wine Tasting and Wine Bar </b>is not your average wine bar. To give you an idea, visit their website and have a look around <span style="font-size: large;"><a href="http://www.o-chateau.com/" style="color: #cc0000;">O Chateau</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">After you have signed up at <b>Bonjour Paris</b> and got the scoop on where to eat, stay and visit, there is something else you must do. Get a copy of the Olivier's recently released book titled '<i><b>Stuff Parisians Like'.</b></i></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;">So what are Parisians really like? And what do Parisians really NOT like? You will get an insiders close up look in this 'hilariouslly perceptive' book. In impeccable English Olivier gives us an insight into what Parisians think, do and like. It is cool to drink San Pe and love cherry tomatoes. It is also hyper sympa to go away on a ' le p'tit weekend'. And Parisians love their 'le metro' or at least till its on strike. Ah, but line 14 never goes on strike, it is fully automated.</span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;">I took this picture the last time I was in Paris and call it 'Art in Motion'. Click on it and enlarge it, you will see some of Olivier's Parisians. So are these graffiti artists considered sympa or are they 'beaufs' Olivier?</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;">In his final chapter, Olivier laments the fact that Parisians do not drink enough wine and finds it quite disconcerting. He is doing his best to change that. So am I, Olivier, so am I.</span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"> Have to go now. I have a glass of a great Burgundy waiting for me. Picked it up while in Burgundy a couple of years ago. <b>A votre Sante!!</b></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"> </span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-8061695771698454192011-08-28T14:53:00.000-07:002011-08-28T20:40:52.544-07:00Wine, Women and a Cardinal Rule of Tasting.....!!<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It is good to see more and more women involved in the wine industry as writers, wine makers and on the sales side of the industry.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">There are also some great web pages and blogs written by women. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.womenforwinesense.org/">Women for Wine Sense</a></b> is an organization that has recently celebrated its 21st birthday.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">As well on the consumer side, women outnumber men significantly in the purchase of wine.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><b><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/28/arts/28iht-women.html">Women</a></b> </span></span></span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> buy 77 percent and consume 60 percent of the wine in the United States. </span><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is generally known that women can smell and taste wine better than men. In my own experience I have observed this time and again. I write an email wine newsletter in which I review wines. I have a panel of 8 tasters, 4 women and 4 men ( not always the same tasters ) and we blind taste the wines. The ladies give me better descriptors both of aromas and flavor profiles. As an added bonus, I can read their notes better. I hasten to add that I have a couple of gents who are regularly on my panel and who are outstanding tasters. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> My annual sparkling wine tasting just before the holiday season starts is usually more ladies than men and they have a blast.</span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFV5Dm9zmPJlGAOGTv15xjK1V-Y8GOqV3N08dutgnOSY-Qyy4RThq5A8bsVcKkchPEub60lgy6FK_YlUBNPfvcNIRZH36p1WU8tfsuQRbaQN_Nm11NU9U119N1qpwvm6Bn3OTmw/s1600/Bubbly+tasting.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggFV5Dm9zmPJlGAOGTv15xjK1V-Y8GOqV3N08dutgnOSY-Qyy4RThq5A8bsVcKkchPEub60lgy6FK_YlUBNPfvcNIRZH36p1WU8tfsuQRbaQN_Nm11NU9U119N1qpwvm6Bn3OTmw/s320/Bubbly+tasting.jpg" width="320" /> </a><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Six ladies and two men. I am taking the picture and therefore not visible. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Given all this, why in the world does a marketing firm come up with what I consider a put down of women's wine sense and knowledge by creating a wine and <b> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/the-womens-blog-with-jane-martinson/2011/jun/14/wine-in-perfume-shaped-bottles">bottling</a> </b> it in a perfume shaped bottle?</span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6LFP8KFQ13Lvhdcl03LIEVFUA-7D4B7_omOHaet6fWYtnKBHmVukmfHJYbhbywZ9w9BQx0_fQtOJHmP553qb_gWIgi5ovEAYWpHodp1HyOhn2PDb8vnH7-vHsFhjQ9OlfuIN1w/s1600/chanel-no-5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6LFP8KFQ13Lvhdcl03LIEVFUA-7D4B7_omOHaet6fWYtnKBHmVukmfHJYbhbywZ9w9BQx0_fQtOJHmP553qb_gWIgi5ovEAYWpHodp1HyOhn2PDb8vnH7-vHsFhjQ9OlfuIN1w/s320/chanel-no-5.jpg" width="185" /></a></div><span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br />
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<span style="color: #38761d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> One of the cardinal rules when tasting wine is not to wear perfume or any other scents. Obviously the marketers and makers of this product show their lack of knowledge and sense. At least that is the way I see it!!</span></span> Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-60381193727379698532011-05-09T10:04:00.000-07:002011-05-09T10:06:52.037-07:00Is That Isinglass in my Wineglass??<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSq09KlDsqSbbpMGFmUjGWnIZ5Es86jGXmBR7z1Q6H2S5Mj5pxW2AR3sypoybNCrNpvCToswJF1_ikwmONsSbiF_kYb-wnJ_UgEJr54yMLyn6_FmAT-wt4wupN3U_sDCPBUGyNQ/s1600/Isin.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="263" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUSq09KlDsqSbbpMGFmUjGWnIZ5Es86jGXmBR7z1Q6H2S5Mj5pxW2AR3sypoybNCrNpvCToswJF1_ikwmONsSbiF_kYb-wnJ_UgEJr54yMLyn6_FmAT-wt4wupN3U_sDCPBUGyNQ/s320/Isin.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The backroom beurocrats are at it once again. If you need a make work project, pick on wine labels. This time it is the ever vigilant crew at Health Canada</span></span></span>.<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And isinglass is one of the culprits the unsuspecting public must be protected against. Isinglass is a derivative of swim bladders in fish and most often sturgeons are used in its production.</span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlJFQXyEMbkmuQhGic8C0dfw6STrJR3kNihgmtc664hMaQqhDnbLxgKcuMMdzqZkp9pfdgLlL5dXP0-VrTr-u_ZJCx3xLYQbtDYZ8IWqMhm3q8pkgYw_L-SvOATlBv6tzeIgheQ/s1600/swim+bladder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="212" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjzlJFQXyEMbkmuQhGic8C0dfw6STrJR3kNihgmtc664hMaQqhDnbLxgKcuMMdzqZkp9pfdgLlL5dXP0-VrTr-u_ZJCx3xLYQbtDYZ8IWqMhm3q8pkgYw_L-SvOATlBv6tzeIgheQ/s320/swim+bladder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Living on the west coast of Canada on Vancouver Island, home to our beautiful salmon, naturally I show you a picture of a Sockeye salmon swim bladder. What a magnificent piece of equipment to have on board.The air in the bladder provides buoyancy and thus allowing them to float. The amount of air can be adjusted so they can hover at different levels in the water.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">But I am straying away from the point of my blog entry. The point being that this new label requirement is another bit of idiocy foisted upon the wine industry. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I won't go into details because in his usual right on style </span></span><br />
<span class="articlebylinethrow"><a class="heavyseriflbl sm" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/beppi-crosariol/" title="Go to BEPPI CROSARIOL’s columnist page">BEPPI CROSARIOL </a></span><a class="heavyseriflbl sm" href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/beppi-crosariol/" title="Go to BEPPI CROSARIOL’s columnist page"><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">of the Globe and Mail</span></span></a><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">has written <b><i><a href="http://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/food-and-wine/wine/beppi-crosariol/warning-this-wine-may-contain-fish-bladders/article2008666/page1/">an article</a></i></b> that says it all and is well worth reading. The most telling fact of all is that between 2000 and 2011 there were 700,000 bottles returned to the LCBO and of that number 380 were investigated for causing alleged illnesses and only 'one' was related to an allergic reaction and this was due to quinine found in an Italian bitter. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">What insanity and what an incredible waste of taxpayers money.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I smell something fishy here or is it the belch of a powerful beer lobby?</span></span><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <br />
</span></span> <span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-90728090748466581972011-04-10T12:46:00.000-07:002011-04-10T12:46:39.755-07:00To Blend or not to Blend....that is the question!!<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">A short while ago I read an article by a well known wine writer proclaiming that in a few years all wines will be blended wines.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I had just tasted a blended wine made up of and get this... Pinot Noir..Cabernet Sauvignon and Gamay Noir. Really now? </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> I chose to ignore this off the cuff remark. Then I read it again by another wine writer. Had these two gents attended the same wine conference? </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now,as we have seen it reported over and over again, the US total yearly consumption of wine is now greater than in France. But those figures are like comparing apples and oranges. On a per person basis consumption, the US is still far behind France. But this statistic is based on a total population figure.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> The significance however lies in the fact that wine is finally becoming much more a part of our culture.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"> Along with this new found thirst comes an eager search for more knowledge about wine. And thus statements such as the above might be taken seriously by our new wine loving friends and should not be made by responsible wine writers. There is just too much nonsense out there. At least that is my opinion. </span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So I thought I would check with a couple of people who I respect highly and get their opinion.</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">First I checked with Alice Feiring. I take you to a post I did on her a couple of years ago. I loved reading her very interesting<a href="http://wwpress.blogspot.com/2009/03/feel-lovewhen-you-are-wine-critic.html"><i><b> <span style="color: #cc0000;">book</span></b></i>.</a></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">So here is what she had to say as per quotation.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i>"I have been in the blend camp for quite some time. I sort of feel it's the salvation of California as well as other regions that might have spotty 'great' terroir". </i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Yes of course. Bordeaux, the 'King of Wines' producing some of the best blended wines in the world. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">Since I had used Burgundy's Pinot Noir and Germany's Rieslings as examples of single variety wines her response was as follows.</span></span><br />
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<div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;">"<i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The comparison to Burgundy or the Mosel is pretty unfair as those regions have been one grape grape one bottle for quite a while, but they spent 100s of years fine tuning which grapes grow best on the soils"</i></span><br />
</div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Ah, yes..Burgundy Pinot Noir ..the 'Queen of Wines"</span></span></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Along comes modern day science and technology to help us out and it is now possible to determine which grape variety is most suited to a specific vineyards plot.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Dr. Pat Bowen has done extensive research in this field and by means of the GIS or Geographical Imaging System, site specific grape varieties can be determined. </span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Poof.... hundreds of years can be bypassed by modern science.</span></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Read the highlights of that research <i style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.winesandvines.com/template.cfm?section=features&content=48290">here</a>.</i> </span></span></span></div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Going back to my archived blog entry on Alice Feiring, I realized that I had written about one of my favorite German vintners as well on that same blog entry. </span></span></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXH_Nz00yVJkZB5558-qD-oiYEQtkODAmAxZ3TKr8YsNoZs4kZPkf5WvIrLQMul0yCwAjQnNIDDdsKBBhvfo0-us0TpDk1cIT24OHHIayDlmJHUWIR6KqmUMh4NYrzQg9LnJD8Q/s1600/DSC02427+B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQXH_Nz00yVJkZB5558-qD-oiYEQtkODAmAxZ3TKr8YsNoZs4kZPkf5WvIrLQMul0yCwAjQnNIDDdsKBBhvfo0-us0TpDk1cIT24OHHIayDlmJHUWIR6KqmUMh4NYrzQg9LnJD8Q/s320/DSC02427+B.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div><span style="font-family: georgia,serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </i></span></div><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><i style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"> </span></i><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;">Why are we smiling so much? Me ...because I had just tasted some wonderful Mosels and <a href="http://www.selbach-oster.de/enweingut.htm">Johannes Selbach..</a>.. because he is justifiably proud of his single variety wines.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"> So I contacted him and again as per quote.</span></span></span><br />
<div align="left" dir="ltr"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="859095316-07042011"><br />
</span></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span class="859095316-07042011">"<span style="font-size: small;">We do NOT blend our Selbach-Oster Rieslings with anything else and have no intention to do so.</span></span></span></i></div><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="859095316-07042011">There are grapes that are suitable for blending and there are grapes with little flavour that benefit from blending but good, genuine Riesling certainly doesn't need it.</span></i></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="859095316-07042011">I firmly believe in the future of handcrafted, authentic varietal wines if they are grown in suitable climate and soil because they will offer the wine drinker a sense of place, terroir, as well as the pleasures of varietal character.</span></i></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><span class="859095316-07042011">That being said, if the individual components don't have enough character to make a distinctive wine or if the blend is better than its components, blending makes sense. Blending also makes sense where the married components together enhance complexity and typicity ( and here Bordeaux certainly is a classic example for successful blends )."</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="859095316-07042011">So there you have it. </span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: small;"><span class="859095316-07042011">Let me finish with an image of my family blend of wine which consists of 55% Pinot Noir, 40% Pinot Noir and just to add a touch of complexity... 5% Pinot Noir. </span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9w778KG4vpBwuarULP-VVuD1I2MtUbUt7AhbWTd6BD59hWdOrw9UusyBCub3T9o-cNoNFbpdmIw6UmRUrtfS-RbJCAKfnKFycd9gAvqJLv3b-m0nV_UYC77Bv0gnMIoTsijdlyg/s1600/bottle_SantenayClosdeMalteRouge.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9w778KG4vpBwuarULP-VVuD1I2MtUbUt7AhbWTd6BD59hWdOrw9UusyBCub3T9o-cNoNFbpdmIw6UmRUrtfS-RbJCAKfnKFycd9gAvqJLv3b-m0nV_UYC77Bv0gnMIoTsijdlyg/s320/bottle_SantenayClosdeMalteRouge.jpg" width="157" /></a></div><div align="left" dir="ltr" style="color: #0c343d; font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I raise my glass of blended wine, straight from the above bottle, to you my dear readers!!</span></span></div><div align="left" dir="ltr"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"><span class="859095316-07042011"></span></span> </div>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-78272059894204799092011-03-08T17:04:00.000-08:002011-03-08T17:08:37.470-08:00Global Cooling in Wine Country.....!!<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On February 2, 2011 Punxsutawney Phil did not see his shadow and thus according to tradition an early spring was predicted. Within a week, I was snowed in and could not get out of my driveway. I finally managed to get out but on the way back in, I ended up teetering on the edge of the ditch and had to get a tow truck to help me out. Ended up parking my car at the start of my driveway and carry two big bags of groceries for about a 1/2 kilometer stretch down my driveway to get home. Miserable unseasonably cold weather. Fortunately I had plenty of wine on hand and a raging fire in my fireplace to keep me warm.</span></span></span><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSriyWFhHsb_woZWnkWy2umWMrlxBB_yLYuhFDBmO0gBM4EwCM6h1vAv-T2YirgLNdweMV8zVfPPvQ8tXLaWeWHMDZwUkkxHLPFbiiL2dPmXcmWEc2KEL5F6deFv2cRVSvyJaK6A/s1600/Meyers+lemons.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSriyWFhHsb_woZWnkWy2umWMrlxBB_yLYuhFDBmO0gBM4EwCM6h1vAv-T2YirgLNdweMV8zVfPPvQ8tXLaWeWHMDZwUkkxHLPFbiiL2dPmXcmWEc2KEL5F6deFv2cRVSvyJaK6A/s320/Meyers+lemons.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> On the 26th of February, I received an e-mail from my dear friend, Jan in California with a series of pictures, including the Myers lemon tree in her garden. The subject title was 'It never snows in Scotts Valley????'</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">California Wine Country was in for sub <a href="http://wattsupwiththat.com/2011/02/26/hard-freeze-california-wine-country/"><i><b>freezing temperatures</b></i></a> on that day.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">On Tuesday January 13th <b>2009</b>, featured speaker Kim Cahill, a viticulture associate at UC Davis, spoke to the concerned Napa Sustainable <a href="http://napavalleyregister.com/news/local/article_f0fd9e72-4ef3-509f-b56b-285123799d1e.html"><i><b>Winegrowing Group</b></i></a> and detailed a predicted warming trend due to climate change for Napa vineyards.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now hold on a minute and fast forward to February 7, 2011. Forget about that warming trend because now a new in depth study carried out for the Napa <a href="http://www.decanter.com/news/wine-news/515188/climate-change-may-cool-napa-valley-says-study"><i><b>Valley Vintners Association</b></i></a> suggests that climate change may cool the Napa Valley.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Of course these days it is no longer called 'Global Warming'. There is no money to be made with such a scary concept and terminology. 'Climate Change' is the in thing and there are plenty of greenbacks to be made. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Why not attend the III World Congress on <a href="http://www.sigmahardware.com/comunicacion_twa/visualizar.php?fecha=1297175105"><i><b>Climate Change</b></i></a> and Wine? For a mere 575 Euros you can get your VIP ticket and hear Kofi Annan speak. But you better hurry because after April 1st, the ticket price goes to 675 Euros.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">The one that really gets me is the Carbon Credit concept. If you want to really understand what that is all about, look at this article on <a href="http://www.bnet.com/article/what-is-carbon-credit/187036"><i><b>Carbon Credits.</b></i></a></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">This informative article was written back in 2008 and a mere $60 billion had already been traded worldwide. What are the figures for today? </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Imagine trading and making money on <b><span style="color: red;">Hot Air??</span></b></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I think, I must do my part and trade my car in for a much more fuel efficient green car. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-OVc1ji_k9CI5i_t_VJ8ZBVXbxXPQwweYZ8cCs_J3_TQaj8dSr3cakKScw7YruDRUwmjNmfUWN-0HNin6WJ0urVeXiqmijbEXueF0rEEXd29knsbt99Wb7a48nMhqtEOTUEa4kA/s1600/Green+car.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-OVc1ji_k9CI5i_t_VJ8ZBVXbxXPQwweYZ8cCs_J3_TQaj8dSr3cakKScw7YruDRUwmjNmfUWN-0HNin6WJ0urVeXiqmijbEXueF0rEEXd29knsbt99Wb7a48nMhqtEOTUEa4kA/s320/Green+car.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And I cannot get the lyrics of Johnny Rivers' song <a href="http://www.lyricstime.com/johnny-rivers-green-green-lyrics.html"><i><b>"Green Green"</b></i></a> out of my mind.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So sing along with me while we join the New Christy Minstrels.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I do hope that our Vancouver Island and surrounding Islands vineyards see a much warmer 2011 year. Most did not see their grape crops reach maturity because of the cold and wet weather. We want to see a return of Global warming!</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Lets all drink to that!!</span></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-35114456573776572172011-02-06T12:15:00.000-08:002011-02-06T14:08:58.568-08:00Dieting?... Check Your New Wine Label! <span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Once again wine label requirements are under attack. This time it is the US and Australia. I did a post in January last year when Brussels was rattling its chains. Here is the link to that entry.</span></span></span><br />
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http://wwpress.blogspot.com/2010/01/wine-labels-under-attack-by-brussels.html<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAowQhTAkahoQGV66DwkVGR7vwDrtrQdz5uHrZ49Dzf4-lHdkwswqUJqS44qwbfMvxn85au1V3IfVB_s7D94HmjavhAEda_b-MiMuNhQP8IbVNCYh41eIrtOB6DjThxO6116U6w/s1600/etiquette-denrees.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNAowQhTAkahoQGV66DwkVGR7vwDrtrQdz5uHrZ49Dzf4-lHdkwswqUJqS44qwbfMvxn85au1V3IfVB_s7D94HmjavhAEda_b-MiMuNhQP8IbVNCYh41eIrtOB6DjThxO6116U6w/s320/etiquette-denrees.jpg" width="232" /></a></div> <span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">It seems bureaucrats everywhere feel they must protect the dumb public by forcing wineries to print the number of calories in their wines on their wine labels. This would change of course with each vintage and thus creating additional costs for the wineries. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Australia is moving ahead on this <b style="color: #cc0000;"><a href="http://www.theage.com.au/national/report-urges-nutrition-labelling-for-beer-wine-20110115-19s1i.html">requirement</a> </b></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Now the <b style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2011/01/plan_to_list_calories_on_wine.html">US</a> </b>is also considering label changes. Now I ask you would anyone seriously look at a back label and do calorie comparisons between two or three wines?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> 'Look at this one dear, it has 20 calories less than the one you are looking at'. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">When you buy your bacon do you for one minute think that it is not high in calories, but you better check all the bacon labels to see if you can shave off a few calories? How utterly ridiculous. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">We buy wines because we thoroughly enjoy them and we know they are good for our health.</span></span></span><br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidELGFlaNIa0zucBBVSNEzWUiBNjPDg-CnBqgLffQHRILwMPDIeFwPs4DnDGsoWnPmiF3MASBt1gEd5tmhSPV3opkJu22H1e2YYROQSNKHhUqhpTcpAosk_myeoq9g6LZxT1HKWA/s1600/diet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidELGFlaNIa0zucBBVSNEzWUiBNjPDg-CnBqgLffQHRILwMPDIeFwPs4DnDGsoWnPmiF3MASBt1gEd5tmhSPV3opkJu22H1e2YYROQSNKHhUqhpTcpAosk_myeoq9g6LZxT1HKWA/s320/diet.jpg" width="200" /></a><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">How about equal opportunities and allow statements of wine being good for your health to be displayed as well?</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> Latest research has just discovered that red wine contains <b style="color: red;"><a href="http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/44401">chemicals </a></b>used in the treatment of diabetes.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Doctors are loath to tell patients that wine maybe good for their health for fear of turning their patients into alcoholics. But the use of wine in treating various ailments has been with us for centuries. </span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I am in possession of a book called 'Healing Wines' by Manfred Kohnlechner tracing the use of wines in medicine from antiquity to modern times. Fascinating reading. It was published and printed by Autumn Press in 1981, so its not likely too many copies are still around. But Roger Corder's <b>The Red Wine Diet</b> is readily available. It is a well written and thoroughly researched book. Decanter states " Quite possibly the most useful wine book published this year"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Roger's opening sentence in the first chapter is as follows: "Wine drinkers generally are <b>healthier </b>and often <b>live longer</b> than people who don't drink wine on a regular basis"</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">I say Amen to that and raise my glass in a toast to all you wine lovers out there!!</span></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-80936298590174760262011-01-11T12:17:00.000-08:002011-01-11T12:17:34.656-08:00Be Good Hearted... and Drink Red Wine!!<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;">It never ceases to amaze me how much research is deemed necessary before we finally come to the conclusion and accept the fact that drinking wine, especially red wine, is good for our hearts. And here is the latest as reported in BMJ..helping doctors make better decisions. The research paper is titled <a href="http://www.bmj.com/content/341/bmj.c6077.full?sid=d3053a98-4073-4aad-b1fe-daf02fc38fa1"><b>"Prospective Epidemiological Study of Myorcardial Infarction"</b></a></span></span></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;">It is worth reading but you probably should have a glass of wine or two while consuming this information and if you proceed to glass number three, try saying the above title real fast three times.</span></span></span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;">Now here is some research that has just been reported. It has come to light that humans were drinking wine over <a href="http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE70A0XS20110111"><b>6000 years ago.</b></a></span></span></span></span></span> <br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">And we are still around doing our best to convince Neo-Prohibitionists and other anti-drinking groups that drinking wine is good for their health and we are going to be around for a long time.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">My good friend Keith Watt over on Pender Island, owner of</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> <a href="http://www.morningbay.ca/index.php"><b>Morning Bay Estate Winery and Vineyards</b></a>, wrote a nice sensible, summing it all up article on <a href="http://www.morningbay.ca/wine-benefits.php">wine and health.</a></span></span></span> <br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Good wines, good friends, laughter and love. How can we go wrong? Of course drinking too much wine may be bad for your health. Everything in moderation. I love crisp bacon and could eat it all day and every day but that would not be good for my health, would it now?</span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So let us make sure that when they dig around an archaeological site 6000 years from now, they will say that in the year of 2011,they sure knew how to live the good live.</span></span><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgyO98P0C-qOGLJ9W9kNXS5NK99-84iFQCwyWQ7p0cVtY-HYTjZBjLp1fLvBPi31lNriUQXYxi0BRUMO33IwTd7xat5TsFj4c_Y3xwzVJt2sexzJkqi9JKz5km1FZFnYRoFNWMQ/s1600/ur+health.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCgyO98P0C-qOGLJ9W9kNXS5NK99-84iFQCwyWQ7p0cVtY-HYTjZBjLp1fLvBPi31lNriUQXYxi0BRUMO33IwTd7xat5TsFj4c_Y3xwzVJt2sexzJkqi9JKz5km1FZFnYRoFNWMQ/s320/ur+health.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">May you have a happy heart this year and every year and enjoy your wine in peace and in good company!</span></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-91187467064467064692010-12-31T16:22:00.000-08:002010-12-31T16:22:52.531-08:00Peace, Wine Wishes and Tiny Bubbles for 2011 !!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0_oZmawAAyKze4JTKF4NlR4PZBzeQRnhZsoUgqDIRSuLY9b1kiujSWCuVCfcIwOb7oUpnKclTr4Z-I3O4vRfoaLJ11qv1FwrDz9FznJvTNhIIrkXf7zb-dWorjU9zLrDW5kLaw/s1600/MORNING+SKY+IN+RIQUEWIHR-1b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"> </a></div><span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"> May I share with you, on this last day of 2010, my thoughts and wishes.</span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #274e13;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">If you have been under a lot of pressure during this past year, then just let it all go and out of your system, like the Cremant d'Alsace in the picture below. But do not let your cares and worries build up inside you until the inevitable blow up happens similar to the mishap in the below right picture. </span></span></span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjKw-t3-xtze9Wh-YUvXdmuo07OV2GFZyHotOwEJIaBdJpXk3EpMGZNGeyS15thbnFpgsRWlUF1ftMX3g4T3shxkRbVkdGnMGBaqv0-KF0-8dIH69MRMyxAYkl5QL6HQdVL1vZg/s1600/Yikes%2521.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTjKw-t3-xtze9Wh-YUvXdmuo07OV2GFZyHotOwEJIaBdJpXk3EpMGZNGeyS15thbnFpgsRWlUF1ftMX3g4T3shxkRbVkdGnMGBaqv0-KF0-8dIH69MRMyxAYkl5QL6HQdVL1vZg/s320/Yikes%2521.jpg" width="263" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKUqGWJwS41F7FspeQautFKiIi0Uy1DPCAHTSUjDEEOFuBUdzzboGpnLWvzij-SiPD_Xfs0IU6oatJlNQl8Q08_ja987SoWrb5wCqq9IfXYlPE_QU83w_FUPBnzXbj1JrmhlYiw/s1600/1+bit+of+pressure.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKUqGWJwS41F7FspeQautFKiIi0Uy1DPCAHTSUjDEEOFuBUdzzboGpnLWvzij-SiPD_Xfs0IU6oatJlNQl8Q08_ja987SoWrb5wCqq9IfXYlPE_QU83w_FUPBnzXbj1JrmhlYiw/s320/1+bit+of+pressure.jpg" width="207" /></a><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuKUqGWJwS41F7FspeQautFKiIi0Uy1DPCAHTSUjDEEOFuBUdzzboGpnLWvzij-SiPD_Xfs0IU6oatJlNQl8Q08_ja987SoWrb5wCqq9IfXYlPE_QU83w_FUPBnzXbj1JrmhlYiw/s1600/1+bit+of+pressure.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><br />
</a></div><span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">Well maybe I was having too much fun, or shall we say maybe one glass of wine too many with the obvious and dubious wording in the video below.</span></span></span><br />
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<object height="385" width="480"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hNTe0-PIy_c?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hNTe0-PIy_c?fs=1&hl=en_US&rel=0&color1=0x234900&color2=0x4e9e00" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object><br />
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<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">So for 2011 may your troubles be small, like the tiny bubbles in your bubbly.</span></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #0c343d;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;">May your days be filled with sunshine and even on the days when a little rain does fall into your life, may a beautiful rainbow await you at the end of the day. </span></span></span> <br />
<i><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Peace, prosperity and tranquility to all for 2011! </span></b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"></span></b></span></i><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0_oZmawAAyKze4JTKF4NlR4PZBzeQRnhZsoUgqDIRSuLY9b1kiujSWCuVCfcIwOb7oUpnKclTr4Z-I3O4vRfoaLJ11qv1FwrDz9FznJvTNhIIrkXf7zb-dWorjU9zLrDW5kLaw/s1600/MORNING+SKY+IN+RIQUEWIHR-1b.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="258" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiN0_oZmawAAyKze4JTKF4NlR4PZBzeQRnhZsoUgqDIRSuLY9b1kiujSWCuVCfcIwOb7oUpnKclTr4Z-I3O4vRfoaLJ11qv1FwrDz9FznJvTNhIIrkXf7zb-dWorjU9zLrDW5kLaw/s320/MORNING+SKY+IN+RIQUEWIHR-1b.jpg" width="320" /> </a><br />
<i><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">And of course a day without wine is like a day without sunshine. Happy New Year to all my friends and followers of my blog!</span></b></span></i><br />
<i><span style="color: purple;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">Wilf</span></b></span></i> Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-43931815926517530392010-12-13T13:15:00.000-08:002010-12-13T15:32:44.857-08:00Become a Wine Expert<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Many tastings, many events, many friends and wow, did I get snow,have kept me from doing a posting. Yes, Vancouver Island with the mildest climate in Canada did get its first and hopefully last snow. Thought I would share this picture taken on my front yard with a little Holiday holly added for the season.<br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwTNLkGuWoOXB-0LSYbIrPBOg-UyQli1qwn2n5n7j93JWz6I6BprjnwmdH77PneNwT9SZGLd0fg1aA1qED6PQD7Vw-IP8hESytlHYB59go0TkvyavuldKDU06lZDhrztZZi1Whw/s1600/DSC04012+B-1b.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 275px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWwTNLkGuWoOXB-0LSYbIrPBOg-UyQli1qwn2n5n7j93JWz6I6BprjnwmdH77PneNwT9SZGLd0fg1aA1qED6PQD7Vw-IP8hESytlHYB59go0TkvyavuldKDU06lZDhrztZZi1Whw/s320/DSC04012+B-1b.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550282689726399714" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">The weather man of course was wrong as usual with the prediction of 4 centimeters and 10 for higher elevations. Well I am not that high, but I got 14 cms</span></span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Snowed in for 3 days, but plenty of food and good fire wood on hand to keep a blazing yuletide fire going. And of course tasted some wines from my cellar that had been waiting for a special occasion.</span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Now the title of this blog entry is 'Become a Wine Expert' and there are plenty of wine courses offered</span></span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">But if you do not want to spend 3 to 4 hundred and even more dollars and tie up every Tuesday evening for the next 3 months, here is a fun way for the beginner and even those who already have some good understanding of wine, to learn.<br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eYyS7KBv4Osl2I3pfr7zinJGQQauWt1aM38YNQ5rnH1yAgnHeXVEursldSEgvKjsJdCErouD2iygBbNPuTgOMxnkB8lIZVFwX0a9kd6tBZoRjx7ERlXbXw_wkqKhMCSHX5qIIg/s1600/wine+tasting+uncorked.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 256px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6eYyS7KBv4Osl2I3pfr7zinJGQQauWt1aM38YNQ5rnH1yAgnHeXVEursldSEgvKjsJdCErouD2iygBbNPuTgOMxnkB8lIZVFwX0a9kd6tBZoRjx7ERlXbXw_wkqKhMCSHX5qIIg/s320/wine+tasting+uncorked.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550281385900957410" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> It is even more fun when you get a small group of your wine loving friends together. Internationally known wine writer, taster and teacher, <a href="http://www.schuster.f9.co.uk/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Michael Schuster</span></a></span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">has recently created a handy dandy, nifty little box full of cards loaded with great information. Pick a card, any card and you are presented with very useful information. It starts with a set of cards on the 'basics', then a set on 'grape varieties', followed by 'tasting techniques' and finally 'tasting lessons'. Some great advice for pairing wine and food included as well. Very, very well done Michael. Let the fun begin and you are on your way to becoming an expert.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /> On my trip to Italy and specifically, Tuscany, I relied heavily on the foremost expert on Italian wines, <a href="http://www.joebastianich.com/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Joseph Bastianich. </span></a><br />Visit his site and go to media and then books. His book 'Vino Italiano The Regional Wines of Italy' is a wonderful, excellent read on Italian wines and his 'Vino Italiano Buying Guide, the ultimate Quick Reference to the Great wines of Italy' is a must have book. I took it along on my trip. </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYp5XkiVYN54KNh68VxF8lE2E3kALRmuUoq1N1-yik-svIjqy9A1r6DIDMu7kZVbrJO8A_NVHUt1rf5OoQToakHIFcVxNzv-UaobdhenCGBlovuJAlX1Qt_UaHkpZTbRvFLFHkLg/s1600/Grandi.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYp5XkiVYN54KNh68VxF8lE2E3kALRmuUoq1N1-yik-svIjqy9A1r6DIDMu7kZVbrJO8A_NVHUt1rf5OoQToakHIFcVxNzv-UaobdhenCGBlovuJAlX1Qt_UaHkpZTbRvFLFHkLg/s320/Grandi.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5550296312873634482" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Joseph Bastianich is a foremost expert on Italian wines. He is the co-owner, with Mario Batali of some of America's premier Italian restaurants. But he also owns and produces wines on four wineries, three of them in Italy. Busy though he is, he has just finished another excellent Italian wine book, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Grandi Vini</span>, an opinionated tour of Italy's 89 finest wines</span></span>. <span style="font-family: verdana;">Now we are getting into some serious writing on Italian wines. With in depth details on wines and their producers, ranging from a superb Sangiovese from Emilia Romagna, to Barolos and a delightfully fresh, dry white Pietramarina from Sicily, Joseph captures the essence of them all. Every wine has its website information included. You will enjoy the hand-illustrated maps of locations of the wineries. Yes, Joseph's richly detailed descriptions of 89 of the world's best Italian wines will lead you to explore some of the world's finest wines. Great opinions and another must have book for any wine lover. I am planning my next visit to Italy.<br />Thank you Joseph.</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-42438386797487188942010-11-01T12:02:00.000-07:002010-11-01T15:16:47.431-07:00No Apologies if you drink Sweet Wine from Alsace!<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Recently a number of websites and blogs proclaimed that the wine industry owed an apology to sweet wine drinkers.<br />The headline from <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.winebusiness.com/news/?go=getArticle&dataid=80004">Wine Business.com</a> </span>read as follows: </span></span>"<span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" >How Sweet it is: Wine Industry Owes Sweet Wine Drinkers HUGE Apology!" </span><span style="font-family:verdana;">Huge apology? Give me a break!</span><span style="font-style: italic;font-family:verdana;" ><br /></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><a href="http://www.harpers.co.uk/news/9674-sweet-wine-drinkers-can-be-best-tasters-claims-us-report.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Harpers Wine & Spirit</span></span></a> told us <span style="font-style: italic;">'Sweet wine drinkers can be best tasters' </span>But when<span style="font-weight: bold;"> <a href="http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a20101018.html">Jancis Robinson's</a></span> column told us we're all wrong, I wanted to put in my own thoughts.<br />Tim Hanni's statement: </span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-style: italic;">'<span style="font-family:verdana;">glaring errors in understanding by the wine industry have led to the disenfranchisement of millions of consumers and the loss of market share to other beverages' </span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">is in my opinion a misleading, headline seeking remark. If sweet white zin is your drink, nobody is stopping you from keeping it your go to wine. No need to say 'Forgive me Father, for I have Zinned'. And there is plenty of it out there.<br />Furthermore this is hardly a scientific study. It was based on analyzing 1500 'online' questionnaires looking for potential judges for the Lodi Consumer Wine Awards. Come on Mr. Hanni and company you can do better than that.<br /></span></span><span style="line-height: 115%; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);"> </span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFn3NXXHin0uSkI5Y05BLSQ93pDcgdJBwewIDsayZUAPYkYQhR4Xt7Y5DJiSNqmCpAe-hMi2hPTKkis2BZyrFw7nG5FaHCFo7uw_2vIDCj2K8406LUK0u81DFKxG7_fAi9bJtyJA/s1600/101024144132-large.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 333px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFn3NXXHin0uSkI5Y05BLSQ93pDcgdJBwewIDsayZUAPYkYQhR4Xt7Y5DJiSNqmCpAe-hMi2hPTKkis2BZyrFw7nG5FaHCFo7uw_2vIDCj2K8406LUK0u81DFKxG7_fAi9bJtyJA/s400/101024144132-large.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534676976286151634" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Now here is a bit of real research that may be worth a second look. At least by those who do not like the bitter taste of tannins in their wine</span></span>.<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> <span style="font-family:verdana;">And </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;">nobody is suggesting we should apologize for looking down on those wine drinkers who like their wines less tannic and bitter. That pretty picture is a slide of lung taste receptors. Yes, that's right 'lung taste receptors'.<br />Dr.Liggett, a pulmonologist,<br />(and I am not pulling your leg, that is what he is) at the <a style="font-weight: bold;" href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/10/101024144132.htm">University of Maryland School</a><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span>of Medicine and his team, found taste receptors in the lung that react to bitter compounds. Well now isn't that interesting. Perhaps we can now add lung observations to our tasting notes. Such as: 'I found the tannins in that Cabernet overpowering and I experienced a third degree cough'.<br />Now back to reality. I guess the sweet wine producers in Alsace are more than willing to share their sweet, lush Vendanges Tardives and Selections de Grains Nobles. No one will need to apologize to you for loving every single last drop of them.<br />On my recent visit to Alsace I had the pleasure of meeting <span style="font-weight: bold;">Samuel Tottoli, </span>the outstanding winemaker at the <a href="http://www.kuentz-bas.fr/index_en.html"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Kuentz-Bas</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Estate </span></a><br />A big thanks to Lucas De Jong, owner of the Hotel Husseren les Chateaux where I stayed during my last visit, for introducing me to Samuel. Samuel arrived at the winery in 2004 and has made great changes. As of the 2007 vintage Kuentz-Bas is certified organic. The great advantage in Alsace is, that mainly due to the calcareous/limestone soils, the grapes can attain high levels of natural acidity. And during this tasting I found out what an amazing influence that has on the wines.<br /></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6n27J5TWO3vf5q9G7ybIOXp72X2Jbpn5i4e70SkZm6m8bdfML0plK0n9pqbKjkYnzID5jWSk9qXDwwoUvTHVJCAOfZ1WjXbcgtP1qfac1QCS1wccGOjRUI82DyQgN-ZI7iifzCw/s1600/Lucas+%40KunzBas.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 198px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6n27J5TWO3vf5q9G7ybIOXp72X2Jbpn5i4e70SkZm6m8bdfML0plK0n9pqbKjkYnzID5jWSk9qXDwwoUvTHVJCAOfZ1WjXbcgtP1qfac1QCS1wccGOjRUI82DyQgN-ZI7iifzCw/s320/Lucas+%40KunzBas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534696265979244802" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Lucas, outside the Caveau de Degustation (tasting room) of the Kuentz-Bas winery. And always busy but never too busy to take time out to share </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">his marvelous</span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTITe2KjfMaZcZO5CsVWd1fK24FHlyu0LAzgYwOasv3n2btkpXCOOnBKFfZfbkMdCo2EfTRsdXH1mDkPCd-NjBB2HYoMQ0NaFy8CVtfxlKILjTzXDMBS53H2_jHsdxp0sAvWodQ/s1600/Winemaker.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 253px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWTITe2KjfMaZcZO5CsVWd1fK24FHlyu0LAzgYwOasv3n2btkpXCOOnBKFfZfbkMdCo2EfTRsdXH1mDkPCd-NjBB2HYoMQ0NaFy8CVtfxlKILjTzXDMBS53H2_jHsdxp0sAvWodQ/s320/Winemaker.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534698064145838370" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> wines, that is Samuel.</span></span> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmdKUiJ9Vi0dpeec4dAov_PpetcK6cC1WZ0H6XzqtSiUYvn7VUyG1FEVK8bYmGLi3rYzSTfQGXWKSceXcq1jdcHDg9pnujhwHSuDqsZX63eacVzz2YZY-JKIKQJrP2LR0wo19qg/s1600/Kuentz-Bas.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmdKUiJ9Vi0dpeec4dAov_PpetcK6cC1WZ0H6XzqtSiUYvn7VUyG1FEVK8bYmGLi3rYzSTfQGXWKSceXcq1jdcHDg9pnujhwHSuDqsZX63eacVzz2YZY-JKIKQJrP2LR0wo19qg/s320/Kuentz-Bas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5534698409291350498" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I was wrong every time when Samuel asked me to guess what the residual sugar levels were in some of the wines we tasted. That is picture of my notes and the 2007 Pinot Gris Trois Chateau</span></span> . <span style="font-family: verdana;">I have a notation calling it 'the pineapple express"</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Again I missed the residual of 34 grams on that one due to the amazing </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">acidity.<br /><br />So in closing this post let me say to all you sweet wine lovers out there, you haven't lived until you taste some of the delicious sweet wines from Alsace.<br /><br />Me? I will stay with their big, bright, crisp, dry wines with that wonderful minerality and of course you can never get enough of their Cremants. As always, click on the pics to get a close up view. Next up is some bubbly talk and a great picture of a sabering gone wrong!<br />Cheers and happy drinking for now. </span></span> <br /> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></span> <br /> <br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJmdKUiJ9Vi0dpeec4dAov_PpetcK6cC1WZ0H6XzqtSiUYvn7VUyG1FEVK8bYmGLi3rYzSTfQGXWKSceXcq1jdcHDg9pnujhwHSuDqsZX63eacVzz2YZY-JKIKQJrP2LR0wo19qg/s1600/Kuentz-Bas.jpg"><br /></a>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-30108214270155912332010-09-28T17:58:00.000-07:002010-09-29T13:33:02.416-07:00It Takes a Lot of Sunshine....to Make a Super Tuscan Wine !!<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> I do want to share some more on Alsace wine but this entry is dedicated to my friend <span style="font-weight: bold;">Alessandro Dondi </span>at <a href="http://www.castellodibolgheri.eu/en/index.html"><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">Castello di Bolgheri. </span></a><br /><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBisNQpCR6ULdPPJAzUQo9VjrrMOxWSMFyaywypRuxM4-hxO0sf1yGbG3wvjT7I94dfYGqfDLwqBQGPv7Q0nYDSNj5Sx78U7vqM9Q9oEUxvd1ggg6_aaYRSL_o39im9OsFrQ7vwQ/s1600/W+%26+A.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 316px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBisNQpCR6ULdPPJAzUQo9VjrrMOxWSMFyaywypRuxM4-hxO0sf1yGbG3wvjT7I94dfYGqfDLwqBQGPv7Q0nYDSNj5Sx78U7vqM9Q9oEUxvd1ggg6_aaYRSL_o39im9OsFrQ7vwQ/s320/W+%26+A.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522139962354207218" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Check out the rich history and tradition of the Castello di Bolgheri by clicking on the above link.<br />I had the pleasure of meeting Alessandro a couple of years ago while doing a tour of Tuscany with my California wine loving friend Sanjoy Ghose.<br />Castello di Bolgheri is located in the town of Bolgheri, on the Etruscan coast in the province of Livorno. We were scheduled to visit Ornellaia, the very well known and excellent producers of the Super Tuscan, Ornelaia. But since Sanjoy managed to get us to the coast way ahead of our appointment, we had plenty of time for lunch and a little sightseeing in Bolgheri. Just happened to walk into this delightful shop selling locally produced body lotions and creams. I asked the owner why do people drive all the way to the coast to visit Bolgheri. Ah, but of course, Bolgheri is where the famous Italian poet </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Giosuè Carducci</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0); font-family: verdana;"><span>wrote the poem "Davanti a San Guido", giving everlasting fame to the</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Viale dei Cipressi ( Cypresses )</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >As you drive into the town of </span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Bolgheri these stately 200 year old Cypress trees line the road on both sides for a 5 KM stretch</span></span>.<br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" > Then, the charming owner of the shop, Beata, asked me what brought me to Bolgheri. When I told her I was on a wine tasting, wine writing tour of Tuscany, she insisted we meet her husband Alessandro, the wine maker at Castello di Bolgheri. What a marvellous turn of events that turned out to be</span>.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> I won't go into details about Super Tuscans. I am sure you know about Sassicaia and the other Super Tuscans but both Sanjoy and I were overwhelmed and duly impressed</span></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">by the amazing Super Tuscans Alessandro has produced.</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAwDCDNAeGBkq7RNlpjKTgqM0i0ywNhruQ1Qr8w-9Yy1wyV9th8ZY22OCrl35-BqFvykbOHeQ9GnXIbcRwT20gOCZuoUzfMxR5ZV2GKxzrGmsSdr0aZ5ixN5CYyAyJHvrcDbz9g/s1600/Castello.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 230px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwAwDCDNAeGBkq7RNlpjKTgqM0i0ywNhruQ1Qr8w-9Yy1wyV9th8ZY22OCrl35-BqFvykbOHeQ9GnXIbcRwT20gOCZuoUzfMxR5ZV2GKxzrGmsSdr0aZ5ixN5CYyAyJHvrcDbz9g/s320/Castello.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522170434946725282" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />The vineyards are about 70 meters above sea level. They are planted facing west southwest. The rows are perpendicular to the Mediterranean Sea</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >which during the hot summer</span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">days allows the afternoon winds coming from the sea to cool the vineyard. The soils are sandy-clayey, skeletal and stone rich</span></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">and a pH which is mostly basic. This "<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">terroir</span></span>" <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">produces wines of great subtlety, smooth soft tannins and great complexity with rich</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >aromatics</span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I noticed when Alex took us into the vineyards that he did a quick inspection of the Cabernet grapes, giving them a gentle squeeze. When I asked him about it<br />he explained that he wants the skins just </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRolOyMeSsC09xzM2BCGWwV_IOYWMVaczjMbAXf_63bVA51lFemTgkvwGr-L5IrDY_nUBG6C8DvqCFJAiOr7E50KxX3jvdPQUN8fexs2GEm3lr5HEWTMf-LB8fgoCFtPKknPY_lw/s1600/Allesandro.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRolOyMeSsC09xzM2BCGWwV_IOYWMVaczjMbAXf_63bVA51lFemTgkvwGr-L5IrDY_nUBG6C8DvqCFJAiOr7E50KxX3jvdPQUN8fexs2GEm3lr5HEWTMf-LB8fgoCFtPKknPY_lw/s320/Allesandro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522177133690365266" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">to start getting a touch of softness and that is when he wants to pick. Of course he does lab testing as well.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Then he told us that they would be picking these Cabernet grapes tomorrow. Looking a few rows over, he indicated that those Cabernet, Castello was growing for Ornelaia, but that they were not planning to pick for a couple of weeks.</span></span><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJiZTJhQutSyNngLFF2JYFmjj_xzuiLQT0F0tLCM-ABpLU3cyN5W4D-BVKWRb_P3J6IcqYeXH3gxd_BefglKDPKBgYUAYyR4puV0r1iOkE1JiUY8ii2eBJoA1DTpZe8iMpIRC2w/s1600/Cab.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 259px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjJiZTJhQutSyNngLFF2JYFmjj_xzuiLQT0F0tLCM-ABpLU3cyN5W4D-BVKWRb_P3J6IcqYeXH3gxd_BefglKDPKBgYUAYyR4puV0r1iOkE1JiUY8ii2eBJoA1DTpZe8iMpIRC2w/s320/Cab.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522181177763320690" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> The close-up picture of Alessandro's grapes to the left shows them to be in perfect picking condition. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Meanwhile back at </span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">the winery we tasted tank samples of the recently harvested Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Syrah. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wow, I have tasted a lot of tank samples but these were amazing.</span></span><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgUU3tyNosW3vrJRVoS045ptsOi6r-7jkbgKj71huwdLk0JYVDWe8zzpZnYZwsiJySJ9b5G0aEa_P_Rn4yCxvazKMJbEyEip_KkqKArhFBBZlm_Pjh9ijaWnVvaM_sMDrJjUV5w/s1600/Castello+di+Bolgheri.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvgUU3tyNosW3vrJRVoS045ptsOi6r-7jkbgKj71huwdLk0JYVDWe8zzpZnYZwsiJySJ9b5G0aEa_P_Rn4yCxvazKMJbEyEip_KkqKArhFBBZlm_Pjh9ijaWnVvaM_sMDrJjUV5w/s320/Castello+di+Bolgheri.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5522420306833695170" border="0" /></a><br /> <span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Now click on the map</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">to enlarge it. As you can see, the Castello vineyards are located in the same ideal locations as the Ornellaia and Sassicaia vineyards. So what makes the Castello di Bolgheri wines so special? Because they are created by a winemaker with a passion. Truly an artist at work. One of the techniques he employs is called <a href="http://www.winebusiness.com/wbm/?go=getArticle&dataId=27894"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">delestage</span></a>. Very time consuming but with very beneficial results.<br /> Alex joined the Castello in 2005 and as their cellar master here is his wine making philosophy. In his opinion <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family: verdana;">when making a wine, the most important thing is to always have a clear picture in your mind of the kind of wine you want to make. Just like a good chef knows what he wants his dish to taste like, he images the texture,smells and tastes. He knows his grapes and the soils, then lets his feelings and emotions run with his artistic abilities.<br /> And tasting his wines confirms that this winemaker truly makes a super Super Tuscan. In my opinion, among the very best of the Super Tuscans out there. </span></span></span></span><br /> <span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Fortunately for consumers here in British Columbia, finally almost three years after my visit with Alessandro, they are now available here in BC. </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /> I am looking forward to visiting with Alessandro again and tasting what great wines are all about.<br /><a href="http://www.castellodibolgheri.eu/en/index.html"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></span></span></a></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-87199946107836851642010-09-21T10:04:00.000-07:002010-09-21T13:06:09.609-07:00Sunshine into Wine.....!<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Not this year, or at least not at many of the wineries on the west coast of Canada. Following up on my last blog entry, I contacted a few more wineries.<br /><br />The song everybody seems to be singing is "Rain, rain go away, come back again some other day". But they say every cloud has a silver lining. Perhaps the sluggish economy of the last few years has left most wineries with enough inventory to carry them through till next year. At least those that as part of their marketing plan, hold back some of their inventory for a rainy day. When I spoke to Jerry Mussio at <a href="http://starlinglanewinery.com/"><span style="color: rgb(153, 0, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Starling Lane Winery</span></span></a> he was fairly optimistic about this year, although their Pinot Gris and Pinot Noir was lagging behind. But since they make one of the best ( or in my opinion 'the best' ) sparkling wine on Vancouver Island that should make fans of their </span></span><em style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Célébration</em><span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> Brut</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">happy. Over on Pender Island Keith Watt at <a href="http://www.morningbay.ca/index.php"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);">Morning Bay Vineyard </span></span></a></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">reports similar conditions and thanks his lucky stars to have a decent inventory</span></span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Then this morning, speaking to Eugene Kwan, the managing director of one of my all time favorite British Columbia wineries, once again a similar story emerged. <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);" href="http://www.domainedechaberton.com/">Domaine de Chaberton</a> </span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">is located in the Fraser Valley. Be sure to click on 'Winery' and then 'about us' to get the story behind this magnificent winery. I had the privilege of working with Claude and Inge as their Vancouver Island rep while running my wine shop, <span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://thewinebarrel.com/">The Wine Barrel</a> </span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">in Victoria. For all you Seattlelites, <span style="font-weight: bold;">Domaine de Chaberton</span> is located just across the Washington / British Columbia border and easy to find. Their <span style="font-weight: bold;">Bacchus Bistro</span> is very popular year round and is a must visit. Since I am leaving tomorrow to spend a few days on the mainland, I have made reservations at the Bistro and greatly looking forward to it.<br />Not everyone of course is unhappy about the rain. In the Bordeaux they were crying for rain and finally got it. Looks like they will be bragging about another good vintage and the first growth estates will be able to continue their obscene, outrageous prices.<br /> </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIOMcg3eI5uqewpu_mctOZzmiHa6kqrXMIEQruuqU-zpwo9gsgjoaEiVf2wAn8QR-nmuc1ydCvIwjy-kZkk-jNBDAMsoIjZvoPFABFSVnKX5MPsm5UQBU-HRFaZzwxzJ8bBUn7g/s1600/Auxerrois.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisIOMcg3eI5uqewpu_mctOZzmiHa6kqrXMIEQruuqU-zpwo9gsgjoaEiVf2wAn8QR-nmuc1ydCvIwjy-kZkk-jNBDAMsoIjZvoPFABFSVnKX5MPsm5UQBU-HRFaZzwxzJ8bBUn7g/s320/Auxerrois.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5519437721989800098" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> My good friend Philippe, the export manager at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dopff</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">'Au Moulin"</span> in Alsace sent me this picture of his Auxerrois and tells me harvest for the sparkling wines has begun.<br />I must tell you some more about why I love the wines from Alsace and my visit to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Kuentz-Bas</span> but will leave that for another entry.<br />In the meantime, rain, shine or otherwise, no matter how wonderful your wines might be, a little smart marketing goes a long way. So here for your 'viewing' pleasure is how one Okanagan Valley winery shares some fun with us. <span style="font-weight: bold; color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><a href="http://theviewwinery.com/">The View Winery</a> </span><span style="color: rgb(153, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">makes a wonderful Pinotage and I reviewed the 2008 vintage for my newsletter. But Jennifer, the star in their video, tells me "Wait till you taste the 2009". OK Jennifer I am looking forward to it. So be sure to click on the above link to the winery and I am sure you will agree when you view the video that it is great marketing.<br /><br /></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">As always cheers and enjoy your wines!!</span></span><br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-3575235960908840742010-09-01T12:15:00.000-07:002010-09-01T13:54:47.225-07:00No Sunshine....No wine!<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9ONxZwvI3qtS65Ko8TaFE7O1_JRWa3zI39QSvWcMkEz86D1rE3Y4TtIIir1k25d3vqIqewnps99WLrFkbePZv0OhqDpoZ9w5enl48mbIzfNxtHkuuEvJzngqz-8zmYyxUxdS3A/s1600/Siegerrebe.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 235px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_9ONxZwvI3qtS65Ko8TaFE7O1_JRWa3zI39QSvWcMkEz86D1rE3Y4TtIIir1k25d3vqIqewnps99WLrFkbePZv0OhqDpoZ9w5enl48mbIzfNxtHkuuEvJzngqz-8zmYyxUxdS3A/s320/Siegerrebe.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512031398228271858" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">At least that appears to be situation developing on Vancouver Island. On the weekend I visited some of the wineries here on our island.<br />Veraison is barely visible and the only grape showing any signs of it that I saw, was the Siegerrebe grape at the <a href="http://www.bluegrousevineyards.com/index.html">Blue Grouse Vineyards. </a><br />If you click on the picture to enlarge it you might see some of the clusters picking up a bit of color. Summer took a long time coming and unless we see a lot of sunshine over the next 4 to 5 weeks, there will be no harvest this year. Although we might see a lot of sparkling wine produced this year and I do like my bubblies.<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAqoolXRBIGfi7S8PqxAuKtEVKmjgGZhQit0MEzqchWTNoWnb0Z5E_ndBYZARCD48W4JCvQPROM91dnN7PEcWfJQhru6mxapZDzZ3lj0m3sSmvYQRDrUA1CI1uZ767CfVjmXTBA/s1600/Pascal.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaAqoolXRBIGfi7S8PqxAuKtEVKmjgGZhQit0MEzqchWTNoWnb0Z5E_ndBYZARCD48W4JCvQPROM91dnN7PEcWfJQhru6mxapZDzZ3lj0m3sSmvYQRDrUA1CI1uZ767CfVjmXTBA/s320/Pascal.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512037531308127506" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Meanwhile back to Alsace, the report I received from my friend Philippe Durst at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Dopff "Au</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Moulin"</span>, in the middle of August, veraison was on its way. Slow start to their summer as well but the vineyards are shaping up for another good vintage. And of course that is where it all begins. That is cellar-master and oenologist Pascal Batot at Dopff keeping a close watch in the vineyards. Pascal's winemaking philosophy is that the quality of a wine starts first of all in the vineyards.<br /></span></span><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhDa8gCuVI2kd4Co0r_yud_ik3eaCwpUkIL7N2OrKwCqD986gGL_qBSdVmiTW9YF6dL2lZK8sKJfsfk8UEr-cAqpZhol6i5qoM12hW9UPayPoLW4nl9Le_yN1Y9EHGxOR8F0wrw/s1600/Gold.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPhDa8gCuVI2kd4Co0r_yud_ik3eaCwpUkIL7N2OrKwCqD986gGL_qBSdVmiTW9YF6dL2lZK8sKJfsfk8UEr-cAqpZhol6i5qoM12hW9UPayPoLW4nl9Le_yN1Y9EHGxOR8F0wrw/s200/Gold.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512043537208131170" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">It definitely paid off</span></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">recently when Dopff was awarded two gold medals at the very prestigious</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Sélections Mondiales des Vins Canada </span>in Montreal.<br />They received a Gold for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Riesling Grand Cru</span> <span style="font-weight: bold;">Schoenenberg 2007</span> and a Gold for the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Gewurztraminer grand Cru</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"> Brand de Turckheim 2007.</span><br />Thought I would share with you a photo I took of the Schoenenberg Crus vineyard while visiting there in May. It looks like it is mostly hands on work required there, wouldn't you say?</span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrno4EJX4bJMzFgyMPph2QcNpy7cgajJG6M4ScAPiqixE7180A4JrrPQTp8eBNT0zm95PPjMWyi63iW-e8285U2h6Y1R1imKcsJ7ViAs-3UKn1M2U_uBQEkY3Lf6TNeEM4BQSQLQ/s1600/Riquewihr.jpg"><img style="display: block; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrno4EJX4bJMzFgyMPph2QcNpy7cgajJG6M4ScAPiqixE7180A4JrrPQTp8eBNT0zm95PPjMWyi63iW-e8285U2h6Y1R1imKcsJ7ViAs-3UKn1M2U_uBQEkY3Lf6TNeEM4BQSQLQ/s320/Riquewihr.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5512048322042097330" border="0" /></a><span style=";font-family:'Arial','sans-serif';font-size:10pt;color:black;" lang="FR" ><span class="391592415-18062010"><span><span style="font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:#0000ff;"><span style="color:#0000ff;"><span style="font-family:Arial Narrow;font-size:100%;"><strong></strong></span></span></span></span></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Yes, the fruit of the vine does like its share of sunshine!<br /></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-62337575649099601212010-08-04T13:34:00.000-07:002010-08-06T08:01:15.201-07:00The Wild Vine...Todd Kliman<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> I am going to take a detour from my journey in Alsace and venture down another road. This road leads us to a most interesting and fascinating discovery of a forgotten grape...the Norton grape.<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsp9ga_83BqYXb2IhkB2HcFzEO8d3KMp8OhqJFSpnYJMJHIPz7hyNJ9QTruKuSX__F8IB47BL9yTz07JAtFaSIAtOWwYqfyb8lK2hgjcf_feb_haMrsPrVHXKZUqT4HDZV2Cb1A/s1600/Wild+Vine.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBsp9ga_83BqYXb2IhkB2HcFzEO8d3KMp8OhqJFSpnYJMJHIPz7hyNJ9QTruKuSX__F8IB47BL9yTz07JAtFaSIAtOWwYqfyb8lK2hgjcf_feb_haMrsPrVHXKZUqT4HDZV2Cb1A/s320/Wild+Vine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5501661763253748642" border="0" /></a> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span> <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">The Wild Vine</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:85%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">A Forgotten Grape and the Untold Story of American Wine</span></span> by <span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Todd Kliman</span></span></span><br /><br /> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Fascinating from the beginning to the end. Tod Kliman had me hooked from his opening sentence. We all know a picture can be worth a thousand words. But in a few words author Kliman paints a picture that sets the tone for this book.<br />"Clouds of dust drift through the open window of my rickety Toyota as it shudders along the bumpy gravel path of Champe Ford Road like a washing machine on spin cycle, stirring up sticks and pebbles."<br />I knew immediately I was in for a literary treat but little did I know I was in for an amazing story, a true American story. The story of the Norton grape. The grape that was used to make a wine from Missouri that walked away with a gold medal at an international exhibition in Vienna in 1873. History is carefully interwoven with facts that could only have been gotten by long and careful research.<br />Throughout the book I encountered sentences loaded with wit and wisdom. Here is one of my favorites. describing the scene on the night of the grand "heritage tasting" and the buzz in the room, Todd observes, "Free wine and food have a way of bringing out the best in people - or at least, bringing them out."<br />Wine culture in Europe is evident in all wine producing countries. it has been that way for centuries. Does North America have a wine culture? A major set back and blow to our wine culture was due to Prohibition. in fact it stopped it dead in its tracks. We are just beginning to recover from that fiasco.<br /><br /> Tod Kliman describes in wonderful details, the historical characters beginning with Thomas Jefferson, who made an attempt to establish a wine industry in America. Interestingly, most of the major players involved with the Norton grape had their last name begin with an 'H'. Horton, Husmann, Held and even the town where it all began, Hermann and its citizens, the Hermannites. But it all came to a grinding halt with the onset of Prohibition.<br /><br /> Virginia, where it all began and where today the story continues, thanks to in large measure, the determined champion of the Norton grape, Jenni McCloud.<br />This is a must read for anyone interested in wine, wine history and wine culture in North America. In fact I believe this book should be required reading for all oenology courses taught in America.<br /> One final observation. The states of Missouri and Virginia are to be highly commended for their part in promoting the Norton grape, but for me Todd Kliman by writing this book, has done much, very much, in creating an awareness of the true American grape - the Norton Grape !!</span></span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;font-size:78%;" ><b><span style="font-size:20pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></b></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-48903421833198091902010-08-01T12:16:00.000-07:002010-08-25T16:26:52.940-07:00Wine and Weather in the Alsace....!<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Wether in the Alsace or in other wine regions, weather conditions continue to challenge wine makers. My number one source for info in the Alsace, is my friend Philippe Durst, the export manager at <span style="font-weight: bold;">DOPFF "Au Moulin". </span>In the middle of July this is what he reported. </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhOASmVP7GI7pZS9dHCkLdWKbSI1HbcqDL6tYgsyoq5Zor2c8Ud5Zk7GTvLYM_NhVMAppwnabf39JfTtZs0sG4eUwWa6Z0CVvgLMhMyMcw433XlPpQwT42AG9vNrVD-uR1DQyCQ/s1600/Alsace+grapes.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 246px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWhOASmVP7GI7pZS9dHCkLdWKbSI1HbcqDL6tYgsyoq5Zor2c8Ud5Zk7GTvLYM_NhVMAppwnabf39JfTtZs0sG4eUwWa6Z0CVvgLMhMyMcw433XlPpQwT42AG9vNrVD-uR1DQyCQ/s320/Alsace+grapes.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500525469272798818" border="0" /></a><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></strong></span>( Photo courtesy Philippe )<br /><br /><div style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" dir="ltr" align="left"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><b><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" >"With the thermometer sometimes close to 40°C in the afternoons, we are long way from the -10 and even -20°C that we have experienced in the winter between november and right until Easter. It is tough not having felt spring in between! <br /></span></span></b></strong></span></div><div style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" class="Section1"><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:100%;"><strong><b><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" >And s</span></span></b></strong><strong><b><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" >till we are long way from grape picking: </span></span></b></strong><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" > </span></span><strong><b><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" >at this stage,</span></span></b></strong><span style="font-family:Arial;"><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" > </span></span><strong><b><span style="font-family:Tahoma;"><span style=";font-family:Tahoma;font-size:10pt;" lang="FR" >the grapes have the colour of green peas and they are best suited for producing ball bearings!"</span></span></b></strong><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></strong></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here in British Columbia</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">weather conditions have not been ideal and unless we get nothing but sunshine for the next month and more, the Vancouver island wineries</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">will be really challenged to produce a decent wine. In the Okanagan Valley it will also be a vintage that will be difficult to work with, except for the best of vintners. In a direct communication with Bradley Cooper of Township 7 and Black Cloud wineries here is his take on this year.<br /><br />"The crop this year will be full of challenges. The two winters previous to this last one were tough on some varietals. The cold snap of early October 2009 was another kick in the pants. A lot of vines slowed by the late, wet spring will show remarable adaptive ability and appear to catch-up. But the actual grape clusters seem to lag behind the appearnce of the vine as a whole. Pinot varieties seem to be recovering quicker than Merlot and in some cases, Chardonnay. It's a mixed bag, very site specific."</span></span><br /><p class="MsoNormal"> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">So is this the year we will see a lot more sparkling wine being produced? It likes the higher acid from less mature grapes.<br /></span></span></p> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">During my recent visit to Alsace, I fell in love once again with their great wines, but I now also have a particular fondness</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">for the</span></span> "<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Crémant d’Alsace". </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Crémants by law have to be aged for a minimum of 9 months. Champagne a minimum of 15 months.<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> So what do you get when you age a</span> </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" > </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Crémant for 24 months? You get </span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Crémant Excellence Brut from La Cave des Vignerons de Pfaffenheim</span>.<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" ><br /></span><a style="font-family: verdana; color: rgb(0, 51, 0);" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblg31sWEyzMDmWPvzrHPAcBA0myn6Km7zxWwK9w8dTIWW9eORcljqE0lMOUkaeW1Rvyz2jhexL2AFn0D7GoiFmUmPMyX8jJsPT_vRzzprT6vyj_YaStndhRJF48SliN3JJNHe9Q/s1600/cremant.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 50px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhblg31sWEyzMDmWPvzrHPAcBA0myn6Km7zxWwK9w8dTIWW9eORcljqE0lMOUkaeW1Rvyz2jhexL2AFn0D7GoiFmUmPMyX8jJsPT_vRzzprT6vyj_YaStndhRJF48SliN3JJNHe9Q/s200/cremant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500538852554478210" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" > <br /> With an impressive complexity and a fine mousse</span> <span style="font-family:verdana;">this bubbly was pure pleasure to drink. <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Toasted almond and hazelnut </span>on <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">the nose</span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">followed by a richness on the palate, its no wonder they call it "Excellence".<br /><br />I have to once again extend a big 'thank you' to <span style="font-weight: bold;">Lucas DE JONG</span> owner along with his wife Karin, of the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Hotel Husseren les Chateaux</span> for introducing me to an excellent winery in the village of Voegtlinshoffen where <span style="font-weight: bold;">Eliane Ginglinger </span>weaves her magic at <span style="font-weight: bold;">Ginglinger Fix. </span>Eliane produces outstanding Grand Crus wines using grapes from two Grand Crus d'Alsace, the Hatschbourg and the Goldert.<br /> That is my cousin Gerda, who drove me from Holland to Alsace and that is Lucas de Jong posing with the delightfull Eliane Ginglinger. Her beautiful blue eyes are brilliant and sparkling and are matched by the brilliance and sparkle of her </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >Crémant d’Alsace"</span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdixfJS692M-W1rMhTQsD-u1sxkVWymozT-Gv9MKGJNmzWcEQMoZk_lP-riLQj-OaN-xgdzqrczgVnPQ1NS_WNsQdrikbVKAEatJLhVBf3CF9YGimcRtg4Pp09SRPyPYEXf1OAIg/s1600/Eliane+2.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 290px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdixfJS692M-W1rMhTQsD-u1sxkVWymozT-Gv9MKGJNmzWcEQMoZk_lP-riLQj-OaN-xgdzqrczgVnPQ1NS_WNsQdrikbVKAEatJLhVBf3CF9YGimcRtg4Pp09SRPyPYEXf1OAIg/s320/Eliane+2.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500547263650914114" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbwD57avW2SzICvkzqLDsEFSNXeAblqlb9H67gr6KjOoUcO8NtSWjEHY2T_JGatZeG8MCkjSoSy8-sw_dBIn7_IcZm_r4oDF60VmuuF8StLzLa9etzlBeo0iQHR8tabTCsqZiZg/s1600/Gerda+and+Lucas.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjSbwD57avW2SzICvkzqLDsEFSNXeAblqlb9H67gr6KjOoUcO8NtSWjEHY2T_JGatZeG8MCkjSoSy8-sw_dBIn7_IcZm_r4oDF60VmuuF8StLzLa9etzlBeo0iQHR8tabTCsqZiZg/s320/Gerda+and+Lucas.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5500547909002724034" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;"> </span><br /></span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" ><br /><br /><br /></span><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> </span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></span><br /><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:85%;color:navy;" ><span style=";font-family:Arial;font-size:10pt;color:navy;" ><o:p></o:p></span></span></p><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >And I just loved her <span style="font-weight: bold;">Riesling 2008 Grand Crus 'Goldert' and her Gewurztraminer 2008 'Hatschbourg'.</span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-size:100%;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);"><strong style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"></strong></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Once again I must stop and take an 'Alsace' break. I have one chilling in my fridge. So until more on Alsace in my next blog entry, here are my cheers to everyone!<br /></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-16253089093463525262010-07-05T12:10:00.000-07:002010-07-05T16:07:41.230-07:00Alsace...the Wine, the Food and its People !<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5rZReL5nQ3QPwzOdevYUf78XpXS8riVc15zlk54LY0vCjtICunNEvzfZpmKbsKFP9ITzPQuJT_WgNrBG7cgI2lmCG-H_7Ryiwr52K_CSNKfzr_iraKVcXm8zBMsRK1aBktX22g/s1600/alsace.gif"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgL5rZReL5nQ3QPwzOdevYUf78XpXS8riVc15zlk54LY0vCjtICunNEvzfZpmKbsKFP9ITzPQuJT_WgNrBG7cgI2lmCG-H_7Ryiwr52K_CSNKfzr_iraKVcXm8zBMsRK1aBktX22g/s320/alsace.gif" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490541129572038914" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">So let me continue where my last post left off. This great French wine region, ideally located between the Vosges Mountains on </span></span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">their western boundary and the Rhine river on their eastern boundary, stretches along a beautiful wine route from Strasbourg in the north to Mulhouse at the <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">southern end. Some of the greatest white wines in the world come from this region and I had the pleasure of tasting a lot of them during my recent visit.<br /> Since in the title of this blog, I mention wine, food and people, let me begin with the people of Alsace. <br /> So very friendly!<br /> On my first visit to Alsace I met David Ling, the Export Director at Hugel et Fils in Riquewihr. David had been invited by the late, great Jean Hugel, for a training session, with a promise that "after the harvest" his future would be discussed. Only which harvest was never specified.<br />The long and the short of it is that David met and fell in love with a beautiful local girl and never left Alsace. Now back to who are the Alsace people. This description was given to David by a Canadian colonel, stationed at the airforce base in Lahr (across the river in Germany) which is now the Karisruhe-Baden airport. To quote his definition, the Alsace people are 100% Alsatian, 150% French, 100% European and 100% Germanic ( with an emphasis on the "ic" ), while the total of 450% explains their ego; 0. Well that is one man's opinion, but I think they are great!<br /> Now to the middle part of my title ..."Food". Were the wines of Alsace created to match their wonderful cuisine? Or was it the other way around? All I know is. there are many food and wine matches and as the saying goes "are a match made in heaven" and a lot of them come from Alsace.</span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkacRwN-eS_Q56EuDzWZelJZkq-PxQrIrL432L22A3dK-hN-34sBu-HzDEktroxjIcYaJPlDdizekIW43ckkALvnmKndlgltdE2Dnt3WFoG4A9v8mF57TwCYnXbjON5XhZmpn3YQ/s1600/Pain+de+Campagne.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkacRwN-eS_Q56EuDzWZelJZkq-PxQrIrL432L22A3dK-hN-34sBu-HzDEktroxjIcYaJPlDdizekIW43ckkALvnmKndlgltdE2Dnt3WFoG4A9v8mF57TwCYnXbjON5XhZmpn3YQ/s320/Pain+de+Campagne.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490552684956801698" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Vdc_SNnpmcEEEL5XLOC2BIaF9BbfAsztqrf4zDxOYoKMhu3I3Lq5bFgd_JwfWLnBb_bYbja1qGjR3_RS9gscNre4TuHgWhgo9M3fMcB8_66K2YO4WDZAjS4Xgb_0m7eC4mmO_w/s1600/Alsace+food.JPG"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 239px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0Vdc_SNnpmcEEEL5XLOC2BIaF9BbfAsztqrf4zDxOYoKMhu3I3Lq5bFgd_JwfWLnBb_bYbja1qGjR3_RS9gscNre4TuHgWhgo9M3fMcB8_66K2YO4WDZAjS4Xgb_0m7eC4mmO_w/s320/Alsace+food.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490552927285309634" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Finally the wonderful wines of Alsace. I am frustrated at the lack of Alsatian wines available to me here in BC.<br /> I want to go into more details about the wines I tasted but will leave that for my next blog entry. But let me at least say that I was impressed with the great attempt to produce quality wines everywhere I visited. From the smallest to the largest, quality is number one concern. For instance, at the very sizable La Cave Des Vigneron De Pfaffeheim, and I quote "<span style="font-weight: bold;">Every one of our wines is the object of scrupulous attention, from harvest to the moment the bottles leave our cellars."</span> Pfaffenheim was started in 1957 by a small group of winemakers and today is a co-operative with 230 members. During harvest, the cellar master keeps a watchful eye on the quality of the grapes and the growers are paid accordingly. All grapes are picked by hand. The plastic containers used to transport the grapes are only half-filled, so that the berries do not get crushed. You can taste it in the end result.<br /> Must go now, the sun is shining and I have a cold bottle of an Alsatian Riesling waiting for me.<br /><br /></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-4405242884054140152010-06-17T16:47:00.000-07:002010-06-18T10:03:27.035-07:00Tulips and Wine from Amsterdam to Alsace ...<span style="font-family:verdana;"> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> I must begin this blog post with a very special thank you, once again, to my good friend Katherine Andes. As regular readers of my blog will have noticed my blog has a new look. ( and thank you to those who have already sent me emails with positive comments.) Anytime <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">I make changes to my newsletter or this blog I run it past Katherine and her extremely useful suggestions have always been very helpful.<br />Katherine develops <a href="http://andesandassociates.com/"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span style="font-weight: bold;">custom content</span></span> </a>for commercial websites. She also has a free, very informative newsletter which you can sign up for by visiting her website. THANK YOU, Katherine !!<br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7OEncmoqoyAD_QnyrxXkO9uviR9dxBwoT49lX7WqXGr3kvs74ntLD2fx0n9dVKHv9R6OtBS5t7fiTzU8D8VsHwiBuEpffMcuGZlv2VXcbgEAQtLLJ8I9nbJzJGV0VeAEzEqfag/s1600/Art+Vine.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 214px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiO7OEncmoqoyAD_QnyrxXkO9uviR9dxBwoT49lX7WqXGr3kvs74ntLD2fx0n9dVKHv9R6OtBS5t7fiTzU8D8VsHwiBuEpffMcuGZlv2VXcbgEAQtLLJ8I9nbJzJGV0VeAEzEqfag/s320/Art+Vine.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483906766090813826" border="0" /></a><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><br /></span></span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"> So while I am still in Amsterdam, lets stay on the Keizersgracht and go visit with Jessica Lombardo at <a href="http://www.artvine.nl/en/"><span style="font-weight: bold;">Art Vine</span></a> located at 471 Keizersgracht.<br />They were recently written up in the travel section of the <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://intransit.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/02/01/in-amsterdam-where-art-meets-wine/">New York Times</a>. </span>I had a great chat with Jessica while visiting her art gallery and plan on doing an art and wine event with her when I next visit Amsterdam. Hopefully next year.<br /><br />Now before heading for Alsace with my cousin Gerda, who kindly offered to drive me down there, I must show you at least a couple of images that we can all recognize as being truly Dutch.<br /><br /><br />Windmills and tulips anyone?<br /><br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnffkEpKCGmVfusefYNqlITTNB-if_qqMJXYyo3oC2nLGHT17gj-nRi4SbXmJXXa4MVJNunjGKLbFVQm0REcODQGEP6YwOtCbDuSzcO76AsdmZ8tM6dYBqNLAPuCDsg2QUcq72w/s1600/Windmills.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVnffkEpKCGmVfusefYNqlITTNB-if_qqMJXYyo3oC2nLGHT17gj-nRi4SbXmJXXa4MVJNunjGKLbFVQm0REcODQGEP6YwOtCbDuSzcO76AsdmZ8tM6dYBqNLAPuCDsg2QUcq72w/s320/Windmills.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483909362581201378" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxb58cGM247gOwSbiJZSv6de582D-fcyH7dpWB0ZaYOwxhmZ_qyEuAvNbQc1-_1jcA6nTCcEI_YZA3-3M4V2t00Xd3VA-GX0SFeHJCqYZkWnSiWLgWKJh9rZb49kaB9FT7WTDeA/s1600/Tulips.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggxb58cGM247gOwSbiJZSv6de582D-fcyH7dpWB0ZaYOwxhmZ_qyEuAvNbQc1-_1jcA6nTCcEI_YZA3-3M4V2t00Xd3VA-GX0SFeHJCqYZkWnSiWLgWKJh9rZb49kaB9FT7WTDeA/s320/Tulips.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483910220466469170" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> </span></span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">It takes about 5 hours to drive from Vancouver to the Okanagan Valley, our main British Columbia wine region. Nice easy drive on a very scenic highway. Then you are only about half way across our province. </span></span> <span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Holland on the other hand is one hectic highway. When you look at a map, the whole thing is one road after another. Too many cars ! So it was nice to get to Belgium, then Luxembourg and end up in France with our final destination of Alsace. Imagine 4 countries in one day.<br /></span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><br /> My visit to Alsace this time was confined to the Haut-Rhin region. So many wineries and so many wines and not enough time. I will cover some of the wines and wineries in the next few posts.<br />Colmar, the capital of Alsace, has a population of 67,000 people. Great place to shop and visit. But approximately 6 KM south of Colmar is the little village of Husseren les Chateaux nestled in the foothills of the Vosges Mountains.<br />That is where we stayed at the marvellous <span style="font-weight: bold;"><a href="http://www.hotel-husseren-les-chateaux.com/accueilGB.php">Hotel Husseren les Chateaux</a>.<br /><br /></span></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkt6Fe0T2CgbUvrIowVhFS8Ku1pqbjvq7Zvv-vIWEUr-nqqBNcOeOdHh-JVMaklQx7VfQvhm5YZFXs112x_8crcHNTFdw1m_Ik6Ra8_peWM6XWBWcXS86JvqA8NYG8o1-lV0bUQ/s1600/Hotel.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQkt6Fe0T2CgbUvrIowVhFS8Ku1pqbjvq7Zvv-vIWEUr-nqqBNcOeOdHh-JVMaklQx7VfQvhm5YZFXs112x_8crcHNTFdw1m_Ik6Ra8_peWM6XWBWcXS86JvqA8NYG8o1-lV0bUQ/s320/Hotel.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483949798248932898" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCezHCRcq0g2-5hfAOtgNkX3ubujkaFT236V_LSwZR-jcoG4wHdz-qCxyuVOx9q9h5NwAHUb4_sLroCl7pLs3S7nyjkylt-RUnJ9cRCWZGj3Uk_CD725zahqEnD1cgaOIbovXSnA/s1600/Restaurant.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCezHCRcq0g2-5hfAOtgNkX3ubujkaFT236V_LSwZR-jcoG4wHdz-qCxyuVOx9q9h5NwAHUb4_sLroCl7pLs3S7nyjkylt-RUnJ9cRCWZGj3Uk_CD725zahqEnD1cgaOIbovXSnA/s320/Restaurant.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5483950116507561922" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-weight: bold;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /></span> Fabulous facilities, great swimming pool, excellent restaurant and a bonus for me, the walls are solid cement. So you will never hear your neighbour in the next room snoring. Meeting facilities for up to 45 people. What a great hideaway place to have a group meeting and seminars. Another bonus for me was Lucas de Jong. Very knowledgeable about the local wineries. He took a day out of his busy schedule to take me to some of the best Grand Cru properties. More on that in my next posts. So tulips in Alsace you might ask? Lucas was originally from Holland. Then 20 some years ago before he and his lovely lady, whom he had met in Denmark, moved to Alsace and built the hotel. Lucas,formerly a sommelier, has extensive wine knowledge and yes they also own a vineyard in the Beaujolais. Naturally he would have a few tulips around. Look at them in the entrance to the hotel inviting you to the restaurant Au Sapin Dore.<br />Next up winery visits and some great photos and of course a discussion on food and wine in Alsace.<br />A Bientot!<br /></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-53944654401123452052010-06-09T12:43:00.000-07:002010-06-09T14:23:21.630-07:00Drinking Wine in Amsterdam !<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Having recently returned from a trip to Amsterdam, visiting relatives and a wine tour of Alsace, it has been difficult getting back into the swing of my normal routine. Met with my panel to taste 7 just released delightful wines from the <a href="http://www.starlinglanewinery.com/">Starling Lane winery </a>and getting ready to taste 12 Rose wines for my next newsletter. And of course wading through all the e-mails and answering as many as possible. I fully intend to share pictures and experiences of my trip in the next few posts. I read with interest, Alder Yarrow's post over at <a href="http://www.vinography.com/archives/2010/05/fun_with_wine_consumption_stat.html">Vinography</a> on wine consumption statistics and thought that would be a good starting point. So I looked at the pdf posted on his site from TDA ( Trade Data and Analysis ) on his site and scrolled down to the Netherlands. The average liters per capita for the Dutch in 2008 was 21.68. Surprisingly that great nation of wine consumers, the United Kingdom, consumed somewhat less than the Dutch with 19.14 liters per capita. There are no silly regulations and restrictions on selling wine in Holland and it is available in grocery stores and great little wine shops everywhere. The picture of De Ware Jacob is an example of one of them, located a 3 minute walk away from my cousin's home on the Keizersgracht.<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7g-BiIfMxBFiSxNqqYFy7wZ7tdIboIQTKmk2GFPvjlHqN3145ueqz7cZ6gmh8ScTCBBlxRhtD_I3c4b7msjqWBI_D78_va9zghSCSnyIwmDqTZT3AJm2jSWllsLudUoiOR6WbA/s1600/Jacob.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS7g-BiIfMxBFiSxNqqYFy7wZ7tdIboIQTKmk2GFPvjlHqN3145ueqz7cZ6gmh8ScTCBBlxRhtD_I3c4b7msjqWBI_D78_va9zghSCSnyIwmDqTZT3AJm2jSWllsLudUoiOR6WbA/s320/Jacob.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480871598832942402" border="0" /></a>(Click on the pic)<br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">Its difficult to translate accurately but<br />' De Ware Jacob' means 'the real Jacob' and is an expression used when a woman has found 'the' real man of her life. The shop was originally owned by a Jacob and after his death his widow continued to run the shop until the new owner took over. </span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Let me tell you, we did our best to raise the national average during my visit. But while we are at this location, kitty corner from the wine shop is an incredible chocolate shop owned by Mireille, the exuberant and gracious daughter of my cousin. Her shop, 't Goede Soet, at 95 Keizersgracht is a must visit while you are in Amsterdam. 't Goede Soet translates into the Good Sweet and is a chocolate lovers paradise. Google it and see some of the great reviews.<br /></span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrZQ3gemA3vQzqK6khmtye56_SoEXMeQaxAqABqhyphenhyphen0fDqTGPk7wV8hhBWxfpY6jIu8XRFJ9qgoCPOdZ1EEuQEQiVo0QYxDbrjzonXfMJLsOhMc1MR0V6sZ9x7psBeP9U3MCvKCg/s1600/'t+Goede+Soet.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLrZQ3gemA3vQzqK6khmtye56_SoEXMeQaxAqABqhyphenhyphen0fDqTGPk7wV8hhBWxfpY6jIu8XRFJ9qgoCPOdZ1EEuQEQiVo0QYxDbrjzonXfMJLsOhMc1MR0V6sZ9x7psBeP9U3MCvKCg/s320/'t+Goede+Soet.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480876815158005122" border="0" /></a><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjit1qMS-pNP-ZLho6tR8u6KSz6ybmnh69X1a40w3hcas664E2bjucmd3NlRAfG_joSsgMFgeUWWpgHw-6JMdFH61pveHCduC44H3ogfLTZbilU5ptLm4deDGciNNZHcyt8Fxb7UQ/s1600/Mireille.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 214px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjit1qMS-pNP-ZLho6tR8u6KSz6ybmnh69X1a40w3hcas664E2bjucmd3NlRAfG_joSsgMFgeUWWpgHw-6JMdFH61pveHCduC44H3ogfLTZbilU5ptLm4deDGciNNZHcyt8Fxb7UQ/s320/Mireille.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5480877351449676242" border="0" /></a><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /><br /> Meanwhile back to statistics. The average consumption for Canada is listed as 12.24 liters per capita but according to Statistics Canada, the official Government of Canada branch that carries out surveys, the national average is 13.1. The Yukon territory leads the way with 18.3 but what else would you do on those long winter days in Canada's great northern white? Second place goes to the province of Quebec with an average consumption of 17.4. Could that be because of its historic ties with France? Once again I am happy to report that I am doing my share of wine consumption in the province of British Columbia which ties down third place with an annual consumption of 14.5. Our burgeoning wine industry would account for that. Newfoundland and Labrador come in 11th place with 6.5 and dead last is Saskatchewan with only 5 liters per capita. Of course they do enjoy their beer. Finally our neighbours to the south of us are working on their annual consumption with a 9.68 liters per capita. But with wine becoming much more a part of our North American culture I would expect these figures to increase in the coming years. As they say in Dutch 'tot ziens' or farewell or until we meet again. Lets all do our share to help the economy and raise the national average.<br /></span></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-70555500942514073132010-05-11T08:03:00.000-07:002010-05-11T08:45:24.535-07:00Awaiting Another Vintage in Wine Country !<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aNxdzlGeOvTvYJE1kvcIHs9bFM8Wf16Yv4eHxRSrF9T45WCfZT-GBHzEm8TXjdEkot_0aFJ874JSAj0Z57IlTdyItoQjfYA_-iWu03CXBto1HTzMifCu7v_rGdRfdciZbrKUeQ/s1600/DSCN3069.JPG"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9aNxdzlGeOvTvYJE1kvcIHs9bFM8Wf16Yv4eHxRSrF9T45WCfZT-GBHzEm8TXjdEkot_0aFJ874JSAj0Z57IlTdyItoQjfYA_-iWu03CXBto1HTzMifCu7v_rGdRfdciZbrKUeQ/s320/DSCN3069.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470032232974736754" border="0" /></a><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I am just a few hours away from flying off to Amsterdam and then on to Alsace. In Amsterdam I will be giving a talk on British Columbia Icewines and of course in Alsace its all good. Good food, good wine and good people. <br /> So what will this year bring to various wine regions?<br /> My good friend Philippe Durst, the export manager at <a href="http://www.dopff-au-moulin.fr/viticulture.php?lg=en">Dopff au Moulin </a>send me this picture a few weeks ago. The vineyards are budding and showing early leaf formation. But he says they are behind last year at this time.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzA6XIGsbs_KwNZF7_r0dzmf-_5EYtn6CoMYkBdej7RuBybjqRZl0wzo3VW5vw3MvZymg6OpZztXicN93-njjTqHLa6sLEqvQY9MbfpgAZv0CPpu0Kyoz1hB_Bf0_yZgfshOLgA/s1600/M.+Foch+Cab.+Sauv.+X.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 229px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSzA6XIGsbs_KwNZF7_r0dzmf-_5EYtn6CoMYkBdej7RuBybjqRZl0wzo3VW5vw3MvZymg6OpZztXicN93-njjTqHLa6sLEqvQY9MbfpgAZv0CPpu0Kyoz1hB_Bf0_yZgfshOLgA/s320/M.+Foch+Cab.+Sauv.+X.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5470033318234815890" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <br /></span></span><span style="text-decoration: underline;"></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">I visited a winery, Rocky Creek, here on Vancouver Island, just a few days ago and early leaf is just starting to show and again somwhat behind last year. <br />Then I checked with Alessandro Dondi on the Tuscan coast and he reports nothing positive with the weather, cooler than usual and rain three times per week.</span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br />So there you have it. But I will be sure to give you first hand reports upon my return. When I told Philippe I was trying to lose a few pounds before coming to Alsace, he reminded me that I wasn't coming to weight watchers country.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: verdana;">So be it!! Food and wine, wine and food. Tell me, is there anything more enjoyable?<br />Cheers,<br />Wilf<br /></span>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-21077343.post-65353776641139455602010-04-26T16:20:00.002-07:002010-04-27T19:43:13.498-07:00Job Security in the Wine Industry !<span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> Some excellent posts recently, as always, on Tom Wark's Fermentation and Alder Yarrow's Vinography. An issue that has made headlines everywhere, especially in the wine blogosphere, is the H.R.5034 bill before congress</span></span>. <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Here is<a href="http://fermentation.typepad.com/fermentation/2010/04/wine-wholesalers-push-deregulation-with-hr-5034.html"> Tom's</a> take on it.<br /> Another couple of good analyses are on <a href="http://palatepress.com/2010/04/hr-5034-an-analysis/">Palate Press</a> and the <a href="http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor2/tswa20100423.php">30 Second Wine Advisor.</a><br /> Alder did an in depth review of <a href="http://www.vinography.com/archives/2010/04/the_coming_carnage_in_the_cali.html">"The Coming Carnage in the California Wine Industry" </a>with excellent comments that followed his post.<br /> Even though they are two different issues, what is their common thread? Why jobs of course. Both have the potential of some serious job losses. But hold on, coming back to my previous post about Prohibition and its results, who is not looking for a new job? Massive government bureaucracies were created to interfere, oh pardon me, I meant regulate, alcohol consumption and subsequent contributions to government coffers. Do you know or have you heard of any regulatory inspectors loosing their jobs? If anything, they will be hiring more, with great job security as a bonus thrown in for the lucky candidates. </span></span><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQy4PYW73r_9fms8kaz0JiMZn3wN7d1mMJpngeI9-pIFZGJUKmctnpj7VhCBcDl5vASRfDWrCZp1xnOFJAZvlTZ9E2u-ppVoZeuCr2x7tN-LRndYVa-yCK9W-Qlw6VJJvN6m4X5Q/s1600/Bench+tasting.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQy4PYW73r_9fms8kaz0JiMZn3wN7d1mMJpngeI9-pIFZGJUKmctnpj7VhCBcDl5vASRfDWrCZp1xnOFJAZvlTZ9E2u-ppVoZeuCr2x7tN-LRndYVa-yCK9W-Qlw6VJJvN6m4X5Q/s320/Bench+tasting.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5465003246600190930" border="0" /></a> <br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">After all making sure that proper licencing is in place ensures those extra revenues. British Columbia has also seen some significant government lay-offs with the last go around another 230 people losing their jobs. </span></span><br /><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">Recently the <a href="http://www.naramatabench.com/wineries.aspx">Naramata wineries</a> held another very successful </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);font-family:verdana;" >annual wine event in Victoria</span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">. </span><span style="font-family:verdana;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);">At the same, in the same hotel, some government liquor inspectors </span></span> <span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;">were holding a conference. Guess what? They just could not resist and marched right in to check that every winery had proper licencing for the event. And as an added bonus for their efforts they got to taste some awesome new releases. </span></span> <div><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <br /> </span></span><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"> <br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="color: rgb(0, 51, 0);"><span style="font-family:verdana;"><br /></span></span></div>Wilf G.Khttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01991786398415985824noreply@blogger.com4