Hangover Cures-Do They Work?

Studies show that drinking excessive amounts of alcohol can be hazardous to your health. Many people enjoy drinking and are unlikely to give it up entirely, based on the threat of future health problems. A few glasses of wine may be safe for some and may even have a few health benefits.

But some overdo it. If you find yourself in the position of having drunk too much alcohol the night before, how can you handle the hangover? Eating Well magazine has some useful tips.

Of course, the best tip is to not overdo it! If you tend to over do it, try drinking a glass of water between every alcoholic drink to slow yourself down when drinking alcohol. It helps reduce dehydration and may keep you from drinking as much.

If you think you may have a problem with drinking, seek help.

Hangover Cures from Eating Well Magazine

Everyone knows someone who absolutely swears by a greasy egg sandwich from the corner diner to erase the symptoms of a hangover—but the only proven way to get rid of a hangover is to wait it out. (Hangovers usually last for 8 to 24 hours.) That said, some commonly touted hangover cures—while not proven effective—are worth a try if you’re truly in pain.

Fruit

One study conducted in the 1970s found that drinking fruit juice or eating fruit relieved some hangover symptoms. Fruits and fruit juices contain a sugar called fructose, which may help your body clear alcohol faster, according to the National Institutes of Health. Fruits and vegetables (think: supposed tomato juice cures] also contain minerals, such as potassium, that are important in restoring your electrolyte balance and replenishing your body’s fluids.

Starchy Carbohydrates

Starchy carbohydrates, such as toast or crackers, may help to counteract nausea and low blood sugar (symptoms include headaches, fatigue and cold sweats) caused by long bouts of drinking with little food, according to an article in the journal Alcohol Health & Research World.

Fluids

Drinking alcohol causes your body to lose a lot of water, especially if you’ve been sick to your stomach. Rehydrating—with water or sports drinks that contain electrolytes, such as sodium and potassium—could help you feel better.

Electrolytes

The salt and potassium in bouillon-based soup may replace lost electrolytes, relieving some of the symptoms of dehydration: headache, weakness, dizziness.

“How Alcohol Affects Your Body,” an article from Eating Well

Wine tasting in North Andover

Tonight, I was invited to a wine event at the recently opened Wine Connextion in North Andover. I knew the event would include 5 wines paired with 5 seasonal matching foods but I had no idea what to expect.

The Wine Connextion aims to be a destination wine store – where people can go in, taste a few wines, and buy a bottle or a case of whatever they choose. The store offers good value by the bottle – and even better value by the case. They also have helpful cards behind all of the bottles, describing the flavor and intensity of the wines.

Sam Messina, owner

Sam Messina is part owner and is the wine director at the Wine Connextion. He was knowledgeable and down-to- earth. He also chose some amazing pairings for the night!

Some of my favorites were (taken directly from the menu):

Burgans Albarino: A Spanish white wine, served with aged parmesan, honey and walnuts

Trimbach Pinot Gris Reserves: A French White served with goat cheese and an artichoke tapenade

Castle Rock Pinot Noir: From California, served with aged Gouda

Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec: From Argentina, served with roasted fall vegetables

Burgans Albarino

Roasted Vegetables

Exploring the store

I really enjoyed this event. I met a few new bloggers and some people who worked in the wine industry in Boston. There was good food, wine, and conversation. And I’d definitely pay a visit to the Wine Connextion again. The owners are knowledgeable and I have no doubt they would be able to steer me to the right wine for any occasion – and tell me what to serve it with!

Question:

Do you buy wine by the case? I haven’t before, but I might look into it!

2007 Director's Cut Pinot Noir

I was in Lincoln, Nebraska for work for the last couple of weeks.  On my last night there, I went for dinner at a restaurant close to my hotel called Carmela’s Bistro and Wine Bar.  I usually visit this restaurant at least once per trip to Lincoln, so I have been here a few times.  It is a very cozy wine bar with an excellent menu.  In fact, I wish there were more places like this back home in Vancouver.  The first time I came here, I was actually quite surprised that places like this existed here.  But it seems it’s not so unusual here, and the staff are extremely knowledgeable about wine and are quite passionate about it as well.  If you ever happen to find yourself in Lincoln, Nebraska, I highly recommend visiting Carmela’s.

Tonight I tried a bottle of Francis Coppola Director’s Cut 2007 Pinot Noir.  I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised.

Here are my review notes.

Appearance: Long, slow legs.  Deep ruby red colour with the absolute faint

est hint of purple.

Smell: Oaky, warm smell.  Spiced smell.

Taste: Rich, smokey, oak flavour.  Medium dryness with a slight citrus flavour.  Slight hints of cranberry and cherry.  Smooth, sweet tanins.

Overall: Excellent wine.  I really enjoyed this wine!  I am always skeptical ordering a wine I have never heard anything about or read about prior to drinking; however, I was pleasantly surprised.  I will definitely look to pick this wine up again back home to make sure I have the same feelings about it the second time around.  I would love to see how this wine is in another 6 months or a year.  I did have it with a steak and potato soup for starter and a Biorsin cheese and butter seasoned filet mignon with a gorgonzola baked potato.  Absolutely excellent, and complemented the salty meal perfectly.

Rating: 4/5

Argentina is not for vegetarians

One of the things that Kelly and I love about Argentina is all of the red meat and how amazingly cheap and tasty it is.  Our typical meal includes the following:

-1 juicy, perfectly cooked steak as big as your head (Kelly and I share it and we still don’t even finish the whole thing)

-Salad/Veggies

-Mashed potatoes or fries

-Bread basket with dips

-1 Bottle of fantastic wine

All of this for $30…TOTAL, for both of us.  Back home you would spend $30 on the bottle of wine alone!

Let’s hope Kelly and I don’t gain 500 pounds while we’re here. 

 

I don't know wine from kerosene but, hey, bottoms up!

Asking a non-drinker to tend bar is akin to having a virgin explain the erotic pleasures to be derived from the Kama Sutra. Something is bound to be lost in the translation, if only through a lack of experience.

And yet there I was Saturday evening, helping out a fellow Canadian named Anne Vink, who owns the Old Mill Napier. Located in a historical section of the city, the place once actually operated as a wool mill but now Anne rents it out as a venue for birthday parties and weddings and any other celebration that lends itself to a large number of people gathering in a picturesque location.

This particular night featured a wedding and watching such an event must be thirsty work — or I guess, as my brother is so fond of saying, free alcohol really does taste better — because the regular bartender and I were kept very busy. Even if all I know about wine is that it comes in two colors. I’m almost positive about that.

I was relieved to discover the only other alcohol we’d be serving was beer. Because beer bottles have labels and I’ve been reading since I was four. It also helped that a lot of the guests brought back their empties. “Another green bottle? Coming right up.”

(Just for the record, the Belgium beer  Stella Artois was by far the favored brew on the night, with Tui and Heineken tied for a distant second. Very distant.)

Compare this experience to my first bartending gig when, many years ago, I was asked by one of my brother’s friends to dole out drinks at his wedding reception. Part of the reason — or perhaps the main reason — why this friend recruited my services was because he knew I wouldn’t be adding to the bar tab with my own imbibing.

At that time, however, I also had to serve up the hard stuff, and that can be tricky for someone who doesn’t know bourbon from kerosene. My solution was to have people point to the bottle they wanted. It seemed to work. Either that or everyone was too hammered to complain.

The only real complication on this Saturday presented itself in the form of the bubbly. We’re not talking champagne here; the bottles appeared to contain little more than carbonated wine but, when it comes to toasts — and free drinks — I suppose it’s the fizz that counts.

Except you don’t screw the tops off bottles of bubbly. Oh no — first you must unwrap a covering of some kind of metallic paper that is practically welded to the top of the bottle. Only to then encounter a metal cage designed, I can only assume, to keep rodents at bay. Finally, there is the cork itself, as dangerous a projectile as man has ever invented.

Just like that kid with the Red Ryder BB gun in A Christmas Story, I had this fear of taking someone’s eye out with a cork. And by someone, I mean me.

For the most part, I let my bartending partner open the bubbly. At one point, when she was away fetching clean glasses, I simply handed the bottle to a guest to open. He showed me his secret to avoiding both blindness and overflow: cup the bottom of the bottle in the palm of one hand and then slowly twist and pull the cork with the other. While keeping your face well out of the line of fire.

By the end of my shift, I had become quite the twist-and-pull expert. In fact, only one cork got away on me. I’m not really sure where it ended up but I didn’t hear any screaming and I’m going to assume that’s a good thing.

I also concocted my first glass of LLB (lemon, lime and bitters, for you beginners out there.) Which is to say I pretty much guesstimated how much lemon concentrate, Sprite and bitters should go in a glass. I played it safe and went heavy on the Sprite, if only because a) no one knew exactly how much bitters to use, and b) someone causally mentioned bitters has such a high alcohol content that too much of it can kill you.

By the end of my shift, no one was dead or maimed, and I’d devised my own method for pouring bubbly into a glass while producing a minimum of froth. So are you thinking what I’m thinking?

“Yeah, hello, Tom? Cocktail 2? I’m so there.”

Cognac 101

by Chris Benjamin, Food & Beverage Director, The Essex Resort & Spa

“All Cognac is brandy, but not all brandy is Cognac!” These were the inaugural words spoken to me on my first of many adventures with Cognac, one of the finest brandies available on the market.

One of my greatest friends introduced me to this wonderful liquor after a round of golf. “Yak”, as it is sometimes nicknamed, is a fitting beverage after a great meal or after some time spent outdoors, as it warms the insides and is also a great way to promote digestion. Cognac, named for a small, French town near Bordeaux, is the crème de la crème of brandies (and is derived from the Dutch word brandewijn, meaning “burnt wine”). It is made from distilling grape juice, and it is classified as an eau-de-vie (“water of life”), since it is processed through the primary fermentation of grape juice and then through the distillation of the byproduct.

The secret is in the soil, which requires rich deposits of chalk– the more the better. The region around Cognac, and around its neighbor Armagnac to the south, has this key ingredient. The finest brandies are classified based on the region in which the grapes are grown, and the center of the region around Cognac — Grande Champagne — is the best.

They say that Cognac is the finest brandy, but those who appreciate a glass will fall in love with Armagnac. In my opinion, Cognac is smoother and more majestic, but Armagnac has the soul of the beverage with heftier smoke, more aggressive flavors, and a ruggedness that Cognac lacks.

The second secret to success is the amount of time spent in oak. The longer the aging time, the richer and more complex the flavors. Very Superior (VS) Cognacs spend a minimum of two years in oak (though most average four to five years) while Very Superior Old Pale (VSOP) is the next level up, with greater depth of flavors and smokiness, spending a minimum of four years in wood (though industry average is between 10-15).

Extra Old (XO) will probably break most people’s banks, but it is certainly worth the experience. These brandies age for over six years (though industry average is 20 years) and tend to be the most elegant and noteworthy. For those of you who remember the movie Cocktail, when Tom Cruise’s character and his buddy make a bet over a girl, the prize is a bottle of Louis XIII, one of the most expensive Cognacs produced today (complete with a $100 Baccarat Crystal bottle!)

Cognac can be an acquired taste. So to cut down the “burn”, and to make it more accessible to a wider audience, bartenders created the Brandy Alexander. I certainly wouldn’t waste a good XO on this, but the better the Cognac the smoother the flavor.

Brandy Alexanders incorporate crème de cacao (chocolate liqueur), which is a timeless flavor combination. During the holidays, it was a tradition to make truffles containing brandy and a cherry (these have degenerated into “chocolate-covered cherries”). The Brandy Alexander is making a strong comeback — as are many classic cocktails these days — and this one has a slight twist. Just remember the nickname “Yak” when imbibing– this is a drink truly enjoyed in moderation.

The Tavern Brandy Alexander
1 1/2 oz. Cognac
1/2 oz. crème de cacao
6 oz. heavy cream
1/4 oz. Navan Vanilla Cognac

Mix and enjoy.

Windows Live Essentials en Ubuntu/Wine

Para mi fue un caos poder instalar el windows live essentials en ubuntu, ya tenia el wine pero cada que intentaba ejecutar el archivo instalador no pasaba nada, y digo NADA. Luego leí que faltaba algo de no se que punto net, me baje el framework de la página de microsoft, pero nada seguía sin dejarme instalar, la ejecución del instalador de DotNet mandaba un mensaje de error el cual decía “Faltan permisos especiales” y me bajaba otro instalador de versión mas vieja y otro y lo mismo. Luego Intente darle permisos desde la terminal ya saben con el sudo chmod +777 y luego ejecutaba y nada. Al final publique un articulo de que era imposible, pero no quería darme por vencido y regresar a Windows vista. Así que comprendí que no debía darle permisos desde Linux sino desde windows, obvio porque no se me había ocurrido antes, era la respuesta mas segura. Así que recordé que en la página de los portables venia un Command Prompt Portable y lo baje, busqué la lista de comandos que este podría soportar (CACLS) y había quedado con permisos, ahora instalaba DotNet, y luego el installer de windows live, ya tenia windows live messenger, lo probé y sirvió. Lo que ahora no jala muy bien es WLMail pero es un error de DotNet, luego trate de hacer lo mismo con mi desktop (que tiene fedora/wine) y no funciono. ¿Ahí si ni idea?.

Community - defining who we are

Normally I have been a person who shies away from markets, they’re usually filled with people selling things no one wants or products of below par workmanship that are unsalable anywhere else. So, last Saturday, I surprised myself by agreeing to accompany my friend to what was billed as the monthly local farmer’s market on Churchill Island five minutes from my home.

Armed with fifty dollars cash and a dose of skepticism we wended our way along a narrow dirt road to what is normally an idyllic and scarcely inhabited scenic spot. I could tell something was up due to the mobile traffic light that regulated the comings and goings over the one lane bridge that usually only carried a handful of cars per day. Car-park attendants gestured directions with a half interested arm, guiding us into the filling field of Audi’s and rusty 4 wheels drives that is more often a grassy meadow.

I was pleasantly surprised by what I found on strolling through the many stalls. Not the usual fare of plastic toys, hippie clothes and vinyl belts from China but a stunning array of real produce that a person like me actually wants to consume. This was real food grown by real people. The sort of stuff you’d expect to find in trendy downtown eateries or mountain top retreats. Yet here it was, available to the average person, grown and prepared by average people at prices that anyone could afford. Local wines, hand picked asparagus cut that very morning, clear apple juice still warm from yesterdays pressing… what more could one want?

Even more impressive than the produce were the producers. It amazed me how many nationalities and accents could be heard amongst the stall holders. Locals, born and bred mixed it happily with new comers from the far corners of the globe, everyone enthusiastic about what the other brought to this food lover’s paradise. One couple I met were selling fresh pasta and originated from Croatia. Over the tasting of some gnocchi we started talking of a recent trip I’d made sailing in the islands off the Croatian coast. As we chatted I discovered that she came from the island of Hvar where I had recently been. A small island with a history going back to 600 BC, Hvar impressed me with its old marble streets, wonderful harbour restaurants and open genuine people.  Now here we were on the far side of the world enjoying some banter and fresh gnocchi. I realised as we chatted that our sense of identity never really comes from a nationality or place of birth but rather has a quality more universal. Community is defined by a commitment to one another, an unspoken duty to add something to those around us and to take part in life. And that is what we were doing at that moment, building community by our interaction and sharing of lives and experiences, the food acting as an excuse to open up and sample each other’s world.

In this time where the news is often dominated by debate of immigration and talk of who belongs and who doesn’t it was refreshing to experience the reality of what a multi-cultural community really adds to our lives. I’d rather have my community defined by the human attributes of honest endeavour and open interaction than the accident of where someone was born. What makes community is often hard to define yet the absence of community is understood by how empty we feel by our own isolation. Surely one key ingredient though is the willingness to be involved, to add to and receive from the experiences of each other. That’s the sort of place I wish to live in and I’m happy to report it is alive and well in many unlooked for places, even on a small island on the edge of the world.

Details of Churchill Island can be found here. The Farmer’s Markets are held every 4th Saturday of the month 8am-1pm.

Red wines and fish

Japanese scientists have solved the mystery of why red wines don’t go with fish. Iron.

Japanese scientists asked study subjects to try 38 red wines and 26 whites while eating scallops. Some of the wines contained small amounts of iron, which varied by country of origin, variety and vintage. The tasters noted which wines really didn’t work with scallops. And the researchers found that those wines all had high levels of iron. So they doctored the wine with a substance that binds iron, keeping it away from the tasters’ tongues. And voila, the bad taste became a bad memory.

link to Scientific American

Autumn is definitely here

Returning home for Sunday night and Monday morning at the weekend, I took the oppurtunity to check up on how the greenhouse and my various brewing endevours are coming along. Today was certainly the most Autumnal of this year, the garden being covered with fallen Birch leaves, although I’m sure it will get much worse in the next few weeks.

The greenhouse and garden.. although positively baron compared to the wealth of plants in the spring and summer, is continuing to produce ripe tomatoes (albeit slower than i July and August), and the few plants we have left after having a blight outbreak and having to cull some, are doing a lot better than I’d imagined they would be at this time. The late leaks (All two of them) are coming along nicely, and in fact bigger than the ones outside in the borders which were planted probably 3 months before. The late beetroot again is coming along well, and hopefully we will have enough for some christmas pickled beetroot to be started before the frosts come in. The potatoes are taking over again.. I think a mid agust planting was perhaps too early for Christmas new potatoes, but then again I don’t know how big they are underground, and hopefully we won’t be disappointed when we dig them up on Christmas eve! We’ve also moved all the mini pepper and chilli plants into the conservatory to save them from the cold, and they all have lots of fruits, some of which are ripening, not sure if they all will before the plants die though.

As for the brewing progress, there’s not really a lot to report. The cider is looking a lot clearer than when first squeezed, and smells like proper cider too. I only hope it tastes a fraction of how good it looks and smells! I will be rebottling it in about a fortnight I think, to give it time to settle into new bottles for Christmas opening. The elder/blackberry wine isn’t looking too good. I have a feeling that I diluted it with too much water, and as such it will taste like weak, alcoholic blackcurrant juice, but it looks nice which is the main thing (!) and again, only time will tell. I am very pleased with the sloe gin. It has been given a good shake most days for the past three weeks, and the colour is beautiful. I am not sure what I will do with it, I am thinking of rebottling it into clear, square bottles that can be resealed to make it look nice, but am not quite sure how I will get all the bits of the berries out yet. Also I want to leave the berries in for as long as possible to transmit as much of their flavour  to the gin as possible. Walking on Sunday I found a few more sloe trees so picked a few to hopefully start a few trees for when we finish university and hopefully get our own house.

Luke

Why Christ's love is better than wine #2

I was a binge drinker between the ages of 17 and 23, regularly getting wasted for the buzz. I was drawn to Christ at the end of that time and simply stopped drinking. Old friends asked “why don’t you get drunk any more?” I’d say, “because I now know the love of Christ and it’s much better than beer.” Here’s a second excerpt from CH Spurgeon’s sermon on Song of Solomon 1:2, “your love is better than wine“:

II. CHRIST’S LOVE IS BETTER THAN WINE BECAUSE OF WHAT IT IS–

Let me remind you of some of the uses of wine in the East. Often, it was employed as a medicine, for it had certain healing properties. The good Samaritan, when he found the wounded man, poured into his wounds “oil and wine.” But the love of Christ is better than wine; it may not heal the wounds of the flesh, but it does heal the wounds of the spirit.

Wine, again, was often associated by men with the giving of strength. Now, whatever strength wine may give or may not give, certainly the love of Jesus gives strength, and strength mightier than the mightiest earthly force, for when the love of Jesus Christ is shed abroad in a man’s heart, he can bear a heavy burden of sorrow. …The love of Christ enables a man to do great exploits, and makes him strong for suffering, strong for self-sacrifice, and strong for service.

Wine was also frequently used as the symbol of joy; and certainly, in this respect, Christ’s love is better than wine. Whatever joy there may be in the world… the love of Christ is far superior to it. Human joy derived from earthly sources is a muddy, dirty pool, at which men would not drink did they know there was a stream sweeter, cooler, and far more refreshing.

It is better than wine, once more, for the sacred exhilaration which it gives. I have already spoken of this; the love of Christ is the grandest stimulant of the renewed nature that can be known. It enables the fainting man to revive from his swooning; it causes the feeble man to leap up from his bed of languishing; and it makes the weary man strong again. Are you weary, brother, and sick of life? You only need more of Christ’s love shed abroad in your heart. Are you, dear brother, ready to faint through unbelief? You only need more of Christ’s love, and all shall be well with you.

Day 20.3: Wine and vegan meatloaf

What a great night!

My friend Renee was coming over for dinner, so I got started on the Vegan Meatloaf from Happy Herbivore early since it had to be in the oven for an hour.

First I got out all the ingredients:

Then I chopped up my onion like a mad woman. Big props to my Pampered Chef chopper…that thing rules and is totally worth the money.

Then I got started on making the loaf. It was SO EASY!

I followed everything to a T, except the optional ingredients which I left out. One change I did make, was I used oats instead of bread crumbs.

Before going into the oven (and topped with organic ketchup).

Oh my gosh. This seriously tasted so good. Except for the fact that it was not at all greasy, this tasted like meatloaf. I mean that, sincerely. YUM! Even Renee, who is an omnivore, agreed. I sent the recipe home with her!

We had some broccoli too

And some vino!

The wine was a brand called Cupcake which was picked for the name which was fine with me since I love cupcakes!

It was a Cabernet Savignon and at first, we both found it a little dry but once we warmed up to it, it was really good!

I know some wines aren’t vegan but I didn’t really worry about that tonight. Everything else was!

For dessert we had So Delicious chocolate peanut butter non-dairy ice cream

Okay, chocolate velvet has some competition! The peanut butter part was very…peanut butter-y,  ha ha. But I loved it and it was so nice of my friend to bring it over. We also had another glass of wine with dessert!

I had so much fun drinking wine, turning on some music, making a vegan dinner and catching up with my oldest friend.

Renee and I have known each other since we were five but it has been a long time since it’s just been the two of us.

She’s actually taller than me, this was a re-enactment, ha ha. When we were kids, I was a foot taller than her!

Hope you had a great night as well. See you all tomorrow!

p.s. Don’t forget to Vote For Me for the Sam-e “Good Mood Gig” You can vote once every day between now and October 30th. Thank you!

Wine a Little, You'll Feel Better!

That was what many flags around Napa said and I couldn’t agree more.  My husband and I just got back from a lovely trip to wine country.  Or ‘the Motherland’ for winos like us.  I was beautiful there.  We had never been and really didn’t know what to expect, other than we’d always wanted to go.

Some of the grapevines were changing color, some were yellow, others red, and some were still green with fruit hanging.  There was a late rain just last week which threw everyone there for a loop and they were scrambling to get the rest of the harvest picked.

We rented a convertible and in true fashion for us, the weather for a few days was crap.  The huge storm that blew in on Tuesday delayed our flight by 2 hours because of the rain and wind in San Francisco.  Wednesday started out cloudy and damp, but turned out to be beautiful, so we went topless and just drove the valley.  The sights and smells were amazing.  The lush grapevines were everywhere, rolling hills dotted with short, scrubby trees, intermingled with centuries old, 75ft tall eucalyptus trees that scented the air with either rosemary or basil.  that was an ongoing debate for us, I smelled basil, my husband smelled rosemary.  but we were both wrong, it was eucalyptus!

Grapevines were everywhere imaginable.  I never thought they’d be so close to the road, we could’ve stopped and picked some grapes if we wanted to.  Up the hillside and in people’s front yards.  Some wineries looked like beautiful, Victorian homes, like Beringer.  Others, like Opus One, were more modern and very upscale.  And then there was the Castle.  Castella di Amarosa was an incredible estate.  A true Italian castle built with only materials and techniques available during the dark ages, complete with a moat, dungeons and an iron maiden.  It was perched on a hillside with rows of grapevines going downhill and tall junipers lining the drive.  It looked like I imagine Tuscany would with the rolling hills and colors.

You know, we really learned a lot on this trip.  More than what we expected to.  We are wine lovers.  but at the same time, we are cheap winos.  For a while, we would see who could find the best, cheapest boxed wine.  some of them are decent, others put what felt like a layer of fur on my teeth after the first glass. 

We never really understood the complexities of wine and the flavors and sensations involved.  When you read a description it may say, ‘hints of raspberry, green pepper, black currant and dark chocolate.’  Ok.  whatever.  I never got all that.  Until Thursday night. We stayed at a beautiful B&B called Le Belle Epoque. A gorgeous Victorian/Queen Anne style home built in the late 1890’s.  Truly beautiful, inside and out.  Our innkeepers, Derek and Roxann were lovely hosts and held a nightly wine reception in their wine cellar.  Very lovely.  We were able to meet other guests, mingle with our hosts and sample different wines.  It was a really enjoyable way to end the day. 

Thursday night, we got out a box called Le Nez de Vin,  The Nose of Wine.  It contained little vials of different essences, black currant, strawberry, green pepper, licorice.  I think there were a dozen maybe. We played a guessing game, we’d sniff the vial and try to guess what it contained.  We got several correct, but also got several wrong.  But it helped us understand the different things we were smelling and tasting in the wine and it turned our concept of wine upside down.  It was really amazing to go the next day to a winery, Grgich Hills Estate, which was great btw, do a tasting and really be able to pick out those things and know what it was we were experiencing.  It was incredible, truly.

Something else happened that we would never have expected.  We became lovers of white wine.  I guess my only experiences with white wine involved cheap wine at someone’s wedding reception because my thoughts were that it was all super dry, oaky, and just left my mouth feeling like dust.  WRONG!  Oh how wrong we were!  Our first full day there, we went into a tasting room that carried wines from several different vintners and sampled several whites.  We were pleasantly surprised. So surprised in fact, for the first time ever, we bought a $30 bottle of wine, and it was WHITE!  Let me tell you, if you think the only white wine is a Chardonnay, you are so wrong! There are so many others beyond just a chard.  I used to think that too, but boy, we found out the truth!

Before, we’d splurge on a $25 bottle of Pinot Noir.  This time we bought a Viognier.  Ever heard of that one?  It was lovely, not too sweet (we don’t really go for the sweet) not too dry.  We were told the viognier is used primarily for blending and we don’t see much of it.

The first glass of wine we had when we arrived at our B&B was a Cabernet franc.  Heard of that one?  If you have, you’re lucky.  It was a wonderful red, a bit oaky, but not too much.  It is another that is used primarily for blending.  I will look for both of them now when I’m buying wine.

We have decided that rather than buying 3 or 4 cheap bottles of wine, we will buy one good bottle of wine and really savor and enjoy it, make it more of an experience.  My husband has always been able to chug his wine.  I never could. He said that’s because it’s cheap, to him it’s not much more than kool-aid.  No more.  I never once saw him chug anything in Napa.

I encourage you, if you like wine at all, the next time some restaurant is holding a wine dinner where you can sample several different wines from a vintner, go.  Or maybe join a wine club.  In fact, there’s a wine club here, I think I may look them up.  It could be a lot of fun. Get together with people and try and discuss the various wines.  sounds good to me!

Like they say, Wine  a Little, You’ll Feel Better!

Wine and Holiday Gift Giving

It’s hard to believe but another holiday season is almost upon us; in a little over two months, Christmas will be here and, chances are, we’ve all got at least one person on our holiday shopping list that is impossible to buy for; it’s that guy or gal who claims they really don’t need a thing and can, therefore, offer absolutely no assistance for our gift giving dilemma.  How about a bottle of wine for those wine lovers who have everything?  As an Independent Wine Consultant for WineShop At Home, let me offer some guidelines before purchasing that gift of wine:

• If at all possible, determine the recipient’s preference beforehand:  Is your sister-in-law a white wine drinker or is her preference for a nice Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot?
• Skip the boxed wine; this should go without saying but if you’re going to give a gift of wine, make sure it comes in a bottle
• The best wine isn’t necessarily the most expensive; there are many superb wines in the $15-$20/bottle range, such as our limited production, artisan wines at WineShop At Home

Here are some suggestions if you’re stumped but would like to surprise that special someone on your list with a gift to remember:

 A wonderful and unique gift is a wine club membership. With WineShop At Home, you can give either 2 or 4 bottles of wine shipped directly to the recipient’s home for a very reasonable cost. The gift giver can choose to give all red wines, all whites or a combination of both, depending on the recipient’s preference. Gift memberships are available in 3 month, 6 month or 12 month durations. A wine club membership is the gift that continues to be enjoyed throughout the year.

For those looking for a very personal gift, our personalized wines are the perfect way to commemorate any occasion. Our wines can be personalized with any image and text of your choosing and will surely represent a one-of-a-kind gift that will not be duplicated. Our personalized wines are ideal for corporate gift giving, too; personalized with your company’s name and logo, this will be a unique and memorable way to keep your company at the forefront of your customer’s minds.

I look forward to assisting you in choosing a gift that will be enjoyed long after the holidays are over.

Cheers!!
Diane Aksten

Abundance in Shade

I love going to a client’s house for an initial consultation and walking the property. Inevitably there is a north side and sometimes a shady side too. Their response is commonly the same, “Well, this is the shady side. I wish we could grow food here. Is there anything else we can do with it?” What about growing some grub? I’m not just talking about growing mushrooms or fiddlehead ferns, which might be a common solution. I’m talking about berries and fruit as well.

There is a whole host of plants that actually produce better in the shade. Yes mushrooms do grow well in the shade and there is nothing better for the epicur-ious than a mushroom garden with a variety of mushrooms. But here are a couple others to consider. If you have the room put

Evergreen Huckleberry and Salal share a bed

in a hedge of Evergreen Huckleberry (Vacciniuum ovatum). In the shade V. ovatum can get 6 – 8 feet tall, while in the sun it only gets to 3′. It even produces better in the shade. By pruning and trimming it into a hedge you encourage it to branch more and thus fruit more. Plus its native.

Also native, but not as tall is  Salal (Gaultheria shallon). Known for its berries, which can be used as a thickener, sweetener and wine as well as eaten fresh, Salal also has tender young leaves that can be eaten as well. I haven’t tried them, I’m more likely to use them in flower arranging if I ever take up that hobby. I use the berries in combination with the evergreen huckleberries for jam and really want to give the combination a go as a wine.

Actinidia kolomikta isn't called Arctic beauty for nothin' (A. kolomikta seen here doing it's climbing thing)

Here’s another berry, technically. Kiwi. Hardy Kiwi specifically. Kiwis are vines and vigorous ones at that growing up to 30m into trees.  Actinidia species arguta (this link says they are flavorful…don’t believe ‘em) and kolomikta fall into the hardy category. They will tolerate temps to -20F. As producing vines kolomikta needs warm spring temps with little to no chance of surprise frost, while the arguta flowers later and has a better chance of not losing their buds to a spring frost. This makes them a good choice for Western Washington and similar temperate climates around the world. Actinidia deliciosa, the fuzzy kiwi that we find in the store, is a different species with a to-the-point latin name, but don’t let the lack of “deliociosa” in the hardy kiwi names deter you, they are amazing and can be found at the farmer’s markets right now. Keep in mind that Kiwis plants are dioecious so you will need a male and a female for fruit.

I hope this inspires you to find some shade and play with it. There are, count them, 1 – 2 – 3 edible nurseries between Washington and Oregon that sells these fruits. They have a number of varieties. All three will mail the plants to you in a reasonable time period for a reasonable cost.

eat well. live well. be happy!

Wine Review: Autumn Press Tasting at Berry Bros & Rudd Autumn Press Tasting (Londonist)

Wine Review: Autumn Press Tasting Berry Bros & Rudd Autumn Press Tasting
Londonist, October 16, 2009 3:21 PM

Hey, Londonist never misses a chance to use a spittoon in polite company and yesterday’s press tasting of autumnal selections at Berry Bros & Rudd was no exception.

READ THE COMPLETE REVIEW:
Wine Review: Autumn Press Tasting Berry Bros & Rudd Autumn Press Tasting

[How-to] Vanguard Princess en Linux

De un tiempo para aca, me habian recomendado este juego 2-D de pelea, solo que habia una pega, era para Windows. Despues de mucho googlear una investigacion exhaustiva descubri como correr este juego, para ello necesitamos:

-Wine (de preferencia la ultima version)

-Soporte UTF8 para lenguaje japones

• En Ubuntu buscamos los paquetes utf8 jp en Synaptic.
• En Arch Linux, editamos locale.gen para soporte UTF8 sudo nano /etc/locale.gen y despues actualizamos sudo locale-gen

- Y claro el juego en cuestion (Link de descarga)

Cuando se descargue el ejecutable, lo abrimos con Wine, que hara que se descomprima una carpeta, esa carpeta la movemos a nuestro directorio de Wine:

cp ~/Desktop/ /home/$USER/.wine/drive_c/

Despues cambiamos el nombre de la carpeta que se encuentra de la que se extrajo (yo le puse vanpri) y despues renombrar el archivo con extension exe y kgt que esta en esa carpeta (otra vez lo renombre vanpri).

Terminado eso, vamos a crear un script para lanzarlo, para ello, abran su editor de texto favorito y coloquen el siguiente codigo:
Script para lanzar Vanguard Princess ($Nombre se refiere al nombre de la carpeta)

Lo guardamos con extension sh (digamos vanpri.sh) y ahora le damos permisos de ejecucion:
$ chmod +x vanpri.sh

y lo ejecutamos para probarlo:
$ ./vanpri.sh

NOTA: Cuando estaba en Ubuntu tuve problemas con el sonido, asi que adopte PulseAudio, en Arch no tuve problemas con ALSA.

Y asi disfrutamos de este juego y sus personajes .

Mata ne!

Alleged Biblical Inconsistencies

GE 27:28 “May God give you … an abundance of grain and new wine.”
DT 7:13 If they follow his commandments, God will bless the fruit of their wine.
PS 104:15 God gives us wine to gladden the heart.
JE 13:12 “… every bottle shall be filled with wine.”
JN 2:1-11 According to the author of John, Jesus’ first miracle was turning water to wine.
RO 14:21 It is good to refrain from drinking wine.

Wow!

Now that’s a biggie.

I’ll do two things:

1.  Refer you to Bob Hayton’s nine mile long posts on wine.

2.  Mention that context is important.  In Rom 14:21 Paul stated that he would not drink wine if it caused his brother to stumble/sin.

Context, context, context.  We MUST remember the context.

Drunken Pears

I am working on the illustrations for a book. It is very exciting. (for me anyway) I needed some drunken pears. Also known as poached pears. So, of course, I called on über chef Ken Wyble, my brother-in-law. He called me a couple days ago and asked if I was ready for the pears and my answer? Sure why not.

So we went out to his restaurant to shoot, just me and my assistant, Berry. He made the most beautiful Bosque Pears poached in a pomegranate wine with maraschino cherries. They were beautiful, wonderful and in the end, oh so scrumptious. We made some more images for him of a couple dishes, some more desserts and had fun. This is one of the outs.

©2009 Jenn LeBlanc

Stonecap Riesling 2007

Stonecap Riesling (not the 2007 label)

This wine confused me. In fact, I had to let it sit for a while, chilling, as I thought this one through. The first glass really had me stumped.

It was sweet, and just a little bitter on the finish, but not bittersweet enough to make a grand first impression. The fruits were all jumbled together, confounding the senses. The screw top cap went back on, and I decided to concentrate on the paltry portion of fish I had baking in the oven as I tried to collect my thoughts…

OK, 30 minutes later, the wine had opened up nicely. There was a definite frontal assault on the palate of sweet, registering slightly tart apple, and peach, especially the slight bitterness of a near ripe peach skin. The lingering aftertaste of watered down honey also left a distinct impression of sweet, pale green Candela leaf.

I enjoyed this Riesling with a salad (heavy on the vine tomatoes!) and a side of orange-ginger fish (pre-packaged, unfortunately). The Stonecap Riesling 2007 ships for about $9 from PA Wine, and turned out to be a nice light wine (100% Riesling, 12% ALC) to enjoy on a week day meal.

And lesson learned – even Whites must breathe!

Bodega Lopez de Heredia, Viña Tondonia by Zaha Hadid

The new wing of Bodegas Lopez de Heredia done in Elciego, Rioja – Spain (Rioja again!) by Zaha Hadid is a witty project for marketing issues and falicities requirement. History of architecture passed through post modern and lately a new wave of  marketing managers becoming architects and designers, but nobody ever thought to do something so obvious for a winery. An OVERSIZE decanter!!! Beside the jokes the “queen of architecture” did something really special I love. This space aim to be a showroom and underground a museum of wine. Inside the new building has been placed the original pavillon done in 1910 for the Exposition Universelle de Bruxelles. Lesson number one at spanish school of wine marketing: architecture is the answer!

http://www.lopezdeheredia.com/

Impossible to Avoid

Birthdays come every year, and no matter what, they cannot be avoided. As we mentioned a few days ago, October is the favorite month for both of us for our own reasons. If you were to create a Venn diagram, you’d see one of the shared reasons is the fact that our birthdays are in October. (Not to mention several other friends as well.) First is Chrystal, then Amir, which makes us an interesting Libra/Scorpio pair, respectively. Very interesting! Never shunning an opportunity to cook, we threw the first party of the month with cake and cocktails of course. There’s no such thing as a birthday sans cake and cocktails. We are also responsible and do not want to send our friends out into the world on sugar alone, so we whipped up a few savory nibblets as well.

If you follow our Twitter stream, you may have seen the last couple weeks’ posts with questions, comments and queries about said birthday cake. Thanks to good advice from Courtney and Brocka and recommendations from other nice tweeple, we went forward with this delicious almondy, raspberry filled, dark chocolate covered fluffy cake. Layers baked and frozen one night, filling made the next night, then everything was assembled and frosted the day of the party. We love to do as many things ahead of time as possible. The nuts were made at least three days prior to the party, the hummus and the first step of breadstick croutons the day before. The chicken was also in the fridge the night before to marinate. The sangria was in the fridge brewing early in the morning, so it’d be ready by the afternoon. It’s funny how easy these kind of parties can be when you break it down into little steps.

Roasted Pepper Hummus – Serves 12 to 16
30 ounces chickpeas, drained
9 ounces roasted red peppers, drained
1 1/2 tablespoons tahini (toasted, not raw)
Juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
1/2 tablespoon Tabasco
1/3-1/2 cup olive oil
Kosher salt

1. Toss nuts and garlic in a food processor and grind down to a paste. Add chickpeas, tahini and Tabasco. Blend until smooth.

2. Add lemon juice until incorporated, then slowly stream in the olive oil until mixture has reached desired consistency. Salt to taste.

Rosemary Brown Sugar Nuts

Spinach, Tomato and Goat Cheese Pizzettes – Serves 8 to 12
1 premade pizza dough
8 ounces fresh spinach, stems removed
2 vine tomatoes, diced
1/2 bunch fresh basil, torn
4 ounces goat cheese
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon yellow cornmeal
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1/8 cup olive oil, plus more for sprinkling
Kosher salt

1. Spread foil over a 9”x13” baking sheet and sprinkle cornmeal evenly over the surface. Set aside.

2. In a small sauce pan, add olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes over low heat just until garlic begins to sizzle. Remove from heat and set aside.

3. Roll out pizza dough on a lightly floured surface. Carefully transfer to baking sheet.

4. Brush tops of the dough with infused olive oil. Top each one with spinach, basil, tomato and dollops of goat cheese.

5. Bake in a preheated oven at 450 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Cut each pizza into 24 squares. Drizzle with extra olive oil and salt to taste if desired.

Honey Balsamic Chicken Wings – Serves 15 to 20
4 pounds chicken wings and drumettes,
1 1/4 cups balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup olive oil, plus extra for sprinkling
1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon ground cayenne
1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
1 scallion, minced plus more for garnish
Chinese five-spice powder
Kosher salt

1. In a large bowl, mix balsamic vinegar, soy sauce, olive oil, honey, garlic, scallions and cayenne. Whisk well. Add chicken and toss until all pieces are covered in the marinade. Let sit in the fridge overnight.

2. Spread chicken over two large aluminum foil covered baking sheets and drizzle with olive oil. Season liberally with salt and a light sprinkling of five-spice powder.

3. Bake in a preheated oven at 400 degrees for 10-15 minutes. then set over medium high heat and cook until thickened and bubbly.

4. Remove chicken from oven and, in small batches, dunk chicken pieces into sauce and return to tray. Continue baking for another 5-10 minutes.

5. Drizzle any remaining sauce over the chicken and sprinkle with extra scallions before serving.

Red Sangria – Serves 16
4 bottles red wine
4 cups pineapple orange guava juice
4 cups mango juice
1/3 cup triple sec
4 oranges, sliced

Mix everything except the oranges in a large serving bowl. Steep for 4-6 hours. Add fruit just before serving.

The last time we made cookies, we used an egg white royal icing, and we mentioned that we’d use a glacé next time for the smooth, glossy finish. Our Best Bites had a great recipe for the icing, so we went with that. We also used their recipe for the cookies, but we added milk to loosen the dough. Who needs flowers if you have a cookie bouquet?

Sugar Cookie Pops (Adapted from Our Best Bites) – Approximately 2 1/2 dozen
1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup whole milk

Icing
1/2 pound powdered sugar
1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoon whole milk, plus more if necessary
1/8 cup plus 1 tablespoon light corn syrup, plus more if necessary
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Decorating
6” lollipop sticks
Food coloring and various decorations

1. Using an electric mixer, cream butter and sugar until fluffy, approximately 5 minutes. Add egg followed by vanilla and mix well.

2. While wet ingredients mix, whisk flour with baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Slowly add to wet ingredients until just combined, then stir in milk.

3. Divide dough into two balls. On a lightly floured surface, roll each one into a smooth ball, flatten with your palm and wrap tightly in plastic wrap paper. Chill at least one hour.

4. Roll dough out to 1/4” thick, cut shapes using a cookie cutter and lay on top of lollipop sticks about halfway up the middle of the each cookie. Press down slightly in the center to secure sticks. Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until edges just begin to turn golden brown. Remove from oven and cool completely on wire racks.

5. When all the cookies have cooled, whisk powdered sugar with milk, corn syrup and vanilla until smooth. Add more milk if it’s not thin enough to spread. Add food coloring if desired.

6. Spread icing over cookies and sprinkle with jimmies and candies, then dry completely. (If you plan to pipe onto the cookies, let the foundation of icing dry and harden first. Add a little more powdered sugar to the icing until it is thick enough to use for piping.)

We did mention breadstick croutons, and they were the basis for a surprising appetizer that came out better than expected. We took the opportunity to test out a recipe with the Nature’s Pride bread samples we received a couple of weeks ago. We actually had no clue if the bread would work for this recipe, but it did. Very well too.

Proscuitto and Brie Breadsticks – Serve 10 to 15
6 slices wheat bread, cut into 5 strips
2 ounces prosciutto, slices cut into 5 pieces
3 ounces brie cheese, cut into thin strips
4 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
1/2 bunch fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
Olive oil
Balsamic vinegar

1. Stir garlic into the melted butter and set aside.

2. Spread bread strips over a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Brush both sides of the bread with the melted butter, lay them on the baking sheet and sprinkle half of the parsley on top. Bake in a preheated oven at 300 degrees for 20 minutes.

3. Remove baking sheet from the oven. Turn bread over and sprinkle the rest of the parsley over the bread.

4. Return to the oven and bake another 15 minutes or until hard and golden brown in color. Turn off oven and leave baking sheet in there overnight. Bread should be dry and crunchy the next day.

5. When ready to assemble, lay a piece of brie on top of the bread followed by a leaf of basil then proscuitto. Before serving, drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Almond Strawberry Cake with Whipped Chocolate Ganache – Serves 12 to 16

Cake (altered from Jacques Pépin)
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
7 ounces almond paste, room temp and cubed
1 1/4 cups sugar
6 large eggs, at room temperature
1/2 cup whole milk
Zest of 1 lemon
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 cups cake flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
Flour, for dusting the pan

Filling
1 pound fresh strawberries, chopped
1/3 cup sugar
Zest of 1 lemon
2 cups red wine
Simple syrup

Frosting
1 pound dark chocolate, finely shaved or chopped
3 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, cubed

1.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.  Tap pans to get rid of excess flour.  Set aside.

2.  Using an electric mixer, beat almond paste, sugar, zest and butter until well mixed.  Add eggs and vanilla, then milk.

3.  As wet ingredients mix, whisk flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in a small bowl.  Add to wet ingredients until just incorporated.

4.  Pour cake batter into the pans, tapping them lightly on a flat surface to remove any air bubbles and level the batter’s surface.  Bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes.  Remove from oven and cool in pans 10 minutes, then invert and cool cakes on wire racks.

5.  While cakes bake, heat raspberries, 1/4 cup sugar, zest and wine over medium high heat until mixture comes to a boil.  Turn down heat to a simmer and cook down until liquid reduces and thickens, approximately 10-15 minutes.  Mash berries with a fork throughout reduction phase.

6.  Remove raspberry mixture from heat. Take a small sieve and set over a food processor.  Carefully pour liquid into the sieve, pressing gently and scraping sides to push all liquid through the sieve.  Blend in food processor until smooth.  Cover and set in fridge to cool completely.  (Bring to room temp just before using.)

7.  Pour shaved chocolate in the bowl of a stand mixer or heat resistant bowl.  Set aside.  Add cream, vanilla powdered sugar and salt to a sauce pan and whisk until combined.  Bring mixture to a slight boil, then immediately remove from heat.  Pour cream over chocolate, let sit for 5-10 minutes, then stir until smooth.  Finally, stir in butter until it has fully melted.

8.  Take a piece of plastic wrap and cover frosting, pressing plastic against the surface of the chocolate mixture to prevent a skin from forming on top.  Let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes before placing in the fridge to continue to chill at least 4 hours.

9.  When ready, use an electric mixer to whip the ganache until soft peaks form and frosting holds its shape.  Trim and split cake layers into a total of four pieces.  Brush bottom layer with simple syrup, then spread strawberry filling on top.  Repeat with remaining layers, but only brush simple syrup on top of the last layer.   Press cake down firmly with the palms of your hands to flatten and shape it.

10.  Spread a light crumb coat of whipped frosting over cake and chill in the fridge for 30 minutes.  Use remaining frosting to cover the cake.

Another birthday, come and gone. On to the next one!

:: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: :: ::

My Castle Beats Your Castle

3 October, Saturday.

After waking up and breakfasting on toast and jam in the hostel, and saying goodbye to the Aussies, the Brit, and Giuseppe and Andrea, we headed out for the road. Genie and I took the Smart and the rest piled into the Yaris for an hour’s trip to Segeste. The roads ran along the edges of the cliffs over the sprawling ocean towns, perched on the edge of the Mediterranean, and then wound through the mountains up to the small hilly town, site of one of the most excellently preserved Greek temples in Sicily. Crafted in the Doric style, it still stands almost as it did when first built, its warm red stone rising into a full colonnade over a large base. Only the roof, never built, lacks. After marveling at this ancient wonder, we piled back into the cars. I took the Smart again, but this time Marcelo drove as we headed towards Erice, a mountain town. With the Smart in manual, we climbed up the mountain in jerks, at one point taking a wrong turn and almost venturing onto a steep dirt road which, seeing it later from the peaks, might have done us in.

But we made it safely to Erice, parking our car in the line on the edge of the mountain, overlooking the valley crashing into the sea below. We sought out food and ended up splitting up for lunch, since the selection was disappointingly touristy and none of us could agree. Marcelo, Genie, and I ate a small meal at a little café, just caprese salad and bread for the girls, and then filled up our stomachs at a local pasticceria, where the server gave us a slew of different samples so delicious that we ended up buying a dense honey-almond cake, marzipan, a little almond cookie, and a cannolo to split. So good! After lunch we trekked up the mountain to the peak, on which was perched an old stone castle, splayed across the cliffs and bridging the gap between them. Venturing into its outer courtyard, we investigated the rooms that started as an old temple to Astarte, then Roman baths to Venus, to finally a medieval lord’s castle. Made doubly beautiful by its long and apparent history, it was multiplied even more by the views from its crumbled outer walls. Over the edge, the whole of the surrounding lands were spread, from the wide clear salt flats to the crowded towns to the strips of sandy beach and their tiny crashing waves rising out of the cerulean span.

With our trip to Erice redeemed, we headed down the mountain to Trapani, a beautiful seaside town overrun by masses of tweens wearing purple. We met the guys, who had taken the Smart, at a beach bar right on the ocean, complete with cabanas and parrot-colored rentable beach chairs. We sat with drinks and just enjoyed the salty sea air. I was much reminded of Hilton Head, and was sad to leave when it was time to seek out a hostel. Which, in Trapani, is a rare sight. We finally, at the direction of a bartender, stumbled upon a sketchy bed and breakfast with a letter-sized sign with name and phone number bolted next to a wide wooden door in a narrow side street. Katie called the number and Salvatore told us he would be there in five minutes. We all took bets on what he would be, but were all wrong. Walking briskly up to us was a cheerful old Italian man with a fluffy gray moustache and a shirt stained from cooking pasta sauce in his nearby Trattoria. He lead us up yet another set of dark and dubious stairs to a quaint little apartment, decorated with mismatched wallpaper, the kind of porcelain figurines that Great Grandma used to hoard, and shiny bedspreads straight out of a Carol Wright catalogue. It was the perfect chintzy Italian apartment and we had it all to ourselves.

After naps, we went to Salvatore’s trattoria for an expensive but delicious dinner of spirally pasta in a local pesto sauce, bread, wine, and for me and Marcelo, cous cous pescatore. We walked to a gelato place after that, then grabbed drinks at a corner store and sat on the wharf, just talking and enjoying the sea air. After, we headed to a café for a small tasting of Trapaneze winds, delicious and made spicy from the burning-hot snacks they gave us, and cassata, a Sicilian cake with almond paste and fruit. At the bar after that was our first Pineapple (our code word for Mafia) sighting; for, Sicily is one of the only places still run by the Mob. There was a large, imposing looking man in a button down shirt standing behind the bar not doing work, and he didn’t seem to be able to answer any of our questions about the selections either. When Genie saw the waitress pass him a wad of cash and heard him say, “I need 200 more,” we knew we had our pineapple. The others had local wine too sugary for me and Genie and I had capiroskas, and we sat and sipped while playing the one word story game, which got a little ridiculous with the innuendos and had us laughing obnoxiously. We tried a chic place called Muna after that but we were too tired to wander much, and just walked around enjoying the modern quaintness of Trapani before heading to bed, cheered by news of an ND football victory. As always, when I’m not there to jinx it.

Wine 1.1.31

   Dupa recentele probleme avute cu Wine chiar asteptam o versiune noua – cea de fata vine cu urmatorul changelog :

• Vastly improved monthcal control.
• Performance improvements for DIB sections.
• Several sound driver fixes.
• Beginning of ActiveX support in JScript.
• More Direct3D 10 work.
• More 16-bit dlls split off to separate modules.
• Support for attachments in MAPI.
• Various bug fixes.

   Abia astept s-o testez in tanti Koala (sper sa fie deja in repozitorii) si sa vad daca chiar merge mai bine .

Door County: Bistro 42 in Carlsville, WI

I was kind of nervous when we walked into Bistro 42, a restaurant attached to the Door Peninsula Winery in Carlsville, WI because there was nobody at the bar and the dining room was virtually empty.  I think there were two other tables occupied in the large, impressively decorated dining room.  Then again it was a Thursday night and it was getting late so we decided to try it and boy am I glad we did. 

 I can rarely resist baked French Onion Soup when I see it on the menu and Bistro 42 was no exception.  The soup was very good but noting set it apart from other good French Onion soups.  If you are a fan, you’ll enjoy it as much as I did.  Moving on to entrees, I had the Pecan Encrusted Walleye with local sweet corn cakes and cherry tomatoes.  The Walleye, one of my favorite fish for as long as I can remember, was perfectly cooked with a killer crust of pecans, adding a nice nutty taste and some crunchy texture to the flaky fish. Two corn cakes (think pancakes but made with corn) sat underneath.  The cakes were nice and moist and the inclusion of kernels of corn ensured that each bite was bursting with corn flavor.  They provided a nice soft texture in contrast to the crunchy pecan breading.  The tomatoes were tasty but really didn’t tie into the dish at all, they were just kind of there. A sauce of honey and creme fraiche tied the dish together. My wife had the Mushroom & Cheese Stuffed Ravioli.  The menu said they were made from scratch and there was little doubt once the pile of irregular shaped ravioli arrived at our table.  They had a great earthy mushroom taste and I liked that the mushrooms were left in small chunks, adding a nice texture to the creamy cheese inside.

The wine pours were among the most generous I have seen anywhere.  What you get in one glass here is about double the standard pour at most restaurants. I had a glass of Door Peninsula Select Series Pinot Noir.  While it wasn’t the best Pinot I have tried (it was a little acidic for my liking) it paired well with my French Onion Soup and didn’t overpower my Walleye dish.  

Service was attentive and fast (though it was dead in there so I don’t know how they are during busier times). At first the waitress seemed to be going through the motions with no enthusiasm but she  kind of warmed up and became talkative as our dinner went on, which had me relieved.  Bistro 42 is a nice restaurant serving some great food in a warm and inviting atmosphere and I’d recommend it to anyone looking for something different while visiting Door County.

Bistro 42 is located at 5806 Hwy 42 (intersection of Hwy 42 & I) in Carlsville, WI 54235. Phone: (920) 743-wine (9463), web: http://www.bistrofortytwo.com/

 

 

Overdue update

Most of the grapes are in and processed. Both the Chardonnay and Pinot are undergoing malolactic fermentation. I’ve included a
picture below of some Chardonnay from Russian River in Sonoma. It is a classic case of ‘millerandage.’ The grapes are vastly different sizes/levels of maturity.
Other pictures include Pisoni Pinot and me in overalls looking awesome.

NYC Wine & Food Festival Starts Tomorrow!

Los Dados, the venue for Tequila Tasting

Wine and food enthusiasts unite tomorrow through October 11th at a city-wide festival sponsored by the Food Network and Travel and Leisure. Because there are so many events and places to go, I have picked out a few key happenings to check out.

 

1. Meatball Madness presented by San Pellegrino, hosted by Giada De Laurentiis

When: Sunday October 11, 7-10pm

Where: la.venue at 608 W 28th St between 11th and 12th streets

Taste and test all of the best meatballs from restaurants all around the city. Selections will be featured from Pat Lafrieda Wholesale Meats, and you can sip on all of the wine you want while comparing this Italian staple. If the meatballs don’t get you, Giada will be sure to make this event even better!

2. Godiva Chocolatier presents SWEET, sponsored by Absolut Vodka, Kahula, and Perrier-Jouet, and is hosted by Duff Goldman

When: Saturday October 10th, 9pm-12am

Where: la.venue, 606 W 28th between 11th and 12th aves.

Ace of Cake’s expert cake builder Duff Goldman will be hosting this event full of indulgences. Dozens of notable pastery chefs will be in attendance, along with their goodies. Have a taste of custard-crammed cream puffs, specialty cupcakes, jelly-filled tortes, and more champagne than you could ever dream of.

3. Daily Candy’s Midnight Music and Munchies

When: Friday, October 9th, 10pm-1am

Where: City Winery, 155 Varick Street at Vandam Street

Daily Candy always knows about New York City’s hottest events, but now they are hosting their own! A team of culinary masters will serve their favorite late-night snacks, and bartenders will mix up delicious custom cocktails. On top of the food and drink, surprise musical guests will provide the music, and dessert experts The General Greene and Bespoke Chocolates will serve sweet treats.

4. Tequila Tasting

Where: Los Dados, 73 Gansevoort Street, near featured space for lease 24 Horatio Street

Mexican restaurant Los Dados will hold a Tequila tasting event where you can sample their wide range of flavored tequilas. Order tacos, enchiladas, or chalupas on the side… you are going to need it.

5. The Great Italian Wine Smack-Down with Anthony Giglio and Barilla Pasta

When: Satruday, October 10, 11am-12pm

Where: The Standard, 848 Washington Street at W 13th Street

Think you know your wines? You get to be the judge at this comparative tasting event, where you can sample wines from all over Italy. Food and Wine Editor Anthony Giglio will host the tasting, pairing wines with pasta dishes cooked up by Barilla’s Executive Chef, Lorenzo Boni.

Remember, these events aren’t free! Log onto www.nycfoodandwinefestival.com for more information.

-Caitlin

A Six-Cup Kind of Day

Good morning and happy humpday!  Now that I am no longer in school, on Wednesdays I look forward to two things: 1) The Dining In section of the Times, and 2) Yoga.  I won’t be going to yoga today, but I’m already salivating over this Pan-Baked Lemon Almond Tart.   Sorry about the haphazard posting schedule of late; yesterday turned out to be a busier day than I’d expected, and I spent the hours from 8 AM- 1 PM glued to the table, reading for my internship.  In my haste to get out the door on time, I left my camera in the sock drawer (…?) and, alas, you will not be able to see three of my snacks.  Please try to carry on.

Yesterday I was so bleary-eyed when I dragged myself out of bed (possibly a little louder than usual, to Ari’s misfortune) that as soon as Mr. Coffee started brewing my much-needed six cups, I just made the easiest breakfast I could think of.  I  threw together some nonfat yogurt, the last of the pumpkin pie mix, and an enormous apple (which was almost as big as the bowl).

This wasn’t nearly all of the apple… I had to eat the rest off of the core because it wouldn’t fit in the bowl!  I topped the mixture with a glob of (self-salted) peanut butter.

By the time Ari got up, I was already working on my mid-morning snack: chunks of energy.

I finished my work with just enough time to take a quick 2-mile run.  I was in a bit of a foul mood- I hate rushing around and feeling frantic- so the run really helped.  The adrenaline kicked in, and I ran at a faster pace than I’m used to.  (My heart rate monitor wasn’t working, so please excuse the lack of statistics.)

Total distance: 2 miles

Total time: 18:55

The toaster oven isn’t working for some reason, so right before I jumped in the shower, I popped an Ezekiel English muffin in the oven at 400 degrees.  When I was dressed, the muffin was ready!  How’s that for time management?

I made two open-faced sandwiches: one with roasted red pepper hummus, a Morningstar Farms Spicy Black Bean Burger & sprouts, the other with asiago cheese (which the entire household could smell).  I also finished up a bag of baby carrots… we’re really running low on produce!

This is about when the pictures stop… I had a peach on the way to work, and, at four, when I was literally falling asleep while seated next to my boss, I excused myself and went to the reception area to eat a Trek Mix bar.  These feelings of tiredness hit me all of a sudden, but sometimes a little spike in my blood sugar is all I need to revive me.  We had a book release party in the office, which was catered by Fresh Direct (think antipasto, dark chocolate bark, fresh fruit, sandwiches).  There was enough wine to give each person his or her own bottle; normally I would have taken advantage of the free food and drink, but I just wanted to get home.  I had a glass of white wine, which I sipped on for an hour, then graciously made my exit.

Dinner was all ready when I got home; I made my standard, go-to college meal: Gliding Calm tofu, brown rice, and a sweet potato with agave and cinnamon (plus some kind of butter substitute that I found in the fridge).

I was really craving some broccoli, but I wanted to be in bed more than I wanted to go back to the store.  To finish off the night, I made a lovely dessert plate with dried fruit (fig, apricot, prunes, Medjool), almond butter, and cardamom and chipotle-spiced dark chocolate.

Now I’m off to get some cross-training in before I meet up with a couple lovely ladies for a treat.  Have a great day!

Coppola Rosso 2007

Rosso 2007

The Francis Ford Coppola Presents series of wines has a table red; a blend of 48% Zinfandel, 27% Syrah, 25% Cabernet Sauvignon (13.6% ALC); that I found in our local PA Wine store for about $10. For some reason, the bottles also had short Italian wine glasses packed with them, which might be from the Coppola’s “wine by the glass” line. I guess they had some glasses left over. Nevertheless, I was intrigued.

I found the wine to be quite nice, especially after it had been decanted for an hour or so. The sharp drunken berry wafts eased a bit, and the wine, cooled to about 65 F, was pleasantly soft on the palate, followed by a thick and fruity lingering aftertaste which was definitely the character of the dominant Zin.

Verdict – I would buy this wine again. It complements lightly spiced broiled lamb chops very well. It is also a delicious snack. Ha!

Kohler Food and Wine Experience October 22-25, 2009

Kohler Food & Wine Experience tickets are now on sale for a weekend full of flavor with celebrity chef presenters Jacques Pépin, Andrew Zimmern, Marcus Sammuelsson and Lidia Bastianich among others on October 22-25, 2009. Interested food and wine connoisseurs are urged to purchase tickets now as this year’s event features one of the “Just like a fine wine the Kohler Food & Wine Experience gets better with age,” said Chef Ulrich Koberstein, Group Director of Culinary Arts – Kohler Co.

The complete schedule of events, tickets and hotel packages are now available for event goers to learn from wine experts, regional restaurateurs and nationally renowned chefs. Details are available at www.KohlerFoodandWine.net or 1-800-344-2838.

CELEBRITY PRESENTERS & CHEFS

This year the strong line-up of celebrities includes some returning favorites and new presenters and chefs to the Village of Kohler:

• Jacques Pépin – Host of Jacques Pépin: More Fast Food My Way & cohost of PBS’s The Zen of Taste

• Claudine Pépin – Cohost of PBS’s The Zen of Taste

• Lidia Bastianich – Author and hostess of PBS’s Lidia’s Italy

• Marcus Samuelsson – Chef – Aquavit, Cookbook Author, Cofounder & Chief Creative Director – Townhouse Restaurant Group

• Andrew Zimmern – Host of Travel Channel’s Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmern

• Hosea Rosenberg – Bravo TV Top Chef New York Season 5 Winner

• Jon Ashton – CW’s The Daily Buzz Chef

• Marc Stroobandt – Belgian Master Beer Sommelier and Belgian BEER Ambassador

2009 SPECIAL EVENTS

Co-sponsored by Food & Wine magazine, this event offers a weekend of gala wine tasting events, wine & spirits seminars, culinary demonstrations, artisan cheeses and gourmet food makers, and specialty shopping. This year features new and time-honored events. New for the 2009 event are the Intimate Chef Luncheons ($85) at The Wisconsin Room on Friday and Saturday and the Ultimate Tailgate Party at the Stella Artois Main Stage on Sunday. The luncheons are hosted by a celebrity chef that dines with the guests and discusses inspiration for the chef selected menu and beverage pairings. Friday’s luncheon features Lidia Bastianich and a chef selected menu paired with Italian wines. Hosea Rosenberg is the host of Saturday’s luncheon featuring Stella Artois Belgium Beer pairings. To conclude the weekend’s events, guests can enjoy the Ultimate Tailgate Party featuring the live television broadcast of the Green Bay Packers football game featuring tailgate-style food and beverages for purchase.

Traditional events for the weekend include the Thursday-evening Kohler Chefs’ Challenge ($10 – plus a suggested canned good for donation), Friday’s Shake & Stir Martini Party ($35) with Jon Ashton, the Grand Wine Tastings ($25) on Friday and Saturday, and the Sunday Champagne Brunch ($60) at The American Club. The 2nd annual Saturday evening Oktoberfest ($35) event featuring a live band and beer tasting will again be hosted in the Stella Artois Main Stage and Augusta National Chef Bruce Sacino returns for the second consecutive year to host the Champions Dinner at Whistling Straits ($150) on Saturday.

TICKETS

The schedule, tickets and pricing for the 2009 Kohler Food & Wine Experience are available online at www.KohlerFoodandWine.netor by calling 800-344-2838 starting early July. Ticketed event prices start at $15 and many events and tastings are complimentary. Events sell out quickly and it is advised to make reservations early to help ensure best selection and availability. Events, presenters, locations and times are subject to change. Visit the Facebook page at Kohler Food & Wine Experience.

COMPLIMENTARY ACTIVITIES

Complimentary demonstrations, tastings and activities are scheduled during the Kohler Food & Wine Experience weekend in various locations throughout the Village of Kohler including:

- Gourmet Grocer Vendor Fair at Woodlake Market

- The Shops at Woodlake – tastings, specials, trunk shows, drawings & events

- Chef demonstrations and samplings at the Kohler Design Center, enter to win The Kitchens of Kohler chef-inspired Kohler STAGES Sink and two Karbon faucets prize package

- Gourmet Marketplace at The American Club

HOTEL PACKAGES

Hotel packages for the weekend are available at The American Club. Special event two-night hotel packages for the nights of October 23 and 24 and feature exclusive event tickets start at $459 per person. Reservations can be made by calling 1-800-344-2838 or visiting www.DestinationKohler.com. Package prices based on double occupancy. The Taste of the Vine Package features two tickets to the Taste of the Vine signature Friday evening event at The Kohler Design Center. The Feast of Talents Package features two tickets to Taste of the Vine and two tickets to the Feast of Talents Dinner. This signature evening event features menu courses selected by the participating celebrity chefs – Marcus Samulesson, Andrew Zimmern, Lidia Bastianich, Jacques Pépin & Ulrich Koberstein – that will join guests for intimate evening concluded by a dessert course from the Kohler Original Recipe Chocolate chocolatiers.

SPONSORS

The 2009 Kohler Food & Wine Experience is co-sponsored by Destination Kohler, Food & Wine Magazine, Kohler Waters Spa and Stella Artois in cooperation with The Village of Kohler Tourism Promotion Committee. Additional event sponsors include Badger Liquor, Hoegaarden, Johnsonville Sausage, KitchenAid, Kobrand, Leffe, L’eft Bank, Reinhart Food Service, Sartori Foods, Stone’s Throw Winery, Torké Coffee Roasting Co., Wirtz Beverage Wisconsin, and the Wisconsin Milk Marketing Board.

 

A Bitter End

When a customer complains about a drink, it makes me want to shrivel up and die. Imagine coming to uni, paying three bucks out of your tiny Centrelink fund and getting something you thought would be glorious, only to find it’s not hot enough, too bitter or worse…skinny milk.

It happens, bad coffees cross the line here and there which is all part of the process. As long as your coffees are consistently satisfactory, take the hit, it probably won’t happen tomorrow. But if you receive more than three out of ten crap coffees, that’s our problem.

I wondered this the other day as I dined out in a restaurant, always packed with the doorway littered by amazing reviews. Not a breakfast place, but a bona fide five star restaurant, which I have chosen not to name.

I had a fantastic dinner giving my palate the orgasm it craved. I all but licked the plate clean and decided dessert would only enhance this experience further. I ordered a single shot of espresso between the meals in hopes to refresh my appetite.

The coffee looked terrible. Completely under extracted with absolutely no crema, I wondered if they had added food colouring to the water. Yet I decided to take the hit, maybe the dim lighting was being rude to this single shot of horror. It wasn’t, I was right, it was awful.

This wasn’t my first bad coffee from a supposed great restaurant, there have been others. It stumps me that they are all so proficient when it comes to wine, yet completely unreliable when it comes to coffee.

Restaurants in Melbourne know their wine and can pull out any adjective and regional clue that could help anyone decide which best suits their pork, poultry, pasta or fish, why not coffee? Shouldn’t the same routine be used in order to compliment your mousse, cheesecake, cheese or chocolate gateau? It adds to the experience just as a latte brightens your morning.

It’s rather shameful that a lot of these fabulous restaurants can put so much time and effort into wine, yet none into the second most traded commodity in the world.

Yes, wine is more expensive and more money is made out of it compared to a cappuccino. But going home with a bitter taste in your mouth seems like far more of a bargain. Of course, if you’ve taken several hits with the wine, maybe you won’t really notice.

John Nye, "Wine, War and Trade" (MP3 audio), Econtalk, 2008/05/05

The idea of pure competitive trade is a myth.

John Nye of George Mason University talks with EconTalk host Russ Roberts about his book, War, Wine, and Taxes.

The conversation covers the history of Britain and France’s trade policy, why the British drink beer and why Ricardo’s example of Britain trading wool for Portuguese wine is bizarre.

Nye turns the traditional story on its head–he argues that France was more of a free trader than Britain and that the repeal of the Corn Laws was not the dividing line between Britain’s protectionist past and free trade future.

At the end of the discussion, Nye emphasizes the importance of domestic free trade for economic growth.

Nye on Wine, War and Trade | EconTalk | Library of Economics and Liberty

MP3 audio

Uma uva de personalidade.

Já não é novidade para os amantes de vinhos que a casta Cabernet Sauvignon é conhecida com a “Rainha das Uvas”, produzindo vinhos de altíssima qualidade e sabor. Contudo, outra casta de enorme prestígio, também originada da região de Bordeaux, conseguiu sair debaixo da sobra da Cabernet e se consolidou como uma das castas viníferas mais cultivada no mundo. A Merlot foi considerada por muito tempo somente como “a outra tinta de Bordeaux”, onde a Cabernet Sauvignon reinava absoluta. Essa percepção mudou a partir de 1980 quando começaram a surgir os vinhos vindos do Novo Mundo. A Merlot é uma uva misteriosa, sendo que seus primeiros registros oficiais somente ocorrem em 1784. Descendente da Cabernet Franc e meia irmã da Camanere e da Cabernet Sauvignon, seu nome provem de um pássaro chamado “Merle”, que costumava se deliciar com seus doces cachos.

Por não existir um consenso sobro o cultivo, o tempo de maturação e ponto ideal de colheita, a Merlot é considerada uma uva controversa. Existem duas vertentes que acreditam na colheita em períodos diferentes. A primeira, encabeçada pelo enólogo Michael Rolland, acredita que a uva deve ser colhida o mais tarde possível para concentrar os açucares e a maturação fenólica. Já a outra vertente, comandada por Christian Moueix e Jean-Claude Berrouet, alega que a colheita tardia prejudica a acidez e supervaloriza os aromas frutados, o que deixa os vinhos pesados, carnudos com relação a elegância, frescor e longevidade. Também não existe consenso quanto aos aromas e sabores típicos da Merlot. Toda essa questão gerou uma crise de identidade.

Hoje, podemos afirmar que a uva Merlot é uma casta que se apresenta em cachos. Sua cor é azul-negra-violácea. Seus bagos possuem pele mais fina com menos pigmento, tanino e menos acidez. Em contrapartida, apresenta mais açucares e, consequentemente, mais a álcool. É também mais suave, carnuda e aromática. Os aromas primários mais encontrados são de frutas pretas, herbáceos e especiarias. Quando o vinho estagia em madeira surgem novos aromas, como caramelo, baunilha, coco, bala, toffe, chocolate, café, torrefação, tostado, cedro, entre outros.

Na boca, a principal característica é a textura macia, sedosa e aveludada, com acidez e álcool equilibrados em corpo médio e taninos redondos. Os aromas de boca mais presentes são os de frutas pretas, herbáceos e algum sumo de carne. O uso de madeira pode ser benéfico. Porém muitos produtores não utilizam carvalho novo para não perder a elegância da uva. http://migre.me/50g4

Food and wine, a match made in heaven

Saturday night. Guests are coming for dinner and as the perfect host, the menu has been well-thought out and determined since a couple of weeks. The shopping list has been reviewed again and again to be sure not to miss a thing for the D-Day. The lady of the house has spent the afternoon in the kitchen, cooking and plating the courses.

Everything seems to move forward smoothly, despite the slight tension that hangs in the air.

Vegetables are chopped, the meat is in the oven, and the chocolate is slowly melting au ‘bain marie’… The lady of the house decides to allow herself a few minutes of rest, with a glass of Chardonnay … ‘Et là, c’est le drame !’.

Desperately looking for that soothing glass, she suddenly realizes that the social host of the evening is missing. There is no wine to match the dinner. Food and wine, the magic couple, has once again declared a divorce… at least for a few minutes.

Taking her purse, she runs to the supermarket and buys the first bottle with a name that seems to be a sure thing and an classy looking label. Merlot, Shiraz or Cabernet Sauvignon? Well, whatever. It can’t be bad… and it was on sales anyway. A few hours later, everybody seems to be enjoying the good food with a glass of wine. Nothing worthwhile but,  after all, wine is wine, right?

Yes, it is wine but it’s not just wine.

It is days and days looking for the right ‘terroir’ with the right balance between the height, the humidity and the amount of sun that goes with the type of earth.
It is years of studying the natural chemical balance to obtain the perfect grape, which will ferment just so in the perfect conditions and produce a rich and round red or a crisp and dry white.
It is years of nurturing the vines, more valuable than the most precious metal in the eyes of its winemaker.
It is the stress of a bad winter or a rainy summer.
It is people scraping their hands and pulling their backs to reap the grapes.
It is hours and hours of discussion with the heavyweights and strongmen, negotiating shelf space while securing a good margin and sifting through the never-ending regulations and paperwork to get the right classification.
It is a couple of minutes laughing at the joke: How do you make a small fortune? You take a large fortune and you buy a vineyard.

So, yes, it’s wine.  But just as food, the choice of a wine takes as much consideration as choosing the rest of the menu for that important night.
As part of the shopping list, wine shouldn’t come at the bottom, but as an integral part of the ingredients, as one of the components that will not only make the evening a success, but a delight. And just like the lady of the house would choose her meat or fish at the best butcher or fishmonger, it is important to develop a good relationship with the local wine merchant.

It is easy of course to let ourselves be seduced by a nice label, an award, an offer of the month. But behind the unforgiving rules of the market and laws of supply and demand, wine is a passion, a way of life, a way of thinking, breathing and of course eating. Ask someone passionate about wine what he would choose on a menu and the answer would be: ‘it depends on what is on the wine list’.

In the respect of their work, it is time to teach our palates how to make the difference between the different grapes, the different regions, the different national specificities. Not too far away from our homes or offices, there are wine classes mastered by passionate experts who will teach you more about wine in two hours than in a decade of self-education.
Make the effort, take the course, learn your wines. If it isn’t for yourselves, then let it be for your next dinner guests. And to honour your signature dish.

And as a good opportunity to start learning about wine,  The Wine Gang is organising the first consumer wine event, the Christmas Wine Fair, on November 7th at Vinopolis. Some wine and food bloggers will also attend the event and share with you their passion and point of view about wine, supported by Wine Conversation.

Woodinville Wine Country's St. Nicholas Day!

This event brings back very fond memories.  My friends and I have gathered for years at this event to kick the Christmas season off right.  We go to Woodinville, tast wines and buy only special wines for our Holiday gift giving and house warmings and OK our own personal antitodes to the Season.  This is a very fun event and great opportunity to taste Woodinville wines!

December 5th and 6th, 2009
11:00am to 4:00pm

Click Here for tickets

Crock Pot Chicken Cacciatore

• 2 yellow peppers (cleaned and sliced thin)
• 2 red peppers (cleaned and sliced thin)
• 2 green peppers (cleaned and sliced thin)
• 2 large onions (sliced)
• 1 Tbs garlic powder
• 1 20oz can diced tomatoes
• 8 oz Merlot or any other good quality red wine
• 4 Chicken breasts (bone-in)
• 6 Chicken legs
• Salt and pepper to taste

Wash the chicken and pat it dry. Season with the salt and pepper and add it to the crock pot. Pour in the wine and sprinkle with the garlic powder. Add the peppers, onions, and tomatoes. Cover the crock pot and set the temperature to high. Cook for 6-8 hours. If you don’t get home right away your crock pot will keep it warm for you until you are ready. The chicken will be falling off of the bone and the potatoes will we flavor packed.

Things to do in and Around Cape Town, South Africa

Cape Town, South Africa. “The most beautiful city on the planet,” as boasted by many travel guides. Now that’s a tough reputation to live up to. However if you are lucky enough visit this southern gem, it will not disappoint.

Table Mountain towers over a mix of colonial buildings, skyscrapers and brightly painted facades. White sandy beaches stretch from its core as surfers ride the waves of the Pacific Ocean.  Catching a ferry to Robben Island offers a panoramic view of the oldest city in South Africa. The scenery is stunning from your state of the art boat, but your emotions are conflicted as you make your way to this historical island linked to a dark past.

Home of the infamous prison where Nelson Mandela was detained for 19 of his 27 year incarceration, you can’t help but feel what it must have been like for the prisoners. Surrounded by frigid, shark infested waters, freedom and beauty were right in front of their eyes, and yet they could not escape.

The guides are former inmates who make the experience that much more compelling. They tell personal stories of their time on the island and how they schemed and planned all the while to put an end to Apartheid. These men are true Hero’s and it is an honor to have them share their experience.

On the tour you will see Nelson Mandela’s tiny cell in the maximum-security wing, the quarry where he chipped away with crude tools and where the secret meetings of the African National Congress took place. They built a government here and he and the ANC eventually ran the country.

After a thorough history lesson, you have earned a drive to Simon’s Town to see the penguin colony. Rent at car or motorcycle and drive along the most scenic highway in the world. Chapman’s Peak is featured in many a film and commercial and you will see why. The enormous cliffs fall into the water with a two-lane highway carved into its rock face. Breathtaking.

Continue south from Simons Town to the Cape of Good Hope where the Indian and Atlantic Oceans meet. Stand atop of some of the world’s highest sea cliffs and look out over the sea, the only thing between you and Antarctica.

You can make it back to Cape Town before dinner and have a seafood feast at one of the many restaurants at the V&A waterfront. This trendy area has boutique shops, wine bars, cafes and theatres. Street performers sing traditional African music to perfection and you may find gymnasts or musicians performing on the main stage.

Strolling along the waterfront is a splendid and safe experience and you can lose yourself in the nightlife drinking fine wine and eating delectable food at reasonable prices.

While in South Africa you cannot leave without a visit to the wine country. Once you are used to driving on the other side of the road, you will have the confidence to take your rental car to Franschhoek, the wine capital of Africa. Take a wine tour at Grande Provence Winery and make sure to stay for lunch or dinner. The award-winning chef has made this restaurant one of the top ten in South Africa.

Walk through the streets eating ice cream as you browse art galleries and book shops, or take a drive in the countryside for another dose of breathtaking views.

You will need weeks to truly explore everything that there is to do around Cape Town. Safaris, Bungee Jumps, Shark Diving, Sailing, a trek up Table Mountain and a trip to the Western Cape and Garden Route will keep you occupied for days on end.

Not only is it a beautiful place to explore, it is also very reasonable at eight South African Rands to a dollar. You can stretch your money a long way there and spend as long as you want in the City known as the Mother of Africa.

Source: Article Base
Cape Town Car Hire

Full Week

The past week and a half has officially been the most-full weeks I’ve had since last summer when I worked 9-5, probably…and it feels weird yet satisfying at the same time.  By “full” I mean every weekday from 9-5 (on average) I’m doing something, whether it be work or school.  And what I’ve come to realize…is that getting up and going to work is a lot easier than getting up to go to class.  Take today, for instance:

I couldn’t motivate myself to go to my 10am class because I don’t see a point in going, other than the obvious reason that obtaining its credit will allow me to graduate.  It’s a freshman class that I didn’t really have to take…and then it came back to bite me in the ass this semester because, apparently, it merged with Humanities 101.  I had no prior knowledge of this; had I, I would’ve probably taken something else, because learning how to write in MLA format is something I really don’t need to be doing.  Like, seriously? I’m almost out of college…and I’ve written several 10-page MLA format papers in Italian, and English.  Give me a freakin’ break,  CUNY!!

So, I couldn’t bring myself to go to class today…but I merrily skipped out the door when I was ready to go to work.  Today, I got to make flyers in photoshop on my own, ship wine, and copy 100 promotional CD’s, all of which is incredibly mindless…maybe it’s just me, but I enjoy mindless work so much.  My “Recreation Specialist” position with the town was a good precursor to that.

But it’s not all what I do which is why I love my job…it’s the people.  Today around 4:30 everyone was collectively feeling burnt out, and the bosses had all left for the day, so the 4 of us that were left in the office all decided to crack open a sample bottle, drink a glass of wine, and chat for 40 minutes.  On an astrological side-note, it just so happened that the 4 of us that were there were a Capricorn, a Libra, a Pisces, and  Leo.  The Leo was kinda off doing his own stuff while drinking his glass of wine, but the rest of us were all sitting on couches chatting.  To tell the truth it was all the Libra’s idea and the two of us immediately followed;  the Leo was a little reserved about taking this type of free time.  I love cardinal signs for being such trend-setters.   Also whenever the phone rang, the Libra would just yell for the Leo to pick up the phone and we’d continue chatting.  LMAO

So, I’ll say it again, as I’m sure I’ll say it a million more times:  I love working for Italians.  I honestly feel really bad for people who work in offices that are cut-throat and competitive where people’s ideas of trying to not be as mis as they are is to just simply get out of the building for a while…because cracking open some wine is definitely the right way to do it.

- City Mouse -