by Messina Hof Winery
I had the opportunity to go on a John 15 tour, led by Merrill Bonarrigo, last Thursday. Merrill spoke about John 15; how it relates to her life, the vineyard, and just how relevant this scripture is to all of our lives.“It was that one little step- that little leap of faith we took that has allowed us to do what we do today and we are so blessed, “Merrill said, “it is not one of those things you plan; God provided one opportunity after another.”Merrill said becoming a vine tender, herself, taught her the true meaning behind the scripture in John 15 and it all relates to love.John 15 describes the age old tradition of preparing the grapevine for quality fruit production in order to assure a bountiful harvest and the role of the Father and family in that process. John 15 covers every...
by Richard Mora
Why drink rosé wines? There are many reasons, here is some background for those that don't understand how good dry rosé is Shop our Dry Rosé specials with discounts of 20% for the summer1-Rosé : The hotter it is, the better it tastesWhite wines go numb when they are ice cold but rosé, with all the flavors and depth from the re grape skin contact hold up when chilled. So on those really hot days you can drink really cold rosé and it doesn't lose its flavor.2-Rosé : drink it like a red but treat it like a whiteRosé is traditionally made from red grapes through a shortened period of skin contact. When red is made from red grapes, the grapes are crushed and pressed and the skins are left in with the grapes in order to extract the red color. Without skin contact red grapes would pr...
by Carrie Poon
The 7th Shanghai International Wine Challenge with a perfect end.June 2012, the 7th Shanghai International Wine Challenge (SIWC) was successfully held and ended. Nearly one thousand different wine brands were participated. After blind tasted by the experts from all over the world, 12 The Best, 24 Gold Medals, 68 Silver Medals and 148 Bronze Medals were awarded. Besides, the committee organized a visitor judge panel (local distributors and dealers) to have a simulated judging class with the experts. This helps the domestic wine industry to understand how SIWC works out. Most of the wine competitions are concentrated in the "Old World" wine. However, as the global economic integration, economic and cultural exchanges among the countries became increasingly frequent, the wine culture begins t...
by Par-lor
After the recent trip to Singapore with my friend, our comments were somewhat similar: "Singaporean cocktails are way better than those in Hong Kong!". Or is it just that we have missed the best? My friend then started exploring for good cocktail bars in Hong Kong, ending up with an impressive one...Typical Japanese bar setting, indeed identical to what I saw in the classic Japanese TV series - "The Bartendar". 4 people in decent uniform lined up, serving in the bar: 2 bartendars and 2 waitress, all are Japanese. (Well, don't let them overhear your conversation, they speak Cantonese and English too).What a nice non-smoking bar that I could get a fresh breeze with my glass of artistic cocktail. You seldom see such tranquility in the bar. People here were neither mumbling their hectic daily ...
by Ron Barker, Cigarvolante Llc
CigarVolante started wine and cigar pairings last year and as a result of its acceptance formalized it with the foundation of the Virginia Wine and Cigar Trail™ (VWACT) this spring. The Virginia Wine and Cigar Trail™ is an affiliation of five wineries and CigarVolante LLC, the Virginia Distributor for Panacea Cigars, a mild to medium bodied cigar that has an unusually complex flavor in a milder cigar, lending itself perfectly to pairing with wine and craft beers. Each of the wineries in the VWACT offers those Panacea Cigars that are paired specifically to their wines and supports and encourages cigar smoking at their wineries, many times in separate smoking areas. They see the aesthetic cigar smoker as the ideal target market as the cigar smoker is: 35 to 65, has above average income, ...
by Kay Zink
I had a terrific opportunity to attend a Sigel’s event at the Park City Club in Dallas with Jasper Russo at the helm. Have you ever had two and a half hours to taste 40 Pinot Noir wines? Well, I hated to be put in that position, but I tried! Did I also mention tasting the appetizers served to compliment the wines: herb crusted beef tenderloin, smoked chicken quesadillas, New England style crab puffs, fresh fruit, and of course artisanal cheeses? When you think of a Pinot Noirs, you usually think of the region of Bourgogne (Burgundy) France. The majority of red wine from that region is Pinot Noir; where the majority of white wine from that region is Chardonnay. The Pinot Noirs for tasting that night were not just from Bourgogne, but a large sampling from California, Oregon, New Zeala...
by Kay Zink
Ever visited the land of Don Quixote - La Mancha, Spain? I had the opportunity to do just that, without a plane ticket. The wines of La Mancha came to our own backyard, Dallas! A USA spring tour of "Wines Worth Discovering" sponsored by the La Mancha region of Spain occurred in Dallas with the Meadows Museum on SMU's campus serving as a back drop. This event occurred last week, Saturday, May 12th, and is well worth the review. Taking a visit to the SMU Meadows Museum is quite a treat. The museum is named after Algur H. Meadows, oil financier and Texas philanthropist. During business trips to Spain in the 1950's, he was inspired by the Prado Museum in Madrid to start his own collection of Spanish art. In 1962, he gave SMU funds for the construction and endowment of the museum and his...
by Chef David Darugh
More Nutritious Eggs from Pastured Chickens McDonald's and Target dropped the nation's 5th largest egg supplier after an animal rights group released an undercover video of the egg producer's farms in three states. The Company, Sparboe Farms, has been under fire by U.S. Food and Drug Administration and animal rights groups for alleged unhealthy conditions and animal cruelty at its farms. As consumers we should be aware that it’s not just about the ethical treatment of animals, the eggs produced under these conditions pose a much higher risk for the spread of food borne illness such as Salmonella. And importantly, research indicates[1] that chickens raised in these conditions produce eggs that are nutritionally inferior to eggs produced by hens raised on pasture. Most of the eggs current...
by Rosie Carbo
Michael Green is not a live, stand-up comedian. But as the star of “Wines worth Discovering,” a Denomination of Origin (D.O.) La Mancha spring road show, his colorful anecdotes is key to learning about the wines from this region. “I close my eyes and I can smell La Mancha; it has the largest production of saffron in the world,” said Green, who spent nearly 20 years as wine and spirits consultant with Gourmet magazine. “I can smell its Manchego cheese, and I think of Pedro Almodovar, one of the most famous film makers in the world. I’m very, very, passionate about these wines. This is only my fifth day on the job, but I felt like I was from there when I visited. It has one of the largest appellations in the world,” he said. Gregorio Martin Zarco, La Mancha’s D.O. presi...
by Ron Kapon
I recently attended a chocolate seminar sponsored by Vermont’s’ Lake Champlain Chocolates. We tried different chocolates with several wines which got me thinking how little I really knew about chocolate. Meghan Fitzpatrick, PR and Communications Manager for Lake Champlain Chocolates, assisted me in the preparation of this article.Where does chocolate come from?Chocolate comes from the cacao tree, which produce cocoa pods that grow around their trunks, not on the branches. The cocoa belt is about 15 degrees north and south of the equator, so places like Africa, South America, Central America, Indonesia and Asia are where cacao trees grow. Farmers take these pods, slice them in half and scrape the beans from the middle. They then sandwich them between layers of banana leaves to ferment, ...
