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Wine Ebooks:
| | The Complete Grape Growers Guide. |  | | A Complete Guide For Growing Grapes. Converts Very Well At A Reasonable Price! Growing Grapes And Making Wine Is A Very Popular Topic Right Now.
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| | Fool-Proof Wine Values. | | | Learn How To Easily Find Wines Of $50 Quality For $10 Or Less. Impress Friends With Your Expanded Wine Knowledge. Eliminate Your Dependence On Wine Salespeople. And Take The Hassle Out Of Buying Wine.
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| | Making Wine From Home. | | | A Fun And Very Informative Book On Home Wine Making. The De Facto Standard For All Home Wine Enthusiasts With Recipes, Advice And Tricks.
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Blogs & Sites:
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Business Systems Analyst LeadSystems Analyst Lead May 16th, 2008 Business Systems Analyst Lead (Production Support) Position Summary A Business Systems Analyst Lead is responsible for managing the workload and prioritizing support activities for software applications. This includes determining the root cause, assessing the level of severity and resourcing the issues. As?
Java DeveloperDeveloper May 12th, 2008 Java Developer - Perm Our client is an exciting software house, currently seeking an experienced Java Developer to work within their team of professionals. This is an excellent opportunity for career advancement and to work with an organisation which will?
Tax Adviser - BelfastOur client which is based in Belfast, leads the way in many of the world?s latest aviation technologies. Their success has been built on 100 years of engineering knowledge and experience. They are laying the foundation for the next 100 years, and need the best people to ensure they remain at the forefront of aviation excellence. Tax Adviser The successful candidate will assit the existing Tax Manager in supporting the Finance team on a day-to-day basis. He/she will be responsible for the prep
Business Analyst - TechnicalAnalyst - Technical April 30th, 2008 Technical Business Analyst · City Centre Location · Work with cutting edge technologies · Gain excellent exposure to Business and IT My client currently has an open vacancy for a Technical Business Analyst [...]
Technical Business AnalystBusiness Analyst April 29th, 2008 Technical Business Analyst · City Centre Location · Work with cutting edge technologies · Gain excellent exposure to Business and IT My client currently has an open vacancy for a Technical Business Analyst [...]
Java ConsultantConsultant April 28th, 2008 My Dublin based client has an urgent requirement for a Java Consultant to join their existing team on a permanent basis. This role will involve considerable client facing and also a significant amount of travelling The key skills needed are: Minimum three to five years good experience in a technically challenging development role Strong JAVA development skills Good [...]
Microsoft Dynamics GP ? remote supportDynamics GP ? remote support by Andrew Karasev in: VoIP Microsoft Business Solutions Dynamics GP, NAV, AX, CRM, SL are new names for former Great Plains, Navision, Axapta, MS CRM, Solomon. In realization of ?Project Green? Microsoft will be unifying customization tools and technologies (moving away from proprietary technologies to XML web services and Visual Studio). Microsoft, as well as all the high tech world [?]
Business Systems Analyst LeadBusiness Systems Analyst Lead (Production Support) Position Summary A Business Systems Analyst Lead is responsible for managing the workload and prioritizing support activities for software applications. This includes determining the root cause, assessing the level of severity and resourcing the issues. As a member of the Production Support team, the Business Systems Analyst Lead works with Business Users, Development, QA, and Systems Technology Services to diagnose and repair problems, inv
IT Consultant / Project Manager Initial 2-3 month contract? The duties to be covered are: Recommend the most appropriate technologies to be used to deliver the IT solution that best fits the requirements of our client and how this would be integrated with existing IT systems. This will include the following steps: Review the business specification, existing technologies and propose a high-level system design. Review additional technology if existing technology cannot meet all requirements. Determine the business and I
Java Developer looking move Consultancy Role: Software Developer looking for move into consultancy My client is an international consultancy organisation based in Dublin city centre. They have various IT positions available and among them there are looking for a technical consultant to join their expanding team. The successful candidate will have a solid background in software development and are looking to progress their career into a consultancy/analyst role. You will have strong Java skills and will be motivated to succeed wi
En bref : Firefox 3 disponible en juinbref : Firefox 3 disponible en juin Posté le 29 mars 2008 @ 7:52 par acs04 La fondation Mozilla a confirmé jeudi qu?elle sortira une bêta 5 de Firefox 3.0 sous peu, la première Release Candidate sera proposée en mai et la version finale en juin. Rappelons que de son côté, Microsoft Internet Explorer 8 est prévu pour la fin de l?année au mieux. Share This
Acs04.com vous présente le site Web de la maroquinerie CANDRAvous présente le site Web de la maroquinerie CANDRA Posté le 27 mars 2008 @ 15:38 par acs04 Le site de la maroquinerie Candra à Digne les Bains est désormais en ligne ! Rendez-vous sur http://www.maroquinerie-candra.com pour avoir un aperçu des superbes produits que propose la maroquinerie Candra.
E-Commerce Architect/Manager5373137. Category: Administrative/Clerical. Duration: . Rate: . City: Los Angeles, State: California, Country: United States. Description: Responsible for the development and management of all web initiatives as the primary project manager and IT consultant. Identify, develop, and manage e-Commerce/web vendor relationships. Identify and deploy e-Commerce/web foundational technologies f... Requirements: Education, Qualifications and Working Conditions * Practical experience as a projec
Les sportifs français à l?honneursportifs français à l?honneur Posté le 22 mars 2008 @ 20:42 par acs04 Et un record du monde, un ! Mais pas seulement !
Sites Web à venirWeb à venir Posté le 22 mars 2008 @ 20:13 par acs04 Très bientôt vous pourrez découvrir ici le site Web de la maroquinerie Candra à Digne les Bains. Vous pourrez aussi visiter et prévoir vos vacances dans ce superbe coin de Provence en visitant le site Internet d?un gîte rural?
30 millions de Français surfent sur Internetmillions de Français surfent sur Internet Posté le 21 mars 2008 @ 17:57 par acs04 Parmi les 30 millions d?internautes français, 80% disent se connecter tous les jours. Parmi les raisons de ce véritable boom, le développement du haut débit et des offres ?triple play? des fournisseurs d?accès au Web. Les sites communautaires comme mySpace, Facebook et consors, les sites de partage vidéo tels que Youtube ou encore les blogs attirent également un public sans cesse grandissant.
Manifestation de soutien du mouvement ?ni pauvre, ni soumis?le seul réseau de transmission florale solidaire soutient le mouvement «Ni pauvre, ni soumis» qui organise une grande manifestation le 29 mars 2008 à Paris? Share This
Générateur de texte en 3Dde texte en 3D Posté le 19 mars 2008 @ 20:12 par acs04 Une petite adresse intéressante si vous souhaitez générer rapidement et facilement un texte en 3D ?
Générateur automatique de textes aléatoiresautomatique de textes aléatoires Posté le 19 mars 2008 @ 20:06 par acs04 Il y a quelques temps, pour changer du sempiternel ?Lorem Ipsum? nous avons découvert le site Charabia.net.
E-Commerce Architect/Manager5373137. Category: Administrative/Clerical. Duration: . Rate: . City: Los Angeles, State: California, Country: United States. Description: Responsible for the development and management of all web initiatives as the primary project manager and IT consultant. Identify, develop, and manage e-Commerce/web vendor relationships. Identify and deploy e-Commerce/web foundational technologies f... Requirements: Education, Qualifications andamp; Working Conditions * Practical experience as a pr
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| [05/09/2008, 17:45] | Fogo de Chão opens in Indianapolis | |  If you're a wine-loving meat-eater, you'll want to pay a visit to the new Fogo de Chão Brazilian steakhouse that just opened in downtown Indianapolis. (Welcome, race fans!)
Located in the newly-renovated Broadbent Building at 117 East Washington Street (aka The Building Formerly Known as The Zipper), the restaurant is contemporary and elegant, with a large central dining area, a bar and a private dining room. This Fogo de Chão (which translates to "fire of earth") is the eleventh link in a chain of restaurants started by two brothers in Porto Alegre, Brazil in 1979. They opened their first U.S. location in Dallas in 1997; by the end of this year there will be 13 Fogos in this country and five in Brazil.
In the approximate center of the dining area is a massive salad bar brimming with all kinds of greenery, fresh vegetables, cheeses and a few meats. An entire wheel of Parmigiano-Reggiano, carved out and filled with chunks of itself, anchors one end.
After the buffet comes the main event: Meat, and lots of it! Each diner is provided with a small round disk that is green on one side and red on the other. Turning the green side up provokes a flurry of service, as waiters armed with skewers of various flame-grilled meats descend, asking "rare, medium rare or medium?" Some customer participation is occasionally required, as some tongs are provided so the diner can grab meats that are sliced off the skewers. It doesn't take long to figure out that the best plan is to flip the disk to red after two or three items accumulate on your plate ? which is to say about a minute or two.
There are 15 different meats to sample, including various cuts of beef, lamb and pork, as well as chicken legs and bacon-wrapped breasts and some fabulous little pork sausages called linguica. If you identify one thing in particular you want to focus on, all you need to do is make your wishes known and an entrée-sized portion will appear on your plate. Bread and side dishes of garlic mashed potatoes, a yummy polenta and grilled bananas are served family-style.
Wine lovers should be delighted with the selection and service as well as the dining room decor, which consists mainly of the restaurant's wine collection, much of which is on display. Chances are you'll be able to find something suitable for your taste and budget on the extensive and well-organized list, from a glass of White Zin ($7.25) to a bottle of Château Haut-Brion Pessac Leognan ?00 ($925). As you would expect at a steak house, there are twice as many reds on the list as whites, including no less than a dozen from Bordeaux. There are also 11 splits available (reds and whites) and several by-the-glass selections. We drank glasses of Cono Sur Cabernet Sauvignon from Chile (also available at $28 per bottle), which turned out to be an excellent match for the flame-grilled meats. Wine pricing is fair at about twice retail for most wines, and as you move up the list in price the markup moves down. Their wine glasses are of high quality and generously sized ? a good thing, since a by-the-glass pour is a quarter of a bottle. This restaurant has earned six consecutive Awards of Excellence from the Wine Spectator for a good reason!
Beer enthusiasts don't fare as well, since just the usual suspects are available and no microbrews. However, at least one Brazilian beer (Xingu, I think) is on the list. The well-stocked bar includes several after-dinner drinks and a few single-malt Scotches. They also of course stock Cachaça, and although I didn't sample a caipirinha there, Feed Me / Drink Me reports that they make good ones.
For the quality and service (and potential quantity) that Fogo de Chão delivers, its prices are reasonable: $38.50 for dinner, $24.50 for lunch, plus drinks and dessert. The salad bar is available by itself for $19.99, so even the wayward vegetarian who happens to wander in should be able to leave happy and sated. And for the meat-loving omnivore, Fogo de Chão is simply a must-go.
Fogo de Chão
117 E. Washington Street
Indianapolis, IN 46204
317-638-4000 | | | |
| [09/25/2007, 23:40] | Wine Website For Sale | | I wanted to let you all know that my Pinot Gris website (PinotGris.Biz) is up for sale. It is full of great, original wine content written by me. It also currently ranks highly with the major search engines:
#3 overall on Yahoo for Pinot Gris (search)
#4 overall on MSN for Pinot Gris (search)
Page Rank = 1 (Google)
I am asking $250 for the site, perhaps less to someone who just wanted the domain name. If I don't sell right away, I will continue to promote it.
If interested, please reply here | | | |
| [09/13/2007, 18:46] | Your Editor Takes a Shave | | | September 14th, 2007 is the Great Canadian Head Shave organized by the Terry Fox Foundation. In order to help raise awareness and much-needed funds for cancer research, Tidings editor-in-chief, Aldo Parise has decided to do his part. He will be... | | | |
| [01/01/1970, 02:00] | Ronn Wiegand Recommends: High-Caliber Chardonnay and Pinot Noir Wine (Nov 2006) | | | As we enter the holiday season, I thought it time to up the caliber of my wine recommendations, to put the focus on some truly outstanding wines, which are somewhat costlier than those I have recently recommended. For many, they are special occasion wines, and they can help make those occasions that much more special. | | | |
| [01/01/1970, 02:00] | Wine 2.0 Spring Fling @ Crushpad | | | I was first initiated into the innovative world of Wine 2.0 when I attended their NRO event at Varnish last November. What I found was an extremely thriving movement of loosely knit and mainly younger wine aficionados, producers and entrepreneurs that were expanding upon the path set down by ... | | | |
| [04/30/2008, 03:00] | European wine reform approved | | | The European Commission will adopt the legislation in order to bring the reform into force by August 1 2008. | | | |
| [02/12/2008, 11:02] | Italians and Others | | Some short notes from a long, vaguely Italian themed lunch. N.V. Laurent-Perrier Champagne Grand Siecle:
Probably around 7-10 years bottle age and it shows on the nose with aromas of honey, citrus, quince paste and some sherry. Complex and with good presence on the palate, there is also acidity coming through strongly to keep things fresh.
91/100 2005 Livio Felluga Pinot Grigio:
Appealing nose with straw, citrus peel, mango and white chocolate. Surprisingly persistent creamy flavour balanced nicely by restrained acidity.
89/100 2000 Isole e Olena Chardonnay Collezione de Marchi:
Nutty old oak aromas, with some citrus as well. Clean flavours on the palate, it is a little bit straightforward but enjoyable regardless.
87/100 2000 Lake’s Folly Chardonnay:
Initially there were some onion skin aromas but these lifted with time in the glass, there were only some butty and resin aromas underneath. Rounded mouthfeel, alcohol sticking out a bit on the finish.
82/100 1986 McWilliam’s Semillon Mount Pleasant Elizabeth:
Typical aged Semillon aromas of honey, toast and lemon. Toasty flavour to the palate with excellent length. Balance is superb. This was at its peak and while not quite hitting the same highs as the Lovedale of the same year, it was delicious.
90/100 1995 Gérard Chavy & Fils Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières:
Blue cheese, oxidative notes and some old oak. A bit tired on the palate as well, you can see some quality there behind the tiredness and it actually lifted a little bit with some air time.
82/100 1993 La Pousse d’Or Santenay 1er Cru Clos Tavannes:
The nose is quite open and giving with red cherry, forest and earth. A little bit thin on the palate, but it didn’t detract too much from the wine as a whole. Will probably improve with a few more years in bottle.
88/100 1986 Prunotto Barbaresco Montestefano:
Smoke, cherry, rose petals and some bacon fat. The tannins and acid are still at the fore of the palate but it works and it is very nicely savoury and the texture is very good.
88/100 1998 Giacomo Borgogno Barolo Riserva:
Corked.
NR/100 2006 Cape Mentelle Sangiovese:
Blue bubblegum and black cherries on the nose. Sweetly fruited palate with some spice laid over the top. Very approachable and nicely drinkable.
88/100 1999 Isole e Olena Cepparello:
Some earth and pepper to the nose, but otherwise quite bright and floral with some red berries as well. Nice balance to the palate, there is a rush of flavour along the length but it never seems over the top. I think this will be drinking very nicely over the next 7-10 years.
90/100 1988 Antinori Tignanello:
A nose of tobacco, smoke, cherry, red berries and with earthy undertones. The palate is superb, with long savoury flavour and great complexity and interest. This bottle seemed to be right at its peak.
94/100 1998 Antinori Tignanello:
A juicy nose of red berries, graphite, cedar and some floral and earth notes coming through as well. Intense and flavourful on the palate with the tannins needed food to be tamed. Clearly very good and noticeably of a similar bloodline to the ‘88 had by its side. It was approachable now, but will be better in 4-5 years.
91/100 1997 Hugel et Fils Gewürztraminer Sélection de Grains Nobles “S”:
140 cases made. Produced only in selected years (89, 97 and 00 so far), by special strict separation of fruit at the same time the regular SGN is picked. Intoxicating lifted nose of honey, spice, mango, quince and botrytis. Has the identifiable unctuous oiliness of Gewurtraminer as well as intense sweetness but also some amazing acid to cleanse and somehow harmonise the elements and leave the palate refreshed for the next sip. Among the top dessert wines I had last year, if not the best.
97/100 1992 Winzerkeller Leiningerland eG Grunstadter Roth Scheurebe Eiswein:
Mango, guava and pineapple aromas on the nose. Palate is round with lingering, intense sweetness. Simple but delicious, and a great end to a great day.
91/100 | | | |
| [05/07/2008, 08:53] | offer of the day? | | | Today, another offer to ‘pass on’: Domaine Comte Georges de Vogüé 2006 CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 75cl 99.50 Swiss Francs CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY 1er Cru 75cl 189.00 CHAMBOLLE-MUSIGNY Les Amoureuses 75cl 398.00 BONNES-MARES 75cl 398.00 MUSIGNY Vieilles Vignes 75cl 498.00 Villages wines for 100 francs - I ask you… This is a post from: Burgundy-Report offer of the day… | | | |
| [05/01/2008, 18:38] | May Wine Events | | 
May is filled with wine festivals and other wine events as the weather warms around the United States. Here is just a sampling:
- San Luis Obispo, CA - May 1-4 - Roll out the Barrels
- Cleveland, OH - May 2-3 - Cleveland International Wine Show
- Orange Beach, AL - May 2-4 - Southern Breeze Wine & Culinary Festival
- Livermore, CA - May 3-4 - Downtown Livermore Wine Festival
- Charlotte, NC - Mary 7-10 - Charlotte Wine & Food Weekend
- Anderson Valley, CA - May 16-18 - Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival
- Paso Robles, CA - May 16-18 - Paso Robles Wine Festival
- Sonoma Valley, CA - May 17-18 - Passport to Sonoma Vally
- Keuka Wine Trail, NY - May 17-18 - Keuka in Bloom
- New Orleans, LA - May 21-25 - New Orleans Wine & Food Experience
- Newport Beach, CA - May 23-25 - Newport Beach Food & Wine Festival
- Banff Springs, Canada - May 31 - Banff Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival
- Santa Cruz Mtns, CA - May 31 - Santa Cruz Mtns Vintners Festival
(photo courtesy of the Charlotte Wine & Food Weekend) See full article.
Related Entries:
Napa Valley Nabbing Wine Drinkers? - 10 September 2006 April & Easter Wine Events - 05 April 2007 Hudson Valley Wine & Food Festival - 30 August 2007 March Wine Events - 25 February 2008 
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| [10/19/2007, 03:07] | Demi delicious | | Half bottles of wine are great, at least in principal. They are a perfect way to prevent having to deal with left over wine. I am delighted to find them in restaurants, as it gives me a chance to sample more than one wine through a meal.
All life it seems is a compromise. With half bottles you get great benefits, but there is the inevitable downside. A half bottle of wine is more prone to environmental circumstance. In other words, it goes bad more easily.
I have been in a position of late to try many half bottles in a row (I am temporarily single). These have been bottles of my favorite wines, and I was delighted to find them in 375s. The delight turned to disappointment, repeatedly, as one after the other was in some way less than I expected.
The smaller size means that any heat or vibration damage has a greater impact. It is the inverse of why Magnums are the perfect sized bottles for aging wine. Small bottles also tend to not fit well in wine racks, unless you plan for them in advance.
I am not saying that all half bottles are likely to be bad, far from it. My spate of bad luck can be attributed to the fact that I bought all of the wines from the same place. Whatever ruined the first bottle, probably was responsible for the downfall of the others as well.
I have had better luck in the past, and I am far from swearing off half bottles. I just thought it was important to point out that a bad half bottle or two is no reason to swear off the size in general.
Ask for half bottles in restaurants, let them know you are interested. This will help propagate them in the industry, so if your favorite restaurant doesn't have any half bottles now, perhaps they will in the future.
Wine by the glass in a restaurant is a great concept, but too often poorly implemented. If the bottle has been open too long the wine will be much worse than the little variation a half bottle may be prone to.
Speaking of restaurants, I love starting with a half bottle of Champagne. Then a half bottle of white wine followed by a half bottle of red, and perhaps even a half bottle of dessert wine to finish it off. This is ideal for two, but even for the solo diner 2 or more half bottles can still be ideal. Remember, no one said you have to finish all of the wine! By the way, I send my left over wine to the Chef - the kitchen rarely gets a tip. | | | |
| [03/03/2007, 09:51] | Hanging Tree Wines Cabernet 2005 | |  I know Lincoln has a bottle of this wine and we are both interested to see what the other thinks. Calibration and all that. I was supposed to wait but I can’t. I never could. I always used to search the house for my Christmas presents as a kiddy too. Anyway, on the basis of this tasting I am pretty keen to see what the 2005 shiraz looks like. It must be pretty sharp. Sorry about the photo…our camera is on holiday in San Diego at the moment.
Aroams of cherry, raspberry, earth, empty dark chocolate box, licorice, eucalypt and some vanilla cedar oak. On the palate medium bodied with flavours of sweet cherry, blackberry, raspberry, earth, licorice and minty cedar oak. The tannins are fine, dry and refreshing. Finishes dry and savoury with raspberry and dark chocolate flavours. It looks much better and more together on the second day of tasting. Enjoyed this greatly. | | | |
| [12/29/2007, 15:31] | Recent Tasting Notes | | 2004 Bass Phillip “Estate” Chardonnay:
Cloudy light golden colour. Oatmeal, nutty characters, soap and citrus peel on the nose. Rich and round palate with acidity that seems a little bit prickly. I think it was better than I’ve made it sound, but I can’t muster a whole lot of enthusiasm for it.
87/100 2007 Primo Estate “d’Elena” Pinot Grigio:
Very pale colour. Banana and tropical fruits (mostly pineapple) aromas. Texturally interesting, but there is also a bit of alcohol heat on the palate that I found distracting.
85/100 1997 Paringa “Estate” Pinot Noir:
Dark ruby colour, a little bit murky as well I thought. Cherry, raspberry, stalks and damp soil. The acid is sticking out, but I thought the rest of the flavour on the palate carried well. May have looked a bit better a couple of years ago.
87/100 1986 Domaine Jacques-Frederic Mugnier Chambolle-Musigny 1er Cru Les Amoureuses:
Light red, with some orange tints around the rim. Yeasty and baked aromas on opening, we feared that it may be dead. We moved on to another wine to give this some time to see what happened and the recovery was pleasing. After around 60 minutes there were some earthy, dusty aromas coming through. Then another look after 90 minutes showed some spice, cherry and perfume like aromas. Palate never shed its dominant tannin, but it was quite drinkable anyway. It didn’t hit any great heights, but the recovery was remarkable and it ended up a nice drink.
87/100 1996 Domaine Bart Bonnes Mares Grand Cru:
Medium purple coloured. Nose was very shy throughout the time we spent with it - there were fleeting scents of dark cherry, mocha, rose petal and some other floral notes. The palate is lovely though, it is quite youthful but layered, balanced and very long. Plenty of potential in this wine over the next 10 years.
91/100 1977 Graham Vintage Port: (375ml)
Light crimson colour. Earth, spice, roast nuts and mint on the nose. There is a pleasing brown sugar style flavour to the palate, but it is noticeably lacking in depth. Not really what I expected in terms of richness and complexity, would like to know how it looked on following nights.
88/100 | | | |
| [01/01/1970, 02:00] | 2006 Melville Pinot Noir Estate | | | Tasted by TashNYC. Jen had this and reported it was ok but would benefit from a year of bottle age, to put on some weight. I didn't have the wine. Other year's vintages have been very good. At Bob Tarjan's 60th birthday party in Princeton, NJ (88 pts.) - Tasted 5/9/2008. [FIND IT!] | | | |
| [05/05/2008, 13:37] | May 5, Geelong Wine Region | | | Geelong wine region has innovative wineries producing wine from alternative varieties | | | |
| [05/14/2008, 07:00] | Château La Louvière Pessac-Léognan White 2004 | | | Beautiful aromas of green apple, fennel and mineral follow through to a full body, with bright acidity and a clean, lively and refreshing finish. Drink now. 4,165 cases made. | | | |
| [05/14/2008, 08:01] | Interview with the Ancients | |  I took a walk in a quiet place. In it, there were many souls from ancient times. They were from Greece and Italy, Sumeria and Egypt, Persia and Etruria. The voices were silent but the souls were coming through loud and clear, on a Friday afternoon on the eastern edge of Central Park.
I had just interviewed a gentleman about his life, his book and things Italian. But we didn?t quite make a connection. How could you do anything in 15 minutes, except perhaps to size each other up like two bulls in a ring? Not that it was that kind of encounter. I left feeling the need to reconnect with my roots, so I hopped on a subway and headed back a couple of thousand years, to interview the ancient ones.
 Q. What were the wines like when you were living?
A. They were dark and musky, and warm. They tasted a little like sour water sometimes and at other times sweet like rose petals.
Q. Who made the wine in your community?
A. We had families who passed the trade down from generation to generation. There were families, like in Chaldea, who had been working with the grape for hundreds of years.
Q. Who among you were the first to taste wine?
 The fellow in profile speaks
A. When we first tasted it, it came about by accident. One of the servants had left a vase of grapes lying around in a cool dark place and forgot about it. Several weeks later one of the porters was walking around and smelled this sweet odor. He had it brought up to the dining area and we all took bites out of this fruit we knew, but it tasted very different this time. And the juice in the bottom of the vase we all took sips of. This was something we had never experienced before. So we instructed the porters to pick more grapes and let them sit in the basement in the same manner. That was the first time we had seen it.
Q. How did the news of this travel?
A. Slowly at first, but after 400-500 years pretty much everybody in the known world had an idea of the transformative powers of the grape.
Q. And the merchants, how did they fit in?
A. At first, it was seen as a religious ritual, so the merchants stayed away. A tribe of women eventually wound their way through the empire, setting up trade with the Egyptians.
Q. Many times we hear that the Greeks brought wine culture to Italy. Who knows about that in this room?
 An Etruscan princess answers
A. We had already started with the grape before the Greeks arrived. We had been going on for several hundred years. What the Greeks did was to bring some new grape types with them, but not superior to the ones we had been cultivating for 500 years.
Q. It seems Ancient Romans loved wine. Poems were written about it, buildings and temples were erected in honor of the god of the grapes.
A. That all is true, but keep in mind we had very little to eat and drink. We were often sick and food went bad quickly. Wine kept, and it kept us well and our bellies full. And it made us happy.
Q. Did the grape have anything to do with the expansion of the Empire(s)?
A. Other than it went where man went? Of course when we conquered Gaul or the Huns or the Britons, we would plant vines and keep the local people collected and subdued. Wine had a part to play in the civilizing factor of the wild tribes.
Q. Last Question. If you were around today, what kind of wine would you like to see? What would you make?
 An older Roman answers
A. Listen, I would round up some of my soldiers and head to Toscanium and set that land straight. I?d bring them back to the Jovian roots and light a bloody fire under their feet. And by all the power of Jupiter, we?d bring them back to the flame of truth and all that is holy about the miracle the gods have sent down from the heavens in giving us grape with which to make this precious wine. Anyone caught disrespecting the gift of the gods would be crucified and struck down, their family sent into exile. To go against the Divine Immortals is the worst sin one could commit against the pantheon that rules our ancient souls.
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| [05/11/2008, 18:17] | Reale wine on the Amalfi coast | | | The winery of Luigi Reale was a real discovery. It raised my expectations of wine made in a world-famous beauty spot, in this case the Amalfi Coast of Campania. All of the essential components of interesting wine are present: good land, indigenous grapes of singular character and the informed intuition of the winemaker. Located in the village of Gete in the larger commune of Tramonti a few winding miles from the sea, Azienda Agricola Reale Andrea, is situated on a very steep 2.5 hectares on two small plots. The elevation... | | | |
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A magnificent Malbec! It picked up a trophy at the inaugural Wines of Argentina Awards held in Mendoza in 2007, having wowed the international panel of judges - included among them wine expert Jancis Robinson, who gave it an impressive 17 out of 20. This mulberry and spice-flavoured red wine was made by Herve Fabre, who was originally involved in the Bordeaux wine trade, before he and his wife fell in love with Argentina and moved there to establish a boutique winery. Herve's experience in producing top quality wines shines through in this tremendously rich, silky-smooth wine. Ripe blackberry and bramble aromas merge seamlessly with spicy oak and vanilla flavours. Full bodied, yet seriously smooth and warming. This 89 Parker point wine is sure to survive for many years to come. Definitely a wine to enjoy with fine food ... try it with rare roast beef or a juicy steak.
Price: 11.99 GBP
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"Wonderfully succulent, rich berry fruit with hints of spice box." (Parker). A must-have wine from this superb estate, once provider of the second wine of Cos d'Estournel. "Blackberries ... herbs ... hints of spices." (Wine Spectator)
Price: 19.15 GBP
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