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?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all-too-common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to
?Nonlethal? Stun Gun Claims Another Life In what seems to be an all too common occurrence across the U.S., an inmate has died in California after being shocked with a taser by sheriff?s deputies. Jason Jesus Gomez is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to subdue Jas
Sheriffs Kill Inmate with Non-lethal Weapon In now what seems to be a common occurrence across the U.S., a California inmate has died after being shocked with a taser by sheriff deputies. The deceased, Jason Jesus Gomez, is the latest casualty at the hands of the infamous Orange County Sheriff?s Department. The Los Angeles Times: An Orange County jail inmate who spent a week in a coma after a violent confrontation with sheriff?s deputies has died, a deputy coroner said today. Sheriff?s deputies used Taser stun weapons to subd
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Running with our retro theme, I?d like to share some highlights from our nine-plus years of publishing. Some names have been omitted due to legal issues; some kept due to stupidity issues. Strap yourself in, baby. Here we go...
Best Endorsement: Coming in a close second to Ron Loutherback?s endorsement (see The Insider, page 40 in this issue) is an endorsement by Wine Spectator. We learned in 1999 that they (mainly their publisher) call us ?The Dark Side.? Not quite sure why. You?d think they?d figure out that the more young adults we turn on to wine now, the more subscribers they?ll have in about 10 years. But then again, it?s Wine Spectator.
Best Brokest Moment: In 2000, Random House published our first edition of the Wine X-Rated Guide to Wine. They were flying me to LA for the Festival of Books at UCLA to have me speak on a panel with other wine/food authors. Sounded great. ?Cept I had absolutely no money. I mean NO money. Nothing. Zip. Zero. Nada. And I had no one to sponge off. Luckily I had gas in my car, so all I really needed was $6 to pay for airport parking (when I returned). So here was my plan: I had some foreign currency (from press trips abroad). I figured I?d fly down to LA, do the festival, then get dropped back at LAX early so I could go to the International terminal to cash in the currency. These best-laid plans were going great until I found the foreign-currency exchange booth. Closed. After running through the terminal in near panic, I found another that was open. I cashed in my currency and made it back home with a whopping $11.52 in my pocket.
Best Catch-22: After a year of dogged persistence, former Wine X ad sales director Dan Eliason and I finally snagged a meeting with a brand manager for a big Italian wine company. For an hour we did the ol? dog and pony show, covering all the details on why the brand (which retailed for $11) would appeal to our readers. Their response? ?We don?t think your readers will spend $11 on a bottle of wine.? I could tell (from so many other meetings with middle-aged brand managers who think young adults don?t have any money) that arguing with them was futile. So I said we?d forward the results of our recent reader survey, which included the average price our readers were paying per bottle. Upon receiving this information, which indicated our readers were spending about $16.50 retail for a bottle, we received an email back saying that if our readers are spending that much on wine, they?d never buy an $11 bottle. D?Oh!
Best Cover: To this day, despite all the great celebs we?ve had grace our cover, I think the best cover we?ve ever published is the first. Not because it shocked so many old farts in the industry (which it did). And not because the design of the cover alone cost me more than the design of the following 63 pages (which it did). I think it?s the best cover we?ve done because it did exactly what it was supposed to do: it alienated the ?old guard? (as intended); it attracted young adults to a magazine about wine (as intended); it paved the way for a new era of wine magazine appealing to the other 35 million U.S. wine consumers who weren?t reading Wine Spectator or Robert Parker. If you have a copy of our first issue, Vol. 2.1, hold on to it. Trust me. It?s worth more than the paper it?s printed on. Wanna see the intricate detail that our then-cover designer Glen Martinez achieved on that first cover? Look at the button on the jeans. (No, Wine X wasn?t making jeans at that time.) Or examine the tattoo. One by one Glen painstakingly placed each hair that seemingly comes through the tattoo ink. Yes, the tattoo was Photoshopped in. But the belly ring was real.
The Pinot Gris harvest in Oregon's Willamette Valley was set back even further by rain, and even some hail last weekend. On Sunday alone, it rained over an inch in parts of the Willamette Valley. It also hailed in various locations. While any widespread damage to the grapes is unknown at this point, the continued cool, soggy weather can't be good for the grape development at this late stage.
Grapes need to attain a certain sugar level (measured in Brix) to achieve proper ripening and balance.
I scraped myself up and out of Hong Kong to go grab the ferry to Macau. I later found out that helicopters are also available and a lot faster, although the boat trip wasn?t that bad, lasting only an hour. The ferries leave from Hong Kong every thirty minutes, twenty-four hours a day, and [...]
This is another dry red wine from the sunny ?emovsko valley near Podgorica, Montenegro. We’ve covered a few wines from the Planta?e winery in the past and this is probably the poorest of their wines, without much character. Enjoyable only with a meal.
The difference in perception of this wine and the Dulka Cabernet we just covered is quite huge - the wine makers from Fru?ka Gora do seem to know how to add some magic to their wines and add a special touch to it (OK, it costs twice as much, but is well worth it!).
Score: 5/10 Price: 240 RSD (?3) Retailer: Widely available in Serbia and Montenegro
Here is a wine style you don’t see every day: An off-dry Rose made from Touriga grapes that originate from Portugal, where they are traditionally used to make vintage port. The wine in question? Old Mill Estate Rosé 2007.
Vibrant flamingo red/pink, this Rose exhibits subtle cranberry and strawberry aromas. Cranberry flavours continue onto the palate, which is initially dry and savoury but finishes with a hint of sweetness. Simple and refreshing.
Overall its a good little Rose, I feel it would show its best with appropriate food that would allow the savoury style of the wine to shine through.
Score: 87/100 Price: $18 Closure: Screwcap Alcohol: 12% Other Opinions:Winorama, Wine Without Wank Would I buy this wine? I would probably pick up a bottle of Turkey Flat or Charles Melton Rose instead.
Christina Rowan of Washington DC thought quickly and calmly when a gunman crashed a backyard barbecue and held a gun to a 14-year-old girl's head. Moments later, the gunman left with a glass of wine and a smile. Read the whole story. From an AP newswire published on MSNBC WASHINGTON - Police on Capitol Hill are baffled by an attempted robbery that began with a handgun put to the head of a teenager and ended in a group hug. It started about midnight on June 16 when a group of friends was finishing a dinner of marinated steaks and jumbo...
I recently made a few Beaujolais suggestions here. It appears from the ‘complaint’ below, that rather than recover their position and take a forward-looking view, they would rather wither and die… Jean-Paul Brun’s Beautiful 2007 Beaujolais l’Ancienne Denied the AOC Beaujolais! Can you imagine the stupidity! “Jean-Paul Brun just learned that 5,222 cases of Beaujolais [...]
The Greeks called Italy Oenotria - the land of wine. A large, colourful wine map of Italy hangs on my study wall. I've been exploring the viticultural tastes and textures of Italy from Abruzzo, Piedmont and Tuscany to Sardinia, Sicily and Venice. Melgab, an Italian father-and-son company, import a wide range of fine wines and grappa? of origin from Argentina, France, Italy, Portugal and Spain to South Africa.
Treat your taste? buds to a range of new flavours? in classic Italian varieties such as Barbera, Chianti, Nebbiolo, Sangiovese and Trebbiano. The dry?, fruity?, minerality of Lamberti Santepietre Pinot Grigio or the fine, fruity bubbles of Teresa Rizzi Prosecco, the vino? spumante? of Veneto will take you all the way to Harry's Bar in Venice. I loved the herbal? quality of Medici Sangiovese Rubicone from Emilia, the main grape of the great Chianti Classico? wines. Last but not least, try the intense?, robust ruby red Montepulciano d'Abruzzo with its evocative forest fruit and liquorice flavours.
Watch out for Melgab's Italian wines in wine stores at R60-R85.
I discovered the seductive delights of limoncello? this summer - a traditional Italian liqueur? made from steeping the juiciest, fresh lemon peels in alcohol?. Commonly called limoncello in Tuscany, this zesty digestif is made in family cellars in the region? from age-old recipes. The rinds from lemons? freshly picked in the orchards are steeped in alcohol until they reach a perfect infusion of colour, flavour and zest. Made by A&G Distillery, Limonello is sold in an elegant frosted glass bottle in South Africa. Drink frozen, on the rocks or drizzle over ice cream? and fruit salad?.
A&G Limonello costs R86 per 500ml. Visit www.melgab.co.za for more information.
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.
yesterday i started my grappa infusion. i bought a pound of not-exactly-plums-not-quite-prunes yesterday and cut them in half and shoved them into my silver medal award winning grappa that was super cheap at bevmo.
so i'm hoping for a simple plum-infused grappa. i figure even though it should realistically take about a week to infuse, i'm thinking of leaving the plums indefinitely so that the infusion gets stronger the older the grappa gets. the grappa is also ice cold so the infusion process will be a little retarded at first and get better as time goes on.
It's a pretty sweet idea, and I never turn down dessert, so here goes:
1. Carne cruda. Preferably Piedmontese beef. Preferably eaten in Barolo. Preferably with shaved truffles on top. But what is it? Literally, it's finely chopped raw beef dressed in lemon juice, olive oil, salt and pepper. Principally, it's heaven.
2. Portillo's all-beef hot dog with everything (mustard, relish, onions, sliced tomato, kosher pickle and celery salt on a poppy seed bun). Mmmm. Sweet home, Chicago.
3. Rabbit rillette from Bouchon in Napa. Rillette is meat that's slow-cooked in fat until it's creamy and rich. It's served cold, often from a ramekin, and Bouchon pairs it with crostini and fig paste.
4. My husband's butternut-squash bisque. He gives the recipe out freely because he knows once someone takes a look at the list of ingredients, they'll never try it on their own. It's smooth and satisfying. A few crumbles of blue cheese on top cut the sweetness. My ultimate comfort food.
5. Kifli, the triangle-shaped cookies my mom makes about once every five years at Christmas if I beg. They're labor intensive, so I don't blame her for being so stingy, but the flaky crispness and almond-paste inside say holidays to me.
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Winslow welcomes winery By BILL DUHART ? Courier-Post Staff ? April 29, 2008
Larry Sharrott III, left, and Larry Sharrott Jr. pose for a portrait in the tasting room of Sharrott Winery, Tuesday, April 15, 2008 in Winslow. (Douglas M. Bovitt/Courier-Post)
WINSLOW ? For Pam Merkey, another wine-maker in the neighborhood was nothing to raise an eyebrow about.
"We all make wine around here," said Merkey, who lives on South Egg Harbor Road here in the Blue Anchor section of the township. "This is a very strong Italian community. We all visit each other's houses on Sundays to taste each other's wine."
But when the chance came for a relative to sell 34 acres of land that had been in her husband's family for generations to an upstart commercial wine operation, the family jumped at it.
"They could have sold that . . . and split it up but they didn't," said Merkey, 47, a residential development banker. "It got to stay what it is and that's a lot better than five houses out there."
That's the way Larry Sharrott III and his father Larry Sharrott Jr. feel about it. The Sharrott farm bucks a recent trend in a township shedding its farming identity for rapid residential growth. Residential land makes up 76 percent of the taxable property here, compared to only 5 percent for farms.
The Sharrotts, computer technicians by trade who have an affinity for distilling spirits, bought the land in 2003 for $175,000.
The winery offers 10 varieties of wine showcased in a 450-square-foot tasting bar atop a plateau with a patio overlooking the vineyard. The tasting bar is part of a 2,500-square-foot building that also houses the winemaking operation with grapes grown in the vineyard.
"We see ourselves as a bulkhead against development," said Sharrott Jr., 60, a retired computer executive. "They call this the Garden State but most of the gardens are turning into somebody's backyard."
"We're preserving open space and our farm is a new business for the township," added Sharrott III, 33, whose day job is at defense contractor Lockheed Martin.
The property, once an apple orchard, is zoned rural and restricted to one house per 10 acres of land, which officials said is not likely to change. But it had been vacant for several years.
"No question, it's something everyone welcomes," said Ed McGlinchey, township zoning officer and director of public works. "It's pretty obvious we had a big influx of single-family homes stretching back to the 1960s. Times were great for the residential building community."
But a sewer connection ban in the rapidly growing township has put a cap on new growth. Eighty-one percent of Winslow is in the environmentally protected Pinelands preserve. The Sharrott farm is in the Pinelands but farms are exempt from many of the restrictions.
"It takes a lot longer to get other types of businesses approved and its a lot more expensive," McGlinchey said. "We're not going to get a huge amount of taxes from the winery, but it keeps with the traditional character of the township."
Read the rest at: http://www.courierpostonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080429/NEWS01/804290373/1006/news01
Reach Bill Duhart at (856) 486-2576 or bduhart@courierpostonline.com
[11/25/2006, 15:17]
Preparations for Christmas.
Santiago of Chile prepares itself to receive the Christmas.
While hurried wayfarers travel the Plaza of Weapon, a group of workers raised in nets, prepare a gigantic tree.
It will be finished in a few days more and be be almost so high as the centenary Cathedral, Satiago's former relic.
Nuits St George, Burgundy, France. 13%. Cork. Half bottle. Approx $A40.
Quite similar to the last De L'Arlot I had, though with perhaps a little more softness and flesh.
Lovely initial burst of rose petal, perfume and sap, before settling into a more earthy and understated repose. Like its sibling, there is a note of ginseng, though as mentioned I thought this was more rounded and plump. The softness is evanescent and soon replaced by something more meaty and firm.
It's been a long-time ritual of mine. Like so many customary habits that become simple routines, whenever I buy a new wine, I open a bottle that same night. It doesn't much matter if the winemaker warns not to touch it for four weeks or for four months.
Nearly every day in San Francisco there is a farmers? market to check out, offering not only plenty to taste and buy, but sights, sounds and people-watching.
A recent stopover in LA had me dining with the one and only Dr. Conti. I can safely say that reports of his demise are greatly exaggerated, and that there are still a few jewels left in the cellar. Quite a few. We were joined by the Burghound, always on the scent of the best [...]
I love Moscato over summer, the best are slightly sweet but the acid and spritz can be so refreshing. The generally low alcohol is also a bonus. With this in mind, I sought out 17 Moscato based current release wins from both Australia and Italy to taste and decide what I would be buying to drink over the next couple of months.
All wines were tasted blind over a couple of nights. Prices are approximate.
Wirra Wirra Mrs Wigley Moscato 2007: Peach tinted straw colour. Really good visual fizz/bead. Lovely ripe peach and grape nose. Softly sweet on the palate, but the acid and bubbles come through and cleans the sweetness up in a wave, leaving the desire for another sip inevitable. Excellent. Crown Seal. 5.5% alcohol. 500ml. $20 - 91/100
Cascinetta Vietti Moscato D’Asti 2006: Very fine, persistent bead. Very pale straw coloured. Floral, spice, apricot and musk on the nose. Sparkles on the palate. Absolutely delicious. Cork. 5.5% alcohol. 375ml. $22 - 90/100
Two Hands Brilliant Disguise Moscato 2007: Pale straw colour. Fine, constant bead. Floral, citrus and musky characters shown on the vibrant nose. Very clean, crisp flavours. Good acid, only tastes lightly sweet thanks to the acid and spritz. Cork. 7% alcohol. 500ml. $18 - 89/100
Marenco Scrapona Moscato D’Asti 2005: Very pale colour. Good fizz with quite a bit of mousse at first. Musky, floral, lemon and lots of peach aromas. Light, fresh and clean palate with subtle sweetness. Very enjoyable, but a bit too short to be great. Cork. 5.5% alcohol. 750ml. $33 - 88/100
Castello del Poggio Moscato D’Asti 2005: Mid-straw colour. Great bead, very persistent. Intense nose of musk, pear, peach and honey. Sweetness is present but it is one of many dimensions rather than the only one. Acid cleanses the palate. Needs to be drunk now. Cork. 5.5% alcohol. 750ml. $10 - 88/100
Tempus Two Copper Moscato 2007: Straw coloured. Slow rising, fine bead. Blueberry, tropical fruit and passionfruit. The palate is dry, with only a very slight sweetness coming through. Medium length. Crown Seal. 7% alcohol. 750ml. $20 - 87/100
Innocent Bystander Moscato 2007: Pale pink colour. A bit yeasty at first, but that blew off quickly and showed strawberry, musk and citrus. Fine and persistent bead in the glass. Full flavoured palate, fresh flavour but maybe a little too heavy though. Fun to drink, but a g
Tecnorati
This is another dry red wine from the sunny ?emovsko valley near Podgorica, Montenegro. We’ve covered a few wines from the Planta?e winery in the past and this is probably the poorest of their wines, without much character. Enjoyable only with a meal.
Here is a wine style you don’t see every day: An off-dry Rose made from Touriga grapes that originate from Portugal, where they are traditionally used to make vintage port. The wine in question? Old Mill Estate Rosé 2007.
Q. What were the wines like when you were living?
The fellow in profile speaks
An Etruscan princess answers
An older Roman answers
