Cafes & Wineries

I had been asleep a few hours. The red Blackberry rang. It was my friend, Bisanzio, in Montalcino. “Can you divert from Verona to come to Tuscany?” There was a pleading in his voice. “They need the help of someone who both is in the Italian wine industry and is also a blogger″, he said. “from the US. An authority.”

“Why me?”

“They asked for you. Because you understand both worlds and the powers that be think you can help in steering this Brunello misunderstanding towards a quick resolution.”

So, I will arrive a little later than usual for Vinitaly. I am packing and leaving for a quick plane to London in the morning and a hopper to Pisa. Selected members of the Italian press will be there, along with journalists from Germany, Holland and Denmark. There will also be Italian and EU officials, along with a bevy of lawyers, and a politician or two.

Apparently there will be a press conference and I have to be there in time for it, which will be on Wednesday at noon, Italian time.

I cannot tell you anymore about what this is about. All I can say, there is a sense of urgency.

I’m going in. Wish me luck.

Original post by Italian Wine Guy&Acirc®

All this sprang from a little conversation I was having with my barber. I called up him up, his name is also Alfonso. “Hello, this is Alfonso,” I started. “Yes, this is he,” he replied. “Alfonso, this is Alfonso, do you have time to give me a haircut?” He answers, “Yes, this is Alfonso.” “I know it is you Alfonso, it is me, Alfonso, I just wanted to come in for a trim.” “Of course it is me Alfonso yes we can fit you in. Your name please?”

I got there and the place was steaming hot inside, like Etna in August. I asked him what the deal is. He said there were gangs roaming the streets for copper, taking apart air conditioners. It sure was making it real difficult in this place without any air conditioning. Things were heating up, we had to go in and find what we had been missing. It had been too long. Ready or not, we were going up. The scouts hadn’t radioed back in months; the surface of the planet was getting hotter. We had to find her and bring her back, dead or alive.

The scouts were supported by all the new-age efforts, Slow Food, Demeter and even the USDA Organic group. They were looking for her, in all her pure and simple way. What they used to call traditional. Now we think of traditional as just something they did back then, and put our ways upon the times. But back then, they had integrity they did it in harmony with nature and the world around them.

Then something happened, they took Mother Nature for a ride and held her hostage. There she was, off in a corner of the Milky Way Galaxy, tied up like some combatant, like some Guantanamera.

This was our new Crusade, to find our unspoiled red wine and bring her back to prominence. Not some overmatriculated Sangiovese posing like it were some garagista on vacation in Tuscany. She was our Holy Grail, our Mother, our Source and our Saving Grace. She was our sister, our aunt, the girl next door, our first love. She was the quintessential red wine from Italy and we had been led astray with so many Shiraz’s and Malbec’s and Bonarda’s and Zinfandel’s.

Now we would return to her and huddle close to her bosom, soak in all that is good and pure and right with wine from Italy. She was our caldera, our mountain top, our Xanadu.

My only hope is that we aren’t too late. I hope we haven’t abandoned her to the fast talking salesmen in the white linen suits. You know the type; they hang around the hotels in Rimini in the off-season. They find ways to fill up milk tankers going south and bring them back full. No one wants to talk about it nobody returns the phone calls when they know they’re going to be asked those questions. But there is hell to pay for cheating on her and she will extract the fitting price.

The consequences for going against the Holy Mother of Italian red wine, the Source, our Naima? Hell hath no fury. Cancelled orders. Close-outs. Closed doors. Anyone remember the Italian wine scandal of 1986? It took years to dig out from the fallout. Now there is talk of great and noble wineries being implicated in Tuscany.

Back in 1986, who were the six who were suspected of shipping tainted wine? You might be surprised to recall the names: Baroncini of Solarolo, Ravenna Biscardo of Calmasino, Verona Cauda of Cuneo, Piedmont; Mascarello of La Morra, Piedmont; Ricordi of Piave, Treviso; Tombacco of Trebaseleghe, Padua. In 1986, people died. In 2008 with a war torn world and a stumbling economy, this is not what Mother Nature wants to hear. The ride is over, she is breaking her bondage. She will return the volley with a vengeance. Look out.

Luca Brasi’s got nothing on this 50 foot woman.

Original post by Italian Wine Guy®

I love vac pot coffee. What’s not to love? It’s fun to brew and the coffee is as good as brewed coffee can be, without the sediment you get with a press pot.

I also love to buy old vac pots, but as pretty as they are, if the rubber gasket is old and hard, they are just dust-catchers on the shelf because they don’t create a seal. Without the seal, air escapes around the gasket and you don’t get

Original post by Robert

By 24/7 Wall St.

Starbucks (NASDAQ: SBUX) has been a disappointment recently. Same-store sales in the US slowed over the last couple of quarters. The company pushed down its guidance. Founder Howard Schultz kicked out his CEO and took over
In late 2006, Starbucks traded over $40. It is well below that now, under $18 on most days.
Right as the stock peaked, the then-CEO Jim Donald made the

Original post by Robert

If you haven’t seen it already, I heartily encourage you check out an excellent article and blog post by Eric Asimov over the last couple of days about letting kids drink wine at home.

As you might expect, this is a pretty heated topic in our moralistic American society, with people expressing strong feelings about whether or not it is OK to let kids have a little wine at home with dinner. Eric’s blog post has received well over 300 comments already and I’m sure the discussion will continue.

Like on many issues, we Americans seem all to quick to paint a black and white picture when it comes to answering this question: ether it’s OK, or it’s not. Eric does an excellent job exploring the spectrum of gray between those two points of view, though he and his wife still haven’t figured out yet just how to approach this with their teenage sons.

Those who know me well won’t be surprised to find that I don’t think there is a specific answer to this question. It depends. It depends on so many things that it’s almost silly to suggest that there is a general answer that can be made independent of any one family’s specific situation.

So all I can do is talk about how I will make the decision when my first child starts noticing that Dad spends a lot of time, energy, and attention on that brightly colored liquid in his glass.

I will start giving my kid(s) extremely watered down wine when they get old enough to express an interest in what Ruth and I are drinking at the table. As they get older, if they’re interested in learning about the differences between wines, I will give them sips of the stuff, and let them taste with me if they are willing to spit.

And finally when they are old enough to be interested in having a glass with dinner, but are still under 21, I will let them have a glass if I think they are responsible enough to:

- Not think alcohol is anything special
- Want to drink wine for its flavors rather than its effects
- Understand what alcohol does to their judgment
- Safely make decisions about where, when, and how much they drink when not at home

Studies (cited in Eric’s article) may suggest that there may be a correlation between families who allow a little alcohol consumption in the controlled environment of the home and a reduction in likelihood for binge drinking or alcoholism. There’s not clearly enough clinical evidence yet to say for sure. But I do firmly believe that throughout history we have been shown definitive proof that outlawing anything that humans enjoy putting in their bodies is never a solution for moderating its use.

I′d rather my kids think of wine as an everyday part of a meal, than think of it as forbidden fruit.

Read the full article and blog entry.

Original post by Italian Wine Guy®

clipped from dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com
Mark Prince, who runs coffeegeek.com, explained his interpretation of the move this way: Starbucks bought Coffee Equipment “to basically take complete ownership of the words ‘fresh brewed’ and ‘fresh coffee’ away from their chief rivals — Dunkin Donuts and

Original post by High Volume Sales Rep

clipped from dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.comYesterday, when I spoke to a representative of the Coffee Equipment Company, which makes the Clover brewing machine, she confirmed that CloverNet, the technology that connects Clover users, ­ would no longer be available to anyone other than Starbucks, C.E.C.’s new owner.Some cafe owners say Starbucks’ purchase of the company that makes the Clover

Original post by High Volume Sales Rep

For as great a wine town as it is, fantastic public tasting opportunities don’t come around all that often in New York City. Sure, if you know people, and especially if you’re in the business, there’s always some place to go to taste a few great wines. But there are rarely large public tasting events like those frequently held in San Francisco, where consumers can spend a little bit of money to taste a huge number of wines.

As you know, I consider such events the best possible education wine lovers can get. There’s nothing like being able to compare and contrast dozens, even hundreds of wines of the same type, or from the same region, to get a real sense of what you like.

So. What do you think about Chianti?

About five years ago, as I drove south from Florence on my way to Siena, stopping along the way amidst the green hills to sip a little wine, I realized I had never given Chianti enough credit. While it doesn’t have the deep profundity of Brunello, its high-class cousin to the south, there are a lot of beautiful, honest, unassuming wines made in some of the world’s most beautiful hill country.

On Monday, April 21, New York wine lovers have the chance to taste more than 200 different Chianti Classicos at an event by the name of Chianti Classico & The Tuscan Nose. The “nose” part of this tasting, apart from being a pun on the classic portrait of the Duke of Urbino, derives from a presentation by Italian perfumer, Lorenzo Villoresi, who will offer something that’s being described as “The Essence of Chianti Classico: a sensory experience of the 27 aromas of Chianti.” Yeah, I have no idea what the hell that is either.

But, did I mention there will be more than 200 Chianti Classicos to taste?

The tasting, which benefits Slow Food USA, also involves a seminar by sommelier David Lynch, which presumably will not be about perfume.

Whether you need to be disabused of the notion that Chianti is the wine that comes in those cute little baskets or you′re a hard-core lover of Sangiovese aged in neutral oak, this is a tasting that’s bound to be worth the forty bucks that a ticket will set you back.

Chianti Classico & The Tuscan Nose Tasting
Monday, April 21st, 6:00 to 8:00 PM (seminar at 6:30 PM)
583 Park Avenue (at 63rd Street)
New York, New York 10065

Tickets are $40 per person and should be purchased in advance online, or by calling 212-929-7700.

Remember my usual tips for public tastings: get a good night’s sleep; drink lots of water have food in your stomach when you arrive wear dark clothes; and if you want to actually learn anything…SPIT!

Original post by Italian Wine Guy®

Brady Donaldson and Tabi Mikeworth were united in marriage Saturday, Nov. 10, 2007, at Hermannhof Winery in Hermann. The Rev. Elliott officiated at the 6:30 p.m. ceremony.

Original post by Yahoo! News Search Results for Cafes

The people of Afghanistan came together in a moment of cultural unity. The vast majority of them watched - some nervously in secret, others openly, gathered outside cafes - as the grand final of the television talent contest Afghan Star was broadcast.

Original post by Yahoo! News Search Results for Cafes