Posted by admin on Feb 18
Posted by admin on Feb 16
As mentioned in the post covering a wine and food tasting at the Frontline Restaurant, myself, Cooksister and Blogjam were interviewed by Chris Vallance for a podcast feature on BBC Radio 5.
The broadcast is now available on-line.
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Posted by admin on Feb 16
Posted by admin on Feb 15
Dave keeps a running list of interesting bars and restaurants he reads about or sees on television. An establishment can work its way onto Dave’s list for its beer selection, cocktail creations or innovative menu. My wife and I took a small vacation to New York City a few weeks ago and decided to pull a few names off of Dave’s list that were known for their cocktails and make an evening out of it. Here are our Cocktail Chronicles from our visit to Manhattan.
Our first stop was the Bubble Lounge in Tribeca (228 W Broadway, New York, NY 10013). As the name reflects, it had a very large Champagne selection. This was a very hip place. I was a big fan of all the exposed brick inside. However, there was nothing interesting in the champagne choices (we had just as wide a selection at our KegWorks tasting) so we decided to try the cocktail menu. Julie had the Riviera (Clement Shrubb Rum, muddled strawberries, ginger and champagne served in Chardonnay wine glass) and I had the Good Dog (Bulldog Gin, Stolichnaya Vodka, Lynchee Syrup and Orange Peel served in a martini glass). The Lynchee syrup was made from a purée of the Asian Lynchee fruit, which I had never tried before. Neither of us was overly thrilled with the drinks and crappy service so we moved along.
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Posted by admin on Feb 15
Luckily my slightly off-beat theme for Wine Blogging Wednesday seems well received; plenty of thoughtfully produced entries.
Number of entries: 52 +1 (missed)
All the wines (bar a handful) were Italian reds. I’m wondering if anyone can work out what type from the description? I think not…
Rather than listing the specific wines I’ve detailed the seven word note to demonstrate the inventiveness and creational prowess of the participants. Thanks to all who took part. How did you find it - a challenge, serious head-scratching or a bit of frivolous fun?
My entry “Chewed end of a wooden ink pen”
Honest-Food.net “A gulpable feast of cherries and leather”
Vu lu Su : “Rubis Sombre Terre Melon Jeune Aromatique Court”
Journal 23 “Earthy, melon, medium-bodied; needs sharp cheese”
Catavino “Frizzante stone grapes, inoffensive from a mug”
1 Wine dude : pour, sniff, slurp, cherries, leather, yum! empty”
Wine In The ‘Peg : Tart cherry goodness - fire up the grill!
NYC Wine Notes : “Light. Earthy but bright. Shift Finish. Essence…”
The Wine Hiker : “Decant today, and you will smile tonight!”
Domaine 547 : “Rustic, textured, delicate, strong. Another glass please!”
Tales Of A Sommelier : “Reminds me of Vimto and Wham bars”
My Wine Info : “like your mother-in-law; spicy, tart and sweet”
My Wine Education : “Chocolate, berries delight. Passing time, leathery. Saporous.”
Behind the Vines : “where family pride and good wine meet”
Cheap Wine Ratings : “Leather clad cowboy embraces innocent luscious berries”
Wine Connections : “Two scoops of raisins in every swallow.”
Bloviatrix’s Website : “Salice Salentino Is Too Bitter For Me”
Smells Like Grape : “Victoriana is now and it is rose-scented.”
A Good Grape : “Cherry Trees in Tobacco Field by Barnyard” and “Vintner Makes Production Wine that Tastes Small”
Oenophilia : “Evil Head Cold keeps my bottle corked!”
Wine Lovers Journal : “Brash fruit, bright acid straddle tight tannins”
Wine Peeps : “Excellent! A bright, fruity, robust, balanced steal.”
Joe’s Wine : “Acidic palate Vegetal cappuccino A Cabernet franc?”
Recently Consumed : “Smooth, raspberry, vanilla, drinkable, nothing special, over-priced”
Flowery Song “Inky leather-scented silk. Spiced nuttiness demands Puttanesca”
Doktor Weingolb : “Better than 2004’s — now I taste oak!”
Rouge Blanc : “The Patriots’ Collapse in Super Bowl XLII”
Fork and Bottle : “Thelma, Louise partying with bodacious red wine” and “Drink while reading The Castle of Otranto”
WineCast : “Cherries, earth, raspberries on a dusty highway” and “Raspberries, cranberries, tar and spices on horseback”
Manage You Cellar : “Montepulciano, crimson, fleshy, savory, terrestrial, armonico,
persistente!”
Good Wine Under $20 : “Musky flowers perfume this bright, cherry wine”
Indiscriminate Ideas : “Never thought to put raspberries in coffee!”
The Wine Camp : “A wine I could drink every day”
Lenndevours : “Earth, flowers entice. Thin, dirty cherries. Underwhelming.”
Vino da Burde : “Faded Violet Around An Ancient Fruity Abbey”
Anything Wine : “Hey, who put cherries in my campfire?”
Dr Vino : “Acidity, berry, cherry, delicious, earthy, food-friendly, gonzo”
A Food and Wine Blog : “Closed for business - opens in three hours.”
McDuff’s Wine : “Beautifully Articulated Red Berries Evoke Romantic Associations”
Eating Leeds : “It is red and I like it” and “Red berry fruit, a hint of leather”
Wanna Be Wino : “Riding horses through eucalyptus and berry fields”
Just Grapes : “Fruit alive with wit, but classically tempered”
Cork Dork : “Please decant me for dusty cherry magic”
Wino-Sapian : “Prancing stallion Rustic. Man in Armani. Tasting Note”
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Posted by admin on Feb 14
I came across this ad, and thought I would share. Maybe I should return the shiznit I spent three hours buying, under the antagonizing, heat lamps at Sephora this weekend.
I should have just went to the 7-eleven.
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Posted by admin on Feb 13
‘A picture paints a thousand words’ is said to be a Chinese proverb attributed to many (from Kung Fu Tze to Confucius), but it is just as likely to be a folk saying. As you may realise images of the wines on this blog are important to me - whether others find them as evocative as I intend is another matter. At the very least if you buy any of my recommendations you know what to look for on the shelf!
Except for this tasting note I neglected to photograph the bottle before it hit the bottom of the recycling-bin. Which is more important than normal for this note for it is my entry to Wine Blogging Wednesday where I set the theme as an Italian Red in Seven Words. An image might just give you more of an impression than I can convey in seven words. (So nothing to add to the WBW flickr group either)
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Posted by admin on Feb 13
Posted by admin on Feb 13
Mississippians for Economic and Beverage Advancement (MEBA) is working to try to free a bill currently held up in the Mississippi Senate Finance Committee that would raise the alcohol by weight maximum in the state for beer from 5percent to 17 percent.
According to Craig Hendry, one of the founders of MEBA, the group visited the state capital this week to discuss the measure with lawmakers and even had a chance meeting with Gov. Haley Barbour.
Hendry reports the problem is that beer distributors in the state have lobbyists working to kill the bill. The tactics they are using include keeping it bottled up in committee and not allowing the full Senate to vote on the measure.
The group has launched an effort to get craft beer fans in the state to contact Sen. Dean Kirby, chair of the Finance Committee, and ask him to allow the bill to come up for a vote before it expires. Information on MEBA’s activities can be found at http://www.meba.ms/ and http://www.msbrew.com/.
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Posted by admin on Feb 12
When I began working at KegWorks 4 years ago, the company almost exclusively ran on Macs. That was my first experience with Apple products of any kind. Now, I am hooked. One of my favorite Apple purchases was the iPhone. On top of its many phenomenal functions, it is host to web apps. These are Internet-based sites that utilize the iPhone’s touch screen capabilities to navigate or play. Here are some of my favorite web apps for wining and dining.
These are great wine-and-dine related apps:
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