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The Mountain X Hunter Shiraz 2006 is the inaugural release and the brain child of Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattison of The Wine Front. It is a blend of 95% Hunter Shiraz (good start) and 5% Yarra Pinot - a throwback to a traditional hunter blend of yesteryear. The winemakers are Rhys Eather (Meerea Park) and Franco d’Anna (Hoddles Creek) respectively.
Stylistically modern Hunter Valley - showing fruity aromas of cherry, blackcurrant and some licorice. The palate is initially juicy and intense with tangy dark fruits and berries, a dash of spice and a dollop of vanilla oak. There are just enough super fine and approachable tannins to pull the finish into the savoury realm.
If you plan to drink up now, I suggest 2+ hours in a decanter, otherwise it should improve in the cellar over the medium term. A successful first release, there is something here for hunterists and non-hunterists alike. Since I don’t mind giving this lot a plug, you can buy the wine from the Boutique Wine Center, Boccaccio or North Sydney Cellars.
Score: 91/100 Price: $30 Closure: Diam Alcohol: 13.5% Would I buy this wine again? Yes I will, $30 is a reasonable price for a low production, hand picked and unique wine.
Based on Winewaves' internal analysis of final tracking polls, exit polls and ongoing monitoring of election results, we declare that Barack Obama is the next President of the United States. Let's here it for President Obama: Ale To The Chief. (Posted 7:41 p.m. CST).
While others have a lot to lose on making such a projection, we have nothing to lose. Will anyone stop clicking through from a Google search for an obscure wine because they heard Winewaves goofed on an early election projection? Then, there's the fact that Winewaves' founder Jerry Hall studied statistics in graduate school. Not just a pretty face, but Jerry also knows when the chips are up or down. The chips are not up enough for John McCain to pull out a miracle.
While some may want me to remain unbiased, I'm not. Barack Obama is my choice and I'm glad he won tonight. He ran the better campaign and he is unquestionably the more intelligent and in touch candidate.
So, I suggest you have a glass of Avery Brewing Company's special edition "Ale To The Chief" to celebrate. This is a fantastic brew that combines over the top hops with a fullness of fruit flavors that makes for a big beer, a big noise, but very well balanced between the low and high notes.
The appearance of any brew is important, and this one delivers greatness. The color is beautiful, deep amber, copper-orange, with a slight turbidity that suggests it was just brewed. The nose is hoppy, fruity, along the lines of citrus peel, especially orange, and even tilting towards fruit cake. If you're like me, you think fruit cake smells better than it tastes. On the tongue, you get a nice complex interaction between bitter hops and also fruit and caramel. Fruit flavors carry through with the hops all the way to a crisp dry finish.
Instead of traversing the familiar terrain of regions or grape varieties, I forge a new path by plotting a seasonal arc for wine consumption. This ties in to the way that I enjoy wine, by emphasizing the context of how, where, when (and with what and with whom) we drink wines, as well as linking to the trend of seasonal cooking that is so prevalent today among professional chefs and home cooks. I’m glad that this theme resonated with so many of you in our previous discussion.
The book has short essays and hundreds of wine recommendations across the twelve months of the year. There should be something for wine lovers of all levels, newbie to full-on wine geek. There’s also some information for all seasons about wine style, wine service and how to actually find good wines near you. And twelve wine travel sections help you even change your context for maximum wine enjoyment.
Alex Eben Meyer contributed the great illustrations. Check out his excellent portfolio at his site!
And a total of thirteen sommeliers lent their thoughts to the volume. They include: Richard Betts (The Little Nell, Aspen, CO); Shayn Bjornholm MS (Washington Wine Commission); Thomas Carter (Blue Hill Stone Barns, Pocantico Hills, NY); Belinda Chang (The Modern, NYC); Christie Dufault (Quince, SF); Erik Liedholm (Seastar, Seattle); Rajat Parr (Michael Mina Group, SF); Shelley Lindgren (A16 restaurant, SF); Roger Morlock (Park Avenue Seasons, NY); Virginia Philip, MS (The Breakers, Palm Beach); Tysan Pierce (The Herbfarm, Woodinville, WA); Juliette Pope (Gramercy Tavern, NYC).
So check out the book’s page over at Amazon (or Barnes and Noble or Powell’s if you prefer) and see what Kermit Lynch, Eric Arnold, David Lynch, and Bobby Abreu had to say on the back cover. Or ask for the hardcover at your local bookstore and check it out in print. And if you do get it, let us know what you think of it here!
During a two-day visit to the Mendocino coast we visited Café Beaujolais (Mendocino), Le Rendezvous (Ft. Bragg) and the Mosswood Cafe (Boonville). We particularly enjoyed Café Beaujolais.
Using bargain wines is often preferable for occasions when it would be unwise to to invest a large amount of money in expensive wine.
Do you really want to use top-notch red wine for making sangria or for serving up at parties, when friends have already had enough to drink? No, I didn't think so!
Drinking Bargain Wines
Blended wine is usually cheaper and a reasonable bet in terms of drinkability. As a general rule, Chilean blends are the cheapest option, although it's often worth paying that little bit extra for Australian blends. In fact, a number of Australian producers market two excellent blends at the lower end of the price spectrum, one white and one red. The red is a blend of cabernet sauvignon and shiraz and the white consists of semillon and chardonnay. Keep an eye out for these grape combinations, if you're after a bargain!
Another winner at the cheaper end of the market is Spanish Rioja (both red and white). As Rioja is usually less fruity than the previously mentioned blends it is generally better for serving with food, rather than drinking on its own.
Other Uses of Bargain Wines
Sangria
If you're making sangria, you need red quaffing wine - and lots of it. As sangria is made from red wine, sugar, fruit juice and spirits, the quality of the red wine becomes largely secondary. This is where boxed wines come into their own. Buy large boxes that are relatively cheap - no one will notice! Be sure to purchase reasonable quality fruit juice and don't go for the absolute cheapest wine as you may live to regret it, the following morning!
Large Parties and Receptions
When serving wine to a large party, cost is obviously important. As a rule, boxed whites are generally more palatable than boxed reds, so if want to trim costs, anywhere, buying cheaper white wine may be a safer option.
A great way to improve boxed red wine is to add a reasonable quality bottle of red wine. Provided that you choose the correct bottle of red, this can make an impressive difference to the taste. Of course, you do need some suitable decanters or serving carafes and a little patience to pull this one off, successfully.
Finally, choose your nibbles wisely. Plain potato chips will do little to help you disguise a poor wine. Instead opt for a selection of cheeses, as they will enhance the flavor of even the cheapest of wines.
About the author: Since Neil Best first pondered the question, Who made the first wine anyway? he's been recording his findings at http://www.goodglug.comFind about your favorite wine regions, wine recipes, and speciality wines along with how it's made and how best to store it for maximum enjoyment
A few weeks ago someone came in and said, ?I have this new wine from Armenia you have to try?. So, with much hesitation I went over and tasted this Armenian wine. I was even less excited when I saw the label and realized that it was a pomegranate wine. It was pretty nasty I must say. But, the folks in Isreal didn?t think so and they made their own version.
Several years before the trend got started, a family in Israel's Upper Galilee region began working to create a tastier and healthier version of the ancient fruit, only to cross their way into yet another huge food market. Their product: the world's first pomegranate wine fit to be sold to international wine connoisseurs.
The craziest part though, in my opinion, is that Pomegranate doesn?t have enough natural sugars to ferment to alcohol. The majority of the time it has to be tampered with to even get it to the alcohol content that it needs to be a wine.
In general, pomegranates don't have enough natural sugar to ferment into alcohol on its own," Leo Open, Rimon's director of international marketing, told ISRAEL21c. "In the past, some people have added alcohol to pomegranate juice to create a form of liquor, but no one has successfully made wine. Our pomegranates are the only ones in the world that have enough sugar to do so naturally."
Hmmmmm.
"Like with all wines, the fermentation process is totally natural," Open says. That being said, pomegranate wines clearly belong to a different class than the typical reds and whites, and Rimon recognizes that the market has to treat it as such, Open says. "We consider it a fruit wine, definitely not a liqueur, and it has to be appreciated in this way."
If you have to tell me that your wine is a fruit wine and not a liquor, that?s probably not a good sign. Here?s my advice, make wine from grapes. That?s it?.it?s simple. Wine= grapes!!
So, in Illinois a police chief has a big beef with big beers. Apparently 22 ounce beers are ending up as trash all over the city and the chief is fed up. He even goes so far as to say?
Police Chief Rich Miller wants to outlaw the sale of beer in 24- or 32-ounce cans, saying those sizes are preferred by trouble-making drunks.Miller says stores sell them in paper bags that conceal them perfectly and end up as litter, and that Granite City would be better off if stores just didn't sell such beers.
So, lemme get this straight, only drunks drink 22 ounce beers?? http://cbs11tv.com/watercooler/watercooler_story_254120050.html
Science Rocks!
Check it out. I found this clip on You Tube for a new robot created by Asahi that pours your beer for you. Sure I have no idea what it is saying (probably something like Americans are retarded) and it takes a little over 3 minutes to pour the damn thing but cool nonetheless. If you?re wasted, or if you?re name is Kipp and are obsessed with beer gadgets I am guessing that it is a necessity!
For years I have loved you. I have sold your wine to people who don?t even know how to pronounce your name yet they always come back for more. I know the quote on your bottle ? ?Through this earth gate, this Torii Mor, we step, to make glad the soul with wine?. I have visited your winery and tasting room, I have bought your expensive single vineyard wines. I loved you Torii Mor. I loved you even after Patty Green left you to make her own winery but I should have known. I should have known that one day one of my undiscovered baby wineries in Oregon would sell its soul for cash. Premier Buying Group from Napa has been buying vineyard land in Oregon in a very deceitful manner and Torii Mor owner Jim Olsen has been the man behind the scenes. Expect a ?Mondavi? like venture that whores out cheap ass pinot noir in your near future.
I went to New York last week and had a great time. I went to the Bubble Lounge which is a restaurant that serves over 350 champagnes by the glass. I was in heaven. I drank the Veuve Cliquot MV "La Grand Siecle". Yep that's right MV - not NV. MV means that they blend vintages. This particular wine was '88, '90, and '95 vintages from Veuve single vineyards and it was well worth every penny I paid for it. Here's a picture. I'd post more pictures but the night went downhill from there and while the pics are very funny, they are also very telling!!!
Greetings from Asia. I have begun my first tour of duty here in the Pacific Rim, and I started my trip off with a weekend in Shanghai. The fourteen plus hour flight did not seem so bad since I was able to sleep for close to nine hours of it; of course, that was only [...]
Feel the chill in the air, the earthy aromas of dried leaves and wet soil, the vibrant orange and red colors on the tip of the leaves like small dabs of paint radiating from the deep dark green background? Sigh, this is my favorite time of the year. I love to fill a thermos with hot tea, chocolate, or better yet, mulled wine; layer myself in flannel and fleece; and enjoy a day in the mountains basking in the warm heavy glow of the September sun. The brisk winds rustling the dry, cracking leaves is like music to my ears.
The magic of autumn brings a sense of warmth in my belly, as it calls for heavier and richer foods able to coat my stomach with a sense of fullness. Bright orange pumpkins and vibrant yellow and green squash begin their debut in homes across Spain, and when added with a touch of oil and garlic, how could anyone not be happy?!
Fall is also the time for the time of the harvest, when bodegas across Iberia kick into high gear to begin the grape picking process. Purple hands can be found across the peninsula, harvesting both red and white grapes with the most gentle of care, hoping to preserve every single ounce of flavor from the vineyard to the bottle.
And so far, I am happy to announce that the harvests in both Spain and Portugal are shaping up beautifully. Despite the hail storms that affected several areas throughout Ribera del Duero and La Mancha last year, whereby reducing the production of red grapes by 20% for some bodegas, the quality of the grapes themselves are being reported as outstanding! This decrease in production is also being seen as far east as Utiel Requena and as far west as the Alentejo in Portugal.
On the flipside, Rias Baixes, in northwest corner of Spain, is reporting to have an increase of 10% in their production as opposed to the previous year. According to Wines of Spain, the Regulating Council?s chairman, José Ramón Meiriño, expects “a 10 percent increase in estimated average yields in comparison to the 2007 harvest, which yielded a total of 5,355 kg/ha?. Interestingly, according to their last blog post in early August, Castro Martin didn’t expect the same results “At this moment we are probably about a month away from the start of the 2008 vintage, and (touch wood), it is looking like we might have a similar sized harvest to 2007, albeit that it is much to early to predict how the quality might compare.”
Just south of Rias Baixas, the famous Port producing region, the Douro, is also reporting an increase in production. According the the Oscar Quevedo, “The yield has been higher compared to last years? production and our estimate for the other vineyards is a productivity of almost 3.5 tns/hectare”.
Despite the highs and lows of production throughout Iberia, there appears to be one resounding message, the quality of 2008 should be incredible!
If you are a winemaker in Spain or Portugal, let us know how your vintage is shaping up! Additionally, check out, and add your reports and photos to, our international 2008 Wine Harvest Flickr group to see the progression of this years harvest!
Domaine Richaud ? Cotes du Rhone ?Terres d? Aigues? (2005)
If you?re in the mood for wonderful floral aromas followed by mind altering weirdness on the palate ? try this.
Dried herbs, strong garrigue notes and liquorice on the nose, full bodied initially, becoming seriously fat in the glass with some tobacco and grilled meat flavours which seem to fade but kick in again accompanied by a seriously weird sweaty iodine and dare I say it ? Sauerkraut fizzpop explosion which stopped me dead in my tracks between the kitchen and the lounge.
Top marks for creating something really interesting here, I just wonder if the flavours work for me. After two glasses it left me in a dizzy sweat.
Domaine Richaud produce top quality wines and I look forward to returning to the Cairanne or perhaps the Les Garrigues?decisions, decisions.
This is another great wine from the WinEco winery (Podrum Radenkovi?) from Southern Serbia. It is a not-very-dry Chardonnay, without a strong nose, but with an exceptional balance of fruity and barrique aromas. It is easy going, with a full taste, definitely one of the wines to accompany your lighter meals. It’s barrique traces make it a great complement to slightly smoked fish or cheeses, but it’s also great on it’s own.
In general, Chardonnay is particularly suited for the barrique (oak aged) treatment. Chardonnay Barrique develops a pronounced cognac aroma and becomes a truly full-bodied wine - all hints of fruity flavours become very subdued.
Score 9/10 Price: 800 RSD (?10) Retailer: Super Vero
It's hard to believe that a year has almost gone by and Christmas Time is here. In getting into the holiday rhythm, I went looking for some music only to find most of it unsatisfying (surprise, surprise). There are exceptions, and here I think is one of them.
December 1965, "A Charlie Brown Christmas" was aired and became an instant standard. Most people will remember the Charles Schultz cartoon along with the catchy tunes. Upon listening to the recent 2006 re-master of this album by Fantasy records, I was amazed. This is so much better than coming out of a 14 inch mono TV. Arranged & composed by Vince Guaraldi, there is an underlying quality of happiness and cheer to the music. Perhaps it brings back happy memories of my childhood but I think it is intrinsic to the music. Guaraldi to me, has the lyrical qualities of Bill Evans together with the rhythm and swing of a Dave Brubeck - it is a shame he died of a heart attack at an age of 47 between sets at a jazz club. Thought I would share this one with you, the album code is FCD-30066-2 in case some of you are interested.
Merry Christmas, good health, peace on earth and may joy come over the world.
Morris Zwick began his winemaking career small, learning the trade as a home winemaker, building his craft slowly through a mix of reading and interaction with other winemakers. With a background in chemical engineering, he improved his craft over twelve years before deciding to open his own winery, Terrapin Station, which is named after Maryland?s state reptile.
Before deciding to open a commercial winery, however, he began as a grape grower, planting his seven acres of vines in 2003. Today he grows several varieties, such as Traminette, Cayuga, Cabernet Franc and Vidal. He enjoys experimenting with new types of grapes such as St. Vincent, of which he is currently the only Maryland grape grower.
The most noticeable thing that sets his winery apart from other state wineries is the containers in which he sells his wine. He decided to try something new to the state of Maryland and began selling the state?s first quality boxed wine.
?They started out as a preventative measure against corked wine, but as I experimented with the design I realized all the advantages of boxed wines,? says Zwick. ?They are much lighter than traditional wine bottles, are easy to pour for a single serving and are much easier to recycle.? In addition to all of these benefits, Terrapin Station Winery donates $1 from each purchase to help the diamondback terrapin, an endangered animal native to the Chesapeake Bay.
His greatest challenge has been overcoming the stereotype that boxed wines are poor quality, but says companies like Black Box Wines and Banrock Station have begun to push the idea of quality boxed wine.
?I think what Morris is doing is innovative and fun and he is really helping to pioneer the way for new winemaking techniques in Maryland?s growing wine industry.? says Mark Emon from St. Michaels Winery.
Go to their website and see it all for yourself: http://www.terrapinstationwinery.com
My first selection for these troubled times is the second most popular wine reviewed here by pageviews, the Petite Sirah by Crane Lake. This label is made by Bronco Wine Company who also produce the Charles Shaw brand for Trader Joe’s. Crane Lake is offered to independent retailers and typically sells for a couple dollars more than the more famous “2-buck Chuck.” Another difference is that more than just the typical varieties are offered, including this Petite Sirah and even a Sangiovese.
Petite Sirah is a good variety to look for in value wines these days as it flies a bit below the radar of most consumers. Many of the best examples can be found for less than $20 a bottle but I was interested in what you could get for $4. I picked up the 2004 vintage a while back but did not review it was a bad bottle, but I was able to track down the 2005 vintage for this tasting.
Tasting Notes:
Crane Lake, Petite Sirah 2005 ($4) - Dark purple-black color with aromas of blueberry compote and white pepper. Simple and juicy blueberry and plum flavors with some black pepper finishing with plush tannins and good acidity. Clean and surprisingly varietally correct.
Composite cork closure 12.5% ABV Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
It's official. Millennials are a major force in wine. Why we needed a study to tell us this, I'm not sure. We millennials are hip, sophisticated and reliably swayed by marketing. Sigh. At least we have the good sense to like wine.
Quotable: "Connoisseur, n. A specialist who knows everything about something and nothing about anything else." - Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary
Caberiffic: Delectus 2001 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon Stanton Vineyard Oakville ($50). Tobacco, mushroom, black cherry, plum. Decant, my friends, decant.
Splurge worthy: Philip Togni Vineyard 2003 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon (online prices vary widely, between $80 and $150). Blackberry, dusty chocolate, plum, great acid on the back end.
The French wine appellation of Gigondas tends to get overshadowed by its flashy and better-known cousin, Chateauneuf du Pape. However, the smooth red wines of this Rhone Valley region have a charm and complexity all of their own. Like Chateauneuf, they are made with primarily Grenache grapes, but the similarity ends there as James Molesworth of "Wine Spectator" magazine illustrates in the video below:
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Kopaonik is the largest Serbian ski resort. It is a popular place for domestic skiers and is becoming increasingly popular with foreign visitors. Although “Kopaonik” is actually a large mountain, the term usually refers to the area around the “Grand” hotel and the apartment complex “Sun?ani Vrhovi”. The area is small but contains quite a few hotels and private houses. It’s self contained, with shops, banks, a post office, etc. Apart from the restaurants in hotels, there are a few good restaurants around. In this article I’ll write about the restaurants I’ve visited this year, it might help you make the right choice (I didn’t have any tips at all…).
Etno club “Sunce”
This restaurant is located at the end of a quiet cool-de-sac, in the woods, a 5 minute walk from the Grand hotel. It looks very small from the outside, but it’s quite a spacious place. The atmosphere is great, fairly traditional, with two open fire places, a mixture of smaller and larger tables, a nice blend of loudness and privacy. The music wasn’t great, but that’s the easiest thing to change . The food was excellent and so was the service. They offer mainly Serbian dishes, if you’re not sure what to choose from the menu, the waiters will help you with their recommendations, you can trust them. The wine list includes wines from some of the better Serbian cellars, such as Radovanovi? and Aleksandrovi? (Topola). Go for Aleksandrovi?’s red or white Triumph, they are some of the best wines Serbia has to offer. Overall, it’s a great place, I’ll be back.
Food quality 5/5 Atmosphere 5/5 Service: 5/5 Price 3/5 (moderate, but excellent value) Wine list 3/5 (Radovanovi?, Aleksandrovi?)
Na?a ku?a
This place reminds me of modern pubs-restaurants in Ireland. It has a large bar area in the center, with large tables around, a couple of two seater tables in the corner for some extra privacy and a cosy open fire in the front. Both the interior of the restaurant and the furniture are made of light coloured wood, and there are stripes of small red lights throughout. There’s also a big video beam that mainly shows snow scenes during the day. It is a place frequented by the younger crowd and is open quite late into the nigth (until 3am). They have a small but well-chosen menu (which is also extremely well designed) and it’s obvious they put a lot of effort to make it a bit different from other restaurants in the vicinty. The chef is excellent, and the food is great, so give “Na?a Ku?a” a try if you get tired from the Serbian cousine and are looking for some European tastes. It is one of the more expensive restaurants, with a full dinner for two with a bottle of wine and a dessert producing a bill of around 50 euros. The wine choice is not great, but they do have a few wines apart from the regular choice, we recommend the wines from the Terra Lazarica range.
Food quality 5/5 Atmosphere 4/5 (nice mix of modern and traditional, younger crowd) Service: 4/5 Price 2/5 (expensive) Wine list 2/5
Etno ku?a Studenica
If you’re on a lower budget looking for good quality Serbian food you should visit the etno restaurant Studenica. Pick one of the two tables on the far left to avoid looking at the interior of the kitchen and to avoid the local crowd on the right side. The place is clean, the food was great and the waiter was top-notch, but the problem with this place is that it has too much light, it is visited by the local crowd and generally the level of privacy is quite low.
Food quality 4/5 Atmosphere 2/5 Service: 4/5 Price 4/5 (relatively cheap, good value) Wine list 1/5
Zvrk
This is a very popular restaurant located at the center of ski activities (the “baby slope”, ski lifts Karaman Greben and Pan?i?ev Vrh), just besides the Grand hotel. The restaurant has two levels, the upper one being more packed and colorful, the lower one containing a large center-located open fire place. This fire creates a very tempting smell outside the restaurant, which is the main reason you probably won’t resist getting into it. In general, it’s not a bad place, but there are much better choices around…
Food quality: 2/5 Atmosphere: 4/5 Service: 3/5 Price: 3/5 Wine list: 1/5 (just the very basic Serbian wines)
Yesterday afternoon I felt a large disturbance in the wine blogging force, as if millions of keyboards were clacking away, then were silenced. Fortunately all is not doom and gloom since I was soon notified by Gary Walsh of Winorama fame that he had teamed up with Campbell Mattison of The Wine Front to form what is likely to be the most frequently updated wine review site in Australia.
While it is sad to see what was a brilliant free resource in Winorama being placed on the back burner, no doubt the $40 per annum subscription fee to The Wine Front is now even better value.
Good luck GW as you join the dark side of professional reviewers!
Another summer is quickly coming to an end, and I hope everyone got a chance to visit their favorite local vineyard for a tour or a wine tasting. The highlight of my summer is always being able to visit the northern Michigan wineries. This summer, I got a chance to go up to the Leelanau Peninsula several times, and each time was memorable.
Leelanau Cellars is, by far, my favorite place to visit up north, especially because of the tasting experience. You don’t feel limited of how many wines you can taste, and the staff working the tasting room are VERY knowledgeable and friendly. I left with about 16 bottles of wine the last time I visited! If you are looking for some odd fruit wines, this is the place to go.
The wine: I shared a bottle with my new roommates in Grand Rapids. All three of us loved it.
Matt: “Delicious with chips and dip” Casey: “It would be a good winter wine. Surprisingly smooth!”
I enjoyed this 5 dollar bottle of wine with a thin-crust pizza and it was great. The wine was rich, and had a lot of flavor. I could taste the typical hints of cherry that most Michigan wines boast.
Summary: Great job, Leelanau Cellars! I look forward to coming back next year! Rating: 9/10 - Excellent! Price: 5 bucks Winery Information: Leelanau Cellars Leelanau Wine Cellars 12683 E. Tatch Rd (County Rd. 626) Omena, MI 49674 (231) 386-5201
Although I missed the boat on this one completely, the results are in for the latest Wine Blogging Wednesday over at CorkDork. This month’s objective was to try new red wines from New Zealand. 31 bloggers participated this time! Check it out!
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...
Points at Infinity is the second collaboration between the UK?s most infamous doom/sludge metal band, Atavist, and the most prolific and respected act in experimental/drone/doom/ambient music today, Nadja.
The first collaboration, titled 12012291920/1414101 and released last year through Invada Records (owned by Portishead main songwriter Geoff Barrow), was merely an experiment?one that was actually initiated by Profound Lore Records. This second collaboration presents a sound picture with significantly more substance and depth; while still experimental in nature, Points at Infinity exemplifies growth and expansion by both of these enigmatic bands.
PRAISE FOR 12012291920/1414101:
?This collaboration between the UK?s Atavist and Canadian doom mongers Nadja is a rare old treat. Across two lengthy pieces, the bands square up to deliver a disc?s worth of bottom-heavy sludge and floating drones. Far from being a cold-hearted excursion into dark metal, the resultant pieces are a surprisingly warm blend of distortion, glacial chord changes and nebulous atmospherics. Opening with ?Twentyfour:Sixteen,? the collaborators launch themselves into an unexpectedly melodic domain only to soak up more challenging sonic elements as the piece progresses; by about halfway through you?ll hear glistening feedback tones beginning to intrude, and by the time we arrive at t
Tecnorati
The Mountain X Hunter Shiraz 2006 is the inaugural release and the brain child of Gary Walsh and Campbell Mattison of 
I went to New York last week and had a great time. I went to the Bubble Lounge which is a restaurant that serves over 350 champagnes by the glass. I was in heaven. I drank the Veuve Cliquot MV "La Grand Siecle". Yep that's right MV - not NV. MV means that they blend vintages. This particular wine was '88, '90, and '95 vintages from Veuve single vineyards and it was well worth every penny I paid for it. Here's a picture. I'd post more pictures but the night went downhill from there and while the pics are very funny, they are also very telling!!!
This is another great wine from the 
My 
. The food was excellent and so was the service. They offer mainly Serbian dishes, if you’re not sure what to choose from the menu, the waiters will help you with their recommendations, you can trust them. The wine list includes wines from some of the better Serbian cellars, such as Radovanovi? and Aleksandrovi? (Topola). Go for Aleksandrovi?’s red or white Triumph, they are some of the best wines Serbia has to offer. Overall, it’s a great place, I’ll be back.
