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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:
 Tecnorati
Customized Wine for any occasionPersonalized wine ordered on the internet gives you the option of applying your favorite designs to the wine and creating a unique product. With customized, personal wine gifts, your customers get a unique product they will enjoy for a long time. You can buy wine on the internet for very attractive prices and combine it with fun, personal or artistic personalized wine labels. Wine gifts for everyone The selection of wine found on the internet is impossible to compete against by ordinary store
Wine and chocolate ? a personal giftand chocolate ? a personal gift October 23rd, 2008 With wine gifts from the internet, you now have the possibility of applying your or your company?s own touch. With customized, personal wine gifts, your customers get a unique product they will enjoy for a long time. You can buy wine on the internet for very attractive prices and combine it with fun, personal or artistic personalized wine labels. Wine gifts ? for employees or customers The internet offers, compared to your local shop,
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[09/06/2008, 08:31]
India: Yes, Virginia, there is wine in India | | India does indeed have a wine industry. It is still nascent at this point, but it is certainly promising. I have tried a Zinfandel that was passable, although it suffered from poor storage, a red Pinot blend that was simple but decent, and a Cab/Shiraz that was very good.
The Cab/Shiraz came from Grover Vineyards which is associated with the Bordeaux wine star, Michelle Rolland, and it showed.
As with China, another country that has had little modern wine experience, India will probably find early success with joint ventures with those from more traditional wine producing regions.
Again, like China, the local population has little to no expectation of what wine should taste like, or in some cases even exactly what wine is. The local wine store we went into actually had no wine. They probably just liked the sound of it on their sign. Our hosts where we are staying have never tasted any wine, and one of our friends asked if it was similar to Tequila. The restaurant we went to last night was decorated with wine motifs, but did not actually have any wine for sale. A decent Riesling would have been a great addition to the meal.
Dry reds remain the wine of choice among those who fancy themselves to be wine lovers, but considering the spicy foods and the difficulty in learning to enjoy something truly foreign, it is probably the slightly sweet wines that will first win over the population here. We saw a program on local TV that featured Grover Vineyards, and the host was unnecessarily apologetic about the residual sugar in the Sauvignon Blanc only to gush about the dry red.
Once more drawing a parallel to China which has a much more mature wine industry, one of the largest hurdles will always be price, but those with ability to afford luxuries always turn to wine first as a status symbol, and eventually for the pure love of it. The attitude towards wine, even among those that have never tried any sort seems to bear this out.
I think it is no coincidence that a country's wine evolution so closely resembles an individual's. It may take a decade or more, but the love of wine is sure to be part of India's culture eventually.
Assuming I can actually find another bottle of wine or three, I will bring you further updates. | | | |
[10/10/2008, 23:00]
Weekend Words - Sunset | | 
clouds came into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storms, but to add colour to my sunset sky - rabindranath tagore indian playwright, poet and essayist. You can read a little more about me if you visit Rosella in Italy. She interviewed me about my foodies travel experiences. | | | |
[07/04/2007, 16:20]
Top 400 hundred summer wines | | As recommended by Jane MacQuitty of The Times, here is an extensive list of summer wines to enjoy all for under £20, or you can try the less than £5 list, under £8 list or under £12 list. So much choice! I love these lists for giving you a goal to achieve over the summer months … so better get started … somewhere in the middle I think with 2006 Divinus de Château Bonnet, Sauvignon Blanc, Bordeaux, André Lurton, France, Sainsbury?s, £9.99. | | | |
[11/02/2008, 16:03]
Do punny labels and good wine make a good blend? The case of Leitz | | 
“I immediately assume that the wine is garbage if the punniness is high,” one of my friends said recently. Fair enough, as we have discussed before. But then there is the case of Johannes Leitz. While many European labels can be confusing for New World consumers who are more used to varietal labeling, German labels crank up the degree of difficulty by adding terms such as Kabinett, Spaetlese, and–my favorite, linguistically–Trockenbeerenauslese. Although these terms express roughly the degree of sweetness, they only do so for the wine before fermentation (aka the weight of the must), so the level of residual sugar after fermentation may not be as sweet or dry as one might expect. Throw in some vineyard names on top of those terms and it makes running for Blue Nun understandable–from a purely linguistic standpoint. Johannes Leitz, by contrast, makes some easy reading labels as well as tasty wines. He turned the Rudesheimer Drachenstein vineyard into simply “Dragonstone”–a cool label, easy name and easy drinking Riesling that I often recommend particularly as a wine for newbies. The single site, estate bottled wine is sweet in 2007 but obtains balance with some tangy acidity and minerality (find this wine). Pair with takeout. New for 2007 is his multilingual punny “Eins, Zwei, Dry” (find this wine) The Riesling is, in fact, dry (well, 7 grams of residual sugar, barely above the threshold of perception). Dry Rieslings often seem to only come from the New World and Leitz only first produced this dry wine in the spectacular 2007 vintage (more details from the importer, Terry Theise’s page). The wine has more minerality and verve. I’d find this one most refreshing on a hot summer day with the Dragonstone one for the spring and the fall, when I prefer more richness. Johannes Leitz has wit. And he makes clear labels good wines. He has my vote for federallabelminister! But I also think he is a rare exception, joining Rosenblum and possibly Bonny Doon, to the rule about puns and wine quality. Do witty labels and good wine make a good blend? Or is the wine best left to do the talking? | | | |
[01/10/2008, 08:24]
Celebrating the New Year with Sparkling Wines | | New Year?s and bubbles always seem to go together perfectly, and this season was no exception. So with a lazy Saturday between Christmas and New Year Eve, it was hardly a surprise to find sparkling wines featured at every in-house tasting on our re-stocking the liquor cabinet route. How could we refuse?
We?re both fans of Spanish Cavas for their ability to combine great taste with solid pricing, and the Lavit Brut Rosado we sampled first was no exception. Light  strawberry in colour, this sparkler was summer in a glass ? raspberries, strawberries, and just a hint of peach. Even though it was slightly over chilled for this tasting we instantly agreed it would be one to that would help solve the ?what actually goes with turkey dinner? dilemma. Good for pre-dinner sipping too.
The Sigura Viudas Brut Reserva that was next up is pretty much one of our standard stocker for its flexible nature and crisp taste. It?s also, according to Ian Farmiloe, the International Cellars rep pouring, BC?s largest selling Cava. Good for parties ? especially potluck where anything is likely to show up. ?So, is this one,  like ? you know ? real champagne?? To his credit, Ian managed to keep a semi-serious expression on his face as he explained the intricacies of the Champagne region to the rather portly lady wearing a combination of tartan plaid, plenty of zestful holiday bling, and sturdy black walking boots. We weren?t quite so diplomatic and had to suddenly develop an interest in the Italian wine section several rows over.
However, we did pop back for the Reserva Heredad. Perfect for when we want a bit more of a treat for less than $35, this Grand Reserve Cava has plenty of lemon-lime acidity and always makes a reliable, refreshing pour.
For a complete change of pace, we also  checked out two offerings from Gray Monk?s Odyssey series. Even our Scottish wanna-be would probably have hesitated to inquire about the authenticity of this ?Champagne.? Neither of us got the yeasty nose that we would have expected after being left for 16 months on the yeast, although there was plenty of big time buttery texture from the Chardonnay. We settled for this one as an
aperitif. The Rosé Brut had pleasing strawberry notes but didn?t hit either one of us as a ?rush out and buy? item. At $27 each, we took a pass on both these BC wines and headed back for a few more of the Cavas? with just a short detour through Champagne for some of ?the real stuff.?
THE WINES:
Lavit Brut Rosado
Winery: Sigura Viudas
Grapes: 80% Trepat, 10% Monastrell, 10% Garnacha
Price: $17
Brut Reserva
Winery: Sigura Viudas
Grapes: 50% Macabeo, 35% Parellada, 15% Xarel-lo
Price: $16
Reserva Heredad
Winery: Sigura Viudas
Grapes: 67% Macabeo, 33% Parellada
Price: $32
Odyssey White Brut
Winery: Gray Monk
Grapes: Riesling and Chardonnay
Price: $27
Odyssey Rosé Brut
Winery: Gray Monk
Grapes: Gamay Noir, Pinot Meunier
Price: $27 | | | |
[11/11/2008, 14:30]
The Wines of Tuscany | |  Tuscany is probably the Italian wine region that is best known among American drinkers. Hundreds of raffia-covered fiascos (you know what I'm talking about--the bottles that you use for candle holders when the wine is all gone) have entered hundreds of homes all over the country. (picture by dottorpeni)
But there's more to Tuscan wine than just Chianti. For the last two months of 2008 I'll be focusing on the wines from this region. Why two months? There's just too much good wine to spend only one month exploring.
 Tuscany is a region that is known for more than wine, of course. Home to the great poet Dante, its also the region where Pisa's "leaning tower" is located. Pisa is not the only town in the region with stunning architecture, as any visitor to Florence, San Gimignano, or Siena knows. Rolling hills, groves of olive trees, fields of sunflowers and vines, and old houses dot the landscape as well, making Tuscany a feast for the eyes as well as the tastebuds. (photo by vigour)
And the grapes of Tuscany are just as diverse as the countryside where they're planted. There's Sangiovese, of course, but there's also rarer indigenous varieties like Toroldega, Vernaccia, and Canaiolo. And Tuscan vineyards have their fare share of international grapes in them like Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Tempranillo, and Cabernet Sauvignon, too. Merlot and Cabernet  Sauvignon are often blended with Sangiovese in the powerful red wines known as Super Tuscans that earn high scores from the wine magazines and command high prices in the wine shops. (photo by rayced)
Great wine demands great food, and as anyone who has been to Tuscany knows--these people can cook. Whether you're looking for a simple pasta dish with sauce made from butter and sage, a hearty soup thickened with bread and beans, grilled beef cooked to perfection as they do in Florence, or the small cookies made for dunking in your coffee or wine called cantucci, you can find a dish to suit you from among the region's traditional recipes. These dishes are perfect for winter temperatures and feeding large crowds at the holidays. Many of them are also either quick to prepare, or cook at low temperatures in the pot or oven so they are ideal for entertaining.
 With so much to love about Tuscan food and wine, it seemed like the right moment to slow down and enjoy the end of the this year's wine journey through Italy. Those of you who have been following the series know that there are still regions I've not yet reached. So we'll pick up where we left off in January 2009 and continue to drink the wines from the remaining regions of Italy all through next year. (photo by davidanthonyporter)
I'll be back periodically over the next several weeks with tasting notes and food pairings for Tuscan wines. Yes, Chianti will be among them. So, too, will be Tuscan whites and a wine made with indigenous varieties. And the Tuscan wine theme will spill over into Serious Grape on Fridays as well, where I'll talk about Super Tuscans and compare the different levels of Chianti from the regular bottles to Chianti Classico and reserve wines. As always, I hope you will join in and share your Tuscan wine recommendations and experiences. | | | |
[11/10/2007, 20:36]
Tikve? Alexandria Riesling | |  This wine is characterized by a yellow-green colour, a fresh citrusy aroma with hints of honey and a complex flowery aftertaste. It’s a semi-dry riesling, dryer than the Slovenian rieslings (such as Laski Riesling for example), but sweeter than those found in Serbia. It is a nice wine to accompany a lighter meal.
This is one of the wines available in Belgrade restaurants in 0.2l bottles, so if you’re a driver among non-wine drinkers (meaning you can’t order a whole bottle of some fine wine) it’s a good chance you’ll be in a position to try it. Do so. Rating: 6/10
Price: 250 RSD (3.5 euro) Technorati Tags: Macedonia Wine, Wine, Tikves | | WorldWine Tags: Macedonia Wine, Wine, Tikves, | | | |
[11/25/2006, 07:54]
What is Corked Wine? | | Keeping a wine bottle sealed is probably the most important factor when it comes to maintaining a good wine.
A cork is essential, as it keeps oxygen out of the wine bottle. If a bottle of wine is not airtight then it may become oxidized and undrinkable
Traditionally, the only corks worth considering were those actually made of cork. Recently, however, many wine experts have recognized that cork may actually cause more problems than it solves.
Cork, due to its malleable nature may have imperfections; these can result in the seal of the bottle not being as airtight as it could be and the wine being spoilt. In an attempt to avoid this problem, modern cork manufacturers may treat the cork with a chemical called TVA. Unfortunately, this chemical can cause the wine to taste and smell a little damp and musty.
Having said this, cork is able to expand to fully fill the neck of the bottle, which therefore, still makes it the preferred option for special wines that need to be stored, over a long period of time.
Plastic corks are becoming increasing popular, of late. One of the main problems associated with traditional corks is that the wine becomes 'corked'. Plastic corks prevent this occurring. Great! I hear you say. However, there can be minor irritations with plastic corks. A plastic cork can sometimes be difficult to extract from the bottle and virtually impossible to fit back into a half drunk bottle.
Another recent development is the widespread use of screw-top bottles. Until recently, this type of seal was used for only the cheapest of wines. Wine producers across the globe are now recognizing the benefits that screw tops provide. This type of seal ensures that wine is kept fresh; there is no chance of the wine becoming 'corked' and the bottle can be easily resealed. In reality, the only reason that screw tops are not more popular is because of the ingrained snobbery associated with this method of sealing a bottle.
No matter which type of cork you choose, it is important that you are able to recognize whether the wine has been properly sealed or not. A useful test is to see whether the top of the cork is level with the top of the bottle; if it isn't, then that particular bottle of wine is probably best avoided.
If a traditional cork breaks when you are removing it - don't panic! Use a corkscrew to attempt to 'dig out' the remaining cork. If this fails, simply push the remains of the cork down into the bottle. Contrary to popular belief, this will not destroy the wine's flavor. You may have to fish out a few bits of cork, but the taste of the wine should remain unaffected. However, you'd be wise to finish the whole bottle, under these circumstances!
When choosing your wine, base your decision on the wine itself and not the type of cork. Resist the temptation to be a cork snob; a screw top bottle may just give you a pleasant surprise
About the author:
Ever since Neil Best first pondered the question, Who made the first wine anyway? he's been recording his findings at Good Glug. Find 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
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[03/24/2008, 08:53]
March 24, 2008. New Zealand Wineries Part 3 - Woollaston | |  This one is not exactly a small winery and definitely a bit more flashy than many others. Woollaston Estates was formed in 2000 - with some creative passion. You can see that in the design of the winery building itself as well as the myriad pieces of art and sculptures around. This one is worth going to just to check out the architecture. While I cannot say that I was impressed with most of their offerings - one did stand out to me and that was their Pinot Noir. Vines are still young but there is a balance here which I find lacking in many others. This is one of the better Pinot if not the best I tried on this trip.
Looking at a design of their winery it seems to be designed around letting gravity lead the flow through the winemaking process . This can only mean it was designed around the careful handling of Pinot Noir. To me, you can taste a big difference in quality between the Pinot and their other wines. It was as if the other wines were intended for bulk sale in order to finance the winery and perfecting the Pinot.
2007 Nelson Pinot Noir. Black cherries, some depth might be due to clay soil with "good/smooth" tannins and a decent finish. 89 points
Winery schematic : http://www.woollaston.co.nz/winery/interactive-map
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[10/15/2008, 07:15]
The Joy of Selling | |  Last month at the Illuminati estate in Abruzzo, I had lunch with my people. No, they weren?t Sicilian or Calabrese cousins. They weren?t my co-workers or clients meeting me in Italy. It was much more visceral than that, almost tribal in the connection. I was invited to have lunch with a wine sales team, guys who sell to wine shops and restaurants in Rome.
 Over the years I've had many meals at Illuminati. In the early days we had meals on the second floor of the old house, sometimes outside. If it was cold we?d invade the dining room. As the winery grew and the Illuminati family redesigned the old stable on the main floor, we settled into the space they called the Luperia, a space with a kitchen and an open hearth. And a larger dining room. Many great memories exist in this room, but I had never sat down to eat with my own regiment. And during those years, friend and cellar master, Agostino, has opened many a bottle for us to enjoy. We?ve grown into the job together.
 I was really excited about this meal. I was prepared to pick the brains of rookie and veteran alike. Who would know better the travails of selling wine than a salesman from Rome? What kind of kickbacks did the Roman restaurateur demand? How did one go about getting control of the wine list or selling a wine from Abruzzo to a Sardegnan? I was hoping for all mysteries to be revealed.
 Dino Illuminati, the patriarch of the estate, motioned for me to sit next to him. Lunch is serious business for Dino and he didn?t want anyone to get too near him with idle chat. He wants to eat and drink first. I know the drill. When Dino and I sit down we both go after food and wine pretty well much in the same way. Except Dino has a capacity that I will never be able to match.
 One of the older veterans sat across from me. He reminded me of one of the salesmen back home. This gent had a peaceful air about him, he was the elder statesman; he grew up in Amatrice in northern Lazio.
 I asked him how his route was. Was it competitive? Cutthroat? Was it hard to collect money? Did you get resistance with all the new wines coming out? What about the prejudices of owners from one region against the wines of another region (i.e. Piedmont vs. Tuscan). I was surprised to be reminded that they don?t go around tasting wine, sampling as we call it. Now they just carry their list, with maybe some Gambero Rosso review (very big in Rome) and the price list. Pretty cut and dry. Rome was a city that was prepared for all comers, and has been this way for hundreds if not thousands of years. Anything goes.
I was looking for their ?hook?. How did they catch the big fish? Figuring Rome would be like NY or LA or Houston, there was always the particular technique that worked for the peculiarity of the particular city.
 He was a thoughtful guy. And we were starting to drink pretty well by then. The big slurpy purple stuff they make in Abruzzo that they call ?Montepulciano in purezza.? All the while the young salesmen would come over to him and bear hug him or jostle him around. You could tell these guys liked working with each other; there was camaraderie among them.
 ?Alfonso, what really works best is the rapport we build with our customers. Trust, time and relationship.? Ah, the ?R? word. So the secret was, there is no secret; daily treading, pressing the flesh, and being reliable. Showing up. Building trust. Just like almost everywhere else.
 Look at these people. They?re having fun. They?re enjoying their lives. They?re enjoying each other.
 I told some stupid story, trying to be funny, about a sales experience here in The States, but I don?t think the experience translated so well to their frame of reference. No matter, platters of grilled lamb, sausage and pork were pulling up to the table and we soon were diverted to the main course.
 Dino, me and Spinelli, back in 1985
The Luperia is a wellspring for me. I come back here to re-connect with those souls who are manifestations of the timeless energy that travels through the vine. Daniele Spinelli was one of the early winemakers I came to admire. I loved hanging out with him. When we would sit down to eat, as the night progressed, and as we went into red wine, the stuff he made, his head, shaped appropriately like a grape, would turn redder and redder. My Italian would get better and he would bestow his bodhisattva-blessing on me as a way to replenish me for another year. And send me back out to the outer regions to spread the word. It worked. And we came back every year or so, like pilgrims.
 Luigi, me, Stefano and Claudio
Now, Dino isn?t so hands on. Spinelli passed away in 1992. But the next generation is upon us and there are more of them. As it is in the streets of Rome, so it is in the vineyards of Abruzzo. This is something that has been happening for hundreds of years and will continue, hopefully, for many hundreds more.
 After lunch we went outside for espresso and cigars and fresh air, what a combo, eh? The sales crew had to get back to Rome. It was only three hours we?d had to sit down and break bread, but in that time I felt like a huge gift had been dropped in my lap; An afternoon with my selling tribe; with the young ones, the veterans, the crazy ones, the calm ones. Its not a closed brotherhood but it is a deep connection, to capture what is growing right out there in the land and transform it to wine and take it to Rome and NY and Austin and try and share with all those folks in those places these amazing miracles in bottles. Not just wine, but the lives, of Spinelli and Spinozzi and Illuminati and you and me and anyone that wants in on this.
This is the joy of selling. This is why I am on the wine trail in Italy and anywhere else the road takes me.
 Thumbs up from a couple of Romans? I'll take that as a good sign.
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[08/30/2008, 21:24]
Drink for the Cure | | 
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Fat Bastard wines are doing their part to cure this disease by donating 25 cents for every bottle sold in restaurants and retail stores, up to $75,000. This is the sixth year the company has run this program and to date, they have donated more than $250,000 to breast cancer research.
During October, Fat Bastard wines will be easy to spot on the shelf. They'll have a pink ribbon necker with an attached pin for consumers to wear. Fat Bastard's wine collection includes Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Rose, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon.
(photo © istockphoto) See full article.
Related Entries:
You Don't Have to Be a Woman to Support Breast Cancer Reasearch. It's As Easy As Buying a Cake! - 06 September 2007 Think PINK During OCT Breast Cancer Awareness Month - 04 October 2007 Pink October: National Breast Cancer Awareness Month - 02 October 2007 Attention Women: Change the Statistic! - 09 October 2007
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[07/24/2008, 23:52]
Fork & Bottle's Directory of Irish Farmstead Cheese | | 
After visiting Ireland last year and, tasting many of its great cheeses, Joanne decided to compile this directory of Irish Farmstead Artisan cheeses.
Ireland is famous for its milk, cream and butter ? and also lately for its cheese. She?s added tasting notes and photos for a few of the cheeses we encountered on the trip, some of which were bought at Sheridan?s Cheesemongers in Galway, Co. Clare, some at On the Pig?s Back, in the English Market in Cork City, Co. Cork and still others at Trevor Irvine?s stall at St. George?s Market in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
Many of the cheeses listed in the directory are available in the US, but a number of them you will have to go to Ireland to taste. | | | |
[10/22/2008, 17:12]
The Alps | | Already available as a super limited lp (we may still have a few left), now finally available on cd, the latest from Bay Area new-kraut-folk-age combo Alps, which finds the band sounding more high fidelity than ever, and more kraut than folk, which in both cases suits them big time.
For those new to Alps, a rundown of several members should help give you an idea of where their sound is coming from: our very own Scott Hewicker (Troll), Alexis Georgopoulos (Arp, formerly of Tussle) and Jefre Cantu (Tarentel, Colophon, J.C. Ledesma). But Alps is definitely more than the sum of its parts, their sound is quite varied, expansive, even epic at times, but simultaneously, they manage to craft a sound simple and solid, based as much on rhythm and texture as on song and melody.
 On past releases, Alps were a much more ramshackle concern, which at the time was definitely a big part of their sound, and thus set them firmly amongst the lo-fi cd-r drone folks scene, their sound a sort of ghostly Appalachia, mixed with longform drone music, muddy muted ambience, minimal soundscaping and plenty of lo-fi buzz and hiss much of the record mired in a corrosive murk, that only added to their dark dronelike vibe. The move to Type Records, coincides, perhaps not coincidentally, with a sonic shift, where once was abstract and low fidelity, is now rhythmic, and propulsive, looped and repetitive, and most importantly, glistening and glimmering, the sound crystal clear, and this time the dreaminess doesn't come from poor recording, it comes from the compositions, and the arrangements, and a super nice sounding recording courtesy of Phil Manley of the Champs and Trans Am. The core members of Alps also have a keen interest in new age music. Not the Deep Breakfast sort of schlock that most seem to equate with the genre, but instead more the sort of inner space, dreamy drift of Tangerine Dream, Deuter, Steve Hillage and the like. And those sounds are all over III as well.
The opener is a gorgeous looped soundscape of repetitive guitar figures, and glistening chimes, almost like a dreamfolk Steve Reich, bits of Appalachia, big buzzing synths, strummed zithers, a gorgeous melancholy melody played out over the course of five and a half minutes. The second track finds the band getting their kraut on, channeling Neu! Or Agitation Free but through a much more washed out and weary space rock, like Hawkwind gone new age. Distant drifting vocals, all manner of layered buzz, distorted guitars buried in the mix, space-y FX, very tranquil and mesmerizing. The follow up "Cloud One" finds Alps revisiting their folk roots, taking strummed acoustic guitars, and simple piano, and draping them over a woozy melody and a super spare abstract rhythm. "Trem Fantasma" is a barely there whisper of spaced out dronemusic, Gloriously wreathed in musical mystery, drifting piano, fragmented guitars, some soft sixties 'ladada' vocals, another dreamy drifter that threatens to spirit the listener away to some sun dappled green grassed knoll. "Labyrinths" is another new age /  krautrock meander, washed out and shimmery, the drums the only thing keeping the rest of the song from just floating away, playful melodies, that sound like Perry and Kingsley rendered in shades of grey. The next few tracks are more abstract, sounds swooping in and out, rhythms, if there are any, buried beneath soft layers of sound, everything hushed and minimal, until album closer, "Into The Breeze", which sounds just like the title would have you imagine, breezy, soft focus, the drums, simple and stripped down, shimmering steel string guitar, that ever present piano, the melody wistful, the production hazy and a little woozy, effects swirling in the background, the drums gradually becoming more and more tripped out, before fading out completely, leaving just the guitar and the piano to drift heavenward, through a field of soft shimmer and the glistening afterglow of the sounds that came before.
The more we listen to III, the more obvious the new age-isms become, which is not a bad thing at all, it wraps the proceedings, no matter how krautrocky or folky or droney, in a sweet swirl of moonlit dreaminess, turning each song into its own sort of otherworldly mesmer.
.Info stolen from; [ Aquarius Records ]
Links;
The Alps - III
The Alps @ MySpace
Type
[ Aquarius Records ]
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[10/17/2008, 17:18]
Rediscovering Riesling at COPIA Class and Tasting | | THIS SUNDAY FOLKS!
 Class occurs 10/19/2008, 11:30-01:00 pm
Panel discussion Riesling is currently the fastest growing white varietal in the US, increasingly sought out for its food friendliness and its aromatic, vibrant character, however, its variety of sweetness can make it a challenging purchase for the consumer. Join Riesling producers for a discussion of this versatile grape and the new ?Riesling Taste Scale,? read more. Rediscovering Riesling Walk Around Tasting
Sunday, October 19 ~ 1:00 - 4:00 pm
Elegant, aromatic and food-friendly, Riesling?s making a comeback! The perfect pairing for Asian, Indian, and of course, German and Austrian cuisine, ?The Other White Wine? abundantly deserves its growing popularity. Taste dozens of domestic and international dry, semi-sweet, sweet and sparkling Rieslings paired with artisan foods ranging from sausage to sushi. You?re sure to find the perfect match! read more
Pub.: 2008-10-08 09:18:37; Udt.: | | | |
[10/06/2008, 16:07]
Wired NextFest 2008 | |  We hopped in the car with some friends yesterday and went on a little day trip to Chicago to take in WIRED magazine?s 2008 NextFest , an annual exhibition of emerging technologies.
While not nearly as grand in scale as the 2005 event on Navy Pier, this year?s show in Millennium Park still packs a lot of wow factor in its exhibits ? and admission is free. We were greeted outside the tent by a whimsical, grass-clipping electronic sheep (which later had to be corralled inside after a light rain began to fall). Once inside, there were exhibits relating to about every aspect of modern life, including clothing, art, design, health, transportation, communication, entertainment and the environment.
Toyota, which along with Xerox and Citi is one of this year?s major sponsors, brought along a range of transportation exercises ranging from personal vehicles (imagine a luxurious Segway) to its plug-in Prius, a pre-production model that is currently undergoing real-world shakedown tests. Toyota also is showing its 1X concept vehicle , a lightweight (980 lbs.), fuel-sipping (90 mpg) four-passenger vehicle suitable for urban environments.
Xerox focused on green technology, including its solid-ink printer technology that reduces waste by 90 percent and is much more cost-effective than conventional color printers and a paper that printing fades from over a 24-hour period so that it can be reused. Those who value the permanence of print might find this a strange product, but Xerox was motivated to develop it after determining that more than 40 percent of office printouts are discarded the same day they are printed. Obviously, the potential savings in money and resources made possible by such a technology are enormous, particularly for school systems, large corporations and governmental entities.
In the energy and environment section, a technology that rapidly makes diesel fuel from algae and ultra-efficient photovoltaics that convert 40 percent of the sun?s energy to electricity ? up from 15 percent for conventional solar panels ? were the standouts. For photographers, the Gigapan technology developed by NASA and Carnegie Mellon University is exciting, and apparently will be surprisingly affordable. And while it seems unlikely that you?ll ever see them at Bed, Bath and Beyond, the food-delivery systems created by designer Martin Kastner for chef Grant Achatz will give foodies something to drool over.
Nextfest?s run will continue October 7 through 12 (the show is closed on Mondays). If you get there early, you could have time to wander through the Art Institute across the street or head down to the Museum of Science and Industry to tour the modular, green smart home which will be on display through January 4 of next year. If your route to Chicago takes you up I-65, be advised that major highway construction will cause you to take a detour , whether your preferred route is the Tollway or I-80/94. | | |
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