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.
Earn $6.17 / Sale! %75 Commission! The Ultimate Resource For Anyone Who Wants To Learn How To Make Outstanding Wines & Spirits From Their Very Own Home!
Say I Do With: Nicole & Michael : The Gown - THE SHOES! The shoes were so yummy, I could just eat them up - they were by Rene Caovilla. The dress was custom made for Nicole by Baracci in Beverly Hills. I cannot describe how amazing Nicole looked in her wedding gown. It was stunning off the hanger with amazing bead work on the top of the gown. .
Say I Do With: Nicole & Michael : The Groom I love the photos of groom's getting ready - the sweet cards from the bride, gifts for the groomsmen and their details are just as lovely as the brides! All photos are Elizabeth Messina Photography for Sasha Souza Events
Say I Do With: Nicole & Michael : Bride's Getting Ready I promised you an amazing wedding and here it comes. With so many amazing photographs from Elizabeth Messina, I have to break this up into parts of the day! The photos are just out of this world and it's so hard to choose from 3,000 images! We'll start with the bride's getting ready images. Enjoy! If any of the images from this wedding are used on a blog, please credit Elizabeth Messina Photography for Sasha Souza Events and link back to both. THANK YOU!
Sonoma, CA Real Estate Market Conditions Update for October 2008 of November 6, 2008 only 14% of available listings in the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma are in escrow. For the month of October 2008 28 homes sold in Sonoma for an average final selling price of $556,305. The average original asking price of these homes was $675,569. The range of final selling prices was from a low of $215,726 to a high of $1,710,000. Of the 28 homes that sold 4 sold at their original asking price and 4 sold over their original asking price?12 of them we
Petaluma, CA Real Estate Market Conditions Update for October 2008 of November 6, 2008 an encouraging 38% of avaialble listings in Petaluma are in escrow. For the month of October 2008 77 homes sold in Petaluma for an average final selling price of $489,077. The average original asking price of these homes was $557,472. The range of final selling prices was from a low of $165,000 to a high of $2,200,000. Of the 77 homes that sold 2 sold at their original asking price and an impressive 16 sold over their original asking price?and 41 were distres
Marin County and Southern Sonoma County Real Estate Market Update for September 2008 table below shows the sales activity for Marin County and Southern Sonoma County for the month of September 2008 , sorted alphabetically by the name of the City. City # of homes sold Average Days on Market Average ORIGINAL Asking Price Average FINAL Selling Price # Sold AT Original
Colorado Wine Country As the cool autumn temperatures roll across the country, wine presses are in full gear everywhere. With the grape harvest comes the crush, and it?s a great time to see the wine making in full gear and enjoy the wonderful days and nights. Just like in many other places, now is a great time to visit the wineries across Colorado and see what the state has to offer. The heart of Colorado?s wine country is on the western slope of the Rocky Mountains called the Palisade Region. There is a wine t
Let?s do the ARTWALK Again. It?s that time a year again for the annual ArtWalk Livermore. We visited the festival last year and had a great time. This year the ArtWalk Livermore 2008 will be on Saturday, October 11th on Main Street in Livermore. It features over 150 artists from contemporary and traditional to multiple media through out downtown locations in Livemore. There will be two stages featuring live music, plus food and wine tasting. There will also be improv performances by a group of local actors www.dig
CHANGE Fundraiser for the Good of the Horse A Success and Great Fun For the one year anniversary and its first fundraiser, yesterday?s BBQ fundraiser and show at the gorgeous Sonoma Equestrian Center in Glen Ellen was by all accounts a great success. Rather than the sales of 100 tickets hoped for, 400 tickets were sold and many of us enjoyed a beautiful fall Sunday afternoon under the oaks, eating, visiting and enjoying the entertainment, from vaulting (gymnastics on the backs of cantering horses) to musical freestyle dressage and a demonstration of some of th
Buy O Wines Wine founders Stacy Lill and Kathy Johanson have created a dynamic business model to help fund education scholarships for underprivileged young girls. Through thorough and thoughtful research Stacy and Kathy identified a wine and price point that would serve their cause. 5% of the wine sales goes to the scholarship fund. Established in 2006 O Wines was able to award their first scholarship in April of 2008. This is a great cause led by a passionate team. For these reasons buy O Wines! Anoth
Green Features that Sell! year ago the Northwest Multiple Listing added a property search feature for ?green? certified homes. Home buyers can now search specifically for Built Green, LEED, Energy Star or third party verified Built Green homes. From these new search categories there is accumulative data from the NWMLS that shows the ?green? trend and where it is going. Green Works Realty compiled the data to show the true sales value of a green home. This chart shows that going green does sell! During these tou
Woodinville Wine Country Villas Village is the long awaited center-piece to Woodinville?s wine country master plan. A destination for wine and shopping enthusiasts with residential homes, retail, restaurants, a hotel and wineries. Think Whistler Village without the snow and instead of skiing the activity is wine tasting, shopping and eating. Or maybe a better analogy would be Healdsburg the tony wine town in the heart of Sonoma County. The Villas are the first residential release for Woodinville Village. Loca
Sonoma, CA Month-by-Month Home Sales Charts 2001 - present charts below show the average sales price and number of homes sold for the beautiful wine country town of Sonoma, from 2001 - August 2008. (By clicking on the provided link you can see historical charts as well.) As usual the numbers vary widely from month to month, with REOs boosting the number of homes being sold. If you are interested in seeing everything that is available for sale, then you can search our MLS . If you have any questions, just ask.
Marin County and Southern Sonoma County Real Estate Sales Statistics for August 2008 table below is your one stop, at-a-glance, sales activity for Marin County and Southern Sonoma County for the month of August 2008 , sorted alphabetically by the name of the City. Click on the provided link for updated month-by-month and historical sales charts or scroll down on this blog for more detailed city-by-city reports. Or maybe all this real estate talk bores you and you just want to know about fun things to do . City # of
Sonoma, CA Real Estate Market Conditions Update for August 2008 of September 5, 2008 16% of available listings in the beautiful Wine Country town of Sonoma are in escrow. For the month of August 2008 an encouraging 35 homes sold in Sonoma for an average final selling price of $562,140. The average original asking price of these homes was $616,090. The range of final selling prices was from a low of $160,000 to a high of $1,330,000. 9 of these 35 homes were distress sales that ranged in final selling price from $160,000 to $455,000 Of the 35 home
Petaluma, CA Real Estate Market Conditions Update for August 2008 of September 5, 2008 36% of available listings in Petaluma are in escrow. This is a refreshing and encouraging trend. For the month of August 2008 46 homes sold in Petaluma for an average final selling price of $498,526. The average original asking price of these homes was $530,621. The range of final selling prices was from a low of $196,000 to a high of $2,407,900. (Only 2 homes sold for over $1M.) Of the 46 homes that sold 6 sold at their original asking price and 10 sold over th
San Francisco Realtor Olivia Hsu Decker of Sotheby?s International Realty hosts luxury real estate and lifestyle event this week Francisco Realtor Olivia Hsu Decker of Sotheby?s International Realty hosts luxury real estate and lifestyle event this week Decker Bullock - Sotheby?s International Realty hosts tour of luxury homes for the world?s wealthy Six day event showcases both luxury real estate and prestigious lifestyles More than 75 ultra high net worth individuals from California and around the world are descending upon San Francisco this week for an unprecedented event that will expose them to the fines
Life in DC Ranch DC Ranch in North Scottsdale is one of the most spectacular communities amongst the many wonderful places to live in all of Greater Phoenix. DC Ranch is an intimate golf and exclusive community designed by DMB Partners as a premier resort, retirement and golf community nestled in the McDowell Mountains. This 3,700 acre master planned community is one of the most desirable place to live, not only in Scottsdale, but Arizona. Tree-lined streets, family parks, walking paths through breathtaking
More Wine Tasting in Woodinville winery has opened a tasting room in Woodinville. From the Yakima Valley and it?s own 76 acre vineyard comes Sheridan Vineyards. Scott Greer a former financier and self taught wine maker stumbled upon his 76 acres in Zillah, planted grapes and now makes fantastic wines. The Woodinville Sheridan Vineyard tasting room opened about 4 weeks ago and is located at: 19501 144th Ave NE #E-700 Woodinville WA 98072 Open Saturdays from 12-5pm Cheers!
But what did this family drink? On offer was the internationally exported Tsingtao beer from another famed coastal city, Qingdao. The spelling ?Tsingtao? is from the Wades-Giles system of representing the sounds of Chinese characters (now defunct); but some Chinese brands/institutions like to state their age by using the early 20th Century romanized spelling replaced by pinyin after 1949 and the foundation of the PRC (the pinyin is ?Qingdao?, pronounced ?ching-dow? for English speakers). There was also Chinese peach juice and the inescapable bai jiu, literally ?white alcohol?, a category of spirits distilled from sorghum or millet which can range in flavour from delicate aniseed to rotting garbage (I don?t know how they quite manage that or what kind of ?still? bai jiu is actually distilled in).
We?d brought a bag of gifts with us ? never go to a Chinese family without bringing something ? which included a bottle of 2007 Lo Tengo Torrontes from Norton (from importer ASC). Torrontes is an Argentinian, highly aromatic grape (a bit like a cross between Muscat and Gewurztraminer with an oily and slightly bitter aftertaste) which, in our experience, has appealed to Chinese wine drinkers. But the Chinese never open gifts in front of people and it would have been rude to suggest chilling it. So we got talking about wine instead, over beer, peach juice and bai jiu.
Bai jiu is fairly evil in more than one respect. Although the northern Chinese like to drink it with seafood and just about anything, its very name has clouded the existence of white wine. Red wine is popularly known as hong jiu (literally ?red alcohol?), but its correct, full name is hong putao jiu (?red grape alcohol?). Because the Chinese know bai jiu as ?white alcohol? and red wine as hong jiu, many are unaware that white wine, whose correct name is bai putao jiu (?white grape alcohol?), even exists. And, as we discovered in trying to find a wine shop in downtown Dalian, not everyone even knows that the lauded hong jiu ? the short-hand for red wine ? is made from grapes. Asking for a local shop selling putao jiu (wine in general), one security guard assured us there was nothing like that in the area, but there was a shop selling hong jiu! When Fongyee qualified ?hong putao jiu?, the guard looked even more perplexed. But there?s nothing in the phrase hong jiu that mentions grapes, of course.
Over the prawn soup, we talked about wine. Many Chinese, although they buy Chinese wines for patriotic reasons, are suspicious of the bigger brands: Great Wall, Changyu, Dynasty etc.
Their suspicions were not allayed when we revealed the big brands blend Chinese wine with imported must (whenever another country, say Spain or Chile, has a surplus); but they were interested in Grace Vineyard and Dragon Seal as producers using exclusively Chinese grapes. The older generation like their beer and bai jiu and find wine?s acidity and the tannins in red wine to be a bit unpleasant; although many older Chinese feel they should be drinking red wine for health reasons. The younger generation ? in this case Fongyee?s 34 year-old cousin who works in real-estate and her husband, a tennis instructor ? does drink wine, but there is not much of a wine-bar scene in Dalian, outside the five-star hotels.
We knew already about Dalian-based French importer DCT Wines, run by Frederic Choux. In addition, we found an intriguing wine-bar and shop called AP Wines in a local shopping mall.
The Dalian owner spoke English and explained the wines he was importing directly. It took a while to realize that the name AP came from Australian producer, Andrew Peace, whose wines dominated the shop?s selection. All in all these looked pretty pricey by Beijing standards (e.g. well over 300RMB for a generic Coonawarra Cabernet Sauvignon) and the place had only been open a year, so perhaps business was tough. The owner didn?t let on, but was on the ball, offering a glass of 2006 Master Peace Shiraz, Andrew Peace which he apologized was a bit cold to drink as it had been stored in the fridge (at least they were trying to preserve opened bottles somehow). AP Wines did have a few wines from France and Germany besides the Andrew Peace range. But we thought we?d shake things up a bit with our Chinese relatives by purchasing a tetra-pak, one-litre bottle of non-vintage Andrew Peace Chardonnay for next day?s feast.
I say shake things because in a young wine market like China?s traditional packaging, cork closures and red wines generally reign supreme, even although most Chinese palates prefer lighter reds with generally low tannins (e.g. from wines made from grapes like Gamay or Pinot Noir) or whites with some residual sugar. So we?d deliberately chosen a wine under cork as a gift, albeit the plastic cork of the above Lo Tengo Torrontes before arriving in Dalian. Now, here we were a) bringing white wine to the table, b) choosing a wine in a one-litre format not standard 75 cl bottle and c) purchasing something in less than ?classy? packaging. We could ?keep face? doing this only because of our professional work and knowledge of international wines. As a result everyone in the family tried the Aussie Chardonnay and ostensibly liked it. But it was Fongyee?s younger cousins who actually drank most of the tetra-pak, saying how well the wine went with the beautiful Dalian clams on offer.
So let?s explode a few myths and report on what we learned or confirmed: it is not correct to say the Chinese struggle to drink alcohol, even wine, or are blind to trying new things (we hear a lot of importers here who insist the Chinese will only try certain types of wine ? ignore them. It?s more a matter of education all round). The only Chinese who don?t drink much tend to be Cantonese. They lack alcohol dehydrogenase, the enzyme that processes alcohol ? hence the pink-in-the-face routine after half a glass. These ?wine drinkers? should try Moscato d?Asti or another low-alcohol wine with decent residual sugar and pleasant, easy-to-like aromas. Northern Chinese drink like the Russians and Koreans: don?t take them on, particularly with bai jiu. The older generation are unlikely to be great wine buyers, unless they are highly affluent. It?s China younger drinkers who are coming to Western brands in all forms. Where wine may have the edge, though, is that it is perceived to be healthier than spirits. White wine may not be well-known, but younger drinkers will try just about anything and choosing and drinking international wines has social cachet.
The Dalian wine-lists we saw ? in our hotel and a few restaurants ? were dominated by the more significant importers here, particularly ASC and Torres China. But the wine scene is very young. However, there?s certainly a fair bit of cash knocking around this popular Chinese city with massive building developments and the predictable run of black S-Class Mercedes ducking between scooters and vehicles of all other descriptions.
On our final day, we visited a local Buddhist temple and monastery. From a distance, this countryside retreat could have dated from the Ming or Qing Dynasties. But as we came up close, it looked newer and newer, in fact, very new! (Not that this necessarily meant it was new. Beijing?s Ming Dynasty Forbidden City is, for example, under constant restoration and re-painting). But this place was genuinely young. A group of wealthy Buddhists had built the entire thing from scratch as recently as 2004. As we thought about this massive undertaking, we wondered if the Chinese Buddhists in question ? generally, more laid back than their Japanese Zen or Lamaist Tibetan counterparts ? were also buying wine for their festivals and holidays. Judging by the SUVs and luxury cars lining the car-park of this working temple, many of these Chinese Buddhists could certainly afford to buy wine and perhaps a few of them are.
Cheers,
Edward Ragg
Edward Ragg & Fongyee Walker write for us from Beijing, and you can get more information on their website, Dragon Phoenix Fine Wine Consulting
Hot on the heels of the sensational success of the 'World's Greatest Book Of Useless Information', the Official Useless Information Society bring you another essential compendium of everything you never needed but always wanted to know., Reference ; Curiosities & Wonders, The Best Book of Useless Information Ever
As Seen on Ellens 12 Days of Giveaways & Good Morning America The pocket-size electronic talking Wine Master offers a sleek and slim design easy control panel and over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings and suggested retail prices at your fingertips. The newest version of the Wine Master is the most essential wine tool you can own. Bring along with you to wine shops and restaurants and never make another wine buying mistake again. Requires 2-AAA batteries (not included). Over 10 000 wine and spirits reviews ratings (100 pt. scale) and suggested retail prices from Wine Enthusiast Magazine Food and wine pairing guide Digital display screen with back-light and compressed text functions Talking navigation with on/off Type Varietal Winery or Vintage search option Handsome non-zipper black case Wine Master is a mighty wizard that gives you mastery over the most serious wine shop clerks and sommeliers. Brushed aluminum with chrome accents. The Wine Enthusiast 2008 Wine Buying Guide is also available. Size: 4-3/4'H x 3'W NOTE: The information included in the Wine Master is based on the reviews and ratings conducted by The Wine Enthusiast Magazine. For the 2008 edition we added 10 425 reviews. Therefore if you look at a review of a 2002 Caymus in 2007 and in 2008 the review will be the same. Since we cannot review all the wines produced in a year some wines may not appear with a newer year review which does not mean that the wine is discontinued but just that particular vintage (year) was not reviewed.
General Information Product Name: Radeon HD 2600XT Graphics Card Package Type: Retail Product Model: HD 2600XT Manufacturer: Sapphire, Inc Manufacturer Website Address: www.sapphiretech.com Manufacturer Part Number: 100220L Product Type: Graphics Card Technical Information API Support: DirectX 10.0 OpenGL 2.0 Graphics Resolution: 2048 x 1536 Analog Maximum 2560 x 1600 Dual Link DVI Maximum Monitor Support: 2 Shader Model: 4.0 RAMDAC: Dual 400MHz Platform Support: PC HDCP Support: Yes Signaling Type: Digital Analog Host Interface: PCI Express x16 Video Features: *ATI Avivo HD Video and Display Platform *Avivo Video Post Processor Multi-GPU Technology: CrossFire Processor & Chipset Processor Speed: 800MHz Stream Processors: 120 Chipset: ATi Radeon HD 2600XT Memory Memory Technology: GDDR4 SDRAM Standard Memory: 256MB Bus Width: 128bit Interfaces/Ports Interfaces/Ports: 1 x TV Out 2 x DVI Miscellaneous Additional Information: *HDMI with 5.1 surround sound audio *390 million transistors on 65nm fabrication process
Aerates wine faster with an extra-wide base. The Riedel Ultra Wine Decanter offers a modern design in crystal while creating maximum breathing room for your wine. Made of 24% lead crystal the wine decanter has a broad base that allows the wine to aerate and release flavors and aromas which enhance the attributes of your wine. Decanting wines (particularly old wines) just before serving ensures clarity and true color while preventing any sediments from interfering with the wine-drinking experience. Decanting young wines gives it a chance to open up and tame overpowering tannins and fruit flavors. Pair the Riedel Ultra Wine Decanter with our large wine decanter glass stopper. Size: 8-3/8'H 45-3/8 oz.
Style Squared! 14K white gold is adorned with glittering white Diamonds in a very contemporary cube design. The Diamonds are round in shape, SI2 clarity, H-I color and weigh .50 Carat Total Weight. This ring measures approximately 3/8 inch in width (at the widest point) and is available in sizes 6, 7 and 8. Wear as a stand-alone band, a wedding band or create your unique look with the stackable ring style. See our complete collection of stackable rings in our Stackable Rings Department. The 14K Yellow Gold version, number (DI-R-721-13) and 14K Rose (pink) Gold version, number (DI-R-719-13) are also available.
Tecnorati
