fitbloggin' 2010

I attended the Fitbloggin’ 2010 conference this year, even though I didn’t get into Baltimore until mid-morning Saturday – I had an amazing time!

Bryan was so sweet and drove me all the way to baltimore from VA early Saturday morning. Lilly and Charlie also came for the ride.

We actually slept in a bit later than we wanted to, so I wasn’t able to make it there until about 11:30 – I was still able to catch the end of one session where they talked about pitching yourself to the media.

The first people I ran into were Allison and Quinn – it was so great to see some familiar faces and reunite with them again.

The fitbloggin‘ staff planned a great lunch with tons of healthy yet tasty options, I ended up with a roasted veggie panini, mushroom (?) soup, roasted veggies, and some spinach salad – it was all delicious. I actually didn’t have any room for the soup since I had such a late breakfast.

there was also a cute dessert table with raspberry jello shooter – loved it!

This is when I started meeting so many other bloggers – it was great to meet new people, I am always interested in learning & reading other blogs. A couple of the people I met during lunch were Beth from Dining and Dishing and Tess from Wellness Daily.

I also got lots of neat things in my gift bag – my favorite was this cool little device called Gruve. I already love this thing so much, I think I might write an entire separate post on it.

After the event, I met a bunch of other bloggers at McCormick & Schmick’s by the water. Aime, me, Jacquie, and Quinn…

I didn’t have any wine or appetizers, but I did order the best sparkling water I have ever tired…

A bunch of us worked up a pretty big appetite for SUSHI! This was such an amazing group of girls – I haven’t met so many great people in ages, if ever! here we have Cara, Amie, Allison, Heather, me, Quinn, Meg, Brittany, and Stephanie, and Katie.

I loved this sushi restaurant, the sushi, wine, and these hot warm towels we are given upon arriving…

I had ordered three rolls, and devoured them all =) I have no idea what they were specifically, but all that matters is that they were delish!

I felt like such an occasion called for wine…

other girls thought so too =) I loved this

Afterwards we found a place to relax, If you are a regular reader of my blog you know I don’t drink – but this is once in a while so I dont feel bad having some fun =)

Allison and I decided it was a great idea to do a shot, it was a fabulous idea!

There was some rock band at Quinn’s house that followed,

I had such an amazing time – I WILL be signing up again next year for fitbloggin 2010! thank you so much girls for a great night =)

[Via http://sweetandfit.wordpress.com]

Surfing the Russian River in East Dallas at VERITAS Wine Room!

Thinking about adding wireless capabilities to your home or business? Wireless networking, also called WiFi or 802.11 networking, has a lot of advantages, is easy and inexpensive to set up. Recently, we added a Linksys WAP54G Wireless G Access Point at VERITAS Wine Room on Henderson Ave. To access the Wi-Fi services you’ll need a Wi-Fi enabled device, such as a laptop or PDA and you’ll need to get the WEP key from Brooks, Bradley, Eddie or Fernando. Enjoy VERITAS’ old world, rustic decor while sitting by the fire enjoying a nice glass of Pinot and surfing the web. 2006 Anthill Farms Tina Marie Vineyard Russian River Valley Pinot Noir. Stephen Tanzer’s:“92 Points. Bright red. Vibrant, highly expressive nose offers spicy strawberry, raspberry and baking spices. Zesty and sharply focused, with medium weight and intense, pure red fruit flavors. Fine-grained tannins provide shape and extend through the long, sappy finish. An impressively fresh, elegant pinot with admirable balance and purity.”

[Via http://markcharlesgroup.wordpress.com]

How do you pronounce that?... Wine 101 Social

We will be tasting a Grüner Veltliner,  Vinho Verde, Gewurztraminer, Crémant de Loire, a Texan Carignan Mourvédre Blend as well as a Tokaji. We will be talking about the grapes, the land and the tastes of all the wines, as well as providing you with Tapas pairing options. The event costs $25 and all bottles are available at retail. We will discount all case orders. See you there!

Cheers!

[Via http://creativejuicesllc.wordpress.com]

Wine-o Oasis in Las Vegas

Finally, it’s our time- our very own wine-o wonderland has come to Sin City. Why did it take so long in coming to a city that thrives on drinking the morning, afternoon and nighty-nite-nite away?  I mean, after all, the oasis has already taken root in 63 stores in 11 states. 

Winning the prestigious Beverage Dynamic’s 2008 Retailer of the Year award, Total Wine & More finally trudged  into Las Vegas on March 4, bringing with them 8,000 wines, including 1,100 cabaret sauvignons, 750 chardonnays, 500 merlots, 250 zinfandels and 600 pinot noir varieties- all jam-packed all in a 27,000-square-foot store in Boca Park (730 S. Rampart Blvd.). 

There are even 2,000 kinds of the hard spirits (500 vodkas, 220 scotches and 230 rums, among others) and even 1,000 varieties of beer to take down and pass around. 

That’s enough to keep anybody warm for many a night.   Compliment the experience with one of their 200 high-end cigars and you’ll be feeling no pain. 

Not a wine connoisseur? No problemo.  They have three weekly wine tastings to get you in the groove: noon to 5 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays, and 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays.

[Via http://vbablogger.com]

Dill Chicken Paillards with Tomato-Dill Relish

Chicken breasts are a terrific foundation for an easy-to-make dish that’s sweet, salty, dilly, and – is this even a word? – grilly. But, I don’t have a grill, so I baked the chicken instead. It was perfect served alongside cous cous boiled in chicken stock. To drink we had Hagafen Riesling from Napa Valley, which we got on our honeymoon. My parents recently came to visit us for the weekend and I made this for dinner one night. My daddy cleaned his plate.

Recipe for Dill Chicken Paillards with Tomato-Dill Relish

[Via http://thehappygilmores.wordpress.com]

Italian-style Shrimp with Spaghetti

This simple spaghetti dish is mouth-watering and the perfect every night meal.

Seafood Pasta with Cheese?  On a recent Chopped episode one of the contestants was scolded by the judges for adding cheese to seafood pasta.  Shortly afterwards I noted that an Iron Chef did the same thing and none of the judges commented on it.  Google it and you’ll find that it’s a hot topic amongst chefs and foodies.  It seems that traditionalists prefer to not add cheese whereas foodie progressives like me will add cheese.

The nice thing about this delicious meal is that the cheese can be passed at the table so you can have it anyway you want.  With Cheese…Without Cheese – It’s your choice.  But doesn’t it look delicious in this photo with the shaved parmesan?

Italian-style Shrimp with Spaghetti

 Inspired by Sunset Magazine, OCTOBER 2002

 

• 8 ounces dried spaghetti
• 1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
• 1 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 can (14 1/2 oz.) Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 2/3 of 6 oz can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried basil
• 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 pound (40 to 50 per lb.) shelled deveined shrimp
• 2 tablespoons chopped parsley
• Salt and pepper
• Shredded and shaved parmesan cheese

1. In a 4- to 5-quart pan over high heat, bring 2 quarts water to a boil. Add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until tender to bite, about 10 minutes. Drain and return to pan.

2. Meanwhile, in a 10- to 12-inch frying pan over high heat, stir onion and garlic in olive oil until onions are limp, about 5 minutes. Stir in tomatoes (with juice), tomato paste, wine, oregano, red pepper flakes and basil. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes.

3. Rinse and drain shrimp; add to sauce. Stir often just until opaque but still moist-looking in center of thickest part (cut to test), 6 to 8 minutes.

4. Stir sauce into cooked pasta. Divide mixture equally among four bowls. Sprinkle with parsley; add salt, pepper, and cheese to taste.

Yield:  Makes 4 servings

CALORIES 447 (11% from fat); FAT 5.5g (sat 0.9g); CHOLESTEROL 173mg; CARBOHYDRATE 59g; SODIUM 675mg; PROTEIN 33g; FIBER 4.3g 

[Via http://foodmuses.wordpress.com]

Vinilter carafe

The Vinilter wine breather breathes your wine in an instant, and even enables you to pour ready to drink wine directly from the bottle! Simply connect the unique wine breather and the bottle, and turn around! You can either serve the wine in the elegant carafe, or turn around once more to let the well-breathed wine run back into the original bottle.

Design by: Norm architects/Peter Ørsig
Price in retail ~ 60 EUR

[Via http://istuhl.wordpress.com]

Sonoma Wineries Map: All Grown Up

Here is a post that includes the Sonoma Wineries Map. I thought I would include it as a post in order to give you an idea of what it looks like in the event you have not take a look via the map page.

You will see that it is much larger than previous versions. You can move the map by clicking (hold) and drag. As always, you can click the view larger map label at the bottom of the map to go to the map page (this one is the best option).

Well here it is…

View Larger Map

[Via http://sonomawineries.wordpress.com]

Korean agents visit Valencia

We recently got the visit from some important Korean agents at the city from Valencia, they started with a visit and wine tasting at Bodegas Gandía.
Some white “Fusta Nova”, then a Bobal red wine and to finish some sweet one …

After this visit … directly to Albufera lake … to start some “Paella cooking show” … the most famous Valencian (and Spanish) dish.

After lunch we should have made a boat trip at Albufera: the biggest lake in Spain …The group wanted to do it …

everybody were ready … but unfortnately it was raining too much …

Do you see the umbrella … yes! that is Valencia Football Club symbol … and that’s where we went … straight ahead to see MESTALLA Football Stadium … for Valencian fans: “El templo del fútbol” … see at the left the future “trainers” from the club!!

Then after a rest … we had the pleasure to visit Opera house: “Palau de les Arts” and see/listen some Opera … which was followed from an amazing flamenco show at one of the best Tablaos in Valencia: “La Buleria”… good music and great food!!
The following day started with a visit to LLADRO Museum, the also called “City of Porcelain” where people can discover how this world-famous figure are made… At the picture you can see how the group had no interest at all …
This piece is over 120.00 EUR.: picture is free!!

From this sculptures … to others … that will be burnt in a few days (well most of them) … yes! I am talking about FALLAS … we visited the “Ninot Exhibition” … where Korean travel professional got amazed with all the “ninots”.

Obama, Charles Chaplin, Gasol, David Villa and this “ideal woman” where there …

And from there … directly to the amazing “City of Arts and Sciences” (www.cac.es) We visited Palau de les Arts, Science Museum and Aquarium.

Finally, on Sunday it was time for discovering the historic City Centre:

Virgin Square with Cathedral Complex, the place where “Holly Grial” is … then we also entered at “La Lonja“, World Heritage Monument from XV century.

After this visit, we enjoyed a “Mascletà” at the City Hall square (great view from Hotel Las Arenas “Balcon”

After lunch … a SEGWAY Tour along Turia Riverbed (www.culturia.org)
See Korean agents … proud below “SAMSUNG” (Korean company):

Final stop: BIOPARC Valencia … A piece of Africa in Valencia!!

I wonder how many people still think that Valencia can be seen in half day … when 3 days are not enough!!

[Via http://vlcmiguel.wordpress.com]

White Wine 'As Healthy As Red'

It’s already been established that red wine is healthy. But a recent study says that white wine is just as good for you.

Rats given a tipple of Italian white wine with their meals suffered less heart attack damage than animals allowed only water or raw grain alcohol.

The benefits were similar to those seen in animals fed red wine, or its “wonder” grape-skin ingredient, resveratrol.

Red wine, and resveratrol, have often been cited as the cause of the “French paradox” – the fact that French people have low rates of heart disease despite eating a lot of fat.

However, white wine, made from the pulp of grapes but not the skin, contains no resveratrol. Lab tests suggested that white wine protected the mitochondria in heart cells, the rod-shaped cell structures that act as energy-generating “powerplants”.

Molecular biologist Dipak Das, from the University of Connecticut in Farmington, US, said: “The flesh of the grape can do the same job as the skin.

Reas more on sky.com

[Via http://balancewines.wordpress.com]

Sunday Dinner

Menu:

Slow-Cooked Pot Roast with Medley of Mushroom Gravy (Cremini, Shitake, Portabella)

Creamy Parsnips and Pear

Lemon Butter Asparagus

Strawberries and Fresh Cream

I’m excited about this meal. I’ve never worked with parsnips before. They’re delicious! I tried going for seasonal ingredients that bridge the Winter to Spring months.

Guests: Amy and Gina, Me, Mason and Sonny

Wine: Central Coast Petite Syrah- Cupcake Vineyards- 2007

YUMMMMMMM!!!!!!

[Via http://whatsinmybrainz.wordpress.com]

How Bordeaux wines are graded and organized

This is the final part of this introduction to Bordeaux, but we have really only scratched the surface. We’ll cover more aspects of Bordeaux in the future, like one of my favorites: how Medoc is inside itself (I’ll touch on that below, and we’ll cover it in detail later). But for now, let’s just get a feel for the way Bordeaux wines are graded qualitatively.

Bordeaux grades in decreasing order of quality:

1. Chateau wine
2. Regional wine
3. Cru Bourgeois
4. Bordeaux Superieur- technically superior to straight Bordeaux by ½ of 1 degree of alcohol. Maybe slightly better, maybe slightly more reliable than straight Bordeaux.
5. Bordeaux – 40% of all red Bordeaux, 60% of all white. The good, the bad, and the ugly
6. Table Wine (Wine Lake- jug wine and wine that’s converted into industrial alcohols)

Short version:

Bordeaux = $

Bordeaux + Region = $$

Bordeaux + Region + Chateau = $$ – $$$$ depending on chateau

Seems easy, doesn’t’ it?  Here’s the rub:  you’ve got to be familiar with the chateau names and region names or it becomes confusing very quickly. Why? Because they use the same names for different things. As I mentioned above, The Medoc is a region on the Left Bank. The Medoc is also a region within the Medoc. Right next to Haut-Medoc. So Haut-Medoc is next to Medoc and they’re both within the Medoc. Huh? This sort of title recycling is also very common in Burgundy, and it’s simple: multiple areas of winemakers trying to cash in on the cache of a particular title. Let’s say Fort Worth makes world class wines. Let’s say Dallas makes slightly lower quality wines. So they rename their wines Dallas-Fort Worth wines. That’s how Burgundy works, but Bordeaux takes it one step further: if Fort Worth wines are world famous, all of Dallas- Fort Worth wines get renamed Fort Worth. So now Fort Worth is both the area of Fort Worth and also the entire Dallas- Fort Worth metroplex. That’s how it is with Medoc: there is a small region called Medoc, and a larger area that took that title to raise the prices of their wines too.  There are other examples. Chateau Margaux is a First Growth Chateau in the region of Margaux, which is next to the little Medoc but inside the big Medoc. So Chateau Margaux in in Margaux and in Medoc, and next to Medoc. This takes a little while to get used to, but it’ll sink in over time.

That covers the highest two quality levels: ranked chateaux and specific regions. Each of the other levels has it’s quandaries too. The next highest, Cru Bourgeois has it’s own dramatic tale, which we talked about in the Classification blog entry. To sum up: the Cru Bourgeois was introduced in 1932 but not controlled. When it was ‘finalized’ in 2002-3 only  about half of the 500 chateaux using the title were approved. About 80 of the rejects sued, and after a bunch of suits the whole Cru Bourgeois designation was thrown out.  Some Chateaux got together and restarted the Cru Bourgeois movement as a less formal quality stamp, not a legal designation. Chateaux wishing to use the stamp will apply to a peer-review board each year. this will first be for the 2010 wines, so any Cru Bourgeois labels you see on wines between 2007 and 2010 are not really legal, but the Cru Bourgeois board left it up to individual chateaux whether to use it or not.

Now for Bordeaux Superieur.  Technically slightly better, by being slightly higher in alcohol. This implies slightly riper fruit, slightly greater body. Is it actually better wine? Maybe. Is it a more reliable choice? Maybe. If a winemaker is making higher alcohol wines, they’re using riper fruit, and hopefully more quality minded. That’s a whole bunch of maybes and hopefullys. In my experience Bordeaux Superieur is not consistently better.

As for straight Bordeaux, that just means the grapes were grown in Bordeaux, somewhere, and they were approved varietals (see our grapes blog entry) and very basic quality and yield rules were followed. There are some decent basic Bordeaux wines, there are some not too decent ones. Best of luck.

Now for table wine. This is actually a problem for all of France, and they call it the Wine Lake. There’s too much junk wine. It qualifies for no quality designation, and much of it is made into industrial alcohols. The French government is paying grapegrowers to rip out crap vines to reduce the Wine Lake. It’s a problem.

Well, I hope this clarifies the basics about how Bordeaux wines are stacked qualitatively. Keep in mind the basic rule: the more specific the label, the higher the price and the quality. It starts with Bordeaux, then adds on a region (Graves, Medoc, St Emilion, Cotes du Castillon, Pomerol, etc) then adds on a Chateau. Once you get to the Chateau level, you’ve got to start learning Chateau names, which is another whole elephant to eat. As always, find a good store with a reliable wine guy/gal and try lots of wines. Cheers!

[Via http://dallaswineblog.com]

‘Unhealthy food and drinks’ can actually be good for you

Snacks and tipple are not deemed to be the healthiest food around but indulging in some of them may do you a whole lot of good. Snacks like are popcorn, chocolate red wine and a few more.

Some of these perceived “no-no’s” can actually be good for you , and even more so when you follow a balanced diet.

Here are some examples of the perceived unhealthy foods which have some health benefits.

POPCORN
It may be the best accompaniment for movies, but popcorn also helps curb the evening snack craving. A bowl of home-made popcorn is even better as it is low on calories and high on antioxidants.

DARK CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
Yes, it is indeed good news especially for people with a sweet tooth. Dark chocolate is proven to be good for the heart and if it is paired with a whole wheat brownie and some nuts, it becomes rich in fibre as well.

DARK CHOCOLATE BARS
Dark chocolate contains high amounts of antioxidants. It helps to lower the blood pressure and decrease the risk of heart disease as well, if you eat around 100 grams a day.

CRACKERS
There are many kinds of whole wheat crackers available, which can be a good and healthy evening munch without the side-effects that other junk foods cause.

BAKED SNACKS
The latest in the snack category are baked snacks. They are better than fried chips as they contain no oil. Usually made of whole wheat with a dash of spice, it not only entertains the taste buds but is also healthy for your body.

PROCESSED CHEESE
Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is found in many meat, milk and cheese products. But a recent study which concentrated specifically on processed cheese found that CLA has anti-carcinogenic properties and it is also an effective antioxidant. The study says processed cheese contains more CLA than natural cheese, such as cheddar.

DRY STOUT BEER
Experts say that one pint of this thick and creamy dark beer may be as effective as a low dose of aspirin to improve blood circulation, and hence lower the risk of blood clots and heart attacks. It’s proven to be better than aerated drinks and other types of beer.

RED WINE
Resveratrol, an ingredient in red wine, effectively decreases life-threatening inflammations. The antioxidants in red wine can help in preventing heart disease and cancer. For non-drinkers, grape juice or even red grapes can be as effective.

Source: timesofindia.com

[Via http://balancewines.wordpress.com]

Disney's California Food & Wine Festival

Disney-California-food-wine-festival

From April 16 to May 31, 2010, please your “palette” with a kaleidoscope of culinary experiences at the Fifth Annual Disney’s California Food & Wine Festival. For 46 days, Disney’s California Adventure® Park and select locations at the Disneyland® Resort will host “The Art of Flavor,” one of the most anticipated events of spring! Enjoy cooking demonstrations, seminars and recipes that reflect the Golden State’s regional and culinary diversity. It’s presented by Vanity Fair® Premium Napkins and Plates.

Many Festival favorites are returning, in addition to new events and activities…including the all-new Festival Showplace! More

[Via http://tourslosangeles.info]

Orangescape Studio

I have been trying for a complete switch to Linux in my laptop for a long time.  Though i achieved it for my desktop in home, Every time i get a plan to switch to linux, the Engg dept comes up with a new version which makes me to wait some more.

But with WINE i had been able to make the things to work in linux.  But as it happens, many a time the application fail to work even with wine.  Now after close to 4 to 5 months of trying to make the new Orangescape studio work on linux, atlast it works.  Even though it is a webapp still we need wine.

The latest Update of Kernel to 2.6.31-20 + a higher internet connection speed made it possible.  I had installed WINE 1.1.31 long back.  I had installed Silverlight 3 + Firefox 3.5.6 (windows version) on WINE.  It had not been working till last weekend, when i last updated the system. (Kernel version 2.6.31-20).  Plus the new changes which the Engg made over the last week.  Now it is working.  I did some basic validations and a straight workflow.  It worked well.  But i could notice the CPU usage shooting up when doing Workflow design.  But nothing so great to make the system unstable or crash to firefox as how it was happening before.

Studio

Process Designer

The Browser

The Operating System

But it is not working with moonlight.  Seems moonlight has a lot of catching up to do.

[Via http://nasarabna.wordpress.com]

Superb food but not the 5 star service I expected

L’Atelier de Joel Robuchon

This was my second visit to the restaurant and both visits are within about 2 months of each other. I went there the first time on a Thursday evening and the again on a Friday evening. The number of guests on the Thursday night was far fewer (at the table seating) than that of the Friday evening (also table seating) and it seems this contributed to the difference in the service level.

On my first visit, I was thoroughly thrilled to have found such an delightful fine dining venue in Hong Kong. the ambience was excellent, the service was good, the staff attentive and the the food was exquisite and because we did not go for the degustation menu that time, we did not discover the many plastic cutlery they give you.

First let’s talk about the food. both times, we had the Steak Tartare because it was that good. The quail was another dish we had both times, again because it was just too good to be missed. Both times there were dishes (entrees and with the degustation menu) with black truffle and I couldn’t help but notice that the second time around the black truffle has lost quite a bit of its flavour. I am not familiar with how these are ordered but it tasted to me like it’s past its time. Perhaps because it’s technically out of season and other good restaurants aren’t serving them anymore?

The degustation menu was good but nothing especially caught my eyes. I would suggest ordering a la carte from the menu rather than the tasting menu. Desserts are a must. Very good wine list and the starting price is very reasonable.

In general, it really was a very good experience, but there are still a few things that I couldn’t help but mention. i know I’m being very pick here but for what I paid, i expected best and I have been to places where the service was better and they charged less. So bear with me for a while.

Things that they can improve on:
- the screeching of the chair legs when the chairs are being moved is extremely annoying. Less so when it’s not busy, very much when it’s a full house. I know 3M has a great product for that. Check it out.
- Aside from the pearl spoon used for the caviar, I see no reason why the other courses required that many plastic spoon to be used. And if it’s absolutely necessary as a culinary requirement to use plastic, please would you find something that doesn’t look and feel like a child’s cutlery.
- In general the staff were wonderful but if only they could pay a little more attention to when being signalled rather than the chair in front of them, it would be perfect.
-I ordered the wine by glass, in most restaurants I’ve been to, I still get to taste it before fully committing to it., which I am pretty sure was what happened the first time, but second time, nope, they showed me the bottle and then just poured a full glass straight. Two glasses as well. I was in a conversation and did not register this fact until she walked away. Didn’t want to make scene so I let it go. But decidedly very poor service in that regard.
- Serving time between courses were not very well timed. the first few courses came out really quickly, more quickly than a good evening of dining should be and then when it got busy, it got really slow. One of the courses we had to wait for a 20 minute break and another a 15 minute break where as earlier only it was bang, bang, bang, one straight after the other. So perhaps time management in the kitchen needs to be reviewed. IMHO.

I think that’s about it. I really don’t want to come across as being too harsh but I had such high expectation after the first dinner I went and booked the second night a month and a half in advance!

[Via http://sleeepy.wordpress.com]

Sonoma Wineries Focus: Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards and Winery

Chalk Hill features some serious wine! Very interesting vintages with small yield and limited production. In fact, some of these are hard to find at this point.

For those of you that do not know, Chalk Hill appellation rests between the Russian River Valley and Alexander Valley providing a unique growing situation that produces great reds and whites. The topography introduces low, cool areas as well as warmer, higher elevations with sometimes rocky soil. Unique earth produces unique wine.

Take some time to read the website as there is a lot of information there.

Here is a link: Chalk Hill Estate Vineyards and Winery

[Via http://sonomawineries.wordpress.com]

Mon 8th March 2010

What an exciting few weeks it’s been at the Ship! Plenty of changes including lots of lovely new faces behind the bar, a modern makeover for our washrooms and exciting new wine lists with a twist.

The weekend that just sailed by saw the introduction of our latest 4 page wine list, introducing some tasty wines supplied by Cockburn and Campbell, including a Chenin Blanc from Keate’s Drift alongside an Australian Shiraz and Semillon Sauvingnon Blanc from You, Me and the Gatepost.

After-

If you popped in yesterday you would have seen us at our busiest, making record sales and providing the Sunday entertainment that you all love. Last night saw the return of the Northern Lights duo, for more info see

www.myspace.com/alexdewofficial. You couldn’t move for people throwing shapes and shotting back the Jager! I do wonder how these people make it into work on a Monday morning!?

As I mentioned earlier, our washrooms have had an exciting facelift and customers and staff are delighted with the final result. Comments welcomed…

I shall sign off for this week, leaving you with a few unmissable events;

Irish Music – Tues at 8.30pm in the Public Bar

Quiz Night – Weds at 8.30pm in the Main Bar

Mothering Sunday live band – Almost Famous at 8.30pm in the Main Bar

For instant news, events and promotions as well as absolutely pointless tweetage, follow us on twitter @shipwandsworth

Until next week…

[Via http://shipwandsworth.wordpress.com]

Umbrian Wine Tasting in Perugia

On Saturday we went into Perugia for an afternoon of Umbrian wine tasting. Eight Umbrian wineries were showing off their products in a tasting open to the public, Lungarotti (Torgiano), Roccafiore (Todi), La Spina (Marsciano), Paolo Bea (Montefalco), Antonelli San Marco (Montefalco), Fattoria Colleallodole (Bevagna),  Collecapreta (Spoleto) and Palazzone (Orvieto).

Lungarotti Wines, Wine Tasting, Perugia, Umbria

It was a really pleasant event held in offices just off Perugia’s main street, the Corso Vannucci, many of the cantina owners were  there and happy to talk about their wines. I have already put wines from Lungarotti, La Spina, Roccafiore and Palazzone on my blog, however, this didn’t stop me from trying them again!

Wine Tasting, Perugia, Umbria

Roccafiore must be getting very good write ups about their wine as the prices seemed to have gone up considerably since last year. I was just getting over a cold, so my tasting ability probably wasn’t up to normal, but I came away with a couple of new bottles to try, a Rosso di Montefalco Riserva from Antonelli San Marco and a 100% Sangiovese from Collecapreta, I’ll put the tasting notes on the blog when I’m over my cold and able to smell properly!

Wines from the Collecapretta Cantina

Four cantinas were offering whites made from Trebbiano Spoletino, a grape native to the area around Spoleto in southern Umbria that was once in danger of dying out. This grape has an up-front nose but is fairly constrained in the mouth, making a good aperitivo or everyday drinking wine.

Tuscany & Umbria Holiday Accommodation

You can try wines from these Umbrian producers when you holiday on the beautiful Tuscany Umbria border in central Italy. A holiday villa, farmhouse or apartment in this stunning area makes a great base to explore these famous regions.

Holiday Villa, Tuscany Umbria Border, Ca' di Bracco

Gorgacce Rentals tuscanyumbria.com have a superb selection of vacation villas, holiday farmhouses and rental apartments for self catering holidays on the Tuscany Umbria border. Look at our website for large Tuscany Villas & Umbria Farmhouses with Swimming Pools, smaller Holiday Villas To Rent In Tuscany & Umbria and Tuscany & Umbria Agritourism Apartments With Pool.

We have a selection of Tuscany and Umbria vacation accommodation to suit every budget, take a look at one of our Umbria & Tuscany Luxury Holiday Villas or beautiful but Cheap Accommodation In Tuscany. Whether you are looking for Accommodation for A Farm Holiday In Tuscany or a Tuscany Farmhouse Holiday you will find a self catering holiday villa for you on our website.

If you would like to stay in the middle of an Italian hill town we have Apartment Rental in Cortona, Tuscany and Apartment Rental In Spello, Umbria.

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