The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog. Here's an excerpt: The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 11,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 4 sold-out performances for that many people to see it. Click here to see the complete report.
As I drew back the curtains that morning, I’ll never forget the sight of the beautiful Croatian islands that appeared on all sides of the ship as we sailed into the port of Dubrovnik. We sat and sipped coffee on the balcony as we marveled at the beauty of the rocky islands with small fir trees – some deserted and some with houses along tiny sandy beaches. Equally impressive was the port with the large bridges as the ship sailed into the narrow inlet outside the old city walls. Dubrovnik was the main city was had come to visit on [...]
Sept. 2011 - The ship docked in Bari two hours late because of a strike going on in the city that day. Apparently all the transportation workers were picketing so there was no way to obtain taxis, buses, etc. However, when the strike was over we were allowed to go into the city around 1pm. This is another port where you can actually walk from the ship to the old city of Bari (about ½ mile walk), but as the day was very hot, we decided to pay to take the bus. Bari is located in the Puglia region of [...]
Sept. 2011 – Our ship arrived in the port of Ravenna in the late morning. The day was overcast with a potential for slight drizzle, but the air was warm. We paid to take the bus into the town because it was too far to walk and the docks were in an ugly industrial area. However, once we were dropped off in the city center, we found the pedestrian-only downtown to be delightful. It was filled with old squares, outdoor cafes, fountains, and small streets lined with shops. Ravenna, established in the 400’s, is a UNESCO world heritage site famous [...]
The last three SSU Wine Sense Club meetings have been packed to overflowing with an average of 50 Millennials attending each tasting. Special thanks to all of the Sonoma County wineries who have participated in these educational events. Kendall Jackson was kind enough to provide a “fermentation style seminar” with Brian Cronin, MS and Jann Cotter. The session included tastings of 5 chardonnays crafted in different styles: 1) fermented in stainless steel with no malolactic fermentation, 2) fermented in stainless with malo, 3) fermented and aged in neutral oak, 4) fermented and aged in French oak, and 5) fermented and [...]
“As a child growing up in Persia I heard the story of the discovery of wine,” says Pari Azari, “but it is also documented in my Persian cookbook. In fact Omar Khayyám referred to the story in some of his poetry.” Kamal Azari, Pari’s husband and co-owner of Azari Winery, nods in appreciation as he listens to his wife. “Yes, it is this story, plus the fact that I was born in Shiraz, the ancient city in Persia thought to be the birthplace of the syrah grape, that inspired us to start our winery.” Pari then proceeded to tell the [...]
Sept. 2011 - Our first port of call was Koper, Slovenia. It was delightful to wake up in the morning on Royal Caribbean and have coffee on the balcony while we watched the shoreline of Slovenia come into view. Koper is a small city and there is no need to pay for transportation from the ship. It is only a five minute walk into the charming old town - albeit you do have to climb a hill. The city has cobble stone streets, an old castle with high walls, a beautiful old church which we ducked inside to attend part [...]
Over thirty Millennials showed up to taste the award winning wines of Williamson Winery this past week. Located in Sonoma County with a tasting room on the Healdsburg Plaza and their famous Home Ranch Vineyard in the Dry Creek AVA, Williamson is primarily known for big reds, such as syrah, zinfandel and cabernet sauvignon. However, they also source fruit from other locations and it was these wines that appealed most to the Millennials tasters. Favorite white wine of the evening was the Williamson Winery Joy Sauvignon Blanc ($28) from the North Coast. It had a fresh grapefruit nose with some [...]
Originally published in Wayward Tendrils Quarterly (Vol 18, No. 2, April 2008), Liz Thach, Ph.D. Posted here by request. Most historians now agree that wine was most likely discovered by a woman. However what is often left out of the history books are the ancient stories of the goddesses of wine – most who came into being centuries before Bacchus and Dionysus. Modern technology and carbon-dating has helped us prove that wine from cultivated grapes was being made in what is now modern-day Georgia, in the Caucasus Mountains around 6,000 B.C. There are also reports of wine remains in Armenia, [...]
Professor Musings: I have a small hobby vineyard in Sonoma County with 90 pinot noir vines and 30 sauvignon blanc. The vineyard is located in the Petaluma Gap region of the Sonoma Coast AVA which is a cooler climate ideal for pinot noir. Every year it produces a nice crop with the pinot always ripening before the sauvignon blanc. This autumn, however, when I walked down to check on the sugar level of the grapes, I was astounded to see that something had eaten 90% of the pinot noir crop. The sauvignon blanc, which was still rather tart tasting, was untouched. I called my neighbors with [...]
Distinctive chardonnays came out on top at the first SSU Wine Sense Club tasting of the semester. Imagery Winery’s “2009 White Burgundy ($29)” received the most votes as the favorite wine. A full-bodied chardonnay with a small amount of Pinot Blanc and Pinot Meunier in the blend everyone enjoyed the tropical fruit flavors and bright crispness. Other Imagery wines tasted included a Malbec, Sangiovese and Sauvignon Blanc. Imagery Winery, located in Sonoma Valley, is renown for its artistic blends and beautiful labels featuring a different California artist each year. For more information see http://www.imagerywinery.com/. The SSU WineSense Board had to [...]
(July 13 - 21, 2011) Ironically, the most difficult issue with winegrowing in Arizona is frost. Most people find this surprising because Arizona is known for very hot temperatures, but since most of the vineyards are located in the high desert at 4200 to 5200 feet in elevation, it can get quite cold at certain times of the year. In years where the frost arrives during bud break, a large percentage of the crop can be at risk. Arizona now boasts 45 wineries, and though I had visited wineries in the Sonorita region south of Tucson several years ago, imagine [...]
(June 24-28, 2011) Did you know there are now 42 wineries in Wisconsin? This was one of the amazing facts I learned during my four day visit at the invitation of my good friend Peg. In addition to touring three wineries, we had a wonderful time sight-seeing in downtown Milwaukee. I was very impressed with the bustling businesses, the amazing architecture of the Milwaukee Art Museum, the historic mansions along Lake Michigan and the charming Third Ward. Peg also treated me to great food and wine, boat rides, and the chance to meet her fascinating friends. We obtained a copy [...]
June 15, 2011 – On Wednesday morning we had a lazy breakfast, then packed and cleaned our apartment before checking out. We headed towards Bergerac and the Monbazillac AOC which was only a 30 minute drive from Le Bugue. On the way we passed an amazing site of over 100 white swans on the Dordogne River. We stopped to take photos and marvel at their beauty. They appeared to be feeding in the river, and were in a section that was covered with the tiny white flowers that grace the river in such an exotic fashion. An artist was sitting [...]
During the four delightful days we spent in the Dordogne, the main wine region represented in every restaurant was Bergerac. Each “verre de vin blanc, rouge, or rose” we ordered was always from a Bergerac appellation, but since the 13 AOC’s in the Bergerac region are part of the department of the Dordogne, that makes sense. Before leaving home, I checked my wine atlas to verify the types of grapes allowed in Bergerac wines, and they are identical to Bordeaux – for the most part. Bergerac reds are a blend of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and cabernet franc (Bordeaux is also [...]