All Things Wine

"One of the best known episodes in the 8000-year history of grapevine cultivation led to biological changes that have not been well understood - until now. Through biomolecular detective work, German researchers have uncovered new details about the heredity of Vitis varieties in cultivation today. In the process, they have opened the way to more meaningful classification, accelerated breeding, and more accurate evaluation of the results, potentially breaking a bottleneck in the progress of the wine industry. Their discovery removes a major obstacle to a development already under way - that is, a shift toward grapevine breeding guided by highly specific genetic markers. It may even point the way toward production of European-tasting wines from North American cultivars, free of the "musty" or "foxy" flavors associated with New World grapevines."

if you haven't had carmenere, do try it - doesn't have to be this one

oh my - Le Volte is an entry into the etherial world of Ornellaia, and then you are lost

I call this one 'happy wine' laid back, not too serious, a great companion on the porch

outstanding chilean

Cool! The '93 gets a 92 rating!

more recently they have disappointed a bit, go to the older if you can find them

fascinating white from Okanagan in Canada

Canadian whites are world class, Okanagan tour found this one, beautiful fruit, patio in summer

freaking outstanding, decant for an hour at least, more if you are very patient, a very un-italian red

Apparently he makes a few different ones, and now I don't know which one I had when we were in Sedona AZ, my god it was good.. could have been the view, hot tub, and company, but it was much enjoyed

François - Thanks for this!! I have a French friend with whom I play tennis two/three times a week, and, with him, we have at least one Châteauneuf almost every week, and, like you, I prefer red wines rather than white. This history of this winery - http://www.beaucastel.com/index.php?langue=en&page=histoire - is awe-inspiring! None of us in CA know anything about this length of time to become successful! - thanks, again! Our tennis group is coming the the French Open not this year but next year, so it'll give us a chance to visit this winery.

We were here this weekend - found some wonderful pinots.

Ontology of wine.

gwave is waaaay too bulky, kludgy, and there's no efficient way to organize. diigo allows for multi-channel, topic-specific feeds, and places to save/share asynchronously while still allowing near-real-time exchange (the diigo toolbar constantly provides messaging updates). With gwave, Kurt thinks I type with my left toe because it takes painful minutes fore each keystroke to propagate, and doesn't allow you to collect a thought before sharing it. I like to write, think, dig something relevant up, incorporate it, reread my comment, proof my comment, drink a beer, AND THEN click send. So anyone seeing my input gets a whole picture that they can absorb at their own speed, rather than having to watch it assemble itself. Ever try to watch a jackson pollock video and try to guess what he is painting before he's done? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vy6Omz1bDPg seeing the finished result in situ is much more enjoyable. And anyway, the visuals I speak of are all the cryptic lines of RDF code that show up when you click an ontology. (see Kurt's share on the ontology of beer. http://groups.diigo.com/group/bacon_legos_and_beer/content/schemaweb-beer-ontology-1221238 ) ((see, I had to dig that up)).

Hey FishMan - I've never had a conversation with you real-time in Gwave - I wanna watch you type. LOL! Loved the Jackson Pollack vid. Imagine all that bending over holding gallon or 2-gallon cans of paint while trying to think of the next placement. Is that what we're doing here? It's true what Kurt says, "You are all in my head," and the things you say and do next amaze me. It's like a work of art in the process of being created, and, like you say, we're in situ creating whatever this is or is going to be. I also "like to write, think, dig something relevant up, incorporate it, reread my comment, proof my comment, drink a GLASS OF WINE, AND THEN click send." So, here's something whacky you'll enjoy - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Kof5ETD4-4&feature=related It's Australian Open time - if you love art, follow along this and next week!

In the heart of the Shawnee National Forest lies the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail, Illinois` first and most award-winning trail. Twelve unique, family owned and operated, wineries offer a diverse selection of nationally and internationally acclaimed wines for your enjoyment and the rolling hills and sandstone bluffs offer views for all to enjoy. The Shawnee Hills Wine Trail wineries are located in Jackson and Union Counties in southern Illinois and follow a 30-mile loop through beautiful southern Illinois scenery. A variety of unique eateries, antique shops, bed & breakfasts, parks and other attractions are available along the trail to round out a day, weekend or week long trip. Many of the wineries offer picnic areas for you to bring along picnic baskets and enjoy your lunch or snacks with an award-winning southern Illinois wine and several wineries offer a delicious menu for you to indulge. Sip and savor your way through award-winning vintages on the Shawnee Hills Wine Trail. Start the trail on either end or jump on somewhere in the middle. Enjoy unique southern Illinois wines, picturesque Shawnee Hills vistas and friendly service along the trail with twelve wineries waiting to welcome you.

That's sounds like an awesome trip! I'll talk to my wife about it and get back to you on it! Great idea. We love afternoons of wine tasting - one of our favorite things!

Kelvin Cool!! you will have transplanted semi-local guides!! Plus it will give Kimmy and I an excuse to do the Trail. we never have and should before we are out of here and back West (2.5 yrs and counting!)

Here's another notice about wines in GWave, Frank. Monti and I are coming to the Shawnee Wine Trai in Illinois. Sounds like great fun! Should we wait 'till the snow thaws? (:

Winery of the year in CA. Cool place. Great wines.