Jun 18, 2013

Terri Judson

Big oaky monsters, imports, burcak, medals – sipped and spit

SPIT: big oaky monsters
Wine importer Kermit Lynch: “I think we have two kinds of wine markets today. One of them is what I like to call the pop wines…You’ve got your big oaky monsters trying to get 100 points. Then you have a winemaker trying to express his idea of what beauty is. Yeah, the pendulum has really swung back. For instance, a year ago we ran a sampler case of low alcohol wine. The response was enormous. I was shocked. There’s a real backlash to those oaky monsters going on.” [FT.com]

SPIT: Canadian wine from Canada
Canadian wines can contain 70% imported wine and still say “cellared in Canada” on the label. Big companies are for the practice according to The Economist, who calls it “Blended deceit from the nanny state.”

SIPPED: pre-wine!
The Burcak is flowing in Prague. The cloudy proto-wine grape drink (pictured above) is a pre-fermentation wine that revelers delight in drinking. Legend has it that the Burcak continues to ferment in your stomach, leaving a lasting ~~buzz~~, er, impression. [Globespotters]

SPIT: imports
Beverage Information Group reports that overall wine consumption in the U.S. rose 0.9 percent in 2008 to 294.7 million 9-liter cases. In a reversal of a recent trend, they report that imported wines dropped 1.8 %, while domestics rose 1.9%. Their culprit: the weak dollar.

SIPPED: Stomp!
The WSJ has a round-up of wine festivals around the world that include many grape-stomping opportunities.

Alert Hodgson!
A Fresno State student wine wins “record” 49 medals. [Collegian]

Cheers! Maryland Wine Week off and running

Maryland Wine Week runs through June 23.

Sarah Meehan
Reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

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Grab your glasses — Maryland Wine Week kicked off Friday and runs through June 23.

The third annual celebration of local libations includes specials at restaurants and wine shops, wine festivals and tastings across the state all dedicated to wine produced in Maryland.

Maryland’s wine industry has been growing since the state’s first winery, Boordy Vineyards, was founded in 1945. Now, there are 64 wineries in the state producing more than 420 wines. The number of wineries grows by the month; two weeks ago there were only 62, said Briana Berg, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Wineries Association.

The state also has six wine trails. The newest, the Antietam Highlands Wine Trail, was added in April.

Berg said this year Wine Week got a few big name restaurants to participate in the festivities, including Wit Wisdom, Johnny’s and Aida Wine Bistro.

Sarah covers hospitality/tourism, minority business, marketing and new media

Cheers! Maryland Wine Week kicks off

Maryland Wine Week runs through June 23.

Sarah Meehan
Reporter- Baltimore Business Journal

Email
| Twitter
| Google+

Grab your glasses — Maryland Wine Week kicked off Friday and runs through June 24.

The third annual celebration of local libations includes specials at restaurants and wine shops, wine festivals and tastings across the state all dedicated to wine produced in Maryland.

Maryland’s wine industry has been growing since the state’s first winery, Boordy Vineyards, was founded in 1945. Now, there are 64 wineries in the state producing more than 420 wines. The number of wineries grows by the month; two weeks ago there were only 62, said Briana Berg, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Wineries Association.

The state also has six wine trails, including tours in Carroll County, Frederick and the Eastern Shore. The newest, the Antietam Highlands Wine Trail, was added in April.

Berg said this year, Wine Week got a few big name restaurants to participate in the festivities, including Wit Wisdom, Johnny’s and Aida Wine Bistro.

We’ll be posting about Maryland wine throughout the week, so check back soon for more insight on the industry.

Sarah covers hospitality/tourism, minority business, marketing and new media

Aspen 2013: Richard Blais on Expanding to San Diego and Summer Travel Plans

As evidenced by the photo above, Top Chef All-Stars winner and ATL-based chef Richard Blais is not afraid to get up close and personal with women’s clothing. In fact, the toque revealed that he wears a ladies size small chef’s coat. (No judgment!) So we weren’t surprised to catch up with him in Aspen at women’s store Theory where he was signing copies of his book, Try This At Home, yesterday afternoon in the midst of all the FW Classic craziness. We chatted with him about his plans for expanding to San Diego, his web series and more below.

Zagat: What are you up to while you’re here, besides hanging out in a women’s clothing store?

Richard: I’ll give you a sports analogy. Aspen is like the Rose Bowl. They’re all important and very special but this is like the grand daddy of them all. It’s like hanging out with your buddies and chefs you haven’t seen in awhile. For me this is the first year I feel like everyone likes me so that’s always a good thing.

Zagat: What do you mean? Who doesn’t like you?

Richard: Ha, well there’s just a lot of love this year. I’m still a kid in a candy store. I’m a fan. For me it’s hard for me to understand that Marcus Samuelsson and Mario Batali are colleagues and friends, it’s still crazy to me.

Grape opportunity: Maryland wines enter farmers’ markets

By Paul W. Gillespie, Staff

Wine

Great Frogs farmer Andrea O’Shea pours a Annapolis White for customer Lori Woods. Maryland wines are now being sold at farmers’ markets.

By Paul W. Gillespie, Staff

Wine

Lori Woods tries an Annapolis White from Great Frogs Winery.

By Paul W. Gillespie, Staff

Wine

Great Frogs farmer Andrea O’Shea pours a Cabernet Sauvignon. A state law that went into effect this month allows the winery to sell their goods at farmers’ markets, like the weekly one held in the parking lot of the Tawes State Office Building in Annapolis.

By Paul W. Gillespie, Staff

Wine

Susan Boosinger, left, tries a chardonnay from Great Frogs farmer Andrea O’Shea at a farmers’ market.

Posted: Sunday, June 16, 2013 12:00 am

Grape opportunity: Maryland wines enter farmers’ markets

By SHANTEÉ WOODARDS
swoodards@capgaznews.com

CapitalGazette.com

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Each Thursday, Hands on Deck and Waterman wines will be sold alongside locally grown fruits and vegetables.

This is the result of a new state law that allows wineries like Annapolis-based Great Frogs to sell their vintage at farmers’ markets. Now vinters Andrea and Nate O’Shea have a spot at the Department of Natural Resources’ weekly farmers’ market and are looking statewide for other opportunities. Since the law went in effect this month, 28 wineries have applied for those permits.

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Flickering Fireplaces and Free Wine: Inside the Andaz Napa

Gallery: Inside the Andaz Napa

There’s no kitschy wine-themed decor here, nor is every throw blanket and accent rug the color of merlot. You’ll have enough of that anywhere else you venture in the Napa Valley. Instead, the palette is refreshingly neutral with dark wood, olive, and rich chocolate hues.

Nightly rate: From $269, or look for the “Good Morning” rate from $299, which includes a “sumptuous” breakfast for two at the Andaz’s Farmers Table restaurant.

WiFi Connect: As with all Andaz properties, WiFi here is both fast and completely free throughout. Even better: power outlets are located at convenient levels (like on the bedside table) and available in abundance.

Amenities: Another staple of the Andaz brand is a complimentary minibar. The Andaz Napa offers this, plus the addition of a wet bar in most rooms with paid premium options. If you’re craving a complimentary tipple, however, just head back down to reception where the daily free wine pours (one red, one white) are doled out. For further wining and dining, the hotel has a lobby bar, restaurant and bar, and outdoor terrace with firepit (yes, s’mores happen). Bathroom toiletries are by Lather.

Final word: While all rooms are very spacious, we really fell for the layout of the “large loft” room with its soaking tub, king-size bed, and living room with wet bar separated from the bedroom by a two-way fireplace. One could get very comfortable here. Too comfortable, maybe; you may never want to leave. If that may be the case, book early. The hotel is extremely popular and fills up fast, especially during the numerous culinary and wine festivals throughout the year in Napa.

[Photos: Cynthia Drescher/HotelChatter]

Day Trippers: Frederick

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Gold Coast Greek community glendi

The Gold Coast Greek Festival returns after two years to Evandale Park on Sunday 14 July

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Greek dancers in front of Greek Orthodox Church of Saint Anna.

The Gold Coast Greek Festival returns after two years to Evandale Park on Sunday 14 July for its 11th year of cross-cultural celebration.
As one of the Gold Coast’s largest cultural festivals, the Greeks are putting on a show packed with Zorba dances, the best Greek food and traditional music.
New on the program this year is the on-site taverna to serve Greek imported beers and wines, alongside even more food stalls to cater to the increased demand.
The 2011 GreekFest attracted a record number crowd, so the organising committee has upped the stalls and upped the volunteers to make sure the crowds are catered to quickly and efficiently.
Proudly representing the 2500-plus local Greek community who have been a part of Gold Coast’s multicultural community for over 50 years, the festival is a chance for them to get a taste of the homeland, while enjoying it with their Australian counterparts.
Gold Coast Greek Festival co-chairperson Sandra Voukelatos says she is excited to once again be staging one of the biggest food and wine festivals on the Coast.
“Greek people are best known for their hospitable nature and they enjoy nothing more than to share their food, wine and dance with guests. With the added help of extra volunteers this year, we are certain the upcoming Greek Festival will be a fun day had by all,” says Mrs Voukelatos.
The Festival is also flying in a Greek band from Sydney to play throughout the day, and for prime time they’re showcasing Queensland’s best bouzouki players.
Mrs Voukelatos said the Gold Coast Greek Festival would also offer something for the entire family – with live entertainment and activities happening throughout the day, from attractions and rides for the children through to food, wine and cultural exhibitions for the adults.
“Among our traditional Greek dances, we are also planning a Zorba dance competition in addition to many other competitions, all with fabulous prizes, which will be held throughout the day,” Mrs Voukelatos says.
The 2013 Gold Coast Greek Festival kicks off on Sunday July 14 from 9.30 am to 5.00 pm. E ntry is just $5 for adults, $3 for aged pensioners and high school students, and for children aged 13 and under entry is free. Evandale Park is located in front of the Gold Coast Council Chambers on Bundall Road, Bundall. For further event information, please contact the Gold Coast Greek community at festival@gocstanna.org

Chamber defends alcohol proposal

Henderson Chamber of Commerce President Brad Schneider said Thursday that the business organization’s proposal to revise city alcohol-related ordinances isn’t intended to turn family-friendly festivals into open bars.

“We’re not advocating people drinking anywhere they want in Audubon Mill Park during the Handy Festival,” Schneider declared at the chamber’s Good Morning, Henderson breakfast.

He referred to a remark to that effect by City Commission Robert Pruitt at a city commission meeting Tuesday as “a misstatement.”

Rather, Schneider said the chamber advocates the city deferring to state law that would allow an organization or festival sponsor “to get a (temporary) liquor license, follow all the rules and confine alcohol sales to a defined and controlled area” — in a beer garden, for example — “so you don’t get the kind of behavior that the chamber does not want.”

The chamber also advocates that the city establish an easy-to-follow permitting process that would incorporate special considerations, such as not allowing alcohol to be served in Sunset Park, which is dominated by playground equipment that attracts children, he said.

Community beer gardens or wine festivals occur “all over cities in the Ohio River valley every Friday and Saturday night” as well as at annual events such as Newburgh’s Wine, Art Jazz Festival or the beer plaza at the International Bar-B-Q Festival in Owensboro last month, Schneider said. “It puts us at a competitive disadvantage to cities that figured this out years ago.”

The chamber supports the concepts of a wine-and-beer festival in a designated area of a city park or allowing drinks to be served at events such as the Downtown Henderson Partnership’s “White on Main” dinner party on Main Street.

Today, “If someone wanted to put on a very classy wine festival in the most beautiful park on the river, they couldn’t do it,” Schneider said.

“We want our downtown to be as vibrant as it can be,” he said. “This could be one of the way festival organizers can create a great event.”

Christa Martin: Spurs duo digs into ‘avant-folk’

Click photo to enlarge

If you think that a band with the name “Spurs” might be the type of musicians who really dig into their work, you’d be right. The local duo of

Terry McCants and

David Stockhausen are a harmonious pair who started out “playing close-harmony honky tonk cover songs,” says McCants. “A year into the project, I nudged him to revisit his original material, which developed into what we would call ‘avant-folk.’ It’s a kind of songwriting and music that brings one into a felt emotional setting or landscape, pulled from real-life and fictitious situations. David had quite a few songs under his belt, and it was definitely a shift moving from vintage country tunes about drinkin’ and lost love to a more emotionally potent set of material that people can relate to,” says McCants.

Explaining their style of tunes, Stockhausen says, “Our music captures some of the historical sounds of folk music throughout the ages (a focus on sturdy choral melody and acoustic guitar themes) but isn’t ‘revivalist’ by a long shot. The sound we are creating is wholly unique, in some cases defying genre distinctions. Our sound is as if Graham Nash and Erland Oye got together and wrote an album for Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris.”

McCants handles the harmonies and booking, while Stockhausen “churns out the songs,” she explains. Currently, they are working on recording their debut album which

should be coming in the fall. In the meantime, those curious to hear their original tunes can catch them at the Crepe Place on July 6.

Learn more about this talented twosome and their musical roots at facebook.com/pages/Spurs or reverbnation.com/spurssantacruz.

n n

When I first meet

Krista Hammond in person, she is dripping in jewels. Not a gaudy overload of expensive baubles, but her creations — bright colored rings bedeck her hands and a blue necklace drapes over her collarbones.

Each item is an original made by Hammond and her husband, with the focus of every piece being sea glass. Culled from various California beaches, Hammond takes these one-of-a-kind pieces of glass and shapes silver around them. “My dream was to make guilt-free, functional jewelry, something that a woman or man can wear and enjoy,” she says. “It (the sea glass) has been bashed and tumbled smooth by the ocean for at least 40 or 50 years, sometimes a piece can even be over 100 years old.”

Hammond came into this marine creative venture in 2008 after she and her husband apprenticed with local jeweler Robert Wunce. (He designed her wedding ring.) Finishing their training with Wunce, the two sold her car, bought the necessary equipment and admittedly went out a serious limb to see if their new artistic passion would open up for them in the marketplace. It did, with aplomb.

Nowadays, her business is thriving — she sells her work at Village Sea Glass in Capitola, La Ventana Gallery in Big Sur, and participates in countless art and wine festivals. She also recently self-published a book, “Santa Cruz Sea Glass the Story Behind the Treasure” named after her jewelry company and dedicated to the rare and elusive sea glass found at Davenport beach. Learn more about Hammond and her jewels from the ocean at santacruzseaglass.com.

n n

Shout out No. 1: Many years ago, I had the chance to interview the folks behind the Liliana Moraru Santa Cruz Jewish Theatre, a company with a Jewish focus. Named after an avid theater participant (the late

Liliana Moraru), the group has thrived in town for some time now, but will be taking a final curtain call on June 23. Until then, longtime fans of the company can watch the last production, “Fiddler on the Roof,” which is currently showing at the Live Oak Grange. Visit brownpapertickets.com to purchase tickets or call (831) 465-1411.

Shout out No. 2: Local shutterbug

Jana Marcus will have a talk and book signing from 6-8 p.m. on Friday, at the Museum of Art History in downtown Santa Cruz. There, she’ll be discussing her award-winning LGBT book, “Transfigurations,” which details the transgender experience.

{ Date Time; Price; Address; Details }

Big oaky monsters, imports, burcak, medals – sipped and spit

Recommended Reading

Cheers! Maryland Wine Week off and running

Recommended Reading

Cheers! Maryland Wine Week kicks off

Recommended Reading

Aspen 2013: Richard Blais on Expanding to San Diego and Summer Travel Plans

Recommended Reading

Grape opportunity: Maryland wines enter farmers’ markets

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More about Wine

More about Winery

More about Hospitality_recreation

Recommended Reading

Flickering Fireplaces and Free Wine: Inside the Andaz Napa

Gallery: Inside the Andaz Napa

Recommended Reading

Day Trippers: Frederick

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Gold Coast Greek community glendi

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Chamber defends alcohol proposal

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Christa Martin: Spurs duo digs into ‘avant-folk’

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