Gutenberg Would be Proud: The Juice in Print
If you happen to dwell in the land of hard copy, check out the current issue of Salt Lake Magazine. Whilst neglecting Basic Juice in cyberspace, I have been nurturing it in the world of print. Alas, I am still struggling to multitask.
For those who eschew paper, have a look at the extended, 'Author's Cut' of the article below the fold.
This I Sip
Chances are you’ve read many a wine article wherein the author recommends a particular bottle or two. What exactly does one do with such recommendations? Do you accept them on blind faith, dutifully seek out said bottles and schlep them home? Of course you do! We all do. Everyone trusts and accepts expert opinions on all manner of topics – movies, restaurants, music and, of course, wine. However, there comes a time when one realizes that expert opinions on matters of taste, are essentially just that – opinions. For example, recall the last time you sat through a painfully bad, critic-recommended film and thought, “I’ll never follow that guy’s advice again.” Experts and critics may know more about their specialty than you, but your tastes may be dramatically different. Taste, particularly when it comes to wine, is exceedingly personal. An expert may guide you in a general direction, but the final arbiter of taste, is you and your palate. The take home message is this: It pays to know a wine critic’s palate before plunking down 10/20/30 bucks for a bottle you may very well despise.
Over the coming months, I will recommend hundreds of wines in this space. Some you will adore, others may be consigned to the dubious category of “cooking wine.” However, I will always do my best to explain what I like about a particular wine. I will open my mouth - as it were - and attempt to expose every nook and cranny of my wine palate. I don’t expect readers to employ oeno-faith and blindly follow my recommendations. Rather, at some point, I hope our tastes connect and a wine idea put forth in this column, yields exciting discovery and fond memories. So, in lieu of a personal introduction, allow me to introduce my wine palate, in two parts. This, I sip – the whites.
It’s An Acquired Taste – Everyone has that one beloved specialty food that makes others cringe (Think: Kipper snacks, Brussels sprouts or Vienna sausages). “It’s an acquired taste.” You say. I love dry Sherry. It’s wonderfully weird wine – slightly nutty, aggressively tangy, delightfully funky and very much an acquired taste. My favorite Sherry combo is utterly simple: An Amontillado Sherry (Lustau Los Arcos Amontillado, $18) with oven-roasted almonds is a fiesta of out-of-the-ordinary flavors. If you’re the type who relishes the challenge of acquiring tastes, give Sherry a try.
Cheap and Cheerful - Let’s face it; acquiring taste is demanding work. Occasionally, I long for something uncomplicated. Wine doesn’t need to be complicated. There are plenty of good, simple wines. When I would rather sip than ponder, I go for budget-priced Austrian Grüner Veltliner (Berger Grüner Veltliner 2005, $12). This wine is simple, refreshing and exceedingly flexible with food. Budget Grüner compliments almost any entrée exiting the oven or flying off the stovetop. Cheap and cheerful wines like this don’t catalyze any epiphanies. Rather, they cause one simply to remark, “That’s good.”
I’m Feeling Naughty – Admit it. Every so often you yearn to do something off-the-wall - something naughty. Of course, following through on such impulses can lead to a heap of trouble. When I yearn for naughtiness, I grab a bottle of decadent Alsatian Gewurztraminer (Domaine Weinbach Cuvee Laurence, $40). Gewurz-based wine has a tendency to grab one’s schnozz and hypnotize with scents of lychee, apricot, mango and honeysuckle. The talented vintners in Alsace often introduce a layer of naughty to this decadent wine by incorporating a small portion of overripe grapes into the cuvée. The result is wine with an added scent dimension best described as earthy (or dirty). The indulgence doesn’t end here. These wines possess a very thick & cheek-coating mouthfeel. Indeed, drinking such wine feels a little bit naughty. Try Gewurztraminer with salmon sashimi and commit an indulgent act of gastronomy.
Other White Palate Pleasers
Acquiring That Taste: Aveleda Vinho Verde NV, $8; Lopez de Heredia Vina Gravonia Crianza 1995, $25; Feudo Arancio Grillo Sicilia 2005, $9
Cheap and Cheerful: Saint M Riesling 2005, $10; Segura de Viudas Brut Cava, $9; Santa Julia Torrontes 2006, $7
Naughty, Naughty: Kalin Cellars Chardonnay Cuvee LD 1995, $33; Twisted Oak Viognier, $26; Pine Ridge Chenin Viognier 2006, $12
Coming in Part II, I introduce a few of my preferred, palate-pleasing red wines.
The Reds coming in Part 2
Business in the Front, Party in the Back
I Lost 2 Pounds! Let’s Gain it Back
My Imaginary Smoking Jacket
Comments/Questions: Email Beau at [email protected]
Find more wine ideas at basicjuice.blogs.com
Congrats, Beau. You should know that sharing your knowledge of wine touches many, whether it's through your blog or the traditional world of print.
Posted by: Dan | 26 December 2007 at 04:44 AM
Thanks Dan! That means a lot coming from a long time reader.
Cheers,
b.
Posted by: beau | 27 December 2007 at 03:41 PM
Congratulations! Something to frame for the wall.
Kathleen Lisson
Posted by: Wine and Food Pairing | 15 February 2008 at 11:21 AM
Congrates dear,
It is something which I express it here. LOL
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raivo pommer-www.google.ee
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BAD BANKEN
Bundesfinanzminister Peer Steinbrück (SPD) will faule Wertpapiere von Geldinstituten in sogenannte Bad Banks auslagern und diese durch Steuergelder absichern. Er habe einen Plan zur Errichtung mehrerer Bad Banks vorgelegt, den Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) bereits kenne, bestätigte Steinbrück der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung.
Nach Ostern werde die Bundesregierung sein Konzept beraten. Am 21. April werden mehrere Kabinettsmitglieder mit Vertretern des Sonderfonds für Finanzmarktstabilisierung (SoFFin) und der Bundesbank zusammenkommen, um die Auslagerung fauler Wertpapiere zu erörtern. Die Union zeigte sich zufrieden damit, dass in die Debatte um Bad Banks Bewegung gekommen ist.
Steinbrück machte erneut deutlich, dass er gegen eine gemeinsame Bad Bank für den gesamten Bankensektor ist. "Ich lehne definitiv eine zentrale Bad Bank ab." Stattdessen sollten sich die betroffenen Banken in einen guten und in einen schlechten Teil aufspalten. Hier will der Minister offenbar wiederum zwischen toxischen (vergifteten) und momentan illiquiden Papieren unterscheiden.
Posted by: raivo pommer-www.google.ee. | 13 April 2009 at 03:37 AM
raivo pommer-www.google.ee
[email protected]
BAD BANKEN
Bundesfinanzminister Peer Steinbrück (SPD) will faule Wertpapiere von Geldinstituten in sogenannte Bad Banks auslagern und diese durch Steuergelder absichern. Er habe einen Plan zur Errichtung mehrerer Bad Banks vorgelegt, den Bundeskanzlerin Angela Merkel (CDU) bereits kenne, bestätigte Steinbrück der Frankfurter Allgemeinen Sonntagszeitung.
Nach Ostern werde die Bundesregierung sein Konzept beraten. Am 21. April werden mehrere Kabinettsmitglieder mit Vertretern des Sonderfonds für Finanzmarktstabilisierung (SoFFin) und der Bundesbank zusammenkommen, um die Auslagerung fauler Wertpapiere zu erörtern. Die Union zeigte sich zufrieden damit, dass in die Debatte um Bad Banks Bewegung gekommen ist.
Steinbrück machte erneut deutlich, dass er gegen eine gemeinsame Bad Bank für den gesamten Bankensektor ist. "Ich lehne definitiv eine zentrale Bad Bank ab." Stattdessen sollten sich die betroffenen Banken in einen guten und in einen schlechten Teil aufspalten. Hier will der Minister offenbar wiederum zwischen toxischen (vergifteten) und momentan illiquiden Papieren unterscheiden.
Posted by: raivo pommer-www.google.ee. | 13 April 2009 at 03:37 AM
raivo pommer-www.google.ee
[email protected]
Steinbrück sieht Bedarf an 200 Milliarden Euro
Nach Ansicht von Fachleuten brauchen Banken Bad Banks für abwertungsbedrohte, komplexe Wertpapiere. Spezialisten sollen sich dort eine Meinung über den Wert der oft mit Forderungen besicherten Schuldverschreibungen verschaffen und sie dann möglichst am Kapitalmarkt verkaufen. Steinbrück aber denkt wegen des hohen Verlustrisikos für den Bund offenbar nur an Staatshilfen zur Auslagerung vorübergehend illiquider Wertpapiere wie Staats- und Unternehmensanleihen. Falls alle Wertpapiere, die Banken loswerden wollten, mit Staatsgarantien gegen Verluste abgeschirmt würden, seien mehr als 200 Milliarden Euro nötig, sagt Steinbrück. Dieser Betrag sei nicht vermittelbar. Wie aber die Abgrenzung zwischen „giftigen“ und „nur vorübergehend illiquiden“ Papieren erfolgen soll, ist unklar.
Die Dimensionen sind riesig. Die um die Dresdner Bank erweiterte Commerzbank hat 55 Milliarden Euro schwer verkäufliche Wertpapiere in eine interne Einheit ausgelagert. Die öffentlich-rechtlichen Landesbanken West LB und die HSH Nordbank wollen 87 Milliarden und 100 Milliarden Euro an Vermögenswerten in eine Abwicklungsbank abspalten. Allerdings muss die Commerzbank für ihre Wertpapiere Eigenkapital vorhalten. Die beiden Landesbanken müssten ihr nach hohen Wertverlusten aufgezehrtes Eigenkapital auf je zwei Banken verteilen.
Posted by: raivo pommer-www.google.ee. | 15 April 2009 at 05:51 AM
In der Wirtschaftskrise erleben derzeit viele Menschen, was es bedeutet, weniger zu arbeiten. Für die meisten ist es eine Zwangspause, in die sie geschickt werden: mal nur für ein paar Tage, mal auch für Wochen oder Monate. Bestenfalls betrachten die Betroffenen dies als unfreiwilligen Urlaub, in dem all das erledigt werden kann, was sonst lange liegenbleibt - die Steuererklärung etwa oder Behördengänge. Andere nutzen die Zeit, um sich der Familie wieder etwas mehr als sonst zu widmen.
Für etwa 1,7 Millionen Arbeitnehmer in Deutschland wurde bisher in diesem Jahr Kurzarbeit beantragt. Das ist so viel wie noch nie seit Bestehen der Bundesrepublik. Ihren Arbeitgebern - das sind immerhin mehr als 50.000 Firmen - geht es wirtschaftlich so schlecht, dass sie die Arbeitszeiten verkürzen müssen. Ihnen sind in der Rezession die Aufträge weggebrochen, und deshalb gibt es weniger Arbeit - an Fließbändern, im Verkauf und in der Verwaltung.
Posted by: raivo pommer-www.google.ee. | 18 April 2009 at 04:08 AM
raivo pommer-www.google.ee
[email protected]
SLOW- MOTION
Federal regulators on Friday will privately begin telling the 19 largest US financial institutions how well they performed in stress
tests to assess their soundness.
Regulators trying to stabilize the financial system also will release the test methodology they used, which could provide clues about which banks may be in trouble - but also could could unwittingly roil the industry.
The results of the stress tests won't be publicly released until May 4.
The slow-motion rollout is intended to blunt market reaction to the news of which banks are healthy, which ones could fail if the recession worsens and which need more money to survive.
News reports, including a confidential outline of the tests first reported by The Associated Press this week, have led analysts to start handicapping which banks could fail. The speculation will intensify with Friday's release of the test methodology.
``I'm worried about the overreaction - people selling every bank short and pulling out all their deposits and hiding their money in the mattress,'' said Scott Talbott, a lobbyist with the Financial Services Roundtable, which represents the biggest financial firms.
Regulators are striving to release enough information about the stress tests to inspire confidence. But they don't want to give analysts so much detail that they can run their own tests on the banks before the official release of results.
Posted by: raivo pommer-www.google.ee | 24 April 2009 at 12:58 PM
raivo pommer-www.google.ee
[email protected]
France 1944
President Nicolas Sarkozy paid homage Friday on a Riviera beach to soldiers from French colonies who 65 years ago landed in southern France to help defeat the Nazis in what is known as the "forgotten D-Day."
But in Paris, these colonial soldiers who slipped off the pages of history , and also the French bankroll , demonstrated, still hoping for a larger military pension for the estimated 80,000 of them still alive.
Without waiting for the August anniversary of the landing in Provence, Sarkozy used the 64th anniversary of Victory in Europe, or V-E Day, to praise those who have received little recognition for their feat.
The Aug. 15, 1944, southern landing in Provence may not have decided the war, but it "played an absolutely decisive role in France's participation in the final victory," Sarkozy said in a speech on La Nartelle beach in Sainte-Maxime.
French forces, including from African colonies, played a major role in liberating southern France, comprising more than half of the estimated 350,000 soldiers that participated in Operation Dragoon.
Sarkozy noted the Moroccan battalions, the Senegalese and the "spahis" , or North African cavalry , fought for France "like for their mother country, sparing neither pain nor their blood."
France "will not forget their sacrifice," he said.
Posted by: raivo pommer-www.google.ee | 09 May 2009 at 03:29 AM
ALZHEIMER MONEY
In New York spielt sich ein spektakulärer Prozess um eine verstorbene Society-Lady ab: Der Sohn soll der Alzheimer-Kranken Millionen abgeknöpft haben.
Er soll das Testament seiner Mutter gefälscht und sich um 60 Millionen Dollar bereichert haben: Anthony Marshall (rechts) vor dem Supreme Court in New York.
Nancy Kissinger, die Frau von Henry, war da und Philippe de Montebello, der ehemalige Direktor des Metropolitan Museums und John Hart, der Theater- und Filmproduzent ("Revolutionary Road") und natürlich auch Annette de la Renta, die Gattin des amerikanischen Designers Oscar de la Renta. Die Liste bekannter Namen aus der Manhattaner High Society wird täglich länger. Doch es ist kein Wohltätigkeitsball, der hier stattfindet. Und die Räumlichkeiten sind nicht zu vergleichen mit den Salons voll Samt, Gold und Marmor, in denen viele der Anwesenden kurz zuvor noch gefrühstückt haben.
Verhandelt wird hier, am New Yorker State Supreme Court, eine weniger glanzvolle Episode im Leben der Park-Avenue-Gesellschaft. Es geht um Brooke Astor, die Grande Dame der New Yorker Society, die 2007 im Alter von 105 Jahren gestorben ist, und darum, wie ihr einziger Sohn, Anthony Marshall, gemeinsam mit Astors Anwalt Francis Morrissey versuchte, ihren Reichtum zu seinem zu machen. Sie beide hätten Astors fortschreitende Alzheimer-Erkrankung ausgenützt, so der Vorwurf der Anklage, um ihr immer größere Teile des Familienerbes zu entwinden - darunter viele Millionen, die für das Metropolitan Museum, die Public Library und den Zoo vorgesehen waren, die New Yorker Institutionen, die Astor, der Familientradition treu bleibend, jahrzehntelang beschenkt hatte.
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