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June 25, 2014
2014 Best of Show California State Fair Wines AwardedPosted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: 2014 CA State Fair Best of show Wine, Anderson Valley, Bleating Heart Cheese, California State Fair Commercial Wine Competition, Carol Shelton, Carol Shelton Wines, Connoisseurs Guide to California wines, Dave Dalton, Ed St. John, Fetzer Vineyards, Golden State Winery of the Year, Guinness McFadden, Harry Hansen, Honorable Assemblyman Wesley Chesbro, Honorable senator Noreen Evans, Hopland, inland Mendocino, Jim Klein, Judith Bailey, McFadden Vineyard, Mendocino County, Mike Dunne, Navarro Vineyards, Pedroncelli Winery, Rick Pickering, Seana Doughty, Sterling Vineyards, Ted Bennett, Visit Mendocino, Wine Spectator |
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May 27, 2014
Anderson Valley Pinot Noir FestivalPosted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: Alex Crangle, Allan Green, Anderson Valley, Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival, Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association, Angel Camp Vineyard, Anne Moller-Racke, Anthony Filiberti, Arnaud Weyrich, Balo, Baxter, Bones Roadhouse, Boont Berry Farm, Boonville, Brian Zalaznik, Cerise Vineyard, Champ de reves, Clark Smith, Connoisseurs' Guide, Dan Goldfield, Dean Titus & The Cowboys, Deer Meadow's Vineyard, Donnelly Creek Vineyard, Donum, Douglas Stewart, Dutton Goldfield, Edmeades, Elke Vineyards, Examiner, Fel Wines, Ferrington Viineyard, Foursight Winery, Glenn McGourty, Goldeneye, Gowan Creek Vineyard, Greenwood Ridge, Greg Walter, Jackson Family wines, Janis MacDonald, Jason Pelletier, Jennifer Carah, Jim Klein, John Gaudette, John Osborne, Julia Kendrick Conway, Knez, Kristy Charles, Laura Barnard, Lichen, Margaret Pedroni, Mary Elke, Michael Fay, Navarro, Paula Viehmann, Philo, Pinot File, Roederer, San Francisco Chronicle, The Nature Conservancy, The Pinot Report, Ukiah Daily Journal, Waits-Mast, West Burgundy Wine Group, Williams selyem, Wine & Spirits, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Witching Stick |
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John On Wine – Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival
For me, this year's Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival started last Thursday at Champ de Reves, which translates as Field of Dreams, in Philo. Dr. Edmeades planted the first Pinot Noir grapes in the Anderson Valley 50 years ago, and started making, selling wine from his grapes in 1972. In 1988, Jackson Family Wines, the empire Kendall-Jackson built, bought Edmeades and now it has been rechristened Champ de Reves. The location and the view of a big chunk of the valley was gorgeous. The wines were selected by winery owners from throughout the valley and the dinner of carved roast beef and plank salmon was made spectacular by both their wines and their company.
I was fortunate and sat with Allan Green of Greenwood Ridge; Mary Elke of Elke; Douglas Stewart of Lichen; John Osborne, an event volunteer; and Laura Barnard, who works in marketing for Jackson Family Wines' West Burgundy Wine Group, of which Champ de Reves is just one winery. After dinner we were also joined in conversation by Paula Viehmann of Goldeneye.
Friday morning started early with coffee and a selection of quiches prepared by Julia Kendrick Conway, as winemakers, press, and consumers gathered at the fairgrounds in Boonville for a technical conference. Greg Walter, publisher of the Pinot Report, introduced the morning's sessions, which featured The Nature Conservancy's Jason Pelletier sharing the results of an incredibly detailed study on water flow and water use throughout the year. The study focused on grape growing water demands within the Navarro watershed and then segued into a similar talk by Jennifer Carah, but with a focus on marijuana growing water demands. Unsurprisingly, marijuana growths use much more water — 19 to 50 times more — for production, and do not share the same land and water stewardship ethos as many grape growers. This is especially significant in drought years like this year.
Glenn McGourty gave a talk on best practices for grape growing during a drought year, or years. Winemakers in attendance were certainly leaning forward during this session. Lunch was delicious, prepared by Boont Berry Farm and paired with a huge selection of Pinot Noir from the Anderson Valley. After lunch, there were two tasting sessions. The first focused on the many faces of Pinot Noir and featured Arnaud Weyrich's zero skin contact Pinot Noir, picked early, and briskly acidic for Roederer's bubbly; Alex Crangle's White Noir for Balo; the Dry Rose of Pinot Noir by Jim Klein of Navarro; the round, rich red Pinot Noir by Anthony Filiberti of Knez; and the purple dark version made by Michael Fay of Goldeneye.
Next, we looked at the fruit of Angel Camp Vineyard and how different winemakers used it to make distinctly different wines; the winemakers and wineries featured were Brian Zalaznik of Angel Camp, Dan Goldfield of Dutton Goldfield, and Anne Moller-Racke of Donum. The technical conference ended with a sharing of accumulated extensive knowledge by Clark Smith on the arcana of winemaking.
Friday night's dinner was a barbecue at Foursight Winery with grilled lamb from Bone Daddy of Bones Roadhouse and music by Dean Titus & The Cowboys. Relaxed, fun, another delicious event with enough Pinot Noir to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool, I sat with folks from Southern California and Washington who heard about the event from someone they ran into in the Middle East. It turns out I knew who they were talking about, John Gaudette. The world of wine is close and doesn't need a full six degrees of separation to connect us all, I'm convinced.
Saturday morning, Margaret Pedroni, Mendocino County wine personality, joined me at Balo in Philo for an early private press tasting. The Ukiah Daily Journal was represented beside tasters from Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Wine & Spirits, Connoisseurs' Guide, San Francisco Chronicle, Examiner, Pinot Report, Pinot File, and more. Heads down, no talking, serious tasting. I've done it before, but I preferred the fun and conviviality of the Grand Tasting that followed at Goldeneye.
Goldeneye has a breathtakingly beautiful tasting room and the Grand Tasting event was held behind the tasting room under the shade of a huge white tent in their vineyards. About 750 ticketed guests Pinot Noir based wines; bubblies, blancs, roses, and full on reds; from all of the producers in Anderson Valley and a few producers from farther away who make one or more wines exclusively from Anderson Valley Pinot Noir grapes. Not too big, not too small, but just right, with opportunities to place silent auction bids on donated Pinot-centric items to help the Anderson Valley Health Center, plenty of exceptional food bites, water and soda to remain hydrated, and the fermented juice of Pinot Noir grapes from 45 producers to experience.
I tasted more than 100 wines over the course of the weekend, one was corked and poured at the press tasting but I had tasted it elsewhere already, one didn't really make me love it, but the vast majority of wines I tasted, over 99 percent, were good at least and great at best. The 2011 vintage wines were brighter and more elegant, coming from a cooler year and the 2012 vintage, being warmer, yielded wines of greater weight and intensity. All of the wines taste of cherry, that is Pinot Noir, but the expressions were varied: black cherry, red cherry, candied cherry, dried cherry, and the supporting notes ranged the gamut from rose petal to cedar, and mushroom to barnyard funk. Some of the Pinot Noir I loved included the 2012 Fel Wines, Ferrington Vineyard; 2007 Elke Pinot Noir, Donnelly Creek Vineyard; 2011 Witching Stick, Cerise Vineyard; 2011 Williams Selyem, Ferrington Vineyard; 2011 Donum, Angel Camp Vineyard; 2012 Baxter, Anderson Valley; 2011 Goldeneye, Gowan Creek Vineyard; 2012 Waits-Mast, Deer Meadow's Vineyard; and both the 2012 Lichen, Estate and Solera Lichen, Estate. That's my unordered top 10 for this past weekend.
I urge you to visit the Anderson Valley, taste their Pinot Noir, and their other wines, notably Alsatian varietals like Pinot Gris, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling, and find your favorites. Also mark the third weekend of May next year on your calendar and plan on attending the 18th annual Anderson Valley Pinot Noir Festival next year. Huge thanks to my hosts, the Anderson Valley Winegrowers Association, and Janis MacDonald and Kristy Charles specifically, for the kind invitation and warm welcome. I had a terrific weekend because you present a first class festival.
March 20, 2014
A Wine Dinner and Mendocino County Loses a FriendPosted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: Jan Mettler, Jim Godon, Press Democrat, Saucy in Ukiah, Symposium for Professional Wine Writers, Testa Wines, Virginie Boone, wine dinner, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Wine Spectator |
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John On Wine -
A wine dinner and Mendocino County loses a great friend
If you read this column, you know that I love wine, and I love food, but I really love wine and food together. I've written about the Chef's Wine Dinners at Crush, each one featuring a different winery or brand: Saracina, Barra and Girasole, Bonterra, and Coro Mendocino. I wrote about the crab and bubbly pairing at Patrona that featured the sparkling wines of Roederer Estate. At the insistence of you, the folks who read this column, I ate at Uncorked, pairing a variety of plates with a flight of different wines. Up next, I'll enjoy Testa Wines at Saucy in Ukiah during a four course wine dinner on Wednesday, March 26 starting at 6 p.m. The cost is only $60, includes wine and food, but does not include tax or gratuity.
This is a working menu and may change before the dinner, but it should inspire you to call and reserve a spot at the dinner. First course: Bosc pear, ricotta and rosemary ravioli in a dreamy sauce; served with Testa White, a blend of Sauvingon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Viognier, Muscat and Pinot Gris. Second course: little gem romaine, Pennyroyal blue cheese, red wine vinaigrette, white pepper cracker; served with Testa Grenache, a delicious wine with notes of light berry and spice. Third course: braised short ribs, red wine pan reduction, Peruvian potato & root vegetable gratin, sauteed dino kale; served with Testa Black, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Carignane and Petite Sirah. Dessert, the fourth course: brown butter pound cake, caramelized pineapple, sweet crème, Testa Charbono syrup; served with Sherry. I've made my reservation. To join the fun, you'll need to call too, before all the seats are gone, (707) 462-7007.
I met Virginie Boone a couple of years ago. Virginie tasted wines from Mendocino and Lake County for Wine Enthusiast magazine and then rated them on a 100 point scale and wrote a review of each. The old Mendocino Winegrape & Wine Commission, through Jan Mettler of Boss Dog marketing, invited Virginie up to visit some of Mendocino County's more unique wineries and tasting rooms, and I was fortunate enough to score a visit with Virginie for McFadden. The first thing I noticed was that Virginie was relaxed, not stuffy or pretentious, but smiling and pleased to be visiting a beautiful area on a gorgeous day, and being able to taste wines made the day more joyous for her. Virginie let me know up front that she was a bit pressed for time, had a couple more stops to make and could taste perhaps four wines. I ended up pouring nearly a dozen wines, telling a little story about each, completely blowing her schedule (if you have visited the McFadden tasting room on a weekday when I'm in, then you know I do hour long experiences and not slam-bam tastings), and she was quite gracious about the hijacking of her time.
I also took the opportunity to pour a wine she had recently rated lower than I felt was right, letting her know it was our fastest selling wine; an amazingly food-friendly wine, and a wine made from the same grapes that another writer had raved about and put on his year end Top 100 Wines list. I pointed out that sometimes wines tasted through a "Parker" filter come up short but, when tasted in place, the different flavors that a piece of land and climate give to a wine can expand the envelope of what is considered varietally correct, like the way McFadden's Zinfandel is a lower alcohol, Beaujolais-esque, sweet tart candy noted delight instead of a high alcohol fruit jam bomb.
Virginie, to her credit, ended up including McFadden as a "recommended producer" of Zinfandel in a feature piece she wrote over a year later. Virginie visited the county often, more often than many of her counterparts at other publications. She came up to the farm in Potter Valley, toured with Guinness, picked her own corn, which just minutes later was served up with wild rice salad and beef from the farm, all washed down with delicious wine and bubbly.
We ended up as an editor's pick for Best Year End Sparkling Wine in the magazine. More widely, Virginie sat as a judge, tasting the county's best wines at the Mendocino County Wine Competition and was open to visits to attend events like the upcoming Celebration of Mendocino County Sparkling Wine on April 5 and the spring Hopland Passport on May 3 & 4. If this feels eulogy-like, it is. Virginie hasn't passed away, but has been asked to review the wines of Napa and Sonoma counties for Wine Enthusiast. Fortunately, Virginie also writes for the Press Democrat and hopefully her visits to our county will still inform some of the pieces she writes there. Taking over the taste, rate, and review duties for Mendocino and Lake County wines at wine Enthusiast is Jim Gordon. Jim knows wine and wine writing, as the former managing editor of Wine Spectator and the producer of the annual Symposium for Professional Wine Writers in Napa. Earlier this week, I sent an email inviting Jim to several Mendocino County wine events. I hope Jim visits at least as often (more often is great) as Virginie did, and I would share that Anderson Valley is not the entirety of Mendocino County, and there are excellent wines and new styles to be found outside of Napa County, if you open yourself up to them. Welcome Jim Gordon.
December 26, 2013
Alcohol: Enough is EnoughPosted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: Elke Vineyards, Graziano Family of Wines, high alcohol wine, James Laube, Jeriko Estate, Joel Peterson, Jon Bonne, McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room, Nelson Family Vineyards, Paul Dolan Vineyards, Rack & Riddle, Ray's Station, Robert Parker, Roederer 2004 L'Ermitage, Roederer Estate, San Francisco Chronicle, Scharffenberger Cellars, Terra Sávia, The New California Wine, Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast, Wine Spectator, Yorkville Cellars |
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John On Wine Alcohol: enough is enough!
Alcohol; it's why we buy wine instead of soda, right? More alcohol must be better in a wine than less alcohol too, I mean it just stands to reason, don't you think?
This question came to mind after I read a review of San Francisco Chronicle wine editor Jon Bonné's new book The New California Wine. The review was written by Wine Spectator magazine's senior editor, Napa, James Laube. Where most every review of Bonné's book was complimentary, Laube seemed to almost have the knives out as he wrote his piece, "(Bonné)'s hardly enamored with much of (California wine)," is how the piece begins and it doesn't get much nicer.
Why would one professional wine writer be so uncomplimentary, so unkind, so border-line rude? Wine Spectator reviews and rates wines on a 100 point scale, made famous by wine critic Robert Parker, and like Parker seems to award more points to fruit jam bombs made of Napa fruit with high alcohol levels. By contrast, Bonné seems to prefer wines of greater balance, greater drinkability, more food friendly wines, with lower alcohol.
Before I go on, I abhor numbers. Alcohol percentage, residual sugar, volatile acidity, the numbers that describe a wine only tell a small part of a wine's story. Residual sugar alone, without a lot of other data may be suggestive of sweetness, but actual perception when tasted may be something different altogether. Wines must be tasted to be judged.
Okay, that disclaimer aside, I agree with Bonné. Many wines have alcohol levels that are just too damn high. Please, I would so much rather have a lighter styled wine that balances fruit and acid, and has a lower alcohol, so I can enjoy it with friends over a nice dinner than have to suffer another painfully hot, high alcohol wine that is so dense with flavor, so big and overpowering that it ruins the food it is paired with.
Whether an Anderson Valley Pinot Noir over 15 percent or a Dry Creek Zinfandel over 17 percent alcohol by volume, there just isn't a good reason for these wines to be so hot, unless the winemaker was pandering for a high score from Spectator or Parker. Big alcohol wines also tend to garner high medals, I suspect, because judges' palates are quickly blown out by high alcohol fruit bombs and are unable to fairly judge wines of greater subtlety and reserve, but upon tasting another monster wine break out the gold.
I worked for a winemaker who used to make gorgeously flavorful wines, good bodied wines, gold medal winning wines, and rarely did she produce a wine at or above 14 percent alcohol by volume. These were the easiest to sell wines I've ever experienced. People ordered, but most importantly they reordered, and in quantity, because the wines were so good.
Sadly, she has turned to the dark side, and is putting out some wild beasts, up and over 15 percent alcohol today. More attention, higher ratings, easier golds; From some quarters, anyway.
Joel Peterson, a few years back suggested the three most common flaws of Zinfandel were too much alcohol, too much oak, and too much sugar. As the big boss man behind Ravenswood, a famous Zin house in Sonoma, Peterson should know. That said, both Peterson and his son Morgan Twain Peterson crank out some pretty huge wines.
The wines of inland Mendocino County are not uniformly low alcohol, but many are. Whether from cool climate Russian River adjacent or mountain shade properties in or near Hopland, or the higher altitude fruit grown at the north end of Potter Valley, there are some absolutely delicious wines grown and produced in our area. Zinfandel, and Coro Mendocino the Zinfandelcentric blend I mention often, under 14 percent alcohol; Pinot Noir without a barnyard funk or filled diaper aroma; Chablis-like bright and unoaked Chardonnay; and Cabernet Sauvignon that you can take your time getting to know instead of a Cabernet that is so forward you feel like pressing charges. This is some of what we do so well here, and what some folks – notably the wine critics who seem to get a little too much wood over wines with a little too much wood and alcohol – don't seem to get.
Wine Enthusiast magazines' Virginie Boone visits inland Mendocino more often, and perhaps familiarity breeds understanding, because she rates many of our wines about two to five points higher than the folks who don't visit as often over at Wine Spectator.
Jon Bonné tastes wines from all over, often, and has placed a light, low alcohol, almost Beaujolaisesque Zinfandel made entirely from inland Mendocino grapes on one of his annual Top 100 Wines lists.
I get a chance to taste a lot of our wines, and I may have developed a strong preference for what we do, because on a recent visit outside the county, I found wine after wine just too big for me to enjoy. I love Wine Spectator magazine for the articles, but personally I prefer Wine Enthusiast magazine and Jon Bonné's San Francisco Chronicle reviews of our wines. I find I am more often in agreement.
Want high alcohol? Go to a bar. Want a food-friendly wine you can enjoy with food? Consider a wine from the area, with under 14 percent alcohol for a start. As always, the best way to find out whether you like a particular wine or not is to go wine tasting. Many local winery tasting rooms offer complimentary wine tasting and are open up until New Year's Eve – although a few that sell bubbly will be open at least a half of that day too.
EDITED TO ADD ONLINE: I received the following comment tacked on to another recently archived column in response to the newspaper version of this week's column:
"This is regarding your UDJ article published today (12/26/13). I was going to email you but didn't see an email listed. In any event, I have to agree with your general assessment of the multitude high alcohol wines out there. Which is why I drink mostly sparkling! I have worked for Roederer Estate for six years and have learned that sparkling is incredibly versatile with food as well as being on the lower end of the scale at 12%. One last thing, in reference to Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 of 2013, did you know Roederer's 2004 L'Ermitage is rated number one? I believe it's the first time a California Sparkling has garnered the top spot, so worth mentioning.
Cheers, Julie in Ukiah"
I could not agree more. Fantastic comment, great observation, and well deserved acclaim for the 2004 Roederer L' Ermitage, and yes, you are right, this is the first time that a sparkling wine has topped Wine Enthusiast magazine's annual Top 100 Wines list.
I had just written for Destination Hopland that there are bubblies to be tasted at Graziano, Jeriko, McFadden, Nelson, Rack & Riddle, Ray's Station, and Terra Savia; but county wide Roederer, Scharffenberger, Yorkville Cellars, and Elke over on Hwy 128, and Paul Dolan up in Ukiah, all have to be added to the list. As a county, we may have the nation's greatest concentration of premium bubblies, and they are indeed both enjoyably lower in alcohol and spectacularly food friendly when paired with the right foods. Taste this week, choose a favorite, and stock up for New Year's Eve!
I do love bubbly, and I would love to have them all to taste for a future column, maybe in advance of Valentine's Day next year.
October 3, 2013
Power of the PressPosted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: Campovida, Carey Sweet, Destination Hopland, Hopland, Hopland Passport, McFadden Farm Stand & Tasting Room, Mendocino County, Redwood Valley, San Francisco Chronicle, Ukiah, Virginie Boone, Wine Enthusiast Magazine, Wine Spectator |
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John on Wine – Power of the Press
"You know, I've been parking right there, in front of your shop, a couple of dozen times, to go across the street to eat, and I never even knew there were tasting rooms here," Gabe said when I asked him what brought him in today, "but I read about you in the paper, and so here I am."
I would love to tell you that something I wrote here in the Daily Journal brought Gabe in. In July, when I wrote about the McFadden Wine Club Dinner, I had folks come in and buy tickets. When I wrote about my neighbors at Naughty Boy, I had folks visit there. Not record revenue days, but a column can inspire a few folks to visit the subject of a piece I write.
Monday morning, I had three couples and several individuals come in to taste, because a very complimentary piece ran in the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday. Carey Sweet reviews winery tasting rooms, has for more than five years, has over 100 under her belt and rarely – maybe half a dozen times at most – gives out three and a half stars. Most tasting rooms earn two to three stars, and are great. McFadden is the first tasting room to take three and a half stars in over a year.
Monday mornings are often slow, but not this Monday morning. Monday ended up being busier, before noon, than both of the last entire weekend days.
That is the power of a good, and well read, review. Thanks to Carey Sweet of the Chronicle.
Sweet wrote, "Before I leave, Cesano pulls out a Destination Hopland map and offers suggestions on other tasting rooms I might enjoy checking out, plus tips on what's most interesting to sample at each. He marks his favorite restaurants nearby."
While there was plenty of cool stuff written about me, and McFadden, I am incredibly pleased that it was noted that I recommended other winery tasting rooms to visit, and local places to eat.
I do not see other winery tasting rooms as competition. I see the opportunity to work cooperatively with all of my neighbors along Hwy 101, from Hopland up to Redwood Valley and beyond. The more time folks stay in the area, the more they experience, the better impression we can all make.
Sure, I could focus on McFadden only. There are some winery tasting rooms that do focus only on themselves. They aren't much fun to visit.
I volunteered to work with Destination Hopland and then took over some marketing tasks, because I believe that the wineries in the area make great wines, but the word just wasn't getting out widely enough.
Did you know that the wineries of Hwy 128 took 82 medals at the recent Mendocino County Wine Competition, while the inland Mendocino wineries along the 101 and upper Russian River corridor took 100 medals? Wine Spectator wouldn't tell you, they largely ignore Hopland, Ukiah, and Redwood Valley and to read their magazine or online output, you would think that Mendocino County was comprised of just Anderson Valley and the coast.
Virginie Boone writes about wine for Wine Enthusiast magazine, and the Press Democrat. Boone visits all of Mendocino County, not just the Anderson Valley; she judges at our wine competitions, attends our events, visits our tasting rooms, tours our vineyards, and as a result has a broader, better educated palate than her counterparts at other publications.
Trying to get media to visit Hopland has been a challenge. Jen Felice of Visit Mendocino told me that all of the writers who look to visit Mendocino County want to visit only Anderson Valley and the coast.
With a three star review for Campovida and a three and a half star review for McFadden, Carey Sweet of the Chronicle is helping people find their way to Hopland. With wine recommendations for a number of the area's wineries in Wine Enthusiast, Virginie Boone is bringing folks to come and visit, or buy our wines.
I wanted to bring attention to the wines and wineries, the too often unmentioned or ignored wineries of inland Mendocino. That is why, beyond working to help Destination Hopland promote our wines, I reach a little farther and write about vineyards and wineries up to Redwood and Potter Valleys and down to Comminsky Station Road, just off Hwy 101, near the border with Sonoma County. I am grateful to be able to invite readers here in The Ukiah Daily Journal to come and taste our wines on a near weekly basis.
I also wanted to take the time to thank the wine writers from larger publications who do visit and write, writers like Carey sweet and Virginie Boone. Thank you!
Hopland Passport is coming up soon, on Oct. 19 & 20, 2013; I hope you can go. Next week, I'll write about the participating wineries and what treats each will share with folks who buy a weekend passport.
This week, I'm giving away a free ticket to Hopland Passport.
Send me an email to email@example.com and tell me why I should give you a free ticket. I'll pick a winner sometime tomorrow and post the winner's name online at JohnOnWine.com at the end of the reposting of this column.
Good luck!
April 8, 2013
Friends Don't Let Friends Vacu-Vin (again)Posted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: Argon, Consumer Reports, ETS Laboratories, Godon Burns, Matt Kramer, Private Preserve, Ukiah Daily Journal, Vacu-Vin, Wine Spectator, WineSave |
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John on Wine- Friends don't let friends Vacu-Vin
By John Cesano
Updated: 04/04/2013 10:58:27 AM PDT
(NOTE: This piece was edited down for the paper from a longer piece that ran here in the blog years ago. -John)
One of my wine industry jobs was with the Wine Appreciation Guild, one of the industry's largest publishers of wine books and a one-stop distributor of both wine books and accessories. My job was to sell wine books and wine accessories to winery tasting rooms, wine shops, and other specialty merchants in 42 California counties.
There was one item I refused to sell.
Vacu-Vin. There is no wine preservation system more ubiquitous. Gwyneth Paltrow told Oprah that it is a "must-have" in her kitchen. Every frau and pretentious wine poser in the country has one. Sales of the devices number in the tens of millions.
For the one or two of you who are unfamiliar with Vacu-Vin, here's what the manufacturers say:
"The Wine Saver is a vacuum pump, which extracts the air from the opened bottle and re-seals it with a re-usable rubber stopper. Place the re-usable stopper in the bottle and extract the air from the bottle using the Wine Saver pump. A "click" sound tells you when you have reached the optimum vacuum level. The vacuum slows down the oxidation process which makes it possible to enjoy your wine again at a later date. The question "how often do I have to pump?" is a thing of the past. The unique and patented vacuum indicator will emit a "click" sound when the correct vacuum is reached."
The Wine Appreciation Guild carried them, and everyone I worked with wanted them to sell in their stores.
I had a problem. To my mind, the Vacu-Vin doesn't work:
"The "Vacu-Vin" device as submitted was evaluated to determine efficacy in reduction of oxidative spoilage in opened wines. Using the protocol described above, the "Vacu-Vin" device was found to have no measurable effect in reduction of oxidative spoilage." -Gordon Burns, ETS Laboratories, 1204 Church Street, St. Helena, CA 94574
"Vacu-vin" doesn't work, It never has. Sensorily – to me anyway – the Vacu-vin was a shuck. You could track the deterioration in each sample. Indeed, just recorking the wine worked equally as well or as badly.
The (Wall Street) Journal asked Professor David Roe of the Portland State University chemistry department to test the gizmo. At best he achieved a vacuum of somewhat less than 70 percent. In just 90 minutes, he reported, the vacuum pressure diminished by 15 percent.
I asked Professor Roe to repeat his test with a newly purchased (newer, 'improved', model) Vacu-Vin. The results? "The pump is more efficient, but no more effective," he reports. "The vacuum is the same, around 70 to 75 percent. And the leak rate is the same: After two hours you lose 25 percent of the vacuum. Overnight 12 hours the vacuum is totally gone." -Matt Kramer, "A Giant Sucking Sound And That's All"
"Unnecessary equipment: There's no clear need for Vacu-Vin Vacuum Wine Saver and other wine-preservation systems, our tests suggest.
A lot of people turn to wine-preservation systems that seek to retard or stop oxidation, the chemical process that degrades wine. If you're among those who swear by such systems, we have surprising news, based on our tests of four widely known brands: No system beat simply recorking the bottle and sticking it in the fridge." – Wine Spectator.
Getting the air out: The Vacu-Vin Vacuum Wine Saver, $10, uses rubber stoppers (two are provided) with a pump that sucks out air.
We tested three varietals with the systems on three different occasions for three different periods of time. For comparison, we also stoppered one bottle with its own cork. After all the bottles spent time in our wine cellar, expert wine consultants compared their contents in blind taste tests with freshly opened bottles. If our trained experts, with nearly 60 years in the business, couldn't discern among wine storage systems, most consumers probably can't, either. So just go ahead and cork it (you can turn the cork over if it's easier to get in). But try not to wait more than a week or so to drink the wine, and sooner is better." – Consumer Reports, December 2006
I would tell the buyers for the winery tasting rooms, the wine shops, and the kitchen stores that the Vacu-Vin doesn't work but it didn't stop most of them, because you, the home customer, wanted to buy and use these things.
When I see a wine bar using a Vacu-Vin, I won't drink any but the first glass from a bottle.
Here's the deal: when you open wine and let it breathe, you are letting tannins dissipate, alcohol flush burn off, and fruit come forward. You'll find that the hot, harsh, and closed Cabernet at opening becomes a smooth delicious beverage with blackberry and currant notes with a little time. Oxygen is wine's friend initially.
While I am prepping food for dinner, I usually open a bottle, or more than one bottle if cooking for friends, pour a little of each in a separate wine glass, so I can repeatedly swirl and sniff each. I am looking for the wine to open and become perfect. At that point, I recork the bottle so I can just open, pour, and seal all the way through the meal. I know the last glass will be as good as the first. If not perfect, every glass is pretty darn good.
If I opened the wine, let it breathe, and then ignored it, the fruit would follow the tannins, and perfect would become sad. Oxygen, so important to a wine at opening, becomes wine's enemy afterward. Leaving a wine open ruins wine over time.
Pumping the air out of a bottle of wine with a Vacu-Vin strips the wine of some aroma and bouquet. Each time it is used it can harm the wine. To me, a couple of seconds is like hours of damage. Kramer described the loss of delicate notes in his piece for spectator.
The Vacu-Vin doesn't even create a complete vacuum. As tested, fully 25-30 percent of the air, and oxygen, remains inside the bottle before the Vacu-Vin fails and all of the air, and oxygen returns. To me, the worst think about the Vacu-Vin is that consumers are fooled into a false sense of preservation security and don't seek another, effective, method to save the aroma, bouquet, and flavors of a bottle of wine in between glasses.
Matt Kramer and the Wall Street Journal engaged a University science department professor who measured the Vacu-Vin's fail using drills and tubes and meters, all very high tech. Similar high tech methods were used by Gordon Burns of ETS Laboratories and the testers at Consumer Reports.
At work, in the tasting room, I use 100 percent pure Argon, an inert gas that is heavier than oxygen, from a large tank. Shooting a little into a bottle, then recorking it, allows the Argon to settle and provide a protective blanket between wine and oxygen. Smaller home versions are available, with Private Preserve, a nitrogen/argon mix, the most easily found. More expensive, but also more efficacious, WineSave is 100 percent pure food grade Argon in a can available at WineSave.com
John Cesano does not get a kickback from private preserve or winesave, but wishes he did.
John On Wine blog bonus -
I polished a popular piece posted previously here, and it was published in the printed paper, perhaps a partial week ago. (Note: sorry for the alliteration, once started, that last sentence wrote itself).
I also visited Matheson Tri-Gas, a commercial supplier and asked about the cost of an Argon tank for the serious hedonist, the folks who care about preserving quality of wine glass to glass, and those foodies who want to prevent cooking oil from becoming rancid and vinegars from becoming musty.
A small tank (it isn't really small, but it is smaller than a commercial tank) runs about $100. The regulator runs another $100. The hose, nozzle, and other fittings runs a third $100. Initial cost: $300. from that point on, tank can be filled or refilled with Argon for about $30 and a small (big really) tank would last practically forever used at home.
January 2, 2010
Wine and pregnancy, a healthy mix.Posted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: Alcohol and the Fetus, Alzheimer's, American Journal of Epidemiology, Archives of Internal Medicine, Asti Spumanti, birth defects, caffeine, censorship, Champagne, Charlie, chocolate, Dr. Little and Dr. Weinberg, Dr. Robert Sokol, Dr. Rosset and Dr. Wiener, Dr. Ruitenberg, Dr. Whitten and Dr. Lipp, facebook, Federal Government Dietary Guidelines for Americans, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, fetus, first amendment, Framingham Heart Study, free speech, Gene Ford, hair dye, Harvard, health, heathy drinking, Jennifer Lee Peterson, Lisa, Little and weinberg, massages, nail polish, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse, neo-prohibitionists, pedicures, pregnant, raw oysters, San Francisco, suntan lotion, Surgeon General warning, sushi, The Lancet, The Myths of Motherhood, The Science of Healthy Drinking, Thomas Matthews, tropical fruit, University of California at San Francisco, unpasteurized cheese, wine, wine and pregnancy, wine label, Wine Spectator, ZAP, Zinfandel |
[28] Comments
NOTE: Scroll to the bottom of this post for an update. Thanks.
My niece Jennifer is pregnant. In November she wrote on facebook, "I would really love to enjoy a glass of Asti Spumanti champagne."
Within minutes, a friend posted, "LOL! NEVER!".
Huh? I had to chime in, and wrote, "In a world where caffeine, chocolate, raw oysters, unpasteurized cheese, tropical fruits, drugs that alleviate cold symptoms, nail polish, suntan lotion and hair dye, all of which in some amount may harm the fetus; wine in small amounts, sipped slowly with food, has been shown to increase fetal motility and result in more intelligent infants. I'm kind of the wine guy in the family, and would point you to the 1994 Wine Spectator article by Thomas Matthews, The Myths of Motherhood, or the study of 33,000 California woman showing that the 47% who drank moderately during pregnancy had zero incidence of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS); and the 1993 study published in the American Journal of Epidemiology by Little and Weinberg showing a higher successful birthrate among moderate consumers of alcohol than rates among abstainers. Find a doctor who reads, and enjoy the glass of Asti on Thanksgiving. The stress reduction and joy in the mother is healthy for the fetus. Just saying'."
I do tend to go on.
Another friend of Jennifer, also pregnant wrote, "I don't know you John, but as a fellow pregnant gal who can't have anything she loves either, I L-O-V-E your post."
Jennifer finished up the thread with, "Bwahaha, thanks uncle John,,,I've enjoyed a small glass of wine here and there…I've also enjoyed sushi, massages, pedicures, caffeine AND…of course…chocolate! Baby's fine…he comes from good healthy stock"
In December, Jennifer posted, "I'm really craving a glass of good champagne…maybe spumanti" on her facebook wall.
I replied, "You know what Uncle John says…a glass is a healthy choice for you and the baby,"
Another friend wrote, "sorry, hopefully you can have one soon. When are you having that baby?", written as though having a glass of wine, or bubbly, before the baby is born is unthinkable.
When Lisa, the mother of my only child Charlie, was pregnant, we attended a wonderful wine tasting in San Francisco. It was my birthday, and I did more than taste the many Zinfandels being poured at the event, I had a bit to drink that day. My wife, noticeably pregnant at 7 months, tasted; but after nosing and swirling the wine in her mouth, she spit it into large receptacles provided for that purpose. Although she drank no wine at all, she was subjected to many dirty looks, and one old woman actually hissed at her. There is an anti-alcohol sentiment ingrained in people who should know better.
A pregnant woman wants a small glass of wine to sip with a meal, and the instinctive response of her friends is shock and admonishment. The response is based on all of the information generally available. The next time you pick up a bottle of wine, look and you will find a warning mandated by the United States government, "According to the Surgeon General, women should not drink alcoholic beverages during pregnancy because of the risk of birth defects."
While there is overwhelming evidence of health benefits associated with moderate consumption of wine in the general population, and specific health benefits to a pregnant woman and her fetus, the same United States government requiring that wineries put warning on their labels forbids including any information about healthful benefits associated with wine consumption; "a specific [health] claim on a label or in an advertisement, " no matter how well documented, "is considered misleading." and requires further detailed warnings of the risks of alcohol if included – said warnings being unable to fit on a wine label. Effectively, the government is engaged in censorship and prohibiting free speech. Worse, it requires warning, and disallows wineries from countering the warning with truthful statements.
With wineries muzzled, unable to present any information regarding health and wine, or pregnancy and wine consumption, gross distortions and outright lies are posted in pregnancy forums and spread by ignorant, but well meaning, friends. A quick google search of "wine and pregnancy" will lead to link after link of falsehood spread as truth – and the wine industry is prohibited from countering these lies with the truth.
For a short time, 20 or more wineries were going to include, "To learn the health effects of wine consumption, send for the Federal Government Dietary Guidelines for Americans." on their wine labels. The Dietary Guidelines, while almost wholly damning of alcohol consumption, bending to overwhelming scientific evidence included two new lines, "Alcoholic beverages have been used to enhance the enjoyment of meals by many societies throughout human history," and, "Current evidence suggests that moderate drinking is associated with a lower risk for coronary heart disease in some individuals."
Neo-prohibitionist and tramplers of the US constitution's First Amendment, guaranteeing free speech, threw a fit. Rather than allow a winery to point at a government pamphlet in advertising or on a label, without mention of any health benefit; these forces for ignorance pushed through a new requirement: any winery mentioning the dietary guideline pamphlet must include a new warning on their label and promotional material, "this statement should not encourage you to drink or to increase your alcohol consumption for health reasons."
Some of the information the government is preventing wineries from telling you about includes:
Men with high blood pressure who drink one or two drinks a day were 44 percent less likely to die from cardiovascular disease, according to a study published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.
Light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated lower risks of coronary heart disease, ischemic stroke, and total mortality in elderly men and women…These findings suggest that light-to-moderate alcohol consumption is associated with a reduced risk of dementia in individuals aged 55 or older, according to a six year study by Dr. Ruitenberg in the Netherlands, published in The Lancet
Moderate drinkers had 50% fewer deaths from coronary disease than abstainers, according to the 60 year Framingham Heart Study
Preliminary evidence in a Harvard study suggest that longevity may be increased in red wine drinkers, while European studies point to a possibility that Alzheimer's and other cognitive degeneration may be postponed for moderate drinkers.
Light drinking pregnant women, not abstainers, have the best chance of delivering a baby of optimal weight, according to Dr. Robert Sokol of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse in Detroit.
Mentioned above, there is the study of 33,300 California women, 47% of whom drank moderately during their pregnancies. Not one had a baby with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.
There were fewer stillbirths and fewer losses of fetus due to early labor among women who consumed a moderate level of alcohol, according to a study by Little and Weinberg, published in the American Journal of Epidemiology
Children of moderate drinkers tend to score the highest on developmental tests at the age of 18 months, according to the book Alcohol and the Fetus, by Dr. Rosset and Dr. Wiener.
There is research that shows moderate drinking during pregnancy may actually help the development of the child after birth, according to a study by Dr. Whitten and Dr. Lipp of the University of California at San Francisco
But what about the government warning on the label warning about birth defects for pregnant women who choose to drink moderately? The government can't lie, can they?
The campaign against drinking during pregnancy started in 1973 when several studies showed that heavy drinking during pregnancy can cause a condition known as 'Fetal Alcohol Syndrome.' These studies demonstrated that the children of many alcoholic mothers were born with a cluster of severe birth defects."What the government conveniently chose to ignore" say Dr. Whitten and Dr. Lipp, is that "this syndrome is extremely rare, occurring only 3 times in 100,000 births, and only when the mother drinks abusively throughout her pregnancy".
In the absence of valid, and useful information to the contrary, many people make grossly incorrect assumptions about wine and health, and wine and pregnancy. Our government forces wineries to print one sided, misleading, and possibly false information on their labels, and prohibits the dissemination of the many health benefits associated with moderate, responsible consumption of wine. This ridiculous censorship, combined with the efforts of anti-alcohol forces*, leads otherwise intelligent people to make a pregnant woman feel bad if she has a sip of wine.
If you don't drink at all, don't feel that you need to start if you become pregnant. If you abuse alcohol, stop; your life is at risk, as well as your baby's if you become pregnant. If, however, you enjoy the responsible, moderate, consumption of wine with dinner, and you become pregnant, don't feel compelled to abstain for the health of your unborn child.
Moderate consumption of wine during pregnancy is shown to lead to safer births and healthier, smarter children than those born to either abstainers or abusers of alcohol.
Sometimes, being between jobs is nice. Because I do not work for a winery or wine distributer, I am able to tell you the truth that those in the industry are prohibited from telling you. Just sayin'.
If you are reading this, and are pregnant, I toast you. The good news is that you can raise a glass in response. Cheers!
*see the 'talking points' memo created by these neo-prohibitionists to beat back mention of a possible health benefit in the official US Dietary Guidelines pamphlet at http://www.cspinet.org/booze/talkpoint2.htm .
For those interested in the topic of alcohol and health, I recommend Gene Ford's book , "The Science of Healthy Drinking".
I have caused a bit of an uproar with a wine column that ran Thursday, May 2, 2013. This column was recycled and used.
My wine and pregnancy piece was actually written 4 years ago and was an extension of an online conversation with my niece who was pregnant. Much of the basis for the article was a long article regarding the science of moderate consumption during pregnancy that appeared in Wine Spectator before my son was born.
My son's mom had the very occasional half glass of wine with a meal, and my son was the tallest boy in his grade throughout elementary school each year, played as a center on CYO, city, and school basketball teams, and regularly crushed any standardized test he took.
I am pretty sure my mom had more than a single drink of alcohol, and probably smoked, when she was pregnant with me, as did the mothers of many of the people I know who are my age. The people I know, of my generation, seem to be doing well.
I posted this piece here in 2010 and it generated positive feedback. I was contacted by some pregnancy forums, and thanked for the post.
I was completely ignorant of the information accumulation regarding drinking while pregnant, or the move beyond Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to include lower birth weights and other symptoms to identify a larger collection of Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders, existing now.
In addition to a counterpoint column from our county's public health officer and other letters in the paper following my column, I have heard from members of the medical community who shared that we live in a county with serious drug addiction problems and, for these people, alcohol is a drug, and it is better to be absolutist and say that no amount of alcohol is safe during pregnancy than give folks, who the piece wasn't written for, a sense that they are not likely harming their child with their abuse.
I also was contacted by some mothers with adopted children that do suffer from FASD and/or FAS. The stories they shared were personal, tragic, and compelling. They, too, would urge that no alcohol be consumed during pregnancy, and each said that spending a week, or even a day, with their children would drive the point home more strongly than any words.
Obviously, I would never have allowed the piece to be recycled for my newspaper wine column if the response years ago to the same piece online wasn't overwhelmingly positive.
I apologize for the outrage I caused with my recycled piece, but hope the conversations started through the controversy lead to more informed choices. I, for one, probably learned the most.
December 30, 2009
My last entry started a real conversation; I love it.Posted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: 100 Points, ale, American Oak, anti-American, beer, Big Mac, Bogle Merlot, Budweiser, Costco, Dana Estates' 2007 Lotus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Denise Slattery, Digg, drinknectar.com, Fetzer, Frasier Crane, Grants Pass, GrapeHops, Healdsburg, iced tea, IPA, John Vitale, Josh, juicyplants.com, Kelly Doyle Mitchell, Kobe beef, Menage a Trois, Mendocino County, microbrew, Nancy Iannios, Napa Cabernet, New French Oak, Oregon tasting room, quail's egg, restriction of free trade, Rob McLean, Robert Parker Jr., Scott Casey, Shannon Essa, Shannon Smyth Loranger, sipwithme.blogspot.com, snobbery, tallboy, Tamara, three-tier distribution, Topel Winery, triovintners.com, TTB compliance, twitter, Walmart, Washington Tasting Room Magazine, Wild River Brewing, wine, Wine Advocate, Wine Blog Network Rankings, wine marketing, Wine Spectator |
[2] Comments
My last blog entry, about how the wine industry could do a better job of marketing their product and how wine writers could try to reach beyond the small circle of people they write for and try to reach a larger audience through a serious decrease in snobbery, seems to have struck a chord.
I have seen links to my article receive tweets and retweets, diggs, and email forwardings. My blog numbers have exploded. I have gone from nowhere to the #4 top blog on Wine Blog Network Rankings.
Most importantly, I started a conversation; a real one with differing viewpoints. I am thrilled and amazed at the number of people that have found their way here to my blog, I am so incredibly grateful that some of you felt moved enough to share your thoughts here, on facebook, and by email.
This blog entry is about you, my readers, and what you have had to say in response to my last entry. Here is our conversation so far, please feel free to keep it going.
Shannon L., blog author's friend, Dec 27 2009 8:46 PM
Walmart and Costco also sell Menage a Trois. Costco being the cheapest at $6.99 a bottle.
Kelly Doyle Mitchell, owner of juicyplants.com, Dec 27 2009, 8:52 PM
Great read! Loved what he had to say about marketing and the (over)pricing in restaurants!
John Cesano, blog author, Dec 27 2009, 8:59 PM
Again, better with food than by iteslf, but an absolutely GREAT food wine, and only $1.17 per glass from Costco. Wow. Beer prices for this wine's superior food pairing qualities. That's what the wine industry should be telling folks.
Rob McLean, article inspiration, Dec 27 2009, 9:39 PM
Ok, so I am starting to see some of the light. My parents drank wine but mostly the famous box wines you'd find while at the grocery chain.
I being of the industrial worker type always enjoyed beer and shots as opposed to wine. I must admit a little wine does go a long way, at least to my head.
Appreciate the nod from this writer and friend, I will keep reading and eventually perhaps even change my beer drinking tunes. Admittedly Mr.Cesano already has me looking at the wine in my grocery outlet with more interest. Just haven't committed as of yet.
Keep it up John, you are the future when it comes to a friendly voice in the wine writing community. I am sure of that.
RK McLean
Nancy Cameron Iannios, Oregon's best tasting room and wine club manager, Dec 28 2009, 10:38 AM
Wonderful John! This is my favorite blog yet. I truly believe this would be a worthy submission for national publication with one of the big wine magazines…you should give it a try! I'm definitely going to pass it along to all of my So. Oregon wine associates. It is something that needs to be addressed! I cannot tell you how many guests have stepped right up to the tasting bar with an immediate disclaimer: "please don't laugh at me if I don't taste the wine correctly…I've never done 'this' before."
First and foremost, wine should be fun and the stigmas associated with wine do need to loosen up. You don't have to comment on the nose. It's not necessary to recognize the nuances. You needn't concern yourself with whether or not you are holding the glass correctly. Wine is meant to be enjoyed. You either like it or you don't and you definitely do not have to agree with what you read or with what you hear. Reviews aren't the final authorative word; they are merely one person's perception and opinion. Each person's taste buds allow for the final personal review.
The absolute beauty of wine is that it's subjective. Each person's experience is as unique as their own fingerprints. Tasting notes are more of an exercise in creative writing than they are a carved in stone description. I've seen many a concerned guest struggle to pick up on a flavor that is suggested in tasting notes. A gracious host/hostess can immediately address such concerns and save the whole experience.
I totally agree that you needn't depend upon the price tag on a bottle of wine in order to enjoy an enhanced food experience. My daughter Rachel turned me onto Bogle Merlot about a year ago. You can purchase it at almost every supermarket for about $7.99. It has allowed me to have a dinner by candlelight experience in between paychecks on more than one occasion!
John Cesano, blog author, Dec 28 2009, 3:57 PM
Robert Parker Jr. just gave a Napa wine you've never heard of (Dana Estates' 2007 Lotus Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon), that you'll never see (only 250 cases made), that you wouldn't buy ($275 for a bottle of last year's release), a perfect 100 point s rating. seriously, who really cares? Way to go wine industry, just keep shoveling that news that no real person cares about.
Shannon L., blog authors friend, Dec 28 2009, 4:49 PM
I love what Nancy has to say. I believe she should submit it so some publication!
I admit, I buy my wine purely by if I like the picture or the title of the vineyard on the label!
I either like it, or I don't. That simple.
Shannon E., Wine Goddess, Dec 28 2009, 6:53 PM
[Parker] has to sell his newsletter and books. Look at his audience. Those dudes (readers) need to think they have something up on everyone else. Don't sweat it just use it in your comedy routine (who is Dana? Is she THAT hot?)
John Cesano, blog author, Dec 28 2009, 7:06 PM
Today, I checked in with the twitterati of winedom, and the big news was that Robert Parker, THE wine critic, had deigned to grant a 100 point score to a Napa Cabernet you have never heard of (Dana Estates' 2007 Lotus Vineyard Cab), will never see a bottle of in person (only 250 cases produced), and can't afford ($275/bottle for last year's release, this year's will likely be more). Really, who cares, besides a bunch of wine geek, Frasier Crane wanna-be, Napa cult Cab, fan boys? This news will not effect one single person I know.
Let me say it again clearly to wine writers and the wine industry: give real people news that they can use. Tell real people about wines that are readily available, do not cost an arm and a leg, and pair well with the food people eat at dinner time. Give people a reason to try your product, instead of writing for each other about things real people will never care about.
Just sayin'.
Josh, author of drinknectar.com, Dec 29 2009, 8:58 AM
This was a very good and well written piece. The wine industry is behind the curve when it comes to 1) vision and 2) marketing and 3) distribution (don't get me started here)
I love to debunk the wine snobbery of it all. There are a few good wine writers trying to do the same. Both John and Nancy are spot on in their comments too.
Josh @nectarwine (twitter)
Tamara, author do sipwithme.blogspot.com, Dec 29 2009, 9:03 AM
Good article and I hear what you're saying, but I personally find it more interesting to taste (and read about) quality over quantity. Not just wine either, same goes for beer. I can drink a tall boy for next to nothing or I can indulge in a deliciously handcrafted local ale. I'd pay 5 times the amount for the microbrew… and I'd be more likely to read a review about it too. Same for food for that matter. Do you want to read about a Big Mac you can get for under $5 or do you want to read about and taste the juicy gourmet kobe beef hamburger loaded with toppings you could never imagine on a burger (like a quails egg!)? News that you can use is good, but it has to be more than just about value. Just sayin'.
John Cesano, blog author, Dec 29 2009, 10:41 AM
Tamara, your points are valid…as far as they go. When I visited friend in Oregon a couple of months ago, I did not drink a single Budweiser, but I did enjoy a handcrafted IPA or two at Wild River Brewing in Grants Pass. When I listed my 10 Perfect Foods, Kobe beef made the list. I have waxed poetic over wines that most folks, outside of the circle of wine geeks (and yes I consider myself one), will never taste as well.
With nearly every wine writer writing about wines that regular folks will never taste, it just perpetuates the wine industry's failures to effectively market their wines to a wider audience. If you venture from Oregon to Napa, I'll look forward to reading your review of the 2007 Dana Estates Lotus Vineyard Cabernet. Your prose is solid, and, as I am a self-professed wine geek, it would be interesting to read your review of a wine no one I know will never taste.
Handcrafted beers, and even Kobe beef, are available to the average consumer. Many of the wines I read reviews of are not.
You seem to be likening the wines I would recommend regular folks try with their meals, over the beer or iced tea they currently drink, to a 24 ounce can of Budweiser. It is just that attitude, dare I say snobbery, that puts so many people off ordering wine.
I love quality. I acknowledge that many more $20 wines will appeal to my palate than $10 wines, and there is a great likelihood that I will enjoy a $40 wine more than a $20 wine; but I'm not writing for myself, or for a circle of other wine writers. I have chosen to write for my friends, most of whom are just just regular folks, most of whom too rarely drink wine. I will write try to find "value" wines that taste good, or pair well with food, review and recommend them. I've taken on the job the industry doesn't do, trying to get regular folks to drink wine now and again.
I think I'm on the right track, this was my most read blog entry by far.
Thanks for the comment. I love your blog and I'm adding it to my blog roll.
John Vitale, editor & publisher of Washington Tasting Room Magazine, Dec 29 2009 1:48 PM
I read your post "So, you don't get wine writers or the wine industry?" with a big grin on my face.
Cheers, keep up the good work on your blog!
John Vitale
Scott Casey, Man of Mystery, Dec 29, 2009 9:59 PM
Love your Blog John. I agree with you 1000% wine beats all drinks when it comes to food.
Nancy Cameron Iannios, Oregon's best tasting room and wine club manager, Dec 29 2009, 10:10 PM
I'm definitely not trying to get into any debates, but I'm 100% behind John on this entire subject. I'm not convinced that a high priced bottle of wine is a guarantee of "quality". I personally prefer red wines that have been fermented in New French Oak rather than American Oak. The cost of New French Oak is much more expensive than American Oak so wine producers have to cover their costs by pricing their wines accordingly. New French Oak aging is my personal preference but it's not an indication of whether or not the wine is of higher "quality". From my experience there are lots of marketing ploys involved in determining price points. For the most part, these price points have absolutely nothing to do with the actual quality of the wine and have more to do with a marketing manager's opinion about what is going to make their product move at the best percentage of profit. Some people automatically see value in something with a higher price tag on it, but wine is no different than any other product…it's about supply and demand and impressions left through marketing efforts. Most "impressions" in the wine industry are created with a sense of snobbery that appeals to a specific market. I think the point that John is trying to make is about industry "impressions" that leave the ordinary person feeling that wine is unapproachable. The "ordinary" person accounts for a much higher percentage of the buying population. So, purely from a numbers standpoint, the wine industry could probably sell more product to a wider audience if they were to take the snob appeal out of their product.
John Cesano, blog author, Dec 29 2009, 11:37 PM
Nancy, I always welcome your comments. You have a viewpoint I respect, and as the best Oregon tasting room and wine club manager I know, your opinions enrich this blog.
To be fair, I am thrilled with Tamara's comment as well. I would love people to look at my entries as the beginning of a conversation. I welcome comments, and mine is not the only valid viewpoint. It is entirely possible, perhaps probable, that I will be completely wrong in something I write. Tamara's thoughts were so well presented that I added her to my blogroll immediately.
As Tamara's blog is about visiting every Oregon tasting room in a year, it is more than likely that the two of you, Nancy and Tamara, have met.
I tried to taste wines at Fetzer's tasting room in Hopland today, only to find it was closed about 3 years ago. Instead, I tasted some delicious wines from Topel Winery of Mendocino County at their tasting room in Healdsburg. While I'll be putting up a new entry tomorrow recapping my visit to Topel's tasting room, I can say that getting out to taste inexpensive wines looking for some jewels will be hampered if large wine groups are closing their brand's tasting rooms.
Denise Slattery, triovintners.com, Dec 30 2009 8:00 AM
Hi – This is a great summation of what's screwed up in this industry. I like what I have read here. Thanks very much. Couple of things to add: I make wine and have a small winery which is holding on financially but a bit stressed at this time (who isn't?) I would say the hardest job I have (besides cleaning barrels and tanks!) is marketing my wine. It's not just about pouring samples in a tasting room. It's really a 360 degree process that requires me to have everything buttoned up in terms of marketing and communications. Fortunately I really enjoy this part and like the challenge, but I am stunned at how stupidly the industry has organized itself, especially with regard to the point scale / medal winning / incomprehensible review system that we are all (consumers and trade alike) forced to contend with. I loathe kowtowing to the point-people and therefore do not send wine to WS or WA for review. But I second guess myself on this decision with each new release…."What if we actually got a high score on a wine from WS? That's good for business. Right?"
Most of the wineries in this county (and there are something like 6,000 +) are small, family-run operations that are thriving because they are focused on small lot productions and a hand-crafted product. Making only 250 cases of a particular wine for me is mostly a matter of economics, not about creating an aura of exclusivity. Is the wine better because there's less of it? Not necessarily. Does it cost more to make because there is less of it? Of course. But I think the point should not be lost on consumers that when it's gone, it's gone. So, pay attention and try it because it's going to provide an experience for you. Not because so-and-so gave it 100 points. Right?
Finally, the craziest obstacle to promoting more everyday wine consumption is the insane restrictions that states apply to the sale of wine. As long as these hold-over restrictions from prohibition continue, and the three-tier system is protected, wineries are prevented from direct to consumer trade in many states. I can deal with the TTB compliance issues (which are also tedious and arcane but primarily there to capture tax revenue) but I loathe the three-tier system and believe this is a restriction of free trade. I think it's down right anti- American!
To each and every one of you, thank you for writing this blog entry. Your opinions and viewpoints, uniquely yours, benefit us all when shared, and enrich my blog tremendously. Keep reading, keep commenting, keep sipping. Consider signing up as a subscriber of the blog too, Thanks! -John
December 17, 2009
Friends don't let friends Vacu-VinPosted by John Cesano under Uncategorized | Tags: A Giant Sucking Sound...And That's All, Consumer Reports, Corker, David Roe, Elliott Mackey, Eric Asimov, ETS Laboratories, Food, Gordon Burns, Gwyneth Paltrow, Matt Kramer, Napa, New York Times, Oil, Oprah, Portland State University, pour spout, Private Preserve, Russian River Valley, Vacu-Vin, Vinegar, wine, wine accessories, Wine Appreciation Guild, wine books, Wine Spectator |
[62] Comments
One of my wine industry jobs was with the Wine Appreciation Guild, one of the industry's largest publishers of wine books and a one stop distributor of both wine books and accessories. My job was to sell wine books and wine accessories to wineries for their tasting rooms, to wine shops, and to other specialty merchants in 42 California counties.
There are many people here on the interwebs that know about wine, and I'll carve my own niche by writing from the heart about wine as a means to an end, a beverage to be enjoyed with family and friends, as opposed to the end itself. I am not the guy to read if you are looking for a review of the nearly unattainable, released in three bottle maximum allotment to people on THE LIST only, cult Napa Cab or Russian River Valley Pinot. I love wine, know wine, can share my knowledge; but I am a regular guy.
In addition to telling you about a wine in context, who I shared it with, the food we ate with it, I can also tell you about a good wine book or wine gadget. Go with what you know, I wrote recently, and I will. Out of the thousands of wine writers inhabiting the web, I have unique knowledge. Hopefully, my writing will find an audience thirsty for what I am pouring.
Vacu-Vin. There is no wine preservation system more ubiquitous. Gwyneth Paltrow told Oprah that it is a "must-have" in her kitchen. Every frau and pretentious wine poser in the country has one. Sales of the devices number in the tens of millions.
For the one or two of you who are unfamiliar with Vacu-Vin, here's what the manufacturers say
"The Wine Saver is a vacuum pump, which extracts the air from the opened bottle and re-seals it with a re-usable rubber stopper. Place the re-usable stopper in the bottle and extract the air from the bottle using the Wine Saver pump. A "click" sound tells you when you have reached the optimum vacuum level. The vacuum slows down the oxidation process which makes it possible to enjoy your wine again at a later date. The question "how often do I have to pump?" is a thing of the past. The unique and patented vacuum indicator will emit a "click" sound when the correct vacuum is reached."
The Wine Appreciation Guild carried them, and everyone I worked with wanted them to sell in their stores.
I had a problem. The Vacu-Vin doesn't work:
"The "Vacu-Vin" device as submitted was evaluated to determine efficacy in reduction of oxidative spoilage in opened wines. Using the protocol described above, the "Vacu-Vin" device was found to have no measurable effect in reduction of oxidative spoilage."
-Gordon Burns, ETS Laboratories, 1204 Church Street, St. Helena, CA 94574
Vacu-vin doesn't work, It never has.
Sensorily, to me anyway, the Vacu-vin was a shuck. You could track the deterioration in each sample. Indeed, just recorking the wine worked equally as well – or as badly.
The [Wall Street] Journal asked Professor David Roe of the Portland State University chemistry department to test the gizmo…At best he achieved a vacuum of somewhat less than 70 percent…In just 90 minutes, he reported, the vacuum pressure diminished by 15 percent.
I asked Professor Roe to repeat his test with a newly purchased (newer, 'improved', model) Vacu-Vin. The results? "The pump is more efficient, but no more effective," he reports. "The vacuum is the same, around 70 to 75 percent. And the leak rate is the same: After two hours you lose 25 percent of the vacuum. Overnight – 12 hours – the vacuum is totally gone."
-Matt Kramer, "A Giant Sucking Sound…And That's All"
http://www.consumerreports.org December 2006
What to do with leftover wine? Just put a cork in it
UNNECESSARY EQUIPMENT There's no clear need for Vacu-Vin Vacuum Wine Saver and other wine-preservation systems, our tests suggest.
A lot of people turn to wine-preservation systems that seek to retard or stop oxidation, the chemical process that degrades wine. If you're among those who swear by such systems, we have surprising news, based on our tests of four widely known brands: No system beat simply recorking the bottle and sticking it in the fridge.
Getting the air out…The Vacu-Vin Vacuum Wine Saver, $10, uses rubber stoppers (two are provided) with a pump that sucks out air.
We tested three varietals with the systems on three different occasions for three different periods of time. For comparison, we also stoppered one bottle with its own cork. After all the bottles spent time in our wine cellar, expert wine consultants compared their contents in blind taste tests with freshly opened bottles.
If our trained experts, with nearly 60 years in the business, couldn't discern among wine storage systems, most consumers probably can't, either. So just go ahead and cork it (you can turn the cork over if it's easier to get in). But try not to wait more than a week or so to drink the wine, and sooner is better.
I would tell the buyers for the winery tasting rooms, the wine shops, and the kitchen stores that the Vacu-Vin doesn't work – but it didn't stop most of them, because you, the home customer, wanted to buy and use these things.
You don't see good restaurants using Vacu-Vins to preserve their wines poured by the glass. You don't see good wineries using Vacu-Vins in between the wine tastes they poor in their tasting rooms. NY Times wine guru Eric Asimov doesn't pump air out of wine bottles, he doesn't believe it does much of anything.
When I see a wine bar using a Vacu-Vin, I won't drink any but the first glass from a bottle.
Here's the deal: when you open a wine and let it breathe, you are letting tannins dissipate, alcohol flush burn off, and fruit come forward. You'll find that the hot, harsh, and closed Cabernet at opening becomes a smooth delicious beverage with blackberry and currant notes with a little time. Oxygen is wine's friend initially.
While I am prepping food for dinner, I usually open a bottle, or more than one bottle if cooking for friends, pour a little of each in a separate wine glass, so I can repeatedly swirl and sniff each. I am looking for the wine to open and become perfect. At that point, I recork the bottle so I can just open, pour, and seal all the way through the meal. I know the last glass will be as good as the first. Every glass perfect.
If I opened the wine, let it breathe, and then ignored it, the fruit would follow the tannins, and perfect would become sad. Oxygen, so important to a wine at opening, becomes wine's enemy afterward. Leaving a wine open ruins wine over time.
Pumping the air out of a bottle of wine with a Vacu-Vin strips the wine of aroma and bouquet. Each time it is used it ruins the wine. To me, a couple of seconds is like hours of damage.
The Vacu-Vin doesn't even create a complete vacuum. As tested, fully 25-30% of the air, and oxygen, remains inside the bottle – before the Vacu-Vin fails and all of the air, and oxygen, returns. To me, the worst think about the Vacu-Vin is that consumers are fooled into a false sense of preservation security and don't seek another, effective, method to save the aroma, bouquet, and flavors of a bottle of wine in between glasses.
Matt Kramer and the Wall Street Journal engaged a University science department professor who measured the Vacu-Vin's fail using drills and tubes and meters, all very high tech. Similar high tech methods were used by Gordon Burns of ETS Laboratories and the testers at Consumer Reports.
Look, I know that if you are into wine, you have one of these gadgets at home. Want to see it fail before your own eyes? Fill an empty wine bottle half way with mini marshmallows, use the Vacu-Vin as directed, sucking some of the air out of the bottle, creating a partial vacuum at best. As you pump, the marshmallows will swell until they fill the available space inside the bottle. You will see that, as the Vacu-Vin seal leaks and fresh air goes back into the bottle, the marshmallows shrink. You can watch the level of the marshmallows fall from bottle fill to half bottle as the Vacu-Vin fail is total.
While at the Wine Appreciation Guild, the owner Elliot Mackey, knowing my feelings about the Vacu-Vin, put me in a surprise direct face-to-face meeting with one of the company's representatives. I felt a bit awkward, but presented him with much of the evidence I have laid out here for you. The representative assured me that he had heard these charges before and had a "wealth of anecdotal evidence" to counter it.
Just because a non critical taster, perhaps an actress appearing on Oprah, thinks that her Vacu-Vin is doing something beneficial, and allows that incorrect assumption to color expectations at tasting her old wine, self deluding herself that the wine is well preserved – just because there are tens of millions of people who got suckered, don't know it, and think this junk works – well, so what? A wealth of anecdotal evidence does not counter evidence of Vacu-Vin's complete lack of efficacy, nor does it counter Vacu-Vin's fail in blind tastings performed by sommeliers and other wine professionals.
I am a believer in never presenting a problem without a possible solution. I've created a problem by telling the truth as I see it. There are tens of millions of people ruining their wine, thinking they are saving their wine's quality. I know I won't reach quite that number of readers, but for the few who do find their way to my blog, I'll tell you how I keep wines delicious in between glasses.
I recork the bottles. Believing it matters, I use a decoratively topped, denser than normal, non-porous Corker instead of the old porous cork. If I am going to keep the wine for more than a couple of days, I pair a blast of Private Preserve (nitrogen/argon/inert gasses in a can) and the Corker and have experienced solid longer term storage.
Oil and Vinegar preservation:
For the foodies out there who have made it this far through a wine entry, I use the Private Preserve/Corker combo on my specialty oils and vinegars for the kitchen and have eliminated the oil goes rancid and vinegar goes musty equivalent of wine goes yucky.
Oh, and if you have pour spouts in your oil and vinegar, or wine, you are just letting it breathe and go bad. So unless you are Gordon Ramsey and go through multiple bottles of oil/vinegar/wine in the kitchen each night, throw away the spouts, they are as ridiculously bad as a Vacu-Vin.
Just saying'.
DISCLOSURE: I have sold Corkers in art and craft shows, I do not now. I am very experienced with their efficacy. I worked for the Wine Appreciation Guild over seven years ago, I do not now. I have not worked with Gordon Ramsey, but am willing to accept a free meal from him.


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The #1 source for fashion inspiration from real people around the world.
HYPE the looks you like to make them hot —or post your own! learn more or sign up now!
Outfit of the Day: The 24th Birthday Dress
So… It feels like Florida out today! It's hot, wet, raining on and off, and kind of muggy out. Thought I'd need a cardigan, but apparently not! I'm just going to dinner with the family tonight, drinking a few martinis, and opening a few gifts. Should be nice.
Dress: I bought this a few weeks ago because I knew I would want a pretty dress to wear on my birthday. On sale at Torrid $22!
Boots: Kohl's $35.
Pearl necklace and bracelet: Macy's several years ago. Have pink ties on each. Super cute matching pair I found in the depths of my jewelry box the other day! $45 all together if I remember correctly.
by Brittany G. · Apr 3, 2011
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Fashion and Graphic Designer, postgraduate Marketing from Brazil
Textile designer / Blogger in Paris from Paris
girl from Saint P.
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Re: Social Network / Directory Module
26 August 2008 at 1:27am
Hi Josh
Let me know if you need any assitance, I also now came accross the need for a directory module and I'm considering developing one soon.
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Re: Social Network / Directory Module
8 November 2008 at 9:41am
Hello, I just joined to see if SilverStripe has some features that I am looking for. This Social Network module sounds nice, I see it's been a while since anyone posted and wondered if there's anything similar to this? On your Services page it mentions Social networking, is this available with SS?
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Search for exciting venues and eventsFind a Venue
If you need advice or help finding venues or event suppliers, use our free helpline service.
The Lygon Arms in Broadway, Worcestershire, is possibly the oldest hotel you will ever stay in. It dates back to 1532, when it was established as the White Hart Inn, and there's a palpable sense of history about this luxurious country house-style hotel, with its timber and flagstone floors, wood panelling and stone mullion windows. The most historically significant room in the hotel is the private dining space, the Cromwell Room, which holds 10 for dinner or 15 for a meeting.
Back in 1651, Oliver Cromwell was busy drawing up battle plans with his generals at the Lygon Arms – fighting against Charles II in what turned out to be the final skirmish of the English Civil War, the Battle of Worcester – and it's likely that the Cromwell Room was where he spent a rather sleepless night prior to the battle. Hopefully, he was warmed by the magnificent Elizabethan fireplace, which is still in use. The room's ceiling is impressively enriched with early 17th-century plasterwork and gilt-framed portraits adorn the walls. Antique furniture, including sofas and armchairs, make for a private dining experience that's perfectly suited to long, cosy winter evenings.
This article first appeared in Square Meal Venues & Events magazine, Autumn 2008.


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Kate O'Mara
British actress Kate O'Mara, best known for her roles on Dynasty and Doctor Who, has died, according to The Associated Press. She was 74.
O'Mara died in a nursing home in England after fighting a short illness, her agent told the AP.
Tyler Labine and Cat Deeley
In Hulu's new half-hour comedy Deadbeat, two mediums — one real and one fake — are at odds.
read more
Eric Lawson, best known for portraying the Marlboro Man in cigarette ads during the late 1970s, has died, according to The Associated Press. He was 72.
Lawson died on Jan. 10 at his California home from respiratory failure due to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), his wife Susan said.
See other celebrities we've recently lost
Jack Coleman
Former Heroes star Jack Coleman is heading to CSI, TVGuide.com has learned exclusively.
Coleman will play Jim, a kind, empathetic pastor who is devastated by the death of his 16-year-old daughter, whose body was found in the desert. Although he's committed himself to charitable work, he's neglected the needs of his family, and, when questioned by the CSIs, seems to have a lack of connection when talking about his loss. Could the CSIs suspect him?Check out TVGuide.com's picks for the best TV shows of 2013Besides playing HRG for four seasons on Heroes, Coleman also starred as...
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All TV shows hope to leave their mark on pop culture, but few shows have ever had as much impact as Dynasty.
Fall TV Scorecard: Renewed or canceled?
"When people...
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Dale Robertson
Dale Robertson, who starred in television and movie Westerns beginning in the late 1950s, died Tuesday after a brief illness, The Associated Press reports. He was 89.
Robin Sachs
Robin Sachs, who was best known for playing sorcerer Ethan Rayne, the arch nemesis of Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer, has died, according to his official website. He was 61.
It is unknown what caused Sachs' death. "It is with...
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Lauren Graham, Jason Ritter
It's another ridiculously busy night of TV, with premieres and finales jousting for attention amid other distractions. It's just as well that CBS' top-rated lineup is taking a breather with repeats.
First, the farewells, going head to head. Once again, NBC sends away its reliably tear-jerking Parenthood (10/9c) earlier in the TV year than we'd like, but a limited run of 15 episodes beats the alternative. Shows like this don't tend to repeat well, and if a shorter run makes business sense — while freeing up the time period in the back half of the season for something else (in this case, a retooled Smash in two weeks) — then so be it. This fourth season has been Parenthood's strongest and most emotionally charged to date, especially in the storyline involving Kristina's breast cancer ordeal, providing Monica Potter and Peter Krause (as husband Adam) with their strongest dramatic material to date. Emmy voters, wake up and take note.
Happily Divorced
The bitch is back! Joan Collins plays an even more diva-fied version of herself in three episodes of TV Land's Happily Divorced, beginning November 28.
"She's a strong, glamorous woman with a very good sense of humor who is quite independent, quite rich and likes to get her own way," Collins, 79, says of herself.
Heather Locklear
Melrose Place alum Heather Locklear will join the cast of Hot in Cleveland in Season 4, TVLine.com reports.
Similar to Melrose's Amanda, Locklear's Hot character works in...
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More Articles for Gen Y
Why Millennials Aren't Buying Cars
It isn't that the younger generation doesn't have a job or money – they just prefer to delay or put off buying a car altogether.
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King Robe
Medieval Cloak Mens Costume
You'll be the classiest of lords wearing this Medieval Cloak Mens Costume. All the noble clergymen and even the king himself might be impressed by your brown cloak with thick furs covering your shoulders and neck.
Kings Burgundy Adult Mens Robe
Don the look of royalty when you wear this Kings Burgundy Adult Mens Robe! In this rich velvet fabric trimmed with faux fur and gold edging, the emperor will finally have some clothes! One size fits most.
Burger King Deluxe Adult Costume
All hail to The Burger King! For a whopper of a costume be sure to rule the party in this officially licensed Burger King deluxe adult costume. The orange, white and gold faux fur-trimmed robe features attached shirt sleeves, Burger King medallion and a character mask.
Purple Wise Men Adult Mens Costume
…and myrrh, but you'll be perfectly suited for any church pageant or holiday play dressed in thispurple wiseman costume, complete with headpiece, robe, and sash. This mens costume is perfect for halloween and holiday festivities. Bring along the blue and burgundy wisemen for a great group costume!


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Category Archives: Admissibility
7 Random Thoughts on Justice and Stuff
A lot has happened in the world of international justice since my last post at JiC. So here are 7 stories and thoughts on the ICC and other justice-related stuff from recent weeks. 1. A Strong and Weak ICC? It … Continue reading
Posted in Admissibility, Complementarity, Crime of Aggression, Humanitarian Intervention, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), International Law, Justice, Kenya, Kenya and the ICC, Libya, Libya and the ICC, Palestine, Palestine and the ICC, Peace Negotiations, Responsibiltiy to Protect (R2P), Transitional Justice, UN Security Council Leave a comment
Another Curious Moment in the Saif and Senussi Cases
There have been numerous twists and turns in the cases of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah al-Senussi. Senussi was allegedly bought for $200 million from Mauritania and held there for months before being surrendered to Libya in September 2012. Saif's … Continue reading
Posted in Admissibility, Libya, Libya and the ICC 3 Comments
ICC Hands off Libya
I have a new article up at Foreign Policy's Middle East Channel that may be of interest to some readers. It covers the ICC's inadmissibility ruling in the case of Abdullah al-Senussi. The piece places the ruling into the political … Continue reading
Posted in Admissibility, Complementarity, ICC Prosecutor, Justice, Libya, Libya and the ICC, UN Security Council Tagged Abdullah al-Senussi 1 Comment
ICC Rules: Saif Gaddafi Should be Tried in The Hague, Not Libya
Judges at the International Criminal Court (ICC) have finally ruled on Libya's admissibility challenge regarding Saif al-Islam Gadadfi. The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber has decided against Libya's request to try Saif in Libya and have reiterated their demand that Saif be surrendered … Continue reading
Posted in Admissibility, International Criminal Court (ICC), Libya, Libya and the ICC Tagged Saif al-Islam Gaddafi 2 Comments
Defying Gravity: Seeking Political Balance in ICC Prosecutions
The International Criminal Court is often accused of being "political" or "politicized" in its selection of situations and cases. What has become most problematic for the Court's credibility and impartiality in this regard are the situations and cases that have … Continue reading
Posted in Admissibility, Democratic Republic of Congo, ICC Prosecutor, International Criminal Court (ICC), Ivory Coast / Côte d'Ivoire, Ivory Coast and the ICC, Uganda Tagged Democratic Republic of Congo, Gravity threshold, International Criminal Court (ICC), Ivory Coast and the ICC, Uganda 10 Comments
How the ICC Could Still Get Senussi to The Hague
As I write this, admissibility hearings at the International Criminal Court (ICC) are ongoing. The hearings will play a major role in whether or not ICC judges ultimately accept Libya's plans to try Abdullah al-Senussi, Gaddafi's former spy chief and … Continue reading
Senussi Extradited to Libya: Some Thoughts on What it Means
The first images of Abdullah al-Senussi since the end of Libyan revolution littered social media sites yesterday as the Gaddafi regime's "eyes and ears", "blackbox" and "henchman" arrived in Libya after being extradited to Libya from Mauritania. There he was, somewhat … Continue reading
Libya vs. The ICC: Stalemate over Saif and Senussi
I recently had the opportunity to write a piece for the great folks at Think Africa Press on the ongoing battle between the ICC and Libya over the custody of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi and Abdullah al-Senussi. It covers much of … Continue reading


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Career Advice
Write Like an Organizational Leader: 5 Simple Rules
Every organization has managers and leaders. Managers are needed to maintain the organization's functions; leaders are necessary to transform an organization. Leaders differ from managers in five distinct areas: Writing Style, Dress, Work Habits, Speech Patterns and Commitment. This article will focus on the 'Writing Styles' of organizational leaders.
Early in my career I was fortunate … Read More »
The Art of Asking Why?
It seems like a simple question – why? We ask it every day. But how often do we take the time to fully answer the question as a means to understand purpose? Upon meeting someone new, we typically encounter the question, "What do you do?" Most of us have a prepared, canned response to this … Read More »
A Passion for Meaningless Work?
Research tends to show that workers who are passionate about their jobs and consider their work meaningful are more productive than those who don't. But there are limits to what leaders can do to create meaningful jobs that people can be passionate about, especially at the lower levels of organizations.
Think about how one might identify … Read More »
Your Front Line: An Untapped Power House of Improvement Potential
For the highway maintenance crews at the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), fixing bent, twisted, or knocked down delineators was a difficult and dangerous task. Delineators are those U-shaped steel posts with reflectors on top that are spaced every 500 feet or so to designate the edge of highways. The stakes are critical in helping … Read More »
Your Fire Service Resume: Is It Good Enough? Pt. 4
You have made it to part 4 of 5 of your Fire Service Resume and we are headed down the home stretch. Soon you will have a deep and complete understanding of what a winning firefighter resume should look like and what information should be contained in the document. As you can tell creating something … Read More »
Public Policy Analyst: A Public Service Career Feature
Earning a Master's in Public Administration (MPA) degree allows for many career options and one of those options is a Public Policy Analyst, also known as a Policy Analyst. According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, policy analysts establish policy and assess the efficiency of various programs. Some analysts assist in the decision-making … Read More »
What Does Your Email Address Say About You?
First impressions are important when it comes to job seeking, and an email address can make quite a first impression. Often times, the email address is the first thing a hiring manager sees – before even seeing your name! Before you send out your next resume, consider what your email address alone might say about … Read More »
Finding Your Career Path
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Remember that? I hated being asked that question. Granted, I disliked it most when I was in my teens, because well, what teen wants to think about that? And when I was a kid, I was sure I was going to hoist the Stanley … Read More »
3 Job Search Strategies for Every Jobseeker
Increased competition for jobs means there is a growing need to stand out to hiring managers and have a Job Search strategy. Generic resumes and cover letters don't cut it. Each application needs customized application materials that speak to the specific needs of that company. Researching jobs and companies plays a much bigger role now … Read More »
Three Strategies for a Brilliant Job Interview
So you've found a pretty good possibility for a job and you're excited because not only do you tick all the boxes for the skill-set the organization is looking for, but you'd just love to work there! So when you're invited to interview, you are very pleased indeed. Except… you hate the whole assessment process, … Read More »


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Downtown Spartanburg Ferris Wheel Wraps Up The Fun - August 26, 2013
A 90-foot ferris wheel has wrapped up a 12-day run in Spartanburg, carrying more than 5,000 riders into the sky.
The Wheel of Lights and Inspiration, or WOLI was set up in Morgan Square downtown on August 14. It took the final riders around Sunday night.
Leaders said it's a way to bring festival spirit to Spartanburg as summer winds down.
According to city spokesman Will Rothschild, the winners of the WOLI photo contest will be announced Monday or Tuesday.
Keep checking back for updates.
A 90-foot ferris wheel has been set up in downtown Spartanburg.
According to the city's website, thanks to a private donor the attraction named WOLI (Wheel of Lights and Inspirations) will be operating in Morgan Square for 12 days.
The ferris wheel spends most of its time at large outdoor festivals across the country. It was recently seen at Bonnaroo Music Festival.
The city has announced a photo contest centered around the attraction.
A news release from leaders at city hall states that three of the best photos will be selected on Monday, August 26. The winners will be awarded prizes, which are yet to be announced.
To enter, just post your photo to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using the hashtag #SpartanburgWOLI.
Traveling from Oregon to California, Biddy the hedgehog has made the most of their summer vacation!
250 International Dr.Spartanburg, S.C. 29303
Telephone: 864.576.7777
Fax: 864.587.5430
Email: email@example.com