The Wine Lovers Giveaway!
October 5, 2011It’s been a little while since I did a giveaway, so I thought I’d GO BIG!
Here’s what I have to giveaway:
Soiree Wine Aerator – the ONLY way I aerate my wine!
The Wine Lovers Journal – a very cool hard-bound notebook for your labels and tasting notes.
Private Preserve – wine preserver to keep your wine fresh for longer.
Wine Away – red wine stain remover.
California Wine Map – large fold-out wine map showing all regions and wineries in California.
Wine Tasting Kit – setup a 4-person blind tasting in your own home!
The above is just over $100 in value!
Posted in Giveaway | Tagged Italy, La Fiera, Pinot Grigio | Leave a comment //Flying with Wine-The Definitive Guide
October 5, 2011
I often get asked about the rules and regs regarding flying (or just travelling in general) with wine, so I thought it was worthy of a post!
Let’s start with the current TSA rules regarding travelling with alcohol:
Carrying Alcohol In Your Checked Baggage
Please note, you can’t take alcoholic beverages with more than 70% alcohol content (140 proof), including 95% grain alcohol and 150 proof rum, in your checked luggage.
You may take up to five liters of alcohol with alcohol content between 24% and 70% per person as checked luggage if it’s packaged in a sealable bottle or flask.
Alcoholic beverages with less than 24% alcohol content are not subject to hazardous materials regulations.
Packing
Before you even consider packing fragile bottles of wine in bags containing your clothing, you need to make sure that you’re travelling prepared! One very cool product I’ve found is called the WineSkin, which is essentially a leak-proof transport system for your precious cargo. It’s also reusable!
Personally, I just always make sure that I travel with plenty of black plastic trash bags! Wrap each bottle in at least 2, and pack the bottles toward the middle of your suitcase, with plenty of padding around them. This will ensure that your bottles are protected when those friendly baggage handlers decide to kick your bags down a flight of stairs. It happens! The last thing you want is to arrive home, all travel weary and such, only to have to be faced with the unpleasant task of washing red wine and broken glass out of your clothing. Not cool.
Posted in News | Tagged Airline alcohol, Airline wine regulations, American Airlines, Continental, Delta, Flying with wine, Travelling with alcohol, Travelling with wine | Leave a comment //28th Annual Caring Chefs-October 23rd
October 4, 2011
Event Date: 10.23.2010
Time: 7-9:30 p.m.
Name: 28th Annual Caring Chefs
Location: The Avenues Mall
Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of other worthy causes to support in Jacksonville; however the annual Children’s Home Society Caring Chefs at the Avenues Mall is THE charity event of the year! You get the chance to visit more than 50 of the best restaurants in town, sampling some of the best food, wine and beer, all in one night!
Caring Chefs is the most popular food and wine-tasting event on the First Coast and is also the longest running. Besides food, there’s much more entertainment including three live bands – and you never know who you’re going to run into! A sell-out crowd of more than 2,000 is expected to attend this year. Caring Chefs tickets are $60 and include admission, food, drink and live entertainment.
Click here to purchase tickets.
Chartered in Jacksonville in 1902, Children’s Home Society of Florida is dedicated to embracing children and inspiring lives. Every day, CHS works to restore and strengthen families through its various programs and services such as adoption, foster care and child abuse prevention programs. For more information about CHS, please log on to www.chsfl.org/buckner.
Posted in Events | Tagged Caring Chefs | Leave a comment //This Week in Wine – 10/2/11
October 2, 2011
Trump to Mark Opening of Trump Vineyard
Billionaire real estate mogul Donald Trump will fete the opening of Trump Vineyard Estates in Albemarle County on Tuesday with a reception including his son Eric Trump, Gov. Bob McDonnell, first lady Maureen McDonnell and Patricia Kluge.
Trump’s organization purchased Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in April for more than $6 million and next week will celebrate the revamped operation with an invitation-only affair.
The reality TV star who recently flirted with a run for the Republican presidential nomination bought most of the picturesque grounds and facilities through auction after the bank foreclosed on the former owners, William Moses and Kluge.
Click here for the full story.
My Thoughts
Good luck to them! He’s obviously got enough money to throw at the project; I only hope that they can maintain the quality the winery was known for.
South African Wineries Deny Accusations of Worker Misery
A disturbing report from the international organization Human Rights Watch has accused South Africa’s fruit farms and grape growers of subjecting their agricultural workers to inhuman conditions. But members of the wine industry are calling the report a smear job, pointing out that the organization investigated less than 1% of the nation’s grape farms. They’re fighting back against what they say is an attempt to hurt export sales.
The report details workers living in dilapidated housing. One 40-year-old farm worker said he and his family had been living in a pig stall for 10 years. The report also said workers were made to spray pesticides without proper safety equipment, that they had little access to toilets or drinking water while working and that farm owners prevented unionization.
Click here for the full story.
My Thoughts
I can’t say this report comes as a huge surprise!
1% is obviously a very small sampling, however South Africa needs to do everything it can to keep its image clean in the eyes of the consumer. There is so much potential in laying in wait in South African wine; but with reports like this surfacing, people are going to very quickly divert their attention to other up-and-coming countries/regions.
A Taste of Spain… A Seven Course Journey
September 30, 2011
I Have a Confession to Make…
September 30, 2011There’s something that’s been weighing on my mind for quite some time now.
Truth be told, the only reason I’m posting it here is that I was caught “in the act” by my wife; and now I’ve been shamed into telling the whole world, (or at least whomever stumbles across this website).
Ok, here goes….
Whenever I’m drinking anything that I deem to be a decent bottle of wine (I deem “decent” to be most of my choices over $25 retail), something unusual comes over me. I really can’t explain it…I think it might just be my inner wine snob fighting to get out!
<Deep breath> Here’s my confession…
Posted in Funny | Tagged Recycling, Wine Confession, Wine Snobs | 2 Comments //← Older posts Newer posts →
