The Experts Are the Best Sources of Wine Info and Recommendations
The tendancy to disparage “wine experts” or “wine elite” grows as the role of social media and peer reviews grow. Yet the fact remains that the experts are the best and most reliable source of information on wine. Folks like Eric Asimov, Robert Parker, Jim Laube, Jancis Robinson, Steve Heimoff, Charles Olken, Dan Berger, Lettie Teague, Jon Bonne and other well known experts are the one’s with the experience to best understand wine and best provide well-founded recommendations and critiques. There is no way around the fact that experience = expertise. It doesn’t matter if you are talkinb about archeology, Rock n Roll, cheese, interior decorating or wine.

Expensive Wine Is Almost Always Better
While I realize that, like beauty, taste is in the palate of the beholder, it is a fact that a more expensive wine is likely to be a higher quality wine. The price of wine is generally dependant upon three things: the cost of production, the supply and the demand. More expensive wines almost always cost more to make because the they use better ingredients (grapes, barrels, winemakers, etc), because the demand for the wines are higher, and the supply is generally limited. I’ve argued in the past that pronouncements of quality are entirely subjective. But within the world of consensus understandings, we will almost always understand that more expensive wines are appreciated in greater degree than less expensive wines.

Few People Know What They are Talking About When It Comes to Terroir
We talk a lot about “terroir” and the taste of the soil in this business and industry. We all submit that translating the terroir into the bottle is paramount to the process. Yet the fact is, 99.9% of folks who talk about this sort of thing could not pick a Russian River Valley Pinot out of a line up that also included a Santa Barbara, New Zealand, and Carneros Pinot. And let’s not even talk about trying to identify a Pinot from one vineyard and a Pinot from another vineyard a mile down the road. The implications of this uncomfortable truth are many, not the least of which is the role that faith plays in the area of wine appreciation.

Natural Wine Isn’t Natural
Lots of talk of “natural” wine these days. More producers, retailers, wine bars and events are dedicated to the stuff. But “natural” is to wine as California Sparkling wine is to Champagne. It isn’t that. “Natural” wine is processed grape juice and the processing and manipulation begins in the vineyard and ends with the marketing.

Ratings Sell LOTS of Wine
Despite the constant din of criticism of ratings and the 100 Point rating system in particular, ratings sell big time. And the 100 Point rating system is a huge driver of sales. If you don’t think so, talk to the winemaker that just got their first 95 point rating from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate or the Wine Spectator. Then ask them, would you rather have a string of tweets about your great wine or a 95 point rating from Robert Parker.

Driving the California Wine Routes Can Be Dangerous To Your Health
Driving along Highway 29 in Napa Valley, Highway 12 in Sonoma Valley or Westside Road in the Russian River Valley around 5pm on a Saturday can be very dangerous to your health. The problem is that so many folks who have just consumed way too much wine are on the roads. They may have been sipping, but in many cases it has been an all day sipping affair that is in reality and all-day drinking affair. This uncomfortable truth has yet to affect the local hospitality industry in substantial ways, but it just could in coming years when the next terrible tradjedy happens.

Too Much Wine Marketing Relies On The Idea That “You Can Be Better Than Them”
If you drink this wine, if you consume wines from this area, if you visit this wine region, you’ll be a better, more sophisticated person than your neighbor. That, in a nutshell, is the basis of a great deal of wine-related marketing: being a “wine person” makes you a “better person”. It is not an unusual marketing message. In fact, it is a message common to most luxury good products. But it is a little distasteful.

 

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May 15, 2012 – Chan Sung Jung is the UFC’s human highlight reel.

In 2011, the “Korean Zombie” authored two of MMA’s most memorable moments, producing the first Twister submission win in UFC history, and later scoring a 7-second knockout. In his first fight of 2012, he once again put on a show, this time on UFC on FUEL 3. Jung didn’t just upset favorite Dustin Poirier in the main event, he also made a nice payday, earning two bonus awards for his brilliant winning performance.

Jung captured the Submission of the Night for his fourth-round D’arce choke victory, and he and Poirier earned Fight of the Night for their battle.

The two awards were worth an extra $80,000 on top of his contracted fight purse. He has now won nightly awards in all three of his UFC bouts.

Jung became the first fighter ever to stop Poirier in the process, and afterward, asked for a fight with featherweight champion Jose Aldo.

Until the main event, it seemed a lock that a wild light-heavyweight scrap between Igor Pokrajac and Fabio Maldonado seemed destined for the Fight of the Night prize, only to be outdone.

Meanwhile, middleweight Tom Lawlor earned the $40,000 Knockout of the Night award after knocking out Jason MacDonald in just 50 seconds. Lawlor hurt him badly with a straight left, and then finished him with a right hook behind the ear.

Read More: Chan Sung Jung (MMA), Dustin Poirier (MMA), UFC on FUEL TV 3

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World championship leader Sebastian Vettel set the fastest laptime of the final practice session ahead of qualifying in Barcelona this morning, but is sure to face a fierce battle for pole position later today. In what was a highly unpredictable session, Vettel’s laptime of 1m23.168s beat Williams’ Pastor Maldonado (1m23.336s) and Sauber’s Kamui Kobayashi (1m23.350s) by less than two tenths, with many others likely to be in contention come qualifying also.

Conditions were sweltering once again at the Spanish track as teams and drivers made their final preparations ahead of this afternoon’s qualifying session and Sunday’s race. The session was an immediate disaster for Lotus’s Romain Grosjean however, as he coast to a halt in the opening minutes with a fuel pressure problem. Despite the best efforts of his team he was unable to return to the track and goes into qualifying on the backfoot.

Free Practice 3
No.	Driver	Team	Time	Laps
1	Sebastian Vettel	Red Bull	1’23.168	13
2	Pastor Maldonado	Williams	1’23.336	19
3	Kamui Kobayashi	Sauber	1’23.350	19
4	Mark Webber	Red Bull	1’23.578	16
5	Sergio Perez	Sauber	1’23.742	22
6	Fernando Alonso	Ferrari	1’23.807	15
7	Jean-Eric Vergne	Toro Rosso	1’23.833	14
8	Jenson Button	McLaren	1’23.909	13
9	Kimi Raikkonen	Lotus	1’23.936	16
10	Nico Rosberg	Mercedes	1’24.070	24
11	Felipe Massa	Ferrari	1’24.179	16
12	Nico Hulkenberg	Force India	1’24.323	17
13	Daniel Ricciardo	Toro Rosso	1’24.331	15
14	Bruno Senna	Williams	1’24.409	18
15	Paul di Resta	Force India	1’24.599	15
16	Lewis Hamilton	McLaren	1’24.778	15
17	Michael Schumacher	Mercedes	1’24.825	17
18	Vitaly Petrov	Caterham	1’25.911	20
19	Heikki Kovalainen	Caterham	1’26.587	20
20	Charles Pic	Marussia	1’27.469	18
21	Timo Glock	Marussia	1’27.689	16
22	Narain Karthikeyan	HRT	1’28.207	24
23	Pedro de la Rosa	HRT	1’28.373	13
24	Romain Grosjean	Lotus	-	2

source : ManipeF1

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Posted on 05.14.2012 17:00 by Simona Filed under: Chevrolet | suv | Paris Motor Show | 2012 | Chevrolet Trax | Cars | Car Reviews | Chevrolet

Chevrolet has announced it will unveil a new global SUV in September at the 2012 Paris Auto Show. The new model, called Trax, will be offered in more than 140 markets, with Mexico and Canada being the first ones privy to it. As of right now, there are no plans to introduce it in the U.S. market.

The future Trax will feature the same pioneering spirit and expressive design that defines each new Chevrolet, but it will be distinguished by a muscular exterior design and wide athletic stance. Chevrolet states that the interior will come with standards usually found in more expensive vehicles.

“The Trax provides Chevrolet an entry into a growing small SUV segment and delivers the flexibility, great fuel economy and car-like handling that urban explorers around the world require,” said Mary Barra, GM senior vice president of Product Development. “After a record sales year in 2011 and a record first quarter, Chevrolet continues to meet customer needs by expanding its portfolio with strong new entries.”

Chevrolet Trax originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 14 May 2012 17:00 EST.

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UFC on FUEL TV 3 is set to go Tuesday evening after all fighters on the card tipped the scales at the Patriot Center in Fairfax, VA today.

The event will be headlined with a featherweight fight between Chan-Sung Jung and Dustin Poirier.

Complete results below:

Main…

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It happened again.

Nick Diaz no-showed his internet pay-per-view main event BJJ match against Braulio Estima at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo tonight in California.

There had been rumors throughout the evening that Diaz was not in the building, however it wasn’t until just before t…

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However, there really is more here than food and wine. You could go golfing between sips and bites. For those inclined to spoil a good walk, the Napa area provides some pretty interesting choices. And many don’t require you to mortgage your home. Here are some excellent choices.

Eagle Vines Golf Club
Located about 15 minutes east of the town of Napa in American Canyon, Eagle Vines is a challenging but fair Johnny Miller-designed track that will give you the opportunity to swing away and practice your target golf. It’s a pretty course, surrounded on many holes by vines and water coming into play on eight holes. It’s nicely groomed and the greens tend to be quite true and of moderate to quick speeds. The two putting greens leave something to be desired. And be careful, in my experience, the putting greens tend to be slower than the course greens. You can find green fees ranging from $39 to $80. My favorite hole is #11, a par five with water to to the left off the tee and a second shot that requires first a carry over a stream then a carry over a lake to reach in two; or a precision shot between water and bunkers to set up a pitch to the green.

Chardonnay Golf Club
Located direct adjacent to Eagle Vines is Chardonnay Golf Club. It, like Eagle Vines, is incorporated into a vineyard landscape with vines coming into play on a number of holes. The views from many of the elevated tees are spectacular. Uniquely, Chardonnay presents six par 3s, six par 4s and six par 5s. Beware that the par fives are difficult holes. Many of them are long and demand a careful carry over ravines and washes. The practice facilities here are quite good with a large putting green and a grass range. There are numerous elevated tees here, some of them monumentally elevated. And like its neighbor, Eagle Vines, wind can be a serious factor later in the afternoon. My favorite hole is the elevated par 3 8th that hits to a undulating narrow and wide green. Given the wind factor, I’ve hit everything from a 52 degree wedge to a 7 iron on this hole.

Napa Golf Course at Kennedy Park
This is Napa’s local municipal course, and it’s a good one with lots of challenges. Like most municipal courses it’s not in absolutely pristine shape (some sand traps remain “rock traps”). However, water comes into play on 14 of the 18 holes and in many cases, this isn’t just incidental water. It’s you-better-hit-your-tee-shot-straight kind of water. As you would imagine, prices as Kennedy are lower. You can easily get on for $35 or less. There is a driving range with mats as well as a fine putting green. My favorite hole is #8, a medium length par 5 with water on both sides and lake about 100 yards out that must be traversed. You can get to the green in two with two good shots, but you’d better not be errant.

Vintners Golf Club
This is the Valley’s local 9-hole track located smack dab in the middle of the Valley in the culinary haven of Yountville. They keep this little nine holer in very good shape and it is mightily popular with locals not only for the quick round it provides but also for the driving range that allows for hitting off mats as well as grass. Water comes into play on three holes but only on number 4 is it of any consequence. The folks that run this place are fantastic and the local pro, Jeff Dennis, is outstanding. Rates range from about $20 up to $40 for a round of 18.

Hiddenbrook Golf Club
This one is located about a 25 minute drive from the town of Napa and it might be the best course around that you can easily get on. It’s an Arnold Palmer-designed course that has hosted LPGA events and it is a challenge, well-groomed and well worth an afternoon.The course features some huge elevation changes, a number of holes with wide open fairways and holes that require you traverse water to reach the green. In my mind, it is the most challenging of the easy-to-get-on-courses in the area. From the blue tees you have a 71.1 rating and 133 slope. This course comes highly recommended. Rates for a round range from $40 to $100 depending on when you play. Hiddenbrook also provides a driving range, an undulating putting green and a chipping green.

Mare Island Golf Club
Located about a half hour from Napa in the town of Vallejo on a former army base located on an island of sorts, Mare Island Golf Club is unique. Opened in 1892 as a nine hole track it claims to be the oldest golf course still operating west of the Mississippi River. In 2000 an additional 9 holes were added providing for two very different golfing experiences between the original nine and the new nine holes. The front nine is a traditional layout with tree-lined fairways and greens like postage stamps. The new back nine opens up, and provides a more links-like experience Much of Mare Island is target golf, made even more difficult by the frequent afternoon winds that can turn a 9 iron into a 5 iron. The green fees are great values ranging from $15 to $45 depending on day and time of play. A small putting green is provided with an irons only driving range.

There are other courses in the area, most of which require membership or a stay at the connected resort. All of the courses described above require no more than a tee time. I tend to rotate around these course and find something to like about all of them. For golfers coming to Napa, a few hours away from the food and wine will be rewarding. And the wine will always be here.

 

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Posted on 03.28.2012 10:00 by Simona Filed under: Mini | compact cars | coupe | Spy Shots and Rendering | hatchback | Mini Cooper | special editions | Cars | Car Reviews | Mini

The top model Mini from the last generation was the JCW GP – a special edition with just 2,000 units. Now it seems history is about to repeat itself as Mini has just unveiled the official details on the new John Cooper Works GP, described by the company as the fastest Mini ever built: it laps the Nürburgring-Nordschleife in 8 min. 23 seconds.

The new John Cooper Works GP will be offered with powertrain, chassis and aerodynamics technology inspired directly by motor sport, but Mini did not announced any specifications just yet. However, they did confirmed it lapped the Nurburgring ring in 8 minutes and 23 seconds – an improvement over the previous GP model by 19 seconds.

On the exterior the new model will be distinguished by large front and rear aprons, striking side skirts, a bespoke roof spoiler and newly developed rear diffuser. This impressive package continues on the interior where the car has the rear seats removed in order to get a more racing appearance.

The new model will go on sale later this year in a limited run of 2,000 units.

Updated 05/12/2012: This review has been updated with the official details, images and specs..

Mini John Cooper Works GP originally appeared on topspeed.com on Saturday, 12 May 2012 14:00 EST.

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Is there really a need today for an organization promoting the advancement only of women in the wine industry?….Craig in Florida

Not being a women, never having been discriminated against in the job market due to my gender and having taken advantage of the premium paid to men, I’m not sure I’m in the best position to answer that question. My take is that in the wine industry, as in many others, women are more likely to be viewed as less capable due to their gender alone, than are men. Economically, that tendency advantages me. And yet I don’t understand the origin of that tendency. Were I a woman who had seen or felt discrimination due only to the fact that I was not a man, I’d probably want to join a group of women that had my vocational back.

The implication that the people of Alabama are all racists doesn’t have any place in a wine blog. Would it have been so hard to just stick to the facts?….Elton in Mobile

Elton, did I imply that the people of Alabama are racist? Woops. I meant to explicitly state that many folks in Alabama are racist?

Tom, I say this with all respect because I like you, your work and your blog. Your frequent direct attacks on wholesalers and the three tier system will get you no where and will eventually cause you and your career damage and will drive away readers who don’t care about how the system is organized. Is there really nothing else you can opine upon other than the failings of the three tier system?….Steve in California

Steve, I think a man without a principled crusade to, in some part, motivate him is a man who skates dangerously close to the disease of self-centeredness. The unfairness of many elements of the alcohol distribution system, its often economic irrationality, the way it stifles innovation and the way consumers are used without concern for their interests all and together for some reason motivates me. My hope is your prediction about my career, however, does not come true. So far so good.

While impressive, your formula for looking at ROI and Social Media just doesn’t matter. Social Media has failed in every way to be a source of economic motivation. Why do you spend time on understanding social media when one on one relationships and earned media still are far more important to PR?…SB from New York

I read that Facebook now has more than 900 million users and is growing. Meanwhile, Twitter is a source huge traffic to this blog, other blogs and the media. Though in my daily work for clients I spend a great deal more time forging relationships and working to pitch stories to the media than I do social media, ignoring a communications platform that hosts a billion people seems like negligence to me.

Why do you insist on writing about things that you don’t know anything about?…Carl in Detroit, Mi

Carl, it’s either that or heroin.

Tom, I read your blog daily. Thank you for keeping it going. I’ve learned so much from Fermentation. I’m hoping you can help. I will be starting a blog similar to yours in which I write about important issues on wine, not about what wines to drink or where to travel. Can you give me some advice on how to generate ideas for regular posts. That seems to me to be the most difficult part of writing on a daily basis as you do. How do you do it?….Sarah in Napa

Sarah, it’s two parts inspiration, one part curiosity and one part self indulgence. I’m blessed with the “what-the-heck-does-that-mean” gene that forces my mind to gaze in many different directions. This kind of curiosity has been a blessing for me because it serves to spur inspiration. Because I know I want to maintain this blog, when I find myself fascinated with, say, the active discrimination against women at the Augusta Golf Club I allow myself to consider how that issue intersects with the world of wine. Usually, a connection of some sort is made that interests me. It’s that last part (that it interests me) that goes back to self-indulgence. I assume (probably incorrectly) that if it interests me, it will interests others. That’s shamefully self indulgent. But, it is a formula for generating consistent material for this blog. Write about what interests you without worry that it may not interest others.

Why are you trying to hurt people of the natural movement? It is that you fear of 99% of wine being made with chemicals is the truth?…Lucian, Somewhere in France

Lucian, I think the natural wine movement is just great, as are the people in the movement. I’m not trying to hurt them. I’m just trying to educate others outside the movement of its fraudulent and dangerous contrivances. And I’ll leave it to you to help educate folks about those contrivances.

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It happened again.

Nick Diaz no-showed his internet pay-per-view main event BJJ match against Braulio Estima at the World Jiu-Jitsu Expo tonight in California.

There had been rumors throughout the evening that Diaz was not in the building, however it wasn’t until just before t…

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