True County spirit
The stainless steel tank had a huge influence on white wines. People tired of the excessive use of oak—and its vanilla and butter/cream palate—delight in the flavour profiles uncovered by this relatively new technology. Inspired by its success in the dairy industry, Emile Peynaud first promoted the use of stainless steel tanks as fermentation chambers […]
Needle art
Even with a background in Museum Studies and experience working in community museums, what I know about quilts you could probably push through the eye of a quilter’s needle. Of course, you know many of Ontario’s community museums have quilt collections. You knew that, right? I thought I’d write something profound, even witty, to let […]
Hall of Fame 2014
Two halls of fame are in the news this week. On Monday, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced its inductee list for 2014. Four players, one coach and one on-ice official made the grade this year: Rob Blake, Peter Forsberg, Dominik Hasek, and Mike Modano are the players. An interesting sort, as they all hail […]
La Methode Champenoise
The French government has recently made concessions to the EU, in order to protect regionally exclusive wine names. The European Union prohibits any region, other than Champagne, from calling a sparkling wine by that French provincial name. Some unexpected consequences have ensued. There are truly exquisite wines from the Champagne region, but more often than […]
By comparison
Seems as if there are mornings when it is not so much the light before dawn wandering through the window that speaks to me; some mornings I feel the earth turn. Like this one. Me, lying here below the skylight that opens to the morning star; lying here under clothes-line-dried sheets pulled to my chin. […]
The next cup winner
You’ve got to hand it to those elite soccer players showing off their talents during the FIFA World Cup. They take home salaries in excess of half a million dollars a week; and their transfer value—the cost to a team to buy the player’s contract from his current team—is usually in the tens of millions. […]
Bitter or sweet
Goodbyes really are bittersweet. Saturday, the first full day of summer, dawned bright and beautiful, as if to make a goodbye picnic easier for all of us to handle. Of course, if you’re going to a picnic, it’s always sweet to have good weather. This Saturday, our youngest daughter and her wife hosted their goodbye […]
Summer’s coming
They’ve turned out the lights in San Antonio and Los Angeles. The Spurs and the Kings have risen to the top and are now on euphoric holidays. The Miami Heat and the New York Rangers will have to regroup this summer, to prepare for next season. In a surprising finish, the Spurs trounced the Heat […]
In his cups
Throughout the ages, man has constantly strived to create the perfect beverage container. The centuries-long search has led to materials as diverse as leather, horn, precious metals or pottery. Some of these supping vessels have stood the test of time; others are merely memories hinted at by exotic names. Wooden tankards were commonly used for […]
Good luck, Google!
Did you see the pictures of Google’s new driverless car? According to recent reports, Google—the juggernaut that controls everything we do these days—is about to test a fleet of 100 driverless cars without steering wheels, accelerators or brake pedals. The cars will have a top speed of 40 kilometres per hour, which I guess will […]