Follow your nose
You would be amazed by what the “nose” tells you about a wine. In a wine made from pinot noir grapes, for example, it can indicate the type of season vis-à-vis the fruit notes. A nose of damp straw and fresh earthy mushroom indicates a young pinot noir. Dig deeper in a more mature pinot, […]
Kings, knights and parking lots
When people see something for the first time, they think it could be a fluke. But when it happens twice in quick succession, the smart money begins to see a pattern. It was just last month that British archeologists dug through a parking lot in the City of Leceister and unearthed the body—genetically tested to […]
N plus one equals…
Easter weekend is just around the corner. At the risk of annoying anyone who sees Easter as a religious occasion, let me start by saying for me and my family, “It’s a wonderful, long weekend.” Our kids, their kids, their partners, their ex-partners and their friends come home for a few days and we have […]
Habs in Florida
Just in case you didn’t know, P. K. Subban is always in a hurry. Not a lot of dust settles on the man. And as we have seen in the past little while, he is keeping busy on the ice with the Montreal Canadiens. The former Belleville Bull arrived a little late for the season. […]
Similar shapes
Wine bottles, by and large, can be divided into about six different shapes: The Bordeaux bottle has cylindrical walls and high shoulders The Port bottle is of similar shape, but sports a bulbous neck. Burgundy and Rhône bottles have sloping shoulders (Châteauneuf-du-Pape is embossed with crossed keys). Rhine, Mosel and Alsace wines are presented in […]
Snapchat, traffic and apple crisp
If you’ve been in downtown Toronto recently, you may have noticed a difference from Wellington. There are more people, of course, but almost everyone scurries along at a furious pace with a plug in one ear and eyes glued to a hand-held smartphone screen. It’s a wonder thousands aren’t obliterated by the passing traffic at […]
Tasty images
When it comes to food, you’d be hard pressed to find a denser concentration of foodies, food lovers, food consumers, food preppers and food producers than you’ll find right here, in the County. If you know me, and many of you do, you know I can’t resist being involved where there’s an opportunity to put […]
Church hill
I recently attended a service in Belleville. I admit to not being a regular church goer but I am interested in the icons and mythologies of various faiths. I was late arriving for the morning funeral service at St. Michael the Archangel and, with the mass already under way, I slipped into a pew under […]
Longevity
There is a lot to be said for longevity, especially in the sports world. Experience is a valuable asset. In conversation the other night with former Wellington Duke Matt Cooke, he suggested that I check on the number of games he has played in the NHL, and compare it with the number played by another […]
Punt to the finish
“Punt” is the correct name for the dimple on the end of a wine bottle. There is no actual agreement as to why it still exists. When wine bottles were hand-blown, a dimple was left on the inside of the bottle to prevent glass-blowing imperfections from scratching a wooden surface. Eliminating the blown bottom surface […]