Bull’s Blood
Some wines, like Hungarian “Bull’s Blood,” have a wonderful story behind their name and origin. Bull’s Blood is a robust red wine, blended from up to 13 different varieties, that is commonly found on wine shop and supermarket shelves in the British Isles. The common availability of this wine, however, does not diminish its quality. […]
Rob Bagg – Saskatchewan Roughrider
Last Saturday, Robb Bagg dropped by Mary Ann Sills Park in Belleville to watch a little football. His cousin, Matthew Mead, is the quarterback for the Bancroft entry in the Belleville Minor Football League. As he was leaving the grounds at the end of the third quarter, Bagg quietly suggested to Mead’s father that he […]
Close to my heart
LOML’s aunt used to say there weren’t too many reasons for old folks to get together unless it was to attend a funeral or a grandchild’s wedding. Every time she said something to that effect, I thought it must be H E double uppers and lowers to get old. She might have been about my […]
Late spring frost
This time of the year wonderful things happen in the vineyards of the northern hemisphere. The vines begin their yearly majestic journey toward a bountiful harvest, subject to detours created by Mother Nature. The vines awaken from their dormant winter state when the soil reaches the right temperature. In an effect known as “weeping,” the […]
Stanley Cup 2012-round three, SVP
Everything has been settled in the Western Conference. The Los Angeles Kings will face off against the Phoenix Coyotes to decide the finalist from the west. Needless to say, the emergence of those two teams was not exactly expected. A couple of weeks before the regular season ended, neither of those teams was seriously entertaining […]
Suspicious reporting
According to the Globe and Mail, reporter Steve Ladurantaye won a National Newspaper Award for his “explanatory” journalism in 2006. Well, Mr. Ladurantaye, based on your most recent effort, I’d say your best explanatory journalism years are behind you. Entitled “The Outsider’s Inn,” a May 5 article in the “T.O.” section of the Globe and […]
The secret to sake
This week we travel to the Far East, to explore the interesting Japanese beverage, sake. We in the West tend to refer to sake as rice “wine.” But wine production converts natural grape sugar into alcohol. Lacking this sugar, rice must be “brewed” like beer. Despite the semantic nuance, however, sake still shares the wide […]
Disclaimer
“This is a public service announcement. This is only a test. Emergency evacuation protest. May impair your ability to operate machinery. Can’t quite tell just what it means to me. Keep out of reach of children. Don’t you talk to strangers.”—Green Day, October 3, 2000, Reprise Records. When did we turn into whiney, litigious jerks […]
His name is Ronald
We laughed. We cried. We sang (well, she did). We laughed a bit more. We cried again and I think we wrote a screenplay or at least a book, which could become an award-winning documentary. Okay. The documentary part wasn’t my idea. Friday last week was an awesome kind of day for me. I jokingly […]
Another gift from the vine
Archaeologists tell us that primitive wine, made from wild grapes, can be dated to around 8,000 B.C. By 5,000 B.C., random gathering of wild grapes evolved into specialized cultivation to provide food and produce wine. Use of the vine spread throughout the ancient world, inspiring cultivation of other crops that enabled early societies to settle […]