Travel,Wine and Cuisine by Christopher J Davies

Inglorious Volcano! By Christopher J Davies Imagine if Quentin Tarantino could solve everyone's flight problem with an alternate ending, just like he did when Hitler is killed in "Inglorious Bastards". He could have Lt. Aldo Rained fly a bomber directly into the volcano and cap it off with a major payload of TNT. No that is not happening quite yet. Although the major European carriers are wishing for such a miracle as they are bleeding through billions of Euros. St.Peters Square at sunset My wife and I have been stranded in Rome since Saturday April 17th, playing the waiting game. Our carrier, our favorite airline, Lufthansa is overwhelmed with passenger requests and unable to give a clear picture of when we can expect to leave. They have no crystal ball. Darcy on our terrace at The Hotel Hassler When we first arrived in Rome, we stayed at the trend setting Hotel Haussler which is located near the Spanish Steps.We were there as members of the press to write a review whic...

Greetings from Rome, Italy! My wife Darcy and I are stranded in Rome, hoping to get back to Denver ASAP! We have been traveling throughout Italy since April 7th. We are the publishers of Wine Country International magazine and also produce the Denver International Wine Festival. This year, we decided to attend the VinItaly show in Verona, which is the second largest wine show in the world, with 154,000 attendees this year. We also visited several other cities to produce stories and radio podcasts about travel, wine & cuisine. On this trip we visited Florence, Lucca, Castello Banfi in Montalcino, Perugia and Rome. We have been in Rome since Wednesday, having the time of our lives. Darcy on the terrace of room 501 at the Hotel Hassler For our first night we stayed at the Hassler which is found in the book "1000 things to do before you die!". Mr. Wirth the owner treated us like royalty. Our room #501, was one of the best locations in the hotel with an amazing birdseye view o...

The Complete Idiot's Guide to Starting and Running a Winery Author: Thomas Pellechia Rating : Excellent Format: Paperback,368 pages Price: $18.95 Webpage: http://us.penguingroup.com ISBN 9781592578184 Experience and knowledge is power. Thomas Pellechia has been on all sides of the wine business. His new idiot's guide is a perfect instruction manual for anyone who has dreamt about owning their own wine business. This book covers almost all of the possible legal and financial issues that will be faced by any vintner. Valuable chapters include vineyard design and layout, grape yields (gallons per ton) and how to make a profitable business. They say it isn't so! Custom crush versus owning your own winery. Pellechia shows you how to crunch those numbers too! My favorite pet peeve, wine label design is also logically explained. You will learn the do's and don'ts for designing a wine label that's draws attention, entering your best wines into a professional wine com...

2009 Taste of Elegance Denver : Chefs Get Serious! Story and photos by Christopher J Davies Top Chef Hosea Rosenberg , Claire Walter Food Critic/Author, Amanda Faison, 5280 magazine, Teresa Farney, The Gazette, Colorado Springs The 2009 Denver International Wine Festival Taste of Elegance Chef's Competition took place on Thursday November 12, 2009 at The Mile High Station, Denver. This year's event was our biggest and best ever, with 15 Colorado Master Chef's participating. Top Chef Season 5 Winner Hosea Rosenberg, our previous three time champion joined on as our celebrity Judge and Master of Ceremonies. Hosea has had a whirlwind year due to his TV stardom. We are so proud of him and his accomplishments. This year's TOE drew an impressive bevy of serious chefs from as far away as Telluride. Our only female contestant was Eliza H. S. Gavin, Chef/Owner, 221 South Oak Bistro, Telluride. Eliza is a cook book author and seriously talented chef. Visit her restaurant the ne...

Recipe from The Best Chef of The 2008 Denver International Wine Festival My absolutely most enjoyable event of the year is The Denver International Wine Festival's Taste of Elegance Chef's Competition. We provide only Gold Medal winning wines from the Denver International Wine Competition to 14 of Colorado's Master Chef's. Each Chef is assigned two different Gold Medal wines just one week before the event. Their assignment is to create a custom paired dish to go with each wine. At the Taste of Elegance, they create 400 appetizer portions to serve some of Colorado's most devoted food and wine lovers. Our 2008 "Best Chef" was Jean-Luc Voegele , the Executive Chef of The Westin Tabor Center Hotel in Downtown Denver. Jean-Luc is a French native and may have been fed wine with his Cheerios as a youngster. His pairing at the event was one of the most unusual combinations, yet it worked quite deliciously! Roasted Beets Salad with whipped Goat Cheese served with...

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Harvest America 2009 By Christopher J Davies Harvest is a vintner's celebration of the culmination of a year's hard work. It marks the transition period in the winemaking cycle from vineyard to cellar. In physical terms, it is the process of picking ripe grapes from the vine. This past week, Darcy and I had the pleasure of visiting the Napa Valley where Harvest is already in full swing. We were honored to attend the 43rd Blessing of The Grapes at The Robert Mondavi Winery. Margrit Mondavi and Director of Wine Making, Genevieve Janssens hosted the event for friends, employees and a handful of press. Monsignor John Brenkle of The St. Helena Catholic Church presided. Afterward we all enjoyed a delicious lunch overlooking the vines! Margrit Mondavi with grapes We stayed at the lovely Wine Country Inn , located in St.Helena. This place is awesome! We stayed in a private cottage overlooking a lush vineyard. Every afternoon they host a delicious wine tasting with tons of snacks. The s...