So, I will try and get this trip report finished. Being back at work is definitely hampering my progress. I still haven’t edited the remaining photos, but I think I have enough to get this post done. After the lens/camera compatibility fiasco with the lens I hired for my holiday, I decided it really was time to get a new camera. I’ve been debating this for some time, and taking some jibes from quackybirder in the process. Will I or won’t I? Well, I’ve been and gone and done it, except it wasn’t quite the plain sailing I though it would be.

2:30pm Dad (John), Colby, and I are here at the Wine Bloggers Conference in Sonoma County, California. We are just about to begin the Live Wine Blogging segment featuring wines poured for us by the winemakers themselves. We will update this post as we go. Having major wi-fi issues at the host hotel. So they’ve switched a few things on the agenda and postponed the Live Wine Blogging segment. Hopefully, they’ll get it sorted out and we’ll be back soon.

Monday, June 22nd, 5:44 A.M. Big Bear Lake ~Leaving Home~ Click on photo to enlarge – © 2009 jim otterstrom Peggy and I took a 4-day trip to Santa Barbara last month to visit our friends, Alver & Judyl, and I thought some of you might be interested in seeing how we manage to get around without a car. In the photo above, we are on one of the footbridges along the Stanfield Marsh Wildlife Preserve, about halfway between our house and the MARTA (Mountain Area Rapid Transit Authority) bus stop, where we will catch the 6:30 A.M.

Okay how did you do on yesterday’s quiz? 1. This wasn’t an easy one but the mammal that makes a good venison and found in the mountainous regions of the southern alps and Pyrenees of Southern France and northern Spain is called Chamois. 2. A la printaniere means spring vegetables usually prepared by tossing in butter. 3. The tobacco leaf on the nose usually is a good indicator the grape variety is a Cabernet Franc. 4. Green bell pepper is a good indicator that the grape variety is a Cabernet Sauvignon.

Pride Mountain Vineyards, Napa Sonoma, Cabernet Sauvignon 2006 In the nose there is a sense of Bordeaux, with cigar box and sweet pipe tobacco to augment the black fruit. In the mouth you find plenty of structure in a ripe way, tannic but not green, approachable now but sure to benefit from 6 or more years [...]

Buy Cabernet Sauvignon Online: At Nick?s wine corner you will be amazed at the sheer variety of quality wines to choose from Here you will find all kinds of wines, and with an impressive choice of over one thousand labels, you can be sure to find exactly what you are looking for Nick?s wine corner is ideal for you if you happen to be interested in checking out a variety of Cabernet Sauvignon grape wines…

Heller Estate is known for their Carmel Valley, Monterey County, CA organic wines. They have a nice tasting room in the Village of Carmel Valley about 11 miles up the valley from the Pacific and the famous town of Carmel.We were testing our iPhone app and doing a little videography in the area not long ago and noticed temporary signs on Carmel Valley Road to Heller’s mountain winery, not the tasting room in the village. We decided to follow the signs and see what’s up.They were having a wine club event and barrel tasting and Katya and I crashed it.

  Exquisite California wines are a reflection of the land where they are produced and of the people who craft them.  The soils, the climate, valleys and coastal influences help to develop grapes with exquisite flavors. The winemakers in the various California wine regions have an appreciation for the territory in which they live and work that makes it possible to create palate pleasing world class wines. The Spanish influence on most California wine is quite obvious.

 There is not one blade of grass, there is no color in this world that is not intended to make us rejoice.” – John Calvin, Theologian, Statesman Buenos Aires – Calvinist and Reform congregations worldwide celebrated John Calvin’s quincentenary last weekend. Born on July 10, 1509 in the town of Noyon, a bit north of Paris, he clearly had quite an impact on the direction of vast segments of the Christian faith. Since I was in French mode from our early Bastille Day dinner, I thought I’d continue with a little sampling of dishes from the area around where he was born.

[Pink Pig Time Machine by Wilfrid:  June 20, 2009] My 1999 holiday in Spain continued with a couple of side-trips.  First, a day-trip to Montserrat, the basilica set high in the mountains a short train ride from Barcelona. I’d visited before.  Half the fun is the ascent by cable car from the train station to the small town which is essentially built on the legend of one of the Virgin’s special appearances.  The other half is continuing up, past the basilica, on an easily found path which leads higher into the mountains and gives extraordinary views down the valley.  The air, even on a hot day, is crisp, the silence amazing.

I Love Touring Italy – Latium East of Rome If you are in the market for a European tourist destination, you should consider the Latium region of central western Italy on the Tyrrhenian Sea. Latium, also known as Laszio, is the region that includes Italys capital Rome, the Eternal City. Because it is so easy to find articles describing the multiple pleasures of Rome, we are going to write about the lesser-known attractions of Latium. This article focuses on Latium east of Rome.

This is the year of 2009, but I feel like I’m standing in Camp Nou. My own Camp Nou. Because it’s in the present, should I call it Camp Now? The Catalans wouldn’t be too upset, I think. As I gaze around the joint, there are the Lancastrians on one side and zee Germans on the other. Eww, grey and burgundy is never a good combo. It looks like you spilled some Cabernet Sauvignon on a French knicker which hasn’t been washed for 3 years. I just can’t get my eyes off La Orejona.

Experience the Washington Wine Country Tourism and the Gorge Crest Farms Making plans for your Washington State Tourism adventure is stuffed with options of lots of things to do and see. Make sure you visit the Columbia brook Gorge area and the wineries that are in the area. One of them that you may wish to see is the newer Gorge Crest Farms . This vineyard and winery got its start in 2007 with the 1st grapes coming out and producing quality wine.

Happy Saturday everyone. I started out the weekend feeling like I was coming down with something which as Melissa mentioned the other day just isn’t fair… being sick in the summer sucks. Luckily it never developed into a full-fledged illness, I just had a couple of days of halfway, not-quite, almost sick which is really bad enough. But let’s put that behind us, shall we? This evening Dan and I went out to dinner. It was a warm evening and our first choice was just to go sit at one of our favorite little cafes with a charcuterie and cheese board and a little wine.

Pago de Carraovejas, Ribera Del Duero DO, Crianza 2006 The previous vintage of this wine was quite substantial. In the ‘06 the ripeness of the fruit really shows in the nose and the mouth meets that with ample structure for aging. The estate is planted to approximately 75% Tempranillo and 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and a [...]