The Texas Hill Country A Unique RV Vacation Destination

Are you looking for a special getaway this year - a vacation within a vacation - for just you and your sweetheart? Fredericksburg Texas is a charming city to visit while you are vacationing in the Texas Hill Country, especially if you like traveling with your RV. Fredericksburg is at the heart of central Texas and its hill country.

Fredericksburg Texas rests near Enchanted Rock State Park, a 1,643 acre park which has the 2nd largest granite outcrop in the United States. You can take a leisurely nature walk, or hike up one of the many hills. For the truly adventurous you can rock climb and repel. Take a day trip from the park for a family picnic. While in Fredericksburg take a tour of some of the homes and buildings located in the ‘historical district. You can see 18th and 19th century-era homes that remain today as testaments to the influences that German immigrants had on the area. Some of these historical homes and buildings have been turned into quaint bed and breakfast Inns to welcome guests. You will also find well-known shops, restaurants and beer gardens in this Texas hill country town.

The town of Fredericksburg also has a number of great wineries. Stop off at any of these wineries for some flavorsome wine-tasting, or to attend one of the special events held by these wineries throughout the year for visitors. For a list of wineries visit: http://www.llanoriverrvpark.com/wineries.html. You can find more than 15 different vineyards and wineries throughout Texas hill country. Touring a winery or vineyard is wonderful for couples, the wine ‘connoisseur’ or anyone who enjoys tasting new wines.

Wildseed Farms is one more favorite travel destination while vacationing in the Texas Hill Country. The farm is located just 7 miles east of Fredericksburg Texas off of US Hwy 290. Wildseed Farms is the nation’s largest working wildflower seed farm, where you can purchase wildflower seeds direct from the grower. You can also experience some of the greatest flowers that Texas has to offer. Best yet, Wildseed Farms is open year round. The wild flower farm is even open on Christmas Eve.

Not only will you see gorgeous Bluebonnets - the State flower of Texas, Indian Paint Brush and many other species of flowers in various stages of growth, but also you can shop at the on-site gift store and pick up one-of-a-kind souvenirs. This is a fantastic way to spend a relaxing day in the beautiful Hill Country, but do not forget to bring your digital camera to capture the ultimate in wildflower photographs! Spend as much time as you like at the Farm’s Activities.

RV parks are popular vacationing destinations throughout Texas and especially in the hill country as RV camping offers you the chance to get closer to nature. For a peaceful vacationing hotspot that is just 30 minutes north of Fredericksburg Texas, and is ideally situated among the wooded areas and the spring-fed waters of the Llano River, visit the http://www.LlanoRiverRVPark.com. See you soon!

Article by independent writer - Joshua Geary

All-Canadian Wine Championship Winners

Canadian wine is growing, as evidenced by 1,000-plus entries at the 2008 All Canadian Wine Championships in Windsor, Ont., last week. This is exciting news for Canadian vintners, and Atlantic wineries are part of the rise.

The region’s wineries always do well at this competition, and this year was no exception. The biggest Atlantic winner was Rossignol Winery from Prince Edward Island, which took the trophy for best fruit wine of the year for its 2006 Blackberry Mead. It sells this intensely flavoured wine for $18 at its tiny winery in Little Sands, along the island’s eastern shore. Rossignol also won silver for its maple wine and bronze for its Liberty Blossom apple wine.

Nova Scotia wineries did very well, too, especially Gaspereau Vineyards and the just opened L’Acadie Vineyards, both located in the Gaspereau Valley, widely acknowledged as the province’s most promising wine region.

Gaspereau winemaker Gina Haverstick got a medal for her Riesling for the second straight year, a gold this time for her 2007 in the off-dry category, one of the most hotly contested in the country.

It has lovely floral and citrus aromatics, alongside minerality, and has perfect balance in the mouth. The wine sells for around $20 for a 500-millilitre bottle.

Gaspereau also won gold for its 2007 Seyval Blanc, its refreshing 2007 Rosé (another hot category), its 2006 DeChaunac and its reserve port, silver for its Vitis Red Blend, and it took the bronze for its 2006 Lucie Kuhlmann.

Five golds! What a year it was for Gaspereau, which is owned by Jost Vineyards.

L’Acadie, which opened quietly this month, won double gold (best of category) for its 2007 L’Acadie Star, gold for its Alchemy Red Blend, and silver for its 2007 Leon Millto Soleil. That’s an excellent showing for the first vintage. Besides making medal-worthy table and dessert wines, winemaker Bruce Ewert specializes in Traditional Method Sparkling wines.

Jost Vineyards fared very well, too, as it has every year at this competition. It won double gold for its Prima Rossa red blend, gold for its 2006 Marechal Foch (a great value at $10.99 at NB Liquor), silver for its 2006 L’Acadie Pinot Grigio ($12.99) and 2006 Leon Millot, and bronze for its 2007 Habitant Blanc and 2007 Avondale Riesling Gold.

Blomidon Estates, just outside of Wolfville, won silver for its 2007 L’Acadie Blanc, while Domaine de Grand Pre won bronze for its 2007 L’Acadie Blanc ($11.99) and 2007 Ortega Icewine.

No New Brunswick wineries won medals this year, but this will happen in time. Ours is a relatively new and growing industry.

The All-Canadian Wine Championships is Canada’s original and longest-running national wine competition, now in its 28th year. Read the full results at www.canadianwinetrail.com.

Craig Pinhey is a writer and Sommelier, available for private tastings. Visit him at www.frogspad.ca.

Organic Wines to Check Out

As any trip down the produce aisle at the grocery will tell you, the popularity of organic foods has risen dramatically. This may be due to concern over chemicals in pesticides and additives or environmental issues, or it’s because organic produce just seems to taste better.

The wine industry is not immune to this trend. Over the years, a number of producers have begun to offer wholly or partially organic wines. Some choose to eschew chemical pesticides, others go a step further, using wholly organic grapes. To be classified as organic wine in this country, the entire process must be organic, which means not adding sulfite preservatives. Some winemakers go a step further by making biodynamic wines. Biodynamic wines are not only organic, but follow strict rules based on lunar cycles and natural traditions.

Standards vary from country to country as to what is required to be certified organic, but if you are looking for a wine with only naturally occurring sulfites, try a domestic organic wine or a biodynamic wine from anywhere. We tried five at different price levels, and all fared well in our tasting. Results follow.

2004 Marimar Torres Estate Don Miguel Vineyards Pinot Noir, $51.99. The aroma reminded us of cherries, strawberries, raspberries and rhubarb pie (with crust, just out of the oven). We found lots of tannins on the palate, with tastes of tea, cranberries and bittersweet fruit along with a hint of cocoa. This wine ranked first in our tasting. This winery has been organic for some time and recently moved to biodynamic.

2006 Bonterra Cabernet Sauvignon, $16.99. The nose suggested black cherries, blueberries, yogurt, dried black fruit, marshmallows and taffy. The palate had a silky texture with brighter fruit than the aroma, especially the black cherries. Ranked second in our tasting, this wine was made from organically grown grapes.

2006 Natura Carmenere, $11.99. The bouquet offered dried herbs with scents of black fruit, coffee, gravel, pine cones and hints of iodine. The wine had an extraordinarily lush and silky texture with flavors of dark fruit, fresh roasted coffee beans and menthol on the finish. Ranked third in our tasting, this wine was made with organic grapes.

2005 Domaine Catherine Le Goeuil, Cairanne Cotes du Rhone Villages, “Cuvee Marie Rouviere,” $23.99. The aromas offered scents of blueberry compote, with herbaceous and dusty scents and hints of ash, stemmy fruit and rose petals. In the mouth, we discovered tastes of dark fruit skins and minerals. The wine was very dry with high tannins. A rugged wine made from 70 percent grenache, 20 percent syrah and 10 percent mouvedre, it was an organic and biodynamic wine.

Non-vintage Lolonis Ladybug Red Cuvee VII, $13.99. The nose suggested cherry cola, plum, black tea, tarragon, eucalyptus and licorice. Plums and tarragon covered the tongue, with medium tannins from the fruit. The acids were not overwhelming. Lolonis has been doing organic farming since the 1950s.

Chef Bruce Yim gives a Great Pork Lion Recipe

When Bruce Yim cooks, he has four things in mind: “I like to cook with spicy, sweet, salty and sour,” he says as he prepares to whip together a pork loin wrapped in bacon and served with an apple onion relish and caramel sauce for the latest edition of the Star’s online cooking show, “Cooking With the tar.” Yim knows what he’s talking about. The chef at Vintabla Restaurant has worked the kitchen in some of the country’s best restaurants, including Wolfgang Puck’s Postrio in San Francisco, the 21 Club in New York, and Harry Cipriani in Washington. He has a resume that’s built to impress. But on this day, he’s not resting on his laurels as he prepares the meal.

First, the caramel sauce. “It won’t melt evenly,” he says of the sugar as he caramelizes it over a high heat. “So stir it slowly.” When he adds the jalapeno, he throws in the seeds, which add heat. “With the sugar, it balances out,” he explains. Once the sugar’s caramelized, he adds the wine. “The wine will stop the caramelization of the sugar,” he says. “But be careful; sugar will jump up on you. I’ve taken people to the emergency room more than once.” Next, he turns his attention to the pork. He whips out a pound of sliced bacon, overlaps each piece as he lays it out, puts a layer of clear wrap over it and gently pounds the bacon.
“Light strokes,” he instructs. “Don’t take your aggressions out on it.” Then he wraps the pork loin completely in the bacon, ties some twine around it to keep it all in place and pops it in the oven. He checks his caramel sauce again; it’s thickened and reduced to the point that “it looks like syrup,” he says. That’s when he adds his cream and stock (though the recipe calls for veal stock, Yim says beef will work just as well). Then it’s to his relish. “Apples add a crunch,” he says as he prepares the relish. “There are all different textures in this dish.” Next, he turns his attention to the chard, sauteed to perfect doneness with lots of fresh garlic.

Yim throws together some cheese grits to complete the meal. The grits are from a box. “I’m not a Southerner, so I can use quick grits,” he says with a laugh. The secret to his grits? “A good rule is to read the back of the box.” He’s preparing a meal for the home cook, remember. We suspect if grits ever show up on his menu, he’ll make them from scratch. About this point, Yim takes the pork out of the oven, lets it sit a few minutes and carves a slice. The bacon hugs the juicy slice of pork. There’s our salty. He tops it with the caramel sauce, sweet with a bite that’s not too aggressive, thanks to the chile.

A spoonful of the relish supplies a deeper sweetness, the vinegar in the relish a fine sour. His four elements come together to make a dish that’s homey yet sophisticated and that wakes up the taste buds. We’re sold. Spicy, sweet, salty and sour is a delicious credo to cook by. Bacon-Wrapped Pork Loin With Apple Onion Relish & Caramel Sauce Serves 4-6.

Caramel sauce * 1/2 cup sugar * 1 cup red wine * 2 each chopped jalapenos * 1 quart veal or beef stock * 1/2 cup heavy cream Pork * 1-3 pounds pork loin * 2 tablespoons chopped thyme * Salt and pepper * 1 pound smoked bacon Relish * 2 tablespoons sugar * 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar * 2 red onions * 4 Granny Smith apples Side * 2 pounds Swiss chard * 2 cloves garlic * 2 tablespoons olive oil

Sauce In a large saucepan, add sugar and place on high heat. Periodically stir the sugar very gently until it begins to caramelize. When the sugar is dark golden brown, very carefully add the red wine and jalapenos. The sugar will react pretty violently. **Have a bowl of ice water close by if you get burned**. Reduce the wine by three-fourths. Add veal or beef stock and cream. Reduce by one-fourth and strain the sauce. Set aside. Can be made a day in advance. Pork Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Season the pork loin with salt, pepper and thyme. Set aside. Place plastic wrap over the cutting board. Place the bacon on top of the plastic and overlap each strip of bacon about halfway.

Cover the bacon with another sheet of plastic and gently pound the bacon with a kitchen mallet or the bottom of a sauce pan. emove the top sheet of plastic. Place the pork loin on top of the bacon. Wrap the bacon around the pork loin. Secure the bacon with butcher twine. Place in a roasting pan and place in the oven. Cook for about 45 minutes or until the juices are clear. Relish In a saucepan, add sugar and vinegar and bring to a boil. Add diced onions and set aside to cool. Peel, core and dice the apples. Add to the onion mixture. Side Wash the Swiss chard thoroughly. Cut the stem in small 1/4-inch pieces and the leaves into 2-inch strips.

Heat saute pan, add oil, garlic and chard stems. Then add the chard leaves and cook until tender. Optional: Serve with creamy grits or mashed potatoes. Bruce Yim, executive chef, Vintabla Restaurant –Contact reporter Kathleen Allen at kallen@azstarnet.com or 573-4128.

An Artist’s Wine Bar Opens in Marysville

MARYSVILLE, NV A new wine bar in Camelot Gallery, 320 D St., adds the sort of venue that is a fixture on retail main streets in some other cities. Nevada City and Grass Valley have a number of wine-tasting rooms located on their main retail boulevards. The wine bar is the first wine-related venue on D Street. Gallery co-owner Cheryl Vester said she had talked with Don Blaser, owner of The Brick Coffeehouse Cafe, about the need for an upscale wine store on the street. Vester decided to start small and do something herself. She obtained a wine license from the state and now has what she describes as an art gallery with a wine bar.

“We’re just going to see what the town wants, so we’re very flexible with this,” said Vester, who balances the gallery with a career as a flight attendant. The gallery has local artists’ pieces on its walls and is keeping the wine local, too, pouring bottles from eight wineries located in Yuba and Nevada counties. Its wine list has the theme “Where Local Wines Meet with Local Art.” The wine prices range fr m $12 per bottle to $60 per bottle. Wine by the glass is also available. A Yuba County vintner, Grant Ramey, thought the combination adds up to a nice venue. “You’ve got art, wine — you’ve got the whole works,” said Ramey.
An April 10 ribbon cutting drew as many as 100 people, including Margaret Moore of Grass Valley, a gallery customer who drove down to see the new wine bar. “I think it’s such a nice idea to combine art with a place to come,” said Moore. One longtime local business owner said he had always wanted to start a business like the wine bar. “One of my fantasies for 25 years was to do a combination with food, arts,” said Don Kindell, who owned Four Seasons Deli for 25 years near Ellis Lake. Having The Brick next door could make the wine bar a bigger hit. No decisions have been made yet, but the gallery could provide the wine, The Brick could provide the food, and the two could combine to offer events in an outside patio area that adjoins t e two businesses.
Blaser, who is president of the Business Improvement District, said the wine bar fits in with the downtown strategy as a place for arts, entertainment and history but also adds something new to D Street –a wine venue. “It’s something unique,” said Blaser. “You see a lot of them in Nevada City; it’s probably the first one around here. It’s just something you don’t find everywhere.”

Camelot Gallery wine bar –Hours: 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Friday –location: 320 D St., downtown Marysville –Phone: 742-3716 Contact Appeal-Democrat reporter John Dickey at 749-4711 or jdickey@appeal-democrat.com

Collecting Thermoelectric Wine Fridges

Wine is a classic, sophisticated beverage that is popular around the world. Wine collecting is an ideal hobby for those who appreciate the finer things in life. The most effective way of protecting your precious wine collection is to store your bottles in wine cellars or wine storage refrigerators. This is especially essential for premium wines that are bought for investment purposes. Wines that are stored at a perfectly even temperature are richer in taste, aroma and flavor.

What does a wine cellar/refrigerator do?

Wine is a natural beverage that easily spoils in the absence of proper storage. As wine matures, it is essential to keep it minimally exposed to heat, light, vibrations and variations in temperature and humidity. Wine cellars and refrigerators offer complete darkness and constant temperature, the necessary conditions to keep your wine tasting great. Wine cellar is the perfect choice for serious wine lovers.

What are the factors to be considered when buying thermoelectric wine cooler?
Thermoelectric wine cellars and refrigerators are available in many different sizes and designs. Prices vary based on the quality of the refrigerator and the number of bottles a cellar can hold.

Size and Space:

The first factor you should consider when purchasing a wine cellar is its size. You must decide how much space you are ready to allocate for a wine cellar at your home or business. If you are a small apartment dweller looking for a compact wine storage system, then a wine cellar that can store up to 20 or 25 bottles is your best option. Other wine refrigerators available in the market can store 110 to 500 bottles. These thermoelectric wine refrigerators are money savers, as they are economical in price and design. They occupy comparatively less space and can be self assembled. A select few thermoelectric wine cellars and fridges require a larger clearance of space for the cooling unit to function properly.

Quality:

The style and elegance of a wine cellar is based on the quality of the model. If you are a serious wine lover searching for a perfectly designed wine cellar, there are many available in the market. In this case, however, you may need an unlimited budget. High quality is directly proportional to the amount of money you must invest. If you are willing to dish out the cash, opt for high end models. The wine lover in you will not be disappointed.

Design of the Cellar:

If the design and appearance of thermoelectric wine cellars and refrigerators play a significant role in your buying decision, then take a look at the furniture style wine cellars and refrigerators. A furniture style wine refrigerator is artistically designed and complements your home furnishings. It is often constructed of solid oak or cherry wood and displays intricate workmanship.

Shelves and Racks:

The major components of wine cellars and fridges are their shelves and racks, since they determine the number of bottles that can be stored at any one time. It is essential to consider the capacity and size of each rack and shelf. You need a three and three quarter inch slot to store large bottles. If you are a serious wine collector, then it is wise to select a wine storage system with spacious racks and shelves. Some cellars let you pull the racks out for easy access to your wine bottles. This facility proves to be useful if you own a large wine collection.

Cooling System:

The cooling system is a significant consideration for selecting a wine fridge or cellar. The ideal cooling system must be free from vibrations in order to ensure the proper storage of wine. The less vibration caused by the cooling system, the better the wine cellar or fridge is. You should also take into consideration the noise level of a wine storage system while making your purchase.

Insulation:

You also need to carefully evaluate the cooling systems insulation before making a wine cellar purchase. The storage units insulation plays a critical role in maintaining the optimum temperature. This is a crucial factor in properly storing your wine collection.

What are Wine Rooms?

Wine rooms are large refrigerators designed exclusively for the most passionate wine collectors. These unusual and rare refrigerators are mostly used by organizations for collecting and storing thousands of wine bottles. A wine room offers complete cooling and humidity control to protect large wine collections from any kind of harm.

Bob Shanty has been researching and writing articles that help shoppers shop online and make more
educated buying decisions on selecting a wine fridge for online mega store BIGshop for years. For more articles by Bob please visit http://www.bigshop.com.au.

The Hottest LA Restaurants and Wine Retailers Get a Chance to Make Their Mark

LOS ANGELES Wine & Spirits Magazine is bringing together ten of Los Angeles’ most successful restaurants and wine retailers with the youngest industry talent to their LA HOT PICKS event on Thursday, May 22, 2008 from 7-10 p.m. The participating restaurants and their respective sommeliers and wine professionals are: Bottle Rock, Rob Pierce; Comme Ça, Mark Mendoza; Grace, Eduardo Carriero; Katana, Eiji Mori; Michael’s, Andrew Turner; Osteria Mozza, Jared Heber; Palate Food and Wine, Steve Goldun; Silver Lake Wine, Randy Clement; The Cheese Shop of Beverly Hills, Erik Kelley; and Woodland Hills Wine Company, Tim Snyder.
Promoter for emerging LA artists Project Ethos will produce a global, ambient lounge audio vibe; it all happens at MODAA Gallery, a mixed use architectural studio, art museum, and artist loft space located at 8609 Washington Boulevard in the culturally burgeoning Culver City. HOT PICKS is a two city event tour; the second event will take place in Seattle June 24 at the Paramount Theater.

In keeping with Wine & Spirits Magazine’s mission to raise awareness of water conservation issues, proceeds of LA HOT PICKS will benefit the Surfrider Foundation. The Seattle HOT PICKS event will support the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance. Tickets are $75 and available at http://www.wineandspiritsmagazine.com/hotpicks.

HOT PICKS showcases Wine & Spirits Magazine critics’ favorite wines of the world, and features bites from each restaurant. The event celebrates the annual Critics’ Picks issue, on sale at newsstands nationally on May 20, 2008.

Wine & Spirits Senior Editor Wolfgang Weber comments, "We want Hot Picks to bring together young wine lovers and their peers who work at the city's coolest restaurants and wine shops. It's one big tasting featuring the best affordable wines from all over the world. And there's a taco truck!"

About Wine & Spirits Magazine: Founded in 1982, Wine & Spirits is published seven times a year and read by over 200,000 members of America’s wine community. Consumers and wine professionals read the magazine for information on wine and spirits, including articles on established and up-and-coming regions and producers, the art and science of viticulture, restaurant and industry happenings and food and wine pairing. Wine & Spirits is the only American wine publication to win the James Beard award four times for excellence in wine writing.

About The Surfrider Foundation: The Surfrider Foundation is a non-profit environmental organization dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches for all people, through conservation, activism, research and education. Founded in 1984 by a handful of visionary surfers in Malibu, the Surfrider Foundation now maintains over 50,000 members and 80 chapters worldwide. The West Los Angeles/Malibu Chapter represents approximately 31 miles of coastal environment from the Los Angeles and Ventura County line to Ballona Creek, including all inland cities.You can visit our website at: http://www.surfrider.org/malibu.

About Project ETHOS: ETHOS means “the distinctive spirit of a culture or an era.” Project ETHOS is a bi-annual, red carpet event in Los Angeles that showcases all emerging Millennial Generation forms of creativity in one house, on one night. By merging fashion, music, art and other forms of creativity into one giant display of genius, Project ETHOS creates a new form of exposure for artists in general, as well as a fresh outing for any person looking for something fun and new. The mission of Project ETHOS is to become the next generation of exposing artists to the media and the public.

Shopping for Gifts Online

Fullerton, CA Shopping for the relations in your life is on no account easy is it? Of course not, and it seem like the more you care about this person the they are to shop for hale? Of course, s what can you get the person who has just about everything? A wine gift linen basket. A wine gift bag is a elevated gift for anyone on your list and they are affordable and they are just illusory.
You can give a wine gift shopping basket to anyone, I mean anyone, your boss, his boss, your love or your best friend. You can even give a wine gift picnic basket to your parents on their centennial. The of a wine gift basket are nonstop. As are your choices when arrangement a wine gift wicker basket.

When you are looking for just the decent wine gift hamper you will have to look at a few atypical factors. For paradigm this person that you are procurement the wine gift shopping basket for, do they like white wine or red wine? So they like and chocolates? Meat? These are very important and if you can you should try to find the answers to them before you make your wine gift linen basket procurement.
Finding out these equipment will help you to clarify which wine gift picnic basket is proper for the addressee. If you just seem to get a good grasp on what he or she valor like in a wine gift bag then get a multicultural wine gift basket. You can get one that has a little of everything in it, this is always a sage and magnificent way to go. It can get a little more costly still to get a wine gift hamper like this. To genuinely get a little of everything you are undoubtedly at a larger wine gift wicker basket therefore a more steep wine gift carrier.

Try asking the recipients contacts about what they powerfulness like in a wine gift carrier. If you are supermarket run for the boss then ask who have worked with him than you if they have any idea of what the boss like or dislike in a wine gift hamper. This could help you to get a good idea of precisely the kind of wine gift picnic basket you should be looking at .
Bottom line is that a wine gift basket is a grand gift for any occasion.

What was as an online store, has into a growing collectanea of internet resources on subjects from Network Marketing, Investing, Health, Travel and even Wine.

A wine kingdom gift shopping basket by and large two bottles of wine from ones favorite vineyard or wine shop, some cheese and crackers. A enjoyable assortment of , cheeses and chocolates make the wine realm gift very special. Fully assembled and impressive gift baskets combine everything there is to love about wines, and chocolate. Wine grazing gift baskets make the impeccable donations for every occasion and can be enjoyed by men and womenfolk identical, even by community who are not wine .

A company named Wine Country Gift Baskets has been offering a wide selection of stunning and cheap gift to its customers. These gift baskets can also be ordered real-time. The most widespread wine country gift add in a huge change of wines and other goodies, which make the gift extra special. Some of the all time favorites in this grouping of wine gift baskets are those which repress worldwide chocolates such as Godiva Crиme Brulee, epicurean wine and cheese linen basket with from the Robert Mondavis tight-lipped miscellany, and gift that enclose fine wines like Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon with general food such as , cheese hors d’oeuvres, , Camembert allotment, olive Tapenade and Cafe Godiva Chocolates. Wine inhabitants gift baskets may also comprehend an hotchpotch of gifts ranging from to fine crystal wine goggles. The company has also started offering spa gift baskets as well as bear gift .

The punishment of these wine nation gift baskets from $30 to $250 manufacture it quite reasonable as it suits virtually every type of budget.

American Wine Blog Awards

SAN FRANCISCO Winners of the second annual American Wine Blog Awards were announced Monday, including San Francisco’s Vinography, which won the awards for best overall wine blog and best wine blog writing.

Other winners included Good Wine Under $20 (best wine review blog and best single subject blog), Tablas Creek Wine Blog (best winery blog), Grape Radio (best wine podcast/video blog), The Wine Collector (best wine business blog), and Chateau Petrogasm (best wine blog graphics).

The awards were started last year by Tom Wark, who publishes his own wine blog (Fermentation: The Daily Wine Blog) and runs Wark Communications, a Glen Ellen-based wine public relations and marketing firm.

Wark said he started the award to bring attention to the genre by highlighting the best wine blog. “The number of wine blogs on the Internet has grown to well over 700 and represents a change in the way consumers and wine lovers obtain information about wine,” he said in a March 31 statement. More than 2,000 voters and a panel of judges jointly determined the winners.

Twenty-four blogs in eight categories vied for the awards. Nominations were made by voters, and then winnowed down by the judges, followed by a vote of both the public and the judges to determine the winners. The public’s tally got 70 percent of the weighting.

Judges included Jack Everitt, of the Fork & Bottle blog; Dan Fredman, of Dan Fredman Public Relations; Steve Heimoff, Wine Enthusiast Magazine’s West Coast editor; Derrick Schneider, Obsession With Food blogger; Wolfgang Webber, Wine & Spirits Magazine’s associate editor, and Tori Wilder, of Wilder PR, according to Wark’s web site.

Hidden Winery Gems in North Carolina

NORTH CAROLINA By Jim Hofman - As a long time student of history and geography, there are certain travel destinations that hold a great opportunity to experience the best of both. In terms of historical pride and geographical diversity, perhaps no state offers more of both than North Carolina. North Carolina is indeed a study in contrasts, and those contrasts offer travelers some very pleasant surprises.

One look at a map of North Carolina tells part of the story. In the far western part of the state, the Appalachian mountains provide a scenic backdrop. The central Piedmont area is home to growing cities along with a technological hub. Further east is a naturalists paradise - windswept beaches, coastal plains, and picturesque harborside communities.

Amidst it all, the North Carolina wine industry thrives. In vineyards and wineries from the mountains to the coast, North Carolina boasts the 10th largest grape and wine production in the United States. Each distinct North Carolina area offers different varieties of grapes, producing quite possibly one of the widest variety of wine styles in the country.

Here in North Carolina, growers still grow the versatile muscadine grape, a staple in southeastern states. Yet, this is just one small part of grape growing and wine growing here. Vintners in the mountain and Piedmont region of North Carolina have planted traditional European grape varieties and French-American Hybrids, with the result being a surprising and ever evolving selection of wines for travelers and wine lovers.

North Carolina Wine: Tar Heel State Surprises

In the far southeastern corner of North Carolina, four wineries offer travelers a scenic wine trail to explore and enjoy. Each of the four offer wines made with the southern staple, the muscadine grape. But it’s not all about muscadine wine here. There is a suprising array of wine styles to sample and enjoy, and something for even the most discriminating of palates.

As you enter the state from South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach area, you’ll see a sign for Silver Coast Winery, just 15 miles inland from the Atlantic coast. On their 40 acre tranquil winery site, Silver Coast produces wines that have won several international wine competition awards. We were especially impressed with their perfectly balanced oak chardonnay.

Just a short drive further up the coast, you’ll enter Wilmington, a beautiful historic port city which is often used for television and movie filmings. Most of Wilmington’s downtown area is on the National Register of Historic Places, and it’s here that you’ll find Lumina Winery. Lumina is well know for their adventurous wines and use of fruits. If you’ve never tried a black rasberry merlot, don’t pass up the chance to try it here.

Take a couple of days to enjoy Wilmington and then head a few miles up Interstate 40. You’ll discover two more wineries, including North Carolina’s largest and oldest, Duplin Winery. Duplin produces over 250,000 cases a year and their Hatteras Red is quite possibly North Carolina’s most well known wine. Nearby is Bannerman Vineyard and Winery, producing muscadine varieties from their on site vineyard. Be sure to sample their White Oak semi sweet white, a fruity and approachable white table wine.

North Carolina’s wine industry continues to grow and thrive. There are now over 70 wineries in the state and three distinct grape growing areas. Whether it’s the mountains in the western part of the state, the central Piedmont area, or the wind swept coast, you’ll find great wine and true southern hospitality.