10 Things I Learned in Post-Harvest Napa

Posted by Kathleen Squires on November 7, 2013 at 11:32:51 AM EST | Post a Comment
Jav



In late October, the bouquet of fresh grapes still permeated the air in Napa, California's playground for oenophiles, even as the flurry of activity wound down. After a productive harvest and fruitful crush season, and just before the winemakers hung up their "gone fishin'" signs as their barrels rested, I checked out the post-crush buzz to see what the 2013 season had wrought. Here's what I learned...

1. Sparklers go first. Crush season officially kicks off when grapes destined for sparkling wine are ripe. After that, grapes for non-sparkling whites, light reds, and heavier reds follow in quick succession. Cabernets cap the season. While harvest can usually run from mid-August to November, this year saw an unusually early start on August 1, and a commensurately early finish in the third week of October.

2. A "riddler" is not just a Batman villain. In the making of sparkling wines, a riddler is an essential part of process. The riddler is responsible for ridding bottles of lees—dead yeast and other sediment. To do this, the riddler rotates the bottle one-sixteenth of a turn daily in a riddling rack that allows the bottle to rest at different angles. When the process is complete, and the lees are settled in the neck of the bottle, the sediment is frozen in a block and extracted. While most wineries today use riddling machines (making the process 5 days as opposed to 5-6 weeks), Schramsberg Vineyards still employs a highly-trained hand riddler, claiming hand-riddling allows for a more full extraction of the yeast and a less "doughy" flavor in their sparklers.

3. There is only one Napa winery that has an on-site restaurant. Sounds crazy for the food capital of California's wine region, but it's true, due to the 1990 Winery Definition Ordinance, which was enacted in order to keep agriculture, not dining, the focus of wineries in Napa county. Thankfully, that one restaurant is Michelin-starred Etoile within the Domaine Chandon winery in Yountville. Chef Perry Hoffman has been named a Zagat Survey 30 under 30 honoree and a semi-finalist for the James Beard Foundation Award for Rising Star Chef for spectacular dishes such as kurobata pork tenderloin with bing cherries, hearts of palm, and basil.
Jav Porn

4. 2013 is the vintage to watch. Napa's winemakers note that this year's harvest was average, in terms of quantity. In quality, however, this year is an absolute standout. "The great weather this year brought a great growing season and extra 'hang time' for the grapes, which allows perfect ripeness," says Newton Vineyard's winemaker Chris Millard. Millard adds that the quality of this year's harvest has even exceeded 2012 season, which has been touted for its excellence.

5. 'Tis the season for adorable mini-produce. Niche crops from Napa farms in the fall are particularly cute, tasty, and populating menus all over the area. The Berkshire pork chops at Brix, for example, come with mini garnet yams. Three-Michelin starred Meadowood is serving up a squash soup with lady apples, a small, sweet-and-tart variety. And at Etoile, chef Perry Hoffman adorns his tuna plate with pequeño melons, which look like large caperberries, but taste like a sweet cucumber.

6. Unfiltered wines are not unrefined. Although "unfiltered" might evoke thoughts of "cloudy" and "murky," an unfiltered wine is not actually rife with floating sediment. The wine may not have the clarity of a filtered variety, but the residuals that are not stripped away for looks are actually very pleasant on the palate. Many winemakers (rightly) think that the filtering process affects the flavor and quality of a wine.

7. There's more than one way to make a rosé wine. Rosé wine occurs when white grapes are left to macerate before they are pressed. The contact with the skin determines the color—the less time allowed with skin contact, the lighter the pink; the longer skin contact, the deeper the color. Some rosés, however, are made by actually blending a little bit of red wine with white wine. The former can be a fine expression of summer, while the latter are generally less-elegant table wines.

8. There is also more than one way to make a sparkling wine. There are actually four ways to make the bubbles found in sparklers. The traditional method brings bubbles by allowing a secondary fermentation within the bottle. One spin on this method is to bottle the wine under pressure after a secondary fermentation in a tank; a third method is the "transfer" where the wine is transferred to a pressurized tank. The last resort is a simple injection of carbonation into the bottle, usually used for the lowest-quality sparklers.

9. Blending equals personality. Think of a bad actor and the one-dimensional personality he might portray on the screen. Boring. Then think of an actor who portrays a multi-faceted character; much more exciting. The same can be said of blended wines. Blending grapes is used to enhance flavor, body, and complexity of a wine. Good winemakers don't really use a formula. Rather, they taste the wines of a harvest, and with pipettes, mix proportions in a glass until they achieve the desired flavor profile.
Jav 無料動画  
10. Post-crush may be the best time to visit Napa. Think of it as the season when the winemakers get to exhale. Therefore, they are more available for visitors. Also, the roads are less crowded, there's more elbow room in the tasting rooms, restaurants are a little easier to get into, and hotel rates begin to drop. The weather is still agreeable, too, with sunny, warm days and cool nights and mornings.

Insider's Guide to the Foodie Scene in Boulder, Colorado

Posted by Fodor's Guest Blogger on December 18, 2013 at 2:02:11 PM EST | Post a Comment

Jav Streaming                                        

by Bryan Dayton

Though the mountain town of Boulder, Colorado, may measure on the small side, its dining scene is no less competitive than that of major metropolises. An influx of travelers touting eclectic palates has demanded elevated dining experiences here, and helped cultivate a cutting-edge food and beverage industry as a result. Seasoned bartender and co-owner of Denver's Acorn and Boulder'sOAK at fourteenth eateries, Bryan Dayton has selected the best dining and imbibing bets in this hip mountain town, for your palate's pleasure—here are his curated recommendations.
BEST FOR BREAKFAST

Try Snooze for wholesome breakfast foods served up in a fun, hip environment. I usually get whatever their seasonal pancakes are (pumpkin is great in the fall) and one of their morning cocktails (like a Bloody Mary). Lucile's is the oldest breakfast spot in Boulder—it's been around for over 30 years or so. Set in a charming Victorian-style house, they serve Cajun/New Orleans-inspired cuisine (I usually go with the étouffée). Or, hit up Brasserie Ten Ten, which has a great weekend brunch.
BEST FOR LUNCH
JAV巨乳             

For sandwiches, Snarf's is my go-to, especially for their Italian sub. It's good, quick, easy, and one of the better Boulder restaurant staples. I also really enjoy Mateo for great, Provençal-inspired food. A nice glass of wine paired with their Poulet plate is pretty much perfect—it's one of my all-time favorite chicken dishes.
BEST FOR DINNER

Head straight to Frasca Food & Wine for a full-blown dinner experience—it's downright world-class Italian dining, with special appeal for oenophiles. The Kitchen also wins points for their oysters and wholesome food, with a menu that incorporates the best in seasonal and local ingredients. Finally, try T-aco for solid Mexican fare in the form of street-style tacos, salsas, guacamole, margaritas, and Mexican beer.
BEST FOR LATE-NIGHT BITES

Shameless plug: My own eatery, OAK at fourteenth. There's simply not a lot of variety when it comes to quality late-night eats in Boulder, so swing by for tasty options like crispy fried pickles, chicken liver pâté, or kale salad, washed down with a beer or one of our classic cocktails. When I'm looking for something outside of my own restaurant, Bramble and Hare is another great late-night spot, especially for us industry folks. The chef, Eric Skokan, puts a fun spin on the menu, and their grilled cheese is sure to satisfy any after-hours craving.
BEST ALFRESCO DINING

Originally built as a cabin in the 1920s, the Flagstaff House was converted into a restaurant years later. The dining room and patio have fantastic mountain views, and the wine list is also worth intent gazes, with its excellent selection of vintages.
BEST HIDDEN GEMS
Jav Censored
For Vietnamese, hit up Black Pepper Pho—I usually go with the steak and meatball pho, which is great any time of year, but especially during the winter months. Or, try Café Aion, a beautiful Spanish tapas-inspired spot with excellent food and a really fun ambiance.
BEST FOR COCKTAILS

The original Boulder cocktail bar, The Bitter Bar serves up classic craft cocktails in a lighthearted, cozy atmosphere.
BEST HOTEL BAR

The bar at the St. Julien hotel hosts fun weekend events, like dancing, live local music ,and whatnot. The terrace has fantastic views of the Flatirons (local mountain formations), and, during the winters months, also touts a crackling fireplace.
BEST FOR WINE

From the same owners of Frasca, Pizzeria Locale is a more casual affair that serves up traditional Neapolitan-style pies. Best of all, guests have access to the Frasca wine menu, which definitely ranks tops in town.
BEST DIVE BAR

For the best whiskey selection around, hightail it to the Sundown Saloon. The owners, Jon and Tony, are outstanding hosts, and it's one of those special places that put patron's pictures on the wall everywhere (perhaps I'm partial, but they actually have one up of my son, when he was a baby!). Now, that's worth toasting to!

Mysterious Ocean Buzz Traced To Daily Fish Migration

Updated February 22, 20167:19 PM ETPublished February 22, 20165:23 PM ET

CHRISTOPHER JOYCE
Twitter


Jav

Listen to the Story


All Things Considered
2:09
Playlist
Download
Embed
Transcript



The half-naked hatchetfish, shown here munching on a shrimp, is just one of many billions of mesopelagic ocean fish that migrate up and down the water column each day to hunt food and avoid predators.Wikimedia

You might expect the middle of the Pacific Ocean to be a pretty quiet place, especially a thousand feet down. But it turns out that huge parts of the ocean are humming.

Scientists have puzzled over the source of the sound for several years. Now, a marine biologist reporting Monday at a meeting of ocean scientists in New Orleans says she thinks her team may have figured it out.

The discovery started with hydrophones. Marine scientists listen to the deep ocean by dropping these underwater microphones over the side of ships, or by putting them on buoys. Usually they hear what sounds like male humpback whales calling to each other at mating time, or the clicking signals of dolphins and other marine mammals.
jav porn online 

But a few years ago, those hydrophones picked up something weird out in the Pacific. The puzzling sound was faint, but continuous at certain times of day — just a few decibels above the background level — and definitely different from the normal sound of the ocean. It was 300 hertz and above — high for the call of a whale, and too continuous to be the signals of other marine mammals.


The sound of the ocean humming0:10
Playlist
Embed

According to Simone Baumann-Pickering, a marine biologist at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, the nature of the sound was "more as if you're sitting on an airplane and it's humming, buzzing." The sound starts after the sun sets, she says, and goes on for a couple of hours, then stops. The same thing happens at dawn.

Now, biologists knew that huge clouds of small fish and crustaceans and squid tend to hide in the dark, deep water during the day, and rise up nearer the surface to feed at night. This happens in all oceans in the mesopelagic zone, a fish-rich area of little light that stretches from about 660 feet beneath the sea's surface to depths of around 3,300 feet.

It took hydrophones in the Pacific to reveal that the hum actually accompanies that daily rise and fall of the fish migration.

Why the noise? Scientists can only speculate. It could be, says Baumann-Pickering, that the creatures "are truly, actively communicating — potentially to initiate migration." In other words, maybe the buzz is just a signal that "it's time to go," she says.

But there's another more mundane possibility.

"It's known that some fish are considered to be farting," says Baumann-Pickering, "that they emit gas as they change depths in the water column." The gas comes from a swim bladder inside the fish that controls its buoyancy.

In either case, billions of fish may be jetting up and down in the ocean every day, and making it hum. If so, it would likely be the largest migration of vertebrate animals on the planet, Baumann-Pickering says. She calculates that the weight of the fish amounts to some 10 billion tons.
jav hd uncen
At the New Orleans meeting sponsored by the American Geophysical Union, Baumann-Pickering told colleagues the sound raises an interesting question. Why would the fish do this if, as you might expect, the noise would have the effect of a dinner bell, attracting large predators?

Nobody knows, she says. "We're just scratching the surface in terms of understanding how important sound is" in the ocean.

Bill Cosby's Wife, Camille, Deposed In Defamation Lawsuit

Updated February 22, 20165:52 PM ETPublished February 22, 20165:15 PM ET
MERRIT KENNEDYJAV無料




Camille Cosby and Bill Cosby attend the Apollo Theater's 75th anniversary gala in 2009 in New York City.Jim Spellman/WireImage/Getty Images

Camille Cosby, the wife of comedian Bill Cosby, has been deposed at a Springfield, Mass., hotel.

Seven women brought a defamation lawsuit against her husband, to whom she's been married for more than 50 years.

NPR's Arun Rath reports that Monday's deposition, which happened under tight security, comes after a legal fight:


"Bill Cosby's legal team filed a series of motions to prevent his wife, Camille, from being called to testify, but late Sunday the federal court in Springfield, Mass., rejected the last, emergency appeal.

"The plaintiffs in the civil lawsuit claim they were defamed by statements issued by Bill Cosby's representatives, with his approval.

"Those statements denied Cosby had sexually assaulted the women, and called their reliability into question.

"Cosby is also facing criminal charges in Pennsylvania for an alleged sexual assault there in 2004. Last month, his lawyers filed a motion to dismiss those charges.
watch jav               

"More than 50 women have come forward to accuse Bill Cosby of sexual assault."

No details have emerged about what Camille Cosby said during her deposition. As the Associated Press reports, "depositions in civil cases are typically given in private, with only the people being deposed, their lawyers and a stenographer in the room."

Reuters reports that this case originated when "Tamara Green, a former aspiring model and singer who alleges Cosby drugged and sexually abused her, filed the Massachusetts civil lawsuit in December 2014."

After that, six other women came forward to join the lawsuit.jav uncensored