Bulgarian Wines Tasting in Sonoma, CA

It was so much fun last night at Valley Wine Shack and the Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Muscat and Traminer from Targovishte were so well accepted by a very knowledgeable audience. I served the reds first (I love doing things the opposite way) VINI Merlot 2006 and Domaine Boyar Cabernet Sauvignon 2003 Reserve, and it worked great since the medium bodied reds were judged before the floral and aromatic Muscat and Traminer. Will do it again and the Valley Wine Shack deserves all the kudos.

Wine mockumentary released

July 21, 2009
Oliver Styles

A new film that ridicules the world of wine is set to be shown in San Francisco next month after receiving positive reviews from previous screenings.

The film, called 'Corked!', is a low-budget spoof documentary, or 'mockumentary', which follows the travails of four different wineries and the people associated with them.

Characters in the film include Jerry, the independent winemaker ('eventually, I'll be the hospitality host – if I ever get a tasting room'), the marketing boss ('I certainly don't have to drink wine to sell wine'), Donald, the PR director of a large winery ('this is our provincial Italian courtyard - many people feel it evokes Tuscany...I like to think of it as a French chateau') and Dane, a vineyard manager with a 120dB bird scarer.

Locations for the film include Simi winery, Bella vineyard, and the Michel-Schlumberger estate.

The film was premiered at the Cannes film festival in France in May and, despite its low budget, reviews have been positive.

'It's likely to tantalize the funny-bones of all of us who have endured wine-connoisseur talk...hilarious and smart, it never falls flat, only occasionally bursting its bubble of documentary plausibility... many viewers are not going to realize it's a fictional entertainment,' said The Hollywood Reporter after seeing the film at Cannes.

The LA Times compared it to last year's Bottle Shock, saying it was, 'awkward in places, but tasty and easy enough to swallow, coming as they [Corked! and Bottle Shock] do from places of heightened truth.'

The makers of the film, Ross Clendenen and Paul Hawley, both have wine country experience. Hawley's family runs its own winery which was featured in the film, and Clendenen, although not related to top Santa Barbara producer Jim Clendenen of Au Bon Climat, has had cellar experience.

Corked! was screened at the Sonoma Film Festival last month and will be shown in San Jose from 27-30 July and in Healdsburg in August. Although further screenings are planned for San Francisco, no dates have been announced.

Wine Exports

Ruby

Bulgarian Wines Tasting in Sonoma

Host:
Location:	Sonoma Valley Wine Shack 535 Napa Rd. Sonoma, CA 95476 US
When:	Wednesday, July 22, 6:00PM
Phone:	707-322-003
Vance will pour Dry Muscat, Traminer and Riesling from Black Sea Coastal Region and some Summer Reds from Thracian Valley. This will be the first time a wine country retailer is presenting Bulgarian wines. Please join us for some exotic wine and fun.

Liquid cocaine found in bottles of Bolivian wine

July 16, 2009

Sophie Kevany in Lima, Peru

The discovery of liquid cocaine in bottles of Bodegas Kohlberg wine has shocked the owners of the 40-year-old winery in northern Bolivia.

The narcotic was found during a drugs inspection by customs officers in Bulgaria, at the port of Varna-West.

Wines from Vinos Kohlberg are normally exported from Bolivia via the Chilean port of Arica. No Kohlberg wine is currently exported to Chile.

'We export about 10% of our production to the Czech Republic and China, via Chile, but those shipments have not even left yet,' said Herbert Kohlberg, marketing manager at the winery.

The Kohlbergs condemned the adulteration of their wines. 'This illegal action is absolutely not what we stand for,' said Lisette Kohlberg.

Of the 1020 bottles of Kohlberg wine – 765 litres - discovered by Bulgarian authorities, news agencies reported 714 litres was liquid cocaine. The rest – 68 bottles – was reported to be real wine.

The Kohlberg winery is a leading Bolivan brand, producing about 2.7m litres a year. Wholesale prices range from US$1.85- $14.85 per bottle.

Principal varietals include Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Malbec.

Bolivia has a cult reputation for its 'high altitude' wines. The country is also the world's third-largest producer of cocaine, and the third biggest supplier to the US after Colombia and Venezuela.

Last week a former Bolivian cabinet minister, Colonel Luis Arce Gomez was deported from prison in Miami after serving almost 20 years for cocaine smuggling.

Smuggling cocaine in liquid form is not uncommon. Earlier this year a London cab driver died after drinking the drug from a rum bottle which had been innocently given him.

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Latest Schultz Shock: a 'bank holiday'

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- The top-performing letter that predicted the Crash of 2008 now predicts a confiscatory Franklin D। Roosevelt-style "bank holiday." But it's surprisingly sanguine about stocks -- in the (very) short term.

In its current issue, HSL reports rumors that "Some U.S. embassies worldwide are being advised to purchase massive amounts of local currencies; enough to last them a year. Some embassies are being sent enormous amounts of U.S. cash to purchase currencies from those governments, quietly. But not pound sterling. Inside the State Dept., there is a sense of sadness and foreboding that 'something' is about to happen ... within 180 days, but could be 120-150 days."

Yes, yes, it's paranoid. But paranoids have enemies -- and the Crash of 2008 really did happen.

HSL's suspicion: "Another FDR-style 'bank holiday' of indefinite length, perhaps soon, to let the insiders sort out the bank mess, which (despite their rosy propaganda campaign) is getting more out of their control every day। Insiders want to impose new bank rules. Widespread nationalization could result, already underway. It could also lead to a formal U.S. dollar devaluation, as FDR did by revaluing gold (and then confiscating it)."

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/schultz-paints-bleak-picture-of-future?siteid=yahoomy

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