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Archive-name: drink/wine-faq/part9
Posting-Frequency: monthly Copyright: (c) 1995-2000 Bradford S. Brown (Notices/Disclaimers in pt. 10) Last-modified: 2000/06/01 U.S. WWW (HTML) Mirror: http://www.sbwines.com/usenet_winefaq [newest] U.K. WWW (HTML) Mirror: http://www.bath.ac.uk/~su3ws/wine-faq/wine-faq.html See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge XII. TOURING THE WINE COUNTRY ------------------------------------------------------------------------- We might give up before we start, but for now, we'll have a lot of reserved. Touring the wine country is a personal adventure. Everybody has their own impressions as to what they like and how they like to do it. Initially we provided WWW links to various tourist sites, but with the explosion of the WWW, there is no keeping up. Instead, check the Internet Resources section for hints on where to start in finding your particular interests. _CANADA_ _Niagara Peninsula_ You may wish to tour the wineries of the Niagara Peninsula in southern Ontario. After visiting the famous Falls, the Wine Route can provide an interesting summer afternoon drive. One end is on the Niagara Parkway, between Queenston Heights and Niagara-on-the-Lake, and it wanders through the vineyards and orchards to the Niagara Bench area and the town of Grimsby. It passes near about 25 wineries. The route, not counting stops, takes 2-3 hours to drive. Coach tours are available. Most of the wineries provide free tastings. However, if you want to try Ontario's famous Eiswein (icewine) you will probably have to pay a little - it's too expensive to give away. _Okanagan Valley_ Located west of the Canadian Rockies in the southeastern part of British Columbia, the Okanagan Similkameen area contains a number of wineries. The Okanagan Valley, similar in latitude to German wine growing regions has produced grapes since the 1800's, however in the 1970's a series of major replantings with the hopes of transforming the area into a world-class wine growing area, with over 25 wineries currently in operation. Fruit stands are frequent along the highways which pass by scenic lakes. Some wineries co-exist with new homes. The Similkameen high desert valley runs along the Similkameen River in the Cascade Mountains and is a much more recent addition the list of wine producing areas. A large number of wine related events take place throughout the year. A tourism guide is available from the Okanagan Similkameen Tourism Association of British Columbia, which you can also probably get from the British Columbia Tourism people by phone (check your local listings). _FRANCE_ Okay. We've never been to France. There are enough books and tourist guides to fill a library. But if anybody has anything specific they would like to add, let us know. So far we've heard: _UNITED STATES OF AMERICA_ _California_ _*Central Coast*_ Centered more or less between Solvang/Buellton and Santa Maria, the Central Coast has, in recent times, begun to produce a great deal of extremely good wine. Given that the Mondavi family of Napa has recently come in and bought up a lot of the best acreage, it is clear that what is coming from the area is not without some very large potential! Many people like to stay in either Santa Barbara (and drive the 45 minutes or so to the southern wine areas), or in and around Solvang, a town that tries to look a bit like (so I'm told) a small Danish town, down to a windmill on top of the most famous Danish pastry shop in town. Because there are a number of very small producers without tasting rooms, there are several wine tasting rooms which, for a small fee, will let you sample a large number of the area's wines that you could not otherwise taste. One such room is the _*Los Olivos Tasting Room *_in the center of the small town of Los Olivos (about 10 minutes north of Solvang). Another (run by a local wine writer), is the _*Los Olivos Wine and Spirits Emporium*_, located about a mile west of the center of Los Olivos (web site [http://www.sbwines.com] : http://www.sbwines.com). (Netizens may like the "wine glass stained" mouse pads offered there; we're using one "as we speak.") _*Gold Country*_ [Reserved.] _*Mendocino*_ [Reserved.] _*Napa*_ When most people first think of where the wine country in California is, they probaby first think of Napa. About an hour's drive (when you are lucky) north of San Francisco, the wine boom of the last 30 or so years has transformed the area's farms and farmers. World class fine wines are produced here by family farmers, wine barons and multi-national corporations, just to name a few. Wines to fit every taste and every pocketbook can be found at almost every turn. So far as touring the area, the first thing many people think of is "expensive." While a vacation in a wine area might not be as costly as some resort packages, the Napa area has experienced such a huge tourist influx that the cost of lodging and food (both of which can be extremely good) have risen rapidly. Our travels have shown us that a higher percentage of wineries charge for tasting in Napa than in any other area we have visited. In any event, you can be treated to some of the finest dining anywhere in establishments that, as often as not, provide reasonably priced wines from local producers. Many wineries have beautiful areas in which to picnic, and you can get food from some of the wineries (and, of course, if you want, wine), or provide your own from markets, bakeries and deli's in the area, especially along or just off of Highway 29. For those who are interested, there are also balloon rides, sail planes, resorts, mud baths, a wine "train" and even a gondola ride to get you to a winery (at a price). Of course another cost of all these tourist attractions is that there are a lot of tourists. The crowds can be a bit overwhelming at times. It is best to plan for off-peak periods and mid-week visits if you want to avoid some of the herds. _*Paso Robles*_ [Reserved.] _*Sonoma*_ North of San Francisco and west over the hills from Napa lies Sonoma County. Where Napa is glitz and glamor, Sonoma seems to be more "down home." Perhaps this is an illusion as big companies take over more and more acreage, but there are still lots of smaller wineries making world class wine in an agricultural setting. The area is bigger than Napa and since it is more spread out, it isn't quite the tourist attraction, nor does it have quite the "trendiness." There aren't as many "upscale" restaurants (but there are some; we've tried and liked, for example, _*Mixx*_ in Santa Rosa, _*John Ash & Co.*_ just north of Santa Rosa and the _*Willowside Cafe *_somewhat west of Santa Rosa._* *_There is wine that is just as good and the crowds are smaller. If you want a bit more of the tourist feeling, stay in and around the city of Sonoma, otherwise, the city of Santa Rosa is a good base. You can even cross over the hills and spend some time in Napa. If you think we're putting Sonoma down, don't. We don't want to let a good thing out of the bag. We spend much more time in Sonoma when we're up that way. _*Temecula*_ [Reserved.] XIII. MISCELLANY --------------------------------------------------------------------------- IMPORTING WINE _*Into the United States*_ I've not checked the following information. Check with Customs! Posts indicate: You are allowed to bring into the U.S. some amount of liquor duty free. After that, 10% flat rate for the first $1000 above the $400 duty free limit (for most other items) allowed. You must carry the wine with you. Mailing/shipping it back requires an importer, and some say it will disappear in any event. _KOSHER WINE_ When I think of Kosher wine, I think of Mogan David. Most of those wines are sweetened and some use artificial flavors. Posts have spoken of other producers: + Carmel + Baron Herzog (California) + Gan Eden (California) + Galil (Israel) + Golan Heights (Golan Heights) + Royal Kedem (Israel) + Weinstock (California) _MAKING YOUR OWN WINE_ Definitely something that can be done, but far afield from our experience. Some of the best wine we've drunk is from home winemakers, and many commercial winemakers got their start making wine at home. There are a great number of cyberspace resources in this area, including a FAQ on winemaking and a FAQ on winemaking resources. Check out: _*Usenet*_: rec.crafts.wine-making _*World Wide Web:*_ Don Buchan's Wine Guide Page [http://www.cam.org/~malak/guide] at http://www.cam.org/~malak/guide with links to his FAQs on making wine and internet wine-making resources, as well as information on wine-making kits, recipes, etc. See additional sites as listed in the "Winemaking" section of Appendix A. _*E-mail*_: Don Buchan [malak@cam.org] is at malak@cam.org. _*FTP:*_ rtfm.mit.edu (all FAQs) _*Gopher:*_ gopher.physics.utoronto.ca (all FAQ's via rtfm.mit.edu) _PAN-GALACTIC GARGLE BLASTER_ While I wouldn't bet that there is any wine in a Pan-Galactic Gargle Blaster, who knows? Check with Zaphod Beeblebrox. _RECIPES_ _*Wine Coolers*_ Two bottles red wine (don't spend a lot!). 1 container frozen orange juice concentrate. Several cinnamon sticks several whole cloves. (I've never made this....) Chill and serve in a punch bowl with strawberries on top. Add soda water for a weaker concoction. _SHIPPING_ If you are shipping wine, take note that many wineries will hold off shipment to accommodate either your schedule or the weather. You probably don't want your wine sitting around a very hot loading dock in the middle of summer. Check Appendix A for some URL's discussing legal aspects of wine and the shipping of wine. Some states do not allow shipping into their jurisdiction. Why? Alternate theories include morals and/or tax revenues. _ --------------------------------------------------------------------------- APPENDIX A. WINE BOOKMARK LIST (in HTML) --------------------------------------------------------------------------- The following is a sub-set of Dean Turdor's Wines, Beers and Spirits of the Net [http://www.acs.ryerson.ca/~journal/wine.html] , removing most of the non-wine links. Thanks to Mssr. Tudor for his permission to use his list. For a complete and current copy of his list, go to http://www.acs.ryerson.ca/~journal/wine.html. The following listing was created in November, 1997. For ease of use, the entire list will be included in part 10 -- User Contributions:Comment about this article, ask questions, or add new information about this topic: |
Throughout history, we can see how we have been strategically conditioned to come to this point where we are on the verge of a cashless society. Did you know that the Bible foretold of this event almost 2,000 years ago?
In Revelation 13:16-18, we read,
"He (the false prophet who deceives many by his miracles--Revelation 19:20) causes all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and slave, to receive a mark on their right hand or on their foreheads, and that no one may buy or sell except one who has the mark or the name of the beast, or the number of his name.
Here is wisdom. Let him who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man: His number is 666."
Referring to the last generation, this could only be speaking of a cashless society. Why so? Revelation 13:17 says that we cannot buy or sell unless we receive the mark of the beast. If physical money was still in use, we could buy or sell with one another without receiving the mark. This would contradict scripture that states we need the mark to buy or sell!
These verses could not be referring to something purely spiritual as scripture references two physical locations (our right hand or forehead) stating the mark will be on one "OR" the other. If this mark was purely spiritual, it would indicate both places, or one--not one OR the other!
This is where it really starts to come together. It is shocking how accurate the Bible is concerning the implantable RFID microchip. Here is information from someone named Carl Sanders who worked with a team of engineers to help develop this RFID chip:
"Carl Sanders sat in seventeen New World Order meetings with heads-of-state officials such as Henry Kissinger and Bob Gates of the C.I.A. to discuss plans on how to bring about this one-world system. The government commissioned Carl Sanders to design a microchip for identifying and controlling the peoples of the world—a microchip that could be inserted under the skin with a hypodermic needle (a quick, convenient method that would be gradually accepted by society).
Carl Sanders, with a team of engineers behind him, with U.S. grant monies supplied by tax dollars, took on this project and designed a microchip that is powered by a lithium battery, rechargeable through the temperature changes in our skin. Without the knowledge of the Bible (Brother Sanders was not a Christian at the time), these engineers spent one-and-a-half-million dollars doing research on the best and most convenient place to have the microchip inserted.
Guess what? These researchers found that the forehead and the back of the hand (the two places the Bible says the mark will go) are not just the most convenient places, but are also the only viable places for rapid, consistent temperature changes in the skin to recharge the lithium battery. The microchip is approximately seven millimeters in length, .75 millimeters in diameter, about the size of a grain of rice. It is capable of storing pages upon pages of information about you. All your general history, work history, criminal record, health history, and financial data can be stored on this chip.
Brother Sanders believes that this microchip, which he regretfully helped design, is the “mark” spoken about in Revelation 13:16–18. The original Greek word for “mark” is “charagma,” which means a “scratch or etching.” It is also interesting to note that the number 666 is actually a word in the original Greek. The word is “chi xi stigma,” with the last part, “stigma,” also meaning “to stick or prick.” Carl believes this is referring to a hypodermic needle when they poke into the skin to inject the microchip."
Mr. Sanders asked a doctor what would happen if the lithium contained within the RFID microchip leaked into the body. The doctor replied by saying (...)