Jacqueline Friedrich: The Wine Humanist WINE BY PEOPLE, FOR PEOPLE; WINE FROM THE HEART

This time next week I will be on a local train taking me from the Port Boulet station to the Gare Angers St. Lo on my way to the Salon des Vins de Loire. I always have an ambitious program planned for myself and am lucky if I manage to accomplish a third of (more…)

I don't know who wrote these but a friend forwarded them to me. Many made me laugh out loud. I hope they brighten you day and lighten your mood too.

There's a postscript: At the end of the text there's a haiku I write after having been challenged by a friend.

Herewith, the Jewish Haikus:


Beyond Valium,
peace is knowing one's child
is an internist.

On Passover we
opened the door for Elijah.
Now our cat is gone.

After the warm rain
the sweet smell of camellias.
Did you wipe your feet?

Her lips near my ear,
Aunt Sadie whispers the name
of her friend's disease.

Today I am (more…)

Writing Loire2 and dealing with the abundant harvest in my garden has taken up all of my time recently. That and dentist appointments. Now the tumult of the garden is dying down. It’s basically just walnuts and apples now and the last of the cherry tomatoes and some green tomatoes that I’ve (more…)

This is a "discussion" that appears on my FaceBook Homepage. An old NYC comrade, Sally Belk King, started it off by taking one of the many polls, this one involving the health care controversy. I thought the discussion worth repeating here as only Sally's friends will see it on FaceBook -- and as I have strong (more…)

My friend, Annette Bonnell, sent me the following article. I don't know the source though it might be SpiegelOnline.


WATER INTO VINO CONTROVERSY
German Red Wine Powder Angers Chianti Growers
Furious Italian winemakers claim that a German manufacturer of powdered red wine is copying their hallowed Chianti -- a charge the company vehemently denies. The product, intended (more…)

My friend and frequent companion in sybaritic excess, Mary, sent me the following. I have a feeling it will go viral:

 Q: Doctor,  I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life. Is this true?
A: Your  heart is only good for so many  beats, and that's it...  don't waste them on exercise. (more…)

The post below is an article I wrote for the Wall Street Journal. While discussing the Roquefort situation with my good friend, that Angel in America, Odessa Piper, I spoke of this article. She wanted to read it. As I don't subscribe to the WSJ I cannot retrieve old articles from their website. So (more…)

Nothing. At least not in the restaurant I ate in last Wednesday.

Said restaurant shall remain nameless to protect the innocent – me – from a potential lawsuit. Also, I was not able to go into the kitchen to confirm my belief that I would find nothing simmering on burners or baking in ovens; no (more…)

As you may know, in one of his last official acts, ex-Pres Bush instituted a 300% tax on Roquefort cheese. Petitions are circulating, asking people to protest Bush’s foolishness by signing a demand/request that Obama rescind the wildly excessive duty. I do sympathize…to a point. I feel our political muscle is better (more…)