“Travel + Leisure Names The Carlyle New York's Best Luxury Hotel - Luxury Travel Magazine” plus 2 more |
- Travel + Leisure Names The Carlyle New York's Best Luxury Hotel - Luxury Travel Magazine
- Michigan Hearts Wine - Metromode Media
- IT'S YOUR BUSINESS: Business news releases Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 - Naples Daily News
| Travel + Leisure Names The Carlyle New York's Best Luxury Hotel - Luxury Travel Magazine Posted: 10 Feb 2010 09:22 AM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Travel + Leisure has named The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel "New York's Best Hotel" on its annual World's Best Hotels list of 500 properties. Compiled by Travel + Leisure's global team of reporters and editors, the annual World's Best Hotels list, which is voted on by T + L readers, ranks the 500 best luxury hotels, resorts, inns and lodges from around the world. "The Carlyle has always been recognized for its outstanding service, luxury accommodations and one-of-a-kind guest experiences," said Erich Steinbock, Managing Director of the luxury hotel in Upper East Side NYC. "Our inclusion on Travel + Leisure's World's Best Hotels list reflects all of the hard work, ingenuity and care that each employee puts towards ensuring that each guest has a memorable stay." An oasis of understated luxury, the Upper East Side NYC hotel has become a "home away from home" for sophisticated travelers, including leaders in world affairs, business, society, entertainment and the arts since its debut in 1930. Offering a first-class combination of discretion and grace, the New York City luxury hotel's 188 rooms and suites feature elegant views of Central Park and Manhattan's skyline. Gracious and romantic formal dining awaits guests in The Carlyle Restaurant while legendary entertainers create the quintessential New York cabaret experience in the famed Café Carlyle. Bemelmans Bar, a timeless New York City watering hole that has drawn socialites, politicians, movie stars and moguls for more than five decades, mixes superb drinks and features live pianists. Hotel Profile: The Carlyle, A Rosewood Hotel More information: Rosewood Hotels & Resorts
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| Michigan Hearts Wine - Metromode Media Posted: 10 Feb 2010 09:15 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it.  It's almost Valentine's Day, and Michigan is fermenting a juicy new romance. Red and white now washes the Great Lakes shores, moving our region past its beer-drinking rustbelt identity. In fact, Michigan wines have got their own love scene going. With the world at their feet, Travel + Leisure magazine editors chose Michigan's wine country as one of the 50 Best Romantic Getaways for 2010. Eat your heart out, Napa. Grape cultivation starts up in tiny Northport, at the tip of the sandy rolling Leelanau peninsula that enamored Travel + Leisure editors, and stretches down to the far southwest corner of the state, a skip over the Indiana border. The crop flourishes within 15 miles of Lake Michigan, which throws a lake effect blanket over the coastal area thereby allowing more ripening time. And researchers at Michigan State University's Southwest Michigan Research and Extension Center are toying with varieties of grapes that won't shrivel over Michigan winters. At least 64 commercial wineries squeeze more than one million gallons of wine annually from these Michigan-grown grapes. It's a fun irony that this state has a city called Temperance and its wineries still attract more than 800,000 visitors annually. Collectively, it's a $300 million-a-year industry. So can this elixir take root in our own backyards? Michigan Wines.com, the state industry website, shows a small group of wineries (none east of US-23), but no vineyards, in the state's southeast quadrant. Metro Detroit may lack vineyards, but there are specialty wine shops galore and chic wine bars in downtowns like Royal Oak. And a whole cottage industry has sprung up around helping us feel the love for a drink often labeled as intimidating. Budding mixologists pay anywhere from $160 to $260 to make 28-30 bottles of vino. Cost depends on the varietal and whether Fieldstone supplies the bottles (clients can bring their own, which will be sterilized). DIY wine making, it seems, is rising nearly as fast as it takes to drink a shot. Franchisers such as Vintner's Cellar in downtown Royal Oak have opened up, but Fieldstone is one of the original players. For the uninitiated that'd be most of us here's the rundown: Pick your varietal, pour juice into six-gallon fermentation containers, add a fining agent to settle the sediment, and add yeast. Fermentation takes a week, and then winery staffers take over. They rack the wine (in lay terms, that means transferring it to another container after a sediment forms), add sulfites to remove any remaining yeast and to preserve, then a fining agent to clear up the liquid. It's ready for bottling after five to eight weeks. Reds may need another six to eight months before they're ready to drink, but whites are generally ready to go. "If they're patient, [clients] can make some very, very good wines that can be comparable to $30, $40, $50 bottles of wine at a fraction of the cost," Mulrenin says. Available grape varieties are sourced worldwide, Michigan excepted. While he gets Michigan grapes like traminette to crush for the winery's own batches every year, there isn't enough bulk juice for clients to use because the state's vineyards don't produce enough extra fruit. No grape stomping here, but anyone can try out the 100-year-old crusher used for demos.
There's tasting and then there's tasting. On May 20th, the Great Lakes Great Wines Grazing will bring two dozen judges to sample 500 wines at the Oakland Community College (OCC) culinary school in Farmington Hills. "There's no other competition like this in the world," event chair Darlene Levinson, a certified sommelier, says. "We only allow vineyards who enjoy the unique climate or microclimate of the Great Lakes to compete in this judging." Wineries from Michigan, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, and Ontario are invited to enter every year. In 2009, about 340 out of 500 wines submitted earned medals ranging from double gold to bronze. Half of the entries were from Michigan. Judging is a better term for the event, Levinson says. "It is not a competition against each other," she clarifies. "It's just how good did they make that wine, and if they made it well and it tastes the way [the varietal] is supposed to taste, then they get a medal." That evening, for a $50 donation, the public is invited to finish all 500 opened bottles and sop up the juice with appetizers prepared by local chefs. "It's been very successful since its inception," says Levinson, who is also an instructor in the college's culinary program. And it's not just Michigan's whites that medal. The less-heralded reds aren't exactly bottom of-the-barrel. You don't need to go to Santa Barbara (a la Sideways) for good pinot noir. "Black Star Farms [of Travel + Leisure fame] was invited to a competition for pinot noirs and they came out on top against California, Oregon, all these famous places where people think that's the only place to get a pinot noir," she adds. If you crave the know-how to sip from the judge's chair, OCC is looking to start a wine certificate program within the next year, Levinson says. The program will prepare students to take the sommelier exam. Until then, trust your palate with a wine tasting course. We'll drink to that Nidal Daher, a certified sommelier, has poured a lot into his wine-tasting classes at the Community House in Birmingham over the past 16 years. There's lots of information on geography, labeling, and even food pairings, but it's easy to digest. And the sessions are really laid-back fun. Michigan bottles are included in his "Summer Whites" series, held outdoors, picnic-style, in summer. "So oftentimes, I on purpose go and do a tasting at the Community House and I bring wines I haven't tasted," Daher explains. "I tell people, 'I haven't tried these wines. We're going to taste them together and see what we think of these wines.' " When not teaching it seems like Daher dabbles in nearly everything to do with the vine. He runs wine consultancy Sommelier Connections, Inc. and custom designs wine cellars and storage equipment for residential and commercial clients such as Plum Market and the former Five Lakes Grill. He also handles appraisals, auctions, and restaurant wine list setup and staff training. Restaurants are offering more tastings, varieties, and wines by the glass than ever, Daher says, and "That's obviously reaching the consumer, and the educated consumer is a good consumer because when you're educated, you're comfortable with wine, you drink more wine, you buy wine." In each of the eight years since its opening, Shiraz has received an Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine, according to Paula Touchtone, general manager and sommelier of the Bingham Farms eatery. Of note: Touchtone is a colleague of Madeline Triffon, the first American woman, and the second woman in the world, to earn the rarefied title of Master Sommelier. Only 103 professionals in North America hold this designation. Triffon, wine director for Shiraz's parent company, the Matt Prentice Restaurant Group, often leads tastings at the restaurant's Wednesday Wine Bars, usually held the first week of each month. For one event, in-state winemakers were invited to compare their own wines with those serving as their original inspiration. "So you had some world-class wines being tasted side by side with Michigan wines, and the Michigan wines hold their own. I'm proud to be from Michigan," Touchtone says, "but if the wines weren't good quality, I probably wouldn't have agreed to sit and talk to you." Reds are more challenging because they take longer to ripen, but Pinot Noir is one to watch. And "I've tasted some absolutely gorgeous ross, but the Cabernet Franc from up north is lovely," she says. "The Gill's Pier Cabernet Franc-Merlot blend, there's a reason why it won so many awards, because it's a rock-solid product." The wide accessibility of online information has closed the book on the image of a white-haired wine gentry. "When I turned 21, you went out for cocktails," Touchtone relates. "Now what I'm starting to see in the restaurants are people in their 20s and young 30s are into the wines. Their palates are pretty sophisticated and they value where they put their dollarsthe age of that level of sophistication has gotten younger over the years. People are taking it more seriously." And the amorous psychology of oenology is a serious proposition, too. It's an ancient pairing
that stems with Bacchus, the virile, goblet-waving Greco-Roman god of wine and fertility. I
ask Daher, the co-author of Italian food and wine pairing tome Romance Begins in the Kitchen, for his take on Valentines and vines.
"The most romantic meal is the one you cook with your partner
together," he says. "To me, anything about food and wine is romantic." Tanya Muzumdar loves a good Garnacha from Spain. Stateside, she's a fan of Chateau Grand Traverse Riesling. She is Metromode's Assistant Editor. She is also a freelance writer. Her previous article was Metro Detroit: A Visitor's View.
And be sure to follow Metromode on Facebook!
Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
| IT'S YOUR BUSINESS: Business news releases Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010 - Naples Daily News Posted: 10 Feb 2010 12:52 PM PST Message from fivefilters.org: If you can, please donate to the full-text RSS service so we can continue developing it. Investment class starts Feb. 16 Financial Investment Class for Beginners is a five-week class that begins Tuesday, Feb. 16, and runs from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at Barron Collier High School in room 423. The course will be taught by Bob Belcastro, a vice president and financial adviser for RBC Wealth Management in Naples. The class will enable the student to understand and differentiate the advantages and disadvantages of stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and options. The student will be able to design a portfolio that will match his/her needs. The course also is designed to allow the student to choose a stock portfolio using only Dow Industrial stocks, or a more aggressive small cap stock portfolio. The course will discuss the effects of taxes and inflation on the value of investments and which type of investments should outperform with respect to the current interest rate environment. No textbooks are needed but students are encouraged to bring a business newspaper to class to follow the various investment options presented. The cost of this six-week course is $69 and seating is limited, so reserve by calling Bob Belcastro at 649-2121. - Contributed by Bob Belcastro * * * * * Naples travel agent invited to ship christening Mary Ann Ramsey, president of Betty Maclean Travel Inc., and her husband Roy Ramsey were special guests for the recent christening ceremony of Silversea Cruises' newest luxury ship the Silver Spirit in Fort Lauderdale. The event began with a cocktail reception followed by a gourmet dinner in Le Champagne, one of several intimate alternative dining venues on the ship. The guests were also treated to entertainment by world renowned Michael Feinstein. The following morning the elegant new Silver Spirit was christened in a formal ceremony held dockside in Fort Lauderdale. Amerigo Perasso, Silversea's president and chief executive officer, said: "Today is a proud day for Silversea as we celebrate the christening of our new ship and what is the culmination of much effort and planning. From her sophisticated Art Deco interior design and extra-spacious suites to a host of new amenities and services, Silver Spirit embodies the innovative spirit of our company and is a dramatic step forward for our award-winning concept of ultra-luxury cruising." "The Silver Spirit is a beautiful ship. The choice of six dining venues including the innovative Stars Supper Club is wonderful. I can't wait to tell my clients about this special ship. It has fabulous itineraries for 2010 and 2011 offering great values" said Mary Ann Ramsey. Accommodating just 540 guests, this intimate ship has the largest suites in the Silversea fleet, with 95 percent featuring a private veranda. The onboard decor lends a sophisticated 1930s Art Deco ambiance to the public spaces, highlights of which include an indoor/outdoor spa measuring over 8,300 square feet. About Betty Maclean Travel, Inc.: Celebrating 30 years of business in Naples, Betty Maclean Travel, Inc. is a top producing agency for such luxury travel companies as The Yachts of Seabourn, Silversea Cruises, Regent Seven Seas Cruises, Crystal Cruises, TCS Expeditions, Tauck and Abercrombie & Kent. The agency has been featured in Wendy Perrin's book Secrets Every Smart Traveler Should Know, and many of the agency's Travel Consultants have been featured in national magazines such as Travel + Leisure, Condé Nast Traveler, and National Geographic Traveler. Information: (239) 513-0333. - Contributed by Karen Pickrum * * * * * Junior Achievement Business Hall of Fame will induct two Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida will induct Jim Nathan, president of Lee Memorial Health System, and Tom Uhler, a founding principal of Uhler and Vertich Financial Planners, into the 2010 Business Hall of Fame, Lee County, at a dinner and awards ceremony on May 5 at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Estero. The prestigious award recognizes prominent business leaders who are outstanding entrepreneurs and serve as role models for youth through their professional accomplishments and commitment to the community. Nathan and Uhler will join a distinguished group of individuals who have been inducted into the Business Hall of Fame since it was founded in 1987. After a six-year career selling cars in his family's automobile business and serving in the U.S. Army Reserve, Nathan earned master's degrees from Xavier University and moved to Lee County to begin a one-year residency at Lee Memorial Hospital. Upon completion of his residency, he was offered the position of vice president at Lee Memorial Hospital and went on to become president and CEO in 1981. Under his leadership, the company has grown from a single hospital to a large system of acute care hospitals, a children's hospital, a rehabilitation hospital, a skilled nursing facility, home health services, outpatient facilities and physician group practices. Nathan left the company in 1997 to provide leadership consulting and pursue interests in national healthcare reform, including testimony before the U.S. Senate. He returned to Lee Memorial Health System in 2000 and continues to serve as president. Nathan holds a bachelor's degree from Miami University and master's degrees in business administration and health care administration from Xavier University. Nathan is a leader in professional organizations such as Hospital Safety Net Alliance of Florida, Florida Hospital Association, VHA-Southeast and American College of Healthcare Executives. He serves the community as a board member for Florida Gulf Coast University Foundation, The Foundation for Lee County Public Schools, American Heart Association of Lee County, Southwest Florida Community Foundation, Coalition for a Drug-Free Lee County and The American Red Cross of Lee County. Most recently, he was named in Gulfshore Life magazine's "Men and Women of the Decade" and received the title "A Champion of the Movement" by the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Committee. A 30-year veteran of the financial services profession and a member of the Financial Planning Association, Uhler is founding principal of Uhler and Vertich Financial Planners, an independent firm specializing in comprehensive estate, financial, retirement and investment planning for successful families. This entrepreneur also founded The Wine Merchant in Fort Myers and is a member of the Society of Wine Educators. A frequent speaker on financial planning, investments and food and wine, Uhler is frequently called upon by local media as a resource for stories on food, vintner's specialties and wine collecting. Uhler holds a bachelor's degree in biological sciences from Susquehanna University. A resident of Sanibel Island since 1977, Uhler has been an active community leader, serving on the boards for organizations such as Kiwanis Club of Sanibel-Captiva Islands, Good Neighbor Community Foundation of Sanibel-Captiva, Southwest Florida Symphony Orchestra and Chorus Association, United Way of Lee County and Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation (SCCF). He has a special interest in assisting nonprofit organizations with planned giving efforts and has helped a number of Lee County groups identify, educate and establish long term relationships with donors. He is a life member of the National Eagle Scout Association, a former Cub master and serves on the Council Executive Board and Endowment Investment Committee of the Southwest Florida Council of the Boy Scouts of America. Many Lee County students involved with Junior Achievement will attend the Hall of Fame event, where they can interact with local professionals and practice their etiquette skills. Tickets and sponsorship opportunities for the event are now available. Proceeds benefit Junior Achievement programs. For event tickets and sponsorship information, call the Junior Achievement office at 239-225-2590. About Junior Achievement of Southwest Florida Junior Achievement is the world's largest organization dedicated to inspiring and preparing young people to succeed in a global economy. Through a dedicated volunteer network, Junior Achievement provides in-school and after-school programs for students which focus on three key content areas: work readiness, entrepreneurship and financial literacy. Today, 138 individual area operations reach four million students in the United States, with an additional five million students served by operations in 120 other countries worldwide. For more information, contact the local office at 239-225-2590, or visit www.JASWFL.org on the Web. - Contributed by Kimberly Geary, Priority Marketing * * * * * Green Irene brings eco-friendly home consulting to Naples Green Irene LLC, a national consulting firm that promotes eco-friendly homes and offices, has just announced Marjorie Ziff-Levine as its newest Eco-Consultant with the opening of her green consulting practice in Naples. Now, Ziff-Levine is an independent, authorized distributor of Green Irene consulting services and products. According to Ziff-Levine, she is trained to provide eco-friendly consulting services to local homeowners who want to lead healthier, safer and more sustainable lifestyles - while saving money by reducing energy use. "Many individuals are unaware of how the environment affects their day-to-day lives. Now, I can teach my neighbors eco-friendly tactics, such as conserving water," Ziff-Levine said. "I am so grateful to have come across this opportunity to educate Naples-area residents on what I have learned about taking care of our environment, conserving energy and water, and reducing our carbon footprint." Eco-Consultants like Ziff-Levine perform 90-minute Green Home Makeovers by walking through the client's home to develop a set of customized recommendations. The major topics covered in the Green Home Makeover include: energy conservation, water conservation, water purity, indoor air quality, toxic-free living, energy efficient lighting, recycling, waste reduction, and safety and emergency preparedness. "Within those main topic areas we provide recommendations for immediate, free implementation through a detailed Green Home Makeover Report and Family Action Plan, as well as green home product and service suggestions," Ziff-Levine said. "Some of the things we include with our recommendations are water and air filtration products, energy-saving light bulbs in every shape, water conservation products, composters, and other products to live a more sustainable, healthy life." With electric, gas and water costs going up, investments to conserve in these areas also make great financial sense, Ziff-Levine said. "Naples-area residents can save thousands of dollars by just making a few small adjustments. For example, energy-efficient light bulbs can cut your electric bill significantly, and low-flow shower heads and other items in our water-conservation kit can save thousands in reduced utility costs to heat wasted hot water," Ziff-Levine said, adding that "even in tight economic times, investments that save money and have the added benefit of helping your family 'go green' make sense." Along with the consulting service, local clients receive a three-month membership to Ask Green Irene. This extensive, "green" database allows clients to research green-focused questions that may arise after the initial Green Home Makeover. It also allows clients the ability to submit questions to a Green Irene researcher for an answer to any question not yet covered in the database. About Green Irene LLC Founded in 2007 by the original "Green Irene", Rosamaria Caballero, Green Irene helps people save energy, water, and money. Backed by the notion that everyone can make a difference with simple changes in lifestyle and habits, Green Irene Eco-Consultants perform Green Home Makeovers and Green Office Makeovers with advice and strategies on how to make your living or working area more eco-friendly. The goal for Green Irene Eco-Consultants is to lead your family members and coworkers to a healthier, safer and more sustainable lifestyle, and save you money, energy, and water with its consulting services and green home and office products. For more information, visit www.greenirene.com. - Contributed by Marjorie Ziff-Levine, marjorie.naples@greenirene.com * * * * * Sunshine Structures completes structural concrete on building Sunshine Structures, Inc., has completed the structural concrete for general contractor Peter R. Brown Construction on the new 1st District Court of Appeal located at 2000 Drayton Drive, Tallahassee. This project is a three story 110,000 square feet building with below grade parking area. The facility includes administrative offices, judge's chambers, Marshall's office, courtrooms, and a library. The First District Court of Appeal is one of five courts of appeal in the State of Florida. The project is projected to become LEED silver certified. Sunshine Structures completed all structural concrete to include; foundations, slab-on-grade, cast-in-place walls, columns and beams, elevated slabs, below grade parking area, ramps and outside flatwork for this Court House designed by Barnett Fronczak Barlowe Architects. Rick Johnston was the project executive for Sunshine Structures, and Lou Hall and Tim Harger were superintendents. Sunshine Structures is a full-service structural partner, specializing in military, health care, educational and commercial construction. Sunshine Structures an exclusive provider of CON/STEEL Tilt-up Systems, in the Southeast. Services include complete structural shell building, tilt-up design-build services as well as concrete, masonry and steel construction. With three regional offices located in Lehigh Acres, New Orleans and Savannah, Ga., they can successfully complete projects through-out the Southeastern United States. Information: (239) 303-1001 or SunshineStructures.com – Michelle Holt, Sunshine Structures Inc. * * * * * After all, it's your business. So we have added this feature to naplesnews.com called It's Your Business. Have news about your business to share with Southwest Florida? Send it to business@naplesnews.com and to our Business and Government Content Editor Dave Osborn at djosborn@naplesnews.com. We'll post these on the Business page at naplesnews.com every day and will publish these as space allows in the daily Business section and Business Monday in the Naples Daily News. Start watching online daily for these postings! Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction. |
That's unfortunate, because wine is like the person at the bar who seems snooty but is really just shy and has a lot going on inside. Pat Mulrenin, winemaker and co-owner of 
"It gives people who want to learn about wine an easy way to learn about it. We do tastings all the time," Mulrenin offers. His customer base includes many more 20-and 30-somethings of late. "You can taste it before you buy it here, which is a great selling point for us." 
"People kind of turn their nose up sometimes and they have no idea that we make fabulous wines in this area. Fabulous! I think that not only is it good to promote Michigan products or Great Lakes products, people have the opportunity to come and taste and use their taste against the judges."
Past clients include the 
Touchtone rattles off a few, the fruits of whose labors have graced the Shiraz wine list: | You are subscribed to email updates from travel and leisure - Google News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
No comments:
Post a Comment