Free pinot noir wine tasting today at Corrieri's

From 2pm until 5pm at Corrieri's Formaggeria (1100 Caruthers Avenue, behind Vinea) to sample pinot noirs from California, New Zealand, Argentina, and Oregon.
And now a little about the wines.

Cycles Gladiator (California) - $13.99
A versatile wine: Try it paired with grilled fish with risotto, or enjoy with Chinese takeout such as egg rolls with plum sauce or Kung Pao Chicken.

Alfredo Rocca Mendoza (Argentina) - $13.99
An understated pinot noir with a bright garnet color. Wonderful aromas of black cherry, vanilla and roasted aromas that will stimulate your appetite! A nice complexity without overwhelming senses of oak.

Heron (California) - $15.99
Dark, rich and smooth, this pinot noir has it all. Made in California from French-sourced grapes, the wine shows dark red fruit with red and black licorice hints, plus some vanilla from barrel aging.

Lobster Key Marlborough (New Zealand) - $20.99
Dry with medium body, bright acidity and soft tannins, this Kiwi red offers flavors of cherries, black raspberries, vanilla, spice and smoky oak. Enjoy it with roast pork, lamb, grilled salmon and cheese.

Spindrift Willamette (Oregon) - $21.99
There's plenty of ripe fruit here, and it is not a light-weight at all. Balanced by fresh, lively acidity, with very little wood and soft tannins. This wine very drinkable now and it will continue to cellar for years to come.

Saturday, January 17 at Corrieri's Formaggeria
2 - 5pm
1100 Caruthers Avenue (behind Vinea)

Gaylord Hotels pulls out of Chula Vista resort project

Chula Vista and the Port of San Diego were reeling yesterday after Gaylord Entertainment dropped plans for a 32-acre resort, another disappointment in 35 years of failed attempts to develop the city's waterfront.



In separate afternoon meetings with the Port District and the city, Gaylord Senior Vice President Bennett Westbrook said the regulatory and financial hurdles were deal-breakers.

The project had been held out as the bayfront savior that would bring jobs, tourism and cash to Chula Vista, the port and Gaylord, based in Nashville, Tenn.

“I'm really disappointed,” said Mayor Cheryl Cox, who added that she had no idea Gaylord planned to pull out. “There is no doubt in my mind that Gaylord's decision is final.”

Read the complete story in the San Diego Union Tribune.

Timeline
February 2005: A group from Gaylord Entertainment, based in Nashville, Tenn., visits Chula Vista City Hall unannounced to ask about building a massive complex on the city's bayfront.

Aug. 9: The Port Commission opens up the project for other developers to bid.

Nov. 1: The Port Commission chooses Gaylord over local developers.

July 2006: Gaylord, Chula Vista and the Port Commission sign an agreement, and the company begins negotiating with labor.

March 15, 2007: Gaylord unveils a detailed concept design for a 32-acre complex, including 1,500 to 2,000 hotel rooms, meeting space, shops, a spa and fitness center, six restaurants and a rooftop bar.

June 29: A Gaylord official meets with union leaders in San Diego after negotiations stall, but no deal is reached.

July 6: Gaylord pulls out of the project for the first time.

Aug. 7: Gaylord resumes talks with the city and the Port District.

September 2008: Gaylord announces plans to build in Mesa, Ariz.

Yesterday: Gaylord withdraws from the Chula Vista project, citing infrastructure costs and a complicated regulatory and legal structure.

Online: Read Gaylord Entertainment's letter to city and port officials at uniontrib.com/more/documents

The Hills Are Alive...Or Are They?

Hollister, California. A hillside so perfect, it looks fake.

~~~~~~~

This comes from the Daily Rant and I hope you visit and read more of where they are and what they are up to.

Hot Dusty Days, Long Rides and Mustangs

By BILL BECHER

MUSTANG. The word conjures up images of the Old West — a wild horse running free on the range in a big blue-sky world, a renegade. I watch as a tall mustang stallion escorts his six mares. He pulls his ears back in warning, and the other wild horses nearby scatter out of the way. The stallion stops and grazes while keeping a careful eye on his harem.

Once two million mustangs roamed the West, descendants of horses that escaped from or were released by early Spanish missionaries and explorers and later European settlers. Now it’s estimated that fewer than 50,000 wild horses live in remote areas of California, Nevada and other Western states.

For horse lovers, or anyone who wants to observe mustangs in a natural environment, the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Northern California offers two-day and three-day trail rides to see the horses on the organization’s 5,000-acre preserve near Lassen Volcanic National Park. This little-visited corner of California bears the scars of its violent geological past. Fields are littered with volcanic rock from previous eruptions. Lassen Peak, formed by a volcano, is visible from the sanctuary.

Dianne Nelson was bottle-feeding a month-old abandoned kitten when I met her on the porch of her ranch house at the sanctuary, in Shingletown, Calif. Mrs. Nelson is a co-founder of the sanctuary. And although caring for unwanted animals is her life, she stumbled into it by happenstance.

In 1974 she was helping her first husband round up mustangs under a government contract. When the Forest Service couldn’t find homes for 12 older stallions that Mrs. Nelson helped capture, they were destroyed. “I heard the shots,” she said, “and you don’t forget that.”

Read the entire article in the New York Times

Wines I've Tried Recently

Slatestone Riesling 2004
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer
von Schleinitz Estate
~A German Wine that is so tasty and will delight your tastebuds. Enjoy this one while cooking dinner.

Cycles Gladiators Merlot 2005
Central Coast
California
~A delicious Merlot that is full bodied and just melts over your tastebuds. Great sipping wine.

Stormhoek Sauvignon Blanc 2006
South Africa, Western Cape
~Crispy, full of taste and goes well with food or by itself. A nice dry wine.


To find these wines and many more excellent ones stop in and visit the folks at Vinea. It's on the corner of 12th Ave. S. and Caruthers and the entire staff can point you in the right direction for whatever you are looking for.

Enjoy!!!

Unstable arches close Encounter restaurant at LAX

This is sad to hear of another landmark that has not been properly taken care of. I sure hope they repair it and keep the well-known arches in better shape.


Here is a story from the L.A. Times

Officials shuttered the Encounter restaurant in the iconic Theme Building at Los Angeles International Airport today after workers discovered the space-age arches that surround the eatery are unstable.

Inspectors uncovered the problem after a 1,000-pound piece of white stucco fell off the underside of one of the arches and smashed into the eatery's roof. No one was injured.

The arches, which don't provide structural support for the glass-encased restaurant, haven't been renovated since they were erected in the late 1950s.

Officials said the restaurant closure, expected to last at least six months, is a psychological blow to LAX, which is eagerly awaiting intense worldwide media attention when the massive Airbus A380 arrives March 19 on its first U.S. test flight.

The Theme Building — along with the Hollywood sign — has long been considered one of Los Angeles' signature landmarks.

By Jennifer Oldham
LATimes Staff Writer

Coffman-Baird Ranch, part two

Mr. Coffman's granddaughter is Miss Rodeo California
http://www.missrodeocalifornia.com/2007Pageant/COFFMAN.htm

http://www.sandimasnews.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=86

Coffman-Baird Ranch

A horse trainer that works out of the ranch
http://www.performancehorse.com/0107quicktips.htm