Poplars against the sunny Winnipeg winter sky.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
What Colour is Snow?
We're talking about the clean fresh stuff, of course, not that brown snirt that lines roadways. Most people think snow is white. That's how we were taught to draw it as kids, after all.
We beg to differ, though! We think it's (mostly) blue, sometimes violet, occasionally with a hint of gold or pink late in the day.
We know some of you are sick of looking at the stuff after this past weekend, but here's how it looked out west in it's natural (non-blizzard) mid winter state on the 26th.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Adieu Chere Carine
It is a well known fact of our infatuation with Mme.Carine Roitfeld.
http://bobofeed.blogspot.com/2010_09_01_archive.html
Now comes news of her departure as editor of French Vogue!
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-17/carine-roitfelds-exit-from-french-vogue/
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2010-12-17/carine-roitfelds-exit-from-french-vogue/
Mon Dieu!!
http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/carine-roitfeld-resigns-from-french-vogue/?src=tptw
http://runway.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/carine-roitfeld-resigns-from-french-vogue/?src=tptw
Eh oui...qu'elle dommage!
A Ralph Lauren Light Show
Ralph Lauren the quintessential designer
of American sportswear,
of American sportswear,
recently proved to be well ahead of the curve by employing "4D" wizardry to commemorate 10 years in the e-business.Check it out on The Daily Beast clip below.
The "4D Spectacle" was launched simultaneously at both the NYC Madison Ave. store (below) as well as the New Bond Street location in London recently.
The light spectacle included famous and iconic images of the Ralph Lauren empire "exploding" from the flagship store facade.
Recently tied for 2nd (with Louis Vuitton) for it's digital prowess out of an estimated 72 luxury brands, Ralph Lauren has accumulated sales of over $200 million a year in it's e-commerce business.
A great reason to throw such an eye popping presentation.
We can only say "Well done Mr.Lifshitz !Well done!"
We can only say "Well done Mr.Lifshitz !Well done!"
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Rounding Out a Glorious Autumn: Niagara Wine Tour, Part 2
As you probably read here, we recently had the pleasure of spending a picture perfect mid November day touring three wineries in Niagara. Almost unbelievably, this was a continuing education assignment for us, the usual dry discourse on building codes and the like replaced by a day out of town learning about three of the newest and greenest wine-making buildings in the country. Oh, and we drank a little wine, too!
We had started the day at Stratus, a small boutique winery crafting a premium product, in a LEED-certified five year old building. From there we moved virtually next door to Jackson Triggs, a large facility owned by the corporate conglomerate Vincor. The scale of operations is massive compared to Stratus, and the focus is more on mid-priced product. The building was built about 10 years ago by private owners (who subsequently were bought out by Vincor). The original owners were able to bring to the project a passion for environmental stewardship that, had it initially been developed by the current owners, may or may not have been matched. The structure was designed and built prior to the emergence of the LEED rating system for sustainable design and construction, but its architects (who lead the facility tour) assured us it would have easily achieved a LEED Gold level of certification.
We had started the day at Stratus, a small boutique winery crafting a premium product, in a LEED-certified five year old building. From there we moved virtually next door to Jackson Triggs, a large facility owned by the corporate conglomerate Vincor. The scale of operations is massive compared to Stratus, and the focus is more on mid-priced product. The building was built about 10 years ago by private owners (who subsequently were bought out by Vincor). The original owners were able to bring to the project a passion for environmental stewardship that, had it initially been developed by the current owners, may or may not have been matched. The structure was designed and built prior to the emergence of the LEED rating system for sustainable design and construction, but its architects (who lead the facility tour) assured us it would have easily achieved a LEED Gold level of certification.
The Wines:
The wines are mostly sold as varietals, made from grapes harvested both on-site and from across other corporate- owned properties throughout the Niagara Region. To be honest, they are decent but somewhat unremarkable. They were served with lunch which gave us the opportunity to quaff them alongside food, perhaps a more forgiving way to taste. We started with a super-pale Sauvignon Blanc just prior to food service. It was still in the glass when we started on our soup of pureéd potato and parsnip with icewine-glazed pancetta lardons (yum!) and was (to our taste) a little too squeaky clean. It was very tart and would probably have made a better mid meal palate cleanser. The red was (we think) a 2006 Delaine Vinyard Cab- Merlot blend. It was pleasant and paired nicely with the delicious roasted guinea fowl in red wine reduction. Desert was chocolate brownie and a glass of cabernet franc icewine. Yes, red again, and it suffered in comparison to the superbly balanced Stratus version.
The wines are mostly sold as varietals, made from grapes harvested both on-site and from across other corporate- owned properties throughout the Niagara Region. To be honest, they are decent but somewhat unremarkable. They were served with lunch which gave us the opportunity to quaff them alongside food, perhaps a more forgiving way to taste. We started with a super-pale Sauvignon Blanc just prior to food service. It was still in the glass when we started on our soup of pureéd potato and parsnip with icewine-glazed pancetta lardons (yum!) and was (to our taste) a little too squeaky clean. It was very tart and would probably have made a better mid meal palate cleanser. The red was (we think) a 2006 Delaine Vinyard Cab- Merlot blend. It was pleasant and paired nicely with the delicious roasted guinea fowl in red wine reduction. Desert was chocolate brownie and a glass of cabernet franc icewine. Yes, red again, and it suffered in comparison to the superbly balanced Stratus version.
The Building:
Where Jackson Triggs really shines is in their facility. It is spectacular, from its warm voluminous and fireplace-anchored central hall with 2 storey high glass walls at either end that roll open to welcome your arrival and to lead you straight into the vineyard, to its impressively structured production plant, to its charming cellar. The central hall serves to separate the plant from the attractive restaurant and tasting room/shop, an orientation that was consciously planned so as to keep the heady odours of wine production well apart from the serious business of sniffing and tasting the finished product. The winery also has an outdoor amphitheater tucked into the bank of the adjacent ravine and hosts evening concerts throughout the summer.
Where Jackson Triggs really shines is in their facility. It is spectacular, from its warm voluminous and fireplace-anchored central hall with 2 storey high glass walls at either end that roll open to welcome your arrival and to lead you straight into the vineyard, to its impressively structured production plant, to its charming cellar. The central hall serves to separate the plant from the attractive restaurant and tasting room/shop, an orientation that was consciously planned so as to keep the heady odours of wine production well apart from the serious business of sniffing and tasting the finished product. The winery also has an outdoor amphitheater tucked into the bank of the adjacent ravine and hosts evening concerts throughout the summer.
After leaving Jackson Triggs we hopped back on the bus and headed to Southbrook Vineyards, the newest of the three. Check out the details in the upcoming post!
Friday, December 10, 2010
Favela Painting: In Their Own Words
Check out this short little vid of the dudes behind the favela painting project in Rio de Janeiro. You can enlarge to full screen using the little box in the lower right corner (Thanks to Crane.tv)
The art in the background in that clip is pretty special in and of itself, and nicely evokes the character of their work in the shanty towns of Brazil's second city. Here's the link to our previous posting on this pair.
The art in the background in that clip is pretty special in and of itself, and nicely evokes the character of their work in the shanty towns of Brazil's second city. Here's the link to our previous posting on this pair.
Sunday, December 5, 2010
Rounding Out a Glorious Autumn: A Niagara Wine Tour, Part 1
OK, who could possible say NO to this?
As part of our mandatory professional development program we were offered the chance to earn credits for joining an all-day wine tour to Niagara! Sweet! Drink wine and boost your CEU count at the same time! Someone must have already had a couple glasses too many when they dreamed this one up! Of course, there was a catch...there always is. But in our case, it actually added to the allure: Because our professional development is in the field of design, we would be touring three of the most beautiful and ecologically advanced buildings to be built in the wine region in recent history.
This particular mid-November Thursday was a picture perfect autumn day- cloudless blue skies and a temperature more reminiscent of early October. The grapes were mostly off the vine (except for those being left for icewine) leaving behind beautiful lines of rust coloured fences flanking verdant green rows.
This particular mid-November Thursday was a picture perfect autumn day- cloudless blue skies and a temperature more reminiscent of early October. The grapes were mostly off the vine (except for those being left for icewine) leaving behind beautiful lines of rust coloured fences flanking verdant green rows.
We started at Stratus, an small boutique winery crafting premium product. It's winemaker is J-L Groux, a Loire Valley native who has attained some notoriety in Niagara for rather steadfastly sticking to his old-world approach of "assemblage", the practice of blending varieties according to the winemaker's expertise from the vines that were most successful that year. This can mean that a signature wine may vary significantly from year to year- it is the antithesis of the corporate approach to wine making where consistency, no matter how banal, is valued over all else.
The Wines:
The Stratus Red 2006 is composed of cab franc, cab sauvignon, merlot, malbec, petit verdot, gamay and syrah. This was a lovely wine, well rounded with a little spiciness. Had it not been $44 a bottle we would have brought several home!
The Stratus White 2006, a blend of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, reisling, gewurztraminer, semillon, and viognier, was equally yummy. In the words of John Szabo in Wine Access Magazine, "There is plenty of lovely fresh pineapple, peach, orange blossom, violet essence aromas while the palate is fullish and solidly structured with both fatness and vibrant acidity, creating a creamy yet well-defined flavour profile." Exactly!
The limited production 2008 Icewine Red (yes, RED!) is a blend of cab franc, cab sauvignon, and syrah. It had an appealingly forward red berry flavour, and remained light and refreshing despite its sweetness, unlike many syrupy icewines. Delicious- we brought one of these back with us.
The Building:
Stratus' building is a highly sustainable affair, certified LEED- Silver, and opened only in 2005. Production, which is relatively modest in scale, follows the gravity flow system, wherein the grape juice is never pumped upwards in the belief that doing so could damage the precious liquid. The architecture is rather unremarkable, but its main interior space is a very appealing tasting room and shop designed by Toronto outfit BurdiFilek, who specialize in high end retail. (Holt Renfrew Bloor Street flagship, W Hotel Atlanta, etc). The tasting room flows onto an outdoor terrace which deliciously captured the autumn sun on this Thursday morning. It was here that our entertaining tour began, and where it was explained that the windmills pictured below are highly effective safety devices: when there is a threat of frost they swing into action, pulling the warmer air hovering aloft down to the vines, raising the ground level air temperature by as much as 10 degrees C (18F). Remarkable!
*******
Stratus Vineyards was an excellent start to the day! A fascinating tour of a smallish operation made it obvious that there is great passion in this house for the quality of their product. The tasting bore that out. Barely 11:00 AM and the start of a little buzz- time to chug some mineral water as we got back on the bus to move virtually next door to Jackson Triggs. More about that in our next post!
The Wines:
The Stratus Red 2006 is composed of cab franc, cab sauvignon, merlot, malbec, petit verdot, gamay and syrah. This was a lovely wine, well rounded with a little spiciness. Had it not been $44 a bottle we would have brought several home!
The Stratus White 2006, a blend of sauvignon blanc, chardonnay, reisling, gewurztraminer, semillon, and viognier, was equally yummy. In the words of John Szabo in Wine Access Magazine, "There is plenty of lovely fresh pineapple, peach, orange blossom, violet essence aromas while the palate is fullish and solidly structured with both fatness and vibrant acidity, creating a creamy yet well-defined flavour profile." Exactly!
The limited production 2008 Icewine Red (yes, RED!) is a blend of cab franc, cab sauvignon, and syrah. It had an appealingly forward red berry flavour, and remained light and refreshing despite its sweetness, unlike many syrupy icewines. Delicious- we brought one of these back with us.
The Building:
Stratus' building is a highly sustainable affair, certified LEED- Silver, and opened only in 2005. Production, which is relatively modest in scale, follows the gravity flow system, wherein the grape juice is never pumped upwards in the belief that doing so could damage the precious liquid. The architecture is rather unremarkable, but its main interior space is a very appealing tasting room and shop designed by Toronto outfit BurdiFilek, who specialize in high end retail. (Holt Renfrew Bloor Street flagship, W Hotel Atlanta, etc). The tasting room flows onto an outdoor terrace which deliciously captured the autumn sun on this Thursday morning. It was here that our entertaining tour began, and where it was explained that the windmills pictured below are highly effective safety devices: when there is a threat of frost they swing into action, pulling the warmer air hovering aloft down to the vines, raising the ground level air temperature by as much as 10 degrees C (18F). Remarkable!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
