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Many people (okay, a few) have asked me how I make my wine blend, Castello d’Avis.  Since reading the column in The Atlantic about the quality of box wines (reviewer liked the Franzia cabernet sauvignon), I thought I should post my own blend.

The idea behind this blend came from our liking of a Californa blend, Menage a Trois; a tasty wine, but getting more and more expensive: last I looked, it was $11 at CostCo.  That’s getting a bit rich for my blood.  It’s a blend of cabernet, merlot and zinfandel.  I haven’t found a cheap zinfandel in a box, so I am using the shiraz.

7 Parts  (350 ml) Almaden Cabernet Sauvignon
5 Parts (250 ml) Carlo Rossi Merlot
3 Parts (150 ml) Black Box Shiraz

Almaden Cabernet Sauvignon: it has a fresh, hearty flavor, with a pleasant bouquet (some overtones of chocolate): unusual in a box wine.  I’ve tried all (that are carried by Total Wine), and this is the best.  $11 for 5 liters.

Carlo Rossi Merlot:  Gives a fruity body to the blend.  Best of the big boxes: $15 for 5 liters.

Black Box Shiraz:  The spiciest of the boxes.  $15 for 3 liters.

That comes to $41 for a total of 13 liters, which is 17.33 bottles at 750 ml each, or $2.37 per bottle.  Pretty good price, and a pretty good wine.

New Yorker, Jan. 17, 2011:

“This is my copy of the Constitution,” John Boehner, the Speaker of the House, said at a Tea Party rally in Ohio last year, holding up a pocket-size pamphlet. “And I’m going to stand here with the Founding Fathers, who wrote in the preamble, ‘We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights including life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’ ” Not to nitpick, but this is not the preamble to the Constitution. It is the second sentence of the Declaration of Independence.

Simon Johnson in the New York Times today:

Our leading bankers looted the state, plunged the world into deep recession and cost the United States eight million jobs. Now many of them stand by with sharpened knives and enhanced bonuses – willing to suggest how the salaries and jobs of others can be further cut. Consider the morality of that.

I hate that question.  What it’s meant to mean  is, “What is your Social Security Number?”  That is. that number which was supposed to be a secret; that number that is now univerally used as an national identification number; that number which is now so easily used to steal your identity.  That number.

So please, don’t call it “your social”.  My “social” is an ice-cream social at the 2nd Methodist Church.

This article is terrific outline of what needs to be done, and how.

If you are not familiar with Simon and Kwak, you should subscribe to The Baseline Scenario.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/science/picture-galleries/7924099/Creepy-crawlies-Amazing-Scanning-Electron-Microscope-pictures-of-insects-and-spiders.html?image=20

Who in the world decided it was a good idea for mattresses to be one-sided?  [a mattress manufacuter, I suspect].  There used to be a good living to be made (maybe still is in some areas) by young men in turning mattresses–that is, flipping the mattess so as to re-distribute wear, somehting beyond the ability of many elderly widows.  Now, mattresses are sold for the quality of the padding on top, with no regard at all to the bottom of the mattress, which could as well be a top, if only it were padded, too.

At first the telephone had no bell.  “The only way to know if someone was trying to get through to you was to pick up the telephone from time to time and see if anyone was there”.  (bryson, “At Home”, p. 228

This is much like Skype today;  you have to make an appointment to talk with someone, or else check every once in a while to see if anyone you know is on-line.

This just in…it’s okay to drink the tap water in Rome!  No need to carry bottled water up the stairs to your 5th floor apartment.  Rome gets its water from the nearby mountains, just like New York.  The old Imperial aquaducts may have fallen down long ago, but the modern system is just fine.

this has got to be the worst day of our trip…if it gets any worse, we’ll be nel paese del diavalo.

My wallet was stolen; on the subway.  Here’s a picture of a subway station in rome:

This wasn’t the worst place; first we had to take a train to the main train station (Termini), then transfer to another line; when we transfered, that’s when my wallet was stolen.

Reason for being on the Metro:  impossible to take the bus, because of the demonstration on the streets;  the  bus stopped short of our desitinaion (piazza Navona) because of a demonstration in the streets; thousands demonstrating against govenmental austerity measures.

Here’s the demonstration on Via Cavour:

…and some of the police force along with it:

Anyway, this long snaking parade just about shut down the city of Rome,  and our bus couldn’t get to where we wanted; it turned around, and we decided to get out, since we had no idea where it was going.  Found ourselves at the Piazza Barberini, saw the metro station, and knew our stop (Cavour) was not too far, so we got on the Metro.  (We had weekly tickets good for both subway and bus– 16 euros and a good deal, you can take anything anywhere anytime, just hop on).

Turns out we had to go three stops to Termini (the main train station), then change to a different Metro line for a one-stop hop to Cavour.  Which doesn’t sound so bad, except the change of lines is FAR worse that the change from IRT to IND at 42nd St. in New York, a real hike up and down and back up and down stairs, and re-validating your ticket…gads, what a mess.

Then on the last hop, my wallet is stolen.  I know, I was stupid to be carrying it in my back pocket, buttoned up though it was.  Lost about 150 euros, plus my credit cards and driver’s license.

Credit cards we cancelled right away; but the driver’s license may be a problem when I have to pick up my rental car in Bologna.  Have a copy of the license on paper, but still…

Fortunately, Avis has her own ATM and Amex cards, and also a valid driver’s license if it comes to that.