I’ve been trying to learn a lot more about wines in the past year. Only recently have I discovered the Amarone – a favorite of one of my close friends. This week, the LCBO Vintages site has a special focus on the Amarone and Ripasso. As part of their “Understanding” series, they provide a general overview of this lovely wine:

UNDERSTANDING AMARONE

It’s fairly simple. Each producer determines the drying time of their grapes. Ideally, the grapes should raisinate in a temperature- and humidity-controlled environment to prevent rot. The dehydrated grapes are pressed and fermented dry. Since over 50% of each grape’s liquid (mostly water) is lost to the dehydration process, the flavours of the final wine are intensely concentrated and the alcohol level is anywhere from 2-5% higher than a typical table wine. The secret of this wine’s resurgence is directly related to the popularity of intense, fruit-forward New World wines. Amarones share some of the flavour profile of California Zinfandel or Australian Shiraz, but with a more refined balance between the complex aromas and flavours.

My two favorite Amarone’s are from Masi and Villabella ‘Fracastro’.

A 3-minute slideshow with voiceover that explains the financial crisis in 3 minutes. It’s done by the Washington Post. A pretty good explanation if you haven’t been keeping up to date lately.

PS: If you haven’t been keeping up with the news, don’t check your investment account balances.

In bad economic times, fast, junk food satisfies North Americans. Dominos stated higher sales in the past two months, McDonald’s has to hire additional people, even Canadian Pizza Pizza is reporting more orders than seasonal averages. Now poutine has come full force to Toronto. Smokie’s Poutinerie is conveniently located above another late-night food spot, Burrito Boyz. If “comfort food” is now in, these guys are poised to be successful. Plus they have a wicked location for the light-night crowd.

They open in November.

Microsoft has been playing around with experimental software lately and releasing them to the public, much like Google’s strategy for years. I just noticed a site called Photosynth that multiple images into a single composite “image” that is in 3D and allows you to “move” within the space and “see” places from different angles. Very cool!

I’m not sure why guys love watches, but somehow I’ve fell into the same trap. It doesn’t help that in my shared office space there’s two other “watch guys” that love them too. I’ve been looking around for a new watch and settled on the Tag Heuer Carrera. Which one do you like the best? Post up some comments on what you think:

Update: New video link

The Thievery Corporation probably produced the album I’ve listend to the most in the past 10 years. Probably second only to Nude Dimensions 2. They just released their newest, called Radio Retaliation. It’s available everywhere – stores, Amazon and iTunes.

Last week LIGHTS played for MTV Live during a brief stop during her tour.  The full performance is here. I noticed that online they show three of her songs online, but only one was shown on air. Shame MTV, Shame.

Here’s a link to her three songs performed at MTV:

Drive My Soul

February Air

The Last Thing On Your Mind

Ten years ago, the BMW M5 astonished the car industry with a 400hp V8 stuffed into a sedan. 400hp! It was all in the magazines and newspapers about what this car accomplished. All competitors paled in comparision. Ten years later, everything has changed. The M5 now comes with a 500hp V10, the V8′s have been regulated to the small sedan market after Audi put a 414hp one in the RS4.

Now, the four-door Mercedes C63, BMW M3 and Lexus IS-F go head-to-head at Driver’s Republic. Click the link to check out the full, very in-depth article.

Toronto Real Estate Board reported sales from the first two weeks of October. In Toronto, prices were down 15%, in the 905 it was a lower 8% and overall it averaged out to an 11% drop. Full press release is after the break:

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