Red Zinfandel is often the first choice to go with the Thanksgiving turkey. This year I strayed.

The red I picked was The Black Chook from South Australia, 2005 vintage. This full bodied red wine is a Shiraz (95%) and Viognier (5%) blend, it clocks at 15% alcolhol. According to wine maker Ben Riggs 'Chook' is the Australian word for chicken. You should find it for around $15.00.
Read the Judge's Comments for the Award that the 2004 Vintage won at the Sydney International Wine Competition 2006.

My wife is partial to dessert wines so I chose one. Named 'Melelo' this is a Muscat d'Alexandrie (2004) produced by 'Vriesenhof' in Stellenbosch (South Africa). It suited me fine as it was not overly sweet. At 16% it did not contain too much sugar. The name 'Melelo' comes from the African word 'mpumelelo' which means success or good luck (according to label notes). The wine is made of 87% Muscat d'Alexandrie and 13% Tinta Touriga (a grape originally from Portugal, can be found in Port Wines). You should find it for around $13.00/ $14.00 (this is a 375 ml bottle).

My previous wine related post was on Minus 8 Ice Wine Vinegar.

As the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is playing on TV in the background, I am taking a  minute to wish everyone in the US and US expats a Happy Thanksgiving.
Enjoy the Holiday!

I will be back tomorrow.

Yesterday, I mentioned the Allergy Card for those of us eating out who need to share their food issues with the restaurants staff.
With Thanksgiving Day almost here, we all need recipes for home cooking that accommodate these special needs.
Check this  Extended List of Dairy Free and/or Gluten Free Recipes available thanks to Whole Foods.

As for me having had car troubles in the past couple of days, I have to visit the Motor Vehicles to register a new set of wheels and then pick up the car before they close for the rest of the week.

My posting will have to take a back seat to my driving issues.

Simple ideas are often the best. For those of us with allergies to food items such as nuts, gluten, dairy or seafood there is a need to communicate what can make us sick when we eat out. I know it first hand from my years spent working in restaurants.

Created by a resident of Winnipeg (Canada) who happens to be allergic to fish, AllergyCards.com allows you to create a Card describing your main allergy on the front and then detail it on the back.

For common allergies there are ready made 'text templates' available on the site.

So if you or a loved one are affected by food allergies, create your card, print it and give it to your server who can then relay the information to the chef.
This way nothing gets lost in translation.

I am not allergic to any food thanks god.

I found out about this useful service on Lifehacker.

Funny how things happen, after writing my post on Crab Season in the Bay Area, I paid a visit to Becks and Posh and discovered Maverick, a San Francisco Wine Bar and Restaurant.

The detail that really caught my eye about them was what they call their 'WICKED CHEAP WINE NIGHT - 40% off any bottle of wine every Monday night' with dinner.

The dining room is eye catching with its contrast of brown and orange and its casual feel.

The cuisine is creative and they are also considered a good place to go for Sunday brunch.

So if you visit the Bay Area and used to say 'I don't like Mondays' change your tune.

The self described 'independent food network' Taste TV celebrates the arrival of crab season in the San Francisco-Bay Area. They offer recipe videos for a Dungeness Crab Salad (pictured here) created by Chef Moises of the Park Chalet Restaurant.

Also featured are a Crab and Avocado Salad by fellow expat Fabrice Roux and last a Soft Shell Crab recipe.

Interested in Seafood and Restaurants, read my previous piece on Kermadec, a famous spot in Auckland, New Zealand.

I am not a bike fanatic but do enjoy a ride around town every so often. Reading an excerpt of The Wallpaper Guide to Copenhagen, I was intrigued enough by a piece on local store and bicycle maker My Bikes to dig for more information.
My Bikes (actually the Danish name is Cykelmageren) is the child of Rasmus Gjesing who is creator and craftsman as much as bike maker (since 1995). He converted his childhood love of tweaking things into this venture. The best way to describe Rasmus Gjesing style is simplicity as the picture on the left proves.

Besides anonymous clients, Rasmus Gjesing also counts amongst his customers famous bike fans such as designer Paul Smith.

I actually discovered on Stylehive that  Paul Smith helped design two new Mercian bikes.

Mercian is a UK based maker of handmade bikes.

Thanks to Lailah Roswall of Cykelmageren for the photos.

Even though in essence Champagne is made of a combination of different grapes, parcels and vintages, some Champagne makers big and small decided in recent years to offer Single Vineyard and Vintages to the world. I just read an excellent piece on the topic called 'Clos Encounters' not by Spielberg but by John Stimfig.

Krug for example offers its Clos du Mesnil. The 1995 Vintage is said to set you back by $750.00 to $1000.00 a bottle (if you can find it).

These rare things come also from smaller producers as illustrated by Clos des Goisses by Champagne Philipponnat.

Earlier, In the Lap of Luxury 1 covered Shopping by Private Jet.

Chartering a private jet to go shopping for the day or the week-end in Miami, Milan or New York is now an option as I discovered in 'Great Shop Lift!' in the How to Spend It Magazine yesterday.
Some people make it worth their while and money by combining work and play.
The good part in that case is that it can also be treated as a business expense.
In the article, Judith Moreton of Skyjet tells us that more and more Europeans have been using the private jet option for a Holiday Shopping Expedition in New York.
With Skyjet you can save yourself time, money and headaches by purchasing a Skyjet Card starting with their 'low cost entry offer' of 25 hours for only $94,000 and then in increments of 25 hours more.
A similar service is offered by UK based Bookajet.

If this is beyond your means, maybe you can indulge in Silver Jet. We recently featured them in Air travel away from the crowds.

Silver Jet kind of strike a middle ground between your plain vanilla or budget airline and the rarefied air of private jets.

Our friend from Michigan, the Kitchen Chick posted her Roundup of Wine Blogging Wednesday # 27 on Ice Wines. Discover suggestions and point of views from around the world.

In case you missed it, my personal contribution was on Minus 8 Ice Wine Vinegar from Canada.

Sante!