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Seeking Your Comments As we begin our fourth year of E-mail publication (and move well into the eighth year online for WineLoversPage.com), we've seen the Wine Advisor's circulation increase toward 25,000 subscribers around the world, with readers in more than 100 countries. With the addition of the daily Wine Advisor Express on May 8, we have distributed 286 issues as of today. (And they are all archived for your enjoyment at http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor/thelist.shtml.) Thanks to you all for your readership and support! I've enjoyed exchanging E-mail notes with many of you, and look forward to more good wine talk in the next 12 months. To help me make The Wine Advisor as useful as possible to you, I would like to invite your comments on its scope and content. I have set up a special edition of our Wine Lovers' Voting Booth program for this purpose at http://www.wineloverspage.com/votebooth/tswaques2002.shtml. Please take a moment to stop by and "vote." The more of you who participate, the more meaningful the results will be. If you prefer to contact me personally, send E-mail to wine@wineloverspage.com. I regret that the growing circulation of the "Wine Advisor" makes it difficult for me to reply individually to every note. But I'll respond to as many as I can and do my best to address specific questions. Please be assured that all your input helps me do a better job of writing about wine. Please tell your wine-loving friends about The 30 Second Wine Advisor, and invite them to register for their own free subscription at http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor.
Appealing midrange South African 
Kanonkop 1999 "Kadette" Stellenbosch Red Wine ($12.99)Clear but very dark garnet color. Pleasantly earthy and dark fruit aromas, consistent with my expectations of South African reds; plummy, earthy and tart flavors follow the nose, juicy ripe fruit and "paintbox" qualities laced up by lemony acidity. The back label indicates that it is a blend of Merlot (41%), Cabernet Sauvignon (31%), Pinotage (16%) and Ruby Cabernet (12%); however, the U.S. importer's Website claims a different blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (5%), Cabernet Franc (20%), Merlot (20%) and Pinotage (55%). I have no idea which is correct, but either way, the earthy, estery Pinotage quality is certainly present in the finished wine. U.S. importer: Frederick Wildman and Sons Ltd., NYC. (Jan. 20, 2002) FOOD MATCH: The wine's ripe yet earthy flavors make it a surprisingly appealing match with savory Korean "Pa'chon" pancakes with mushrooms and peppers.
WEB LINK:
The importer's Website is http://frederickwildman.com/, with a fact sheet on Kadette at http://frederickwildman.com/wildmansite/wmphp/wine.php3?wine_id=174.
The 30 Second Wine Advisor's Food Letter Accordingly, I'm pleased to announce the birth of The 30 Second Wine Advisor's Food Letter! To be distributed weekly, usually on Thursdays, each edition will contain a short fact of interest about food and wine. As noted, we'll frequently feature an original recipe and discussion of good wines to match with it and why; but I'll occasionally offer a change of pace such as a quick article about matching food and wine, cooking with wine, or a review of a book or Website of related interest that I consider worth special attention. A NOTE ABOUT THE RECIPES: My recipes reflect my personal approach to cooking: I enjoy it as a hobby, and I get a kick out of creating new dishes. I'm interested in ethnic fare from all around the world and like to experiment with foods from unusual places (and sometimes mixing together unlikely pairs, like Italian and Chinese). I'm interested in the connection between food and wine, and if not necessarily putting wine into every dish, at least working out what wines will match well with each dish, and WHY. And I rarely take on a dish that I can't expect to finish in an hour or less. Some of the dishes may seem a little exotic, but I'll try to avoid throwing you any challenges that a home cook of average skills can't handle ... and none of those all-day projects! Just as I do in The 30 Second Wine Advisor, I will do my best to keep each weekly letter concise, so it won't take you long to read; but week after week, month after month, we hope you'll find that these quick bites will build your knowledge and enhance your confidence about hobby cookery, food and wine. We will send this publication only to those who register. If you would like to sign on, just click to http://www.wineloverspage.com/wineadvisor/foodletter.shtml and fill out the online form.
Time's running short! Lauriann Greene and Jean-Pierre Sollin, the wine experts who run French Wine Explorers, a high-quality American tour company that specializes in wine tours of France, will join me to present this tour. It will feature a week of in-depth exploration of the wines of these two beautiful regions. We still have a few spaces left on the tour, but time is running short, so if you have been thinking about participating but haven't yet made your reservations, I urge you to get in touch with French Wine Explorers soon. For more information, click to the details at http://www.wineloverspage.com/tour.
You are on the subscription list because you registered during a visit to Robin Garr's Wine Lovers' Page. To change your E-mail address, switch from the weekly (Mondays only) to daily distribution, or for any other administrative matters, E-mail wine@wineloverspage.com. In the unhappy event that you must leave us, please take a moment to let us know how we could have served you better. In all administrative communications, please be sure to include the exact E-mail address that you used when you subscribed, so we can find your record. We welcome feedback, suggestions, and ideas for future columns. We do not use this list for any other purpose and will never give or sell your name or E-mail to anyone. All the wine-tasting reports posted here are consumer-oriented. In order to maintain objectivity and avoid conflicts of interest, I purchase all the wines I rate at my own expense in retail stores and accept no samples, gifts or other gratuities from the wine industry.
Vol. 4, No. 1, Monday, Jan. 21, 2002
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