A random selection...

Wine of the Week:

Chrismont King Valley Merlot 2009 - while I was in Melbourne this week I joined some of my work colleagues for a well overdue catch up. Lisa, who turns out to be a wine tragic like myself ordered a bottle of the Chrismont for the table so thanks go to her for the bottle of choice this week.

I think Merlot gets a bad rap as people are either after the peppery nature of Shiraz or the depth and body of a Cab Sav. As for me, I quite like Merlot as it is often both easy and very good drinking. The Chrismont is no exception but it has subtle differences to a Merlot coming from the Hunter or the Barossa. It had a little more spice than I would usually associate with Merlot but not too much. So much so, that it would be one of those wines that you could see joining you for a long session during a winter's afternoon. I am currently planning for such an afternoon. http://www.chrismont.com.au/ 

It has been a interesting time over the last week. So much so, when sitting down to work out what to write about today there were a number of topics or issues that I felt required some comment from my neck of the swamp. Some are serious...some not so much and I am sure you will be able to tellthe difference between the two...

1. This week saw Rupert and James Murdoch face the parliamentary inquiry in the UK over the phone hacking and corruption allegations that effectively ended the 'News of the World' newspaper. The Murdoch's appearance at the inquiry was televised live internationally - fairly apt for the most (in)famous media owner on the planet. 

While the inquiry raised more questions than were answered there was one that became rather clear; that is why Rupert Murdoch married Wendi Deng. It wasn't the old chestnut of an older man leaving his wife for a younger woman. No, it was obviously the fact that he could get a wife and bodyguard in one!

2. Saturday morning, we woke up to the news of the grave terror attacks in Norway. A car bomb in Oslo followed by a round of shootings by a lone gunman on a nearby island has led to 92 needless deaths. 

It is an attack that has rocked all of Norway but also the world and I must admit I asked the question "Why Norway?"; acting under the assumption that it was an Al-qaeda related attack of course. Aren't they always these days? It soon became clear that this was a domestic attack and a reminder that the threat of a domestic related attack is always real and always there. The result is tragically still the same no matter who the perpetrator; the needless loss of life. 

3. Late Saturday night, there was a commotion in the street outside. The Cadel Evans bandwagon had stopped in front of the house and I of course jumped on with great gusto. I watched the time trial that made up the penultimate stage of le Tour de France and saw Cadel Evans start 57 seconds behind and end up 1 minute, 37 seconds ahead and with that, the yellow jersey for the final stage. 

Many have said that this could be the greatest individual achievement in Australian sports history. That's a big call but...3,450 kilometres over 21 stages is an incredible feat in itself. To do that and become not only the first Australian but the first rider from the Southern Hemisphere to win the World's most famous cycling race just makes it an even greater achievement. Not sure about the call for a public holiday though but if it does happen, he may just beat Mary McKillop to Australia's first sainthood as well!

4. There seems to be a growing trend in Australia to automatically call for the Government to ban anything that may be slighty contentious or controversal. The latest being the call from one shopkeeper on Sunrise this week to ban the sale of sports drinks for kids. Now, the actual ban isn't what concerns me but rather the fact that it seems that we always go down the path of thinking that placing a ban is the best way to go when at best, it is a knee jerk reaction.

If there isn't someone in a young person's life to tell them that 15 Gatorades per day is probably not a good idea - that's where we have a problem. Protection isn't about taking out the risks - it is about education, communication and guidance. 

5. Finally, if you have read my blog previously you would be aware that I am addicted to Masterchef to the point of having had the whole week's episodes iQ'ed for watching this weekend. You can then imagine my utter dismay to see that Dani has yet again an immunity pin. And not from beating an internationally renowned chef...or their apprentice. No, good old 'Lego Head' (not my nickname but I like it) won it by beating a swimmer. 

Now, I know that in the end it is about a high rating TV show but...one of the base premises of the show is that in the end the two best amateur chefs should be left standing at the end. She is not even one of the best five but it seems that the producers have some liking for 'Lego Head' and are giving her every chance to stay. 

It isn't right and it isn't fair...but if nothing else, it gives me an excuse to keep using the nickname 'Lego Head'!