St. Gabriel 2010 Riesling (Mosel)

Inside Cossettas Italian Market

Z and I did some late Christmas shopping today and ended up at Cossetta Alimentari on West 7th Street in St. Paul, MN. This is a wonderful Italian Market and Pizzeria. I heard from one of the employees that they will be adding a Pasticceria bar which will offer Pastries and Gelatos. We shopped there for a few last-minute gifts and a treat for ourselves.

Being that Z is not totally crazy about Proscuitto, a well-aged salted ham that tastes best sliced so thin that light can be seen through it which flavors complement melons, I had to pass on getting that.

Sliced Prosciutto that
I love served just like this.

The small treat we purchased was some diced Parmesan cheese. After we arrived home and put the groceries and other purchases away, Z opened the Parmesan. After having a couple of bites, I suggested a wine. Z agreed. After I consulted a Wine and Cheese paring website, Gourmet Sleuth, I resolved that either a Chardonnay or a Riesling would be appropriate.

I chose a bottle of 2010 St Gabriel Riesling (link is to the Wine Expert rating) from Germany's Mosel region in Germany. The back label boasts that the Mosel region is known for it's steep slopes and mineral-rich soils, then add it to the area's climate, give this wine a deliciously light, aromatic tickle with flavors of green apple and hints of lime citrus notes. The label goes on to say that this wine should be served with light meals, salads, spicy Asian cuisine or on its own. The screw top cap didn't deter me from purchasing this, nor deter me from opening it for a taste. The percentage of alcohol by volume is listed at 9.5%. Though the retail on a bottle of this is around $9, I had noted when I purchased this that we paid $6.75 on sale...a bargain, indeed, for such a pleasant wine!

The reason that I had purchased a couple of Riesling wines from different vintners, and parts of the world was to compare them to the 5 gallons of Riesling wine that I made and is currently aging in my cellar.  

 I measured the Specific Gravity at 1.010. This would be a sweet Riesling. I hoped it wouldn't be too sweet for the cheese and occasion.  The color is clear and pale pear in color. It has a light bouquet on the nose of lemons, pineapple, and a hint of earth. Though not unpleasant, my first observation on the tongue is that it felt of effervescence (small bubbles in the wine), as if not all of the gas was removed from this wine. There seems to be a good balance between the sweetness and the tannins. The taste brings out more of the pineapples than lemons, and leads one to taste a bit of pear, as well.

Overall this is a good wine that I would purchase again. I may even back-sweeten a gallon or two of the Riesling I made to imitate this style of Riesling.

If you have tasted this brand and year of wine please be a friend and comment below on your experience!!

Fact or Fiction: Cover up of the Benghazi cover up??

Clinton accused of faking illness to avoid Benghazi testimony - latimes.com

and

Rep. Allen West accuses Hillary Clinton of faking concussion to avoid Benghazi testimony - NY Daily News

It looks suspiciously like a delay tactic. If she would resign her position as Secretary of State, it would make it difficult to call her in to testify. Then the next Secretary of State (John Kerry) could claim that he has no knowledge of what happened.

Possible cover up of the Benghazi cover up???

Liberals and the democrats shouldn't be too worried. I'm sure fact she had a concussion or might have been faking a concussion and missing her appointment with congress will be long forgotten by her, due the concussion, and forgotten by her supporters, due to them hitting their palms against their head too hard in disbelief, by the time she starts her campaign to become the Democratic Presidential candidate in a couple of years.

Can this be true?? Woman hoards "30" Government Life line phones

This woman says it is so easy to get free phones from a government program that she has 30 of them.

Don't sign any petition before seeing this video

People sign "I am a moron" petition without reading headline

Bob Hope making a joke about Democrats

Is making a sale a random event, like throwing a dart at a dartboard?

I work in a sales environment. Four of us do outbound phone sales as inside Account Managers with three outside Territory Managers who are out on the road over 20 weeks a year.  The other day I was logging a call into CRM software and one of the outside sales guys came in to our inside sales area and began chatting with my colleague on how sometimes his job of finding quality clients is like the random chance of throwing a dart at the dart board. My colleague told him since I throw darts competitively, that he should talk to me about his dart analogy.

Periodically, I hear the analogy that getting something is luck, as random as throwing darts at a dartboard.  I know they are completely incorrect!  Seneca, a first-century Roman philosopher, allegedly said, "Luck is where the crossroads of opportunity and preparation meet."  
 

A person that is great in dart-throwing just doesn’t throw a dart at the dartboard - and just hope to get a Bull’s-eye.  A great dart-thrower knows exactly where the dart is going to be after a couple of seconds after it is thrown from about 7 feet. Being a great dart-thrower also takes many hours of preparation and practice, as well as, physical and mental discipline.

A great dart-thrower has to know the playing field. This playing field is not only knowing the competition but also the type of dartboard, either bristle board or electronic, and what game that is being played on the board, like 501 or Cricket. With any type of dart board or dart game, a great dart-thrower needs to adjust the objectives, tactics and tools that are available. There are much different objectives and tactics to assure a win in 501 than there is to win a game of Cricket. For example, a great dart-thrower would use a different, heavier dart on a bristle board dartboard than electronic dart board. As I said, a great dart-thrower would change the objective, tactics and tools based on the game environment.


Being a great sales person also takes hours of preparation and practice to address the answers to any questions and objections the client may have and be able to create value to their product or services that would outshine any objection. As in dart throwing, top salespeople need both a physical and disciplined mental approach to assure the sales presentation relates value and is flawless and the message is not misunderstood by the audience.

A great sales person, like a great dart-thrower, also has to know the playing field. A great salesperson must know what the competition is bringing to the game. Both the competition’s weaknesses and strengths have to be known. A great sales person must be able to have insight about the competition’s product or service to relate a higher value of their product or service to the customer - than the competition has.  Know thy competition.

To a sales person there is an assortment of audiences. There are people in the sales audience who are drivers, analytical, amiable or expressive.   The great sales person should know the audience and adjust the objectives, tactics and tools to communicate ideas effectively to each type of personality in the audience.

Sales and darts are quite similar in the process of getting the win. At the same time, both great dart throwers and great sales people do not believe in random chance or luck. Success is when both opportunity and preparation meet. Now, go get those bull’s-eyes!

By: John A. Stefani

Black Friday Shopping Then North Pole

Z and I went Christmas shopping on Black Friday. We went to Herbergers on University Avenue in St Paul as our first stop. They have pretty decent Black Friday specials and they tend to keep their Door Busters items in stock. While we were at Herbergers we heard a young preteen say, "Mommy, Mommy"-- We immediately thought of Family Guy and this scene:

After we finished there, we ate an early lunch at Leeann Chins nearby. Since this is the second year we've done this, I guess going to Herbergers and eating at Leeann Chins is starting to become a Black Friday tradition. (Shhh, don't tell our friend Keith H. who manages the A.V. Leann Chins store that we bought gift cards with extra free money from there!)

By the time we got done eating we figured we had enough time to get to Kohls Department store before their Door Buster Specials ended at 1:00 pm. We drove up to the Kohls in Roseville. As usual there was a check out line that went through the store around the outer aisle. By the time we got in line it was about 12:15. We had heard while we were in line that they would allow most of the people in line to take advantage of the Door  Buster Specials even if they were in line after 1:00 pm. We did the tag team shopping where Z stayed in line first while I wondered around the store and did a little shopping. Then I let Z have her turn to shop while I held the place in line. Once we checked out and left the store we attempted to drive over to the Guitar Center but we just couldn't get in there.

We then drove down Snelling Avenue and then headed east on Grand Avenue. We then made our way toward Robert Street and decided to shop for some toys at Kmart in West St Paul and then after that we would cross the river and pick up a gift certificate at a small cafe in New Port Minnesota, called appropriately "The North Pole". We finished our shopping at Kmart and proceeded to the check out. The cashier handled everything correctly and even gave us a bonus gift cart. which was very cool. Another stop gained our fancy, The Dollar General Store.  Z had to get the Almond Windmill Cookies for a buck a pack. (Really, they are quite good with coffee!) and so we filled our dollar store basket! As I was loading the last plastic bag from the register back into our cart I said to Z, "Now off to the North Pole!" I heard the young cashier chuckle. Like I was making a Christmas joke. I then turned to the cashier and said, "No. Really. We are going to the North Pole. The North Pole Restaurant in Newport to pick up a gift card."

And how was your Black Friday shopping experience? Do share...