Big Points For Your Bucks - My Top Picks!

I'm a firm believer that you can be a wine aficionado without having to put up thousands of dollars to indulge in real good products. It is therefore my mission to bring big point wines to your attention, that can be bought for little money. My bench mark for these picks are that each bottle must not cost more than $ 20 and needs to score 90 Points or higher (by either Robert Parker of Winespectator). So here are the today's picks:

2005 Regis Minet Pouilly Fume Vielles Vignes (91 Points)

2005 has played out to be a picture-perfect vintage in the Loire. This has certainly blessed the Minet vineyard. This 2005 Pouilly Fume at about $ 18 a bottle is just simply stellar. Ripe and fresh fruits like pear and lycee, a touch of honey with hints of black pepper and a Chablis-like stoniness. This is an unusual complex Puilly Fume with an outstanding balance. If you are into fresh and light with wines there is no better pick at this price and it comes with 91 Points!

2004 Langmeil Shiraz Barossa Valley Floor (94 Points)

This Aussie shows off with a deep purplelish ruby red. A full noose of raspberries, blueberries, blackberries with a hint of pepper. Well balanced smooth tannins and acidity. There is no Shiraz out there at average $ 20 a bottle that comes close to the complexity if this one. There might not be another red wine that comes with a 94 Point blessing at this price point. You got to try this one.

2003 Castello Di Querceto Chianti Classico (90 Points)

There is no bigger cliche for Italian wine than Chianti. Everybody knows what Chianti is, even the people that never drink wine. And it is a mass-product that comes in thousands of different offerings, most of them not really great wines. So far you either got a very, very expensive Chianti or it was a cheap one that tasted as cheap as you paid for. Here is a Chianti that you can find for as little as $ 12 a bottle, that is a true testament to great Italian table wine. I cannot think of anything better to go with your pasta, pizza or lasagne. Medium bodied with some deep cherry, some hint of cola and green pepper. Very well balanced. If you Chinati anytime soon, this is a true steal.

These are the three picks of the day. I will be doing this about once a week. Come back and check it out. And as always; You heard it here first!

Bush Doctrine - Why Every Extremist Government Now Needs Nuclear Arms!

President Bush took the US into a preemptive war against Saddam Hussein, because of the potential weapons of mass distraction that same could unleash on America. By now we all know, that there were no such weapons and neither was there any relations between Saddam and Al Qaida. As a matter of facts Saddam hated them and was eager to kill Bin Laden. Off course the war in Iraq has turned out to be the total disaster that everybody with a brain expected it to be. Over the next few weeks I will elaborate about this war, were it is going and more than that, what consequences this major league blunder by an American President will have now and in the foreseeable future. Off course my perspective is that of a simple guy with nothing more then a little life experience and common sense to work with. So here the first story goes;

Little Kim-Il of North Korea is now testing his nuclear bombs only a few weeks after he tested the missiles that can deliver them and guess what; other than being upset and blowing up a lot of dust, there is really not much we can do about that. Sounds familiar to you. Well it is strangely similar to what is going on in Iran. We all know and witness how the Iranians are moving along to develop their a-bomb and again - guess what - there is really not much we can do about that either. And isn't president Hugo currently out there, trying to upgrade his weapon arsenal?

And why is there nothing our Commander and Chief can do about all of this? Isn't that not exactly why and how Saddam got his ass kicked? After all , President Bush just 3 short years ago has defined his doctrine of preemptive war against a state that has violated the will of the United Nations and threaten the US with weapons of mass distraction. So why not doing the very same to the likes of little Kim-Il and the Iranians that are without a doubt much further ahead on the weapon of mass distraction ladder than Saddam ever was?

The answers are terrifyingly simple. Saddam was an easy target. He never had what it takes to stand up to the Americans. That argument by itself defines the war against Saddam as a stupidity. On the other hand Kim-Il is not an easy target and the Iranians certainly are not easy targets either. Kim-Il already has nuclear weapons and will certainly use them in the case of an American military intervention and only God knows what the Iranians are hiding. One thing is for sure, it is enough for the US commanders to stay clear from the preemptive model as a real option.

So where does that leave us. Simple rogue state one-on-one: If you want to be safe from a preemptive military strike by the Americans against your government, you definitely need weapons of mass distraction. You can label Kim-Il crazy all you want, but the fact of the matter is, that the man knows and understood that the only insurance policy against an American military intervention is to display nuclear capacity and to make sure that everybody knows that he is ready and willing to use it.

Bushes doctrine of a preemptive war against a regime that does not obey by the UN rulings and pursues weapons of mass distraction has now backfired and will predictably create the next mad race for nuclear weapons amongst all rogue states or governments that considers themselves not to be a friend of the Americans. In other word you either have nuclear weapons or you will have to go along with the Americans. That's why Gaddafi of Libya after decades of hostility with the Americans threw in the towel and is now behaving. The problem is that the gene is out of the bottle now. There are and will be a number of rogue states that will have nuclear capacity, like North Korea and Iran. And these guys will be sharing this capacity down the line with their friends to build an even stronger alliance against the US. And unfortunately some of those friends like Venezuela, Libya etc. have a lot of oil money to spend on these gadgets.

And like in the case of North Korea; Once one of these crazy dictators has the bomb every neighbor, like South Korea and Japan has to consider to arm themselves with it too. The preemptive war against Saddam based on the false assumption of the presence of weapons of mass distraction has effectively caused the start of a new nuclear arms race on this planet, not seen since the end of the cold war. And there is really not much we can do about it!

When Self-Promotion Becomes Megalomania - Trump!

Donald Trump was on Larry King Live on Monday and did his usual bid on explaining to everybody that there is nobody that comes close to him. Best builder, greatest developer ever, greatest TV show in the history of television etc. We are all used to it and therefore it is really hard for the Donald to still push the envelope about his own genius. Against all odds he managed to really, really get my attention. He made that crucial remark that was so needed for me to finally understanding that he had definitely passed from self-promotion into full blown megalomania. He was talking about attending Wharton School Of Business, and that is when he casually slip it. Here his original remark, word, by word:
"I was with the smartest people in the whole universe (at Wharton) and I was better than all of them!"
Need I say more? He definitely needs a reality check and he needs it soon and I predict it will not be long before that happens. Wait until his Apprentice show returns!

Made In US - And Berry Good!

Joerg Rupf arrived in California in 1982. He comes from a long line of German master distillers. Operating from a former naval aviation hangar near San Francsico, Rupf crafts a stunning line of eaux-de-vies, grappas and liqueurs. His AQUA PERFECTA Framboise is made from Washington State Meeker raspberries. This Framboise is unusual in its production, since Rupf fortifies this liqueur with brandy that is made from the same fruit. This process intensifies the flavors and makes this Framboise explode with the essence of the fruit. It makes for a smashing cocktail when added to champagne. Rupf also produces small batch whiskeys and vodkas. As always - you heard it here frist!