Vino

A toast to long life? It makes sense, according to a study published electronically in the journal Nature recently. Biologists say a natural substance named resveratrol, which occurs in red wine, shows promise in extending life. There already is speculation that red wine helps explain how the French eat a lousy diet yet live to ripe old ages. . . . Red wine has been getting a lot of good press in the last few years, with people touting such things as its antioxidant properties.

Could it be that the Jerseyan is unable to countenance an existence without Jean Claude Boisset Pouilly-Fuisse and its delicate aromas of citrus and peach, its hints of lemon, vanilla and spice? We're not sure. Could it also be the case that the Pennsylvanian, by contrast, is no prisoner to the perfumes of Pouilly-Fuisse? We're not sure about that either. All we can say for certain is that since the Bush administration threatened to impose tariffs that could triple the cost of some European white wines, customers have hit New Jersey liquor stores en masse, while across the river, everyone seems blase about Blanc.

There are few miracle gadgets in the food world that actually work, but Vinturi's clever wine aerator is a notable exception. Just pour the wine through the stylish lucite funnel, listen to the gurgle as tiny holes infuse the vino with a speed-breathing equivalent of an hour in a decanter, and sip. The results can be startlingly clear - especially in a more rustic bottle, where the rough edges seem to be polished down, the fruit aromas become more...

Although people may plan vacations meticulously, it is often the unplanned moment that can make a trip memorable. That's exactly what happened on my recent trip to beautiful Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. One of the delights of the area is the Elafiti Islands. My boyfriend and I spent a full day seeing three of the islands, with lunch, plus time for a swim on the last island. And quite a last island Lopud was - full of lush greenery and, on the other side from where the boat docked, a splendid lagoon for swimming.

Born in Derry Church, Pa., just 100 yards away from the ancestral home of Milton Hershey, self-taught chef Eric Cayton believes he was destined for a life in chocolate. Rustic is his appropriate description of the bonbons he's crafting now at his Derry Church Artisan Chocolates in Mechanicsburg. His most distinctive creations, though, are homey mini-pies ("New York" cheesecake, "Savannah" peach crisp) that come, crumbly crusts and all, inside bite-size dark chocolate cups.

During the five years he spent chained by his Shiite Muslim captors, Joseph Cicippio used to dream of taking his wife to the Rose Parade on New Year's Day. Today, in Pasadena, Calif., the dream comes true. The 61-year-old Norristown man, who was finally released Dec. 2 after 1,908 days in captivity, will be guest of honor at the Tournament of Roses Parade and the 78th annual Rose Bowl football classic that today matches the University of Washington and the University of Michigan.

KATHLEEN TURNER'S PREGNANT PAUSE Listen up, anyone out there who's nine months gone and feeling fat and frumpy. Check out the picture of the very pregnant Kathleen Turner at the MTV Video Music Awards on Page 9 of the current issue of US magazine. There she is, bless her heart, chugging along hand-in-hand with her New York real-estate-guy husband, Jay Weiss, looking as puffy and disheveled as anybody ever has under those circumstances. We're talking matted hair, no visible makeup and a shirt and pants ensemble a la Omar the Tentmaker.

Le Bec-Fin alum Pierre Calmels and his wife, Charlotte, are about a week into Bibou (1009 S. Eighth St., 215-965-8290), their homey, cash-only BYOB in the tiny corner storefront near the Italian Market that previously was Pif. The French-born and -trained Calmels' first U.S. job was in the 1990s at Daniel in New York. He relocated to Switzerland, where he met Charlotte working at the same hotel. In August 2001, he got a job in the United States and asked her to follow him. She's worked at Brasserie Perrier, the Restaurant School as an instructor, gourmet grocer Assouline & Ting, Patou, and Bistro St. Tropez.

"Shall we taste some wines, then?" inquired Ignatz Brigl, setting out two gleaming rows of goblets in the cozy, wood-paneled stube of his family-run winery. With the casual skill of a master, the courtly, silver-haired winemaker measured out samples of a dozen wines produced by his company: Terlaner, Chardonnay, Pino Grigio, Riesling, Gerwurztraminer, Lagreinkretzer, St. Magdalener, Blauburgunder. . . . in all, six whites and six reds to be examined, savored, sniffed, rolled around the palate and compared.

It is generally considered true that any tradition, no matter how deeply ingrained or divinely revered, eases toward obscurity as children and grandchildren cut paths through life. Generally, it is true here. Joe "Moonie" Maimone - a third-generation Italian from Hammonton, a town heavily settled by Italian pickers and farmers after the Civil War - knows this. "My grandfather farmed here for a bare existence; my father farmed here for a job, for profit. Me, I farm for pleasure, and my son will not farm at all," the retired police officer, 53, related one recent evening over a spread of roasted red peppers with garlic, provolone, Italian bread and homemade wine.

Born in Derry Church, Pa., just 100 yards away from the ancestral home of Milton Hershey, self-taught chef Eric Cayton believes he was destined for a life in chocolate. Rustic is his appropriate description of the bonbons he's crafting now at his Derry Church Artisan Chocolates in Mechanicsburg. His most distinctive creations, though, are homey mini-pies ("New York" cheesecake, "Savannah" peach crisp) that come, crumbly crusts and all, inside bite-size dark chocolate cups.

There are few miracle gadgets in the food world that actually work, but Vinturi's clever wine aerator is a notable exception. Just pour the wine through the stylish lucite funnel, listen to the gurgle as tiny holes infuse the vino with a speed-breathing equivalent of an hour in a decanter, and sip. The results can be startlingly clear - especially in a more rustic bottle, where the rough edges seem to be polished down, the fruit aromas become more...

Although people may plan vacations meticulously, it is often the unplanned moment that can make a trip memorable. That's exactly what happened on my recent trip to beautiful Dubrovnik, on the Adriatic Sea in Croatia. One of the delights of the area is the Elafiti Islands. My boyfriend and I spent a full day seeing three of the islands, with lunch, plus time for a swim on the last island. And quite a last island Lopud was - full of lush greenery and, on the other side from where the boat docked, a splendid lagoon for swimming.

Le Bec-Fin alum Pierre Calmels and his wife, Charlotte, are about a week into Bibou (1009 S. Eighth St., 215-965-8290), their homey, cash-only BYOB in the tiny corner storefront near the Italian Market that previously was Pif. The French-born and -trained Calmels' first U.S. job was in the 1990s at Daniel in New York. He relocated to Switzerland, where he met Charlotte working at the same hotel. In August 2001, he got a job in the United States and asked her to follow him. She's worked at Brasserie Perrier, the Restaurant School as an instructor, gourmet grocer Assouline & Ting, Patou, and Bistro St. Tropez.

"Attention campers! Bug juice will be served at the mess hall in 10 minutes!" Yes, it's summertime, and camps throughout the region are ramping up for another busy season. Yet there is one local camp where the "bug juice" they're serving is hardly the Kool-Aid variety, and where campers surely need to be over the age of 21 to enjoy it. "Wine Camp," sponsored by the Chester County Conference and Visitors Bureau, is a three-day, two-night tasting and touring experience that features visits to five area wineries; two dinner events, a retreat at Longwood Gardens, and two nights' lodging at a nearby bed and breakfast.

THE PATH that led to Benjamin Wallace's new book investigating "the longest-running mystery in the modern wine world" began when Wallace attempted a piece of his own skullduggery, a trick very dear to any writer's heart: to have a bit of recreation paid for by his bosses. "I was kind of a foodie at the time, but I wasn't a wine guy," Wallace recalled after a recent book signing at the Free Library of Philadelphia's central branch. It was 2000, and he was working as a writer at Philadelphia magazine, when he decided he wanted to know more about wine and enrolled in a class.

The Discreet Diner stopped by a Burlington County branch of the Aldo Lamberti family of restaurants for a meal last week. It was actually the DD's third visit this year to the eatery on Kings Highway in Maple Shade. The first meal at Pasta Vino, in January, was absolutely wonderful. It was a busy Saturday evening, but the service was attentive and the chicken Sorrento ($12.75) was delicious - tender medallions of chicken sauteed with scallions and sun-dried tomatoes in a demiglace and topped with eggplant, prosciutto and mozzarella.

For eight years, Moore Bros. Wine Co. did a brisk business selling a 12-bottle mixed case of French, German and Italian wines for $100. That price is history. A 35 percent decline in the value of the dollar vs. the euro since 2002 made the promotion unsustainable, said Gregory Moore, president of the Pennsauken wine retailer. "You can't lose a little bit on every sale and make it up on volume," Moore said. The price for the mixed case, which comes in a special box with tasting notes and anecdotes about the wine-makers, increased to $125 at the end of January; Moore Bros.

A toast to long life? It makes sense, according to a study published electronically in the journal Nature recently. Biologists say a natural substance named resveratrol, which occurs in red wine, shows promise in extending life. There already is speculation that red wine helps explain how the French eat a lousy diet yet live to ripe old ages. . . . Red wine has been getting a lot of good press in the last few years, with people touting such things as its antioxidant properties.

About a week ago, I was at a wine tasting in a big hotel in another city. Scattered every 50 feet or so among the tasting tables was a platter of cheese and other goodies. The wine at the tasting was very good, the cheese was not: elastic little cubes of milk curd that tasted like they were made in a factory - the Firestone factory. It wasn't too many years ago that the wine and cheese party was a staple in American entertaining. For maybe a decade, it reigned as the after-work alternative to the hard-drinking cocktail hour.