Celebrate the Harvest with Fall Creek Vineyards 13th Annual Grape Stomp & Harvest Festival Tow, TX�Fall Creek Vineyards celebrates the 2002 grape harvest with the 13th Annual Grape Stomp and Harvest Festival, Saturday, August 17 and Saturday, August 24, 11:00-5:00 both days. This year�s Festival will offer a lively cooking demonstration/tasting lunch with Chef Jason K. Felton, Epicurean Express, Fredericksburg. Cost is $18.95 per person, wine and gratuity included. Seating is limited and reservations are required. For information and reservations, please call 915-379-5361. Picnic food will be available on both Saturdays. Guests are invited to enjoy live music and picnic food on Fall Creek�s courtyard. Grape stomping, while watching I Love Lucy-Italian Movie video, tours tasting and family fun are complimentary. The Vanishing Texas River Cruise will be offering boat rides on beautiful Lake Buchanan from our shoreline on both Saturdays (lake level and weather permitting). Tickets for the boat ride are $5.00 per person. Groups of 20 or more are encouraged to contact the vineyard for information on group tours and special offers. Ample free parking is available adjacent to the vineyards. For additional information call 915-379-5361.

Exotic Volcano Winery on the Big Island of Hawaii is home to one-of-a-kind Hawaiian wines made nowhere else on earth! Volcano Winery is the proud producer of all-tropical-honey wine (no grapes!), tropical fruit blends (part-fruit, part-grape), and classy all-grape Symphony dinner whites! The Big Island of Hawaii's only commercial winery, and America's southernmost, Volcano Winery uses only fruit and honey from their island in their tropical wines. Volcano Winery is an authentic Hawaiian Big Island winery! http://www.volcanowinery.com/winecellar.php3

http://www.austin360.com/statesman/editions/today/life_entertainment_1.html This article is in today's Austin Unamerican Snakeskin. A snippet. Sarah Jane English has a nose for information. The Austin author and wine connoisseur has just completed a new edition of her classic work, "The Wines of Texas," published by Eakin Press ($26.95). The update, the fourth edition of the book, is packed with good information for anyone who enjoys sipping the juice of Lone Star State grapes. As an expert who has judged numerous international wine competitions, English has been in a good position to watch -- and taste -- the evolution of Texas wines. One of the biggest changes in Texas wine, she says, is the move to grapes beyond the standard chardonnay, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. "We're still trying to find what grows best in Texas, and it's not as easy as it sounds," she says. "Vineyard changes take time because a vine must be at least 3 years old before a crop can be harvested. There's only one crop a year, so fine-tuning the wine can be done only once a year." . . . more at the above url. Pick of the crop When asked to name her three favorite Texas wines, Austin author and wine expert Sarah Jane English couldn't stop at so few. Here are her picks, alphabetically by winery: Becker Vineyards -- "Becker Vineyards has been winning numerous medals at almost every wine competition it enters. At a competition I judged this year for wines from around the world, Becker Claret (a Bordeaux-style blend of red grapes) won a silver medal and Llano Estacado Chardonnay won a gold." Fall Creek -- "Fall Creek's Sauvignon Blanc has remained a favorite over the years. The Fall Creek 1999 Reserve Merlot is good -- nice structure, some oak, with dominant cherry and berry flavors, a touch of limestone and minerals." Llano Estacado -- "Llano Estacado 2001 Shiraz was crisp and fresh with upfront cherry fruit and very toasty." Messina Hof -- "The sweet and luscious Messina Hof 2000 Muscat Canelli Late Harvest `Glory' was a real treat." Pheasant Ridge -- "The Pheasant Ridge Winery Chenin Blanc -- rich, ripe, mouth filling -- proved once again that Texas is especially good at growing this varietal." Ste. Genevieve -- "Ste. Genevieve makes no bones about the fact that it is producing good value wines in mass production. It does not have to apologize, as usually these wines are clean, fresh, fruit-forward beverages that give satisfaction to a lot of imbibers. Ste. Genevieve's Escondido Valley (a fairly new line) 2000 Pinot Noir was a nice surprise because pinot noir is one of the most difficult wines to grow and make. It was herbal, minty and toasty."

Ok, I'll bite. What is Unamerican Snakeskin? An underground newspaper?

"minty" is not something I associate with wine. I wonder if it is as refreshing as it sounds...

Austin American Statesman as it is known by some in these parts.

Ahhhhhhh that explains much! Cute!