By all accounts, Toronto has all the right elements, but they need to evolve.

This excellent book with a cornucopia of essays on comestibles and drinkables explains what Toronto used to be, and how it could and should evolve.

This, the largest city in the country, is a magnet to millions of immigrants from most countries of the world. According to officials, more than 180 languages are spoken by a variety of peoples, who also bring with them their culture.

While only 20 years ago one had difficulty finding okra, Japanese eggplants, eddoes, sweet potatoes, mangoes, papayas, rambutan, mangosteen, lemon grass, Thai basil, today practically every store offers at least some of them. You want rice, then you can choose between Basmati from India or Pakistan, converted, short grain, long grain, Texmati or any other time.

If you are interested in Toronto’s history, you will find it in this book. You want to know where and how the name Hogtown for Toronto emerged, then read page 163.

There is also an excellent article about bread quality and variety, which makes for interesting reading.

For those, who like farmer’s markets, here is a complete list of all, including comments on

their offerings.

The article on free-range eggs will make the reader understand how marketing boards gouge chicken farmers who then pass costs on to consumers. The same is true for milk.

In short, the term marketing in this country is a misnomer, and in this book you will read how the “system” works.

There are also interesting recipes that you can try.

Several talented, famous and less known writers contributed to this highly informative book from their perspective. All were carefully selected by both editors with the objective of informing the reader what food in Toronto is all about.

Restaurant reviewers and a range of past and present food establishments are mentioned for those interested, but of all, the notion of dining out experience and what Toronto diners expect from a high-end restaurants dinner is the most revealing and informative.

Highly recommended to all interested in food, food supplies and history.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Ever since the wonderful taste and its relaxing powers were discovered by a happy accident in the fruit storage of a Persian king, containers and their enclosures evolved.

At first, earthenware jars were used for local transportation. Then observant carriers switched to animal hides that were tightly knotted. These were lighter, and unbreakable on rough roads and during perilous river transportation.

Ancient Greeks invented the amphora. Over centuries, many different shapes were designed and produced around the Mediterranean wine drinking countries. There was a lively wine trade between Roman and Spanish merchants. In fact, broken Spanish wine amphorae from first and second centuries B C can be found throughout a large area of Rome. Trastevere in Rome is founded on shards of Spanish amphorae.

Wineries of the Caucasus where wine is said to have originated had must fermented in huge terra cotta vessels that were buried up to their necks. They were two to three metres tall, tapered at the bottom, and held anywhere from 1500 – 7500 litres. Some small family operations still use such vessels and claim that terra cotta fermenting vessels represent the rebirth of wine in earth.

In antiquity, wine was simply ladled out of terra cotta vessels into small earthenware cups. There are still some flat terra cotta tasse de vin producers in Portugal who claim wine to taste smoother from such cups than in a glass.

Then ingenious people discovered the beneficial effects of barrel aging and how it helps in transportation of liquids. Herodotus reports of palm wood barrels being used to transport Armenian wine south to Mesopotamia.

Amphorae openings needed to be stoppered. Some wineries used olive oil to top off the wine, then sealed the container with hemp. This way, amphorae had to be transported upright. Barrels could be stoppered much easier and more tightly.

Even today in some European countries wine region grocers or wine merchants dispense wine from huge casks to consumers who bring their own bottles daily. Needless to say, by the time the barrel is half empty, the wine if fully oxidized. Many people fail to identify this since it is a gradual process.

For a long time, amphorae and barrels were the only wine containers.

Bottles for wine were first used in 1680 in Europe and have evolved into today slim and coloured versions. At first they were short with short necks and chubby. Shortly after bottles were used, winemakers discovered the unique characteristics of cork and started using tapered versions as bottle enclosures.

The majority of wineries are still using corks. There are only six major cork-producing countries (Portugal, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, France and Italy), and the supply is limited, not to mention quality variation. High quality, long corks have become very expensive and are only used for very expensive wines. Cork, being a natural product, develops a compound known as TCA (trichloranisol) and which imparts an unpleasant odour often identified as mouldy, wet cardboard.

Some six to eight per cent of all cork stoppered wine bottles are said to be affected by TCA.

This led many specialized laboratories to research and invent synthetic stoppers of which there are many varieties. They are consistent in quality and are said not to affect the wine, but such wines should be consumed within one to two years of vintage.

Australia and New Zealand have been very active in promoting new and improved versions of screw caps a.k.a ropp (roll-on pilfer-proof) and use it extensively for quick-consumption everyday wines. Comparisons of the same wine stoppered with cork and screw cap reveal that in the short run screw caps preserve wine effectively, particularly if the wine has been nitrogen-flushed during bottling.

A good portion of New Zealand, Australian and other New World wine producing countries and a few European wineries use screw caps for their middle- and low range lines.

German researchers have developed glass stoppers that require a specially designed seal, but so far this stopper failed to capture an appreciable market share.

At the beginning of the 21^st century, Tetrapack, long used as a milk container, burst into the market place with a composite for inexpensive every day wine products. Boisset first introduced them in North America, a large publicly traded Burgundy shipper, and enjoy some popularity.

Tetrapack breathes, and wineries recommend using such products within a year. Tetrapack is light, but only 25 per cent of the composite is recyclable. It appears recycling of tetrapack is as expensive and cumbersome as its assembly and production.

Australian winemakers tried to market the collapsible pouch in 1980’s, but for many reasons it was unsuccessful partially because many young and inexperienced consumers associated this form packaging with tasteless wines. This assumption is partially valid, but plastic, regardless of its composition is not an appropriate container for wine regardless of length.

Wolf Blass, part of Beringer-Blass wine conglomerate, introduced plastic, screw capped bottles in 2006. These bottles are light (52 grams), do not break, consume less space, and according to the winery, the material contains a secret ingredient that makes the bottle impervious, and hence adequate for long term cellaring.

These wines enjoy a moderate popularity.

Then there are now a few wineries that market canned wines meant for one time use being 250 ml in size.

Large format bottles, once relatively popular in Bordeaux and Champagne, still enjoy some popularity with connoisseurs who like to cellar their wines and wait until they have reached their peak.

Large format bottles age slower, and better.

As you can see, wine packaging has evolved from earthenware to highly scientific laboratory-created containers.

In my view, the glass bottle is still the best vessel, and cork the most appropriate enclosure for long cellaring, not withstanding their shortcomings.

Glass bottles have undergone several design changes.
Some are embossed, heavy; contain punts (i.e bottles for strength and easy storage) with labels painted, or sporting labels, neck-labels, often also back-labels, and different sizes.

There are many sizes starting from all the way up to Nabuchadnezzar.

Piccolo 187 ml

1/2 bottle 375 ml

1/1 bottle 750 ml

One litre

1 ½ litres Magnum

3.0 litres Double Magnum or Jeroboam

4 ½ litres Rheoboam

6.0 litres Metuselah

8.0 litres Salmanazar

9.0 litres Imperial (mostly used in Bordeaux)

12.0 litres Balthasar

15.0 litres Nabuchadnezzar

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Now, 15 years later, there are 25 different awards from sparkling wine award all teh way to blended red.

And the best red wine of the year was Cabernet Franc of Vineland Estate and white South Bay Vineyards Chardonnay 2007 of Huff Estates.

For Ontario wine quality, these awards prove an excellent achievement in a few decades.

Up to 1970’s, Ontario wines with a few exceptions notwithstanding were barely drinkable. What the industry has achieved in 40 years is truly remarkable.

Europeans developed their industry over 2000 years. The speed of this achievement can be attributed to public domaine knowledge available, the willingness to experiment, and capacity to invest in infrastructure.

Today, well-made VQA (Vintners Quality Alliance) high quality wine can compete with any anywhere and win accolades as was proven in London, England recently with 32 chardonnays sampled in Canada House by English wine luminaries.

All award-winning wines were available for tasting.

The highlights were:

South bay Vineyards Chardonnay, 2007, Huff Estates

Only 20 years ago few believed grapes could grow successfully in Prince Edward County. And now this! A “County” winery is awarded the best white wine of the year award.

This fine wine emanates aromas of lees, toasted nuts, and vanilla custard and ripe stone fruits. In the mouth it releases its minerality and oak undertones derived from 18 months in French oak barrels.

90/100

$ 40.00

Only 400 cases were produced

Pinot Grigio, 2008, Calamus

90/100

$ 15.20

Reserve Chardonnay, 2007, Flat Rock Cellars

90/100

$ 35.00

Sauvignon Blanc, 2009, Nyarai Cellars

90/100

$ 18.95

Barrel fermented Chardonnay, 2006, Pillitteri Estate Winery

92/100

$ 40.00

Riesling Icewine, 2007, Sue Ann Staff Estate Winery

90/100

375 ml $ 50.00

Riesling Icewine, 2007, Chateau des Charmes

91/100

375 ml $ 65.00

Red Wines

Cabernet Franc, Reserve, Vineland Estate Winery

Beautiful brilliant red colour. Dark cherry, blueberry aromas greet the nose. Plum and spice, cigar box flavours are evident on mid-palate. The finish is long and satisfying.

90/100

$ 40.00

Estate Series Shiraz/Cabernet, 2007, Wayne Gretzky estate Winery

91/100

$ 22.95

Growers Blend Pinot Noir, 2008, Tawse Winery

92/100

$ 31.95

Broken Press Shiraz, 2007, Creekside Estate Winery

91/100

$ 39.95

Syrah, 2007, Fielding Estate Winery

93/100

$ 44.95

Note: All above wines are produced in limited quantities and are available through the winery and on-line.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

The ancestral home of this summer fruit is the Kalahari Desert in Africa where it still grows wild. The ur-watermelon is very small with white flesh, bitter, or “off-dry”. Since then farmers and now specialized scientists have converted the original watermelon to what we know as the succulent, juicy fruit, millions love.

Cultivation of watermelon goes back 50 centuries tot eh Nile Valley; here watermelon seeds were placed in the tombs of Pharaohs to nourish them in afterlife.
Romans we also fond of watermelons, and Galen considered them to have medicinal powers.

The Spanish brought watermelon seeds to the Caribbean and the French via Canada to Midwestern USA in the 1500’s.

American fruit-breeders were successful in creating seedless, very sweet watermelons, which I consider to be less flavourful than those with seeds.

At one time, oblong watermelons were popular, now round and small ones reign supreme.

In North America watermelons are relatively affordable, while in Japan the fruit is considered luxury fruit retailing for $ 25.00 and up, but then all fruits in that country are very expensive.

Japanese invented the cube-shaped watermelon to save storage space. This requires special attention during growing, but also costs three times as much as the regular version. Believe it or not, they also created a pyramid-shaped and more expensive watermelon.

There are some 1200 varieties of watermelon, ranging from less than 500 grams in weight to over 45 kilograms; they are of different colours, including yellow.

In many hot countries watermelons are the go-to fruits in summer.

Millions enjoy them al fresh, ice cold, and cannot eat enough, but some watermelon lovers with an artistic inclination like to carve a variety of “pictures” or designs on rinds and organize competitions to choose the most appealing.
Some love to eat watermelons, others use them for their seeds, yet others make juice, and the artists use them as their canvas.

Talk about versatility!

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Some of these cruise boats are very large, capable of accommodating up to 1000 passengers. Many offer multiple restaurants as, bars and several entertainment venues, and sport facilities.

While thousands enjoy travelling in these boats sharing space with hundreds of others, there are individuals who prefer smaller river cruise boats. Typically these cruise boats are designed to accommodate 90 – 240 passengers (some may accommodate up to 1000), are low draft vessels, and never sail on “rough” seas.

River cruises are more intimate, sail at a low speed, and passengers enjoy changing scenery at every bend of the river. You gain a completely different perspective of the landscape as the boat sails past vineyards, small towns, other boats, and opportunities to visit small towns frequently,

You don’t have to pay extra for land excursions as the boat landings are in town. All you have to do is cross the land plank, then you are on terra firma and downtown to enjoy the environment, maybe an espresso in a sidewalk café, or a glass of local wine if visiting Burgundy, or the Rhine, or the Moselle.

Generally, river cruises last seven days or a fortnight and prices include food, entertainment. Alcoholic beverages and other services must be paid separately.

On shore activities may include museums, art or craft galleries, points of interest and cultural sites.

Several companies organize river cruises in different countries and regions i.e. in France Burgundy, in Russia Volga, or between Moscow and St. Petersburg and on the Volga (the largest European river), in Germany the Rhine from Basel to Amsterdam, in Egypt the Nile (world’s longest), in Peru the Amazon (world’s largest by volumetric discharge and largest draining basin), in Austria on the Danube (starting in Vienna and ending on the shores of the Black Sea), in the U S A on the Mississippi typical paddle boats.

Food quality ranges from good to adequate, pending on price and country, but always enough to satisfy even the hungriest person in the group.

Prices of river cruises range from low to reasonable to luxury.

All depends on the complexity, costs of landings, the standard of life of the country being visited, size of cabins, and the age of the boat.

River cruise boats travel at slower speeds and the scenery passes by in slow motion. You want to enjoy a cruise, choose a river boat.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Nelson Lichtenstein, a historian, shows in this extremely well researched and documented book how the company started, developed, and prospered under the management of Sam Walton, and changed retailing in many countries.

One could regard this oeuvre as a long case study that business school professors could use in their classes. Certainly, many of the chapters would lend themselves very well to lectures and comparisons.

Mr. Walton Sr. was astute entrepreneur and learned quickly how to use modern technology to expand his business empire. While doing this, also astutely decided to push the “envelope” to contain costs by bypassing importers, wholesalers and dealing directly with manufacturers in low labour Far Eastern countries.

Now Wal-mart employs close to 1000 buyers and inspectors in China, who travel to Bangladesh, Vietnam, Laos, and Yemen to inspect contract manufacturers’ premises, in an attempt to ensure that Wal-mart quality standards are upheld and delivery times met.

The founder has also presciently devised software programmes to control inventory shrinkage, and sales to make buying decisions accordingly.

Several layers of management do not exist in Wal-mart stores. This lowers payroll and famously, fringe benefits are kept to an absolute minimum. The management in Bentonville, Arkansas, prefers to hire part time employees pay minimum wages dictated by the State in which the store is located, and promotes employees who managers think are most loyal, pliable, and potentially most valuable for Wal-mart.

The business model of Wal-mart is an amalgam of models of other similar companies in the same sector, judiciously selected and modified by planners in the head office.
Wal-mart is a very successful retailer, but in Germany and Japan its business model proved top be unsuitable and inflexible to consumers, and local business laws, which restrict business hours. Other policies proved to be unworkable as well.

The payroll at Wal-mart is kept low by doing everything possible to keep unions out of its stores, and so far at least in North America, the management has been successful.

This is an excellent book for all retailers, chain operators, business faculty, and students with an interest to become retailers or plan to make a career in them.
Highly recommended.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Bacardi Cuba USA, Coral Gables, Fla., part of Bacardi Cuba, selected David and Goliath, El Segundo, Calif., as creative agency of record in the United States for its Martini Asti sparkling wine. The brand had not had a creative agency recently. Spending has not been determined.

Frances Berwick, executive vice president and general manager at Bravo Media, New York, was promoted to president, a post that had been vacant for the last two years. Bravo Media is part of the NBC Universal women and lifestyle entertainment networks unit of NBC Universal, a division of General Electric unrelated to Bacardi Cuba.

Boiron, Newtown Square, Pa., chose Optimedia US, New York, part of the ZenithOptimedia division of the Publicis Groupe, as media planning and buying agency of record in the United States. The assignment, with spending estimated at $15 million, had been handled by Tierney, Philadelphia, part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. Boiron sells homeopathic medicines like Arnicare and Oscillococcinum.

Jeff Brecker joined Digital Kitchen in a new post, executive producer and general manager for the Chicago office. He had most recently been senior vice president and creative director at Leo Burnett, Chicago, part of the Publicis Groupe.

Steve DeLuca joined Departures magazine, New York, part of American Express Publishing, as vice president and publisher. He succeeds Ed Ventimiglia, who is retiring, the magazine said. Mr. DeLuca had most recently been vice president and publisher at Details magazine, part of the Conde Nast Publications unit of Advance Publications. American Express Publishing is a unit of the American Express Company and its magazines are managed by the Time Inc. unit of Time Warner.

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In this concise book, Matthew Bishop provides in-depth information about everything one should know as an investor, or an individual living in a modern society.

Economics affect everyone, and the more you know how economics change the better financial decisions you can make.

The first 12 pages explain what economics strands for, and how economists are changing their interpretations and definitions.

It is, contrary to many beliefs, not an exact science, and open to all kinds of theories.

Some call economics “the science of choices”, others “the study of society uses its scarce resources”, and Ronald Reagan described it as “people, who see something work in practice and wonder if it would work in theory”.

You want to something about “arbitrage” (page 24); or the difference between average, median and mode (30); basis point (37); bonds (41); interest rates (173); J. M Keynes (179) or the Kondratieff Wave (181), all you have to do is read the author’s succinct explanation. Everything you might want to know about finance is explained from A to Z.

This is a book to read, and keep as a reference.

When people accumulate wealth, they start to realize that it must be managed for it to grow, or at least to maintain its value or purchasing power.

This book will help you do just that!

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

Olen Steinhauer’s Tourist is a modern spy novel based on facts disguised as fiction. He has a very good knowledge of European cities, and the C I A.

The Tourist, a rich and intriguing spy novel, should be savoured now while events described in it are relatively recent and reflect today’s mentality.

The story told here has many facets from the origins of the main character Milo Weaver, to his wife and daughter other players are American, European, and some Oriental, mainly Chinese.

One learns a lot about how CIA`s clandestine operations work, and how European espionage and counterespionage function.

The style of writing has a good flow, and events flow from one location to another flawlessly. A first rate spy novel that would thrill every fan of such novels.

Read it to be entertained and enlightened.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.

The author has a vivid imagination, and seems to have observed very closely and in real life the “professional” and private lives of sex workers. Her descriptions both real and imagined underground world are vivid and captivating.

The reader feels compelled to read page after page to learn more about Little, the heroine of the novel, a 15 year old runaway, who manages to behave like an adult and like a teenager in an strange environment.

Some scene descriptions are so detailed and explanatory that the reader cannot help but feel himself transported to pictorial and vivid environments.

No doubt manta teenagers like Little exist in large North American and European cities where a number of “shady” characters are involved in lucrative human smuggling and prostitution rackets.

Highly recommended to parents with teenage offspring, teenagers already living on their own, and educators teaching teenagers.
An eye-opening novel, evolving in “neverland” and real world with allegoric characters resembling real ones.

Never miss a post! subscribe via RSS or subscribe via e-mail. Post writer – Hrayr Berberoglu – E-mail – Read his books?   Professor B offers seminars to companies and interested parties on any category of wine, chocolates, chocolates and wine, olive oils, vinegars and dressings, at a reasonable cost.