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Wine Travels to Explore

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I’ve come across some interesting opportunities for wine tasting and exploration that I thought I would pass along: The Bellagio is always full of great activity and gourmet restaurants. On May 7th the Las Vegas hotel’s Tuscany Kitchen will be hosting UnCork'd wine seminars.. The schedule includes “Wine Immersion: A Master Sommelier’s View on Organic Wine, Culinary Revelations: A Piece of Chocolate and a Glass of Wine,” and “Wine Immersion Experience: Wine Scores and Ratings, What Do They Actually Mean.” There's also an opportunity for a five-course wine pairing dinner. Speaking of Tuscany, there’s nothing like the real thing for an Italian wine experience. I’m hoping to experience my own adventure this fall with DiVine Tours , a company I recently discovered that specializes in wine trips. DiVine offers a selection of wine exploration for everything from day tours in great Italian cities like Florence, Rome, Amalfi Coast, San Gimignano and Pisa to in-depth week long

My Flavored Vodka Party

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I am working on a story on flavored vodkas and had the terrible task (!) this past weekend of tasting 13 flavors from 6 different companies.  It was such a difficult task that I decided I needed to call in some friends to help me out.  I wasn't surprised when there were quite a few volunteers! I plan on doing an in-depth story on the vodkas involved for print, but I just can't keep all the results to myself that long.  We divided the drinks into two groups -- Unusual Flavors and Berries, and took an intermission in between.  There were some surprises so let's start with what we thought about the flavor...  Smirnoff Pear -Everyone said this tasted like banana and I was in agreement.  Voli Orange Vanilla -"Orange Creamsicle" was the consensus on this one. Ciroc Coconut -I don't know if it was imagination or visions of Pina Coladas, but a few people said they tasted a bit of pineapple in this.  The coconut was clear, though. Voli Lemon -This was describ