Celestial Austrian Wines – Soif Tasting 1.25

Celestial Austrian Wines – Soif Tasting 1.25

nikolaihof.jpgThe incomparable Nikky Saahs of Nikolaihof biodynamic winery in Austria’s Wachau region, takes the Soif winebar mainstage next Sunday, January 25 from 2-4. This is the fifth year in a row that Saahs has visited to explore and discuss the crisp mineral-driven wines of his very ancient estate. How ancient? Well with a history that dates to the Roman times, Nikolaihof was the site of a monastic center in the 10th century. That’s how ancient!

Included in the tasting will be Grüner Veltliners and a 1998 Riesling that should blow participants away. Georg Prieler of the Burgenland estate Weingut Prieler will also be on hand to walk us through a few choice Pinot Blancs and a Blaufrankisch from his estate.

These are rare and extraordinary wines, introduced by expert vintners who will entertain questions and comments with diplomacy and charm.

Plan to be there – expand your wine knowledge and treat your tastebuds to a very happty New Year!

That’s at Soif.

American Sniper

American Sniper

americansnip.jpgAmerican auteur Clint Eastwood has delivered yet another provocative work in American Sniper. A physically transformed Bradley Cooper, as legendary marksman Chris Kyle, leans into the addictive allure of the Iraq conflict and illuminates Eastwood’s latest masterpiece.

An unflinching anti-war film that is draped in the American flag, Sniper forces us into the chilling midst of modern ground level warfare. Cooper, bulked up and Texas drawled, plays real-life Navy SEAL sharpshooter Kyle, who in his unimaginable four tours of duty performed feats of heroism and marksmanship that earned him the nickname “The Legend,” among military aficionados, and a bounty on his head among the Iraqi.
Eastwood and his cinematographer Tom Stern plant us in the dust and rubble of war-torn Ramadi, while the SEALs hunt and seek and attempt to take out the savvy and wily enemy, including a brutal assassin called “The Butcher.” Kyle became a born-again (radicalized?) patriot on the morning of 9/11 and believes without question that his duty was to take out the “bad guys” who threaten his fellows and his country.

Working with the cool confidence of a master, Eastwood believes in his subject—that war is hell, that sometimes we are capable of selfless actions, and that the emotional disconnect between vets and their families is often irretrievable. Eastwood is at his best at probing the quiet moments of unconscious damage done by Kyle’s kill count. (more…)