So that's why Hillary likes it!

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton says her favorite ice cream is made by a central New York dairy named Mercer's.

With all the ice creams made in the state she represents, I've always wondered why Mercer's. Now I have an idea. The Boonville company has come up with wine-flavored ice creams.

It took two years of experimentation, but Mercer's Dairy has created Ala Port Wine, Peachy White Zinfandel and Red Raspberry Chardonnay ice cream flavors. Cool stuff, and already being purchased by trendy New York City restaurants.

This ice cream, by the way, is not kid stuff. It has an alcohol content of 5% and will not be sold to minors.

Mercer's, which makes about 40 other flavors, purchases a lot of its milk from various New York state prisons that maintain dairy herds.

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Myanmar enters the world of wine

It once was Burma. Now it is Myanmar.

It once had no vineyards. Now it has one.

The military-run southeast Asian nation's first such enterprise, started by a German entrepreneur in 2004, now is producing reds, whites and roses at the Aythaya estate.

Bert Morsbach, interviewed by the Associated Press, said, "Had I not been convinced that we can make a quality wine up in our mountains, I would not have started the project. ... That was a gamble, I must admit, but so far the government has been very cooperative and it looks as if this is going to stay that way."

Morsbach imported vines from France, Germany and Italy and planted them in the hills, seen above, above Inle Lake of in eastern Myanmar. He and chief winemaker Hans Leiendecker say growing conditions on their 23.5-acre vineyard are excellent, with the limestone soil similar to that of Tuscany and southern France and a climate similar to California's wine country.

"A huge asset in our favor: 150 days of sunshine," Morsbach said.

Their wines have been getting positive reviews, the best of them for a rose made from the Italian Moscato grape, which is the winery's top seller.

Production was a mere 20,000 bottles as recently as 2004, but has been ramped up to 100,000 bottles this year. Additional grapes will be grown by contract farmers.

Morsbach, 69, who plans to retire in Myanmar, said he and some investors have put $1.5 million into the project, are expanding tourist facilities at the winery which already includes five guest rooms, a restaurant and swimming pool, and have rebuilt an abandoned Buddhist orphanage adjacent to the vineyard and are supporting more than 80 orphans there.

I found all this fascinating because in a world in which many countries treat foreigners as spawn of Satan and try to kill them off, a man like Morsbach isn't afraid to adopt a country he has grown to love and add to its economic well being. Let's hope for a safe future for him, and a better one for strife-torn Myanmar.

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All-woman judging panel a first

Several years ago I was invited to be a judge at a fledgling international wine competition. At its conclusion, I was asked for suggestions for the next year.

"Get some women as judges," I said. "Women make up a huge part of the wine consumers. Plus, they're known for having good palates and senses of smell."

In succeeding years, I've noticed a slight increase in the number of women judging in that event and other competitions, but it still is largely a man's world.

That's what makes the National Women's Wine Competition just concluded in Santa Rosa, CA, so interesting. All the judges were women.

One who has emerged as a spokesperson for increasing female involvement in wine competition and decision-making is Leslie Sbrocco (seen here), author of “Wine for Women.” She told the Associated Press she does not think there’s a “male” or “female” palate.

“It’s not about the female palate being different. It’s about the female perspective being different,” she said.

The competition had the slogan “Wine Women Want,” and had a category of entries from women winemakers, Overall, more than 1,800 entries came in. Organizers said they believe this was the first contest in the U.S. judged by an all-woman panel. An international competition to be judged by women is planned for next month in Monaco.

Co-chairs of the competition were Margrit Mondavi, long active in the California wine world and wife of legendary vintner Robert Mondavi, and Kathryn Hall, a Napa Valley vintner who once was U.S. ambassador to Austria.

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Idaho gets its first AVA

Click on maps to enlarge

Wine historians will circle April 9 on their calendars. That's the day Idaho gets its first American Viticultural Area, or AVA.

The U.S. Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau has designated Idaho's Snake River Valley as an AVA. That distinction brands the southern portion of the state, extending along the Snake River east to west from the Twin Falls area into Oregon as the 236th AVA in the nation.

"There's a lot of different soil types, there's different micro climates and a lot of opportunities for growing a lot of different types of grapes," said Brad Pintler, president of the Idaho Grape Growers and Wine Producers Commission, and general manager of Sawtooth Winery.

"This AVA is over 5.3 million acres and right now we have a little under 2,000 planted, so there's a lot of valleys that have a huge amount of potential and I think we will see a lot of new investors and a lot of new wineries," he added.

Click here to get information on Idaho wineries.

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Wine convenience foiled

Single-serving unbreakable wine containers are not new. But an English company has a new twist on the idea that is.

Pre-filled, foil-sealed plastic wine glasses are aimed at the summer activities market after getting a good reception from caterers who handle a lot of outdoor events. They were developed by Al Fresco Wines and are being marketed under the name Tulipa.

The glasses, to go on sale in June in UK stores, will be filled with California rosé or Australian shiraz or chardonnay. Twin packs will go for a retail price of about US$7 a pair.

As noted, other single-serving solutions already are on the market. Woodbridge, for example, sells mini wine packages (seen here) with 6.5-ounce drinks targeted for picnics, dinners for two or similar events. They're available in five varietals, which can be mixed and matched.

Beringer is another example, marketing its Stone Cellars durable plastic mini-bottles of chardonnay, pinot grigio, merlot and cabernet sauvignon. Four-packs cost about $8.

And Fetzer Vineyards Valley Oaks merlot, chardonnay and white zinfandel are sold in mini bottles as well as Virgin Vines, a joint venture with British tycoon Richard Branson.

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Irish pride more tainted than tinted

Every few years I get so fed up with the idiocy of St. Patrick's Day that I can't contain myself. It's boiled over again in the face of the annual avalanche of plastic shamrocks, green beer and fools on TV and in print adding an "O" to their names and promising pots of gold to anyone who would listen to their sales pitch.

Just a few days ago I heard a talk-radio caller saying someone was "as drunk as an Irishman." Some cops still called the police van a Paddy wagon. It is difficult not to trip over all the plastic leprechauns and shillelaghs laying around taverns, stores and restaurants. A lot of politicians run around with name tags that stuck an O' in front of their names and make the usual gratuitous remarks about loving the folks from the Auld Sod.

In this ethnically, religiously and racially diverse nation we have been sensitized to the effects of stereotyping people. We understand when African-Americans and Italian-Americans, Polish-Americans and Jewish-Americans, Arab-Americans and Mexican-Americans -- perhaps even Martian-Americans -- become angry at hurtful, demeaning jokes and remarks about their heritage. But we seem, as a society, incapable of understanding why some Irish-Americans "get their Irish up" when they're regarded as fair game for insults.

Even in Ireland itself, what once was a quiet day of religious contemplation has disintegrated into a booze-fueled mess catering to tourists. Irish authorities last year reported more than 700 violence- and alcohol-connected arrests on St. Patrick's Day.

It is baffling enough that it's happening there. Perhaps it is because the Irish also are widely regarded as amiable folks, the kind of people who take little ethnic slurs as good-natured fun. But in the U.S. it seems seldom remembered the slurs are a nasty holdover from a time when they had their turn at the bottom of American society -- being denied education, being relegated to back-breaking jobs like digging the barge canals, driving the railroad spikes, clawing coal from the bowels of the earth miles down where the air was foul and the life expectancy short.

A time when signs saying "No Irish Need Apply" were commonplace on rooming houses, business places and restaurants. A time when the Irish were jammed into ghettoes later occupied by succeeding generations of immigrant groups; when the "Paddy wagon" hauled a lot of them off to jail on the slightest pretext. A time when the likes of immigrant Kate Mullaney had to risk life and limb to get Troy's laundry workers a modicum of respect and pay and, in the process, formed the first female labor union.

Some say the ideal would be for Americans of all backgrounds to forget about roots and become generic, non-hyphenated Americans. That may be desirable in the sense it could foster a togetherness now missing in our national dialogue, but it never will happen.

People do, to some extent, like to be different. Maintaining ties with one's heritage makes them so, and keeps alive the rich inheritance from that culture that adds to the marvelous American stew.

But, isn't there a classy way to do it?

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Sake rebounding on tradition

If you know the difference between junmai and ethyl alcohol sake, this story in the Japan Times will interest you.

In the face of sagging sales of the traditional Japanese wine, master brewer Hanako Kudo has brought her family's sake brewery back to life by returning to the traditional rice-based recipe. She and her father, Mikio (seen at work), make traditional "junmai" at the family business, Maizuru Shuzo Co., in Yokote, an operation that has been in existence since 1918.

The big difference between their Tabito brand sake and what most competitors make is that she adds no ethyl alcohol to the mix. That additive was something that came into vogue during and after World War II because of a rice shortage, and even when times improved the practice continued because it was conducive to making larger batches.

Overall, sake sales have dipped as consumers in Japan and abroad developed a preference for other alcoholic drinks, including beer, wine and "shochu" distilled spirits. However, the junmai niche held strong. Thus, the Tabito rebound.

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NY may get a second wine center

When the New York Wine & Culinary Center opened on the shore of Canandaigua Lake last summer, it was to mixed emotions.

Most people in the Finger Lakes area were happy the tourism and educational facility was there, promoted as a "gateway" to New York's wine country.

Some people in other parts of the state pointed out that a rural, western New York "gateway" might have been a bit misleading, considering how many wineries are located north of New York City in the Hudson Vallery and east of the city on Long Island.

Now, some of that irritation may be soothed with word that the New York Wine & Grape Foundation, headquarted in the Canandaigua facility, has received a $44,500 Empire State Development Grant to explore the feasibility of building a similar wine and culinary center in the Hudson Valley although “I don’t think it would be as elaborate as the one here,” said Jim Trezise, Wine & Grape Foundation president.

Phyllis Feder, co-owner of Clinton Vineyards in Dutchess County with husband Ben (both shown here), is head of the steering committee for the project. She says that once a firm is contracted, the study should be completed in about 90 days.

“It is a project that holds great potential, especially since we are so close to the New York City market,” she said.

The working title of the project is the Hudson River Valley Wine & Culinary Center.

ON THE WEB
• Dutchess Wine Trail
• Shawangunk Wine Trail
• Hamptons Wineries
• North Fork Wine Trail

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Oxford vs. Cambridge: Serious stuff

Team captains: Cambridge's Aidan Craig (left) and Oxford's Janet Scott.

Oxford vs. Cambridge.

These old and honorable English universities have long been in competition on many playing fields -- academic, athletic and otherwise. Now, their respective wine societies want to have wine tasting ratified as an official sport.

The universities have had a wine tasting contest every year since 1953. Cambridge won the event in February, but Oxford holds a 34-20 edge. Pol Roger Champagne has been the event sponsor since 1992.

While the event may seem lighthearted, it actually is a serious endeavor. As reported in Decanter magazine, "Many team members go on to successful careers in the wine trade. ... Oxford trains six days a week under the auspices of a senior member of the Oxford University Wine Circle."

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