Posts Written OnOctober 26, 2012

New York Wine in China: Day 1

This was not at all the culture shock I was expecting as most of our group arrived at Shanghai Pudong Airport early midday Tuesday. This first day was to get acclimated to the drastic time difference – we lost exactly twelve hours on the way over, so dinner for us was around six in the morning. The city is a stunning mix of hyper-modern and classical, with no sign of the overcrowding one might think exists. Streets are wide and fast, populated by an odd mix of scooters, mini-bikes, bicycles, container trucks, and Audis…lots and lots of Audis, as well…

Harvest 2012: Grower Tom Tower on the Rocks

Youngstown farmer Tom Tower is no stranger to the spotlight in Western New York. He’s a driving force behind several local farmers’ markets and he’s been supplying some of the best chefs in the region with his fruits and vegetables long before it was hip to eat local. These days Tower has thrown his trademark hat into the grape growing ring by supplying winemaker Jonathan Oakes and the rest of the crew at Leonard Oakes Estate Winery with grapes grown on his farm just 1.5 miles south of Lake Ontario. I had the opportunity to do an on camera interview…