Will Social Networking Get You a Job?

Will Social Networking Get You a Job?

Networking is one of the best strategies for finding a new or better job. Right? Right. And, social networking clearly involves networking. Right? Right. So, social networking is the new and improved way to land the job of your dreams. Right? Wrong.

It's hard to miss the buzz about social networking. The media has been all agog over the rapid rise of such sites as MySpace. They attract millions of visitors every month, providing lots of opportunity for individual interaction and relationship building. While this activity is indeed networking, the most important aspect of its description is the adjective that defines it -- social. That may be a ton of fun, but it's unlikely to get you hired.

In the past, I've used the term "e-networking" to describe electronic or online networking. But with the rise of the social networking, I've redefined it as "employment networking." E-networking -- employment networking -- is unlike its very social cousin in three important ways:
It has a different purpo

Lord of the Rings

Lord of the Rings



Te Papa’s Lord Of The Rings Exhibition Opens In Berlin, Germany

Te Papa’s hugely successful Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition opens at the FilmPark in Potsdam, outside Berlin on Thursday 1 February. The official opening and media preview will take place on the evening of 31 January, opening to the public the following day.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition was developed by Te Papa in conjunction with New Line Cinema over a two-year period. It broke all previous attendance records for a museum exhibition in New Zealand with over 325,000 visitors at Te Papa. Following its first four international venues since opening at Te Papa, the exhibition has received well over a million visits. During its season the National Museum of Science and Industry in London it attracted 260,000 visitors, at the Science Centre in Singapore over 120,000 visitors attended, at the Museum of Science, Boston it attracted over 210,000 visitors, and at The Powerhouse Museum, Sydney it attracted over 198,000 visitors. During its most recent seasons in Houston and Indiana, over 180, 000 visitors visited the exhibition.

Te Papa’s Director of Marketing and Communications, Paul Brewer, will speak at the official opening with a large number of German media in attendance. A press conference will take place on Tuesday 30 January at 2pm.

‘Te Papa is very proud to be able to showcase the talent and ground breaking creativity of Peter Jackson and his teams in this exciting exhibition which has now attracted over a million visitors world wide’, Paul Brewer said.

The Lord of the Rings Motion Picture Trilogy – The Exhibition is interactive and immersive. Featuring film footage, props, costumes and artefacts from the movies, the exhibition gives visitors a unique opportunity to explore the fantastic world created for the film trilogy and the groundbreaking technology behind the movies.

The exhibition will show at FilmPark from Thursday 1 February until 29 April 2007.

Note to readers: This exhibition is great value, seeing the costuming up close and also the computer graphic capabilities was a memorable afternoon spent for me in Wellington about two years ago at Te Papa Museum. I have a link to the Te Papa museum website under my links. I actually have a bit of a soft spot for P Jackson film and remember watching Braindead when I was about twelve, also more recently - those early flicks has a certain offbeat humour but the latest efforts are in LOTRs are also great value and show some NZ scenery which all helps the national economy.

Lord of the Rings

Home Photos

Visualisation

Visualisation

"Visualization, imagination , imaging it's all the same. We underestimate and underrate the power of visualizing what it is that we want. But you do it everyday. When you get up in the morning, you think about what you are going to wear before you get dressed. That's Visualisation.
You can't have something in your life without first imaging it, when you can begin to visualize it because what you are doing is you are feeding an image to your self conscious that produces the results, and the material things that come into your life. So, practise being quiet, practise concentrating.
When I put project together. I saw the whole thing. It was like a saw a little blueprint up on the wall. I saw each step that I was going to take. That's part of planning it out. That's part of projecting what it is that you want in life.
Use your imagination. Use visualization.
See yourself doing it. Before I give a talk, I see myself on stage giving a lecture. I really do! I'll give a talk before the regular talk and sometimes the talk before the walk is better than the talk. But, it's really important to see yourself going through the process of life as you're planning it, as you're doing things"

Visualisation

Google alerts - they are a useful way to research key topics!

Google Alerts

Hey all one neat why I have found to keep my self up to speed with a topic I'm focusing on is to set up a google alert to my email address. This way you can get inspired by other likeminded writers. This email from Atlanta caught my eye because of the why the wine experience is linked in with history, geography and relationships.
Also because the consumers in this article are the people with the unopened wines in their cellars. I enjoyed this article and imagine you will too!

Google Alert article delivered today: OPEN THAT BOTTLE NIGHT

....
This is why we invented OTBN, which is celebrated on the last Saturday of February every year. Whether it's the only bottle in the house or one bottle among thousands, just about all of us have that very special wine that we always mean to open, but never do. On OTBN every year, thousands of bottles all over the world are released from prison and enjoyed. With them come memories of great vacations, long-lost loved ones and bittersweet moments. The whole point of our wine column is that wine is more than the liquid in the bottle. It's about history, geography, relationships and all of the things that are really important in life.

Restaurants are getting into the spirit as well. Some restaurants drop corkage fees for OTBN. Occidental Restaurant in Washington, D.C., is having its OTBN on Feb. 23, the night before the world-wide celebration, as part of its own centennial festivities. It's planning several different menus (for $130, including tax and tip) to pair with the wines people will bring. The restaurant's wine guru, Daniel Hennessey, will ask diners what they plan to bring so they can be assigned to tables with appropriate menus. Some distributors have agreed to kick in Champagne and dessert wines. Mr. Hennessey said the $30 corkage fee will go to a charity that helps homeless people.

While OTBN has become a time for parties, large and small, don't forget that it also is about romance and intimacy. In our case, for instance, we're going to stay home — and travel to Italy together. Many years ago, long before we wrote about wine, we visited the Piedmont region and, through a series of happy accidents, were virtually adopted for a week by the Cerettos, one of Italy's legendary winemaking families. When we were leaving, with tears all around, they handed us a signed bottle of grappa, the distilled firewater. We don't often drink serious alcohol and we had never even tasted grappa, but the next year, on a very cold day, we opened it and we each took a sip. One sip was enough for the whole winter.

Winter after winter, we took a sip of that grappa, usually while standing knee deep in snow in Central Park or outside our country cabin, until, inevitably, we have come to the last few sips. On Open That Bottle Night, finally, we will finish the grappa and remember the hills and fog of Piedmont and the generosity of strangers. And, yes, of course we'll open a special bottle of wine, too, but which one? Part of the fun is figuring that out, so we don't know yet.


If you plan to participate in Open That Bottle Night, here are some tips to help you make the most of it.

1. Choose the wine. This is the all-important first step. You don't necessarily want to open your "best" wine or your most impressive wine, but the wine that means the most to you, the one that you would simply never open otherwise. Maybe it's Grandpa's garlic wine. You're looking for a bottle full of memories. On the other hand, if you have, say, a 1929 Lafite that's just sitting there, we certainly couldn't argue with that.

2. Stand older wine up (away from light and heat, of course) for a few days before you plan to open it — say, on Wednesday. This will allow the sediment, if there is some, to sink to the bottom.

3. Both reds and whites are often better closer to cellar temperature (around 55 degrees) than today's room temperature. Don't overchill the white, and think about putting the red in the refrigerator for an hour or two before opening it if you've been keeping it in a 70-degree house.

4. With an older bottle, the cork may break easily. The best opener for a cork like that is one with two prongs, but it requires some skill. You have some time to practice using one. Be prepared for the possibility that a fragile cork may fall apart with a regular corkscrew. If that happens, have a carafe and a coffee filter handy. Just pour enough through the coffee filter to catch the cork.

5. Otherwise, do not decant. We're assuming these are old and fragile wines. Air could quickly dispel what's left of them. If the wine does need to breathe, you should have plenty of time for that throughout the evening.

6. Have a backup wine ready for your special meal, in case your old wine really has gone bad.

7. If you are having an OTBN party, ask everyone to say a few words about the significance of the wine they brought. This really is what OTBN is all about, sharing.

8. Serve dinner. Open the wine and immediately take a sip. If it's truly, irretrievably bad — we mean vinegar — you will know it right away. But even if the wine doesn't taste good at first, don't rush to the sink to pour it out. Every year, we hear from people who were amazed how a wine pulled itself together and became delicious as the night wore on.

9. Enjoy the wine for what it is, not what it might someday be or might once have been.

Google Alerts

Download free Skype software, purchase, SKYPE IN Or SKYPE OUT

Skype download




download Skype


Skype Store USA


Hey all. Could you benefit from this great programme? Skype is one of those programs with almost universal relevance because who doesn’t want to talk for free with their friends and family or save money on their telephone calls?

Not familiar with Skype? Like Google Talk, you can use Skype to chat with your friends online for free. Additional options include SkypeIn, SkypeOut, , Skype SMS, and Skype Voicemail.

Call ordinary phones anywhere in the world from your computer for the price of a local call with SkypeOut.
www.skype.com
SkypeOut lets you call landlines and mobile phones around the world at local rates and users can buy credit in units of €10 or €25.

SkypeIn
gives you a personal number so that friends can call you on Skype from their old-fashioned phones, wherever you connect around the world. A SkypeIn number costs €10 for 3 months or €30 for a full year and comes with free Skype Voicemail.


Skype Voicemail
lets you pickup messages when you’re offline, away from your computer… or just ignoring people. A Skype Voicemail subscription costs €5 for 3 months or €15 for a year.


So To recap: What is Skype?
Skype is a little piece of software that lets you make free calls over the Internet. Skype are revolutionizing the telecoms world by allowing skype users to make superior quality voice calls to other Skype users for free and to landlines and mobiles worldwide for the price of a local call.
Skype already had over 100 million downloads of skype software and every day over 150,000 new users join Skype's 33 million active users.

Skype software is available for Windows, Linux, Mac OS X and Pocket PC platforms What next?

Skype for Business


Click my links to install. And try a premium service such as Skype Out! Thanks for your support! Helena

Skype download

Hawkes Bay Wine Awards 2006

Wine Award Results
Wine Awards 2006

http//www.hawkesbaywineawards.co.nz

Premium Red varietals Trinity Hill - Trinity Hill Gimblett Gravels Tempranillo 2005

Chardonnay - Sacred Hill Wines Ltd - Sacred Hill 'Rifleman' Chardonnay 2005

Pinot Noir - Vidal Wines - Vidal Estate Stopbank Pinot Noir 2005

Syrah - Trinity Hill - Trinity "Homage" Syrah 2004

Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon - Sacred Hill Wines Ltd - Sacred Hill Sauvage' Sauvignon Blanc 2005

Art deco Weekend

Art Deco Weekend
When flappers and men in plaid come out to play
February 2007
Napier


Napier's first Art Deco Weekend was held in 1989. Eighteen years on and this event - which began as a small two-day festival - now lasts for five days, with some events spanning a fortnight.


Held on the third weekend of February, the Brebner Print Art Deco Weekend is a not too serious celebration of the art deco style.

Jazz, cocktails, flappers, zoot suits, sleek cars and other embellishments of the 1920s and ‘30s are celebrated with a glitz and glamour that would have made our predecessors proud.

Expect nearly 60 events including a Gatsby Picnic, Bathing Belle Competition, the Depression Dinner, bi-plane rides and guided walks around Napier's premier art deco sites.

Art Deco Weekend

Fifty Years ago we were reading books like:

Fifty years ago we were reading books like:
The catcher in the rye - J D Salinger

A town like Alice - Nevil Shute

Lord of the Flies - William Golding

Day of the Triffids - John Wyndham

The old man and the sea - Ernest Hemingway

The talented Mr Ripley - Patricia Highsmith

Minority Report - Isaac Asimov

Dimonds are Forever - Ian Fleming

Ferenheit 451 -Ray Bradbury

The Lord of the Rings trilogy - J RR Tolkien

Fifty years ago we were reading books like:

Letter from America

Books recommended to me this week:

The Blessing of Favour
Think and Grow Rich Napoleon Hill
Succeed and Grow Rich through Persuasion - N Hill
The Alpha Code - J Schroeder www.amazingincrease.com

The secret missing pages to Napoleons Hill's Think and Grow Rich www.MikeLitman.com/Joehtml
Paint the Tiger - Tom Monahan
Grind it Out - Ray Crock
The Operator - David Geffin
Titan - (about John Rockefeller)

Sport Hawke's Bay

Sport Hawke's Bay

Event Listing - Walk and Talk at Boundary Stream
Sport Hawkes Bay and the Hawkes Bay Regional Council invite you to attend a Push Play Walk and Talk at Boundary Stream. This is a special walk as it focuses on the Kiwi. The bus departs Hastings Visitor Centre at 3.45pm and the Napier Visitor centre at 4.30pm, returning late after 11pm. Bring along a pinic dinner and make it a special family outing. Cost is $5 per person. Due to limited numbers, registration is essential with Sport Hawkes Bay.

Event Details
Event Location :
Start Date : 25 January 2007
End Date : 25 January 2007
Contact Details
Contact Person : Sport Hawkes Bay

Phone : 06 845 9333
Email : active@sporthb.net.nz

Sport Hawke's Bay Refer to Sports Hawke's Bay web page at right of web postings under "Links".

Keywords and Blogging - www.nichebot.com/blog/category/what-is-blogging

KEYWORD/PHRASE COUNT Google Yahoo MSN
Check all
red new zealand wine
(click for related lateral results) 54
new zealand red wine
(click for related lateral results) 25
wine new zealand hawkes bay red
(click for related lateral results) 20
best new zealand red wine
(click for related lateral results) 4
cheap new zealand red wine
(click for related lateral results) 4
new zealand red wine providence
(click for related lateral results) 4
cheap discount new zealand red wine
(click for related lateral results) 2
discount new zealand red wine
(click for related lateral results) 2
cheap best new zealand red wine
(click for related lateral results) 1
red+new+zealand+wine
(click for related lateral results) 1


PHRASE COUNT
Exact keyword phrase people are using to search the search engines. Number of times search phrase appeared in the database of Keyword Discovery in the past 12 months.

Using another tool called GOOD KEYWORDS the top listings for comparible key word phrases from the "phrase builder" were
wine new Zealand
new zealand
new zealand recommendations
red wine new zealand

Writers in Wineries

Writers in Wineries

Hastings Literary Festival 2007
Saturday March 10 and Sunday March 11

Night of Pleasure with Te Mata Estate
Saturday 10 March, 8pm in the Assembly Hall, Hawke's Bay Opera House
Featureing Lloyd Jones author of Gilmore's Diary, Splinter, Swimming to Australia, Biografi, Here at the end of the world we learn to dance, Paint Your Wife, The Book of Fame. His latest novel, Mr Pip is enjoying critical acclaim and has been snapped up by the overseas markets.

Jenny Patrick has become best known for her historical fiction and her books The Denniston Rose, and its sequel Heart of Coal are two of New Zealand's biggest selling Novels. Her latest book is Catching the Current. She has also, with husband Laughton Pattrick written a number of songbooks and musical shows and for many years was a successful jeweller.

Kate Camp author of Unfamiliar Legends of the Stars (Poetry),Realia, Beauty Sleep (Poetry), as essay On Kissing. Kate regularly appears on Kim Hill's as a classic book reviewer

Emily Perkins author of Not her Real Name and Other Stories (fiction), Leave Before You Go and The New Girl, Novel About my Wife. She presented the Book Show for TV1 during 2006.

Kevin Ireland. Poet, short story writer, novelist and librettist, Kevin Ireland has been a prolific writer starting with Face to Face in 1963. Literary Cartoons won the New Zealand Book award for history and biography and in 2004 he published his fourth novel Getting Away With It. His latest publication is How to Catch a Fish. He has won many awards and honours including the 0BE and the Prime Minister's Award for Poetry.
Copy to Browser: http://www.bookcouncil.org.nz/writers/irelandkevin.html

Price $30 a ticket, which is the same price as for previous events.
E-mail artcentre@clear.net.nz (summary from promotional newsletter)

Writers in Wineries

Harvest Hawke's Bay

Harvest Hawke's Bay Wine Festival 3rd-4th February 2007 Waitangi Weekend

Hi there

It's all happening in Hawke's Bay at the beginning of February. Wine tastings,
incredible food, big concerts, great workshops, live music, art and entertainment.
Sounds like us!!!
Lets get together and have some fun

Contact any participating winery (these are listed in the website)
Book toll Free
0800 4 HB WINE
(0800 44 29 46)
wine@harvesthawkesbay.co.nz
www.harvesthawkesbay.co.nz


Friday 2nd February 2007 6.30
Venue: Hawke's bay Opera House Tickets: $48
O800 4 HB WINE

Our favourite Hawke's Bay Wineries wil offer wine tasting and canapes
while the 2007 Midlands Charity Wine Auction Painting is displayed

The evening continues with the amazing show
Wine, A Funny Woman and Song

Multi Award winning comediaenne Michelle A'Court loosens the jowls
with a set of stand-up comedy. Debbie Harwood and her band then take the
audience on a sensory journey with a concert of languid jazz and love songs
from her acclaimed albums 'Soothe Me' and 'Peaches'.

Matariki Ngatarawa and Sacred Hill are my picks for red wine tastings. There are also a number focusing on desert wines.

Harvest Hawke's Bay

Local event

Hi there

Its all happening in Hawke's Bay at the beginning of February;

Wine tastings, incredible food, big concerts, great workshops, live music, art and entertainment.
Sounds like us!!!
Lets get together and have some fun.

Contact any participating winery

Book Toll Free
0800 4 HB Wine
(0800 4429 46)
wine@harvesthawkesbay.co.nz
www.harvesthawkesbay.co.nz

ezine formating - ideas

Assignment for Jeff,
Assignment One

Writing an email (one)

Hey ~~FNAME~~

Congratulations for signing up for the Southern Hemisphere Wine and Travel newsletter.

I am really excited to help you stay informed, to help you develop contacts, and to help you make sound travel choices for 2006 and 2007!

Now over the coming weeks and months I'll be sending you your Southern Hemisphere Wine and Travel newsletter

Keep your eyes peeled for the next exciting issue of your newsletter

With the Wine and Travel focused newsletter you will learn

_ About different wine regions, wineries and special wines – with a New Zealand focus. It is a magical place to come for tourism, particularly if you come in the right season

_Tips and a list of online contacts for purchasing quality wine in the profiled regions

_Information about acommodation options in New Zealand and other travel destinations profiled.

Notification about travel specials and an introduction to basic vistior information practicalities, ie currency, entry requirements, banking, driving etc.

To Your Success and best experience

We are looking forward to helping you benefit from our knowledge and networking.

Kia ora, go well


Helena




WITHNAIL – Balls. We want the finest wines available to humanity. And we want them here. And we want them now.

HENRY ARTHUR JONES - Wine is the nurse of all creative imaginative literature.

HANNAH GLASSE – First, catch your hare...

---

Writing First EZINE

Hey ~~FNAME~~

Its important to feel like you matter when visiting a different locality in an online dimention, wether via the acclaimed mapping programme of google earth, through a instant messaging or chat communication or via the concise summary and introductory work, links and resources that an ezine resource can provide.

This ezine is about wine and so much more!

It's also about profiling a locality, climate, way of life and it serves as an introduction to a diverse and multicultural economy with over a thousand years of human settlement and one hundred and fifty-five years of established wine making history. You will be spoilt for choice for our wine is exceptional, notably Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon dominant wines and classic red blends, as well as outstanding Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc.

You will learn more about wine and the traditon of taste with the assurance of sound practical advise and personal followup given for your impending purchase or travel experience.

---

Second Ezine

Dear ~~FNAME~~

In this issue you will learn about the varietal characteristics of ten key New Zealand wines. Variety is the spice! Each winemaking region has its own varietal characteristics. This is what makes each area and sub-region unique, reflecting the various soil types, climate and geography of that region. Here is an indication of what you can expect when tasting some New Zealand wines

Cabernet Sauvignon . Luscious ripe berryfruit flavours with structure and elegance in the wine

Merlot. Ripe blackberry and plum flavours with richness and warmth

Syrah. With delicious savoury, blackcurrant and spice flavours, this variety is proving itself well suited to the new wine country

Pinot Noir. A new variety to the region, true berry and game characteristics

Chardonnay. Rich and ripe fruit freshness with melon, pear and stone fruit flavours

Sauvignon Blanc. A Subtle style of Sauvignon Blanc with juicy tropical fruit flavours

Gewurztraminer. Fruit driven spicy flavours with rose petal aromas

Riesling. Enjoying new popularity as a delicate and dry wine with vibrant citrus fruit flavours

Pinot Gris. Dry style of wine with fresh fruit flavours

Sangiovose. New to this locality- still an experimental variety in New Zealand

I'd suggest you look into purchasing and tasting some of these incredable award winning New Zealand wines. If you are interested in investing in wine stocks then you need to know what the right time to buy is. Stay tuned!

I've been enjoying living in a wine locality for years and highly recomment the quality, purity and varity of the above varietals.

To learn more about the wine lingo of ..... You can visit.... link (needs work Jeff!

If your a white wine enthusiast check out this area :

If your a red wine enthusiast check out this area:

---

Third Ezine

Hi ~~FNAME~~

In this issue you are going to learn an amazing secret

Let me say that again

Southern Hemisphere wines are internationally renowned as world class fine wines and to taste them is easy and well worth a try.

Repeat web links and contacts for purchase” given in second ezine.

Is there a best time to buy? Talk about the seasonal nature specific to NZ here. Talk about wine stocking (needs some stats info to encourage bulk purchase here)....


But to travel and visit brings so many extra interactive dimensions to your enjoyment character and flavour of your travelling experience.

Some practical matters of note when visiting New Zealand


Entry requirements
Currency
Time Zone
Language
Population
Shopping
Taxes
Telephones
Driving
Electricity
Duty free shopping
Health and Safety
Trading and Banks
Accomodation

---

http://ezinearticles.com/

Wine Industry Statistics
Years ending 30 June

Number of Wineries 516
Producing area (hectares) 20,002
Average Yield (tonnes per hectare) 6.9
Crushed (tonnes)142,000
Total Production (million litres) 102
Domestic Sales (million litres)
Consumption per capta (litres NZ wine)
Stock: sales ratio
Export Volume (million litres)
Export Value ($ million)

Grape Growing and Wine Production:

The area planted in producing grapevines increased from
10,197 hectares in 2000 to 20,002 hectares in 2005. Marlborough
(9,944 hectares), Hawke's Bay produced 142,000 tonnes of grapes. Sauvignon blanc
(63,297), chardonnay (29,741 tonnes)and pinot noir (14, 578 tonnes) were the most popular grapes. Exports of wine increased from 19.2 million litres (worth $169 million) in 2000 to 51.4 million litres (worth $435 million) in 2005. The United Kingdom, which imported 21.1 million litres of wine in the year ending 30 June 2005, was New Zealand's major export market. The United States, which imported 13.0 million litres, was the second-largest export market, with Australia in third position, with 9.8 million litres. The number of wineries in New Zealand increased from 204 in 1995 to 516 in 2005.
The New Zealand Winegrowers' website is www.nzwine.com

Current projections forecast exports to the value of $1 billion dollars and domestic sales of $0.5 billion by 2010. These Projections are are expected to fuel continued expansion of the national vineyard. Producing vineyards are forecast to increase at around 2,000 hectares a year, meaning they could reach 30,000 hectares by 2010.
Having a clear vision of the future means the New Zealand wine industry needs to acknowledge challenges as well as opportunities. More wineries is a positive sign, but it also means more competition for access to distribution channels. New Zealand's coller climate makes ites grapes and wines specialised, but equally leaves the industry more susceptable to the vicissitudes of climate.

Currency fluctuations, increased taxes and compliance costs, trade barriers and labour shortages are all challenges that have to be recognised and managed.
Source: New Zealand Wine growers.

Wine New Zealand

WHATS UP HELENA?

It’s easy to assume that New Zealand is a lot like Australia with its geographical proximity to the Outback: visitors may often be on the lookout for crocodile wrestling and Nicole Kidman sightings. Despite this assumption, New Zealand is a country all its own. Located halfway between the South Pole and the Equator, this nation is divided into the North Island and the South Island, with several smaller islands peppered in; it is a country filled with culture, history, and, of course, flora. Due to recent advances, it is now a country also filled with wine.

In the book of wine history, New Zealand hasn’t had much of a place, exiled to the small font of the index page. With diseases, poor quality grapes, and inexperienced farmers all serving as factors, New Zealand wines have been kicked out of liquor stores and booted out of bars. Nonetheless, these wines refused to stay out, sitting behind their vines and sulking; they decided to try again.

Perhaps it was the perseverance of the winemakers, or the zeal that partly makes up the nation’s name, but something kept the New Zealand wine industry going. After 140 years of poor quality wine, things changed: vineyards became more innovated and the lessons from experience began to stick, giving New Zealand wines a second chance. By the early 1990s, these wines had found a place: the grapes of New Zealand shed their former skins and emerged into something special.

The four years between 1994 and 1998 were literally a time of growth for the New Zealand wine industry: the number of winemakers increased from 31 to 293, the number of wineries tripled, and the amount of land reserved for viniculture nearly doubled. But the wine industry, as a whole, still remained small: presently, New Zealand produces an annual amount of wine that is one twelfth of Australia’s stock.

Greatly influenced by the English, Scottish, Irish, Asian, Polynesian, and Maori cultures, New Zealand as a country is a bit of a melting pot, and this shows in its wine: there are as many kinds of grapes as there are kinds of people. Over 20 varieties of grapes are grown in the 10 main growing regions located all across the country. These grapes are made into wines at wineries that range from large to small.

New Zealand is known in particular for white wine, with 75 percent of wine produced being of this type. One white wine, the Sauvignon Blanc, is very much the grape of New Zealand’s eye; it is the wine that put this nation on the map. With a flavor and a sharpness said to trump all others, New Zealand’s Sauvignon Blanc is one the most well-liked wines around. Many people attest that New Zealand produces the best Sauvignon Blanc in the entire world.

Red wines are, however, not absent and they are starting to be produced more frequently. Cabernet and Merlot are helping the red wine industry by climbing up the corporate vine, but the true red wine of New Zealand is Pinot Noir. This wine is becoming increasingly more and more popular; soon it may rival Sauvignon Blanc for prom queen.

New Zealand is home to vineyards extremely close to the ocean. When this is coupled with New Zealand‘s southern location, possessing vineyards that are the southernmost in all the world, a different kind of climate is introduced to the grape. With a different kind of climate comes a different kind of wine. Marked by climate that is cool and consistent, the grapes of New Zealand are able to ripen at a slow, steady pace. This produces a wine that is intense, sharp in flavor and tastes like no other.

The rocky start behind them, New Zealanders are looking to the future of wine with their chins, and their glasses, held high. With the production of Sauvignon Blanc, and Pinot Noir, not to mention the hype the Riesling is creating, there is no knowing where the New Zealand wine culture will sit in the future. Chances are, it will sit among the best wine cultures in the world, known as one of the greatest lands for wine ever and not just north of the South Pole.

Photos from Thailand

Thailand Photos

I've been learning so much lately about web-logging - I have now read some good tips about how to blog better with my e-teacher Rob, And I've viewed a few co-bloggers to the left and right of me in the blogger sphere. Thinking back.. This blog was originally to be wine focused but I need to post more about that to make it real, I just did a search of web logs on technorati for wine, Hawke's Bay and I was surprised to see how many there were with a wine tourism theme. Just so many! Today I have also listed my blog with MSN so that may increase traffic.

Today I am also just going to post some beautiful pictures from Thailand which I have received with gratitude. I love to see different pictures like this! I love seeing other countries from the safety of my home - next best to seeing them yourself..Again it seems to me the power of the photograph to teach what words cannot capture is proven. I cannot provide the commentary for these images but I do appreciate their beauty quality and uniqueness; a fresh and captivating perspective.

Thankyou Dom

Helena

Thailand Photos

World Vision

World Vision



This beautiful gift came from my thoughtful and caring and hard working sister. I was impressed my it and also I thought to promote it and also her but I would need to check with her before I publish any information about how great she is!

She sponsored a gift of ten trees and also a piglet on my behalf (seeing how much I like bacon) to help children and families overseas through world vision.

I am providing a link to their beautiful website www.giftsofhope.org.nz
The gift came with cards for the Ten Trees it read:

Trees provide more than just a shady spot on a sunny day. They can be planted on land that has been badly eroded by desforestation to improve soil quality and help the whole community grow better produce. Trees can also be a source of income when sold as firewood. provide natural pesticides and their leaves can be used to feed animals. This gift provides a farmer with 10 trees, ready for planting.

With the piglet the text reads:
A pig can provide a farmer in Africa with a much needed source of protein and income. Pigs breed fast and when the first piglets arrive, they are passed on to community groups who raise them to buy food for orphans in the community. Any other piglets can be sold to supplement the family's income.


http://www.giftsofhope.org.nz

World Vision

Quote of the Day
"The trick is to make sure you don't die waiting for
prosperity to come." -- Lee Iacocca