Six Champagnes Under $100

More Americans are planning to celebrate this new year's eve with a small group of friends at home instead of going out to clubs and restaurants. What better way to enjoy the evening then to share a bottle or two of bubbly by the fireplace.

There's no need to spend a lot of money and feel like you have to have a good time and forcing your better half to dance just because an orchestra is playing. Also, if you order a good bottle of wine at a restaurant, it will cost you twice as much as the one you have at home in the cooler.

Since wine prices have come down in the past couple of months, there are some great bargains out there if you do a little searching. There are some excellent champagnes and sparkling wines under $100.

- Perrier Jouet Fleur De Champagne 1998
in the famous flower bottle. Apple and peach flavors with a bit of vanilla and and a trace of citrus. A favorite which can be found for $99. At that price it's a great deal.

- Schramsberg 1999 J Schramm can be found online for $78. This California sparkling wine in one of my favorites. It's creamy and has the traditional hint of brioche and tropical fruit.

- Taittinger Brut La Francaise
Description: A fine, very pure style of Champagne. Has hints of toast and citrus fruits that come together in a style that is almost the essence of Champagne. Crisp, rich and complex. Wine Enthusiast Score: 92.

- Bollinger Special Cuvee Champagne
93 points Wine Spectator: "Complex aromas and flavors of rose, grilled nuts, citrus and a gently oxidative note course through this muscular, full-bodied bubbly. Despite its power, there's a gracefulness. The aftertase combines citrus and spice. Drink now through 2008. $47

Description: Shows elegance and finesse, but also an understated power, as the initial richness gives way to the firm structure, setting the stage for biscuit, honey and ginger notes. Fine length. Drink now through 2010.Wine Spectator Score: 91. $42

-Louis Roederer NV Brut Premier Reims
WS 90 Pts. - Delicious. Smooth and complex, revealing flavors of yeast, berry, ginger and citrus, allied to a firm structure. Ends with a firm, tactile sensation and an aftertaste of candied citrus. Drink now. $37

-Veuve Clicquot Brut
The famous yellow label. According to Robert Parker's Wine Advocate: "The NV Brut offers up attractive notes of smoke, tar, rich ripe pears and flowers in a medium to full-bodied style. There is a good measure of persistence..."$ 38

A good bubbly goes well with just about every type of food. It's one of the few wines you can drink from start to finish of a great meal. A dinner of lobster with drawn butter and a glass of champagne is the ultimate treat to start the new year.

Ad Banner - Post #8

It took me a while to figure it out, but with a little help from Santana, I did it.

Email Marketing - Post #7

For this assignment I signed up with Verticle Response. I was apprehensive about sending this email to friends because it really wasn't for my own website, but for the class. Most of my friends and associates live outside the San Diego area, so attending the class doesn't apply to them. Also, I'm concerned that because of this mailing, when I actually do future mailings for my business, because this was not directly related to my own business, my friends will ignore mail from me.

A few days after the mailing I received a call from Verticle Response asking how I liked the product and when I was planning to do another mailing. Very friendly, no pressure.

As far as using an outside mailing service at this time, I don't think I'm ready. Until I'm ready to launch the website and have put together a contact list, I'll just do a bulk mailing from my Email client.

The Hot New Wine for 2009 - Post #6

Chances are, when you think of sherry you think of little old ladies at the turn of the century, sitting in a drawing room sipping wine from small crystal glasses. Well, maybe those ladies knew something we've forgotten- sherry is a delightful, food friendly wine. Today, most sherries that are sold are commercial blends, which ensure consistantcy, but don't offer sought-after complexity. Fortunately, with the popularity of Spanish wines today, that is changing. Consumers are discovering a whole new world of sherries, from the dry, crisp Finos to the oh-so-sweet Pedro Ximénez wines. And, just like Champagne, sherry is only sherry if it comes from Jerez region of Spain.

With today's interest in food and wine pairings, sherry has become a star player - especially with tapas. Tapas are small plates of appetizers such as cold meats, sausage, olives and cheese. According to "The Joy of Cooking", the original tapas were slices of bread or meat which sherry drinkers in Andalusian taverns used to cover their glasses between sips to keep the flies off. Whatever the origin, the pairing of tapas with sherry is a perfect match. In fact, recent scientific studies have shown certain compounds in dry sherries actually accentuate the taste and flavors of certain foods such as cheese, meat, fish and mushrooms.

If you feel adventurous and want to begin enjoying sherries, start with a dry, light fino or Montilla . Serve it cold with proscuitto, salted, roasted almonds or green olives.

A little more full-bodied Amontillado goes great with Stilton or Gruyère cheese or an Oloroso with goose liver pate or beef teriyaki.

Cream sherries, such as Harvey's Bristol Cream, are sweet dessert wines. Try dried fruit or custard to bring out the flavor.

Serve the very sweet Pedro Ximenez at room temperature. The raisin-like flavor is great for dipping a biscotti to finish off a meal.

The good news is a good quality sherry won't break the bank. You can find a bottle of Don Fino for less than $12.

Sandeman Amontillado Sherry Medium-Dry Character is a more full-bodied wine. Because a small amount of PX (Pedro Ximenez) is added late in the aging process, it has a touch of sweetness. Under $18.

To round out the sherry experience, try Osborne Sweet P.X. It has a nice brown sugar smell and taste. Great over vanilla ice cream or in a glass to linger over by the fireplace. The alcohol content is 17%, so sip it slowly. Under $20.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Hot-New-Wine-For-2009&id=1755870

Affiliate Programs - Post #5

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The TwitPitch - Post #4

Using Twitter to Market Your Business

You've just taken that big step and decided to start your own business. You have a great name, a cool web site and now you're ready to let everyone know that you are open for business. Then someone asks the dreaded question, "What do you do?"

How do you describe your business to this potential customer so he understands exactly what it is that you do without having to hand him your business plan?

The first thing every business owner learns is that you have to have a 30-second "elevator pitch." A good elevator pitch is short and to the point. In a few sentences you should be able to tell someone - in the time it takes to ride an elevator, what it is that your business does.

The new elevator pitch

In the world of social networking you take the same idea of the elevator pitch and narrow it down to 140 characters or less - about 20 words. 140 characters is the maximum length of a message on Twitter. If you want to get attention by using social media you have to be brief because everyone is already on information overload. A brief message with one link to your web site is all it takes.

Comparing Domain Name Services - Post #3

www.GoDaddy.com

The last few names I've registered have been with GoDaddy and I'm happy with the process. It's a simple, easy to use interface. Prices to register are generally $9.99 and if you buy 6 or more domains at the same time, you get a 65% discount. What a deal! For those entrepreneurs who can't wait to start using their domain names, they can get you up and running almost immediately with their do-it-yourself WebSite Tonight - although the templates are pretty limited.

Moniker
I haven't used Moniker yet, but I'll definitely try it in the future. Their prices are a bit less than GoDaddy and the interface is easy to use. Promo ads are a little cleaner and easier to read than some of the other sites and I found myself actually reading them. As part of Moniker's Web Site Promotion Service they partner with Monster.com, which is a plus for any business that does hiring. What they don't have, even though they promote it, is web hosting. They partner with a company called coolhandle.com.

Network Solutions
This is the company I registered my first domain name back in the 90's when it was the only game in town for top level domain registration. Also at that time the prices were much higher because of a"tax" that went to the National Science Foundation for R & D.

Using Network Solutions is easy, just like the other registration sites. The interface is a little better than most. The problem with NS is that it has had it's share of negative publicity. Complaints regarding people checking if a domain is available and if it isn't registered at the time, NS parks the name so they can't register it at any other site for several days. This should scare anyone away from using them.