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Germany; Consignment Corner: Italy; Top Ten Smart Buys This week’s preview features the top Vintages releases for May 25, 2013 with a focus on Germany, as well as a few highlights available through the consignment program. These latter wines are available for purchase directly from the importing agent by case lot (6 or 12, depending on how the wine was shipped), and can be delivered straight to your home or office. It remains little known in Ontario that there are hundreds of wines available at any time outside the LCBO through this fashion. This is where smart sommeliers do their shopping to add unique, often limited production wines to their wine programs, and you can do the same for your cellar or cupboard. This week I revisited the latest releases from a couple of top Italian estates that I think are worth sharing with you. Pinot noir from around the world is the other VINTAGES theme, but the selection is disappointing and expensive, the antithesis to the German releases, so I’ve nothing to report on. And finally, of course, there are the usual top smart buys. Top Smart Buys This week’s tour of smart bottles takes you to the southern Rhône, Alsace and the Loire Valley in France, and from there southeast to Austria and northern Italy and then west to Rioja. You’ll traverse the equator to reach the Yarra Valley in Victoria, Australia, and then cross the Pacific to the shores of Chile and head up the Aconcagua Valley to vineyards sitting under the southern hemisphere’s highest peak. Start your journey here. Smart Germany Looking for smart buys to sip this summer? Deutschland calls. Four of the six rieslings proposed by VINTAGES come highly recommended. Indeed, had I not chosen to list the German wines separately, these recommendations would have all made the top smart buys list. It’s hard to imagine a better summertime wine than the crisp, light, low alcohol and fragrant rieslings of Germany, and of the impossibly steep slate-covered slopes of the Mosel in particular. And while popularity and price lag behind quality, these are still some of the smartest buys in the world of wine. You need only reflect back to the late 19th century when the top rieslings of Germany fetched higher prices at auction and on restaurant wine lists than cru classé Bordeaux and vintage Port to get a sense of the changing whims of consumer preference. Smart drinkers, like smart investors, stay away from the over-fashionable. In the off-dry category, the 2005 Dr. Hermann Ürziger Würzgarten Riesling Auslese ($21.95) is a well-balanced Auslese from the magnificent Würzgarten vineyard. It’s just starting to show some mature, smoky, caramelized fruit character and is drinking beautifully now. A pair of slightly drier, kabinett-level rieslings from two of the most reliable producers in the Mosel are worthy of attention: 2011 Markus Molitor Wehlener Sonnenuhr Riesling Kabinett ($29.95) and 2011 Studert-Prüm Graacher Himmelreich Riesling Kabinett ($19.95). Markus Molitor is well known for his maniacal devotion to his vineyards and minimalist philosophy in the winery, with the sole aim of expressing the uniqueness of each site. It’s a refrain you’ll hear time and time again in the wine world, but not all walk the walk. Molitor does. His ’11 from the Sonnenuhr vineyard has more like spätlese level ripeness than kabinett, and the palate is a little softer than what I’ve come to expect from this estate, but the site expression and the length/complexity are compelling. Were there a Burgundian style classification of Mosel vineyards, the Sonnenuhr would be grand cru, and this is unquestionably top stuff, it’s a wine to enjoy relatively young, that is to say, now or over the next eight-ten years. Stüdert-Prüm, not to be confused with the (excellent) estates of J.J. Prüm and S.A. Prüm, has a prized parcel of vines in the nearby Himmelreich vineyard (loosely translated as paradise, from himmel meaning heaven, and reich, meaning empire), which officially b

The deal to lure Patrick Roy back to Denver is done.

Unfortunately for someone, a necessary step to be taken for the arrival of Gausmas is that a roster space must be cleared. With Kevin Gausman set to start tonight's game in Toronto, that means space has to be cleared on both the 25- and 40-man rosters. You could look at the roster and probably guess whose time would come up. Indeed, Jake Arrieta is the one to be optioned. He was extra bullpen help that was never needed, and was bandied about as a possible starter for tonight. But why would you have Arrieta start a game when you could have Gausman start a game? This is the question Dan Duquette and company considered, and the answer is Jake returns to Norfolk. Additionally, some guy was designated for assignment. That guy is Alex Burnett. When he was traded to the Orioles, I said that they acquired some guy. He is still just some guy. He doesn't matter. If he clears waivers, which he probably will, because he is Alex Burnett, then he may find himself back in Norfolk. In the meantime, uncertainty. Sorry, guy. Gausman, according to the Orioles press release, is slated to be the third member of the 2012 draft class to make his major league debut. 82nd overall pick LHP Paco Rodriguez has appeared for the Dodgers, and 297th overall LHP Michael Roth has appeared for the Angels. Rodriguez is a reliever, and Roth was mostly a reliever, making one start. We are now at approximately t-minus two hours.

Kiss the “good, grey Canadian” goodbye. Rob Ford and Justin Bieber have killed him. Hallelujah. Piss off, Nelson Eddy.

The second man charged in the Tim Bosma case once starred in a rap video as a maniacal murderer who tortures and kills his victims.

Jan 31, 2013; Toronto, ON, Canada; The Toronto Maple Leafs logo at center ice during the game against the Washington Capitals at the Air Canada Centre. The Maple Leafs beat the Capitals 3-2. Mandatory Credit: Tom Szczerbowski-USA TODAY Sports Dallas Eakins has surely been on many NHL team’s radar for the last couple of years, but with multiple coaching vacancies opening up recently, his opportunity to take his skills to the next level could be at an all-time high. Glen Gulutzan was fired by the Dallas Stars last week and Alain Vigneault was relieved of his duties yesterday by the Vancouver Canucks. These openings, combined with the recent trend of hiring American Hockey League coaches gives Eakins a strong shot. The Toronto Marlies bench boss has a lot of things going for him on his resume at the moment. The obvious one would be the success of the Toronto Maple Leafs this season and how many key contributors that Eakins worked with. James Reimer, Nazem Kadri, and Jake Gardiner are just a few that come to mind. His work with Kadri seems most impressive as the youngster really turned a corner this year. Eakins not only deserves credit for the development of several of the Leafs’ young stars, but he should also be praised for having another strong season with the Marlies this year. After making it to the Calder Cup final in 2011-12, the Leafs took many players the Marlies relied on heavily last season. Despite the loss of talent, Eakins still led the team to the second round of the AHL playoffs. The one thing that may catch an NHL team’s eye more than anything else, however, is Eakins’ track record on the penalty kill. The Marlies have had the league’s best for two straight seasons. If he can transfer those kinds of results to the NHL level, then that will make a big difference for a young team. Eakins surely deserves an NHL coaching job for next season. The only question is, where is the best fit? A few people have been linking him to Vancouver, but the Stars may be the best option. With the team in somewhat of a rebuild, Eakins’ past experience helping young players may be just the thing Dallas needs to return to the playoffs. Wherever he ends up, the Marlies will sorely miss him.

The Ontario Liberal government insisted on negotiating a settlement for the cancelled Oakville gas plant that ended up costing at least $300 million despite advice from senior staff that the deal could be terminated without penalty, a government committee learned Thursday.

A new Orangeville-area school bus driver is crediting first aid training for helping her save a 10-year-old student from choking on a candy.At about 8:15 a.m. last Tuesday as Sarah Brake was stopped to pick up students on her morning run to Primrose Elementary School in rural Mulmur, she felt a tug on her sleeve.“I turned to look and there was this girl — blue in the face,” the 32-year-old mother of four recalled in an interview this week. The rookie driver, barely five weeks on the job, quickly shifted her bus into park, radioed a “10-33” emergency call to the area dispatch office and jumped into action.“I thought she was having an allergic reaction, so I asked if she had allergies. But she shook her head,” Brake said.“I asked if she could breathe, and she shook her head.“I asked if she had eaten something and she nodded. That’s when I began the Heimlich manoeuvre,” Brake said, emotion rising in her voice as she relived the moment.But there wasn’t enough room to properly perform the procedure she had learned during training in March. So with her bus lights flashing and stop arm out, Brake stepped onto the pavement with her arms around the girl’s abdomen and gave three more short sharp squeezes.“Then I heard her gasp for air and she started to cough.” When the girl began to choke, her older sister had given her something to drink. The combination of swallowing and squeezing seemed to work to dislodge the candy.“It all happened so fast,” said Brake. “I’m really thankful I had that training and I am really lucky she came up to ask for help.”Abby Callegari is thankful too.“I was really scared,” the Grade 4 student said from her home in the hamlet of Violet Hill. “It was great what she did.”Brake’s employer, Stock Transportation, was so impressed with their recent recruit’s quick thinking that it recognized her at the company’s bimonthly safety meeting last Thursday.Abby’s mother who was invited to the gathering expressed her gratitude with flowers for Brake.“It enlightened me on how important the job of being a bus driver is and how many issues they deal with day to day that we, as parents, don’t even hear about,” Andrea Callegari said. “We were very lucky to have (Brake) on the bus that day.”

State senators in Michigan say that a planned nuclear waste disposal site near Kincardine “raises serous concerns.”.Michigan’s senate passed a resolution Tuesday suggesting the site for low- and medium-level radioactive waste should be moved farther from the shores of Lake Huron. The senate also proposes that the public comment period on the proposal, which wraps up Friday, should be extended.Sen. Hoon-Yung Hopgood, who introduced the resolution, said that it will be submitted to the formal comment process on the waste site.Ontario Power Generation (OPG) proposes to construct the facility at the Bruce nuclear station beside Lake Huron.OPG spokesman Neal Kelly characterized the Michigan resolution as “benign.”He said the company has met with many Michigan officials and citizens to talk about the site and explain the care taken to select it. “We based it on international best practice, we based it on scientific data,” Kelly said. “The (site) isn’t located on the shore of Lake Huron; it’s about a kilometre inland.”“We believe it’s responsible for the safe management of low- and intermediate-level radioactive waste.”He noted that the public comment period on the proposal has already been extended 10 months from the original deadline.The proposed site’s proximity to the lake caught the attention of the Michigan senators.The resolution, which carried without dissent on a voice vote, notes that Michigan rules prohibit low-level nuclear waste from being stored within 10 miles (16 kilometres) of the lakes and rivers in the Great Lakes system bordering Michigan.“We encourage Canada to consider similar siting criteria,” the resolution says.The proposed site, the resolution notes, is less than a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the Lake Huron shoreline and “upstream from the main drinking water intakes for southeast Michigan.”In an interview with the Toronto Star, Hopgood said he’d like to see the disposal site built elsewhere.“My preference would be for additional review of alternative sites further away from Lake Huron,” Hopgood said. OPG’s proposed site would not contain high-level nuclear waste such as spent fuel. It would contain low-level waste such as protective clothing worn by workers, and mops or towels used to wipe up spills of contaminated water.It would also contain medium-level waste, such as used parts from the reactor core which must be packed in radiation-proof containers, and remain dangerous for hundreds of years.All low- and intermediate-level waste for Ontario’s nuclear reactors is currently stored on the surface at the Bruce nuclear site. Spent fuel is stored on the surface at the nuclear stations where it was used.The proposal calls for a storage site 680 metres below ground, in what OPG says are stable rock formations over 450 million years old. A federal review panel will hold hearings on the plan later this year.Hopgood said he’s uneasy about promises that the proposed site would store only low- and intermediate-level waste.The Nuclear Waste Management Organization is looking for a place to store high-level waste, and promises that it will be in a separate facility.A number of municipalities near Kincardine have expressed interest in that proposal. “There’s talk and consideration of a separate facility (for high-level waste), but that’s not as comforting as it could be,” Hopgood said.The low- and intermediate-level waste site is due to start operation before the high-level waste site, he noted.“If in the future the need arises to address high-level waste, it may just make a whole lot of sense to change the nature of the current operating existing facility.”The proposed site, the resolution notes, is less than a mile (1.6 kilometres) from the Lake Huron shoreline and “upstream from the main drinking

Leading off, as always (or usual), it’s today’s edition of the Getting Blanked Podcast– which for the duration of the season will be coming at you daily! We’re not double posting this year, but I’ll be sure to include the link in the first Daily Duce or Game Threat that follows the post going up over at Getting Blanked. Otherwise, you can find the podcast at Getting Blanked on iTunes, get it via the RSS feed we have setup, or like Getting Blanked on Facebook in order to get each day’s podcast straight into your news feed (if we bother to post it). While you’re at it, go ahead and like DJF on Facebook, too. Sad news for the Jays and their extended family, as word from the Dominican Republic came today that legendary scout Epy Guerrero passed away at the age of 71. Shi Davidi has a put together a piece on it at Sportsnet, and while the man who was so instrumental in bringing so many terrific young Dominican players to the Jays certainly deserves a remembrance in full over here, it goes to show, I think, just how unsung scouts are that I don’t know enough about him, beyond the vaunted reputation and the names of the many excellent players he was the first to take notice of, to say a whole lot. Our condolences and sympathies go out to his family and friends. Guerrero visited the Jays facility in Dunedin back in March, prompting an excellent profile from Bob Elliott of the Toronto Sun, which serves as a fitting tribute, I think. Shi Davidi tweets that John Gibbons has confirmed that Sean Nolin will start tomorrow for the Jays. Chad Jenkins will go on Sunday, he says, taking Ramon Ortiz’s spot. A corresponding roster move will come following tonight’s game, which you have to assume is the D’ing FA of Ortiz. In the Toronto Star, Brendan Kennedy talks to scouts, comparing young third basemen Brett Lawrie and Orioles phenom Manny Machado. “They’re both terrific players, any club would die to have them,” a rival scout told him. “Emotionally, it looks like they’re wired differently and right now that seems to be helping Machado more than Lawrie.” Uh… you think? Elsewhere in the Star, Richard Griffin’s latest Bullpen post looks at Anthony Gose, and much, much more. More from Shi Davidi at Sportsnet, who looks at two high profile prospects about to be sent out to a short-season affiliate: last year’s draftees D.J. Davis and Anthony Alford, both of whom may end up with the Vancouver Canadians, we’re told. “Davis and Alford, both from Mississippi, are said to be close and the Blue Jays like the idea of keeping them together,” Davidi writes, which may explain why Alford, who played just five games in the Gulf Coast league last year before turning his attention to football, may be getting a more advanced assignment than you might suspect. Interesting stuff from the Globe and Mail, where Jeff Blair tells us about how Roberto Alomar is making his presence felt around this Jays club. As part of a notebook post at BlueJays.com, Evan Peaslee speaks to Chad Mottola about the club’s hitting approach, including his efforts to get hitters to be ready for a pitch early, and to disrupt elite opponents in the early innings, before they find their groove. Jays Journal notes that the worst (qualified) K:BB ratio ever posted for a single season was by Juan Encarnacion in 1999, with 114 strikeouts to 14 walks, for a ratio of 8-to-1. At his current pace, J.P. Arencibia would smash that record, though, having struck out 27 times for every walk he’s earned so far in 2013. Elsewhere at Jays Journal, it’s a bunch of stuff about Casey Janssen struggling in non-save situations, which– don’tcha know– closers often do. I’d wager that’s the case because they’re usually coming into those situations just to get work after a layoff, rather than any lack-of-adrenaline bullshit, but hey… that’s me. Minor League Ball makes ton