Category: Wine

Yoo Pimps your Property

Yoo Pimps your Property

Cleaning up and publishing some old drafts:

As some readers may know: I am a fan of Philippe Starck, not in the last place because he, like yours truly, is from the very good Bordeaux wine vintage year of 1949:-). Didn’t I promise yoo to pay more attention to Wine?

Lately you don’t seem to see the usual stream of new ideas and new inventions coming from him.

Probably this is because he teamed up with UK property tycoon John Hitchcox and others and formed Yoo. Yoo is mostly about development of residential property, but is also engaged in new Hotel developments.

Granmercy By Starck is one example. Back via the back door in cooperation with his old buddy Ian Schraeger? Oops, Tamara of Mr and Mrs Smith had a Lunch with John Hitchcox who stated there is no connection with this Granmercy and Ian Schrager’s Granmercy.

‘We want to offer democratic, high-fashion living.’ – PHILIPPE STARCK

Well this post is also meant as a rant. Those apartments don’t come cheap. In addition, like many designers, Mr Starck likes Flash for his sites. I don’t like Flash, not in the last place because it prevents poor Bloggers like myself to pinch nice photo’s from a site. (Even if you know how to do it, it is cumbersome) Therefore this silly picture…..

Last edited by GJE on November 29,2009 at 11.13 AM

Happy Hotelier is now a WSet Level 2 Intermediate Wine Conoisseur

Wset Certificate

Hot from the block: This certificate proves that I know a little bit about wine and spirits. I found I had to study a bit more in order to be able to serve our guests at Haagsche Suites better.

It also goes together with my aim to cover the categories “Food”, “Wine” and “Wining and Dining” more seriously here, rather than setting up a separate blog.

I found that it the Wset course is a decent course. It was given by a very enthusiast couple, Henriëtte Bastiaans and Jeroen Bronkhorst of Wijn studio NL who used to run a restaurant around the corner and who gave the course in a wine shop, Haags Wijnhuis, also around another corner here. So it was very practical: after the courses and wine tasting I could easily crawl back home.

About Wset

Wset stands for Wine and Spirit Education Trust Limited.

The Wine & Spirit Education Trust (WSET) was founded in 1969 to provide high quality education and training in wines and spirits. Since then, WSET has grown into the foremost international body in the field of wines and spirits education, with a suite of sought-after qualifications. We now even have a membership body – the Institute of Wines & Spirits – for those who have passed the WSET Diploma, our top qualification.

About Level 2 Intermediate

This qualification offers broad coverage of all product categories in the field of alcoholic drinks together with basic wine tasting technique.

Overview
This qualification is accredited at Level 2 in the UK National Qualifications Framework. It is also approved as a Technical Certificate for the Advanced Level Hospitality Modern Apprenticeship.

Qualification objective:
Provide vocational training in the broad range of alcoholic beverages to underpin job skills and competencies in the customer service and sales functions of the hospitality, retail and wholesale industries.
Who it is aimed at:
• People employed in the drinks and hospitality industries with little previous knowledge of alcoholic beverages.
• Wine enthusiasts who wish to acquire in-depth knowledge of wines and spirits and want to obtain an internationally recognised wine qualification.

Entry Requirements:
Students and candidates who are under the legal minimum age for the retail purchase of alcoholic beverages in the country where the examination is being held will NOT be allowed to sample any alcoholic beverages as part of their course, but this is NOT a barrier for successfully completing the qualification. (Entry requirements may vary according to Approved Programme Provider)

How to gain the qualification:
You must successfully complete a multiple choice paper of 50 questions.

More at Qualifications

Heading for the Advanced Course by Frank Smulders (site is currently and I hope temporarily not working).

Wow! A Gehry Hotel

I have now translated posts from the Dutch language Weekendhotel Weblog that I co author June, 2004 up to June, 2006 and will continue translating, but so much is happening that I have to continue posting in real time and slow down the translating.

No better restart than with this Spanish Luxury Collection Hotel Marques De Riscal in Elciego, 110 km south east of Bilbao.

WOW2

It is located in the middle of a vineyard. Frank O. Gehry is said taking the commission only after having tasted a superb 1929 (his year of birth) Marques De Riscal in the cave of the oldest and probably most prestigious winery of the Rioja appellation about eight years ago. The opening done by The King of Spain, it features 43 suites at an US $88 mio investment. It includes a wine therapy spa, an exhibition area, wine tasting rooms and a restaurant.

Thanks to:USA Today

Last edited by GJE on December 3, 2011 at 11:22 pm