Category Archives: Gizmos & Wine Gadgets

Boxxle Pricey, Elegant Idea

09 Sunday Oct 2016

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

Wine writers get sample wine, often unsolicited, and wine gadgets on a fairly regular basis. Just a few weeks back Grape Sense featured a look at Black Box and Bota Box wines. Shortly after that column was published a pitch for the Boxxle appeared in my inbox.

grape-sense-logoThe few of the boxed wines available in Central Indiana are decent enough wines. Boxed wine is great for that single glass on a Tuesday night with whatever is for dinner. The boxes aren’t particularly attractive but most buy the wine for convenience and not as a fashion statement.

But for some folks the tacky box is just a bit much. So leave it to a North Carolina banker to come up with something a bit more elegant. Tripp Middleton, the inventor, developed a taste for boxed wines. But all that marketing was apparently too much for his kitchen counter.

img_0051

Easy pour for boxed wine

So in 2011 Middleton invented the Boxxle. Let’s get to it – essentially the Boxxle is a stainless steel container for your boxed wine and your kitchen counter. Slide the Boxxle in between the food processor and coffeemaker and it looks like any other shiny kitchen appliance.

Here is how it works. The consumer removes the bag of wine from the box. The flip-up lid on the Boxxle opens and a spring loaded platform provides the necessary mechanism to make the whole thing work. The platform is pushed down to near the bottom of the Boxxle and locks into place. The wine bag is inverted with the spigot at the top.

The spigot on almost all wine bags can be rotated. A simple 180-degree rotation of the spigot, a closing of the lid, which releases the depressed platform and the Boxxle is ready to go. The platform pushes up against the bag forcing the wine out the spigot at the shiny top.

It takes a bit of an effort to lock that platform down in place but it only took me two tries.

boxxle1Inventor Middleton struggled with funding the first few years when he tried to start manufacturing and bring the Boxxle to market. But since then plenty of money came on board and the Boxxle is widely available at spots like Bed, Bath & Beyond, Target, Amazon, Brookstone, Sharper Image, and more.

Anyone who has shopped for major appliances in recent years know stainless steel isn’t cheap and neither is the Boxxle. The suggested retail price is $99.99.

Do you need a Boxxle? Well, it’s probably not needed any more than a $200-$300 Riedel crystal decanter. But wine drinkers do like gadgets. It is pretty cool gadget. It’s easy to see how restaurants would love the Boxxle. A restaurant bar could use the Boxxle for a house wine without all the marketing there for every customer to see.

If you buy a lot of boxed wine and want a great looking dispenser, Middleton came up with one. With holiday season approaching, it would make a great gift for a wine drinking friend who buys their juice by the box.

Black versus Bota Box Wine Battle

04 Sunday Sep 2016

Posted by in California, Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Newspaper Column 2016, Uncategorized

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

, , , ,

You’re a wine drinker and you’ve passed them in your local grocery. You look at them with curiosity, puzzlement, and perhaps even disdain.

Grape Sense LogoIt’s time to lighten up to box wines and enjoy the often tasty and economical solution to wanting just one glass some nights. Boxed wines are better than ever before and shaking off the past negative images of swill in cardboard.

There is no point trying to convince anyone the grocery boxed wines are super, high-premium wines because for the most part they are not. Some brands will advertise that way but it’s misleading. Two of the most prominent in the Midwest are Black Box and Bota Box.

A definition or two is in order before going any further. The boxed wines come with an air-tight plastic pouch inside with a pour spout attached. Generally, once opened, the wines will last a month. The container holds four bottles of wine.  Different companies do offer different sizes and various price points.

IMG_1521Now some advice about handling the boxed wine. I suggest refrigerating it after opening to make it last as long as possible, particularly if you’re going to keep it four or five weeks. If you’re a regular wine drinker, it’s probably less necessary to stick it in the fridge. The wine is in a sealed plastic pouch so it gets no air whatsoever. No air is a very good thing for storage but not so much for drinking. Pour your glass of wine from the box and let it set a bit before you drink. The box contains 20 five-ounces pours.

Black Box has been a long-time player. Black Box got its start in 2002 with the promise of super-premium wine in an environmentally friendly box. Black Box is a leader in the business and sells for around $23. You can find it for as low as $19.99 in many places.

The Black Box menu includes Cabernet, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Malbec, Shiraz, a red blend called Red Elegance, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Sauvingon Blanc, and Reisling. The wines have been listed by Wine Enthusiast 27 different times as a “Best Buy.”

Go online for lots of reviews and you’ll see the Merlot is often the highest rated. In small market Indiana, all I’ve found is the Cab and Chardonnay. The Cabernet is a satisfying glass of wine with soft fruit, correct Cabernet flavor, and an ever-so-light hint of tannins. It’s quite drinkable.

The Delicato Family Vineyards company of brands from Manceta, Ca., offers Bota Box. The Bota lineup includes Cabernet, Merlot, Old Vine Zin, Malbec, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Chardonnay, a blend called Redvolution, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Moscato, and a second blend called Blackhawk.

The Bota Cabernet was a bit sweet but probably likable for newer wine drinkers. I didn’t find it to be correct in flavor profile for Cab but there was certainly nothing wrong with it. I bought the Bota Brick which sold locally for $9.99, a smaller version of the standard box.

Keep in mind most of these wines are blends. In California, for instance, a wine only has to include 75 percent Cabernet to be called Cabernet. And let’s face it, this isn’t Napa Cab.

I’d rate the Black Box significantly better for regular wine drinkers and Bota a good starting point for a beginner. Black wins the nod for overall quality.

Check the blog from time to time as I intend to explore more boxed wines. All stores have them. Many Meijer stores have a large selection.

The best part of boxed wine is enjoying one glass at a time. Don’t underestimate the quality until you’ve tried them. I would love to hear from regular Grape Sense readers if you have thoughts on other brands. I’ll share that in a future column.

 

 

A Few Of My Favorite Things

11 Friday Dec 2015

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Holidays, Newspaper Column 2015, Oregon, Uncategorized

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Thanksgiving is over and no one punched Uncle Harry. You survived or avoided Black Friday. It’s time to take a deep breath and get ready for the gift-giving and holiday-party season.

Grape Sense LogoOne of many discoveries from eight years of writing a wine column is readers are always asking my favorite wine, or how I save open wine, and many other basic questions. So today I’m offering gift-giving ideas based on a few of my favorite things.

Riedel stemware – Many experienced wine drinkers will scoff at the difference between wine glasses until they do a side-by-side taste comparison. I know, I was one of those people.

Riedel glassware is the gold standard for wine glasses. The company has no competitors. The company is being managed by the 11th generation of the Riedel family with 300 years of Austrian glass-making experience.

Riedel introduced the concept that the shape of the glass can profoundly change the taste of the wine. It works. There are no words a writer can choose to convince a skeptic. Do the taste test with same wine, different glasses and one Riedel varietal-specific glass. The taster will then reach for their credit card.

Riedel manufactures wine glasses at very affordable to ridiculous price points. I recommend the Vinum series. Riedel also offers a Tasting series of three different glasses for three different wines. The glasses mentioned run $30-$40 a glass. But again, they make less expensive selections to much-more expensive glassware, hand-blown from the original Austrian factory. A good houseware store will have Riedel collections for $20-$50. But if your wine drinker is a geek, they need the varietal-specific glasses.

LangeSavino wine storage – How to keep that half bottle of left-over wine? What is left-over wine? Okay, we all face that challenge. You can buy the pump, re-cork, and a zillion other ideas. The best thing I’ve found is the Savino. It’s a glass container big enough to hold one bottle of wine. The secret is a cylinder which floats atop the saved wine 1/100th smaller than the inner circumference of the bottle. A lid seals the Savino shut. The Savino doesn’t work quite as long as the company suggests. But it keeps wine several days longer than any other system.

The original glass Savino can be found in stores and online for $59.99. This year the company smartly introduced a plastic version for $29.99. Nothing keeps your wine tasting like the original sip better than the Savino.

Pinot Noir – Okay, for years I’ve always said I like them all and I do. But if I’m honest, Pinot is my favorite varietal. Pinot makes a great gift for a wine-drinking friend, or to take to a party. Great Pinot starts at $20-$30 a bottle. But if you want something easier, buy a Mark West or Mirassou Pinot at the market for under $10.

A great bottle of introductory-level Oregon Pinot Noir can be nabbed for $25-$30. Personally, the best under-$30 bottle of wine, any varietal, I’ve ever found is Lange Willamette Valley Pinot Noir. It’s widely distributed in Indiana and the rest of the Midwest. A great buy!

 

 

 

Red Wine Turning Green

11 Monday May 2015

Posted by in California, Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Newspaper Column 2015

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , , , ,

The excitement, debate, and controversies over organic wine, natural wine, wine bottle waste, and wine closures never to come to an end.

A few years ago the big closure movement was to screwcaps for what was usually lower priced wines. Wine closures now include cork, synthetic cork, glass stoppers, and more. The latest is an effort to further turn wine green with Bio Zero Carbon footprint stoppers. Avalon Winery, Sonoma, is promoting the closure as the first winery in the U.S. to move to the latest environmentally – friendly stopper.

Grape Sense LogoThe Graton, California, winery has long been interested in sustainability and good green practices. They have a rainwater system which helps protect local salmon and house bees for local beekeepers in the vineyard, according to their marketing folks.

The winery management team had been interested in green packaging, sustainability all while keeping wine quality at the highest levels. Then in 2014 Select (r) Bio by Nomacorc emerged as a cork alternative made as a plant­-based polymer cork made from sugar cane.

avalonFrom the press materials, the benefits include:

– Prevents cork taint. (spoiled taste)

– Allows some needed oxygen exchange required by all wines.

– Crumble free and won’t break.

– Produced with 100 percent renewable energy.

­ 100 percent recycable with other plastics.

While many wine drinkers have a hard time being tree huggers, especially when you consider the use of such heavy glass in many wine bottles, these type of efforts are worthy of note.

Avalon sent a long a bottle of its 2012 Cabernet. The wine is 76 percent Cab, 13 percent Syrah, 7 percent Zinfandel, and 4 percent Merlot. Grapes come from Napa, Lodi, Paso Robles, and Monterey County. The wine was aged in a combination of French and American barrels for eight months. That sort of wine geekiness is really only important to me for this column when winemakers are talking about new closures and other innovations.

I thought the wine was a terrifc value. It’s not quite the level of a fruit bomb ­ and that’s good thing ­but is soft, well rounded and very drinkable. The wine was varietally correct ­ it sure tasted like Cabernet. I try to judge wines for what they are and the Avalon Cab was a darn fine SRP $12.99 bottle. (Trade Sample)

Buy Your Winos a Decanter

24 Wednesday Dec 2014

Posted by in Aerators, Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Holidays, Newspaper Column 2014

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

Tis the season and holiday shoppers often find themselves grabbing last-minute gifts. If there is a wine drinker on your list pay attention – don’t buy them wine.

Grape Sense LogoThat’s right, for the serious red wine drinkers on your Santa sheet wine is probably not a good idea. Now, if you know wine and know the wine drinker well enough to understand what they really enjoy go ahead.

But every holiday season retail shops get bombarded with well-meaning customers wanting recommendations on wine as a gift. If you insist, there will be a few recommendations at the bottom of this column.

Instead of the fermented grape juice buy your friend or family member a great wine-related gift. There is one choice any wine drinker will appreciate and could use whether they know it or not. Almost any wine at any price point will benefit from decanting.

Decanters come at every imaginable price point. You can find a decanter at your local home store for around $20 or even less. You can shop the traditional wine glassware companies and pay more. You can buy a Riedel decanter at all price points all the way up to more than $1,000. The top end are hand blown in the original Austrian factory.

Decanters come at all price points.

Decanters come at all price points.

Wine is decanted to add oxygen and allow the wine to ‘open up’ after all of that time in the bottle. This is particularly true for young wines – inexpensive or pricey.

Purchase a decanter with a large bowl. Those work best. Decanting wine can also lead to lots of questions about sediment. Some sort of strainer is often necessary when decanting or serving the wine from the decanter, especially for older wines. That stuff won’t harm you but it’s going to be bitter. Many aerators come with some sort of filter to take care of that problem.

A young, lighter-style wine will really benefit from 30 minutes to an hour-long decant. A big red wine, like Cabernet, up to two hours. Some wine, like an Italian Sangrantino, may require several hours.

A great lesson in learning more about wine can coincide with the decanting process. First, open a bottle of wine and pour a taste. Make mental notes of what the wine was like. Then pour a small taste again an hour later. The wine will be different and probably better tasting, less astringency and more pronounced fruit.

Older wines often require less of a decant and more attention to sediment. The taste test is important to learn what works best for your palate.

Now, if you insist a bottle of wine is a nicer gift than glassware go ahead and buy a bottle or two. If you know your friend or family member really likes wine but you have no idea what to buy, play it safe. Pinot Noir at the $20 and up price point makes an excellent gift. If they drink white wine try finding an unoaked Chardonnay. There are many good labels of unoaked Chard around $15.

If you’re willing to splurge buy Pinot at the $40-$50 range for great wine. But French Chablis for the white drinkers at about the same cost.

Merry Christmas and a very Happy Holiday toast!

A Few Wine Tips Worth Repeating

30 Tuesday Sep 2014

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Newspaper Column 2014

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

Every now and then I get asked how I come up with ideas after more than 150 columns. Actually some of the best ideas have come from readers across the Midwest. Today’s column is an example of that. It seems lately I’ve been asked a lot of ‘wine basics’ questions.

Grape Sense LogoSo a list of suggestions, guidance, and ideas that may help you enjoy wine even more seemed like a good idea for this Grape Sense outing. You can find list after list available in wine books and the internet but I’ve selected some I think are most helpful.

Wine storage – Keep your wine in a dark, moderate temperature to cool spot. Ever wonder why wine comes in dark bottles? Light will break down the chemical structure of the wine. Buy a simple wine rack. They’re easy to find in most any home store. Keep it away from heat and away from direct sunshine or bright light and you should be fine. Never store wine on top of a refrigerator or near a heat source.

iStock_two-wine-glassesWine glasses – You can find wine glasses at Wal Mart or Target. You can also spend close to $100 apiece for Riedel crystal wine stems. But the best and least expensive advice is to buy two different kinds of glasses. Buy a big bowl wine glass for your red wines and a smaller glass for your white wines. It took me a long time but it makes a difference.

If you have advanced to wines which are a little more complex and expensive, then you can look to different shapes and better stemware. If you are getting serious about your wine, Riedel (and other companies) offer crystal wine glasses at a number of price points.

Washing wine glasses – You might say, huh? It’s important to clean your wine glasses thoroughly immediately after using them. Use mild dish soap sparingly, rinse thoroughly, and dry immediately. The slightest residue can affect the taste of your next glass of wine.

Wine Ratings – Ratings are one of the most controversial topics in oenophile circles. They are meant to be a guideline. If you buy highly-rated wines and like them, then the ratings are useful to you. I’d recommend you take advice from your local wine shop owner. Then when you return, tell them what you like and didn’t like.

Value wine – You like wine and want to enjoy it more often but don’t like the price of better wines? Go abroad! There are good U.S. made value wines. But if you look at South American wines, Spanish wines, and French Rhone wines, you’ll find some great bottles in the $9-$15 range.

wine-snobRestaurant wine – Unless you’re fabulously wealthy, buying a bottle of wine in a restaurant is seldom a bargain. Restaurant wines are often marked up 100 percent or more. I will order a glass of wine in a nice restaurant, but usually refuse to pay $50 for a bottle I know costs $22.

Chilling wine – There is more advice on wine temperature than you can sort out. Put a white wine in your refrigerator for an hour or less. For a lighter-style red wine, I’d open the bottle and chill about 10-15 minutes before serving. One old adage rings true, most white is served too cold and most red too warm.

It would take all of the pages of this newspaper for a comprehensive list. If you have a specific question, drop me a line at the email address below. If I don’t have a good answer, I’ll find one for you.

Lots of Ways to Chill Summer Wine

29 Thursday May 2014

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets, Newspaper Column 2014

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, ,

A bag of ice or the fridge can keep your wines chilled for any summer outing as easy as any geeky wine device. But if you want something practical and even stylish for summer picnics there are lots of ways to chill your favorite beverage.

Grape Sense LogoWine education should always include some discussion on the proper serving temperature for red and white wine. A general rule of thumb is most people serve white too cold and red too warm. If you put your lighter bodied red wines in the fridge for 10-15 minutes, just to drop them to the upper 60-degree range, you’ll be surprised how bright the fruit will taste.

The proper chilling temperature for white wine is a bit trickier. I recommend putting the bottle in the fridge for 30-45 minutes. You’ll have to experiment. But a word of warning comes with the kitchen appliance solution. Over-chilled wines will not have the same mouth feel or fruitiness as when you get the temperature just right. You want reds in the high 60s, while near 60 is a good temperature for your whites.

But if you’re hosting guests on the patio, picnic table, or porch those wines will warm up in a hurry. A bucket of ice will do the trick but there are some inexpensive solutions which are stylish and fun.

The first of the many outdoor wine chillers is simply the wine bag. These are often give-aways for wineries, wine-related promotions and such. It’s a simple heavy plastic bag big enough for a wine bottle, water and ice. The wine bags are inexpensive, usually about $10. I’ve been given several through the years and they are eye catching on the outdoor table. Perhaps it’s been my bad luck, but the 4 or 5 I’ve tried have all leaked and they’re messy.

There are lots of wine chilling options!

There are lots of wine chilling options!

The next step up in the bag approach is “Chill It Bags” in colorful combinations and walls made of a safe chemical freezing component. You just throw them in the freezer and they’ll keep your wine in great shape. The downside to these bags is when they freeze you must be careful in opening them back up for your bottle of wine. If you force a bottle into a frozen bag you will probably damage the bag. These bags come in multiple sizes and colors and work well. They are also very affordable at less than $10 up to he mid teens.

The insertable chill devices have been big the past couple of years. The insert device is often marketed as wine chiller, winesickle, and more. The devices have a long post which you freeze then insert into the wine. Most have a pour top or a pour/aerator top for a non-messy chilling and glass of wine. The insertable chill devices are usually under $20.

The last chiller is by far the most expensive but guarantees no mess. The Angle33 cement chiller does a great job with style. Yes, it is made of poured cement and weighs about seven pounds. You put the cement chiller in the fridge for 45 minutes, stick the bottle in the cool concrete and your wine will stay nicely chilled for a long while – no water or ice! The downside to the cement chiller is price at $64.99.

So no matter whether you use one of these nifty devices or a bucket and ice, get outside and enjoy those summer white and dry rose’ wines!

Wine Glass Makes a Difference

25 Monday Nov 2013

Posted by in Food & Travel, Gizmos & Wine Gadgets

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

, , ,

A tasting event at Vine & Table, Carmel, was a near sell-out event!

A tasting event at Vine & Table, Carmel, was a near sell-out event!

CARMEL, IN. – Anyone serious about wine has probably learned the size of the glass can have an impact on the taste of the wine. You’ve probably seen all those different size and shaped Riedel crystal wine glasses in shops or advertisements and thought it was all silly.

Grape Sense LogoIt’s pretty easy to be skeptical when checking the prices on Riedel crystal. Still, there really isn’t anyone in the world doing what they do. Riedel has been creating grape varietal specific glasses for nearly 50 years.

Members of the Austrian Riedel family, and their sales staff, travel the country constantly putting on tasting seminars to sell their product. A recent event at Indianapolis’ Vine and Table Market provided convincing evidence the glass makes a bigger difference than most novice wine drinkers might think.

The seminar included three glasses made specifically for Oregon Pinot Noir, Syrah, and California Cabernet. The more than 40 participants poured each varietal into all three glasses then were led through a tasting. The difference on the nose and palate was striking.

Julio Ruiz, Riedel

Julio Ruiz, Riedel

“No one else out there does what we do which is create a glass specifically for a grape,” said Julio Ruiz, a Regional Sales Manager for Riedel.  “Through workshops, more or less like the consumer experience of a tasting like this one tonight, we create a new glass.

“We actually go to a region, for example Mendoza (Argentina) which is traditionally a Malbec region, and with the experts and the winemakers we sit them down and do what we did tonight. We throw 20 different glasses in front of them and eliminate one glass at a time until there is one remaining glass. Everybody has to agree upon one glass and then that is the perfect Riedel crystal glass for Malbec.”

That example was timely because one of Riedel’s latest creations is a Malbec glass created in a partnership with the Argentinian label Graffina.

Riedel is not the only company in the world making different sized glasses, by any means. But they take it to levels far beyond anyone else in the business. The company history is fascinating with the birth of Johann Christoph Riedel in 1678 and the family’s start with luxury glass goods. Maximilian Riedel is the 11th generation to head the company business in Kufstein, Austria.

An Oregon Pinot, Syrah, and Cabernet glass.

An Oregon Pinot, Syrah, and Cabernet glass.

Riedel crystal makes an outstanding wedding gift, holiday gift, or a special treat for your wine cabinet. Let’s be honest here – it’s not cheap. Most Riedel glasses start with the factory made crystal from Germany which runs in the $20-$30 a glass range. The hand-blown wine glasses from the historic Austrian plant produces stunning stemware that costs up to $159 a glass.

No one is going to rush out and purchases pairs of the 30-40 different wine glasses. Ruiz offered some advice for getting started.

“Depending on the grape you drink the most, that is the glass I would recommend,” he said. “For example, you drink Cabernet or Pinot Noir buy a Cab or Pinot glass. Don’t forget your spouse, boyfriend or girlfriend or whatever but that’s where you start. Then as your palate progresses, you move on to the next one.”

Howard’s Pick: I’ve never recommended anyone go buy Riedel crystal and that’s not the point of this column. I think a nice smaller glass for whites and big-bowled glass for reds is a good place to start for most wine drinkers. For those more serious about their wine, the crystal wine glasses are worth the investment.

Vivino Best Wine App I’ve Found

20 Saturday Jul 2013

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

,

There are nearly 500 wine-related smart phone apps on iTunes. There are some real good ones, really, really good ones, and quite a few real duds.

vivino-wine-scannerI’ve not tried all that many but have become a big van of Vivino. It’s growing, it’s hot and it’s unique.

Most of the apps offer some way to journal your wines and offer your opinion on the tasted.

What makes Vivino so unique is that you use your phone camera to shoot a photo of the label then the app scans that label and up pops the basic information about the wine. It’s like magic to an old ($*#$&) like me!

And even if it gets it slightly wrong (which happened to me the other night), it provides a list of similarly named wines which lets you select the correct one. (which I did!)

Even if you’re not interested in what other people think about wine, it’s a great way to keep track of wines you’ve consumed.

No kickback just a plug for a product in a crowded field that I think works!

A Good Wine Rack is Hard to Find

03 Monday Jun 2013

Posted by in Gizmos & Wine Gadgets

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

, ,

Sooner or later, if you’re a wine drinker, and keep buying bottles you’re going to have to buy a wine rack. Don’t fret, it happens to all of us.

I picked up a 36-bottle wine rack at an Indy wine shop several years ago. I also own a couple of chilled storage systems. But as a wine writer, I get samples and buy a lot of wine and for the past few months realized I needed another rack – maybe 24-36 bottles.

Purchased today - filled tonight!

Purchased today – filled tonight!

I looked at wine shops and found overly decorative, and overly expensive, metal racks that don’t really make those baby bottles feel very safe. I went into home furnishing stores and found more wine racks than I expected but way over-priced and most were more decorative or cute than they were functional.

Then, honestly it’s the old age, I remembered the column I wrote in 2010 about Gerald Radel of Peru, Indiana. Radel builds wine racks – lots of wine racks. His big contract is with Cost Plus World Market. There is a store on Indy’s northside so I scooted to Indy today and they had two different models.

Gerald Radel

Gerald Radel

Cost Plus, on 116th street in Carmel for the locals, had Radel’s 44-bottle pine rack for about $70 and a 24-bottle rack for $50. The thing I like about Gerald’s wine racks is they support the entire bottle and they’re sturdy!

So here is a plug for a nice man who makes darn fine wine racks. And here is a link to that 2010 column which tells a bit of the Radel story. There is a link to his website near the end of the post!