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  • Judging Wine At 40,000 Feet

    Sampling 600 Wines For TAP Airlines

    By: Philip S. Kampe - Dec 11th, 2017

    The tedious work of sampling six-hundred plus Portuguese wines for TAP airlines in-flight wine service was an involved project. There were ten wine tasters, seven from Portugal, two from Brazil, and myself from America . Wines were first sampled on the ground and then the top fifty were sampled in the air on a round trip flight from Lisbon to Prague.

  • Pay Attention To Israeli Wines

    Quality, Not Quantity Is The Focus

    By: Philip S. Kampe - Dec 12th, 2017

    Since Biblical times, wine has been produced in Israel. Originally for religious observances, but, now for consumers, who compose 85% of the market, with the United States, as the leading importer. Kosher wines are produced the same way as non-kosher wines. For that reason, consumers are looking at the wine for what it s, not because its Kosher. Six wines were sampled for this article.

  • Military Working Dog Teams National Monument

    Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

    By: Susan Cohn - Dec 29th, 2017

    In the center of a spacious plaza, a 9-foot modern day Military Working Dog Handler stands with larger-than-life bronze statues of four of the more common breeds of Military Working Dogs utilized by the United States Department of Defense since World War II: Doberman Pinscher, German Shepherd, Labrador Retriever, and Belgian Malinois.

  • Southern France

    Along the Foothills of the Pyrenees

    By: Zeren Earls - Jan 02nd, 2018

    The walled city of Carcassonne, the heritage site Albi with its Toulouse-Lautrec Museum, the Basque cities of Auch and Bayonne, and the Atlantic coastal cities of Biarritz and Saint-Jean-de-Luz are treasures that make this region of France unique for the visitor.

  • Northern Spain

    The Basque Country

    By: Zeren Earls - Mar 12th, 2018

    The Basque region of northern Spain stands out with its beautiful coastline and unique culture. In addition to being historic towns with notable architecture, the cities of Bilbao, Guernica, San Sebastian and Pamplona boast a vibrant contemporary life flavored with local charm. The network of ancient pilgramage routes, the Camino de Santiago (Way of Saint James) also stretches through this region.

  • Exploring Idyllwild California

    River Deep Mountain High

    By: Susan Cohn - Apr 07th, 2018

    It’s not unusual to spot a herd of colorful deer right in the center of Idyllwild, the famously art-hearted small town (pop. 3,874 year-round) in the mountains (elevation 5,413) above Palm Springs. Not your ordinary deer, mind you, but 22 fabulously painted aluminum bucks, does and fawns, each decorated to reflect a part of Idyllwild’s history.

  • Finger Lakes New Vines Vineyard

    Unique Winegrowing Region

    By: Philip S. Kampe & Maria Revely - May 30th, 2018

    The Finger Lakes are New York states largest wine growing region, with over 150 vineyards crisscrossing the eleven Finger Lakes. One vineyard is home to New Vines B&B and is located within two miles of seven other vineyards. With a resident winemaker on premises and the use of local and homegrown crops for breakfast, it was easy to digest what the Finger Lakes region was about.

  • Mt. Greylock’s Bascom Lodge

    I Could See for Miles and Miles and Miles

    By: Charles Giuliano - Jun 13th, 2018

    It was a picture perfect Sunday afternoon when we took a long and winding drive to the 3,491 foot summit of Mt. Greylock. It's rustic Bascom Lodge was constructed as a WPA project in the 1930s. It fell into neglect but was renovated and the road repaired in 2009. There are dorm and private rooms for hikers. In season three meals a day are served and dinner on weekends is generally sold out. There are free events on the porch and we attended a mashup organized by Berkshire Playwrights Lab. At 7 PM we joined the family style dinner. For spectacuar views and a sense of adventure it's a summe treat that's hard to beat.

  • Denver's Museo de las Americas

    Celebrating Era of Pachucos y Sirenas

    By: Susan Cohn - Jun 26th, 2018

    Museo de las Americas, begun in 1992 as one room in a cabinet shop, now occupies a 12,000 sq. ft. building in the heart of Denver's Santa Fe Art District.

  • The Finger Lakes, Gateway To American Wines

    Riesling Rules

    By: Philip S. Kampe - Jun 26th, 2018

    Only hours away from millions of people, the Finger Lakes, located in central New York state, is home to a large wine making population. With over one hundred twenty vineyards, located on or near one of the eleven lakes, the Finger Lakes 'cold climate' wine culture thrives year round, focusing on the Riesling varietal.

  • Crystal Bridges a Landmark Museum of American Art

    Founded by Alice Walton in Bentonville Arkansas

    By: Susan Cohn - Sep 16th, 2018

    The largest work of art at Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art is the museum itself, which serves as an anchor for the examination of architecture as art. The design of pods floating over a pond is the creation of Moshe Safdie.

  • Letter from Gloucester: Maximus

    Recalling the Polis of Charles Olson

    By: Pippy Giuliano - Oct 22nd, 2018

    This is the second Letter from Gloucester by correspondent Pippy Giuliano. She evokes the memory of epic Gloucester poet Charles Olson. He was indeed the bard by the sea who created layers of Cape Ann history from colonial times to his era in the poetic tome Maximus. It is in this daunting tradition that she contributes with humility her "lettters."

  • Detroit Then and Now

    Soaring Spaces and Gracious Rooms of Motown

    By: Susan Cohn - Oct 27th, 2018

    Downtown Detroit has been the business heart of the city since the 1850s, expressing prosperity in structures like the 40-story Guardian Building, a 1929 Art Deco skyscraper. The soaring structure with its 632-foot high spire earned the nickname Cathedral of Finance, but its purpose was all business, and during World War II it even served as the U.S. Army Command Center for war time production.

  • Michael McGrath of North Adams in China

    Daily Life at Five Immortals Temple

    By: Michael McGrath - Oct 03rd, 2019

    The days are long and arduous, the training, in rain or shine, warm or cold, difficult. The toilet is a trench. There are no bathtubs or showers - a face cloth bath with boiled water is as clean as you get. Everything comfortable and familiar in your life disappears, left below at the base of the mountain. Day, date and time dissolve in the mountain mists during the climb, and all you are left with is the moment, one after another.

  • El Regajal Winery Is Madrid’s Finest

    Home To 77 Butterfly Species

    By: Philip S. Kampe - Feb 07th, 2020

    When you think of Spain and its wineries, you think about butterflies. Well think again, as you read about El Regajal Winery and winemaker Danny Garcia-Pita. It is a remarkable combination.

  • Mishima and Williams Celebrated in P'Town

    The 14th Annual 2019 Tennessee Williams Theater Festival

    By: Edward Rubin - Mar 14th, 2020

    A day late and a dollar short, NY critic, Edward Rubin, is notorious for blowing off deadlines. By now the September, 2019 14th Annual Tennessee Williams Theater Festival is a faded memory. Arguably a rose pressed between the pages of a book. But here in loving detail Rubin posts a definitively detailed, documentary account of an historic event. It also serves as a preview of what to expect this September. By then, hopefully, the virus will have passed and we will enjoy the last gasp of summer with magnificent theatre and high jinks by the sea.

  • Letter from Hancock Shaker Village

    Three Little Lambs

    By: Jennifer Trainer Thompson - Apr 19th, 2020

    Jennifer Trainer Thompson, the director of Hancock Shaker Village, has a letter for friends and neighbors. It's spring and the lambs have been born. Soon it is time to plant the traditional gardens. Trying times call for creative solutions.

  • Bonnie Bonnie Scotland

    You Take the High Road and I'll Take the Low Road

    By: Sandy Katz - Feb 20th, 2016

    During our 7 day trip, we visited a selection of the country’s top sites of historical significance, including the battlefields of Culloden and Glencoe and Skara Brae, the best preserved prehistoric village in northern Europe dating back to 3,000 B.C.

  • The Arts in Cuba

    Music for Breakfast and Studio Visits

    By: Nancy Bishop - Nov 22nd, 2015

    While in Cienfuegos, we had some interesting musical entertainment. After walking around the square, we climbed several flights of stairs to hear a special concert by the Choir of Cienfuegos, a chorus of about 24 local men and women, who performed a concert of Cuban and international songs and show tunes. One of them, incongruously, was the American folk song, “Shenandoah.”

  • A Week in Cuba

    Have a Havana

    By: Nancy Bishop - Nov 19th, 2015

    I spent last week in Cuba with a group of about 30 charming and interesting travelers as part of a Smithsonian Journeys tour. The week was fascinating and intellectually invigorating while also being tiring and enervating.

  • Letter from Cape Ann

    Now Through the Holidays

    By: Pippy Giuliano - Oct 15th, 2018

    This launches a new feature for Berkshire Fine Arts. Pippy Giuliano, sister of BFA's Charles, shares deeps roots and family heritage in Cape Ann. She lives in Annisquam not far from the ancestral home, Beaver Dam Farm, in Rockport. Now retired, she is active in the community and a docent for the Cape Ann Museum. We suggested that she contribute a Letter from Cape Ann with tips on events and gatherings.

  • Feel The Heel of Puglia

    Primitivo di Manduria

    By: Philip S. Kampe - Oct 08th, 2018

    Puglia is referred to as the 'boot or heel' of Italy. It is located easternmost on the bottom of Italy and has 325 miles of coastline, whch helps enhance the grapes from the province. The wines are interesting and kin to American Zinfandel, a varietal dominant in the northwest.

  • Mesa Verde National Park

    Visiting Southwest Colorado

    By: Susan Cohn - Sep 07th, 2018

    Spread over 52,000 acres on high plateaus (7,000 to 8,500 feet), Mesa Verde National Park offers a spectacular look into the lives of the Ancestral Puebloans who built their homes there from around 650 until about 1300 AD.

  • Topsy Turvy on Mt. Greylock

    Bascom Lodge Reading and Book Launch

    By: Charles Giuliano - Sep 04th, 2018

    Astrid Hiemer contributed 19 photo illustrations for my fifth book of gonzo poems Topsy Turvy. On Sunday of Labor Day weekend we collaborated for a reading and book launch at historic Bascom Lodge on Mt. Greylock. There was a nice turnout on the porch. Jose, Alvin, Rick and Art joined us for the jazz dinner that followed. We stayed the night and had breakfast with hikers. It was an adventure we need to have more often.

  • Cartagena: Conserving Cultural Heritage

    A 500-year-old Urban Jewel in the Caribbean

    By: Mark Favermann - Sep 03rd, 2018

    The author recently visited Cartagena, Colombia. The city is a 500-year old urban jewel in the Caribbean with a wonderful scaled and visually vibrant Old Town (el Centro Historico). It is a wonderful destination on the western edge of the Caribbean. Planning of Cartagena both in terms of preservation and new development is a challenge, but climate change and rising sea levels is threatening its cultural heritage.

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