Thieves made off with approximately $30,000 worth of solar panels from the Sonoma Valley County Sanitation District on Eighth Street East Wednesday night under cover of darkness and as of Monday morning, there are no new leads.
The 1,042-kilowatt solar energy system in Sonoma encompasses five acres of land and uses 5,200 solar panels that were built to meet at least a third of the sewage treatment plant's power needs.
From sonomanews
But you may not want to go real long the California sparkling wine:
Grapes for bubblies may come in by early August
...For right now, however, the overcast mornings, cool nights and bright, sunny days are ideal weather conditions, said Mumm Napa winemaker Ludovic Dervin. There were almost no frost issues this year, he said, and the lack of spring rains meant there was little early risk of mold or crop loss due to heavy storms pounding on budding vines. "It's perfect right now," said Dervin during an early morning visit at the Mumm vineyards south of Napa, where the harvest could begin in early August, about two weeks earlier than expected.
From the Napa Valley Register
And the big news in wine:
Bordeaux vineyards lose 90% of crop as rain and rot threaten French harvests
...Problems have also been reported in Beaujolais, the Loire and the Rhône valley.
From decanter.com
Possible Investment Strategy (read the comments):
Figaro: Bordeaux 2006 could be the new 1982
Leading French magazine Le Figaro has said that Bordeaux 2006 vintage could be as 'sublime' as the great 1982 vintage.
Apparently flying in the face of most advice from the world's wine critics, in an article entitled 'Bank on the 2006 primeurs', the figaro.fr website and Le Figaro magazine advises its readers to invest in the 2006 vintage.
In 1982, 'few people banked on the vintage', the article says, and 'for collectors, it's a strong bet that 2006 will follow this tendency. In 10 years, this vintage will be recognised as sublime.'
From Le Figaro via decanter.com
Finally the supposed raison d' etre of this blog (again from decanter.com)
Screwcaps produce the largest carbon footprint compared to synthetic closures and corks says research conducted for a French closure company.
The production of screwcaps gives off over 10kg of CO2 per tonne compared with 2.5kg of CO2 per tonne for corks, according to tests conducted by Cairn Environment for Oeneo Bouchage in France.
The composite DIAM closure fell between the two, with a carbon footprint of 4.3kg of CO2 per tonne.