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WINE NOTES
(Local Wine and Real Estate News) |
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Zinfandel Festival
Zinfandel is often referred to as
California's state grape, although it has never been
officially named that (California doesn't have a state
grape). For many years it was believed that Zinfandel
was a native grape to California. That has since been
proved incorrect, but it doesn't stop California from
celebrating it's Zinfandel heritage.
March 20, 21, and
22 Zinfandel Produces
and enthusiasts come
together for an evening of wine, food
and celebration of California's heritage variety.
The highlight event is Saturday March 21, a Grand
Tasting of some of the finest Zinfandels produced.
Zinfandel has a long and somewhat checkered history in
California. A large portion of the older Zinfandel
planted in California was planted during Prohibition.
Zinfandel has a tougher skin which allowed it to shipped more
easily East by rail for home winemakers. As times
changed there were some pretty poor quality Zinfandel wines produced
from the abundance of vines. Then we all remember the era of White Zinfandel, a
time when a new generation discovered the sweet, soda
pop style wine.
Zinfandel when done well is one of the most delicious
wines. A truly unique flavor of raspberry and plum.
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Quick Real Estate
Stats: (California) |
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Median home price
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$281,100 |
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Highest median
home price
Santa Barbara So. Coast $875,000
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Lowest median
home price
High Desert $137,560 |
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Mortgage rates
- week ending 2/19/09:
-30-yr. fixed: 5.04%; Fees/points: 0.7%
-15-yr. fixed: 4.68%; Fees/points: 0.6%
-1-yr. adj: 4.8%; Fees/points: 0.5% |
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WINE & LOCAL
TRIVIA: |
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Zinfandel is often considered
California's grape, but its origin is Croatia.
Zinfandel has a sister grape which was also traced back to
Croatia. What is Zinfandel's sister grape?
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a) |
Tempranillo |
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b) |
Primitivo |
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c) |
Trebbiano |
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d) |
None of the Above |
(Please visit
http://www.pasostyleliving.com for the
answer) |
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PASO STYLE LIVING
REAL ESTATE (Local Real Estate Market
Conditions) |
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Has the Real Estate market hit bottom? I think it
may be getting close! Reading the news, one certainly wouldn't get
that impression, but also that makes me believe it
even more. The predominance of news suggest Real
Estate and the economy are still spiraling downward,
but locally, their are some positive indicators.
Housing Inventory Level and Absorption are certainly not a
topic the average person follows, but it is the best indicator of
Real Estate sales and pricing directions. Homes, just like any
product is a supply and demand item. A higher inventory level
indicates low demand. Low demand means lower prices. It's
really very simple. So what is Housing Inventory and Absorption.
Inventory is simply the number of unsold homes, but the key factor
is the absorption rate. This is the number of months it will take
to sell the current inventory based upon the current sales rate (Number
of homes available for sale divided by the number sold over the last
month). The industry normally considers 6 months to be the magic
absorption rate. Less than 6 months signifies a Seller's market
and over 6 months signifies a Buyers Market.
I've analyzed the inventory absorption over the last two
years and the numbers are very interesting. The highest rate was
Oct/Nov of 2007 when inventory levels were over 22 months. The
December 2008 level was just over 6. You can see the graph
outlining
the past two years here.
This is a leading indicator. We will only know when we
look back over time. |
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Area
(2/1/09-2/28/09) |
Avg Price |
Homes Available |
Sold |
Pending |
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Atascadero |
$348,323 |
155 |
11 |
16 |
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Paso Robles |
$330,666 |
260 |
37 |
35 |
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Templeton |
$590,467 |
82 |
3 |
5 |
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All Paso Wine
Country |
$346,255 |
608 |
57 |
64 |
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Paso Wine Country
contains the following real estate areas (Paso Robles, Atascadero,
Templeton, San Miguel, Creston, Shandon, Santa Margarita, Bradley,
and Chalome)
(Single Family Homes, SFRSB) |
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FOOD CORNER
(Personal Recipes and Favorite
Restaurants of the Paso Wine Country) |
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Zinfandel Braised Lamb Shanks:
It couldn't be more appropriate for Zinfandel Festival
than a savory lamb recipe with Zinfandel. This
recipe is from Recipes Wikia. It's something I
intend to make to celebrate Zinfandel.
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| 4 |
Lamb shanks, well trimmed |
| 2 tbs |
Extra Virgin Olive Oil |
| 1 med |
Red Onion, Chopped |
| 1 med |
Carrot, Chopped |
| 1 |
Celery Rib, chipped |
| 6 |
Clover of Garlic, minced |
| 1 tbs |
Chopped Rosemary |
| 4 cups |
Zinfandel (Please don't use White
Zinfandel) |
| 1 can |
Crushed Tomatoes, 14 oz |
| 1 med |
White Onion, chopped |
| 5 cups |
Small White Beans, cooked or
canned |
| 4 |
Bacon Strips |
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Preheat over to 350. In a
heavy fry pan brown lamb and all sides in olive oil.
Remove to ovenproof casserole and set aside. Add
Onion, carrot, and celery to the same pan and brown.
Stir in garlic and rosemary. Cook 2 minutes. Add
Zinfandel, chicken broth, and crushed tomatoes. Heat
to boiling. Spoon Mixture over lamb and the cover and
bake at 350 for 2 hours. Fry Bacon, drain and set
aside. Remove excess fat and add onion to same pan.
Stir in Beans and heat though. Stir in crumbed Bacon,
salt, and pepper to taste. Plate and serve.
Enjoy! |
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