Perhaps the BEST B1G Forum anywhere, here at College Football Fan Site, CFB51!!!

I have a passport, don't need it.

25+ years ago, there was a good possibility I would be sent to China to help build 6 pork processing plants.
the company paid for the passport then, I've renewed it.

I've used it 6 times to visit Mexico beach resorts and one cruise with the daughters.
It's been at least 5 or 6 years and I have no plans to use it again.
I'll probably renew it again, just in case

NEWBERG, Ore. — With 23,000 wines tasted, reviewers selected an Oregon sparkling wine as the top choice on Wine Enthusiast’s “100 Best Wines of 2024.”

The team at ROCO Winery in Newberg is celebrating the top ranking for its ‘2013 RMS 10-Year Delayed Disgorgement Brut,’ which received a Wine Enthusiast score of 98 out of 100.


Reviewer Michael Alberty, who also works for The Oregonian, said he knew immediately in blind tastings that ROCO’s sparkling needed to be at the top.

“When I hit that wine, I remember thinking, ‘That’s one of the best sparkling wines I’ve had from the West Coast in a very long time,’” he said.

ROCO’s sparkling wine bested competitors from around the world, including those from Champagne, France. Winemaker, and ROCO founder, Rollin Soles said people in the wine industry tend to support each other.

Soles founded Argyle Winery before starting ROCO Winery in 2003. Rollins is known for his classic winemaking skills, and particularly, his talent with sparkling wines.

“This is the perfect region for making bubbles because it’s so cool close to that cool ocean out there,” he said.

Those wine tasting at ROCO Tuesday afternoon had already heard the big news and were thrilled to get a taste of the number one pick.

ROCO’s 1993 sparkling wine is not the only Willamette Valley wine to make the “100 Best Wines” list. CHO Wines’ 2018 Blanc de Noirs Sparkling Pinot noir (32) and Corollary Wines’ 2019 X-Omni Blanc des Blancs (36) made the list. Also, Domaine Serene’s 2015 Vintage Brut Sparkling (40).

According to the Willamette Valley Wineries Association (WVWA), this marks the first time all Willamette Valley wines featured on Wine Enthusiast’s list were sparkling.

“And everyone once and awhile,” Alberty said, “the old hands come along, like Rollin Soles, who has been doing this for a very long time. They want to remind you, the old hands can make great sparkling wines, as well, and that was certainly the case with this one.”


Soles believes the Willamette Valley is the top new region for sparkling wines in the entire world.

ROCO will be serving its top-rated sparkling wine during this weekend’s “Wine Country Thanksgiving” event, in which many wineries in the Willamette Valley and beyond are holding special tastings. It’s also available for sale online.

I re-listened to Rumours for the first time in a long time last night.  There are some great songs on that album.  There are also some absolute stinkers.

Definitely should not be on any lists for greatest album of all time. 

Oregon????

Not my favorite artist, but my list of greatest album of all time starts and ends with Billy Joel's the Stranger.

It had 4 top 40 hits (Only the Good Die Young, She's Always a Woman, Movin' Out, Just the Way You Are), and that doesn't include three of the best songs on the record, Vienna, Scenes from an Italian Restaurant, and its title track, the Stranger, all of which are in the pantheon of songs loved by Billy Joel's fans (not the gospel truth, but example 1, example 2, example 3, example 4). It has two forgettable songs (Get it Right the First Time, and Everybody Has a Dream). So seven of nine tracks are winners, and arguably more than half are in the top 15 fan favorites of songs he ever wrote. I can't think of another record that has that hit rate.

Throw some at me...