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Written by: Editor

Published: 20 July 2008

Created: 19 July 2008

Last Updated: 19 July 2008

SAN FRANCISCO – Forty-five wine industry professionals from throughout the United States worked together June 13, 14 and 15 to taste, score and rank over 4,240 wines from 1,205 wineries during the San Francisco International Wine Competition held at San Francisco's Hotel Nikko.

Many California wines earned top honors, including Shannon Ridge Winery of Clearlake Oaks.

In its 28th year, the San Francisco International Wine Competition examined wines from 23 states and 23 countries. The medal count included 125 Double Gold (a wine is elevated to Double Gold status when all judges on a particular panel agree that a wine deserves a Gold medal), 180 Gold, 941 Silver and 1,593 Bronze.

"Best of Show" awards went to: Epiphany Cellars 2007 Grenache Blanc, Camp Four Vineyard, Santa Ynez Valley, $23, for Best White Wine; York Mountain Winery 2005 Pinot Noir, Jack Ranch Vineyard, Edna Valley, $25, for Best Red Wine; Perrier-Jouet Champagne 2002 Fleur de Champagne Rose, Champagne, France, $300, importer Pernod Ricard USA, for Best Sparkling Wine; and Forrest Estate Winery 2006 Botrytised Riesling, Marlborough, New Zealand 21.5% r.s., $30, importer The Australian Wine Connection, for Best Dessert Wine.

Gallo Family Vineyards, Modesto, California, was recognized with the "Portfolio Award" for excellence across a wide spectrum of brands. Winemaker Blair Fox, Epiphany Cellars, Los Olivos, California, won the coveted Andre Tchelistcheff "Winemaker of the Year" award. The Tasting Panel Magazine Winery of the Year went to Kendall-Jackson Vineyards & Winery, Santa Rosa, California, for the second year in a row.

The competition, under the direction of prominent wine and food authority Anthony Dias Blue, is one of the most important and comprehensive wine competitions in the world, both for the number of wines entered from around the world and for the high level of expertise among its judges. Blue noted that "many new and exciting wines and wine types were tasted this year and once again the up-and-coming category of 'aromatic whites' snagged a Best of Show award. Pinot Noir submissions also continue to grow in numbers and in quality."

Reporting on the growing success of the competition, Blue commented that "2008 was a breakthrough year for the San Francisco International Wine Competition. While most other judgings lost entries this year, the SFIWC grew significantly. We can thank the growing prestige of the competition enhanced by our close relationship with The Tasting Panel Magazine."

"Best of Varietal" winners were awarded in 14 different categories in 2008 and include: Clautiere Vineyards & Winery 2005 Mourvedre, Estate, Paso Robles, $19; Epiphany Cellars 2005 Petite Sirah, Santa Barbara County, $30; Epiphany Cellars 2005 Revelation, Santa Barbara County, $35, for Best Rhone Blend; Flying Fish 2007 Riesling, Columbia Valley 2% r.s., $13; Lucas Vineyards 2007 Vignoles, Finger Lakes 3% r.s., $12; Masia de Bielsa 2007 Grenache, Campo de Borja, Spain, $12, importer: Vinos and Gourmet ; Milbrandt Vineyards 2005 Merlot, Legacy, Wahluke Slope, $25; Portalupi Wine Company 2006 Barbera, Nevada County, $30 ; Rancho Zabaco Winery 2005 Zinfandel, Monte Rosso - Toreador, Sonoma Valley, $60; Rocca Family Vineyards 2006 Bad Boy Red, Yountville, for Best Red Blend; Roche Carneros Estate Winery 2006 Chardonnay, Los Carneros, $22; Rutherford Grove Winery & Vineyards 2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Estate Reserve, Howell Mountain, $65; V. Sattui Winery 2007 Gamay Rouge, California, $18, for Best Rose; Serego Alighieri 2001 Amarone Classico, DOC, Valpolicella, Italy, $83, for Best Italian Wine, importer Remy Cointreau USA; Shannon Ridge 2007 Roussanne, Lake County, $30; Starborough 2007 Sauvignon Blanc, Marlborough, New Zealand, $13, importer Gallo Family Vineyards; Windsor Vineyards 2007 Pinot Grigio, Monterey County, $16, and Yangarra Estate Vineyard 2006 Shiraz, Single Vineyard McLaren Vale, Australia, $25, importer Acadia Imports.

Other Best Varietals went to: Abiqua Wind Vineyard 2007 Muller-Thurgau Chloes Breeze, Willamette Valley, $12; Aziendla Agricola Ferragu Ornello 2005 Valpolicella Superiore, Valpolicella, Italy, $49, importer Tesori Wines; Barone Ricasoli 2001 Castello di Brolio Chianti Classico DOCG, Chianti, Italy, $54, importer Remy Cointreau USA; Filus 2006 Malbec Reserve, Mendoza, Argentina, $15, importer Classic Wines of California; Mazuran's Vineyards 1949 Port, One Vineyard, New Zealand; Quady Winery, NV VYA Vermouth Sweet, California 16.1% r.s., $21; Rappahannock Cellars 2006 Cabernet Franc, Virginia, $22, and Kenneth Volk Vineyards 2005 Tempranillo, Starr Ranch, Paso Robles, $28.

Fourteen "Best of Nation" awards highlight the international scope of entries: Graffigna, Argentina, importer Pernod Ricard USA; Yangarra Estate Vineyard, Australia, importer Acadia Imports; Panizzon, Brazil; Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estates, Canada; Viu Manent, Chile, importer Grape Expectations; Petr Skoupil Winery, Czech Republic; Domaine Laroche, France, importer Remy Cointreau USA; Anselmann, Germany, importer Schwarz Quality Imports; Barone Ricasoli, Italy, importer Remy Cointreau USA; Casa Madero, Mexico, importer Glazers Wholesale Distributors; Brancott Vineyards, New Zealand, importer Pernod Ricard USA; Cortes de Cima, Portugal, importer Vinum Wine Import; Herding Cats, South Africa, importer The Wine Group and Gonzalez Byass, Spain, importer SF Wine Exchange. For Panizzon from Brazil, Jackson-Triggs Okanagan Estates from Canada and Casa Madero from Mexico, this is the second year in a row these wineries have been honored with Best of Nation awards.

The 2007 San Francisco International Wine Competition sponsors were The Tasting Panel Magazine, Semifreddi's Breads, Pace Design and Elements Design Group. Blue also thanked Hotel Nikko in San Francisco for hosting the event.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 19 July 2008

Created: 19 July 2008

Last Updated: 19 July 2008

LOS ANGELES – Last Thursday California Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. disclosed “shocking new details” about Countrywide Financial’s deceptive business practices which included ignoring their own underwriting guidelines and rewarding employees for selling risky home loans.

"These shocking new details provide further evidence of Countrywide's dangerous lending practices, which included ignoring borrowers' low credit scores and rewarding employees for selling risky loans," Brown said. "In one case the company approved an adjustable rate mortgage to an 85-year-old disabled veteran with such a low credit score and high debt that he defaulted in less than six months."

On June 20 Attorney General Brown sued Countrywide for engaging in deceptive advertising and unfair competition by pushing homeowners into risky loans for the sole purpose of reselling the mortgages on the secondary market.

On July 17 Brown filed an amended lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court which reveals 20 new details about the company's scheme to deceive consumers into taking out dangerous mortgages. The information had been previously withheld from the complaint.

Some of the new information includes the fact that Countrywide’s wholesale lending officers received higher commissions for selling Pay Option Adjustable Rate Mortgages – loans that entice consumers with a very low initial "teaser" rate – and loans with weak underwriting standards. Countrywide also paid higher commissions for putting borrowers into loans with higher rates and fees than they qualified for based upon credit scores and other factors.

Countrywide ignored factors that it identified as having negative impacts on underwriting including: high debt ratios, low credit scores, and minimal down payments. Company employees regularly overrode warnings from Countrywide's computerized underwriting system, known as CLUES, which issued loan analysis reports rating consumer credit, purported ability to repay, and whether a proposed loan complied with underwriting guidelines.

The following examples describe new details about how Countrywide granted exceptions to sound business practices. These examples represent a small percentage of the large number of California residents who are facing foreclosure due to Countrywide’s dangerous practices:

• A Countrywide loan officer convinced a borrower to take a Pay Option ARM with a 1-month teaser rate and a three-year prepayment penalty plus a full-draw piggyback home equity line of credit based on the loan officer’s representation that the value of the borrower’s home would continue to rise and he would have no problem refinancing. The borrower’s debt-to-income ratio was 47 percent and credit score was 663. The loan officer offered the loan even though the company’s CLUES report and an underwriter review indicated strong doubts about the borrower’s ability to repay. The loan closed in January 2006, and a Notice of Default issued in June 2007.

• The CLUES report issued for a loan applicant in February 2005 stated that the consumer had too much debt for the loan program and identified other elements of risk including a low credit score. The CLUES report raised doubts about the borrower’s ability to repay the loan but Countrywide approved a 3/27 adjustable rate mortgage with a three-year prepayment penalty, to an 85-year old disabled veteran with a credit score of 509 score and an debt-to-income ratio of nearly 60 percent. The loan closed in February 2005, and a Notice of Default issued in July 2005.

• The CLUES report for a proposed loan identified multiple risks that created doubts about the borrower’s ability to make the payments, including the fact that a borrower had an open collection account. In January 2006, however, Countrywide granted exceptions for these risks and approved a reduced documentation Pay Option Adjustable Rate Mortgage loan for $352,000 with a 3-month teaser rate and a 3-year prepayment penalty, as well as a Piggyback home equity line of credit for $22,000. The loan closed in January 2006, and a Notice of Default issued in October 2006.

Many borrowers who obtained Pay Option and Hybrid ARMs did not understand that their initial monthly payment would at some point "explode," that their initial interest rate would increase and become adjustable, or that the principal amount of their loans could actually increase. Countrywide received numerous complaints regarding these practices from borrowers, including over 3,000 complaints per year handled by the Office of the President between January 2005 and August 2007.

Countrywide gave branch managers commissions or bonuses based on the net profits and loan volume generated by each branching, thereby creating intense pressure to sell as many loans as possible, as quickly as possible, at the highest prices possible. Branch managers were rewarded for meeting production goals set by corporate management, increasing the number of loans sold per loan officer, and reducing the time periods between the loan application stage and funding--or penalized for failing to do so.

The amended lawsuit also contains updated data about Countrywide's staggering foreclosure rates. As of April this year, 21.11 percent of the mortgages owned by Countrywide Home Loans were in some stage of delinquency or foreclosure, including 47.97 percent of originated non-prime loans, and 21.23 percent of Pay Option ARMs.

In January and March, Countrywide recorded 3,175 notices of default in Alameda, Fresno, Riverside and San Diego counties alone, representing an aggregate total of delinquent principal and interest of more than $917 million.

The state's amended complaint is attached. For more information about California’s lawsuit against Countrywide please visit: http://ag.ca.gov/newsalerts/release.php?id=1582&.

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Written by: Editor

Published: 14 July 2008

Created: 14 July 2008

Last Updated: 14 July 2008

BLUE LAKES – The Lodge at Blue Lakes is celebrating the opening of its new Special Events Center with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Thursday, July 17 from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The public is welcomed to enjoy the fun, food, and entertainment, take a guided tour of the beautifully renovated Lodge at Blue Lakes and Lake County’s newest special events venue, as well as enter a raffle for an overnight stay in a deluxe Jacuzzi room.

Located at the site of the Lodge’s former restaurant, the Special Events Center now offers panoramic views of scenic Blue Lakes, plus the Magic Ballroom, the Ice Bar, and the Waterscape Deck with gazebo. The center is available for events of all types – from weddings and family reunions to meetings, retreats, even holiday parties.

The celebration will include appetizers and petit fours, beverages including wine and beer, entertainment provided by Scotty MacNeil on organ, as well as viewing of the historic wall paintings that grace the center’s walls.

Guided tours of The Lodge will showcase the renovations and the colorful history of the old Lodge, which originally opened to weary stagecoach travelers in 1870 as “Blue Lakes Lodge” and, over the

years, was subject to two fires, temporary closings, and even a move across the lake to its present location.

Today, owners Peter and Maryann Schmid have lovingly refurbished what is now known as “The Lodge at Blue Lakes” to welcome guests from all over California - from fishermen to vacationing families to wedding parties. The ribbon-cutting is sponsored by the Lakeport Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Lodge at Blue Lakes is located at 5135 West Highway 20 in Upper Lake.

For more information or directions, contact The Lodge at Blue Lakes at 275-2181, www.thelodgeatbluelakes.com.

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