About The Festival 2014 Fall Festival | December 5 – 7, 2014 10am to 5:30pm | Free Admission The Tempe Festival of the Arts consistently ranks among the Top 200 art festivals in the nation by Sunshine Artist Magazine and has received the...

Tucson, AZ view outside hotel room. Temperatures ranged from 34-degress to 80-degress. Nice, very nice.

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Spent the Thanksgiving week in Tucson, AZ. In photo below are the following superstar line up: Leslie Tal, Jerry Deutscher, JerriAnne Rees, Bruce Deutscher, Georgi Otis and Nancy Mellan.

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The winner: Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2002 The results of the champagne tastings were #1 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2002 $135; #2 Pol Gardere Brut $32 and #3 Delamotte Blanc De Blanc 2002 $95. #4 Ruinart Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2002...

The winner: Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2002 The results of the champagne tastings were #1 Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2002 $135; #2 Pol Gardere Brut $32 and #3 Delamotte Blanc De Blanc 2002 $95. #4 Ruinart Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blanc 2002 (France) $135 This is the top line from Ruinart, a long time Champagne maker. This is a chardonnay only Champagne. This was probably my all time favorite and we have been doing the blind tastings for ten years now. Obviously the price tag makes this a special occasion champagne. Wine Spectator had rated it '96'.The less expensive Ruinart Brut Blanc de Blanc $65 may be as good - we shall see. #8 Pol Gardere Brut (France) $32. This was a last minute addition. Mel and I were champagne tasting at "Bubbles" in Morgan Hill and we tried this little gem. One magazine placed Pol Gardere as one of the top 10 bargain sparkling wines. This was one of the favorites of the group. My own personal notes was it was semi-smooth with a nice taste that would be workable if the price was right - which it is. #1 Delamotte Blanc de Blanc (France) $95 - this is a chardonnay only champagne, it is the second labeling of the winery, the first one is Salon, only produced on exceptional years and usually runs $300;

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