INK MAGAZINE - AUGUST 2020

Vol 15 Issue 174

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10 00 0 BEST BE ST ONE OF AMERICA A’’S

HOSPITALS ™

Exceptional patient outcomes and the highestquality care. It ’s why Middlesex Health is the only Connecticut hospital ranked in the countr y ’s top 2% by Heal a thgrades® in 2020. And it ’s another reason we were chosen to be Connecticut ’s connection to the Mayo Clinic Care Network.

MiddlesexHealth .org/best

August 2020 Vol. 15 Issue 174

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Feature Stories

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Departments

Antonino Auto Group

How a Legacy is Born

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18

34

42

Waggle

Saving 4-Legged Lives Every Day

Wiffle Ball, Inc.

Saving Windows Since 1953

Connecticut’s Farms & Vineyards

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28

66

Music Mirth and Mojo - Black & Blue

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68

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Crusty Old Diver - Underwater, New England

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Hopping Around CT - A Delicate Balance

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The Cheesemonger - Summertime Cheese

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Life on Sugar - FRUIT(Y) CAKES

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On the Vine - Wines of Greece

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Main Street. The center of almost every town in the United States. Since the days of Woolworths, the hardware store, and the local movie theater, Main Street is where you went to experience commerce and likely the most hustle and bustle that your town had to offer. It’s where you came across others in your community. Chances are you knew the clerk's name that had rung you up at the register in your favorite store. Obviously, time doesn’t stand still. The downtown area of most towns have gone through their ups and downs. When gentrification happens, more often than not it begins on Main Street. These vital regions are often how a town is reflected upon by a visitor or someone new to the area. Our small retail shops and local vendors all need our help now more than ever. Your favorite restaurant needs you. Your favorite shop keeper is wondering about the future. The clothes that hang in your favorite boutique are waiting there for you. Yes even now...

Jeffery Lilly founder / publisher

Contributors 50

Thinking Outside the Box (of Donuts)

Susan Cornell - editorial/photography Caryn B. Davis - editorial/photography Alison Kaufman - Music Mirth & Mojo Charlotte Kelly - admin/traffic Heather Kelly - Life on Sugar Jim Lalumiere - Hopping Around CT Mark Seth Lender - Cardinal Points Art LiPuma - On the Vine

Rona Mann - editorial Carolina Marquez-Sterling - design Melissa Nardiello - design Paul Partica - The Cheesemonger Vincent Scarano - photography John Tolmie - Crusty Old Diver Kate Tolmie - photography Joe Urso - design

Advertising

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On the Cover: Sunrise at the Boat Launch, Stratford Connecticut

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WHAT OUR

CUSTOMERS ARE SAYING!

Service people are friendly.

-Fern A. Google Review- July 2020

This is first time I’ve bought a brand new vehicle, and the process at Charles Toyota couldn’t have gone smoother. The staff was accommodating, and I would highly recommend Colby Kay for any of your sales needs

-Michael B. Google Review - June 2020

Thank you Brian Church for my beautiful Camry!Was looking for a new vehicle & Brian was there to help. Let me take a couple of test drives & I fell in love with the Camry!Explained all the gadgets to me & had all paperwork done, easy peasy!!I will definitely tell everyone to go to Charles Toyota!!Thank you all again for everything! See you at my first service!!

-Jackie C. Google Review - June 2020

Everyone was excellent!!!!! Super helpful, quick, and efficient!!!! Thank you!!!

-Melissa M. Google Review - July 2020

The Service Department at Charles Toyota is an absolute pleasure to deal with when the times come to take care of my cars. Bernie, Rory, and the rest of the crew are friendly, reliable, and efficient, as I have never had to bring a car back to them after they worked on it, and I have been bringing my cars there for many years. The cars are returned when promised, and whenever an estimate is involved it is spot on. The valet service they also offer is a huge perk when I can’t wait around for the repairs to be finished. Overall, the service department is a terrific asset for Charles Toyota, and as long as they perform the way they have since I have been a customer I will continue to bring my cars there, and will continue to recommend them to my friends.

-Robert Y. Google Review - June 2020

We purchased a vehicle, sight unseen, completely over the phone due to current circumstances. From the beginning, Dan was quick at reaching out and starting the entire process. I then worked with Colby and that guy is the kindest human and working with him was great. He is so invested in his customers. He took the time to answer questions I didn’t even know I had. The fact that he was able to build rapport with a complete stranger and earn my trust when I’m not in front of him and completely over the phone, says a lot about him. He is quick to respond even though he is busy and he offers to still be the point of contact should we have any questions. World class customer service, Colby. Thanks again -Jancy V. Google Review - June 2020

My car was due for an oil change. I work about 2 miles from the dealership and used to use the courtesy van which is no longer running due to COVID19. Instead, I scheduled the maintenance, Charles employees picked up my car at my workplace, completed the maintenance and delivered the car before I finished working for the day. I couldn’t ask for better service. Thank you!

-Bob R. Facebook Review - June 2020

Sales and service amazing as always!!!

-Kate B. Google Review- June 2020

CHARLES Making Great Deals Better

TOYOTA

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When A Stranger Knocked at the Door Girard Antonino Answered, and d a Legacy was Born.

by Rona Mann

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here are man nyy great American stories, man ny Horatio Alger tales of rags to riches, but few haavve the serendipityy,, the devotion and commitment of one familyy, and the morals of good business, good ethics, and doing good for other people as does the storry that began with Girard Antonino some 53 years ago.

Antonino was a simple man, a veteran of Wo rld Wa Wa r II who had never pursued his education beyond y high g school, but that never mattered - he had all he needed to get ahead and make his mark in the world: drive, a willingness to work hard, and the impulse to take a risk.

Girard felt it was his duty to serrve, so when the war broke out, he left his boyhood home in Westerlyy,, Rhode Island and enlisted in the Army, y, seeing action at both the D-Day Invasion at Normandy and the bloody Battle of the Bulge. While stationed in England, he met a British nurse’s aide named Jeanne who stole his heart, and after two years of letter writing, wooing, convincing, and perseverance, he married her and brought her back to We Westerly. The Antoninos soon had children, and perhaps without realizing it at the time, Girard began to build not just a familyy, but a legacy...one that would continue to grow and flourish generation after generation long after his death.

In the late ‘60s, Girard and his brotherr, Leo opened Anto onino Motors in Groton, a tiny used car lot an nd gas station.“It was a verryy small operation,”saayys y Girard’s only son, John.“If they sold six cars a month, it was a lot.”It ” wasn’’tt long before the brrothers found property on the corner of Colman and Broad Streets in New London and opened a second location. They w, Leo worked hard, and their business grew, G location which now had running the Groton

Ne six employees and Girard att the helm in New London with three emplo oyyees. e In 1966 while still in high school, John worked at his father’s New London dealership p, cutting his teeth on the business, leaarning every aspect of it and haaving a one-of-a--kind teacher who taught him that ethics, being kind, and giving were the most imback to the community w portant elements to be succeessful in business.

10 “That year Dad got Toyota,” reported John with a smile, “and it’s a great story. It was a hot summer night, and a guy pulled into the dealership and asked my father,“Hi, wanna be a Toyota dealer?”

“At the time, Ford and Chevrolet were the two biggest automotive franchises in America, and my father couldn’t afford the fees. But Toyota was relatively new and looking for dealers, and their price tag was just $2500 for the franchise.

“So for just $2500. my father got a sign and about $1000. worth of parts, and he became a Toyota dealer.”

The first cars were the popular Toyota Coronas which ultimately ceased production in 2001, but Girard managed to sell many of the model, which was then followed up by the Corolla,“at the time the most economical car in the USA, getting 35-40 miles per gallon, which was a boon during the energy crunch of the 1970s,” adds John. The Corolla is still Toyota’s biggest

seller having manufactured over 44 million in the last 50 years.

Girard’s son, John pursued a degree in Business Administration and Accounting at Quinnipiac College (now Quinnipiac University), graduated in 1970 and came straight home to the dealership in New London where he had grown up, ready to work hard, employing everything his father had taught him. It is that work ethic and way of doing business that continues to this day.

John is still at the same dealership, Girard Toyota on Colman Street, right on the corner of Broad, but today the Antonino Auto Group has grown to encompass nine stores throughout southeastern Connecticut: three Toyota dealerships, two Nissan, one KIA, one Ford, one Acura, and one BMW franchise.

“From the original seven employees, we now have 500, 110 alone in this store,” John says, then he laughs,“which is why I sometimes stay awake at night.” But in truth, John Antonino is

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very proud of his people, from service to parts to sales and marketing. One has only to hear him talk about his staff to know how valuable they are to the organization and to him personally, something he does not ever take for granted.

On the 50th anniversary of Girard Toyota, the Toyota Motor Corporation came to Connecticut and honored them, something of which John is arguably proud. “They gave us a party, presented us with an award, we were in Automotive News. We are now one of the five oldest continuously operating Toyota dealerships in the country.”

Perhaps the biggest reason for their success is that both John and his partner, Charlie Antonino, his Uncle Leo’s son, are hands-on all the time.“We’re here, we work hard, we give back,” says John.

The “giving back” is yet another part of Girard Antonino’s legacy as a noted philanthropist and remains a lesson he taught well to his family. “Philanthropy is our business,” John agrees. During the recent pandemic, Girard gave a “large sum” to the Coast Guard so they could help local families and take care of the community.

They have also endowed Lawrence & Memorial Hospital, added a new cancer center in Waterford, and provided funds for alcohol-free parties at the local high schools.

“The automotive business has changed dramatically,” John Antonino says. “Today 80% of our business is being done on the internet. I didn’t want to

believe it at first, but it’s been proven to me. Customers today are smart. They know what they want and how to find it, and in most cases, they can find exactly what they want with us. The internet not only makes the car buying process easier on a local level, but we are now doing business throughout the county, shipping vehicles everywhere.”

That all amounts to a staggering 6000-7000 cars and trucks sold annually. “Our best year we did 10,000,” adds John. Not a bad increase from when his dad and Uncle Leo sold six a month. Not bad at all. Times may have changed certainly, but the Antonino family is still doing things in the way in which they’ve been done for 53 years, and that breaks the mold and any stereotype anyone could ever have about car dealers.

Still, the legacy and way of doing business continue to the next generation as John’s sons, Girard and Christopher are both dealership managers, and son, Marc is the General Manager of Girard Toyota. This is not nepotism, it’s lessons well learned. It’s a work ethic begun 53 years ago that has endured because although the makes and models may have changed over the years, the foundation of the Antonino family remains strong in its roots. And to think it all started with taking a chance on a hot summer night. Girard would be proud.

And that’s how you leave a legacy.

Girard Toyota is at the corner of Broad and Colman in New London

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Black & Blue Profile by Ali Kaufman

“The blues will always be the Black Lives Matter statement in America” ...Hugh Holmes, Jr.

I have done my radio show, Morning Mojo, on WCNI 90.9FM for the past ten years, mostly focused on the blues. I’ve had the great pleasure of meeting many artists and learning about the history of the genre. I’ve traveled the Blues Highway more than once and spent time getting to know people in Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, and beyond. The Black Lives Matter movement has made me realize that there is always more to learn and that I can be a better listener. I reached out to harmonica master, Hugh Holmes, Jr. and well known,“Blues’n Soul’n Rock’n Roll” singer, Greg Sherrod, to catch up with them about projects they have recently released and to ask about their take on the current climate of race relations in our country.

When “Professor Harp,” aka Hugh Holmes Jr., last came to visit me in studio, he wore a shirt proclaiming,“The Blues is Black History.”This is not a slogan, it is fact.“You can’t just like the music and blow off the people that created it,” Hugh remarked as we spoke about the genre that has over time become gentrified by a system that seems to care more about the

Photo by Michael Baumann

bottom line than anything else. In his new, self-published book,“Ain’t No Uncle Tom in My Blues: Life and Times of the Undaunted Professor Harp,” Hugh delves into his journey, from his beginnings growing up in Boston during the segregation of the ‘50s, all the way to the present day, as he continues to lay bare the way thing are. The book is not about excluding whites or anyone really from the blues, it is more about honoring the culture that birthed it and claiming the right to be a part of the scene today as it goes forward. The blues are deep, they are born out of the human condition, of lives lived, struggles overcome, and challenges met. Hugh does not sugar coat his truth….Hugh never sugar coats anything actually, for as long as I have known him, I’ve never seen him shy away from standing up for what he believes. The Professor is not afraid to ruffle anyone’s feathers,“If you take injustice, nothing will change,” he said, and added,“Hell, we would still be sitting at the back of the bus.”

The book he wrote over the last three years has garnered rave reviews and includes brushes with greatness like how it was Solomon Burke that gave him his famous moniker and what it was like to

Photo by Dhana Whiteing

open for BB King.

There is a hopeful air to Hugh’s writing, much like the blues itself; times may be hard, but there is light and always something to be grateful for. When we are able to be in a live audience again, I hope I will find Professor Harp up on the stage, breaking through the cliques that can be so prevalent in music circles and thrilling audiences with his oneof-a-kind artistry and power.

While Hugh Holmes, Jr. is from the Jim Crow generation, Milford, Connecticut native, Greg Sherrod’s life has been shaped growing up in what he called the“MLK Generation.”Speaking to both of them made it clear to me that as much as the world changes some things, much remains the same, especially for people of

Photo by Kerry Quinn

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color. Greg also had the view that many people playing the blues today do not celebrate its history or even know much about it. In a light bulb moment for me, we talked about regional blues societies that have lost touch with African Americans all together.

Not that the herculean efforts that many of

the societies put forth are not appreciated, but not having black members says something about the state of the genre today. That fact, and the struggle to garner a blues audience, led Greg’s musical style to lean towards funking it up and creating his wide ranging sound of “BluesnSoulnRocknRoll.” Sherrod is a busy songwriter, singer, and vocal coach, currently in two bands and straddling two states. Black Sheep is his Connecticut group, and The Get Down hails from Rhode Island. Both are featured on Greg’s latest offering put out this year at the end of May. Nine original songs, with a horn section and several of his vocal students singing backup, combine on “Can You Feel It?” Many are in agreement with Greg’s assessment that it is the best thing he has done to date.

Recorded at Lakewest Studios in West Greenwich RI, Sherrod gives much credit to Grammy-nominated producer/engineer, Jack Gauthier - who by the way, is also legendary Duke Robillard’s manager - for the success of this album and for making it such a pleasure to record.

There is SO much more to know about these performers. They bring talent, history, and passion to the stages they grace, and with a little luck, we will all

get the chance to catch them soon. Until then, please consider checking out their links.

Professor Harp’s book is available on Amazon in paperback, Kindl, or by going to his website: professorharp.com The Greg Sherrod Music Company page on bandcamp.com is where you can purchase a digital copy. Facebook is the best way to stay up to date with everything he has cookin’ and connect for a CD. https://www.facebook.com/Sherrodmusiccompany

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Saving 4-Legged Lives Every D Day

How W Wa aggle is Reducing “Economiic Euthanasia”

by Rona Mann

(wag.gle) def. to move with short quick movements from side to side

W

hen he was just a little boy, y, Steve Mornelli’s first pet was his cat,“Sam,” and like all little boys who are fortunate to haave cats and dogs to share their world, he lo oved him unconditionally. Now that Steven Mornelli is a big boy, y, he’s still in lo ovve, (“madlyy and p passionatelyy,”he ” admits), this time with a Yo Yorkie/Cocker mix he rescued and named “Gracie.”

If your life is similarly enriched by haavving an animal or two or three as part of your family and you enjo oyy the experience of sharing your world with them, then you know exactly where Mornelli is coming from. But an integral part of haavving an nyy pet is that sometimes they get sick, very sick, and needed veterinary care can be exorbitant, often times an impossibility for the average pet owner. So what can you do?

The startling fact is that more than 500,000 pets are euthanized everryy year in the United States, not because their conditions aren’t treatable, but simply because their owners cannot afford to paayy for their veterinarryy care. These dogs and cats are much lo oved and wanted, and therefore it becomes a gut-wrenching decision when the cost of an MRI or surgery is more than the owners can afford. Those who work in animal healthcare refer to haavving to make this agonizing decision as “economic euthanasia,”” and it represents a decision that continues to tear people p apart.

Enter the gro own-up Steven Mornelli who put his education, his work experience, and his proclivity for research and data to the metal m and conceived Wa Waggle, an organization dedicated to making a dent in the very large problem of the economic eutthanasia of pets. Mornelli was born and raised and shared his life with animals in a tin ny bucolic hamlet in upstate New York. A graduate of the University of Michigan with a degreee in finance, he spent much of his working life building a carreer in engineering, macro-economic research, and data science. He worked for a time on Wa Wall Street using his knowledg ge of mathematical analysis to understand in nvestments until came the crash of 2008 which necessitated his relocation n to London. Unfortunatelyy,, he staayyed across the s pond only a short while until the So overeign D Debt Crisis

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similarly swallowed up his job once again.

Mornelli next returned to New York and data science before permanently moving to Connecticut (“Essex is now my hometown, and I absolutely love it and everything about it”). For a time he used his extensive engineering background to work on satellites and submarines at General Dynamics, but a couple of years ago he “wanted more relevance” from what he was doing with his life.

into its research. Mornelli was completely taken by the Watsi concept and thought,“Why can’t we do the same thing for pets who are suffering, who need surgeries and expensive solutions to make them whole again?”

Recognizing that Watsi has been so successful in accomplishing this in the arena of human healthcare, he immersed himself in homework and lots of it. Steven Mornelli soon came to the conclusion,“We can do this!”

Mornelli is one to thoroughly study all sides of any situation or issue before he makes a move, so when he found an organization called Watsi, a non-profit global platform that builds technology to finance universal healthcare by crowdfunding necessary surgeries worldwide for those who cannot afford it, he delved

And they did! Less than two years ago, Waggle was born. What exactly is it in one succinct definition? Mornelli easily replies,“In less than 10 words: ‘Waggle is committed to ending economic euthanasia.’”That frightening term is not a slick marketing slogan conceived by a New York adman, but it represents a very real problem that faces the veterinary profession every day.

Now, a workable alternative and a significant part of that solution is Waggle.

At its most basic, Waggle is crowdfunding, that concept whereby small amounts of donations (as little as $10) are collected from a large group of people; however, unlike the more well-known crowdfunding platforms on the internet that collect your money, but you’re never quite sure where all or part of it is going, Waggle directs 100% of all

21 funds raised to the veterinary hospitals that are doing the procedures. In this way, Waggle is the first of its kind on the internet, the only petdedicated funding platform that actively partners with veterinary clinics throughout the United States and Canada. It is 100% safe because the pet owner never receives any of the monies raised, which eliminates doubts about fake fundraising campaigns and remains a safe way of helping families make their pets well again, returning them to their homes for many more years of love and affection.

Mornelli’s research has proven that crowdfunding is the ideal channel to connect pets in need with people everywhere who love animals. It doesn’t have to be your own dog or cat who needs the help. When you go on waggle.org you’ll see the photos and read the stories of which animals are currently in crisis and could use your help right now, and you’ll be certain that all donations go directly to the provider or veterinary hospital assuring complete transparency, something no other crowdfunding platform can guarantee.

It is because Waggle works directly with more than 1000 veterinary hospitals providing safe solutions that they have been able to attract large corporate partners, and for those smaller organizations like service clubs and non-profits Waggle can show them a way to get matching funds from these partners and sponsors. Additionally, animal welfare organizations throughout the U.S. and Canada are now well-familiar with Waggle.“We give them an extra boost,” says Mornelli.“Lions Clubs, Rotary clubs, Elks, religious organizations, service clubs, animal welfare groups, talk to us. We can help you put your money to work!”

During our recent and ongoing Coronavirus crisis, businesses closed. People lost their jobs, couldn’t pay their rent, drained their bank accounts. So when a pet fell ill during this time, there was often no extra money to help...but

there was a way, and that way was Waggle. Mornelli found ways over and over to crowdfund expensive vet bills and give pet owners some peace of mind and a solution to help their beloved animals, however, he is quick to add,“We are just part of the solution, not the whole solution.”

Yes, it has been less than two years since Waggle was born, but even in that short time, it has attracted some pretty heavyweight partners. Well-respected foundations such as The Greater Good, a 20-year old organization that’s given more than $60. million to charity came aboard from the first, as did Lil Bub and others.

Now Waggle is garnering star power as evidenced by a partnership with the Mayim Bialik Fund, the actress most remembered for starring on the TV shows, Blossom and The Big Bang Theory.

Animals once thought to be a tragic lost cause due to a lack of personal funds are now returning to their homes and families where they once again are barking and purring in contented delight, making quick movements from side to side.

In short, they (wag.gle).

Find out more and how you and/or your organization can help by visiting: www.waggle.org

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Eye Contact

African Elephant

© Mark Seth Lender All Rights Reserved

They mill about. If they were thirsty there is water nearby and plenty of it. If they wanted food they would look for it and find it. They are in each other’s company, nothing more. It makes them whom and what they are.

Purpose enough.

Now a dark shape sudden and close: Tusks thick as posts, the wide brow, the ears outstretched, huge! The startled look, as if he did not expect me there, as if he turned a blind corner and was surprised. He stares.

Unsure. An attitude they all share. And would prefer if the vehicle and the people riding on its open frame were at a distance.

Instead of in the midst.

Of wild elephants.

Under the midday sun.

In the total absence of shade…

The bull that was so close veers off and into the herd. I sit and watch the elephants.

On the periphery, at the other side of the clearing where the brush swallows the land, a young female is staring at me. She is twelve maybe thirteen, an age which means in her what it means in us. Her knowledge incomplete. The years of her majority distant. An age for discovery. Naïve, both to possibility and danger.

Every time I glance in her direction she is there looking at me. Me, in particular. So I lift my chin. Twice. Two quick gestures, deliberately as close as possible to imperceptible. She sees - she was waiting for this - and returns that very same gesture.

And comes… Towards me.

The herd is in motion. Revealing, concealing

the line of sight. I see her then I don’t. She sees me then she doesn’t. I am there, I am not there. But every time I loose sight of her sure that she changed her mind I see her again, we exchange the sign: The nod, the softness around the eyes....

Again… Again…

We seek and find each other’s faces.

She reaches out to me as I reach out to her And the man posing as our guide slams his heavy fist on the hood and yells WHADDAYAH THINK YOU’RE DOIN’? GET OUTTA HERE! I stood I called to her out loud: It wasn’t me!

It wasn’t me…

Too late… Too late.

Consensus.

Elephant, for the rest of her long life will think about this. As the day ends if she still lives she is thinking of it now. And as for me, I see that look on her face.

Consent.

It haunts me.

On through the crowd around the mass of legs past the expanses of skin thick and grey and furrowed as drought baked mud until, there is nothing and no one between us.

This is what I am left with.

She raises her trunk.

Come Back.

In the dark, Sound is Sight.

A Reinforcement.

Of Recognition.

I lift my hand.

That I will never be able to find her.

To tell her:

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Field Note: I thought about this story for a quarter of a century before I wrote it down. I did not want to see it in print. Staring back at me. It was the first time a wild animal reached out to me. Not the thing we take for granted coming from our pets. Something different from that, outside the boundaries of our ostensible control. An elephant. Can you imagine? An elephant! Something Other. And this is what happened and how it ended.

The fact of approach requires its own word: Extraordinarity. A portmanteau of “Extraordinary” and “Rare.” All the more what lies beneath, Eye contact, itself enough of a remarkable thing.

How in the first place does a wild animal find your eyes? Ours face front, better for hunting. Elephant eyes are oriented more to the side, for avoiding hunters. The eyes of other animals likewise have their various strengths and weaknesses, some sporting greater acuity underwater but seeing less well than we do in air, or with night vision better

than ours, or structured to be more sensitive to movement, or attuned to different ends of the electromagnetic spectrum, specialties concerned with the detection of different stimuli than those that concern us. Each looks at the world “through its own eyes” implying (or so we have been told) different mind. If so, then why seek out your face, your eyes? From insects to elephants most animals seek and find your face; and it is eyes that make the face. There is something shared.

Must be. Or why bother?

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Under the Water in Southern New England Profile by John Tolmie / Photos by Dave Gleeson

D

ave Gleeson spent his childhood fishing the southern New England shoreline with his father and running offshore aboard his uncle’s fishing boat. As far back as he could recall, Dave had been in love with Mother Ocean and had been intrigued by the mysteries hidden beneath her waves. “I read something about spearfishing when I was a kid. Something in that article sparked my interest in harvesting fish in a completely different and unique manner.”Dave recalls, “I started to obsess about it, but I couldn’t find any information about spearfishing here in New England.

It was so frustrating!”

Dave had seen many underwater photos in his time, but most were of crystal clear waters and coral reefs that were taken in the tropics. “I

knew that the waters here in New England were vastly different from all of those tropical photos. I wanted to see what was under our waters up here in the northeast.”

At the age of thirteen, Dave had pieced together a smattering of rudimentary dive gear. With a mask, snorkel, and fins, Dave took his first plunge into the depths of the foaming and green Rhode Island seas.

“I was living in Portsmouth at the time. That’s where I did my first true dive and I was amazed how much there was down there… how much there was to see! It was incredible! The diversity of life truly amazed me and I was hooked!” Dave knew at that moment that venturing beneath the ocean waves would forever be his true passion.

Over a winter break, during his later college days, Dave had been invited to join a crew on an ice-breaker headed south towards the unmolested wilderness of Antarctica. “I had been dabbling in photography for some time at that point. My father had impressed his joy of photography on me and it stuck. I was given this incredible opportunity in the Antarctic and it was there where photography truly took hold of me. The Antarctic is one of the most beautiful places on earth and I did my best to capture its essence!” Dave had been tasked to collect marine samples on the expedition but

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cold, but it was also an incredibly amazing experience!”

Having earned his bachelor's degree in Marine Biology in 2015 from the University of Rhode Island, Dave then decided to complete his Masters in Oceanography in 2018. “I wanted to get into the engineering side of Oceanography and I knew a Masters Degree would greatly help in that endeavor.” With a higher degree of education, Dave soon found himself conducting research for the United States Navy in Newport, Rhode Island.

With his newfound career in place, Dave decided to join a local group of diving enthusiasts. He found a home amongst the Tristate Skindivers, a regional Spearfishing Club that includes over two hundred members from Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New York. It was with the club members where he was able to expound on his hobby of spearfishing and to further hone his underwater photography skills.

found himself more interested in his newfound passion for photography than the actual work he had been hired to do.“I took over ten thousand photos,” He exclaims,“We had been on the research vessel for about a month and I shot from the vessel every day. However, one day we were taken to land by a deckhand on his inflatable Zodiac.” He continues, “There were penguins and other marine mammals

there and I spent a good amount of time capturing these incredible wild creatures.”

Dave didn’t want the experience to end but it was time to get back to the ship and steam home. As we headed back to the vessel, I asked the deckhand if I could jump in the water. We weren’t allowed to get in the water, but the deckhand did me a solid and we ducked behind a glacier. I hopped in the Antarctic with nothing on but my boxers!”

Dave Laughs, “It was freakin’ cold man! But, I had my GoPro camera with me and I was able to take a few once-in-alifetime underwater shots. It was crazy and

“I wanted to start transitioning from landscape photography to the underwater world.” Dave says, “So I needed to get more experience in the water. I bought an old Ikelite underwater housing for my camera and began shooting as much as I could. But

31 it was really difficult in the beginning to get a clear shot.”

Dave started meeting up with other club members and began freediving more and more into the depths of the murky New England seas. Some days, he would bring his speargun and harvest a few fresh fish for the grill. Other days, he would bring his camera and capture the unseen realm beneath the waves. “If the water was cloudy and the visibility was bad, I would usually bring my speargun, but, if the water was clear and the conditions were right, I would choose to bring my camera. Light at depth is always a concern here in New England due to our murky waters, so when the conditions are perfect for photography, I can’t wait to dive down and capture what’s down there.”

Many divers use GoPro cameras to record video, but Dave wanted to try his hand at capturing highquality underwater stills. “I’ve put some effort into putting the speargun down and picking up the camera this year.” Dave says and then pauses, “If I had to choose between spearing a fish or shooting one on film, it’s a hard decision, but I would ditch the speargun for good if I had to really choose.”

Dave’s humanity and his love for the sea are qualities rarely witnessed in the bravado laden sport of spearfishing. Rather than holding up a dead fish for an egotistical trophy picture, Dave would rather capture an undersea waterscape and share his experiences with others. “One of the things I noticed when I started getting into underwater photography, was how most people will never see the things that I’ve personally witnessed. Sure, they’ll see all those tropical shots, but they don’t even know what amazing marine life we have right here in our underwater backyard!”Dave exclaims,“It’s so satisfying to me to be able to share these images with people who have lived

their entire life in New England and have never seen what lies below. Everyone has seen the Newport Bridge, or Brenton Point, or the lighthouses that dot our coastline… but then you start showing people what exists under our waters, it blows their minds!”

To purchase or view Dave’s Underwater photos and his incredible landscape shots please visit his website at www.davegleeson.com or his Instagram at @daveunderwater

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by Alli Ganino / photos courtesy Wiffle Ball Inc.

G

rowing up on a cul-de-sac in Fort Wayne, Indiana in the early 1980s, I had the distinction of being the only girl in a neighborhood bursting with little boys. Unless I wanted to play alone, I had to play what the boys wanted to play -- football, basketball, kickball, and, of course, baseball.

It turns out, a cul-de-sac

is a great place for a game of baseball. Home plate, the pitcher’s mound, and second base were represented by specific cracks in the pavement. First and third base were the Stiles’s and the Key’s mailboxes, respectively. If we didn’t have enough kids to represent both teams, we used ghost players as stand-ins. We somehow managed to never break a window, but did have some close calls involving personal injury, the most memorable being when my younger brother hit a line drive toward my face. I’ve never been the most coordinated individual or claimed to have great reflexes, so it was no surprise to anyone but me when the baseball connected squarely with my face, knocking me flat. After a trip to the ER and a series of x-rays (and, the next day, two impressive black eyes), my parents banned the use of baseballs for anything other than games of catch.

Little did I know, a similar scene played out almost exactly 30 years earlier in Fairfield, Connecticut, only the drama involved broken windows and dented siding rather than black eyes. David N. Mullany, former UCONN baseball player, pharmaceutical company purchasing agent, and then automotive polish manufacturer found himself

unemployed after the car polish business ran into financial difficulty and closed its doors. David went through the motions of going to “work” every day, looking for an employment opportunity without much luck. One afternoon, he noticed his 12 year old son playing a form of baseball with a group of friends. The boys had been prohibited from using real baseballs after a rash of broken windows.

Instead, they were playing with broomsticks and a perforated plastic golf ball. The golf ball let them play safely, but left them with sore arms after trying to throw curve balls all day. As a former semi-pro pitcher, David Mullany knew a few things about curve balls. He set out to design an improvement to the plastic golf ball.

David’s business connections came in handy.

He got in touch with Coty Perfume, which was packaging its bottles inside hollow plastic balls that opened in halves similar to plastic Easter eggs. With several of the plastic balls to work with, David and his son began experimenting. They cut various shapes of holes into the plastic halves of the balls, snapped them together, and finally found a design that made for a perfect throw. Eight oblong holes in one half and no holes in the other produced a ball that allowed the pitcher to throw curve balls, sinkers, and risers with control and minimal effort. Better yet, the ball wasn’t a risk to windows, siding, innocent bystanders, or the players’ own heads!

Still unemployed and worried about starting his

career over relatively late in life, David wondered if

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the ball his son and his son’s friends were enjoying so much would appeal to other kids. He took out a second mortgage, borrowed money from friends, and formed a new toy company. The product only needed a name, and for this, David turned to his son. The kids had a particular word that seemed perfect. If you swung and missed, you ”whiffed.” Whiffle became Wiffle for the simple and wonderful fact that dropping the H meant they had one less letter to pay for on the signs. Wiffle Ball, Inc. was born!

Fast forward to today, and the 12 year old who helped invent and name Wiffle Ball back in 1953 is now semi-retired. His two sons, David and Stephen, currently run the company. The Wiffle Ball you can buy and play with today is essentially unchanged from the Wiffle Ball of the 1950s. All production is still done in the USA at their facility in Shelton, CT. In fact, walking into the factory and offices is a bit like taking a trip back in time.

For a classic, highly recognizable toy, the company itself is relatively small. The office area is a big,

The kids had a particular word that seemed perfect.

If you swung and missed, you ”whiffed.” open room without cubicles. Staff talk to each other face to face without needing to jump on the phone or rely on email. Memorabilia hints at the reach of Wiffle Ball -- on display you can see US flags given to Wiffle Ball as a thank you for balls and bats the company shipped to soldiers in Iraq

Above left Photo: The Wiffle Ball headquarters in Shelton, Conn.

Above Right Photo: David A. Mullany with Dad David N. Mullany

and Afghanistan. Cartoons that have mentioned Wiffle Ball over the years dot the walls, an informal reminder of the company’s history.

Wiffle Ball is as much a part of Americana as apple pie and, well, baseball.

It’s fascinating to think about the role of Wiffle Ball today. When we picture kids playing now, we think of screens, highly organized activities, and helicopter parents. I asked Dave Mullany about the role of Wiffle Ball in a world of technology and his answer was as straightforward as a game of Wiffle Ball itself. He said, “People still gotta get outside sometime. Parents still throw their kids outside for fresh air.” And he’s right.

The simplicity of Wiffle Ball is its greatest appeal.

You can play with two people or ten. You can make the game as complicated or as basic as you

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want. You can learn to throw a wicked curve or barely get the ball across the plate and still have a good time. Give a couple of siblings a Wiffle Ball and bat and they can argue over it as much as their little hearts desire or play together in the kind of way that makes parents feel like rock stars. They probably won’t break any windows or send each other to the ER. A game of Wiffle Ball doesn’t require a great deal of time or skill or a stellar attention span. No other equipment needed, just the ball, the bat, and a bit of a competitive spirit.

Unsurprisingly, Wiffle Ball has a dedicated following of players and fans across the country.

For example, the Travis Roy Foundation runs a Wiffle Ball certified tournament every year. Teams converge on Essex, Vermont to play on Little Fenway, Little Wrigley, and Little Field of Dreams, competing and raising money for spinal cord injury survivors. The tournament attracts 32 teams from across the country with pitchers in particular showing off some serious throwing skills. A quick search on YouTube will bring up video after video of Wiffle Ball enthusiasts sharing their techniques and talents.

Photo of David A. Mullany and Sons David and Stephen Mullany

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Does Dave Mullany play Wiffle Ball all day? If you’ve ever run a business, you probably already know the answer -- he’s too busy working to play all day. That’s not to say he doesn’t feel an immense pride in the family business. Walking into the factory, smelling machine oil and corrugated cardboard on a humid summer day, brings him right back to childhood when a visit to the factory on a quiet Saturday morning meant he could take a ride on the conveyor belt. He grew up playing Wiffle Ball and still appreciates the fun of the game.

While talking to Dave and learning more about

the history of Wiffle Ball, one thing became clear.

Wiffle Ball is a true family business. What has been passed from grandfather to son to grandsons is more than just a factory, a brand name, and some offices. It’s a culture of quality, consistency, and focus on letting the end product speak for itself. A Wiffle Ball you buy today will be the same as a Wiffle Ball you bought 20 years ago or a Wiffle Ball you buy 10 years from now. You can certainly go out and buy some other plastic ball, but it won’t be a Wiffle Ball. It will be just another piece of plastic.

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“People still gotta get outside some time. Parents still throw their kids outside for fresh air.�

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grape& grain The Richness of Connecticutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Farms & Vineyards In Connecticut, we have over 5,000 farms . . . along with 40 vineyards and wineries. If we wanted to, we could probably source all of our food and wine locally . . .

Caryn B. Davis With Covid-19 we have been witnessing the breakdown of many systems in our society from political to medical, to law enforcement and also with our food supply chains.

When thousands of schools, restaurants, hotels, and stores across the country ceased operations, many farmers found themselves with no outlet for their crops and animals.

As a result, U.S. dairy farmers threw away over 3.7 million gallons of milk a day, and with meat processing plants closed, millions of pigs had to be slaughtered at the hands of the farmers who raised them. They simply

have the space to keep them â&#x20AC;&#x153;When you hear about milk being dumped, onions being plowed under, and pigs dying, it is not the farmer who is failing.

thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not functioning,â&#x20AC;? says Ryan Quinn who co-owns and operates Long Table Farm in Lyme with his wife, Baylee Rose Drown.

It was a massive waste of food, and the

their remaining time in over-crowded, inhumane conditions.â&#x20AC;&#x153;Hundreds of thousands of pigs and chickens were killed in a way that is not high welfare.

It was barbaric. But because we have laws in this country that say if the agriculture industry does something as a standard, or as a generally accepted practice, then it is not animal abuse, but it can be,

freedoms,â&#x20AC;? adds Drown.

Across the pond, the European Convention for the Protection of Animals kept for Farming Purposes has instituted the Five Freedoms. It mandates all animals be free from hunger and thirst; discomfort; pain, injury and disease; fear and distress; and have the freedom to express normal behavior. This creates a healthier and

to us, them, and the environment. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our food system in this country is very fragile, and we are seeing it right now.

Farms are not integrated to do on-farm processing, which is why I will be talking

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â&#x20AC;&#x153;Our food system in this country is very fragile, and we are seeing it right now. . .

By decentralizing that food system. . .

We can make communities more resilient against factors like Covid-19.â&#x20AC;? â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Baylee Rose Drown to the state about mobile processing facilities.

By decentralizing that food system, our food doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t all have to come from a single stream, which, as we have seen, can be interrupted. We can make communities more resilient against factors like Covid-19,â&#x20AC;? says Drown. â&#x20AC;&#x153;People need to start thinking about the system as a whole, at least with dairy and meat. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s super apparent centralized processing is vulnerable to any roadblock that shuts down that facility. We saw this before Covid-19 when an incredible number of chickens had to be euthanized and processing plants sanitized,â&#x20AC;? adds Quinn.

In Connecticut, we have over 5,000 farms ranging from traditional (dairy, beef, pig, sheep, vegetable, and fruit orchards) to unconventional (alpaca, emu, and bison), along with 40 vineyards and wineries. If we wanted to, we could probably source all of our food and wine locally, along with some clothing and skincare products. And, with the continued threat of the coronavirus and the risks encountered from entering crowded stores, more people are now relying on their local farms as food suppliers, rather than as a supplement to the groceries they procured elsewhere. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have great demand now for our CSA (community supported agriculture). In

March, it became apparent we would not have to do any advertising for it as it has always been in past years. Our goal was 100 shares but we sold out 200 shares so we have scaled up production by thirty percent,â&#x20AC;? says Drown.

Long Table is an organic farm. They donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t use pesticides or herbicides, but rather, they take excellent care of their soil to ensure they are not over-tilling, breaking up the structure, or killing the microbes that provide the plants with rich nutrients.

There is no need for chemicals because they are not depleting the soil. â&#x20AC;&#x153;A lot of farms use methods of soil care that degrade the quality of the soil, whereas we use soil methods that increase the health of our soil. Over time, this increases the nutritional value in our produce and creates a bio-diverse farm ecosystem that is thriving and does not require conventional pesticides and herbicides,â&#x20AC;? explains Drown.

Covid-19 has also changed the way Connecticutâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s wineries and vineyards are conducting business. All tastings have been put on hold for this year, though wine can

pickup or delivery. Entering into phase two of the pandemic has now enabled the sale of wine by the glass.

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Go to www.CTGrownMap.com, to find open farmstands, markets, and wineries

47 The Connecticut Department of Agriculture has been working closely with farms and vineyards during this challenging time to help them stay alive. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We are working to facilitate partnerships between wineries and other agricultural !

The agency also collaborated with the Northeast Organic Farming Association of Connecticut to create an interactive online map, www.CTGrownMap.com, to !

farmstands, markets, and wineries in order to access local food and beverage,â&#x20AC;? says Rebecca E. Murphy, Marketing & Inspection Rep II, for the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.

Grape growing is a slow and arduous

for the vines to yield enough fruit to turn it into wine. It can be a hardship for small farm wineries such as Sunset Hill Vineyard in Lyme that operate seasonally and make the bulk of income from tastings. At Sunset Hill Vineyard itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the winemakers who are pouring the wine for their guests, so part of the experience is meeting them

!

from the people who planted the vines, harvest the grapes, and make the wine.

It is this personal experience people have during the tastings that keep them coming back. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For a small boutique vineyard like us, the !

to say, our tasting experience begins from the moment you step up to the Winehouse.

We will tell you the story of how an interracial couple from L.A. came east to start a vineyard. We will explain the nuances of each vintage, and also how we give back to the community with our annual Artist Series label,â&#x20AC;? says Moore.

Like so many other businesses feeling the strain from the pandemic, Sunset Hill Vineyard has had to get creative. They have a scenic outdoor deck overlooking the vines that can accommodate four to six people and have now introduced SD Hangouts (Social Distancing Hangouts). â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have designated various hangout

! ! enjoy the beautiful view, and be at one with the vines as you walk around while practicing Social Distancing,â&#x20AC;? Moore says.

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Susan Cornell While the French have the beignet, the Spanish the churro, and the Germans the bismarck, donuts (or doughnuts) are quintessentially American. However, their history goes back long before the discovery of the New World.

-,+*))+('+&,%$+,#+"!$+!,)$&+,#+% + ,' "+, ( ('+ questions, I checked out the Smithsonian National Museum of American History to connect the dots between the Dutch and '! '+ ' + ('$ +-!$+$ )($&"+, ( ('&+ of modern doughnuts are generally traced +",+ " !+&$ )$ &+ !,+ , !"+"!$+ ,) ,$ + ,() + $ +",+ '! '+ "!$'+ still New Amsterdam). These doughnuts looked like later ones but werenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t ring-shaped.

Hanson Gregory, a Mainer, claimed to have invented the doughnut as we now

know itâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;with a holeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;in 1847 aboard a lime-trading ship when he was 16. Gregory didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t like the greasiness or the raw center and claimed to have used the shipâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tin pepper box to punch a hole in doughâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s center and to have later taught the technique to his mother. Smithsonian Magazine states that his mother â&#x20AC;&#x153;made a wicked deep-fried dough that cleverly used her sonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s spice cargo of nutmeg and cinnamon, along with lemon rind,â&#x20AC;? and â&#x20AC;&#x153;put hazelnuts or walnuts in the center, where the dough might not cook through,â&#x20AC;? and called the food â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;doughnuts.â&#x20AC;&#x2122; The big chains have dominated the doughnut world, but, as artisanal foods continue to grow, specialty shops making handcrafted, homemade doughnuts with atypical combinations are the hot trendy treat.

Maple and bacon donuts, cannoli donuts,

fried chicken or hamburgers on doughnuts rather than buns; itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s apparent plain and

, $ $ + $+ $ + $)) + ) (' The new kid on the street in the Nutmeg State, Blazing Fresh Donuts in Guilford, certainly lives up to its tagline, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re a

+ , + ,' "+*' + &+,#+ ,' "&+('+ this shop. Instead, each confectionary concoction is made-to-order. Secondly, "!$ $+ $+ $ + !( !+(&+ &! # ($ + Hereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s one of the best parts: You customize your own! Pick the frosting (11 options), "!$+",

(' + + ( '"& + ' +*' )) + + drizzle (6 from which to choose). Once the donut is designed, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s cooked and delivered fresh and warm within minutes.

Basically, the Cold Stone concept is applied to donuts.

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. . . specialty shops making handcrafted, homemade doughnuts with atypical combinations are the hot trendy treat . . .

Notes owner Jodi Burns, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s no other place in Connecticut where you can walk in and make your own donut combination.â&#x20AC;?

Burns, who left a 23-year career on Wall Street and opened BFD last summer, explains the meaning of an artisan donut. â&#x20AC;&#x153;An artisan donut is any donut that is done in a small batch, handcrafted way.â&#x20AC;? She adds, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s room for those mass-produced donuts out there, but artisan donuts are generally made with a lot of heart and passion . . . in a real hands-on way.â&#x20AC;?

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re extra special because â&#x20AC;&#x153;the small batch process allows them to taste a lot ('&%$%#"! '" $% $% "' % '# $%('%#" #( $

And creative they are! The most popular being French Toast (maple frosting and a dusting of cinnamon and powdered sugar), followed by Death by Chocolate (chocolate frosting, mini M&Ms, chocolate chips and chocolate drizzle), Maple Bacon, Kookie # "%$! %% % % # " %$ ! #( Cereal Killer.

These are considered â&#x20AC;&#x153;Fan Favoritesâ&#x20AC;? as the customer does not need to think up the combination . . . but he/she certainly can ' #( " $ #( ( " % % %$ â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have customers who come in and are

$ "%( " " ( % (( $ combinations, but thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s the beauty of this place. We cater to everyone.â&#x20AC;? The sign in the store asks, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s your perfect donut?â&#x20AC;?

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re taking the concept of the customer is always right to a new level. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s whatever you want on your donut. If we have it in the store, you can have it on your donut. â&#x20AC;&#x153; The trend of artisanal donuts, Burns believes, will follow other food trends. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Eventually, when thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s more competition, and people are drawn to the business, weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll see more artisanal donuts. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll be hard to stay ahead of the curve in terms of creativity and value for customers. Not to say it canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be done, but itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a challenge faced by a lot ('&%$%#" % ' " ( #'% # % the category gets saturated, itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s hard to ('&%$%#"' "% % $% % $ $ " " think for donuts.â&#x20AC;?

Burns wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t disclose either the number of donuts dunked in the fryer per day or the

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number of calories per donut (after tasting (3 5 3 / 3-,53 &#$3#$(# But what about the trend of being more health-conscious? She says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;I do think weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re more health-conscious for foods than we were 20 years ago. Having said that, everything in moderation. Even people who are health conscious will have a treat or splurge.â&#x20AC;?

Blazing Fresh Donuts are not hugeâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re about three inches so smaller than, say, a Dunkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; donut. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on purpose because theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re meant to be a snack, not a meal.

Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re small enough so you can have one and not feel too guilty and, actually, if youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re having trouble deciding, you can have two and not feel sick.â&#x20AC;?

At the other end of the donut history spectrum in Connecticut is Beach Donut, which started making donuts during the Great Depression. Beach Donut still uses â&#x20AC;&#x153;all the same process, same secret recipe,â&#x20AC;? says new owner Asif John Hussaini. â&#x20AC;&#x153;All donuts are cut by hand starting at 2 a.m. (midnight in the summer),â&#x20AC;? he says, adding, â&#x20AC;&#x153;the donuts are very fresh and hearty but not easy to make.â&#x20AC;?

Beach Donut also makes, get this, giant Donut cakes! Love Strawberry Cream? Or Boston Cream? Would you love it in a size that serves, perhaps, 20?

While the basic recipe didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t change over the decades and the Westbrook shop has that basic look to match, the times have 5(,#3,5 3 ( 14% 3 ( .53"()1,3 %10,+3 familiar?); Fruity Pebbles; Pina Colada; Sour Cream; Double Chocolate Cookie; Bacon, Egg, and Cheese on donutsâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;have joined the perennial favorites of Lemon Sticks, Crullers, and Boston Cream.

So, start each batch from scratch, crack 5 5423%&, .535 3(++3 0 54 3%#( 35()$3 one out by hand, fry, glaze, and repeat hundreds of times before sunrise and certainly not by machine. The operative word here is â&#x20AC;&#x153;handcrafted.â&#x20AC;?

One key to the years of success, Hussaini %(2% 3&%3 0 54 3 "5()$3+1,0#%3(453 0)$3 heartier than Dunkinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; donuts because 530%53$& $3 0(.&#2 3 3 54)5,#3 0 54 3 Again, no calorie count available.

Fast forward to the world of Instagrammable moments, fun and funky interiors, and

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wild ingredient combinations. That is the recipe for a zany donut chainâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;Donut Crazy, with locations in Branford, Westport, and West Hartford.

65453210/..3-,+3*)4('&5%/3%0)$3(%3#$53".()!3 Hawk (chocolate-glazed cake donut topped with chocolate icing, crushed cookies & cream, and drizzled with more chocolate), Kookie Monster (glazed raised ring topped with blue frosting, dipped in Chips Ahoy cookies, and drizzled with more blue icing), / 145%3 )$1)1.(#5 +& 5+325(%#3%$5..3-..5+3 with marshmallow cream, topped with graham cracker crumbs, a house-made caramelized marshmallow, and a mini Hershey), and a Cannoli doughnut.

Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s also a Pop-Tart doughnut, in %5(%1,(.3 ( 14%

â&#x20AC;&#x153;Customers will continue to look for more (4&5#2 35 5,3#$10 $3 531 543 1453#$(,3 3+& 545,#3+1,0#%35 5423+(2 3())14+&, 3 to Caprice Lewis, manager at the Branford location. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll also be looking for even 5&4+543)1 &,(#&1,%3#$(,3 531 543,1 â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have really wacky combinations, like 0( (3 $55%53(,+3".05 54423 14, (!5 3 and people love them,â&#x20AC;? says Lewis. Plans include opening more locations statewide.

Remember the old days (just a few months ago), in the pre-COVID world, bringing a 1 31 3+1,0#%3#13#$531 )53143 4&5,+% 3 103 quickly transformed into a superhero, right? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s amazing how something so small â&#x20AC;&#x201D;just a handful of ouncesâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;can sprinkle so much color and happiness into our day. ,+3,1 3&,3(3,5 3(,+3+& 545,#3 14.+ 3

this same simple and sweet pleasure is just so much more appreciated and special.

1 3 1453#$(,35 54 3.& .53#$&, %3 5(,3(3.1# I confess I snarfed quite a few in my research and honestly donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t know what my favorite shop is. I do know you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t need to travel far in Connecticut to have a sweet experience!

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opping Hopping Around CT.

Photos and profile By Jim Lalumiere

old world traits that he admires in German lagers with hop forward, aggressive ales and wild fermented beers is what Counter Weight is all about. It’s about finding balance in life as well as in their portfolio of beers.

A Delicate Balance Counter Weight Brewing Co. In 2017, Counter Weight Brewing Company opened in Hamden. The driving force behind Counter Weight is Matt Westfall. Matt had recently left New England Brewing Company after a 10-year stint, when he got an itch to do something different. Counter Weight is the balance Matt was looking for in life. Blending

With the use of old-world brewing equipment like foeders and coolships, Counter Weight brings something different to the local brewing scene. Coolships are room-sized metal pans used to cool large batches of beer while inoculating it with airborne yeasts and wild bacteria, thus producing a wild fermented ale. Counter Weight is only one of four breweries in Connecticut to use a coolship.

In his three travels to Germany, Matt realized he appreciated the nuanced flavors of their beers. He wanted to chase the flavors of that nuance and harmonize it with the aggressive hoppy ales of New England. The delicate balance of Counter Weights beers is simple.

They love and appreciate the newer styles of beers, but lean on the tried, true, and reliable styles of old. With such dedication to the craft,

Counter Weight is able to produce beers that are affordable, available, and consistent.

The three core beers at Counter Weight are Headway IPA, Workhorse Pilsner, and Crucial Mass IIPA, with Headway (their flagship beer) making up 75% of their production. The company's mindset is that fine line between making their core beers better, and making beers that they've never brewed before. With

Matt’s extensive background brewing hoppy beers, their portfolio consists of a vast array of

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single and double IPAs, with multiple variations of some. Balancing out the flavor spectrum are enough porters, stouts and imperial stouts to make any malt-head happy. Imagine sipping a 10% Hex Imperial Stout aged with cinnamon, chocolate, and vanilla on a cold winter night. I have, and it’s as delicious as it sounds.

With strict attention to consistency, the team is able to spread their brewing wings and experiment with their beers. One of Matt’s goals is to have a barrel aging and spontaneous fermentation program that provides specialty beers on a regular basis. Future projects include blending one, two, and three-year aged wild ales together, and releasing their Maple Bourbon Barrel Aged Stout around the holidays. One beer

I was lucky enough to sample while at the brewery was their newest specialty release bottle. A blend of spontaneous and mixed fermentation ales aged on Syrah and Cabernet grapes, Aeolian is nothing short of a masterpiece fusing the flavors of beer and wine.

When they opened in 2017, the brewery had a goal of producing 10,000 barrels within five years. In 2019, they already surpassed that goal by making 11,500 barrels of ales and lagers. With a consistent team of brewers, packagers, and tap-room staff, Counter Weight is a 110% group effort, where everyone feels ownership over everything they make. Ideas for beers are brought around organically, and can come from any employee. Matt sees the final product only as good as the individuals making it, and stresses that every beer they brew are made and represented properly.

The tap-room at Counter Weight is a perfect setting to foster the beer community that has supported them from the beginning. Over the years, customers have become friends and family. That beer family is very welcomed and appreciated.

Their 200-member mug club gets 4 additional ounces per pour, and are able to purchase specialty releases before the general public. During the Covid-19 shutdown, the local support has been incredible, with cars lining up Thursday through Sunday to purchase 4-packs, cases, and specialty bottles weekly via curbside pickup. The tap-room offers simple bagged snacks and cheese platters, and food trucks are a regular occurrence in the

Left to Right: John Brisson (craft beer expert), Matt Westfall (owner/brewer)

parking lot to feed the masses. Being a very dog-friendly brewery, there is even a Dog Wall of Fame in the stairwell leading to the upstairs bar area, where you can overlook the brewhouse.

Having outgrown their current space, Counter Weight is looking down the road to expand into a new location, doubling its size and upgrading to a 30-barrel brewhouse. This will allow the team to continue to grow and produce enough ales, lagers and specialty beers for many years to come.

Counter Weight balances the tradition of participating in something that’s been done for hundreds of years with the excitement of experimenting with the spectrum of flavors to be had. Old school meets new school.

That’s what got Matt into brewing years ago, and that’s the balancing act that makes Counter Weight what it is today.

Counter Weight Brewing Company 23 Raccio Park Rd, Hamden Hours: Thursday-Sunday 11 AM – 6 PM

Jim Lalumiere, lover of all that is hoppy, malty and sour.

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When first approached to cover this story, the initial impression was to be a fairly straight forward interview and a gleaning to learn a bit more about our locally grown oysters. Yet the storied history, the human interest, and the sheer magnitude and complexity of how oysters make it from sea to the table was a journey that could not be told in just a few pages.

This story will cover two editions of Ink Magazine with part two concluding in the September issue.

Marc Harrell waves

from his barge at the end of the dock. He hops onto the gangway and makes his way to dry ground. He’s a handsome and hardy looking chap, tanned to a deep bronze which is further accentuated by his bright white smile.

Proper introductions are made with the new standard greeting of today, known as “the elbow bump”, bypassing the recent and now bygone practice of the handshake. My wife Kate and I have been invited to tour Mystic Oysters. Kate remarks at the abundance of eccentric-looking gear. Marc’s smile widens and says, “This is a very unique operation. Everything you see here is fabricated by us. You can’t buy this equipment anywhere, so we make everything ourselves.” The complex array of gear is neatly strewn across the waterfront property. Marc senses our astonishment and ups his game. “You’ll see a big boat pull up soon. That boat was built right in the back parking lot!” Marc with and his apparently unending supply of energy beckons our trio into a concrete room inside the turn of the century brick building.

Water gushes into an “L” shaped bath and lobster

can be seen skittering across its concrete base. “So, we just installed this pound and it’s stocked with fresh Maine lobsters.” Importing lobster to Connecticut has not always been widely standard practice. Since the 1990’s lobsters stocks have plunged in numbers here in Connecticut waters. Marc agrees and a discussion ensues of how a lobster aqua-culture hatchery could assist; like the one in Bar Harbor Maine which has turned that particular lobster-fishery around. Marc brightens and says, “The money that gets invested into something like that; it’s all for the future. Everything we do here

is an investment in the future. Hatcheries that raise shrimp, lobster, salmon, and shellfish; the United States is realizing that aquaculture and hatcheries are the only truly sustainable way to provide food and keep our oceans vibrant and healthy. Norway and many other European countries have gravitated more toward aquaculture and it’s huge over there.” We move outside as Marc discusses the only food resource that isn’t farmed; our seafood.

His tune turns somber, “The fish we harvest can’t breed fast enough to replace what humans take and pelagic’s like cod and blue-fin tuna are in danger as over-fishing continues.” In a moment of guilty silence, there is a pause and a sigh washes over us as we stare across Fishers Island Sound.

Marc breaks the mood and cheerily says, “Well, that’s why we do what we do here! C’mon guys let me show you how we grow beautiful, healthy Mystic River Oysters!”

Mystic Oysters started over twenty years ago by

an old salt. Jim Marco had purchased the operation that had been defunct for some time. Before buying the business in Mystic, Jim grew up in Great South Bay, and since his teens, had been a clammer and oyster-man all over Connecticut and Long Island.

“I soak up everything I can from Jim,” Marc recounts, “Everything I know about oysters, I’ve learned from him.” Marc spent his early twenties in the service of the Coast Guard as an ‘Ice Chaser’ while flying above the North Atlantic in a C-130 to report on the movement of dangerous icebergs. “I was stationed in Groton at the time and had rented a little shack on Niantic bay. Jim was my next-door neighbor. Soon I found myself down here working for him on the weekends and my days off. During my five years of active duty here, I grew to love oysters and so when it was time to discharge from service, I wound up working here full time.”

Marc jogs up a flight of creaking stairs and enters

Mystic Oysters brood-stock room, a small space full of saltwater tubs, each containing a few orderly rows of oysters bathing in cool briny water.

Danielle, Mystic Oyster’s marine biologist, is in charge of starting the entire process of growing their oysters. “You’re in luck guys.” Danielle says, “We’ve got a spawn going on here.” Apparently, the oysters in this room are very special. They are the pinnacle of quality and have been handpicked in order to birth all future generations of Mystic River Oysters. “The only way to tell the difference between males and females is when they spawn,” explains Danielle, “We place the males

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and females in separate vessels and then trick them into spawning with precise temperature changes.

Once the egg or sperm is collected, we mix them together. This produces the entire population of our oyster larva.”

With the cycle of life now started, Marc begins

to explain the importance of feeding the oysters.

“Danielle not only makes oyster larva but she’s also in charge of growing our algae cultures.”

Marc crosses the hall into another room that’s kept at a cool sixty-five degrees. “Oysters filter algae; that’s how they eat and how they grow, so it’s only natural to feed them what they would filter in the

wild.” Various colored liquids bubble in car-boys lined on stainless steel racks. Each strain of algae is designed to feed specifically sized oysters. “Believe it or not, algae cultures are extremely hard to grow.

Everything needs to be kept sterilized and at the right temperature.” In yet another room, huge fifty-gallon clear tubes gurgle with the same color algae cultures. “After we culture the algae, we farm it in here in these massive flasks. This is what feeds all of our brood-stock, seed oysters, and larva here at the hatchery.”

At the end of the hall, a dozen containers hang from the ceiling, like fiberglass beehives, secured by thick chains. “This is where we grow the larvae after Danielle mixes the oyster egg and sperm.

Each container holds about two hundred gallons of water.” Marc smiles, “We fabricated this entire

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structure and made each container in our shop.

No one else is doing it the way we do it here. Most farms go by the ‘aqua-culture hand-book’. We’ve thrown that away and have come up with our own systems and designs that we find much more efficient.” The ingenuity, creativity, and fresh paradigm thinking of Marc and his team are utterly amazing. “A lot of what we try doesn’t initially work, but sometimes it does, and when it does, there is a huge sense of satisfaction.”

After the larvae have had time to grow, they are sifted from the hanging tanks and poured into a vat containing fine sand produced from pulverized oyster shells. “In the wild, oysters want to settle on rocks or structure. Here they will naturally set on a single piece of this ground-up shell.” Clean ocean water is circulated into the vat and Marc points to a floating tray full of white sand that is peppered with little black dots. “Those tiny dark specks are all Oysters.” He says, “And over here is what we are hoping to produce from those little dots.” Marc reaches into another vat and pulls out a handful of dime-sized oysters. “This is the size we use to seed our beds out on the water.”

Marc guides the way downstairs and outside, back into the summer heat and finally to the rear

of the building. There, a loading dock is neatly lined with plastic cooler-bins which transport the oysters in proper temperature. A garage door lined with translucent rubber flaps is parted and the distribution center is laid bare. The workers inside are bundled in foul weather gear as the temperature in the room is quite cold. “What a difference from outside, eh?” Marc smiles, “We keep it forty degrees in here all year round. All of our product comes directly into this workshop and we handpick every oyster that goes out the door.”

Two men are measuring and counting each bushel of oysters. Hundreds of plastic baskets line the back wall. Working baskets with oysters of varying sizes are stacked next to the oystermen. Some of the oysters are not yet ready for the market and will soon be sent back under the waves to grow on the ocean floor. Others are selected for immediate distribution and are placed in red bushel bags.

It’s a well-oiled machine and the oystermen work with a mechanical flow as the red mesh bags are filled and stacked ready for shipment to eager local restaurants. “Our local distribution is the lifeblood of our operation. We do distribute nationally as well. There’s even a restaurant on Laguna Beach California where you can eat a fresh Mystic River Oyster!”

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Back in the summer sun, Marc wipes his forehead

and takes on a sober tone. “If you were here three months ago, when the pandemic started, you’d have witnessed an entirely different operation.”

Marc recalls, “It was just Jim and I doing everything here; all by hand. Luckily we were able to get a loan and hire some people to help out.” Marc explains, “As much as we sell, the farm is still number one, and it was very difficult trying to do both with only two people!” Marc laughs, “We thought we were done for during those months, but we decided to open a farm stand on the weekends. I recruited my son and my wife to run it. I can’t tell you how amazing our community here in Eastern Connecticut is. The word got out on social media and we were flooded with customers. Our community rallied and helped us get through a scary time.” Marc smiles, “We are eternally grateful for all of that support. Now, how about a boat ride out to our oyster grounds?”

Just as Marc extends the invite, a large metal boat pulls alongside the dock. The founder of Mystic Oysters, Jim Marco, had finally arrived. He waves from his cockpit aboard the “Margaret” and beckons us out with impatient enthusiasm. “I can’t

wait for you to meet Jim,” Marc beams, “He’s got story after story to tell. Oh, and that boat you see?

That’s the boat we fabricated in the back, I was telling you about. In true oysterman tradition, Jim named it after his mom.” Our trio boards Marc’s motorized barge and steam ahead in the wake of the Margaret. We were about to witness Jim, “The Mystic Mollusk Master Marco”, in action. It was going to be an intriguing meeting to hear all about the man behind this truly traditional and quintessential New England enterprise.

To be continued…

Visit Mystic Oysters 100 Main St. Noank CT, 06340 or call (860) 536-0609 or visit www.mysticoysters.com

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The

Cheesemonger

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Summertime Cheese

By Paul Partica, The Cheese Shop of Centerbrook

As summer continues, with all its heat and humidity, and the task of isolation and social distancing, why not treat yourself to some wonderful summer cheese pairings? The following combos are easy to do, they require no cooking, and they are just delicious.

Feta and Watermelon This is a simple but delightfully refreshing salad that can be served as a dessert or an appetizer. Start by balling or cubing watermelon in a bowl. Then add small chunks of feta. You can stop here if you want or get a little creative. Try a drizzle of balsamic vinegar or some fresh, julienned mint or basil sprinkled over top.

Other ingredients pair well with watermelon and feta. Try adding fresh avocado or even a squeeze of lime juice. For a little crunch, walnuts or pecans are among my favorite add-ins.

Fresh Mozzarella & Tomatoes A staple in most Italian restaurants, Caprese salad is easy to overlook. But I would be remiss in my job as cheese monger if I did not at least mention it. Toppings include fresh basil, olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. I can do this all week long.. You have your choice of fresh mozzarella, Burrata, or maybe fresh buffalo milk mozzarella. A good supply of fresh tomatoes truly adds to the seasonal treat.

Triple Crèmes, Pears, Acacia Honey and Dessert Wines A triple crème is a soft-ripening cheese similar to Brie, but butterfat content is increased to 75%. When in good condition, triple crèmes should be extremely soft and runny with a white, bloomy outer layer. If overripe, you will see an outside layer of brown and it will have an ammoniated taste. When buying a triple crème don’t look for a specific name, but rather a triple crème that is in perfect condition. This is really a cheese to try before you buy.

The other part of this pairing is the wine. Be careful to choose a white wine that is sweet due to grapes that have been allowed to overripen on the vine. This creates a preferred natural sweetness. Wines like this can be expensive and are often hard to find. Examples include dessert wines such as French Sauterne and Barsac, German Beerenauslese and Trockenbeerenauslese, and many available Ice wines.

Try to buy pears that are still a little on the firm side because you will be using them like a cracker. Spread the triple crème on the pear with a little Acacia Honey and be sure to follow the bite with a taste of wine. Even a dry red wine drinker like me loves this combination.

Acacia honey is different from the traditional honeys most of us are used to. Its extremely light, delicate flavor and subtle sweetness is very pleasing to the palate. It can be recognized by its very light color.

Although this great combination of flavors can be served as an appetizer or anytime snack, it is truly a great dessert. In addition to pears, you can also use strawberries or other fruits.

Stilton, Sweet Butter, Table Water Biscuits and Port Wine Stilton, a favorite of mine since I can remember, has been called the King of Cheese, and rightfully so. Stilton is a natural blue cheese made from pasteurized cow’s milk, made in fifteen pound wheels. The cheese has a very rugged natural rind. Unlike most other blues, it has a mild cheddar base which only adds to its great flavor and will be very creamy at room temperatures. Unfortunately, Stilton is often cut in half and either waxed or placed in Cryovac food packing to prolong shelf life. This impacts the natural process of maturing and often ruins the final taste. Try to purchase your piece from a whole fresh cut wheel and sample before you buy.

The recipe is simple for this combo. First, spread a thin layer of sweet butter or unsalted butter (never use salted butter) on your choice of table water biscuit, like Elki or Carr’s brands. Then spread a good amount of Stilton over the butter. The butter adds moisture to the dry biscuit and smooths out the cheese. When paired with a glass of good vintage Port, a classic English dessert is created. You can also enjoy this as a snack or appetizer, but the Port addition really makes it a great dessert.

Chocolates by Sweet Shop I have to mention chocolates because I just finished reading the Specialty Food Summer 2020 issue which is a magazine that helps keep me up to date on Specialty Food trends. There were some interesting facts about the industry gathered by Mintel, a privately owned London-based market research firm. Their research noted that the specialty food and beverage market for the 2017-2019 years, outpaced sales of all food by almost three times, 8.9% increase compared to 3% for other foods. The report went on to say that cheese and chocolate were consumer favorites and here to stay. In the top 10 categories in retail sales, Cheese was in first place and chocolate in sixth.

Sweet Shop, a U S company, produces beautiful handmade truffles that are as good as they look and a fan favorite. They add nicely to a cheese dessert. Just to give you some of the choices available: • Sea Salt Caramel • Hazelnut Truffle • Dbl. Chocolate Truffle • Big Wigs (Peanut Butter Center)

• Coconut Trufffle • Mix it Up • Dark Champagne • Nutty Fudge Love

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LIFE ON SUGAR

67

FRUIT(Y) CAKES

Written by: Heather Kelly, Director of Operations, NoRA Cupcake Company Photos by: NoRA Cupcake Company

You don’t need us to tell you that summer in Connecticut provides us with plenty of native options when it comes to produce. We’re not sure if the crop selection from our local farms is truly above and beyond this year or if we’re just taking extreme joy in anything that has to do with spicing up “quarantine life” in 2020. Either way, this is our favorite time of year to incorporate fresh and local fruits from nearby farms into our cupcakes.. We’re still operating on our limited COVID-19 schedule at our bakery in Middletown, but let’s talk about which of our favorites we’ve been offering for our Saturday pickups.

CORNIE - starting off with August’s shining star - BLUEBERRIES (...and corn)! This cupcake lands in our Owner’s top 5 favorite flavors and was created as a specialty cupcake for the Coventry Farmers’ Market corn roast & cocktail party back in 2018. We bake sweet cream corn into a vanilla cake base, frost it with a sweetened condensed milk buttercream (think cereal milk flavor), top it with the finest of fresh blueberries, and rim the frosting with crunchy cornflakes. The light but sweet flavors make this one a great addition to a late summer BBQ. CHERRY PIE - a classic that doesn’t need much tweaking - just quality cherries to make into a juicy pie filling for the center of this cupcake. Ours features a graham cracker crust, vanilla cake base, housemade cherry pie filling, and a generous portion of vanilla whipped cream frosting. Pitting the cherries is the most tedious part of this process to make our own filling, but completely worth the mess and effort. Cherries have been plentiful this year so we’ve already thrown this one into the rotation this summer, but now that we’re talking about it we’re ready to go pick up a fresh basket of cherries and get to work.

RASPBERRY LEMONADE - if we were to take an official count, we would not be shocked if this flavor was our most popular for our bride and groom clients. While weddings have taken a backseat this season, it hasn’t stopped this fan favorite from popping up on our menu more often than not. Wedding tastings allow us to receive the most honest in person feedback from our customers and the most overwhelming response we get on this cupcake is how REFRESHING it is. A refreshing cupcake ? Who would’ve thought! We bake raspberries into a lemon cupcake, frost it with black raspberry buttercream frosting, and sprinkle it with candied lemon zest. We highly suggest using candied lemon zest (simply fresh lemon zest mixed in with granulated sugar) to give your fruitier desserts a sparkle and slight crunch. If raspberry isn’t your jam, we also offer our “lemonade line” in blueberry, cherry, and lavender.

STRAWBERRY BALSAMIC - it actually physically pains us that we can’t offer this taste bud pleasing flavor year round, but it is worth the wait every year. There are many takes on native strawberries in desserts, but this combination is by far our favorite - combining savory and sweet. It consists of strawberries baked into an almond flavored cupcake, a tangy mascarpone frosting, and native strawberries drizzled with balsamic reduction piled on top.

We only make this flavor in small batches, so if you see it on our menu make sure to scoop it up quickly.

PEACH COBBLER - while a cobbler is TECHNICALLY a fruit filling covered with a biscuit type topper, we’ve taken a little bit of creative freedom to work it into a cupcake. We start with a cinnamon sugar cake (cinnamon sugar baked in AND crystalized on top), stuff it with peach pie filling, and top with cinnamon dusted vanilla whipped cream and more peach pie filling. We also offer a berry cobbler with blueberries and strawberries, but this cinnamon heavy concoction really gives tasty juicy peaches a chance to show off.

We can’t author an article on our fruit(y) cakes without giving credit to one of our local favorites for fresh & local ingredients - Killam & Bassette Farmstead! Located in scenic South Glastonbury, CT, they have set up shop right up the road from their family farm with a roadside farmstand located at 1098 Main Street. If you’re in the area, take a stop by to pick up some of their quality produce - and conveniently enough, they sell our cupcakes there as well!

Their cupcake cooler is stocked multiple times a week with a rotation of flavors, including the ones listed above.

Thanks for reading, and enjoy the rest of your summer! While we might not be able to travel far this year, we have plenty of options (and sweet treats) right here in Connecticut to enjoy. Stay safe and eat CaKE !

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Santorini Island, Greece - July 19, 2012: Koutsoyannopoulos Winery and Wine Museum in Vothonas. In the cellars there are ancient objects and figures about how wine was produced in ancient times. Photo by Antonio Gravante

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Landscape view of fields, vineyards, greek villages in Fira and Oia on Santorini island, Greece

Greece,Famous For: The Acropolis, Baklava, Zorba, & All That Wine!

By Art LiPuma, Seaside Wine & Spirits

Greece has been producing wines for more than three thousand years. Although they are not thought of as a predominant wine growing country like France, Italy, Spain, or the United States, they do produce quite a bit of wine. The country has 11 regions which in turn develop into 28 wine growing areas.

Out of the 28 appellations, 8 produce wines that are intensely fruity to sweet wines. The other 20 appellations produce much drier wines. Some of the top producers are: Santo Wines from the Cyclades Islands; Sámos Cooperative from three islands Sámos, Aegean, and Limnos; and Metaxa Wine Estates. This covers a myriad of different wines from the areas of Cephalonia, the Ionian islands, and Cair Rhodes. Domaine Vassiliou is from Central Greece and Africa.

The growing season can be somewhat difficult due to the extreme heat in most areas and the resultant lack of rain. Even on some of the higher slopes the growing of grapes can be a challenge, leading to some areas having a shorter growing season.

In Greece, the process of wine-making has changed dramatically over the years. With the utilization of new techniques, they are now mostly using refrigeration sources to keep the grapes cool.

The employment of stainless steel tanks is mostly used in fermentation, while the better quality reds are aged in large barrels.

French Barrique barrels are now increasingly used as well. Greece has 30-40 indigenous grapes that they use in wine-making while also using world-renowned grapes like Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Semillon, and Traminer.

The most noted wine of the country is called Retsina which is made from the Savatiano grape. This wine has been exported for well over a thousand years. What makes this wine unique is the pine resin that was added to form a film on the top of the wine to help prevent oxidation. This style, while unique in flavor, made people look for something more traditional and move away from this style of wine after a while. Some of the grapes grown in this country are Aghiorgitiko, Kotsifali, Xinomavro and Krasato. These red grapes are very popular wine making grapes. The whites are Assyrtiko,Roditis, Savatiano and Vilana.

Aghiorgitiko, a soft-style red grape, is a very popular grape from its native land of Peloponne, while the Xinomavro grape produces a rich full flavor style of wine with lots of tannins, making it able to age for many years.

Some of the white varietals can be versatile. One in particular is the Assyrtiko grape. This can be made into a wine that is dry and minerally. It can also be a soft sweet wine, grown from the area of Santonnis.

Roditis is grape that develops into full-flavored white with rich fruit. It is grown in many parts of Greece. The Vilana grape from the island of Crete develops into an intense citrus with lemon flavors that is very refreshing.

These are just a few examples of the quality grapes that are made into outstanding wines, and knowing that the vineyards are produced by modern wine-making practices makes these interesting wines from the little country of Greece worth trying!

Cheers! Art LiPuma Seaside Wine & Spirits

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