I am on a tour of New England. We did New Hampshire wineries yesterday -- and I highly recommend Haunting Whisper Vineyards, which is much better than Today Show-touted Hermit Woods
Winery (Hermit owner Ken is a super-nice guy and his wine is good, but Haunting Whisper is just outstanding).
That did not stop Cindy and me from buying wine at both of those wineries and a third we also visited. In fact, you should visit all three as well to make up your own mind. Wine, like music, depends a lot on individual taste.
Anyway, the interesting thing is that all these wineries started fairly recently. They all emphasize locally grown grapes when possible (though Haunting Whisper leads in that regard) and they all make their wine on-site. I think we are seeing a Great Awakening of wine making in the New Hampshire lakes region.
And that brings me to beer. One of my favorite beer salons in the world, Novare Res, is in Portland Maine. I expect we'll be making a stop there when we get to Portland. Novare Res is the kind of place where local brewers come to roll out new products or promote existing small brands.
And there's more of that all the time. Check out this chart ...
The number of breweries is climbing. Craft Brewing is soaring. Mega-breweries are in decline.
Meanwhile, small craft brewers continue to push the envelope in beer. I think exciting tastes await us.
Here are some of the things I find interesting this morning.
1. India's gold imports rise in March
The gold import in India surged nearly 50 tones in March, amid the RBI’s import restrictions. Meantime, the RBI Governor, Mr. Raghuram Rajan hinted on the further relaxation of the gold import curbs today despite the increased gold import flow seen recently.
2. Former Treasury Official: The Fed Has No Integrity on Gold
Almost every week it is possible to illustrate the appearance of a large number of contracts shorting gold at times of day when trading is thin. The short-selling triggers stop-loss orders and margin calls and hammers down the gold price. The Fed has resorted to this practice in order to protect the value of the US dollar from Quantitative Easing.
In order for the Fed to effectively support the reserve status of the U.S. dollar by pushing it higher when it starts to drop, the Fed has also to prevent the price of gold from rising. Intervention in the gold market has been occurring for a long time. However, in the last several years the intervention has become blatant and desperate, as rising concerns about the dollar are causing countries such as China and Russia to accumulate fewer dollars and more gold.
Read the rest.
3. How much oil is produced in each tightoil play in the US?
4. Russia Makes New Move into Eastern Ukraine
Pro-Russia activists occupying a regional government building in Donetsk, in eastern Ukraine, on Monday proclaimed the creation of a separatist Donetsk republic, a Reuters witness said.
Sean's note: Read my column from last week explaining why the Russians would move into Eastern Ukraine. Hint: Oil, gas and coal.
5. The First 5 Things You Should Do When You Get a New Computer
Here are a few things you should do whenever you buy a new PC. Most people don't do 'em. Do you?
6. April 7 is National Beer Day!
Treat yourself. And have a great Monday.
