Robert K Stephen (CSW)

RKS 2025 Wine: The Road Less Travelled Can Be Bumpy

Many a wine drinker is happy in their pod like Sigourney Weaver returning home in “Alien” drinking a very limited range of wines whether that be brand, varietal or geographical. It could be trepidation about moving off the beaten path. A Cabernet Sauvignon offers comfort to many a consumer but a Kéfrankos may terrorize others.Continue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: The Road Less Travelled Can Be Bumpy”

RKS Literature: Yugoslavia’s Tito: One Day a Hero of the USSR The Next Its Perfidious Enemy

“The class laughed just as unanimously when the geography teacher talked about Yugoslavia. Today Tito is a “sinister and perfidious enemy”; but it was only two weeks ago that we were shown the film: “In the Mountains of Yugoslavia”, in which Marshal Tito was awarded the Order of Victory as our best friend and faithfulContinue reading “RKS Literature: Yugoslavia’s Tito: One Day a Hero of the USSR The Next Its Perfidious Enemy”

RKS Literature: The Necessity of Slave Labour in the USSR and the Future of Socialism (Vladimir Rott)

“The abolition of private property killed people’ s desire to create, to take care of themselves, to seek paths to survival and progress. The most essential part of any country’s gross national product-the contribution of each individual’s enthusiasm-was lost. By sending hundreds of thousands of Soviet people to the labour camps, the state tried toContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Necessity of Slave Labour in the USSR and the Future of Socialism (Vladimir Rott)”

RKS 2025 Canadian Wine: Shale Ridge 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon: Gutsy and/or Suicidal

Producing single varietal Cabernet Sauvignon in Ontario is a risky business as far as I can see. Most often it is a bland experience but jazzed up with generous oak it just may surprise you. Shale Ridge is located in Thedford, Ontario proximate to the shores of Lake Huron in Southwest Ontario. Their 2023 CabernetContinue reading “RKS 2025 Canadian Wine: Shale Ridge 2023 Cabernet Sauvignon: Gutsy and/or Suicidal”

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film: “Loathe Thy Neighbor”

“Loathe Thy Neighbor” is a low budget Canadian indie film shot in Bruce County, Ontario. One can’t deny certain of its comedic elements but it is more of a character study than a comedy. Deeply unhappy characters seldom craft a comedy. City slicker Will Larkfield (Brennan Clost) inherits a farm from his father who hadContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Film: “Loathe Thy Neighbor””

RKS Literature: The Never-Ending Soviet Gulag Sentence (Vladimir Rott)

“Of course this is a very important year 1948. In this year, in the middle of it, I’ll also become a free man. And here, there are two points, listen carefully. Those who are released after their terms inside the USSR can go home on the next train. But here, in the Far East, theContinue reading “RKS Literature: The Never-Ending Soviet Gulag Sentence (Vladimir Rott)”

RKS Literature: Treacherous at the Top with Stalin (Vladimir Rott)

“The men who surrounded Stalin quickly figured out the rules of the chief’s game and started playing up to him in every way they could, sniffing out suitable “enemies” in their own midst and helping destroy them. Under such arrangement, those who witnessed and participated in the “purges” at the top could not stay aliveContinue reading “RKS Literature: Treacherous at the Top with Stalin (Vladimir Rott)”

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: A Battersea Wines White Blend

Battersea Wines is a virtual winery operating in the Collab Wine & Beverage collective based in Ontario’s Niagara-on-the-Lake. Currently comprising 12 virtual wineries using shared production facilities and staff. Battersea Weiss is a blend of Viognier, Marsanne and Pinot Gris. Aroma: Lemon, Niagara peach, tangerine, pineapple and guava. Palate: Dry but not bone dry. ApproachesContinue reading “RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: A Battersea Wines White Blend”

RKS Literature: The Bolsheviks Desperation to Maintain Power (Vladimir Rott)

“Once they had seized power in Russia, the Bolsheviks began to direct all of their energy and all of the country’s wealth toward a single goal: to stay in power, to keep power in their hands. Hence the instant rise of the Great Terror, the suppression and destruction of not only actual but even potential,Continue reading “RKS Literature: The Bolsheviks Desperation to Maintain Power (Vladimir Rott)”

RKS 2025 Wine: A Reliable Red from Greece?

Is there such a thing as a reliable wine? If there was it would have to be a wine that continually delivers in quality and sensory satisfaction irrespective of price. From a Niagara, Ontario perspective we might suggest Cabernet Franc as a reliable wine. In British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley we might say Pinot Noir. FromContinue reading “RKS 2025 Wine: A Reliable Red from Greece?”