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AMERICAN SOCCER TEAM AND BEER GET KICKED AROUND AT WORLD CUP OPENER

The Czech Republic may have defeated the USA on the field. But the real action was outside the stadium. In a taste test, Czech Budweiser thoroughly whipped American Bud. Read Article.

SOFTWARE KEEPS TRACK OF WINE COLLECTION, BUT CAN’T HELP IF YOU DON’T KNOW HOW TO UNSCREW THE CORK

Richard Ow knew exactly which of his 600-bottle wine collection to bring to a gathering a couple weekends ago: the 1999 E. Guigal Chateauneuf-du-Pape, a Rhone wine that came highly recommended by Wine Spectator magazine.

But how to find it among those hundreds of bottles? Ow went to his computer and, using a program he's helping develop, immediately found the exact number of the bin the wine was stored in. Read Article.

PLACES TO GO, MEALS TO EAT…

SmarterTravel.com, an online travel resource, released a detailed report that offers insight into the best destinations for food lovers in order inspire culinary vacation planning.

In a look at the top five destinations for culinary travelers, SmarterTravel breaks down the places where any traveler who enjoys a meal and has an interest in cooking would find good-value food tours and cooking packages. See the List.

WITH ALL THESE MINERALS AT HOME, WHY TAKE A MULTIVITAMIN?

When a realtor tried to enter an unnamed man’s townhouse in Ogden, Utah recently, he found that he had trouble opening the front door. There was some sort of blockage which he later discovered was more than 70,000 beer cans, piled nearly to the ceiling! Apparently, the tenant drank 24 cans of Coors Light daily(!) for the eight years he lived there ...or maybe he just threw some really great parties!

To anyone watching the Czech Republic national team dismantle the United States in the coal mining town of Gelsenkirchen on Monday night, the balance of power in the soccer world was clear. America's super-power status reaches its limits as soon as the US boys step onto the football pitch. But off the field and behind the polished metal counters of the concession stands, another contest was being waged -- one in which the US seemed to have the upper hand.

Let's call it the Bud Bowl.

The St. Louis brew known to Americans as Budweiser and Europeans as Anheuser-Busch passed across the lips of many a Czech fan for the first time Monday night. The American brewery secured the exclusive rights to tout their tipple at the World Cup way back in 1998, and during the last tournament in Japan and South Korea, hardly anyone complained.

In Germany, though, the outrage started months before the soccer balls started rolling. How could Germany, the home of some of the best beer in the world, allow an American brew to take over Germany's World Cup party? A deal was eventually struck allowing the German brand Bitburger access to the stadiums.

But that wasn't the only beer related brouhaha. After all, the only Budweiser in Europe is brewed in the Czech town of Ceske Budejovice (formerly known as Budweis) -- and has been since the 13th century according to the brewery Web site. The legal battles over which beer can be called Budweiser on the old continent have always ended in the Czech's favor. But on Monday night, visitors to the FIFA World Cup stadium were required to drink the American brew.

But that's just the political background. The most important question, of course, is: Which beer tastes better?

The first, lucky American fans outside of the supermarket -- the stars and stripes one had draped around his shoulders was a dead give away -- were the lucky recipients of their first ever Budweiser. The real kind, as Europeans insist.

"More hops," said Bill Thomas of Dallas, Texas, dark shades not quite concealing the sparks of joy in his eyes. "Cleaner, less carbonation ... tastier."

The first verdict was in. But would the lost Americans down the road share it?

A lifelong drinker of the American version of Bud, US fan West Interian's palate is hardly what one might call discerning. But on a hot afternoon, in a town who's name every one seemed to have trouble pronouncing, Interian became a convert.

"I've drunk Bud my whole life, and this tastes better," he said after a gulp or two. Then he paused. "Hell, this is warm, and it tastes better. Try this, Rex."

Rex Corbett grabbed the modest green bottle: "Hmmmm, that is good," Corbett agreed. The bottle never made it back to Interian.

And the Czechs? Fans Tomas Novak and Martin Jirounek, representing.

"It's cold," Novak ventured, drinking the American brew. "But it is missing, um. I don't know how to say. It is missing ... um, yes. I miss the, uh, typical taste of beer. You know?"

He took another swallow. "Yes! Yes! I miss the typical taste of beer!"

Jirounek, the silent, surly man of the two, nods his agreement. A clear verdict.

Not all Czechs were quite as dismissive. "It's quite good," Vladimir Herink, of Prague said of the Anheuser-Busch. But by then, of course, the blazing hot sunshine had done its damage. "It's good for this occasion," he said adding a decisive qualifier to his first statement. "We're quite thirsty, you see."

And maybe he was just being polite. After all, his team held a 2-0 lead at the break and the USA team was clearly outclassed. So too was American Bud. Adding insult to injury, the USA got killed in the Bud Bowl as well. Back to top.

"I think many people have a number of bottles of wine, but they don't know what they have," said Ow, 56, son of the late noted businessman and philanthropist George Ow Sr.

Ow, a Santa Cruz businessman who manages the Kings Village Shopping Center in Scotts Valley with nephew Chris Ow, has been working since last year with Brunswick, Ga., resident Michael Pitts, who runs a software development company called M.W. Pitts Inc. Pitts has developed a wine-inventorying program, among other offerings.

Dissatisfied with products he'd tried, Ow, who said he's grown increasingly interested in wine since 2000, stumbled across the program while looking for better options, and offered to work with Pitts to customize and develop it further.

Americans are drinking more wine than ever, with consumption of table wine growing from 176 million cases in 1996 to 243 million in 2004, according to the Wine Market Council.

That trend hasn't missed Santa Cruz County, according to Mikael Wargin, tasting room manager for Armida Winery in Capitola, who says the county has a good number of serious wine collectors, and those who have amassed something of a collection almost by accident.

Many people "have a collection of anywhere from 40 to 400 bottles, without even trying," he said.

Wine management software is becoming a necessity as Americans drink more wine and the number of collectors grows, said San Francisco resident Neil Monnens, founder of wine enthusiast Web site WineRelease.com.

"I think it's smart," he said. "I think as more people drink wine, they realize many wines are meant to be aged."

Other wine industry experts aren't convinced software for the hobbyist has enough of a market to succeed.

"My gut tells me it's a real small niche for that kind of stuff," said Eric V. Orange of LocalWineEvents.com, based in Malvern, Pa.

But sales for one wine management program, The Uncorked Cellar from Australian company Uncork, "are growing strongly, especially in the USA," said Brian Allen, managing director of Uncork and the author of The Uncorked Cellar, in an e-mail.

His company does not release sales figures, he said.

Ow and Pitts' program, now in a beta version and called Wine Inventory, presents users with fill-in boxes to enter storage location, producer, label, vintage, variety, quantity on hand and other data points.

One of its most important features is the ability to input the wine's maturity date, Ow said. He's had the experience of discovering a number of bottles that were years past their prime, he said.

The program can sort the information and produce "just about any report you could want," said Ow, who has provided the ideas for features while Pitts has done the programming. "The hardest part is inputting the data." He estimated that it took him three to four hours to input 500 of his bottles.

His plan is to help market the product and share in any profits. When they're done with a final version, Ow will market at wineries, liquor stores, wine clubs and elsewhere.

In addition to The Uncorked Cellar, several other wine management programs already exist, such as Wine Organizer Deluxe from PrimaSoft PC Inc., and Web sites dedicated to the same task, such as CellarTracker. Representatives from those companies did not respond to requests for comments.

But Ow wanted more features, such as the ability to classify by bottle size, and many of his wine-enthusiast friends are excited about his product.

"They're all gung-ho about getting this," he said.

The software may be downloaded for a free 30-day trial from mwpitts.com/wine.html; it is available to buy for $29.95. Back to top.

-- Provence, France. Referred to by the locals as cuisine du soleil et du coeur -- cuisine of sun and heart -- Provence offers a variety of places that teach authentic seasonal cooking amongst the small countryside villages.

-- New York City. While it would be great to experience the culinary offerings of all the city's different ethnic neighborhoods, SmarterTravel advises that it's best to limit your explorations to one or two areas at a time. Several tour companies host in-depth food tours of individual neighborhoods that highlight some of the location's top fresh-food markets, specialty shops, and eateries.

-- Oaxaca, Mexico. Located in the culinary heart of Mexico with thousands of years of indigenous cooking traditions, Oaxaca City and its surrounding villages host to numerous cooking schools run by locals and expat chefs. Many of these places offer extremely affordable classes and programs, easily comparable with those offered in Europe.

-- Bangkok and Chiang Mai, Thailand. Thailand has some of the most diverse and flavorful cuisine in Asia, strongly influenced by its neighbors and resident ethnic minorities from India, China, Malaysia, and other countries. Bangkok, the nation's capital, is a good place to experience cuisine from the country's four distinct food regions, and several of the city's ritziest hotels offer Thai cooking schools that are open to anyone.

-- Tuscany, Italy. The demand for culinary travel in Tuscany is high and even though there are dozens of cooking schools and tour options in the region, spots in popular schools can sell out early and prices are steep. SmarterTravel advises booking a week-long package with a lesser known school or taking a shorter one- to three-day class with a top chef. Back to top.

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