32 World Bordeaux beware: CATERS NEWS AGENCY is setonstealingyour bouquet

United States utes up the road, in awinery modelled area had asandy soil similar to that of on aTuscan villa, the food scientist and Bordeaux, an almost identical growing Will Pavia Atco, New Jersey vintner Louis Caracciolo was even season and avery similar topography. In 2010, the state of New Jersey gave more bullish about his 2010 Europa I. Italian immigrants to New Jersey, the world the full-bodied governor “In acouple of years Iwill put this up including Mr Caracciolo’s grandfather, , acheeky little Italian against aChâteau Margaux and beat had made their own wine but the indus- named Snooki and anew denim and it,” he said. try was brought to its knees in the leather-soaked album from Bruce Until recently, these statements 1920s by . Mr Caracciolo Springsteen. would have seemed the stuff of fantasy did his best to keep up the tradition: at Less well known is that 2010 was also in astate better known for motorways, college he was arrested for making an excellent year for New heavy industry and Tony Soprano. Yet wine in his dormitory room. Jersey , soil tests, climate studies Planting his vines in 1976, he was and . and aseries of blind cheered by the so-called “Judgment of “The wine guys are get- tastings by French Paris”, ablind-taste test in which aCali- ting very excited about this and American fornian wine beat aChâteau Mouton- vintage,” said Jack Toma- judges are establish- Rothschild. critics now sello, 52, aNew Jersey ing New Jersey as a visit Mr Caracciolo. “Michel Rolland, farmer and vintner, hold- wine region to rival one of the most famous wine writers in ing aglass of his newly bot- Bordeaux. the world, was here,” he said. “He tast- tled 2010 Palmaris and ex- When his fellow ed my cabernet sauvignon. He said, ‘Ei- atey Walter, an Lake in Canada. She is plaining that the grace vintners first asked ther this is amiracle or afraud’.” Bursting ecologist at the researching how much notes of olive came from the US Government Though Mr Caracciolo frets over the K University of methane the ice holds the in the to designate south image of New Jersey, he was reassured thebubble Alaska, aided by a and its impact on the blend. “They know Jersey awine-produc- by another French oenophile. “He said, student with amatch, atmosphere. “My job’s what’s coming.” Ten min- ing region akin to ‘Louis, no problem. They have been (carefully) releases methane gas the worst, because Napa Valley, Mr Toma- making shit wine in New Jersey for 350 trapped beneath the usually you catch on Asign Jack Tomasello sello was sceptical. But years; in Provence, it was athousand. frozen Goldstream fire,” she said. keeps in his office studies showed that the You change it one taste at atime’.” Would-be hero’s fake attackfails to impress

Will Pavia New York In the cause of impressing awoman, few men have gone as far as Jeffery Siegel, 26, who apparently arranged for aman to leap out at him and his female friend armed with alarge knife as if intending to rape her. The “victim”, Brianne Coots, said Mr Siegel, from Arkansas, had invited her for astroll in apark in Jonesboro, saying he wanted to talk. As they walked through woodland, Ms Coots com- plained that “it was cold and dark, and Iwanted to go back to the truck”. She told alocal television station: “I heard the leaves rustle, and aguy jumps up, and he has areally big knife with him.” She heard him shout: “You can go, but your girlfriend stays.” Mr Siegel told her to stay back while he con- fronted the black-clad as- sailant. Ms Coots fled through the woods and down asheer hillside, losing ashoe as she ran. She then called the police. After officers searched the area and noted the shal- low wounds inflicted on Mr Seigel by the attacker, the would-be hero alle- gedly confessed that he had staged the entire inci- dent. Police did not press charges. “He felt like he had to im- press me somehow,” Ms Coots said. “And Ijust told him that Ididn’t feel like we needed to be talking any more after that.”