Although France is not the world’s biggest producer of wine, it produces the most amount of wine by value. Many connoisseurs consider French wines to be superior to all other wines in the world. There are ten wine-making regions that produce French wines — Alsace, Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Languedoc-Roussillon, the Loire Valley, Provence, Corsica, the South West, and the Cotes du Rhone.

Grapes grown in France, and at any vineyard in fact, are grown under a very specific set of conditions that contribute to its taste. This is called terroir (a French word that is difficult to translate into English), and French wines are famous for their terroir. Some conditions that contribute to taste include grape variety, climate of the area, slope, soil chemistry below the vine, and/or the length of the post-harvesting process to finish the wine. French wines collectively have over 100 different terroirs, which is a huge variety of different conditions where grapes are grown. In turn, this produces numerous different wines, so almost no one bottle of French wine is the same as another.

There are 19 grape varieties which can produce everything from cabernet sauvignon, merlot, and pinot noir (red wines) to chardonnay, chenin blanc, and pinot gris (white wines). French wines and their labels can be difficult to understand if you don’t know French. French wines are labeled by the region they come from. Most other wines are labeled by variety, like “cabernet sauvignon” or “chardonnay.” So knowing which wine to choose takes a little bit of advance knowledge on which regions produce the kind of wine you’re looking for. For example, the Pomerol and St. Emilion regions of France only produce merlots. In Burgundy, merlot and cabernet sauvignon grapes are grown.

Buying wine online can have many advantages, as well as disadvantages for the consumer and seller buying wine online For the true wine connoisseur, buying wine online can be a good way of finding obscure or hard-to-find wines. Many web sites out there allow the mystified shopper to organize wine types according to what they’re looking for or what they prefer. Plus, they usually include wine reviews that can guide the novice to some pretty good wine experiences. However, buying wine online also has some drawbacks.

If while buying wine online, you order a single bottle, shipping costs can get very expensive. This is because the wine plus bottle are typically very heavy. If buying wine online, it is most practical to buy in bulk. This will save you money on shipping costs, since it will cost less per bottle to ship. Some distributors will also give a hefty discount when buying in bulk. Bottles of wine are also extremely vulnerable to major temperature changes during shipping.

Taste can be affected by temperature, humidity, light, and vibration, all of which could impact the shipment during transit. Having your wine shipped during the spring or fall months will most likely minimize temperature changes during shipping. During summer or winter, hot or cold temperatures could ruin your shipment. Quicker shipping options could also minimize temperature changes.

A little less than half of the states in the US also prohibit direct shipment of alcoholic beverages to anyone who lives in that state. Translation — buying wine online doesn’t mean you’ll be able to receive it. Those states that do allow shipment to you from buying wine online have many restrictions that can affect your planned shipment. You should do your homework before ordering that special bottle of chardonnay to be delivered to your doorstep.

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Just a few years ago, shopping on the Internet meant shopping for bargains by the cost-conscious masses. While the bargains haven’t gone away, the profile of the online shopper is changing. Whether you call them affluent, posh, selective or upscale, the well-to-do are flocking to online merchants for quality, service and, yes, value. While the needy are desperate for a bargain, the well heeled love a bargain.

As discounters like Wal-Mart, Target and Costco scramble to get the “rich market” to drop by and shop, affluent online shoppers often target alternate outlets that offer wide product selection, competitive prices and knowledgeable salespeople. Courteous customer service and fast presentation of specific groups of items make the niche online store a preferred solution for the busy shopper who may dislike running to the mall. Just like the bargain-conscious consumer, affluent shoppers are mindful of higher fuel costs and turn to online shopping, rather than hopping in the car to go to the mall.

Even though the actual percentage of upscale online shoppers is small, their clout is very big. In 2005, only 2% of online shoppers were identified as affluent, but their purchases accounted for 7% ($12 billion) of the total dollars spent. Those numbers will continue to grow as more and more people reach incomes above $100,000 a year.

The types of merchandise sold online show some surprising trends. Apparel, Women’s Shoes and Accessories, Gourmet Foods and Wine have exploded as easy return policies and satisfaction guarantees make buying these items online appealing to the shopper. Buying two pairs of designer jeans and returning one is now easy with no-hassle return policies and “shoes always fit”.

Practically all of the traditional brick-and-mortar luxury stores have an online presence, helping them to reach upscale shoppers beyond the borders of their local shopping area. Affluent people in “fly over” states like Utah can access upscale shopping streets and districts around the country and the world more easily than ever.

This is just an overview of high end online shopping. For more information, tips and resources, consult my bio box.

Let’s be honest, the problem of teenage drinking doesn’t enter the mind of most parents, especially when looking into those innocent eyes of a baby. How can they possibly grow into a teenager with an alcohol problem? It may not seem possible that it could happen to your child, but the reality is that it can and for many it will. Turning a blind eye to the possible problem and not taking any preventive measures will only make it more likely to happen. It will also most likely mean that getting the teenager to accept they have a drinking problem and deal with it will be more difficult to do.

Raising children in a healthy family relationship is the first step in helping to prevent that situation. Next is being open with your child and reassuring them that you are there to support them and help them through whatever difficulties they may go through in life. Lastly, it is to discourage the act of allowing underage children the odd drink with special meals and/or special occasions. It is not uncommon for many parents to allow their children a small glass of wine during a toast at a special dinner or occasion; unfortunately, they are introducing their children to alcohol before they understand the responsibilities that come with drinking. Besides that, alcohol is, basically, a poison to the body and can cause harm to those who drink too much at one time. Being the responsible parent who realizes that teen drinking is a very real problem in today’s world will not only seek to educate their children early on about the problems associated with drinking, they will also develop an open relationship with their children so that they feel they have support from family instead of turning to substance abuse for the answer. This effort, of course, does not entirely guarantee that your teenager will not develop a drinking problem. Keeping an eye open for signs of trouble, such as a change of personality or attitude, is a good way to be aware of whether the teenager may be developing such a problem.

If your teenager were to develop a drinking problem, catching it as soon as possible and dealing with it immediately will ensure a better chance that the teenager can deal with it; however, many parents are at a loss of what to do. Fortunately, the internet is a resource that can be crucial to helping a parent to pull their teenager away from their problem. Consulting an online counselor is a great idea for anyone who doesn’t know what to do. Online counselors offer their services online so that they are accessible to anyone who needs some help. Speaking with an online therapist may also be more comfortable for the teenager because they may not feel that their space or business is being invaded too much. Online therapy could be beneficial to both the parents and their troubled teen because they can get the advice and help they need in the comfort of their home.

When shopping for gifts, it can be difficult to find the perfect item to buy for your intended recipient. Sometimes, after window-shopping and canvassing throughout the entire mall, you find that you’ve ended up with several different, yet equally good, ideas for gifts. It’s a dilemma faced by millions of gift shoppers every day around the world. Is there a better, easier, and quicker way to shop for gifts?

Fortunately, there is. Instead of looking for a single item, you can instead look for appropriate gift baskets. These baskets are simply collections of a few closely-related gift items that increase your chances of “getting it right” when shopping for a particularly difficult gift recipient. There are baskets for all occasions, and it’s easy to find one that will suit your gifting needs any time of the year.

Of course, this means that you might need to shell out a little more money, since you’ll effectively be buying more than one item. But a basket containing, say, five gift items, will still leave a more lasting impression on the recipient than if you gave them five different – yet unrelated – gift items. A gift basket is, essentially, a single gift with multiple times the “Ah!” factor. If you give a gift basket with even only two items, relevant to the recipient and presented nicely, it’s more than double the pleasure.

Also remember that while there are baskets for all occasions and all kinds of recipients, you’ll still need to do a little homework and decide which items your gift basket should include. To make it easier for you, this article will tackle some of the better ideas in buying (or preparing) a gift basket, whichever the situation might be.

Buying a basket to suit the occasion

It’s a little easier to find a gift basket to suit an occasion than a particular person, since it’s easy to find “one-size-fits-all” baskets during these seasons. Some of the more popular “gifting” seasons include Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter, and Halloween. Since celebrating these seasons means following certain traditions, baskets that help celebrate these traditions will be both meaningful and appreciated.

A Thanksgiving gift basket, for instance, may contain food items and sauces that will help complete the traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. Christmas baskets may include scented candles, toys, or chestnuts. For Easter, you can’t go wrong with chocolate bunnies, a stuffed toy, and other sweets. There are many different combinations of gifts for the holidays, and all will be equally appreciated by your recipient. This should make shopping a little easier (and a lot more fun, too) for you.

Buying a basket to suit a particular person

Gift baskets for birthdays and anniversaries are also available in gift basket shops everywhere, but picking one out may be a little trickier than buying a basket to suit the occasion. After all, you’re buying for a particular person, so obviously there’s no one-size-fits-all when looking for a gift basket.

Fortunately, there are gift basket shops and websites that offer to customize a gift basket for you, at a slightly higher price than more generic baskets. All you need to do is to give them the details of your recipient, as well as any ideas you might have for the gift items. These gift basket shops can also give you some helpful advice and suggestions in making this gift basket particularly memorable for your intended recipient.

It’s also important to remember any special conditions that your recipient may have. For instance, if you’re planning to buy a gift basket for someone with diabetes, it’ll be a good idea not to include sweets in the basket. It’s also important to remember whether your intended recipient has any allergies – not knowing may make them remember you and your gift basket in a different way!

Once you have a gift item combination that you’re sure will make your recipient happy, you can either pick it up and pay for it at the shop or website and deliver it yourself. If your recipient lives out of town, you can pay a little extra to have the shop or website deliver it to their doorstep, too. Many gift basket enterprises out there even deliver internationally.

Buying a basket for business purposes

When you’re in the corporate world and would like to maintain good relations with your employees, partners, and clients, gift baskets can also send a powerful message of appreciation. Remember that most business people out there don’t really have the good enough sense to show their appreciation properly (we’ve all gone through evil bosses and supervisors, right?), so doing so will easily make people remember you in a good way.

A great way to make corporate clients crack a smile would be to give them a gift basket containing special breads, cheeses, and a magnum (1.5-liter) bottle of wine. If you make the effort to get wine that’s already good, like Bordeaux, Pinot Noir or Chardonnay, then you can be sure your client will be remembering you throughout the rest of the year.

Employees will also appreciate these baskets as part of their mid-year bonuses. This is also a great way to make sure that the best workers in your industry will stick with you, especially during these tough economic times.

Fancy making your own gift basket?

You can add your own personal touch to your gift basket by making it yourself. This can make the gift even more meaningful, and it’s a great thing do for loved ones. It can also be a fun activity to do, particularly if you’re good with your hands. If you like scrapbooking, making collages, and other creations, making your own baskets can be a fun thing to do in your free time – and if you really like it, you can even start your own small gift basket business!

Gift baskets can be fun, pretty, and inexpensive gift ideas for any time of the year, so make sure you take them into consideration when shopping for the special people in your life.

The capacity to send an invoice via online means, and to facilitate payment of it electronically, is a relatively recent phenomenon. In reality, this has only been possible for around 10 years or so, and has only become broadly available as fast Internet access has become widespread and Internet banking has been taken up in far greater numbers. However, we need to separate online bill presentment from online payment. Research suggests that true online bill presentment (a digital bill/invoice capable of showing full detail as needed) is used by less than 5% of the adult population in the US for example (and may be as little as 3% in the UK). Data from the Ascent Group, carried out in 2008 regarding preferred payment channels, suggests only 13.2% of the US population actually pays bills online (around two-thirds of which is via a bank and the customer’s linked checking account). This is a long way behind Mail at 42% and only a little ahead of bank drafts at 12.2% or even phone-agent assisted at 9.5%. This may have increased a little in the last couple of years but not by very much.

So, despite the fact that over 80% of the adult population now has Internet access in the US and the UK, there is still huge potential to switch people from sending cheques in the mail, bank drafts, in-person payments and even phone-in payments in the future (a total of around ¾ of all payments). For this reason, there are a wide variety of companies trying to win control of this potentially large and lucrative sector but the strategies for doing so are quite different. In summary there are four categories of company. These are:

1. Consolidator

(Consumers of billers only can find merchants’ last 12 months bills)

DRAWBACKS:No full presentment and limited payment choice available

2. Biller Direct

(Consumers of billers only can find merchants’ last 12 months bills)

DRAWBACKS: Lack of user-friendliness and Different system each time

3. Consumer Aggregators

(Consumers find some large merchants at one portal)

DRAWBACKS: Can’t find smaller merchant bills. Few offer full detailed presentment

4. Merchant Aggregators

(Consumers able to see all merchant bills when acquired)

DRAWBACKS: Single merchant at a time focus (but viral)

Let’s look at each one of what we see to be four different categories with a unique approach.

1. Consolidators

As the overall chart on the next page illustrates, consolidators are those organizations that seek to show a number of usually large merchant bills, as line items on an Internet web site. As most consolidators are banks, or at least large financial services firms, this is usually an extension of the bank’s internet payment web-site, and allows customers to immediately debit funds from a current/checking account to pay a bill (such as an electricity or telephone bill). It is actually rare for a consolidator to offer other alternative payment options, and it is even rarer for a customer to be able to see a full bill. This means that they can usually only remit a payment for a bill that he or she has received in the mail or by email (so that they can enter the payment information needed).

In recent years, the larger consolidators have penetrated the market well for this relatively basic service. However, they only have limited growth potential with a full presentment facility, which in any case is typically restricted to their own customer base or bank account holders.

2. Biller-Direct

Larger merchants (utilities, mobile phone operators and cable companies, for example) will often allow customers to both see their bill online in a part of the merchant’s web site and pay it (possibly by several means on the debit and credit side). However, to create this functionality for their customers, these merchants have to either build the handling software themselves, or buy it in as a package from a software vendor. This entails up-front capital, time to design and integrate the solution, as well as the effort to train internal staff to use the new system, once built.

From a customer perspective, this approach does afford the benefit of non-standard business hours access and some extra payment flexibility in some cases. However, there are also several drawbacks. These include some very unfriendly sites (buried/hard-to-find information, pop ups, missing detail, etc) and general customer irritation at having to remember each merchant’s site login and password process each time. For this reason, most large merchant biller-direct sites have relatively low levels of customer conversion (5% or less). In addition, the high cost of set-up makes this an unattractive approach for small to medium sized merchants to consider.

3. Consumer Aggregators

Aggregators are typically specialist organizations that have been set up to both present a bill and allow it to be paid online on behalf of a group of usually large merchants. If well-run and focused, consumer aggregators typically have considerable scope for future growth because they can theoretically provide a service for all consumers in the market. However, when consumers are asked to come to a web-site to find all or even most of their bills, only to find that one or two at most are available to them, they may not return. This makes consumer penetration a very long-term affair and assumes that the consumer aggregator finds it possible and even economic to approach all merchants in the market, however small and/or local they may be. In addition to this problem, although there are several consumer aggregator companies, they offer a slightly different range of features and in many cases may not even offer a full or detailed presentment option. This may act to simply confuse the consumer who may not then be prepared to use any of these sites, especially without their merchant encouraging them to use this as the primary channel.

4. Merchant Aggregators

Like consumer aggregators, merchant aggregators are also typically specialist online companies, but they have a different business model. The goal is to provide a service to one particular merchant at a time, and then work with that merchant to encourage consumers to view and pay their bill electronically (and particularly switch away from cash and cheques). To date, this service has been mainly aimed at small to medium sized merchants (rather than the “super-billers”). This means that both the penetration and growth rate has been slow so far. However, there is much scope for considerably greater growth and therefore higher market penetration in the future.

From a consumer perspective, the expectation here is limited to being able to see one given merchant’s full bill online and to be able to pay it by multiple methods. However, over time, more merchants are progressively added, meaning that consumers get to see several bills, from several merchants (some of which may be quite small and/or local) at the same site (with a familiar login and password).

The main challenge for merchant aggregators is acquiring merchants in the first place (which requires marketing and sales effort). Although merchant aggregators can do this in particular market verticals to manage these costs, one strong possibility is that consolidators (who already have many merchants already for payment purposes) may find it worthwhile to partner with the merchant aggregators, who get transactional volume in return for making available a full online presentment option.

Conclusion

As our chart on the previous page indicates, the biller-direct model has already proved to be a slow and expensive path for many large merchants and looks to be the worst current position to be in, if they were to try to win the online billing wars. Consolidators often have a large bill payments consumer population but do not have a cross-market platform to get their beyond their own customer base. Consumer aggregators have the potential to offer a multi-merchant solution, across the entire market, but having recruited many of the “super-billers” are finding it expensive to add the smaller merchants that consumers would want to see on their site in order to return again. Finally, merchant aggregators, although small in market penetration to date, probably have the most potential to offer a truly cross-market solution, which benefits all merchant and their consumers.

In the final analysis, it is, of course, extremely difficult to predict who is likely to emerge victorious in such a competitive space, especially where the financial stakes of wining or losing are so high. However, if the merchant aggregators can gain enough momentum, perhaps by partnering with the consolidator banks, they seem to be in the best position to win the online billing war at this particular time-we will watch the next couple few years with interest.

Dandelions are named after a French word that means a lion’s tooth. It refers to the sharply-lobed leaves of the plant. The dandelion plants originally come from the Northern Hemisphere. They are perennial and tap-rooted plants that grow in temperate regions. This plant is more commonly considered as a weed but has a wide variety of macro specie.

The dandelion leaves grow at the bottom and can range from 5 to 25 centimeters in length. They may be whole or lobed and form a badge on top of the taproot. The leaves will eventually grow superficially along the ground covering up any foliage and destroying them by obstructing the rays of the sun. The plant has a dazzling yellow flower head that opens during the daytime and closes at night. This type of plant can make several flowering stems with flower buds that measure 2 to 5 centimeters in diameter. Unfortunately, there can only be a single flower for every stem and can go up to as high as 4 to 30 centimeters over the leaves. If the stem of the plant is broken, it releases a milky sap.

Dandelions have several culinary and medicinal uses. They can be eaten cooked or fresh in food such as salads. Most of the time, dandelion salads are made with hard boiled eggs on top of them. The leaves are healthy since they contain high contents of Vitamins A and C, iron, and calcium. The flowers can also be made as ingredients in making wines and jams. The roots, when grounded and roasted, can be used as an alternative to coffee. When this is consumed before a meal, it can help stimulate digestion. The plant is also used as a diuretic or a substance that stimulate urination. With those quick facts about dandelions, we can now appreciate them more than just weeds.

Retailers need for early sales at any cost means that discounting is heavy; so scour the web for the hottest deals and not-to-be-missed promotions. Common sense is often an integral element in securing the best bargains so make sure you take account of seasonality and look for lingerie in late February, stock up on chocolate in April right after Easter and hunt out school uniform and boy’s football and rugby boots in March or April when the season’s nearly over (remember to buy big!). As the summer sun fades away, check out the last of the swimwear and holiday clothing sales and invest in outdoor barbecues, patio and garden furniture in late September.

Although the chilly winter months of January and February are far from ideal for sun seekers staying in the UK, they are great months to grab a short break bargain. With its indoor subtropical swimming and sports complexes Centerparcs beats the winter blues and is already offering discounted forest village breaks.

The New Year is traditionally the time to grab the best of the holiday bargains for that romantic Valentine’s getaway or the family summer holiday. Charter airline XL.com is featuring a ‘deal a day’ advent calendar with fantastic cheap flight and holiday deals on some of their sunshine breaks.

If you’ve already blown your holiday leave entitlement then maybe treat yourself to a theatre visit. The half price ticket booth in London’s Leicester Square offers a wide selection of shows and musicals selling on the day of performance only. If you’re planning ahead to the summer, Thisistheatre.com is promoting Kids Week 2007 by offering free tickets for children to some of London’s top West End productions.

For dining offers in London and other major cities around the UK Toptable.co.uk is offering set course meal bargains, free wine deals and kids eat free plans at a range of restaurants. There are always plenty of discounts to be had on grocery food items, clothing, household goods and furniture but without spending hours on end researching it’s very difficult to pick out the best of the bargains. However, a number of websites gather together discounted products; try Voucherheaven.com for one of the largest inventories or Madaboutbargains.co.uk for some top tips on both bargains and general frugal living.

There’s normally no such thing as a free lunch but if you’re completely spent out this Christmas try logging on to Freemobilephonegames.co.uk and download free java phone games. The games are available for all of the most popular handsets and are submitted by game developers who’ve entered into the festive spirit.

What would you say were you are offered a card whose annual percentage rate is below ten percent? Would it not be manna from the heaven? Indeed, it is. In the market there are so many cards that have been introduced which carry very low annual percentage rate, and it is because of these rates that the cards are also called as low rate credit cards. Most of these low rate credit cards carry the APR which may be fixed in some cases, while in other cases it may carry some additional surcharge over the APR. Those having a low APR would have an annual fee loaded on to them, while in the other low rate credit cards, the minimum APR chargeable would be 7.5% and may go over to 10% it all depending upon the credit history. It has been observed that the cards which levy interest up to 8.5% APR have an annual fee on renewal, but the cards which have an APR above 8.75% do not an annual fee charged to the user.

Most of the low rate credit cards are co-branded cards and may be either a travel card or a leisure card or a holiday card and so on. In all the cases these cards come in association with the primary card holders, and some of the examples would include cards issued by a combination of an automobile company an airlines and the card issuing bank, and the example of this kind is the Biz Master Cards. It could also be a reward card which may have been offered by a supermarket promoter to reward the customer for being a loyal customer and the example would include Pathmark Card. The significant feature of low rate credit cards lie in the fact that they have reward points in some other intangible manner and it does not come in the form of cash back in general. As the rewards are in kind and can be in the form of an invite to a wine festival, a discount on a hotel stay, or a custom made suit, the low rate interest cards are favorites amongst all of us.

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