People pose for photos in an armchair decorated with dahlias at the garden of Keukenhof Castle during the Keukenhof Dahlia Days event in Lisse, the Netherlands, Sept. 7, 2024. The annual event is held here from Sept 6 to 8. Photo: Xinhua Children view a butterfly-shaped decoration made of dahlias at the garden of Keukenhof Castle during the Keukenhof Dahlia Days event in Lisse, the Netherlands, Sept. 7, 2024. The annual event is held here from Sept 6 to 8. Photo: Xinhua A heart-shaped decoration made of dahlias is displayed at the garden of Keukenhof Castle during the Keukenhof Dahlia Days event in Lisse, the Netherlands, Sept. 7, 2024. The annual event is held here from Sept 6 to 8. Photo: Xinhua People enjoy blooming dahlias at the garden of Keukenhof Castle during the Keukenhof Dahlia Days event in Lisse, the Netherlands, Sept. 7, 2024. The annual event is held here from Sept 6 to 8. Photo: Xinhua and crispy suet pastry.“This is a craze now in Argentina.” His unguarded happiness lit up the room There had also been a distinct waft of awe in the room as ten of us sat in hushed devotion Argentina: an old-world wine producer in a new-world country Thanks to a population that loves to eat and drink its own produce ever-evolving wine scene that is well able to stimulate all tastes you will find the bars and restaurants are full Argentinians are the living embodiment of the proverb And so might you be if the price of your daily flat white doubled in the time it took you to drink it Sebastián Zuccardi (r) at lunch with Lisse Garnett The Zuccardi family story is Argentina’s in miniature The family emigrated from Italy in the 19th century Those of you who are Soprano’s superfans will recognise that name for it is the very place from which Tony Soprano hailed significant – like most of the Italian immigrants in Argentina the Zuccardi clan came from the poor agrarian south a place where people learned to survive by sticking together Perhaps that’s why Argentinian producers collaborate so successfully As Zuccardi took us through the seven wines he’d brought for us to taste who are just as passionate about Argentina’s radical terroir as he is What is so magnificent about Zuccardi is that despite his obvious and the year it was made.” He worked in France Portugal and the US to hone his skills and believes in drinking wines he hasn’t made It is a mistake to see wine in Argentina as ‘new’ “Argentina is an old-world wine producer in a new-world country.” Unlike other New World countries that have fashioned their wine production predominantly for export Argentina has always made creative wines for its diverse population of predominantly European immigrants Buenos Aires feels like old Europe on steroids grows a broad trunk and can reach over a hundred feet in Argentina Elegant Haussmann-esque lateral apartments and generous vistas reflect the boom years at the dawn of the 20th century when Argentina was one of the ten richest countries in the world Even the grapes are early European imports that have flourished in their new surroundings is Argentina’s premium category calling card There is a whole deck of other varieties to explore too but Zuccardi sees Malbec as “the most transparent grape when it comes to expressing terroir.” Argentinians consume approximately 75% of the wine they produce (Zuccardi exports 50% of his wines) and A well-publicised and oft-criticised influx of international consultants keen to produce lucrative heavily oaked reds put paid to much of the white wine production although today the category is gaining ground again a cross between Listán Prieto aka Mission and Muscatel de Alexandria from which have now manifested 60-plus crosses currently being researched and labelled by INTA Zuccardi winery: a regular award winner for its sustainable design Wine for the Zuccardi family began in 1963 when Sebastián’s grandfather planted vines great for controlling disease but not so great for water Sebastián’s grandfather invented and patented an irrigation system He bought land to show what his system could do and promptly fell in love with growing grapes Phil Crozier was the first to bring Zuccardi Wines into the UK when running Gaucho and his association goes way back I asked him for the lowdown on brand Zuccardi “Zuccardi has been the standard bearer for Argentina ever since it entered the UK market and now the baton has been passed onto Sebastián José remains a great ambassador for Argentina.” “I think Zuccardi is a winery of the people It really is a family business with restaurants Sebastián describes himself as a farmer and it's true they are not posh and they are very generous when talking about the country as a whole.” we are hosting the annual bellringers York Minster Society dinner.’ They like to talk to their consumer You always see them when you are in one of their restaurants too The Uco Valley in Mendoza has had plantings for over a hundred years; talented winemaker and former rockstar Juanfa Suarez of Finca Suarez (next door to Zuccardi in Paraje Altamira) showed me a book that his grandfather Leopoldo Suárez wrote about propagating Semillon in this calcareous rocky ground back in 1911 But it was Catena in 1994 who saw the possibilities of altitude Sebastián Zuccardi planted his first high altitude Uco vineyard in 2004 Zuccardi has ten different vineyards at altitude in the Uco Valley Granite encased in limestone that Zuccardi had to clear from his vineyard the stone latterly being used to build the new winery Zuccardi’s Uco wines reflect the terroir from which they come; we tasted wines from three villages: Altamira each on an alluvial fan of mixed materials (formed by ancient rivers) They are ‘mountain wines’ grown on alluvial soil raised up by the titanic crash of two tectonic plates you’ll find fossils of calcareous sea creatures and granite cased in calcareous limestone Mendoza is a dry desert situated inbetween the mountains and the Pacific Ocean so disease pressure is very low; it is cold and surprisingly continental in climate Vines are grafted to avoid issues with nematodes The region is famed for its intense sunlight which facilitates aromatics and ripens tannins A huge diurnal range retains acidity and freshness; the average temperature is low and varied altitude provides for nuanced climatic variation Irrigation is possible thanks to the Andes meltwater it's pretty perfect for growing vines though snow volume is increasingly threatened by global warming Benegas is and where Chandon planted back in 1992 Adriana (Catena) and Per Se (Edy del Polpolo) are there You might say it’s the Grand Cru of Gualtallary All these Uco regions have a different identity in the glass; the valley is as nuanced as Burgundy Sebastian favours the place over the grape on labels to reflect this Zuccardi was not the first wine producer to go to the Uco Valley but it was the first to separate Uco from the rest of its business with Zuccardi Valle de Uco – a clear it has sold Mendoza and fine Malbec to the world Expressive Malbec is not an entry-level wine that you can knock up for a low price and he thinks it’s time to get evangelical about Argentina’s other grapes and sell them to the world he has been making wonderful Criolla wines under the Cara Sur label He is also a huge advocate for Semillon and Torrontés There is a whole new wave of Argentine producers making delicious quaffable often complex sup that has never reached our shores Cue Crozier (Gaucho and WOFA) and Laurie Webster (formerly of Las Bodegas) who are making it their mission to change this narrative They import Cara Sur through their company Ucopia Wines and are bringing in a range of other Criollas They are what you might call ‘Argentina-obsessed’ By sticking together and talking about place Argentine producers have built nuanced regional identities Their challenge for tomorrow is to reveal their talent for everything else but Malbec to the world Zuccardi Cuvée Especial Blanc de Blancs 2017 12.5% Zuccardi Fósil San Pablo Chardonnay 2021 13% one of the coldest areas 300m from the mountain this year they lost 70% of the harvest to frost) It’s the last plot Zuccardi harvests; he says the Chardonnay here exceeds his skills – it is the place that creates great white wine 10-20% in old 500l barrels; he favours concrete for Chardonnay as he doesn’t want to ‘open the wine’ with oxygen Indigenous yeast and ferment is not cooled; he finds a warm ferment expresses the place rather than the ferment Racking is done or not done depending upon the taste This smells of the local Mendozan harvest herb chinchilla it resists before morphing into salted caramel and pineapple-tinged ecstasy Zuccardi Botànico Gualtallary Chardonnay 2021 13% where the soil is known as ‘caliche’ – a distinctive compaction of granite and calcareous limestone at 1380m 10-20% in old 500l barrels; since 2016 when they first harvested they have used less and less oak Racking is done or not done depending on the taste a bat squeak of lime; the texture is chalky yet silky This is what the word elegant was coined for Zuccardi Aluvional Altamira Malbec 2018 14.5% Zuccardi favours Malbec grown via massal selection in his own nurseries (Edy del Popolo and David Bonomi buy from Zuccardi) from what he describes as “pre-phylloxeric”; vines that entered Argentina before phylloxera struck Europe The fruit comes from alluvial Altamira on very stony granite/limestone soils (see picture) at 1100m the wine is fermented and aged in concrete no carbonic to give a more pronounced sense of place Zuccardi Aluvional Gualtallary Malbec 2018 14.5% The fruit comes from alluvial Gualtallary from grapes grown on ‘caliche’ soil The wine is fermented and aged in concrete to avoid imparting flavour and allow less micro-oxygenation than a small barrel This single-vineyard wine hails from Altamira The clue to the soil is in the name; it took one thousand trucks to remove the stone from this vineyard the stone that was used to construct the winery six years later The vineyard sits on an alluvial fan and is divided into 60 soil parcels They had to build a winery to accommodate the myriad parcels that were blended to create this wine black olive and moreish tannins as fine as baby powder purposefully surrounded by 13 hectares of natural vegetation wine is from a site in Gualtallary Monasterio in the north of the Uco Valley at 1400m anecdotally known as the Grand Cru of Mendoza with old calcareous soils protected by mountains and damson-hued; it’s oh so delicately fruity Linear and ethereal yet still tangibly precise and firm The wines of Zuccardi are imported and sold in the UK by Hatch Mansfield which is a commercial partner of The Buyer. To discover more about them click here The Buyer TVClick below to watch The Buyer's library of online debates, videos and webinars. Join thousands of local cyclists in our trusted marketplace Reach thousands of buyers in a few clicks. Learn more. Interested in selling your stock on Bike Hub Our dealer offering allows you to affordably and effectively reach buyers Search our help center for the answer or contact us directly for support A lift mechanic accidentally threw away artwork at the LAM museum in Lisse, mistaking it for left-behind trash. The artwork concerns two hand-painted beer cans by the French artist Alexandre Lavet (1988). The artwork was recovered from the bin and is undamaged, the museum said on Tuesday The work of art is titled All the good times we spent together It consists of two apparently used beer cans but a closer look reveals that the dented and empty cans have been painstakingly hand-painted the cans symbolize his precious moments with friends Evenings spent drinking together may not seem special but are ultimately valuable moments when people connect with each other,” the museum said The LAM museum displayed the cans in the glass lift shaft as if they had been left behind during construction “The theme of our art collection is food and consumption,” said museum director Sietske van Zanten we let you look at everyday things in a special way By presenting the works of art differently The effect proved too real for a lift mechanic who mistook the art for actual litter and disposed of it in the bin The curator noticed the piece was missing and launched a careful search The cans were eventually found in a bin bag Van Zanten stressed that the museum doesn’t blame the mechanic who was standing in for the regular mechanic who tends to the museum’s lift and knows its eccentricities “He did his job to the best of his ability,” she said it is a compliment to artist Alexandre Lavet.” Company planning two buildings totaling more than 1 million sqft US data center firm CloudHQ is reportedly planning to build a large 140MW+ data center campus in Lisses outside Paris First reported by JDN the company reportedly wants to build two data center buildings each comprising 53,000 sqm (570,000 sqft) and 24 data halls to be located within the Leonardo da Vinci business park in the Essonne region The campus would cover 13.7 hectares and sits on a greenfield site The Ile-de-France Regional Environmental Authority Mission (MRAe) report cited by JDN said each building could be fed up to 120MW by the local RTE substations Update: CloudHQ has reached out to clarify the critical load of each building will be 74.4MW and the previously reported 240MW is for connected utility load to the campus The company also clarified each building will measure 53,000 sqm CloudHQ is looking to install 114 backup generators and install 104 cooling units The first building would take around 22 months to complete and data halls would be developed in groups of four The second building would take another 22 months and full build-out is estimated to be reached in Q1 of 2031 The MRAe noted that approval was initially refused due to the lack of recovery of the heat produced by the servers the regional prefect granted approval on January 2021 saying the campus will connect to the future Corbeil-Essonnes heating network Results of the public inquiry will be known in early November after which the next step will be the agreement of the building permit by the city of Lisses DuPont Fabros Technology co-founder and CEO Hossein Fateh stepped down from the company in February 2015 The company says it has built and leased 2.4 million square feet and 320MW of data center capacity since its formation In 2020 Fateh formed Cloud Capital to acquire Interxion and AWS are both developing data centers in Essonne Data Centre Dynamics Ltd (DCD), 32-38 Saffron Hill, London, EC1N 8FH Email. [email protected]DCD is a subsidiary of InfraXmedia IA — Lisse Garrett has been appointed the District Manager of the Iowa/Nebraska/South Dakota District making her the first woman to hold that position for the district Garrett oversees a workforce of more than 10,000 employees working at 1,600 Post Offices and stations The district provides service to more than 2.5 million delivery points through nearly 5,200 delivery routes “I’m looking forward to implementing the groundwork of the Postal Service’s Delivering for America 10-year plan here in our district,” Garrett said Garrett began her career as a clerk in Chandler She has held numerous leadership positions throughout the country including Postmaster; Post Office Operations Manager; Manager of Operations Program Support; Manager Delivery Programs Support; and District Manager in Georgia “This is a great opportunity to build relationships we’re expecting great things and look forward to continued success,” Garrett added The Postal Service generally receives no tax dollars for operating expenses and relies on the sale of postage restore long-term financial sustainability dramatically improve service across all mail and shipping categories and maintain the organization as one of America’s most valued and trusted brands Copyright© 2025 United States Postal Service HUDSON — When Russia invaded Ukraine in late February "I wanted to do whatever I could to help,” said Brian Lisse who has practiced medicine for 41 years, will travel back and forth between the U.S and Poland starting this month to help provide medical care to Ukrainian refugees "This is just a part of who I am," Lisse said inner-city hospitals and community health centers He is trained as a primary care doctor and emergency department physician But he has continued to work at free clinics including the MetroWest Free Medical Program clinic in Framingham “I wasn’t really ready to quit practicing,” Lisse said He earned his medical license in 1981, completing his residency at UMass Medical Center in Worcester He had every intention of joining the Peace Corps leaving the country and never coming back when he first went to medical school “It just didn’t quite work out that way because the woman I met and married at the time had no interest in doing that,” Lisse said Statistics from the United Nations state that about 3.5 million people have fled to Poland since Russia invaded Ukraine Lisse will treat people who have primary care needs but no access to a primary care doctor his patients can include “someone who left their medication behind or has problems with chronic illness like diabetes and hypertension,” Lisse said He wanted to help after Hurricane Katrina hit in 2005 but couldn't because of scheduling conflicts there has been disaster over disaster all over the world that I wanted to go to but there was always a problem because of scheduling,” Lisse said Lisse connected with a doctor in Canada who will take him to Ukraine putting him on rotation with other doctors from Canada He’s going to help for as long as needed and as long as he can afford to Lisse will work with the Archdiocese of Przemysl in Poland; they're in need of donations of windbreakers sandals and flip-flops. He can get necessary medical supplies in Poland but Lisse said people urgently need those three items they can donate them at the First United Methodist Church on 34 Felton St said Lisse and his wife are amazing human beings for what they do in the community — donating supplies and food and running their nonprofit Bridges to Malawi in which doctors make medical trips to the southeastern African country to provide health care in rural hospitals telling her about how they needed help on the Poland-Ukraine border “Everybody knows him because of the work that he does,” Lourens said “He’s just a really kind man.” People who want to donate supplies can drop them off at the Avidia Financial Center at 17 Pope St Last week (26 November) saw more than 300 people gather in the presence of Edouard Philippe to celebrate the official opening of Chateau Fleur de Lisse’s new cellar and wine-making facility The property is part of the Teycheney Familly’s Vignobles Jade group over three properties – Chateau Fleur de Lisse Vignobles Jade was created in 2015 when Patrick Teycheney took over the running of the family’s properties with his wife Evelyne and his daughter Caroline who was appointed President The project was ambitious – to bring together a ‘dream team’ focussed around Jean-Claude Berrouet as consultant oenologist and to begin immediately the conversion to organic and biodynamic wine-making AB certification was attained in 2020 and a strategy to achieve the double certification of Demeter and Biodyvin is already in place A third part of the project was the construction of an entirely new wine-making facility at Chateau Fleur de Lisse This needed to be capable of vinifying all of Vignobles Jade’s St Emilion It was designed by the Bordeaux-based Goldfinger Architects working with a range of local artisan craftsmen The design combines the ancient and the modern with featuring a patented state of the art walkway connecting the vinification tanks in the most ergonomically efficient manner and a beautiful barrel cellar lit by stained-glass windows designed and manufactured by the master glassmaker “The term ‘winery’ is more suited to the dynamics of this project than that of ‘Chateau’ It is a place in which the visitor discovers a universe of know-how and of passion The cellar of Château Fleur de Lisse was designed to share a variety of experiences they will bring the local atmosphere that our visitors are looking for” Your email address will not be published. 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Volume 8 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fcell.2020.00338 MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are a major class of conserved non-coding RNAs that have a wide range of functions during development and disease Biogenesis of canonical miRNAs depend on the cytoplasmic processing of pre-miRNAs to mature miRNAs by the Dicer endoribonuclease the miRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC) incorporates one strand of miRNAs as a template for recognizing complementary target messenger RNAs (mRNAs) to dictate post-transcriptional gene expression Dicer is also part of miRISC to assist in activation of the complex Dicer associates with other regulatory miRISC co-factors such as trans-activation responsive RNA-binding protein 2 (Tarbp2) to regulate miRNA-based RNA interference Although the functional role of miRNAs within epidermal keratinocytes has been extensively studied within embryonic mouse skin its contribution to the normal function of hair follicle bulge stem cells (BSCs) during post-natal hair follicle development is unclear we sought to ascertain whether Dicer-Tarpb2 plays a functional role within BSCs during induced anagen development by utilizing conditional knockout mouse models functions within BSCs to regulate induced anagen (growth phase) development of post-natal hair follicles These findings strengthen our understanding of miRNA-dependency within hair follicle cells during induced anagen development The hair cycle and follicle are model systems to investigate intrinsic and extrinsic factors that control stem cell quiescence and the commitment of stem-cell precursors toward differentiation and apoptotic death of those cells to repeat the cycle again primary miRNAs undergo processing by the Drosha-DGCR8 protein complex to form pre-miRNAs pre-miRNAs are then exported into the cytoplasm and further processed by Dicer into mature miRNA duplexes The miRNAs are then loaded onto Ago family proteins to form the miRNA-induced silencing complex (miRISC) whereby target mRNA is degraded or dissociated from the translation machinery By and large these findings depict the important role of miRNAs toward embryonic and neonatal development of hair follicles and skin we hypothesized that global miRNAs and miRISC-mediated RNA silencing are required within BSCs during induced anagen development our results suggest that Tarbp2 regulation of miRISC within BSCs is not essential during induced anagen development of hair follicles Conditional knock out of Tarbp2 with hair follicle bulge stem cells (A) Schema outlining the genotyping and conditional knockout of Tarbp2 and Dicer within bulge stem cells (B) Images of the depilated regions of control (Tarbp2+/+;K15PR1Cre+) and experimental (Tarbp2flox/flox;K15PR1Cre+) mice at 0 days post depilation (DPD) and 9 DPD (C) Histological analysis of 9 DPD skins in both control (Tarbp2+/+;K15PR1Cre+) and experimental (Tarbp2flox/flox;K15PR1Cre+) mice Boxed region is magnified in the lower panels Thickness measured from the panniculus carnosus (pc; muscle) to the outer epidermal layer (e) Bars (top panels = 1 mm; bottom panels = 100 um) (D) Skin thickness Distance from the striated muscle layer to the outer epidermal layer (μm) (E) Whole mount uDISCO analysis of 9DPD skins in both control (Tarbp2+/+;K15PR1Cre+) and experimental (Tarbp2flox/flox;K15PR1Cre+) mice (F) Schema of the targeting construct for generation of Tarbp2 floxed mice (top panel) Schema of the PCR strategy to determine Tabp2 ablation efficiency within tissue samples (bottom panel) (G) Tarbp2 deletion PCR results using RU486 pre- and post-treated tissue samples Conditional knockout of Dicer within hair follicle bulge stem cells (A) Images of the depilated regions of control (Dicerflox/flox;K15PR1Cre–) and experimental (Dicerflox/flox;K15PR1Cre+) mice at 0 days post depilation (DPD) and 9DPD (B) Histological analysis of 9DPD skins in both control (Dicerflox/flox;K15PR1Cre–) and experimental (Dicerflox/flox;K15PR1Cre+) mice Bars (top panels = 1 mm; bottom panels = 100 um) (C) Hair follicle count and skin thickness analysis Serial skin sections were assessed from control and Dicer cKO mice (n = 12; p ≤ 0.001 (D) Whole-mount uDISCO analysis of 9DPD skins in both control (Dicerflox/flox;K15PR1Cre–) and experimental (Dicerflox/flox;K15PR1Cre+) mice (E) Schema of the targeting construct for generation of Dicer floxed mice (F) Dicer deletion PCR using RU486 pre- and post-treated tissue samples schema of the PCR strategy to determine Dicer ablation efficiency within tissue sample (F) Arbitrary keratin gene expression using real-time PCR Gene expression presented as arbitrary units for individual genes and samples (n = 3; ***p ≤ 0.001 (G) Fold change in keratin gene expression Fold change in gene expression comparing Dicer cKO versus control Dotted line is no change in gene expression (n = 3; ***p ≤ 0.001 pro-survival and sebaceous gland gene expression Dotted line is no change in gene expression (n = 3; **p ≤ 0.01 these results suggests that their differentiation is mediated by Dicer a decrease in K15 suggests that the long-term maintenance of BSC reserves post-anagen initiation are mediated by Dicer as well it appears to play a functional role within subsets of these cells during induced anagen development Based on the overall level differences in gene expression our results suggest that Dicer plays a larger role within K40-postiive keratinocytes during induced anagen development indicating that Dicer ablation within BSCs does not affect the pool of sebocytes after induced anagen development these data provide a mode for delayed induced anagen development that does not involve induction of apoptosis nor alterations in the “stemness” of BSCs the K14-specific Dicer mutants also exhibit severe hair follicle phenotypes further highlighting the specific functions Dicer plays within skin compartments and that epidermal defects can effect hair follicle development there are several limitations to those studies the lineage tracing studies were not quantified therefore it remains inconclusive about the extent of K15-derived Dicer-less progeny recruited to hair follicle compartments the complete hair follicle profiles in the tissue sections were lacking thus the results do not provide the actual potential of BSC-precursors upon Dicer deletion the extent of follicular defect was not adequately assessed as the potential hair follicle stage and molecular phenotypes were not investigated it remains inconclusive whether Dicer ablation within BSCs affects induced anagen hair follicle development miR-24 transgene overexpression led to abnormal hair follicle development by way of premature differentiation the potential lack of miR-24 within our BSC-specific Dicer deletion studies may contribute to the delay in the hair cycle and keratin expression within hair follicle keratinocyte sub populations In our studies we show that sebaceous glands are not affected by Dicer deletion within BSCs and once again may reflect in which particular cell types miRNAs dictate function it is possible that Dicer may play a role in the wound repair process in mice as well Dicer-null conditional (Dicer1TM 1Bdh/J) mice (referred to as Dicerfloxed; JAX stock no 0063661) and Tarbp2- Null conditional (Tarbp2TM 1.1Dzw) mice (referred to as Tarbp2Floxed;MGI: 5645258) were received from the Jackson laboratory The Tg(Krt1-15-cre/PGR)22Cot line (referred to as K15-PR1Cre; JAX stock no 005249) was on a mixed C57BL/6 and SJL background also obtained from Jackson Laboratory and was used for generation of RU486 (Sigma; M8046)-induced Cre recombinase-mediated gene deletions within BSCs of hair follicles Dicerflox/flox (Dicerfl/fl) and Tarbp2flox/flox (Tarbp2fl/fl) mice were bred with K15-Cre line to achieve cell-specific knockout of targeted regions within BSCs of hair follicles Lineage tracing was performed using the Gt(ROSA)26SorTM 1(CAG–Brainbow2.1)Cle/J (also called the R26R-Confetti line) mice obtained from the Jackson Laboratory (R26R-Confetti; JAX stock no we generated the K15PR1Cre+:R26R-Confetti reporter line and induced recombination with RU486 topical treatment at P50-P53 of age we depilated the fur of the animals and waited 9 days (P63) to harvest the skin for analysis of BSC progeny using the confocal microscope All animals were maintained in a 12-h light (6am to 6pm) and 12-h dark cycle vivarium in the Research Animal Facility at the University of Miami Animals were provided acidified tap water through filter bottle and irradiated pelleted 2018 Teklad global 18% protein rodent diet from ENVIGO pups were dated based on the presence of vaginal plugs and by noting the delivery of newly born pups All animal studies were approved by the University of Miami Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) protocols All genotyping proceeded by using tail tip excision/partial amputation under the age of 21 days Dicer floxed allele was genotyped by using primers DicerF1 (CCTGACAGTGACGGTCCAAAG) and DicerR1 (CATGACTCTTCAACTCAAACT) PCR product for genotyping PCR was 420-bp band for Dicer and a 351-bp band for wild type allele The deletion was genotyped by using primers DicerF1 and DicerDel (CCTGAGCAAGGCAAGTCATTC) PCR product for deletion PCR was a 471-bp band for deletion and a 1300-bp band for the wild type allele To assay floxed versus wild type allele in Tarbp2 animals we used TRS-loxF (CAGAAGCACAGCAGGAACAA) and TRS-loxR (CGTGATATGCACAGCCCACT) primers PCR product for genotyping PCR was 180-bp band for the floxed and a 130-bp band for the wild type allele Deletion allele was detected by using primers TRS-loxF and TRS-3loxR (CAAAACCACTTCCCCATGTT) All mice genotyping was based on established protocols listed on the JAX website for each stock animal PCR program was run according to recommendations: 95°C for 5 min and 72°C for 10 s for Dicer genotyping and deletion PCR; 94°C for 3 min 61.7°C (59°C annealing for delete allele) for 30 s and 72°C for 20 s for Tarbp2 PCR Under general anesthesia (inhalation isoflurane) 50-day-old animals were subjected to hair depilation of two separate left and right side of the dorsal area by using Wax Strips after hardening All procedures were performed using sterile instruments and aseptic conditions Mice received topical daily treatments of 1% RU486 (Sigma; M8046) in acetone and skin samples were collected for analysis To visualize thick skin tissue and hair morphology we applied the organic solvent-based uDISCO clearing method Greater than 3 mm-by-3 mm skin tissues were fixed in 4% paraformaldehyde at 4°C overnight Samples were washed with 0.1 M phosphate buffered saline and subjected to a tert-butanol series (70–100%; Sigma-Aldrich 36053) for gradient dehydration for 2–12 h 270997) was replaced as a pure solution for the delipidation step for 1 h at room temperature A refractive index matching solution was prepared by mixing BABB (benzyl alcohol + benzyl benzoate 1:2; Sigma-Aldrich 24122 and W213802) and DPE (diphenyl ether) (Sigma-Aldrich 240834) at a BABB:DPE ratio of 10:1 (vol/vol) The samples were reacted with the BABB:DPE mixture until they became optically transparent Skin tissues (1 × 1 cm2) from the lower trunk region were dissected from mice and incubated 2–4 h in 4% paraformaldehyde in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) at 4°C and transferred to 70% ethanol Sections at 7 μm were stained with hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) by The University of Miami Histology Core Services skin tissues (1 × 1 cm2) were dissected from mice and incubated 2–4 h in 4% paraformaldehyde in phosphate buffered saline (pH 7.4) at 4°C and subjected to graded sucrose treatments (15–30%) for cryoprotection These tissues were embedded face down along the midline in optical cutting temperature embedding medium (Histolab; 45830) Cryosections were made using a Leica CM 1850 Cryostat Sections at 10 μm were incubated with 0.4% Triton X-100 in phosphate buffered saline for 30 min at room temperature to reduce background staining Tissue sections were directly blocked in phosphate buffered saline containing 5% normal horse serum for 30 min at room temperature Then incubated with endogenous mouse immunoglobulin G blocking solution 1:10 in phosphate buffered saline (Unconjugated AffiniPure Fab Fragment Goat Anti-mouse immunoglobulin G (H + L); Jackson ImmunoResearch Labs Sections were incubated with primary antibodies at 1:200 dilution for 30 min at room temperature; antibodies used in this study included Dicer (BioLegend Following 3x washes for 2 min each in phosphate buffered saline-Tween-20 the sections were incubated at room temperature for 20 min with corresponding species-specific 1:2000 secondary antibodies (Alexa series Following 3x washes in phosphate buffered saline-Tween-20 sections were mounted with Vectashield medium containing 4′,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole (DAPI; Vector Laboratories; H-1200-10) for nuclei staining Negative controls were included that had either no primary or secondary antibodies in the blocking buffer Immunofluorescence microscopy was performed using a Zeiss Observer 7 ApoTome2 unit Images were captured from BSCs compartment for DICER expression and normalized to acellular dermal regions Means of expression intensity of individual follicles were compared between control and mutant animals (n = 8) Imaris (Bitplane) was used to generate 3D rendered models of Dicer expression hair follicles per 2.5 mm tissue; n = 12 sections) and skin thickness measurements (i.e. distance from panniculus carnosus (muscle) to the outer epidermis; n = 12 sections) serial skin sections were analyzed between control and cKO mice Two-tailed unpaired t tests were performed between control and cKO data sets using Prism (GraphPad) where the p value summaries were depicted as ∗∗∗p ≤ 0.001 RNA was prepared using the PureLink RNA Mini kit (ThermoFisher Scientific) cDNA was synthesized using 200 ng total RNA with the ProtoScript® First Strand cDNA Synthesis kit (New England Biolabs; M0368) utilizing random hexamers All cDNAs were amplified under the following conditions: 95°C for 10 min to activate AmpliTaq Gold® Polymerase; followed by 40 cycles of 95°C for 15 s and 60°C for 1 min with an internal ROX reference dye qPCR analysis was performed on a QuantStudio 3 Real-Time instrument (ThermoFisher Scientific) utilizing the Power SYBRTM Green PCR Master mix (ThermoFisher Scientific; 4367659) Target genes were normalized to beta actin mRNA expression the mouse genome sequence coverage assembly GRCm38.p6 was utilized from the Genome Reference Consortium K17 primers: Forward 5′GGAGCAGCAGAACCAGGAAT3′ and reverse 5′ TCGCGGGAGGAGATGACC3′ K15 primers: Forward 5′AGGAGGTGGCGTCTAACACAGA3′ and reverse 5′CATGCTGAGCTGAGACTGCAAC3′ K40 primers: Forward 5′TGCCAGACTGAGATGTTGGA3′ and reverse 5′GCCCCTGTACGTGTTGATCT3′ Beta actin primers: Forward 5′CCAGTTCGCCAT GGATGACGATAT3′ and reverse 5′GTCAGGATACCTCT CTTGCTCTG3′ K25 primers: Forward 5′GGCCAGAAGCTGGAATATGA3′ and reverse 5′CCACTATGGCTTTGACTGGA3′ K72 primers: Forward 5′GAGATCGCCACCTACAGGAA3′ and reverse 5′CCACAGCTACCCTTGGTCTT3′ K73 primers: Forward 5′GAGATCGCCACCTACAGGAA3′ and reverse 5′GCTACCCTTGGTCTTCACCTC3′ PPARG primers: 5′TCACAATGCCATCAGGTTTG3′ and reverse 5′TCCGTTGTCTTTCCTGTCAA3′ Noxa1 primers: 5′CCCAGGCGATACCTAAAACA3′ and reverse 5′TGGATGCCAGCAAACTATCA3′ Puma primers: 5′GCCCAGCAGCACTTAGAGTC3′ and reverse 5′TGTCGATGCTGCTCTTCTTG3′ Akt1 primers: 5′CCCTTCTACAACCAGGACCA3′, and reverse 5′TGGGCTCAGCTTCTTCTCAT3′. Data are presented as fold induction of Dicer cKO compared to control samples normalized to beta actin mRNA levels (i.e., the comparative CT Livak method (Livak and Schmittgen, 2001) Data also presented as arbitrary values derived directly from the dCT values (2–dCT × 104) Melting curve analysis was performed for all primers to eliminate those that yielded primer-dimers As the delta Ct (dCT) values are measures that are proportional to log expression a t-test using two groups (control and mutant; n = 6; in triplication) of dCT values was used to generate the p-values The data supporting the results reported in this article will be provided upon reasonable request The animal study was reviewed and approved by the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee University of Miami NV conducted the experiments and edited the manuscript TL and NV are supported by the College of Arts and Sciences TL supported by Grant # IRG-17-183-16 from the American Cancer Society and from the Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center at the Miller School of Medicine The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest We especially thank Kathryn Helen Forcone (University of Miami) for her critical comments on this manuscript We also thank the Division of Veterinary Medicine (Miller School of Medicine and the animal care and veterinary staff at the Neuroscience Annex (University of Miami) for their animal support MicroRNA-214 controls skin and hair follicle development by modulating the activity of the Wnt pathway Google Scholar miR-24 affects hair follicle morphogenesis targeting Tcf-3 CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar The miRNA-processing enzyme dicer is essential for the morphogenesis and maintenance of hair follicles Google Scholar Stem cells in the hair follicle bulge contribute to wound repair but not to homeostasis of the epidermis The molecular anatomy of mouse skin during hair growth and rest CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Dicer is required for haploid male germ cell differentiation in mice Novel type I hair keratins K39 and K40 are the last to be expressed in differentiation of the hair: completion of the human hair keratin catalog TRBP alters human precursor microRNA processing in vitro CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Differential roles of human Dicer-binding proteins TRBP and PACT in small RNA processing elegans heterochronic gene lin-4 encodes small RNAs with antisense complementarity to lin-14 CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Lineage-specific transcriptional regulation of DICER by MITF in melanocytes Google Scholar Vitamin D activation of functionally distinct regulatory miRNAs in primary human osteoblasts The vitamin D receptor is required for activation of cWnt and hedgehog signaling in keratinocytes Analysis of relative gene expression data using real-time quantitative PCR and the 2(-Delta Delta C(T)) Method CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Micro-RNA-31 controls hair cycle-associated changes in gene expression programs of the skin and hair follicle Apoptosis and keratin intermediate filaments Google Scholar Keratin 17 gene expression during the murine hair cycle MicroRNA-140 Provides Robustness to the Regulation of Hypertrophic Chondrocyte Differentiation by the PTHrP-HDAC4 Pathway Google Scholar A comprehensive guide for the recognition and classification of distinct stages of hair follicle morphogenesis Noncanonical functions of microRNA pathway enzymes - Drosha CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Functional redundancy of DICER Cofactors TARBP2 and PRKRA during murine embryogenesis does not involve miRNA biogenesis Lgr6 marks stem cells in the hair follicle that generate all cell lineages of the skin Inducible deletion of epidermal Dicer and Drosha reveals multiple functions for miRNAs in postnatal skin Keratin 17 modulates hair follicle cycling in a TNFalpha-dependent fashion CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar Detection of Bim and Puma in mouse hair follicles using immunofluorescence and TUNEL assay double staining CrossRef Full Text | Google Scholar modulates keratinocyte proliferation by targeting FGFR2 Morphogenesis in skin is governed by discrete sets of differentially expressed microRNAs DGCR8-dependent microRNA biogenesis is essential for skin development MicroRNA-205 promotes keratinocyte migration via the lipid phosphatase SHIP2 Specific microRNAs are preferentially expressed by skin stem cells to balance self-renewal and early lineage commitment miR-218-5p regulates skin and hair follicle development through Wnt/beta-catenin signaling pathway by targeting SFRP2 Citation: Vishlaghi N and Lisse TS (2020) Dicer- and Bulge Stem Cell-Dependent MicroRNAs During Induced Anagen Hair Follicle Development Copyright © 2020 Vishlaghi and Lisse. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY) distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited in accordance with accepted academic practice distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms *Correspondence: Thomas S. Lisse, dG9tLmxpc3NlQG1pYW1pLmVkdQ== Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher. 94% of researchers rate our articles as excellent or goodLearn more about the work of our research integrity team to safeguard the quality of each article we publish. stress and much emotive beauty in the glass…” writes Garnett summing up what 2022 meant for her.Lisse Garnett (r) and colleagues cruising the Danube As I write reeking and surrounded by fetid teens on our sixth day without water I can honestly say that 2022 was a year of pain some gain and what the ancient Greeks called anagnorisis Colombia and Chile and tried some mighty vini An unexpected detour to Bogata en route to Chile resulted in a missing suitcase Ten days traversing Chile with only a stick of mascara and a tin of Vaseline were generously supplemented by De Martino winery couture the balm of Madeleine Stenwreth and jeans of Daniella Lund We travelled to Santiago via Guarilihue to Pucon and back again and these were two wines that stood out Baettig Vino de Viñedos Los Compadres Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 – dry-farmed low-cropped old vines bringing sublime tension blackcurrant fruit and a superbly silky texture Cointreau-noted smörgåsbord of wondrous complexity Andrew Edmunds upstairs in the Academy Club my last solo meal with the multi-faceted magical Mr Benn of Soho we ventured North to The Drapers and were far from disappointed by the food the wine nor the wonderful care taken by Nick Gibson earthy and spicy – lifted by fragrant sage We are all prismatic in personality according to the company we keep and my friend Andrew was ageless and spritely in wit and deed He’d spin acid-etched tales of swinging 60s London of the outré associates that played there – and of the wild antics they engaged in We’d bitch deliciously about bad behaviour The fact that he was my friend when he might have had far grander company His death is in keeping with his arrival in my life I saw him a few more times in his reputable Soho print shop housed in the early Georgian block that combines the restaurant and upstairs club Reminiscent of a 17th Century coffee house the whole has a Dickensian air lurking in those wainscoted corridors or climbing the wonky ill-lit creaking stairs that lead directly into the past Perhaps at table in his eponymous restaurant offering generously under-priced sleepers or upstairs in the Academy Club doling out low-priced The Real Wine Fair was an over whelmingly positive experience both the trade and the consumer days thronged with a multi-generational posse of wine lovers sipping and supping contentedly with the makers of their poison I’m going to namecheck Charlie Herring for producing mighty cider and call Renaud Boyer because everything about this wine says class; from its green credentials and characterful importer to its subtle elegant richness Perfectly poised white peach fruit laced with citrus acacia blossom white pepper and savoury saline complexity courtesy of Penfolds’ collaboration with Dourthe in 38°C heat allowed me to eat a sublime dinner seated next to an exceptionally modest Andrew Caillard MW and his wife Bobby The room was filled with iconic characters most of whom I’d only seen in Jancis Robinson’s 90s Wine Course Caillard probably understands Australian wine better than any other living being so this was a massive result for a rube like me We drank insanely well but a bottle of Penfolds Shiraz 1962 Bin 60A Coonawarra Cabernet Kalimna ‘one of the greatest Australian wines ever made’ Penfolds’ most successful show wine ever and pivotal in Max Schubert’s successful blending of Cabernet and Shiraz The wine was sublime – fresh and exotic with a prevailing note of incense (smoky handbags) Gorgeously lifted by the scent of dried rose petals and as light on the tongue as diaphanous silk We tried a second bottle and it didn’t sing forth like the first Now to South Africa and a fantastic chance to compare the superb Savennières Les Vieux Clos 2019 – Nicolas Joly with several South African offerings which were shown at the Loire Valley Wines single varietal tasting should be applauded and applaud I will – of the several South African examples shown held its territory and at a miniscule fraction of the price of the sublimely sensual and impossible-to-source Joly The Joly was a sensually layered joyous assignation of a wine teasing our taste buds with sweet cinnamon Lisse Garnett at the Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction The Nedbank Cape Winemakers Guild Auction was an outstanding event After two years in exile it took place at the Lord Charles in Somerset West The lots went sky high – the best year yet with female winemakers and whites hitting the top slots and prices up 30% on the previous year with 30% of the lots sold to overseas bidders Samantha O’Keefe’s Lismore Valkyrie Chardonnay 2021 hit the highest gavel price Closely followed by Andrea Mullineux’s Trifecta Chenin Blanc 2020 Kanonkop CWG Paul Sauer 2019 reached the highest average price per bottle with Cederberg Teen die Hoog Shiraz 2020 a close second Argentina delivered insanely good wines for ridiculous prices and too many to call a favourite but I am going to slyly single out Ver Sacrum Pedro Ximenez and El Porvenir de Cafayate Naranjo because they are both gorgeous Some of the mightiest wines I tried this year came from home savoury beauty – delivers the ultimate expression of England’s textural potential a saignée-made rosé from the Stoner Valley It is a beautiful pale peony colour – is bright full and aromatic with a gorgeous note of English rose wild strawberry and hibiscus – superbly fitting for a wine that is actually selling well in Champagne My interest piqued in the late 80s when I watched the brilliant film White Mischief staring Greta Scacchi and Charles Dance The story is set in Kenya and based on the reported antics of the Happy Valley ex-pats whose gin-oiled sexual appetites might be downplayed as louche known as mother’s ruin –and yet it always makes me very happy indeed How fittingly modern that my favourite gin is made by amiable Mouse Hall Gin is my final toast for 2022 and I’m advocating a large pour There is no doubt it’s going to be a bumpy ride but let’s make it an enjoyable one steeped in bacchanalian festivities and youthful vignerons Kate Hawkings and Libby Brodie found out.Sounding like a bad cop show: Brodie Every gathering had the casual vibe of an impromptu At Belleville-en-Boujolais we were greeted by an upended Citroën in a ditch There were also huge cauldrons of steaming molluscs steeped in chorizo multiple magnums and a heart stopping view The 12-piece brass band playing Radiohead was unexpected as were the twirling there are some things that happen in Beaujolais that stay in Beaujolais They enveloped us into their throng without explanation nor second glance No one would have dreamt of offering us anything so gauche as product information We were seamlessly absorbed into enchanting company and seduced by youthful zealots of the vine dancing Dutch importers were the only other foreign interlopers we met like smug 80s ravers who’d blagged their way backstage to hang with the band at the mightiest of secret gigs but Beaujolais Nouveau is the name the man on the street knows Over egged and marketed to within an inch of its credibility it shrank back into obscurity and became a bit of a joke Beaujolais producers have celebrated the harvest by sharing young wine that is made and sold the same year for over a hundred years Released on the 3rd Thursday of November; fresh it should be low priced and is ideally supped in Paris with steak frites thanks to a campaign that was inadvertently lit by the London papers According to Oz Clarke it was the Sunday Times journalist Allan Hall who kicked things off He promised to give the first person to walk in his office on the 15th November 1974 with a bottle of fresh Beaujolais a bottle of good Champagne The lunatic British wino fringe took to the roads in all manner of rangy vehicles – traversing the French countryside in an attempt to get to London avec le Beaujolais Nouveau only to be pipped at the post by some unsportsmanlike individual who made use of a private jet Beaujolais Nouveau made household names of growers like Georges Duboeuf Let’s not forget Beaujolais is also the birthplace of natural wine and Guy Breton decided to make wine like their grandfathers They saw the results of industrial post-war farming and they wanted out The wines they made spawned a movement that resonated across the world Today the party they started in Beaujolais is propagated by conscientious younger growers who are keen to protect the environment and express the region’s heritage as well as complex terroir Beaujolais overlaps the Mâconnais in the Southern part of Burgundy but much of its territory lies further South in the Rhône Department and is not far from Lyon Though primarily a region known for red wine made from the Gamay grape (98% of plantings are Gamay) white and rosé wines are also being produced from small plantings of Chardonnay and Pinot Noir From 2009 to 2018 soils were comprehensively mapped thus allowing growers to create plot-by-plot cuvées They can also now use the ‘Unesco Global Geopath’ label in recognition of Beaujolais’ outstanding geology some of the richest and most complex in France The climate too is complex and subject to three main climactic influences; continental currents oceanic air movements and Mediterranean winds Over half the world’s Gamay is located in the Beaujolais AOP purple/black-skinned grapes are fairly good at adapting to soil but do require meticulous care and attention A natural cross between Pinot Noir and Gouais Blanc Gamay can produce age-worthy wines of great elegance and finesse as well as supple showing pretty strawberry and raspberry notes and nuanced Carbonic maceration and semi-carbonic maceration are used Carbonic maceration has been adopted by growers throughout the world keen to convey fruity flavours and freshness Beaujolais is a region that offers much that is memorable complex and nuanced in terms of range and style The distillation of the Beaujolais concept allows for over-simplification of what is essentially a broad canvas Beaujolais perfectly illustrates the wonders a varied terroir might convey on a single variety Beaujolais Crus might not even use the word Beaujolais on their labels so all need to be memorised and explored to be understood This exciting and diverse region is fascinating impossible to pigeonhole and incredibly it suits all budgets Rare words to hear in association with Burgundy More and more drinkers view these wines as an alternative to red Burgundy – now so costly you need to sell your front teeth to buy it Brouilly and Côte de Brouilly are the ten Beaujolais Crus While the southern region of Beaujolais is flatter and clay-based these northern crus offer fruit grown on the monts de Beaujolais – granite hills that deliver richer Styles offer broad and varied personalities they can be anything from lithe and ephemeral Chiroubles to dark and even tannic such as those from Moulin-a-Vent I have included information on individual crus in the tasting notes below Interestingly when the Grand cru appellation in the Cote d’Or relaxed their regulations on maximum yields This is a region that is extremely keen to prove itself worthy of note A lot of what we tried is simply not in the UK the natural and the more traditionally poncey too I cannot recommend enough going out there to party and sup yourself as for much of the time I was having too much fun to write notes Wines from Morgon are said to be fuller flavoured and grown on weathered schist on the south-facing slopes of Mont du Py Made by Brits from old vine fruit dating back 40 to 100 years Intense perfumed notes balance a sensual muscular structure gently gripping tannins and a hint of coffee The wine is fresh and sappy yet layered and rich with interest Sunier makes incredible terroir-expressive wines and is a bit of a rockstar wine god now otherworldly elegance that lifts certain wines toward the divine A delicate hint of rose petal lends a floral note to this sapid red fruit-laden sup pomegranate and cranberry enliven a silken texture Perhaps seen as fancier than the other crus and often the call people make as an alternative to Burgundy Moulin wines usually deliver in terms of grace and value Jadot bought this estate between Fleurie and Chénas in 1996 on ancient granite and is vinified in closed vats pumped over and aged in new oak for 12 months The wine is fresh and redolent with cherry raspberry coulis and a hint of Bakewell Tart A natural wine made from grapes in conversion to organic the silken texture culminates in a tannic finish with a delicate hint of rose petal and exotic incense iron-tinged with grainy tannins and a lengthy finish Brouilly is the largest cru (containing Côte de Brouilly) and is situated around Mont Brouilly – often mouth-wateringly fresh and fruity Aligoté and Melon de Bourgogne as well as Gamay Cuvée Melanie comes from Boulard who is famous for his Morgon the tannins intensely moreish and the finish Jean-Claude Chanudet aka Le Chat and the late Marcel Lapierre were childhood friends who travelled the world working together Chanudet took over Domaine Joseph Chamonard when Lapierre died They were part of the group who spoke out in favour of natural wine though Chanudet is now vehemently against the dogma of the movement that he derides as a new religion comes from the most famous and oldest plot in Fleurie grown biodynamically on decomposed pink granite cola and high church incense meet intense minerality The tannins are elegant and supple – it’s fruity too but the elegant perfume and earthy minerality move the dark fruit in a textured All manner of soft red berries enliven this silky they are wildly new and fresh and yet still have the hallmarks of granite and tradition I would encourage you to try them all and the labels are fantastic Claire Thevenot MS is his importer in the UK (as were a huge proportion of the wines we tasted) Tomix is partially aged in concrete It’s delicately floral too with violet and spring blossom a natural wine made from grapes in conversion to organic Sour cherry and plum; a silken texture culminating in deliciously dry tannins An average altitude of 1000 feet in Chiroubles produces light This was once a region known for oak hence the name The smell of roses is a well-used descriptor alive and zippy; this radiates life with a hint of farmyard white pepper; super dry and chalky with tannin Founded by Marie and the late Marcel Lapierre and Jean-Claude Chanudet in 1995 mainly in Morgon plus a small parcel of vines in La Côte du Py The texture is silky and delicately laced with fragrant Fruit came from old vines; the wine was aged for ten months in oak crunchy and tart with cranberry and sour cherry aged for around eight to nine months in old foudres enticingly wild and sour with a gorgeous violet note Organic and made with the absolute minimum of intervention And so it is with opinions… we may not share them but let’s allow one another’s to co-exist without venomous reprisal,” writes Garnett.Women in wine at the Wines of Argentina symposium: Lisse Garnett a phrase that flows so easily across the tongue a buzz topic on every blog and in every PR in-box But what does it mean to be a woman in our trade and I’m in Mendoza, Argentina, where I have been invited by Wines of Argentina (WOFA) to speak to an audience of sommeliers about what it means to be a woman in wine I’m in impressive company: Sarah Jane Evans MW; Argentine’s Valeria Gamper who won the ASI Best Somm of the Americas award; Jessica Vargas from Wine Enthusiast; and Audrey Doré of El Celler de Can Roca in Girona are also speaking has signed the organisation up to the United Nations Principles for the Empowerment of Women which includes some pretty reasonable demands for balanced representation egalitarianism in pay and a lack of workplace harassment and violence about my hospitality ‘journey’ and about the way I have treated and been treated by my fellow and opposite sex I haven’t always been the best friend to my kind I wrote a piece about influencers for the Spectator to which my editor attached an image of the exceptionally beautiful Georgie Fenn New to Instagram and heavily influenced by a male colleague’s disgust for algorithms I wrote a pretty scathing partially tongue-in-cheek series of pieces about the age-old phenomenon of using sex to sell wine Industry women went nuts – I was vitriolically attacked by many on Twitter (I was not on it then) in particular by a MW (female) to whom I wrote a cogent letter of reply Happy to slag me off as ‘an enemy to my sex’ in public she nevertheless did not lower herself to engage in private loved and subbed the primary piece did not deign to champion me on Twitter either to distance himself and maniacally people (sorry) ‘women please’ instead It was Georgie Fenn who restored my belief in female solidarity and taught me a valuable lesson by chance at a masterclass where she shook my hand and willingly joined me and Francisco Baettig for lunch Hannah Crosbie and many other female influencers – highly successful wine communicators well capable of cogent debate take all forms of communication to reach audiences It seems I needed to take a leaf out of History of an Unusual Wine Company Doug Wregg’s account of setting up natural wine pioneers When labelled a natural fundamentalist over his championing of the ‘commercial con’ of natural wine at The Natural Wine Fair in 2011 Wregg calmly explained that the wine church is broad and all might co-exist So it is with wine communication in all of its many forms And so it is with opinions… we may not share them but let’s allow one another’s to co-exist without venomous reprisal Yael Doctorovich (WOFA) Jaoquin Hildalgo (Vinous) My mother was a waitress and a single parent of six – so I suppose it began there had been severely injured by a bullet to the head and ended his life as a caretaker in a Polish convent near Northampton took the only job she could to support her family I followed suit and began waitressing aged fourteen Hospitality has since funded two journalism degrees a Masters and a separation I hope will end in divorce my very best friends and numerous nights of enjoyable public service It even got me my first job in television – through contacts made serving pizza not really knowing much about it apart from what I’d seen on Brideshead Revisited Naïve and green I’d flown to Firenze with no clue it was actually the same place as Florence My first interview was at a casino on the outer periphery of the city I was buzzed through a side door into a white hall and shown into a space that revealed itself to be part office reappearing clad only in a white towelling robe and proffering a silver salver of strawberries complete with a bottle of something sparkling I don’t remember how I got home but I do remember him plaintively calling after me This kind of situation was fairly commonplace in Italy fathers of other children would routinely place their hand on my leg and proposition me for sex One night I awoke having crashed on a friend’s sofa in Florence after a late finish to find an English Lord pleasuring himself above me Such is the life of the dispossessed unprotected young female abroad Exploitation when far from home and reliant on work to supply One five-star hotel I worked in (under a female boss) near Elba treated its live-in foreign staff appallingly We worked from 6am stacking sunbeds on the private beach until 1am on wash-up A pair of us staff took off in the dead of night – a Basque and a Brit – too fearful and insecure about our rights to confront injustice instead choosing to ride the night bus to Florence and test our wits there I’m not entirely comfortable with individual women who promote themselves as the public face of female empowerment either those who tag reputable female causes for personal traction in social media and also in inappropriate contexts – during a 13-hour vintage vertical lunch But surely we can do far better for our sex than watch unctuous trade insiders get wankered on vintage verticals We wine communicators all need attention to thrive and to get limited lucrative work – an ever-higher profile and competition is encouraged – huge social media followings mean invites to speak and placement on trips but there are those who utilise their status to gain personal affirmation Men and women that cultivate affirmation and a position of power over substance ought not be trusted in my humble opinion Witnessing male industry individuals gain the trust of young girls merely to furnish their ‘wank bank’ is galling live-in accommodation and the odd foreign trip is not unusual Best Argentine sommelier Andy Donadio embracing her mentor and best friend Valeria Gamper Best Somm of the Americas 2022 and Best Somm Argentina 2019 And what of that conservatoire – the Mendozan address For this is a worthy and credible cause – equality is a given (the base line for all) – and we must show solidarity to our sex in this Domestic violence and coercion thrives on the silence of women I’ve seen it first hand and it is hard and potentially libellous to speak out I was so privileged to share the stage with these women The only individual on that stage unable to converse in Spanish and I trembled erudite MWs and young women who have conquered the prejudice of class and race are far better speakers than me As I left the stage a young female sommelier from Argentina held out her arms and enclosed me in a hug And just like the three fantastic women I saw come first second and third at the Argentinian Sommelier 2022 Championship earlier that day For there is nothing more noble nor powerful than championing your sex and feeling their sweet collective arms embrace Merlot and Cabernet Franc follow in this vibrant Bordeaux inspired blend,” writes Garnett about the new Creative Block 5.Spier Wine Farm managing director Frans Smit addresses writers before the tasting South Africa is one of the oldest wine producing countries in the New World which was first populated by the Portuguese it was colonised by the Dutch to provide vital victuals on a profitable long-haul maritime route Dutch East India Company ships stopped off in Cape Town on their way to and from the East Indies triumphantly recorded the region’s maiden grape pressing in 1659 Muscadel and other white grapes were cultivated ‘with the aid of certain free burghers and some slaves’ Later, in 1679, Commander Simon Van de Stel discovered the fertile valley he christened Stellenbosch. Spier Wine Farm was one of the original tracts of Stellenbosch to be claimed by a colonist or freeburgher An ex German soldier and favoured employee of the Dutch East India Company By 1692 he had successfully cultivated 2000 vines on the riverfront property Spier Wine Farm boasts over 600 hectares and also works in long-standing partnerships with numerous well-respected producers Spier Wine Farm wines were paired magnificently with food at Petersham Nurseries It’s always a pleasure to spend time in the presence of Spier’s managing director he somehow managed to engage with each and every one of us during the crowded presentation of these wines at Petersham Nurseries in Covent Garden The food was perfectly paired as well as absolutely delicious there are approximately 35 hectares of Albariño in the whole of SA and 9 in Stellenbosch on the Bottelary Hills Three whites and three reds made with grapes grown close to the ocean This is made with Chardonnay grown on the Tygerberg Hills barrel fermented and fecund with flavours of peach nectarine and lime with a spray of white blossom Luscious and weighty as cold silk; fresh and crystalline Viscous with almond oil and there is a smorgasbord of fruit on the palate; peach nectarine – laced with honey and lifted with lime vanilla and a spray of fragrant white blossom Named after the Spier art project that support African artists South African interpretations of Bordeaux and Rhone blends gooseberries with a good pinch of aromatic fynbos bush herbs rich and velvety with salted savoury Asian plum layered and enticing; there is a moreish savoury character too; black pepper and fennel Merlot and Cabernet Franc follow in this vibrant Bordeaux inspired blend aromatic cedar and dark mint chocolate chip dance delectably across the palate A predominantly natural ferment of single vineyard vines planted in 1982 whole bunch and botrytis add layers and texture as does barrel ageing Deliciously indulgent and begging for caramelised fatty food Spier 21 Gables Cabernet Sauvignon 2019 13.7% cedar and salty Asian plum laced with sweet violets and peppered with pencil This is only just beginning to show an ankle give it time to seduce you and become poetic with age It happens to us all with the right accompaniment The Symphony of Colors is performed to mark the 75th anniversary of the Keukenhof park in Lisse is open to the public from March 21 to May 12 this year Visitors view colorful flowers at the Keukenhof park in Lisse Visitors take selfies at the Keukenhof park in Lisse Visitors view the Symphony of Colors being performed to mark the 75th anniversary of the Keukenhof park in Lisse Visitors are seen at the Keukenhof park in Lisse Blooming tulips are seen at the Keukenhof park in Lisse the project emerges from a historic dike and blends within the surrounding nature through the use of bricks in earthy shades and large openings images courtesy of KVDK architects header photo by ronald tilleman LAM, supported by the vandenbroek foundation, which also runs one of the country’s largest supermarket chains, is developed as a food & consumption art museum. KVDK architects has focused on finding the perfect balance between the surrounding park and the art galleries the museum’s lightweight interior is shaped by various sections of glass while large openings invite ample light into the exhibition spaces and maintain a clear relationship with the outside AXOR presents three bathroom concepts that are not merely places of function but destinations in themselves — sanctuaries of style NKyTribune New owners of what had been one of Covington’s best-known watering holes and restaurants plan to open with a new theme Chez Nora at the corner of Sixth and Main in the MainStrasse neighborhood will jettison the French name for Lisse which is the name of a city in the province of South Holland in the Netherlands Tim Weiss said the new name reflects the hometown of Hans Philippo who owns the property with business partner Jeff Wolnitzek “We’re going to redo the entire building from the basement to the top floor,” said Weiss He said a “soft opening” is scheduled tentatively for Aug “We will also do a complete remediation of the brick (exterior) and plan to change the color,” Weiss said The three-story building has an open-air rooftop bar that provides an impressive view of the Northern Kentucky and Cincinnati skylines as well as an enclosed room where Chez Nora attracted customers with live jazz Although Weiss provided some details about what the owners plan to do with the building he declined to reveal any details about the menu other than to say The owners plan to hold a press event late next week to fill in some of the blanks in the information that was released – reluctantly – this week Buildings permits for the interior and exterior work as well as a rebuild of the kitchen are “in the works,” Weiss said The Covington employee who handles building permits was not available for comment Tuesday afternoon he said he did not know what the renovation work would cost Philippo will own the restaurant and the bar and Wolnitzek will retain an ownership stake in the property who added that he has 30 years of experience in the restaurant business He declined to provide any detail about where he has worked recently Philippo is the founder and the CEO of Holland Roofing which specializes in large commercial buildings The company website says that Philippo founded the business in 1986 and that in that first year the company had 10 employees and revenues of $1.8 million the company is listed by the Engineering News Record as the sixth largest roofing company in the country Chez Nora closed early in January of 2014 after some 20 years under the ownership of Jim and Pati Gilliece who had made an effort to sell the business while the restaurant was still operating the bar had become kind of an unofficial City Hall other elected officials as well as prominent business people who made the wheels turn in the region The Gillieces also played a significant role in city-wide and neighborhood events and could be counted on to donate Chez Nora favorites for special events in Covington Covington City Commissioner Steve Frank was quoted as saying that Chez Nora had been Covington’s “living room” and that he had to find other places to talk politics once Chez Nora closed its doors After more than 11 months as a prominent yet unoccupied building on MainStrasse’s commercial strip of bars Wolnitzek described himself as a long-time patron of Chez Nora He said last December that he didn’t know if it was possible to continue to operate a restaurant and a bar that encompassed three floors of a building that has a substantial footprint on MainStrasse’s most prominent intersection Wolnitzek opted not to release any information about plans for the property But Wolnitzek and Philippo apparently are convinced now that they can make the entire building work the first floor was divided into two dining areas The second floor was typically reserved for meetings special events and private parties while the third floor included the open-air bar and the jazz performance space Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" People pose for photos at the Keukenhof park in Lisse The park is open to the public from March 24 to May 15 this year.Photo:Xinhua A woman poses for photos at the Keukenhof park in Lisse People tour at the Keukenhof park in Lisse People view blooming tulips at the Keukenhof park in Lisse KTM introduced the Lisse aero road bike as a concept last fall where we got a first look from Eurobike other than disc brakes and fairly dramatic aero tube shaping Almost a year later the bike has been revealed and there are few changes to what is now the production-ready KTM Revelator Lisse aero road bike we reveal some interesting new tech that makes for a relatively easy-to-manage setup for completely internal cable routing even with mechanical drivetrains and a unique steerer tube spacer design that allows you to adjust the height of the bar without impacting those neatly integrated cables… The Lisse is the latest bike to join KTM’s Revelator family of road bikes and is more of an all around solution that most of their other bikes That is in large part due to the move to disc brakes across all road segments that has allowed the industry to pursue aerodynamics at the same time as getting better braking more optimized carbon layups for that balance of drivetrain stiffness but rider comfort and the extra room to ride fatter road tires that can be adapted to a wider range of road conditions From an aero standpoint KTM looked beyond just the aerodynamics of the frame & fork to see what really could most benefit on the total bike They actually came to the conclusion that reducing turbulent wind was maybe the most important aspect of aero design And only then could they really benefit from optimized frontal area and tubing profiles Of course that led KTM first towards front end integration As KTM put it to us integrated cable solutions are pretty much a benchmark in the aero road bike category now So they took that as an opportunity to explore a better solution for not just improved aerodynamics but also a more reasonable setup and real world usability The result is a unique stem that clamps the handle bar with a removable top plate that also builds into it a tidy cable routing setup Two cables enter either side of the carbon stem via smooth bends that will work with even mechanical shift housing & hydraulic brake lines and get held in place with a simple internal clamp (labeled for easy setup It does not require any special handle bar And the cables can be routed directly from behind the bar with a normal radius while still staying completely out of the wind Inside the special full carbon steerer tube of the Lisse fork (shown here with a front cutaway window for demonstration purposes only) molded in plastic tubing guides each cable to its destination The front brake stays inside the fork all the way to the dropout while the rear brake & shift lines exit into the large downtube Of course a special (not) star nut/steerer plug is needed so the Lisse fork gets an alloy plug bonded in that lines up the routing and works with a special slotted top cap that ultimately gets covered over by the stem’s top plate The other unique technology to the Lisse’s integrated stem is the way that bar height is adjusted Since using a normal set of spacers under the stem would require the variable height of the steerer tube (remember above that the steerer’s top cap gets covered up by the stem so the steerer tube must be cut to size at the factory where the steerer plug can be bonded in) KTM has an alternate method to adjust bar positioning The four spacers above (plus the standard 0 one installed on the bike in the photos above) allow the rider to move the bar up or down in roughly 5mm increments on a typical 100mm stem (the longer the stem It works as you can see above where the angle between the top of the headset (the flat table in the pic above) & the steerer tube (the inner hole in the spacers) remains the same but the outer diameter that the stem actually clamps to changes as do the angles of the lower extensions of the spacer that meet the overall outer shape of the stem Besides providing the absolutely necessary ability to adjust handle bar height (or more clearly it also results in a clean solution where cable length for the internal setup is not impacted by altering bar height We already notices the widely set fork legs and squared off fork crown when we previewed the bike last year which claim to reduce turbulence where the top part of the rim tire & spokes are spinning forward against the wind The fork design then transitions smoothly into a wide truncated aerofoil downtube That in turn houses a modular cable access port to aid in setting up the internal routing but can also be used to locate a Di2 junction box Looking further to the claimed 1000g frame & 480g fork the Lisse includes most of the same details we find on the majority of top-level aero road bikes these days That means dropped seatstays – which again get widely set to allow airflow over the forward spinning wheel – plus a deep wheel cutout and tall but thin aero shaped stays The Lisse fork continues some unique shaping with a teardrop extending just behind the 12mm thru-axle to smooth airflow over the fork tips And at the front edge of the legs they taper to slice into the wind KTM is co-title sponsor for a French Pro Continental team so sticking to UCI guidelines was always a driving force for the Lisse development We didn’t see UCI approval stickers on the bikes yet but they did find their way onto the approved list as of the latest 21 June 2017 UCI update So they should be turning up in the pro peloton once the riders get their heads out of their… more accustomed to improved braking The Lisse uses a proprietary D-shaped seatpost and clamped with an expander wedge accessible from under the toptube the Lisse is very much asymmetrical allowing air to flow more smoothly to the less turbulent non-driveside around the lower downtube and Press Fit bottom bracket area The Revelator Lisse will be available later this year in two complete bike builds that share the same 85% 30T The Lisse Prestige will come in classic KTM orange & black with a SRAM Red HRD eTap groupset and DT Swiss PRC1400 wheels The second Lisse Elite gets a blue & black paint job with a Shimano 105 mechanical groupset still with hydraulic braking and down spec’d to DT P1800 spline wheels Both bikes will be available in the same five size range with effective seattubes from 49-59cm KTM-bikes.at Cory Benson is the EU Tech Editor of Bikerumor.com Cory has been writing about mountain bikes gravel bikes & bikepacking for over 25 years even before the industry created some of these names Cory was a practicing Architect specializing in environmental sustainability has designed bike shops & bike components Cory travels extensively across Europe riding bikes meeting with key European product developers industry experts & tastemakers for an in-depth review of what’s new Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_2" ).setAttribute( "value" This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed then reposition your bars and torque to spec Why not have a small access hole in the cover to allow you to access the star nut/plug I’m all for aero and clean looks but sometimes that comes with some practicality issues @Collin Snyder- how often does your headset need adjustment These are the prices we pay for progression and capability Technically isn’t not adjusting stem and bar stack height but rather stem angle Which further complicates fit as stem angle change also affects handle bar reach They should let you cut the steer yourself and then bond in the star nut Changing your fork stack also affects your handlebar reach with a 100mm stem would shorten the reach by 0.23mm And if you’re really keeping track or thinking about this putting a spacer under the stem doesn’t move the bar vertically but along the steerer which is angled back toward the saddle Raising a bar by 5mm shortens the reach by 1.4 with a 74hta this system is better than conventional spacers Those calculations mean little without the drop from saddle to bar I had got the Revelator Sky… ride quality was pretty bad very harsh over rough road and overly sensitive steering Swapped to TCR Adv SL disc and it’s a much better ride I still hope they could do better with this unique looking new bike I’ve actually found it to be very stable but also over rough stuff) and as comfortable as anything else Possibly the sensitive steering you mention is offset by the longer wheel base of the Canic Was using old SES 3.4 and 25mm Corsa G+ with latex tubes The sensitive steering was particularly serious when riding uphill so the front end doesn’t have too much pressure Once the speed pick up it’s more stable but that bike was more difficult to accelerate (than my current TCR) Maybe that’s not for me… not the fault of the bike… Do they even offer KTM here in the States They do direct sales if there isn’t an importer near you I have a 2017 Revelator and a Myroon Sonic hard trail MTB Cannondale’s approach for the 2018 Synapse looks soooo much better The stack/reach numbers looks very aggressive (which I like) But it looks like integrated stem is very tall I do like the general direction of hiding cables on an aero bike especially with hydro brakes and wired electronic shifting But the recent Ridley prototype looks cooler I think it’s an illusion created by the chainstay angle Chainstay does not bisect the bb nor the rear axle The BB drop is pretty much in line with much of the similar top tier racing bikes They do offer a bigger drop on smaller frames to improve handling with the expectation that the rider will be using a shorter crank length to negate the chances of pedal strike The sizing of the bike is a bit on the long side given the stack height This bike has the intent of putting its rider on the low down and out of the air Wheelbase is tiny bit longer as are the chain stays but its not an all rounder and certainly no light weight Its quite fair given it has a quite a bit of aerodynamic features and disc brakes This bike has a specified purpose and hopefully it does it well I just don’t think its ideal for much of the riding/racing public truly a bike only their product manager could love I think a bit more attention to asthetics would improve that brand’s opportunities to enter new markets but don’t want to deal with solvents Simpyfast claims their Lube Cube is the easiest way Peak Performance expands on their MTB specific clothing with new pants Apparently that’s an option when you’re designing products for the GOAT We spotted Cofidis racing an all-new prototype wireless 13-speed Campagnolo Super Record 13 WRL SC road groupset Canyon Bicycles is now selling select models directly through Amazon.com Want wireless shifting but don’t want to have to buy a whole new drivetrain Be protected from the sun with the new UV Hooded Trail Shirt… OrNot The new Van Nicholas Astraeus is a beautiful titanium road bike that’s limited to just 50 frames The KTM Revelator Lisse aero road bike gets official for 2019 and it’s only offered with disc brakes In addition to clever cable routing through the stem and into the frame the bike gets other aero touches on the fork tubes and stays to help streamline it both visually and aerodynamically The fork’s crown is minimal and starts the wind on a path around the downtube The almost flat crown is a shape that’ll be mimicked farther back Note the cover for integrated Di2/EPS junction boxes on models with electronic shifting The design works for both electronic and mechanical shifting lines and comes with five different shims to adjust the stem angle The fork’s legs extend forward to create a longer surface area for the wind to attach to That flat deck shaping carries through to the BB shell’s outer area that same shape forms a crown at the top of the seatstays The whole thing creates a great visual continuity that helps the Lisse stand out from all the other recent aero bike introductions A SRAM eTap build makes it even easier to keep the lines clean The all-new KTM X-Strada (“cross strada”) is their first alloy gravel bike which will get just one single complete bike build using Shimano 105 It’s meant as an all-purpose off-road drop bar bike with plenty of mounts for racks and fenders so you can use it to commuter and tapered alloy fork give it modern touches without getting too fancy and driving the price up The X-Strada will fit up to 700×42 tires The 2019 KTM Prowler is their new 29er long travel all-mountain or enduro race bike all with the same 2.25kg frame (without shock) It has a steeper seat angle to help you climb better Like the road bikes, the Prowler gets a special KTM stem, this time to keep the cockpit short and low. (We got an early look at the Prowler while it was in development too.) On the bottom is a glass fiber bash plate to protect the lower part of the downtube and bottom bracket shell Retail prices for the complete bikes range from €4,999 to €6,999 There are also two versions in aluminum from €2,899 to €3,299 their Scarp XC full suspension race bike gets an XTR build option with Shimano’s latest group but the new top-end build should come in at 9.7kg (21.38lb) The carbon hardtail Maroon gets the same parts upgrade and comes in at a claimed 8.4kg (18.51lb) KTM-bikes.at Tyler Benedict is the Founder of Bikerumor.com where he’s been writing about the latest bikes and cycling technology for almost two decades Tyler launched and built multiple sports nutrition brands and consumer goods companies mostly as an excuse to travel and ride in new places Based in North Carolina, Tyler also loves the Vanlife & family adventure travel and is always on the lookout for the next shiny new part and off-grid adventure The black and orange colors are not my cup of tea but i’ve owned worse so I’m not one to talk Not sure why they would release a X-strada gravel bike without thru-axles though Yet despite its compact size, the Netherlands offers countless points of interest some of the best of which are located within its many smaller towns and villages Featuring a fascinating mix of historical intrigue these seven whimsical towns in Netherlands offer a magical blend of culture and charm that makes them well worth a visit The Netherlands has long been associated with flowers, in particular tulips So iconic a flower is the tulip that it was responsible for one of the world’s first economic crashes in the 1600s when speculators traded these once-rare bulbs for the equivalent of thousands of dollars in today’s money the small town of Lisse in the heart of the country’s Bollenstreek (bulb region) is the best place to visit in the Netherlands to truly appreciate the splendor of these magnificent flowers It’s also where you’ll find Castle Keukenhof with its picturesque gardens and art exhibitions the surrounding bulb fields stretch for miles in every direction and are perfect for cycling or driving tours Known as the "Venice of the North," picturesque Giethoorn features a network of canals instead of roads making it one of the most pedestrian-friendly tourist spots in the country Here you can rent a quiet “whisper” electric boat or a kayak for a quiet exploration of the over four miles of canals and the 50-plus elegant old wooden bridges that span them A great time to visit is August when the Giethoorn Gondola Parade sees elaborately decorated gondolas and other small boats parade along the canals at night Situated along the shores of the Markermeer, one of Europe's largest lakes and just 30 minutes north of Amsterdam Volendam offers a whimsical take on the traditional Dutch fishing village with its colorful wooden houses and locals dressed in traditional attire Head first to the town's harbor for a boat tour across the lake to nearby Marken a tiny island village that feels a lot like stepping back in time Other highlights include Volendam’s cheese factory and a traditional wooden shoe shop where you can buy the ultimate in Dutch souvenirs pop into Fotostudio Volendam where you can dress up in traditional outfits for a memorable photo keepsake The town also hosts the annual Volendam Festival a carnival that started in the 1700s and continues to celebrate summer with parades and entertainment There’s no better place for a traditional Dutch experience than Zaanse Schans. This village-like satellite of the larger town of Zaandam is an easy train ride from Amsterdam making it the perfect Netherlands day trip Zaanse Schans displays the county's rich industrial heritage through a collection of 10 historic windmills and other well-preserved 18th- and 19th-century buildings Highlights include seeing the attraction’s still-working windmills in action some of them grinding grain into flour for use in the on-site bakeries Pop into the Zaans Museum with its displays of Dutch culture and crafts; the traditional wooden shoe workshop where you can watch clogs being made; and the Verkade Experience for a memorable (and tasty) chocolate-making demonstration A great time to visit is in May during the annual Windmill Days celebration with its displays and demonstrations of these fascinating buildings in action One of the country's best-known UNESCO World Heritage Sites Kinderdijk is a whimsical wonderland of windmills set against a backdrop of wetlands and waterways The town is home to 19 well-preserved windmills that date back to the 18th century each offering visitors a glimpse into the Netherlands’ long history of water management you’ll learn about the complex system of dikes and reservoirs that have kept the country dry for centuries Visit in September and the town’s Windmill Days celebrations see the mills illuminated at night creating a magical atmosphere that draws visitors from around the world Boat tours along the canals offer a unique perspective of the windmills and the surrounding polder landscape Just a few miles east of the city of Maastricht near the border with Germany, Valkenburg is a must-visit for its fairytale castles Famous as the only Dutch castle to be constructed on a hill the ruins of Valkenburg Castle date from the 11th century and provide a fascinating glimpse into medieval life as well as great views over this picturesque town lies underground in the town's extensive network of marlstone caves you can explore a network of labyrinthine caves that stretch for miles as part of a guided tour that includes visits to underground chapels and even a Christmas market for those visiting during the winter months Then Valkenburg’s Fairytale Forest is a small theme park offering a whimsical experience complete with animated displays of classic fairy tales The town also hosts the Valkenburg Christmas Parade each December Last but by no means least is the quirky town of Naarden This star-shaped fortress town features perfectly preserved 17th-century fortifications Highlights of a self-guided walking tour of Naarden also include exploring the old Grote Kerk (Great Church) an architectural wonder built in the 1400s that features a series of elegant wooden vaults depicting scenes from the bible More can be learned about the town at the Dutch Fortress Museum (Het Nederlands Vestingmuseum) This fascinating attraction is an interactive experience providing details of the town’s military history and unique defense systems the Netherlands is full of whimsical small towns offering its own unique blend of attractions and charm From the canal-lined streets of Giethoorn to the historic windmills of Kinderdijk these pretty towns provide a chance to step back in time for an authentic taste of old Holland Whether it's dressing up in traditional costumes in Volendam or exploring underground caves in Valkenburg these seven whimsical towns in the Netherlands provide perfect escapes for those seeking an authentic Dutch experience photos and original descriptions © 2025 worldatlas.com The Nikon fisheye 14.3mm f4 next to Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.2 The 14.3mm f/4 lens for 70mm cinema cameras originally made for viewing films on 360 degree screens An extremely rare, and huge, collectable lens has become available to purchase, the Nikon fisheye 14.3mm f4 The lens is available to buy from the Leica Store Lisse "We currently don't really have a price in mind yet as we aren't officially putting it up for sale at this time We are happy to have it in our collection ourselves Although we never know what offers might come our way..." Martijn de Clercq from the Leica Store Lisse told DCW lens is a piece of photography and optics history and was originally made for Disney with plans to use it for futuristic film and theatre viewing with 360-degree screens.  the lens could be fitted to IMAX film cameras shooting onto 70mm film this lens can be adapted to attach to multiple modern cameras which translates to f2.8 on 35mm can be considered ultra-fast for a fish-eye lens the giant lens is sat next to the Leica Noctilux 50mm f1.2 which takes a moment to even notice in comparison Described by Leica Store Lisse as “the holy grail of (fish eye) lenses,” they add “Considering this lens is one of a kind vs the dozens of copies of the 6mm has a similarly ultra-fast aperture scaled up to 70mm you can begin to understand the significance of what we have on our table today!” Fisheye lenses date back to 1906 Wood developed a lens based on how a fish would view the world underwater The lenses were used in the 1920s when they were used to study cloud formations but it wasn’t until the 1960s that the fisheye lens became more popular Nikon released their first consumer fisheye lens in 1962 and the style of photography became synonymous with the swinging sixties Many famous album covers were taken with fisheye lenses including Jimi Hendrix’s ‘Are You Experienced and The Rolling Stones ‘Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) Media and Communications Leonie developed a love of photography after taking a year out to travel around the world.  Bangladesh and Ukraine with her trusty Nikon Leonie learned how to capture the beauty of these inspiring places and her photography has accompanied her various freelance travel features.  As well as travel photography Leonie also has a passion for wildlife photography both in the UK and abroad.  COVINGTON, Ky. -- Father and son Hans and John Philippo, owners of Lisse Steakhuis in Covington, are combining their Dutch-inspired restaurant concept with their passion for soccer and opening House of Orange Sports Bar & Grill on June 8 at 433 Johnson St In August 2016, they purchased the Cincinnati Dutch Lions, a Professional Development League soccer team and are eager to share their enthusiasm for the sport with Covington "We're proud to be part of Mainstrasse with Lisse and were eager to continue growing here in Covington with our next concept," said Lisse sales manager Emily Badger House of Orange, named for the Dutch royal family, will feature more than 60 televisions in its 100-plus-person capacity dining room Though regional and national soccer matches will be the focus Reds and Bengals games will get top billing as well "Monday Night Football" events and specials also are in the works for the fall will feature more than 60 televisions in its 100-plus-person capacity dining room The menu will focus on sports bar favorites such as chicken wings and burgers but also will have the brothers' signature Dutch flair the sports bar will serve a burger with mushrooms and Edam The bar will make burgers out of beef from cattle raised at the Philippos' family farm in southern Kentucky; the brothers hope to use the farm's fresh produce at the restaurant as well House of Orange will also feature bitterballen a deep-fried ball of ground ribeye that's a Lisse Steakhuis favorite House of Orange will feature the Heineken BrewLock® draft system a pour system that uses compressed air rather than the standard CO2 to produce a more consistently perfect pint of the Dutch classic Local favorite Rhinegeist Truth will be on tap craft and imported beers will be available in cans and bottles Hours: 11 a.m.-midnight Tuesday-Sunday (closed Monday until football season) Information: http://www.houseoforangesportsbarandgrill.com Intriguing concept integrates all the things New bikes from KTM, Stevens and Merckx Eurobike 2016: Cyclingnews' complete coverage Austrian manufacturer KTM looks set to go full aero with a new concept bike Sitting pretty in a glass display case at Eurobike with a full complement of Shimano's new Dura-Ace 9100 groupset but KTM expects to have a production bike ready late next year.  KTM designer Gerald Wirthenstätter explained some of the thinking behind the Lisse The aim was to "clean up" every aspect of a bike's construction smoothing and integrating all the major components and minimising the front cross-section that's exposed to the wind KTM didn't want to compromise on user-friendliness or the ability to run mechanical groupsets without major headaches So-called "top to bottom" internal cable routing is designed to make building the Lisse a cinch with all cables routed in housings that guide through the whole frame - there shouldn't be any fishing around and swearing with this one The Lisse bears some resemblance to existing aero designs with now-common features like the dropped seat stays and the hidden seat wedge the stem is fully integrated and instead of employing conventional spacers to adjust the stack specially-shaped shims adjust the stem angle in a five-step range The front brake is neatly hidden behind the fork while the rear sits on top of the chainstays out of the airflow and also away from the worst of the muck At the dropouts the usual chunky quick releases are replaced by neat bolt-thru axles whose ends blend almost seamlessly with the fork legs the bike will also accept standard skewers.) More radically the bottom bracket shell has a unique asymmetric shape that's designed to direct airflow to the less-draggy non-driveside of the bike an idea which sounds almost too sensible to actually work The most visually arresting part of the Lisse's frameset has got to be the seatstays which emerge from the seat tube as a sort of horizontal shelf before dividing into two wide-but-exceptionally-thin blades again in aid of producing the smoothest possible airflow As the Lisse is still a concept there are no claims of X numbers of watts saved at Y kilometres per hour and we've got no idea what the finished article might weigh It's an interesting piece of design however one we'll be looking out for at Eurobike 2017 - check out the gallery above for some more details pics This is good news for the inhabitants of Essonne and climbers in the south of Paris who are looking for something new this new gym benefits from the experience of its predecessors It is a jewel that awaits you in the new B'O3 Block'Out has dug its head in to offer you an even more convivial and original space you will discover a beautiful and large wooden terrace that will please climbers for a relaxing break We like the green and calm environment of the place which makes of this terrace a good plan for the clubs in the surroundings Original and adapted clothes that will take you out of the endless classics you will find a large and friendly bar with an original design You will find there something to refresh you with fresh fruit juices beers (including the famous Block'Out Beer from Vexin to be tested) and teas from all over the world you have the right to a wide range of salads You can also enjoy the daily specials concocted by the chef With the bar opens to you 2 interior spaces to pose you discover a nice corner with a recycled spirit take advantage of the unobstructed view on the room and the climbers 750 m2 are waiting for you in an ecological air-conditioned room The program includes 35 different profiles 15 of which have restorations like in Fontainebleau Refer your establishment, click herePromote your event, click here But it looks like KTM is putting a lot of effort onto the road with this new sleek-looking Lisse aero road bike project Being a title sponsor for a French Pro Continental team they’ve also released some team replica editions of their Revelator And with the UCI set to reintroduce disc trial they’ve hinted that a disc brake version of the bike keeping the race geometry may be on the way… the Lisse is all about pairing aero frame and fork shapes with neat & full integration The bike gets aero focused tube shaping throughout but instead of the aerofoil and Kamm tail shapes we always see the KTM seems to have interpreted those designs with some sharper edges thrown in For example the aero bb shape is designed more to cut into the wind The bike gets integrated fork designs that combine an aero brake layout and a wide-set fork crown which flows directly into the sharp-edged aerofoil downtube Up front the cockpit is held together by an aero stem system with cable routing through the upper part of the stem clamp The Lissie uses a narrow aero shaped seatpost with a blunt tail said to boost comfort that is then combined with a smoothly integrated clamp at the frame (tightened with an expander from inside the main triangle) and a thin 2-bolt clamp at the saddle rails The bike also uses a unique combination of a deep rear wheel cutout that supports a dropped seatstay bridge with wide-spaced squared off stays to limit the frontal area of the rear part of the bike and smoothly move air over the rear wheel Attaching the wheels are an integrated aero thru axle setup that makes for a clean finish to the wind but can also be swapped out for regular QRs No word yet on when the bike will make it to market but KTM was adamant about working within the UCI guidelines so we’ll look for it under their Pro Conti team next season the Revelator Prestige bike that the Marseille 13-KTM (now Delko–Marseille Provence KTM)  professional continental team races gets offered to customers in a M13 replica paint job and three specs The top replica bike gets spec’ed with eTap and DT Swiss RC38 carbon clinchers to sell for 6600€ with a claimed weight of 6.85kg as it is race by the team A more affordable Revelator M13 Red sticks with the mechanical group and alloy Mavic wheels to drop the price down to 4000€ while only adding a claimed 150g you can get the M13 replica look with a Force 22 compact for 2400€ and a claimed 7.56kg Now the last thing we saw was a mock-up of a disc brake Revelator in the M13 paint It was clearly shown to be just a placeholder for the M13 replica paint job but raised the question of when a race geometry disc brake Revelator would be available With discs set to try again in the pro peloton next year KTM’s pro conti team won’t want to race on the more slack geometry that comes with their endurance Revelator Sky so we should expect to see the steeper 73° head/75° seat angle Revelator Prestige get a disc upgrade for the coming race season Than again the boys at KTM have always known how to nail design period SRAM sponsored team replica with ultegra components… It’s similar to the configurator on websites like Rose’s and Van Dessel’s The world-famous flower garden in Lisse is in full bloom and ready to welcome guests “We celebrate 75 years of Keukenhof with new life and the craftsmanship of the growers and arrangers that we are proud of,” Keukenhof said The season kicks off with a musical opening show called Symphony of Colors on Thursday opera singer Laetitia Gerards and accompanying dancers will take visitors on a musical journey through time The garden currently boasts crocuses in white and purple and early tulips in a variety of bright colors There are also several “overwhelming flower shows” in the pavilions Keukenhof will be open daily until May 12, from 8:00 a.m. until 7:30 p.m., including Sundays and public holidays. Tickets are available here Too many automated requests from this network Home » Schneider Electric enhances Lisse range with weatherproof wiring accessories Schneider Electric has expanded its popular Lisse range of wiring accessories to include a weatherproof range The Lisse weatherproof range is the newest addition providing complete IP66 protection across the entire portfolio of Lisse switches the weatherproof range is suitable for a wide range of applications and is totally protected against dust and water clever design features and IP66 ingress protection the range can be accommodated in residential applications as well as more demanding commercial and public applications It is ideal for providing safe and secure electrical access for jobs around the home and garden as well as including switch modules for complete versatility Not only does the range offer premium design at an affordable price it works with all types of Lisse white moulded accessories for maximum performance and complete flexibility VP of Home & Distribution at Schneider Electric, said: “The new range of Lisse weatherproof accessories is compact easy to install and optimised for security and flexibility By implementing IP66 ingress protection across the new range we are able to provide peace of mind to homeowners and also commercial applications This new range puts total control in the hands of the electrician – allowing them to easily and efficiently install the products leaving the occupier with a safe and secure installation.” safe and easy to install accessories provide electricians with additional flexibility and added peace of mind for the homeowner Power accessories include secure locking tabs ensuring a positive fastening to maintain IP rating which provide a visible and audible ‘click’ when fully secure a simple hasp padlock can be used locking the hinged cover and the enclosure together The new Lisse weatherproof range also includes functions such as: To learn more about the Lisse weatherproof wiring accessories range, click here.  The world's biggest tulip garden opened to the public on Thursday for its 75th edition with hundreds of thousands of people expected to enjoy a bewildering array of seven million bulbs in the western Dutch city of Lisse southwest of Amsterdam in the heart of "bulb country" contains millions of tulips of every colour as well as other flowers across 32 hectares (80 acres) The park is a popular tourist attraction -- 1.4 million visited last year -- that claims to be one of the most photographed spots in the world "This is my first time here and I'm so excited to witness the 75th anniversary," said Rocelle Brewer She had bought a flowing pink dress embroidered with flowers specifically for the occasion I love the way the air smells," added Cam Upton said she was "a bit disappointed" because many of the tulips have yet to flower completely "We are hoping to go to the bulb fields outside as well to hopefully see some tulips," she told AFP Keukenhof dates back to 1949 when a group of bulb exporters and growers inaugurated it as a showcase for their wares As well as tourists from more than 100 countries with kings and queens from several European nations attending the gala opening down the years one of the many highlights of the show include a golden yellow tulip and a musical extravaganza to celebrate 75 years of Keukenhof featuring Dutch opera singer Laetitia Gerards But the opening was also not without some controversy seven naked protesters of the climate group Extinction Rebellion briefly staged a protest against the use of pesticides in the bulb-growing industry "Those beautifully coloured fields hide the enormous damage caused by bulb cultivation birds and plants die en masse due to agricultural poisons," spokeswoman Lydia Steutel said in a statement said they were just enjoying the outdoor flower garden "We went around and were like playful kids oh the bridge' and just looking around," said Esther Brandt Most tulip bulbs sold at the popular flower markets in Amsterdam and Lisse never bloom according to a study commissioned by the municipality of Amsterdam and the general association for flower bulb culture KAVB "Research shows that there is structural deception of consumers when selling tulip bulbs at the Flower Market and the so-called 'Bloembollenboulevard' along the N208 in Lisse," the KAVB said in a statement The researchers bought tulip bulbs at both locations the latter of the two translates to "Flower Bulb Boulevard," and tried to cultivate them Only one percent of the bulbs bought in Amsterdam and two percent of those bought in Lisse blossomed it turned out that no tulip bought in Amsterdam matched the photo on the package and nearly none of those from Lisse looked like the advertised flower Often the bulbs that are not sold before their expiry dates are not removed from store shelves An unsuspecting customer might purchase an expired bulb six months after its best buy date "Someone who buys them and puts them in the ground or even patiently waits until October to plant them gets no results." The dried-out bulbs will not take root "Millions of tourists and day-trippers are the victims of this every year The tulip is our national symbol and the bulb sector is an important sector for the Dutch economy As an association we think it is very bad that scammers structurally mislead consumers and damage the image fo the bulb sector" the KAVB and the municipality of Lisse asked the Dutch authority on consumers and markets ACM to investigate and tackle these abuses "The flower bulbs are our cultural heritage with which we can welcome 1.5 million visitors every year" "Then it cannot be that the Bloembollenboulevard sells products that do not blossom at all." “The municipality of Amsterdam is concerned about deceived consumers and the damaging effect this has on the image of the Flower Market and the image of Amsterdam," said Amsterdam Centrum director Ilse Griek "I think it is important that fair trade takes place and that entrepreneurs keep their sales promises to Amsterdammers and visitors Steve Harvey has enjoyed career success for decades as a comedian, actor, author, and host. However, over the years, he has been candid that his success took effort and sacrifice to achieve. Harvey's early days in comedy were filled with struggles and he was homeless and living in his car for three years While most of Harvey's scant early-comedy earnings went to his family he was fortunate to have Rich and Becky Liss to help him out The couple got to know Harvey when both their families were living in Ohio in the 1980s Harvey was 26 at the time and trying to start a carpet cleaning business The Lisses became the first people to hire him to clean their furniture store Rich and Becky generously helped pay for his travel costs While Harvey lost touch with the Lisses over the years he and his old friends enjoyed an emotional on-air reunion in 2013 In honor of his birthday on Steve Harvey's birthday on January 17 the team on his former talk show would plan special surprises the producers of "Steve Harvey," contacted Rich and Becky Liss and arranged for them to call into the program "Do you still love me, baby?" Rich asked Harvey on the show's mystery segment There was a long pause as the TV host was overcome with emotion at the sight of his longtime friend Harvey responded with a heartfelt "I love you man." After the couple wished him a happy birthday a still-emotional Harvey explained to his audience that the Lisses had befriended him during a particularly difficult time in his life Harvey candidly disclosed that their travel agency provided $11,000 so he could get to comedy gigs Harvey lightened the moment by noting the change in his fortune since he had seen the Lisses three decades earlier some of whom were also wiping their eyes during his story Harvey then said he would fly the couple to Chicago as his guests Rich and Becky Liss weren't the only people who made Steve Harvey cry on air. In 2015, for his 58th birthday, all seven of Harvey's kids arrived on set, along with his wife, Marjorie Harvey. "This is the greatest moment I've ever had. I'm very proud to be your father," a teary Harvey said on the show announced that part of Harvey's childhood street would become "Steve Harvey Way." Harvey got misty-eyed as his sister and former neighbors appeared on screen and started crying in earnest when he saw his mother's house onscreen and reminisced about his childhood  Harvey was overcome a third time when Bruce Ayers stood up in the audience and mentioned his Birmingham comedy club was the first to give Harvey top billing in 1989 As Ayers recounted a successful joke that launched Harvey's career at the prestigious Apollo Theater Production Begins On 'Wizards Beyond Waverly Place' Season 2 'Phineas & Ferb' Revival Debuts New Trailer, Premiere Date Revealed - Watch! 'Descendants 5' Starts Filming, First Look Photo Revealed! 2 'DWTS' Pros Seemingly Confirm New Romance! Sophie N�lisse holds her award close during the 2013 Hollywood Film Awards at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Monday night (October 21) in Beverly Hills The 13-year-old Canadian actress accepted just one of the Hollywood Spotlight Awards handed out to young actors for her role in the upcoming The Book Thief PHOTOS: Check out the latest pics of Sophie N�lisse JJJ Fun Fact About Sophie: In a recent interview with Variety Sophie revealed that she was once a gymnast eyeing the 2016 Rio Olympics Sophie N�lisse films an emotional scene with Kathy Bates on the set of The Great Gilly Hopkins in New York City on Thursday afternoon (June 12) The 14-year-old actress plays the title character in the upcoming film who herself shuffled from foster home to foster home until she meets Maime Trotter (Bates) The film is expected to release later this year Sophie is also pictured below at the Sundance Institute Vanguard Leadership Award honoring Glenn Close at Stage 37 in the city earlier in the month