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	<title>Ascension Wine Blog &#187; Darryl&#8217;s rambling philosophy</title>
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	<description>Ascension Wine Estate in Matakana, New Zealand - Darryl Soljan's blog</description>
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		<title>I would have been ignorant forever</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/i-would-have-been-ignorant-forever</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/i-would-have-been-ignorant-forever#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:36:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Entertainment Events]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/?p=157</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I had the pleasure of chatting with and listening to Dave Dobbyn when he played his 2 intimate &#8216;Harmony House&#8217; shows here a month ago.
Apart from the intimacy, what made these shows &#8216;different&#8217; was that the focus was squarely on HIS favourite songs. So while many in the audience may have expected to hear &#8216;Be [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Good News Story # 1 (NOT for cynics &amp; doomsayers)</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/good-news-story-1-not-for-cynics-doomsayers</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/good-news-story-1-not-for-cynics-doomsayers#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 20 May 2011 01:19:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/?p=127</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[The Media lives on bad news. Its a sad fact of life. Even sadder is that we buy it and tune into it - without demand for bad news the media would need to change its tune. It's not gonna happen - human nature seems attracted to knowing about the suffering of others. So, here is a TRUE GOOD NEWS STORY that happened recently at Ascension Wine Estate.]]></description>
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		<title>Are you up for it?</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/how-do-i-contact-the-compliments-department</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/how-do-i-contact-the-compliments-department#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 25 Jan 2011 02:13:31 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[When was the last time you praised a complete stranger? With the Rugby World Cup here this year 'hospitality' in its various forms is a big topic. Regardless of the year, 'hospitality' is a major employer and contributor to the NZ economy. As owners of a wine and 'hospitality' business ourselves we take a special interest. The NZ 'way' is not to make a fuss and this also means that compared to many other cultures we are less likely to 'complain' - at least directly to the person or business you aren't happy about (we will of course tell as many other people as we can). This was the topic of what I believe was a very disappointing NZ Herald editorial recently that encouraged NZ'ers to 'get out there and really complain about bad service'...]]></description>
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		<title>Is wine a ‘thing’ or an &#8216;experience&#8217;?</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/is-wine-a-%e2%80%98thing%e2%80%99-or-an-experience</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/is-wine-a-%e2%80%98thing%e2%80%99-or-an-experience#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sat, 20 Nov 2010 00:49:14 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cabernet Sauvignon]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Grgich Hills]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Napa Valley]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Neil Diamond]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[U2]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Yountville]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/?p=103</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[I ask myself this both as a winemaker and as a person who loves experiences &#8211; and giving experiences to other people.
Like most guys in their 20&#8217;s and early 30&#8217;s, I loved spending money on &#8216;things&#8217;. But as I discovered that things quickly tarnish and depreciate (I mean intrinsically as opposed to financially), I also [...]]]></description>
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		<title>Ascension&#8217;s $300,000 bottle of wine &#8211; a short marketing story</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/ascensions-300-000-bottle-of-wine-a-short-marketing-story</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/ascensions-300-000-bottle-of-wine-a-short-marketing-story#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 11 Nov 2010 22:28:50 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/?p=98</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[As a small business we can't afford to take out full page ads in the Herald or 30-second TV commercials. Their days are numbered anyway. Like most enterprises we need to make every dollar really work. 'Marketing' is not rocket science (which is just as well for me). Instead a lot of it is actually 'doing' something as opposed to 'thinking about doing something'. Doing something, even at 50%, achieves more than not doing something at 100%. Here is an example of how I recently turned a $35 bottle of Ascension wine into what will end up being worth over $300,000 to us, plus even more for our local economy. That is $9,000 for $1 invested!]]></description>
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		<title>This could save the life of someone you LOVE</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/this-could-save-the-life-of-someone-you-love</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/this-could-save-the-life-of-someone-you-love#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 25 Aug 2010 04:00:59 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>

		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/?p=88</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Doctors have been known to 'prescribe' a glass of wine. The health benefits of moderate consumption of red wine in particular have been scientifically demonstrated.

That is not what this post is about, but it IS Doctor related and I believe it's the MOST IMPORTANT post I have written to date!]]></description>
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		<title>We are not the Cosby Family!</title>
		<link>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/we-are-not-the-cosby-family</link>
		<comments>http://www.ascensionwineblog.com/we-are-not-the-cosby-family#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 30 Jul 2009 02:35:47 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Darryl Soljan</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Darryl's rambling philosophy]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[Going back a generation or two, dinner time was family time, a time of conversation and togetherness.
Being a family that worked hard on the land and with a winemaking tradition going back to the Adriatic Sea, this time took on even more significance for my family.
Skip forward to today with microwaves, pre-packaged meals, TV and the general [...]]]></description>
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		<slash:comments>3</slash:comments>
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