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Yearly Archives: 2015

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File photo

Suffolk County Legislator Steve Stern (D-Dix Hills) and the Long Island Coalition for the Homeless are seeking the public’s help to provide more than 4,000 school supplies and backpacks to kids in need.

Drop off school supplies at Stern’s office at 1842 East Jericho Turnpike in Huntington, through August 10, anytime between Mondays and Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

Supplies sought include backpacks, crayons, pencils, binders, erasers, sharpeners, calculators, glue sticks, pens, colored pencils, highlighters, pocket folders, compasses, index cards, protractors, composition books and more.

For more information on how you can help, visit the coalition’s website here.

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File photo

A 7-year-old girl’s skull was fractured on Monday night when a driver, who was allegedly on drugs, crashed into a minivan in Hauppauge.

The Suffolk County Police Department said the incident occurred around 7:15 p.m., when 21-year-old Brandon Cumberbatch was driving south on Route 111 just past Kings Highway and hit the minivan, which was moving in the same direction. Inside the minivan were 40-year-old driver Arunima Singh and her two children, 18-year-old Avaneesh and 7-year-old Bhaswi.

After striking the van, police said, Cumberbatch, a Ridge resident, then veered onto the shoulder, over the curb and into the Hauppauge Plaza parking lot, where he hit a parked, unoccupied vehicle.

The family was transported to Stony Brook University Hospital, police said, where Arunima and Avaneesh Singh were treated for minor injuries and Bhaswi was listed in serious condition with a fractured skull and facial injuries.

Police arrested Cumberbatch and charged him with driving while impaired by drugs. He was under observation at St. Catherine of Siena Medical Center in Smithtown and will be arraigned at a later date.

Attorney information for Cumberbatch was not immediately available.

Police impounded both the defendant’s vehicle, a 2002 Chevy Impala, and the 2008 Toyota minivan for safety checks.

Detectives from the SCPD Vehicular Crime Unit are investigating the crash.

Anyone who may have witnessed the crash is asked to call the detectives at 631-852-6555.

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Christopher Foster mugshot from the DA's office

A Long Island man has been convicted of beating his month-old son to death and faces up to 25 years in prison.

According to the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office, a jury convicted the 32-year-old Kings Park man of first-degree manslaughter and endangering the welfare of a child four years after the boy, who was 43 days old, was killed.

The defendant, Christopher Foster, was found not guilty of second-degree murder.

The DA’s office said in a press release that an autopsy showed infant Jonathan Hertzler had suffered a fractured skull, four broken ribs and bruises on his face. When he died on Oct. 11, 2011, his fatal injuries had been caused by multiple blows.

Clarissa Hertzler, the boy’s mother, testified that Foster often became angry when the baby cried, the DA’s office said, and the infant “was a source of constant aggravation.”

According to the DA’s office, Assistant District Attorney Dana Brown told the jury that the night the baby died, Foster was the last person to hold him. She said Foster called his boss — not 911 — to report Jonathan was not breathing.

First-degree manslaughter is a Class B felony, and is defined as occurring when an adult intends to cause physical injury to someone younger than 11 years old and “recklessly engages in conduct which creates a grave risk of serious physical injury … and thereby causes the death of such a person,” the DA’s office said.

Foster was remanded to the county jail and will be sentenced on Sept. 8. He faces up to 25 years in state prison.

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Photo by Bruce Miller

About a dozen protesters, including civic leaders and environmentalists, picketed on July 10 against Caithness Long Island’s proposal to build its second power plant in Yaphank, a 750-megawatt facility.

Port Jefferson Village Trustee Bruce Miller, also the head of the local Grassroots Committee to Repower Port Jefferson, snapped this picture of Long Islander Andrea Barracca during the protest.

Some oppose the Caithness plant for environmental reasons, and the Grassroots Committee wants the Port Jefferson power plant upgraded instead, to keep it a source of local energy and tax revenue.

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Earl L. Vandermeulen High School sophomore Arunima Roy. Photo from Port Jefferson school district

By Rita J. Egan

It was a successful school year for 15-year-old Arunima Roy of Port Jefferson. The sophomore and high honor roll student at Earl L. Vandermeulen High School was recently chosen as an ambassador to Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots National Youth Leadership Council.

The Roots & Shoots council has many branches all over the world, according to Roy. Teenagers with a passion for saving the environment apply to the group in order to aid each other in their projects.

A member of her high school’s environmental club for the last two years, Roy said she got involved with Roots & Shoots when her Spanish teacher, Dawn DeLeonardis-Moody, who is also one of the faculty advisers of her school’s club, suggested she look into the organization. After visiting the website and researching the organization’s work, Roy said she became extremely interested in its youth council. After applying for the program and completing two interviews, Roy became an ambassador.

During the application process, Roy told the organization, “I want to help clean up the environment, and I want to help save and preserve natural habitats.”

DeLeonardis-Moody has been involved with Roots & Shoots for a decade, so she knew Roy would work well with the group. The Spanish teacher said as a sophomore, Roy is the perfect age to take on the role as she has a concept of the environment and community. She described the student as soft yet strong, who works well in a group and individually.

“Arunima … she can be quiet on the surface — she has such a compassionate soul — but she’s also a very hard worker and dedicated. So I see her as an upcoming leader, especially because she has that quiet compassionate side. But once you work with her you realize that her compassion and her passion are so strong, and she’s so in tune with nature,” DeLeonardis-Moody said.

In the past, Roy has worked on beach cleanups and most recently the Green and Clean 2015 event in Port Jefferson to raise awareness about local plants and Monarch butterflies. DeLeonardis-Moody said the student not only worked at the event, but it was partly Roy’s idea to have it, and she worked 8 months to prepare for the day.

The Port Jefferson student said as an ambassador, she will work on her future environmental goals with the school’s environmental club and will get support from Roots & Shoots and her fellow ambassadors.

Jonathan Maletta, co-adviser of the environmental club, said that Roy has the school group’s complete support when it comes to her future environmental projects. Maletta, who has also worked with the sophomore on the Science Olympiad, where she has won gold and silver awards on the regional level, said Roy is an intelligent student with a sound work ethic. “She’s an inspiration, and it’s nice to see someone of the younger generation lead by example, take charge and move in a sustainable direction,” Maletta said.

The club adviser said the student is currently working with the Jane Goodall Institute to recycle e-waste.

Maletta explained that when we recycle electronics and cell phones, we help conserve an ore called coltan, which is found in the Congo, where gorillas and chimpanzees live. Recycling reduces the need for Coltan and the disruption of the animals’ habitat. In addition, when it comes to recycling cell phones and other e-waste, fewer toxins are released into the environment.

Recycling is very important to Roy, and she wishes more people would do so, especially when it comes to items that are simple to discard, such as cans and bottles. She said it not only helps preserve materials, which would, for example, prevent us from cutting down trees or looking for ore and disturbing the habitats of animals, but it also affects us on a local level.

“It’s so important to recycle. There are often garbage cans and there are recycling cans right next to each other. I feel like if they just make the littlest effort to put it in the recycling bins instead of the garbage bins, it would make such a huge impact. The landfills are getting full of garbage, and we’re going to run out of places to put them. We don’t want our backyards to be filled with garbage,” Roy said.

Her advice to aspiring environmentalists is to get a group of friends together and to set easy goals. She said it helps to break things down into something as simple as collecting a certain number of things or filling one bin in a day. She also suggested organizing two groups to clean a beach or area, and make the cleanup a fun competition.

This summer, Roy will attend a Roots & Shoots retreat where she will learn about hydraulics. As for her future goals, she said she wants to be a physician with Doctors Without Borders. In addition to her dreams of becoming a doctor, Roy said that in her adulthood, she will continue to volunteer to help the environment.

“I see it as more of a stress reliever. I feel like I’m making an impact on the environment. I don’t see it so much as work as I see as it as being one with nature,” Roy said. “It would be a nice way to take some time off and get back to my roots, and just find some space for myself to think.”

When it comes to her future plans, especially her environmental goals, both of Roy’s club advisers believe she will accomplish a great deal.

“She’s just so humble, and I think that’s what makes her — that’s part of why she’s so good at this. She’s so quietly passionate and humble, but yet she’s dedicated and really in tune with the community and the environment. She really cares,” said DeLeonardis-Moody.

Formed in 1991, Jane Goodall’s Roots & Shoots is the youth-led community action and learning program of the Jane Goodall Institute. With more than 150,000 members in more than 130 countries, all working on local and global service projects, the program builds on the legacy and vision of Dr. Jane Goodall to place the power and responsibility for creating community-based solutions to big challenges in the hands of young people. Through the program, young people map their community to identify specific challenges their neighborhoods face. From there, they prioritize the problems, develop a plan for a solution, and take action.

For more information, visit www.rootsandshoots.org.

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Kevin Burns and Katie Ferretti. Photo by Rita Egan

By Rita J. Egan

For the next several weeks, actors Katie Ferretti and Kevin Burns will transform into a perfect nanny and a charming chimney sweep in the stage production of “Mary Poppins” at the Noel S. Ruiz Theatre at the CM Performing Arts Center. The local actors are excited to present this timeless tale where a magical nanny, with the help of her friend Bert, adds some much needed fun to the lives of the Banks children. In addition to being thrilled about their current roles, the two actors are also honored to portray the characters that Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke made famous in the 1964 movie.

“‘Mary Poppins’ is my favorite movie of all time, so to get to play such an iconic role that was created by such a great actor, singer, dancer is really just a dream for me,” Burns said.

Ferretti admitted that it can be intimidating to take on such an acting part, but at the same time she said, “It’s definitely exciting to play a role that Julie Andrews made famous. It’s like a dream come true to me, because I look up to her so much as a performer.”

The musical is the first time Ferretti and Burns have acted together. However, both have performed at the Oakdale theater before. In the past 10 years, Burns has appeared in numerous productions at the venue, including “Singin’ in the Rain” (Don), “42nd Street” (Billy) and the “The Rocky Horror Show” (Dr. Frank N. Furter). Ferretti said she has been acting at the theater for more than 2 years and has had roles in musicals such as “Into the Woods” (Cinderella), “Les Misérables” (Cosette) and “Guys and Dolls” (Sarah).

Despite her acting roles, not only at the CMPAC but also at the Merrick Theatre and Center for the Arts in productions of “Seussical” (Gertrude), “Cinderella” (Cinderella) and “Proof” (Catherine), acting is only a hobby for Ferretti. The 25-year-old works full-time as a behavior support worker at the Developmental Disabilities Institute, where she works with teens and adults with autism. While performing in musicals may be part-time work for Ferretti, she said she did take voice lessons in high school that prepared her for her favorite pastime.

For 26-year-old Burns, acting is a full-time profession. In addition to his work at the CMPAC, he has appeared at the John W. Engeman Theater in Northport, most recently as Frosty in “Frosty the Snowman” and the Troll in “The Snow Queen.” The actor said this summer he will be busy as a part of the Engeman’s children’s theatre and camp. When he first began acting, he worked at the Airport Playhouse in plays such as “Cabaret” (Victor), “Gypsy” (Yonkers) and “A Chorus Line” (Gregory). Burns said he has no formal training in acting, singing or dancing, which Ferretti said she was surprised to hear, especially when it comes to his dancing.

The actress said Burns is an amazing dancer and handles the many dancing numbers in “Mary Poppins” effortlessly.

When they look to the future, both would love to appear in a production of “West Side Story.” Ferretti said playing Maria would be a dream role, while Burns would love to play Riff. Other roles on their wish lists include Finch in “How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying” for Burns, and for Ferretti, another Maria and another Julie Andrews role — Maria in “The Sound of Music.” Both are looking into possibilities for the near future, but nothing definite is lined up right now. “Who knows where the wind will take me?” Burns said.

Ferretti would like to continue balancing work with appearing in regional theater. And while Burns may toy with the idea of Broadway, he said right now he is happy performing at local theaters. When it comes to movies and television, both actors said they haven’t considered auditioning for film roles as they prefer working with live audiences.

“I like the fact that if you make a mistake the show has to keep going. You have to keep telling the story as opposed to ‘we can cut, we go back, we can reshoot,’” said Burns.
Ferretti agreed and added, “There’s something more honest about live theater than there is about anything filmed.”

For now the duo are having a great time with the cast and crew of “Mary Poppins,” who they said are a friendly group to work with as well as extremely talented. Ferretti said the crew backstage works incredibly hard to create a show for the audience “that’s like magic for them.” She said she wishes they could sell seats backstage so people could witness what exactly goes on.

Among the numbers performed during “Mary Poppins,” the two admit to having their favorites. Burns loves “Step in Time” while Ferretti said she has fun singing “Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious,” which she said after rehearsals she can easily spell. She also admits to getting misty-eyed when singing “Feed the Birds.”

When it comes to the excitement of being part of such an endearing story, the actors admit feeling like children at times, and they hope the audiences will enjoy experiencing the magic of “Mary Poppins” with them. Burns said at the end of opening night, he was brought back to his own childhood. “I got emotional when Katie came out to bow. I was standing next to Mary Poppins. It took me back to when I was in Disney World for the first time, and I went to go talk to the woman who I knew was an actress playing Mary Poppins, yet I still got emotional,” said the actor.

Theatergoers have until July 19 to experience the magic of “Mary Poppins” with Ferretti, Burns and the entire cast at the CM Performing Arts Center, 931 Montauk Highway, Oakdale. Tickets range from $20 to $29. For more information, call 218-2810 or visit www.cmpac.com.

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Justin Kinney on the campus of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. Photo from Kinney

Justin Kinney is like a supervisor at a factory, except that he doesn’t know what the pieces of equipment do.

The only way he can find out is to modify different parts randomly and see how that affects the final product.

An assistant professor at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Kinney’s factory isn’t in a sprawling suburban building but, rather, is genetic material. The regulatory sequence of DNA is the assembly line; binding sites, which attach to proteins, are like the individual machines. The final output of the factory is gene expression.

Kinney is working to understand regulatory sequences of DNA and is trying to develop an ability to see where proteins bind to genes, explore the role proteins play, and see how proteins and genes interact.

“If we do an experiment on a regulatory sequence, we can identify where proteins bind and how much that sequence affects expression,” Kinney said. “The ultimate goal is to be able to predict these things from DNA sequence alone, without having to do an experiment on every specific sequence we are interested in.”

A physicist by training, Kinney works in an area called molecular biophysics, where he tries to figure out what causes one set of reactions to start, stop or continue based on the way different parts involved, such as proteins, DNA, transcription factors or immune cells, interact.

His work has implications for everything from basic science, to improving drug therapies. He’s also working on understanding basic aspects of the immune system.

Recently, Kinney, partnering with Christopher Vakoc, an assistant professor at CSHL, developed a way to identify new drug targets for treating cancer. “We reached out to [Kinney] about a year or so ago to get his insight and assistance” on a project with drug target discovery, Vakoc said. Using Kinney’s skills as a computational biologist and expertise in biophysics, the researchers “co-developed a way to study the Achilles heel of a large number of cancer types,” Vakoc said.

Since the scientists published their research in May, Vakoc said it has “generated a lot of excitement in cancer research” with other scientists trying to find the vulnerabilities of different types of cancer.

Vakoc said Kinney “developed theories of elegant computational tools” that allowed the researchers to gain greater insight into a modern gene editing tool called CRISPR.

Kinney also worked with Thierry Mora and Aleksandra Walczak at the Ecole Normale Supérieure in Paris on an immunology project.

“How antibodies recognize their targets is an immensely interesting question,” Kinney said. The strength of binding that the antibody has for its target determines how well it works.

Kinney and his partners are mapping out how an antibody’s affinity for its target depends on its protein sequence. “That basic relationship has enormous consequences for how well your immune system works,” Kinney said. It also has implications for how well a pharmaceutical company can engineer an antibody as a potential drug, he added.

By changing the genetic sequence, these researchers can explore how strongly the slightly altered antibody will bind to whatever it’s targeting.

Researchers can explore how DNA responds to a signal mechanistically.

“Just by looking at which sequences correspond to which level, we can identify where specific proteins bind to DNA, what these proteins are and how strongly they interact with each other,” Kinney said. “It’s kind of like decoding a message, making changes to that code, and watching to see the reaction.”

These types of studies can help provide a mechanistic understanding of the relationship between a gene sequence and a gene’s function, he said. Once scientists have a clearer picture of that connection, they might be able to predict what effect a mutation in a specific region might have on a gene.

Kinney visited Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory several times before he became a postdoctoral fellow at the lab in 2009. He took courses dating back to 2005.

“I love the environment,” said Kinney. “I fell in love with this place through courses and meetings. It’s an academic resort.”

Kinney met his wife, Antoinette Sutto, when they were in graduate school at Princeton. They lived on the same floor and Sutto was the first person Kinney met in his graduate dorm. Their first date was at a First Chance Dance for graduate students. Sutto is an assistant professor of history at the University of Mississippi.

A resident of Forest Hills, Kinney enjoys the 45-minute Long Island Railroad commute, where he can read and write without a reliable Internet connection.

As for his work, Kinney said he studies how biological information is encoded in DNA, as well as how this information governs how biological molecules function.

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By Jonathan S. Kuttin

A surprise payday isn’t as much of a long shot as many may think. It can come in a number of forms — a larger bonus than you were expecting, an inheritance, selling a business, a legal settlement, or maybe even the lottery. While you can’t count on a sudden windfall, there are dozens of scenarios that could result in a life-changing influx of money. Here are five tips for making the most of your good fortune:

Don’t make any sudden moves. Your mind may be spinning with all the things you could buy with your new-found wealth. You might even entertain thoughts about quitting your job. But one of the biggest mistakes you can make is to act impulsively or carelessly, and squander a financial blessing. Take it slow and savor the sensation of financial freedom. Give yourself the benefit of thinking through the implications of your unexpected windfall from every angle.

Talk to a tax professional. Consulting with an accountant is an opportunity to manage tax concerns on your windfall and make sure you pay what you need to. You’ll gain peace of mind knowing what you owe and writing a check to take care of it. A visit with tax professional also will give you a better grasp of how much you’ll have left over for your own use.

Retire your debt. If you carry a large credit card balance or have outstanding loans, you’re throwing away money on interest each month. Paying down or paying off these obligations will help you save in the long run and remove a bill or two from your monthly budget. You may not want to pay off your house, however, since there can be significant advantage from the mortgage tax deduction. Be sure to consult with your tax advisor before you make the decision.

Save, spend, share. With moderation as your guide, consider how you will divide your riches across these three possibilities. That is, save some so you can strengthen your financial foundation. Spend some, as long as you refrain from anything too outlandish. And share some to support the people and things you care about most—because you can.

Reevaluate your financial goal. An unexpected windfall may provide you with an opportunity to take additional steps toward your financial or investment goals. You could use it to boost your retirement accounts or add to an education savings plan for your kids. Perhaps there’s a certain charity that you’re passionate about and want to give to. Whatever the situation, an extraordinary financial windfall may change your financial goals completely.

Meet with a financial advisor. An experienced financial professional can help you step back and look at the big financial picture. With this insight, you can decide how to manage your windfall in ways that help you meet your specific goals and dreams.

Jonathan S. Kuttin, CRPC, AAMS, RFC, CRPS, CAS, AWMA, CMFC, is a private wealth advisor specializing in fee-based financial planning and asset management strategies, and has been in practice for 19 years.

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We should all reduce the amount of added sugar we consume, because of its negative effects on our health. It is recommended that we get no more than 5 to 15 percent of our diet from added sugars and solid fats, combined. (1) However, approximately 13 percent of our diet is from added sugars alone. (2)

Is all sugar bad for us? The answer is not straightforward. It really depends on the source, and when I mention source, my meaning may surprise you.

We know that white, processed sugar is bad. But, I am constantly asked which sugar source is better: honey, agave, raw sugar, brown sugar or maple syrup? None are really good for us; they all raise the level of glucose (a type of sugar) in our blood. Two-thirds of our sugar intake comes from processed food, while one-third comes from sweetened beverages, according to the most recent report from the CDC. (2) Sweetened beverages are defined as sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and fruit juices. That’s right: even 100 percent fruit juice can raise our glucose levels. Don’t be deceived because it says it’s natural and doesn’t include “added” sugar.

These sugars increase the risk of, and may exacerbate, chronic diseases, such as diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer and obesity. This is such a significant problem that California’s legislature is considering adding warning labels to sweetened drinks. (3) The label would indicate that added sugars can increase the risk of diabetes and obesity, as well as tooth decay.

However, I did say that sugar’s source impacts its effect. Most fruits have beneficial effects in preventing disease, including diabetes, and do not raise sugar levels, even in patients with diabetes. It is a myth that whole fruit raises your sugar levels. However, dried fruits, fruit juice, and fruit concentrate do raise your sugar levels. Note that sugar extracted from fruit has an effect similar to that of sugar added to foods and sweetened beverages. Let’s look at the evidence.

Heart disease
When we think of sugar’s effects, heart disease is not usually the first disease that comes to mind. However, results from a 20-year study of 31,000 U.S. adults showed that, when comparing those who consumed the least amount of added sugar (less than 10 percent of calories daily), with those who consumed 10 to 25 percent and those who consumed more than 25 percent of daily calories from sugar, there were significant increases in risk of death from heart disease. (4) The added sugar was from foods and sweetened beverages, not from fruit and fruit juices.

This was not just an increased risk of heart disease, but an increased risk of cardiovascular death. This is a wake-up call to rein in our sugar consumption.

Obesity and weight gain
Does soda increase obesity risk? A recent assessment published in PLoS One, a highly respected, peer-reviewed journal, showed that it depends whether studies were funded by the beverage industry or had no ties to any lobbying groups.(5) Study results were mirror images of each other: studies not affiliated with the industry show that soda may increase obesity risk, while studies funded by the beverage industry show there may not be any association.

In studies without beverage industry funding, greater than 80 percent (10 of 12) showed associations between sugary drinks and increased weight or obesity, whereas with the beverage industry-funded studies, greater than 80 percent of them did not show this result (5 of 6). The moral of the story is that patients must be diligent in understanding studies’ funding, and if the results sound odd, they probably are. If this is the case, make sure to ask your doctor about the studies’ findings. Not all studies are equally well-designed.

Diabetes and the benefits of fruit
Diabetes requires the patient to limit or avoid fruit altogether, correct? This may not be true. Several recent studies may help change the long-standing, commonly held paradigm that fruit should be restricted in patients with diabetes and to prevent development of diabetes.

One study found that whole fruit may reduce the risk of diabetes by reducing inflammation and reducing insulin resistance. (6) Specifically, results demonstrated a reduction in the inflammatory biomarker hsCRP. Ultimately, this may result in better glucose control. A potential reason for these impressive results may be the high levels of flavonoids, specifically anthocyanins and flavones. Flavonoids, as a class, are phytochemicals (plant nutrients) that provide pigment to fruits and vegetables and may have substantial antioxidant activities. Substances that are high in these two flavonoids include red grapes, berries, tea and wine.

Another study, a meta-analysis that looked at three large studies, including the Nurses’ Health Study, NHS II, and the Health Professionals Follow-up Study, showed that those who consumed the highest amount of anthocyanins were likely to experience a 15 percent reduction in the development of type 2 diabetes. (7) Researchers compared those in the highest quintile of anthocyanin consumption with those in the lowest quintile.

Specifically, at least two servings of blueberries per week were shown to reduce the risk of diabetes by 23 percent, and at least five servings of apples and pears per week were also shown to reduce the risk by 23 percent. These were compared to those who consumed less than one serving per month. This is a small amount of fruit for a significant reduction.

From the same three studies, it was also shown that grapes, bananas and grapefruit reduce the risk of diabetes, while fruit juice and cantaloupe may increase risk. (8)

In still another diabetes study, involving those who were newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, the risk of increasing glucose levels was no greater in those who consumed more than two servings of fruit per day compared to those who consumed fewer than two servings per day. (9) For more details on this study, please review my March 14, 2013, article, “Diabetes: looking beyond obesity to other factors.”

The properties of flavonoids, for example found in whole fruit, may also result in anticancer and anticardiovascular disease properties, the opposite of added sugars. (10)

Chronic disease incidence and complications from these diseases have skyrocketed in the last several decades. Therefore, any modifiable risk factor should be utilized to decrease our risk. By keeping added sugar to a minimum in our diets, we could make great strides in the fight to maintain our quality of life as we age.
We don’t have to avoid sugar completely; we still can satiate a sweet tooth by eating ripe fruits. Our access to fruit, even off-season, has expanded considerably. The most amazing thing is that fruit may actually reduce the risk of diabetes, something for years we thought might exacerbate it.

References: (1) 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. (2) cdc.gov. (3) reuters.com. (4) JAMA Intern Med. online February 03, 2014. (5) PLoS Med. 2013 Dec;10(12):e1001578. (6) J Nutr. 2014 Feb;144(2):202-8. (7) Am J Clin Nutr. 2012 Apr;95(4):925-33. (8) BMJ. online August 29, 2013. (9) Nutr J. published online March 5, 2013. (10) Plant Foods Hum Nutr. 2004 Summer;59(3):113-22.

Dr. Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, go to the website medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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By Bob Lipinski

A storybook region dotted with picturesque villages in France, Alsace occupies a narrow strip of land between Strasbourg and Mulhouse. It is no more than four miles wide and about 40 miles long, with a total area of approximately 40,000 acres. It is nestled between the Vosges Mountains and the Rhine River, just east of Champagne and Burgundy. Alsace is divided into two sections — the Bas-Rhin in the north and Haut-Rhin in the south.

Alsace produces one-fifth of all of France’s white wines entitled to the AOC designation. Because it is located so far north, there is generally insufficient sunshine for the red grapes to ripen fully. Therefore, better than 90 percent of all wines are white.

Some of the better-known wines of Alsace are Riesling, gewürztraminer, pinot blanc, sylvaner, pinot noir, pinot gris, muscat à petit grains, chasselas, and Klevener de Heiligenstein. The wines range from very dry, through semisweet and even sweet. There is also a fabulous dry sparkling wine called crémant d’Alsace.

I recently attended an Alsatian wine press event featuring the wines of Hugel et Fils and Domaine François Baur, which are perfect for hot summertime weather. Below are the wines that I tasted and highly recommend:

2013 Hugel Gentil, a blend of primarily gewürztraminer paired with varying amounts of pinot gris, Riesling, muscat and sylvaner.
2013 Hugel Riesling.
2008 Hugel Riesling Jubilee.
2012 Hugel Gewürztraminer.
2013 Hugel Pinot Blanc Cuvée Les Amours.
NV Domaine François Baur Crémant d’Alsace, made from a blend of Riesling, pinot blanc, pinot gris, and chardonnay grapes, while pinot noir is used for the rosé version.
2013 Domaine François Baur Pinot Blanc Herrenweg.
2012 Domaine François Baur Riesling Herrenweg.
2007 Domaine François Baur Gewürztraminer Grand Cru– Brand.
2013 Domaine François Baur Pinot Gris Herrenweg.
2010 Domaine François Baur Gewürztraminer Herrenweg.
2013 Domaine François Baur Pinot Noir Schlittweg.

When searching for cheeses to pair with these wines stay with the soft, mild style, and definitely not too salty. Two cheeses that I like from Alsace that are worth searching for are:

Lingot d’Or (lan-GOH dohr) A brick-shaped, cow’s milk cheese, which is quite similar to Munster.

Munster (MUHN-stuhr). A semisoft to firm, cow’s milk cheese with a somewhat edible, ivory or orange to red exterior; creamy white to buttery yellow interior with small holes; cylindrical, rectangular, and wheel-shaped.

It has a pungent smell sometimes of mushrooms; complex, strong and tangy flavor; slightly salty, nutty taste; sometimes flavored with aniseed, caraway, or cumin seeds. The word Munster means monastery and it was the Benedictine monks, who came from Ireland, in the Munster valley of the Vosges Mountains who introduced cheese-making to this area as early as the seventh century.

Bob Lipinski, a local author, has written nine books, including “Italian Wine Notes” and “Italian Wine & Cheese Made Simple,” available on Amazon.com. He conducts training seminars on wine & cheese, sales, time management and leadership. He can be reached at boblipinski.com or at [email protected].

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