The 2014 Lexus IS 250 AWD F Sport grabs your attention from the moment you first see it and kept our attention throughout the one-week test drive. The third-generation 2014 IS sport sedan features a bold design highlighted by the new dynamic signature spindle grille and for the first time separated LED Daytime Running Lights which are as cool as any on the road today. A combination of “aggressive elegance,” a more powerful road presence and a stronger brand identity help make the new IS models more alluring than ever.

The available F SPORT package as tested included unique 18-inch wheels with ultra-white paint that made a bonafied first impression on all that gave us feedback. Some notables that played key roles in the good-looking IS 250 F Sport was the further evolution of the spindle grille from the GS and LS models, featuring a more three-dimensional design with a chrome-plated frame and darker gray insert from top to bottom, standard HID low/high beam headlamps with LED DRLs and available twin projector LED low/ high beam headlamps, F SPORT exclusive colors (Ultra White, Ultrasonic Blue Mica, Obsidian and Matador Red Mica), and a wheelbase that has been increased by nearly three inches. Width has been increased by nearly half an inch for an aggressive stance.

This isn’t your father’s Lexus, as the IS 250 AWD F Sport has the attitude of a premium sports car with the functionality of the smartest luxury sedan all wrapped into one superb interior space. The driver can appreciate improved seating position and headroom, while the rear seat offers significantly improved roominess, ingress and egress. Separating the shocks from the springs results in a larger trunk as well.

New luxuries abound in the 2014 Lexus IS. A high-efficiency dual-zone climate control system uses new, touch-sensitive electrostatic temperature switches. The IS offers two multimedia systems: a standard high-resolution Lexus Display Audio (LDA) with controller or the optional Lexus navigation system. The navigation system is operated via a second-generation Lexus Remote Touch Interface (RTI) multi-function control device, which also allows control of the climate, audio, phone controls and more. New interior design with LFA-inspired, driver-focused cockpit and enhanced rear seat roominess and luggage capacity earned high marks from drivers and passengers alike.

Read the rest of this entry »

There is so much great wine coming out of Spain, it’s sometimes hard to keep up. Recently I tasted through a large swath of the portfolio from Bodegas Navarro Lopez, and boy, am I glad for that opportunity! They have a history that dates back to 1904 which makes them teenagers in terms of age of Spanish Wineries. There is a broad array of delicious wines on US shelves with their name on it, here are three in particular that are both luscious and also represent stunning values.

The Bodegas Navarro Lopez 2011 Rojo Garnacha was produced from fruit sourced in the La Tierra de Castilla region of Spain. This offering is 100 percent Garnacha (Grenache). The vines sourced were more than 40 years old at the time of harvest. Temperature-controlled fermentation took place in stainless steel tanks. About 4,000 cases of this wine were imported to the United States, and it has a suggested retail price of $10.99. Red and purple violet aromas are underscored by bits of leather on the nose of this Garnacha. The palate is smooth and even-keeled with red and black fruit flavors in abundance. Blackberry and red raspberry are of note. Spices such as black pepper and a tiny hint of cocoa emerge on the finish, along with a touch of graphite. This is a remarkably appealing wine that begs you back to the glass for sip after sip. If you need a house red to keep on hand, this is safe bet. It’s scrumptious and has the kind of appeal that will satisfy a wide array of palates.

The Bodegas Navarro Lopez 2010 Old Vines Crianza was produced from fruit sourced in the Valdepenas (D.O.) region. This wine is composed entirely of Tempranillo. The vines were more than 30 years old at the time of harvest. Temperature-controlled fermentation took place over 10 days. Barrel aging followed over the next 6 months, in a combination of American (80 percent), French (15 percent) and Hungarian (5 percent) oak, and 18 months of bottle aging followed prior to release. About 20,000 cases were imported to the U.S. and it has a suggested retail price of $11.99. Wild strawberry and red Bing cherry aromas dominate the nose of this Crianza. The palate is fruity and fresh, bringing to mind a bowl of fresh berry fruits. Vanilla bean, white pepper and a hint of allspice are present as well. The finish has a wisp of cola and continued sweet red fruit flavors, as well as a hint of sweet cocoa. This is solid Crianza that is well priced for everyday drinking.

Finally, we have the Bodegas Navarro Lopez Old Vines Gran Reserva. The fruit for this wine was from vines more than 30 years old. They sit over 700 meters above sea level in the Valdepenas (D.O.) region. Temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel took place over a week. Barrel aging followed over 24 months in American (80 percent), French (15 percent) and American (5 percent) oak. Three years of bottle aging followed prior to release. Red plum, violets and tobacco leaf aromas lead the big, boisterous nose of this Gran Reserva. The palate is intense and loaded with dry red and black fruit flavors. Strawberry, raspberry and cherry are but a few. Rhubarb flavors and an avalanche of spices lead the finish which is long, deep and persistent. This wine throws off wave after wave of incredible flavors, all with elegance and grace. Its depth, complexity and length belie the modest price point.

All three of these wines are well made and terrific values. However, the Rojo Garnacha is a total steal. This wine is loaded with oodles of varietal character and appealing flavors, and it’ll pair well with a wide range of foods. If you bring it to a party, make sure you bring at least two because the first bottle will be drained before you know it. The Old Vines offerings are also terrific values. Tempranillo-based wines from Spain have been providing drinking pleasure in the U.S. for many years. These two are essentially textbook examples of their designations. Gran Reserva wines, with the level of quality, length and depth of the Bodegas Navarro Lopez are usually priced closer to $35. This one is under $20 and perfectly suited for Sunday dinner or a special occasion. In any case, you can’t go wrong with this trio of wines. If I sound excited about these wines, it’s because I am — go buy them now, thank me when the bottles are empty! In addition to these wines, Bodegas Navarro Lopez offers a range of others at various price points. The quality of their portfolio is deep and well worth investigating outside of this trio as well.

Check out Gabe’s View for more wine reviews, and follow Gabe on Twitter!

With March Madness in full swing, many people have been geared up to fill out their brackets, while others are putting bets on multiple games. Events like this and the Super Bowl certainly raise the excitement level, and it gets many of us thinking about our best bets over the years.

One of my all-time best bets involved the Super Bowl matchup pitting the undefeated New England Patriots vs the New York Giants following the 2007 NFL Season. The Patriots looked unbeatable, yet there was something about the New York Giants that made them the perfect matchup for the high-flying Pats – their pass rush! Going into the game, some experts were pointing out that if the Giants front four could pressure Tom Brady without resorting to blitzes, then the Giants had a real chance to win the game, let alone cover the point spread. With that in mind, instead of taking the points and the Giants, I decided to go with the money line on the Giants to win outright, which gave me a much better payout given that the Pats were big favorites. The Giants won of course 17-14, as their defense got a pass rush and slowed down that many thought was an unstoppable offense. The win was even sweeter several months later when I ran into one of the most notorious gamblers – Pete Rose – who was complainign that there was no way the Patriots should have lost that game. He called the money line bet stupid, but he didn’t have much of an answer when I simply pointed out that it was a winning bet.

As for March Madness, my favorite bet involved taking Kentucky over Duke in 1992 even though I wanted Duke to win. Christian Laettner famously won that game on the incredible shot in overtime, but I already had my bet won as I was getting plenty of points with Kentucky. So I got to celebrate that incredible shot watching the game at Caesar’s Palace, while also celebrating a winning bet.

You can check out these top 5 best bets for other great examples and follow #bgoBestBets on Twitter as well.

Whether you just finished college, recently got hitched, or just celebrated your Bar Mitzvah, you are now officially a man. While your $20 Timex Ironman has been reliable, it is past time to retire it.

You know the watch I’m talking about…the one you got from your Aunt on your eight birthday; the one with twelve different features (most of which you never used).

You’ve spent five times the original cost of the watch on battery replacements, and the nylon band, well, it smells pretty rank. Pay attention, because these will be the deciding factors while trying to decide which men’s watch to buy.

Is it Practical?

First and foremost, purchase a watch that is practical. It sounds like I’m joking, but I’m not. When contemplating the complexities of purchasing a watch, consider both your lifestyle and the usefulness of the watch. Below is a watch that I think you will find—umm, rather useless.

Read the rest of this entry »

Every Tuesday, I review the newest Blu-ray releases and let you know whether they’re worth buying, renting or skipping, along with a breakdown of the included extras. If you see something you like, click on the cover art to purchase the Blu-ray from Amazon, and be sure to share each week’s column on Facebook and Twitter with your friends.

WHAT: After losing his job on Wall Street following the events of Black Monday, go-getter Jordan Belfort (Leonardo DiCaprio) opens up his own firm selling penny stocks to the wealthy, turning Jordan and his closest pals (including Jonah Hill) into millionaires overnight. Living the high life with his gorgeous new wife (Margot Robbie), Jordan thinks he’s invincible – that is, until he catches wind that the FBI has launched an investigation into the firm for stock market manipulation and other related crimes.

WHY: It’s been a while since Martin Scorsese’s last truly great film, but the director has rebounded in style with “The Wolf of Wall Street,” highlighted by Terrence Winter’s hilarious script and Leonard DiCaprio’s brilliant turn as Jordan Belfort. You’ve never seen the actor quite like this before, and he’s in top form as the notorious stockbroker, delivering what is arguably his best performance with Scorsese yet. The rest of the cast is great as well, especially Jonah Hill in another award-worthy turn, up-and-comer Margot Robbie and Matthew McConaughey in a short but memorable cameo. Loud, flashy and totally obscene, the movie is like a private tour through Belfort’s excessive, hard-partying lifestyle, including easily one of the greatest sequences of the year. (Hint: it involves a highly potent strain of Quaaludes.) Though it’s a little too long for its own good, the characters are so magnetic and the dialogue so fast and funny that “The Wolf of Wall Street” is hard not to enjoy. It’s Scorsese’s best film in years, and one that will only get better with time.

EXTRAS: Regrettably, there’s only one special feature in the form of “The Wolf Pack,” a behind-the-scenes look at bringing Jordan Belfort’s life to the big screen with interviews from Martin Scorsese, Leonardo DiCaprio and others

FINAL VERDICT: BUY

WHAT: U.S. Vice President Selina Myers (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her staff navigate the murky waters of Washington, D.C. as she deals with a presidential scandal, crooked congressmen, a government shutdown and more

WHY: The first season of “Veep” showed immense promise, but it was clear that it still had some growing to do behind the scenes, and that growth is evident in the show’s second year. Granted, the situations that Selina and her staff find themselves in are still incredibly ridiculous (and if even remotely close to what actually happens at the White House, a little frightening), but it feels like there’s much more at stake this time around. The ensemble cast has also had more time to gel, and they’re even funnier than before as a result. Every actor plays their part perfectly – from Anna Chlumsky’s loyal chief of staff, to Matt Walsh’s blockhead publicist, to Timothy Simmons’ oddball White House liaison – and you needn’t look any further than Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ Emmy speech for evidence of that. The addition of Gary Cole and Kevin Dunn to the cast was also a shrewd move on the part of Armando Iannucci, but the show lives and dies by Louis-Dreyfus’s hilarious performance as the so-called Veep. She’s one of the funniest women in show business, and with the exception of Elaine Benes, this will likely go down as the best role of her career.

EXTRAS: In addition to four audio commentary tracks featuring members of the cast and crew (including creator Armando Iannucci and star Julia Louis-Dreyfus), there are deleted and alternate scenes for each episode.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT

WHAT: For decades, journalist Jep Gambardella (Toni Servillo) has served as Rome’s self-described king of high society, gallivanting through an endless series of lavish nightclubs and parties with his equally pretentious friends. But on his 65th birthday, Jep begins to look back on his superficial life against the beautiful backdrop of the Eternal City.

WHY: “The Great Beauty” may have won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, but there were far better movies released last year. Felliniesque in its self-indulgence and general lack of focus, the film is unable to maintain the high-energy pace of the opening dance party, ultimately succumbing to its sluggish, 142-minute runtime. The root of the problem is director Paolo Sorrentino and co-writer Umberto Contarello’s script, which never seems sure what it wants to say. Characters and subplots come and go with little explanation, including a storyline involving Jep’s childhood love that’s brought up early on and never mentioned again until the very end. Toni Servillo delivers a solid performance in the lead role, but his character is too misanthropic for the audience to care what happens to him, contradicting his supposed reformation every chance he gets. If there’s any reason to invest the two-plus hours watching “The Great Beauty,” it’s for cinematographer Luca Bigazzi’s gorgeous visuals, which capture the spirit and splendor of Rome in such a manner that it comes as a close to experiencing the real thing that some people will ever get.

EXTRAS: The Blu-ray release includes a conversation between director Paolo Sorrentino and Italian cultural critic Antonio Monda, interviews with actor Toni Servillo and co-writer Umberto Contarello, deleted scenes and a booklet featuring an essay by critic Phillip Lopate.

FINAL VERDICT: RENT