Latest news with #Halleck
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Halleck Vineyard Rated Best Sonoma Winery
Becomes only winery in Sonoma or Napa with more than 500 reviews and perfect 5-star rating Halleck Vineyard Sonoma County, CA, June 04, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Last Sunday, Halleck Vineyard surpassed an unprecedented threshold to become the only winery in Sonoma or Napa with more than 500 Google ratings and a perfect 5.0-star average. Of the more than 600 licensed wine-pouring establishments in Sonoma County, just five have more than 500 Google ratings, and Halleck Vineyard stands alone with a perfect 5.0-star average. In Napa Valley, where mega wineries rule, only eight wineries have surpassed the 500 ratings mark—and none have preserved a flawless five-star average. 'In the end, wine tastings aren't just about the wine,' said winemaker and owner Ross Halleck. 'They're about creating wine tasting experiences that people remember. We're honored by the hundreds of heartfelt ratings and reviews that reflect the joy, connection, and intimacy that our guests experience at our West Sonoma Valley estate winery and tasting room.' With more than 500 verified reviews submitted by Google users, Halleck Vineyard's flawless score reflects a consistent pattern of excellence in visitor experience, fine wines, delicious food pairings, and genuine hospitality. Google star ratings are crowd-sourced from verified users, meaning the more reviews a business has, the more accurate and reliable the ratings are. To spotlight the elite tier of tasting experiences, only wineries with 500 or more Google reviews are included—an exclusive group representing less than 1% of the more than 600 wine-pouring establishments in Sonoma County alone. Best Sonoma Wineries Wineries in Sonoma with 500+ star ratings on Google: Halleck Vineyard Winery in Sebastopol: 5.0 stars, 502 reviews St. Francis Winery in Santa Rosa: 4.8 stars, 1,200 reviews B.R. Cohn Winery in Glen Ellen: 4.6 stars, 624 reviews Buena Vista Winery in Sonoma: 4.5 stars, 628 reviews Gundlach Bundschu Winery in Sonoma: 4.5 stars, 606 reviews Halleck Vineyard is celebrated not only for its award-winning, Best of Class, 95+ Pinot Noirs, exclusive white wines, and dry rosé, but also for the consistently intimate experiences it delivers. In fact, 'Pinot Noir' and 'intimate' are the two most frequently used words in Halleck's more than 500 five-star Google reviews. Set in the Sebastopol Hills of West Sonoma County, just a short drive from Bodega Bay and the Sonoma Coast, the Halleck Vineyard Estate offers seated tastings by appointment only, in a serene garden overlooking the vineyards—a sharp contrast to the crowded tasting bars of larger venues. They describe the event as a 'tasting salon' where people come from around the world and across the country to meet and share a wine tasting experience. The 500th review, submitted on June 1, marked the milestone with high praise: 'Halleck is the epitome of hospitality. We were almost immediately greeted by Ross, who happened to be around during the tasting. He was so welcoming and authentically passionate about their wines. The environment is inviting and relaxed. Halleck wines are well-crafted, smooth and delicious. Thank you for a lovely experience. We also recommend staying at the Wine Lodge Airbnb on the property for its own unique experience.' Here's the actual wine tasting review on Halleck Vineyard's profile. Best Napa Wineries Wineries in Napa Valley with 500+ star ratings. Sequoia Grove Winery in Rutherford: 4.9 stars, 752 reviews Monticello Vineyards in Napa: 4.8 stars, 796 reviews Frog's Leap Winery in Rutherford: 4.7 stars, 586 reviews Darioush Winery in Napa: 4.6 stars, 588 reviews Opus One Winery in Oakville: 4.5 stars, 653 reviews PEJU Winery in Rutherford: 4.5 stars, 618 reviews Beringer Vineyards in St. Helena: 4.3 stars, 885 reviews Artesa Vineyards and Winery in Napa: 4.1 stars, 753 reviews About Halleck Vineyard Halleck Vineyard Winery is a boutique, family-owned winery producing some of the best Sonoma wines from its estate vineyard in the Russian River Valley. Known for its world-class Pinot Noir, Sauvignon Blanc, and small-lot varietals, Halleck Vineyard Winery offers one of the best Sonoma wine tasting experiences in an intimate setting. Halleck Vineyard has been featured in numerous national publications and continues to draw acclaim from wine lovers around the world. Visit Halleck Vineyard 3785 Burnside Rd, Sebastopol, CA 95472 and follow us on Instagram at Media ContactEric SchwartzmanSchwartzman & Associates, Inc.45 Rockefeller Plaza, 20th FlNew York, NY 10111+1 (917) 524-8444Attachment Halleck VineyardError in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Los Angeles Times
08-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
This superfan is buying VHS copies of ‘The Mummy.' The size of his collection is shocking
It's probably safe to say there's only one person in the world who would spend a Wednesday morning sitting barefoot in the sand watching Rick O'Connell search for the ancient lost city of Hamunaptra on a TV/VCR combo at the beach. And that person is Evan Halleck. A 34-year-old former commercial editor and VFX artist who worked on 'Everything Everywhere All At Once,' Halleck is an industry name you've probably never heard of, but those who spend a lot of time online might recognize his social media pseudonym: @MummyManiac. Feeling creatively stifled, Halleck quit his full-time job last summer to pursue his goal of amassing the largest collection of 'The Mummy' on VHS. The 1999 film starring Brendan Fraser has been one of Halleck's favorite films since childhood and was one of his earliest motivators to pursue a career in film. On Instagram and TikTok, Halleck is chronicling his quest to collect copies of the film through visits to thrift shops and record stores around Los Angeles and Orange counties. He also hunted for tapes in Denver and kicked off this year with a three-week tape acquisition road trip from his home in Long Beach to Vancouver, British Columbia. His haul to date: 330. 'I thought this could be a fun, midlife-crisis-style project that grew increasingly more absurd,' Halleck tells The Times. 'Just this idea of a guy who's creatively confused with his career, so his next objective becomes giving it all up to drive around collecting 'Mummys.'' @MummyManiac launched March 1 with a minute-long video that amassed more than a million views on Instagram in under a week. The reel is a whirlwind of highlights from Halleck's road trip to Canada. He's seen exercising at rest stops to 'prepare for all 'The Mummies' [he] will catch that day'; watching the movie on a 22-inch tube TV in the snow; and bringing a tape to an Egyptology museum in Silicon Valley to 'show a mummy 'The Mummy.'' Newer @MummyManiac content shows Halleck lifting weights with dumbbells constructed out of moldy 'Mummy' tapes ('When you're lifting the weight of cinematic history, that's when the grind gets real,' he says in the background). Halleck is not just intent on making his love for 'The Mummy' known, but also on stipulating that his fandom extends only to the 1999 Stephen Sommers film and its 2001 follow-up, 'The Mummy Returns.' He refuses to include in his collection Universal Pictures' earlier supernatural Egyptian films, starting with 'The Mummy' from 1932 starring Boris Karloff. As Halleck explains in one video: 'I'm a 'Mummy' collector, not a 'Mummy' Cinematic Universe collector.' At this point in his quest, Halleck has watched 'The Mummy' at least 150 times and claims 'it gets better with every viewing.' But nothing compares to the first time he saw the film in Orland Park, Ill., when he was 8. 'I vividly remember walking out of the movie theater and feeling very excited. In my opinion, it had everything a movie should be: funny, scary, adventurous and comedic,' Halleck says. Nostalgia also contributes to his soft spot for the film. The horror elements of the PG-13 movie were thrilling to a boy on the verge of adolescence — think frequent battle scenes, implied death by scarab beetles, partial nudity and fatalities from guns, swords and acid salt. 'The Mummy' was released when video rental stores prospered, and people were reminded to 'be kind, rewind.' Halleck remembers nagging his parents to visit the video store where he marveled at the abundance of films on the shelves. It's why he decided to collect only VHS of the film and not DVDs. Years before his quest was a kernel of an idea, Halleck was purchasing VHS copies of 'The Mummy,' thinking it would be funny to fill an entire bookcase in his living room with just tapes of his favorite movie. As the collection grew, he sensed a more preposterous project. Halleck's deadpan delivery and absurdist antics make for compelling comedy, but his most ridiculous shenanigans for @MummyManiac contain morsels of truth. He is racking up miles on his 2016 Subaru and dipping into his savings to grow his collection. He once convinced a bar in Silicon Valley to play 'The Mummy' on every television screen in the establishment, and the crowd that sat down to watch the film on his TV at an Oregon beach wasn't made of actors. Halleck says pursuing this project is 'the most creatively alive' he's felt since moving to L.A. 12 years ago to start his film career. After a decade of experiencing extreme career highs and lows, he's eager to have something tangible to take pride in. 'The No. 1 artist in the world can be debated, but you can't debate my physical collection,' he says. 'I want the glory and honor of being No. 1 in the world at something, and it doesn't matter how dumb it is.' Halleck's fiancée, Marla Schulz, is not a fan of 'The Mummy,' but she has been aware of her partner's love for the film since one of their early dates to a 'Mummy' movie night at the Alamo Drafthouse Cinema in downtown L.A. Halleck's humor as @MummyManiac is so intrinsically a part of his personality that Schulz is happy to see him find an outlet for it, especially because it means there's less time for him to pull pranks on her. 'He just commits so hard to his bits in a way where you're suddenly like, 'Wait, is this still a joke? Or have you now become the joke?'' Schulz says. 'He has these insane ideas and is very creative, and those are some of the things I've fallen in love with him for.' The internet has been less tactful. Trolls love to proclaim, 'This guy needs to get laid.'tr5,.The majority of responses, however, have been supportive, with fellow fans of 'The Mummy' hyped about, if not in awe of, Halleck's quixotic dedication. Many have offered to send him tapes from their own collection, prompting Halleck to rent a P.O. Box. The dogged pursuit of a solitary VHS is no new concept. The artist collective Everything is Terrible collects 'Jerry Maguire' tapes and an Instagrammer in Florida known as @titanicfan_97 has turned his entire home into a shrine to James Cameron's 'Titanic.' Although quantity is tantamount for all three VHS collectors, Halleck believes his mission is different. ''The Mummy' is an action-adventure-horror film,' he says, 'and 'Titanic' is a romantic historical drama based on one of the worst tragedies, and 'Jerry Maguire' is a sports romance.' Halleck sees his project as a Homeric odyssey of sorts, less about the destination than the journey. 'If I wanted to buy out eBay, I could, but there's something funny about being on the streets and getting respect that way,' he says. Halleck has spent anywhere from 25 cents to $14 for a copy of 'The Mummy' and has trained to quickly scan shelves for the film's orange-and-black spine. If he doesn't see other '90s action films such as 'Armageddon' or 'Jurassic Park' at a store, he likely won't find 'The Mummy' either. Visiting stores in large cities is usually a waste of time. In San Francisco, he went to 22 stores in one day and left empty-handed. In the film's first year, Universal Pictures released more than 7 million VHS tapes of 'The Mummy,' so statistically there should be an abundance of tapes to be found. The problem for Halleck is that the film has remained popular, especially among millennials. A modern-day 'Brenaissance' ushered in by a 2016 petition to 'bring Brendan Fraser back' successfully relaunched the actor's career. New roles and a long-overdue Oscar win brought renewed attention to the star and his earlier films. (Fraser declined to comment for this story.) 'The Mummy' is a particular favorite among Fraserheads. Multiple fan Facebook groups boast more than 100,000 members, and there is no shortage of 'Mummy' memes circulating on social media. Capitalizing on 'The Mummy's' popularity, Blumhouse Productions is releasing a horror adaptation of the film in 2026. Despite being 26 years old, 'The Mummy' starring Fraser is still frequently rented at the last remaining Blockbuster in Bend, Ore., with staff regularly screening the movie in-store. When Los Angeles video store and independent movie theater Vidiots reopened in 2023, 'The Mummy' was among the films shown, and the film was screened again in 2024 with a follow-up talk by an Egyptologist from the Getty. 'It's just a cozy movie for millennials,' says Lucé Tomlin-Brenner, manager of the Highland Park video store Vidéothèque, who first watched the movie after attending homecoming. 'There's a coming-of-age experience with the film that is tied so tightly for people even though there's not a lot to read into it critically other than Rachel Weisz and Brendan Fraser being hot,' Tomlin-Brenner says. Film writer Chad Collins, 30, published a love letter to 'The Mummy' on its 25th anniversary. 'I've always thought parts of our personal stories were the stories we grew up with, and for me, there's a clear tether between my worn-out VHS copy of 'The Mummy' and the work I do in horror writing now,' he says. The film also helped Collins find love. When his now-boyfriend learned they were both fans of 'The Mummy,' he took it as a sign Collins 'was the one.' By the year's end, Halleck hopes to amass around 1,000 tapes. He has fantasies of building a pyramid with the tapes on the Hollywood Walk of Fame or at the Venice Boardwalk and inviting onlookers to take photos with Evan's Famous 'Mummy' Pyramid. But his end goal is to create a comedic documentary about the project. Road trips to Las Vegas and the East Coast are next on his docket, but those journeys are on hiatus until after Halleck and Schulz marry this month. Like 'The Mummy,' their wedding will take place 'in the sands' (of Joshua Tree, not Egypt). A rack of the groom's VHS collection will serve as an optional photo backdrop, and Halleck is dressing as Fraser's white shirt and gun-holstered character for the Friday night pre-wedding dinner. Although Schulz and Halleck's baby plans are still far off, Halleck has already received permission from Schulz to decorate the nursery with an Egyptian theme.
Yahoo
07-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Top rated West Virginia beers to try on National Beer Day
CLARKSBURG, (WBOY) — Despite West Virginia's relatively small craft beverage industry compared to surrounding states like Ohio or Virginia, Mountain State brewers still put out a ton of top-notch beer that deserves recognition. If you live in north central West Virginia, here are some of the top-rated beers from each brewery in the area that craft beer drinkers think are the most worthy of your attention. The two most popular beers on Short Story's tap list, according to beer review website Untappd, are the Argonaut Helles Lager and the Chasing Daylight IPA. The Argonaut is a fairly light beer and is described as having a 'strong wheat profile' and a crisp finish—a perfect beer to enjoy on a warm evening, although the next few days will be a bit chillier than last week. Untappd reviewers described the Chasing Daylight IPA as light, citrusy and aromatic. Chestnut Brew Works' Halleck Pale Ale is essentially the poster child of craft beer in Morgantown and certainly deserves a try if you haven't given it a chance already. The Halleck does have some hop to it, but the beer itself remains light and refreshing. Plus, it's widely available in cans if you want to save yourself a trip to the Chestnut Beer Hall on Pleasant Street in downtown Morgantown. If you're looking for a darker option, the South Park Porter is another highly rated beer from Chestnut Brew Works that can also be found in cans in craft beverage stores and some grocery stores. You can watch 12 News' Restaurant Road Trip to the Chestnut Beer Hall below. Mountain State Brewing Company can be found all around north central West Virginia, and in addition to making great wood-fired pizza, they also make some great beer. MSBC's Almost Heaven Amber Ale and Cold Trail Blonde are two of the brewery's most popular beers, with more than 25,000 ratings on Untappd between the two of them. The Cold Trail is light and easy-drinking—a perfect pair for any pizza on their menu—and the Amber Ale is a little more robust with 'a pleasing caramel finish.' MSBC also has its own oatmeal stout called Miner's Daughter if you're looking for something that steps away from the usual 'light beer' experience. As one of West Virginia's most recognizable breweries, Big Timber beer can be found in just about any corner of the state. If you're a fan of craft beer, you've almost certainly tried Big Timber's flagship IPA before, but if you haven't, there's a reason it's one of the most widely distributed craft beers in West Virginia. It's well balanced and relatively light, and its hops give the beer character without being all-consuming. But if you really aren't a fan of IPA's, the Logger Lager can be a good alternative. It's a solid lager with a malty finish; it tastes different from a lot of other lagers but is still good in its own right. You can also try the brewery's award-winning Porter, which took home the gold medal in the Robust Porter category at the 2024 World Beer Cup. Stumptown Ales prides itself on its IPA's and should be a destination brewery for any West Virginia hop-head. Its most-rated beer on Untappd is the Holy Citra! Double IPA, which is brewed with 'loads' of Citra hops and has tons of fruity notes like mango, papaya and pineapple. Although no longer 'new,' Fox Hops is one of the newer breweries to open in the region, and when 12 News visited the brewery for a Restaurant Road Trip, we were impressed by the creativity in both its beer and its food. Sami's Saison is probably what people would consider its flagship beer, but it is also a great place to go for unique beers as well. For example, 12 News got to sample a peppercorn beer during our visit, and on Monday the brewery announced it would be releasing a 'ramp beer' on Friday, April 11. While it might be off the beaten path for most of north central West Virginia, Screech Owl Brewing is worth a visit. Not only does this brewery put out consistent beer, it also has a killer menu of food made with spent grain from their brewing process, making its meals both unique and delicious. The Hoo's Your Daddy IPA is by far the most rated beer from Screech Owl on Untappd, described on the brewery's website as a 'smooth yet sassy, crisp but not quite sharp,' mid-coast IPA. The brewery also has its Wild & Wonderful Strawberry Ale, which is nice and fruity without being tart or too sweet. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
