and important factor is that graphic novels are not cheap. you have to part with quite a bit of cash. i would say it's a small but all the noble part of the market. >> a small segment itself, perhaps, but one that is also helping to boost interest and old books. and demand for graphic novels will remain strong as the genre thrives on its inventiveness. and finally, in this highlights edition, we take a look at some designers who are definitely leading the way to a brighter fashion future. fancesca castagnacci and m oritz waldemeyer are among the pioneering fashion designers incorporating a lady's -- incorporating l.e.d.'s into

their clothing and accessories. is this just a gimmick or are these glittering garments actually where rebel -- wearable? >> when night falls in florence, it is not only the stars or street lamp that shine, but also of us have to -- also this hat. >> maybe it is not right for a trip to the supermarket, but you could certainly where it on the catwalk at a fashion show -- wear it on a cat walk at a fashion show. >> francesca castagnacci likes to play with new ideas. here illuminated head gear is a kind of brainstorming. the 28-year-old is working on using lights in everyday wear as well, for example in shoes.

she has her feet on the ground and her head in the sky. >> light, the cosmos, satellites, the milky way, the entire universe -- i want to create accessories that lives through their own light, that are active and not passive. >> her luminous shoes are made of leather, silver, and have a hidden battery in their soles. >> the battery lasts for about 10 hours. then you have to rechrage it, -- recharge it, like with a cell phone. >> castagnacci needs the batteries to power the optic

fibers woven into the fabric she uses. all those fibers meet at one end, where the l.e.d. fills them with light. an l.e.d. or light-emitting diode is just a few millimeters long. a can transform fabric into a fascinating work of art -- it can transform fabric into a fascinating work of light-art. fashion designers are exploring their potential. one german designer has created skiing out its -- outfits with them. one designer in new york makes clothes with flights. and a designer in london deploys up to 15,000 of them in a single dress as in this model from 2007. on the video dress, you can make

out moving images. designers made dream up amazing things, but they often need technical help to make them reality. and that is where moritz waldemeyer comes in. he is from germany but lives in london. he is widely considered one of the most innovative light designers of our time. >> i am like an interpreter. i translate from the language of creativity into the language of technology. >> pioneering spirit francesca castagnacci has not get called on an interpreter for help. she is happy experimenting by herself. her light shoes are light years away from entering mass production. >> it has been an experiment. so far, i only have this

prototype. manufacturing these shoes would be very expensive. one pair would cost up to 2,500 euros. but perhaps it will be the fashion of the future. >> l.e.d. fashion is still pretty new and. it is more of a playground than an industry for the moment. but these brilliant diodes might get revolutionize fashion and give new meaning to the idea of looking like a star. >> and before we go, just a quick reminder that you can see all these reports and lots more from the show on our website, just go to dw-world .de/english/euromaxx. that brings us to the end of another highlights show. from myself and the entire crew

here in berlin, thanks for watching, tschuss, and bye-bye. captioned by the national captioning institute --www.ncicap.org-- of the best of europe.

venice seems to be every italy connoisseur's... prague has always been beautiful... germany... the irish civilization... the eiffel tower was built... hope you've enjoyed the magic of...

lake bled,slovenia's leading mountain resort, comes complete with a fairy-tale island, cliff-hanging medieval castle, a lakeside promenade, and this region's most sought-after cream cakes. slovenes travel from all over the country to sample these famous cakes, first cooked up right here. while lake bled has all the modern resort-town amenities -- including shops, restaurants, and hotels -- its most endearing qualities are its stunning setting, its natural romanticism, and its fun-loving wedding parties. [ accordion music, singing, and clapping ] saturdays are wedding day here in bled, and the lake is festive with wedding parties. gondolas, called pletna, are the romantic way

to tour lake bled and visit its historic island church. a steady procession of newlyweds, cheered on by their entourage, head for the island. it's tradition for the groom to carry -- or try to carry -- his bride up the 99 steps which lead to the church. about four out of five actually reach the top. will he make it? [ bells ringing ] [ cheering ] the island has long been a sacred site, specializing in romance. an 8th-century slavic pagan temple dedicated to the goddess of love and fertility once stood here. this baroque church of st. mary is the fifth to occupy this spot. traditionally, slovene newlyweds ring the st. mary's bell to make a wish come true. ya-hooo! crowd: come on! ugh! good thing; he just made it.

>> this program is brought to you in part by beringer. beringer--how to get to napa valley. >> americans love a celebration, and when it comes to american

wines, there's plenty to celebrate. these wine enthusiasts in san francisco are raising their glasses to something decidedly french--rose wines-- but are doing it american-style. >> we really say that rose is red hot, and we are riding a pink wave. >> sure, the french have centuries-old traditions, but americans have a penchant for turning whatever they can into entertainment. and this couldn't be truer than when it comes to wine. >> we never imagined--we never imagined that we would have to turn people away from a rose tasting. i mean, this is unbelievable. >> the french don't have wine clubs like we do. they don't even talk about wine like we do. and they certainly don't have events like the pink out, where wine drinkers are putting a whole new spin on how we experience pink. the pink out event celebrates dry rose wines, america's hottest new wine trend. sorry, france, this isn't about history. it's about living in the moment. fans are clearly

enthusiastic about this often misunderstood wine. and the experts, like renowned chef and restaurant owner rob lam, love to serve it. >> it doesn't overwhelm the food. it complements or contrasts it. and that's really what you're trying to get your customers to get into. >> others, like wine journalist and sommelier chris sawyer, regard it as something close to an art form. >> a really well-crafted wine that actually finishes dry instead of sweet. so, this is a real pure expression of what the grape would taste like. you drink, you enjoy, you remember that flavor component. i think wine now is more important to us than ever before, because it brings us back to the table. >> whether it's a hip new rose from provence or bubbly made in california, our enthusiasm for wine is uncontainable. and wine country doesn't just mean napa and sonoma anymore.

california's central coast wine region stretches for 300 miles along the pacific ocean between san francisco and los angeles, and across more than 14,000 square miles of spectacular land. what makes this area unique is its coastal mountain ranges that run east-west, instead of north-south. much of this area is former ocean bottom, and has an unusual soil composition. the high concentration of sand, as well as limestone and rocky soils deposited by the run-off from the surrounding mountains. there are foggy mornings, sun in the mid-day, and afternoon breezes. this moderate climate makes for a long growing season, and slow, even ripening of the grapes. that translates into more intense flavors in the grapes, and, of course, the wine. there are 5 main growing areas in the central coast, each with a slightly different microclimate that effects the varietals grown and the styles of the wines produced.

the area's gem is paso robles, named for it's local oak trees, el paso de robles, the pass of the oaks. the name was shortened to paso robles when california became part of the u.s. in the mid 1800s. for years, it was a sleepy farming town. now, this charming place has become a vintner's paradise. considered by some to be the next napa valley, paso robles is california's fastest-growing wine region. there are nearly 170 wineries here, and more than 40 wine grape varieties. the town's wine culture has attracted sophisticated restaurants like bistro laurent, and international chefs from as far away as france. and every year, paso robles swells by 3,000 people during the 3-day hospice du rhone event, the largest celebration of rhone wines in the world. >> here's to the pink du rhone. >> the event brings together an a-list of worldwide rhone producers, boutique owners with serious buying on their minds, and wine drinkers who simply

appreciate rhone wines. wine has been produced in the rhone valley in southeastern france for centuries. some of the vineyards are the oldest in france. rhone wines include dark, spicy reds made mostly from syrah and grenache grapes, and full-bodied, aromatic whites from viognier, marsanne, and roussanne grapes. in all, there are 22 grape varieties grown in the rhone valley, collectively known as the rhone varietals. gary eberle was the first californian to plant syrah a few decades ago. but the nineties saw an explosion of rhone plantings in paso. the hospice du rhone showcases rhones from california and all over the world. >> the first 2 wines that you have are a pair of saint josephs. on the right-hand side is pure roussanne, which is very unusual from saint joseph. there are only a few of them being made currently. and by a few, i mean less than five. and then on the left is francois vilar's blend of about

55% marsanne and 45% roussanne. >> during the hospice du rhone event, you can take in a wine tasting and a gourmet meal at one of the town's restaurants. it's a golden opportunity to talk one-on-one with the people who create the wines. >> i thought that the trio that you just had was a spectacular experience. [applause] >> or you can attend a seminar and learn about the rhone varietals grown in paso robles. [indistinct chatter] >> during the festival, hundreds of wines are available at wine tastings. in fact, nearly 600 wines are poured over the 3 days. >> we were told we could get them at a reasonable price. we'll see how the competition holds up at the auction. [indistinct chatter] >> 5 pieces, ridiculously absurd, $500. 500, 600, 700-- >> the highlight of the event is the auction. up for grabs are barrels of rhone wine donated by around 30 wineries. >> 900, now 1,000. 1,000, now

11. 1,100, now 12. >> all you have to do to win is be the highest bidder. >> i'm looking for 13. 20--whoa! [speaking rapidly] last chance to get it at 28. fair warning, one and all. sold! number 41. >> there's more to the auction than fun and a bit of business. the money from the sale of the barrels is donated to local charities. it's a tradition that actually dates back more than 5 centuries to burgundy, france. paso robles may be a hotbed for rhone varietals today, but before the 1990s, few people knew much about rhone wines in california. until 2 families-- the perrins, wine producers from the rhone valley in france; and in the united states, the haas family, importers of french wines, put rhone wines on california's map. at the time they began their collaboration nearly 40 years ago, french rhone varietals were practically non-existent in california. but the perrin and haas families were determined to show that the central coast of california was perfect for growing rhone-style grapes.

>> over the course of working together as importer and producer, the 2 families became friends. and they would go on trips around the united states to promote their french wine. but after every trip to california would come back talking about how much the landscape and the light and the air and the sense of place reminded them of chateauneuf du pape. >> the perrin's vineyard, beaucastel, is located in chateauneuf du pape, a historic village in the southern rhone wine region. 5 generations of perrins have been making wine here for more than 150 years. the chateauneuf du pape appalachian permits 13 different local varieties of grapes into their blended wine. no one knew if this distinctive rhone style could be achieved in california. by the end of the 1980s, the 2 families had started a business together. they settled on a former cattle ranch in the far northwestern corner of paso robles as the place to open their new winery, tablas creek. but bringing cuttings from france into the united states wasn't going to be simple. >> what we did is we took new cuttings of all of the traditional rhone varieties,

and brought them into the country when we started in 1989. when you do that legally, and we did, you have to leave them in quarantine at the u.s. department of agriculture while they're being tested for viruses. and this quarantine, if everything goes right, this quarantine is 3 years long. >> getting the vines out of quarantine was just the first step. after 2 more years spent propagating them, the cuttings needed to be grafted. >> so, the reason you need to graft grapevines is that all wine grapes are native to europe. there's a parasite called phylloxera, it's a soil parasite, a flea-size soil parasite that's native to north america. and, to which, european wine grapes have no immunity. >> grafting gives non-native cuttings a chance to grow from a root stalk that has immunity to local parasites. >> we have a pile of root stalks here and a pile of vinifera, in this case marsanne, vinifera is just wine grapes, in this other pile here. and we're gonna have to put the 2 pieces together. first step with the root stalk

is going to be to trim off any of the buds that it has itself, because we don't want it to expend any effort in growing its own buds. and then with the wine grape, we're gonna go in and prune it into single bud sections, because i only need one bud to make a new plant. you can see here, we have 3 viable buds that we can work with. so, at this point, i'm gonna try to match up the diameters of the 2 plants i'm grafting. looks like a pretty good match. now, this our grafting machine. it's operated by a foot pedal underneath the table. you can see the cutting blade moving up and down. i'll put my wine grape in first. hold on to the table,

and make an initial cut. when i pull my foot back out, you'll be able to see the shape of the cut that it makes. i'm gonna do this again at full speed. put the plant in, make my cut... get the bottom part of the wine grape, 'cause we'll need that. get my root stalk, line it up so the diameters match. and then make another cut. and when i pull my foot back out, the machine is going to join the 2 pieces together. and you can see, it's actually a pretty good match. you can see the cut right there, but it's pretty faint. at this point, this plant is going to be put into a soil mix for roughly a month. that'll allow these 2 pieces to actually join and become a single, growing plant. and then, at the end of that

month, we're gonna look for a callous to show that the 2 pieces of the plant are exchanging fluids, and roots growing out of the bottom of the plant. >> the grafting was a success for tablas winery. and risk of embarking on something totally unknown paid off. today, paso robles is synonymous with great rhone wines. but there's still room for innovation. >> you can see we actually have a grenache clone right here to our left. this is our d-clone of grenache, which is one of the new clones that we brought over from france relatively recently. which we ferment separately from the other grenaches because we want to see what it's like. we want to know whether we want in the future to plant more grenache "d", or whether we want to use one of our "a," "b," or "c" clones instead. so it's an evaluation. >> when the 13 varietals are finally fermented to perfection, they're blended in true chateauneuf du pape style. >> it's sort of heat combined with a little bit of tannin on the end. want to try a couple percent less syrah? >> the blending is actually my favorite time of the year. it happens usually in the spring or summer after harvest when

the wines are finished wines. they're done with all their fermentations, they've settled clear. >> only the very best of the wines earn the label esprit de beaucastel, the signature wine of tablas creek. >> we really like it. it's rich, it's powerful, it's balanced, it's gonna be ageable. it's a good candidate for the esprit de beaucastel. and i think that this is gonna end up being one of the real signature areas for rhone varietals in california. >> rhone-style wines are not paso robles' only claim to fame. the other great varietal that caught on like wildfire in the rolling hills of paso is zinfandel, or zin as it's affectionately called here. every year, the paso zin producers get together for a party. the agenda is to have fun, swap stories, and make one important decision. they must choose who will be the next zin festival zin blendmaster. it's the blendmaster's job to create a single wine out of the zinfandels produced in the area. the new zin will be auctioned off at the annual zinfandel wine festival,

held in march, and will have the blendmaster's label on it. the blendmaster needs time to create the perfect blend, so he's elected 2 years in advance of when his barrel goes to auction. joe barton jr. of grey wolf cellars is the blendmaster. after today's elections and lunch, he'll start blending his signature zin for paso. >> more wines, we'll taste it. we'll give ourselves a chance to do a little initial pre-blend barrel with what we have available to taste today. i think that will be fun. i'll be happy to put together a decanter and pass it around and see what we come up with. this is an area where a single individual and a single soul can say, "i want to be in the wine business, and i'm gonna go do it," and paso is a place where you can do that. and it's still fostering that. and i really think that's what makes it so unique, is because it's an owner-operator. it's not a company. i make the wine, i sell the wine, i farm the grapes, i run the taste room. you'll see more and more of that here in paso than you may see anywhere else in the world. >> the central coast is the kind

of place where successful businessmen like these do a day's work in a pair of jeans and, yes, sometimes with a beer in hand. and the business today is to elect the next blendmaster. there are no speeches, just introductions. >> mike giubbini, i'm the owner of rotta winery, my grandparents' old winery down the road here. >> [indistinct] it's part of the team out there at opolo. >> i'm david o'leary, i work for grey wolf, and i'm a rookie. >> i'm gonna nominate steve felton. >> all right! >> i'd like to second that. >> obviously steve's been nominated already for blendmaster. i'd like to nominate jeff poe. >> a few more names are thrown into the hat. and the winner is steve felton. [cheers and applause] >> with a new blendmaster crowned, the next order of business is barbecue. >> southern-style barbecue with a california twist. normally, i marinate my tri-tip in chicken and wine, with a lot of garlic with other seasonings

and stuff. but my ribs, i rub. but i smoke all of my meats. so that's more of the southern style. out here they grill everything. they burn it all up. [laughs] >> he's going for seconds. >> the signing of the barrel is a zin barbecue tradition. each of the wine producers has donated 5 gallons of their wine, and it's time to blend it. zinfandel is one of the most popular wines in america. its dark purple juice turns into a luscious, lip-staining reds. zin fanatics love it for its intense fruitiness and rich texture. >> our zinfandel is not traditional wine grape from any respect. it's an americanized version of a european varietal, and i think that's why it does so well here, because we all get to take our own spin on it. we don't have any play book or cookbook of how we're supposed to do it, and i think that's what's gonna make us more exciting and more desirable as time goes on.

blend has been made! >> the blendmaster is ready with his new zinfandel, a wine that's experimental and distinctive as its individual producers. drive south from paso robels over the santa lucia mountains, and you'll find yourself in the southern part of san luis obispo county. the small but fertile edna valley in the county's southern corner has one of california's longest growing seasons. the valley is most famous for its cool climate varietals, chardonnay and pinot noir. and for producing wines that compete with the chards and pinots from burgundy, france. drink a glass of chardonnay at edna valley vineyards, and you won't taste heavy oak and butter, typical of california chardonnays. >> people want fruit, people want acidity, they don't want an oak bomb, they don't want buttered popcorn, but they want something that's complex, and they want something with a sexy finish. >> so you're getting a real infusion of that oak, but still let it balance with the fruit,

so you get the white peach and the pineapple still coming through it. >> my goal as a winemaker is to take that uniqueness in the fruit and make sure that it's expressed in the wine. so, yes, we do barrel fermentation in oak. we do a lot of very traditional things, but i don't ever want the oak or the malolactic characters or whatever to overshadow what's unique about edna valley's fruit. >> fruit-driven chardonnays aren't the only wines to taste here. >> this is our '05 noir. >> and wineries aren't the only place to taste great wines from the central coast. head into the mission town of san luis obispo and you'll find award-winning restaurants nestled in between one-of-a-kind shops. home to california polytechnic state university, it's an unusual blend of rowdy college town and wine country sophistication. and something else to call its own--cerro caliente. here, you can get your car tuned up and buy a bottle of pinot

grigio under the same roof. auto mechanic don peters saw no reason to give up his love of cars, especially vintage cars, to pursue his passion for wine. >> i come in generally early in the morning, 5:00 is the normal up hour. check the wine, check the barrels, make sure the bones are in place, that there's anything to be done, paperwork. 8:00, my day starts with the auto cars. auto cars run until at least 6:00. after that, if there's something left over, that's the time to get it done. back it up just a little bit, we'll raise the cork level. >> he's what the french call a garagiste, coined in the late eighties, when people started producing small lots of high quality, handcrafted wines right out of their garages, often with the help of a few friends. >> they're friends, they're growers, they're friends of the winery, friends personal, that have come down to help us out today with this bottling 'cause they knew we had a major one. and it seems like when you put the good word