My perceptions have been skewed by too many over-ripe, buttery, oaky, relatively boring Chardonnay wines, mainly from California.

FORBES: The Case For Why We Should Be Drinking California Chardonnay

They have been coming here since 1944 to pummel each other with over-ripe tomatoes grown especially for the event.

BBC: The world��s messiest festivals

Another time, he taught me to load a boule of country bread with the guts of an over-ripe tomato, a stream of olive oil and a thick slice of potato omelet to make the world's best vegetarian sandwich.

WSJ: Escabeche: A Seafood Dish for the Fish-Phobe

Too frequently I hear wines from California described as full-bodied, made with lots of ripe, over-extracted fruit and a generous exposure to sweet-smelling American oak.

WSJ: Thinking Inside the Bottle

"Mash up a ripe avocado and plaster it over your face for 15 minutes - you'll smell like a chicken salad but your skin will feel revitalised, " reckoned Coombe.

BBC: Beauty treatments abroad

In 1976, the Kentucky Colonels (based in Louisville) folded after not joining the NBA at the time that the ABA (of which the Colonels were a part of) merged with the NBA. Over thirty years later, the city is ripe for another professional basketball team, potentially bearing the same name.

FORBES: Why Louisville Should Top The List For An NBA Franchise

It has been my experience over the last 25 years that when the time is ripe, even good news is used to sell.

FORBES: Now Is Not The Time To Buy McDonald's

With shares up 73% year-to-date, and even more over the longer term, Apple could be a stock ripe for paring in many portfolios.

FORBES: Should Apple Investors Be Rooting For Romney This November?