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Since I don’t want to SPAM my friends over e-mail I thought I’d relay this joke on my blog and let people opt-in to reading it… I thought it was funny!
Home Depot Scam
Be Careful - A ‘heads up’ for those men who may be regular Home Depot customers. Over the last month I became a victim of a clever scam while out shopping. Simply going out to get supplies has turned out to be quite traumatic. Don’t be naïve enough to think it couldn’t happen to you or your friends.
Here’s how the scam works:
Two very hot 20-21 year-old girls come over to your car as you are packing your stuff into the trunk. They both start wiping your windshield with a rag and Windex, with their breasts almost falling out of their skimpy T-shirts. It is impossible not to look. When you thank them and offer them a tip, they say ‘No’ and instead they ask you for a ride to Lowes. You agree and they get in the backseat. On the way, they start undressing. Then one of them climbs over into the front seat and starts crawling all over you, while the other one steals your wallet.
I had my wallet stolen March 4th, 9th, 10th, twice on the 15th, 17th, 20th, 24th & 29th. Also April 1st, 4th, twice on the 8th, 16th, 23rd, 26th, 30th, three times last Saturday and very likely again this upcoming weekend.
For our coverage of the 2008 Hospice du Rhône, we decided to put people on the spot. We came up with 5 of today’s Hot Topics, and posed the questions to winemakers, producers, importers, and attendees. No debate, no discussion, just right to the point. So, today, we wanted to know: What’s you favorite - Cork or Screwcap? What does “terroir” mean to you?
The 2004 vintage of this wine received a bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year (2006). I’ve only been able to find the 2005 vintage in Belgrade wine shops. It has an intensive and complex aroma with hints of flowers. Dominant tastes are those of melon and slightly of apricots. However, I wasn’t impressed, perhaps I expected more due to all the hype. Or perhaps there’s a significant difference in the two vintages. We should note that this winery has a good reputation. The Simcic Sivi Pinot 1990 was awarded the Cordon d’Excellence; their Chardonnay has won two gold medals at the Ljubljana Wine Fair and the 1994 vintage was declared Champion by the Knights of the Burgerland-Pannonian Order.
As you may have noticed, Enotheque has been missing some updates for some time now. At the moment, I'm on the road at a very challenging but rewarding consulting job. The days are long and the nights seem all too short, resting only in brief moments before it's time to attend to the task at hand again.
I'll bring back some good posts with recommendations, interesting regions, values and interviews soon enough. For the time being, enjoy the other subscriptions of your Google Reader, since nobody is ever truly caught up with it anyway.
As I write I'm sipping a glass of Californian red - a Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 to be precise.
It's fairly typical of the type of Californian wine readily available in the UK. Following the WineDudes request for some foreign thoughts on Californian wine the Woodbridge is 'research'. Not sure if the Wine Dude is going to utilise my barely coherant scribbles in a post or (update - he has) not but the crux of the article was that, while we can get hold of American wines in the UK most are the large brands (such as Gallo and this Mondavi) and the small quantities of boutique wines that many American wine bloggers rave about are never seen over here.
I hesitate to mention the ubiquitous Gallo in the same paragraph as Mondavi for both the Cabernet and this similar but slightly spicier Shiraz are very drinkable examples which offer more than a modicum of interest, something those massed Gallo brands never will.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Robert Mondavi Woodbridge Shiraz, 2006, California Stockists: Threshers and most supermarkets Price: £7.20 [More on Adegga / Snooth] Very similar in style to the Cabernet - sweetish full fruit, soft but evident tannins combine to make a highly drinkable fruity style of red. Broad flavours enveloping the blueberry/blackberry spectrum, not complicated but enhanced by some varietal spice. Not sure where Jancis Robinson gets the "very pinched and ungenerous" idea from as the wine appears fleshy, broad, lightly spiced and very drinkable. Alcohol 135%.
Aiming for a modicum of seasonal eating a dish of acorn squash with a tomato and cream minced lamb stuffing was paired with this red, the sweetness of the fruit playing nicely with the inherant sweetness of the squash and the stuffing. The softness held enough in the acidity and tannin stakes to counter the creamy richness.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]
As many will know Fumé Blanc is the name invented by Mondavi to describe their Sauvignon Blanc's that had undergone oak aging. While Sauvignon's typical crisp acidity remains, the grassy flavours and punchy 'greenness' of the aroma are going to be subdued after a period in oak. Forget the vibrancy of those New Zealand Sauvignon's; this is a different fish.
Review0.3 Wine Tasting Note: Robert Mondavi Winery Fumé Blanc, 2005, Napa Valley, California. Stockist: Majestic Price: £13.99 [More: Adegga / Snooth] Full in the mouth, there is a mineral edge too - the citric acidity comes to the fore on the finish while citrus is also the primary flavour. To this though you can add a segment of orange peel, a little melon, a drip of honey and a dash of vanilla. A good intensity and finish.
Andrew BarrowScribblings Rating - 88/100 [3.5 out of 5]
I love mackerel - even more so since discovering its sustainable and on the list of 'can eat' fish - its meaty in a tuna type way and, when simply pan-fried with a little lemon, a great match to this Mondavi Fume Blanc. The fish was served with roasted potatoes and beetroot. The beetroots sweetness slightly deadened the wines complexity however; but not enough to deem the match a poor one. The recipe for Pan-Fried Mackerel with Roasted Beetroot and Potatoes is detailed on SpittoonExtra.
by Martin Field Just back from a cruise on the good ship Superstar Gemini. We sailed from Singapore to Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. All meals were included in the cruise price, drinks were not. Cuisine was European with the occasional Asian dish. Vegetarian options were limited. In the Ocean Palace restaurant you dined semi-formally, with waiter service, table linen and all. The restaurant has a ludicrous rule that men may not wear shorts or sandals to dinner(we are in the tropics during monsoon you should know). Women wear what they like. The ship's other restaurant, the Mariners? Buffet, is more casual and the food is self-served, er, from a buffet.
How could I omit the two intelligent value Godello picks? I chose these two because they convey distinct interpretations of the variety, in spite of the two D.O.?s not being terribly far apart. Taste them together to see the immense differences evident in each Godello within what would amount to a short bus ride from Bierzo to Valdeorras. It?s quite hard to argue that neighboring wine regions cultivating the same variety aren?t little miracles, with this sentiment growing even more potent for the wine lover within single vineyards with many producers, though that?s another topic altogether.
Enjoy this, one of many examples of all new things Spanish that will slowly become more prevalent in the U.S. market over the coming six months or so?Godello.
Before I forget, speaking of the next wave of imports from Spain, if you haven?t been paying attention to Telmo Rodríguez in the past few years, I would try his Godello and watch this video. Aside from being a fascinating Spanish entrepreneur, he exudes passion for well-crafted, regional wines. The video is eight minutes in length, though for some reason, it winds up being 3 and change. Nevertheless, listen to Mr. Rodríguez introducing his wines on a recent visit to Toronto?s Lifford Wine Agency. In essence, he is responsible for affordable little masterpieces from various Spanish D.O.?s. His progressive outlook in terms of production methods is matched by an ability to reinvigorate production of traditional varieties in the regions where he owns vineyards. This in turn, yields intelligent value wines from various Spanish D.O.?s that much like Susana Balbo?s wines in Argentina, seem to be produced in a manner which never sacrifices regional character for novelty or the wrong type of market's tastes. What with how things are going nowadays in the wine business, what a refreshing point of view!
Los vinos: 2007 Pilgrim Godello Bierzo D.O.
This wine is clean, pale straw and unassuming at first sight. The nose is vibrant, driven by wild flowers, citrus, treefruit and stone minerality. Complex mouthfeel, with a crisp, racy shot of acidity (pink grapefruit), alongside rich treefruit and distinctive mineral notes.
This wine is produced by Viñedos Agribergidum in Bierzo, located at the westernmost outpost of León bordering Galicia. The Godello vines are an average of 40 years old, with the variety purposely farmed to very low yields.
Imported by Beacon Wine Company. 2005 Gaba do Xil Godello Valdeorras D.O.
A really nice pale gold in the glass. The nose is clean and pronounced, with perfumey floral element, lush green pear, peaches, honeydew melon and touch of sweet spice. Complex but never overwhelming medium-bodied white with great balance of ripe fruit flavors and medium citrus acidity. Love the soft spice undertones that follow the lovely fruit into the aftertaste.
*What an unusual mix in terms of the international producers you represent?why Argentina, New Zealand and Japan?
- Not really if you consider that Argentina and Japan (Ginjo sake), and to some extent New Zealand, share the same common elements?there are great wines and sake being produced by highly talented winemakers and tojis (master brewers), and they are not getting recognized yet. The quality is already in the bottle?so why should these sell less or get less respect than wine from more obvious regions? We always say that we are really a ?national education company? since we usually explain more than we sell. Our job is to get people to taste these wines and premium sake, and the stuff inside the bottles takes care of the rest. At the heart of this idea is also the notion that in the end, it?s the people you work with who make the difference between mediocre and ?wow!?. We have been lucky, fortunate, and smart (maybe a little of each) to meet and represent some of the top talent in these regions:
Susana Balbo?Crios de Susana Balbo, Susana Balbo signature wines, Nosotros (with Pedro below)
Pedro Marchevsky ? BenMarco
Pepe Galante & Mariano di Paola ? mapema
Luis Reginato ? Luca, Tikal, La Posta
Roberto de la Mota - Mendel
Jose & Pepe Reginato ? Reginato sparkling wines
Guy Davis ? Davis Family Vineyards (Russian River, CA) and Gusto (NZ SB)
13 Master Brewers from all over Japan?each as talented as anyone we have met.
*As someone who deals so closely with Argentine producers, what types of obstacles, limitations and concerns have any of them expressed to you in terms of being able to export and promote their products abroad?
- Well, I want to stay out of trouble here since I travel to Argentina a lot, but let me just say that the Argentine government has historically been more of a hindrance than a help for wine exports. As an example, and hard to believe, they actually tax EXPORTS! Perhaps the bigger obstacle for Argentine wineries is that the economic and political situation is relatively unstable, and when you are in an industry that measures commitment and success over a decade or longer due to capital investment requirements, it is hard to deal with a system that usually looks out only 2-3 years at a time.
*In your eyes, what sets apart these Argentine producers you represent? What do their wines bring to the table of American wine consumers that large-yield, often conglomerate-backed wines simply cannot?
- I alluded to this a bit above when talking about who we represent and why. I think there are three main things that set our producers apart:
1) Our wineries are owned by and have Argentine winemakers who have lived in this unique climate and region for their entire lives. For us, that means that the wines that they make TASTE like Argentine wines, not like some random wine from somewhere in the world. And as talented as some of the flying/foreign winemakers are who are working in Mendoza, I have yet to taste a wine from them that thrills me the way our producers? wines do at the dinner table. And I taste everything from down there.
2) As good as they already are, they are still always trying to learn how to improve their wines, and in today?s wine world, that?s the only way you stay on top. It shows.
3) Obsessive attention to detail seems like an abused phrase, but in winemaking it is crucial and not as common as you would think. Our winemakers are also our close friends and in Argentina that is taken pretty seriously. They make sure that every step is done with the utmost care because they would never want to look their friends in the eye and say, ?uhh..I?m sorry but this wine is just ok because we weren?t really paying close attention when we made it.? Large wineries may be able to solve #1 above, but #2 and #3 are far harder to come by, and that?s probably as true in the US as it is in Argentina.
*Looking ahead?are there any regions Vine Connections is looking to expand its portfolio toward, and why?
- We made a strategic decision a few years ago that we would remain specialists in Argentine wine and Japanese sake. Some importers have gone in the opposite direction and are happy to sell one of everything from anywhere, but we?re just not built that way as people. We started as leaders in both of these categories and we feel the only way to stay out in front is to specialize. That?s why we spend almost a month per year in Mendoza and visit Japan for at least 2 weeks every year. It?s our own ?attention to detail? mantra, and we try to stick to it so that we can look our customers in they eye and say every time, ?This is really great Argentine wine and Ginjo sake?. Every time.
- Fortunately, we won?t be bored since there still plenty of regions and microclimates still left to discover in Argentina.
*Given the nature of the market here in the United States, what advice would you give to consumers who would like be aware of, as well as actually see, a dramatic increase in availability of premium Argentine wines such as those crafted by your producers?
- American consumers have helped their own cause a lot already by being very open to trying wines like Malbec, Bonarda, and Torrontes. I think they will help themselves even further by continuing to experiment with wines at many different prices, not just the ?great values? under $15. Nick and I firmly believe that well-made Argentine wines offer incredible value and over-deliver at all price points. A $12 wine is worth more like $16, and a $30 wine is worth more like $40 when compared to other wine regions of the world. And, of course, you can support quality-focused companies like Vine Connections by paying attention to the importer name or logo (like our compass) that appear on every bottle. As with other wine regions, a good wine importer can be your best friend when you haven?t tried a particular wine yet and would like some assurance that you are going to enjoy it?especially when spending more than $15 or so.
Two new teahouses are now open for business just north of Indianapolis, Serendipity in Carmel and Serenity in Zionsville. Both are operated by Occasions Divine, which is owned by Karin Glass, a gourmet cook who is a regular vendor at the Binford Farmers Market.
Glass operated the Curator?s Café at The Sanctuary in Zionsville from March of this year until mid-August, when Sanctuary owner Nancy Noel decided to contract with Elements owner Dennis Dunn to operate the space. Glass? operation had been quite successful, and she quickly found a newly-vacated space on Main Street to move into. In the meantime, she also found a spot in Carmel, and opened Serendipity there on September 7. After two months of remodeling an old (circa 1868) Zionsville double into a restaurant space, Serenity opened yesterday, November 6. (Talk about a busy few months! She must have some incredibly soothing teas in stock.)
Serendipity and Serenity both are open for lunch, English tea and Sunday brunch. The menus are similar but different ? I plan to try Serenity?s lobster BLT next week (lobster and bacon ? how could that be bad?), and the L. S. Ayres Chicken Velvet Soup at Serendipity eventually. Both locations will offer twelve days of holiday teas featuring traditional Scottish recipes beginning December 6.
Sour cherry aromas and pipe tobacco with a hint of chocolate but the wine is cold. Breath and warm it up; Palate--cherry with slight evergreen mid palate, nice! Fresh Sangiovese flavors; a mature wine with a touch of anise emerging. This is a nice wine; mature and tasty! It's a bit pricey at $22 but a nice treat. Raise a glass!
Little kids go through a phase where they need to put everything in their mouth. I wonder what it says about me that I'm pretty much stuck there? I really enjoy trying out new wines and sakes, especially those that are well off the beaten path.
So when Beau Timkin, the owner of True Sake in San Francisco handed me this bottle and said "check this out" I couldn't resist. After all, it was the sake equivalent of....well.....(if you'll excuse what may be a somewhat obscure (to you) Japanese animation reference) Howl's Moving Castle.
This sake is:
1. Nigori - an unfiltered sake
2. Junmai Daiginjo -- the highest grade of sake, where the rice kernels have been polished to less than 55% of their original volume.
3. Nama sake -- unpastuerized, designed to be drunk very soon after production, much like Beaujolais
Can you understand my fascination? Even if you've never seen the phantasmagorical animation movie referenced above perhaps you can understand what a strange beast this sake would be.
Many people who enjoy sake even occasionally are familiar with the cloudy nigori sakes, as they are somewhat trendy and likely to be offered in most sushi restaurants that aspire to have anything more than just the standard hot sake on the menu. Nigori sakes are cloudy because minute rice particles (think flour particles) that are normally filtered out of the sake are left in. These bits of starch both make the sake milky white, as well as add a slight sweetness to the liquid because they contain sugars.
Most nigori sakes are considered to be somewhat rustic, harkening back to the beginnings of sake when, in fact, all sake was nigori sake, since no one bothered to (or had the technology to) filter it in the early days of sake brewing. Consequently nigori sakes do not tend to be premium sakes, which is to say that they are most often made from rice that has not been polished to the level required for premium sake.
So to see a Junmai Daiginjo nigori sake is quite unusual, both because it means that the brewer has gone to quite an expense to deliberately produce such a sake, and that the brewer is confident that such a sake merits such treatment, as the rice sediments that are left in nigori sake tend, on the whole, to mask some of the more delicate flavors and aromas that a junmai daiginjo sake has been made to possess.
Nama sake or namazake is the sake world's equivalent of Beaujolais Nouveau, or perhaps more accurately, fresh raw milk, which is unfortunately illegal in the US. Unpastuerized by heat, namazake has a different character that is cherished by die-hard sake fans as more rustic and "authentic" than commercial releases that go through the pasteurization and stabilization process.
And sparkling sake? Well, what can I say. Sparkling sake is just a oddball phenomenon. It has been made here and there by various producers over the last decade, but not with any regularity, nor with any real commercial strategy. It is perhaps best characterized as one big experiment.
If there is any brewery that isn't afraid of experimenting, it's the Tsuki no Katsura brewery in the Fushimi district of Kyoto in western Japan. One of the oldest and most regal of breweries in the area, it is single-handedly responsible for the fact that nigori sake even exists today as a commercial product.
As I mentioned, originally all sake was effectively nigori, as it went unfiltered. But sometime before the 19th century, many makers began to press their sake through mesh bags to filter out the sediment. When the "rules" for how to make sake were written in the 1800's and it became regulated by the government, filtering (or more accurately, pressing, as there is most often a final filtration after pressing) became part of the required regimen, and nigori sake effectively became illegal. One of the primary reasons for this was that the filtering process was when the government levied its taxes on sake makers. For perhaps understandable reasons, the government wasn't too keen on the idea of skipping that step for aesthetic reasons.
But nigori sake wasn't forgotten, and after decades of tireless lobbying, Tsuki no Katsura managed to convince the government to allow them to make nigori sake. How did they manage to get around at least two hundred years of precedent for pressing sake through a filter to remove solids? Well, in the end they didn't. They were still forced to filter their sake, but they convinced the government to let them use a filter that had holes in it about the size of golf balls. Apparently it took a couple of years of changing their production process so the government ministry that oversees sake brewing would approve, but eventually they did, paving the way for all modern nigori sake.
Today, Tsuki no Katsura is one of the largest producers of nigori sake in Japan, and is apparently breaking new ground by moving into the sparkling sake world as well. They also produce a range of standard sakes which are rumored to be decent as well.
Full disclosure: I received this sake as a press sample.
Tasting Notes: Cloudy white to the point of being chunky, with a medium-strong effervescence, this sake has a yeasty nose with scents of bubblegum and malted milk. In the mouth it has a thick presence on the palate and about as much carbonation as some soft drinks. The flavors are cool and rainy, with a distinct flavor of wet paper, a light floral element, and a finish that is beer like with hints of yeast. I'm not sure if my sense of the beer-like flavor was influenced by the carbonation or not. Overall this is not a sake that does a lot for me, but it was a fascinating drinking experience and one worth trying just on principle, especially for those who are interested in sake.
Food Pairing: Nigori sakes normally reward pairings with slightly more substantial foods than their lighter, more delicate filtered brethren. I'm not confident about it, but I might try pairing this sake with tonkatsu, the traditional breaded and fried Japanese pork cutlet.
Overall Score: 8/8.5
How Much?: $20 for 300ml bottle
This sake is not available for sale on the internet. You can give Beau a call if you're interested: 415.355.9555
So here we are again, the harvest is completed and the new wine is in the barrel. Once more the cycle begins anew, a sequence which we in the wine business live to develop and enjoy. Already we are hearing talk about the miraculous victory of the return, the gathering of the century, the harvest of hope. The bringing in of a new dawn, the hope of a new age.
And during the daytime I am like a priest in a confessional listening to folks in the wine business go over all the sins, not of their own, but of the others.
Today in a little trattoria; a rather immense man, with an even larger ego, walks in and proceeds to sit in the table next to me and my lunch companion, an old pro who has seen it all. This large man is a small distributor and he knows not of the code of professional regard. All the wine in his beat up 30' by 70' stockroom is a small insignificant corner of a warehouse somewhere in the Midwest, forgotten by time or care. But as he has not trodden the path of the ancients, his malfeasance is to ignore the history of his trade and mock those who have paved the Via Appia so that he may pretend to be in the company of those who really give a crap.
But then again, he doesn?t dine regularly with Cicero and Seneca, so what can he know about where he is going? Like so many who think they must abjure their competition, I just laughed at his folly on my way out the door. I could pretend to be a bigger man than the whale. After all, what runs through my veins flowed through the Tiber, then and now. As we all have.
Today I saw a group of college students as they were being taken on a tour of one of the big warehouses, in for a little recruitment into our multi-thousand year old trade. How I?d love to have five minutes with them. But since I haven?t been asked, wait, this is my wine blog, I can take five minutes. Or ten.
Dear new generation looking to come into our tiny little global wine village,
If you are looking to join up to make a lot of money, think again. If you are looking for a career, well maybe you could call it that. If you don?t know what to do with your life, but if you don?t do anything you?ll end up like a character in a Camus novel. And that would be distressing to a generation that has had so much landed right in front of you.
If you are looking for a place to get a free drink on a Friday morning, you?ve come to the right place. But if you have alcoholic tendencies, this place could be worse than Gitmo for you.
If you want to travel all over the world, you missed that boat by about 20 years. Can't even make it up in coach.
So what is it that would draw you to this wine business? Not money, nor travel, nor an escape from some kind of existential ennui.
Well, let me tell you. Because I was once there on the outside-looking in. I really didn?t know what to do with my life. I had graduated from a private university and the economy was in the tank. Gas prices were high, home values were crashing, the stock market was a mess and American cars were the pits. But I remember the times I?d drive up Highway 29 in Napa and think what a wonderful little place that was. Or I?d think about the grapes I had picked in Calabria and thought how special it was to sit in a cellar at night with a bunch of cousins who I didn?t understand and they surely didn?t understand me. But after a bottle or two of wine in that musty, balmy old place, a miracle occurred. We started understanding each other. Our global village was born there and to this day I have been under the influence of a power greater than anything I could ever imagine or take credit for creating. In a phrase, I found my place. I belonged. And that gave my life meaning. Greater than the $100 million bucks one of my sad relatives probably just lost. Greater than the fame my college friend Tony once had, a friend who can no longer find it in him to return a phone call from one of his friends before he became famous ( him, not his friend). I am having a Lou Gehrig moment, and I have it often in this crazy old wine business.
Oh, one other thing ? find a specialty, be it Port or Bordeaux or naturally made wine or the wines of Campania, just find a way to be seen as having a special niche. And don?t forget to love all the other wines too, for they are all part of the same energy and deserve your respect and honor.
Do that and your ?career? will take you anywhere you want to go. And before you know it, you will have been in it for some time and you?ll be walking down a corridor and pass by a group of young folks on the outside looking to get in. And then the large cycle will have made its rounds and you?ll be part of the elite group of folks, from Chaldea in 1000 B.C to Suvereto in 2008.
To answer the question which started this post ? Yes, we are drawn onward.
There?s something about all these old and familiar worn out faces.
The best kinds of cheap wines are the kinds that have a rich story behind them. Well, The Tillerman White wine brought to you by the Hook & Ladder Winery certainly fits the bill. At first glance this wine label made no sense to me… Hook & Ladder? The Tillerman? After doing some research, I feel enlightened knowing the origins of this fine cheap wine, so I’ll share:
The owner of the family-run Hook & Ladder, Cecil De Loach used to be a firefighter! “Hook and Ladder” is just another name for a firetruck. And The Tillerman is guy who drives the back end of a firetruck. A firefighter and a wine-maker! What a life!
I sampled several bottles of The Tillerman White, and I am glad I did. Not being a fan of white blends with a lot of oak, I enjoyed everything about this wine. The peach/apricot aroma was the most prominent feature of this wine as it approached my nose. The wine was very dry, tasty, had an awesome finish. Just a perfect all-around table wine. For about 16 bucks or less, this Sonoma County wine is a steal. If you see it in your supermarket, snatch it up! I look forward to trying some of their many other varietals. This same vineyard, the Russian River Valley produces Chardonay, Gewurztraminer, White Zin, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, and the “Third Alarm” Reserve Chardonnay. Oh, how I would love to visit the vineyard one day. Rating: 9/10 - Excellent! The only reason I’m not giving it 10 is because I promised my readers “cheap wines less than 15 dollars” and this wine retails for 16. Look around though, I’m sure you can find a good deal! Even if you can’t, it is worth the extra dollar.
Extra Info:Hook & Ladder - Founded in 2004 2027 Olivet Road Santa Rosa, CA 95401 phone: 707-546-5712
I’m sure there has been plenty said about the impending Obama presidency but I’m going to say my $.02.
Its really hard to describe what this means to me, to many many people for that matter. Its not the end all be all, but its a milestone that seemed impossible two years ago. Barack Obama, a black American, taking the head of the most powerful office in the free world. Its not coincidence that the world looked at this as an instantaneous moral and morale boost - we just, as a collective nation - looked past everything and did what the majority of citizens (majority by popular vote) thought would be best for this country and that happen to mean putting a minority into the oval office.
A country that can do that should be able to speak rationally with other cultures and religious states, shouldn’t it? Should be able to be open to listening to all sides of a debate and making a good decision shouldn’t it? Clearly should be able to give the minority voice of other nations the ear they want when all they want is an ear to listen to them to restore their dignity, shouldn’t it?
Thats called hope. Instantaneous, street credentialed hope. For that I’m incredibly pumped for this country. I don’t feel like cringing when I think about my president going and speaking to other nations. I don’t have that feeling that I have a loud, obnoxious friend with me in a fancy restaurant who I love dearly but I just know he/she’s doesn’t belong in an environment that people want to be civilized and not sloppy drunk. That is all gone today.
For me personally, I guess even expecting him to win I wasn’t expecting alot of feelings I had to bubble to the surface. My father is my hero and he taught me basically if you’re at a disadvantage, well then too bad, you just have to work harder than the others. Energy you waste complaining could be energy that could be putting you ahead. Something I took to heart never complaining about the disadvantages of being black in America because I’m pretty confident in my abilities. But even so, there is a bit of an unspoken limit to what could be accomplished. Or at least there was one. That hit me yesterday. How can there be a limit? Even with people trying to hold you back or not giving you the same chance, Obama is the president, anything can happen. Truly.
Thinking about the people who died just on the faith that this day would come if they marched, took beatings in non-violent protest, and even lost their lives so that I could see this day and my kids would be in a different world. Lost their LIVES on faith in this country’s ability to adjust and the hope that their efforts would make this time possible…that hit me yesterday.
My kids…I hugged my daughter (she’s been sick). And I did cry a little. She doesn’t have to know that limit. She’ll never know that limit. I’ve always thought racism was so ignorant that it was comical; something just ripe for satire. I truly appreciated things like The Chappelle Show and Wayans Brothers productions (like Hollywood Shuffle) because they used comedy to highlight the absurdity of racism. I love that. But the racism takes on a whole new level of rediculousness when the leader of the most powerful nation in the world is a black man. My daughter is 3 years old. I have a sincere hope that could come true now - that she really won’t understand how people could be seriously racist. That hit me yesterday too.
I think thats how I look at it. The people that I struggle with now will be long dead and buried by the time my girls are my age. And while it feels good for me now to see all this worldwide credibility restored and faith in our own democracy’s ability to adjust restored, its really when I think about the things my daughters will never know is when I can find the energy and enthusiasm for life. I often think about how technology will change things, in fact I think about it constantly. Think about how my daughters will never wake up at 6am on a Saturday to watch their favorite Saturday Morning cartoon because they can just pull it up. In fact, my 3 year old has a hard time understanding why if “Dora” can play in her room, why can’t she continue watching it downstairs on the TV (yeah, DirecTV DVR, why the f*** not?).
Today I can think about more significant things that I didn’t really think about because I didn’t see this happening and I didn’t know when it would. Not knowing that limit or perception of limit. Dealing with racism (as its clearly not gone) but having a very different perspective as the racism shouldn’t be a limit on what she can do anymore than any other corporate political situation. No more excuses - yes, “the man” might be holding you back but YOU are the only one limiting yourself because being black isn’t even an excuse for not being the f***ing President of the United States anymore!!
No more excuses for not achieving.
To me personally, it inspires me further to understand the wine industry because the lack of minorities (not women obviously) still puzzles me. I mean, I get the demographic thing and the “snooty” thing but thats changing with social media, folks like Gary V, new generations coming in, etc…yet for some reason this industry is simply monochromatic.
The Harpers Alcohol: Know Your Facts campaign has been launched in a bid to offer an alternative view to the almost daily barrage of press stories that give the impression drinking in the UK is out of control. When the real picture, based on the Government's own statistics, show overall long-term drinking levels are actually in decline.
Harpers (which is a well established UK wine industry weekly) has put up a petition on the Number 10 Downing Street website calling on the public and members of the drinks industry to lobby the Prime Minister directly on the issue to ensure future legislation does not puni
Tecnorati
The 2004 vintage of this wine received a bronze medal at the Decanter World Wine Awards last year (2006). I’ve only been able to find the 2005 vintage in Belgrade wine shops. It has an intensive and complex aroma with hints of flowers. Dominant tastes are those of melon and slightly of apricots. However, I wasn’t impressed, perhaps I expected more due to all the hype. Or perhaps there’s a significant difference in the two vintages.
Two new teahouses are now open for business just north of Indianapolis, 
Little kids go through a phase where they need to put everything in their mouth. I wonder what it says about me that I'm pretty much stuck there? I really enjoy trying out new wines and sakes, especially those that are well off the beaten path.
So here we are again, the harvest is completed and the new wine is in the barrel. Once more the cycle begins anew, a sequence which we in the wine business live to develop and enjoy. Already we are hearing talk about the miraculous victory of the return, the gathering of the century, the harvest of hope. The bringing in of a new dawn, the hope of a new age.
Today in a little trattoria; a rather immense man, with an even larger ego, walks in and proceeds to sit in the table next to me and my lunch companion, an old pro who has seen it all. This large man is a small distributor and he knows not of the code of professional regard. All the wine in his beat up 30' by 70' stockroom is a small insignificant corner of a warehouse somewhere in the Midwest, forgotten by time or care. But as he has not trodden the path of the ancients, his malfeasance is to ignore the history of his trade and mock those who have paved the Via Appia so that he may pretend to be in the company of those who really give a crap.
Today I saw a group of college students as they were being taken on a tour of one of the big warehouses, in for a little recruitment into our multi-thousand year old trade. How I?d love to have five minutes with them. But since I haven?t been asked, wait, this is my wine blog, I can take five minutes. Or ten.
If you are looking for a place to get a free drink on a Friday morning, you?ve come to the right place. But if you have alcoholic tendencies, this place could be worse than Gitmo for you.
Well, let me tell you. Because I was once there on the outside-looking in. I really didn?t know what to do with my life. I had graduated from a private university and the economy was in the tank. Gas prices were high, home values were crashing, the stock market was a mess and American cars were the pits. But I remember the times I?d drive up Highway 29 in Napa and think what a wonderful little place that was. Or I?d think about the grapes I had picked in Calabria and thought how special it was to sit in a cellar at night with a bunch of cousins who I didn?t understand and they surely didn?t understand me. But after a bottle or two of wine in that musty, balmy old place, a miracle occurred. We started understanding each other. Our global village was born there and to this day I have been under the influence of a power greater than anything I could ever imagine or take credit for creating. In a phrase, I found my place. I belonged. And that gave my life meaning. Greater than the $100 million bucks one of my sad relatives probably just lost. Greater than the fame my college friend Tony once had, a friend who can no longer find it in him to return a phone call from one of his friends before he became famous ( him, not his friend). I am having a Lou Gehrig moment, and I have it often in this crazy old wine business.
Oh, one other thing ? find a specialty, be it Port or Bordeaux or naturally made wine or the wines of Campania, just find a way to be seen as having a special niche. And don?t forget to love all the other wines too, for they are all part of the same energy and deserve your respect and honor.
Do that and your ?career? will take you anywhere you want to go. And before you know it, you will have been in it for some time and you?ll be walking down a corridor and pass by a group of young folks on the outside looking to get in. And then the large cycle will have made its rounds and you?ll be part of the elite group of folks, from Chaldea in 1000 B.C to Suvereto in 2008.
