The Drink:Jacob's Creek Sparkling Shiraz From: Somewhere in Australia Ingredients: Shiraz. But sparkling! Alcohol: 12.5% The senses say: This is not wine, this is bottled depression. My reaction: See above.
As much as I'd like this blog to be about nothing but excellent, satisfying, delectable, edifying, purifying, soul-stirring wine (and awesome music on Wednesdays), sometimes life just isn't fair. This was a reality I was reminded of last Sunday at a dinner party with a small group of friends. Here's the set up: I was told that we (my wife and I) would be in charge of the wine selection, while the host and hostess would do the cooking. The other guest, a young woman we all knew, also brought over a bottle, unbeknownst to me. She arrived before we did, so I didn't see what she had brought. The host only mentioned that it was sparkling wine. I, on the other hand, had done some quick wine shopping 3 minutes before the Yamaya near my work closed for the day. I selected a 2006 Ladubay Supreme Brut from Saumur and a 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Santa Barbara. I'd never had the Ladubay, but regular readers of my blog know how I feel about Loire sparklers. I have had the Au Bon Climat before and was impressed by it's downright deliciousness. All in all, I think I did alright for 3 minutes of wine shopping and was looking forward to drinking my fill along with the paella, cumin potatoes, lima bean salad and several other delicious dishes that were set before us.
That's when trouble struck.
The host suggested we open the bottle brought by the other guest. Fine, I thought. Most sparkling wine is nice, and we can open one of my bottles next. No objections on my part. Until the bottle was presented. My face soured into an expression of mirthlessness (see clown above) when I saw the host twisting the cork out of a bottle of Jacob's Creek Sparkling Shiraz. Dammit. Why is wine like this produced? What purpose does it serve? Not to sound like Seinfeld, but who drinks this stuff? Not many people, apparently. Google doesn't bring up many photos, so I decided to go with this picture of a sad clown instead. This wine was as purple as a friendly dinosaur and probably just as flavorful. Think carbonated ketchup. Or better yet Nyquil... sweet, heavy, syrupy and highly unpleasant. In both cases, the goal seems to be to knock the drinker out as quickly as possible without any consideration for the taste buds.
Now here's the kicker: there were only three of us drinking. The hostess is pregnant, my wife is breast feeding, and my 9-month old son hasn't acquired a taste for wine just yet (or has he?). It was a truly painful drinking experience. It took the three of us an hour and a half to get through the bottle, which incidentally didn't go with the Mediterranean-inspired cuisine AT ALL. By the time the plates were cleared and the bottle was empty, the baby was getting restless and nobody was in the mood for a second bottle. So we headed for home without touching a drop of the wine I had brought. Was I upset? Not really. After all, the host, hostess and the Jacob's Creek drinker have all been very generous friends and I enjoyed the company and the food tremendously. Now the hosts have two nice bottles in there house and I hope they enjoy them.
The only thing that bothers me (slightly, mind you) is the complete lack of wine education among otherwise well educated and well traveled people. There's no room for Jacob's Creek at a dinner party, and the Ladubay I brought was only 2 or 3 bucks more. I'm not suggesting that everyone goes out and writes a wine blog and starts reading about the many and varied wines of the world as I like to do, but I am suggesting that it would come in handy to spend the time to find a "go to" bottle or two that won't offend at a dinner party. You'll look cool, it won't cost much more, the food will taste better and the asshole wine blogger at the table won't write about your shitty selection behind your back. It's a win-win. Give it a try!
The song: "Crooked", Evil Nine(Feat. Aesop Rock) From: Brighton, England Ingredients: Crooked city people and pigeons breaking wings. Alcohol: Too tight to be boozy. The senses say: Good old-fashioned indecipherable hip-hop laid on a beat like a slab of bacon. See, white folks can be funky, too. My reaction: After a day like this, this is just the kind of inspired silliness I needed.
I don’t really know much about these guys, except that RJD2 remixed an Aesop Rock song for one of his albums. But this song kinda’ grabs me. Is it the sparse but interesting beat? Is it the flashy lyricsmanship? Is it the scowling, unibrowed cartoon characters pushing a baby stroller through the city streets in the video? I’m not sure, but I suspect it’s all of the above. I’ve been in a hip-hop mood today, but not much of the new stuff does anything for me. Especially the gangsta’ stuff. I love all the west coast gangsta’ rap from the 90s, but these days, I choose to think of gangs as something from another era. I want the gangsta’ lifestyle to be fiction, like Nightmare on Elm Street, Star Trek or compassionate conservatism.
But alas, it’s not. I realize there are still a lot (if not more) bangers out there committing inhuman acts in the name of turf and colors than in the 90s. I wish the problem would go away, the bloodshed would end and hip-hop would go back to normal. But I still selfishly want the gangsta’ rap from the 90s I mentioned above. Unfortunately, I realize that gang membership is a given for many inner-city residents and the problem won’t go away soon. So, I will do my small part to protest this sad reality and ignore most of the hip-hop that goes along with that lifestyle and focus on stuff I actually like. That’s not to say you won’t be seeing any gangstas’ on Wednesdays, just not today. Enjoy the video!
From: Alsace, France Ingredients: Riesling Alcohol: 13% The senses say: Oooh! Nice and acidic and partially sweet. The sashimi is doing a dance of joy with every sip. My reaction: Just pack me up and ship me off to Alsace. I don't mind the cold. I can take it if wine this good is part of my daily routine.
OK. Fine I admit. I am a sushi junkie. And I have been a sushi junkie for as long as I can remember and I will continue to be a sushi junkie until I meet St. Peter at the golden gates. It is for this reason that I (I'm not lying about this!) took a shine to riesling in the first place. No other wine grape comes close when sushi is on the menu. And as you may have heard, I'm a sushi junkie. So naturally, with the mercury rising, I have been enjoying bitchin' raw fish and vinegary rice with my favorite white wine damn near every weekend lately.
Let me sing the praises of Anne-Laure, an inexpensive, delicious riesling from Alsace. It's just good old-fashioned delicious. Not quite as pineapple-y or petrol-y as some of the top German rieslings, but it is juicy and fresh and tastes so much better with sushi than all but the top chardonnays. I don't know why I felt the need to mention chardonnay just now, but it goes to show the challenge I'm up against when I try to ween friends from an all-chardonnay diet. I must stay vigilant or the truth will never be known. Anyway, try the Anne-Laure. It won't break the bank and it tastes like awesome.
Next, I went to Vinos Yamazaki after a particularly hectic work day and picked up the 2006 Weingut Unckrich Kabinett Riesling from Pfalz (9% ABV). This was (not surprisingly given the low alcohol content) sweeter than the Anne-Laure, but sublimely balanced just the same. There was just enough rotting fruit and mineral funk to offset the sugar, and the overall effect was grand. A nice long finish that made me scream "Melon!". Not literally, of course, but my taste buds were totally screaming stuff like "Melon!" and "Right on, dude!" and "I wish I had a more impressive wine vocabulary!", etc. This we drank with some store-bought keema curry that was not nearly as good as the stuff my wife makes. It was a nice foil for the curry-spice and I felt good about the pairing. Is there anything riesling can't do? No. No there is not.
The song: "Workin' Man's Blues", Merle Haggard From: Bakersfield, California (via San Quentin State Prison) Ingredients: A wife and 9 kids. Alcohol: Just a little beer in the evening. Workin' man can't afford that fancy-shmancy wine. The senses say: The man can tell a story. Everything he sings about seems to come from some deep, personal knowledge of the subject matter. Prison, drinkin', lovin', heartbreak, workin' and prison again, just for good measure. What else does a man need to be a man? My reaction: I hear you brother. In a sitting-at-my-desk-staring-at-a-computer-screen-in-an-air-conditioned-office-and-not-performing-any-manual-labor kind of way. But seriously, RSI is no laughing matter.
What can you say about Merle that hasn't been said already? Nothing. That's what. So I won't even try. All I can say is that I'm feeling the strain of overwork this week. Nothing new, of course, but sometimes the soul cries for mercy. Mr. Haggard understands this. Don't believe me? Watch this video and thank me later:
Many "legends" are overrated. This song proves that some are more than deserving of the title. Not bad for a man who turned 21 in prison. Thank God (or Ronald Reagan) that he wasn't doing life without parole. I may not have made it through the week without him. Stay Haggard, Merle.
One more thing before I wrap this up. President Obama gave the commencement speech at Notre Dame last Sunday in the face of protest from some members of the student body who opposed his views on abortion. Not blind to the controversy, Obama discussed at length the need for Americans of all stripes to respect each other's opinions and strive to find common ground on this touchy issue. One of the best lines of the day was this:
Each side will continue to make its case to the public with passion and conviction. But surely we can do so without reducing those with differing views to caricature.
Writing the name Ronald Reagan made me think of this line, because if ever there was a man to belittle and reduce to caricature, Reagan was it. And yet, had he not pardoned Haggard, I wouldn't be writing this blog post. And I wouldn't know of the full glory of the Hag. I suppose my point is this: try to look for the good in people and you might be surprised what you find. Is that a cornball sentiment? Perhaps. But it is also the bedrock of civility, which in turn forms the social foundation of civilization itself. It pains me to say it, but even Ronnie Baby had his bright spots. If I can bring myself to say something like that, imagine what you can do, gentle reader. Imagine what you can do.
The drink:Sparkling JunmaiGinjyo, SAIKA From: Iwadeshi, Wakayama, Japan (Produced by a website-less company called Kokonoe-Saika Co., Ltd. or in Japanese 株式会社九重雜賀) Ingredients: Pure rice and "beer yeast" according to the label. Alcohol: 9% The senses say: Smells like... yeast. And Coppertone. Tastes like... yeast. And water. And you know what? That's not entirely a bad thing. My reaction: If you're going to be drinking a drink this mixed up, you should be thrilled it's even drinkable. But this stuff is more than just merely drinkable, it's, it's, it's. Interesting. I'll stop short of saying it's good, but it's certainly alluring for uh, research purposes.
This poor liquid is so confused, it makes Amy Winehouse look grounded. At least she only has one alcoholic beverage in her name. This bottle, as far as I can figure, is a sparkling wine-like saké fermented in beer yeast. By my count, that's three types of spirits competing for dominance. Advantage Winehouse.
Truth be told, I'm a sucker for a gimmick. And I'm an even bigger sucker for a gimmick that gets me drunk. Hence the potentially boundless appeal of this beverage. Unfortunately, potential appeal doesn't always translate into actual appeal. That was kind of the case here. Why kind of? Well, on one hand, the Saika didn't really have much of anything in terms of smell or flavor. As I noted in the introduction, there was a slight potpourri of what I can only describe as yeast and sunblock. But you REALLY had to inhale deeply to even get that. Absolutely nothing jumped out at me about this saké. On the other hand, there was nothing terribly unpleasant about the Saika either. It had, you know, some kind of taste, maybe. It wasn't really good per se, but it wasn't really bad either. It was kind of like alcoholic fizzy water spiked with a trace amount of Coppertone. Here is what the bottle had to say for itself (transcribed word for word):
Beer Yeast In addition, the pure rice refined sake has been fermented by our original technology (the second fermentation in the bottle). Please enjoy tasting pleasure of sparkling full. We will especially encourage it to the person who likes toast and foam stimulation of congratulation better than sparkling wine.
I don't know if I am that person. After all, I like toast and foam stimulation of congratulation that sparkling wine provideth. But the fizz was nice and fizzy. Much more so than I expected, to be honest. It actually took me a good 3 minutes of slowly twisting the cap to open the damn thing so it didn't squirt everywhere. I was surprised how bubbly it actually was. That made it pleasant to drink, and pleasant is alright by me. Would I recommend the Saika? I believe I would for the sheer novelty of it. Just don't expect to be blown away and you might find you kind of dig it. Sort of.
The song: "Hey Ya!", OutKast From: Atlanta, Georgia Ingredients: Pure, unadulterated, mad-cap glee. Alcohol:Take a sip if need be, but y'all can git yo' groove on jes' fine witout it. The senses say:My goodness! I want this! My reaction:First time I heard this, I jumped up on my desk at work, kicking papers and computers in every direction as I stomped wildly to the unparalleled goodness that is this song. This has also been my reaction upon every subsequent re-listening of the song. My behavior prompted a no-radio policy at my work. Now my stomping is confined to off-duty hours.
OutKast is a true gem of a group. They were largely responsible for providing the soundtrack to my hazy freshman year of college. Ah, Aquemini. You are such a great album. But please do something about that cheesy cover! More on Aquemini some other time, perhaps. But today, I want to discuss another side of the group that is light years beyond even the excellent and ground-breaking Aquemini.
You see, OutKast are not afraid to bend the rules of hip hop so far that the genre simply cannot hold them. Especially Andre 3000. Nowhere is this more evident than on The Love Below, the Andre half of the group’s 2003 double album Speakerboxxx/The Love Below, essentially two solo albums from both group members packaged together under the OutKast name. Speakerboxxx is the Big Boi half of the album and its nothing to sneeze at. But TLB is just fantastic. It includes elements of jazz, drum n’ bass, rock, funk, r n’ b and countless other musical expressions blended seamlessly to create a sonic experience that is unmatched in recent popular music. It’s been in heavy rotation on my iPod for close to half a decade now. Almost every song sparkles for one reason or another – either the lyrics or the music on every track are engaging and clever, and in most cases both. It’s hard to imagine improving on this album. I do have a few thoughts on the issue, but I don’t think now is the time for critique. No. Now is the time to get funky.
In this video, Andre 3000 is backed by multiple versions of himself performing live in front of a British television audience. But he better not screw up or he may not be able to cross the Atlantic to get home. His manager warns him before the performance, "Greyhound don’t float on water."
Can he pull off the performance of a lifetime? Does he sink or swim? Let’s found out in the amazing audio/visual masterpiece, “Hey Ya!”
Golly! If that wasn’t enough to get you shakin’ it like a Polaroid picture, check your pulse. Ridiculously over-the-top music dripping with joie de vivre really doesn’t get much better than that. Andre 3000 is a weirdo. But he is an extremely talented weirdo. I wish more music like this was produced. The world could use it in these trying times.
As much as I'd like this blog to be about nothing but excellent, satisfying, delectable, edifying, purifying, soul-stirring wine (and awesome music on Wednesdays), sometimes life just isn't fair. This was a reality I was reminded of last Sunday at a dinner party with a small group of friends. Here's the set up: I was told that we (my wife and I) would be in charge of the wine selection, while the host and hostess would do the cooking. The other guest, a young woman we all knew, also brought over a bottle, unbeknownst to me. She arrived before we did, so I didn't see what she had brought. The host only mentioned that it was sparkling wine. I, on the other hand, had done some quick wine shopping 3 minutes before the Yamaya near my work closed for the day. I selected a 2006 Ladubay Supreme Brut from Saumur and a 2006 Au Bon Climat Pinot Noir Santa Barbara. I'd never had the Ladubay, but regular readers of my blog know how I feel about 
The only thing that bothers me (slightly, mind you) is the complete lack of wine education among otherwise well educated and well traveled people. There's no room for Jacob's Creek at a dinner party, and the Ladubay I brought was only 2 or 3 bucks more. I'm not suggesting that everyone goes out and writes a wine blog and starts reading about the many and varied wines of the world as I like to do, but I am suggesting that it would come in handy to spend the time to find a "go to" bottle or two that won't offend at a dinner party. You'll look cool, it won't cost much more, the food will taste better and the asshole wine blogger at the table won't write about your shitty selection behind your back. It's a win-win. Give it a try!
