Monthly Archive for April, 2008

Wine Tasting: Merlot

Published on April 14, 2008 in Uncategorized. 0 Comments Tags: , .

Last night several of my friends got together for the first in a series of wine tastings that will span the next several weeks. Each week we focus on a particular type of wine. No, wait, let me work on my oenological terminology: each week we focus on a particular wine varietal. Each person brings one bottle. We try to coordinate so we get wines from different countries and for different prices.

Last night was merlot, a grape native to France, but grown virtually worldwide. We served it with fresh red sauce on linguini, with an assortment of French-seasoned olives and robusto cheese, stella gorgonzola, and brie. For dessert David made chocolate mousse with whipped cream, shaved dark chocolate, and orange zest.

For kicks we started with a Sutter Home white merlot, $6. We did not rate it according to our rating system because it was entirely different. While not offensive in taste, the flavor was about as complex as Kool-Aid and finished quickly in a light Capri Sun taste. This drink was more of a punch or a sangría than a wine, and was better fit for a hot summer day with a few ice cubes and a slice of orange. I’m sure the glass bottle was a significant portion of the cost, and distributing it in a juice box with a straw to pierce the foil hole on top would certainly bring the cost down significantly.

Our least favorite was Trumpeter from Argentina, for $10, which was complex in a rotting chocolate sort of way. Coming in at nearly the same score was a $22 bottle of Château Marcadis from France which tasted as though it was aged in green wood barrels. Third place went to an $11 bottle from France called Red Bicyclette. While unremarkable, it would work well with a simple meal such as spaghetti. The light petroleum finish wasn’t enough for any of us to not consider this wine again considering its price class. In second place was Kendall-Jackson from California for $24. And first place goes to a 1997 Philippe Lorraine from California, $35. It was by far the most complex and interesting wine. Not that the taste was complex at any given point, but the taste always seemed to vary from sip to sip, with new flavors coming out throughout the glass.

Next week: Zinfandel.

Reunion

Published on April 5, 2008 in Why?. 0 Comments

As long as bands have disbanded, they have been getting back together. Often, they break up at the height of their popularity. Fleetwood Mac broke the chain and got back together many times. The Smashing Pumpkins had steady releases throughout the nineties. Their last album, Machina II/The Friends & Enemies of Modern Music, was released in 2000 as an MP3 download on Napster, which at the time was still “evil.” The MP3 release was intended as an eff-you to their label, Virgin. They just wanted to get done quickly so they could break up.  But seven years later, they regrouped.  Many reunions work out spectacularly. Others fail. But they usually get back together because their old albums are still listened to; they still have a fan base. That is why the news shocked me:

That’s right, New Kids On the Block has returned for a reunion album and tour. They didn’t break up. People just stopped buying their albums. In 1990. Five 38-year-old men in a boy band? I need to see this.

For your viewing pleasure: You Got It

More things I learned from riding a bike

Published on April 1, 2008 in bicycling. 0 Comments Tags: .
  • There are an alarming number of cars with missing windshield wipers. You never notice rogue wiper blades until you run over them with 2-inch wide tires.
  • Everyone is concerned about me catching a cold or pneumonia if I bike in cold rain. Or in the cold. Or in the rain. I didn’t know people still believed that old wife’s tale. Especially since I work at a company that grows viruses.
  • Some people, particularly suburbanites, would rather honk at me than slide over to the empty lane on their left.