In Vino Veritas

    This question was asked of me a while back, and just for (explicative) and giggles I decided to answer I guess it could be a two parter. One way of thinking would be which varietal is typically vinified with the highest alcohol percentage thereby getting you both drunk enough to overcome social anxieties, or make you forget your initial displeasure of said other person. In that case I would go with…

This is my second installment of Wines on the cheap tip.

I’ve had my years of affluence and my years of absolute poverty. Strangely enough some of the most relaxing, peaceful, blissed out times I’ve had were when I had only the change in my pocket to my name.

A few years ago I went to a restaurant called Dans le Noir?. This was a unique experience for so many reasons. The restaurant was in Paris on a little alley called Quincampoix not 50 yards from the Musée National d’Art Moderne. The premise was that the entire…

  There I was. In the dark. In my bed. I awoke with a shudder. There is something in the room with me. Fear grips me. I can sense it close. I can even hear its heart beat. Thump thump thump. I dare not move. Straining my eyes as if I will suddenly be able to see with but a hint of light. Thump thump thump. How close must it be that I can hear its heart…

Intrigue isn’t usually a word I would associate with wine tastings. I went to Paris not too long ago. I took a train for a day trip to Epernay, in the heart of Champagne, and then cabbed it to Ay to see Gosset (the oldest wine house in Champagne). I enjoyed the small town and the history there. It had that small village feel with little cobblestone bridges over small rivers…

Imagine if you will a warm summer night. The moon is missing, making the dark thicker then Papa Jones’s molasses barbecue sauce. A gang of fireflies pierce the void with a spattering of the tiniest suns. The breeze brings a mosquito that changes its meal ticket as soon as you blow cigar smoke in her famished little face. The group of friends you are on the front porch with raise a toast of port to your well being and…

I have an on going battle with a lot of wine geek friends of mine. I love Italian wine and talk about it often whereas they love everything else. Italian wine grows on you if you let it. Kind of like a jasmine vine if someone introduces it to you and tells you how amazing the perfume it gives off is. In no time at all you will have Italian wine in your…

I shortened the title this second time around in an effort to be less ostentatious, but then I used the word ostentatious which in itself is ostentatious. From here on out I promise not to use the aforementioned really long word. Scouts honor. Ostentatious Damn. Okay so I lied. I couldn’t help myself. I wrote so much last week about the rules, or general lack thereof, regarding wine making in California. This week…

I’ve talked on occasion about blending wine. What regions have what restrictions or styles, but I’d like to take some time to elaborate. I think I will start with Syrah and Viognier. I liken this blend to the Yin and the Yang. No two wines could be more opposite yet work so well together. “Yin and Yang are dependent opposing forces that flow in a natural cycle, always seeking balance. Though they are opposing, they are not in opposition to one another.…

Bordeaux, France Last week I talked a little bit about Italy and the rules regarding the DOCG. In France they have their own set of rules that are set up by the Appellation d’Origine Contrôlée or AOC for short. These rules are in place in order for the French to control the integrity of their name and that of their regions. In the states, wine labels list the grape like Cabernet Sauvignon boldly on the label. In France the grapes used…