Wednesday, November 22, 2006

Bird Day: Day after Shopping and Day of Drinking

pre.s. I forgot to post the link to the images of our Turkey vacation. So in case you have not seen them yet, click here to check them out.

Fun Stuff:

First of all, if you are wondering if we will be giving thanks, i.e. Eating buttloads of turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and cranberry sauce, this Thursday, the answer is no. We have differed that until Saturday. But do not shed a tear for us. We will, on Saturday, ingest enough tryptophan laced bird meat to put us in a coma until our next Thanksgiving in the U.S.

So, on to the subject at hand. How to conduct holiday shopping starting the day after turkey day. We all look forward to drive from home through hours of crazy mall-shopper traffic, the parking lot that we did not realize was so big, the joy of picking up interesting-looking garments from the floor where they have fallen after multiple removals and failed replacements to the rack, the inevitable good find in the wrong size with no similar garment of the correct size anywhere to be found, the line that goes out into the parking lot and all the way to your car which you know you will never find again, finally you pay for that ugly purple turtleneck that you are sure she won't like, but you don't care because... Oh crap! Forgot the receipt.

My recommendation is to avoid it all and shop on-line ;o)

Wine Stuff:

The big question, that I am sure is on everyone's mind right now, is what wine to drink with Thanksgiving dinner. The best thing to do, is to take stock of all your wine and spirits the day before Thanksgiving. Then on Turkey-day, DRINK IT ALL! Take inventory again the next day, and if you have anything left, you have something to improve upon for next year.



happy drinking and Turkey-day,
-PMo

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Two-wheeled Monstors and Two-grape Wine Regions

Fun Stuff:

My first motorcycle ride in Europe happened two weeks ago. I am sorry to report that I was too excited to remember a camera. Nevertheless, the image below should give you some idea of how beautiful the ride was. The image on the left is a map of the road we took, and the right shows the area where that road is (you can't see it but it is there). On top of that, I got to ride a friend’s Ducati Monster 1000. I could not have asked for a better riding situation :0)



Wine Stuff:

There are ten wine regions in France, and three of those regions use only two grapes each to produce their appelation controlled wine. The Burgundy (Bourgogne) region is one of these. A few weeks ago, there was a small Burgundy wine festival in Grenoble. Claudia and I went to the event with some friends, and we tasted a lot of great wines. We came home with 13 liters of tastey grape juice.



Burgundy, which is devided into the smaller wine producing districts of Chablis, Côte d'Or, Côte Chalonnaise, Mâconnais and Beaujolais, uses chardonnay and pinot noir to make their wines. So simpley put, if you want French Pinot or Chard, get a Burgundy.

I usually hate Chardonnay, though I keep trying and trying to find good ones. The problem is I had a really good one once, and I can’t give up trying. With that said, I was able to get some pretty nice Burgundy chardonnay here in town.

The chardonnay, that I am used to getting from the new world (including CA), is usually made with nearly flavorless grapes. The wine makers then try to compensate with too much wood. I love the creamy, vanilla, butter, and toast flavors that oak can add to a wine, but only when they are subtle additions versus the wood juice that is so often on offer.

But I digress, the chardonnay I am drinking right now is a 2004 Clos de la combe chardonnay, and it is pretty darn good. Granted, it tastes characteristically like chardonnay, but thanks to the fruit and the art of wine making, it has some very interesting characteristics. The most important thing to say about this wine, is that all the other flavors I am going to talk about are well balanced. Not too much wood, but enough. Not to much or too little of anything.

The first, and most interesting thing to note is the past-ripe grape flavor. You know, when you have a bunch of grapes, there are those few that look a little beat up, and they are softer than the rest. You normally try to avoid them, but sometimes your are just too caught up in the days episode of Oprah, or Grey's anatomy, or Aquateen Hunger Force to notice that you just popped one in your mouth. It does not sound like a great taste, but it is just a hint, and it adds nicely to the wine. The other more common smells and flavors to note are the butter and tangerine in the nose, and the vanilla in the mouth. All that combines into something I am looking for in a chardonnay.

happy drinking,
-PMo