Archive for January, 2009

2006 Mad dogs & Englishmen, Jumilla, Spain: Buy Now, Try Now and Then Try Again

{ January 8, 2009 @ 10:35 am } · { Wine Tasting Notes }
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THE LABEL: Spanish red from Jumilla, 60% Monastrell, 30% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Shiraz.
SWISH: Deep purple-red. Medium bodied.
SNIFF: Ah, the joy of this bottle lies in the nose. So, take a little time and let this red’s molecules bounce around in your glass before you dive right in. With rich black fruit, currants with a hint of tar, the bouquet tantalizes and teases.
SIP: Surprisingly, this wine is not the big fruit bomb that I expected from the nose. It has a nice mouth feel backed up by some acid and soft tannins. With a hint of the blackberries and spice rolling around on my tongue, I look forward to trying it with food.
Dinner consisted of a nice tuna steak accompanied by sauteed carrots and tabouli salad. The Mad dogs & Englishmen’s subtle flavors enhance rather than overwhelm the fish.
VERDICT: Buy once and try now. Plus, buy again to see how this 2006 melds in the bottle. For $10.99, I’m impressed with this puppy!

Jellyfish and Coconut in Kauai

{ January 6, 2009 @ 10:12 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Spouting Horn, Kauai

Spouting Horn, Kauai

“Come on. You’ve come all the way to Hawaii and you’re not even going to get wet,” said Jellyfish.

“I got wet,” said Coconut.

“Up to your knees. Ha. I bet I will swim in the ocean before you,” said Jellyfish.

Suddenly Coconut stood up and strode off to the surf where he belly flopped into the ocean. Then came a large wave that pummeled little Coconut. As much as Coconut tried to swim, the waves kept tossing Coconut around and around, smashing him into the sand.

Jellyfish laughed and laughed. Coconut finally washed upon the beach with sand adhered to every surface of his body. Jellyfish swam past the crashing waves and bobbed about. See, she thought, I’m a much better swimmer than Coconut. The ocean heard Jellyfish and became angry with her arrogance and sent a wave to show her who was boss. The wall of water lifted Jellyfish up, pushed her towards shore and then tugged her back out again.

Swimming and swimming, Jellyfish couldn’t make it back to shore. Coconut stood right before her. “Help,” she said. He stood and smiled. “Help, please,” she said. He reached out his arm and pulled her back to the warm, dry sand.

Lesson of the story: Jellyfish, uh hum, I really do need fins to swim in the ocean. Otherwise, I just bob about at the ocean’s mercy, like a jellyfish. And, maybe let the big fish play in the wave-crushing ocean while I find myself a shallow, calm area to paddle about. I’ll let Coconut come to his own conclusions. He is, however, bragging about being the hero of the story. (Jellyfish learned her lesson about bragging.)

Aloha Kauai!

{ January 2, 2009 @ 2:07 am } · { Uncategorized }
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Whew! We made it to our condo, which is funky, but clean. Local time is 11 pm and I just heard a gecko chirp outside. More to come after a good night’s sleep…