Archive for Uncategorized
{ June 29, 2009 @ 3:28 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: gathering, hunting, musings, must-have, obsession, passion, passionate, Wine, winemaking }
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Wine is a primal obsession of mine. Sure, it’s nice to dabble in the knowledge of wine. I often dawdle online, pouring–no pun intended–over wine news, blogs and magazine articles.
With articles read and thoughts spinning, I’m left with my “must-have” list. I obsess and become singularly savage in my need to hunt down certain wine. I track. I capture. I return to the lair. There I bury my prey in a dark cupboard. Oh, sure, I consume my kill. But, not before its time.
Whew, all this talk of stalking is making me thirsty! This brings us to the day-to-day consumption of wine, or gathering. Perusing shelf-talkers and labels, along with price tags, to parse out a drinkable wine for an ordinary day can be almost as challenging as hunting wine. Finding something doable in terms of purse and palate requires patience and persistence. Yet, both hunting and gathering results in a humongous reward: the satisfaction of sharing a meal with a glass of wine and torturing your mate to come up with descriptors of said wine to add to blog posts online.
By now you must be wondering if I’m crazy. Sure, I’m a little “unique”or maybe “passionate” is another way to describe my obsession with wine. Why, oh why must I obsess over fermented grape juice, you ask. I’ll be sure to post an answer once I parse it out for myself!
{ June 4, 2009 @ 3:29 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: anacortes, compass wines, eben sadie, grenache, gsm, red wine, seattle, sequillo, south africa, syrah mourvedre, Wine }
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Oh, my. Pinch me because I think I’m dreaming! I have unearthed the holiest of holy grails. Right here in Washington. Finally.
Do you know how long I’ve searched and searched (and searched) online for Eben Sadie’s Sequillo? FOR-EV-ER!
No kidding. I’ve been on an epic quest to find another bottle of Sequillo since tasting it oh-so-long-ago, around Thanksgiving of 2008.
Sure, there are bottles to be had in California, New York, Illinois and even Indiana. If money were no object, I would have had a case shipped months ago. I, however, was looking locally, which was proving an arduous task.
Today, I searched on Snooth.com and one of their partner sites unearthed two bottles at Compass Wines in Anacortes! (Did I mention I’m on their mailing list?) Jobless and scraping pennies, I felt a twinge of guilt as I read my credit card number over the phone to secure my treasure. Then, I remembered the heartbreak of not being able to enjoy more of this amazing wine and suddenly I smiled and realized that I am now the (proud) owner of two more bottles of Eben Sadie’s 2003 Sequillo red wine. Grenache, mourvedre and syrah at its finest!
Oh, it’s going to be an early Christmas for me.
And, sorry to others on the same Sequillo quest as me: the last two bottles are mine! All mine! (Insert evil laugh.) But, I’ll post a review sometime soon.
{ March 26, 2009 @ 11:06 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: "white wine", 2005, bethel heights, chardonnay, estate grown, oregon, salem, Wine, winery }
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Wine Brief:
Suffering from a bad case of bronchitis, my palate is not in the best of form. That aside, let me just say, wow! I’m impressed by the ‘05 Bethel Heights Estate Grown Chardonnay. Apples and hints of pineapple and minerals, this wonderful wine eased my aching throat and teased my taste buds. I am planning to purchase a bottle, after only imbibing a glass tonight at the bar at the Hood River Inn in Oregon. My mom also enjoyed this finely crafted chardonnay. So, four thumbs up! Way to go, Casteels! I’m looking forward to enjoying more of this wine. If you want to read up on this wine before I track down a bottle to do a proper wine review, check out Bethel Heights’ website: www.bethelheights.com.
{ February 27, 2009 @ 5:21 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: Bordeaux, burgundy, crush, eben sadie, France, harvest, la times, los angeles times, pinot noir, sadie family wines, Saint Emilion, seattle, south africa, southern hemisphere, Travel, traveling, Wine, wine industry, winemakers, winemaking }
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A recent article in the Los Angeles Times entitled, “An Artist in the Vineyard,” featured Eben Sadie and expounded his quest for perfectionism in his vines and wines. Included was a pictures of Sadie stomping away at grapes. I gazed upon the image with eyes clouded by nostalgia. Once upon a time, I, too, stomped grapes, which turned out to be surprisingly foot-numbingly hard work. And once upon a time, I served Sadie a sample of pinot noir in the Oregon winery where I was working at, long before he gained world-wide recognition for producing South Africa’s top-rated wines.
I’ve been out of the wine biz for ten years, so perhaps I know not what I think I know. And, certainly, I’ll never know a fraction of all there is to know about wine. But, one thing is certain: wine making–harvest in particular–is a cooperative agriculture venture, bringing together people, both locally and from all over the globe. Sadie, like so many winemakers, traveled by the seasons to various wine-producing countries to garner first-hand experience and knowledge.
Personally, this congregation and migration of winemakers from far and wide broadened my interest in the world and sparked a dream of traveling to Burgundy. Ten years later, I wound up traveling further south than first imagined to the lush vineyards of Saint Emilion and Bordeaux. But, here I was. In France. In the wine country. On the train from Paris to Libourne, a woman pronounced and re-pronouned Libourne after my Anglophile-trained tongue stumbled on the vowels. I laughed as I remembered the visiting winemaker from France telling me I “talked funny” after I tried my few words of schoolbook French.
I should not have been surprised to read South Africa is in full swing of harvest, since I’m well away of the duel-hemisphere-multiple-harvests phenomenon, but I still had to do some calculating in my head. As I sat sipping hot cocoa, trying to stave off the Arctic air blasting Seattle, I reminisced about the fruity yeasty aromas rising from the open fermenting vats. I recalled the many interesting people I met along the way who shared their stories with me over glasses of previous vintages. Feeling confined indoors by the gray, rainy days, I keep a comforting thought in mind: harvest is only a hemisphere away.
{ January 6, 2009 @ 10:12 am }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: hawaii, kauai }
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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.)
{ January 2, 2009 @ 2:07 am }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: first time, gecko, kauai, tourist, visit }
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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…
{ December 29, 2008 @ 4:28 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: carry-on, hawaii, January, kauai, luggage, packing, snorkeling }
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Two days before I depart for Hawaii, and I’m fretting over my pack list. As usual, I’m determined to make due with carry-on luggage.This brings me to my dilemma of the day: should I pack my snorkel gear or not?
Top five reasons to not pack snorkel stuff:
1. Takes up lots of luggage space in carry-on pack.
2. I shivered after stepping into the Pacific last time I was there and that was in April.
3. Surf’s up, which makes for poor snorkeling.
4. Hawaii’s snorkeling will feel like a let down after snorkeling off Roi-Namur and Kwajalein.
5. I’ll feel really stupid lugging around all my snorkel stuff if I don’t use it.
Top 5 Reasons to Take Snorkel Gear:
1. If I don’t take my own snorkel and end up renting, I’ll feel grossed out. (Ugh, like bowling shoes, only worse!)
2. I’ll ruin my contacts if I rent a mask (leakage).
3. I’ll have something to write on postcards to friends and family back home.
4. Surf’s up equals more drama, which equals better narrative for a travel story!
5. I don’t want to feel left out when my hubby plunges into the ocean with his mask and snorkel. Plus, I spent a good hour digging my snorkel gear out of storage, so I better use it now. Right?
{ November 7, 2008 @ 11:56 am }
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{ Wine Tasting Notes }
{ Tags: 2005, Calatayud, eric solomon, european cellars, garnacha, good value, grenache, Las Rocas, red wine, Spanish wine, wine review, Wine Tasting Notes }
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2005 Las Rocas de San Alejandro GARNACHA
Perusing my local grocer’s shelves of wine, I wondered what to pair with baked mahi-mahi. Drawn to the small Spanish section, my eye fell upon a garnacha (grenache). I began to salivate. Then, spinning the bottle around, my eyes popped when I realized I had unearthed the holy grail! I had, by dumb luck, stumbled upon an Eric Solomon European Cellars Selection*. And, the frosting on my cupcake, it was only $12!
Admittedly, I’m a glutton for grenache. But, would this grenache uphold Solomon’s reputation? Slicing off the foil, I sunk my corkscrew into the black, plastic cork. Unable to wait, I poured myself a small glass and took a sip. So far, so good.
As I let the wine molecules dance about in the open air, I cooked a dinner of mahi-mahi baked in olive oil accompanied by yellow bell pepper and zucchini sauteed in olive oil and garlic, finished with red wine and balsamic vinegar, newly-opened wine (of course), and red pepper flakes. Salad with homemade vineagrette and bread were also served as sides.
So, had I made the right decision? Let’s just say, I’ll be buying more of this glorious gem of a wine! Its toasty nose provided whiffs of cherry and black pepper. The fruit carried through on the palate in bursts of blackberry, blueberry, and hints of cinnamon. Mouth-feel was divine, and the fruit was balanced with acids and soft tannins that pleasured my entire palate. And the nearly-everlasting finish…bravo!
This is indeed a holy grail of find. When such a treasure awaits you for so little, why wait? Buy now, drink now, and enjoy!
* Eric Solomon is well-known for his extraordinary portfolio. It contains his wife’s own Clos Eramus (Priorat, Spain) and Eben Sadie’s Dits del Terra (Priorat, Spain) and Columella (South Africa), just to name a couple of the idols of the wine world. Click on this link to go to Eric’s website.
{ October 16, 2008 @ 3:10 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: beer, hawaii, kauai, keoki brewing company, Travel, waimea brewing company }
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Yes, I know. My site is wine-n-trip, not beer-n-trip, but hey, it’s Hawaii! With a January 1 departure date, I googled wine and Kauai and guess what? Wine is not so fine in our tropical state. Big surprise, right?
But, do not worry, as there is beer–and micro, locally-made–to be drunk with roasted swine! According to http://www.beertutor.com/city_guides/kauai.shtml, there are two breweries that call Kauai home: Waimea and Keoki. While Keoki doesn’t operate a brewpub (shucks!), Waimea does!
If I have been led astray, please fellow winos, feel free to leave a comment about your favorite Hawaiian wine, wine bar, wine experience, etc. Or, beer buddies, feel free to chime in, too!
While wine tripping is fine, what sounds better than consuming a cold one after a long day of snorkeling, hiking, and beach combing? Mmm, beer!
{ September 18, 2008 @ 6:35 pm }
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{ Uncategorized }
{ Tags: currency exchange, dollar's value, election, Euro, Europe, Travel }
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Deciding when to exchange foreign currency for travelcan be a tricky business. On the day I flew out of Seattle on my way to France, I exchange $100 to Euros. Once in Europe, I used a Travel Money Card issued by US Bank to withdraw cash from ATMs, as needed.
Having read the worst-case-scenario stories about being pulled over while driving in Spain, I knew that it was possible to have to pay fines, on the spot, by Spanish police officers. The fines can be as much as 500 Euros! If you can’t pay, it’s bye-bye freedom, hello jail. So, scared of being caught without cash, I made sure I had a sufficient wad of pastel gems in my possession the day I picked up my rental car in Tarragona.
Guess what? I didn’t get pulled over. I wasn’t mugged. I passed countless currency exchange booths in Heathrow, en route to Seattle with my Euros securely stashed in my Rick Steve’s silk money pouch in hopes the dollar’s value would continue to plummet. (No offense, U.S. Treasury. It seemed to be the trend, at the time.)
So, instead of taking advantage of getting $1.58 dollars for my Euro coin, I waited. Waited too long, as far as I can tell. As of 6:20 PST, according to www.x-rates.com, I can now only get $1.44 US dollars/1 Euro. If my math is sound, I just lost $14 on a 100 Euro-to-dollar exchange!
What to do? Should I exchange now and cut my losses, or should I wait and see if the dollar declines as we make our way closer to the presidential elections? Will the dollar respond to the changing of the guard? I’m in a bit of a quandary!
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