Still Turning

The reviews are in...

2011-03-28T04:27:00.002-04:00

New review from the LA Times on the Royce... "Fine Dining is Back!"
http://articles.latimes.com/2011/mar/10/food/la-fo-0310-review-royce-20110310

Chateau Marmont

2010-12-11T17:07:00.001-05:00

No longer at the Chateau... It was a fun bit of time there and will definitely be remembered.

There's a monkey in my drink

2010-08-25T14:11:00.003-04:00

Providence

2010-08-17T12:46:00.004-04:00

Wow. There are times when I get taken away. Transported? No. I never left my seat. Glued to it. Transfixed. Well, not entirely true, but I did have a really wonderful experience. My friend Mollie texted me out of the blue yesterday to see if I wanted to have a dinner adventure. You never really know what that will entail with Mollie- Could be Ghetto tacos, or Ethiopian Gelato, or Afghani Froyo. After a brief discussion, we decided on one of the three, Two Michelin Star restos in LA, Providence. I'd never eaten there, and have been really wanting to go for a long time. Free corkage Monday nights made it a necessity. Mollie brought a Champagne Rose, and a Slutty Australian Viognier. We went with the Champagne. And I brought an '02 Meursault-Charmes "Les Dessus" from Antonin Guyon. Both of 'em, STUNNING. The Champagne was light on it's feet, but substantial, and the Meusault was an inspiration, a learning experience. The Guyon was almost restrained at first, not showing too much on the intro, even a bit coy, but then, wow did it open up on the finish, maybe one of the best White Burg finishes I've ever experienced.

Mollie and I both did the tasting menu, in fact, we did one five course menu, and one full tasting menu, which overlapped perfectly. Really have to hand it to these guys, the service was perfect from start to finish, and I have to definitely put this down as the best restaurant experience I've had in LA to date...

providence market menu

kanpachi (kagoshima, japan) *
crispy rice crackers, cilantro blossoms, soy crème fraîche
txakolina, talai berri 2008

santa barbara sea urchin
champagne beurre blanc, fines herbes
(add american caviar, $20 supplemental)
crémant de bourgogne “blanc de blancs,” domaine parigot & richard m.v.

bobby’s block island sea scallop *
japanese eggplant, rhubarb, cashews, reduction of vadouvan and jurançon
riesling kabinett, kaseler nies’chen, erben von beulwitz 2007

wild halibut (sitka, alaska) *
summer squash, black olive, dried apricot, basil
chardonnay, the pinnacles, michaud 2002

wild king salmon (skeena river, b.c.)
french breakfast radish, kumquats, asparagus
rosé “albemarle,” kluge estate 2009

marcho farms veal tenderloin (franconia, pa) *
bacon, almond, english peas, maitake mushrooms
pinot noir, sangiacomo vineyard, vergari 2007

market cheeses
welschriesling beerenauslese, rosenhof 2006

melon soup
strawberries, lime granita

yuzu curd, meringue *
blackberry sorbet, jasmine
moscato d’asti “riveto,” dante rivetti 2009

Dagueneau

2010-08-10T03:34:00.003-04:00

As it happens with wine, there are winemakers, rockstars even, who captivate us grape juice nerds, and create followings. Such is most definitely the friggin' case with Monsieur Dagueneau, who, as rockstars will, passed before his time. Didier, was definitely a game-changer, and one who helped us otherwise occupied Americans, catch a glimpse of what the Loire Valley has to offer. I've found, and no, I won't divulge, a lovely resto in LA that is offering Dagueneau's '04 Silex, on the wine list for roughly $65. IMPOSSIBLE! You can't find it retail for under $120, and any resto that still had it should be charging $200 AT LEAST! But no, these guys have it, and yes, I've tried it there. The Wine Director, Frenchman of course, brought the bottle to the table, and checked in, to make sure we knew what we were getting, (Here's where I love the French) I can't help but think, that if we weren't familiar with Dagueneau, that he would have steered us towards a less expensive, and available, bottle. It was almost, as if, he needed to be sure, we were worthy of the cork pulling to take place. But, yes, I assured him, I was familiar with Dider, and I was most expectantly hoping, and drooling, for the opportunity. He seemed at peace, especially, when I offered him to join us in a taste of the nectar. And wow. WOW! Yeah, it's true, I get overtaken with labels sometimes, and yeah, maybe I wouldn't have jumped up and down if tasted blind, BUT, knowing what it was, asking to have it decanted, and checking out the floral nuances as it opened- EXCELLENCE! Find it if you can, But I'm going to drink the place dry before I let on!

Food Trucks

2010-08-03T22:58:00.010-04:00

So, there are a couple of things at play here. First, there's the food truck craze that's been sweeping the Nation for the past year and a half or so, which is, admittedly, the reason for the post, right? NO, WRONG. It's not about the craze and the hype, it's about the food. Yeah, maybe there's all sorts of comradery on line, and girls in short skirts, and celebrities and whatnot...

but who really cares about that? It doesn't really get me my spicy chicken taco any faster, now does it? So anyway, there's the original Kogi truck which has a twitter feed and hour long lines, while people go chasing after it all over LA like their favorite coke dealer-

And then there's BullKogi, the impostor, or new kid on the block, depending on how you view it. The marketing behind all this is not so much genius, as it is perfectly timed, for all the bullshit hipster hype of the current Mega-Generation. I say Mega-Generation because it occurs to me, that there aren't generations lately so much as an amorphous glob of unmarried, unchilded, afterschool 20, 30, and yes, even 40 somethings, that drag around LA looking for inexpensive, cool things to do. (Not that I really have any problem with that as a plan, mind you). But so anyway, back to what was, mildly, a point, I got to try BullKogi today since I categorically refuse to track down some food truck, drive 20 minutes or more to get there and then stand on line for an hour or more. In the immortal, yet timely, words of my father, "Fuck that bullshit, leave it for the morons from Queens".
So, TA-DA, Bullkogi it is. One chicken, one beef, and one pork taco later, I have to report, a solid, "Pretty Good" I'd go back, but I wouldn't stand on any line. The Yamashiro tacos at their Thursday Evening Farm Stand though, now those I'd stand in line for...

Of Course, when it comes to food trucks I need to try, first in line is Lucky J's Chicken and Waffles. This guy's been blowing up all over the Austin scene, even making network morning TV shows. Most important, Lucky J is my High School Buddy from Brooklyn, and I still need to get one of his awesome T-Shirts...

My New Toaster

2010-06-29T02:57:00.014-04:00

Hold on to your hats, kids, it's about to get krazy up in here. After much deliberation and dissappointment, (The toaster oven which I wanted was unavailable) I decided to get the old traditional push down toaster, because, really, if I need an oven, I'll just use the oven, right? I mean, c'mon now.

I don't want to unneccessarily withhold the pay off here simply for dramatic reasons, so I'll go ahead and tell you what you've been dying to know, I got the Black and Decker two slice toaster.

Gave it a test run with nothing in it, just to cook off whatever residual factory junk, lead paint, and Chinese Dry Wall may be hiding in the thing- oh, that's right, good old Black and Decker, now proudly made in the People's Republic of China; and then woo-hoo, threw in a bagel, (Being able to fit a bagel has been an integral part in my decision making process for toasters) and boo, fail, apparently setting 4 ain't enough, even though I pressed the special bagel button, which manages a sort of top brown function, even though the bagels are vertical (Modern science). So, being the patient, intuitive, and capable man I am, I did another round at setting 4, and am proud to share with you the following results. The next step is to find a place in LA with even remotely acceptable bagels. I'm open to suggestions.

Hand roll party with Eric and Kumi.

2010-06-28T01:30:00.006-04:00

Hand roll party with Eric and Kumi in Santa Monica, and first stop was Nijiya. I begged to come along so I could pick up the inner secret arts of sourcing good supplies and the best ingredients. Eric, my 6'3" red-headed buddy from San Diego, and his Fiance, Kumi, of Chiba, Japan, led me through the store, explaining the difference in grades of rice and nori, and how to find good fish. And then, I got a special Lychee soda with a little glass ball you push down into the drink which is a special treat for the Japanese kids at carnivals...

Always the most awesome hosts, these guys treated me to their favorite Sake, not even available in the US. I believe the translation was something like, Hatchi Shui San, or 8 Ocean Mountain, or Mr 8 Ocean- as San, or mountain, is also, our equivalent of Mister, you know, like Daniel-San... Hopefully Eric will send me some of the pictures of the meal and of Kumi preparing our magnificent feast, because it was AWESOME!

Rustic Canyon

2010-06-27T14:43:00.008-04:00

Anybody who has a problem with this place, clearly didn't have the experience we just did last night. Or maybe they just suck. (That's the reviewer, not Rustic Canyon which kicks some quite serious ass). My friends Eric and Kumi suggested we go there, and I'm glad they did.

First of all, and I say first, because this is my greatest love, they have a SERIOUS wine list, with tons of fairly priced wines, so if you don't get a bottle for the table, you're missing out. We started with an '05 single vineyard Premier Cru Red Burg from Maranges for $55! (Click on the photo above for a closer look at Maranges and the particular vineyard, "La Fussiere", it's up in the dark red part, which are the p-cru vineyards) That's less than $15 a glass! You could easily drop that on any range of so-so Cali crap at ANY place in Santa Monica, so to be able to find what we did, and '05 no less, I consider that a nice score.

We sat at the bar with any extremely attentive, knowledgeable, and friendly guy whose name I've forgotten, but he did a great job. And when I had some overly wine geeky questions for him, rather than bullshit me, he got somebody who could answer my questions. MORE points for the team.
Onto the food: We had :

Crispy Polenta which was really pretty fuckin awesome. I got it because of the other raves here on yelp, and YUP, dopeness. Beautiful mushrooms and a sunny side up egg with some grated parmigiano-reggiano. Order this.

Kumi wanted:

The burger which I was going to pass on because, there are so many good burgers in LA, and I didn't want my new crush to fail to stack up, but no, the burger rocked too. I won't go as far as Eric and Kumi who feel it was the best burger they've had in LA, only because I can't splash all over EVERYTHING this place does, I mean, Damn, I already gave them five stars...

Next, we had:

The Chicken, which was, yeah, I'm going to say it, the best Chicken I've had while here in LA, maybe rivaled only by the prep I had in NYC at Gramercy Tavern. It was juicy and flavorful, really bursting with excellence, and cooked JUST RIGHT. Like secretly cooked just right, with a magic meat thermometer that tells you, pull it out now, cause it's not done yet, but I know you chef, and the extra 45 seconds you'll take to finish chopping will make this just regular done, and I want it awesome, so come over here right now, and get this bird out! It's true, they have magic meat thermometers at this place.

Finally, we had the Lamb Meat Balls, which, were the weakest link, being, MERELY (and notice how I stress MERELY) very good. Not the heights of awesome that the rest of the meal was, but not enough to detract. A little bit of Imperfection that heightened the love of everything else- like the faintest whisper of yellow green in the bruises on a stripper's leg at Jumbo's Clown Room. Somehow, you can infer she slipped while dancing on the roof of some unwilling taxi in last week's Lakers' riot. Those heels are slippery, who could fail to treat that little imperfection with a bit of understanding? Not me, I tell you, not me...

California Bears

2010-06-24T19:02:00.005-04:00

Went for a walk around the Hollywood Resevoir and when we got to the dam and walked over it, I noticed from peeking over the side that there were these really great busts of Bears. Sooo, being the kinda guy I am, I hopped the nearest fence and went down to have a closer look..

My Mom is such a rascal

2010-06-17T15:18:00.001-04:00

Remember the time she grabbed a can of Ultra Flat Black from Nix, and scrawled this message to us all? So funny.

Where is this?

2010-06-15T17:38:00.004-04:00

I know I've seen this sculpture before, and I've always loved it. But I'm drawing a blank... I think I've seen it in Boston, somewhere along the Charles. Anybody know?

Wine and Lamborghinis

2010-06-15T17:08:00.004-04:00

Wine tasting at the Lamborghini show room today. First time I had the chance to sit in one. You know, in all honesty, I think I'm just more of an 03 Subaru guy, which just reminds how lucky and grateful I am, since that's what I've got...
Then onto Michael Mina's XIV for a lovely German tasting. All right before heading of to work to run around for five hours...

The New Pad

2010-06-07T15:48:00.004-04:00

A near 360 degree view of the great room. Not huge, but the price is right, and I'm home. Feels so good to have my space. I feel like I've been crashing for the last 2 and a half years.

Tokudo

2010-05-29T14:58:00.003-04:00

Headed up to the Monastery to be there while Ducharme, Blackwell, and Kevin took tokudo ( Head shaving, and receiving of the bowl and the robes) becoming Zen Buddhist Monks.

Drawing

2010-05-19T12:56:00.001-04:00

Found this on the net. It's a drawing Sallie Benton did of me a little over 10 years ago.

Best Movie Trailer Ever

2010-05-13T15:27:00.002-04:00

Where does Yahoo get their crappy stories?

2010-05-06T03:33:00.003-04:00

Yahoo, in addition to intentionally uninteresting news, also seems to have some of the all-time, most 1984-ish, clearly coming from the man, boring, pay attention to the rules, kind of newspeak I've ever heard. Has nobody questioned the editorializing here? How long until we're China? Not long...

Revenge of the Merlot

2010-04-30T12:41:00.004-04:00

We kicked it off with a tasting panel of 7 winemakers and Merlot gurus: Jeff Bundshu of Gundlach Bundshu, Chris Millard of Newton, Russ Weis of Silverado, Chris Phelps of Swanson, Alex Guarachi of TGIC, Christopher Huber of Cakebread, and Joe Cicero of Matanzas Creek.
It's crazy to think that such a prominent grape as Merlot would warrant an entire event to re-educate the public, but I'm glad it gave me a chance to taste through some bitchin' Merlot. So what was the general opinion?
Seems the going theory is a kind of perfect storm of wine marketing. Merlot had garnered a huge following in the 80's and 90's, leading everyone to throw their hat into the merlot ring. What resulted was a sea of inexpensive, less than cared for, overgrown, under nuanced, Merlot. Add to that the perfect timing of Miles chiming in that if any body orders Merlot he's leaving and that he's not drinking any fucking Merlot, and the US economy in general taking a bath, and it spells trouble for Merlot.
Not necessarily says the panel.. what this really means, is a thinning of the herd. A drop off of the lesser Merlot, leaving the right players in the game. Good in the long run, they say, since Merlot is here to stay. And hot damn, is it ever. I'd love to do a Folger's switch in steak houses across the country. I'd like to blind all these ardent Cab Sauv lover's on a cab and a merlot and see which they'd prefer...

Gearing up for the trade tasting just before the people arrived.

The start of the after party, with Richard Blade spinning.

And it was good...

2010-04-30T02:38:00.003-04:00

Attempt number two in recent history to actually get to understand that strange room where food is prepared. Sort of a variation on a theme this time. Same dry rub, but this time, pork tenderloin instead of lamb. Worked quite well. Used the important bounce technique I learned from grillmaster Jeff Gordley, whereby the meat is firmly grasped with tongs and bounced slightly, to assess it's internal temperature by rigidity. And then, since I don't even remotely trust myself, the use of ye olde meat thermometer.
BUT, it was successful, AND, paired with a 2006 Gundlach Bunschu Merlot, which was fucking killer. I'll get around to posting pictures and notes from the LearnAboutWine "Revenge of the Merlot" tasting, and especially the Press Panel, but for the time being, I'm just enjoying one of my favorites and a great dinner...

Art walk (Finally)

2010-04-27T19:51:00.007-04:00

Church of Art, this guy is a lot of fun and a great performance to check out..

Motherboards and ginko leaves..

The Atrium

Very, very disturbing work from "Let's Play Dead" This is the least of it... It's not often I worry about posting stuff here, but some of this is just plain unnerving. That's the point I suppose, but wow...

Inexpensive French Wine Tasting And Farmer's Markets

2010-04-25T15:38:00.017-04:00

A tasting of French producers looking for importers into the US... Started off with some lovely 07 white burgs, moved into some good loire whites including a Tressalier, which I'd never had before. It was similar to sauvignon, but with more minerality, maybe something like a cross between, Muscadet and Sauvignon.

Then, some of my favorites of the day. Domaine de Clairac. A rose of grenache and cinsaut, I believe, unlike any I've ever had before. It was like a rose petal and raspberry leaf infused tea. AND, the vigneron, Deborah Knowland, insists on aging it nearly a year longer than most roses. I'm going to totally paraphrase, but she said something approximately similar to:
Most makers of rose seem to believe it must be fresh, that it must be sold and consumed right away. But I disagree. I think, for my style, these wines need to develop, to take on their own characteristics that make them so unique.
After tasting her beautiful Rose, and two Marsanne, and an alicante bouche, I'd have to agree with her stylistic choices. She's clearly setting out to create her own style, that, while not untraditional, is a clear departure from many of the overpowered, tannic monsters the world seems to be demanding.
It's unfortunately overdone and trite to bring gender politics into this, so maybe that's exactly why I'm drawn to make the allusion- These are feminine wines. Endearingly, alluringly, and undoubtedly, feminine wines. Even the reds are made as if they were white wines. The Allicante Bouche grape, one of the few with actually red flesh, will make a red wine, even if pressed and treated as a white. This allows for a delicate, soft and subtle red, even at home in a sushi restaurant. Deborah's wines are beautiful, but unfortunately, none of these wines are currently available in the US, unless anyone feels like becoming an importer... Let me know, I've got a short list of producers that need representation.

So, after winding down with some Alsatian Gevurtztraminer Vendage Tardive, we headed off to the Thursday Farmer's Market at Yamashiro, a giant Sotoshu-looking series of buildings up in the hills overlooking Hollywood. What a great location for short rib, cod, pulled pork tacos and you guessed it, more wine tasting.

The flight was ok. I shoulda just gone with my gut and bought a bottle of the Edward Sellers. But hey, no complaints...

experimental dinner last night...

2010-04-25T14:15:00.003-04:00

So, I'm quite definitely NOT a cook. Not yet, anyhow. I'd love to get better at developing recipes, and kicking ass in the kitchen, and hopefully, it's a skill I'll develop. As for now, though, I've got some progress to make. Tonight, it was my turn to make dinner. I was going to do a Pork tenderloin with pomegranate sauce, BUT, when I got to Whole Foods, they were all out, so instead, I got some Lamb Top Round and decided to try and wing it. Found another recipe, and seeing as I was lacking on a couple of ingredients, changed it up a bit...
Started off with a dry rub of cinnamon, some Searingly hot cayenne pepper Erika had picked up from some spice market, salt and pepper, flash seared the Lamb and then broiled it, and served it with a pesto yogurt sauce I grated some ginger root into. In all truth, the lamb was over done, BUT, the hot and sweet dry rub, cooled by the gingerpestoyogurt sauce was rockin'!
Then, for wine, I'd picked up an inexpensive 07 Rasteau Cotes du Rhone Villages that wasn't quite doing it for me, BUT I had a 1/4 bottle of Larner vineyard Grenache and Syrah, that on it's own was too overblown, but, when blended with the Rasteau to make my deux mondes cuvee, it was really interesting, juicy and complex, yet balanced, and a great combo for the lamb.
Some victories, some defeats, some new lessons, and now I feel like I'm ready to try some new challenges...

Whoo Boy!

2010-04-22T13:17:00.003-04:00

Oh, how much do I love this kind of stuff? Heard about a tasting of a Movia sparkling wine from my friend and blogger Whitney, check out her blog, Brunelloshavemorefun Here is a video of opening this Puro (A sparkling which was never disgorged in the production process, so all the lees (Dead Yeast Cells) are still in the bottle) So you do this, when opening it...
I LIVE for this kind of geeky stuff!

Barbara's at the Brewery

2010-04-07T02:15:00.008-04:00

One of my favorite places to go in LA when you've got some bottles to pop, and Even better when you don't! My friend Molly texted to say she'd have some open bottles and did we feel like heading over to Barbara's to drink and get some food. Always a treat, but extraordinarily so, when Eric, el jeffe, is sitting at your table with you, and willing to take a run through Barbara's serious, and oh so super friendly priced for wine lovers list. Barbara is a true oenophile and has stocked her cellar with beautiful bottles for years. The thing is, her love, outweighs demand at what is a great bbq and beer joint. What ends up happening, is that if you know where to look, you can find, no, I'm not kidding you, a 1996 Maison Joseph Drouhin Volnay Clos des Chenes Premier Cru for $44! That's right, you heard me, 96 drouhin p-cru for $44! Granted, not every bottle is there (sorry folks, those Jayer-Gilles are long gone) but with a little bit of hunting skill, you can find some real treasures. Get on down for the art walk coming up soon, and ask for the wine list, but give 'em time to search....

2010 Sommelier of the Year, Southern California Restaurant Writers Association

2010-03-27T20:55:00.006-04:00

Just recently, I went down to the OC for the Southern California Restaurant Writers Awards Banquet, because I was nominated for 2010 Sommelier of the Year. I'm pleased to announce, I won!
It was a really wonderful dinner, in the main room of the Long Beach Aquarium, where we sat under a huge 80 ft replica of a Blue Whale, and ate and drank our way through the evening. I had the pleasure of sitting next to Marilyn and Bob Gourley, the President of the Association, and John and Tom Papadakis who have run their restaurant longer than I've been alive. Also nearby were Aricia Alvarado, the 2010 winner Mixologist of the year, and her Husband Hugo Molina, the 2009 Chef of the Year, for Seta.
It was really both an honor and a humbling experience to receive this award, and more than anything, really lights a fire under my ass to keep getting out there and accomplish some of what these other members of the audience have...
Click Here for the link

Fun new wines from the OC portion of the NVV tasting

2010-03-25T03:34:00.005-04:00

LA traffic's a bitch. 2 Hours to get down to the trade tasting, so I missed it. But luckily, Maureen Taylor was there to hand me off a half bottle of her delicious 06 Diamond Terrace, and I just happened to walk by a lonely bottle of 06 Neal, half gone, sadly waiting for someone who cared to stick a cork in it and take along for the rest of the day's journey- starting with meeting Sean Larkin and his winemaker Bruce Devlin, for drinks at Charlie Palmer's, which had, get this, electronic tablets, like iPads, for a wine list, AND, a retail shop, INSIDE, the restaurant, where you could buy your wine, and then pop it right there in the restaurant FOR NO CORKAGE FEE... As a consumer I love it, but as a somm, I don't get it, Really? I mean, hooray for cheaper wine, but does this work for the resto? I guess it must. Ah, how the world changes right in front of my eyes....
So then off to the evening's event at The District, an outdoor tasting of 30 or 40 Napa wineries. Lots of winners, and for some reason, I keep noticing the Sauv Blancs. What's up with that? How can I go to a big Napa Cab tasting, and walk away remembering the Sauv Blancs? Well, it's my notes, and I can remember whatever I'd like, so this time it was Three Clicks Sauv Blanc and Entre Nous. So there. Oh wait, lest I forget, the Signorello Estate Seta, Semillon and Sauv Blanc. Ha. Take that, Napa Cabs!

The Haul

2010-03-24T04:04:00.014-04:00

It's been a big week of tastings and it's only Tuesday. Sunday started with a cheese wine and chocolate event at Learnaboutwine.com Monday was the Napa Valley Vintners, then Mosaic Wines, then, Napa Nightlife at "Elevate", the night club for Takami, Then today it was The Gelinas Portfolio. Tomorrow is Napa Valley Vintners in the OC, Thursday is the Henry Wine Group Portfolio... I may not make it to Friday. An interesting plethora of producers to be sure, but maybe too many to mention. Highlights?
From The Napa VV: Neal, Larkin, Trefethen, Shafer, Schramsburg, Peter Franus, Lang and Reed, Gemstone, Staglin, Barlow, Diamond Terrace.
New guys (to me):
A Bordeaux blend from Tournesol.
Coup de Foudre-from Danielle Price, the director of wines for Wynn resorts, John Schwartz, the owner of Amuse Bouche, and Frank Sinatra’s three children, Tina, Nancy, and Frank, Jr.

So then, the Gelinas tasting... great small book of really top producers, like my favorites (as always) Alta Maria, Native 9, Herman Story (Russell's awesome labels pictured below, which my godfather will especially appreciate) Sans Liege, etc. These three are the guys to watch, as well as newcomer, Field Recordings, with an unfiltered Chennin Blanc that spoke to me...

The middle picture is from Russell's "On The Road" Grenache. I love that wine. It's my third favorite Kerouac novel by the way, Dharma Bums and The Subterraneans being my first and second, respectively. Butanyfuckinghow, I love that picture, and when I heard Russell was coming into town, I brought him a piece of road that I'd found and kept, a piece with a bit of the yellow line still hanging on it. It's really quite beautiful, and one of those lovely things that transports you, particularly if aided by inadvertently ingesting rotten/ing matter of various forms. Here, for your viewing pleasure, are said pieces of road. Russell's:

And Mine:

Wine Pairings by Erika

2010-03-24T03:59:00.003-04:00

Riedel tasting with Max

2010-03-21T14:27:00.004-04:00

Max Riedel was in town, and came by The Learn About Wine Loft to do a demonstration and speak about the differences of tasting in his glasses. We went through his line up, and also a small wine glass and a plastic cup. The difference was startling. The biggest difference for me, was in the Sauvignon Blanc glass. Something about the lighter floral notes and acidity, really seemed to prefer the beatiful Riedel stemware. Now if I can just recover from the cost...

Family Winemakers

2010-03-17T17:54:00.003-04:00

One of the biggest tastings of the year, I've learned to give up on even attempting to make it through the whole line up. I check in with old favorites, and try a couple of new ones when I can...
This year, I employed a new technique, starting at Z and working my way towards A. My thinking here was that I'd be able to rotate in the opposite direction of the crowds, and hopefully taste more wines and meet more people. I guess it sorta worked...
So, this year's stand outs:
Yates Family Vineyard, ( "Chevalier" 100% Cab Franc)
X Winery
Thorne Wine / Rio Vista Vineyard
Sojourn Cellars (Sangiocomo Vyd. Pinot Noir)
Silver Wines
Red Car
Ramey Wine Cellars ( Had a hard time picking a favorite between the three Chards)
Pride Mountain Vineyards (Always an amazing Viognier)
Paul Hobbs Winery
Michaud Vineyard
La Fenetre
Hitching Post Wines
Bink Wines (My favorite Sauv Blanc of the tasting)
Benovia Winery
B Wise Vineyards
Alfaro Family Vineyards (These guys are new to me, and doing a great job with Chard and Pinot)

Howell Mountain Tasting

2010-03-16T00:17:00.002-04:00

So, the Annual Howell Mountain Tasting at the Petersen Auto Museum. Always a great one, and this year was no exception. Standouts:
Black Sears, Neal Family (as always), and Pina. New wines (To me): Notre Vin with a really great Cab Rose in 500 ml bottles, and Arkenstone's Sauv. Blanc in a strangely traditional Bordeaux style. I say strangely, because I've never experienced any Napa SB that could pull that off before...

AND got a chance to meet Mark Neal, which was really cool, because I've always admired his wines.

In Vino Unitas and Bordeaux Barrel tasting

2010-03-09T23:11:00.005-05:00

First stop, Downtown LA to the City Club to taste through the VinoUnitas portfolio. These guys are a group of smallish, independent wineries that band together to sell their wines directly. A fun line up including amongst others:
Ehlers, Etude, Gemstone, Krupp, Larkmead, Merry Edwards, Quill, and newcomer, Vellum. Some great appearances by these guys, Merry Edwards, killin it with her Pinot Noirs as expected, Gemstone undoubtedly rocking the Cabernet Sauvignon of the tasting, and Vellum getting the newcomer award for coming on the scene with a really nice, complex, and rich, first effort.

Next stop, The Skirball Center off the 405, for a Bordeaux tasting of Mammoth Proportions. Some past vintages AND, Hooray, first looks at 09 for me. Stand outs: 2005 Teyssier. Retail $31. Grab it if you can get it, head and shoulders above the other 75 or so that I tasted. And as for the '09's, I don't want to start making blanket predictions from a small testing group, but from what I've tasted, these 09's are going to be damn good. Two stand outs, Rol Valentin and Boutisse. Big, juicy, hedonistic and luscious offerings, some of the most fruit forward examples I've ever seen. Boy did those show well. Will they age? I wouldn't be able to wait long enough to find out.

Picture o the day

2010-03-09T21:20:00.001-05:00

How cool is this little girl? I'd adopt her in a minute, and let her eat all the pizza and candy she wanted.

Rose tasting

2010-03-04T04:00:00.002-05:00

Hooray, we're tasting Rose today! No tasting notes yet, but I thought this might be an appropriate picture.

These guys were the winner, Cahteau D'Esclans... Dizope!

Well, you know...

2010-03-04T03:27:00.001-05:00

Can't always be keeping my dog, Charlie on a leash. I took him to the zoo and was distracted by my ice cream cone that was dripping all over my hand. I let go of the leash for one minute and he decides to jump in the tiger cage and get it on. I suppose this kinda thing just happens...

Highlights of my MOCA trip...

2010-02-27T20:05:00.014-05:00

First off, Dan Flavin. It's kinda funny because Flavin used to be my case in point for some contemporary art that's, how shall I put it, Insincere. I would, in particular, point to one of his single light bank installations and call B.S. The thing is though, I stumbled upon a collection of his work in an old church in Bridgehampton that is now a permanent collection of his pieces and I was blown away. I was actually able to understand what it is he's doing, or at least, get a glimpse of it, in my own way, and boy did it make a difference.

Click here. All that being said, I'm still not a fan of some of his smaller, simpler, installations. To me, they're still just lightbulbs.

I really like the idea behind this one, using one's ceiling as an extralong movie or long exposure painting. Great.

Robert Irwin. This guy is fantastic. His pieces distort the mind and create this blurry/ soft focus unreality. They have to be experienced, but you can catch a glimpse in the photo above. It's really hard to know where one piece ends and the next starts. Somehow this feeling gets into your body, and everything in the world begins to merge. Can you see the light glare on the upper right of the circle? It brings another dimension, no? Now factor in that you can't possibly experience this piece from my picture. Or maybe, you can have an experience, but definitely not seeing it in person...

Sadly, I don't know who did this. But so what. I loved looking at it and figuring it out. Clearly the glass was brought in whole, and then broken on site. There were still miniscule little slivers on the floor. It's site specific nature, (Although now that I say it, is it site specific?) I was going to say, it's site specific nature brings up many questions. But theoretically, it could be done anywhere, however, it can't truly be moved and still carry the original power of the truth from impact. Well anyway, it does a good job of communicating the energy of the impact, and the energy inherent in the glass which is then displayed in it's shatter.
On the bottom, you can see there is one piece sticking out from the "frame" created by the top pane of glass. Did that happen naturally or was it pulled out? If so, why? What is the effect?

Edward Ruscha
Chocolate Room
1970/2004
For its debut at the 35th Venice Biennale in Italy, Chocolate Room originally consisted of 360 shingle-like sheets of paper silk-screened with chocolate and applied to the interior walls of the gallery space. Edward Ruscha was just starting to work with organic materials in his prints, using such unconventional substances as blood, gunpowder, or cherry juice instead of traditional inks. During the summer of 1970, curator Henry Hopkins invited Ruscha and several other artists to make a work for the American Pavilion as part of a survey of American printmaking with an on-site workshop. Many declined the invitation in protest against the Vietnam War; Ruscha intended to do the same, but eventually reconsidered. When Chocolate Room went on view in Venice, protesters etched anti-war slogans into the rich brown surfaces of Chocolate Room, leaving it to stand as a spontaneous anti-war monument, which Ruscha ultimately considered more effective than non-participation in the Biennale. In the summer heat, the heady smell of chocolate was particularly overwhelming and attracted a swarm of Venetian ants, which ate away at the work. MOCA acquired Chocolate Room in 2003 and silk-screens new chocolate panels each time it is installed.

So, more questions... How does one acquire something that doesn't exist? If every time it is displayed, it is re-silk-screened, then is it the same piece? What's to stop someone else from doing the same thing. Can they call it an Ed Ruscha piece? Does every museum in the world own this piece the moment they silk-screen and hang the pieces?

The very first Ipod ad...

2010-02-27T19:16:00.001-05:00

Qui sait deguster, ne boit plus jamais de vin, mais goute des secrets.

2010-02-26T17:31:00.007-05:00

Another awesome Learn About Wine event... Burgundy vs. California

CHARDONNAY:
Paul Pernot, Bienvenues Batard- Montrachet, Grand Cru, 2000
Many people thought this was corked, I wasn't sure. I should've spoken up earlier, but Pride, being much stinkier, out weighed my thoughts on the matter and I decided to keep quiet rather than look silly. It was definitely stinky, and funky, but maybe not corked...

Louis Jadot, Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru, 2002
Gorgeous wine, beautiful balance, Mineral. Graceful. Beautiful.

Domaine Leflaive, "Les Pucelles", Puligny-Montrachet, 2004
My favorite. Beautiful sesame and petroleum, maybe a bit heavy handed, but fine by me, I just wanted to sit with it.

Leroy, "Les Blanches", Chablis,Grand Cru, 2000
A treat, my first Leroy Chablis. At first I felt it was lacking the acidity and minerality I look for, but then bang, it grabs you in the finish. Well Done. The group's choice for favorite.

VS

Aubert, Ritchie Vineyard, Russian River, 2002
Sweet fruit and power, but I felt the acidity and body were not quite enmeshed. Undoubtedly beautiful chard though. People's favorite of the Cali Chards

Bonaccorsi, Santa Rita Hills, 2002
After the white burgs, these cali chards all seemed to suffer from lack of acidity, but the beautiful fruit characteristics saved the day.

Brewer-Clifton, Rancho Santa Rosa, Chardonnay, 2003
Once again, would've liked a little more acidity, but the apricot and stewed fruit jumping through on this BC Chard were wild, almost as if the notes of a Sauternes fermented dry.

Stony Hill, Napa Valley, 1995
My pick of the Cali chards, a great segue from the Burgs. Crisp lively acidity, with some muscle to back it up. Full finish. A champ. And so interesting to see a 15 year old Cali Chard hold it's own.

PINOT NOIR:

Denis Mortet - "Les Champeaux" Gevrey Chambertin, 1er Cru, 1997
Pow. My #1 of the Red Burgs. REALLY funky when we first popped it, but turned into something special with some cola notes and abundant mature fruit. Beautifully balanced, with a silky texture.

Leroy, Rouge, Burgundy, 1999
Youthful. Nothing stunning, but for $30, a great deal. I'd still go with that 02 Gevrey from Drouhin I had the other night though.

Dominique Laurent, Beaune, "Le Clos DesMouches" , 1er Cru, 2005
An interesting look into an '05 Burg. My friend and tablemate, Renee, felt it was going to sleep and I'd tend to agree with her. It'll be interesting to see where it emerges.

Comte de Vogue, Bonnes-Mares, Grand Cru, 1990 (valued at $400)
Wow. Is this thing Pinot? Huge. And at 20 years of age, it doesn't seem to be showing any signs of slowing down. It's almost too big to be judged as a Pinot Noir. But sure was tasty. People's favorite, although it was close to a three way tie.

VS

Kosta Brown, Russian River, Pinot Noir 2006
The jump to Cali from Burgundy was even more marked on the reds than the whites, and with such a stellar line up, I was kind of let down. I in no way mean to put down Kosta Browne Pinots, because they're awesome and the critics and the public go wild for them. For me personally, I find them a little too powerful to masquerade as pinot. Don't get me wrong, I wouldn't kick one out of bed, I just don't go crazy like everybody else

Sea Smoke Cellars, Botella, Pinot Noir, Santa Rita Hills 2003
The group's favorite of the flight. I thought it was really tasty, but..

Radio-Coteau, Alberigi Vineyard, Pinot Noir, Russian River, 2005
This was my wine, absolutely beautiful, really head and shoulders above it's peers, nobody seemed to agree with me though. Oh well.

Kistler, Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast, 2002
Some people's favorite, but I found it flat. These Cali pinots after a few years of age remind me of retired musclebuilders, walking the Florida beach in a speedo and a permatan.

My spellbinding photography of a Shiraz Ian shared with us after the event. Yarra Yering. Small producer, really great funky stuff. Not over ripe, some great complexity going on, really a stand out. Parker has this to say:
This artisinal winery produces what must be the most idiosyncratic/eccentric wines of Australia. They can be absolutely spectacular, or they can be distressingly irregular, one never knows which until the cork is pulled. I suspect if the late recluse of Chateauneuf du Pape, Jacques Reynaud, were reincarnated in Australia, he might be making the wines at this backwater address.
Thanks Ian!

Harder Tasting at Campanille, and then some Burgundy

2010-02-24T21:38:00.017-05:00

One of my favorite tastings, from one of my favorite books, Diane Harder. As it was last year, a great collection of super top notch producers, as well as some newer, lesser knowns. My tried and true favorite well knowns were there, Peter Michael, Kosta Browne, Sean Thackrey, Araujo, Soter, Hirsch, Luc Morlet. I got there a bit late, and had my friend, Elissa with me, so we leisurely strolled around instead of my usual manic dashing around. It meant I didn't get to taste at as many tables as I normally would have, but I'm beginning to slow it down and spend a little more time smelling the roses as it were. I did get a chance to catch onto a couple of new (to me) producers.
It feels like I'm cheating a bit with my selection of "new" guys, because my two, are already working with some of the biggest names out there, and are stepping out with new side projects. But there's a reason these guys are where they are, and their juice tells that story...
First, Shane.

Shane Finley is associate winemaker at Kosta Browne. Not too shabby. He's worked with Wells, at Copain, here in Cali, Torbreck in Australia, Gaillard in the Rhone, Paul Hobbs and then Kosta Browne. It's like a fucking who's who of the wine world. But I didn't know any of this when I tasted his wines, and I almost skipped his Syrah, because I wanted to keep it light before going big, but I'm glad I didn't. His "unknown", won't be. And neither will he.

Second, and not in quality, but merely, because George Skorka hadn't made his way up to me yet, to weigh in and point me in the right direction. George, a legend in the LA Wine World, is one of my favorite people to grab at a tasting and ask what's good. He's always got a colorful story, a joke, and a damn good selection to follow it up. Cheers to the George Skorka's of this world!
Dutifully following George's Advice, I headed over to Matt Taylor's table where I met his brother Sean, a super cool guy, as passionate about these wines as one could hope, pouring the Taylor Cellars 06 and 07. Sean, who clearly loves his gig, had a great time with us, regaling us with stories about the label graphics and the Michaud vineyard, of which I'm already a fan. Michael Michaud does some stunners, and I had the pleasure of checking through a vertical not too long ago.
Yet I digress, Matt, "Winegrower" at Araujo, has, as his side project, this beautiful Taylor Cellars. Sean tasted us through the 06 and the 07, although he was all business about not letting us taste the 06 until it had time to open. He let us taste the 07, which was a stunner, but wouldn't let us have the 06. He even suggested we come back later. I Love This Guy! He did let us try the 06 eventually, probably cause we spent so much time bullshitting with him, and even, at the end of the tasting, gave me a half full bottle of the 06, but one of the waiters grabbed it for the winemaker's dinner while my back was turned. Dammit! I'm going to do the unfashionable thing here and say I preferred the 07 to the 06, BUT, if I were able to have sat here with the 06, I might have changed my mind. Either way, wildly different wines, but as expected due to the vintages. Keep these guys on your radar.
Had the pleasure of meeting Diane Harder for the first time too, she's really doing a first rate job of keeping the best and finding the new ones. Cheers Diane!

To wrap it all up, some Burgundy when I got home. Came across an 02 Gevrey Chambertin from Drouhin at a great small shop in Larchmont, Larchmont Village Wine Spirits & Cheese for $30! Yeah, yeah, Drouhin's a big negociant, wah wah wah. Kiss my ass kids, it's a treat, and an expensive birthday treat for me being all unemployed and whatnot, so, I'm lovin' it. A little tight to start, but earthy, lovely juice. Never made it over that hump into "etherial", that special category I reserve for pinot that sneaks into my soul and does the hokey pokey while I'm not looking, but it comes right up to that "all the right things in all the right places" line, and is one of the better, affordable Burgs I've had in awhile. I give it a "right on!", if not a "Hell Yeah!".

Better Judgement later?

2010-02-24T14:10:00.008-05:00

Opened a bottle of Loring 07 Keefer Ranch Chard: the Ain’t-commercially-available, but-only-cause-you-know-Brian, and-he-hooked-you-up-personally, can-you-get this-juice, bottle. Like to brag much? Well, Popped it with Erika and was, huh, perplexed and concerned. Wanted to love it, cause I appreciate Brian and his wares, but it seemed disjointed. Erika asked what I thought, and I wanted to wait for what she thought before I “Colored” her opinion. She found it sweet, and tart. I found it awkwardly broken into little pieces. It's acidity didn't seem to be lined up with or emeshed with the fruit and the finish. And that really bummed me out, because Brian has been so generous with his time, and spirit, AND the bottle was a gift for my B-Day after he’d been so cool as to take us around his place barrel tasting…
BUT, as you can already tell, this review/diatribe/long winded rant is gonna turn good, cause if I didn’t like Brian’s wine, it would’ve gone unsaid…
After it had a little time to warm and get some air, all of these “disjointed pieces” began to marry. So unexpected. Everything, which started out so disparate, came into focus, and equilibrium. (And it takes time AND air, cause the re-closed bottle didn’t have the beauty of the wine sitting in the glasses)
It was kind of like one of those “Magic Pictures” from the 80’s that you’d have to stare at and purposely blur your vision until, out of nowhere, a 3D image would appear. It went from awkward to yummy. So interesting, to see everything TRUELY come into focus. I've never experienced anything like it before.
Another fun reminder of the beauty and mystery of wine, it's living qualities...
(Day 4) In true Loring style, this bad girl chard is still going strong. How does this guy do it? What is his magic? Gravity-defying, death-defying, Chard! Cheers, Mista' Loring!

Just Because

2010-02-23T17:28:00.002-05:00

I don't know why I rail against these Shepard Fairey posters so hard, I like them, I think they look cool... I think what bothers me is not the posters themselves, but people's willingness to jump behind whatever they portray because of surface values... Not to Imply that everybody with one of his posters has no underlying grasp of the person or cause they promote, but anyway, just had to be said.

Loring Wine Company and Native 9

2010-02-19T00:59:00.017-05:00

My girlfriend Erika persuaded me to do something fun for my birthday. Being low on funds, and not a birthday oriented person to begin with, I kinda figured I'd just skip out on the whole celebration thing. In fact, I think when originally asked what my b-day plans were, I said, I was thinking about getting a haircut.
Instead though, persuaded by my lovely lady, I got in touch with two of my favorite winemakers up in Santa Barbara County and did a little tasting. In the past, I've done the whole ATTACK method of wine tasting and bombed through tasting room after tasting room trying to fit in as much tasting as possible. This time though, I took my time, and only hit one winery a day, can you believe it? Just one!
It was great though, I really got the time to hang out with these guys, shoot the shit, and get a real feeling for what they are doing beyond the usual "Attention to detail, respect for the land" story every tasting room employee reads off of a glossy, laminated placard kept behind the bar. I got to hang with the artists themselves and sample from the barrels. We got to see where they've been and hear where they're going, and both teams have some really great treats lined up for the future...
It's funny because I really dig on what both Loring and Native 9 are doing, yet they're quite possibly complete polar opposites in methodology; yet here's the coolest part, Brian makes a Rancho Ontiveros Pinot so you can compare apples to apples, even though Brian's apple doesn't quite behave according to Newtonian physics!
Anyhow, we started off by meeting Brian Loring at his brand spanking new facility in Lompoc. Brian is an ex-computer programing guru, who has an utterly pristine laboratory type space, with a winemaker's dream for a barrel room. He has just one row of barrels on the floor so he can access any barrel at anytime, without the slightest effort. (Most barrel rooms have barrels stacked anywhere from four to eight rows high, requiring, climbing, forklifts, acrobatics, and one hell of a game of Tetris.) For a visual comparison, look at Brian's Barrels up top, compared to Paul and James's down on the bottom. Brian's got an envious floor plan, it's like the equivalent of an NYC girl with a walk in closet (sorry to emasculate you, Brian)

Brian is a maverick, he's had a vision and stuck to it. He used synthetic corks back in '03, (when I first came across his juice at Jeanne's Wainscott Wines in the Hamptons) and then switched to screwcap in 04. I remember pushing his Pinot to Hamptonites who would scratch their heads at the screw caps, but once they'd actually tasted the wines, (and Jeanne had no problem cracking a bottle to shut someone up), they'd be sold. His stuff is big, bold, juicy, drip down your chin, JUICE. It makes no apologies, and neither does Brian. He tasted us on a Chardonnay he makes, (Ha Ha, not yet available to the general public! Jealous?) and laughingly mused, I know everybody's all steel tanked, chablis style, crisp clean, unoaked, trending these days, but I like my big, luscious, oaked, round ones, so that's what I make. And he makes what he loves, and it's obvious. He is a guy having too much fun, and loving it all the way. We spent hours with him wandering through the barrels as he'd say, "huh, I wanna see where the Shea is right now. Let's check in on the Durrel 'cause I've got one new oak and one one year barrel. I wanna see how that Keefer is doing..." Brian does 14 different vineyards of Pinot Noir, yet he doesn't grow any, it's all purchased fruit from some of the best sources around, including: Rancho Ontiveros, where we get Native 9. Brian has been blowing up lately, getting great scores (If that kind of thing matters to you) which, personally, it doesn't to me, but I know it translates to sales for hardworking winemakers like Brian, who deserve it. Wanna buy his wine? Go here

Day 2, Native 9! I've gotta cool down about these guys, or people are gonna think I'm getting kickbacks. But fuck it, I'm going on record, James Ontiveros and Paul Wilkins are making the Grand Cru of Santa Maria. Paul Wilkins, formerly of Alban Vineyards met us at the facility, (On his birthday, I found out later, Happy Birthday Paul!, us Aquarians are a special lot) and took me to the Vineyard where we met James Ontiveros. We got to hang out on the plot, look around, and talk shop. I won't bore you with all the clonal variety (8, count 'em 8) soil type, terroir and the like, but I will share a little tidbit I find interesting. I won't even begin to pretend I know the first thing about farming, but I have spent just enough time walking rows and pulling cane to know a quick cheaters note for looking at a vineyard, and in the rows at Rancho Ontiveros, they've got daffodills, dandelions, and more than a few other varieties of harmless weeds peeking up, as well as an owl house or two looming above to help uninvasively deal with rodents. What all this points towards, and we spoke of, is that these guys are going to go for certified organic. Not 'cause it's cool, not 'cause it sells, but because they think it's the right thing to do, for the land, and for the wine. What those little harmless weeds'll tell you, is that, the farmers aren't throwing down all sorts of vile "Round up" style weed killer, and they're not showering their grapes with ugly stuff that drips down and kills off everything under it. I'm even tempted to get into all the geeky talk about the rarely used 1A clone they've got on the property, but I'll leave that for another day.

Here's a shot of Paul, lovingly pulling us barrel samples to check out. A huge part of the difference between the two Wineries: Brian as a winemaker, but not farmer, has 14 different vineyards of Pinot available, and even more, of secret new projects that I may not be able to spill about yet, BUT ARE FUCKING AWESOME. Paul and James, by contrast, have, in addition to their Alta Maria project, 8 different clonal expressions, all from the same vineyard!
So with Brian, a two step walk to another barrel might represent a 500 mile departure by vineyard. With Paul and James, a different barrel might be a 5 foot departure to a different row. It's so amazing to really taste the differences taking place from clone, vineyard, barrel, vintage, and winemaker. All steps that create the finished product.
Paul is also doing a really kick ass job of Rhone varietals with the Alta Maria project, which has a stunning Pinot Noir too. His Grenache is a cool climate Grenache that has a new spin on old world grenache. It's not the overwrought syrupy style, and it brings, (as do, frankly, all his efforts) a beautiful complexity, that makes you lean into the glass to chase it. His Syrah, and this is meant in no way to be a backhanded compliment, cause I dig it, but it's gonna catch critical acclaim. It's a big, dark, beauty, with much more to give. The usual group of critics, if they get their hands on it, will love it for all the silly reasons, but it's got so much more to love. I don't know how it'll be released yet, but if you're not already on it, you should get yourselves on Alta Maria and Native 9's lists now. Do it. Do it now, or be thirsty later.

The Manhattan Bridge

2010-02-14T03:37:00.004-05:00

This is the Manhattan Bridge, as seen from Brooklyn, in August.
It is one of the mountains in my dreams.

"LA Street Food Fest attracts thousands", Says LA Times. Yet I got hosed, is that fair?

2010-02-13T23:54:00.004-05:00

Took the Metro to Downtown LA today to check out the LA Street Food Fest. Another good time like The First 7th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational I thought, but alas no, they maxed out and turned away the crowds that had waited in line for hours. So, instead, I wandered up towards Little Tokyo and got sidetracked by the latest exhibit at MOCA a collection from the first 30 years. It was actually, really great. I say that, because in the past I've been disappointed by MOCA, but this time, it was a really great exhibition. I even took the shuttle over to the Geffin for the second part of the exhibit, and then went into Little Tokyo for some street food, so kiss my ass, stupid LA Street Food Fest....
And here are my picks from my MOCA visit: click Here!

Pinot Pinot Pinot

2010-02-13T16:08:00.005-05:00

It's been crazy. Pinot Days, Pinot Fest, Stars of Santa Barbara, Burgundy SF, Burgundy LA... I don't know if I can handle anymore Pinot. Ok, that's a lie, I can handle more Pinot. First the Airplane Hanger of Pinot at Pinot Days, then helping to coordinate Pinot Fest in Pasadena, hitting up Red Carpet's Top 100 right after it, A little tasting at the Stars of Santa Barbara with my Buddy Ben From Telluride, off to SF set up and Pour some Burgundy with my Pal Oliver, and then back down to Beverly Hills for more of the same, only to wrap it all up, same day, with a blind Cab tasting and some In-N-Out Burgers...

Brian Loring doing a winemakers dinner at Noir.

Really?

2010-02-07T01:52:00.004-05:00

Sometimes I think, oh please Republicans, please pick this woman, because the people of this Country can't be crazy enough to pick such a moron, but then again, we've done it before...

Unemployed

2010-02-04T23:35:00.003-05:00

These three enterprising young men decided to take the matter to the streets. They walked up and down Hollywood Blvd, holding a sign reading Unemployed College Grads looking for work. Honk for Resumes. They'd been at it all week and hadn't gotten many promising leads, BUT, they were enjoying themselves, and got some girl's numbers...

Thank you for your teaching. Goodbye J.D. Salinger.

2010-01-28T23:57:00.041-05:00

There are a few people, a very few, that I have held in my mind, and heart, as those whose death would affect me profoundly. There are even fewer who would cause me to double check that I'd meant "affect", and not "effect". Normally, I'd offer creative and anatomically challenging suggestions for where they could stick their challenges to my choice of words. For this particular gentleman, however, I feel I oughta be concise, he'd prefer it that way. And yes, oughta, and concise, fit just fine in the same sentence.

This man, this Author, is one of the rare people, who, upon their death, I've worried I wouldn't know what I'd do, or how I'd handle it; one of those people, for whom the loss would seem impossible to me, because it would reflect my own mortality. These people are inseparable from my very own life, and what it means to be alive. How can one live without their most very crucial organs?

My own father's passing, as fond as I was of him, and who I did get to know and like, was met well, accepted, and understood. There are a few people, however, whose death will shake me. And I already know who they are. These people will go, possibly gently, but viscerally, into the good night. Fortunately, those whose death (and I say death, cause passing always makes me think of farting) Those whose death will be met with hardship by me, even though I say fortunately, are those who have most prepared me for their death, precisely because they are the ones who have helped me to understand, and form, the LIFE, and the person I have become. It's a strange dichotomy, but one that that is so very real to me, and exact. So exact, I feel, that I'm afraid I've put too fine a point on it, for nothing could be so rude as to call them out by name, but to those people, who know who they are, I won't miss you, because I AM you. I am the person I am, because of your love and dedication, and your inspiration is like a new life in my own, that helps me push forward in ways I didn't know by myself.

Anyhow, (This is getting embarrassingly personal) moving on, since I've already got a lot on my plate today, this man, J.D. Salinger, is one of these people. I've often thought of this day, and knew it would come.

I suppose I should begin by admitting that I didn't particularly care for The Catcher in the Rye when I first read it. (Where the fuck is the underline button on blogspot?) If ever there were an Author whose books deserved to be underlined it'd be Salinger. Perhaps though, he'd laugh, and love that I don't underline his titles. In fact, I know he would. This is a man I can speak for on the day of his death. And I really can, because I knew him that well. I did. No, I never met the man, but there's no writer ever, seclusion or not, who shared so much of himself with me. And this particular man would feel it to be the highest honor NOT to have his book underlined. And this is no false humility mind you, but rather a man with the greatest respect for the truth, with an invisible capital T.

Back when I was writing, and actually did any, I would read lesser authors and feel great. I'd say to myself, if this crap can get published, then I sure as shit can, I've got it covered. But not Jerry. I'd read his work, and it would break my heart; I'd never come near the truth this guy seemed to simply drip off his pen, I couldn't begin to get near him- but I never hated him for it. I loved him for it, and understood, it was a trade off. It was a secret trade we'd made, I'd learn about me, in exchange for ever thinking I could write about a world I knew so little of. I'd let go, and have him remind me of what I'd forgotten. Perhaps that sounds too intimate, and maybe you don't get it, or maybe you do, and maybe you've found the artists that can do that for you. I've met many who can capture my imagination, but few that could help me create it. Mr J.D. Salinger was one of these people.

However, in the end, there's only one man who can speak for Salinger, and that's Salinger:

I think a part of my mind has been vulgarly laying for this next bit. I haven't thought of it in years and years.
One late afternoon, at that faintly soupy quarter of an hour in New York when the street lights have just been turned on and the parking lights of cars are just getting turned on - some on, some still off- I was playing curb marbles with a boy named Ira Yankauer, on the farther side of the side street just opposite the canvas canopy of our apartment house. I was eight. I was using Seymour's technique, or trying to - his side flick, his way of widely curving his marble at the other guy's - and I was losing steadily. Steadily but painlessly. For it was the time of day when New York City boys are much like Tiffin, Ohio, boys who hear a distant train whistle just as the last cow is being driven into the barn. At that magic quarter hour, if you lose marbles, you lose just marbles. Ira, too, I think, was properly time-suspended, and if so, all he could have been winning was marbles. Out of this quietness, and entirely in key with it, Seymour called to me. It came as a pleasant shock that there was a third person in the universe, and to this feeling was added the justness of its being Seymour. I turned around, totally, and I suspect Ira must have, too. The bulby bright lights had just gone on under the canopy of our house. Seymour was standing on the curb edge before it, facing us, balanced on his arches, his hands in the slash pockets of his sheep-lined coat. With the canopy lights behind him, his face was shadowed, dimmed out. He was ten. From the way he was balanced on the curb edge, from the position of his hands, from - well, the quantity x itself, I knew as well then as I know now that he was immensely conscious himself of the magic hour of the day. 'Could you try not aiming so much?' he asked me, still standing there. 'If you hit him when you aim, it'll just be luck.' He was speaking, communicating, and yet not breaking the spell. I then broke it. Quite deliberately. 'How can it be luck if I aim?' I said back to him, not loud (despite the italics) but with rather more irritation in my voice than I was actually feeling. He didn't say anything for a moment but simply stood balanced on the curb, looking at me, I knew imperfectly, with love. 'Because it will be,' he said. 'You'll be glad if you hit his marble - Ira's marble - won't you? Won't you be glad? And if you're glad when you hit somebody's marble, then you sort of secretly didn't expect too much to do it. So there'd have to be some luck in it, there'd have to be slightly quite a lot of accident in it.' He stepped down off the curb, his hands still in the slash pockets of his coat, and came over to us. But a thinking Seymour didn't cross a twilit street quickly, or surely didn't seem to. In that light, he came toward us much like a sailboat. Pride, on the other hand, is one of the fastest-moving things in this world, and before he got within five feet of us, I said hurriedly to Ira, 'It's getting dark anyway,' effectively breaking up the game.
This last little pentimento, or whatever it is, has started me sweating literally from head to foot. I want a cigarette, but my pack is empty, and I don't feel up to leaving this chair. Oh, God, what a noble profession this is. How well do I know the reader? How much can I tell him without unnecessarily embarrassing either of us? I can tell him this: A place has been prepared for each of us in his own mind. Until a minute ago, I'd seen mine four times during my life. This is the fifth time. I'm going to stretch out on the floor for a half hour or so. I beg you to excuse me.
This sounds to me very suspiciously like a playbill note, but after the last, theatrical paragraph, I feel I have it coming to me. The time is three hours later. I fell asleep on the floor. (I'm quite myself again, dear Baroness. Dear me, what can you have thought of me? You'll allow me, I beg of you, to ring for a rather interesting little bottle of wine. It's from my own little vineyard, and I think you might just ...) I'd like to announce - as briskly as possible - that whatever it precisely was that caused the disturbance on the page three hours ago, I was not, am not now, and never have been, the least bit intoxicated by my own powers (my own little powers, dear Baroness) of almost total recall. At the instant that I became, or made of myself, a dripping wreck, I was not strictly mindful of what Seymour was saying - or of Seymour himself, for that matter. What essentially struck me, incapacitated me, I think, was the sudden realization that Seymour is my Davega bicycle. I've been waiting most of my life for even the faintest inclination, let alone the follow-through required, to give away a Davega bicycle. I rush, of course, to explain
When Seymour and I were fifteen and thirteen, we came out of our room one night to listen, I believe, to Stoopnagle and Budd on the radio, and we walked into a great and very ominously hushed commotion in the living room. There were only three people present - our father, our mother, and our brother Waker - but I have a notion there were other, smaller folk eavesdropping from concealed vantage points. Les was rather horribly flushed, Bessie's lips were compressed almost out of existence, and our brother Waker - who was at that instant, according to my figures, almost exactly nine years and fourteen hours old - was standing near the piano, in his pajamas, barefooted, with tears streaming down his face. My own first impulse in a family situation of that sort was to make for the hills, but since Seymour didn't look at all ready to leave, I stuck around, too. Les, with partly suppressed heat, at once laid the case for the prosecution before Seymour. That morning, as we already knew, Waker and Walt had been given matching, beautiful, well-over-the-budget birthday presents - two red-and-white striped, double-barred twenty-six inch bicycles, the very vehicles in the window of Davega's Sports Store, on Eighty-sixth between Lexington and Third, that they'd both been pointedly admiring for the better part of a year. About ten minutes before Seymour and I came out of the bedroom, Les had found out that Waker's bicycle wasn't safely stored in the basement of our apartment building with Walt's. That afternoon, in Central Park, Waker had given his away. An unknown boy ('some shnook he never saw before in his life') had come up to Waker and asked him for his bicycle, and Waker had handed it over. Neither Les nor Bessie, of course, was unmindful of Waker's 'very nice, generous intentions', but both of them also saw the details of the transaction with an implacable logic of their own. What, substantially, they felt that Waker should have done - and Les now repeated this opinion, with great vehemence, for Seymour's benefit - was to give the boy a nice, long ride on the bicycle. Here Waker broke in, sobbing. The boy didn't want a nice, long ride, he wanted the bicycle. He'd never had one, the boy; he'd always wanted one. I looked at Seymour. He was getting excited. He was acquiring a look of well-meaning, but absolute inaptitude for arbitrating, a difficult dispute of this kind - and I knew, from experience, that peace in our living room was about to be restored, however miraculously. ('The sage is full of anxiety and indecision in undertaking anything, and so he is always successful.'- Book XXVI, The Texts of Chuang-tzu.) I won't describe in detail (for once) how Seymour - and there must be a better way of putting this, but I don't know it - competently blundered his way to the heart of the matter so that, a few minutes later, the three belligerents actually kissed and made up. My real point here is a blatantly personal one, and I think I've already stated it.
What Seymour called over to me - or, rather, coached over to me - that evening at curb marbles in 1927 seems to me Contributive and important, and I think I must certainly discuss it a little. Even though, somewhat shocking to say, almost nothing seems more contributive and important in my eyes at this interval than the fact of Seymour's flatulent brother, aged forty, at long last being presented with a Davega bicycle of his own to give away, preferably to the first asker. I find myself wondering, amusing, whether it's quite correct to pass on from one pseudo-metaphysical fine point, however puny or personal, to another, however robust or impersonal. That is, without first lingering, lolling around a bit, in the wordy style to which I'm accustomed. Nonetheless, here goes: When he was coaching me, from the curb-stone across the street, to quit aiming my marble at Ira Yankauer's - and he was ten, please remember - I believe he was instinctively getting at something very close in spirit to the sort of instructions a master archer in Japan will give when he forbids a willful new student to aim his arrows at the target; that is, when the archery master permits, as it were, Aiming but no aiming. I'd much prefer, though, to leave Zen archery and Zen itself out of this pint-size dissertation - partly, no doubt, because Zen is rapidly becoming a rather smutty, cultish word to the discriminating ear, and with great, if superficial, justification. (I say superficial because pure Zen will surely survive its Western champions, who, in the main, appear to confound its near-doctrine of Detachment with an invitation to spiritual indifference, even callousness - and who evidently don't hesitate to knock a Buddha down without first growing a golden fist. Pure Zen, need I add - and I think I do need, at the rate I'm going - will be here even after snobs like me have departed.) Mostly, however, I would prefer not to compare Seymour's marble-shooting advice with Zen archery simply because I am neither a Zen archer nor a Zen Buddhist, much less a Zen adept. (Would it be out of order for me to say that both Seymour's and my roots in Eastern philosophy - if I may hesitantly call them 'roots' - were, are, planted in the New and Old Testaments, Advaita Vedanta, and classical Taoism? I tend to regard myself, if at all by anything as sweet as an Eastern name, as a fourth-class Karma Yogin, with perhaps a little Jnana Yoga thrown in to spice up the pot. I'm profoundly attracted to classical Zen literature, I have the gall to lecture on it and the literature of Mahayana Buddhism one night a week at college, but my life itself couldn't very conceivably be less Zenful than it is, and what little I've been able to apprehend - I pick that verb with care - of the Zen experience has been a by-result of following my own rather natural path of extreme Zenlessness. Largely because Seymour himself literally begged me to do so, and I never knew him to be wrong in these matters.) Happily for me, and probably for everybody, I don't believe it's really necessary to bring Zen into this. The method of marble-shooting that Seymour, by sheer intuition, was recommending to me can be related, I'd say, legitimately and un-Easternly, to the fine art of snapping a cigarette end into a small wastebasket from across a room. An art, I believe, of which most male smokers are true masters only when either they don't care a hoot whether or not the butt goes into the basket or the room has been cleared of eyewitnesses, including, quite so to speak, the cigarette snapper himself. I'm going to try hard not to chew on that illustration, delectable as I find it, but I do think it proper to append - to revert momentarily to curb marbles - that after Seymour himself shot a marble, he would be all smiles when he heard a responsive click of glass striking glass, but it never appeared to be clear to him whose winning click it was. And it's also a fact that someone almost invariably had to pick up the marble he'd won and hand it to him.
Thank God that's over. I can assure you I didn't order it.
I think - I know - this is going to be my last 'physical' notation. Let it be reasonably funny. I'd love to clear the air before I go to bed.
It's an Anecdote, sink me, but I'll let it rip: At about nine, I bad the very pleasant notion that I was the Fastest Boy Runner in the World. It's the kind of queer, basically extracurricular conceit, I'm inclined to add, that dies hard, and even today, at a super-sedentary forty, I can picture myself, in street clothes, whisking past a series of distinguished but hard-breathing Olympic milers and waving to them, amiably, without a trace of condescension. Anyway, one beautiful spring evening when we were still living over on Riverside Drive, Bessie sent me to the drugstore for a couple of quarts of ice cream. I came out of the building at that very same magical quarter hour described just a few paragraphs back. Equally fatal to the construction of this anecdote, I had sneakers on - sneakers surely being to anyone who happens to be the Fastest Boy Runner in the World almost exactly what red shoes were to Hans Christian Andersen's little girl. Once I was clear of the building, I was Mercury himself, and broke into a 'terrific' sprint up the long block to Broadway. I took the corner at Broadway on one wheel and kept going, doing the impossible: increasing speed. The drugstore that sold Louis Sherry ice cream, which was Bessie's adamant choice, was three blocks north, at 113th. About halfway there, I tore past the stationery store where we usually bought our newspapers and magazines, but blindly, without noticing any acquaintances or relatives in the vicinity. Then, about a block further on, I picked up the sound of pursuit at my rear, plainly conducted on foot. My first, perhaps typically New Yorkese thought was that the cops were after me - the charge, conceivably, Breaking Speed Records on a Non-School-Zone Street. I strained to get a little more speed out of my body, but it was no use. I felt a hand clutch out at me and grab hold of my sweater just where the winning-team numerals should have been, and, good and scared, I broke my speed with the awkwardness of a gooney bird coming to a stop. My pursuer was, of course, Seymour, and he was looking pretty damned scared himself. 'What's the matter? What happened?' he asked me frantically. He was still holding on to my sweater. I yanked myself loose from his hand and informed him, in the rather scatological idiom of the neighborhood, which I won't record here verbatim, that nothing had happened, nothing was the matter, that I was just running, for cryin' out loud. His relief was prodigious. 'Boy, did you scare me !' he said. 'Wow, were you moving ! I could hardly catch up with you!' We then went along, at a walk, to the drugstore together. Perhaps strangely, perhaps not strangely at all, the morale of the now Second-Fastest Boy Runner in the World had not been very perceptibly lowered. For one thing, I had been outrun by him. Besides, I was extremely busy noticing that he was panting a lot. It was oddly diverting to see him pant.
I'm finished with this. Or, rather, it's finished with me. Fundamentally, my mind has always balked at any kind of ending. How many stories have I torn up since I was a boy simply because they had what that old Chekhov-baiting noise Somerset Maugham calls a Beginning, a Middle, and an End? Thirty-five? Fifty? One of the thousand reasons I quit going to the theater when I was about twenty was that I resented like hell filing out of the theater just because some playwright was forever slamming down his silly curtain. (What ever became of that stalwart bore Fortinbras? Who eventually fixed his wagon?) Nonetheless, I'm done here. There are one or two more fragmentary physical-type remarks I'd like to make, but I feel too strongly that my time is up. Also, it's twenty to seven, and I have a nine-o'clock class. There's just enough time for a half-hour nap, a shave, and maybe a cool, refreshing blood bath. I have an impulse - more of an old urban reflex than an impulse, thank God - to say something mildly caustic about the twenty-four young ladies, just back from big weekends at Cambridge or Hanover or New Haven, who will be waiting for me in Room 307, but I can't finish writing a description of Seymour - even a bad description, even one where my ego, my perpetual lust to share top billing with him, is all over the place - without being conscious of the good, the real. This is too grand to be said (so I'm just the man to say it), but I can't be my brother's brother for nothing, and I know - not always, but I know - there is no single thing I do that is more important than going into that awful Room 307. There isn't one girl in there, including the Terrible Miss Zabel, who is not as much my sister as Boo Boo or Franny. They may shine with the misinformation of the ages, but they shine. This thought manages to stun me: There's no place I'd really rather go right now than into Room 307. Seymour once said that all we do our whole lives is go from - one little piece of Holy Ground to the next. Is he never wrong?
Just go to bed, now. Quickly. Quickly and slowly.

That's J.D., I don't know why, I really don't, but these words put me in tears. It's as if he's striking me directly on whatever chords they are that run with these emotions. He speaks to me in ways I didn't know could be spoke, and that's why I use strange words like spoke. I am forever affected by J.D., and I have my F-A-C-U-L-T-I-E-S intact. (Inside joke)

Union des Grands Crus Tasting 2010

2010-01-27T22:35:00.009-05:00

The Union des Grands Crus Bordeaux tasting 2010...

Where to begin? First of all, let's realize what's happening here, the clash of traditions, the Bordelaise coming to pour their produce at the Hollywood and Highland center in LA. The immediate culture crunch seems so jarring. These guys have flown thousands of miles to run their produce past the Parkerized hoards. And then we swill it back and make stupid comments. And who are we to comment anyway?
BUT.
We are there to taste, and to evaluate; perhaps, if we will, with a little bit of humility and respect for the hard work, the difficulties, the variations of nature, and man's attempts to work within these conditions. I know, I know, I may be making too big a deal here, but this is delicate ground to tread- I remember, back on the little vineyard I used to work, (And by work, I mostly mean, the usually inside, pouring, and bottle popping variety, but in all fairness, I did spend an entire winter in the vines) And then, after a labor intensive, difficult year of growing, tending, pruning, nuturing, fertilizing, spraying, picking, handling, carrying, punching down, soaking, pressing, barreling, tanking, racking, pumping, fining, filtering, blending, bottling, boxing, and generally cradling, we'd come to know each of these wines as our sibling, every single one of them speaking to us in it's own special way, with it's own peculiar quirks.
And I remember wanting to leap the tasting bar and absolutely throttle anyone who'd quickly and casually dismiss one of our efforts.

So, it's with this spirit, that I want to be careful and respectful. In short, no, I did not particularly care for the 07 vintage, and I was largely dissappointed with many of it's efforts. Even many of my go-to, bell weather wines, really failed to come through. Why?
In short, I don't know. I don't have the experience, ability, or frankly, expertise, to really tell you. Maybe others will come along and speak to you of weather patterns and brix, ph levels and phenolics, I can't do that. What I can do, is make up a story, entirely invented, and apply it unabashedly to the invented reasoning for why I didn't care for the vintage...
In my story, it was an uneven year, with some rain, some sun, a whole lot of just can't figure it out, and then, just when you thought the corner would turn, nope. I did, of course actually check the weather reports on the vintage, and no, I wasn't too far off. It wasn't a "light" year, ala 1997, which frankly, didn't bother me, I thought there were, and still are, some very nice 97's. I'm not afraid of "light" wines. I don't need every wine to be a blockbuster, in fact, I'm tired of blockbusters. But that's where this year was weird, they "seemed" to be mid to full bodied, but somewhere in the middle, they just didn't balance out correctly.
My Notes: Generally angular and tart. Fruit may be there eventually, but it's almost as if it disappeared at the last moment. Kind of a head fake, and no delivery. However, there were some nice wines, certainly. Nothing wowing me, but some well done efforts. And windows getting opened when doors shut, The 2007 Bordeaux whites were AWESOME! Absolutely delicious, crisp, aromatic, really spectacular.
And the 07 Sauternes are really, really nice, especially the Climens which I went back to for 3rds! Possibly the wine of the night!

My favorites:

Rouge:
Chateau La Gaffeliere (Beautiful Nose)
Troplong Mondot
Kirwan
Rauzan Segla
Gruad Larose
Pichon Lalande
Lascombs

Blanc:
Smith Haut Lafite
Pape Clement

Sauternes:
Climens

By and large, I wasn't a fan of the reds but there were many nice ones, the whites were almost great across the board..

Useful for singing Hey Jude..

2010-01-22T19:21:00.000-05:00

Finally

2010-01-22T19:04:00.000-05:00

They've been trying to catch that guy for years...

Dope ass pillow cases given to me by my friend Kate.

2010-01-19T21:26:00.006-05:00

This lovely pillowcase set, given to me by my friend Kate inspired me to collage together some photos I'd been sitting on.....

Native 9 revisited, or not quite...

2010-01-19T03:03:00.005-05:00

After the Pinot Days tasting, I felt I really wanted to open a nice bottle over dinner. I'd made such a big deal about the Pinot Days tasting, and I thought it'd be a good comparison to truly sit with just one bottle and chart it's development. That being said, I think I've realized something, 750ml Bottles are made for just two people. The development of the wine really needs to happen over time, and there needs to be enough juice for that to happen. Maybe Radikon is right, maybe bottles for two should be 1L and for one person, it should be a 500 ml. I think that guy knows what he does... Yet I digress, Ontiveros' Native 9:

I popped a bottle of his '06 Native 9. I wanted to really sit with it over dinner with the girlfriend and see what was what, and chart the results. I'm glad I did. This is a sort of cross training of wine criticism. I just recently bitched about bombing through hundreds of wines, so now I wanted to chart the evolution of just one. As I mentioned, I'm partial to James' Native 9 Pinots, I've only had them on maybe 5 or 6 occasions, but they've always stood out to me, even, when they didn't. Does that make sense? No, of course it doesn't, don't just agree with me, or assume that I know what I'm doing. Especially, because I don't know what I'm doing. I do it first, and THEN I find out. So here's what I did with James' 06 Native 9 Pinot...

First off, it was cold, refridgerator cold, way too cold. BUT, it is what it is. I pulled it out, popped it, let it sit for a few, tasted and sipped it cold, and then went about helping to prep dinner. Pretty basic fare, by the by, Pre-cooked Whole foods Chicken, organic fresh herb salad with some added peppers, celery, tomato, and carrots, with some grated parmesian which was awesome (but No Vinagrette cause it always messes w the vino) some "Barely Buzzed Cheddar" a coffee ground and lavender touched aged cheddar, and a butternut squash soup. Checked in from time to time on the wine as it warmed and opened. And here, ala 750ml blog inspired description, I thought I'd get into it, and really see where this one wine would go...

First impressions:
Brooding and reticent. Seriously. I'm not one to bounce around those bullshit wine terms, but that's what it was. Dark, and unyielding, as if it were a teenager, all clammed up with way too much mascara, and it's your son...

Second Impressions:
It was structured, without being too tannic. Tight, but not held up by it's tannins, just not showing. And then I wrote, not quite forthright, withholding something. AND it was. Kind of like it just wouldn't give up the goods. I'm tempted to do the whole "voluptuous yet chaste" talk, except, that just kinda bores me now, can't we get past the whole chauvenistic crap? It had the stuffing but wasn't displaying. Nice acidity, but seemed almost piled up on itself, as if it couldn't quite get everything in order. I kinda felt that I liked it, but it wasn't my favorite of his wines. At least of the few I've tasted. Nice, but not lovely. Tasty and in order, but not the wow I'd come to expect. Maybe just a lesser vintage. My least favorite of 04, 08, and now 06.

Third impressions: Each new pour was a step back. It'd expand and get more complex in the glass, and then with each new pour from the bottle, it'd go back to that petulant teenager. Almost infuriating, if it didn't serve it purpose to show the progression. Maybe it was true that I was biased and just making excuses because I liked the wine in the past and expected more. Cause it's true, I know it, when I like a producer, I see past what is, and extrapolate what isn't. I found I liked the balance, but I still found it too dark. Just a vertical tough guy, not the complexity or grace I'd found in other vintages. It was still rounding out, maybe it'd be something better in 2+ years...

Fourth Impressions: Now, after 45 minutes to an hour, it seemed to go in a whole new direction, but it wasn't a new direction, and that's the whole point, it began that magical unfolding, like a strange oragami pop up book that twisted and innergalaxied into a whole new prospect. Now, a new question. Can I use the term, Burgundian? I hate that. I hate using Burgundian for non-Burgundy the way I hate it when I see New York Deli or Brooklyn Pizza out here in California, cause you know what? It's just NOT! Never is. In fact, the best guarantee you can have when you see New York Deli, is that it's not a self-respecting joint. But here's the thing though, there WAS something Burgundian about it as it developed, something of rose petals, and cellars, taking time, and proper development. Something about truth and grace. I'll be damned if you couldn't fool a couple of Burgundy lovers into believing it was a five year old Vosne Rominee...

Last looks...
I loved the big tasting, I really did, and all the many wines to experience, but there's something wonderful about taking the time to sit with just one really beautiful bottle and charting it's progression. If it's the right bottle an you can be there to experience it as it opens up, it offers a whole new perspective. And the Native 9 is a great bottle to do it with...

Pinot Days

2010-01-18T15:08:00.005-05:00

It seems harder and harder these days to comment on the tastings I go to, especially these HUGE ones. Pinot Days, the latest, took place in an airport hangar out in Santa Monica. The list of participating wineries was enormous. How the hell could I even begin to comment on all these wines, let alone take tasting notes? I was there tasting for five hours!

Alana Estate
Arcadian Winery
Archery Summit
August West
Baxter Winery
Bazaar Boutique
Belle Glos Wines
Belle Pente Vineyard & Winery
Benovia Winery
Big Table Farm
Bjornstad Cellars
Bouchaine Vineyards
Buena Vista Carneros
C.Donatiello Winery
Cargasacchi Vineyard
Carr Vineyards & Winery
Cima Collina
Clos Pepe Vineyards
Clouds Rest Vineyards, LLC
Coho Wines
DeLoach Vineyards
Demetria Estate
Derbes Wines
Derby Wine Estates
domaine chandon
Domaine Serene
Donum Estate/Robert Stemmler
Dutton-Goldfield Winery
Etude Vineyards & Winery
Evening Land Vineyards
Fess Parker Winery
Flying Goat Cellars
Fort Ross Vineyard & Winery
gainey vineyard
Gary Farrell Winery
George Wine Company
Hahn Family Wines
Halleck Vineyard
Handley Cellars
Hirsch Vineyard and Winery
Hitching Post Wines
Ideal 55
Inception Wines
Inman Family Wines
J Vineyards & Winery
Keller Estate
Ken Brown Wines
Kendric Vineyards
Ketcham Estate
La Fenetre
La Rochelle Winery
Lachini Vineyards
Landmark Vineyards
Londer Vineyards
MacMurray Ranch
MacPhail Family Wines
MacRostie Winery
Mahoney Vineyards
McIntyre vineyards
Melville
Merry Edwards Wines
Morgan Winery
Native9 Wine
Olson Ogden Wines
Pali Wine Company
Papapietro Perry Winery
Paraiso Vineyards
Paul Mathew Vineyards
Pfendler Vineyards
Pillow Rd. Vineyard
Pisoni Vineyard & Winery
Prodigal Wines
Riverbench Vineyard & Winery
Robert Talbott Vineyards
San Francisco Wine Association
Sand Hill Wines - Durell Vineyard
Santa Lucia Highlands Wine Artisans
Scherrer Winery
Sequana Vineyards
Shandel's Oppenlander Vineyard
Small Vines Wines
Sojourn Cellars
Spell Estate
Stephen Ross Wine Cellars
Suacci Carciere Wines
Talisman Cellars
Talley Vineyards
Tantara Winery
Test Winery
Testarossa Vineyards
Thorne Wine
Three Sticks
TR Elliott
Veramonte
WesMar Winery
Willamette Valley Vineyards
WINDY OAKS ESTATE
Woodenhead
Zotovich Family Vineyards

At around 100 wineries, with an average of 5 wines a table, we're talking 500 wines. This isn't a complaint, mind you, just an appeal for sanity. How can anyone really taste that many wines, much less have concise, and fair notes? Makes you wonder about scores and official reviews... The best I could really do is offer up a short list, and some over all impressions.

07 pinots out of Santa Barbara are beautiful. we all know that, but what's interesting is the seem to be locking up a bit. Not overly tannic, but perhaps a bit hidden. I think this is a good sign, it means these are wines for the mid to long haul (as long as that really is for Cali Pinot anyway) but these should have some life ahead of them and are not mere flashes in the pan. The 08's in general are not as impressive by a long shot. Everyone seemed to be putting their best smile on, and they were far from a disaster, but many were hit by frost, and I've heard from a few producers that even their 09 crop was affected by the damage from 08. I've been saying it for awhile, and I continue to believe it, if you're a collector and you're actually still buying wines, pick up your 07 Cali Pinots.

So, onto my short list:

My three favorites:
Wesmar, Native 9, Ken Brown.
All solid producers, and I've been fans of their juice for awhile. Wesmar, and the Balletto vineyard in particular, always offers up a beautiful strawberry and bing cherry lightness that's almost irreverent when dealing with a room full of Big Overdone Cali Pinots, and more importantly, it pulls it off. Lovely juice.
James Ontiveros' Native 9 is always a favorite of mine. He was pouring his 08. There's a complexity and depth to James' wine that I just love. Even as I tasted it, I admitted to myself that maybe, and even likely, it wouldn't be the favorite in the room. Didn't offer up all it's beauty all at once, but it still had that something special going for it that keeps me coming back. A tough call because I know my personal bias led me towards it, but I don't care, still made my top three.
Ken Brown... well it's Ken Brown, always awesome, in fact I've never had anything less than greatness from any of his wines, his 08's are solid and his 07, awesome.

Then onto honorable mention:
Arcadian Winery
August West
Belle Glos Wines
Bjornstad Cellars
Cargasacchi Vineyard
Clos Pepe Vineyards
(Wes Hagen at Clos Pepe gets special mention as he also poured his 01 VS Pinot which was Stellar! His wines are some of the longest lasting, most collectable of the evening)
Domaine Serene
La Fenetre
MacPhail Family Wines
Melville
Merry Edwards Wines
Paraiso Vineyards
Pisoni Vineyard & Winery
Prodigal Wines
Riverbench Vineyard & Winery
Suacci Carciere Wines
Talisman Cellars
Zotovich Family Vineyards

And these are just of the wines I tasted, many were missed. What really stood out was the overall quality, not a stinker in the bunch, really and truely not one wine I didn't like. Actually, that's not true, wine exchange was pouring four wines and they had an Argentinian Pinot I didn't care for. Other than that though, an amazing collection of fantastic wines...

Lucent Dossier

2009-12-25T21:38:00.004-05:00

Super Tall Paul holding it down in the listening circle. It's almost a pointless post without some audio of Paul's crazy tracks and eukalele playing, but listen carefully enough- and you can almost hear it!

1899 Montrose and more

2009-12-12T18:46:00.009-05:00

An absolutely stellar tasting with Ian Blackburn of Learn About Wine. We tasted: '86 Cheval Blanc, '83 Latour, '95 Margaux, '05 Calon Segur, '03 Calon Segur, '03 Montrose, '00 Calon Segur, '96 Montose, '94 Montrose, '90 Montrose, '89 Montrose, '82 Montrose, '70 Montrose, '59 Montrose, 1899 Montrose, and capped it all off with '95 Yquem.

So, for starters, '86 Cheval Blanc: The ethereal wine Miles (of the movie Sideways) held onto, and then finally drank out of a styrofoam cup with a burger- (N.B. His was a '61) It was what I'd expect of a right banker, but with the depth, balance and length of a Chevy. There's something about Cheval that marries the grace and light perfume of merlot with the stuffing of cab franc, and creates beauty.

'83 Latour- Is it blasphemy to say I didn't love it? Maybe just not showing that night. Too old to be in one of those famous lockedup Latour in between times, it just wasn't showing me the love.

'95 Margaux- I popped this bottle myself and didn't notice anything off, but later, in the glass, I got some TCA on the nose. It was a strange example, because it wasn't hideous, and even, still drinkable. Usually, for me, when a wine is corked, it's gone. I'm just not interested in drinking corked wines. This one though, it was only lightly funked. At the end of the evening, Ian and a few others tried out an experiment, we poured the wine into a pyrex bowl with some bunched up cling wrap, then tossed the plastic wrap, poured the wine back into a glass, et Voila, drinks just fine! The TCA notes were completly vanished, I couldn't detect it at all, and never would've called it corked in a tasting. The fruit however had been affected by the tca and wasn't showing, BUT, it transformed a corked wine into a drinkable one. Still, a neat trick.

Don't worry, I won't make drag you through all the tasting notes, just some highlights:

'05 Calon Segur- Yum. Buy it. what a great medium priced alternative. Great big fruit, lovely balance, this'll be a winner for the short term and the long haul. Most 05's are shutting down these days, ad going to sleep, but this Calon was rockin'

'03 Montrose- I was really looking to this one with excitement. I had tasted the '03 Montrose alongside the first growths and some other super second '03 Bordeauxs at a big tasting in NYC. I placed the Montrose #1. To me it was the wotn and the champ of champs. This night though, (3 years later) it's early sweet fruit had tamed and the structure won out. It's important to point out, that it was still a blockbuster, a giant of monumental proportions and will undoubtedly continue to be a legend. If anything, it was most interesting to me as a peek into the time capsule, a way to check in on it, and see how it's evolving. I'll have to check back in in a few years and see how she's doing.

'96 Montrose in some ways, my favorite of the evening. I'd remarked that more than any other, this wine was showing it's best potential. There were other wines that could be considered potentially better, and still others that may have shown better that night, but this particular night, the '96 was showing beautifully, it's fruit, structure, balance and purity were all there. It was at it's peak.

'90 Montrose- A Parker 100 pointer. I can see why- but I preferred the '89

'82 Montrose- right where it wanted to be. Beauty as an '82. it's amazing how wonderfully these '82's are still showing. The vintage that solidified Parker's rep, these are just beautiful. This 82 was no exception.

'70 Montrose- Had to look at the label twice. 1970. Really? As youthful as the '82, if not seemingly more so. The only other 70 I could compare it to, is a 70 Latour, and this Montrose killed it! This is why we collect Bordeaux...

1899 Montrose- Wasn't even sure what to expect. The oldest bottle of Red I'd had previously was a '62 Lafite. What can you expect from a 110 year old bottle anyway? The color changed in the glass as it was poured. as the oxygen hit it, the light red juice turned slightly brown in front of our eyes. Almost tea-like in character, nutty, light, velvet, it was almost more of a texture than a taste. In some ways, I wish we'd tasted the 1899 first, but it was lovely to have at the end. But not quite- cause then we had:

95 Y'quem- Boy is this stuff magical... This wasn't even a great Yquem for me. I didn't find it as usually complex and otherworldly as some of the others I've had, but even still, it's just amazing. Crazy weird tropical fruits, lilting finish. Some neat stuff.

Sunset over LA from the Griffith Observatory

2009-12-12T18:43:00.001-05:00

Tiki Dan

2009-12-04T23:27:00.003-05:00

Seriously in need of better ways to spend my time? Undoubtedly. However, this is still important, I have unlocked the mystery of the totem that has haunted me for years, much the way the Easter Island Heads have provoked the curiosity of the masses for years- Across the street from me, someone, chainsawed this face into a palm tree. It has been revealed that the artist is none other than Tiki Dan, a now deceased genius who was in serious trouble with the LAPD for his flagrant disregard for law in his quest for beauty. Apparently there are many, however disappearing, evidences of his time on this planet all over LA power poles and palm trees.

2009-12-01T18:42:00.002-05:00

Almost jumped

2009-12-01T01:38:00.002-05:00

So okay, yeah, the image belies more than actually happened, but maybe not more than COULD have happened, thanks to none other than yours truly, savior of the evening. Basically, it went down like this, the Saints murdered the Pats, and we saw it all go down at our local watering hole in Los Feliz, Ye Olde Rustic, one hell of a spot, might I add. Anyhoo, we walked out and after meeting up with another friend buying smokes, I noticed there was a guy following closely, playing music out of an ipod speaker, following just a bit too closely. Perhaps native New Yorker, perhaps just me, I dropped back a bit to chat up this guy who seemed just a bit too close. Somewhere in me, I felt the guy was impinging, didn't quite know why yet, but enough to make me engage him in conversation, ala, you're awful close to us, I see ya, what's yer deal chief? So he and I spoke a bit, dropped back from my two friends, when I noticed his head nods and looks seemed to be to his buddy who was on the far side of the street. As we approached the corner and his friend sped up to make the light and cross over, I called back my buddies and said, "Hey come back here". They did, I told them to come with me quickly across the street, which they did, and they went into another wine bar. The guys had met up, come back across the street, down the block towards and past us, and then into a parking lot to reconvene. That's when I knew I was right. My buddies were in the bar still, but I made a point, to nod and say what's up as the guys backtracked a third time to walk past and away- The old, I see ya pal, maybe next time, glance.
So far LA's been a breeze, not so much as a worry. That one though, I know in my soul, was a two man set up. Bad guys 0, us, well I guess we don't really get points, but we didn't get mugged, so I call it a win...

Bigsby Palm Pedal

2009-11-28T22:28:00.003-05:00

So Justin added this Bigsby Palm pedal to his guitar. It's both a b bender and a g bender. Basicaly, the strings run through that contraption and when he pushes on it with his palm, it tightens the strings and raises the pitch.

SWAT team

2009-11-20T22:40:00.003-05:00

So, I was out walking the dog yesterday when I heard a loud pop from the building across the street. The couple in front of me, hands full of groceries, stopped and looked at the building. What was that, the lady asked her guy. I don't know, he said. Kinda sounded like a gun shot, I said. Then bang another, and a few seconds later, another. Let's go, he grabbed his girl, they ran across the street towards the building, out of the fire line I suppose, and down the street. A few blocks down I came across two cops walking quickly up the street, talking on their radios. I told them about the possible gunshots I heard, and from where, and they asked me to come up the block with them. In under three minutes, the entire North East District SWAT team was there and there were officers cordoning off Vermont Avenue. Snipers with M16's, tactical shot guns, and body armor were slowly making their way up the block. Turns out, there was some construction work going on with nail guns that fire .22 caliber charges. Good to know the response time is so good though...

Celebrity Look-a-likes

2009-11-16T21:10:00.003-05:00

A pissed off Brandy, and Conan the Barbarian. Coincidence? I think not...

Last Night

2009-11-12T20:04:00.001-05:00

My Wednesday Night was more fun than yours.

2009-11-11T21:30:00.000-05:00

This is a Norman Rockwell Painting entitled: Time to go home

Gettin our tuxes

2009-08-18T00:05:00.001-04:00

Me and Jammer, getting monkey suited.

Vegas

2009-08-17T23:46:00.004-04:00

No this is NOT me, and no, I did NOT gain a lot of weight. Thanks, assholes.

Brooklyn

2009-08-17T23:43:00.001-04:00

The Manhattan Skyline in the background, out over Downtown Brooklyn.

New York, New York

2009-08-17T23:29:00.008-04:00

Back in NYC, and more importantly, Brooklyn. A couple images...
My Man Brisk, with a slick Burner 75 feet up, The Empire State Building as seen between the Legs of the Manhattan Bridge, and the Empire State Building reflected off some other building by Bryant Park.

Walking the Brooklyn Bridge

2009-08-17T23:05:00.003-04:00

When I turned 21, I turned to my dad and asked him if I was old enough to tell him about some of the stupid shit I'd done without him getting all upset. He said, "Sure, lay it on me." So I proudly told him I climbed to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge (by walking up along the main cables) He calmly looked at me for a moment and then said, "Oh yeah? You too?"

Aberdabers done got hitched!

2009-08-11T12:56:00.006-04:00

My little sis got married! Couldn't be happier. It's funny, I never really thought I'd care so much about weddings and stuff like that, but it was really beautiful and wonderful, and her husband is such a great guy, it was really a special day. Photographs courtesy my buddy Cal Crary:
CalCrary.com And that's my mom in the last one.

Oh Janet

2009-07-26T17:23:00.001-04:00

What would Mr. Roper say? Dear, Dear, Janet got busted for a DUI... We gotta do something about these crazy laws, our brightest stars are being dragged through the muck. Oh, the humanity...

Joy and Pain

2009-07-23T14:25:00.002-04:00

This is incredible. It's unbelievably perfect. It should, in fact, be the actual video. Is there a better expression? I think not.

Click Here.

Ghostbusters

2009-07-21T17:50:00.002-04:00

Not kidding. Look at this. And we wonder why California is going bankrupt...

Erika Drinking Mint Tea

2009-07-20T23:43:00.003-04:00

Bigfoot Lodge

2009-07-20T20:33:00.008-04:00

Drinks and Music at the Bigfoot Lodge after the Larner Tasting. Never had a Bacontini before? Then head off to the Bigfoot Lodge. You can get yerself a martini with Bacobits and other spices of life on the rim. And if you need some redneck noise.... well then boys and girls, you've come to the right place.

Larner Vineyard tasting at Palate

2009-07-20T20:26:00.006-04:00

This blog is quickly turning into the Palate Fan Club page. I love that place. Yesterday, Steve set up a tasting of some of the wineries that make Larner Vineyard wines. Took my friends Eric and Kumi for some kickass syrah and Grenache. And then Kumi did a rose flight.

Dinner at Little Door, Drinks at Rivera

2009-07-16T18:54:00.003-04:00

Dinner first at Little Door: Cute, great atmosphere, awesome service, lovely food. But UNBELIEVEABLY expensive. Their wine list was, I hate to criticize someone else's list, but downright offensive.
http://www.thelittledoor.com/tldwinebar.html
They want $1,056 for a magnum of '99 Prieur Lichine! 750ml are currently available between $40 and $90, and it's a questionable vintage! WTF? BUT, if people pay it, then god bless 'em. The food was wonderful. I had a duck breast and leg confit that was delicious. Final verdict: would I go back? In a minute, but only if someone else were paying.

But then, onto Rivera, the new hotspot in downtown LA.
http://www.riverarestaurant.com/
We only stopped in for drinks, but got a chance to take a quick spin, and a look at the wall of Tequilla. I'll be back tomorrow for dinner.

Late Night Burg Tasting at Palate

2009-07-11T02:02:00.006-04:00

So dinner at Palate with three different Arcadian Pinots evolved into an 05 Seguin Chambolle Musigny and Gevrey Chambertin cage match. We all spilled out the back of the Wine Shop for the Gevrey portion, and AH, what a Gevrey it was.... The Gevrey dominated. In fact, it even gave the Chambolle a wedgie.

Beautiful moon over LA

2009-07-08T02:22:00.001-04:00

The Steady Evolution of Noir

2009-07-08T00:35:00.014-04:00

Getting there....

Tasting at Bacaro

2009-07-08T00:31:00.003-04:00

Cool little wine bar down by USC, where we tasted through Blue Danube, Vinos Unico, and the Epicurean portfolios....

Little Dom's

2009-06-30T13:52:00.002-04:00

Little Dom's on Hillhurst. I love this place. Consistently some of the best food I've had in LA. AND on Monday nights, they have $10 bottles of their Dago Red or White. It's a blend of juice from Palmina! How cool is that?

Anna Fur Laxis takes on Japan

2009-06-28T13:30:00.010-04:00

So, what do you do when giant robots attack? Hope like hell that Anna Fur Laxis is in town, that's what.

When need be, she has her trusty Pandamobile to convey herself around in a hurry.

Out on the town with other Superhero friends.

Tiniest stage ever...

So, really, Anna Fur Laxis is friends with Jack Dagger, and she jaunts around the world making appearances, doing burlesque shows, and photo shoots. Pretty cool. Pretty, and cool.

Anna Fur Laxis is a full-time Superhero Housewife who's superpowers entail constantly getting into scrapes for which the only solution is to take off her clothes. Generally found with a cup of Earl Grey tea in hand, Anna's interests include adding to her portfolio of housewifely skillz and mincing around in rubber and pencil skirts. Or rubber pencil skirts.

Stars of Santa Barbara Tasting

2009-06-27T19:45:00.007-04:00

Brian Loring throwing his LWC Gang sign for Loring Wine Company. Brian, in addition to being a rock star winemaker, is also a really funny and cool guy. I joked with him that at Noir, we have a wall of his wine. I call it the wall o' Loring.

Curt Schalchlin, wine maker at Sans Liege, a relatively new producer of wild, Rhone-styled wines. His three right now are the 2007 Cotes du Coast, a White blend of Viognier, Rousanne, and Marsanne. (Coincidentally, I got to try the '06 at Bottlerock in Downtown LA recently) The 2006 Offering, a blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre with a touch of Viognier. And the 2006 Grenache, which is simply awesome.

href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_KifITUnf_fk/SkbO3_Wr_qI/AAAAAAAADWk/MgNkKc7sTvU/s1600-h/FILE0012.JPG">
Peter Cargasacchi, holding it down. Cargassachi, in addition to making wines with his own fruit, sells some of the most sought after Pinot Noir out there. He sells to Bonaccorsi, Loring, Pali, and only a few others. And oh yeah, Peter claimed he didn't show up on film.

The Joel Porter Quartet at the York

2009-06-22T02:11:00.005-04:00

Spent father's day listening to a friend's jazz quartet. I'm sure the old man would approve.

Another Year in LA

2009-06-22T01:44:00.003-04:00

An art show down in Atwater Village I swung by. The knife has "Fucking Hippie" laser etched on it. I think I should have bought it for Autumn.

The last sunlight of the Summer Solstice 2009 as reflected off of a standing bass. And no, I don't feel like elaborating, it'd just fuck it up.

2009-06-22T01:34:00.004-04:00

Rockin out.

2009-06-21T20:39:00.000-04:00

There's a lot going on here...

Marty and Elaine Livin La Vida Loca

2009-06-19T23:23:00.008-04:00

Marty and Elaine, at it again, down at the Dresden. Wow. Way too dark for video, but the sound is what we go for, right?

The BIG solo. Elaine tears it up!

Extended vocals. Look Out!

Gavin's B-Day

2009-06-18T05:52:00.002-04:00

Drinks at The Griffin for Gavin's B-Day. Sorry folks, no photos or stories.. we were too busy rockin it out. Although, I did get him a 15 year old Pappy Van Winkle Bourbon. Homeboy deserved it, even if he sure as shit didn't need it.

Doin the wine list

2009-06-17T15:26:00.001-04:00

Gettin' there. Gettin' there.

Cooked Wine?

2009-06-16T19:57:00.004-04:00

Found some 02 Grenache and 03 Shiraz from Kilikanoon that had been incorrectly put in in climate UNcontrolled storage. We figured, hey, let's pop 'em and see how they are. Well, kinda interesting- if there's anything I'd think would be able to handle some heat, it'd be Australian Grenache and Shiraz. The Grenache had slightly roasty coffee notes, but the inherent raspberry was still there. Also an almost Thackreyesque eucalyptus thing going on too. It showed some premature aging but we were surprised how well it held up. For the first five minutes at least. Then it quickly went downhill as the oxygen got in, and the finish was shot, offering up only an over the hill remains of a jam. The Shiraz, may have never been the wine the Grenache was. It never seemed to make it out of the gate. So let this be a lesson, kids, store your bottles well.

Flash makes an appearance Video

2009-06-16T16:58:00.004-04:00

Flash makes an appearance

Shared via AddThis

The elusive Flash Backflip video...

Singing Sadie

2009-06-15T13:46:00.005-04:00

Sing a little ditty with Sadie, the all singing all dancing queen of the burgeoning underground show tunes scene. Her songs hark back to the war years, a simpler time, when singing prowess was often overlooked. Sadie, instead of that talent crap, favors sharp and biting lyrics centred on drinking, dancing, and prostitutes long passed their used by date. All sung and danced with all the skill and execution of Florence Foster Jenkins. Sadie left her song and dance lessons at age 12 to find work in the industry way ahead of her peers. In response to criticism at the time, she was quoted as saying 'They don't know a fucking thing about music anyway' Although purported, there is scant evidence that she actually accused anyone of being a "stupid whore", though. As rumour has it, after a tinkle on the bar tab she is likely to do splits, show her underclothes more than once, and high kick unsuspecting audience members in the head.

“This Australian one-woman-show sings in an out-of-control voice that doesn't always hit the "right" notes (but they're usually close enough) humorously dirty lyrics over old big-band records. And then, maybe half-way thru each tune...she tap dances. Well, she tries. It's kind of the dancing equivalent of her singing, like someone randomly dropping silverware on a hard floor.” – WMFU.

Blow back over the Riuniti post

2009-06-15T12:00:00.009-04:00

So my notes on the Riuniti truck have found purchase. Craig, the driver writes:

"Hey, I'm Craig...the driver of the Riunite RV! I once lived in the neighborhood (Los Feliz) where the pic was taken, and was having dinner with a friend.
Don't be so harsh...Riunite Lambrusco is a refreshing beverage...even to the most jaded wine aficionados.
Great Blog! Hope to run into you sometime on the road...I'll be in Sonoma this weekend for a Nascar event....see you there?"

Damn! I won't be in Sonoma, but Craig, when do you come back to LA, I think a Riuniti tasting is in order. I DO in fact happen to like Lambrusco and in fact have two lined up for our by the glass list at the new wine bar. Is Riuniti an option? Possibly, let's do a tasting!

I'm not too snobby for new options!

The Riunite Truck!

2009-06-14T02:21:00.007-04:00

Holy hell, Riunite's got an RV. And it's got NY plates no less. In all fairness, I've never even had Riunite so I can't actually say with any authority that it sucks, but I'm pretty sure it's terrible. I wonder who drives that thing? It'd probably be pretty awesome to Bomb around the US pouring Riunite at car races, Renaissance fairs, and AARP fundraisers.
Apparently, there's a group of people in Baltimore who like to drink Riunite and rollerblade. They're called Rollerbrusco

Alice's Graduation

2009-06-14T02:18:00.002-04:00

My Cousin Alice graduated from UCSB. She's already lined up with a design job here in LA. How together is she? I had to sweat it out for years before figuring out what I wanted to do. It was just a year ago, I took her out for her first legal beer!

Immaturity through scrabble

2009-06-14T02:15:00.001-04:00