My detour through the
“value case” has led me
back to my nanny as
I inspect the cooler
filled with HAND PICKED
wines.
(If I didn’t repeat
myself, I wouldn’t be
reliably consistent
over a predictable
time period.)
I collapse at her feet
as she pats my head and
waves the PN bottle cork
beneath my nose.
I’ll eschew the hairy flowers.
I wish to be flogged
with Alfredo noodles.
I’ll endure any kind of
gustatorial torture,
just give me some freaking Pinot Noir.
(Even computing machines
with dictionaries in memory
lose spelling bees.)
I’m remembering how
incredibly wonderful
this kind of wine can be.
Light and fresh.
Tart and acidic.
Sometimes a bit of oak.
Coy flavors that you
have to chase around
in the glass.
Earthiness that can
only be fully enjoyed
after one has been raptured.
I hope I don’t spend
TOO MUCH time in
WINE PURGATORY for
going so far astray.
But, but, but, what
about THIS WINE?
It appears to be one
I picked up in Paola
and is likely to be a
“repeat impressor”.
Since I can’t remember
anything, these notes are
written “without prejudice”.
It MAY BE a bit pruney.
I’m not saying that
it’s a BAD thing, it’s
just the THING that
I’m noticing above all
other THINGS.
Let’s call it REALLY
ripe plums so we can
be PC or whatever.
No matter, I’m enjoying
this “welcome home” in
a big way.
But don’t get any ideas.
She’s MY nanny.
Curiosity killed the
penitent cat.
Let’s read some more
about the California magic
triangle of PN wine.
If you are going to drink THIS KIND
of wine then why not have “camp food”.
Bannock with sausage and dirty eggs.
My bannock mix has baking powder
in it and I will cook it on a
covered cast iron griddle.
This wine is good at lowering my
“cost per bottle” and is a
“reasonable facsimile” for PN wine
in general.
This was my first attempt at
bannock.
Even with the baking powder it
was “filling”.
Less fluffy than, but similar to
biscuits.
The wine reminds me of the
smell of balloons.
Maybe this was a poorly
inspired “wine pairing”.
I’m picking up a bit of the
“cherry cola” in this one.
That’s nice, but the overall
feel is that of “softness”.
Too soft for me.
Maybe a bit of cinnamon.
Who cares?
This is a “hugely generic”
wine, so the important question
is whether it is a “palatable
cost per bottle reducing
agent”.
It’s on the borderline in
terms of palatability.
Dear Cupcake,
Please excuse my meanness,
I’m just having a
“day of disorientation” and
YOUR WINE ISN’T HELPING
ONE BIT.
Sincerely,
OTWN
“RETAIL” could be rescued
out the jaws of AMAZON simply
by having this wine freely
ON TAP in the center of the
mall or store.
Wife: Oh darn, I have to go
to Walmart to get some
.
Hubby: I’ll go.
W: Huh?
H: I need to look for
string trimmer line.
W: What kind of wine
is on tap today?
H: Cupcake PN 2015.
W: You’ve got 15 minutes.
H: Hand me that last
piece of bannock.
W: Here you go dear, but
let me wipe the egg off
your face before you go.
<15 minutes elapses>
W: See anything interesting
at Wally Mart?
H: Not really. Just the
usual…
The wine bottle made
me do it…
Day Two…
I’m not letting FOOD get
in my way today.
Let’s track test this
puppy without any
competition.
OK, the sprouts are “down sauteing”;
it won’t be long.
I’m doin’ the “Cast Iron Genuflect”
as I wait.
HE LIKES IT!!!
And the wine is still hanging in there.
Slurpy good.
Day Two…
I’m looking forward to a few more
sips of this one.
Leading off is mild cheddar with
oven fries on deck.
I think I have some shredded hard
Italian cheese to put on the fries.
The Gewürztraminer stands out or at
least I can “detect” it.
This would be a good “training wine”
for G.
And I’m always game for a Somerset
Ridge Traminette.
(OK, I’m lost. I can find find a
good description of a farm-to-market
road on the Texas DOT site, but I
can’t find a description of Traminette
on the Somerset Ridge site.)
((Texas, being quite coy, doesn’t
specify that their FtM roads are paved
with Traminette seeds and the Kansas
wine growers get a cut of the “road use
taxes”.))
D: Let’s put a descriptive article
about our Traminette on the web site.
C: We can’t.
D: Huh?
C: Our contract with TxDOT precludes it.
D: Why?
C: They already have enough roads and
it’s a perpetual contract. They are
thinking about building financial
institutions with the excess seeds.
And while we’re daydreaming about the
German wines, it occurs to me that
MAYBE I should relax my “dry only”
standard and dip into the Spätlese bin
to see if I can come up with one that
has “just the right amount” of sweetness
for me.
Now I’m imagining a “stay inebriated”
string trimmer’s vest or backpack
for the blisteringly hot days to come…
Features:
6 x 750ml bottle pockets.
Two at the rib cage, four on the back.
Triple insulated for dry ice or
liquid nitrogen use.
Secure cork screw pocket.
User selectable list of target vegetation.
Non-target vegetation destruction
alarm system that is armed after
30% fluid depletion.
There are no weeds in this wine.
Only that “tropical fruit” that
the producer blatantly alludes
to (oxymoronically?).
Wines this easy drinking and delicious
are plentifully rare.
The taters are gone and were followed
with the last tiny sip of wine.
The wine-enjoyment/
food-preparation-complexity
ratio is off the charts today.
If you are new to the program,
that is the dual objective.
Enjoy wine to the fullest and
waste as little time as possible
“conjuring” food.
(Upwardly, if necessary.)
Some food, apparently, simply GROWS.
Let’s take advantage of that
and focus our energy on the
numerator.
I get worn our after a good
uncorking ceremony.
And since the horse appears to be
still gasping for breath, let me
point out that the numerator “noun”
is enjoyment, not quality; and the
demoninator noun is complexity,
not enjoyability.
The food HAS TO BE enjoyable,
and the wine MAY OR NOT BE complex.
Got it?
The drooling started yesterday when Theresa
told me that the egg salad was done.
I just finished making the finger sandwiches
and my stomach is growling.
I decided to dust off the Riedel white wine
glass for this one. I’m waiting for the glass
to chill.
First sip…
This is the driest and most austere R that I
have ever had.
First bite…
This might not be PERFECT, but it will do.
The egg salad wins the flavor battle, but the
wine wins the beauty contest and leads the
cheering squad.
It’s really hard not to shovel and gulp.
Give me an “A”, Apple of my Eye.
Give me a little “h”, honey.
Give me another “h”, honey.
…
What’s that spell?
Ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh.
Brunch is over and now I get to enjoy
a bit more of the wine without all that
“flavor distraction”.
Boiled eggs CAN BE real stinkers.
Maybe deviled ham WOULD BE better. That’s
easy enough to figure out.
“As The Grape Ripens”…
In this episode, our wine slush contemplates
which food might be best to have for a “wine
brunch” so he can keep having experimental brunches
until he can’t contemplate anymore.
Biscuits and Gravy
Liver and Onions
Gizzards, Gonads, and Geodes
…
The follow-on sips reveal a wine with subtle
flavors of honeycomb and softer, less citrusy
fruit than I’m used to in R. Not quite
pear, but getting there.
And there’s an “earthy” quality that I can’t
yet pin down.
Or maybe something “stemmy”.
No. It’s minerals. “Clean Slate”.
Now I can match the taste and smell. Very nice.
Judge: You have been accused of mixing food
and drink in “an unseemly fashion”. How do you
plead?
Wine Slush: Aggressively.
J: The court finds you guilty of violating
Wine Enjoyment Ordinance #337. You must pay $500
OR do “corrective” community service. Which
do you chose?
WS: Community service. What is it?
Court Order:
Prepare the palate.
Eat the sandwiches.
Clear the palate.
WS: What kind of sandwiches?
J: Court adjourned, it’s time to obey WEO #1.
Day Two…
I “preparing my palate” this morning.
The subtle things are becoming more evident, but
I need more time to prepare. For what, I don’t
know.
I actually got the impression of Semillon. How
can that be? Please tell me I don’t have MORE
brain damage.
Please read ALL of the comments and then answer the following
question.
What “musically significant thing” happens at exactly 4:19
in this “particular video”?
I keep looking at the neck of the wine bottle which is
exposed above the wine bib to see it the spelling has been
changed to “Sturm”.
Alas, it is static and I’m forced to investigate Stirm’s web
page.
Hmmm.
For a minute there I got a little “geographically confused”,
but after figuring out that the “Kick-on” vineyard was near
Santa Barbara I felt a little better.
As you know, I consider the Solvang/Los Olivos/Santa Ynez
“triangle” to be oenologically endowed by GOD, so when I
connected this wine to Los Alamos, I was “relieved”.
Maybe I need to add Los Alamos and Buelton to create a
parallelogram of sorts.
And the verdict is…
The bottle is empty and the wine will be sorely missed.
But school is still in session…
Campo de Borja/Calatayud/Cariñena is another “triangle”
that haunts me.
Someday I will have a wine from from this area that is
“light and elegant”. I can wait…
As a testament to my declining mental
capacity, I had to re-remember that
Pinot Gris is Pinot Grigio.
I can’t believe it.
(My memory and the wine.)
This wine is insanely delicious.
Whether it is EXACTLY “my style” is another
matter. And no matter.
This should add to my wine appreciation factor
by several tenths of a rating point.
I cheated, so I’m expecting apricot and honeyed
grapefruit.
I’ll go with that until something else comes to
mind.
That didn’t take long…
One of my favorite THINGS is Disaronno amaretto on
grapefruit pieces or in grapefruit juice.
This comes to mind as I sip the wine.
I may have to stretch for the almonds but they’re
there. Maybe.
I picked this wine today because my appetizer will
be Honey Baked TURKEY. I figured PG would be OK
with that.
The HBT is delicious and goes just fine with the wine.
I’m having Andre’s bolognese sauce with angel hair again
so this will be REAL INTERESTING.
I figured the PG would be OK because I basically eat
the pasta with just a wee bit of sauce for flavor.
I mix the pasta and sauce as I spoon it out of the
skillet and into my mouth. Pasta on one side,
sauce on the other, eat from the middle. Like that.
Plates are for people, not wine lovers.
This is a MUST WATCH video.
This wine would go with anything between earthworm aspic
and escargo etoufee, so MY lunch was just fine.
The pairing might not be ideal but it could become
one of my favorite things…
You don’t have to watch this one unless you are curious
as to how the wine got its beautiful color.
I’m just going to keep going on about how luscious
this wine is.
And beautiful.
A rosé impersonator.
An intoxicating elixir extraordinaire.
Heaven is comprised of hills and valleys interspersed
with wineries of every sort.
Upon passing through the Pearly Gates, you are handed a
crystal chalice and directed down a winding path. The first
babbling brook you come to is filled with Wonderwall PG and
lined with almond and apricot trees in full bloom.
If you linger, a forest nymph will bring you warm
ciabatta and Petit Basque cheese.
What are we still doing HERE?
Oh yeah, warming up.
My only question is HOW DO THEY DO THAT?
(The flavor that is. Never mind the color of Maria’s
hair. On second thought, THAT would be interesting to know
too.)
Option Trader's Wine Notes 