Swirlers, one and all, near and far,
What started as a good idea (and remains a good idea- this blog) has lain fallow for far too long. One could understand the hiatus that summer in Oregon requires: endless gardening, marketing, etc., while the sun shines, but how to account for the period between blog inception and today? Too much to do? Maybe. Wrong medium for our group? Probably. Lack of provocative subjects, to goad us dinosaurs onto the electronic inkplot? No doubt.
So, let's try again. I will not pressure you into joining me on this sojourn, but I have much to say about wine, etc., and I need a creative outlet to express it (I guess the creative part is subjective at best).
Wine thoughts: I'm currently plagued by the Cayuse allocation system. It seems like a marvelously contrived trap that creates a sense of need/want, such that you must obey the call to purchase, lest you lose your place in line. Is the wine that good? It is very good wine. But, for the price of Cayuse, I can buy higher end French and Italian wines that I would probably like more. So do it? Because there is no way to reflect or take a time out: you buy in or you lose. So, in the end, we buy. It's not the buying that I object to, in the end, it's the "have to" that drives me nuts. I predict we will eventually step out of this production line....but not this year!
Wine Notes: We opened a 1998 Cotes du Rhone from the Perrin Brothers the other night. One we purchased from Beaumont Wines (the sight of the sticker filled KT and I with pangs of nostalgia). This wine is pushing nine years and still retains a lovely vitality. We are no experts in this but it seemed like it might have just started to turn from "peak drinking" to subtle slide toward past prime. Still very enjoyable; still filled with the classic Rhone profile: herbs and spice and warm provencal soil. Even seemed a teensy bit petulant. But thoroughly enjoyable and a good reminder to be moving quickly through our remaining 98's and 99's. Oh the rigors of cellar management.
Fall is here and with it endless opportunities to wade through our largess of rich red treasures. Another reason to celebrate this changing season.
Ciao,
gene
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Friday, February 2, 2007
Wine Wednesday's
Jewel & I traveled straight from work to partake of Paley's Place Wine Wednesday's offering. The theme, much to our liking, was Rioja. In addition to the three wines featured in each flight, Paley's typically throws in an unidentified wine. Anyone who guesses the grape (or blend), producer, AND, vintage gets the wine tasting free. No one has ever been completely successful. My apologies here for forgetting the actual producers name but this week the surprise wine looked exactly like a pinot noir and tasted like a grenache... it was, in fact, a rioja.
Although the wine tasting scheme could be accompanied by a variety of spanish appetizers, we opted instead (much to Suzanne's, the bartender, approval) for an appetizer from the full menu as follows: rabbit liver & foie gras mousse, lamb lettuce (with marinated raw slices of squash), grilled flatbread, fruit mustard. we realize this is not for everyone, but Jewel and I did a better job licking the plate than Ruth's dog, Coco ever could!
Tim
Although the wine tasting scheme could be accompanied by a variety of spanish appetizers, we opted instead (much to Suzanne's, the bartender, approval) for an appetizer from the full menu as follows: rabbit liver & foie gras mousse, lamb lettuce (with marinated raw slices of squash), grilled flatbread, fruit mustard. we realize this is not for everyone, but Jewel and I did a better job licking the plate than Ruth's dog, Coco ever could!
Tim
Saturday, January 27, 2007
The Debut of SWIRL
Ladies and Gentlemen, Amateurs of Vin, One and All,
With this posting we begin a journey that started two and one-half years ago, in response to the severe and potentially paralyzing aftermath of the "re"-election of george bush aka "the shrub". Or, more precisely, the second stolen election in a row.
The realization that monies to support human causes (social justice, environmental protection, civil liberties, etc.) would be further shrinking in the oil bath of DC politics led me to wonder if I couldn't use our existing talents and resources to provide a foil to this aridscape. What, I pondered, could I do to raise money for causes that I believed in?
Lucky man that I am, I am surrounded by people who love food and wine. So, it seemed obvious: create a nonprofit that relied on these passions and, from there, begin what can probably best be described as "A life well lived is the best revenge" in action.
Sadly, the nonprofit has languished, but I remain undeterred. It will happen eventually. In the interim, this blog, to chart our dinners, our wines, our travels, our exploits, all in the course of said "revenge". The shrub? He'll get his due in the course of events. We, the Charter members of SWIRL, flourish in the glow of things well loved.
Stay tuned, for this adventure is not about me, but we. We are nine strong and we have many things to discuss, none more important than the exquisite meals that we share, the extraordinary wines that accompany these meals, and our traditions...most notably the annual selection of a modern day monarch. In 2007, we are ruled by Queen Kay, duly chosen during the epiphany meal that marks the beginning of our vinous calendar.
So hail SWIRL lovers of Bacchus and share with us, as we share with you, the tales of our repasts, our special bottles and our journeys into the heart of humanity. For, in the end, we are more than the transient occupant of the White House. We are more than politics. We are people hell bent on the good life.
Salut!
With this posting we begin a journey that started two and one-half years ago, in response to the severe and potentially paralyzing aftermath of the "re"-election of george bush aka "the shrub". Or, more precisely, the second stolen election in a row.
The realization that monies to support human causes (social justice, environmental protection, civil liberties, etc.) would be further shrinking in the oil bath of DC politics led me to wonder if I couldn't use our existing talents and resources to provide a foil to this aridscape. What, I pondered, could I do to raise money for causes that I believed in?
Lucky man that I am, I am surrounded by people who love food and wine. So, it seemed obvious: create a nonprofit that relied on these passions and, from there, begin what can probably best be described as "A life well lived is the best revenge" in action.
Sadly, the nonprofit has languished, but I remain undeterred. It will happen eventually. In the interim, this blog, to chart our dinners, our wines, our travels, our exploits, all in the course of said "revenge". The shrub? He'll get his due in the course of events. We, the Charter members of SWIRL, flourish in the glow of things well loved.
Stay tuned, for this adventure is not about me, but we. We are nine strong and we have many things to discuss, none more important than the exquisite meals that we share, the extraordinary wines that accompany these meals, and our traditions...most notably the annual selection of a modern day monarch. In 2007, we are ruled by Queen Kay, duly chosen during the epiphany meal that marks the beginning of our vinous calendar.
So hail SWIRL lovers of Bacchus and share with us, as we share with you, the tales of our repasts, our special bottles and our journeys into the heart of humanity. For, in the end, we are more than the transient occupant of the White House. We are more than politics. We are people hell bent on the good life.
Salut!
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