Gotta Love Those Winebrats!

During my recent visit to the NW, Seattle Winebrats (SWBs) gathered for the occasion and tasted through a dozen old vine wines (same theme as TNTs party a couple of weeks ago). Though there were at least a dozen wines tasted at both parties, not a single wine was duplicated. I tried to find the Tschark, the Milwaukee group’s favorite, to share with the SWBs, but with no luck. Checked four places and the distributor list and learned it’s not being sold in Seattle. I’ll have to ship some to you for your next tasting.

Before getting into the wines, I just have to say how fantastic it was to be reunited with everyone and to share great friendships with wine-lovers in two great cities, Milwaukee, and Seattle. In addition to some great wines, a lot of fantastic food was also shared, thanks to our gourmet cooks in the group. Four stars all around for Leslie’s decadent hand-made ravioli stuffed with chanterelles and drenched in butter with hazel nuts and sage. The same goes for Joy’s chicken adobo, Tammy’s Spanish meatballs, Dmitri’s bruschetta, Karen’s stuffed mushrooms, and Steph’s fig balls. How can I not love these folks?? Thanks again to D&J for hosting at their beautiful place “in the woods.”

Tasting notes in order of tasting (the food and wine stains on my hand-written notes are classic). Eleven tasters scored wines on a four-star system, with 44 points being the highest score. Top three rated wines shown in bold:

1. Lake Sonoma 2005 Old Vine Zin, Saini Farms Dry Creek Valley (Score = 31)
Beautiful new world wine with nice tannins and finish. Perfect with the mushrooms. Very well balanced. $25

2. St. Francis 2005 Old Vine Zin, Sonoma County (36.5)
Dk cherry, fruity, ripe, cocoa, smooth, well-balanced. Not as long a finish as the first wine. Cherry on the nose. Much bolder and more concentrated. 15.5% alc. $20

3. Abacela 2000 Tempranillo, Umpqua Cuvee, Southern OR (24)
This wine doesn’t qualify as old vine, but we scored it any way. Sour cherry. Short finish. Tasted more like pinot noir. 13.6% alc. $20

4. Glaetzer 2005 Bishop Shiraz, Barossa Valley (41)
The favorite of the evening, inky, jammy, big, sweet nose, dk cherry, ripe, marion berry, licorice on the finish. Regular price is $30, but DK got it on sale for $17—EXCELLENT VALUE!! He sent two bottles home with JJ to share with the Milwaukee Winebrats :) Thanks DK! If you go shopping for this, beware the 2006 vintage—DK’s wine guy says it is not as good…

5. Bogle Vineyards 2005 Phantom Old Vine Zin/Mouvedre/Sirah (their spelling), California (29)
Bl cherry, anise. $20

6. Rotllan Torra 2001 Reserve, Priorat, Spain (26.5)
Elder berry, pre-Cambrian chalk (things are possibly beginning to decline), minerally, seems younger than a 2001, pruny, tart, high in acid, earthy, detecting a little Brettanomyces (Brett. for short)*. This wine greatly improved after it had breathed for at least an hour. $24.99

*Bacteria that live in dirty wooden barrels and can infect wine with an unclean, mousey flavor. (It usually reminds me of an old, used, smelly band-aid). An attribute more of old world wines, Americans tend to be more sensitive to this.

7. Gundlach Bundschu 2005 Merlot, Rhine Farm Vineyard, CA (29)
Softens as it opens. $27

8. Root 1 2006 Cab., Colchagua Valley, Chile (29.5)
Smokey, orange. $13

9. Clot de Lloum, 2004, Cotes du Roussillon Villages (somewhere in the Rhone) (28)
Conifer sap notes, Brett., Alpine forest, very concentrated, pine needles, very Fr. in character. $12

10. Luis Canas 2001 Rioja (30)
For some reason, I can’t remember why, this wine garnered a lot of discussion… some notes include: one-dimensional, caramel w/coffee, dusty, hint of chocolate, finish a little short, or, maybe its medium. Hermoso!!?! $31

11. Rincon Vineyard 2002 Pinot Noir, Talley Vineyards, Arroyo Grande, CA (28)
Good…really good… (uhm—I forgot to get the price)

12. Tatrarra 2006 Shiraz, Heathcote, Australia (27.5)
This wine inspired a spontaneous litany of political slurs, the least helpful of which was, “tastes like a hockey Mom!” Other notes: big and bold, too acidic and high tannins, yet someone was able to glean some dk cherry (go figure…) Price unknown.

As the volume of the music increased and the dancing ensued, the quality of the tasting notes was deteriorating precipitously, so the scribe set down her pen…and joined in the fun! I love you guys and gals—see you next year!

The Best of Times

18 fabulous friends, the soulfully-funky sounds of Average White Band at Seattle's best nightclub, Jazz Alley, good food, and great wine made for a happy birthday celebration, one of the best I can remember. Since there's no dance floor at this club (the one drawback), we were forced to take chair-dancing to new heights. With the first note, AWB transported me back to the 70's and 80's with the old-school sounds of Cut the Cake, Work to Do, Pick Up the Pieces, and so many more of those great oldies. It was wonderful to trip down memory lane with everyone who honored me with their presence and filled my life with so much fortune.

It would not be a celebration without lots of good wine, so it was flowing freely throughout the evening. Everything was delicious, but the standouts were two from Andrew Will, a 2006 Sangiovese from the Columbia Valley and another from his Artist Series (I never saw the label and need details from the buyer on this one). We had another good wine later at the Triple Door, but I can't remember the label--can someone who remembers post the information in the comments?

Thanks again to everyone who joined me, and especially to those who shared so generously from their wallets...completely unexpected, but greatly appreciated...you know who you are...

Love,
JJ

Mimosa State of Mind

It was a grey day in the city this past Sunday as the clouds settled in over the southern shores of Lake Michigan. But inside this sweet little spot on Chicago’s north end, we cut the chill and brightened the day as we indulged each other with our stories of triumph and defeat, childhood memories, and determinations for the future. Add the bottomless mimosas and bloody marys and you’ve set the stage for a soul-stirring session of the sisterhood.

This cozy scene was in stark contrast to the day before, hot and sunny, a dozen outdoor music venues filled with the sounds of jazz as the 2nd Annual Hyde Park Jazz Festival played itself out. TH and I trolleyed from venue to venue and enjoyed the classic sounds of Fred Anderson, the more contemporary music of the Charlie Johnson Quintet and others. Later, we headed to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra facility to enjoy the 12th Annual Day Of Music. TH caught up with Reginald Robinson, and I took in Paulinho Garcia and Greg Fishman, who make up “Two for Brazil.” These free concerts were just an incredible gift to the people and mimicked many similar weekends in one of our fair city’s beautiful parks, full of sun, fun, and music throughout the summer.

This weekend was the perfect ending to the best summer I can remember.

SWB Checks Out Middle Coast!

It was great to have another favorite Seattle Wine Brat (SWB) visiting recently. Though she took over Rain Man’s legacy of bringing down the sky, abundant good times did not elude us. Effects of Hurricane Ike plagued Bay Views two biggest festivals on Saturday but we managed to take advantage of the one break in the rain to enjoy dancing a full set by Beat Nation at the Global Union World Music Festival. It started to rain again just in time for the next band, so we decided it was a good time to find a nearby wine bar. The next morning we hit as many of my favorite places around town as possible before heading back home to finish cooking and set up for the dinner party, which featured Middle Eastern cuisine and wines from all over the world. The MWBs did an excellent job of supplementing the main course dishes and sides with appetizers and salads. As we enjoyed each others good company and conversation, there were many moments of that most exquisite pleasure of making a perfect match between the wine you’re drinking and the food you’re eating. There were some reds that had the old world earthiness that blend so well with the gamier flavors of lamb and the eastern spices that dressed the sides. Others were big, bold, deep, dark fruit reds that are the perfect complement for a hearty, harvest-time meal on a cool, rainy evening. Memorable labels included Coppi Primitivo Riserva 1997, Italy, Arcturus Astrale 2002, Napa, and Midnight Cellars Gemini Reserve Red Wine 2004, Paso Robles.

Those hearty reds were in abundance once again, this time at TNT’s birthday party and wine tasting. The theme was “old vine” or “late harvest” any region or varietal. The “darling” of the evening was by far the Tschark 2006, Barossa Valley, Australia, a blend of tempranillo and graciano. This wine softened as it opened and yielded hints of leather, chocolate, and the slightest bit of dark cherry.

One more wine to mention is Hegarty Chamans 2004, Minervois, France. This blend of carignan, syrah, and grenache is one of the most memorable due to a striking note of mint dominating the palette. My only other experience of that was with a high end Australian blend by Penfolds. To try this one by the glass, head out to Trocadero Café.

Patz & Hall at Thief Wine

Fabulous tasting tonight at Thief Wine in Milwaukee Public Market. Thanks to TJ for the heads up and invitation. TJ was working the event and TS joined in the fun. We got to meet winemaker Don Patz and grill him about the movie Bottle Shock. He’s been in the Napa Valley making wines since 1988, so he knows the players in the region, including all the characters depicted in the movie. He said the portrayal of Jim Barret was pretty right on—a tough guy. Portrayal of the son Bo seemed reasonable. His girlfriend, Sam, who later became his wife didn’t actually moon the crowd, but the real people being portrayed didn’t harbor any resentment toward the filmmaker, they mostly felt it was all in good fun. I asked him about the phenomenon about the Chardonnay turning brown in the bottle. He specializes in Chardonnay and Pinot Noir—about eight of each. We had five total and they were all beautiful wines—more about them in a minute. Don said he’s never had the experience of wines turning brown in the bottle and didn’t know anyone else who had either, and that the chances are much less than being struck by lightning. He did say that the part of the story about the wine turning brown is part of the folklore of Chateau Montelena. Don said that shortly after pressing, you get a lot of agents in the juice that are susceptible to oxidation and turn brown pretty early on, but they also settle out to the bottom pretty quickly well before bottling and leaving a clear, beautiful wine. At that point, what’s left is pretty resistant to oxidation and can last many years before suffering the symptoms of further oxidation.

About the wines—we had three Chardonnays and two Pinot Noirs. Don only makes wines from these two varietals, sourcing from various vineyards in the Napa Region. We had one of each varietal with a designation of Napa Valley, the least expensive, and then one of each from the very reputable Hyde Vineyard in Carneros (SW corner of Napa and high country—great microclimate for both grapes). The Hydes were the most expensive. He also had a Chardonnay from Duton Ranch. I had never had any Patz and Hall wines before tonight and am now a huge fan. All five wines were delicious, gorgeous wines. CG, you would love all of these Chardonnays!! I bought two bottles of one of them and hope to share some with you before the fall season sets in. All the Chardonnays are barrel fermented with a second malolactic fermentation. The effects of the wood were nicely understated—a little buttered toast under scoring the fruit. Nicely balanced with no oiliness. These were outstanding wines. The Pinot Noir wines were even better, sporting ripe fruit, black berries (not much of that sour cherry thing going on—these wines were much richer and had more depth). The first Pinot was from Hyde Vineyard and the second was his Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Not much earthiness from either, but a little spice from the oak barrels. Both were elegant and sensuous wines. Pinot lovers will want to have these in their cellars. Discounted prices ranged from $28.50 to $52.95 per bottle.

After the tasting, we retired to the wine bar on the first floor to split a bottle of the Foley 2006 Santa Rita Hills Pinot Noir, Rancho Santa Rosa. Another beautiful Pinot, this one has some cherry notes, and less of the ripe black fruit found in the Patz and Hall. Thanks to AF for introducing me to this wine earlier this year—a perfect way to round out the evening.

Milwaukee Wine Festival

The winebrats were all together for the art museum’s annual wine festival on the lakefront under hot, sunny, blue skies. The first taste of the day was Domaine Wachau Gruner Veltliner, light and crisp, it was the perfect cooler. That was by far my favorite white wine, closely followed by Redwood Creek 2007 Chardonnay, also light and refreshing, with some appliness.

Despite the searing heat, I forced myself on to the reds, and it was well worth it. I got to know some new labels for a number of old favorites. My friends and I were charmed by two PKNT Carmeneres from Chile, one of them a Reserve. Both were delicious with good solid structure, fruit, and a hint of red pepper. The other Carmenere was Casa Silva Reserve, a little drier than the PKNT and offering more spice. There were also three wonderful Malbecs, Jean Bousquet, Alamos, and Catena.

By late afternoon as the sun began to sink toward the horizon, we were surrounded by a swarm of low flying dragon flies. I haven’t seen these wonderful creatures in such great numbers in decades. I was wondering if we just happened be along their migration route, or were they attracted by the wine aromas wafting through the air? I won’t have time to research this, so please post a comment if you know the answer.

Of the major labels offering consistently good wine year after year, Michael David Winery really stands out. They poured six wines and all were excellent. In addition to the usual suspects, they poured one that was new to me called Petite Petit, a blend of Petite Syrah and Petit Verdot. This was highly concentrated black fruit and spice with lots of structure. Other notables included Mondavi’s Solaire Cabernet and Private Selection Pinot Noir. A number of us also enjoyed the Penfold’s Bin 128 Kalimna Shiraz—no surprises from this Australian mainstay.

I was only able to taste a small fraction of the over 200 wines that were offered, but managed to find a number of really good values of those I did have a chance to try. Most of these wines were priced at a discount from $5 - $22. Even though the prices are low, the quality is not. I tried many others that were good or so-so, but these are the wines I’d buy repeatedly to enjoy myself and to share with friends. For more information about the festival, visit http://www.milwaukeewinefestival.com/.

Cheers!

German Wine Tasting

I never thought I'd enjoy a Riesling tasting as much as I did this weekend. The weather was perfect for Riesling - a hot summer day. The distributor, Toni of Purple Feet was mah-vuh-lus, and I was very lucky to be the only one in the room and had her all to myself for the better part of an hour. She shared a numbe of German terms that will really help me better understand wine labels from now on. Here's what she was pouring (in order of preference on a scale of 1-4, the latter being the best):

1. Peters Willinger Klosterberg Riesling Qba Trocken - Rating = 3.5; This Mosel wine was very refreshing with floral notes in the nose and on the palette; $18

2. Weller Lehnert Piesporter Treppthen Riesling Qba - 3.0; This is a more traditional style with some residual sugar (the Peters was dry), but still very clean and refreshing; a great value at $14

3. Geschwister Schuch Niersteiner Pettenthal Riesling Kabinett QmP - 3.0; A sweeter wine with a little more body, but still has just enough acidity to create a perfectly balanced wine. This wine is from the Rheinhessen region; $18

4. Unckrich Kallstadter Saumager Riesling Spatlese QmP - 2.5; Of course, as a late harvest wine, this was the sweetest of the six. It's from the Pfelz region; a very good value at $13

5. Johann Peter Mertes Kanzemer Sonnenberg Riesling Spatlese Halbtrocken QmP - 2.0; Another Mosel wine, this off-dry Spatlese (interesting in and of itself) actually presented the aroma of hops, a familiar experience to the olfactory for this Brewtown girl. After I mentioned this, Toni tried it and totally agreed with me on the hops. This wine was interesting, but not enough for me to want to pay $15

6. Hirt Gebhardt Martinshaler Wildsau Riesling Trocken Qba - 1.5; This Rheingau region wine reminded me a lot of Sauvignon Blanc, but not as good--it was a bit on the sour side; $11

That was my first German wine tasting and hopefully will be the first of many more to come. I learned that there are many delicious Rieslings out there at great prices. When I buy whites, I habitually reach for Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Grigio, or any of the Rhone whites--now I will think seriously about going for a Riesling instead. I made a good start yestserday with a mixed half case of the first three wines on the list above, and I'm looking forward to sharing them this summer with visitors and friends, including my new friend Toni.

Cheers!!

Firefly Symphony

Sunday night found me on the front porch enjoying my glider, a light dinner and a glass of Shiraz from South Africa (not to be purchased again). The day has been sweltering with heat and high humidity, but the good thing about that is it brings out the fireflies in swarms, and man is it cool to be a spectator of this showy love fest as the flies flirtatiously flash each other in the dark. I grew up with fireflies around and really missed them for the twenty years I was living in the NW. I've enjoyed seeing a few here and there throughout the summer, but I've never quite seen this many at once. It was visually symphonic to see the flashes happen somewhat rhythmically as a bunch near each other would all light up simultaneously, and then across the street a straight row of flies would flash sequentially in order, and then back to the more random series of flashes all throughout my view of the immediate neighborhood. Occasionally, one hovering very nearby would flash and startle me, since you can't see them well until they light up. It's nice to see them close up and be thoroughly wowed by these marvelous little creatures. The closest we humans come to this phenomenon is by flashing our most dazzling smile along with an irresistible twinkling of the eyes--this happens most readily when we are hopelessly smitten ;)
Cheers

Storming the Bastille...

…in downtown Milwaukee as a few thousand other people and I kick-off the 4 day festival with a 5K run through three adjoining neighborhoods near the city's beautiful lake front. It’s historically a night-time run, beginning at 9:00 p.m. In previous years, it didn’t begin until midnight. The earlier start time has yielded much greater participation (that is, more people are still sober at 9). After a few thunderstorms blew through between 7 and 8 o’clock, the weather cooled and cleared up nicely just in time for runners to mingle prior to start time, and for me to meet my co-workers Tressa, Jason, and Robert, who agreed to join me on the run.

For all of us, this was our first 5K group run. We were all a little anxious, mainly due to the unknowns associated with never having done such a thing. We knew we’d be starting together, but had no certainty as to how far apart we’d stray throughout the run. I wasn’t even certain I’d be able to finish. As it turned out, we clocked within 8 minutes of each other. Robert finished first, completing in about 27 minutes (he didn’t track his time). Tressa and Jason kept pace with each other and finished together in just under 30 minutes. I came in last, completing in just over 36 minutes (I do have a few years on them). Nevertheless, we were all extremely exhilarated at the finish line and felt a strong sense of accomplishment and pride. My goal for next year is to run an average of 10 minutes per mile instead of 12.

A little more background on the festival, Bastille Days has been celebrated here with this charming festival for 33 years and is known for its impromptu street performers, roaming minstrels, a variety of musical entertainment, fabulous French-influenced food and wine, and the signature 43-foot Eiffel Tower replica. It draws a wonderfully diverse crowd of all ages and is my favorite of over 30 festivals that take place each summer in Milwaukee. We had beautiful, sunny, warm weather again this year, so I spent most of my waking hours on the festival grounds for the 2nd year in a row. If you think you might be able to visit me next summer, I recommend the second week in July for a grand old time.

Posting from Disneyland

Well, I never thought I'd say it, but Disneyland is a magical place... for even I, a Disney scrooge, reluctantly left the park smiling broadly. I'd spent the first two days of my conference (American Library Association) begrudging that Anaheim was selected as the location. I bought a ticket for an event not realizing that I was actually buying a voucher to be exchanged for a ticket to the Disneyland theme park. I tried to get my money back and they refused, so I decided not to waste the dough and just go... I wandered around the park for three hours marveling at all the amazing attractions, light shows, landscaping, architecture, sensurround sound, and the thousands of people (and no drunks). I was all by myself having a blast and an unforgettable evening. I really liked the park, but all the commercialism surrounding it is pretty annoying--my hotel is right in the resort and it's difficult to escape. Also, it took a couple days of getting used to seeing "Micky everywhere." If not his entire image, the "three adjoining circles" appear in the most unlikely places such as on the top of lamp posts and metal stanchions, in the wallpaper (photo above), carpet patterns, topiary (although my photo shows Donald), and even his gloved hand graces the decor--they are holding the sconces to the wall in our bathroom. I have to admit though, I prefer the Disney architecture to the barren landscape of this desert that is So Cal. I'm looking forward to returning to the lush land of the Middle Coast!

In the meantime, I was extremely happy to find a very nice wine bar a few paces away from my temporary resident, the Dreams Tower. The hotel campus has a ships and pirates theme, and the wine cellar is below a little place they call Hooks Point next to the Neverland Pool. I was able to fully enjoy a Pinot Noir wine flight consisting of Acacia, Edna Valley, and another not so memorable. The Edna was my favorite, with a nice blend of fruit and earth, with a touch of vanilla. The Acacia was by far the earthiest, but also good. I was able to work in one memorable dining experience at a high end restaurant called the Napa Rose inside the Grand California Hotel (uber lodge extraordinaire--larger than life). The restaurant, thankfully, was more tastefully designed and sized at a more human scale. The food was awesome--had a wonderful grilled salmon with a medly of wild mushrooms in foam, which I successfully paired with a delicious Jade Mountain Mouvedre.

Prior to this trip, I had the pleasure of attending a wine tasting at a great little wine bar in my neighborhood called Perpendicular. The distributor was showing a collection of wines by Brassfield Estates from Lake County, CA and a new appellation called High Valley. The whites were 2006 and included Sauvignon Blanc, Dry Riesling, and Serenity, the latter an unusual blend of 63% Sauvignon Blanc, 28% Pinot Grigio, 6% Gewurztraminer, 3% Semillon. It was my favorite of the whites, with a complex, fruity structure, medium bodied, and nicely balanced with just enough acidity. The reds were 2004 and included Merlot and Zinfandel. The merlot was the best, which was extremely smooth and rich. I agree with their notes which use descriptives like black cherry, cocoa and cinnamon. I don't usually like Merlot, so this was a pleasant surprise. More information about these wines is available at http://www.brassfieldestate.com/wines/.
I found them to be good value wines with prices ranging from $13 - $17.

Time to don my library cap again and get ready for the Newbery-Caldecott Awards Banquet.
Cheers!

Patio Wine Tasting

Patio Wine Tasting
June 7, 2008

The challenge from our hosts was to “Beat the Palmelo.” Wines are listed in order from most to least favorite. Bold indicates a characteristic was mentioned three or more times. Except for the last one on the list, I'd buy any of these wines again.

Wine: [2006??] Palmelo (Sauvignon Blanc)
Region: California
Bouquet/Palette&Body: fresh, flint, clean, grapefruit, lemon, lemon rind, citrus, slight spice like white pepper, acidic, light, crisp

Wine: 2006 Memsie (Sauvignon Blanc, Semillon, Rousanne, Chardonnay)
Region: Australia
Bouquet/Palette: aromatic, sweet, cream, slight mineral, floral, pear, stone fruit, honey, slight vanilla, butter, citrus, buttered toast, melon, crisp, tart, silky, crisp

Wine: 2006 Mason (Sauvignon Blanc)
Region: California
Bouquet/Palette: grapefruit, white pepper, grapefruit, silky, rich

Wine: Greg Norman Chardonnay
Region: ??
Bouquet/Palette: banana, butter, cream, nutmeg, ginger, slight oak, vanilla, nutty, spice, banana, apricot, clove, spice, nutmeg, butter

Wine: 2004 Conundrum
Region: California
Bouquet/Palette: hot, very aromatic, floral, a little sweeter than previous vintages, tropical, a little spice

Wine: 2005 Schlossaarstien (Riesling-Cabinet)
Region: Germany
Bouquet/Palette: green apple, pineapple, mango, pear, peach, mango, apple, green apple, citrus, green, mild citrus, grapefruit, pineapple, tropical, sweet, crisp

Wine: 2006 Allison by Stelzner Family Vineyard (Rose)
Region: California
Bouquet/Palette: strawberry, apple, raspberry, vanilla, rhubarb, cranberry, peppery, cinnamon, citrus, steely, tart

Wine: 2006 Fetzer Gewurztraminer
Region: California?
Bouquet/Palette: toasty, spice, citrus, sweet, too sweet, very sweet, hint of mint or eucalyptus, vanilla, honey, buttery, melon

There were actually several more wines to taste but we stopped taking notes when a severe thunderstorm forced us into the basement I mentioned in the previous post. If you're interested, check this post and comments in the near future for possible additions and more details on price, region and maker. Cheers, JJ

Out of Touch

It's been a while since I've been able to blow some time in front of my computer. I've been super busy with trying to get my Mom completely untethered from her house of 40 years. She's 74 and is now living in an assisted living facility--very nice complex and close to my house. We moved her out in December and it's taken until now, plus quite a bit of cold, hard cash, to get her house (the place where I grew up) cleared out and cleaned up--phew!! Finally, we are at the point of having real estate agents looking at it to determine a fair listing price. We hope to have it listed by the end of next week. We've also been showing it to potential buyers who got wind of it going on the market before the listing--all of this has been extremely time-consuming.

Meanwhile, I've been training for a 5K coming up in July. My elliptical has served me well in that capacity over the winter. I finally took to the streets this past Saturday on a hot and stuffy morning. I managed to run about an 11-minute mile, my usual time, so I was happy with that--but I spent the rest of the day icing my knees to keep them from swelling--worked pretty well. This is also helping with the blood pressure which is mostly back to normal, I'm happy to report.

A recent, really cool development is that I managed to rescue a very limited number of special items from my Mom's house (the last three truck loads went directly to landfill, sadly, thanks to 1-800-GOT-JUNK). One of those treasures was a swinging porch bench which DG and I put together one Saturday afternoon. Ever since then, my neighbors and I have been spending Sunday evenings out there sipping wine and chatting. We've drawn passers-by to the porch to join us and it's been a total "community-building" phenomenon. I've always avoided hanging out on the front porch due to prior bad connotations, but I'm slowly being converted by my neighbors who say that front porch frequenting is good for the neighborhood on a number of fronts--even from a security standpoint.

My lifestyle here is so different from the one I left in Seattle and let me tell you, I was fighting hard to avoid sinking into the "white picket fence" mindset, but now that I live in a house on a street full of other houses instead of a downtown highrise, or mid-sized condo, it's hard not to get caught up in it. I tried hard to buy a condo, but I couldn't bring myself to spend the money in what I thought was/is an over-valued market. But I'm adjusting...now, I spend a lot of time bird-watching from my own front and back yards. We have a nice variety of resident birds including cardinals, finches, hawks, woodpeckers, and geese, along with the ever-present sparrows and robins. Closer to the water there are quite a few gulls. We also have our resident bunnies (quite a few) and squirrels. The biggest difference in lifestyle is having my immediate family so close at hand and allowing them to take up so much of my time--it's all for the good right now though.

Some things are similar. Like Seattle, a number of my favorite hangouts are in my neighborhood, rather than downtown. I have my choice of restaurants and coffeeshops, as well as a local theater, art gallery, huge park, and wine shop, all within easy walking distance. A slightly longer walk encompasses everything else to which I need regular access (though I usually drive). Downtown is farther away than what I enjoyed in Seattle, so I *always* drive to that area of town. I drive a lot more in general, but my neighborhood is great for walking and biking, so I do this when I can.

Well, I think I'll try to load in a few pictures too: Mom at the grocery store (she can't walk unassisted); a scene from the RiverWalk (DG and I spent a perfect Sunday afternoon along this groovy part of downtown); my front porch on a night other than Sunday.

Next posting will include notes from a patio wine tasting at a friend's last week before howling winds, torrential rains, and thunderstorms sent us packing into the basement (not a bad place to be stuck since he has a beautiful new bar, complete with booth seating). Check back in a week or so...

Cheers

Rain Wedge Man on Middle Coast!

Hello All,

Just coming off of a fun and fabulous weekend with RWM, a dear friend from Seattle, who was passing through on his travels across the country selling the phenomenol rain wedge for golfers. For more information about the product, check out the website at http://www.rainwedge.com/.

The photo gallery includes shots of my new winebrat friends and my visitor at various hotspots around town, including my dining room where we landed for the night to taste some Long Island wines that RWM bought from various tasting rooms in NY. He was pleasantly surprised at how good some of those wines were, having never seen any wines produced from the region before now. I also shared a new favorite from Vino 100, a Barossa Valley, Australia label called Fetish. It's one of the best values I've had the pleasure to enjoy. It's distinctive label sports a very sexy silhouette of a woman, styled like the ones you see on semi trucks, only she's still standing. It's an extremely lucious and bold red shiraz.

A memorable hilarious moment was when four of us inadvertently started shuffling three of our glasses of wine and couldn't figure out which was whose, with only one of us having a sharp enough olfactory to finally distinguish the one Lyeth Merlot from the two Alexander Valley Cabs, a sobering moment for the other 3 of us who have vowed to practice more sniffing and sipping to help build these important skills!

On Sunday, we hit the road with our bikes and headed toward the baseball stadium to watch my team lose by one point in the 10th innning. But in stark contrast to the stormy deluge on Friday night, it was sunny and dry, so we were still pretty happy in spite of the loss. Thanks again to RWM for putting my bike together and making it ride-worthy.

I hope this was easier to read--one of my friends asked me to please start using paragraphs...

Friends and Wine in Seattle

Taste Washington! The Ulitmate Wine Experience was spectacular!! 216 wineries were there, and Karen, Nancy and I tasted over 50 wines in under 3 hours. We were still standing at the end of the day because we were very good about spitting after sipping. We had dozens of excellent wines and lots of tasty food samples. JJ got to see *lots* of old friends from the wine industry and was even invited to apply for a job with one who recently started a new business as a distributor of NW wines. I hope he's in business for a while, because when I retire from libraries, that could be the next big thing--moving from the Midwest to the Southwest to take the job might also sweeten the pot a little. For now and the foreseeable future, I'm not budging from my current location--I'm loving it here on the Middle Coast! At any rate, back to the wine tasting--we had wines from all over the state, including Cave B Estate*, Syncline*, Andrew Will*, Cadence, Fall Line, McCrea*, O-S, Walter Dacon, Chandler Reach*, Terra Blanca*, Robert Karl, Goose Ridge Estate*, Powers, eMaurice, Canoe Ridge, Cougar Crest*, Gifford Hirlinger*, K Vintners, L'Ecole No. 41*, Nelms Road (Woodward Canyon), NxNW, SYZYGY*, Tamarack*, Wines of Substance, Woodward Canyon, Darby, Januik, JM, Novelty Hill, Agate Field, Alexandria Nicole, Sheridan, and Wilridge. The ones with an asterisk indicate my top choices. All wineries poured multiple choices and I tasted an average of 3 wines per table. I tasted all 6 of McCrea's offerings, which were quite superior to many of the other wines I tasted. McCrea specializes in Rhone style blends and varietals, so lot's of Syrah here blended with Grenache and Mouvedre. For the whites, he uses Rousanne and Viognier. He uses American oak for some wines and French for others. Other stand outs were Andrew Will's Bordeaux style blend called Two Blondes, SYZYGY's cabernet and syrah, Tamarack's Firehouse Red, Cougar Crest's, Dedicated 2, L'Ecole's Semillon and Perigee, and Goose Ridge's Vireo. Most of these are reds and red blends. Also, I highly recommend Syncline's Rose, which I believe is Grenache-based. Syncline also specializes in Rhone varietals and does a wonderful job. At the seminar the day before, I also had the pleasure of tasting DeLille Cellar's 2006 Doyenne Estate Rousasanne from the Red Mountain AVA--it was my favorite of the 4 whites, full-bodied and very fragrant.~Before the seminar on Saturday, Nancy and I went for a great urban hike featuring the Seattle Art Museum's recently opened Olympic Sculpture Park--the two photos were taken there. Lots more good stuff happened, making for a wonderful vacation and a much needed break from work.

Skiing in Spring!!

What a great day!! I *finally* had a chance to go cross-country skiing during one of our many snowstorms this season. All the other storms happened on work days and then were immediately followed by near zero degree temperatures. I happened to be off today for Good Friday and the temperature was perfect for busting out the skis and breaking a few trails. I went to two different areas in the city with a break in between at my favorite coffeeshop. I am fortunate to live within five minutes of a number of beautiful parks and river parkways. Since it was still blizzarding when I went out, I also got soaked, but that was half the fun. It helped a lot to be wearing a good pair of goggles. Getting out and playing in the snow was the best way to keep my spirits up after a brief teaser of spring-like weather this week. We could actually see our yards again for the first time since early December--well, no longer. This has been a long, hard winter filled with many snowstorms, lots of dashed plans, and way too much shoveling...which is exactly how I will be starting my day tomorrow...shoveling out of at least 12 inches of snow, assuming it actually does stop snowing overnight...

Open That Bottle Night 2/23

I hosted my first wine tasting since leaving Seattle with my new winebrat friends here. A good time was had by all and wonderful wines were shared. The top wines of the evening were 2006 Foley Pinot Noir (Rancho Santa Rosa), 2005 Incognito (David Michael Phillips-Lodi), and 2003 Domaine du Vieux Telegraphe (Chateauneuf du Pape). All were pretty concentrated with dark fruit and spice (even the Pinot) on the nose and the palette, and had a nice, long finish. They all paired extremely well with food, esp. the Pinot and the roasted eggplant. I would buy more of all of them. The other wines were also very good, but there were too many of them, so unfortunately, my tasting notes are loosely scribbled and full of obvious redundacies. I was hoping to share more about all of the wines, but my notes are useless. I also recently attended tastings featuring all Syrah, and before that, a tasting with the winemaker from Korbel. We all fell in love with their 2004 Lake Sonoma Zinfandel (Russian River). It had a powerful bouquet, a silky mouth-feel, full of ripe, dark berry fruit, with vanilla notes, and a long finish. It was perfection. Time to sign out. Cheers.

Remember Howard Jones?

I was very inspired by an experience that was shared today at our World Peace Meeting this month. I'm still practicing the Buddhism of Nichiren Daishonin with the support of members in the lay organization, Soka Gakkai International (SGI). I learned from one of those members through her experience, that keyboardist Howard Jones, one of my favorite musicians of the 80's started practicing this Buddhism about 14 years ago. She's a huge fan of his and learned about Buddhism through his website at http://howardjones.com/about/buddhism.html. I was so impressed by this that I checked out his website to see for myself, and sure enough, his personal testimony is stated clearly with sincerity and conviction, and ends with links to more information about Buddhism, one of which I have also added to my page. In reading his page, I instantly felt a connection with him through our shared practice. I understood from my own personal experience exactly what he was saying. Howard's words reminded me to appreciate how fortunate I am to be practicing this Buddhism and to remember that the greatest gift I can share with anyone is knowledge and understanding about the ultimate law of life, of cause and effect, of the interconnectedness of all beings, and how chanting Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, which is at the heart of this practice, can help you be in harmony with the law and experience the highest life condition, and the awesomeness of human revolution. My own personal human revolution started happening about 20 years ago and is still evolving, as I continue to create my virtuous future with each thought and action in the present. I'm grateful to those who inspired me today, and everyday. Thank you.

Celebrations!!

I'm happy to announce that my brother has just been selected as the new Executive Director of Friedens Community Ministries http://www.friedenspantry.org/. Their primary mission is to feed the hungry and they run a couple of food pantries in the city. We are all super happy for David and very proud of his accomplishments. I've included some recent pics of me hanging out with David at a birthday bash celebrating the city's 162nd year (in the beautiful lobby of one of our most historically significant hotels), and at dinner last night to celebrate David's new job along with our Dad and some of David's closest friends.

Second Story

Finally, we get to the second floor after nearly a week away from my computer. I've had lots of evenings packed with activities lately, Todd Rundgren concert last week, an all-city birthday party this week, and my favorite event, a Pinot Party the next night. We tasted three pinot cultivars including blanc, gris, and noir, mostly from Italy and the US West Coast. I was a little disappointed that there wasn't any Burgundy. My favorite was the Lucien Albrecht Pinot Gris from Alsace. It was actually pretty rich for a pinot, and off-dry with some really nice apricot notes. The Cloudline pinot noir (Oregon) was disappointing compared to previous vintages.

OK, back to the house. The first room, the den, the main attraction is the daybed, my favorite place to fall asleep reading. The next room, the study, is used more for working out now than as a study. I find myself wanting to move the laptop to the kitchen instead of using it at my desk. The studio is least developed--lots of potential there.

The Hearth & Beyond...

As interior spaces go, the kitchen is the weakest room in the house--greatly in need of remodeling. The bedrooms are small and the closet space is nearly non-existent, typical of early 20th century houses. Thank goodness someone before me decided to convert the closet in this bottom picture to a "California closet," saving me the effort.

You may have noticed the empty wine glass on the kitchen counter--recently drained of a delicious Italian sangiovese, Il Poggione Rosso di Montalcino 2004 (Tuscany). This wine, as with all sangioveses I've had is very food-friendly. It's medium-bodied with cherry notes, well-balanced, no excessive tannins or acidity. Also smooth enough to enjoy as a sipping wine. Like a good book, I was sorry to reach the end of that bottle, as it was my last one. I'll just have to fall in love all over again with a new wine...

Road Trip to the State Capitol

Today was Library Legislative Day and last night we had 10 inches of snow dumped across the region, but that didn't stop us from going and lobbying our State legislators this morning, even if it did take nearly twice as long as it should have (normally a 90 minute trip)... I had appointments with seven State Representatives and Senators, and saw not a single elected official--I got stuck in "staffer" mode all day long--so typical. They always say "I'll be sure to share this with ______," -- yeah, right!! Well, at any rate, it was a beautiful day, even if the roads this morning were atrocious. Coming back at the end of the day was much better. Here are a few pics of the rotunda, dome, and exterior--very similar in style to our beautiful Central Library. We will return to the House Tour in the next posting--I thought we were due for a little break--I don't want anyone to get cabin fever :)

On to the dining room...

I have the same dining set as in Seattle. It traveled fairly well during the move but was slightly damaged. I made a claim against the moving company and was able to have the cost to repair it fully covered. The furniture restoration place sent a technician to my home, who did an excellent job on the repair. You can't even tell that the finish was ever chipped. The trio of ceramic plaques on the right wall came from a starving artist sale at a local college (decoded-these were a bargain not to be missed). The fan is my answer for a littly privacy from the house next door without having to go all out with a full window treatment...though I'm not sure how much it really helps--hopefully this new neighbor will invite me over some day and I can find out for sure!

Tour Continues...

Living room: My Mom will inherit the loveseat for her new apartment at the lovely independent living facility so that I can receive delivery on a new sectional that will add a lot more color to the space.

House Tour Begins...

This is the beginning of a tour (a few pics at a time) that starts in the foyer, then living room, dining room, kitchen, basement, bedrooms, then on to the rooms upstairs (den, study, studio). Ignore the odd item on the drafting table--a christmas gift that was never mailed... So you can see there is plenty of room for friends to visit :) Once I figure out how to put a slideshow on my blog, then all the pics will be posted at once. Until then, keep hitting on this page to see the latest batch of photos.

Free the Grapes!!

Below you will find an excerpt from the mission statement page of the Free the Grapes!! organization. I can't tell you dear freinds how frustrated I've been since leaving Seattle about not being able to get my favorite wines from WA State vintners. I'm still on a number of winery mailing lists and when I called DeLille Cellars to try to order some of the Summer 2007 releases, they were very sorry to inform me that they were prohibited from shipping to me directly here in Wisconsin. Wisconsin's Governor Doyle vetoed language in the Budget Bill last October that would have replaced Wisconsin’s ‘reciprocal’ direct shipping language with a permit-style system working successfully for wineries and consumers throughout the U.S. Also, because of this, Oregon wineries will cut-off direct shipments to Wisconsin consumers in January, when Oregon’s new permit-style law goes into effect. So as it is now, if the wine I want isn't distributed to local wine retailers, I'm out of luck. This is extremely disheartening. To raise awareness about this issue, please help me spread the word about Free the Grapes!! so that I and other wine lovers around the country can enjoy our wines of choice--I will never be able to bring back enough of the wines I want on my flights out of Seattle. You, my dear friends, and the fabulous Washington wine industry are the two things I miss the most. See below for the excerpt I mentioned above.

Begin quote:
Free the Grapes! supports augmenting, not replacing, the three-tier system with the controls and regulations necessary to respect local laws, to avoid underage access and to provide provisions to make tax payments. We think it's wrong that wholesalers are telling consumers which wines they can and cannot enjoy. America's 4,000+ wineries produce over 10,000 new wines each vintage, more wines than distributors or retailers can logistically can stock and sell. And less than 5% of wine production is ever likely to be shipped directly to consumers. (snip) Free the Grapes! is energizing all lovers of the grape to contact their legislators and to sign-up to receive the Free the Grapes! email newsletter.
End quote

Go to http://www.freethegrapes.org/ for more information.

Thanks for reading.
Cheers!!

Winter Wonderland

I thought I'd better share these winter pics before all of the snow melts completely. It's been in the 40's the last couple of days, going into the 50's tomorrow and most of it's already gone. Unbelievable what a difference a few days makes. The last snow storm was a classic, with the most beautiful scenes of snow-draped trees, branches, firs, shrubs, roofs, signs, anything that will hold a snowflake. It was the ultimate in flocking, something you only see in paintings. At night, some of the flocked trees were dramatically lit from beneath creating that sense of romance and visual poetry that no words can articulate. We've had an incredibly beautiful winter so far, with a previous storm creating snowflakes like I've never seen before, not even during all the childhood winters I spent here--they were the size of feathers, too large to call flakes. Everyone at work was looking out the windows to watch this spectacle--it was literally like the skies were filled with feathers from a massive pillow fight happening somewhere above. It was mesmerizing to watch--I don't expect I'll ever see anything like it again. I wish I'd had my camera that day, but I hope you'll enjoy these too.