Amazing Wall Art

MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Sungha Jung

It's kids like this that keep me from picking up my guitar and playing more often.

Is It Really the Thought That Counts?

Tomorrow is Mother's Day. Most moms love whatever it is their kids do for them on this special day. The gift is special because the kids are special. But sometimes, it's good they only see the final product.

Open That Bottle Night 9 - Recap

A couple weeks have passed since Open That Bottle Night 9 and you might be wondering what Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, the founders of the event, opened and drank that night. Here you go.

Open That Bottle Night 9

Open That Bottle Night is an event created by Dorothy Gaiter and John Brecher, wine columnists for the Wall Street Journal. Most wine collectors, no matter how big or small their collection, have bottles that they are holding on to for a special occasion. John and Dottie heard too many stories of bottles that had been held too long before opening. Sometimes that meant the bottles were "over the hill" and no longer enjoyable and other times the people who had waited to open them or those whom they had hoped to open them with were no longer around to enjoy the wine. Thus Open That Bottle Night became the "special occasion". On this night in February people are encouraged to open the special bottle they've been saving and enjoy it before it's too late.

I was not home on Saturday evening and so we decided to open our chosen bottle on Sunday. The bottle I chose was a gift from a special friend. It was the 2004 Weingut Tesch Riesling Kabinett Trocken from the Nahe region of Germany.

The wine was outstanding! Rock and mineral aromas lept from the glass and followed through on the palate. There was a touch of delicious fruit that balanced perfectly with the minerality. The finish went on and on. We drank this with a simply prepared pork roast, mashed potatoes and green beans. [Next time you have a pork roast I recommend you try a dry Riesling. You won't be disappointed.] The flavors of the wine sang alongside the fruit. I'm not sure how much longer this wine would have lasted but the balance led me to believe it could have carried on quite awhile. Regardless I'm glad we opened it because it was so delicious. We talked about a recent visit with the friend who had given us the wine and finished a lovely evening with this lovely wine.

If you've never participated in Open That Bottle Night, mark your calendar for the last Saturday in February next year and start thinking about which bottle you'll open. Better yet, consider any night a special enough occasion to open that special bottle you're holding on to.

Three Steps to Picking a Bottle of Wine You'll Like

How many times do you open a bottle of wine that you purchased and looked forward to tasting, only to discover that it's really not your kind of wine? This is disappointing especially if you've spent as much or more for it than other bottles you've enjoyed more. So how do you avoid this? How can you explore the world of wine and increase the likelihood that you'll enjoy the bottles you'll purchase? Here are the three steps I take to pick a bottle of wine I'll like.

1. Find a good retailer. Do they have a diverse selection of good wine? Are the salespeople friendly? Can they talk knowledgeably about wine? Are they welcoming no matter how much you know or don't know about wine? To fit the criteria of a "good retailer" the answer needs to be "yes" to each of these questions. I also like to see handwritten shelf talkers (the cards hanging next to the wine with tasting notes) rather than just Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate scores and notes. If you don't find a good retailer the next two points won't really work. [Keep in mind that with a little tweaking, these three points could work with an online retailer. Jill at domaine547 seems like she could fill all three points wonderfully.]
   
2. Get to know the salespeople. If they're a good retailer, they won't mind you hanging around, looking at bottles and talking to them about wine. After you drink a bottle you've purchased from them, make sure you talk to them about it. Tell them what you liked and didn't like about it. Better yet - show up when they have tastings. [Don't be one of those people who come in every time there's a free tasting, tries all the open wine and then walks out without buying anything. Those people suck.] Smell and taste and talk about the wine. Even if you feel like you're not good at it, describe it and listen to their descriptions. You're trying to give them information for my next point so the more you say, the better. Do this for a few months and if they are truly a good salesperson, they'll start to understand you preferences. They need you to do this for step three.
3. Ask them for recommendations and trust them by taking the recommendations home. By now they should know you well enough that they can put your preferences together with the new wines they're tasting and bringing into the shop. The more you do this, and of course keep filling them in on how you liked or didn't like the recommendations, the better the chances you be walking out the door with bottles that you'll really enjoy.
   

Vintage Fine Wine Selections (in the picture) is my favorite place to purchase wine. In the list of wines I enjoyed most in 2007, the top six came from this shop. This happened because after I found this shop, I took time to get to know the owner, John, and trusted his recommendations. These days almost every time I walk in, he says, "I've got a new wine that I know you're going to like." And pretty much every time, he's right.

That's what I think anyway. What do you think? How do you increase your chances of picking good bottles? Let me know in the comments.

Wine Blogging Wednesday #42 - 7 Words

Today is the forty-second installment of Wine Blogging Wednesday only this time there was a special twist. We were to taste an Italian red wine and our tasting note could be seven words and seven words only. So to honor that brevity, here's my note.

Vintage: 2005
Producer: Corte alla Flora
Region: Tuscany
Appellation: Rosso di Montepulciano
Grapes: Prugnolo Gentile 90%, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon 10%

Tasting Note:
Never thought to put raspberries in coffee!