Choices Chances and Changes
https://www.instagram.com/p/7lJz8EqHY5/
Got it right in One
The best things in life are usually really simple. And this is a wine that is just that: Good, honest, and delicious. Simply – just pour it and enjoy.
It’s created by a wine maker with a great philosophy: Linda Trotta’s motto “A good wine is a wine you like“. Thus, pleasure is the aim for the majority of their wines rather than following a particular trend, matching with special food or expressing the nuances of a certain terroir.
As Linda says “Remember, red wine is seasonal, as in good in every season. Don’t overthink it.”
And as I would say “Suck it up Sunshine!”
CABERNET SAUVIGNON – BREAD AND BUTTER
$22.99
13.5% Alcohol
UPC: 00818051020744
The other guy’s
Lunch at F F Farms (2 or 1) is always a delight and a treat. Not only because nonsense is understood, discussed and respected, but because it’s an opportunity to plot future shenanigans.
Himself had to exercise extreme patience (and ingenuity) extracting a very reluctant dry cork from a bottle of 1997 Burrowing Owl Merlot. A most enjoyable imbibe. Old style, classic offering. If it were a blind taste test, I would have said it came from the Land of Oz or South Africa, not the BC Interior. If I hadn’t have had to be chauffeur, I would have shown true appreciation for the wine by helped him drain the entire bottle. Vastly different to the current very fruit forward variety from the Vineyard on the Hill.
Food – it was the best home made Tomato soup we’ve ever had! Followed by salada and a wonderful seafood crepe and then … and then … an assortment of cheesecakes. And then, .. plotting future escapades in front of the fire in the sitting room.
To celebrate their 54 years of being His Lord and and Her Ladyship – we brought chocolates. Not His. Not Mine. The other Guys (Purdy’s).
It’s that random
All dogs are sons of bitches, so technically it’s a compliment.
The best thing about cats is that no matter how haughty or proud they look, every single one of them is actually a big ol dingus.
BIG NEWS: I would like to announce my book deal. It’s where I knock the books off the shelf onto your desk, and you have to deal with it haha.
Doing brain laundry (separating my thoughts into lights and darks).
Contrary to childhood education, falling anvils, pianos, and safes have not been a significant danger in my life.
Dogs be walkin under ur feet Iike they’re tryin to collect workers comp.
Gonna open a bar called misery’s company and every day at happy hour a dog will sit down with you and you can pet their head and tell them all about your bad day.
When someone tells you their dog’s name immediately ask what the last name it’s a fun little gag.
Very proud of myself for sticking to my New Years resolution of getting out of bed early. It allowed me to walk to my couch and sleep worse in a second location.
I’m just happy that 2/2/22 is also a Tuesday.
If you’re thinking about becoming a parent, I can’t even begin to tell you how much time and energy it will save if your kids suck at sports.
If you’re undecided about signing your kids up for sports, do three loads of laundry before 7AM this Saturday and see how it feels.
Spare a thought for all the parents who came before us that had to attend thousands of kids’ sports events *WITHOUT* smart phones.
After having children, 80% of marriage is just negotiating who’s dropping off which kid at which sport.
Me: *shells out a lot of money to put child on competitive sports team* Kid: Can you believe they gave me a free t-shirt?
A few minutes for contemplation
Anouar Brahem “Le Pas du Chat Noir” – TV5 Monde – 2/6 – 2004
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fXlMTA5VHOQ
Anouar Brahem “Toi qui sais” – Live at Cully Jazz Festival – 2003
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vSeIp624woM
Anouar Brahem “Dance with waves” (Official Music Video) – 2009
Different terroir made the difference
North meets south in this 50/50 blend. The South Okanagan Valley’s arid, desert-like landscapes deliver grapes with rich, round, generous flavours. In contrast, the North Okanagan’s cooler temperatures and high elevation yield fresh and bright notes with a delicate balance of acidity.
2019 was up until September, near picture perfect. Warm days, but not too warm, cool nights, but not too cool, set the ripening process on a trajectory of ideal balance. With September came cool weather and some rainfall, but with careful attention to sorting and managing harvest dates, we feel our hard work paid off with wines of ideal balance and intense fruit character. In particular, the lively acidities have produced wines which are bright and fresh.
The finished blend of these two contrasting regions celebrates the uniqueness of both places. As you sip, you’ll experience the taste of the entire Okanagan Valley coming to life.
93% stainless steel, 7% neutral oak for 3 months.
It had better acidity than in the past.
This versatile wine goes with everything, or nothing at all. The first night we enjoyed it with a baked, salsa chicken thighs
CEDAR CREEK – PINOT GRIS 2019
$21.99
13% alcohol
UPC: 00778913022098
Would you like this to be part of your address?
Bacon Level, Alabama
Dead Horse, Arkansas
Nothing, Arizona
Greasy Corner, Arizona
Forks of Salmon, California
Nowhere, Colorado
Hazardville, Connecticut
Flurry Landing, Florida
Volcano, Hawaii
Santa, Idaho
Bone Gap, Illinois
Neutral, Kansas
Hell for Certain, Kansas
Accident, Maryland
Satan’s Kingdom, Maine
Embarrass, Minnesota
Money, Mississippi
Bear Dance, MT
Buttsville, New Jersey
Truth or Consequences, MN
Flasher, ND
Knockemstiff, Ohio
Slapout, Oklahoma
Zigzag, Oregon
Hooker, South Dakota
Difficult, Tennessee
Hurt, Virginia
Pinch, West Virginia
Electric City, Washington
Disco, Wisconsin
Recluse, Wyoming
Repente, Germany
Cha Cha Changes
Managing Tannins
Foggy, cool, wet weather on the coast paired with even colder snowy weather in the Interior has most wine drinkers thinking about red wine at this time of the year, and in many cases, the bigger, the better.
But what is a full-bodied red? Perhaps its most distinguishing feature is its authoritative finish. Long, rich, persistent and sometimes warm (from higher alcohol). It is a wine that lingers on your palate long after you swallow it
Much of red wine’s structure, texture and mouthfeel comes from the tannin in the wine, and the tannins come from grape skins, seeds, stems, oak and, in some cases, additives to wine. Soft tannins, a buzz phrase in today’s winemaking, are making the hard, dry tannins of the past that leave your mouth puckered and your taste buds bitter a distant memory.
Tannin management has become an art over the last 25 years, starting in the vineyard where precision agriculture and picking at the right moment yields dense, ripe, soft tannins that bring structure to the wine without adding dryness and bitterness. Add to that gentle handling and less juice movement by mechanical pumps (think gravity), and we are getting more stylish tannins at the winery. The trick is to build texture, structure and mouthfeel without extracting palate-drying tannins.
Modern tannin management uses shade cloth to protect the bunches from sunburn and the grapes from shrivelling into raisins. Leaf pulling lets speckled light through the canopy for slower ripening. In some cases, we see a return to the old California Sprawl or “ballerina” canopy that naturally protected the berries from the harsh midday sun.
Vancouver Sun. Anthony Gismondi: Feb 04 2022