Monday, July 27, 2009

Wine & Sensorship

It is fact, that when a people are controlled by the heavy hand of government, the tighter the grip of the government, the more dissidents slip through the cracks.

Freedom, in all its forms, are rights granted by nature to man. That being said man has put in place some basic rules by which to live. Easy to read and understand, without gray areas clouded in confusion. Don't steal, kill, lie, cheat, honor your elders and keep a day sacred for quiet prayer & meditation. Sound familiar, a guy named Moses brought them to us centuries ago. Our founding fathers felt the need to extend this thought to speech, worship, assembly, and taxes. The latter is still a point of contention between our Government and the people. After that the rest is just minutia tied up in legal litigation by some that would assume to know better than the rest of us concerning what is wrong or right.

So when the ABC in Alabama proclaimed a certain wine label as pornographic, the uproar in the various social markets was quite comedic. I began to wonder if anyone took notice of the uproar in Tehran over their seemingly stolen election. This is what happens when a government goes unchecked. Not that a wine label would cause calamity and protests in the streets, but where is the line drawn next? The Alabama ABC should be taken to task on this issue if for no other reason than for freedom of expression, and in comparison to all the sexually explicit ad's one sees in the marketplace, this is vanilla.

(By the way the best line I've heard yet is the direct relationship between this label, the UK study about Women and Red wine and the concern over the increase in Lesbian affairs. Too funny.)

The winery will most likely see an increase in sales of this wine. Hell, a good capitalist would go to town on T-shirts, bumper stickers and bicycle pumps in the shape of a wine bottle. It may now be left to the courts should the winery or merchants or people of Alabama, or a grassroots civil liberty organization care to take up the cause in defense of the people and freedom of expression. We should always remember that freedom is never granted by a govenment, it is won through the vigilance of those who would seek to be free. And every issue that would seek to control what a society reads, sees, experiences, and appreciates should be challenged vigilantly.

Friday, July 24, 2009

The Age of E-ING

My father was in public relations. It was interesting to me as a kid growing up. If you have ever seen the HBO mini-series, "Madmen", then you have an idea of the kind of life I may have had. Not so much drama, but Dad was a "Jet-Setter" and there were weeks when he touched three cities in four days. His office in NY was centered by four cooking stations. They created food art for food ads. Visiting once a month was filling to say the least. Food Photography isn't what one may think. The food is never fully cooked and the props they employed to make things look over the top edible wouldn't cause anyone to salivate. But it was his world, and multi-cultural experiences entered my world because of this.

Today I am an E-er. Not a jet-setter, jetting off to another world, an e-er. Largly due to the economy, I find myself connecting in as many worlds as my dad did or more by FAC-ING; TWEET-ING; BLOGG-ING; SNOOT-ING; E-MAIL-ING; I am an e-er and this is my universe.

I would agree that the virtual could never be replaced by the actual. Where wine is considered, tasting, touching, smelling, experiencing the "actual", is everything. Yet in today's economy, it is hard to visit McLaren, Casablanca, Tasmania, Red Mountain, Amalfi, Galicia, & Mt. Hermon in a day unless you E-hop. So I do with all the gusto I can. Seeking reviews and recommendations from obscure, out of the way places in corners of the globe that I may never have the time, money or means to actually visit. All the while musing that it all started with the jet-setting sixties and now I travel, virtually, everywhere learning as I go, meeting amazing people and touching a piece of them through their wines, that I then seek on winesearcher or snooth and the order for delivery for my next wine class.

It may be that this type of travel is a shell of the full existance that my jet-setting parents engaged in; Yet in all my e-travels, I never get tired of the life and the tales seem just as real and I am always home for supper with my family.

Its a great day johnny, a great day.

Monday, July 20, 2009

Wine, Manners & Summer Movies

I used to love going to movies, especially summer blockbusters. There was always something about the event as a kid. Things have changed, though, and going to those, "events", aren't the same.

There was always a build-up to the movie, sneak-peeks on TV, a buzz in the neighborhood, then the event, the real buttered popcorn, (OK I just dated myself), the dinner afterwards, the real enthusiasm to see it again. So off to the theatre we went to see the new release. My wife & I enjoyed a bottle of Chilean Carmenere, some grilled fish and the kids had their usual cheeseburgers. The event was on its way. I felt like a kid again, viewing the anticipation through my kids eyes and actions. The dinner conversation was robust and the "don't touch me, stop touching me", dinner events we experience was replaced by good humored, enjoyment of company time and subject matter. It was almost too good to be true. And it was.

Many people don't take the time anymore to instruct manners to their kids and it shows up in crowded theatres where the tweenagers are left to let loose. Couple this with the new parents seeking a night out and bring the infant to the theatre, maybe trying to save a babysitter buck, I get it, but really? How about the Grand mother that lights up in the back row with the posse of kids attached to her hip seemed a bit over the top. We were in movie hell, slowly watching our perfect evening sink, leaving us stranded like a shipwrecked crew on the lost island of ill-mannered movie goers. It was then that I was reminded why I spend the cash for Direct TV, Tivo & HD TV. Why I prefer to grill my own fish and toss my own salad, and keep a moderate supply of red & white wine and Ice Cream on hand. How Mr. Reddenbacher did the rest of us a favor with his micro wave popcorn and that the comfort of my couch, and easy viewing of the family wide screen was worth the Christmas Bonus I got Three years ago.

We left the theatre, made a "B" Line for the Managers office to get a refund of the $72 for the 3-D premium tickets we over-paid for and re-capped our displeasure of the entire experience. It wasn't the smoking Granny that did it, It wasn't the four teens that wouldn't stop talking, texting and laying over a row of seven chairs between them, it wasn't the crying infant that simply needed a burp, it wasn't the endless passing of bodies between chairs to and from the bathroom and snack rack that did it. Simply put, we had a great night out and wanted to keep it that way. The thought of talking to my family, playing a board game and watching a $5 pay-per-view with a chilled bottle of sparkling wine and endless moose tracks ice cream, made the once momentous event at the theatre pale in comparison.

I don't fault others for their behavior in crowds; really, that is a persons upbringing and many just haven't been taught how to act in a respectful manner. I know many will disagree, but why waste your breath on those less respectful of others. They'd never get it in a million years. So here's to the home theatre. I'll wait for the DVD next time.

Oh Yes, the wine, a 2007 Conco Y Toro Carmenere & a Bottle of Gruet Brut from New Mexico.

Friday, July 17, 2009

The Economy of Wine; Cost? Expense? Experience?

This week I found myself in my cellar wondering if I should attempt to open an old soldier for my own personal enjoyment. I came accross an older California Chardonnay and since it was that time of the day, I seemed to think that a glass now would be ok and really, 4:30 p.m.? dinner isn't far off in my home and my spouse is not a white wine drinker and well, there it was, a temperature kept, dusty bottle from the 1993 vintage in the Alexander Valley. Yeah, it was time for me and the soldier. As the saying goes, "it is a far greater crime to drink a wine too old than too young," and I wonder if I will be a criminal with this wine. It took this bottle roughly 15 years, as it really wasn't harvested for another 90 days or so, to finally make it to a glass. I was getting ready to write another wine article for the womens journal and I was considering the economy and wine as a topic, which then became the economy of wine, which had been a hot topic among the trades as of late, and then found this 15 year old bottle in my kitchen being opened and poured for an early evening aperitif.

We as a consuming society, do not cellar our wines as much as wine once was aged. The later part of the 20th and into the early part of the 21st century has seen cellars dwindle and consumption increase. To that end producers worldwide have changed the way they produce a larger percentage of their wine. Things are made to be immediately accessible and that sacrifices the aging potential. An average person may consider consuming first vs. aging against price point at the cash register. Cost and its endless consideration becomes something of a maze inside a consumers wallet. What's the cost in time, currency, percieved value? Do I buy 1 or 2 or 12? Will I save it for a special day? Can I afford it now to drink later and how much Later? All the while the wine clerk is tapping their fingers at the counter. In a restaurant the questions become all the more sensitive as the server has other tables, your guests are hungry and thirsty, and while we weigh the menu selection versus the experience, there is that damned budget to consider.

The question may be even heavier at the winery as well. What was the grape cost, how dense is the extract and how many bottles will be produced? If blended with another source or varietal, what will happen to the quality, volume, and cost and what can we get in today's marketplace? Will it sell at $X versus $X and will we sell the entire lott or have to discount and wholesale ship a large portion to make way for the next vintage?

Virtually no consumer considers this when they are about to part with their cash for a bottle of grape juice, but the ripple effect from grape to glass is felt in every level of demographic. The picker and cellar rat working for their daily wage, the captain of industry balancing their investment with their passion/ego against their labor/sales & marketing cost against forcasted market demands. The question of cost and expense answers to a myriad of considerations that impacts society more than anyone might consider and all anyone really wants to know is, "can't I just get lost in the passion of friends and family and grape juice and escape the times and pressures of the day for even a moment?" Whats the cost?! Whats the expense?!

So I go back to my bottle and my article and notice that while California Chardonnays are never given much due towards their aging potential, this one has kept its color, however deeper gold than when first produced and the flavors of aged asiago cheese and over ripe citrus permeate the glass, my old soldier has held up nicely and I remember that year, those life experiences and long lost friends of the time. The expense matters not and the cost to percieved value is meaningless, I brush thoughts of good people, all types of experiences, and shadows of moments aside from my minds eye. The economy of today and then remind me that money isn't everything, experience is everything and what we do means more than how much we have accumulated in money or wine in the cellar.

Wow, 15 years flew by, but like the song says, " I close my eyes, only for a moment and the moments gone..." (Kansas, Dust in the Wind).

by the way...it was a 1993 Stonestreet Chardonnay and no crime was committed.