wordless wednesday

See what others are (not) saying today.

#twn - happy cows come from wine country

According to an article by Dr. Vino, a farmer in British Columbia has been feeding her cattle, get this, red wine. For the past 90 days, Janice Ravndahl of Sezmu Meats has been supplying her cattle with delicious red wine, either mixed in their food or straight from the bottle. She says she was inspired by a television article about a farmer feeding beer to his pigs, which she said wasn't practical for cattle ... but that red wine might be a perfect solution.
According to Ravndahl, the cows have been reacting rather favorably to the recent addition to their diet: "They moo at one another a little more and seem more relaxed," she said. And local chefs have also reacted favorably, even going as far as to claim that the meat was pre-marinated before being brought to their kitchens.
Now I for one am not for eating cows or any other kind of animal (except for the occasional fresh piece of locally caught fish), but I can imagine why anybody would want to try a piece of beef that's been soaked in the wonderful taste of delicious red wine. Hopefully this becomes a trend in the states ... after all, don't cows deserve the same rights of wine, women and song as the rest of us?

pure evil

Bwa ha ha ha ha!
Okay, now that I've gotten that out of the way, let's start tasting some wine. After a sour and disappointing just-opened bottle of 2007 Blue Pirate Oregon Pinot Noir from Cost Plus (totally going to go in and get a refund, stat), I was looking for something a little more powerful. And oftentimes, when you're wanting power, you need to be a little evil.

The wine is a 2007 EVIL Cabernet Sauvignon from South Eastern Australia ($9.99, Cost Plus). According to the back label of the wine, "It's just wrong." Well, I wouldn't go that far. I honestly wouldn't say this wine is completely "right," but it certainly isn't "wrong." The color on the wine is a deep burgundy with a brick-red halo ... surprising for a Cabernet that's so young. The nose was incredibly jammy, with tons of raspberry, black cherry and licorice. There was also a bit of spice on the nose in the form of yummy cinnamon.
The mouth was smooth and strong with very subtle tannins and a crisp, clean finish. The mouth was also very jammy with black cherry and raspberry, but also had some tomato (especially on the finish) and tobacco. It's a smooth, easy to drink wine, but the only problem I have with it is that it's not very memorable. Perhaps that will have to come with age, but right now the wine just kind of dissipates on the tongue ... it doesn't really wow my senses after it's gone from my mouth.
In other news, the play rehearsals are going great. I've been having so much fun I can hardly stand it! Looking forward to opening night. Here's a pic of the entire cast in our costumes. In case you can't tell, I'm the one in the middle with the motorcycle chaps and a very, VERY wide open mouth. Gotta belt it loud and strong, right?

life in technicolor ... and wine in my belly

Okay, so I was going to start with this elaborate paragraph and where the yikes I've been for the past month, but instead I'm just going to sum it up in a clever haiku, a la Poetry Slam Fridays:

what the hell


black hole of finance
life no more, only saving,
so lips crack and bleed

So in short, the combination of saving for my move to San Diego as well as my theater performance has made buying or drinking wine pretty difficult right now. Pretty much all my spare money recently went into my rocking hairstyle (pictured above) for my role as Maureen in the local performance of RENT ... which, by the way, has been AWESOME. I love performing and hope to do it as much as possible when I'm down in San Diego. What can I say ... I'm a sucker for attention. 
I take a sip of wine every chance I get, but I have to be honest in saying that until I move down to San Diego, the actual wine portion of this wine blog is going to be pretty slim. I instead will focus on paying close attention and linking to my fellow blogger's fascinating wine blogs ... living (and drinking) vicariously through them. I look forward to seeing what all of you are enjoying!
The other day I had the opportunity to try a rather interesting Pinot Grigio at my work. I love working at a restaurant where we're encouraged to try the product, instead of told that we're simply supposed to assume what it's like without really knowing.

Specifically, it's the 2008 Maso Canali Pinot Grigio from Trentino, Italy ($25). It clocks it at a pretty mild 13% alcohol, which is not very surprising for the region (or so I have heard). The primary flavors on this wine, be it nose or mouth, were green apples. Classic Granny-smith green apples. It was incredibly crisp and light and was obviously meant to enjoy chilled. The nose also had characteristics of honeydew melon and wheatgrass, and the mouth also contained elements of tropical pineapple and a tiny hint of an herbal spice. I could easily imagine enjoying a couple sips outside on a terrasse while enjoying some light cheeses and cuts of fruit. Definitely a few pieces of a Granny-smith apple. It wasn't the best wine I've ever tasted, but it certainly wasn't the worst. I would drink it again ... but I probably wouldn't actively seek it out.
If any of you want to see a tiny preview of the show I'm in, here's a 20 second clip of all of us singing together. I'm the one in the green tank top hugging the other chica. Yes, in the show I DO play for the other team. Hopefully you can watch it, but if not all you have to do is become a fan of the Friends of MPC Theater. Hope you like! 20 Seconds of RENT