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

les saisons de la vie

So this blog entry isn't about wine so much as it's about my life, because I wanted to share something with all of you. I found out recently that my boyfriend Julien has been offered a full internship on the set of a new movie shooting in Paris, starting in August. He'll be working with his brother, a very well known film editor in France, and learning about the entire movie making process. Since he's a film major at college, naturally he is stoked.
I'm very happy for him, but I'm not so thrilled that he'll be gone for at least 7 months an entire continent away. I'm going to visit him for a month in January, but still ... that's 6 months apart, minimum. We're determined to make it work, but I've never done something long distance before. I'm a little nervous about how it all works. Have any of you been involved in a long distance relationship, either short or long? Is there anything I should prepare for?
I'll be blogging every loving, painful and pining step of the way ... so be prepared for some lover's lament poetry on Poetry Slam Fridays. Because I'm going to miss him terribly.

poetry slam friday

deepening

your color's exposed
deeper, darker, richer, raw
skins create rubies

featured blogger: beau's barrel room

This week's featured blogger is Beau Carufel from Beau's Barrel Room. A resident of my home-to-be, San Diego CA, Beau is a young wine blogger who, like myself, prefers to write about wine in a fun and casual manner ... as opposed to being all stiff and stodgy with an upturned nose. He'll be at this year's Wine Blogger's Conference in San Diego on scholarship, so wish him luck! I can't go unfortunately because I have play rehearsals, so that means he'll just have to have enough fun for the both of us.

twn - the wino's carbon footprint

I recently read an interesting article on Treehugger.com about the carbon emissions's behind a bottle of wine or a pint of beer. Someone was asking their resident carbon emissions expert which is safer for the environment.
According to Pablo, the item with the least carbon emissions would be a locally-grown estate bottle of wine, since many of the carbon emissions come from shipping the grapes and/or wines to other areas and around the world on planes. Locally-grown and produced beers are also good, but apparently it's hard to find a brewery that will produce its own grains. It's also good to find organically-grown or biodynamic wines, since they don't use any pesticides or herbicides to make their wines. Also try and buy more screw top wines where possible, and recycle your corks!
However, Pablo does make it a point to state that no matter which one we drink, we're harming the environment in one way or another. Which is a good point to consider ... albeit a depressing one. So drink responsibly and make sure to treasure every last drop - Mother Nature is taking one for the team to let us drink delicious wine, so show your respects.

atw - more like FUNdue!

The other day I had a craving for fondue. A serious, serious craving. And as any true fondue fan knows, the craving for fondue can ONLY be satisfied with a delicious fondue. No cheese and crackers will substitute! So Julien and I went with his mother and sister to a little Swiss restaurant in Carmel CA to have some cheese fondue and raclette.
Since no fondue excursion would be complete without a delicious bottle of dry white wine to enjoy it with, we decided to order a bottle directly from the fondue motherland  ... Switzerland. The wine was a 2002 Domaine E. de Montmollin white wine from Bevaix, Switzerland ($32). The grapes were grown by Domaine de Chauvigny on the French side of Switzerland.

The color on this wine was a rich yellow, almost straw-like color. There was noticeable pear and Golden Delicious apple on the nose, as well as Meyer lemon and honeydew. The wine was quite dry but had a bit of a spritz on it as well. The mouth had honeydew melon with a tiny hint of grapefruit, Golden Delicious apples and a honey finish. It tasted great with the fondue, and wasn't bad with the chocolate fondue that followed for dessert! I would definitely recommend it for the next time you're thinking of having or making some fondue.
In other news, as you can see my Web site is officially open for business! Well, the main page and blog page are, anyway. The rest should be uploaded within the week. If you have any comments or suggestions please let me know.
Also, please check out my newest article for Palate Press about being a vegetarian wine taster. It's currently the featured article on the main Palate Press site. Yippee!