HOGSWINE

Hahahaha, dancing bear.

It is hot.

It is SO hot, I just stood up and sweat ran down my ankle.

It is the perfect weather for a brutally cold white wine to sip on in the shade, all while devouring the perfect summer story.

I opened up a bottle of the 2005 Waterbrook Reserve Chardonnay; if it were possible to bathe in this golden liquid, I certainly would.  I love this wine for the toasty oak, butter, tropical fruits, pineapple, grapefruit and yeast that makes me sip it non-stop.  I also grabbed a great book over the weekend, The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne.  It’s a new translation and so far I cannot put it down.

Like many things in life that require some semblance of moderation-the summer novel and refreshing chardonnay are two things I would never give up.  Especially when it’s 111 degrees on the patio.

On Saturday my brother and I went back up into the foreboding mountains near Walla Walla to hunt for morels.  It was vastly unlucky in the finding culinary treasures department but I did find many beautiful pinecones and spring wild flowers.

Having seen the Happening, I made sure to give off good energy and ask the plants permission to pick its flower.

We also found many, many, many of those mushrooms that grow on cow pies.

Having lived in Walla Walla for four years now its like leaving this town of 30,000 is leaving civilization behind.

*closed door*

…muffled noises…voices approaching closer…

Unidentified male voice, possibly doctor: “..and then let’s bring bring him in here and give him a rectal exam.”

Unidentified female voice, possibly nurse (so stereotypical and sexist, I know): “Well, wait…isn’t that the ear doctor?”

…voices fading away…muffled talking resumes.

We got a bunch of Francis Ford Coppola wine to try at work today. Some were disappointing but the one I loved I feel a little guilty about. It’s the 2006 Francis Ford Coppola “Director’s Cut” Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel. Holy crap that is like a sentence in of itself. It tasted mighty fine and was exactly what you would expect a big humongous California zinfandel to taste like. The finish seemed to last forever and had this great, toasty earthy flavor. Yum.

I picked up a book today called ‘God is dead.’ It’s a novel and it’s funny yet definitely a critique of the current state of our culture, both locally and globally. I’ll let you read the inlet, here.

Ron Currie, Jr., holds a fun house mirror to our present-day world. God has inhabited the mortal body of a young Dinka woman in the Sudan. When she is killed in the Darfur desert, he dies along with her, and word of his death soon begins to spread. Faced with the hard proof that there is no supreme being in charge, the world is transformed, yet remains oddly recognizable.

Colin Powell seethes with rage and curses like a street pimp; high school buddies forge a suicide pact; dogs speak Aramaic and walk on water; and parents, for the “lack of anything to do on Sundays,” worship their own children. And all this is before the war starts.

So listen, I know it sounds ridiculous but it’s a hilarious and insightful book and you should pick it up. If anything because it reminds me of Kurt Vonnegut and how I am sad he is dead.

Where did this totally awesome weather come from?

The other day I was grilling with a friend and it felt like late November, then all of a sudden mother nature is like, SUN FOR YOU MOFO!  It’s great. Tonight looks to be a great night.  I’m starting out at a podunk bar with some friends and then heading off to a dance party where, whether or not its a huge turnout, I know I will have fun as well. Right now I’m desperately trying to sober up and get some food eaten so I don’t fall asleep at 10.

I opened up a bottle of Ronan Cabernet Sauvignon the other night and it was very delicious.  I paid about $15 for it and I would say the price was worth every drop. Next time I have a bottle I will make sure it gets finished the same night between everyone because I tried finishing it the next day with some grilled steak and it just didn’t have that same kick.  Is it possible for a wine to get sweeter after being open for a day?

Let’s play the ‘What’s on your desk?’ game.

I have my Macbook with a dual monitor attached.  One pair of green headphones. A pad of paper full of my sloppy-ass writing. A Staples brand ‘medium’ pen. Two empty paper cups of coffee, one full cup of coffee. A bar of Scharffen Berger semi-sweet chocolate. My temporary, paper identification from the DMV. One debit card. My iPod and a phone.  Five books on web analytics and search engine optimization and two copies of the Journal of Wine Economics.  The office telephone and a voucher for $75 to use on Yahoo! Search Marketing.

Was that as entertaining for you as it was for me?

Well this week has just flown by, hasn’t it?  I am so excited for the weekend but I will tell you what I’m not excited for, gas prices.  I had ten dollars to use for gas and the needle only made it halfway to the quarter-tank mark!

Last night I drank a Snoqualmie Vineyards merlot and tonight I couldn’t resist trying another so I bought the 2006 syrah.  To be fair I already had had a bit to drink before cracking open the merlot but it struck me as a pretty good value for what I got out of it.  My friends and I drank it quickly after opening it and all of us agreed it was that wine you drink later in the evening when you don’t particularly care what it tastes like.   Right now I’ve got a glass of the 2006 syrah and I’m a little happier with this wine.  It definitely has that leathery, fruity taste that I love about syrah and pleases me for the price point.

• I’m a huge fan of Lost and if you are to, you should read The Opening Act from the Original, Unused Teleplay of Lost’s Pilot Episode.  Via McSweeney’s
• I loved this article by the magazine n+1 about hype and the music industry.  Great reading.
•  It took all my willpower not to fall into line and make a Carl Icahn joke.  Here is Yahoo’s response to the whole debacle.

I’ve had so much wine lately but keep neglecting to post some reviews, I’ll get those up this weekend.

Like many people, I enjoy looking for retardedly good finds in my local thrift store. The last such find was a superb record player with nary a flaw and that great vintage look. Naturally then, I’ve been buying records lately and have noticed that there are a number of the same records you see everywhere in Walla Walla. Here are the most common five.

1. Johnny Mathis - Raindrops keep falling on my head
2. The Heritage Singers - The King is coming
3. The Mills Brothers - Dream a little dream of me
4. Neil Diamond - Greatest Hits: Volume 2
5. Barbara Streisand - Every single godamn album ever

As a value add to our relationship, I offer this wine review: 2004 Helix Syrah

I love most syrahs that I drink and I especially love anything that comes out of Washington state. It wasn’t that much of a surprise then when I cracked this gift of a bottle open and instantly smiled. This has those classic syrah characteristics combined with delicious blueberries everywhere. You know how tobacco smells? This wine will show you how it tastes.

A brilliant new bandname: Fire causing death

A brilliant new car color: That blue your hands turn when there is no circulation.

The playlist that won’t leave my head: Romain Gavras Mix

The idea from the article I can’t stop thinking about: Do we make our decisions slightly before we actually become aware of them?

The wine I can’t stop drinking: 2007 Callia Alta Shiraz-Malbec. Bright flavors of blackberry and fig with a delicious bit of cherry saying ‘hello’ in a nice, long finish.