12 Hours with Barack Obama

In BWI airport yesterday, awaiting to board my return flight to SFO, I stopped in to the Hudson Bookshop, and noticed a copy of The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama. I will come out and say that I am an ardent supporter of Senator Obama. Honestly this is not based on any personal contact I have had with the man. Nor is it based on any extensive viewing of the primary debates, or any thorough knowledge of his past legislation and current positions on issues. Like many others, I support Obama because he strikes me as extraordinarily genuine, intelligent, and sufficiently informed on issues to do a good job as president. His momentum is truly impressive, and looking back it all started with an enthusiasm amongst people in their twenties, thirties and forties that has not existed for any democratic candidate in the past two decades. I am generally not one for reading books written by active, or retired, politicians. Nevertheless, I felt the need to read Obama's book and better acquaint myself. Know your candidate, right?

And man, am I glad that I did. The book was an affirmation of what makes Obama as attractive a presidential candidate as he appears to so many of us. In fluid, down-to-earth, conversational prose, Obama gives the reader a better sense of his personal background and his career thus far as a politician. Throughout, in broad brush strokes, he summarizes recent political history, tries to explain the bitter, divisive nature of current politics, and offers his take on recent US history and where the country is going. Some reasons, solidified during my reading, of why I like Barack Obama for president:

- Like 99% of Americans, he does not come from an overly priviledged background
- His multi-culti, well-travelled upbringing instilled in him a unique perspective
- He is an experienced grass roots organizer
- His proposed ideas, though untested and at times vague, are creative and unlike anyone else's I have heard. They also seem realistic and fairly easily implemented.
- He probably knows the difference between 'crunk' and 'hyphy.'

And most importantly: HE IS REAL.

I know, this does not mention specifics, and that is of course the popular criticism of both Obama and his backers. Doesn't matter. Obama is as real as they come, and right now I think the US wants someone who is real to lead.

GO OBAMA!!!

The most enjoyable current release Napa Cab I've had in a while is:

- marketed by Gallo
- not overextracted, over-oaked, sweet, or otherwise unnatural tasting
- an historic California producer

And the wine is....LOUIS M. MARTINI CABERNET SAUVIGNON NAPA RESERVE 2004

Yes, it's far from a cool wine to like, it's a Gallo product, is probably not made from organically farmed, hand picked grapes, and is probably made in massive quantities. Doesn't matter as I think the wine is fun, quite natural tasting, reasonably priced, and reflective of a type of style all but lost in Napa Valley. Go buy a bottle (it's probably a very easy find) and see what you might be missing.

Three days with 2004 Produttori del Barbaresco Barbaresco, or, my continuing efforts to predict the future

Known by many as the best co-operative in the wine world, and as the main reason why Barbaresco became a separate D.O.C.G. from Barolo, the Produttori (as they are often called) have for a long time been one of the great producers of traditional Barbaresco. Their basic Barbaresco is typically solid and attractively priced. Their single cru offerings can also be quite good, though I have less experience with them. This post will only touch on the entry level Barbaresco.

Produttori del Barbaresco 2004 (Day 1)

I was not quite sure how to feel about the '04 Produttori. Upon first sip, there was all of the requisite red fruit and rose petals on the palate, with licorice notes on the finish. Very good acidity and fine grained, drying tannins completed the package, but somehow it seemed like something was missing. A bit of weight and gravitas maybe? Not that good, traditional Barbaresco should be a weighty, mid-palate staining wine. Somehow, though, I expected something more akin to my memory of tasting the '01 upon its release. This had been my introduction to the Produttori and my first taste of traditional nebbiolo from the Piedmont. And from a terrific vintage at that. '02 of course was dilute and tough to drink, '03 a little bit more meaty and savory, but also more simple and less edgy. So where was my return to form on the '04? Maybe the wine would show better on day 2?

Day 2

The wine opened up, but went a little bit tooty fruity and candied on me. More roses, manifested as turkish delight, but also a real confectionary quality as well. Tannins are still similar to day 1.

Day 3

Surprisingly, the wine seemed to close up and shut down. Red fruit became dark, licorice turned more prominent, inner-mouth floral aromas were slightly muted.

CONCLUSION

Hell if I know. As far as aging I'm somewhat stumped. This might be merely 5 year material but somehow I am withholding hope that it could be wine to drink in a decade. Guess I'll have to buy a few bottles and drink at 5, 7 and 10 years from now.

Wulong Tea

More commonly referred to as 'oolong,' I prefer the alternate spelling of this famous Chinese tea. Though it is not as old as its green tea counterpart, oolong is China's most famous type of tea. Unlike green tea which is produced from leaves that are minimally oxidized, and black tea, which is comprised of 100% oxidized tea leaves, oolong is partially oxidized anywhere from 10%-70%. The resulting color of the tea can be anywhere from light golden green to a darker amber, and the flavors from grassier and more green tea like to more floral, strong and black tea like. Here are two contrasting styles of Oolong which I tasted recently.

Silk Road 'Competition Grade' Oolong tea

A dark green colored, ball shaped tea, this oolong is very fresh, grassy and green smelling. Just a touch of the oolong musky floral aromatics lead to crisp, clean and green flavors, with good purity and persistence on the finish.

Lupicia Tie Guan Yin Oolong Tea

From Fujiang province, this is clearly a more heavily oxidized version of oolong - the tea is clearly a very dark shade of green, almost bluish-black. Once brewed, this tea takes on a light brown color, with strong floral scents that for some reason brings to mind an old lady smell. Strange, yes, but that's what it smells like. The flavors are similarly floral with a touch of dried apricot. I'm not as into this oolong as the above; maybe I have not yet developed a taste for the stronger, more heavily oxidized oolongs?

Stadlman Zierfandler Classic 2005

This one here is one of those rare 'drink it, gotta immediately post on it' wines. Very Austrian wine, similar to many Austrian rieslings I've had - minerally flavors, with an apricot kernel and leesy character. The difference here is that this zierfandler shows some very pithy, grapefruit flavors. A bit of a bitter snap that seems to mellow after a day or so open in the fridge. But still the type of minerality and structure that I come across so often and love in Austrian Rieslings is definitely showing itself. Fun wine, and a great deal for under $15.

Company Flow - 8 steps to perfection

I'm going to use a dated, way overused term right now - backpacker. This is the quintessential backpacker hip-hop record. Lyrically challenging, hard hitting, funky, experimental production from El-P. This one here is a cool, crisp, tangy vlassic.

Whiling away on the east yay

For anyone I already managed to lose with the title, what I meant to say might go something like this: "A lovely afternoon spent on the East Bay"

Yesterday afternoon the lady and I rode bikes around Oakland and Berkeley, doing some fun food geek stuff (yeah I said 'food geek' - why are we wine geeks but 'foodies' instead of 'food geeks') at various points along the way.

Our first stop was Bakesale Betty, an awesome bakery started by a CPU (that's Chez Panise University) alum. Many of the east bay's top spots are run by folks who used to work for Alice Waters - you might call her the Coach K of the Bay Area restaurant community. Anyway, we were given a gingerbread cookie each while waiting for our mouthwateringly delicious fried chicken sandwich. Said sandwich consists of perfectly fried chicken filets, served atop fresh green cabbage mixed with lemon juice, red onions and a bit of chopped jalapeno peppers. It's all crammed into a crusty torpedo shaped roll and served on an aluminum baking pan. We headed outside to grab a seat at one of the ironing board tables and enjoyed sitting in the Oakland sun, eating fried chicken sandwiches, washed down with a perfectly tangy lemon ice - that's the way to spend a day off.

After lunch we headed to Rockridge to say a quick howdy to Mark at Paul Marcus Wines, buy some truffle oil at the Pasta Shop, and then drink the famous hot chocolate at Bittersweet. We opted for the less chocolatey, slightly less rich, more cinnamony Mexican champurrado. It was delicious - sweet, spicy, and just enough cocoa. With the hominy flour element it also tasted more nourishing than your usual hot chocolate, but maybe that was just because I associate corn with nourishment? Very tasty hot chocolate at Bittersweet.

After relaxing times in tony Rockridge, we hopped on our bikes and headed west, to West Berkeley. We went into an Indian market for some spices, a large bag of CTC black tea, and some other sundries. [A quick question to any readers out there experienced in Indian cookery: should fresh curry leaves smell like car exhaust? The ones we bought smell that way and I do not know whether or not to use them].

We enjoyed a beautiful last few moments of sunset on the bridge heading out towards the Berkeley marina. This is easily one of the best views I have seen since moving to the Bay Area - the glowing houses on the Berkeley Hills behind you on the east, the downtown San Francisco skyline at around 10 o'clock on the west, the Golden Gate straight ahead, Marin headlands due north at around 1 o'clock, and an illuminated downtown Oakland to the south.

To all the lovers out there Happy Valentine's Day.