Madlib Record Promo circa 2007

If that didn't brighten your Friday even a little bit, then I don't know what to tell you.

Have a great weekend. I'm in New York celebrating 30th birthdays (not mine, that happened last year) with some a couple of country bumpkins from Baltimore; it is sure to be a good time.

For Haiti...Burning Spear LIve in Germany 1981 - Foggy Road

Times a tough, dem. It's a very foggy road ahead to be sure, but with some timely, active and popular monetary participation the fog is bound to clear at least somewhat sooner. I encourage anyone reading to donate whatever you can to yelehaiti, the red cross, or any other organization providing immediate aid to Haiti.

Madlib DJ Set Friday January 29th at Mighty

I usually don't do this, but...this is definitely worth the pause for the cause. Acclaimed producer/modern day chopmaster Madlib (Lootpack, MF Doom, Mos Def, Blue Note remixes, etc) will be in SF in a few weeks spinning records at Mighty over in Potrero. I'm not sure what records he will play, though I do know that Madlib is rumored to enjoy good Burgundy and fine vintages of claret, pre-1990. Whether there is any truth to that remains to be seen, but you best believe that I will roll up with a good bottle of Rioja so that my man can drink well, just in case his crew drinks him out of club and home. Madlib, if you are reading, I cannot afford d'Angerville Volnay Caillerets right now but I do think you'll enjoy some Rioja Reserva.

Madlib w/DJ Shortkut (Beat Junkies) & Carey Kopp @ Mighty
Friday January 29th 10pm
119 Utah St
San Francisco, CA 94103
(415) 762-0151

Some tasting comments, critical snapshots, blogulous capsulations...

...just don't call them "tasting notes." These have become increasingly controversial. There are those who write them off, others who defend them as a way of explaining such an esoteric, tough to grasp staple as wine, folks who begrudgingly concede that they are necessary tools of the trade, and then plenty of others, myself included, who live by the tasting note yet usually do not enjoy writing nor reading them. I have a tough enough time expressing myself clearly as it is, let alone expressing the characteristics of a product that holds such long standing historical, religious and traditional importance. Nonetheless, myself and countless others persevere. To catalogue our impressions, to assert our tastes and defend what we view as noteworthy and important, delicious and deserving of wine drinkers' attention. Or, perhaps, to use merely as an excuse to get mildly drunk and then pursue our innate inner creativity. Whatever the motivation, the tasting note is here to stay, and I for one will attempt to both limit its use and expand its potential meaning. To learn more through them yet stop reading when they inevitably become tedious. Do I contradict myself? Very well, then, I contradict myself!

Now that we got that out of the way, how about some critical snapshots?

YOUNG WHITE WINE

2008 Paul Pernot Bourgone Blanc

Pernot is based in Puligny. Apparently these grapes were harvested a good couple weeks after his neighbors harvested theirs, since he believes in fully ripened grapes and there were lots of underripe white Burgundies made in 2008. While I always expect a lot from this Bourgone Blanc, this year it seems to offer the usual extra dimension of richness and texture, minus the typical Puligny minerality and old school acidity. This, however, is based on impressions from two separate bottles, recently arrived into the store. Tasted in a line-up of at least several other wines each time, for about 30 seconds each time. I'd like to report back in a few months after having drunk this with fish at home with more knowledgeable Burgundy drinkers than I.

LESS YOUNG WHITE WINE

1999 Jacques Puffeney Savagnin Arbois

I enjoyed this terrific bottle with my girlfriend Natalie while dining at Bay Wolf in the Piedmont neighborhood of Oakland (If you haven't been, Bay Wolf is similar to Chez Panise but less expensive and not quite as good). Oils of nuts, oils of citrus, oils of apricot skins. Fairly advanced, but still lively enough. Not quite as taut and rip-roaringly acidic as I had hoped for, but so it goes. Still an interesting bottle, academically and gastronomically. It was delicious with the black cod and preserved meyer lemon, and was even ok with the duck liver flan. Perhaps most surprisingly, it has eventually led me to a wonderful Polish blog (written in English) on the subject of tea and wine.

DISAPPOINTING CRITICAL DARLING

Equipo Navazos La Bota de Fino No. 15 Macharnudo Alto (the white label La Bota....)

I've written about this before, and while I've had delicious bottles, this one sucked. It smelled of paste - Ralph Wiggum of Simpsons fame would love this stuff. After some days in the fridge, I decided that the weird, off putting aromas were actually more akin to play dough than anything else. First tasted while somewhat mellowed by Champagne consumption on New Year's Eve and re-visited every few days since then. Anyone familiar with common sherry or even wine flaws that may cause the aforementioned pasty/play dough qualities?

OLD RED WINE

1976 Brovia Rocche Barolo

An ok, but not particularly good, bottle of older Barolo. While the fruit showed fairly well out the gate, there was something a bit on edge about the acidity and overall balance of the wine. Funny, the usually terrific Italian restaurant in Noe Valley where we capricorns were celebrating our birthdays also left me longing for its more typical, comforting, expressive self. Oh well. Not all older Baroli can wow you, and hardly any consistently wonderful restaurants can truly deliver the goods every time you go.

Cuppa' Chaa - Red Blossom Alishan Formosa Oolong, Winter 2009

Cuppa' Chaa is my new Chinese tea series. Its name may change. I needed to dub it something quickly and am still warming up to 'cuppa chaa.' Unlike other sundry series which might have only been one offs, this one is for real. I'm geeking out way too much to not want to do everything I can to learn and form some impressions of my newly beloved Chinese tea. The blog, of course, is a terrific way to accomplish this. I'm not ready to guarantee frequency, or a regular day for this tea stuff, but let's just say that if you like what you see below, you will have more to look forward to in the weeks ahead. And if not, feel free to take a pass and catch up when the proceedings veer back towards wine, food, or music.

More photo's than words for this first entry in the series. Today, I'm featuring Red Blossom Tea Company's Alishan Formosa Oolong, Winter 2009. Produced in Taiwan, from hand harvested leaves growing at a single estate located at 1700 meters in elevation. Very lightly oxidized and gently roasted, there is both a sweet grassy freshness and buttery, rich, immensely satisfying finish to this tea. The aftertaste lingers a long while after sipping.

The 1 oz. package from San Francisco's Red Blossom Tea Company

Heating water. Our tap water tastes fine; maybe I should experiment, though?

Formosa style oolong is typically rolled up

A quick 1-2 second hot water rinse of the tea to prime it and allow for greater appreciation of the aromas

2-3 minute brew time; I went with slightly over 2 minutes

Bright, translucent yellow color

The tea leaves unfurl after their first brew

Resolutions

Not really one to look back, at least this year. The decade is over. Go to NPR's and BBC's archives for some perspective. Read your favorite alt weekly for some year end lists. If you care about today's cool music and what's cooler than the rest, go to pitchfork or something for the year's and decade's most highly regarded recordings.

Currently, on the fifth evening of the 2010th year, I'm looking at drawing up some New Year's resolutions. While it's far from an exhaustive list, I encourage you to hold me to some of these, or maybe even to join me in a few of these pursuits if any of them particularly resonate.

NOURISHMENT

Make stock twice a month until there is enough in the freezer to use for six months
Cook a large amount of soup once a week
Use sichuan peppers more often
Learn and prepare three new recipes a week
Bake the best pizza in California once a week

TEA

Drink all Chinese, all the time
Acquire a few more tea pots and improve brewing technique
Learn the various Chinese tea regions inside and out, their geography, topography, cultivation techniques, growing cycle, production process....

WINE

Give the Loire a rest - there's got to be a similarly diverse, value proposition elsewhere...Bulgaria? Georgia?
Cellar more Spanish wine (note to self: needs to include wines outside Rioja)
Cellar more Riesling

BEER

Drink more of it; pay the same attention as given to wine (or tea)

MUSIC

Carefully consider the vinyl and the turntable
Produce some form of personally recorded content at least once a week

BOOKS

Read them

THE COMPUTER

Limit exposure to

FRIENDS

More quality time with (FB does not count as quality time) and promotion of

FAMILY

Meet them in the streets of Baltimore and the avenues of Oakland

HOME

Share it more often

WISHES TO MY READERS

Occasionally extend them. Here's to a great 2010 to all of you. Happy New Year.

Toasting the life of Dan Ginsburg, 1956-2009

I did not know Dan Ginsburg, one of the two directors at Champagne De Meric, who passed away this August. As a wine drinker, Champagne enthusiast, and employee of a retailer which imports De Meric directly, however, I am familiar with his accomplishments in the world of Champagne. An American partner in the Aÿ based champagne house De Meric, Ginsburg was one of the very few foreigners on the production/supply side of the Champagne business. De Meric's neighbors include the illustrious and storied houses of Aÿ: Bollinger, Deutz, Gosset.

The region of Champagne is not typically a place for outsiders. Land is scarce and expensive, and often handed down generation to generation, vineyard holdings very slowly increased by the hectare or less. De Meric does not grow most of their own grapes; rather, they buy fruit from quality growers in Aÿ, Mareuil sur-Aÿ, Mutigny, Cramant, Avize and Oger. They ferment partially in older wood, including some very large, 4,000 liter oval oak foudres.

Away from their grape sourcing and partial implementation of traditional vinification, or perhaps better put as a result of it, the wines are delicious. Broad, soft and textural, but with plenty of vivacity, the Grand Reserve Sous Bois, currently based on the 2004 vintage complemented by reserve wines, is a delicious drink and a good example of the style, perhaps with a bit more brightness than usual given the 2004 vintage base material. For an example of De Meric champagnes at the high end, see the 2002 Cuvee Renée, produced from 100% biodynamically grown Pinot Meunier farmed by famed grower/producer Francois Bedel.

Dan Ginsburg was clearly a man of varied passions. A simple web search leads to his involvement in the SABR (Society for American Baseball Research), which he joined as a founding member at the age of 15. He also was a published author, having written The Fix is In on the history of gambling in baseball and The Art and Business of Champagne. Mr. Ginsburg held a residence in Washington, DC. I would not rule out the possibility that on at least one occasion he may have dined in the same restaurant as me as I was checking in on accounts during my three years working for a wine wholesaler.

On Christmas, I enjoyed a magnum of the De Meric Grande Reserve Sous Bois with my girlfriend and her family. New Year's Eve, I plan on doing the same with Natalie and some of our friends. I would be hard pressed to think of a more fitting, or more enjoyable, way to pay tribute to such a passionate advocate of small production Champagne.