Update Update Update

Tomorrow we go on vacation. I'm very excited to escape the cold of MN. Very very very. Some warm days in a warm, humid clime is just what the Doctor ordered.

So, I told Anne that I'd clean up the counter of wine bottles that I'd been meaning to blog about. So, realizing that I was (finally) done packing, I'm finally writing about them..

Varietal #35-36 Viognier and Chenin Blanc--Pine Ridge, CA 2005. This is one of my favorite summer wines and it works well in winter as well. Light, with some residual sugar--fruity and yummy. I think this is one heck of a wine for ~ $10...

Varietal # 37 Viura---Medievo, Rioja, Spain. This was another great white wine, especially for the price. Fruity, with some decent body, I like this one alot.

Varietal # 38 Pansa Blanca. No wait this one has already been drunk. Same name as Xarel Lo. Dang. None the less this Marques de Alella makes a very nice wine of this grape, which is typically blended into Cava, Spain's version of Champagne.

Varietal #38 (again) Garganega- Tamellni Soave 2004. The wine maker must love oaky Chardonnay. California Chardonnay that is. I'd prefer that they handled this wine a little more delicately... I'd no go this wine again.

Varietal #39 Muscat. Joao Pires 2004. This one was bottled in a tall bottle, similar to wines from the Alsace Region or the Rhein. Labeled as a white table wine from Portugal, I figured it would be made in the German Tradition. I was kind of right. A ton of acidity, a little residual sugar. Fine, German Style. Odd taste, confusing palate. Not German whatsoever. I'd recommend that everyone try this wine, because you'd never expect a Muscat to NOT be a desert wine. Nor would you expect it to be as dry as this one... I'm confused. Still.

I'll see you in a week. With a tan.

Vino Update

Have you ever fallen so far behind in a task that you rue catching up? That's what I did in the wine varietal count. I finally decided to catch up today by simply placing them on the count and not worrying about writing what the wines were and how they tasted. That would take so long that I would never get it done. As you can see, we're up to 34 varietals--this occurred much more quickly than I expected. Much more. And yet, I'm happy and my liver is just fine. It helps to have family that is interested in the same thing.

By the way, I just finished reading Red, White, and Drunk all Over by Natalie MacLean. If you have any interest in wine, this is a great read.

I Voted

I wasn't planning to vote today. However, I got out on my run a little late due to a work function. I was running through my neighborhood and there was quite a bit more traffic than normal. I thought "Dang, there must be something big happening at the High School tonight"--because we live so close to the High School. I then made my way onto Diffley Ave, and I noticed that traffic was backed up nearly 2 miles, waiting to get to the High School. This is 2 lanes of traffic, backed up for 2 miles. I'd say voter turnout was high. Then I felt guilty, and decided I had to vote. So I dropped Lucy off after my run and ran to the High School, where they let me vote despite the fact that 8 PM was when the polls was supposed to close and it was now 8:15. Thanks caucus people. Thanks.

FYI--Lucy has run 30 miles in 3 days. She is turning into quite the athlete.

Sally's has Me Seeing Red!

Today, I was "lucky" enough to get free tickets to the Gopher-Badger Basketball game. (lucky is relative, as the game was brutal). We decided to meet at a U of M standby-- Sally's Saloon. I know it is a U of M bar because 1) it is right next to the U of M Campus and 2) it proclaims it in an ad right outside the bar on a sign on a bus station shelter. (The U of M Gathering Spot!)

Soooo--I walked into the bar, purchased a Summit Winter Ale (because I only purchase MN beers when possible), and wandered into the bar. There were the usual assortment of Gold and Maroon wearing folk scattered with the ugly color of Red and White folk in the front half of the bar. Then, I wandered into the back of the bar...where the University of Wisconsin Badger Pep Band was playing and Bucky Badger was dancing. WHAT??? Yes, it appears that the owners of Sally's has sold out to the mighty greenback and fallen prey to the "Badger Nation". The entire back end of the bar was full of ugly leather jackets and incredibly tacky red and white overalls. I was shocked. I was upset. This is a bar that hosted the U of M Alumni Pep Functions for the same Gopher Basketball Team last year. This is a bar that is named after " female companion for Goldy Gopher (the U of M Mascot) was in order - thus the creation of Sally the female gopher." What the heck? What the !#@$?

I turned to the bartenders for sympathy, but they were wearing a sticker that stated "Rolling Out The Red Carpet"; featuring a Badger on the label. Now I was incensed! I went to the manager to plead my case. He simply stated that they were paying customers and that they arranged with the bar to show up early and take over the back half of the bar. I stated that I didn't mind that Badger fans dropped their money at their bar, but they did not have to allow the pep band into the bar along with Bucky Badger... He basically said that they had sold their Soul to the Devil (not his words) and that he didn't feel bad about it. I left and another guy walked up to complain. So did someone else, and then another. Because complaints don't mean anything to Sally's, I ask that all of the "Gopher Nation" speak in the only words that Sally's understands--the mighty dollar. Boycott Sally's now until Sally's apologizes and agrees to never host another Badger function on their premise... If you want to email the traitors, email them at sallyssa@sallyssalloon.com.