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.

90 Days--and Counting

I did some math today and determined there were only 90 days left until the Boston Marathon. This marathon is coming up much more quickly than I'd like. The temperature today was 9 F and there was 1/2" of fresh, powdery snow--it sure seems like the gods are against me training for Boston. Alas, I went outside and I ran and surprised myself--I had a great run.. My legs were tired by the end, but this was a redeeming run. Wrapped up in my own thoughts, I looked forward to the hills of Boston, the heat of training through the heat and humidity of a Twin Cities summer and another Twin Cities Marathon. Here's to looking a crappy day in the and telling it to bugger off.

Dang where does the Wine Go?

A trip to a couple of wine bars and a wine tasting later, and we've zipped through a few more varietals. I didn't do a good job of taking notes, so I'm going to forgo writing about the wines--just note that all were good unless noted otherwise...

Varietal #12 Aligote
2006 Shooting Star Washington State Aligote--a bit flabby, we didn't mean to purchase this wine, but all ends just fine. This one would be better on a sunny deck than on a day when it is -15 F outside.

Varietal #13 Colombard
2006 McNab Ridge Mendocino Niemi Vineyard French Colombard--very similar in taste to a Gewurz--lovely with a salad or sweets

Varietal #14-16 Gropello, Marzemino, Barbera
2004 Garda Classico Negresco--this one also has Sango, but that one has already been covered. This is a great blend of red wine with some rare grapes. A great one for the challenge.

Varietal #17 Monica Grapes
2004 Argiolas Perdera--another nice wine, and a nice price too. I'm impressed with Italian wines especially dollar for dollar.

More later, maybe...

The Weekend Wrap

This weekend was a beautiful one up here in the Tundra, with temps sitting in the mid 20's and some nice light snow. The run on Saturday morning was wonderful--the falling snow dampened the din of the city and the only sound you could here were footsteps for much of the run.

On the wine drinking front, it was a productive weekend (including tonight)--

Varietals #7 & 8 Arneis & Tocai Friuliano

The wine--2005 JB Cellars Margaret Anne, Mendocino CA

Anne picked this one up at Byerly's because of the interesting grapes involved. Both are Italian in nature but these grapes were grown in the cool temperatures of Mendocino. I had a tough time with this wine because it was slightly corked. I'm a little more sensitive to TCA than most people and I have a tough time evaluating a wine once I sense it. Regardless, this wine was fine--it reminded me of the table whites we had when we were in Italy--a little grassy, very little nose, and honestly not that much flavor. The structure was good and the wine was dry--pretty good with food, but definitely not a sit and sip wine.


Varietal #9 Gruner Veltliner

The wine--2004 Hopler Gruner Veltliner, Austria

I love Gruner Veltliner. Dry and minerally. A little fruit but definitely not overpowering. This grape has become my favorite white grape. Maybe it is because I have relatives from Austria. I am soooo happy that Austria is making a comeback and we are able to get these incredible grapes once again.

Varietal #10 Pinotage

The wine--2003 Wamakersvallei La Cave Pinotage, Wellington, South Africa

When I asked for a Pinotage at the wine store, the clerk's eyes shine and he walked me straight to this one and claimed it was in the top 5 wines in the store. It was pushing the price threshold for the wine century club (~$24), but based on this recommendations, I had to bite. I'm glad I did. This wine was deep ruby--dark and beautiful. The nose was lush and dark. The flavor--chocolate, raspberry and spice. Yummmm. I won't go on, but I would definitely recommend this one

Varietal #11 Grenache

The wine--2006 Almira Los Dos, Campo de Borja, Spain

Admit it, when you hear for Grenache, you think of Gallo White Grenache from the late 80's. It was popular at the same time as White Zinfandel and it still confuses people. To get a good idea of what a real Grenache tastes like, head for some Spanish wines--this one is Spanish and it is a Grenache. It should be great, right??

Hmmm-- after the Pinotage, I knew there would be a letdown. I was right. I picked to eat this wine tonight because we were having Mexican food and this was a Spanish wine. They serve tamales in Spain, right??? This wine is actually 85% Grenache and 15% Syrah, but I'll only take credit for the Grenache. The wine is rather weak in color--not quite like a Pinot Noir, but definitely not as beautiful as the Pinotage or the wine with Petit Verdot in it. The nose matches the color--it is rather underwhelming--a little fruit and a little earth. The structure of the wine is good--light tannins (there but not strong) and a taste of blackberries and maybe cranberries. In spite of this, overall I think this wine is underwhelming--however, for $10 I might pick this one up again.

#3-6 in one Sitting

I honestly didn't mean to cover 4 grapes in one sitting, but I did. I think I feel downright dirty and will have to revisit many of these varietals when I can. Here is how it happened--I found myself at the liquor store, nearly panicking at the variety of varietals. I picked up an Hungarian wine but put that aside for later. I settled on a wine from Forte de Valle (Valley of the Fort, I guess) from the Yecla DOC in Spain. Little did I know that it was a blend that covered 4 varietals--56% Merlot, 24% Mouvedre, 10% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 10% Petit Verdot.

Varietal #3 Merlot
Vatietal #4, Mourverde (dog strangler in French??)
Varietal #5, Cabernet Sauvignon
Varietal #6, Petit Verdot

The wine--Casa De Las Espacias, 2004 Forte del Valle, Yecla DOC

With a deep red olor (likely from the Petite Verdot), but not quite inky, this is a pretty wine in the glass The nose is a little different--almost smells of anise??? The flavor is straight up the middle of the tongue with some pronounced Tannins when swirled around the mouth. There is some density -almost meatiness to the wine, similar to Jumilla district wines--the terroir is definitely there. We are definitely not in California anymore--and it reminded me of many of the wines we had when we were in Spain in 2003. So if you like somewhat challenging wines that reflect on Spain and you like paying under $10 for a bottle, this one would be right up your alley

2 Down, 98 to Go

Dang, the first 2 went down fast. However, I'll be sick of wine and missing beer in now time, so my brother in law, Ted, can relax. Please note that he has now joined the Blog Community for the challenge.

Varietal #2: Zinfandel

2004 Zinfandel, Luddite Vineyards, Russian River Valley, 68 cases produced

I made a pretty great (if I do say so myself) Hungarian Style Goulash on Sunday, which we ate as leftovers tonight. The cookbook recommended Limerick Lane Zinfandel (one of my favorites)--but the only Limerick Lanes I had formed a vertical so were off limits. Hence, the Luddite wine, which is only a few miles away as the crow flies from Limerick Lane. We bought this wine in the tasting room and shipped it back with some other bottles--I'm glad we did. For those of you not familiar with Zinfandel--it is quite often a very fruit forward wine that is often described as jammy and quite often at 15+% ABV (alcohol by volume). It is one of the quintessential American Wines, but is often "dissed" by wine snobs because it is too fruity and too high of alcohol. Good for them, but I really like it for drinking in front of a fire on a dark cold evening.

This wine is deep, particularly for a 2004 from Sonoma County. It is peppery with very little fruit on it, which I find rare for CA Zins. The nose is dominated by pepper, with a little hotness, hinting at the 14.2% abv (alcohol by volume). While this isn't particularly high for a Zin, I always smell it before tasting it. The taste is of plums and chocolate. Surprisingly, the tannins are still prevalent, which again, is rare for a few year old CA Zin. I think that this wine could sit for a few years and do very well.

100 Vino Varietals

I was browsing the internet (actually reading my Google Reader Acct), and I came across Wine Century, which really peaked my interest. The challenge is to drink 100 different types of grapes and submit your "accomplishment". I quickly filled out the checklist and realized that I had only drank (drunk?) 38 different varietals in my life. 62 to go. Some people would feel daunted by that task. I felt invigorated. I wrote Anne and my brother in law Ted, who leveled the challenge that we start over! We get no getting credit for past work (pleasure), and we have to log each and every varietal we drink. I now felt doubly invigorated!!!! Running 3500 miles in a year is too daunting, drinking 100 varietals of grapes is not. Plus it gives me something to blog about. Sooo, here goes...

Varietal #1--Sangiovese

2005 Mayo Family Winery, Dry Creek Valley, Unti Vineyard

This wine varietal is one of my favorites and Mayo makes a pretty good wine. Sangiovese is a wine typical to Tuscany, but is usually blended into Chianti, which is a blend. Mayo, for those of you not familiar with them, are a family winery based in Sonoma Valley. They focus on single vineyard designations, and this one is no different. Cranberry in color and taste, something I find common in California Sangos this wine has a nice light finish and some berry flavor (not too fruity), which make this a particularly good dinner wine. I'm not talking big steak and potatoes kind of dinner, I'm thinking Pizza or a light red sauce on Polenta or Pasta. Excellent.

Spirit of the Marathon

On the 24th of January, for one night only, theaters throughout the US will show Spirit of the Marathon, a documentary about, what else, the Marathon. I've pre-purchased tickets for the show at the Eagan 16. This is normally my workout night, but if you can't give up a workout for this, what can you give one up for? I hope to see you there as well.

German Corporations

Cracked.com does an interesting and funny look at companies that got their start during WWII--you can find that here. What I find disturbing is that so many of these companies have so much style. Who would have thought that Adolf would have had such a strong fashion sense? You certainly wouldn't have guessed that from his 'stache.

PS--you might want to spend some time wandering around cracked.com -- it is pretty good.

Christmas in Fort Myers Beach

was great. To give you an idea of how I spent my days...


I "filmed" this with my new Flip Video that I received for Christmas... It appears thus far to be a pretty cool tool.

Pooh Style Sports

Imagine a world where all sports were Pooh Style. If you don't know what Pooh Style is, you can check out Mike's rant about it or just imagine wearing a shirt but no shorts/underwear. So, imagine Pooh Style sports. Awesome, right? My #1 Pick for greatest Pooh Style sport is Tennis. Imagine if the shirt just covered the privies. You throw up the ball for the serve and voila... You lunge for a ball, voila! Imagine the disgusting possibilities...

What are your picks for coolest Pooh Style Sports?

Cat Humor

I know that Cat Humor pervades the internet--most of which is just plain weird. However, this animated cartoon, made my laugh out loud, and laughing out loud is good---

Gen Text (of which I'm not)

The conversation at Matt's strayed to why I don't use the text feature on my phone and how antiquated I am when it comes to technology. Heck, I just learned about blogs last year and RSS feeds yesterday. I realized tonight that the reason I don't have an affinity to texting is two fold; 1) I car pool with my wife to almost everything (work, runs, groceries,) meaning I don't have to text "Where U at?"--because I know she's right next to me and 2) My Mom and Dad taught me that grammar is important: I can't read a sentence with a misspelled word or improperly used verb or noun without cringing. How am I supposed to read a whole conversation with both problems? I think I'll just wander over to Grammar Girl and see if she wants to chat...

Another Equinox, Another Great Night

Looking at the calender, one might think that the Equinox was on the 23rd of September this year. If so, we observed the Fall Equinox early this year--tonight. We convened at Matt's once again for our quarterly celebration of the passing of the seasons. This time there was a total of 9 people, up from previous meetings. I have to tell you, this is one of my favorite nights of the year. Seriously, how can you beat Jucy Lucys and a bunch of friends (including the founder and inventor of jucylucyrestuarants.com)? Conversation was great, food was great and the weather outside was frightful. Did I mention that I had a great night?

Indestructible Wine

Another month, another post, another wine. And this one isn't a whine about bad wine--it is actually a celebration of a pretty darn good one, especially considering the price. After my disastrous encounter with Trove wines, I stopped in and purchased a different box-- a Black Box. I was hesitant, of course, but the 2 employees of the Byerly's Liquor Eagan store both swore by Black Box, with one even claiming the Cab was as good as any of the $20 bottles of Aussie wine in the store. The beautiful part? A box of wine holds the equivalent of 4 bottles of wine for the nifty price of $23 (likely cheaper at other liquor stores). So, I picked up a box of Black Box Monterray County Chardonnay, brought it home and threw it in the fridge...

The verdict? Very nice, particularly for a summer porch sipper. This wine has quite a bit of citrus nose to it, some melon undertones, and a nice silky texture. No malalactic fermentation has occurred, leaving out the buttery flavor you sometimes get in a chardonnay. There was a little bit of oak, but definitely nothing like Kendall Jackson. If you are a Sauv Blanc drinker who has shied away from America's best white grape (and there is not doubt that Chardonnay is California's best white grape), this is the box Chardonnay for you.

It's about time....and wine
I've been a little tardy in the posting. It seems that spring sprung, summer came and I forgot to look at my computer away from work. I believe there are worse things in the world, but I do feel ashamed. Those of you who know me, know that I like wine. Specifically good wine. However, I have come to realize that there is a time and place for a $25+ bottle of wine and it isn't to drink one glass with dinner midweek. Because of that, and because the marketing is so good, I decided to try a box wine the other night. Specifically the Trove Chardonnay. Cool box, $18 for 3 liters (or four bottles worth), and a cute name (get it treasure trove???). They even claim to be "premium wine in a box" on their website. I have one word for that--NOT. Maybe I have more words. Never (and I mean never) have I had a worse wine that this. I'm not sure what monkey poop tastes like, but it likely tastes better than the Trove Chardonnay. The color was golden, the nose was putrid, and the taste was unfathomable--as in how the heck do they ever get anybody to try this stuff twice??? My only hope (for the vineyard, that is), is that this wine was cooked, causing me so much derision and (dare I say) pain... I went to their website and filled out a product complaint form. I'll be interested to see what their response is. I'll be sure to follow up with this information.

However, I've decided to stick my chin out and go again at the boxed wine trials. I'll follow up in the next few days on my 2nd box o' wine.

UPDATE---Trove Wines Customer Service responded promptly and are sending me a refund for the full amount of the wine. So, crappy wine, stellar customer service.

3000 meter 1996 World Record

Even if you are not a fan of people running in circles, this is a race to watch. 3000 meters (7.5 laps), with all laps sub 60. He takes the world record by 4.5 seconds. Unbelievable...