a cab for the sipping

  
Quite good

Even if you are not multitasking by eating scrumptious organic blood oranges

By the way I doubt this would be the recommended pairing to blood oranges but I don’t think any wine would, I was just hungry

At any rate the oranges did not detract from my enjoyment of this wine

I opened and sipped immediately but preferred it after it got a little bit of breathing time

It is hearty but balanced

Full to medium body

Oh yes:

2012 SIMI Landslide Vineyard Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

That is what we are drinking this week

Medium tannins

I taste dried plums

Currants, that is what I taste too

I mentioned that there is some oak happening in there yah? oh yah I did

What else? A bit of acidity braces the sides of my tongue, a nice balance to the prickly plushness of those tannins

A hint of cocoa

Simi says make jelly with this.

I say that is not a terrible plan but I’d rather sip it

Do the sip it is good

zin sin

Yes there is lipstick on my nose.

  
Which do you suppose is worse? Never having loved or never being loved back? 

I say the former is worse because being in love is a sublime thing.

Also, I am in love with this wine. Being an inanimate object it is not capable of love rendering previous ponderings moot.

In other words: it’s all good.

Homefire of Sonoma 2012 Dry Creek Valley Zinfandel–Daydream Vineyard

The body is medium and well-proportioned. Neither a Marilyn nor a waif.

There are cherries and berries.

Silk. It is rather silky like um, silk. But better tasting. 

I like the bottle you guys, even though I saw “Daydream vineyard” and was worried I was about to dive into some hippie shit. But the good ol’ Dry Creek Valley did not let me down. 

Thanks to Silver Lake wine for steering me to this gem. It was the perfect date.

Goth Goodies + Goth Rice Recipe, sorry no pinot this week

Yessssss. I love goth goodies. Things that speak macabre. Or dark. But if they shout Hot Topic I’m out. It’s a fine line, people.

But I dig:

Black jelly beans.

blood oranges.

Beets.

Red wine.

Red kool aid.

But then pink can be goth too.

Oh and DARK chocolate duh.

Pinot NOIR.

I could go for some of that right now.

That being said some prefab goth food is amazzzzzze. Like these skulls:

  
Rightttttt? FIKA also makes chocolate in pill bottles. The feel is like some sort of city grime darkness addict je ne sais quoi vibe. It’s hot. Plus goth.

Also I am into goth because that is when I am at my hottest. Obvi important. Everyone has a style that fits them best and when I am gothed out, well, sometimes people that only see me grimy (improv teams, dancers) are sorta surprised when they see me done up. Like, “Hey, I didn’t realize you were capable of being Attractive ” surprised. Which is semi-insulting: “if you just cover half your face in black eyeliner you’ll look great!”  But I take the compliment. I think it just suits my pallor.
So let’s have goth rice and chill.

Dark and Moody Rice
Adapted from The Athlete’s Cookbook by Corey Irwin and Brett Stewart
Olive oil spray
1/2 c. Diced yellow onion
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 small bay leaf
1/2 c. Black rice
1 1/2 c. Water
3 Tbsp. Diced roasted red bell pepper-I used jarred
1/4 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes
1 tsp. paprika
Fresh cilantro to garnish
In a saucepan, heat the oil then turn heat to low and add onion, garlic and bay leaf. Cook about five minutes until onion is softened. Add the rice and turn heat to medium. Cook a couple of minutes, stirring periodically. Add the water, stir, and cover. Cook the rice undisturbed until softened but not overly so-around twenty minutes. Stir in everything else but the cilantro and cook about five more minutes, until the rice is done but still firm. Take off heat, dish up and garnish with cilantro.

UNTI-L I get to Dry Creek Valley

What happens when I’m too lazy to get my tripod out:

  
I hold the bottle with my knees.

Oh my. Thank god for friends on wine apps like good ol’ Delectable. I mean, you guysssss, what did we do before wine apps? Ugh.

My chum from high school made a delightful metaphor about how he just had to keep workin’ his way through this bottle. Such a delightful metaphor I went out and got some. You’d have to see the metaphor i.e. I just want more buddies on the app.

But This Wine. I’ll tell you about it on the off-chance you aren’t gonna download and actively use a wine app.

2012 Unti Dry Creek Valley Grenache
15.1 ABV. 85 percent Grenache with un peux Syrah. Wait is it une peu? These days I only know ballet French.

Like ballet, wine exults in balance and this is balanced in the perfect way, as in it is balanced but not bland. It is distinguished. Fresh on the nose, almost pears? A dark and ruby Grenache with your daily recommended value of tannins.

Smooth strawberries followed by love.

And yet there is something a bit quirky about it. Fruit glides smoothly over your tongue then surprises you with mouthwatering acidity that somehow is plush at the same time. It’s like someone who can pull off a sensible pantsuit with a pair of epic stilettos. Or someone with a hat. Anyone with an unnecessary hat has to be a little bit off-center. But in a delightful way.

Just as you are reveling in the berries and forest nymphs dancing over your tongue you swallow and the tannins glue your tongue to the top of your mouth, but only for one brief nanosecond and then the bristles fade into raspberry velvet. 

So picture that this wine is a sophisticated brunette in a natty suit who is sporting a fuchsia fascinator and making it work for her.

I hear that Dry Creek Valley is rife with gems like this. I am excited to see what characters I encounter next.