What are you drinking in 2021?

Sounds like so much hype, like growers who tout their biodynamic methods. Clusters of Pinot don't know if they reached the press via bouncing tractor-pulled cart or bouncing equine-pulled cart. lol

Lots of smoke taint concerns in OR and CA with harvests over the last few years, so it really helps to know what areas burned which years. Many vintners simply dropped the entire harvest and didn't try to pull one on consumers.

 

I got the feeling that this grower could not afford a tractor. The wine was exactly the kind I like with salmon or as an aperitif, though, and what with Pinots being notoriously temperamental, that is a find for me. WVV doesn't make one quite like it.

The shop owner who dumped smoky wine has earned my respect for doing that, and I like her "curated" selection. I will revisit her shop. She said that some winemakers have been experimenting with distillation in an effort to make something good out of smoke-tinged wine. Jury is out on the other place.

 

Perhaps not. I'm just saying, as you know, that non-mechanization isn't all that unique short of the Stella Rosa level. An untimely rain or heat spike at harvest is death, someone tilling in the top cover mechanically ain't.

Joined these guys in Yakima over the weekend. There was not a single not-drinking-that wine in the eight or 10 pours we had. https://www.owenroe.com

And I had a great alder-planked salmon one night. I mean THAT good. I had that with a WA red blend that was heavily Rhoned.

But salmon with Pinot is like Merry with Christmas.

 

8 or 10 pours, eh? Always a danger that one will lose count. I will look for Owen Roe. We just got a Metro Market here. It's a Seattle based chain of finer grocery stores. Excited about it. Since the guy I had been using at Freddy's moved on after Freddy got fussy about special ordering, I have been looking for a replacement. Ought to be able to latch onto a good wine person there. Metro also has good butchers, even early Sunday morning when I visited.

 

We had this twice. Way way underpriced ...

 

1st world problems.
You buy olives for your martinis but don't realize you bought olives with pits still in..

 

After driving 600 miles from Hilton Head we stopped at a diner near Baltimore for dinner, I ordered a Greek Salad. Bad choice. I broke a crown on an olive pit and because I was so tired, I ended up swallowing it. Didn't think about "looking for it" as if my ingested crown were like the beans used to make Kopi luwak coffee.

Just put them in a small bowl or let them swim in your cocktail glass and go spear fishing with a large toothpick.

This reminds me, I'm going on my annual fishing trip, I should pick up some pitted olives and blue cheese to stuff my own.

 

Redemption

 

Last night was a 2018 Foley Rancho Santa Rosa Pinot.

 

Old hat for many in here, but first time for me.

I usually stick with ambers and porters, but I didn’t mind this one. Good flavor.

 

That's one of my ole reliable beers if I can't find anything more exotic at the local grocery store. That or Sclupin IPA....those west coast style ipas taste so good

 

This release just came in. I couldn’t resist. Went online one hour after release and four bottles left of Sassicaia Got to store ten minutes later and got the last one! Came with the box as bonus for last one!

These will sit for a bit

 

That looks interesting.

 

Dry cider (hard) brewed by my husband. Has a too gentle champagne carbonation - I prefer heartier carb, but it's got a lovely flavor! Crisp, not too sweet

 

Yeah, it was one of the bottle options from flaviar.

It's got a helluva bite/sizzle on the tongue at first, otherwise smooth and mellow. Decently warm finish. A cube of ice tames it down, but I think it tastes much better without.

Debating on picking up a bottle of their standard rye.

 

Tis the season….
Just not for me

 

Woodford Reserve Double Oaked “Cookie Monster” Barrel Select. Very good, trying to determine difference from the regular Double Oaked from memory. I may have to try a side by side

 

I am not very brand loyal, I will try anything once; twice if it tastes good. Take Quality House Old Style Bourbon for example, this is a Heaven Hill brand, not a Beam or Buffalo Trace product. Would I drink this neat? Probably not, but as a mixer or as a Manhattan, this does the job with aplomb.

The funny thing is the handle of bourbon is about $4 more than the 375 ml bottle of Alessio Vermouth. I have to say, I haven’t found my sweet spot with this Vermouth, it is kind of heavy with lots of herbal flavors I’m unaccustomed to since I typically use Stock, M&R, or Tribuno.

I think one of the Manhattan loving VMB members mentioned this Vermouth in a previous post, apologies for not connecting the dots to your board name. It is an acquired taste, I will experiment and make sure to keep this one in the fridge to keep it fresh.

 

In contrast to my bottom shelf bourbon exploits, I present a Russian Standard Vodka Martini made with Alessio Bianco Vermouth. Like it’s sweet red cousin, this Bianco has a lot of flavor going for it, I think it makes a great Martini. I need to try it as a Vesper with a big slice of lemon peel. My garnish was pickled asparagus, spicy hot. Very yummy.