Tasting – Page 8 – @sommeligay

Wine tastings on buses and Villa Bellangelo

August 31, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Was my current alarm set to that one Vampire Weekend song on which I clicked snooze too many times? The answer is maybe. Anyways, I’m told I have like half an hour before we leave for breakfast.

It’s finally the day that the pre-excursion for the Wine Bloggers Conference 2015 starts – so Christine, Amy, Leeann, Sujinder and I pack up, eat breakfast at a place (i.e. delicious instant-regret-omelettes), and drive back to Elmira where some of us enjoy Gin and Tonics at the airport to revitalize our brains. Some fellow bloggers began arriving: some remember that we met last year, where I was plagued by lots of self-doubt more than the capacity to retain faces and names (ugh what a great start), and we all board the pre-excursion bus on the way to Villa Bellangelo.… read more

Finger Lakes: first spits and fire pits

August 26, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

#WBC15 Tinder Wine Session #2

August 16, 2015November 17, 2015 by Josh

I’m pretty sure Mykha’el and I sat at the same place for our second round and we were still relatively pretty empty for a table (which was awesome) but this time we were also with fellow wine baes Brianne and Cory.

Standing Stone 2013 Saperavi (Finger Lakes, New York) $30
Deep purple. Lots of compelling dark berry fruit and some plum. Peppery and bunch with a curvy body and soft structure. Fruity depth and very satisfying. “My Boxer” by Oh Land? Apparently the only winery in the Finger Lakes that does a Saperavi.

Standing Stone 2013 Saperavi: punchy and voluptuous and all about that bass 'bout that bass @SSVNY #WBC15 pic.twitter.com/qpfePDMz9w

— campari-ana grande (@sommeligay) August 15, 2015

Fox Run 2012 Lemberger (Finger Lakes, New York) $21
Stinky, perhaps a bit reductive.… read more

Tasting

#WBC15 Tinder Wine Session #1

August 16, 2015November 17, 2015 by Josh

i.e. Live Wine Blogging but I like my name better.

Table 6 is where the cool kids are at! Join @Mykhael and I! #wbc15 #speedtasting

— campari-ana grande (@sommeligay) August 14, 2015

Somehow, Mykha’el and I got an entire table to ourselves, but we owned that shit. Every representative that came to our table sighed with relief and took a chill seat next to one of us; they relaxed and poured us their wine and talked about it for five minutes until they heard the dreaded ding, indicating that they had to move on to the next table, for a total of 10 times. We were told that this year would be different, and every wine we would have in both this session and the next would consist solely of wines from New York.… read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting

Post-Pride and Pre-WBC15 Wine Dump

August 6, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Bit of a tasting note dump between the Maryland trip and Vancouver Pride, since I am not drinking for a week in a simultaneous effort to recover from Vancouver Pride antics and to prepare my liver for the Wine Bloggers Conference in New York. Huzzah. I am surprisingly doing well so far, and I have stepped into the world of non-alcoholic beer.

(I’ve failed miserably.)

There’s not really a common thread here, except for maybe the general Old World?

I’ve also found out that my travel buddy had to cancel her attendance to both the Wine Bloggers Conference and our pre-conference trip to NYC due to a health issue, so I’m semi-alone in NYC (semi- because I’m meeting up with some Vancouver friends still) and I’m a little scared but also super excited. … read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting · WSET Diploma

Exams and grand slams

June 10, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

It’s done. I’ve completed (or performed, rather, since we’ll find out whether or not I’ve actually completed the thing come September) the last unit I needed to complete for the WSET Diploma! I’m tempted to prance around maniacally while getting drunk really quickly on this fantastically sunny day, but September will have to wait for even bigger celebrations, I suppose. Which calls for fancy Cava instead of Champagne, maybe?! I mean, no, of course, but I bought this already so let’s.

In a couple of days I envision myself in a state of academic and mental paralysis. I will have a weird need to study, and I will give in. Someone make me watch a TV series or something!

Alta Alella “Laietà” 2011 Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava (Cava, Spain): Fresh, lemon curd, some earth, yeast, blanched almonds, and sea spray.… read more

Life · Tasting

Sun rays and Vouvrays

May 11, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Studying for the upcoming diploma exam in around 4 weeks is just as terrifying as it is satisfying, with each strikethrough on my study planning sheet providing temporary pleasure before moving on to another daunting section, though I was particularly proud of myself for the past few sections on Australia and USA. The sun’s also begun to commit to bright and humid days, which means more exposed skin and mostly, weekend days that equate to regret when I’m literally rolling around in my bed with my laptop trying to relax and study at the same time. And it works – almost too well, to the point where I’m questioning why my growing talent for memorizing soil types isn’t better put to use by, say, memorizing blood passageways in the human body, or types of diseases that affect the brain.… read more

Tasting

Rock out with your Hawk out

May 4, 2015April 21, 2020 by Josh

March 23, 2015

(Because, like, Alsace and rocks. And Hawksworth.)

Alsace as a person: some sort of plainly elegant freshly-shaven man – or a woman clad in some sort of colour-blocked dress – maybe something in-between? Possibly something cleanly cut yet bright that evokes images of Twiggy from the 60s, and maybe something equally as razor-sharp like a Polo and slicked-back hair with nary a thread out of place. Or like a United Colors of Benetton advertisement that shows five outfits that would all look disproportionately gross on me. (Truthfully, I’m an American Apparel medium and a Gap extra small, but I’m pretty sure my thighs set off fire alarms.) No oak, no malolactic, all vivid.

The brightness is no argument, because Alsace is literally the poster child-region for the dry and sunny climate that’s mentioned in every first paragraph that talks about the region.… read more

Tasting

“Il Veneto In Un Bicchiere”

March 25, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

A late post from December 30, 2014. I’m the worst.

Even in the winter, I shave my head every four days. I’m used to the brisk air and I sort of enjoy it, but there’s the unfortunate coincidence when Shave Day collides with a wine event, because that means I have to be judicious with how much I moisturize my head. The first rule of any wine event is to skip the cologne or perfume entirely – and I don’t wear cologne anyways – but sometimes I secretly break that rule, all in the name of male pattern baldness. Why are there no slow-motion hair commercials for guys like me with Natasha Bedingfield’s Unwritten playing in the background?

Thankfully, the wines of the Veneto are generally lively enough to pair with the subtle flowery scents of my head, and brisk enough to pair with a sunny winter day.… read more

Life · Tasting

Vancouver International Wine Festival 2015: “Mod Oz”

March 6, 2015December 15, 2015 by Josh

It just feels slightly unfortunate that this seminar didn’t sell out – I mean, if the idea of Australian Shiraz is being purportedly tired, why aren’t we getting excited about every other fucking grape that can be grown there? Did you see Australian Grüner Veltliner coming? The answer is no. You didn’t.

I mean yes – I tire my face out by tensing my eye sockets and resisting an eye roll every time someone says they “don’t like Australian wine”, which is somewhat fair considering that the market can be saturated with its own stereotypes. I suppose it’s just good business sense, but there’s so much potential past the generic back-of-the-bottle tasting notes that preach deep berry fruit, “smooth”, and an empty promise that it’ll pair well with barbecue.… read more