My current journey has led me to San Francisco’s tech world, where the constant and profuse flow of genius rarely wanes. This city has drilled its tech life into me so viciously that I regretfully find myself trying to turn every non-work situation into a slightly more productive one. Did I buy a bottle of Dolcetto to enjoy before going to see Trixie Mattel’s drag show, only to force myself to write a detailed draft blog post on the grape? Possibly. Did I hand out two sets of business cards to four people I met in line for Katya’s drag show? Maybe. Did I use the 60 seconds I had, meeting Trixie and Katya, to ask what their favourite wines were?… read more
Tag: Cava
The good, the bad, and the bubbly: 9 bottles to bathe in
Okay – not literally, obviously, but I’m waiting for Gwyneth Paltrow’s new beauty regime that involves using a specific wines as exfoliants and face mask ingredients. Chardonnay from Puligny-Montrachet? Fuck that, she would say, with the flick of a finger. Chassagne-Montrachet is where it’s at. Or blanc de blancs Champagne, only from the 1996 vintage. And, of course, cucumber slices. Maybe an avocado.
Anyways, here’s a random collection of bub. I’ve finally tried a legit sparkling Nebbiolo after having joked about it for so long, and then there’s also a birth year bottle of Dom Pérignon, a stunningly electric sparkling British Columbian Riesling, and a collection of other cool and uncool bottles. It’s become suddenly warm in Vancouver, and I broke the summer hiking seal on the last day of March.… read more
2015 ends and 2016 trends
I’m a bit late to this #bye2015hello2016 stuff! Anyways, I’ve said it way too many times than you care to read: I’m not big on New Year’s resolutions. But this is the first year where reflecting and looking forward to the next year has felt the least forced. Despite my abrupt and perhaps ephemeral positivity, I won’t be superimposing any fortune cookie pieces of advice onto filtered landscapes anytime soon – March seems to be my I-fucking-hate-everything downfall month anyway, so we’ll see how much my outlook relapses.
At the beginning of 2015, I made the tongue-in-cheek resolution to be a bit more selfish: to not to be guilt-ridden about having a balanced serving of things that make me happy and to give less of a shit about what other people think.… read more
16 Wines to Pair with your Disappointing New Year’s Resolutions of 2016
Rarely do I scroll through my phone in the morning (still in bed, furthermore) and decide to go to an event on a whim especially after a slightly pixilated night involving absinthe and a plethora of Real Housewives taglines, but making quick decisions was one of my resolutions for the year – malformed somewhere in the summer – prompting a quick change and a leap out of the door. Were we supposed to RSVP? Yes, says my phone. Whatever.
I remember attending the Annual Champagne and Sparkling Wine Tasting at Marquis Wine Cellars last year: it was a last-minute invite by text after the first Guild of Sommeliers blind tasting seminar held in Vancouver. I remember forgetting my wallet, so I had to borrow money from a friend to donate to the Big Sisters of BC Lower Mainland, the charity who the event supports. … read more
Barcelona: Cava to end the Saga
Spoiler alert: my few days in Spain were better than my two and a half weeks in France. Sorry, France. I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you. #BeQuietTiffany
Our hostel was superior to the one in Paris: Erin and I helped cook dinner one night, we met a Canadian from Edmonton, and we made a cab driver go through McDonalds after a hostel-hosted bar-hopping session that eventually ended on a club next to a beach. And then drinking on said beach, which was a reaaaaal big blur. Have you ever drunkenly told someone they look like Ygritte from Game of Thrones way too many times?
There’s a story later that night involving myself ejecting the Devil’s Liquids from my soul, but let’s just summarize here and say that I fucking covered that up better than all of the Desperate Housewives would have, combined.… read more
Josh tastes 118 wines at Top Drop
If there was one unforgettable takeaway uttered by a wine god during this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference, it was the keynote speaker Karen MacNeil (author of the Wine Bible) who opined – and I’m paraphrasing, here – that people should pay more attention to tasting the wines during such events. Of course, I was thrilled, because that gave me even more validation to ignore people. Ha! Key advice when the militant goal is to taste every wine during a well-curated tasting, but it’s harder than it sounds because I guess I like to wave and flail at people.
A regretful ode to the few tables I did not get to visit: Anthonij Rupert, Badia a Coltibuono, Elio Altare, Giusti, Latta, Montenidoli, Orofino, Scribe, Spottswoode Estate, and that miscellaneous Australia Table.… read more
Post-Pride and Pre-WBC15 Wine Dump
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
Exams and grand slams
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
Wine Bloggers Conference 2014 – Blends: 2 + 2 = 5?
Okay! So flashback to Day 2 of the the Wine Bloggers Conference: it’s one of those times where we have to choose between three different seminars. There’s a seminar each on Merlot (hosted by Rutherford Hill and Duckhorn wineries), something on “How Pros Taste” (hosted by Jackson Family Wines), and then one on wine blends (hosted by Winebow), the last seeming like a strangely divergent topic from the former two. And I know – I should probably be basking in the Californian-based seminars (when in Rome etc.), but I couldn’t help but be intrigued by something less specific and more amalgamate in style i.e. the idea, at the time, of trying a row of Napa Merlots in the California heat made me scrunch my face.… read more
“Thrift Shop” – Macklemore: NV Parés Baltà Cava Brut
Tasting Note:
Eyes: clear, med lemon, bubbles
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, developing, yeastiness, rubber, earth, slight herbaceous, mineral, citrus, green apple, citrus, skunky
Mouth: dry, aggressive bubbles, med body, med+ acid, med intensity, med- alcohol, dry and savoury finish, citrus, earth, apple skin, citrus, green apple, herbs, med+ length
All in all: Good quality: this traditional style of Cava has a long and earthy length framed by structure, though the overall character is relatively uncomplicated. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.
Identity Guess: Mid-priced Non-Vintage Cava from Spain.
Is really: Mid-priced Non-Vintage Cava from Spain.
[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 4]
This was a Cava that I definitely expected to be Cava, in a contrast to the cleaner and more steely style that we tried right before this one.… read more