Wine

Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)

The first time I ever sang in front of my work peers, it was back in maybe 1992, 1993, when I lived in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.  My band was called StepChild, and we had been suffering through a stint at a small club on Highway 17 called Crawdaddy’s.  We had a makeshift P.A. that our soundman struggled with the previous night, and this particular evening, his MacGyver impersonations were failing at every turn.  We had played there a few weeks before with a different soundman and better gear,

Walkin’ Through The Park And Reminiscing

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In another lifetime, in a galaxy far, far away, I used to write a wine blog called, “Under The Grape Tree.”  This overt outlet for all my writing urges was a blog I maintained from 2008 until 2014, rather religiously, averaging something like 300 posts a year.  Most of the entries were brief due to my short-attention span and desperate need to create something, anything, and it had this sort-of weird following that never ceased to surprise me.

Persistence of Time

Wine Department: Ain’t Nothin’ But A G-ThangNotes from Last Month’s #GrenacheDay

So to begin, when we talk about Grenache (or Garnacha as it is called in Spain), most often we are referring to Grenache Noir, the red Grenache. It has many names: Alicante, Bois Jaune, Cannonau, Garnatxa Pais, Llandoner, Rivesaltes, Uva di Spagna, Vernatxa, you get the idea… Yet there also mutations of Grenache, resulting in Grenache Blanc, Grenache Rose, Grenache Gris and Garnacha Peluda (or Hairy Grenache). And there are crosses of the grape like Alicante Bouschet (Grenache X Petite Bouschet) and Marselan (Grenache X Cabernet Sauvignon).

What Holds The World Together

A long time ago, when I first got into this business, I remember being at a small winemaker dinner, and hearing the words among the dinner chatter:  “Wine is the lubricant required to bring all the unique and beautiful points of view together and make the world turn as it should.”  Well, it may or may not have been said exactly that way, but that little bit of paraphrasing has resonated with me ever since.

Requiem For A Friend

Good Times, Bad Times, You Know I’ve Had My Share

Hail To The King Baby

Baller.  An expression that implies you are super rich, super successful and super awesome.  I feel this way on only the rarest of occasions, like when I get to hang out with the Four Horsemen (to refresh, that is Ed Vinson, our B&W Director based out of the mothership in Fairfield, OH; his No. 2, my younger brother from another mother, T.J. Askren; my immediate boss and friend, THE Todd Wiggs; and yours truly) and drink “baller”

A Little Bit Of That Shameless Self-Promotion Magic

Sidestepping the usual bit of the inebriant diarist’s antics for a moment, I wanted to touch on a project that has been SLOWLY unfolding here at Jungle Jim’s Eastgate Beer and Wine Department, something that many of you who have been in recently have noticed:  the Jungle Experience Center.

Like all good ideas, there has a little bit of inspiration, a little bit of appropriation, and a touch of insanity, but suffice it to say,

Bring It On Home

So rewind just a bit to I believe was the Day 3 of the trip,