Everybody Knows A Little Bit Of Something
Back to feed- Posted: 11/5/2017
- Categories: Wine
It happens to all of us sometimes, but a wave of nostalgia kind of hit me the other day, a wave of which I am usually unaccustomed. I vaguely remembered as a youth the way my father used to talk to neighbors and friends with regards to politics. Now, I always remember my Grandpa Brennaman say “there are two things you don’t discuss in public: politics and religion.” These days, I tend to agree with my Grandpa B. But I distinctly remember Dad talking with a couple of people about different things, and while I was too young to remember the actual conversation between them, I DO remember there were no raised voices and violent gesticulating among them.
Just a few seconds on Facebook or Twitter, and forget all about civil discourse, it is kill-or-be-killed. Now, this humble wine blog is neither the time nor place to disclose my party affiliations, or that any of that even matters. No, for the sake of this conversation, I merely want to talk about the tone of the diatribe here in this great country of ours, and in the absence of the pursuit or even the presence of facts, conjecture and hearsay rule the day, and opinion and personal perspective are everything.
I’ve an old friend who has seemingly taken to believing much of the conjecture and paranoia and dismisses contrary beliefs as a sign of mental illness. It’s this extreme perspective that virtually eliminates the possibility for getting together, coming to a mutual understanding and resolving differences through calm and rational means. I wonder if any of that is even possible anymore when society is so vehemently polarized. This sort of behavior is occurring on both sides of the debates, and I concede I myself have been guilty of it. We live in a world where it is so much easier to tear down than build up, and there are trolls on the Web looking every minute of every day to start an argument or pick a fight. And while we all should stand up for what is right, sometimes, we have to have the common sense to know what battles we can and should fight and what battles are nothing more than an exercise in masochism.
I have read in multiple sources how dinner parties were a way for Winston Churchill to bring adversaries to the table (literally) and through food, wine and spirited conversation, would be able to resolve many conflicts through his shrewd deductive sensibilities and deft conversational skills. Yet these are the times we live in, where every topic is filled with ideological weapons and everyone has a hair trigger. Not at all certain of where it is we are headed in this lifetime; I find myself praying for a peaceful resolution, though not holding my breath for it. I’ll just drink my wine and hold out hope that cooler heads will inevitably prevail.
A veritable rogue’s gallery was served up recently by our good friend Nicole from Vintage Wine Distributors; a little bit of something for everybody.
Domaine Drouhin Chardonnay Arthur 2014. This Willamette Valley Chardonnay is a bit Meursault-like with it’s hints of honey and white flower, following up crisp notes of lemon peel, verbena and fresh pineapple. It’s pretty, vibrant, light-to-medium-bodied and a great expression of Willamette Chardonnay.
Jayson Chardonnay North Coast 2013. Leaning more on stone fruit aromas and flavors, this stunning Chardonnay from venerated Napa producer Pahlmeyer gives you hints of sourdough, green apple, apricot, tangerine and light baking spices.
Luigi Einaudi Dogliani 2015. Dogliani is the newly-recognized appellation in the Piedmont boasting the best Dolcetto in Italy. Here is a fine example of that excellence, with this medium-bodied red showing off bright dark berry fruits, hints of dried herbs and spices, vibrant acidity and minerality.
Il Molino di Grace il Volano IGT 2013. Sangiovese and Merlot combine to give you an expressive, medium-bodied red with notes of red berry fruits, fresh-cut tobacco, dried flowers and mineral.
Rutherford Ranch Merlot Napa Valley 2014. Baking spices and red fruits abound in this impressive Napa Valley Merlot. A great and consistent value!
St. Supery Elu Napa Valley 2013. Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot join forces to highlight dark fruits, smoke, leather, sage, chocolate, espresso bean and much, much more. This is always a terrific blend in the vein of the Meritage style.
