Good evening ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining me here on this lovely August evening for the first of many posts on my new blog entitled, VinesofLight.
It took a while for me to come up with a name for a new blog because in some respects I believe that the title of the blog in some ways determines part of its character. It’s always in the author’s mind as part of the foundation that he/she has developed. My last blog, Longtimetraveller was started as a means to document the 6 months I spent living in Europe, primarily living and studying in the countries of Germany and France.
Since then, trying to find inspiration to start another blog has been difficult but restraining myself from writing has also been difficult to manage as well. I simply couldn’t find the right thing to write about. Notes on Facebook always get ignored. Emails are way to personal for something this abstract. Yet finally after a lovely visit with two very good friends who both actively blog on a regular basis, I have found inspiration to start writing again.
Some things will be consistent on this blog. I will consistently write about food, wine, music, opera, books, my restaurant job, and my faith as a Christian.
But enough introduction. Tonight there is wine being drunk, music being heard, and observations to be shared. As I write this, I am drinking a glass of River Crest Chardonnay 2010. I received this wine from WineInsiders.com when I found a $75 gift certificate for $15 on Groupon. And then put it towards a case of 12 bottles for a total of $50 including shipping. I figured at less than $5 a bottle it would be worth it. As it turns out, the majority of the wines haven’t really been that great. But I guess you get what you pay for eh? I really enjoyed the red Zinfandel they gave me. But other than that one gem, the rest have just been ok.
The Chardonnay I am drinking tonight is one of the just ok wines. Although the nose gives off notes of green apple, the actual flavor profile reflects more peach in the wine than green apple. The wine is crisp and refreshing but very light and not complex enough for my liking. Although, this is often the case with white wines. Although not the greatest wine I have ever had, this River Crest Chardonnay 2010 would get a solid 6 of 10 in my book. Not something I would offer to impress guests, but something I would definitely enjoy by myself while writing after work like I am doing tonight.
Last summer while I was in Germany I had a very good opportunity to learn a lot about white wine while I was living in Wurzburg, Germany. Located at the northern part of Bavaria in southern Germany, the region is very “bekannt” for its white wines. Every day in the city I would look outside the city limits and see hundreds of trees filled with delicious green grapes that would become some of the best wines Germany has produced reflecting its tradition of hundreds of years of wine making in the region.
Wines like Bacchus, Silvaner, Gewurztraminer, and Riesling come from this region of Germany and are wonderfully refreshing on hot summer days with an entrée of chicken breast and mushrooms. The contrast between the heavier mushrooms and the lightness of these white wines was truly spectacular and part of the reason why I find that this River Crest Chardonnay doesn’t quite measure up. These German white wines, although relatively simple in terms of flavor, have a quality about them that enables them to compete with the stronger flavor profiles of heavier entrees.
Musically I discovered a really nice piece on the radio on my way home. Allow me to take this opportunity to share how disappointed I am with the quality of American music this summer and in general. Everything not only sounds exactly the same, but people aren’t even trying to sing anymore. They just allow everyone to autotune their voices so they sound better.
Meanwhile, in Canada, many different strands of originality in music are finding their way onto CBC2 which, because I live in southeastern Michigan we get on the radio at 89.9. Every early afternoon before I have to go to work I love listening to Peter Tonye on Tempo and then I listen to the Signal on my way home after work at about 11pm and discover some great stuff that would normally never find its way onto the mainstream radio. Tonight I found a very nice treat in the form of a piece called Lotus Eaters by Sarah Kirkland Snider, ft. Shara Worden and Signal. I’ll include a link so you can listen to it and enjoy its minimalist quality that makes late night driving such a blessing.
I love the sound of her voice. There is something abstract and almost transcendent in the quality of it. I look forward to falling asleep to it for many nights to come. J
This evening at work something truly hysterical occurred that is entirely unprecedented in my life. The result of which also resulted in something unprecedented in my life.
While going about the usual hustle and bustle of the restaurant trying to meet every customers demands as quickly as possible I happened to notice along my path one of our hostesses was talking with our general manager getting a question answered about how to handle a situation at the hostess stand. I arrived just as the conversation ended and she turned around and didn’t see me at all and we ended up chest bumping like two bros after they beat two other bros in a mid-Saturday morning basketball game. It was entirely unintentional, and entirely awkward, but the stunned look on her face when she realized what had just occurred will probably stay with me forever as she appeared to have just woken up from some drug enduced state and the first thing she said was, “Oh, I’ve left the water on…” The moment was indeed an amusing one with the only problem being that the first thing it made me think of was the movie Friends with Benefits where Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis chest bump one another. No, I haven’t seen the movie. It was in the preview. And thus, for the first time in my life, I felt like I couple identify with Justin Timberlake. A goal I had never aspired to.
In case you didn’t know, there are real reasons why guys don’t bro hug or chest bump with girls. It’s weird. Just weird. Don’t do it. Just don’t.
And on that terribly beneficial and awkward piece of advice, I bid you adieu for the evening. I hope you enjoyed this first post. There will be many more to come, I assure you. Ciao!
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