Monday, March 21, 2011

The First Rose' of Spring



Opened the first rose' of spring this past weekend because the weather demanded it. The beautiful sunshine and dreamy breeze would not take no for an answer. So we opened a beautiful rose' from Anjou in the Loire region of France. Being from this particular portion of France, this wine is 100% cabernet franc and as light on its feet as a Dancing with the Stars winner. The color was visually stunning, the flavors were soft, playful and screamed for semi-reclined eating of the finest meats and cheeses available while basking in the glow of the spring sun.

Things to do while enjoying a bottle of rose' on a spring afternoon...

Change out your spark plugs... real men and/or women only.


Prune actual rose bushes.

Test drive a new hammock. The use of a straw here is suggested.

Feel the world spin under you while you lay in the grass.

Have lunch at the Wine Kitchen with someone you have been meaning to have lunch with since you saw them over the holidays and promised t0 get together more.


Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Viscosity Breakdown

Good wine not only tastes good but feels good – in your mouth. (Take it easy with the sexual innuendoes will you.) What I mean, is that often times a good wine will have a rich luxurious texture that you can feel as it rolls around on your tongue. (That is enough you perv, we are trying to have an intelligent discussion about how a juicy wine feels good on your tongue.)


Gylcerol and alcohol are the main drivers of a lush wine's plumb texture. The more of each will equate to more a wine feeling more or less like a silk sheet. A wine with a large amount of viscosity will give you the sensation that you have more wine in your mouth than you initially sipped. When a wine is referred to as “full bodied” it is usually thought to have a good amount of viscosity, aka, glycerol and alcohol, aka plumpness.

Like most things in life, too much viscosity becomes a bad thing quickly. When a wine is so rich and dense that it comes in a squeeze bottle, it might be time to dial back a little bit. Balance is the key here. A wine with good “balance” will have a unit of acidity to balance each unit of viscosity. Without this balance, a wine will tumble from the scales of delicious into the abyss.

Stay balanced my friends,

PS – don't drink motor oil.