Tonight is the second night of the wine class I am taking in Newport Beach. I decided that with some exposure to the science behind wine perhaps I could figure out where I might belong in the industry because I clearly don't belong where I am at. The instructor is young but knowledgeable and I have already learned quite a lot. She is also very personable and I am glad she is teaching the class.
The math of fermentation is Sugar + Yeast = Alcohol + CO2 + Heat.
The sugar comes from the pulp, the yeast & color comes from the skin.
The alcohol content is based on the amount of sugar (partially based on when the grapes are harvested) and the amount of time that the grapes are left to ferment. Fruity/Sweet wines are generally lower in alcohol content than Dry/Tannic / Full body wines as not all the sugar ferments to alcohol. One exception to this is Port because brandy is added to the wine that kicks up it's alcohol content. Sugar left in the wine after the fermentation process is complete is referred to as Residual Sugar. Sulfites are added to both red & white wine as a preservative but organic wines have no preservatives.
This is just some of the goodness I have learned and the primary focus of the first class was learning the method of evaluating wine based on its visual, nose, and taste aspects.
My nose and taste buds have a lot to learn.
It's quite difficult for me to identify the minute elements in a wine and when challenged I cannot tell you whether I smell flowers or fruit or earth. However I can tell you by taste and smell whether I am drinking a Pinot, Merlot, Zin, or Cabernet. Hopefully I will learn better to identify the various essences as we go along.
We had some great wines and the class went a hour over it's set schedule. NICE!
I am looking forward to Class #2
Monday, January 26, 2009
Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Finally Obama has come back to Washington!
OK, here is where we start "Peoples President".
Our country is in bad shape, we are at war, the economy is in the toilet and Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of these United States of America.
I am cautiously optimistic regarding the new commander in chief, it kind of feels like when Arnold became the Governator after that hack was recalled. What was his name? Davis, Al no I mean Gray Davis. That's the ticket. I felt like this with Arnold. He planned to make radical change and unfortunately he fell into the web of the hacks in Sacramento who are currently responsible for disaster that California has become.
President Obama could just as easily fall into this trap but I hope that the current state of our union will help him move an agenda forward of "uniting people from both sides of the aisle". His pledge for an "end to petty greed" while "wasteful programs will end" he will "re-establish trust" in our government.
Can you tell I paid close attention to his speech today?
What I hope is that Obama will take aggressive action to correct the problems we face in 2009 and that he won't be a victim of a group of established bureaucrats who enjoy a nice lunch out each day. I have faced such adversity in my work where my drive to correct things has been perceived and aggressive and threatening to the established hierarchy.
Way to make myself important eh? In the annuls of time the name James Mossman and Barrack Obama will be placed together as two heroes who tried to make a difference.
Hopefully Barack will have better luck than I. "With (our) eyes fixed on the horizon" we will uplift the "noble idea that all are created equal" and have a right "to pursue a measure of happiness".
Black leader you are approved for your bombing run. Watch out for those tie fighters.
Open cheek.
Insert tongue.
Our country is in bad shape, we are at war, the economy is in the toilet and Barack Hussein Obama is the 44th President of these United States of America.
I am cautiously optimistic regarding the new commander in chief, it kind of feels like when Arnold became the Governator after that hack was recalled. What was his name? Davis, Al no I mean Gray Davis. That's the ticket. I felt like this with Arnold. He planned to make radical change and unfortunately he fell into the web of the hacks in Sacramento who are currently responsible for disaster that California has become.
President Obama could just as easily fall into this trap but I hope that the current state of our union will help him move an agenda forward of "uniting people from both sides of the aisle". His pledge for an "end to petty greed" while "wasteful programs will end" he will "re-establish trust" in our government.
Can you tell I paid close attention to his speech today?
What I hope is that Obama will take aggressive action to correct the problems we face in 2009 and that he won't be a victim of a group of established bureaucrats who enjoy a nice lunch out each day. I have faced such adversity in my work where my drive to correct things has been perceived and aggressive and threatening to the established hierarchy.
Way to make myself important eh? In the annuls of time the name James Mossman and Barrack Obama will be placed together as two heroes who tried to make a difference.
Hopefully Barack will have better luck than I. "With (our) eyes fixed on the horizon" we will uplift the "noble idea that all are created equal" and have a right "to pursue a measure of happiness".
Black leader you are approved for your bombing run. Watch out for those tie fighters.
Open cheek.
Insert tongue.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Napa 4 Food
The GOOD:
During a recent visit to the Napa Valley Nina & I had the delight of enjoying a nice lunch at the Napa Valley Grille. A combination of breads with olive oil/balsamic vinegar started off the meal. I orders a wine flight called "Red Red Wine" which included an amazingly complex Burgess Syrah. This was followed with a delicious plate of Fritto Misto which consists of fried calamari & rock shrimp and a elaborate collection of vegetables including squash and sour-spicy fried peppercinos. A lovely drizzle of a light rosemary aioli decorated the top of the fried goodness and a hearty puttanesca sauce along the west perimeter of the dish is included for measured combining with the fried bits of heaven. Can you tell I loved this dish? Indeed!
My main dish was the Kobe Burger. It was a melagne of tastes drawn from the aged cheddar, bacon, onion and spicy remoulade. Another delight that paired well with the trio of wines I chose for the afternoon. The dish came with crispy seasoned fries that are among my favorites fries ever.
The best meal of the trip! I will return to the Napa Valley Grill the next time I am in town.
The BAD:
RINGS at the Embassy Suites was horrible. We decided to eat at the hotel because we had spent nearly 10 hours on the road and were not looking to drive around looking for a place. Next time we will not make the same mistake. We could have dropped in at Kelly's No Bad Days Cafe and paid 1/4 of the price for a better meal.
All the rest:
Well Bouchon was a disappointment as the steak I had was uninspired, but their take on gnocchi was quite good. Their Bakery in Yountville has lots of goodies and seems to have a line out the door most times of the day. I recommend the macaroons especially espresso and vanilla flavor. They have good sandwiches too.
On the last day a visit to Kelly's No Bad Day's Cafe was quite good. I enjoyed the BLT salad and wished that I had room for their deserts as they were numerous and looked very delicious.
The wine tasting in NAPA... eh, not that good. Rather sad.
During a recent visit to the Napa Valley Nina & I had the delight of enjoying a nice lunch at the Napa Valley Grille. A combination of breads with olive oil/balsamic vinegar started off the meal. I orders a wine flight called "Red Red Wine" which included an amazingly complex Burgess Syrah. This was followed with a delicious plate of Fritto Misto which consists of fried calamari & rock shrimp and a elaborate collection of vegetables including squash and sour-spicy fried peppercinos. A lovely drizzle of a light rosemary aioli decorated the top of the fried goodness and a hearty puttanesca sauce along the west perimeter of the dish is included for measured combining with the fried bits of heaven. Can you tell I loved this dish? Indeed!
My main dish was the Kobe Burger. It was a melagne of tastes drawn from the aged cheddar, bacon, onion and spicy remoulade. Another delight that paired well with the trio of wines I chose for the afternoon. The dish came with crispy seasoned fries that are among my favorites fries ever.
The best meal of the trip! I will return to the Napa Valley Grill the next time I am in town.
The BAD:
RINGS at the Embassy Suites was horrible. We decided to eat at the hotel because we had spent nearly 10 hours on the road and were not looking to drive around looking for a place. Next time we will not make the same mistake. We could have dropped in at Kelly's No Bad Days Cafe and paid 1/4 of the price for a better meal.
All the rest:
Well Bouchon was a disappointment as the steak I had was uninspired, but their take on gnocchi was quite good. Their Bakery in Yountville has lots of goodies and seems to have a line out the door most times of the day. I recommend the macaroons especially espresso and vanilla flavor. They have good sandwiches too.
On the last day a visit to Kelly's No Bad Day's Cafe was quite good. I enjoyed the BLT salad and wished that I had room for their deserts as they were numerous and looked very delicious.
The wine tasting in NAPA... eh, not that good. Rather sad.
Monday, January 05, 2009
Random Thoughts to Start 2009
Everyone is telling me "I hope this year is better than last" and to be honest it doesn't feel different to me. After a nice two week vacation I am back at my crappy job doing the same crappy stuff. I do plan to transform myself but it's got nothing to do the change in the date.
Are you supposed to tip the guy that shuttles you from the car dealer? What about the one that brings your car out when it's done? I didn't today and I have never before but I got the feeling that someone was looking for a tip. In Oregon it's against the law to pump your own gas so they have attendants to do the job. Since I was there in the cold and snow I felt bad for them so I tipped them nicely. My nephew told me the locals never tip. My nephew works at Starbucks and the workers there depend a lot on tips taken in. So I am rethinking my policy about tipping because I currently think that pouring a cup of coffee is not something that requires a tip. But then again I never get them fancy steamed, swirled, syrup heavy coffee drinks. I only drink black coffee.
I think my wife might be a fart whisperer. When we are awake and I fart she will complain as expected but lately I have discovered that if she is asleep and I fart (as I often do during my morning stretch) that she will comment. It's usually a complaining "mmmm" but the fact that she responds to each and every fart makes me think that there is some kind of communication going on.
Ass: These lactaid pills are great, I can eat dairy and digest it much easier.
Wife: I noticed that you seem healthier and you are ready to shout it out to the world!
Ass: You got that right! I am taking Lactaid 4 - LIFE!
Wife: It's cool that your farts don't smell that bad too. Maybe you can start eating bananas again?
Ass: That would be great! My tummy loves bananas and since I fart already the fact that bananas make me fart won't be noticed.
Wife: And they are a great source of A & D as well as potassium
Maybe I am reading too much into this?
Toward the end of the two week christmas adventure we spend a couple of days in Napa. It has been many years since we actually stayed in Napa and I was looking forward to checkout out what was new. I found that Napa is more a place to eat than for wine. Most of the wines we sampled just didn't have the robust complex flavors that I expect. I was a bit disappointed. The highlight of the trip for me was a visit to the Napa Valley Grill for lunch. I will discuss this visit in specifics in the future post. Stay tuned!
My Ass just told me it's time to get back to work so I will bid you adieu.
Happy New Year
Are you supposed to tip the guy that shuttles you from the car dealer? What about the one that brings your car out when it's done? I didn't today and I have never before but I got the feeling that someone was looking for a tip. In Oregon it's against the law to pump your own gas so they have attendants to do the job. Since I was there in the cold and snow I felt bad for them so I tipped them nicely. My nephew told me the locals never tip. My nephew works at Starbucks and the workers there depend a lot on tips taken in. So I am rethinking my policy about tipping because I currently think that pouring a cup of coffee is not something that requires a tip. But then again I never get them fancy steamed, swirled, syrup heavy coffee drinks. I only drink black coffee.
I think my wife might be a fart whisperer. When we are awake and I fart she will complain as expected but lately I have discovered that if she is asleep and I fart (as I often do during my morning stretch) that she will comment. It's usually a complaining "mmmm" but the fact that she responds to each and every fart makes me think that there is some kind of communication going on.
Ass: These lactaid pills are great, I can eat dairy and digest it much easier.
Wife: I noticed that you seem healthier and you are ready to shout it out to the world!
Ass: You got that right! I am taking Lactaid 4 - LIFE!
Wife: It's cool that your farts don't smell that bad too. Maybe you can start eating bananas again?
Ass: That would be great! My tummy loves bananas and since I fart already the fact that bananas make me fart won't be noticed.
Wife: And they are a great source of A & D as well as potassium
Maybe I am reading too much into this?
Toward the end of the two week christmas adventure we spend a couple of days in Napa. It has been many years since we actually stayed in Napa and I was looking forward to checkout out what was new. I found that Napa is more a place to eat than for wine. Most of the wines we sampled just didn't have the robust complex flavors that I expect. I was a bit disappointed. The highlight of the trip for me was a visit to the Napa Valley Grill for lunch. I will discuss this visit in specifics in the future post. Stay tuned!
My Ass just told me it's time to get back to work so I will bid you adieu.
Happy New Year
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