This wine breathes functions like a Cabernet Sauvignon but is so very dark, nearly 99% opaque in the glass, that one expects a great, deep, bull-bodied, rich punch. First sip suggests a good enjoyable wine worth the price. Yet, while the aroma has the fullness of a dark wine, it is nothing unique compared to…
Month: March 2013
Review – Beer: Hennepin, Brewery Ommegang, Cooperstown, New York USA
Interesting froth leans inward and rises up rather than frothing out over the glass. Misty/hazy through glass; dusty faded yellow-orange in color. Stinky, or “skunky” as some put it. The smell reminds me of the beers my dad and his buddies used to drink during a hockey game. But the taste of this one has…
Review – Beer: Maredsous 10 Triple, Duvel Moortgat, Abbaye Abdij, Puurs, Belgium
The froth is spongier than most with large bubbles present; it settled down at about this height about thirty seconds after being poured, with bubbles reaching up to the rim. Slightly clear, but mostly hazy in the glass, and “olde copper” in “colour”. Under brighter light, the bottle is a very dark semi-transparent rust brown…
Review – Beer: Bell’s Hell Hath No Fury Ale, Comstock, Michigan USA
This glass was pulled out of the refrigerator, with chilled beer already in it, after the fizz had long since faded. A better photo of the fresh beer may be added later. Succulent grains, if grains were ever succulent in the first place. Very tasty and easily drinkable, especially compared to other very dark beers…
Review – Sake: Tozai Snow Maiden, Junmai Nigori, Kyoto, Japan
Left, front: A homemade strawberry daifuku. Right, front: The sake in a cappuccino-sized vessel. Fruity, like drinking berry-essence-infused water, with a pungent mildly acidic finish. The lingering feeling (not so much taste as it is another type of sense) in around the mouth and throat is like morning breath after attempting to brush the teeth…
Review – Sake: Konteki Pearls of Simplicity, Junmai Daiginjo, Kyoto, Japan
Left, front: A homemade strawberry daifuku. Right, front: The sake in a square cedar vessel. Soft, smooth, delicate, with only the softest of alcohol lingering on the back of the tongue. Drinks as innocently as spring-drawn water in a white earthen jar embraced by a silk-wrapped tea mistress, yet satisfies and inspires with the full…
Review – Red Wine: 2010 Five Rivers Pinot Noir, California USA
The right side of the wine label in this photo shows a beautiful plum-purple stain line caused by a drip of wine that ran down the bottle. Interestingly, this very magenta-colored wine turns this darker plum-purple shade when dry, just as dried magenta hibiscus flowers do, after being steeped in hot water and staining a…
Review – Red Wine: 2010 Goose Bump Velvety Red, Sicily (Sicilia), Italy
Very, very purple in the nose and lungs… a hint of spice. Deep thick fruity purple, like grape taffy or an organic grape juice reduced to a syrup sauce or freshly made warm jam. The experience, at first, fights between trying to be mature and dry vs. trying to be fruity and sweet. Without much…
Review – White Wine: 2011 Oyster Bay Chardonnay, Marlborough, New Zealand
Looks, smells, and tastes like… a Chardonnay. Fine for the price. The swirl & sniff (deeply) test indicates hints of sweet jasmine-blossom infused Granny Smith apples in an ever-so-light corn syrup or watered-down-honey juice. The taste and after-effect are less dramatic and more straightforward: The Granny Smith apple reigns supreme as this wine’s tart-dry character…
Review – White Wine: 2011 La Crema Chardonnay – Sonoma Coast, Sonoma County, California USA
Very refreshing, airy, open, spacious aroma, like walking into the foyer of a grand marble-floored glistening hotel. Indeed, first sip confirms this feeling further, with an elegant balance between a fruity beginning on the tip of the tongue, a full buttery softness midway through, and a final statement of dry maturity on the back of…
Culinary Poetry 