IESE Wine & Spirits at L'Anima del Vi

2012 Xavier Benier 'Pur Jus' | AC Beaujolais-Villages
2012 Simon Busser 'Sauvages' | AC Cahors
2012 Cueva by Mariano Vino Natural | DO Utiel-Requena | Valencia

Take courage when the road is long

Don't ever forget you're never alone

I want you to live forever

Underneath the sky so blue

I want you to live forever

Underneath the sky so blue

- Live Forever, Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors

I'm so proud to announce the official kicking off of the IESE Wine & Spirits Club, at an event that was at once both a realization of a personal dream as well as a statement about Europe as a continuing source of inspiration in wine. Firstly, much gratitude and credit to my other club officers for helping me set up IWS, as well as this first tasting.

And what a tasting it was.

This (as yet) adolescent wine adventure has been a roller-coaster, so to speak. Barcelona's been fantastic for cheap and cheerful bottles, but we should never be settling, no ... never accepting. Give me a decent bottle, or I'll break your fingers. Nicely. Gently. Because without a challenge, without constant change, we get lazy, we get complacent, we start to think we know it all. And if I want to accomplish anything with IWS, it's to challenge our members' perception of what wine is, what taste is ... in short, everything they thought they knew about wine. If I can get just one person to say, You know what, eff this, I'm drinking this the way I want to drink it, I think we've done our job. Hack at the feet, pull that noose tight around its neck ... let's pull down those statues the old standby worshipped, and be free to have our own personal relationship with wine.

Right. Back to the tasting, before I took a sharp right. There's a tiny wine bar in Barcelona, in one of my favourite neighbourhoods. El Born is such a cool place, with all these little alleys hidden away in dark corners. And in one of them stands L'Anima del Vi, run by a man absolutely committed to natural wines. Benoit brings in interesting things, across France and Spain ... and the latter was the big learning for me. I've been to L'Anima del Vi many, many times, always finding something new to taste, something inspiring. I never knew that there was such a large group of Spanish natural winemakers, but there are - and they're doing a great job. Wines of great depth and purity, with all the sunshine-y brightness you expect from Spain. As I said to my members, this first tasting was organized partly for selfish reasons, and partly because I wanted to set the tone for what IWS will stand for. Selfish, because I'm a bit obsessed with natural wines at the moment ... but more importantly, IWS will be about real wines, true wines, and wines that sing of honesty, authenticity, and character.

After all that build up, how did the wines show? Benoit chose some good ones. Beginning with a Beaujolais-Villages (100% gamay), sharp and expressive, like a rapier. Deadly acidity, screeching in the natural style. The Sauvage Cahors was next. Simon Busser, a disciple of Olivier Cousin in the Loire, who returned to the Cahors to make wines of great finesse and depth. Dark, with an animale personality that roars on the bouquet, yet coos on the palate. A bit of love from the fact that Simon farms these 100% malbec wines with horses? Or simply because he's able to stick to the principles (zero sulphur) yet create these magical wines that change a hundred times in the glass. We ended with a Spanish wine from Valencia made from a varietal that no one's even heard of, much less tasted. Bobal, a native grape, and for all intents and purposes, a minor blending varietal. And as luck would have it (or the other way around), the winemaker was at the next table. Immediately recognizable as a lush, full-blooded Spaniard (the wine, but also the man). Sunshine and spice, like all things nice. Soft and round, that glorious ripe, raisin-tinged fruit.

Good. A good start. The Chairman is pleased. Many thanks and much appreciation for those who attended, and all those who supported IWS. Many, many, many big things coming up for us!

DF

going up Montserrat

We climb mountains to gain perspective, and in part, to see what we're made of.

DF

A first tasting - IESE Wine & Spirits

Some photos from that first wine tasting we held for IESE Wine & Spirits. A lineup of 5 wines, all white, all Spanish. Two from Catalunya, two from Penedès, one from Rueda. Our tasters were asked to taste through all 5 wines in groups, and then vote for two wines - their favourite of the 5, and which one they thought was most expensive. Right. Four wines were bought from the supermarket, and were under 5€. One was from a good wine shop, and considerably more expensive. The results were interesting. Most people preferred the second cheapest bottle, and only a handful identified the expensive one correctly. It took some experience, but the most expensive bottle, a Penedès, showed an elegance and restraint that the other wines clearly didn't have. Was it my favourite? No - the cheap Rueda really blew me away. Cheerful and incredibly drinkable, simply delicious.

Which goes to show that price sometimes really doesn't have bearing on our enjoyment of wine, if we remove it from our tasting equation. Can you tell expensive wine from supermarket wine? I believe so. I remember a tasting I did a few years ago with a company that made kit wine, a tasting that clearly proved that cheap (under $10) wines were very distinguishable from those over $15. 

I could talk more about each individual wine, but I'm a bit distracted at the moment. Toronto's been hit by a wicked ice storm, and a huge number of people, my parents and many friends included, are without electricity. There are reports of another major storm heading its way over soon, and people are being told that it will take 72 hours to restore power. There's not much I can do but sit here and wait for updates, but you know me ... I hate sitting on my hands and being useless. Take care of each other, my friends.

DF

lights, flashing

It's Christmas in Barcelona! Christmas markets and shoppers everywhere, but what's the most fun to look at are all the lights. As a classmate said, you start recognizing each street by the lights they have up. Each major street has a unique light display - quite impressive really (insert joke about Spanish economy/work ethic/siestas). But what am I saying. I've been a lazy pig this entire week. The holy trinity - eating, sleeping, drinking. 

I just finished drafting a proposal for my wine club. I sat for a while to try to think of a good name. Bodega IESE? IESE Vino? I figured that it'd be best if we had a name that was instantly recognizable, even if it was a bit lame. I hate being boring, but for now, tentatively, we're going with IESE Wine & Spirits. It was actually quite difficult, distilling what the mission statement and purpose of the club was. I have such high hopes for what we can achieve with this thing - but will other people feel as strongly? Is it realistic? Well, we're being trained in leadership, aren't we? My title as club president is self-appointed and all, but I'm confident we can do some big things in the next 2 years.

So, how does Christmas compare, being in Barcelona versus Toronto? It feels good to be here. I know I was a huge grump at the beginning, maybe even appearing aloof or standoffish, but 4 months in, I feel like I'm truly here with friends. Real friends. And that's in no way a slight to my old friends back home, my fam. Sure, we've been all been put together here in Spain by circumstance, but then again, it's the most amazing feeling to meet people that are actually from across the world from you (not just fake Chinamen like me), yet have so much in common. Had the best evening with a friend the other night. It's been so long since I've had a good, civilized conversation about art, life, wine, identity, culture ... incredible to think that she's from a totally different part of the world, who grew up in a totally different environment, from a totally different background. Yet here we are. We can talk and talk and talk and come away feeling energized, inspired, and fully at peace, because for some amazing reason, we connect. A family friend sent me an article recently about how Harvard and Stanford turns away even seemingly 99th percentile applicants. I'm not saying I belong there - after the results of first term exams, I clearly don't (academically). But I'm so at peace here, the happiest I've ever been. I'm in the right place, with the right people. And now that I'm all settled in, time to get to work.

Time to get my life in wine started ...

DF

in the streets of Barcelona ...

... we wander and sometimes we stumble onto interesting things.

DF

settling in, remembering something sweet

Still adjusting, still trying to get settled. Which won't really happen until we get internet in the flat and I can stop climbing the hill to school to leach off their wifi. Patience is a virtue, especially in Spain. My first day of Spanish classes, and while we just had a half day today, tired. Need to get back into the routine of school, of learning. Of dragging my ass up before 9am. No complaints though ... I'm in Barcelona after all. Weather's been fabulous, consistently 28/29C everyday. I don't feel like the humidity's any higher than Toronto, but I'm constantly sweaty whenever I go out, so maybe not. I'll get used it, among other things. Until then, thinking about a trio of Sauternes I opened during my last few days in Toronto. Be back soon.

DF

Bombay Sapphire - Cocktail Hour

In June, #TeamLCF was invited to an event hosted by Bombay Sapphire at Toronto's Osteria dei Ganzi, to celebrate cocktail hour, 1920's style.

Risky move, going to Church Street in white pants.

Right off the bat, we were greeted with a tall glass of Tom Collins.

Raj Nagra, brand ambassador for Bombay Sapphire, and Cory Vitielli of The Harbord Room were presenting.

There were many, many bites to sample ...

... each with a paired cocktail (this, fresh raspberry and gin, shaken with egg white)

When the bar gear is Japanese, you know things are on another level.

And after another drink ...

... it was our turn to 'create' a cocktail to match a fennel and pastry dish.

We were given everything we would need - all the equipment and fresh ingredients.

And DF got to work ...

... we lined the bar with our creations ...

... and #TeamLCF won with 'The Bush', a take on the Gimlet. You play to your strengths, and to your audience, in this case, our judges, Raj and Cory. Classic guys all around, so of course, we stick with tradition and try not to mess up the balance. 2 ounces gin, 1 ounce lime juice, 3/4 ounce sugar syrup, and a few coriander seeds. Shaken hard, and garnished with a sprig of fennel, to bridge with the dish.

Back inside, Raj prepared a last drink for us, a true classic, the Martini.

Using lavender and apple bitters, as well as bianco vermouth.

Complex, powerful, and elegant as the man himself. A wonderful end to the evening. All photos courtesy of ROKChoi Photography.

DF

keeping things messy

Why do some producers still bottle under wax? Is it because of tradition? Or the image of tradition? There's certain pleasure in breaking a wax seal, the ritual. But it just gets so messy. So is being messy part of the appeal?

We like our lives to be clean. To both be clean, and to conduct ourselves 'cleanly'. But seldom does it ever go that way. We want to end things cleanly, want to begin the next stage of our lives cleanly, want to get through this next month cleanly ... but really, we're lying to ourselves. We have to take things as they come, and deal with them as best as we can, trying to be moral, responsible people. So let's keep things messy, because a clean life is a boring one. An exciting few days so far - two events already this week for #TeamLCF, with one more tonight at the #ICTorontoCentre's Azure Restaurant for their Summerlicious menu. Been taking my buddies with me - #TheRMBTeam - because who are you without your nearest and dearest?

DF

Toronto Raptors vs Cleveland Cavaliers

100-96, Toronto.

Went out to my second game of the season on Sunday, hoping for my first look at Rudy Gay in person. He was an unannounced scratch with a stiff back. Good to see Valanciunas and Ross get some extended minutes. I like Lowry - he has heart - but without Calderon, the team's guard play and ball movement has really suffered. Kyrie Irving left with a left shoulder injury, but the Cavs managed to keep it close. Never really a threat though, with Lowry scoring on a spinning fadeaway and Derozan sealing it with 2 free throws for the win, and free pizza. A fun game.

DF