Prep

When you're cooking, what's the most important thing? There is no surprise, no trick. Ingredients. So this is what I worked with tonight. A handful of fresh tomatoes, mushrooms, and potato. Garlic and onion, of course.

DF

Play time!

My parents are leaving. Finally. My dream has come true, at least for a night. I have the kitchen to myself, to develop some new dishes. All without someone trying to stir the pot. Bliss. Sinatra and a glass of Sangiovese di Romagna.

I'll keep y'all posted on how my night goes. Half hour updates?

DF

Pussy or hound?

There's a cat wandering outside. I want to bring him/her into the house.

I don't know. Cat or dog person? I love dogs, I really do. As long as it's someone else's dog. I don't think I could really take on the responsibility of dealing with one....like actually buying a dog for yourself. No. But I love cats too. They're stingy with affection, independent, and send mixed signals. Like great women. But we love them all the same!

No, cats are a bit like great wines. Dogs are all tongue and slobbering and happy.......all the time - you don't have to work for their affection. Like cheap, manufactured wines that just throw themselves at you. See where I'm going with this? I'd like to think that cats are like great wines. They're hard to understand, and take some work.......but clearly, they offer the most meaningful, passionate wine experiences you can ever have.

I think I'm a cat person. Oh. I guess that means I'm a pussy then.

DF

Shaoxing, in a bowl

Forgot to include this photo in, when I wrote about this Shaoxing wine. The decanter/bowls were brought over from Japan. Whether they were meant for rice wine consumption, I don't have a clue. But I like drinking Chinese spirits out of a bowl.

DF

White Balance

I was playing around with the White Balance setting on my Nikon D90. Learning about WB rocked my world and forever changed the way I looked at a photo. Anyways, I was trying to set the custom WB for my living room, because the incandescent lights matched with the colour of the tablecloth was wreaking havoc on my wine shots. Everything looked strangely piss-yellow, with a hellish glow enveloping the frame.

I finally figured it out. There are 5 WB presets you can use (d-0, d-1, d-2, d-3, d-4), but what you need to understand is that when you set a custom WB, the settings are stored in d-0 by default. To transfer those WB settings to, say, d-2, you have to go into the camera menu to transfer. This took me about an hour to figure out. I scrolled to d-1, set the custom WB, and took a shot, only to see the same awkward yellow tinged colours. Finally, figured it out.

WB on auto - clearly, the whites look urinated on.

Second try, WB still on auto, but blue is still not blue enough.

At last, figured out custom WB, whites finally look white.

DF

Lonely

It must be very lonely to be a tree, standing there in the freeze.

DF

Buying habits

Have you altered your wine buying habits over the years?

I have, dramatically. I started, as we all do, with cheap bottles of Rhône. But I'm not complaining - I loved, and still love, those rich, masculine wines with big fruit and bigger tannins. But in terms of wines to put away versus wines to drink now? Yeah, I've pretty much done a reverse in trends in the last 12 months.

I'm ashamed to say that in 2009, the vast majority of wines I bought were to be put away until they were ready. Whatever the hell that means. So even though my wine spending shot up, there was still a perpetual shortage of wines at home. I literally did not have wine I could open and drink! That's a problem.

So this year, things are going to be different. We're going back the other way. I'll be actively looking for wines in the $13-18 range, among other things. And as for my purchasing decisions with regards to Bordeaux? Yeah, I'll talk about that another time.

I've cellared all my wine with a friend. If her house gets robbed, I'll be royally fucked like there's no tomorrow.

Photo, courtesy of ROKChoi.

DF

TIME for employment

Interesting article in TIME this week about how the economic downturn has affected employment for kids under 18. As the article states, Proportionally, more kids have lost jobs in the past few years than the entire country lost in the Great Depression.

Lots of stories about kids without their GED's who can't find jobs. How's this for a solution - don't knock up your loose girlfriend when you're both 16, so you don't have to drop out at Grade 10 to take care of a baby neither of you has any business raising. No, somehow I don't feel any sympathy for these kids.

And really, the proper ones living at home who can't find a weekend job? Get over yourself. These jobs are only meant for you to make some pocket money in the first place, so it's not exactly a job market crisis. Yeah, I really feel sorry for the girl who struggled to find a job at Godiva, which pays $8.25 an hour. My job when I was 16? Usher, at Cineplex Odeon Cinemas.

I worked there for 12 months, at $6.40 an hour. Yeah. That was legal minimum wage. Substandard pay scales masquerading as competitive compensation, as deemed by the largest movie chain in North America. They made us clean shit splattered all over the bathroom walls (no shit) with no protective gear save for a garbage bag fashioned as a poncho. Toilet scrub couture. I've personally seen with my eyes how disgusting North Americans can be. There's something about movie theatres that attracts the lowest common denominators in an already obese and slobby society.

The highlight of my time served at Cineplex (besides dealing with the uncivilized masses) was when I was approached by a 300+ lbs woman coming out of the woman's bathroom. She asked me if she could get a garbage bag from me. I asked why, and she whispered that she had stomach issues, undeterredly decided to eat a family sized bucket of popcorn with butter, had resultant explosive diarrhea, flooded the toilet...................and shit was literally plastered all over her sweatpants. The moment that will forever be seared into my memory? When she turned around and asked if I could see any stains. I quickly hustled my manager over to deal with her. Your problem now!

Working in the theatres is supposed to be fun, where you can fool around with your co-workers and see free movies. How come all my memories are shit-stained, like that time some douchebag literally crop-dusted 3/4 of a bathroom stall with his ass?

Point is, sweetheart, don't complain about a job at fucking Godiva. The only oozing brown you have to worry about is melting chocolate.

DF

Work it into the hair

I try not to use a lot of hair products, because I'm not a g-bag, but being Chinese, my hair is coarse and straight and if I don't use anything, I begin looking remarkably like an effeminate friend of mine (let's call him Hoolio). So I use this stuff - Gatsby Styling Wax. It's a hard wax I found in Tokyo, that holds well and best of all, doesn't leave a shine. Because nothing proclaims your douchebaggery like having slick, hard, shiny spikes on your head.

But, dear reader, you must be asking yourself - if DF is such a Red, and regularly spouts anti-Jap sentiments, how can he possibly use and enjoy so many Japanese products?

I guess I'm just a man of many contradictions. After all, I have a cousin who's been pretty much swallowed whole by Tokyo, 3/4 of my wardrobe is Japanese, and all our major appliances and electronics at home (excluding fridge, stove, washer) were bought and shipped from Japan. I try to judge by merit, irrespective of all other factors. That's how I can use this hair wax and tell you that I like it, even though I still think the Japs are a heinous people.

But to toe the Party line, their wonderful grooming products don't change the fact that the Japs are a cruel, heartless people, who claim to be a free and democratic society but still have yet to take responsibility for wartime atrocities and crimes against humanity. And that's that.

DF

Maotai

I drank a glass of maotai last night. I think it's starting to grow on me - I'm beginning to appreciate it's distinct fragrance. There's a certain pungency to it, but beneath all of its rusticity, there's a hidden floral aroma that begins revealing itself if you pay enough attention. Surprisingly sweet on the palate, with an almost viscous texture. Alcohol remains hidden at first, until it roars out again 10 seconds after you've swallowed.

Lethal. But I'm starting to get it.

Photo, courtesy of ROKChoi.

DF

In honour of

I can't believe it, but it's been a year since my grandfather died. I miss him terribly. Tonight, I'll be remembering him quietly. For my grand old man, a glass of maotai in one go.

DF

How far in...

Staring into the ABYSS! Teetered a bit this weekend, but didn't quite fall in. Oh well. Friday is but a few days away.

DF

Pinky

There was a pretty little miss today at the gym, in pink. I tried to get her attention, but completely failed. Banana rolls , clearly, are the wrong move for seduction.

Pinky aside, had a pretty good workout today. Ran on that treadmill like someone put a bottle of DRC La Tâche in front me. Go get it young man, go get it! Sweated clear through my shirt. I was dripping everywhere...sorry. Finished with my core circuit. My trainer says I shouldn't push myself so hard, but I really could care less. Can a soldier be excused from battle because his muscles need sufficient rest time? I don't see how this is any different.

Who was it that said no rest for the hard-working? Oh, it was me.

DF

Man up

Sometimes, you just have to man up and drink fire. I wanted a drink so bad this weekend, so I opened a bottle of Suntory Super Deluxe XO Brandy. Another Japanese brandy, this bottle being in the family for quite a few years. Warmed me right up.

See that badass chain and plaque on the bottle? As soon as I empty it, I'm taking it off and wearing it. Awesome, the Christian in Christian Dior, damn they don't make 'em like this anymore..I ask, 'cause I'm not sure, do anybody make real shit anymore?

You can't go wrong with Super Deluxe in your name. As in, David Super Deluxe Fang.

DF

On the cold side

This Saturday, when it was pushing -15° C outside, I stupidly agreed to go out for a walk. And decided to take Nikon with me. I walked by my (third) elementary school. At least it was bright outside. The snow was blindingly white, sky was deep blue and piercingly clear. And I was freezing my ass off.

Things were a bit on the cold side. I made it back, avoiding frostbite, and produced this.

DF

2008 Vouvray

2008 Jean-Claude Bougrier, AC Vouvray

A simple wine, to start off a year where unnecessary spending is no longer sexy or funny. At $15, still a bit higher than I'd like, but it's a start.

Light in colour, but with a balance that makes the wine more than just drinkable. A touch of residual sugar that integrates extremely well over 24 hours. It's the acidity that makes the wine - bracing, but the sugar gives the wine body.

I think I can be perfectly happy drinking these wines. For $15, there are better examples. But for drinking, simple and balanced wines are all you really need.

DF

Carnations

I like having fresh flowers in the house. Maybe it's because I always grew up with flowers in the house, this kind of devotion to carnations embedded in my subconscious.

I think now, it's just so that I can conveniently snip one to stick in my lapel. Purple, like royalty.

DF

Pickled

We have a friend from Sichuan, who makes us these pickled vegetables. Delicious. What they do is use the leftovers from things like white radish, cabbage, peppers - the skin, rinds, everything you usually toss out - and pickle them in a broth of vinegar, rice spirit, peppercorns, and some mystery ingredient that I can't quite figure out. Some kind of floral alcohol, but I just can't pinpoint.

Anyways, it's absolutely delicious. Spicy, with a beautiful balance between being acidic and tingly. The vegetables stay crispy, so long as you store it in a cool, dark place. As soon as the broth turns cloudy, it's done and needs to be poured out. Perfect as an accompaniment to spice up and add some punch to a meal.

I need to know this secret ingredient.

DF

Shaoxing wine

石库门上海老酒

We drank this wine just before the New Year, with friends for a hotpot dinner. I love these wines. Shaoxing wine is the absolute perfect fit for Chinese cuisine - as they say, if it grows together, it goes together.

Slightly heated in decanter. You can't apply direct heat - that completely destroys the chemical makeup of the wine. If you heat it directly, such as in the microwave, the wine begins to break apart, and all you're left with is a mess of alcohol and acid. I decanted the wine, then placed the decanter in a lightly simmering pot of water. A slow, easy, indirect heating process. You only want it warm, not hot.

This has a beautiful aroma. The producer is a large one, and enjoys a strong reputation in Shanghai. Amber colour, with a fading rim. The palate is quite sweet, with a beautiful silky texture. Complex, spicy, sweet. Finish lingers in the mouth. A beautiful wine, perfect with traditional Chinese dishes.

DF

1978 Colheita Port

1978 Hutcheson Colheita Port, Douro

The second wine for dinner, after our 1999 Château Gazin. Epic wines, all around. When I bought it, I knew it was going to be special. An old wine is always a fantastic experience, and I simply adore Colheita Ports.

Hutcheson & Co. was founded in 1881 by two Englishmen, Thomas Page Hutcheson and Alexander Davidson Taylor. In 1996, another old company, Feuerheerd Bros. (est 1815) was merged with Hutcheson. Colheita Ports, of course, are a vintage tawny port. These vintage-dated wines have to spend a minimum of 7 years in oak casks, but often see much more cask age. This example was in oak for 30 years - bottled in 2008. The beauty about these wines is that there's no need to decant, and they're extremely sturdy. It's in an oxidative state all its life, and lasts forever. You can pour a few glasses, and put it in the fridge for weeks with no ill-effects.

The wine still looks youthful. Full saturation, a beautiful orange, amber colour. The defining feature of these wines is the bouquet. An incredibly intense caramel, nutty aroma, with dried fruits, but maintaining a freshness, as much of a contradiction as that sounds. Almost like a wafer, in fact. Very, very complex, with a creaminess and richness Fruit still hovers.

The mouth is exceptional. The flavours in the nose follows, but the texture is incredible. Very elegant, almost silky, but on the finish, there's almost a wafer-like crispiness. Crispy. Freshness follows, with the brandy protruding a bit, on a long, lingering finish. Delicious.

I love these wines. I still have about 2/3 of the bottle left, and will keep posting as I taste the remainder. A look back at another absolutely stunning bottle of Colheita Port: 1980 Kopke Colheita Port.

DF

1999 Pomerol

1999 Château Gazin, AC Pomerol

So yes, this is still a wine blog. I wrote earlier this month, about drinking the most expensive bottle of wine I've ever purchased and feeling horrible about it. I think I'm just about finished with Bordeaux, and LCBO's ridiculous pricing schedule for its Classics Catalogues.

Gazin has somewhat of a cult following. At least it's not outrageously priced, but being a Pomerol, this is hardly a wine for casual drinking. A large portion of cabernet in this wine. This millésime has about 85% merlot, with the rest being a mix of cabernet sauvignon and franc. And you can definitely see the cabernet in the wine.

I opened this wine on January 1, 2010. I originally planned on opening this on New Year's Eve, but I didn't want to celebrate 2009 any more than I had to. So, switched over to the 1st - wanted to start off the year properly. Of course, Bordeaux deserves a little pomp and ceremony. I double-decanted the wine. First, as the above photo shows, the wine was decanted into a wide bottom decanter for about 4 hours. Wash the bottle out, decant back into its own bottle for dinner. Fine sediments in the wine, that just wouldn't go away.

Just an impressive colour, amazingly youthful looking for a 10 year old wine. Deep purple, inky almost, with nearly full saturation. The nose is just booming. I had thought it was corked - just the oak showing some awkwardness when I first opened. Everything comes together with decanting. Dark fruits, with some coffee and oak. Very creamy. It's the oak that's forms a huge portion of this wine's bouquet. It's substantial, but at least it's well-integrated. Some smokiness, and that graphite minerality you expect in Bordeaux.

The palate is interesting. Elegant, but with an almost heavy weight that reminds you of some New World textures. Dark berries still show, as does a lot of creamy oak. The finish booms with fresh red fruit. Still a fine structure, with enough intensity that indicates a capacity for more aging.

It's a complete wine, no doubt. Everything well-integrated. The nose shows a lot riper than I expected, with a generosity that I didn't expect out of claret. But then again, maybe I shouldn't be surprised, with the direction that Bordeaux is going. A delicious wine, clearly. But is this worth $119? Absolutely not, any way you want to look at it. This bottle is a big reason why I'm reconsidering if I should participate in Bordeaux En Primeur anymore. More on this, later.

DF

Thanks for reminding me

Lest I forget, I am a wine blogger, and these past few posts have been anything but relevant to wine. A few (excellent) bottles, coming soon! Thanks for being patient with me.

DF

Crank it

It's positively freezing outside. Just chilling. So I'm taking this out. We received it in the same package as my sweaters. My aunt works for Daikin, a Japanese company that manufactures air conditioning units, air purifiers, stuff like that. This is their newest heater model. It works great. I plan on sitting in front of it for the rest of today.

DF

Win bacon for a decade!

Got an email today from Matchstick, another offer. Everyone's seen these stupid Republic of Bacon commercials, right? Well, there's a website where you can actually win bacon for a week, a year, a decade. Now personally, I find these processed bacons disgusting. If you're going to eat bacon, go for a nice pancetta, or some other proper piece of pork. Not this synthetic garbage. But in case this caters to your tastes, then visit:

http://www.republicofbacon.ca or http://www.facebook.com/officialrepublicofbaconpage

Good luck.

DF

Post No. 1301

Let's be honest, yes? 2009 was, at best, underwhelming. You wonder why I've been writing so much? I needed some distraction. And my ego needed to be sated. But at least I drank a lot of wine, and tuned my palate to where it's supposed to be.

I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year's. Did you hear? I was stone cold sober for both nights. The irony, that the wine blogger is the only one not touching a single drink the entire night. Things will get better next year. I hope so. At least I didn't spend the night alone.

Alright. There's at least a few things worth looking forward to. UGC tasting in late January, Niagara trip, and of course, summer's coming!

DF

Merino cinq

Merino wool in black

DF

Merino quatre

Merino wool in royal purple

DF

Merino trois

Merino wool in argyle

DF

Merino deux

Merino wool in gray

DF

Merino Un

Merino wool in violet

Finally, the package my aunt sent out in late November has arrived! I had asked her to buy me some sweaters - all of mine were literally, unwearable. As if I was sharing a wardrobe with a 12 year old. Girls stop finding you interesting when your sleeves end a full 2 inches above your wrists.

Anyways, she bought me a few sweaters, as I had asked for, in solid colours. Can't go wrong with solid colours and merino wool. Why am I outsourcing my personal style, which I've spent years carefully cultivating? I no longer have to pay for clothes..........duh.

Since I seem to talk excessively about clothing in January, here we go...

DF

Brrrrrr

Oh, oh, oh, oh...here we go again. I guess winter's really here.

DF

Dry over the holidays

This was a rough holidays for me. Christmas Eve, I did not drink a drop of alcohol. No wine, no beer, no hard liquor, nothing. Nothing. Likewise for New Year's Eve dinner. But at least the food was palatable.

DF

Still at it

This week's been painful at the gym. I took 14 days off over the holidays, and I'm paying for it now. Please, can the New Year's Resolution crowd be done with it and piss off? Honestly, the gym's been packed this whole week of people who haven't worked out for months, but think that loping around on a treadmill after the holidays makes up for it. Please just get lost. There are actually folks who take working out seriously, and you're just taking up other people's time on the machines. If you want to look good, go prance around a mall. Go clubbing. Just piss off anywhere but my damn gym.

So, how has everyone's first week back been going? Mine is alright. First Vintages release of the year this Saturday, and I'm all ready. My closet's all empty. Ahh, the life of a wino....there's never enough wine to drink.

In other great news, I just got my 300th follower on Twitter! Great job guys. Really stepping it up.

DF

Gojira

Gojira.

I've spent about 1500 km with Gojira in the 35 days or so we've had her, and I've begun to be more comfortable with her. A dramatic difference in driving experience from Accord. Gojira is a beast, off the line, in corners, and braking. She was meant to be driven hard. Nissan engineers make you drive aggressively - you really have no choice. Tap the throttle with any more force than a nudge, and the 328 hp monster begins roaring.

It's the transmission that's taken a while to get used to. It holds the shifts longer, daring you to keep pressing on the gas. And curiously, when it downshifts from say, 3 to 2, you notice the engine braking itself. There's a distinct lurch, when you slow down for a light, when the car suddenly drops speed at about 30km/h. This car is not subtle in the least. I stopped listening to music when I'm driving - there's nothing more melodious than hearing the engine growl deep and hard.

I love how the suspension's been tuned. Stiff, but still very comfortable on bumpy roads. Very little body roll, compared with Accord. Our Honda felt that it'd tip over under hard cornering - Gojira stays solid. Quiet in the cabin as well. In terms of ergonomics...I can't say this is an improvement over Accord. No one tops Honda at ergonomics. No one. Although I have to say, the intelligent key system is awfully nice. Quite snug inside, which is great. Accords, more and more, are being designed for fat-ass Americans. No one's backside is really that big. If you took a hard turn, you'd better hope the window was shut - the seat bolsters are not going to hold you in place.

It's a shame to get a new car in the winter. Gojira's filthy already. I'll wait a few more months, when spring comes, and I can wash her properly myself. And put up some video. You have to hear her growl.

DF

Dong Ding Oolong

凍頂烏龍茶

A fine oolong tea a friend brought back for us, from their trip to Taiwan. Originally of Fujian province, from the Wuyi Mountains. The name of the tea indicates the village in Taiwan where it is produced.

Dark colour, leaves rolled into tight little balls. Retains that green, which indicates that this hasn't seen too much oxidation before they roast it - always a good sign. Oolong tea is all about power, but you want to retain some freshness as well, which excessive roasting will obliterate.

Brewed in my clay pot, as always. Comes out quite pale, with a very subtle bouquet. Very subtle. It really begins developing on the 3rd pot. You begin seeing the structure and aroma I associate with excellent oolong teas, with an incredible freshness and vibrancy. This tea has a fine texture, and rounds out quite nicely. Clearly, a fine example of one of the great tea terroirs of Taiwan.

DF

Another, for DG

Dorian Gray. Talk of endless beauty, youth and beauty being the only two things worth having. The movie certainly takes liberties with the master's work. Adding characters, changing crucial parts of the plot, making up certain storylines.....as I had feared, they felt that the story had to be sexed up for an illiterate audience. Why all the gayness in the movie? Is the director gay? The screenwriter then......or the producer? There has to be a gay one involved in this whole mess. Lots of freak going on, especially 1/3 of the way through.

The actor in the role of Gray is far, far too pretty to be taken seriously. But, as in the book, the character of Henry Wotton is simply fascinating. Colin Firth plays him well - I think we all need a Lord Wotton in our lives, to show us how to shoot gin and opium. The detail in the movie is gorgeous, costumes and all. The first shot of Basil painting, that lingers over the half-empty glass of absinthe, over which sits a sugar cube............if anything, small details like these maintain interest. Did I mention the costumes?

I suddenly desire a well-tailored waistcoat, and a monogrammed cigarette case filled with the finest Cairo blend.

All joking aside, this movie (and book) centres around this idea that life is empty, and only beauty and pleasure are worth having. Let's talk about wine. We've gone over this, haven't we? Everyone searches for the perfect wine, the 100-point trophy. But let me tell you this - there is no such thing as a perfect wine, and the ones who search for it are fools. A perfect wine means that you have all the answers - the wine is therefore static, and never-changing. Where's the beauty in that? True beauty is shaped by time and experience - an unchanging entity is devoid of life.

I'm much more interested in the girl with a charm and energy - focusing strictly on looks will get you nowhere. But that's just me.

DF

DG

Recall a few months ago, when I wrote about wanting to see Dorian Gray, the film adaption of Oscar Wilde's classic horror novel, The Picture of Dorian Gray. Well, I saw the movie.

Do yourself a favour - read the book. More, later.

DF

Woof

When you're so dull of a person that not even the dog wants to chill with you..........it's time to open a bottle. Or two.

DF

NV Kokuto Umeshu

Choya Kokuto Umeshu

Another plum wine from Japan. Our neighbour came back from Tokyo for the holidays, and gave me another bottle - from one wino to another, many thanks.

I had to research a bit to understand what this was. This is a wine made from plums, with added rum, and what the Japs call black sugar. Judging from the colour, I think it's just molasses. Very dark, which I mistook for cask aging.

Intensely plum flavoured. That's what you want in this kind of drink, no? You want to be in the subject. Balanced sweetness. What was more interesting for me was drinking this with a dish we were having - cured pork hock. Delicious, just a stunning combination. I knew this would work - a sweet wine with an intensely flavoured meat. With the gaminess from the curing process, the peppercorns.......my goodness, what delicacy, what flavour!

DF

Holiday dinner

With the three aforementioned pinot noirs, we had a wonderful dinner planned. To start - an oxtail soup, with onion and tomatoes. Rich, and intensely flavoursome. Crab meat and roe with tofu, a very traditional Shanghainese dish. And of course, our three wines. Pinot noir and oxtail is just delicious together. It's the acidity, I'm convinced. You need the knife-edge acidity to cut through the richness of oxtail. You know which one worked the best? The least expensive, 2008 Flat Rock Cellars, with its razor blade acid.

DF

2005 Chambolle-Musigny

2005 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle-Musigny, AC Chambolle-Musigny

A Chambolle-Musigny to touch the heart. The third wine of my blind tasting, and the last wine I drank for 2009. Smashing end to the year. It was also a wine I was very much looking forward to tasting, as regrettably, I don't drink enough Burgundy. One more thing - a Chambolle-Musigny, because stylistically, it's the most similar to Le Clos Jordanne.

Judging by colour, this was the darkest. The first night, I just could not tell the difference between this wine and the Le Clos Jordanne. Not to say that LCJ is looking to make European wines - not at all. It just shows that wines need time to unwind and reveal their true personalities, especially wines from such blockbuster, ripe vintages. Immediately, you smell the bbq. Charred, smoked meats, leaping out of the glass. Bonfire! Dark fruits, showing the purity and hinting at the beautiful minerality that Burgundy possesses. Texture is elegant, but shows some rough edges around the finish. Lingering.

A brooding, beast of a wine with a lot of structure and density for Burgundy. Remains balanced and elegant - this would be lovely in 10 years. With this Burgundy at least, you're getting what you're paying for.

DF

2007 Niagara Peninsula

2007 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir, VQA Niagara Peninsula

This was the 2nd wine of my blind tasting. The first vintage that Le Clos Jordanne is bottling the best parcels of the Talon Ridge vineyard separately, which is where the bulk of the Village Reserve comes from. This vintage is so hot and so much of a powerhouse that it's a shame to drink it now - but I desperately wanted to have a taste.

Dark colour, with a sense of density. Brooding. After 24 hours in the bottle, you really begin to sense the jamminess of fruit indicative of this vintage, and a gaminess that good pinot noir offers. Beautiful fruit in the mouth, but the still firm tannic structure indicates that patience is required. A great pinot noir, that will change opinions of what Niagara wine is.

I'm glad I tasted this wine. My other bottles? Away for another 5-7.

DF

2008 Twenty Mile Bench

2008 Flat Rock Cellars Pinot Noir, VQA Twenty Mile Bench

What more can I say about this wine? This is the third bottle I've drank this year, and each time has been spectacular.

Light colour. Is it already browning? I don't know, but this will be something to bring up next time I visit this producer. There's certainly a dulling in the lustre of the wine, making it recognizable almost just by colour. The bouquet of this wine just builds and builds, in an intense, arcing surge of spice, earthiness, and bright red fruit. Lots of rose petals as well. A delicious pinot noir, balanced and with high acidity.

The fresh rose petals are really booming in the mouth. Acidity is just wonderful - you need high acidity in wine to eat with a meal. Delicious, and a wine that everyone who doesn't believe in Niagara wines needs to experience.

DF

Tasting 3 blind

Last week, late at night, I blind tasted 3 wines. All pinot noir - 2 Niagara pinot noirs, and a Chambolle-Musigny. And I had a great time. The wines:

2008 Flat Rock Cellars Pinot Noir

2007 Le Clos Jordanne Village Reserve Pinot Noir

2005 Alain Hudelot-Noellat Chambolle-Musigny

I don't normally believe in these blind tasting. I firmly believe in context, and not knowing what wine you're tasting robs you of that perspective. Nevertheless, I really wanted to see how the Niagara wines would fare against Burgundy. 2007 in Niagara and 2005 in Burgundy were similar in terms of climatic conditions, both producing wines of density and concentration. When I blind taste, I do it by judging colour and bouquet. I almost never have to actually drink the wine to form an opinion of what it is.

I poured a glass of each wine, no decanting, at just past midnight. Over the next 3 hours or so, I slowly tasted through each. The focus was to correctly identify which was which, as well as getting a sense of which wine I preferred. It was interesting - the 2008 Flat Rock was instantly recognizable. The slighting browning colour alone gives it away. But I just couldn't tell between the Le Clos Jordanne and the Chambolle-Musigny. There was something so similar in terms of density of the wine, colour, fruit profile, and varietal character that I was utterly confused. The difference between the two wines became recognizable the next day, but that night, I was stumped. Delicious all around.

After 24 hours, I repeated this exercise. This time, the pedigrees of each wine revealed themselves much clearer. The 2008 Flat Rock was again the lightest in colour, but with an incredible spicy intensity on the bouquet. The 2007 Le Clos Jordanne showed a jamminess in its fruit, but with great balance and texture. The 2005 Chambolle-Musigny was deliciously gamey, with a smoky, meaty character. Wonderful. And I correctly identified all three!

An interesting exercise. I'm still not convinced that tasting wines blind is the best way to judge a bottle. There really is no point in proclaiming which one is best/worst, is there? All 3 wines showed marvelous character and personality. Just spectacular.

DF

The road, on

I'm exhausted out of my mind. This Christmas/New Year's break has been, above all else, just fucking exhausting. Man. And I haven't drunk as well, or as often, as I had hoped. But what do you do when you've outsourced your cellaring? Which reminds me - a big, big, big, heartfelt thank you to my friend and her parents for giving me such a wonderful space to store my wines. I really can't thank you enough.

What's next? Monday, back to it all. Life, really, is pointless. But at least there's wine along the way, to bring a little glimmer and shine. And that's what I'm going to try to do this year. If I can share with just one friend the joys of gastronomy - I think I'll be very happy indeed.

Here we go again, mes amis.

DF

How irresponsible

I'm finishing up a bottle of the most expensive wine I ever bought. Idiot. I regretted the purchase as soon as I picked the damn thing up. Idiot. But it's a good wine, at least.

Since I was already being so irresponsible, financially and otherwise, I headed outside for a cigar. What the hell. Start the new year off right, right? It was freezing, but I had a lantern with me. Yes, I was smoking a cigar outdoors, in -10 degree weather, in sweats, and holding an oil lantern. Classic. Timeless. And manly like nothing else.

Because there's nothing so sexy as reeking of oil, cigars, and good cheer.

DF

Day One

Hope everyone had a great New Year's Eve. I spent the night with friends, but unfortunately, the drinking had to be cut short as I was driving. D&B was a lot of fun.

So, 2010. I don't make resolutions. Really, people still go with that nonsense? No. But I will say this...this is going to be the year where I take things to the next level, in my career and in wine, bien sur. It's been an interesting, and quick, 12 months. Look at the archives on the left - 4 years listed. Let's keep it going.

DF

New Year

Here we go again.

Didn't we go through this last year? 2008 was pretty awful, and 2009 was no better. Still optimistic about 2010? Good for you. Good for you, my friend, because you're the only one.

It's times like these that I thank God for wine. Happy New Year, mes amis.

DF

In a haze

I like cigars, it's about time I indulged. Romeo y Julieta, Romeo No. 3. I have no idea where I got this from, but I want to smoke it. Storage has been mediocre, it's pretty dry. Lights up evenly, draws smoothly. A whiff of richness develops, quickly enveloping the room.

The wankers who suck on these things like cigarettes? Posers. A true cigar smoker demands quiet contemplation and patience......a beautiful, uninterrupted moment. Parallel to a few other things, no?

DF