2008 Mauta Valley Sauvignon Blanc Marlborough

So in my effort to become a master sommelier (joking? not joking?), I am on my 10th run through Karen MacNeil's "Wine Bible". In an early section, she refers to the concept of a wine's "expressiveness", or how clearly it exhibits it's characteristics (i.e. sharply vs. more muddled). Later in the same chapter, she recommends looking to a New Zealand sauvignon blanc for an example of an expressive wine. Being typically quite picky about sauvignon blancs, yet relatively unfamiliar with examples from New Zealand, I figured I'd give it a shot.

I stumbled across this one at the PLCB store. $8.99, marked down from $12.99. Decent looking label. Was a little wary, because the importer was not clearly marked... but hell, it was on sale. I was pleasantly surprised.

The color is typical sauvignon blanc light straw. On the nose it's fresh, clean tropical fruit and razorblades (in the best way possible). The drink is light, and it tastes of citrus, pineapple, and melon rinds. Though it's not overly complex, everything is well integrated and overall it is satisfying and refreshing.

Score: 7.953159851 out of 10.0000000000
Pair with: light meats, spicy Asian food.
Price: $8.99 at the PLCB.

2005 Montecillo Crianza Rioja, or "blahblahblahblah"

Boring and uninspired, just like my day today.

We Heavy, Yo! at Earth Bread + Brewery

My first visit to Earth Bread + Brewery (opening weekend!) was underwhelming - poor service, "meh" food, and most surprisingly ... uninspired beers.

Subsequent visits have been better. Service has improved dramatically - the bartender (John?) is The Man and knows his stuff re: good beer. I've discovered that the "traditional flatbread" (i.e. the margherita pizza) is quite tasty, though the widely-loved "seed" pizza is a bit of a garlic-overload for my liking. Most importantly, the beers have been a TON more interesting than they were opening weekend.

On one visit, I had (several of) "The Bradley Effect" (8.11 out of 10) - a cleverly-named, fresh-tasting porter released sometime before/around the inauguration. On my most recent visit, I had (only one of) "We Heavy, Yo!" (8.35 out of 10) - a revelation of a Scotch ale, a style I normally can't tolerate due to frequent heavy-handedness of sweet malts. The EBB rendition of the style however is indeed malty but perfectly balanced and INSANELY QUAFFABLE for an 8.8% ABV beverage. Try it before it kicks!

Earth Bread + Brewery
7136 Germantown Ave
Philly!

A new homebrew - the yet-unnamed Belgian/American pale ale

On Sunday, I brewed an American pale ale using Cascade hops - but augmented the recipe with Orval and Saison Dupont yeast strains salvaged from dregs. I am hoping to get a bit of chalky, ester-y, and funky qualities from those rather assertive yeasts.

I need to think of an (offensive, to continue the tradition) name for this beer...

Women who drink Lindeman's Frambois...

...are to be avoided.

2007 La Vis Dipinti Lagrein, and a fun new wine descriptor!

There are some wines (particularly those of the Languedoc, for some reason) that exude a funky body-odor-y scent. I often love these wines, but I am sick and tired of people describing them as "sexy", "sensual", "erotic", or "earthy". Why not get right down to it? These wines are downright "crotchy"!

One prime example is the 2007 La Vis "Dipinti" Lagrein. Dark purple in appearance, full of leather, earth, and yes, crotch - it pairs well with pasta and a variety of meats. For my pre-birthday dinner tonight, we dined at Bindi where I indulged in some cardamommy lamb. This wine paired perfectly with this dish - able to cut through the spice yet still stand up strongly enough to complement the meat.

Lagrein itself is an underappreciated variety from the equally underappreciated Alto Adige region in north-eastern-ish Italy, bordering Austria. This particular grape is wildly tannic and sort of a bitch, so wines made strictly with this grape often taste like a plate full of bad vegetables soaked in rubbing alcohol and gym socks. There are exceptions however - the La Vis "Dipinti" being one.

Acquired: Columbus Blvd. PA State Store
Price: $12.something - great value, this one!
Most Appropriate Adjective: "crotchhhhhhhh"
Score: 8.260384 out of 10.000000

Yards Cocoa Porter

Last night I had a chance to try a firkin (well, not the entire firkin) of a Yards one-off - the Cocoa Porter. It was delightful - a bit like the milk that remains after you've eaten a bowl of "Cocoa Puffs" - perhaps with a dry-er finish. Mouthfeel was a bit full for a porter, bordering on "stout", but it still drank light (i.e. I could drink a lot of it, if pressed).

I also noticed that their revamped (or devamped, original recipe) ESA is wayyyyy better than it had been over the past few years. I wasn't old enough to enjoy beer in 1995, but I hear this is close to what it tasted like back in the early days. Of course it was served too-cold from tap, so I can't wait to try this puppy served from cask.

Best of all, I had a chance to speak with Frank(?), one of the brewers at Yards. He's very sharp and has some sort of degree in microbiology - so I'm hoping he does some creative things with yeast variants. I'm also hoping that his involvement means their Saison gets a bit of much-needed funk to make it more interesting than the lemon-water it was before...

Giddiup Yards!