Resolvable Resolutions and a Comittment to Champagne

The year now is swiftly drawing to a close. As we sit here and chronicle the year's passings and watch as the clock continues to tick life away, we face the emotional undertaking of the coming and going of another year.

I embrace the widespread optimism running at an all time high during this time.

I welcome the much needed time for reflection, and the moments to dream that are free from harm.

The turning of the tide.

In doing so, I have come to realize that I am through with short lived resolutions. In determining how to become the best version of my self, because I believe that I am reaching my capacity to do so with each moving lesson, with each fleeting day, and with each passing year.

So instead, I resolve to drink more Champagne.

I'm committing to drinking more bubbly, yes the giggle juice.

I commit to indulge in its spritzy acidity, its crisp and refreshing fizz.

From the big, juicy fruit rockets demolishing everything in their sugary wake, to the yeasty oxidative varieties. I'm laying the groundwork for a zippy safari of unbridled exploration, with more happy-go-luck than a effervescent pink elephant could ever harness.

www.etsy.com

...and the instant Bon Vivant to accompany it.

I shall have it in flutes,

in cupcakes, 

in popsicles, 

and over baked pears.

For my wine education, for my taste buds, but above all,

to give myself more reasons to celebrate.

I do hope you'll excuse me as I now strap my taste buds into a harness for the upcoming whatnots where I intend to celebrate ALL THE THINGS.

As the stroke of midnight ushers in the new year, I hope that you too have many reasons to celebrate, many approaching occasions to commemorate, many friends to fawn over, many loved ones to adore.

...and an abundance of reasons to raise your glass to.

2014 is the next chapter of our lives, it's time to write a better story.

Here's to 365 new fair shakes.

Be safe out there and make certain to make it to 2014 unscathed.

Cheers to the new year,

but most of all, to you my friends.

Make certain to leave a lil' sparkled Hansel and Gretel breadcrumb trail behind you in 2014.

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Wineocerous Wednesday: It's a Beer! No, It's a Wine! It's Cabernale!

Cabernale - a clever use of portmanteau,
an odd bird of an alcoholic beverage.

Seems the clever folks over at Craftsman Brewing Company have seized the opportunity to Frankenstein their fermented, malted barley by brewing it with a classic red wine grape variety, cabernet sauvignon, creating a fruit beer by-product.

Surprise!!! It's a brew! 

...or what I like to call the beverage with identity issues, as it drinks like a beer, yet tastes much like a red wine. A remarkably interesting glass of "wine".

As a dedicated, consumer of wine, I can't help but be intrigued with this concept. I continue to toss the idea in my head that it's not a very interesting wine, and that it was served at a far too cool of a temperature.

I do admit to finding it quite difficult to refrain from comparing it to wine, but after removing my 'wine hat' to enjoy this experience as a "beer drinker", I have to admit that it's an attractive brew.

From a glance, it appears to be an ordinary glass of Welch's grape juice, perhaps even a Lambic?

www.visitflanders.co.uk 

On the nose, it's Cab Sauv all the way, yielding its characteristic blackberry, currant and cherry fruits. Following a sip to the palate however, its maltiness steps in to remind you that this is no wine. Its malts and tannins are subtle, it's dry and sour, and then the fruit bomb detonates as it soon becomes tart and puckery.

I trust that this would make for a brilliant gateway beverage of choice for wine drinkers on the path to becoming more beer-friendly and vice-versa.

In the end however, if I do want wine (which is quite often the case), I shall very well order a glass of wine in lieu of this jolly rancher.

Cabernale

A bad wine? 

-or-

A wildly interesting brew, with great drinkability that's perfect for summer sipping?

You decide.

Cheese Tips:

Try this with an creamy-dream, smooth, Brunet. The Brunet is a goaty with enough tang to hold up to the bright acid and fruit in this intriguing brew. Just think of a bowl of fresh berries with cream for dessert, and this should take you there.

www.europeanfood.co.nz 

Additionally, a spoonable, earthy, cow's milk Harbison, by Jasper Hill Farm, would do well with the spritzyness of this sweet ale. It's almost like having biting into a blackcurrant while having the forest all to yourself.

www.oakpark.com 

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Wineoceros Wednesday: Wine on tap: A sustainable alternative? A pile of pish?

Just a touch of mental masturbation for your wine thoughts today.

I first made note of artisan wine by the keg during a visit to The Bent Brick in May of last year. Being so finely poised on the dining map of Portland, I was left to wonder whether my beverage of choice was being bastardized into a souless wine, or whether it was indeed a viable option for our beloved sour grapes.

Although, not a new idea, I've kept a close eye on it since. To date, tapped wine has been spotted at five local destinations, with tapped house spirits being offered at a sixth.

thrillist.com

Apparently, the flowing wine spigot is on round three, as it was initially introduced in the seventies, then twice again during the eighties. Due to a sorrowful lack of know how, beer lines were used and the resulting oxidation caused to wines to sour, making this endeavor a botched misadventure.

'Boxed wine' aside, one could argue that wine flowed freely, straight from the winemakers barrels in the days of the Roman Empire.

Today, its contents are pressurized using argon, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide. This somewhat inert environment was created to protect our precious grape juice from its wrathful nemesis, oxygen.

vintapwine.com

Conceptually, this idea is brilliant for wines that are drinkable now, and not suitable for aging. On the nightmarish end of things, these lined metal kegs would surely become a beastly place where the dark and perplexingly complex Barolos and Barbarescos would go to die.

coffincouches.com

A really-real wine 'cask'?

Environmentally, the answer is obvious. According to the (FAO) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the astonishing equivalent of 36 billion bottles of wine are produced worldwide each year.

webmeeting-comparison.com

The Good

✓  Eliminates waste, thereby reducing our carbon footprint 

✓ Savings could potentially be passed on to the consumer.

✓ A much longer shelf life. This "winery fresh" wine has been said to yield tapped keg freshness for up to sixty-five days!

✓ No senseless wine waste of unfinished bottles, (the calamity!), potentially leading to higher profit margins. 

The Bad

x  For fans of labels, a lack of familiarity may very well leave the end user feeling somewhat hopeless, wondering just how to go about purchasing some of what was just sampled, and knowing little of its stainless steel origins.

x  Bulk keg production means few, truly unique, boutique wines would make the tapped circuit

x  Limited to young vintages

The Ugly

Maybe I'm just a purist, or a devout traditionalist, but the romantic in me weeps at the very thought of abandoning our well-entrenched history of opening up a bottle of wine in the comfort of friends, family, and loved ones.

allamericanwine.com

 ~VS.~

vintapwine.com

I suppose we'll have to just enjoy our wine as is, before they begin to serve it from wine hydrants.

At any rate, none of this is preventing me from going nutter butters trying to sort out if I'm a fan or not of this natural evolution. I'm still picking up the spritzy acidity and fruit forward flavors that have been well preserved in its keg vessel storage.

Winetender, could you kindly pour me another?

Perhaps that will get me to stop my sniveling.

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A grilled cheese meltdown!

Whew! Think I've finally come to after succumbing to a heavily-induced, grilled cheese coma from last week's sandwich castle in the air affair.

The highly anticipated April Cheeseup for my cheese club, Queso Diego, went off without a hitch!

Paying homage to our beloved fromage, we paid a proper tribute honoring National Grilled Cheese Month by stacking tried and true favorites for the mother of all grilled cheese roundups at City Farmer's Nursery. 

cityfarmersnursery.com

It was a grilled cheese off that knew no boundaries.

Armed with an arsenal of tools fit for a sandwich match like no other, we took to slating and plating like bosses.

Using everything from stovetop grill pans to George Foreman grills, our mighty team came up with a vast and impressive array of cheese sandwiches across the sweet and savory spectrum of delectability.

Of course, no Queso Diego meeting is complete without a generous supply of beverages to meet the hydration needs of our thirsty compatriots.

The brew crew brought in some homemade meads, ales reared their much welcome heads, a lovely port made a special appearance, and wine as always, was abound.

We were delighted to have Kathy Strahs of Panini Happy come out to help us celebrate one of our most perfect foods. Make certain to stop by her lovely blogspace that's stuffed with a grilled sandwich bliss of another kind. 

paninihappy.com

You could say it was a sandwich heaven of sorts with excellent company, fine drink, and imaginative, little, tasty, concoctions across the board.

My own contribution was a blue cheese, grilled cheese.

Using cheeses of smokey blue, a Morbier, and a Gruyere, topped with Moscato-marinated, grilled pears, candied pecan bits, and raw Tupelo honey. It was a delicious, grilled to perfection, beautiful mess.

If you look closely, there's even a praline pecan and honeyed chevre dessert sandwich lurking beyond.

One of our members even fashioned an ornamental, grilled cheese truck, cloche atop her head for the evening. 

Perfectly themed attire for our cheesy theme, I say!

I believe it's fair to say that no one left hungry, and our melty-grilled, sandwichtide was quite possibly the best thing that's happened since sliced bread.

simplystatedralsimple.com

Everyone went home with some epic Toastabags, compliments of a generous donation from Boska Holland. 

I'm happy to report that it's left my toaster crumb-free, with no cheese remnants, while properly equipping my son to take on the frightful task of feeding himself when he's away at college.

Some of us even got our 'Benny & Joon' on, taking full advantage of all that these fine Toastabags have to offer.

rottentomatoes.com

"Some cultures are defined by their relationship to cheese."

cheesemaking.com

I'm delighted to announce that Queso Diego was featured in the New England Cheesemaking Company's 'Moosletter' which can be found here:

 Oooey, gooey, cheestasticness is on the move, and us cheesers are delighted to be a part of all of it.

I have to admit, I'm slightly saddened now knowing that only eight days remain in the cheesiest month of the year.

If you've yet to celebrate this classic food, I invite you to do so now, while the smell of grilled cheese is still well in the air.

thedailymeal.com

For scrumptious sandwich recipes

have a looksie here:

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