Decoding Double Blind

Early on, my relationship with wine was nonchalant, and at times, abusive. My bottle would often complain. "You only love me for my alcohol," he would insist. "Don't be absurd," I would refute, "I could have stayed with Jim." I felt the two of us had a true connection, so I decided to shirk my dispassionate attitude. In flitting about town on romantic outings and wine bar tastings, we strengthened our mutual affinity. I still felt anxious; haunted to the reticent wines dark and mysterious nature. I have learned wines background, explored flights, and even resorted to self help literature -- now, I lust for a deeper understanding which will require intense measures: I must dive into the world of double-blind tasting:

To place a featureless bottle of wine on the table is like a puzzle of sense and mind. By deductive reasoning, it is possible to pinpoint a wines varietal, region, ageing process, even vintage. The Court of Master Sommeliers make this look like a piece of fermented grape pie, and I am like the fat kid who only gets a slice after losing 100 pounds.

Much like blind Matt Murdock's transformation to heightened-sensitivity Daredevil, I shall become VinoVixen: able to decode a glass of fermented grape juice -- double-blind!

Foodies Follies: on camping.

Three couples embark on a backpacking trip to Mt. Jefferson's Hunts Cove, Oregon. The packs are heavy. To lighten the load, one produces a treat at Lake Pamelia: four Pabst to split and some turkey sandwiches on newly baked bread. The trail holds a copious amount of mud, leading to a swampy campsite, while a surprise surplus of leftover snow proves useful as a meat/cheese/whiskey fridge. The six amigos soon discover a gross error in supplies. There is an excess of food: chili, pancakes, coffee, bacon, pretzels, sausage, jerky, multiple rounds of hot dogs & buns, bagels, granola, candy, a couple of fishing poles, and far too much trail mix, most likely brought by the lesser experienced of the bunch... but don't forget the foodie-centric supplies of freshly picked blueberries and spices, canned oysters, butter, Aardvark sauce, spanish rice, and one giant brick of gouda. There is a lack of alcohol: one bottle of BV, two flasks of bullet, and a bonus jamaican rum. After three days of fly fishing and constant feasting, the group was sadly sober, and had not yet consumed its entirety of delectables.

Camping lessons learned:

a. Secret Aardvark sauce is the most essential camping supply; be sure to pack a full bottle.

b. swamp and snow treading is most effective while barefoot.

c. every hiker is required to carry 1 fifth per camping day of alcohol on his/her person.

d. fish like logs.

e. fish are slimy.

f. fish are not to be trusted with secrets.

g. sleeping bags are meant to be used as blankets.

h. how does it feel to lose the rings on your wedding day? it feels like forgetting smores supplies.

Estate Marauding: Vineyard Tastings.

Take a quick trip down the 99 from Portland and you'll find a storybook land consumed in gorgeous green hillsides. Accessible only by a maze of dirt paths, acres upon acres of carefully tended vines glow in the sunshine. This is pinot country.

Our summer of estate tastings began at Archery Summit, whose wonderfully dry Vireton pinot noir rosé instantly relaxed all senses with a lush yet airy mouthfeel. I found the '07 premier cuvée pleasingly seductive over both the single vineyard and reserve pinot (which one should allow time to reach optimum drinkability) featured in the flight.

I admit I was taken aback by De Ponte Cellars. It's as if French winemaker, Isabelle Dutarte, waved her magic finger to create other worldly, Burgundian style pinot noir which gave rise to De Ponte's premier vintage merely ten years ago. After sampling and discussing with some of the Baldwin relatives, we merrily left with several bottles of unexpectedly affordable wines including luminescent watermelon-esque rosé, and near mythical 2006 pinot noir (which may just pop up on my crave list).

Archery and De Ponte are two top notch wineries, indeed. I anxiously await new vintage releases... in the mean time, further vineyard tastings are sure to inspire and excite!

PNW Crave List

Bunnell Cellars Grenache: the 06 was fabulous, and I am anxiously awaiting the new vintage.

Abacela Tempranillo: just the thing to calm a distempered mind. after a lengthy and stressful day, all I need is a glass of this quite different tempranillo.

Whispering Ridge Syrah: a surprise gem, to say the least.

This list seems to fit a particular palate style. Dark, rich, buttery smoothness to warm the soul. These are the wines I crave when I truly need a pick-me-up with a hefty side of happy thought.

101 Cheeses Party @ Ten01

Arriving early at Ten01 to an already bustling cheese party, we were enthusiastically handed cheese maps and sent on our merry adventure. The path began at soft cheese, then through cow varieties, goat, sheep's, and finally blue! I have to admit skipping about 4 cow's milk cheeses, yet I still felt quite accomplished with tasting so many incredible and unique flavors. We chatted with sommelier Jeff Groh to discover his exuberance and excitement about the impressively affordable wine list he had created for the evening.

Through his presentation of so many carefully selected samples, Steve Jones proved to me that there is something magically unpretentious and delightfully complex about cheese.