Hot Fun, Refreshing Wine & Pride

Okay, let's face it, this entry is way more about the location and the people than it is about the wine. But hey, from Day 1, I've said this blog is about documenting the wines we drink, where we drink them and with whom. It just so happens that we drank today's wines in a vibrant and colourful, party-like setting.

Following brunch and the mimosas back home, the plan was to get downtown and find a viewing point that would shade us a bit for the two-hour Pride Parade and allow us to get some good shots as the Parade marched on by. "Problem" was there were a couple hundred thousand people that had the same idea AND arrived at the parade route long before us. Darn those mimosas.

After a bit of a wander, Boo, Miss Jaq and I determined that we weren't to likely to find that ideal spot and the Parade was due to start shortly. So, we just lodged ourselves in a spot where the folk in front of us were a bit shorter in stature. It actually turned out to be quite a decent spot and we had some good laughs with some of our neighbour spectators.

However, one note to self. Don't stand in a location behind a bunch of kids sitting on the curb if you want to get any of the beads and swag being thrown about. The kids are inevitably going to get the bulk of the goodies handed right to them. I guess a possible alternative would be to "rent" a couple of kids for the day and just set them up in front of you. The only problem with that is you have to return them before you can carry on to the party or start throwing back some refreshing wine.

Following the Parade - which I found to be quite entertaining this year, much brighter and not so political - we wandered by Marquis Wines and picked up a couple of cold bottles to sip on down by the water and festivities.

145. 2007 Fred Loimer Rose (Kamptal - Austria)

It only seemed fitting to have a little pink at Pride and the Loimer looked very inviting. Nice packaging (although you likely can't tell so well from the photos) and the wine was ever-so-refreshing. Being an Austrian wine, I suppose it shouldn't come as a shock that it's 100% Zweigelt, the most highly-planted red varietal in the country.

We just plonked ourselves down on the hillside about the festival and watched the world go by for awhile. When resident doyenne, Bill Monroe, walked by, I thought it might be a perfect way to capture this bottle. Bill's been a standout performer and fundraiser in the community for years and may be the best impersonator of Lizzie Two Strokes (HRM Queen Elizabeth II) around. I'll always have a fond memory of walking behind Bill in his royal regalia, with Team Vancouver, through Team France at the Opening Ceremonies for the 2002 Gay Games in Sydney, Australia. I think it was a flask of gin - rather than wine - that kept us all moving along there though.

Unlucky for Bill, we didn't have a spare glass to send Bill off with - but we did get a shot to capture the day for a little more than a healthy swig of rose.

146. 2008 Loosen Bros Dr. L Riesling (Qualitatswein - Mosel - Germany)

This is another wine and producer that we'll be adding to The List down the road. Ernst Loosen is a highly respected and influential winemaker in the Mosel. He's often credited, by the big names in wine reporting, with playing a particularly significant role in moving German winemaking into the 21st Century. Loosen Bros has been referred to as the "standard bearer" and "bell weather" winery for the Mosel.

Dr. L is an introductory wine for Loosen Bros, but it is continually found on "best of" and "top buy" lists. We didn't part with any of this bottle to a passing drag queen but we couldn't have enjoyed it any more than we did in the setting of the day.

A closing thought for the afternoon was that the hillside where we sat was within 100 metres of a spot where Miss Jaq and I experienced a Pride moment that we often look back on fondly. It must have been 20 or 25 years ago. I wasn't out to family or school friends at the time, but Miss Jaq and I had gone to the Pride Parade - which was teeny, tiny back then - and we were sitting on the curb, all preppy and cute (as we were in those days). A wildly fashioned drag queen came marching by us and stopped to smile and loudly announce, "Ooooh, milk and cookies. How sweet." Lord knows what she'd be saying now.

Happy Pride!!