Revisiting a Beverage on the Bridge

Unfortunately, we've already hit Monday and it's Boo's and my last day of our naughty weekend in New York. Luckily, it was another sun-filled day, allowing us the chance to accomplish one more standout activity - taking in the Manhattan skyline and walking over the Brooklyn Bridge. Funny, with only forty bottles to go on this Odyssey of mine, heading back to the Brooklyn Bridge was almost like coming full circle on this blogging experience.

I was only a couple of months into the blog the last time Boo and I visited Berra Yogi in NYC. And, as was becoming a tradition when visiting the Big Apple, we made a quick tour of the DUMBO area (Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass) and took a bit of a wine break while walking the bridge on our way back to Manhattan. That post was six years ago and back at the #88 wine on The List.

Once again, we'd have been better off grabbing a wine back around the hotel because it was surprisingly hard to find a bottle while wandering around DUMBO. There was supposed to be a wine shop in the area but we couldn't find it - even after waiting half an hour for the scheduled opening time. Thankfully, we finally found an upscale corner store that stocked a handful of wines. Probably less than a dozen wines - mostly commercial bottles that weren't befitting such an august occasion as we had in mind - but there was one bottle that at least had a bit of promise.

1970.  2011 Restivo Malbec Reserve (Patagonia - Argentina)

In retrospect, it's surprising that a shop with only a sprinkling of labels would feature a wine from Patagonia as one of it offerings. I can see Malbec as being a popular, crowd-pleasing choice but I would have expected a more commercial, general release wine to be from Mendoza. I don't partake in Patagonia that often. So, I didn't mind running across this bottle at all. I just wish it hadn't been such a task to find it.

As might be expected from an Argentine Malbec, there was plenty of body and dark fruit but there was a bit more nuance and depth to the wine than I had expected considering I found it in a corner grocer.

Admittedly, it's the walk over the bridge and not a stop, sit and sip on the bridge that's the allure of this landmark. So, we quickly toasted our return to the bridge and to the almost 1900 bottles that we've finished off in between visits.

That's a lot of wine under the bridge.

We had two more scheduled stops to make today: the obligatory shopping spree at Century 21 and a visit to the World Trade Centre memorial. Given the historical background to 9/11 and a common tendency to hyperbolize the tragedy, I found the 9/11 Memorial Plaza to be incredibly understated and restrained. The two waterfalls, set within the footprints of the original Twin Towers, were both incredibly contemplative and emotive. Boo and I both found it to be a superb commemoration.

There were too many people and security guards to refill our wine glasses and soak in the atmosphere but there was no escaping the deep sense of loss that the memorial stirred.

We weren't able to take in the actual Museum but, perhaps, that just means that we'll have to visit the city yet one more time - whether it be for a naughty weekend or something a little more substantial. Either way works for me.

Swedish Mussels and Wine Picks

It's not too often that I go out for dinner and someone else takes full control of the wine list and for ordering the evening's fare. Given my wine indulgences, most dining partners don't want to have anything to do with choosing a wine. They just leave it up to me. As such, it was interesting to see Bergmann just take charge when I joined him and my old neighbour, Red, for dinner on The Drive.

Bergmann was down to his last days in Vancouver before he returned to his native Sweden for the summer. His winter on the Whistler slopes and in Red's arms was bout to end and Red hoped that we could all get together. Red called up La Gondoliera to join in and the setting was there for an engrossing dinner. It would seem that Red still misses the old hood because we could have gone anywhere for dinner - and there are some new, happening restaurants near her new digs - but she quickly opted for the moules-frites at Carthage, maybe two blocks from the old home. She says that Carthage remains a favourite of her's and Bergmann's and that they've shared many a bowl of mussels there.

I mean, who doesn't love muscles? Oops, that's "mussels," right?

1871.  2013 Humberto Canale - Diego Murillo Malbec (Rio Negro - Patagonia - Argentina)

In any event, I was happy to let Bergmann assume the role of wine director - particularly since he had a rapport and history with our waiter. They bantered back and forth for a bit and settled on a Malbec. I must say that I might not have gone that direction with mussels (and La Gondoliera opted to stick with her much beloved Prosecco) but it was an easy drinking, fruity Malbec and it paired better than I might have expected.

I've certainly seen the Diego Murillo label sitting on local shelves but I can't recall ever having tried it before. Like many wineries in Argentina, Humberto Canale has been around for many years - long before the arrival of Argentine Malbec on the global wine scene. The founder and namesake of the winery established the company in 1909 and the fourth generation of the family is currently manning the operations.

I found it interesting that this is a Malbec from Patagonia and not the more ubiquitous Mendoza region. Patagonia, in general, sees a cooler climate than Mendoza; so, that might have lent itself to a bit lighter structure in the wine. That being said, however, this is truly an entry level wine. There aren't all that many bottles in our market that come in at under $10. So, I'm not sure this is the best example to use when forming an opinion on wines from the region.

Regardless of the wine's pedigree, the bottle was empty soon enough and we needed a second.

1872.  2011 3 Mile Estate - Cabernet Merlot (Okanagan Valley VQA)

Bergmann's second choice was even more of a surprise. In part because I couldn't recall having seen it before and I figure I have a pretty good handle on BC wineries. At first, I thought it might be one of the virtual wineries producing bulk wines that may or may not be made of local fruit but I then saw that it was an Okanagan Valley VQA wine - meaning that it not only has to be made from local fruit but that the wine has to pass inspection by a tasting panel that qualifies wines as meeting minimum quality requirements.

In thinking back (after the fact), I recall that Luke Smith, of Howling Bluff, has previously referred to a 3 Mile vineyard on some of his labels. So, I don't know if the folks behind that vineyard have opted to produce some of their own wines now rather than sell all their fruit or if it's a totally different operation but I do see that there is a 3 Mile Road that runs along the Naramata Bench.  I guess that just gives me even more to look into next time I'm up visiting the Bench.

The Cab Merlot didn't blow my socks off but that might have been because, by now, we were drinking it with no further accompaniment than our conversations. Our entrées were long finished and the wine was a bit big for the desserts on offer. There was nothing left in the bottle upon our departure though; so, it was hardly a flawed wine.

And, as I often say in this blog, I always like to see what other folks pick when it comes to choosing wine. So, to have Bergmann so readily step up to the plate was intriguing. We didn't discuss what the wine culture is like in Sweden but that too will just have to be a topic for me to look into further in the days to come. I don't think Boo and I will make it to Scandinavia any time soon but Bergmann's scheduled to return to Whistler - and Red, naturally - this Fall. We'll just have to make plans for more mussels.