Retro Drinks and Faded Eccentrics

I suppose it goes without saying that all "naughty weekends" must come to an end. We'd reached our final night in NYC and, for the last dinner out, we decided to go old school and visit El Quijote at the historic Chelsea Hotel. Who wouldn't be intrigued when their guide book (in our case City Secrets - New York City) has two separate entries, the first exclaiming that "the Quijote is a survivor, and the better part of its patrons - writers, catalog models, hospital workers, legitimately eccentric denizens of the Chelsea Hotel - appear to be among those who have gone too far down their chosen road to contemplate coming back...[and is] the best spot to take in the underlit defunct elegance of the place."

The second entry extols that the restaurant and bar are "one of those places where 'old' New York isn't re-created - it simply never left...The spirits collection includes crème de menthe, Dubonnet, and sloe gin - things you'd think no-one has ordered in years until the night you come in here for a perfect Manhattan and you see a woman of tattered beauty - maybe a 1948 Miss Nassau County or a former showgirl nursing one of those retro drinks in the curve of her arm."

The lure of a renowned paella didn't hurt either.

1971.  2014 Bodegas Faustino VII Tempranillo Rosado (Rioja DOC - Spain)

I just know that, if there's some variation of squid or calamari on a menu, Boo will order it. With chorizo and paella completing our dinner table, I figured a Rosé would be a nice fit. There was something about the deep pink hue of the wine that just seemed to say that the wine belonged here. The acidity was noticeable and helped counterbalance the richness of our chosen dishes. While not as elegant as the Whispering Angel we drank yesterday in the park, we had no problem finishing the wine long before we had to call it an evening with our paella.

Like the vintage cocktails that were hailed in our guide book, Faustino wines could very well have been served here at El Quijote for decades. The Chelsea was built between 1883 and 1885. Faustino has been making wine for over 150 years and the restaurant opened its doors in 1930. Something tells me that Rosados have been on the wine list here regardless of the favour or disdain Rosé wines may be experiencing at any given time.

It was a unique glimpse at New York and the vibe certainly lent itself to the conclusion of a naughty weekend. It also left us with a craving to make our way back to NYC, hopefully sooner than later.

Let The Games Begin!

The World Cup has kicked off in Brazil and I suspect my life is going to be rather soccer-centric for the next month - not that I really have that much invested in the event this time around. Once again, our Canadian team has been left on the sidelines, but I do have the office pool to get excited about. And, I suspect that living just off The Drive, in Vancouver's old Little Italy, will see its share of celebration in the street. The size of the celebrations will definitely depend on which teams stay in the race and for how long. Historically, street closures are only needed for the biggest of wins by countries like Italy and Portugal - countries with plenty of ex-pats and presence on The Dive - and superpowers like Brazil and Argentina.

I just realized that, for the last World Cup in 2010, I held a little World Cup of Wine for the blog. That approach of matching the event to the blog totally slipped my mind in the build up to this year's tournament; so, there ain't gonna be anything so adventurous this time around. (Guess I must have had more time on my hands back then.) I think the best I'll manage with this World Cup is to pull the corks on bottles from countries that are playing that day.

Today's opening game is Brazil vs. Croatia. There's only one Brazilian wine available in the Vancouver market and I've already popped the cork on that Moscato bubbly and added the wine to The List. Guess there won't be much celebrating with Brazilian wines this tournament. Alternatively, I'd hoped to find a Croatian wine - because I know they make lots - but I couldn't find a single bottle in the three shops that I dropped by, including the specialty government store.

So much for the grand plan. As an alternative option, I decided to open a Spanish bottle seeing as how Spain is the defending champion and is entering this World Cup as one of the favourites. I know that Spanish wines are certainly a favourite around this household.

1627.  2003 Bodegas Roda - Roda I Reserva (Rioja DOC - Spain)

I'm thinking that the Spanish Soccer Federation spares no expense when it comes to the national team. I get the impression that the same is true of Bodegas Roda. Founded only in 1987, the winery is part of the new wave in Spanish wine. Knowing that they were setting up shop in a region that was awash in traditional wineries, partners Mario Rotllant and Carmen Daurella set out with an objective to attain a premium expression that reflected the tradition of Rioja, yet in a modern style.

They started by obtaining - by either purchase or long-term contact - 28 vineyards throughout Rioja. In their quest to make only the finest wines, each year, the grapes from only 17 of those vineyards - deemed the best in that vintage - are used in making the winery's two Reserva wines: Roda and Roda I. The rest of the grapes are sold to other wineries.

The grapes from each of those 17 vineyards are all vinified and aged independently. At the time of blending, they, therefore, have 17 different wines available, each having spent a year in the barrel. Only varieties indigenous to the region - Tempranillo, Garnacha and Graciano - are grown in the vineyards; however, only Tempranillo is used in making the Roda I.

The new venture was noticed for bringing modern techniques into both the vineyard and the winery - such as introducing Rioja's first sorting table, vinifying the wines in temperature controlled oak vats and ageing them in 100% French oak barrels. With the two Reserva wines, Roda is noted for lots of red berry fruit that is meant for immediate enjoyment, whereas Roda I features blacker fruit and a deeper, more complex nose and mouthfeel.

I wouldn't say that our Roda I hits some of the in-your-face standards of fruit and mouthfeel that some New World wines do, but that can be a good thing. I'll liken it to strategy on the soccer pitch. If you put all your energy into your attacking game, you might find yourself suspect in the defensive half. I like that the winery has straddled both New and Old World sentiments - both offence and defence, if you will. Now, let's see if the Spanish team can match the result at the World Cup.

If they do so, we could be drinking a lot of Spanish wine over the next so many weeks.

Prepping for the New Curling Season

With Fall either having arrived or just around the corner, it also means that the curling season will be shortly upon us. More and more of the teams in our league are sporting team names and uniforms and the pressure was on for us to move a little past blasé. We weren't having much luck reaching any consensus with simple e-mails going back and forth. So, in an effort to get ourselves a little more organized than last year, the team decided to meet for dinner and drinks - hoping that abundant libations would prompt the free flow of our creative juices.

For the first time in many years, I was going to be starting out with the same team as I played with last year. For the last so many seasons, we've needed at least one or two new members to flesh out the team as folks have moved from Vancouver or simply moved away from the game. While there's no fear of us challenging for supremacy of the "A" or "B" Divisions in our league, the hope is that we'll be able to build on last year's learning experience - and avoid the dreaded "F."

That "improvement" is, of course, with the actual curling. Anyone who curls knows that the after-game drinks are as much a part of the game as throwing the rocks. We've never had a problem with the cocktails.

1414.  2012 Les Roches Bleues - Pays de Maures Rouge (Pays des Maures IGP - France)

Fisher was brand new to our team and to curling last year and I think it was simple kismet that he ended up playing with us - or at least with me. Fisher and his partner, Paddy, are members of the Opimian Society. So, I can pretty much rely on the fact that, when we get together, he's going to have a bottle or two that I've never seen before.

Such was the case with Les Roches Bleues. This bottle remains largely cloaked in mystery, however, as I couldn't find an easy reference to the wine or winery online. Pays de Maures is a département on the Mediterranean coast of Southern France that produces Vin de Pays wines. The red wines are made with traditional Provencal varieties and this is a Grenache/Syrah/Mourvèdre blend. The only reference I could find to a Domaine Les Roches Bleues was in the Beaujolais district of Brouilly and this wine clearly had a different pedigree. There wasn't much labelling on the bottle but I did see a reference to Bernard Perrin. So, we might assume that this is somehow related to the many wines under control of the Perrin family.

It was pleasant enough out in the garden to get us started. It didn't exactly whisk us off to the Mediterranean coastline but we needed a simple transition from our starting martinis.

1415.  2009 Garcia Carrión - Antaño Rioja Crianza (Rioja D.O.C. - Spain)

M'og brought along this Rioja that is an entry level blend Mazuelo (Carignan), Graciano, Garnacha (Grenache) and Tempranillo and it seems to pull in a fair bit of hardware. Our bottle featured a sticker touting a Best in Class Silver Medal at the 2012 International Wine and Spirits Competition. Antaño is the Garcia Carrión line for Rioja production (there are well over a dozen different brands in total) and they make a lot of wine. Enough to export to over 130 countries.

Burger wine. But it still didn't capture our collective vote.

With the BBQ behind us, it was back to the garden to get down to the business of choosing a team name. As luck would have it, our neighbour, Baby Mama, dropped in and the lady is known for her cultural proclivities and her writing talents. She might be of more assistance than the wine.

M'og wasn't overly thrilled with team names that incorporated a gay naughtiness with curling puns. "Tight Ends" just didn't work for him. Nor did he gravitate to the culturally cool "Legion of Broom." He was leaning towards a name that referenced the sheets of ice that we'd be playing on but his first choice of Ice Storm seemed a tad esoteric for the gang. No one wanted "Ice Queens" despite the fact that we play in a gay league.

Fisher and I thought that "Fifty Sheets of Gay" was witty and topical - as did Baby Mama - especially since they just announced that the movie version of Fifty Shades of Grey would be filmed in Vancouver, but M'og and Kaz were hesitant.

Kaz seemed particularly drawn to "Sheet Show" as the pun could reference both our poor play if we sucked or our stellar "show" if we managed to put it all together.

We mulled over it some more as I opened what turned out to be our favourite wine of the evening. Indeed, a possible fave for the memory banks.

1416.  2006 Pacific Breeze GSM (Cellared in Canada)

Like the Les Roches Bleues, this was a GSM; however, I know a bit more about this wine. Its provenance is rather modern. As noted previously in this blog, Pacific Breeze is a garage winery in the truest sense of the word. They operate out of a storage unit in urban Vancouver. They source their fruit - primarily from California and Washington - and ship it to New Westminster where their garage operation turns out some very tasty wines. This bottle featured fruit from the High Valley AVA in Lake County, California.

I'm generally not a fan of the Cellared in Canada wines as they are generally bulk wines, mass produced for the entry level market but Pacific Breeze works on producing a premium sip even though they have no option but to sell under the "Cellared in Canada" banner.

Predominantly Syrah (51%) and Grenache (43%) - with a 6% shot of Mourvédre - this was a definite New World take on Rhône blends. Much more reminiscent of Aussie blends than the South of France. Smooth, fruit forward with plenty of nose and flavour, there clearly wasn't enough of it to go around and we all bemoaned the sight of the last bit being poured. Baby Mama asked for a bit to take back to her man, K-Pop, but I later bumped into him on the street but it appears the glass never made it quite as far as to his lips. Best laid plans o' mice and baby mamas, I suppose.

Too bad there were only 400 cases made of this GSM and it's from 2006. I'd certainly like to get my hands on some more of it.

2006 La Frenz Merlot (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

Our last bottle of the night was the La Frenz and we were so engaged with our discussions of team names and uniforms (the latter of which we made very little headway) that I didn't even remember to take a photo of the bottle. Could be that I subconsciously knew that I'd already added this vintage of the Merlot to The List (at #425) and that, therefore, it wouldn't be featured to the same extent. The Pacific Breeze was a hard act to follow but the La Frenz did a good job of standing up for itself - earning itself some fine kudos from the assembled gang.

Unfortunately, our curling club's bar doesn't carry wines of this calibre. We're more of a beer league in the truest sense of the words. That just means that our little "Sheet Show" will have to plan a few more of these little get-togethers.

As for the mean time, "Good Curling."

Culture Crawl

One of my favourite weekends of the year in our hood is always November's East Side Culture Crawl - a three-day event that sees artists on Vancouver's East Side open their studio doors to the public to visit, to discover and to maybe even buy some of their work.  The 2013 version is the 16th annual and it's grown from 1997's 45 artists to this year's almost 450 artists. The organizers expect to attract an audience of over 15,000 patrons - a majority of whom likely never attend any other art event or gallery in the course of a year.

Between vacations and work schedules, Boo hasn't been able to attend a Crawl for a number of years now, but he was free for this evening's Friday night opening.  We decided to take in 1000 Parker Street - the biggest of all the venues - and I knew from past experience that it's nice to have a little something to ease one's way through the masses.

Arty, bohemian surroundings or not, we still needed to be somewhat circumspect in our meanderings. The solution I came up with might be the best use ever for our coffee travel mugs.  They not only keep the contents private but those double grande mugs hold a good amount of drink.

They might have, however, introduced a slight dark coffee note to the wine's palate.

1288.   2006 Bodegas LAN Rioja Crianza (D.O.C. Rioja - Spain)

Bodegas LAN was founded in 1972 and specializes in red wine, producing around 400,000 cases of wine annually - with Rioja wines representing about 90% of its production.  The balance of their wines are made from other well known Spanish regions - Rías Baixas, Rueda and Ribera del Duero.  The quality of LAN's wines has been well received over the years.  Indeed, the winery has twice been included in Wine Spectator's Top 100 list.  Bodegas LAN also made the news this year when it was purchased by Sogrape - Portugal's largest wine company.  With this purchase, Sogrape has become one of the five largest wine companies on the Iberian peninsula.  In addition to its Portugese and Spanish holdings, Sogrape also owns wineries in Argentina, Chile and New Zealand.

The Rioja Crianza is 100% Tempranillo and accounts for more than half of the winery's production.  The Crianza reference advises everyone that the wine has seen at least two years of ageing prior to release - with a minimum of one year having been spent in oak barrels.  Rioja wines are classified by four categories with each progression of a category seeing both more time in oak and ageing overall.  There's basic Rioja, Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva - with Gran Reserva wines seeing a minimum of five years ageing before they're released.

Photo from Scout Magazine on Twitter

This was a bigger Tempranillo than we had the other week for International Tempranillo Day.  It had enough heft on the body to handle a cool, wet evening on the town; yet, its red fruit and balanced tannins left it easy enough to drink on its own, without the need for a meal to help it along.  Having our "go mugs" definitely played into our enjoyment of the evening.  The only problem was that we'd finished our mugs long before we'd finished our tour of the buildings - and there were no refills to be had.

I don't know if it was just the wine enhancing some of the pieces that we saw, but there were at least a couple that I could have been talked into.  The pieces were more practical than the extravagant cabinet we saw and loved but we ended up not picking up any art this time around.  It might just have been that Boo didn't have as much wine as me but we couldn't mutually agree on any pieces.  That might have been just as well since we've pretty much run out of wall space anyhow.

What Boo didn't realize though is that, if I didn't have to buy any art that night, I might just have a few spare shekels for a bit of wine now.

International Tempranillo Day

I noticed that the Twitterverse decreed November 8 to be the 2nd International Tempranillo Day.  I'd love to celebrate with an impromptu flight to Spain but I'm afraid the closest I'm going to make it to seeing if it's raining on the plain is to fill my glass.  Spanish wines just naturally come to mind when Tempranillo is in the discussion, but I thought it might be interesting to try a rather rare BC Tempranillo along with a classic Rioja.  If the concept behind this international day is to revel in the diversity of the grape, a regional comparison sounds like a good starting point to me.

Perhaps best known for its medium tannins, acids, body, I think it's fair to say that Tempranillo is the signature grape of Spain.  Wine writer extraordinaire, Jancis Robinson, has even called it Spain's answer to Cabernet Sauvignon.  With the surge in popularity of Spanish wines over the last so many years, everyday drinkers are likely sipping the varietal a lot more than they realize.  While it's becoming more common to see Tempranillo as a varietal wine nowadays - especially when the wine comes from New World producers like California, Australia and even Canada - Spanish wines still regularly use the grape for blending.  Plus, the labels on Spanish wines generally concentrate on the regional source of the wine over the varietals themselves.

And that's pretty much where we've gone with our bottles tonight.

1282.  2001 Lopez de Herédia - Viña Tondonia Reserva (D.O.C. Rioja - Spain)

It's hard to believe that a 2001 vintage bottle is still the current release on local shelves, but that's often the case with Spanish wines - where it's customary for the wineries to do much of the ageing before a wine is released, especially with "reserva" and "grand reserva" wines where appellation laws dictate minimum ageing requirements.

I'm not familiar with Lopez de Herédia but I've learned that it is about as representative of old school Rioja winemaking as it gets.  The winery has more than 130 years of winemaking history.  Indeed, it was one of the first three wineries established in Rioja region.  Part of the growing allure for Spanish wines flows from the fact that many winemakers are adapting to the modern wine world and working on the quality of the wines being released.  Lopez de Herédia hasn't found that necessary.  Their position is that they've worked on quality all along and they continue to emphasize traditional winemaking habits.  In reviewing the 2001 Tondonia Reserva, Robert Parker (perhaps the leading arbiter of wine scores) even advised that technology is noticeable at the winery by its absence.

That statement didn't stop Parker from awarding the wine 95 points though and then declaring that it "bridled with a lovely nose of decayed red fruit, fireside hearth and a touch of mulberry and small red cherry," while tasting of crisp red fruits like strawberry and cranberry.  I can't say that I caught those notes on the nose (especially the "decayed" fruit and "fireside hearth") but I'll give him the red fruit on the palate.

As mentioned earlier, Tempranillo is often blended and that is regularly the case in Rioja - although, even when blended, the varietal traditionally forms the backbone of the wine. The 2001 Tondonia Reserva is prime example where it's 75% Tempranillo with the balance being 15% Garnacha (or Grenache) and a bit of Graciano and Mazuelo making up the remaining 10%.

1283.  2008 La Frenz Tempranillo (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

The BC bottle, on the other hand, is a 100% varietal wine.  There isn't much Tempranillo grown in the Okanagan to start but to see the grape being made into a purely varietal wine is indeed rare.  I've only run across a few other wineries - like Stag's Hollow, Twisted Tree (now Moon Curser) and Inniskillin - that have worked with the grape and I think those forays have all been fairly recent and they've all been more of a discovery process than a commitment to building a winery around the varietal.

I think a primary reason for the introduction of the grape locally is that wineries can now bank a little more reliably on the name recognition of the grape and there are some indications that the varietal might be well suited to parts of the Okanagan Valley.  The grape is known as an early ripener - which certainly suits the Okanagan - however, it can also be temperamental.  The grape likes heat for ripening but it doesn't like it too hot and it thrives in regions that have good cooling influences.  Neither drought, nor high humidity, are seen as favourable growing conditions.  In Spain, the grape is traditionally grown at higher elevations in the mountains.  The Okanagan can certainly offer those warm days and cool nights as well.  Issues for the Okanagan growers are perhaps more that the grape is particularly susceptible to disease and pests and that it doesn't like doesn't like sandy soils so much.

We're a long ways from seeing if Tempranillo can gain a foothold in the Valley's vineyards.  The La Frenz wine was all around lighter in stature and higher in acidity when compared to the Tondonia, but then the local vines are still young and won't have reached mature production levels yet.  Plus, the Spanish wine was fleshed out with the additional grapes.  It's no small fact to compare the prices of the two wines though.  The La Frenz - even with its small lot production - came in at $22 while the Rioja is more of a specialty wine at $50+.  Good thing it's a specialty kind of day.

As for our reactions, I preferred the Rioja while Boo liked the La Frenz.  Nothing new on that front.  Our palates are often found favouring the other glass.  All the more reason for us to have a full assortment of bottles available.  I think it also means that we need to add a vacation in Spain to the bucket list.

Giro di Burnaby

1195.  2011 Marqués de Cáceres Rosado (Rioja DOC - Spain)

Wine Boyz - The Grenache Edition

I always look forward to our little Wine Boyz gatherings - where we round up a gang for the evening and we taste a series of wines on a double blind basis. Whoever plays host that night decides on the "flavour du jour" and everyone brings along a bottle, in a brown paper bag, to fit the theme. While tasting the wines, we neither know what the wine is, nor who brought it. We try the wines both with and without food and are ultimately cajoled into ranking them - top choice through least - before the night is out.

The revealing of who liked or disliked what wines is always a great part of the evening - especially when the overall favourites are revealed. We all just sit there praying that we brought one of the favoured drops.

I'm afraid, however, that this is going to have to be one of those "Colour Me Bad" posts. In the time since the actual tasting and my writing this, I've misplaced all my notes from the evening - including my preferences and the overall rankings. The best I can do now is add the wines to The List and let you know that Boo's and my wines, naturally, were among the favourites.

Honestly.

Skipper assumed the host's mantle and he decided that Grenache and Grenache blends (so long as the "G" figured prominently in the mix) was the chosen path. We'd tried a Grenache tasting years ago and it was one of the most popular evenings that we could remember. Skipper wanted to see if a different set of wines would be as popular with a different "gang of pour." We had some Wine Boyz virgins joining us and there was a fair bit of "what the heck is Grenache anyhow?" before the actual evening. The fact that you find it called Garnacha, almost as often as not, on local shelves wouldn't have helped. I 'm pretty sure they'll have a good chance of remembering what it is now.

There were no restrictions on where the wines could come from tonight - and, after the reveal, I was intrigued by the sources: four Spanish, two French and two Aussies. I truly regret that, for the moment, I can't even say whether there were any preferences by region - personal or overall.

1162. 2007 Conde Valdemar Garnacha (Rioja D.O.C. - Spain)

1163. 2010 Bodegas Artazu - Artazuri Garnacha (Navarra D.O. - Spain)

1164. 2008 Malondro Besllum (Montsant D.O. - Spain)

- 50 Garnacha 50 Cariñena

1165. 2007 Torres Gran Sangre de Toro (Catalunya D.O.C. - Spain)

-60 Garnacha 25 Cariñena 15 Syrah

In retrospect, it's interesting that there were twice as many Spanish wines as there were French or Aussie. Since I'm usually the one picking wine for dinner and outings, a big part of the fun for me is seeing what wines other people choose. It's not too often that I'm familiar with them.

1166. 2007 Domaine Vieux Lazaret - Châteauneuf-du-Pape (AOC Châteauneuf-du-Pape - France)

- Grenache, Cinsault, Mourvèdre & Syrah

1167. 2010 Perrin Réserve Côtes du Rhône (AOC Côtes du Rhône - France)

-GSM

I was glad to see that there was a Châteauneuf-du-Poof, as my sister refers to them when around us, brought to the table. It's just appropriate given the crowd.

1168. 2007 d'Arenberg The Custodian Grenache (McLaren Vale - Australia)

1169. 2010 Rosemount Grenache Shiraz (South Eastern Australia)

- 55 Grenanche 45 Shiraz

I'm kicking myself about the lost notes because Boo and I brought the d'Arenberg as one of our wines. It was one of the wineries that we visited when we visited McLaren Vale a couple months back. I'd love to know how it stacked up against the others - and what we thought of it when tasting it blind.

The fact that there's a picture of me with Elzee and the Conde Valdemar has me wondering if that was the favourite of the evening. That bottle also happens to be on the "end" of the bottle line-up (down below); so, there's always a chance that they'd been lined up in order of favourite to least for the shot. Or, that could have been just too organized and thought out - after polishing off the better part of eight bottles.

In any event, we obviously enjoyed Skipper's hospitality and the wines since the evening carried on for hours. Should I ever find the notes, while cleaning, I can always revise the post and give the rightful winner its due taste in the sun. I'll just have to be more organized when it comes to our next edition. Hopefully, that'll be sooner than later.

A Last Look at Melbourne

Hard to believe that it's our last day in Melbourne already. As such, we've decided that another day of pounding the pavement is in order.

Luckily our hotel isn't all that far from the Central Business District and our walk straddles the Royal Botanical Gardens and the Shrine of Remembrance - a memorial to honour ANZAC soldiers that fought in WWI. The Memorial was in particularly fine display as it was being spruced up for the memorial services scheduled for next week's ANZAC Day.

I'd visited the Shrine many years ago but didn't know that you could climb to a roofline balcony that offers one of the best views of the Melbourne skyline available. Historical tales of ANZAC soldiers landing at Gallipoli were all over the news during our stay in Melbourne. It only seemed fitting to visit - not to mention moving and instructional.

Nest up was a quick stop at the Melbourne Arts Centre to take in an exhibit showcasing pre-eminent aboriginal paintings of ancestral dreamings. I find such pieces to be fascinating. I only wish we'd had the opportunity to take in one of the spotlight lectures that were being offered during the show's tenure.

A couple tram rides later, it was the Queen Vic Market - one of my absolute favourite attractions in the city. Trying to decide what to nosh on is a ridiculous task. I need a week to just shop here daily so that I can try something exciting for dinner night after night. Our little street-side luncheon would have been an ideal opportunity to add another bottle to The List but this hadn't been a planned stop for the day's tour and we weren't prepared in the least. Settling for coffee doesn't help out when it comes to wine blogging - but it was undoubtably better for our livers.

Visiting a cemetery is pretty much a pre-ordained stop on any trip with Boo. If there's a cemetery of note that's remotely accessible, I know we'll be headed there. The gal manning the front desk at our hotel this morning pointed us in the right direction; however, she wasn't so convinced that there was much of note to take in. Boo later told her, happily, that she under-sold the site. Melbourne Central might not be the equivalent of or as interesting as cemeteries in Buenos Aires, Paris or New Orleans, but it still gives an insight into some of Melbourne's history and development as a city. I'm sure there were many more stories to be had but there were no tours planned during our stay here. As an example, who knew that Elvis has his own tomb here in Melbourne? I can't recall having seen an elaborate memorial in a cemetery for someone who isn't actually buried there.

As our feet quickly approached their own death, we made the touristy mistake of confusing the trendy shopping allure of Brunswick Street with Brunswick Road, the latter being found in the near-by suburb of Brunswick. Naturally, the Street is not located in the suburb - and, having arrived at Brunswick Road, I can tell you there was no confusing it for a trendy shopping and dining mecca. Luckily, a local cyclist shed a little light on the situation for us and the two areas are only a short tram ride and walk away from each other.

More coffee was in order before we were scheduled to meet up with Merlot Boy for a little dinner and adventure on our last night in town.

Trust MB to know a couple of lovely spots to take in a cocktail or two. From street level bistro to tiki room cool, we had a great little start to the evening. We might have been able to cover all colours of the wine spectrum - red, white and rosé - at our first stop but, unfortunately, we never ordered an actual bottle. Still nothing to add to The List. On the other hand, we learned that an enterprising Aussie has mastered - and upped - a Canadian tradition. I'd never heard of smoked maple syrup. Nor would I have guessed that it blends nicely with bourbon-based libations. I think I'll have to follow up on that at home. I see a "guest liquor" posting on the horizon.

We finally managed to put a full wine bottle in front of us when Merlot Boy's bud, Bluey, joined us for dinner. We'd met Bluey at the cocktail party MB threw for us the other night and we quickly hit it off with him. If it weren't for the fact that he lives on the other side of the world, I think he'd make a fitting regular as a drinking buddy on the blog.

1111. 2009 Artadi Estate Tempranillo (DOC Rioja - Spain)

Dinner proved interesting in that you might have expected haggis on the menu of a restaurant named Robbie Burns - as opposed to the paella and Spanish tapas we ordered. That also explains why I'm adding a Spanish wine to The List despite being on an Aussie walkabout. The wine list was composed of nothing but Spanish wines; so we didn't have an alternative. That in itself was a different approach than we've come to expect in Oz.

As little as I'd expected to be sipping a Rioja with dinner, it was a nice wine - and it did fall under my primary goal of drinking wines that I'm not familiar with at home. Artadi is a largely organic and biodynamic producer in the Rioja Alavesa region - with its vineyards having among the region's highest altitudes. The winery was established approximately 25 years ago by Juan Carlos Lopez de la Calle and has garnered heavy praise and scores for its premium releases - including a 100 point score from none other than Robert Parker, he from whom all points flow.

Our bottle of the "Estate" Tempranillo is Artadi's entry level Rioja - and it clocks in locally in the mid $30 range (bottle shop prices, not restaurant). That's a good hunk of change for Spanish wines back home, but then Rioja DOC commands a premium over most of the other Spanish regions. Plus, all but one of Artadi's other Rioja wines range from $148 to $572 on their Aussie distributor's price list.

The Tempranillo matched up nicely with our Spanish fare. Funny that. It was nicely balanced with enough body that it neither faded against nor overpowered our food. We could easily have devoured a second bottle but our waiters more-or-less disappeared as soon as our food arrived. An unfortunate loss for all involved - particularly since this was to be our final stop of the evening. Both Merlot Boy and Bluey had early starts to the upcoming day and Boo and I had to ready ourselves to hit the highway as early as we could since we had a full day of driving - on the wrong side of the road - ahead of us.

And, on that note, we bid "adieu" to the lads and to Melbourne nightlife.

Wine for a Zombie Prom

"Where once the girl was effervescent,

She's now a poster-child depressant,

A problematic post-pubescent,

A convalescing adolescent,

A Teenager in Hell!"

Lyrics the like you've never heard before. Indeed, this was an evening I haven't experienced for some years - a high school musical. But I don't think the Disney Channel was behind this particular show. The oldest niece, Stargirl, had a role in her school play and, frankly, I don't remember the last high school show I attended. When my sis, Vixen, said that Stargirl had a role in Zombie Prom - it was a no-brainer that we'd be there cheering on her introduction to the big stage, even if we'd never heard of the show. Turns out that Zombie Prom is an Off-Broadway musical that's been made into a movie, starring none other than our favourite drag queen, RuPaul, as the nasty, disciplinarian school principal.

Making time for the musical wasn't a problem. Attending without a bit of wine in me to soften the possible blows might have been.

When I think high school musicals, it's more likely to be along the lines of My Fair Lady, Grease or Fiddler on the Roof. Stargirl's school was definitely thinking outside the box with the story of a boyfriend from the wrong side of the tracks who committed suicide by jumping in the town nuclear reactor. Who knew when they dumped his body in the ocean that the power of teenage love could bring him back as a zombie - just in time for senior prom?

1069. 2008 Vinos Sin Ley Traza Gra2 (DOC Rioja - Spain)

The show's theme simply called for - not for a zombie wine (not that I know what one might be) - but for a wine that plays outside tradition as well. The Vinos Sin Ley, or "Wines Without Law" series, seemed perfect. I've previously added wines from the "G" (Garnacha or Grenache) and "M" (Monastrell or Mourvèdre) series to The List, but this bottle from the "Gra" line is a first.

I'm totally intrigued by the concept of Vinos Sin Ley. It's not a specific winery but, rather, group of (mostly) young, Spanish winemakers that strive to meet an objective of creating "new wines" that incorporate experimentation and innovation and that look to use different varietals or emphasis in blends in a variety of regions throughout Spain.

The "Gra" stands for the Graciano, a Spanish varietal that is authorized in the Rioja appellation but is almost extinct and is primarily used as a support grape to be blended with the more recognized Tempranillo. It's rare to see Graciano as a 100% varietal wine and that's part of what Vinos Sin Ley does best - put a new twist on local tradition. I was a little surprised to find out that I've already added Graciano to my Wine Century Club list - but I'm sure it wasn't as a straight varietal wine.

Traza's winemaker is David Sampedro and he has a deep fondness for "forgotten grapes" - those varietals that were pushed to the side as Rioja and Tempranillo became a current darling of the global wine world. Traza is no shy wine, big with tons of dark fruit on the nose and palate. In a way, it was almost a bit much but it was certainly approachable as an easy drinking, pre-zombie sipper.

We polished off the wine and Vixen's pizza and made our way to the school. The show was entertaining and had some catchy tunes and witty lines. While the lead girl, Toffee, had a really nice voice and handled her role well, I cringed more than a couple of times with the poor guy playing our zombie hero, Jonny. I think he missed almost as many notes as he hit - but maybe he was told that zombies aren't supposed to be able to sing all that well. He was a real trooper and made the rest of the role his own though.

Stargirl's role as the strict mom that didn't want her daughter dating the town bad boy, let alone a zombie, had little sis, Melmo, screaming that's "so my sister."

Fun night, but I think another bottle of wine would have made it that much better. And on that happy note, I leave you with the wise words of the high school chorus -

"Will you dash his high ambitions?

Throw his PhD away?

Would you close the door to Jonny...

Just because he's D.O.A.?"

Winter Pride at Whistler

At last year's Chefs for Life gala dinner, Boo and I picked up one of the silent auction items that included a two night stay at Whistler. Time's been flying by and the expiry date was nearly upon us; so, we figured that a couple nights during Winter Pride would be the way to go. My days as a ski bunny may be well behind me, but there's still a fair bit of apres-ski left in my bones - especially when the resort has open arms to gaggles of gay men from around North America and beyond. Ski Week might not reach the party levels of last year's Olympics but it's still a big draw on the party circuit.

We managed to arrive in time to make it for the apres-ski beer garden and ran into more people than we expected to - even one of the Toronto curlers that had played in the Pac Rim Bonspiel last weekend. After the beer-up, Boo and I decided to join in with the Dine Around crowd. Every night during Ski Week, the organizers promote a couple of restaurants in the Village. One of tonight's choices was perennial Whistler favourite, Araxi. We'd never been before; so, we thought it would be a nice start to the weekend.

719. 2007 Telmo Rodriguez Lanzaga (DOC Rioja - Spain)

Araxi has quite the lengthy wine list and I'd never heard of Lanzaga before - likely because my knowledge of Spanish wines is pretty limited - but the waiter recommended it and I figured a Tempranillo wouldn't overpower the wide range of plates that we'd ordered. Turns out that the winemaker, Telmo Rodriguez, is becoming a bit of rock star in Spanish wine. We certainly enjoyed the wine.

Rodriguez comes from an established winemaking family and, after finishing his education and an apprenticeship in France, he took over the reigns at his family's winery in Rioja. He ended up leaving to set out on his own in the 1990's and has since worked to create a range of brands and wines that capture the diversity of nine different viticultural regions in Spain. As he puts it, he's become a "driving winemaker" rather than a flying one - as he moves from one region to another throughout the year.

He's known for his commitment to the uniqueness and regionality that is abundant in Spain; yet, his modern approach to winemaking results in approachable and well-received wines. Known to deride operations that rip out old bush trained vines of indigenous grapes, his wines seem to benefit from the low-yielding vines that fill his vineyards and struggle to produce in some challenging conditions.

The Lanzaga is Rodriguez' mid-range wine in Rioja. It tastes of a New World approach that is well-balanced and soft with lots of red fruit coming through. This vintage was 95% Tempranillo with Garnacha (Grenache) and Graciano filling out the wine at 3 and 2 percent respectively.

As mentioned, we quite enjoyed the wine and I'll be sure to see if he's going to be in attendance at the upcoming Vancouver Playhouse International Wine Festival. With Spain in this year's regional spotlight, there's a good possibility. I can't wait.

By the time we'd finished both our bottle and dinner, we knew we'd had enough and didn't need to hit the big pool party that was the evening's big draw. After all that goodness, even the beckoning view of hundreds of men in speedos, well-chosen swim suits and budgie smugglers wasn't enough to dissuade us from bundling up and heading back to our hotel. That never would have stopped me 10 years ago. Guess I'm getting older after all.

Dinner Club at Chez Chasbob

This has definitely been our most consistent year for the Dinner Club. Scheduling with four busy couples can be such a b*tch. There have been times where we've been lucky to fit in two dinners during the course of a year. However, here we are in August and, with Boo and I hosting, each couple will have hosted a dinner in 2010. I love it - not only because of the superb meals that are always prepared - but each dinner is always a a bonanza of wines to add to The List.

For the last so many years, Boo's and my turn to host our dinners has generally fallen around Thanksgiving or December. I'm not sure when we last had summer weather to warm up to. The Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed have magnificently gathered the multitudes a couple of times al fresco on their lush common area and I wanted to try and take advantage of our garden since the opportunity was presenting itself. Moving the dining room table into the back yard was a bit of a task but I think it worked wonderfully.

Themes come and go with the Dinner Club and we decided not to restrict our menu at all. Taking advantage of the outdoor setting, we looked for inspiration from our upcoming trip to South America and to dishes that would match up with outdoor dining. As a tip of the cap to Peru, we served up Pisco Sours for a cocktail rather than a wine. Darn. That's one bottle that I can't add to The List.

562. 2006 8th Generation Riesling (Okanagan Valley)

Pisco's in the late afternoon sun don't last long though, so we quickly went to our first wine - another lovely garden sipper. 8th Generation's Riesling is quickly turning into a "go to" wine for me. Consistently bright, I find it has just the right combination of fruit, acidity and a touch of residual sugar that I like.

2007 Artisan Wine Company Rigamarole White (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Another summer sipper, this "off-shoot" from Mission Hill already made The List last year at Art For Life (#259) - likely because it's an easy drinking, well-made wine at a decent price. As such, it likely sees lots of receptions. A blend of Riesling, Gewurztraminer and "other Germanic varieties," it's an easy match for the crab and arugula bread pudding.

The fact that it's on The List already makes me think I should require all future guests to check the blog before they bring a wine to our house though. Gotta keep those numbers rising.

563. 2008 Bodega Vistalba Tomero Malbec Rose (Mendoza - Argentina)

It ain't exactly deconstructed - since a salade nicoise wouldn't normally be all mixed up - however, I think it's fair to baptise our second course as rather minimalist. Instead of serving up the nicoise as a full, light dinner, I've wanted to prepare one more as a light appetizer with only a bite or two of each component. I also needed a vehicle to show off the purple potatoes that Boo and I grew this year and the first of our tomatoes.

A salade nicoise screams for great Rose and I pulled out one of the bottles I picked up at lasat Spring's Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival. One of the feature regions was Argentina and Vistalba or Tomero was a producer that I hadn't run across before. They definitely tweaked my palate at the Festival and we're planning on finding a way to visit the winery when we hit Argentina.

564. 1996 Remirez de Ganuza Old Vines Reserva (DOCa Rioja - Spain)

565. 2004 Cellar del Pont Lo Givot (DOCa Priorat - Spain)

As always, The Tyrant delivered with a couple beauties from his cellar. No one else I know was buying Spanish wines back when a '96 vintage would have been available. Ahead of his time and full of surprises, Tyrant's Rioja and Priorat matched up superbly with our take on an asado grill - with beef, lamb and pork belly hitting the grill.

I had never heard of the Remirez de Ganuza before but it is apparently one of the star wines coming out of Rioja (and, therefore, one of the stars of all Spain). It's stature is such that internet wine guru, Gary Vaynerchuk, talked about the 2001 vintage in one of his earliest webcasts and announced it as one of his favourite wines. Almost fully Tempranillo (with some Graciano and a touch of Garnarcha), this was my favourite wine of the night.

The Lo Givot was new to me as well. A blend of Garnaxta (Grenache) (33%), Carinyena (Carignan) (32%), Cab Sauv (25%) and Syrah (10%), it would be nice to have more time to dwell on this wine as well, but suffice it to say that Tyrant remains welcome to bring wine to our home any time he so chooses!

567. 2006 Bodegas y Vinedos de Murcia - Mad Dogs & Englishmen (DO Jumilla - Spain)

Another Spanish blend, this wine takes a different - perhaps a little more modern - approach to production. Whereas the last two Spanish wines are more traditional and aimed at the higher end of the spectrum, this wine is more a creature of the new marketing world of wine. Spanish wine, as it comes of age, in a post-[yellow tail] world.

Its component varietals are Monastrell (Mourvedre) (60%), Cab Sauv (30%) and Syrah (10%); however, it definitely looks more for the big fruit and soft tannins. An interesting contrast to the other Spanish wines - and I daresay many folks would prefer it to the higher end wines due to its approachability.

NV Seppelt Rutherglen Tokay DP37 (Rutherglen - Australia)

We opened one last bottle to go with Boo's peach pie, but we neglected to take a picture of either the pie or the wine. After all our food and wine, taking photos is hardly a priority - blog post pending or not. Turns out that no picture may have just been a bit of unbeknownst foresight because it turns out that we've already added this bottle to The List some time ago as well (#108).

That's two bottles in one night that were simply there for enjoyment. What's the world coming to? I don't think any of the guests minded though. For me, it just tacks another day or two on to my time on this Odyssey.

And The Winner is...

Thirteen countries, twelve taste-offs and twenty-four wines it's come to this. Our little World Cup of Wine didn't quite quite gather the prominence or the international attention of that gang of soccer players and fans in South Africa, but we managed a few good times, a number of fine sips and no hooliganism - or Vuvuzelas.

Australia

vs.

Spain

Considering Boo's and my personal tastes and current international trends, our North vs. South final may be entirely appropriate. I've been drinking Australia ever since I started thinking about wine as a serious libation of choice. And like the rest of the wine world, we've been looking to Spain as an inspiring source of fine - and well-priced - wine over the last couple of years.

So let's get to it...

522. 2006 Two Hands Gnarly Dudes Shiraz (Barossa Valley - Australia)

523. 2001 Montecillo Gran Reserva (DOC Rioja - Spain)

As befitting a final, these were no doubt our most expensive wines through the World Cup. Both clock in at about $40 - hardly an insignificant sticker price. At that level, I'm hoping for some depth and development in my wine and, luckily, both wines hit the mark.

The fact that both wines offered more than big fruit and a bit of body didn't make it an easy choice - we were definitely dealing with some New World vs. Old World profiles. I've generally assumed that I fall into the camp that likes nice forward fruit on the nose and palate and the Aussie, Two Hands, outshone the Montecillo on that front. In soccer parlance, it might be seen as a strong offensive attack as opposed to a big defence.

In the end, you need an offence to score the winning goal though and both Boo and I chose the Two Hands as our fave. Spain might have won the actual World Cup, but the Aussies took our wine championship!

Boo had to miss the actual game during the afternoon, but I taped the overtime so that he could sample our championship wines during the game. By then, I was still sporting his orange Roots t-shirt with Dutch writing. I never did find out what it actually said, so if anyone asked, I just said that it was Dutch for "Blow my Vuvuzela."

And on that happy note, we'll call an end to our World Cup of Wine. Spain came close to the hallowed double play, but the Aussie wines proved too tough an opponent in our wine glasses. The soccer game may have ended with Spain winning 1-0 in OT, but we scored our match 3-2 for the Aussies - no extra time needed.

Missed Resolutions

I think I may have to make a resolution that, in 2010, I'm going to look up a bit more on the wines I'm about to open - rather than check them out after they're empty and the taste has long lost that lingering feeling.

For the second night in a row, I'm thinking I make an "ooops" by not going to the net before reaching for the corkscrew. When I grabbed this bottle, I couldn't remember anything special about it and I simply thought it would fit the dinner plans.

And then I find out why I bought it in the first place...

320. 2004 Bodegas Beronia Rioja Reserva (D.O. Rioja - Spain)

I'd completely forgotten that I ran out to specifically pick up a bottle because this was voted the Best in Show for the 2010 Vancouver Magazine Best Value Wine Awards. Out of the 800 wines reviewed by the panel of judges that included a large cross section of the city's best-known names in wine, the Beronia topped the Best Medium Red category and was then chosen best of the bunch.

Rather than really working our way through the wine and trying to identify the strengths that were pointed out by the judges, Boo and I simply sat back sipping on it while plonked in front of the TV. Instead of looking for the unabashedly Old World style to the wine and the complex flavours of "plums, raspberries, vanilla, coconut," we just sipped away - without thinking that anything really jumped out us as strikingly good.

I may just be too much of a New World kind of guy, but I preferred the other two Spanish wines I was introduced to last month - the Can Blau at Tyrant's and the Sabor Real at the neighbours' progressive dinner.

I'm learning more about the flavours of Tempranillo (matched with Mazuelo and Graciano in this bottle), but it's not quite displacing my Barossa Shiraz yet.

I wonder if I subconsciously would have needed to like it that much more had I found the magazine website or made a note about the wine before we opened it?