My apologies for taking so long to update the blog and catch everyone up on club news; it's been an eventful month to say the least. Thanks to everyone for their thoughts, prayers, and good wishes during the past couple of weeks. I got back from attending my father's funeral in Florida this past Wednesday. Everything went beautifully, and I can say that we gave him a great send-off. Even though I only saw my father roughly once a year, he was a big part of my life and I will miss him very much. As I mentioned, he helped motivate me to start the DiVine Co. Wine Club, so I'm dedicating this month's blog posting to him.
Last month we held the first of our 2009 meetings, and the agenda for January was chosen by Loretta (aka Mom): a Wine & Music Pairing. We asked members to bring their wine of choice, and also a song that they like to listen to while enjoying their favorite varietal. I was a little concerned beforehand because it seemed that people would have a hard time choosing music, but as usual you guys came through. We had so much fun at this meeting that we hung out drinking and grooving until pretty late, and we decided we will definitely do this pairing again. It was a huge success.
Some of the wines were past favorites that we've enjoyed many times previously, and we didn't feel comfortable choosing a favorite pairing because all of the music was so darn good, so I'll just list the pairings here. We did enjoy a few new wine faves, though, and I will note those.
ARTHUR's Pairing: Covey Run Riesling http://www.coveyrun.com/wines/quail.asp w/"Maputo" by Bob James and David Sanborn -- This riesling had a good acidity to it that gave it a little more bite than some of the rieslings we've tried, and it was a nice change. The music was butter-smooth saxophone jazz with a rich rhythm section that just took us away. It was hard to move on after this one and we had just gotten started!
LORETTA's Pairing: Schmitt Sohne Riesling 2007 http://www.schmitt-soehne.com/mainframe.asp?lang=de&e1=634 w/"Fade Away" by Mary J. Blige -- We've had this riesling many times before and it's already a wine club favorite, but this time we sipped it with Mary J. in the background singing about empowerment, and it gave the wine an added depth. Mom explained that this particular song gave her strangth during her illness this past year, and we could see why.
PSYCHE's Pairing: Fleur du Cap Pinotage 2006 http://www.fleurducap.co.za/wines.php w/"Spoonful" by Howlin' Wolf -- Kudos to Psyche! Our most fearless member (She's always introducing us to something new!) brought us a new grape -- one I'd been wanting to try, incidentally -- and some down 'n dirty blues to pair it with. The pinotage is produced mainly in So. Africa and it is a meaty, jammy red that tastes like nothing so much as liquid smoke. It has a great mouthfeel, good tannins, and just makes you want to drink more and more. Mom and I were instantly hooked! And the song? Just download it and listen to it. Bottom-heavy blues like no other. Psyche says she and her mom enjoy this pairing a lot. We have got to get her mom into the club!
DEIRDRE & GARY's Pairing: Cantina Zaccagnini 2005 Dry Red http://www.snooth.com/wine/cantina-zaccagnini-montepulciano-d-abruzzo-riserva-italy-abruzzi-dry-2005/ w/ "Waltz for Debby" by the Bill Evans Trio -- Leave it to the Smerillos to bring us a top-notch Italian red and beautiful piano jazz. Gary describes the Bill Evans Trio as the band he, as a musician, would have loved to play with. We could see why; we were immediately drawn in by the gorgeous melody. The wine was a dry, full-bodied accompaniment to the music; very nice pairing.
NAVORN's Pairing -- Bogle Phantom 2005 http://www.boglewinery.com/bogle_phantom_facts.htm w/ "Zoom" by the Commodores -- What can I say? Nothing sends me away like Lionel singing about that perfect place he hopes to someday see. I know exactly how he feels! But seriously, I chose the Bogle to go with that song because I'd been wanting to try the Phantom again, and it did not disappoint. It's a blend of old vine zinfandel with syrah and mouvedre giving it a nice kick. Go and explore the Bogle line of wines; they have not let us down yet.
ISHMAEL's Pairing -- Forest Glen Merlot 2005 http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=22340 w/"Too Young" by Nat King Cole -and- "Where Will You Go" by Babyface -- Ever the overachiever, my uncle Ish floored us with not one but two song selections to go with his sturdy merlot, and this was after pulling a stack of CD's from his briefcase! Stupid me had assumed he was carrying work in there! I liked this merlot because it was not too tannic and tough. It had a nice silkiness to it that was a real complement to the equally silky tones of Nat Cole. And while I never considered pairing anything with Babyface, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. This is one of his prettiest tracks.
ESLIN's Pairing -- Sandeman Ruby Porto http://www.sandeman.eu/ w/"Fever" by Ray Charles and Natalie Cole -- This was the first of our two Sandeman pairings, and it was the funkier one. Of course, the club loves us some Sandeman so it really doesn't matter what we pair it with; we could have thrown on a Clay Aiken song and we would have liked it just 'cause we had the port. But "Fever," well, with Sandeman, the song is even jazzier, and a lot more fun!
ROBIN's Pairing -- Sandeman Tawny Porto w/ "Superstar" by Luther Vandross -- Forget it, we were done. Bad enough we were deep into the Sandeman already, but to throw on Luther?!? And "Superstar"??? By the time this was over, Mom was a puddle on the floor, and I had the coffee brewing as an antidote. Robin described his music choice by saying that he finds that whenever he has a problem, he puts on a Luther CD. By the time he gets to "Superstar," his problem is usually solved. Of course, Sandeman solves many a problem too, mainly by making us forget what the problem was!
Ah, good times. So went our first wine and music pairing, likely the first of many. Thanks to Mom for such an outstanding idea.
Last month we held the first of our 2009 meetings, and the agenda for January was chosen by Loretta (aka Mom): a Wine & Music Pairing. We asked members to bring their wine of choice, and also a song that they like to listen to while enjoying their favorite varietal. I was a little concerned beforehand because it seemed that people would have a hard time choosing music, but as usual you guys came through. We had so much fun at this meeting that we hung out drinking and grooving until pretty late, and we decided we will definitely do this pairing again. It was a huge success.
Some of the wines were past favorites that we've enjoyed many times previously, and we didn't feel comfortable choosing a favorite pairing because all of the music was so darn good, so I'll just list the pairings here. We did enjoy a few new wine faves, though, and I will note those.
ARTHUR's Pairing: Covey Run Riesling http://www.coveyrun.com/wines/quail.asp w/"Maputo" by Bob James and David Sanborn -- This riesling had a good acidity to it that gave it a little more bite than some of the rieslings we've tried, and it was a nice change. The music was butter-smooth saxophone jazz with a rich rhythm section that just took us away. It was hard to move on after this one and we had just gotten started!
LORETTA's Pairing: Schmitt Sohne Riesling 2007 http://www.schmitt-soehne.com/mainframe.asp?lang=de&e1=634 w/"Fade Away" by Mary J. Blige -- We've had this riesling many times before and it's already a wine club favorite, but this time we sipped it with Mary J. in the background singing about empowerment, and it gave the wine an added depth. Mom explained that this particular song gave her strangth during her illness this past year, and we could see why.
PSYCHE's Pairing: Fleur du Cap Pinotage 2006 http://www.fleurducap.co.za/wines.php w/"Spoonful" by Howlin' Wolf -- Kudos to Psyche! Our most fearless member (She's always introducing us to something new!) brought us a new grape -- one I'd been wanting to try, incidentally -- and some down 'n dirty blues to pair it with. The pinotage is produced mainly in So. Africa and it is a meaty, jammy red that tastes like nothing so much as liquid smoke. It has a great mouthfeel, good tannins, and just makes you want to drink more and more. Mom and I were instantly hooked! And the song? Just download it and listen to it. Bottom-heavy blues like no other. Psyche says she and her mom enjoy this pairing a lot. We have got to get her mom into the club!
DEIRDRE & GARY's Pairing: Cantina Zaccagnini 2005 Dry Red http://www.snooth.com/wine/cantina-zaccagnini-montepulciano-d-abruzzo-riserva-italy-abruzzi-dry-2005/ w/ "Waltz for Debby" by the Bill Evans Trio -- Leave it to the Smerillos to bring us a top-notch Italian red and beautiful piano jazz. Gary describes the Bill Evans Trio as the band he, as a musician, would have loved to play with. We could see why; we were immediately drawn in by the gorgeous melody. The wine was a dry, full-bodied accompaniment to the music; very nice pairing.
NAVORN's Pairing -- Bogle Phantom 2005 http://www.boglewinery.com/bogle_phantom_facts.htm w/ "Zoom" by the Commodores -- What can I say? Nothing sends me away like Lionel singing about that perfect place he hopes to someday see. I know exactly how he feels! But seriously, I chose the Bogle to go with that song because I'd been wanting to try the Phantom again, and it did not disappoint. It's a blend of old vine zinfandel with syrah and mouvedre giving it a nice kick. Go and explore the Bogle line of wines; they have not let us down yet.
ISHMAEL's Pairing -- Forest Glen Merlot 2005 http://winelibrary.com/reviewwine.asp?item=22340 w/"Too Young" by Nat King Cole -and- "Where Will You Go" by Babyface -- Ever the overachiever, my uncle Ish floored us with not one but two song selections to go with his sturdy merlot, and this was after pulling a stack of CD's from his briefcase! Stupid me had assumed he was carrying work in there! I liked this merlot because it was not too tannic and tough. It had a nice silkiness to it that was a real complement to the equally silky tones of Nat Cole. And while I never considered pairing anything with Babyface, I have to admit I was pleasantly surprised. This is one of his prettiest tracks.
ESLIN's Pairing -- Sandeman Ruby Porto http://www.sandeman.eu/ w/"Fever" by Ray Charles and Natalie Cole -- This was the first of our two Sandeman pairings, and it was the funkier one. Of course, the club loves us some Sandeman so it really doesn't matter what we pair it with; we could have thrown on a Clay Aiken song and we would have liked it just 'cause we had the port. But "Fever," well, with Sandeman, the song is even jazzier, and a lot more fun!
ROBIN's Pairing -- Sandeman Tawny Porto w/ "Superstar" by Luther Vandross -- Forget it, we were done. Bad enough we were deep into the Sandeman already, but to throw on Luther?!? And "Superstar"??? By the time this was over, Mom was a puddle on the floor, and I had the coffee brewing as an antidote. Robin described his music choice by saying that he finds that whenever he has a problem, he puts on a Luther CD. By the time he gets to "Superstar," his problem is usually solved. Of course, Sandeman solves many a problem too, mainly by making us forget what the problem was!
Ah, good times. So went our first wine and music pairing, likely the first of many. Thanks to Mom for such an outstanding idea.
Next meeting is March 7 and the theme, chosen by the Smerillos, is Value Wines. All wine selections must cost no more than $5. I'm a little bit scared!
