Back in the saddle! After almost no posts last year I vowed to keep our blog updated in 2011, and there's no better way to begin than with our Wine & Music Pairing. This is consistently our favorite meeting of the year, and it looks like 2011 will be no different. The really cool thing about the meeting this year was that you could see how our club has grown in our wine choices. We had some good, good wines this month; people obviously put some thought into their choices, and it was nice to see.
1. Loretta: Lena Horne, “Stormy Weather” paired with 2006 Far Niente chardonnay http://www.pearlriverwines.com/sku12151.html—This was Mom's tribute to the late Horne; a great pairing with the funky but beautiful song and the oaky yet bright chard. Note this was the 2006 Far Niente, which may be a little harder to locate now, but the 2009s are out and may be easier to find at various price points.
2. Psyche: Ray Charles, “Livin’ for the City” paired with 2008 H.J. Fabre barrel selection malbec (No purchase or tasting notes for this wine.) We hadn't had a malbec in a long while so it was good to revisit the grape while listening to the great Ray Charles. This was a good song, and a nice pairing.
3. Robin: Isaac Hayes, “Theme from Shaft” paired with 2007 Schild Estate shiraz http://www.raederswine.com/sku090256.html —This was in many ways a typical Aussie shiraz—fruit forward, juicy, in your face, a little over the top. But it was a perfect pairing with the iconic song, which immediately transports you back to the seventies. When you listen to this song, you realize you'd forgotten how amazing the music was. Hayes was a genius.
4. Navorn: Laura Izibor, “Mmm…” paired with 2007 Nieto Don Nicanor blend http://winelibrary.com/wines/53873-2007+Nieto+Don+Nicanor+Blend+750ML—Beautiful song sung by the husky-voiced Izibor; the wine is old-world style with nice berry fruits. A bit spicy on the palate. Turn this song up loud when you listen to it; even better, listen to it in the car so the music comes through the speakers and surrounds you.
5. Arthur: Joe Sample and the Soul Committtee, “Mystery Child” paired with 2007 Carmel Estate Appelation Upper Galilee merlot http://www.royalwines.com/carmel.html—This wine was all shoe leather and candle wax! Funky in a very good way. And the song is a real head-nodder. We had fun with this pairing.
6. Dee & Gary: Tom Waits, “Warm Beer and Cold Women” paired with 2006 Earthquake Lodi appellation cabernet sauvignon http://www.hopsandgrapesonline.com/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=546—Two crazy things: Waits' voice and a wine that smells and tastes just like meat! Both were smoky as sausage, heavy, and both stopped us in our tracks. We had no trouble voting this the best pairing of the night.
7. Angie: Anita Baker, “Caught Up in the Rapture” We paired this song, a last-minute add-on, with a number of wines and untimately, everyone thought the wine they were drinking paired best with the song, from the Soave to the cabernet! The song is such a classic, you really can't go wrong.
Now, once our official pairings were over, we were all feeling kinda nice (some of us more than others!) so we decided to check out a few more songs with our favorite wines:
BONUS SONGS
8. Psyche: White Stripes, “Seven Nation Army” for the guitar riffs and the classic rock sound
9. Robin: Prince, “Housequake” to go with Earthquake cab (this was just silly, LOL!)
10. Arthur: Stevie Ray Vaughan, “Tin Pan Alley”
11. Loretta: Tears for Fears: “Everybody Wants to Rule the World”
12. Navorn: Kem, “Heaven”
At the outset, we all agreed that once again, the annual Music & Wine Pairing was a huge hit, and we have a new favorite wine, The Earthquake Lodi cab.
Next meeting, we go back to our standard programming, focusing on single varietals; in this case, merlot. See you then!
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