Gobble Gobble Slurp Slurp… Thump Thump!!

game of the year coming up!

game of the year coming up!

Thanksgiving Day conveniently falls on a Thursday this year. This means one can goff in the AM followed by great wines and fab foods in the afternoon. Just like every day right? If only. Unfortunately, the forecast is for cold temps (in the low 60s!) and rain (late afternoon) which will wipe out the goff and perhaps the road trip to northern Santa Barbara county for a visit at Core Wines and Cargasacchi on Friday. That pretty much leaves things as they are every year…with the family and that means drinking great wines and eating… and eating… and eating some more.

milt's-nightmareWEBFrom “pavo” to pigskin: tBoW and Papa Fred goin’ to the Bruins/Trojans game… each in his own colors.

Turkey Day officially kicks off the season of joy and hemorrhaging cash. Amidst the relentless appeals to buybuybuy there are islands of sanity wherein good solid community work can occur. Like the young woman who works at the car dealership who is obsessed with delivering gratis meals to poor families in her North Valley community. So far she has 80 lined up. This is truly wonderful. tBoW, Peewee and Kyre (“he’s my boyfriend”) spent an afternoon last week helping aspiring South LA high school students write their personal statements. This was an exercise in humility and a reminder that LA is a big city where millions of young people are struggling to find a path that will help them lead better lives. Nuff said there. The Community Coalition sponsors a week long workshop at this time each year. Sobering and very rewarding.

Shall we transition to less gripping rewards that bring simpler pleasures? Of course, I am referring to wines. Here are some wines we have had lately and some we plan to have on Thursday. We hope your Thursday is most excellent.

stfano04WEB2004 Stefano Farine Barolo $45: This Piemonte wine label is known for producing well-priced Nebbiolo that is approachable in its youth. ON release these wines can be found near $30 which is very reasonable for a La Morra wine. Stefano is at the opposite end of the spectrum from traditionalists Giacosa and Rinaldi whose wines cannot be touched for 15 years [ed. even though Farina’s wines are made in traditional Slovenian oak barrels]. You can open Stefano wines in 15 minutes. So one might expect this bottle would be over the hill. NOT. The nose is beautiful with the full complement of exotic aromas like dark bread and dried cherries. The wine is soft and comforting like Mama’s bosom. The most memorable Stefano Farina wines I can recall and a great example of what the Nebbiolo varietal can produce. 14.5%

EKKSudTiroler12WEB2012 Südtiroler Vernatsch Schiava Dell’Alto Adige Eisacktaler Kellerei $15: Of course this wine comes from our favorite wine haunt in Chatsworth – Liquid Party Works – where a gent named Pete presides over the most interesting collection of odd ball supremely seductive selections of wine in town. Thank goodness he is too far most people to travel and his store has a name for selling balloons. As tBoW was heading towards the door, Pete says “that one right there, red label. Get it.” The color is very light, like a pink and purple gemstone. If we were looking at gemstones [ed. like Gemstone Hunters?] this would be Ceylon pigeon’s blood ruby [ed. it’s Sri Lanka dude]. I am saying the color was remarkably pretty. The wine has a mineral quality with delicate fruit flavors. “The Vernatsch grape yields uncomplicated, delicious pale to full ruby red wines low in tannin. The wines are eminently quaffable, mild and fruity.” Has just enough acid to firm up the gossamer profile. A blend of TWO unusual Northern Italian varietals – Schiava and Vernatsch. Are you drooling yet? Taking it to Turkey Day. Look at the low low alcohol! A U20 steal. 12%

rosdirol98WEB1998 Azienda Agricola Sant’Elena Ros Di Rol $17: As above, another Northern Ital sub-Alpine find. Friulian Cab/Merlot blend; as in northeast Italy between Venice and Austria. Puts California Bordeaux blends and Cabs to shame. Readers are aware when it comes to Bordeaux blends tBoW tasters generally favor Bolgheri wines, i.e., Ornellaia, Sassicaia, see previous posts for other labels – search Bolgheri. Here is another Ital Cab/Merlot wine at a third to quarter those prices and finefinefine. Classic leather savory stuff. Old World all the way. Handleman who knows Bordeaux like a gyno knows… never mind… says “izit Right Bank?” Which means he thinks it is Merlot dominant. Don’t know what are the Cab/Merlot proportions. Handleman likes it and that is a good sign. Perfectly aged at 15 years. A Garagiste pick worth the wait and a U20 deal! 13%

Spirits are high!! Marquis Lee, Myles Jack, Bret Hundley, Buck Allen, Leonard Williams, Anthony Barr, 23rd vs 22nd ranked teams, the entire USC Defense, the entire UCLA defense! Coach O and Coach Mora have resurrected college football in our great city, 30 years of classic memories with another one on the way. I guess tBoW is pumped.

3 Comments

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    igty says:

    we will hope for, but doubt, a UCLA victory over the trojan scum. savor your plonk on saturday.

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      Bacchus says:

      Throw out the records when these teams throw down. I expect nothing less than an all time classic. Our seats are so good I’m taking my camera for the flowers of Trojan womanhood! I mean dance squad or yell leaders. The one that point their toes and give that belly flash when they are cheering another SC TD.

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    Bacchus says:

    The Coliseum was beautiful. The field was beautiful. Even that stupid white horse was beautiful. But the Toejams stunk it up. The Bruin players were more beautiful even though their cheerleaders were less beautiful than the flowers of Trojan womanhood. And now we have another nephew of Uncle Pete running things. Help us Andy Enfield!

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