Posts belonging to Category Languedoc

Some folks hate to make new choices. They order wine like “I’ll have a Chardonnay” or “something red, please.”

The Athletic Directors for UCLA and USC recently made some big choices going all in with their new basketball coaches. Both went for value with important differences. Dan Guerrero of UCLA played the tradition card picking Steve Alford. Pat Haden showed a bit more moxie getting the Sweet 16 Cinderella coach Andy Enfield before he is priced out of SoCal. Coach Enfield barely gets more exposure than his wife Amanda Marcum the former “swimsuit model.” The next three years will feature Steve Alford versus Andy Enfield; two mid-career guys with different pedigrees and lots of history. (more…)

“The system won’t let us do that sir” said the creamy voice on the phone. “We can ship your one remaining bottle for $10.” Wine crime is a real world phenomenon what with the fraudulent labeling scandal and auction house travesties. Unfortunately we are compelled to report a lesser but no less aggravating kind of wine crime. In fact, it really isn’t a crime as much as it is a matter of cheap software meets a scrambling warehouse crew. It is, nevertheless, a deal breaker. We are taking about a case of winenapping. Bottles already paid for that held hostage in a Pacific Northwest warehouse until a ransom can be paid for their release! (more…)

Getting lost in wine country is a great way to tour. The next best thing might be getting lost when tasting wines. In fact, this is a tBoW theme loved by fellow tasters including the Krisses, Dotoré, Largnés and the Field Mouse. Is this what happens when one spends too much time on TV shows like Ancient Aliens and Oddities [ed. muted of course]? When we had an opportunity to pull a few corks with the creator of the Mouse rating scheme naturally we turned to the odd wines in our cellars and sale bins. Each wine was unknown to one or both of us. Herkaleez! Herkaleez! Each unusual wine was a winner. (more…)

Largenex and tBoW lugged enough wines to stuff a bird. The diners drank and munched, took a break, then they dined and munched some more. We ran through a dozen red and white wines the most notable of which are singled out below. However, the dessert wines like the desserts stole the show. (more…)

Wine goes best with a meal. The role of wine as part of a meal is not to simply complement the food preparations. That would be dull. I am looking for a wine that enhances the meal; increases the experience; brings a rush to the event. When this happens wine is at its best because it drives both sensory and intellectual regions of the brain [ed. see brain map below to identify food regions in the brain]. (more…)