Wine Really Does Taste Better Out of the Right Glass

We only had nine people at our monthly wine-tasting last night but from all the glassware, you'd think there'd been twice as many. This first shot is of the table after quite a bit had been cleared away.


This one gives you a better idea. Since I was sitting at the end of the table, I got the whole picture. We each had a water glass, a red wine glass, and a white wine glass. A few of us had an extra glass too. And then there were the port glasses that went with dessert.



We tasted some really good stuff. We started with pinot noir and riesling with our salads and appetizers. We had some cabernet with a very tasty onion/herb dip on rosemary triscuits. Our main course was a tomato and breadcrumb pasta dish that mum and I fix as often as we can. Dessert was a double chocolate cream pie with coffee flavored port and chocolate flavored port. Even though I'm not (very often) a coffee drinker, the combination of the two ports was really good!

Many thanks to the wine buddies for a lovely evening and much tasty food and wine. And thanks for leaving us the onion/herb dip.

Culture, Taste, Wisdom, & Words

You haven't heard from me in ages, you say?

Well, last weekend, I went to the symphony, the opera, and a beer-tasting. Keith Lockhart is on the verge of leaving the Utah Symphony, so the parental units and I caught his last "Pops" concert. They played everything from The Blue Danube and Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy to the Beatles. Lots of fun! That was Thursday.

Friday, I went with my grandparents to see The Marriage of Figaro by Utah Opera. Watching it, you could tell exactly why Mozart was revered as highly as he was. Truly amazing. LONG, but amazing. A happy opera. Wow!

Saturday night, our group of friends that meets for a monthly wine-tasting, met for the annual because-it's-St.-Patrick's-Day beer-tasting. I find that my taste for beer has waned somewhat. There was some of my favorite Bass there and it just wasn't as tasty as I remembered. I guess as my knowledge of wine grows, my palate has changed. Or I'm a freak. Take your pick.

This just past Friday, another of my mother's infamous teas was on the books. "Pearls of Wisdom" was the theme of this one. I don't know how "wise" we were after the two bottles of champagne we had, but we didn't really care.

My pearl of wisdom for the day?

"Mastering yourself, makes you fearless."
-Lao Tzu

A huge congrats to Ang and her honey-man on their new arrival!!! Go happy for you guys! She's beautiful!

Grades, Pinot, and Hell Week

Many apologies for the lack of substantive posts lately. I could use midterms as an excuse, but they were pretty easy. I got an A on my Odyssey paper and an A- on my collaborative report for my technical writing class (on governmental cloning regulations, no less). Hooray for me.

We had a very lovely wine tasting this weekend and sampled four different bottles of Pinot Noir. Who knew that when I moved back to Utah (The Insane Liquor Law State) that I would become part of a group that has a monthly wine tasting. I'm learning more about what wines I like and dislike than I ever did living in Hedonistic L.A. (The What Liquor Laws? State)

And yet, at more than one moment during the sulfite-infused evening, I found my thoughts wandering to the work call that had taken place at The Banshee that day and the tech day that happened yesterday. I kept wondering how my auntie and uncle were coping with the insanity of getting the lights and sound incorporated into the show.

They say it went well, but that stage managing is not either's cup of tea. Lucky for me, yes?

I'll be thinking of them a lot this week. Tonight for the first dress rehearsal. Thursday for the first preview. And most of all on Saturday for the first opening night in almost six years that I won't be there for. I hope it goes as smoothly as it can and that all the nit-picky advice that I've passed on over the last couple of months will make it as easy as possible for them.

I mailed my opening night cards to the theatre today. Kick some ass for me, my cherubs! And break a leg!

Next time: Why is it good luck to say "Merde" to someone? Anybody?

Bitch, bitch, bitch!

While attending a wine tasting last Saturday night, I was faced with a bottle of red "wine." It was called Bitch. Yup, you read that right. And the description on the back of the bottle read like this... "Bitch, bitch, bitch, bitch..." and so on.




It was an OK table wine, but with a name like that, what do you expect?


It had been purchased at the discount liquor store in Mesquite and it was supposed that with a great name like that, who the hell cared if it was any good or not.