Today is Wine Blogging Wednesday, the online tasting event founded by Lenn Thompson of Lenndevours. Hosted this month by Katie of Gonzo Gastronomy, we were asked to drink some wine, play some music and record how the taste of the wine changed with each songI tried. I really did.
But my brain is apparently not wired this way.
No matter how much I tried to let the songs lead the taste, instead the tastes led the songs. I kept being inspired to listen to a new song with each sip.
The wine that led me on this merry chase through my iTunes library was the 2008 Scholium Project Naucratis from the Slough Vineyards in Clarksburg ($20 in the Spring 2009 allocation; previous vintages available online for $23-$28). It was a perfect choice for Katie's theme--or so I thought. A bit cereberal, a bit off beat, a wine that would reward reflection. Well, yes--but it was also one damn intense Verdelho, with insanely excellent QPR. Which is where I got distracted. There were aromas of banana salt water taffy, sea salt, lime zest, grapefruit, and granny smith apples. The flavors exploded in my mouth in a wash of citrus, tropical fruits, mineral, stone, and more sea salt. In addition the wine was very dry and quite acidic with a long, lingering aftertaste that hints at a great future.
I was inspired. I hit my library, selecting songs that went with the wine. They had to be take-no-prisoner, independent, out-of-the-box, dreamy, pensive and intense all at once. Here were my favorites:
"No Where to Run To" by Martha Reeves and the Vandellas
"Breathe" by Andy LeMaster and Maria Taylor
"Promises" by Badly Drawn Boy
"The Hazards of Love 2 (Wager All)," by the Decemberists
"The Trapeze Swinger," by Iron & Wine
"Drunkard's Prayer," by Over the Rhine
"At My Most Beautiful," by REM
"Crazy," by Alanis Morissette
If you want to hear these songs, head over to blip.fm and check them out. I'm there most days playing them, and I've put them all at the bottom of my playlist for you!
But in the end, it was the wine that made me hear the music in a new way--I just couldn't get the music to lead my tastebuds when there was this much moxie in the wine. I hope Katie will forgive my feeble efforts. It was a great theme, and I look forward to reading everybody's posts.
4 comments:
Surely a song by 'Over the Rhine' should accompany a Rudesheimer Riesling?!
I wish the Scholium wines weren't so hard to find. You make this one sound utterly delicious.
Good point, my art-historical friend. My only question is, will you have to change you name when you move?? And Fredric, I know the feeling. That's how I feel when you guys east of the Mississippi start talking about the French wine you can get near you that we never see out here. But the Scholium wines are fascinating to drink--like opening Pandora's Box.
Yes! Martha Reeves and the Vandellas! Very cool.
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