Wine and How It Gets That Way

I used to have a blog dedicated entirely to the world of wine. I also used to work at a small winery. I don't do either any longer. But I'm still drinking wine.

The thing with wine, and the reason I got a little burned out on blogging about it, is that it all boils to down to taste and yet we all seem hell-bent on proving why the wine we like is the best. It's a game you cannot win. I'll use a totally different, yet strangely similar, subject to make the point. You like Kenny G, I like John Coltrane. Now, I know that Coltrane trumps Mr G. But there is no math to point to, there is no actual score. Taste be taste. Go spin your Kenny G if you must (but really, I hope not).

So anyway, I know what I know and I like what I like. The interwebs are filled with people arguing about stupid shit. The world of wine, while presumably the domain of the elite and educated, is no different. There are chat threads where Robert Parker is the villain and others where Neil Rosenthal is the bad guy. For the record, I like the wines Neil imports, and I avoid many of the top "Parker Point" wines. I'm just tired of arguing about the reasons why.

The nice thing about wine is you decide. The subject can be quite complex and a person can get in deep. But at the end of the trail I hope you're at least drinking something you like and not simply trying to defend a philosophy all the way to your grave.

I'm planning on making the odd post here and there about wines that I really like. I'll kick things off here by saying that if I could only drink one wine it would definitely be this one.

Cheers!

Desert Dwelling

Spent a few days earlier this week in the desert this week. The desert is definitely home to all sorts of misfits, crazies, extreme personalities, and your basic loners. Oh, and then there is the retirement community to add to the mix. I always seem to spend half my time in the desert just tripping on the people who call the place home. For sure, I always feel like an outsider. There is a solid line of demarcation between those who are in the desert temporarily and those who are dwelling there on a permanent basis.

But with scenery and geography like this, any human oddities and awkward interactions are easy enough to deal with.

Along the trail up Mt Ryan in Joshua Tree National Park.

Top of Mt Ryan and views out into the endless landscape.

Looking down while heading up Mt San Jacinto via the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway.

Sunset on top of Mt San Jacinto.

Speaking of deserts...I tweeted yesterday that every man, woman and child should be checking out Jimmy Chin when cruising on the interwebs. Just to whet your tastes a bit more - check out this short movie set in the Ennedi Desert by Jimmy & the Camp 4 Collective.

Towers of the Ennedi from Camp 4 Collective on Vimeo.

Towers of the Ennedi features Alex Honnold, who readers may recall being featured on 60 minutes as that guy who climbs mountains without ropes or safety lines. When I watch him do his thing I get hot and begin to sweat in a not so pleasant way. Still, I'm fascinated and can't turn away. For Alex it's all "chill". Weird. Like big wave surfers, these types of climbers are definitely born and not made.

Cheers!