The House Of Big Reds

In general, it seems that American wine drinkers have something against clarets or blended wines. That is one of the conclusions I can extract from the fact that so few blended wines are on retail shelves. It is as if they think that a Cabernet Sauvignon or a Merlot was not good enough to stand by itself as a varietal so the winemaker had to add other cultivars to improve the primary cultivar. Well yeah…that’s what it’s all about! Making it better! It is about getting the best out of the grapes. That’s what the French do when they blend their Bordeaux wines (almost all wines in Bordeaux are blended) and the Italians do when they blend Chiantis, etc.

Of course, demographics also play a part and it could be that where I usually buy my wine clarets just don’t sell well, hence the limited stocks.

A third possibility is that until 1988 most wines in America were labeled after the primary grape cultivar that it was made of, i.e. Zinfandel, Merlot, etc. Then The Meritage Association was created by a group of Californian winemakers who wanted to make wine in the old world Bordeaux style. For marketing purposes they could not use the word Bordeaux and selected Meritage that combines “merit” and “heritage” - reflecting the quality of the grapes and the ancient art of blending wine.

The Food

Outside a 5 inch layer of fresh snow has fallen through the night and now blankets the earth in a cuddly embrace. The perfect day, after some snow shoveling to clear the driveway, for a Daube de boeuf a la Provence (French beef stew with strong overtones of herbs from Provence). I didn’t use any specific recipe, but it had all the ingredients of a classic beef stew: onions, garlic, tomatoes, carrots, celery, mushrooms, potatoes and a good helping of herbs de Provence (savory, fennel seeds, basil, thyme, and lavender flowers.) However, instead of using red wine as is the custom, I used a bottle of Amstel Lager Light to provide the liquid. The beer makes the stew lighter in taste and the vegetables, especially the carrots, are slightly more prominent. Red wine usually overrides the total taste of a Provençal stew, and I wanted the herbs to be the stars of the dish. In the end I suppose it was a semi-Flemish beef stew infused with French herbs. Nevertheless, it was potjiekos and a perfect opportunity to open a recently purchased St. Francis 2005 Sonoma Claret.

The House of Big Reds

In the past 30 years St. Francis Winery has build up a reputation among the wine media as The House of Big Reds. Located in the heart of Sonoma County, California, it produces bold, full-bodied wines that over deliver on flavor while not hurting your pocket. Nearly all their wines retail for under $20 although it taste like $50 wines.

St. Francis Winery

In 1971 Joe Martin acquired the 100-acre Behler Ranch vineyard (with grapes original planted in 1910) in Sonoma County in the historic town of Kenwood, halfway between the towns of Santa Rosa and Sonoma on the Sonoma Highway/Highway 12. The winery is squeezed between the Sugarloaf Ridge State Park in the east and the Annadal State Park in the west, in the upper part of the Sonoma Valley, a region sometimes called the Valley of the Moon.

In 1972 Lloyd Canton joined Joe Martin in a partnership and they grew grapes and sold their fruit to local wineries. But in 1979 they established their own winery named after Saint Francis of Assisi. Since then they have steadily added more vineyards in the Sonoma and surrounding area and today the St. Francis winery have four vineyards: The original Behler Vineyard in the upper Sonoma Valley floor; the Wild Oak Vineyard in the Sonoma Valley; Nuns Canyon Vineyard in the Mayacamas Mountains, and Lagomarsino Vineyard just east of the Russian River Valley.

Over the years St. Francis has built up a solid reputation of producing wines of depth, complexity and elegance under the leadership of cellar master Tom Mackey. Accolades would follow: “Master of Merlot” (Wine Spectator), Tom Mackey as “International Red Winemaker of the Year” (at the 2001 London International Wine Challenge), “Number One Zinfandel in the World” (Wine Spectator), “California’s Hottest Winery” (Robert Parker), etc. Their wines are available in the best restaurants in America, and have been served at the White House by four American Presidents.

The Claret

The 2005 Claret is crafted from Cabernet Sauvignon (72%), Merlot (26%) and Cabernet Franc (2%). The color was a beautiful shiny dark red with light purple notes on top. Held against the light of the fading afternoon sun it looked like a dark ruby. On the nose the aroma was overwhelmingly fruity with faint hints of spiciness, oak, and a little smokiness from the Merlot. The taste did not disappoint. On the palate it started off smooth and fully flavored with lots of plum and berries and I also taste a little licorice. It is a medium-bodied wine with complex fruitiness, but well-balanced between the tannins and the oak. Initially the tannins were very bold with a dry-ish finish, but after a bit of air and a bit of warming up in the glass (it was stored at 55 degrees Fahrenheit) it smoothed out to a rich, semi-velvety finish with a hint of almonds in the after taste.

This is a true Bordeaux style wine and reminds me a lot of Nederburg Edelrood and the other well-blended reds from the Cape of Good Hope (among other the never-fail Chateau Libertas), but “the Rood” is usually a bit smoother and a full-bodied wine. Nevertheless, this is a classic Californian Meritage wine, which, as with many Californian wines, probably have a higher alcohol level than most Bordeaux wines and is made to drink immediately.

For the price ($17) St. Francis 2005 Claret is a well-crafted and excellent value for money wine. Highly recommended and I would also recommend to decanter 45 minutes before drinking.

BTW. I have noticed that St. Francis have a new claret on the market, simply and appropriately called RED. This wine is made in the “reverse” Bordeaux style with 48% Merlot, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Syrah, 3% Zinfandel and 6 % Mixed Blacks (Cabernet Franc, Grenache, Alicante, Malbec). I can already imagine the overload on fruit flavors and spicy aromas.

Happy tasting!

Midweek Musical Muse II

Everybody’s favorite Glaswegian, with his Italian name, Scottish accent and Bob Dylan look and feel.

Maximum Retro

Is the innovation in car design dead? Or is retro simply something that designers have used throughout a century or more of car design.

Some will say the last decade was a golden age of design. Audi and BMW from Europe and Cadillac from America produced truly sculptured cards. Others will say the myriad of different shapes and styles we had in the late fifties and early sixties were better. Sure they were oversized gas-guzzlers, but they were all unique. In between we had the boxy cars of the seventies, eighties and the nineties. So what will the next decade’s cars look like?

Will all future cars look the same? Will brand loyalty and customer service be the only differentiators. It looks like the 3 cars below, the Opel Corsa, the Renault Clio and the Ford Fiesta could have been designed by the same team.

Is it inevitable that manufacturers will borrow ideas from each other? After all, fundamentally all cars have 4 wheels, an engine and a body with styling that is sometimes new and sometimes a through back from the past. What more can designers make out of it?

Will future cars take the aging population in consideration? The average new car buyer in the USA is 40 years old. And with predictions that future drivers will continue driving until an advance age, ergonomically designed features for boarding and seating, visual aids like side and rear-view cameras and aids to improved night and rain vision, etc. will be high on designers’ mind. At the same time more people are moving to cities and their car demands are different due to the congested driving conditions. From a design point of view these future city cars will need to focus more on how to deal with the stop-start traffic conditions, maybe even automate it. In car entertainment and information systems/Internet/Television will become strong selling points, and cars will probably be greener with near-zero emissions.

The last few years we have seen many retro designs based on cars designed many years back. Look at the new Ford Mustang (below, bottom) and compare it to the 1969 Mustang (below, top.)

One company in California, N2A Motors is now taking retro to its maximum state.

Simply known as the 789 (below), the car combines the front headlights and grill from the 1957 Corvette, the sleek side lines of the 1958 Chevy Impala and in the rear, the “bird in flight” tailfins of the 1959 Chevrolet Bel Air. Truly a unique and stunning looking retro car.

The 789 from N2A Motors

 

The cost of converting the 789 from a stock C6 Corvette is $80,000 and the owner has to provide the base C6 Corvette, which retails for about $60,000. A unique car for a cool $140,000.

Midweek Musical Muse I

Sonsondergang

Dis koud daarbuite
-6 °C to be exact
Hier binne is dit warm en gesellig
zo houd den bek
en geniet die sonsondergang

'n Afrikaanse Sondag

Rainy Day At Tujagues by Alan Flattmann (giclee on paper)

Nadat ek laat oggend die rekenaar aangeskakel het, iTunes opgestart het, amper onwillekeurig Afrikaans as die genre gekies het, en die dobbelwiel van die lukraak knoppie in my brein gestop het by Coenie De Villiers se ”As” en daarna by Jan Blohm se “Laaste Wals”, het ek gewonder of dit een van daardie Afrikaanse dae gaan wees.

Die titelsnit vanaf Jan Blohm se 7 Jaar

Terwyl Jan so met Maria Magdalena gesels, wonder ek of hy al weer iets nuuts die lug laat sien het. Ek het lanklaas gekyk na wat nuut is op die Afrikaanse musiek front. Ek google toe maar en was aangenaam verras om te sien Jan Blohm het ’n nuwe CD uitgebring, 7 Jaar.

[Maar ek’t ook agtergekom ek is lekker agter die klip. Hy het dit al middel verlede uitgereik.]

Ek hou van Jan se musiek. Die subtiele licks van sy leierguitar, die realiteit van sy lirieke, en natuurlik, die blues. Hy het definitief die Afrikaanse Blues genre sy eie gemaak. Diep seun! Maar ek luister net nou en dan na hom. Anders begin hy te veel na Norah Jones klink. Too sad and depressing.

Na ‘n uur se gesoek om die 7 Jaar CD in sy geheel te kan aflaai het ek opgegee. Ek kan die CD koop op kalahari.net and Look&Listen, maar sien nêrens waar ek dit kan aflaai in mp3 formaat nie.

[As enige iemand weet waar ek dit kan aflaai, laat my asseblief weet.]

[Intussen het Karen Zoid oor gevat by Jan op iTunes.]

Die weer buite het ook seker bygedra tot daardie Afrikaanse gevoel. Na 2 weke van Noordpool weer omdat die noordelike halfrond se jetstreams ’n wobble gestrike het, soos wat dit soms gebeur, (ek het in Januarie 2008 daaroor geskryf) is dit vandag warmer, maar so ’n trieserige, grys Kaapse dag en die sagte deurdringende motreentjie laat sulke lang druppels teen die venters af hardloop. Dis ‘n dag vir sielskos.

Biltong

Boonop maak ons biltong hierdie naweek. Ons het dit nog nooit probeer self maak nie. As die lus daar was dan het ons dit altyd oor die net bestel . Die week het M besluit sy’s lus vir biltong en sy gaan dit self maak. En hoekom nie. Ek het al ’n paar keer probeer boerewors maak, nie altyd so suksesvol nie, maar ek try nog.

Ons maak die biltong in ’n elektriese verdroër wat gebruik word om jerky (Amerikaanse biltong) te maak of om vrugte droog te maak, en wat ons al baie jare het en al gebruik het om natterige bees biltong (gewoonlik daardie lugloosverpakkende pakkies) droog te maak. Sy het Internet ingevaar en soos dit gebeur met tradisionele respte, het almal verskille bestandele en metodes. Sy het die week menige bestudeer en toe besluit om verskeie bestandele van verskeie resepte saam te flans om die smaak te kry waaraan ons gewoond is.

[Kan jy glo daar is biltong resepte sonder koljander?]

Wag, ek moet gaan kos maak. Ete vanaand is ’n Spaanse affair, my gunsteling, seekos paella. Dis eintlik ’n internasionale affair, met die flounder en tuna van waar hulle ook al flounder en tuna vang, swart mossels vanaf Chile, reuse garnale vanaf die Meksikaanse Golf, Italiaanse rys en die belangrikste, speserye van Spanje. En die wyn, onkonvensioneel, ’n Robert Mondavi Pinot Noir vanaf California. Dis net ek wat vanaand drink en ek het nie ‘n witte nodig om seekos te verbeter nie. ’n Rooie doen net so ’n goeie jobbie terwyl ek kook en gedurende die ete.

Wat meer wil ’n mens hê op ’n Afrikaanse Sondag. Goeie musiek en ’n wêreld reis in jou eie kombuis.

Haiti, Hades, And The Ridiculous Robertson

(Jorge Cruz / Associated Press / January 12, 2010)

While most people are pouring out love, compassion and money, and offer services, and governments pledging support and sending rescue workers and other needed professionals and logistics, and others still stunned and gape as it plays of on the television screens in our sitting rooms, at the total calamity in Haiti, after this week’s devastating earthquake. Along came Pat Robertson, televangelist and a public voice for the conservative Christianity in the US and exclaimed on his TV show, the 700 Club, that the earthquake happened because Haiti made a pack with the Devil years ago.

(Juan Barreto AFP / Getty Images / January 14, 2010)

Robertson said: "Something happened a long time ago in Haiti, and people might not want to talk about it. They were under the heel of the French. You know, Napoleon III, or whatever. And they got together and swore a pact to the Devil. They said, we will serve you if you'll get us free from the French. True story. And so, the Devil said, okay it's a deal." You can watch the video here.

(Photograph by Lisandro Seuro, AFP/Getty Images)

[So Pat, you're saying these photos are God's handiwork?]

Pat, you’re right. Something did happen a long time ago. You either lost your brains or had a temporary lapse of any reasonable feeling of humanity for people in chaos and devastation, caused not by a God punishing the Haitians for being a part of the Devil’s gang, but by a natural phenomenon any school kid can talk to you about. Luckily old Pat is an isolated nutcase case.

A few hours later Robertson retracted his statement and got his knickers even further in a twist when he said he thought he heard the location was Hades. He said: “For the life of me, I thought God was punishing Hades, which does in fact have a pact with the Devil.” This in itself is a weird statement.

I can only presume he is talking about Greek mythology and Hades being the god of the underworld and also the name of his habitation, the place of the dead. So he is mixing mythology with faith and religion with earthquakes and Greek gods with God and fictional places with actual cities and…What the hell was he talking about? And, he also knows for a fact that there was a pack between the Devil and Hades. This man is well informed, no shit about that. Been there, saw it, bought the t-shirt, hey?

Sorry to say this Pat, but you might be suffering from Alzheimer’s. I don’t wish it upon you, but speak to your doctor, have it checked out. It’s a serious disease. In the meantime...

Televangelis Pat Robertson

Stonewalled

In a previous post I wrote about Kentucky’s famous stonewalls. At the back of my property I also have an old stonewall, which run for a large part all around our subdivision. My portion, dividing the backyard from a community park, which was in a previous lifetime a farm, hence the stonewall fence, was covered by many creepers and honeysuckle shrubs and a rusted barbed wire fence mangled between the creepers. For several years I have been toying with the idea to remove the foliage and at the end of the past summer and into early autumn I tackled the ‘issue’ head on.

The decision to remove the shrubs was not an easy one because it gives us a lot of privacy in summer and to some extent in the winter too, even without leaves. But I removed just the layer of shrubs inside my property. There is still another 5 – 8 meters of shrubs and trees between the stone wall and the start of the park.

A portion of the wall after it was cleared from shrubs and creepers.

I still have to clear about 40 feet of wall. After I removed about three quarters of the bushes I stopped. Cooler weather was coming on fast and I still had to fix the wall in some places where it caved in from age or where the sandstone has simply been eroded by rain and nature. The clearing of the bushes was a tiresome and slow-going job, especially removing the barbed wire and the old iron posts.

A large portion where the wall eroded or was damaged by humans

 

The damaged portion after repairs. I had to fix several other lesser damage areas too.

 

Leveled and repaired. The photo shows only about 50% of the wall that was cleared and repaired. The other 50% is behind my right shoulder. The dark green at the end of the wall is still to be cleared.

 

This is the portion still to be cleared. I am still in doubt about it. The wall behind it does not look well preserved. Also, it is now one ‘wall’ of a secluded portion of the garden. Removing the foliage may destroy the feeling of being secluded and surrounded by garden.