The Dollar remains the hooker with crabs while many other currencies have AIDS

Visit here to read predictions from a real doomer: http://market-ticker.org/akcs-www?post=176132

A Very Important Date?

Serious respect to anyone who can tell me what happened on Sept 7, 1752.

Le Menu

Christmas dinner with Lisa, mom&dad, Susan&James, and joined by the Berzanskys for dessert

Starters: Olive tapenade, crackers, gruyere & a triple creme blue cheese
Wine: 2009 Gianni Gagliardo Fallegro

The olive tapenade was inspired by Evan (who else) and made by blending together olives, olive oil, capers, garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, and miso paste. Very good but very salty. The Gagliardo is an aromatic Italian white from the Piedmonte region with ever so light frizzante.

Salad: arugula with pomegranate and sauteed mushroom, seasoned with raspberry vinaigrette
Wine: continuation of the Gagliardo

Soup: winter quash with chilis and mint.
Wine: N.V. Collard-Picard Champagne Cuvée Dom Picard Blanc de Blancs

The soup recipe is adapted from 'The Greens Cookbook' by Deborah Madison. The champagne is from K&L. Love that stuff.

Entree: Imam bayildi (braised eggplant)
Main Course: Barbecue marinated salmon with potato-leek puree
Wine: 2005 Poderi Aldo Conterno Langhe Nebbiolo Il Favot

The imam bayildi was made by mom and delicious. The salmon marinated overnight in a hodge podge of a sauce (wine,soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, olive oil, garlic). I had a tough time getting the charcoal going - clear that i dont really know how to barbecue. The wine was the real wildcard not having had it before, picking it up on a PRIMA recommendation -and it was flat out delicious.

Cheese Plate - an assortment of soft cheeses
Wine: 2007 Hall Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Valley

The Hall Cabernet is overoaked in my opinion.

Dessert - Lemon bars, Ginger cake, assorted cookies
Wine: Homemade Sparkling Mead (2010)
Wine: 2006 Navarro Vineyards Gewürztraminer Cluster Select Late Harvest

Mmm, good stuff!

Michael Mina

Went to Michael Mina, SF last night. Nice place with a swarm of wait staff. We had the N.V. Gaston Chiquet Champagne Blanc de Blancs d'Aÿ. Wicked good, i love the nuttiness. I had the '5 fish' platter, supposedly a smattering sampling of (cooked) Japanese fish as well as the dungeness crab ravioli.

We brought a bottle of 2002 cos d'estournel which was drinking nice, good mature bordeaux funk present, though a tad less sweet than the 2001 we had last week at Chez Panise. Yet after all the ooh'ing and ahh'ing over these wines, I just opened the homemade production of one of my deli owning patients whose bottling "supertuscan luigi genicolo cellars contra costa county CA" (name affixed via return address label) is smashing it out of the ballpark. This is not a commercially available wine (as far as i can tell). It smells of dark cherries and oak chips, has very visible sediment, and tastes awesome - dark berries, cherries, chocolate, with very dry tannins on the finish. Blinded who knows what i'd guess - Brunello maybe? Certainly not a homemade production from an octogenarian. 93 points at least. And what does that say about wine in general - certainly something.

Bravo Luigi (can i have a case?).

extraditing arms dealers

nabbing the bad guy or knocking off the competition?

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE67J0V920100820

Face recognition software

Just had a chance to check out my cousins iphoto. It recongizes faces if you train it. Supposedly the more you teach it the better it will be able to identify faces in new photos taken. For example a family picture pops up, and it queries - is this errol?

Of course when it identified Ali as Dutch Yemez, i knew it still has some way to go.

Bled

Really great to see all the cousins here. The scenery is marvellous. We are nestled in a tiny nook between Italy and Austria. I am still working on figuring out the wine. The children are gorgeous. The Gokkayas are proliferating like Fibonacci's rabbits - well not quite, but you know what i mean.

2014 in Mole National Park.
---

Spotted on the lake walk:

tinyurl.com/25f8f3z

Brazil down the toilet

Goodbye Kaka
Goodbye Dunga
Paises Bajas 2 Brazil 1

ThJ on ViN

Dec 16, 1815

Dear Sir,

Disappointments in procuring supplies have at length left me without a drop of wine... Wine from long habit has become an indispensable for my health, which is now suffering by its disuse

Thomas Jefferson

Cupa / FIFA / Dunya / Vindaloo / Apartheid- World Cup 2010 Videos and such

Ghana beat USA today, and I think they can go all the way.
France gone, drama? - who cares. Italy gone, age?- who cares. Nigeria gone.
Croatia not present. And Angland? We're going to score one more than you.
Me and me mum and me dad and me gran we're off to waterloo.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLph6ePNkGQ
And apartheid?
http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/video/features/video=1257904/index.html

The difference between Syphilis and Syrah

Joke first seen by me on Tanzer's site: http://www.wineaccess.com/expert/tanzer/article.html?content_id=62785

Q. What's the difference between syphilis and syrah?
A. At least you can get rid of a case of syphilis.

Bordeaux 2009 Futures Pricing

Some first growths have just come out with their opening tranche futures pricing.
For example Lafite rolls in at 755Euros and Latour, not to be one upped, at 823Euros. No these are not case prices my friends, this is per bottle delivered to you in 2 years, and perhaps meant to be consumed a decade later.

Ausone came out at 1000Euros (per bottle) in 2005, so its not a record, but it still smacks me as silly.

So would one of my wine loving friends please buy a few extra bottles of the above and call me over when the time is right for a tasting? You know who you are. And if you have a pimple on your ass that needs to be popped, by all means let me know.

It's all summed up at the following website: http://bordoverview.com/

British Petroleum testifying in Congress

Subtitled: the Drug Pushers vs the Drug Addicts

Through the eyes of a child

Ayn Rand for US Senate?

Yes they Can!

Mother's Day & Sparklers

Can you think of a better way to spend mother's day than with a bunch of sparkling wine (and yes some mothers)? I took a ton of pictures (of chicken lovers and thankfully no chicken livers) some of which are on:


http://www1.snapfish.com/snapfish/thumbnailshare/AlbumID=2687813015/a=3549108_3549108/


But for the blog the pictures of the food and wine are key - certainly can't releate them to a secondary site.

Wine details with my tasting notes can be found here:

http://www.cellartracker.com//event.asp?iEvent=10832

Marc started us off with a salad

Next i grilled up some lime-ginger prawns



served on a bed of cucumber and lettuce



Next Marc served up home grown poached eggs with asparagus and topped with fried prosciutto.

Gotta love those domestic chickens. Or as Arman said, 'daddy these chickens are wuvwee'.



And an heirloom tomatoe slice to boot. Whoa mother!


Chased by some fine Belgian chocolates.


I am taking pictures of food in the same way that my dad used to. Back then I'd roll my eyes.

The Gosset 1998 comes with a small booklet on a string. Who do they think they are they fooling?

And collecting the refuse to reuse for when we bottle our sparkling mead. If all goes well that is. It has been 12 hours since we pitched the yeast into the must, and there is absolutely no sign of action.

Patience is a virtue. For now at least.

Bidet USA

Having seen several cases now of rash around the anus attributable to 'wet wipes' (presumably an allergic dermatitis to a component thereof), makes me wonder what is it about the US of A that the bidet totally failed to take hold?

First Gro(w)th Nite At PRIMA

It was the best of growths...
It was the worst of groths...

http://www.cellartracker.com/event.asp?iEvent=10746

Sweet Spot for Bordeaux 2008

With 2009 Bordeaux having been reviewed to great fanfare, yet not officially scored by the 'umpire' (you know who), now is the time to rehash the 2008s which came out reasonably priced, or as some would say underpriced. Likely the high cost of 2009s will make the well scored 2008s look like a bargain, and drive up demand and thus price. So now is the time to buy your 2008s, still officially as futures since the wines wont be available yet.

Drill Baby Drill!

http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/04/22/video-of-oil-rig-fire-and-rescue-efforts/

The coming implosion?

What happens to a group of entitled, relatively well off and or privledged persons when their entitlements, wealth, and status fall by the wayside? All hell breaks loose... Are we setting ourselves up in the US for demogoguery to come to the fore and wreak havoc? That worries me. With the deterioration of economic conditions, comes the wrath of the masses. And watch out, it can be, shall we say, not pretty.


Historically, the best integrated and most advanced societies seem to produce the biggest eruption - beware U,S, and A. Just look at Germany. the punitive econmic conditions imposed on Germany after the first World War went quite a ways to promoting an atmosphere where the populace would support a rabid, foaming at the mouth, lunatic, who, how shall we say this, 'rocked the world'. Moreover at the time Germany was one of the most advanced, progressive, and integrated societies of its time.


The world considers the US to be the biggest threat to world peace, and for a reason. After all which country has over the past decade has constantly flounted or eschewed international treaties, and with such attitude (Kyoto, Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Banning Landmine start, International Criminal Court).


Have we created the circumstances for wild populism and the embraching of crazy ideas - like the end of income tax, state succession, political speech dominated by corporate wealth. When ditto heads and reactionaries float such ideas, and through their manipulatin of the media, it approachs what i consider demagoguery.

Robert Reich, former US Secretary of Labor put it nicely when he recently stated that, 'I dont remember a time in my lifetime when so many people and such a high proportion of Americans felt they were in danger of losing their jobs, their homes, their savings, or who have already done so, and when you have that much fear and anxiety, that is fertile ground for demogogues on the right or the left.' (See Ch13, approx Min40).

He also notes that Supreme court decision freeing corporations and unions from spending limits could not come at a worse time when Americans are feeling disenfranchised - it will all fuel the fire.

See:

http://fora.tv/2010/01/22/Robert_Reich_Bank_of_America_Annual_Economic_Forecast#chapter_06

Quadriderm NF

So I'm sure this exists and all, and most of us are just flat out clueless, but just how available are prescription meds over the counter for a price? I mean all you have to do is look at your spam filter: 'Vicodin ES available online today', 'Vicodin#Xanax#Pecocet#Valium#', 'Enhance your focus with Adderall' 'Increase your Penis in Width by 20%'.

It comes to my attention only because a patient recently showed up using quadriderm NF. Quadriderm NF - ever hear of it? Well me neither. Hecho in Mexico and contains betamethasone, clotrimazol, gentamcin. Hmmm thats's quite a compund. Didn't realize you can get that in Mexico. 'No but I got it here'. In Concord, CA.

Well, I see. I mean, I know that the underworld tries to take care of its own, and come on who can blame them for that? But, that's quite a compound to be using without much instruction. And it makes me wonder what kind of real meds can you get for the asking... If your really want to know, as i say, just check your spam filter.

Salon

So I had my first taste of Salon the other night. Salon 1997. No idea what I'm talking about? It's supposedly a super high-end premium champagne. Check out the link if you care.



http://www.decanter.com/archive/58186.html



We'll anyway, I care about champagne, like it a lot. The famous economist John Meynard Keynes supposedly said, 'My only regret in life is that I did not drink more Champagne'. I suppose that makes me Keynesian? But in actuality it's most telling that I will remember him for that more than anything to do with that dismal science. Perhaps that gives you some insight into me as well. Yet I digress...



Back to Salon 1997. It was, shall we say OK. Just fine. But nothing really special. I suppose its not fair to judge a house based on a single bottle or a single vintage. So I wont. But I'm not really sure if anything will get me to ante up to play that game again.



According to my cellartracker notes, my favorites to date have been:



N.V. Domaine Pernet-Lebrun Champagne

N.V. Larmandier-Bernier Champagne Brut 1er Cru Blanc de Blancs

1998 Gosset Champagne Celebris Brut

1998 Perrier-Jouët Champagne Cuvée Fleur de Champagne

1996 Fleury Champagne Brut

1997 Laurent-Perrier Champagne Brut Millésimé

1993 Ruinart Champagne Dom Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru

1998 Gaston Chiquet Champagne Brut

N.V. Tarlant Champagne Cuvée Louis Brut Prestige



I was looking for where to get one of these, and damnit these wines are hard to find. K&L wines may or maynot have the last one, the Tarlant Cuvee Louis. Currently they have Tarlant Brut Zero in magnum, which I would be interested in trying myself. http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1046887

Opening salvo

Well i finally got my act together to start a blog. What took me so long? Dunno, I'm busy. But it seems like a good thing to do especially for my legion of fans, no? Its a shame that all the URLs that i wanted are taken. I had to settle for munchrat.blogspot.com. Everyone knows munchrat, but if not they soon will. She defies taxonomic classification.

So then what to blog about today? How about just what's on the top of my head and that would be - what wine am I having tonite. Actually i'll save that for other posts. There's plenty of meat there to chew on. How about the amazing and inordinate political paralysis in the united states these days? One the one hand you have some very serious problems (national as well as global) that need to be addressed, on the flip side you have extreme paralysis among the government. The problem is that extremists and moneyed interests have hijacked the electoral process, and everyone in government is too busy looking out for their own ass. Too afraid to look cozy with the other side, dont want to be tossed out by the fringe? You know what to do then - heads in the sand until the government goes broke, planet boils over and all hell breaks loose. But hey, at least you'll still have your seat.

I'd like to grab you by the seat of your pants...