The crazy, the loud, and the not-so-fast

So,

the crazy: Me. Who was I to think that I could not work at all, so as to spend time with Dan and T., and then have money to go to burning man?

Oh, and also, all the stuff I have to do for the newer, bigger, Cheeseworld2.o. Done by next Wednesday? Not so much. I am insane. Oh, and I'm soooo overextended for when I get back it's not even funny. No, I do not laugh so much.

the loud: My neighbor's friend who drops by every weeknight at 11pm, and honks, and honks, and honks, and honks. I think tonight I maybe might run out in my bathrobe, and pound on his window, and yell "Are you okay? Should I call the police?"


Methinks scary, crazy white lady showing concern might make him stop.


The not so fast: My knitting of course. Nothing is done. Nothing. All works in progress, all not so much finished.

What have I been doing? Tasting over 250 wines in increments of about 30 per meetings with various wine reps. Buying about 80 of those. Trying to keep track of what I've bought. Trying to make sure I have a good spread of all countries, and styles. Trying not to just buy the delicious, expensive stuff, but dig for the fun, welll-made everyday wines as well...oh, and make sure they are food-friendly, and they all are small production, handmade, biodynamic, organic or sustainable.

It's really a little more difficult than just sitting around drinking. I swear.

Oh, and the new wine of time?


Viognier.

Stop laughing, it's really a grape.

Say it with me Vee-Ohn-yay. That's it!

What it is:

Tradionally Viognier was only grown in the Rhone Valley in France. It was bottled as a single varital, and was heavily oaked, as to add 'structure' so that it would be ageworthy.

Now? It's grown in California, Washington State, Australia, and most cheaply, in Chile and Argentina.

What it's like:

To me, good Viognier smells like orange blossoms, peaches and ripe apples. Stylistically, the Viognier from France might be oaked, and will have a darker color, less exhuburant fruit profile, and more baking spice and vanilla from the oak.

New world viognier is rarely, if ever oaked. Most viognier is full-bodied (that means, like 14 percent alcohol, which is going to get you shit faced if you drink it on an empty stomache. Ask me how I know), and will have a beautiful mouth-watering acidity.
It loves root vegtables. It loves rich foods and firm cheeses. It's my friend.

Little cash? 10-14 bucks a bottle. Search out Con-0-Sur, from Argentina.

Lots of cash? 25 bucks and up. Search out Westerly, in Santa Barbara...I think all the viognier is sourced from Paradise Vineyard, but I might be wrong.

Also, Witness Tree Vineyard in Orgegon makes a killer viognier.


Middle amount of cash? There actually isn't much out there...Viognier is a hard to grow grape, with only a wine geek following, so there's not much of a market.


Drink on.