SaltShaker

 I must possess all, or I possess nothing.”
- Skeletor

Buenos Aires - Collectors are an odd breed, regardless of what it is they collect. Wine collectors are a breed unto themselves - amongst those of us in the wine trade, they tend to get referred to as “Masters of the Universe” - generally with a roll […]

 Chant Yemanja (Goddess of the Sea)
Ago Lona O Ya Le -
Open the way for the most powerful mother
Ago Lona O Ya Le -
Open the way for the most powerful mother
Ya Le Ya Luma O -
Most able mother who protect children
Ya Le Omi Abe -
Mothers’ house of the deepest waters
A Ya Ba Omi O - Ruler […]

 A couple of years ago, Los Angeles Times writer Corie Brown apparently wrote an article about how California winemakers went about intentionally making “cult Cabernets”. I vaguely remember the article being passed on to me a while back - interestingly, it’s no longer on the Times’ website - in fact it seems the entire series […]

 Skulls, fire, eyeballs, wings, devil signs — it’s pretty much got everything you want. It’s like a grab bag.”
- Dave Herrera
Buenos Aires - Met up with Pete and Amy, formerly of Pete’s Wicked Ale fame, who are in town for awhile to hang, eat, drink, wander, work with the local home-brew folk, learn to converse […]

 The Sun, with all the planets revolving around it, and depending on it, can still ripen a bunch of grapes as though it had nothing else in the Universe to do.”
- Galileo Galilei, Physicist, Mathematician, Astronomer, Philosopher
Buenos Aires - It’s been awhile since I’ve been to what folks in the wine business call a “trade […]

 We may lay in a stock of pleasures, as we would lay in a stock of wine; but if we defer tasting them too long, we shall find that both are soured by age.”
- Charles Caleb Colton, Sportsman, Writer
My friend Maureen was in from San Francisco for a couple of days, after a whirlwind visit […]

 Pinot Noir is about finesse, elegance and clarity. It’s one of the few varietals translucent enough to show soil, climate and the winemaker’s hand. At its best, it can be the most complex and satisfying elixir you’ll ever consume. At its worst it can be thin insipid swill you wouldn’t even serve to relatives.”
- Mike […]

 Light the candles and pour the red wine into your glass. Before you begin to eat, raise your glass in honor of yourself. The company is the best you’ll ever have.”
- Daniel Halpern, Poet, How to Eat Alone
Buenos Aires - A group of local wine afficionados contacted me for a little private wine tasting here […]