How come they've kept Malbec such a secret?

In past posts, I've mentioned that I love red wine. But there are so many to try, that it was just recently when my friends Phil and Bonnie shared a favorite of theirs....a wine from Argentina called Malbec.

The Malbec in question is by Terrazas de los Andes. It is a 2003 Reserva, and it offers a strong, delightful, fruity nose, followed by all kinds of red fruits, a little raspberry, and plenty of buttery nuttiness from the oak. It has my favorite red wine attribute, big mouthfeel and a long smooth finish with it's firm tannins.

All in all, I found this moderately priced wine ($16.99) a great value, and I can tell you that Phil, Bonnie, Mary and myself have been enjoying this product on a regular basis. And you thought all that came from Argentina was elderly Nazi war criminals and alpacas?

Pick up a bottle, and you will change your mind immediately.

I feel guilty

What if you had a blog and nobody came? Worse yet, what if you had a blog and didn't make time to write anything that people could read and respond to? That's why I feel guilty.

I don't feel driven to write every day, and on the days when I do, I get a few paragraphs out and the phone rings, the world is suddenly on fire and I never have the time to return to finish. I guess I should just use this as a journaling tool, although I have never journaled. Have you ever felt the same way?

I AM still seeking the perfect Petite Sirah, however. So far, in my quest, I have found one sublime contender. It is Robert Biale Vineyards 2002 Thomann Station Petite Sirah, and all enveloping fruit bomb, which seems to stay with you for days. You find yourself thinking of the wine long after you sadly throw away the bottle. It is amazingly fruit forward, yet has amazingly chewy tannins and a huge finish.

The only downside? It's near impossible to get. I bought a half case, (split a case with my friend) while in Napa and now I'm down to 3 bottles. It's my 'special" wine, and I'm hoarding it.

Tell me YOUR favorite Petits Sirah experience. One NOT so sublime Petite Sirah, tho raved about by Wine Spectator? Bogle Petite Sirah....it BLOWS! Thin, tasteless. Not even worth the $10 a paid for it.

So there...I've written. I'll do so again soon.

Who really qualifies for the Supreme Court?

I've been watching and listening with great interest to the near-meltdown many conservatives are having over George Bush's choice of Harriet E. Miers to be the next Supreme Court justice, replacing Sandra Day O'Connor. I mean after all, isn't Bush 'their guy"? And isn't Miers "their guy's" girl?

It seems highly incongruous that the right wing can be so in love with Bush and all he does one day, and ready to lynch him the next. They apparently wanted someone so absolutely conservative, so in the pockets of conservative power-brokers that the choice of an unknown quantity such as Miers has them so discombobulated they are nearly bleeding into their collective brain-stems!

I tend to think of Bush as kinda dull-witted, which of course plays into his philosophical bent, but this move, to me might just show that this man is WAY beyond the reach of conventional public perception. He MAY have done something TRULY presidential here. He knows full well what the easy choice would be. Appoint a conservative darling, someone Scalia or Thomas-esque, and his base will be satisfied. But Bush took it a step further.... he appointed somebody he KNEW to be equal to the job.

People have cried that she has never been a judge. Tough. Neither was Rehnquist....but he was equal to the job. I think Bush picked Miers because he wanted someone who made judgments based on the constitution; one who respects the institution of laws over a dogmatic philosophy.

This one act might take George Bush from his current position as hirer of incompetent cronies to the man who did what was TRULY best for his country by appointing someone true of heart and mind to the Supreme Court. Time will tell. What do you think?

Okay, just what about wine, anyway?

I tend to like people who like wine. Have you ever noticed that people who like wine tend not to be overly obnoxious at parties, like beer or hard liquor drinkers tend to be? For me, wine is like the marijuana of the alcohol world. It's a smoother-outer of the world's tensions.

Now my enthusiasm for wine and wine drinkers might leave you with the idea that I am drunk most of the time. Sadly, this is not true. I drink wine only when friends come over or I join someone who enjoys wine with dinner at a restaurant. I find it a lovely conversation piece. This happens about three times a month. Mary and I have never made it a habit to drink at home, unless guests are there. Maybe we should drink more and watch TV less. It might be another step toward world peace.

The other thing about wine is that people who appreciate trying different wines treat them like they would a piece of art. It's the description of the backstory of the wine; where it comes from, who makes it, where it's grown, what is the history of the vineyard, etc. that makes wine such fun. Nobody treats beer that way. Nobody gives a rip where it comes from, or whatyear it was made, or whether the barley, rice and hops came from a bumper crop and blended a certain way.

Understand that there are such things as wine snobs. I am not one. I enjoy many $6 bottle of wine as well as some $30 a bottle examples I've tasted. A great example would be Big House Red...a bold blend of red wines that just about goes with anything. Is it a fancy wine? Hell, no. But it's fun to drink, and it won't scream "cheap wine". It costs a whopping $7 a bottle.

Another favorite wine of mine is called The Stump Jump by d'Arenberg winery in Australia. It is a delicious blend of Grenache, Shiraz and Mouvedre wines. This inexpensive wine ($10-11 a bottle anywhere) is another example of a wine that goes with all kinds of food, has soft tannins, making it very easily drinkable and has a delightfully fruity character just like us Americans like it!

We just returned from a trip to Napa Valley where we sampled and bought quite a few wines. Next up on the wine schedule? A discussion of a little known and very misunderstood wine.....Petite Sirah.

Remember, drinking wine is not for everyone, but it sure beats drinking boilermakers and puking in the alley all to hell.

Is Murder really all that bad?

As I sit here in my home office in late afternoon, two annoyances are messing up my otherwise productive day.

1. My dogs are barking. Dogs are funny that way...they bark for reasons unknown to humans, yet are annoying nonethless. Are they hungry? Bored? Lonely? Or just trying the tick me off? If it's the latter, it's working. I think I'm going to go to PetSmart and buy one of those no-barking collars that give them a hell of a jolt when they bark. Maybe a few-electrically-induced backflips will dampen their enthusiasm for barking.

2. The kid across the street fancies himself a drummer. He plays in his garage, and opens up the door so he won't smother in our hellish temperatures. The downside? I'm trying to make nice with advertising clients...trying to get them to see how they can't live another moment without dealing with these amazing professionals I am employed by. I just KNOW these prospective customers are MORE than impressed with the constant drumming in the background.

Oh, did I mention that the kid across the streets SUCKS as drummer? Sucks HARD? He can't keep time, he only seems to know one beat (a punk-esque speed metal beat) and he can't seem to play with any music....so for two years, he's been playing the same crap, and never getting any better.

I want to call the cops, but my neighbors and I agree that then we will be considered what we as teen-agers considered the neighbors who called the cops on us....total a-holes. But I've come up with a solution....I'll pick up THREE of those anti-noise collars at PetSmart...that way I take care of all my noise problems at once!

I've been waiting for you!

This blog is all about all things Scott Anderson, which is, by way of my interests, all things EVERYBODY! I call it the wine bar because, well, they wouldn't accept the name I had planned, and second, I LOVE wine. Just got back from a vacation to Napa, in fact....but I digress (you'll find I do that a lot....BAD ADD).

Anyway, I'm going to use this blog as a sounding board for stuff I'm thinking about, and I invite you to do the same. No rules, just write. Try not to be too nasty to others....okay that's a rule, the Golden Rule, but it's more of a suggestion here.

You can talk sex, politics AND religion, because the best conversations are about those topics anyway. You can bitch, rant, bay at the moon, swear at your mother-in-law, write poetry, review wine (yeah) and just have fun sharing your mind products of any kind.