Thursday, March 24, 2011

Thursday, March 3, 2011

The Stuff of Life

All the literary heavies have succumbed to the powers of the grape at some time or another. Hemingway refered to wine as, 'The most civilized beverage in the world," Emerson demanded wine to wash himself clean, and it can't be more simple than the declarative statement of Roman poet Petronius: "Wine is life." Even the sciences back it up, as Louis Pasteur claimed it to be the, "most healthful and hygienic of beverages."
Based on the comments I get on this blog, I am clearly preaching to the choir, but it must be pointed out the great things wine has inspired: poetry. Literature. Civilizations. Sweet sweet love (though Shakespeare warns us it, "provokes the desire but takes away the performance").
And surfboards.
Ranger Fred makes some damn good wines up here in SoCo.
He also makes lots of children and clean lines on cold beachbreak waves. His 9’0 performance log sported a ‘glasser’s choice’ order card, so Leslie busted out a Zinfandel deck with champagne bottom inlay.
Probably the last thing a winemaker wants to see on his days off but, hey, he left it up to a lovesick temperamental artist with an affinity for reptiles and carnivorous plants, so what did he expect?
Pintail keeps it smooth off the back foot.
Thomas Jefferson wrote, "wine from long habit has become an indispensable for my health. Much like pulling in to a glassy barrel" (the second part is my own addition).
I'm a sucker for the 'reverse wrap' glass job. Leslie rolls her eyes when I wax poetic about them, muttering something about sanding into the weave blah, blah, blah, but the tucked laps really tie the whole bottom together.
Cheers.