Rioja with hints of menthol and tobacco November 28, 2007

Tonight, as I was taking a break from analyzing the case study, Ciba-Geigy and the Newport Investment Proposal, I decided to open one of the more than 20 bottles of wine from the Thanksgiving party.  It was interesting to see the mix of wines left over from the party.  There was an equal mix of reds and whites as well as grape varietals.  I can’t say there was much variation on the retail price of the wines, for most of them are in the 10-15 euro range.  There is nothing wrong with that – and I wouldn’t expect a guest to be bringing over a pricy bottle of wine – at least not until I can afford to host swanky cocktail parties. 

So, I decided to look through the stash and open a red wine.  The winner was a 2004 Campo Viejo Crianza Rioja that retails for about 9 euros.  I have to use the term “winner” loosly, because I was not a big fan of this wine.  I have enjoyed several Rioja’s, but this one fell flat for me.  It was dry, lacked structure, and as one reviewer from www.cellartracker.com put it, it had light cranberry and menthol on the nose and a hint of tobacco on the pallet.  Not the descriptions of a wine I’d pay money for.  I do want to thank the kind classmate who brought this wine over, but hate to say that I will probably not be going for seconds on this one. 

Thanksgiving Party Success November 23, 2007

I can’t think of a better word than success to describe last night’s festivities.  The food, beverages, dancing, singing, moustache contest and great company were a definite success.  I was reminded by many friends and family in the past few days that I have so much to be thankful for, and they’re absolutely right.  Emails, phone calls and the party last night reminded me of what great friends and family I am surrounded by and who care about me so much.  As for last night, here are some priceless photographs to show a rundown from start to finish.

PREPARATION:  Thanks to Wyllys (cutting the Turkey), we had Turkey, aka America’s dirty bird, as part of the meal.  One bird was cooked in the oven and the other was prepared in Wylly’s smoker.  Both turned out delicious!  To accompany the meal, Katharine and Lisa slaved in the kitchen for hours making mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, apple and pumpkin pie, salad, green beans, and several appetizers.  Our classmates brought over tasty appetizers, desserts and loads of wine.  So much wine, that we’ll have to have another party to try to put a dent in it.  I settled on getting Beaujolais Nouveau, Chenin Blanc, and Tuvel Rose.  All were delicious, I’m not ashamed to say.  And to complement dessert, we shared a Sauternes dessert wine from Rich.

         

ROOMMATE PHOTOS: After we cleared everyone out of the kitchen, the roommates finally got some pictures together. (Back row: Elizabeth, TJ, John, Gordon, Robin; Front row: Lisa, Katy, Katharine)

    

    

THE FEAST: It was difficult making room for all the food, but once we crammed it all on the kitchen table, we set up a queue from the living room to the kitchen and filtered people through the line.  We had so much food that people started getting second helpings – which is expected, of course at Thanksgiving. 

 

ENTERTAINMENT:  This included a mustache contest, singing and dancing.  Over the past few weeks, the men in the class decided to compete with each other in growing ‘tashes.  Bala was the winner, Ciaran came in second and Hugh got third.  Jenny and Claire did a great job of giving out prizes for the winners.  Here are the contestant’s mugshots:

 

(Hugh, Vijay, Jim, Ciaran, Bala, Ken, Andrea)

   

SINGING AND DANCING:  Aaron, Andrea and Mike brought their guitars and entertained the class with a medley of fun tunes.  John joined in showing off his talents as well.

    

Following this up, Ciaran did an acapello rendition of You’ve Lost that Lovin’ Feeling from Top gun and others got down to the music, including Robin with his slick moves and Rahul and his wife showing off their Indian dancing skills.

    

GREAT FUN:  And finally, we ended the night finishing off the keg, drinking more beer – thanks to Dave, and goofing off.  This Thanksgiving will definitely go down as one of my favorites.

       

VOTE FOR MY BLOG ON LOCALWINEEVENTS.COM!!! November 18, 2007

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Thanksgiving Wine Selection

My flatmates and I are hosting Thanksgiving dinner for our classmates and in a dutiful attempt to get out of any cooking responsibilities, I have volunteered to choose the wine.  Anticipated attendance is growing every day and guest-count as of today is around 30 people.  If I weren’t such a Type A person, I would make a run to the wine shop and pick up a few cases of wine, hoping that would be enough to cover all the guests.  However, in order to incorporate everyone’s preferences, have enough wine to last the evening, and choose wine to pleasantly compliment the meal, I must answer the following three questions:

1.  How many bottles should I purchase?

2.  What should be the split for white, red, and rose?

3.  Which specific wines should I purchase for the white, red and rose selections?

Simple enough?  Not for an aspiring wine connoisseur such as myself.  I will probably put way too much thought into how this task will be carried out and will end up with either too much or too little wine.  For my sake of future wine drinking, I hope it’s too much. 

A wine that will definitely be on my purchasing list is Beaujolais Nouveau.  I enjoy this easy drinking wine and feel it will compliment the turkey meal quite well.  Another varietal I plan to purchase is Pinot Noir.  Since there isn’t an abundance of great Pinots from the US or New Zealand, I may take my chances on an unfamiliar Burgundy.  As for the white selection, I haven’t a clue at the moment.  That will definitely require some research.  If you have any suggestions, that I could easily obtain from an Ireland wine merchant, please let me know.

As some of you know, Thanksgiving is a very difficult holiday, given what happened last year.  Rather than turn my cheek to this well-celebrated event, I’m trying to stay positive and enjoy the company of those around me, who are looking after my best interests.  Don’t forget all you are thankful for this coming Thursday, and to my American friends and family, have a very happy and safe Thanksgiving. 

Holiday in Ischia November 4, 2007

I’m back from a wonderful and much needed holiday to Italy.  I apologize in advance for being somewhat absent this week, for I was in a state of great relaxation and out of touch with the real world.  That’s what vacation is supposed to be like, right?  Katharine and I had a lovely time on the island of Ischia and also were able to enjoy an incredible day on the island of Capri.  

 

Here’s a run-down of the trip:

Day 1 – A taste of Rome.  We arrived late in Rome with just enough time to get settled in our hotel by the train station and grab our first Italian meal.  The problem with that is that we weren’t really in the mood for pasta, so we settled on an omelet and chicken.  Though this wasn’t ‘true Italian’, it was excellent and provided us with some protein after snacking on trains, planes and automobiles all day. 

 

Day 2 – Ischia.  After traveling via train and ferry (with a frightening stop in Naples), we finally made it to Ischia, where we stayed for the next 3 nights.  The day couldn’t have been better with blue skies and lots of sunshine.  Our hotel (Poggio Del Sol http://www.hotelpoggiodelsole.it/) was quite a hike up the mountain, and our legs and glutes were feeling it by the end of the trip, but the view was well worth all the trips up and down the mountain.  The hotel staff were wonderful and at 60 euro a night, it was a great deal.

   

Once we got settled, we set off to explore the island.  We wore ourselves out from all the walking and were disappointed to find that most of the restaurants don’t open until 7pm or 8pm.  Fortunately, we found a place that opened at 6:45pm and arrived with hunger-stricken faces.  I finally got a real Italian meal – linguine with muscles in a light tomato and wine sauce.  It was delicious.

       

Day 3 – Thermal Bath at ‘Tropical’ in Sant’ Angelo (http://www.parco-tropical.com/home_en.htm).  I know Katharine is killing me right now for posting this picture, but I think it’s hilarious that they made us wear shower caps in the thermal baths.  The thermal bath we settled on is called Tropical, and despite the fact that the day was all but tropical, we made the most of the experience.  Fortunately, most of the baths were really warm, so we didn’t mind a little drizzle.  The spa sat up high of the cliff in Sant’ Angelo, on the south side of the island and the views were magnificent.  Our favorite part of the trip was going from the 20 degree pool to the 40 degree pool (Celsius).  The shock of the cold to hot was exhilarating, and I needed much convincing from Katharine before shocking my body into those extremes. 

   

We managed to clean ourselves up and get in a nap before having a fantastic dinner at our hotel’s restaurant.  The mom and dad who own the place are the cooks and made the incredible dishes.  Katharine had gnocchi with fresh basil and pesto from their garden and I had a whole piece of sea bass.  We were in heaven and in complete relaxation….the wine probably helped as well.  1/2 carafe’s of vino at 4 euro is one deal we didn’t pass up.

 Day 4 – Capri.  The translation of Capri is the plural version for goat (I previously thought it was boar, but thanks to Mary K, I have incorporated the correct meaning) but it should be ‘unforgettable’.  The weather couldn’t have been better for our day trip to Capri – the island of money, spectacular views and shopping.  The narrow streets were lined with Gucci, Prada and all the top designer labels.  Our student budgets kept us from venturing into these places, but we did spoil ourselves on manicures.  Just seeing the breathtaking views made the 1.5 hour trip worthwhile.  I’d highly recommend putting Capri on your list of must-see vacation spots.

 

          

Now, vacation time is over and it’s back to my studies.  Term 2 starts tomorrow and I already have loads of reading to catch up on.  However, I think I’ll be going into this term a lot more relaxed thanks to a wonderful holiday with Katharine on the islands of Ischia and Capri.