The video embedded below, featuring Bonny Doon’s irrepressible Randall Grahm, is just… well, it’s just awesome.

Fans of Grahm’s style of humor and his approach to wine-making will no doubt find much to appreciate in this satirical homage to Dylan.  Those of you among our readers who are actually making wine may find some of this cuts so closely and deeply that the humor is bitter-sweet.  Knowing Randall, I’d guess that was partly the intention!

From the video comments:

“The reader may know or be able to infer that I live a somewhat convoluted, self-referential life; that is to say, many of my personal points of reference seem to exist in the realm of vinous and the arcane (generally both). Eliot footnoted The Wasteland; why not to footnote a Bob Dylan song parody about some of the more obscure aspects of winemaking chez Doon?.”

You’ve gotta love this guy; or at least, you’ve gotta respect his gumption.

Special thanks to Meg of MakersTable.com for bringing this one to my attention.  Enjoy!

Cheers!

• 07 Saunter Petite Sirah (Napa Valley): Very big, very dark, & very good. Feed this beast some grilled bison steak & roasted potatoes. #
• 07 Verge Syrah (Dry Creek Valley): Excellent vintage & it shows. These luscious blackberries have some funky dirt on 'em – lucky for us. #
• 07 Olsen Ogden Pinot Noir (Russian River Valley): The booze may be big, but so is the strawberry action, and that fruit is puuuuuuure, baby. #
• 07 Napa Cellars Mount Vedeer Chardonnay (Napa): A buttery fruit bomb. But for what it's worth, a fruit bomb with serious mineral action. #
• 08 Twomey Sauvignon Blanc (Napa Valley): Bad vintage, but really good wine. A cunning balancing act of tropical fruit, veggies & minerals. #
• 05 Twomey Merlot (Napa Valley): Here's something A. Dias Blue & I can finally agree on. Dark, dense, powerful, spicy, excellent & expensive. #
• 07 Rancho Zabaco Reserve Zinfandel (Dry Creek): Brings great spicy black fruit to the party. Also brings obnoxious drunk friend Petite Sirah #
• 07 Carmen Chardonnay (Central Valley): A ride through the tropical fruit garden. The wheels aren't all balanced, but the ride's a bargain. #
• Black Box Wines Cabernet Sauvignon (CA): A decent buy but not nearly as strong as their other releases. Stick to their value Syrah or Chard. #
• 07 Polka dot Medium Dry Riesling (Pfalz): Green is the packaging. And the fruit (green apple,lime). And the (under) ripeness of that fruit. #
• 08 Prime Cellars District 4 Chardonnay (Napa Valley): Big, but damn good & food-friendly thnx to balanced oak + stainless treatment. Bravo! #
• 06 Black Cloud Pinot Noir (Okanagan Falls): Promising 1st effort, balancing elegance & brambly fruit, kind of like Brer Rabbit in a tuxedo. #

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So much turkey talk when it comes to wine this time of year, and yet so little talk of the turkey.

What I mean is, for all of the holiday wine pairing help that we can find this time of year, very little of it actually centers around The Bird. The culinary hub & spoke in the wheel of our holiday meals, so-to-speak.

Which is understandable, because the turkey, while usually sitting at the center of our holiday table and taking up the majority of our cooking prep. time, is actually the side show when it comes to most Thanksgiving meals.

The real stars of the act, in wine pairing terms, are the varied side dishes that run the gamut of tastes from savory to sweet, along with the varying taste preferences of the dinner guests. In other words, when it comes to holiday meals you should drink whatever wine you like, because the situation (when it comes to finding an all-purpose wine pairing, that is) is pretty much hopeless (it may also be hopeless because of the company, but that’s your problem).

But… what is a culinary adventurer to do when the slow-roasted bird is actually the focus of a meal? I’m talking about a chicken or turkey spending almost all day slow-roasting to perfection, to be accompanied not by show-stealing sweet yams but by less robust side-item fare meant to place the dining spotlight on the bird itself.

What do we pair with that?

The answer (at least, my answer) might surprise you…

Read the rest of this stuff »

The Second Glass is kicking some ass.

The Boston-area stalwarts just released their Annual Wine Guide for 2010, and it’s an impressive ‘cheat sheet’ view of high QPR wine selections.

I’m not sure how they selected the wines that made the final cut to be highlighted in the buying guide, and not all of the selections are blow-your-mind good, but I’m impressed with some of the wines that were included (S.A. Prum Essence Riesling, anyone?).  The guide is organized by country / region, and you will learn a bit about the wine production and culture for each of the included countries, so it’s not just a list of budget-oriented wine picks.

I especially liked how they highlighted some of the value-producing and fast-improving regions of Spain (Jumilla, Yecla), didn’t shun Austria, and were bold enough to offer up Chenin Blanc recommendations from Clarksburg in California.  The guide finishes with the selections indexed by potential purpose (“Turkey Wine,” “Winter Warmer,” and my personal favorite, “Panty Remover.”)

All in all, it’s 40+ pages of wine goodness.

A printed copy will run you all of $2.00 – if you’re too cheap for that, you can browse the entire contents on-line.

Hats-off to the Second Glass team for this handy guide – they’ve outdone similar offerings that run for a hell of a lot more money.

Got a favorite wine guide?  Let’s hear about ‘em in the comments!

Cheers!

(images: thesecondglass.com)