OBVIOUSLY HIS EARS WERE BURNING (A REVELRY REPRISE, UPCOMING ADVENTURES AND OTHER ASSORTED SUNDRIES)

I’ve been a little distracted the last week or so, what with that immaculate inventory time I like to call a holiday on fire, my wife’s broken ankle, and the subtle change in season that sort of leaves everybody here in “Sinus Valley” a bit plugged-up in the head. Yet I think I am getting set to face SOND (Sept/Oct/Nov/Dec) with a bit more swagger than in years past. Not sure why. Just tired of taking it across the face like I have in the past. No more passive-aggressive bullshit. I am gonna get all Danny Trejo a la Machete on this season’s ass. I’m fightin’ dirty, kickin’ it square in the balls. Yeah, that’s it.

And it seems there is a lot on deck over the next few weeks, what with the obvious WEBN Fireworks this Labor Day weekend, Cork Fork & Style in Louisville next weekend, trade shows from Republic-National and Bryant Distributing, and DEP’s Fine Wine & Spirits first ever Twitter tasting with the wines of Washington State’s Airfield Estates. Looks like I’ve got some heavy chores to do.

After last night’s post on Revelry Vintners’ red wines, our good friend and Vintner Select rep, Gary stopped in with, ironically enough, Jared Burns, winemaker of – you guessed it – Revelry Vintners. Both having read my post last night, they reluctantly came by with Jared’s Chardonnay. No more poker face for me – I’ve let the cat out of the bag that Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio typically bore the shit out of me, having usually tasted a couple dozen every week for the past 15 years. Not a lot you can do to impress me – unless someone like Christina Hendricks pops out of the bottle and delivers a kiss on the lips or The Donald pops out to offer me a million bucks – yet the Revelry Chardonnay Columbia Valley 2008 (Grade=Outstanding) was a nice surprise. This completely tank-fermented, un-malo’d Chardonnay was crisp, clean and refreshing, showcasing some nice notes of Mandarin oranges, nectarines, limes, and pineapple. My sidekick Shannon (think of me as Captain Whino and she as Party Girl) commented that there was a bit of anise showing up in the mix, to which we all agreed.

Gary and Jared both thanked me for the write-up, which is cool to know that people read this shit, but believe me when I say, I am not trying to suck up to anyone (hey, it happens in this business, but I usually do not aim to intentionally be a brown-noser). I don’t have to say anything, and I certainly don’t have to say anything nice, about anyone or anything. I could don my shock-jock outfit and wax Rush Limbaugh about wines and why so many are either 1) so damned expensive, or 2) so f-n hard to get, but that ain’t me.

I say what I say, without the pretense or the hidden agenda, so you could say this is “usually” a no-bullshit zone. Now, that is not to say I don’t lapse into a bit of bullshit, but that is usually when I am ranting about the business aspect of things (KY liquor laws anyone?). Regardless, I love this business, and no matter how I prattle on about this or that, I love experiencing the wines and meeting the people who make them, sell them, promote them and are too, enamored with them. Wine is a very communal thing. It’s kind of like Woodstock in a bottle. But if someone parades the sheep into this dance party, I am outta here.

Tonight, I plan to head home and contribute my two (non)cents into the whole #Cabernet Day shenanigans. I will probably revisit the Smith & Hook Cabernet Sauvignon from Central Coast, and maybe something from Dusted Valley. Usually though, when I get home, I find myself in a very symbiotic relationship with my couch, eyes glazing over as my wife puts on some reality show, and my gi-normous cat, Moonshine, holds me down, and demands an audience with his “father.”

So who know what will happen.