Welcome

Oh New Year's, you are a lovely little mistress. The year began on a crowded Brooklyn rooftop overlooking the lights and pulsating energy of Manhattan. I was either drinking the Tissot "Indigéne" Cremant du Jura or taking swigs of Jack Daniels (or both) at the time. Upon being kissed by my best guy friend and my best girl friend, and feeling an excitement and energy I had not felt in a decent while, I knew the year was off to a kicking start.

Two thousand and eleven being kind of a tough year for me on several levels, this January I guess I got to thinking about New Year's Resolutions more than I typically do--the current mental list is already long and seemingly ever-growing. I guess this--writing a wine blog--putting my thoughts about wine down on paper...er...screen, has been something I've wanted to do for a while now and have consistently blown off. But 2012 is a New Year goddamn it, so here we go!

I know what you're thinking. It's January 31st already. I'm aware of this. Clearly I'm not off to a great start in sticking to my resolutions, but January was a busier month for me than usual, so better late than never.

You'll soon learn more about me, but for now let's keep introductions short. I'll say this...I LOVE wine. I love the way it tastes, I love the stories, the people behind it. I love that there is always more to learn, new things that surprise and inspire you. I seek out wines that have a story to tell (and while I know that every wine has a story, some stories are simply more interesting than others). I want a wine to make me sit up and take notice, rather than blending into the background--and by that I am not talking about bombastic 15% alc. California Cabernet picked at 29 brix. I like wines with energy, passion, tension. Wines with a point of view, that aren't afraid to offend.

Tonight I opened the 2007 Anne-Carole et Conrad Caloz Cornalin from Valais, Switzerland, and it was a charcoal-inflected fresh blackberry, blueberry, foresty dream. Great texture, great acid, great minerality. This is high elevation, Alpine wine from the Valais in southwestern Switzerland. The vineyards here are nearing 1,000 meters in elevation. For a wine from such high vineyards, you might expect it to be a little lighter and brighter, but the vineyards in Valais are south-facing, and therefore soak up lots of sun, plus there is the added addition of warming wind currents from the Mediterranean called fohn. I think this explains the slightly darker expression of Cornalin than the version from Grosjean in the Valle d'Aoste (a wine I am also a huge fan of). The Caloz Cornalin reminds me of wines from the Valle d'Aoste, meets Austrian Blaufrankisch, meets Mondeuse from the Savoie, or Syrah from the Ardeche, but it's a taste all it's own.

 Lastly, I'll just mention that the film Pina is a must-see. Absolutely beautiful.