Pacific Rim!

Another post long time due. =)

Again, i have fallen victim to clever advertising - this time with a oh so comforting asian montage on the label of the wine. And hey - its a riesling (pronounced reeee-sling). The bottle claims that they are riesling zealots - with good history and a string of accolades for their unique and very asian themed / toned fermentations. yeast is added (kind of like the way they use yeast for beer) to bring out more fruity / full flavors of the riesling grapes, that can be typically dry. To have greater control over the fermentation with said yeast, the wine is spun in a centrifuge, to seperate the denser yeast from the wine (cheh wah - so technical; but who knows if i am crapping?).


The initial aroma is somewhat lacking. Not much character in the initial breath.Taste wise - it is remarkably plesant! the website says it is a combination of pineapple and peach, but i feel the combination thereof leads to a very plum-like taste. This may have something to do with the subliminal impression the purplish label leaves. . . . .

But there is definitely a 'depth' to this taste. Also, the low alcohol content (about 9%) makes it a very easy drink to sip and taste, especially for newbies like me. The first taste is pleasant, followed by a quick pinch of dryness, and a ending note of sweetness, and a lingering after taste of peach. Very distinct.


I must say, a new favorite. =)

one-liners

From daily bread devotion, April 15th 2009

"When we forget about ourselves, we do things that others remember."

[pronounced Row-say]

I went to the Olive Garden for some Italian (pronounced Eye-tar-lee-anh) food. And you know how embarassing it is when they ask you about wine, spout out some funky gibberish and you sit there trying so so so hard to keep a straight face and say 'yes'. . . . hoping its the end of the sentence?

Bullseye.

Well, they did serve some good wine with my seafood alfredo, albeit a little ( actually very much so) unsuitable for seafood. But it did taste good! Then it hit me - maybe i should learn up a little about the many different types of wines, instead of settle for white and red as my distinguishing characteristics.

So last weekend, i ventured into Bevmo (think Walmart - but only for wines and beers and liqour) right behind my hotel and decided to start one aisle white and one aisle red. . . . but rose (pronounced row-say) in particular. I bought one sweet variety called muscato - a desert wine, and another which was the rose. I was deciding between this brand [see picture] and the ever so suggestive Menage A Trois (pronounced Mer-nah-jay-tuah). Tats for the next round.

So how does it taste?

I did not particularly like it - but not because it was not good - but rather because i was expecting something a little more fruity. But this baby was in essence more pinot noir than rose. But that's not a bad thing. the first hit is surprisingly plesant - with a hint of sour hit that lasts but for a fraction of time. It's nose is surprisingly sweet, with a flowery hint almost. The main bulk of it is however rather 2-D (but i only paid $9 for it. . . .) with a plesant after taste. However all in all you could almost separate the water part (is this even possible?) from the wine part. Not much of a blend, and not all that sophisticated. But who am i to say? I tell you though, that Principato Rose' was something else!!! Perhaps the threesome (whoops!) will do me better (pun intended).

Can anyone tell me what makes a wine 'dry'? This one i should ask my uncle (or maybe han wei) hahahahaha.

New . . . . . . again!

It was once told to me that some tribal culture never keeps birthdays ( i recall it was eskimos, but i googled it up and saw nothign of the sort - even on wikipedia. So i will leave it ambiguous and slightly presumptious for now.

Anyway, the reason they do this is because they believed that every night when you go to sleep, you actually die. And if you wake up the next day, your soul re-enters your body, and it is a new day of being 'born'.

Recently, i have been thinking long and hard (yet again) about myself, my mistakes and the shortcomings that were, are and are to come. And sometimes it can be VERY VERY VERY overwhelming. But as i spent some time in the jacuzzi ( yes you heard me right - i write my blogs in a jacuzzi!)

But indeed, i came to one point and i prayed and said 'God, would i wake up tomorrow?' If i did, it is a sign of your mercy and a new chance to do things different. The eskimoes were on to something good. =)

And gosh - i know i will screw up again. . . . . . but more and more i realise that every new day is a gift. If we only realised and lived with the keen awareness that the span of time we spend asleep between dusk and dawn really is a magical and mysterious moment of renewal - maybe we would live our lives more 'preciously'.

Simple post. =)