Three Wines You Need to Try

These three wines are all under twenty bucks and are very good. They are also consistently very good from vintage to vintage.

Marquis Philips Shiraz
Adler Fels Gewurztraminer
Angeline Pinot Noir

Cheers!

Writing

I have tried to write many different stories over the last few years, but I can't seem to proceed with any of them. Something in the tone stops me from going any further. These stories seem--cynical, angry, sarcastic--qualities that certainly come from somewhere deep inside me. Have I grown too old, too abraded by life, to write anything truly wonderful? Perhaps. Perhaps I've become worn down by parenthood. Perhaps I can't tolerate coffee any more--it only makes me an irritated jerk, tightens my tendons into a spasm of pain, and leaves me unable to manage my life. I'm constantly overburdened. It's hard enough just to find time to paint. At least I can sell paintings. At least that's something.

But I'll tell you something. Writing is the holy grail. It is by far the greatest of all arts.

And I can't seem to do it any more.

Otto the Opportunist (at rest)

Guaranteed Bipartisan Support

Morgante Nero D'avola 2006

I'm always on the lookout for great wines that go well with food. Unfortunately, most American red wines are wonderful to drink on their own but not great with food. This has to do with the way they are made, usually in a very sweet or jammy style. The Europeans figured all of this out centuries ago. They tend to produce wines that go well with food simply because wine has always been a part of the family meal.

This modest Nero D'Avola from Morgante is an excellent example of a wine that is both very nice on its own and great with food. I tried it with red sauce (a litmus test, as it were, to see if your red wine will work with food) and it worked beautifully. I also tried it with chocolate (the other litmus test--most American red wines are killed by chocolate). Again the Morgante worked beautifully. This is because wines such as this one contain good acidity (for the acidic red sauce) and a more complex structure (to stand up to the tannins and volatile compounds in the chocolate). The first flavor to die in a red wine, when eating chocolate, is sugary fruit. If your wine has secondary flavors such as herbs, these flavors will then come to the fore. Since most American wines don't have much complexity, chocolate tends to kill the fruit and leave the taster with-- not much else. When I tasted the Morgante with chocolate, the fruit flavors diminished somewhat, and were replaced with wonderful herbal notes that provided an amazing counterpoint to the chocolate. Kudos to the Morgante!

How much for this wine? You can get it for around fifteen dollars at Sunflower Market.

My score? 88 points.

Incidently this wine regularly scores around 90 points with Wine Spectator and Robert Parker.

Try it, and don't go back to sweet, syrupy dreck.

Cheers!

Have a good day, friends. Feel proud that you are alive at the time of America's great awakening.

Stills from "Gold Spurs and Rusty Boots"

These are production stills from the cowboy western movie I produced with my disabled buddies.

Not Your Vice Presidential Running Mate

Page Springs Cellars Vino del Barrio 2005

I'm excited about Page Springs Cellars. I also think they are a little nuts. This wine is supposedly a blend of Syrah, Zinfandel, Carignan, Cabernet Pfeffer, Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Petite Sirah, Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc. Yes, that's a little crazy. It is also pretty darn good. It strikes me as very Grenache driven with a number of fruity and floral overtones. Just a little bacon fat on the nose--Syrah? Hard to say. A solid effort by a winery in...

(drumroll)

Cornville, Arizona

My score: 88 points

The Dark Knight

Sure it's just another Batman movie designed to rake in millions of our hard-earned dollars.

Or is it?

Folks, this is the best movie I've seen in years. It has a few flaws, but only an extremely jaded person would cling to such distractions. If you care about the cynical world we live in, if you care about what it means to be a moral person, if you care about civilization, you must see The Dark Knight. It will take you where you need to go, and show you what you need to see. This movie is profoundly relevant to our current geopolitical situation, and the fact that so many average people are going to see it gives me hope for the future.

And by the way, Heath Ledger really was one of our greatest actors. His passing only serves to verify and magnify the meaning of his final, greatest performance. Forget about Anthony Hopkins, Jack Nicholson and the rest. Heath was the real deal. He was able to take us on a journey into darkness and in the process give us back our souls. What a shame to lose him so soon.

I'm going to see The Dark Knight again, not for the entertainment, but for the feeling of hope that it gave me.

Crissi and Jason's Belated Wedding Gift

Trinchero Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2005

I've been snooping around, trying to find a Cabernet that retails for less than $15 that I actually like. Most of them, the American ones anyway, taste like Koolaid and might as well be a cheap Australian Shiraz--full of overdone, fruity dreck. This wine is not one of them. The Trinchero Family Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 is a low-alcohol (13.3%) wine of medium extraction with no signs of aging. The nose contains many of the classic Cabernet notes, along with a wonderful menthol component that immediately created an "ah ha" moment for me, since this is something I often notice in Bordeaux or even in some American Cabs like the amazing Three Saints, wines with greater complexity and balance. In the mouth the Trinchero has (drumroll here) surprising balance, with excellent acidity (good with food) and decent length. Nice dark fruit flavors predominate (black currant) with hints of leather, asphalt and some vegetal notes. Not as complex as a higher-priced wine, but still very compelling at $13. This wine is what I would like to see more of: a nice balance of Bordelais and New World style. So much better than the syrupy-sweet efforts (think McManis, Yellowtail) and worth trying on its own or with your next red meat meal.

My score: 87 points

First Rain

We had our first bit of rain this evening, which means the rainy season has arrived. Not that it won't be hot as hell for the next several months, but the arrival of moisture seems to provide immediate relief from the tension we've all been feeling. In many ways we think of this as the beginning of our Tucson year. It is a time of renewal, not only for the desert, but for the souls of those who live here.

The PRE-MONSOONAL

Yes folks, it's that time of year again. For all of you without the common sense to be somewhere else on June 21st, let me extend a warm invitation to our third annual PRE-MONSOONAL party. Those of you who are reading this blog have already been invited and are probably sick of hearing about it, but let me assure you that this year's event will be worth all the fuss. Last head count was somewhere around 100, which means things will be hopping, with plenty of people you already know and many more for the discovering. This party started as a reaction to getting fired from a certain job, on our wedding anniversary just three weeks before the birth of our second child. It is a celebration of life without limitations. What better way to justify a big back yard than to throw the biggest damn summer party you'll ever attend? And it will just get bigger with each passing year.

Can't wait to see you here!

Five Years Ago

Five years ago I was lying in a double bed with Kariman while she labored in the Hollywood Birth Center, trying to birth our first son, Aiden. Thanks to modern technology and the fierce efforts of our midwives, Aiden finally made it into the world early in the morning on June 5th, 2003.

We're lucky to be alive. We're lucky to have each other.

Z-tabs and Immortality

I’m sitting here, stuck at home, recovering from (a) some kind of sinus infection and (b) the antibiotic used to get rid of it. A word about azithromycin: it works great on the bad guys and then it goes after you! Ringing in the ears! Nausea! Diarrhea! Like being on pot brownies, but without the fun! So I’m home. I can’t work today because I’m too spaced out from the zythromax that I popped this morning, but at least my throat doesn’t hurt! I’m not taking any more. No more Z-tabs for me.

When this kind of thing happens, I’m reminded that human beings are both very strong and very fragile, that we can survive amazing difficulties but die suddenly and without warning. I know people who have lived through cancer. I also know people who have died young and suddenly. I guess we all have our weak point. Finding out what it is, without losing it all, is a tricky proposition.

Turn Me Red 2005

This wine smells exactly like the sweaty undies of a cocktail waitress wearing too much strawberry perfume—not exactly off putting, and maybe a little exciting if your mind is in the right place. In the mouth the wine is nicely balanced with excellent acidity-to-fruit. Flavors are almost classic Pinot Noir with something *else* providing a racey undertow. This wine is made from Zweigelt, an Austrian hybrid of Pinot Noir and Gamay. Really good, and a great value at $15.

My score: 88 points

My Brother-in-Law

It would take me many pages of rambling to describe Jon Zenz, his place in my life, and the important lessons I've learned from him. I guess it all comes down to courage. Jon is one of those guys on the cutting edge of life. He's out there, somewhere, keeping God guessing, which is all anyone can hope for.

Middle Forty Tall Wheat

This is one of the new acrylic paintings.

Chris Ortiz

These paintings were produced by Chris Ortiz, one of my people at ArtWorks. The brushwork and marks are all his, with very little intervention. I chose the colors and developed all the procedures that allow these images to come to life.