phanaerozoic

Day 7 – California Rosé and Edam

Ah, and we have begun “recycling” – the Cheese Advent Calendar has only 12 varieties of cheese, so there is some repetition – we get a second chance at the cheeses as it were; the Wine Advent Calendar, however, does have 24 different kinds. On Day 1, the pairing was a Brut Rosé sparkling wine with Edam, on Day 7, today, a non-sparkling Rosé with Edam. The wine with the typical rosé insouciance – a tiny bit (perhaps a first kiss sort) of sweetness, and forthright (not too shy to be proud of bestowing that kiss) fruitiness. I felt the lack of carbonation allowed the nuttiness of the Edam to make itself evident, allowed it to take center stage whereas on Day 1 the Edam was more of a secondary actor with only responsive, never assertive lines. Enough personification and metaphor. A week in and still having fun!

Today is grandson Daniel Howard’s 35th birthday (Happy Birthday, Daniel!!). He was born in 1986, which was a good year for French Bordeaux; I bought mixed cases of designated crus, including Pichon-Lalande, Gruaud-Larose, and Lynch-Bages. These I tasted at intervals, saving examples for Daniel’s 18th birthday, and even having some left to include in a wedding gift, for Daniel and his wife Kalyey, of older vintages from my cellar. Now, these wines were far removed from today’s light and simple little plastic-bottled quaff, but that is one of the lovely things about wine. It needn’t be all esoteric and exotic and expensive. There is some wine, somewhere, that will make your lunch or dinner a bit more special. The fun is in the search, and in the finding.

~Roy Beckemeyer, 7 December, 2021.