For Your Next Wine Party: Brandy

Here's some more random knowledge for a wine party or social event.

If we add yeast to sugary liquid, it makes alcohol.

If the sugary liquid comes from grain, it is called beer.
(If we stop at this stage we add hops to preserve it and add flavor)

If the sugary water starts with grape juice, it is called wine.

If we distill the beer it is called vodka, moonshine, white dog or new make.

If we distill the wine, it is called brandy.

Spending $100 On A Bottle of Wine

Blind taste tests show that even expert wine tasters are unable to guess the price of a wine based on taste.While they can tell the skill of a winemaker, and score the aspects of a wine with consistency, they cannot tell the price of a wine.

This may not be surprising because the tasters can't control the price. Wineries can charge whatever they want for wines. Even though it is not surprising, it does present a challenge for deciding how much to spend.

I'm an aspiring winemaker, and I taste wine almost every day. It's important for me to always be tasting and evaluating flavors of wine no matter what kind of wine it is. I go to tastings and pairings, and take classes at local colleges, but I also keep my wine rack stocked at home, and that can get expensive.

If I buy a case of wine, I pay $4 a bottle. "Two buck chuck," (Charles Shaw Cab. Sauv. from Trader Joes) is great, but I have tried at least 8 dry red wines in the last month that were 3, 4 or 5 dollars, so there are lots of options. There were several good ones and several bad ones (Hidden Canyon from Argentina is $3 right now and is really good too). For the price, these wines tastes fantastic. They are great with dinner or alone, and they are easy to drink.

What is the most I spend on a bottle? About $30 at a liquor store. For special occasions I look for a $20 -$30 bottle, and either buy one that I've tried or one that is highly recommended.

Does a  fairly priced $30 bottle of wine taste better than a $4 bottle? Yes. An experienced wine drinker will taste the difference, and will prefer the $30 bottle. When I say experienced, I mean a sommelier, a competition wine judge, or someone who drinks wine at least once a week, and takes their wine very seriously. By contrast, the average American wine drinker would not be able to tell which is which in a blind taste test.

I never buy $100 bottles of wine, and don't see any reason to spend that much. The bottom line is that no grapes in the world cost that much, and no wine making process costs that much. So I can get the same quality for less. I've had a couple of really good $60 bottles and a couple good $100 bottles, and they were delicious, but not better than cheaper wines.

Oh yeah, I don't buy sweet wines much, and sweet wines have a different price range... more on that another time.

For Your Next Wine Party: Zinfandel

Random knowledge in case it is helpful at a wine party or social event...

Zinfandel (Zin) is considered an American grape, and an American wine (unlike almost every other type of wine you can think of).

The same grape produces White Zinfandel, Red Zinfandel, and an Old Vine Zinfandel wines.

White Zin is made by pressing the grapes before adding yeast. It is a pinkish color.

Red Zin is made by adding yeast first, waiting for fermentation to occur with the skins present, then pressing after.

Old Vine Zin is made the same as a Red Zin, but from vines that have stopped producing a high yield of grapes.

After 20 years or so, the vines produce considerably less grapes than they did before, making it prudent for the grape grower to tear out the old vines and plant new ones. The grapes of old vines are also smaller, which means a lower yield of juice, and  a different flavor of the wine which they produce. Better or worse flavor is debatable, but old vine flavor is distinctly different.

There is no regulation on the age of the vines to call it "Old Vine Zin" on the label, so you can't tell by looking at a bottle of wine how old the vines are. "The Godfather of Zinfandel," Joel Peterson, believes that old vine zinfandel should be made from vines that are 50-80 years old, and other experts seem to agree. If you want to try a quality Old Vine Zin, Joel is your man; he's good, his wines are affordable, and they are easy to find. He makes wine for Ravenswood Winery in California.

3rd Floor, 5th Bathroom

At about 10:00 each morning, the demand for toilets on Fort Knox increases. This can be a problem as there are only 3 total toilets, in 2 mens bathrooms, on a floor of 300 I.T. employees (a career field that is predominantly male.)

The main problems with this situation is obvious; there should be more bathrooms and more toilets. There could be many reasons for this, but it seems easiest to summarize it this way, "It is a government building."

Another element of this toilet problem is the timing of the cleaning of the restrooms. I definitely am grateful to have a cleaning service and consider this a luxury, but I must say that they have odd times to vacuum and clean. Like, while we are working. It sure would be more convenient (for us and them) to let them clean in the evenings after people had gone home. We can probably chalk this issue up to a government process as well.

I have learned to deal with this situation. Usually I avoid the 10 o'clock hour, but I have mapped out 4 bathrooms (8 toilets) on 2 different floors as a contingency plan. Yesterday marked a new level of planning for me, and I felt like it was a big step that I wanted to share. I added a 3rd floor and a 5 bathroom...

 

That's right. Of my 4 restrooms, 2 were being used, one was being cleaned and the other was being used for urinalysis testing. Sigh. 

I refuse to add another bathroom to my plan now. I have reached my limit. Five is enough. If I cannot find a toilet by the 5th bathroom, I'll just stand by the stall and wait.

More Thoughts on Fatherhood

Some fathers want to be different from their father. They want to right some wrongs from the past. I would say I'm the exact opposite. I don't know if I can be as good of a father as mine was, and I hope the kids turn out more like their grandfather (Rabbi Mondy as they will call him), and less like me.

Side note: I don't place more importance on fatherhood than motherhood. Actually, motherhood is probably more important for children in my mind, but I am not about to be a mother. Side side note: I rarely hear people complaining about poor motherhood in the American culture like they do about fatherhood... I wonder why that is.

I never questioned whether my dad loved me growing up. Sometimes he would make sure that I knew he loved me, and was proud of me. My dad knew he loved me, but he wanted to make sure that I knew it, and so he would ask me if I knew that. Not just with me of course, he'd ask all seven of us.

I never really questioned whether he was proud of me. I didn't need to change to make my dad proud either. I do want him to be proud of course, I always have, and probably always will.

I never question whether I am a man because of my dad. He started treating my like a man at thirteen years-old and never stopped. Sometimes I wasn't ready for that responsibility, but it didn't matter. It just helped me to grow up faster. I don't question my adulthood because of my father.

I had lots of time with my father too. I know my father. I really know him.

I think my siblings feel the same way. I guess we were just lucky.