summer wine tasting

We've barely eaten today. Last night was a good night of much cheese - oh so delicious, but oh so rich. That pretty much killed our appetite today. Happily, much hydration through the night and before bed means we're not feeling the after effects of our wine tasting last night.

Fun fun wine tasting. It's a treat to have friends over and do something like this. I thought it was a good time, and so did Conrad, and while I wasn't blown away by any of the wines in the end, I certainly made sure to enjoy trying them!

Photos follow, of course, but here's the write up I did for everyone to refer to last night....

Weeks of angst and deliberation went into deciding how to do this. Red or white (we've gone with both)? Geographically diverse or all from the same region (we've dispersed it some)? One grape, one varietal (nope, two grapes in this case)? What to do….

Conrad did a lot of research and came up with some ideas, and one recent night he and Peter finally bounced enough things about that one fell into place: start with a cheese. Goat cheese. Summery, light, creamy, tangy. Who doesn't love it? Pretend you do, in case you don't. Based on that we went with two grapes, four wines. On the white side of things, we have a couple of Sauvignon Blancs. On the red, we have Pinot Noir. Let's see how these fare alone and with the cheeses.

In truth, we wanted to grab Sancerre, but it's not as inexpensive as we might wish, and we sort of wanted this to be a way to try modest bottles that may become regular favourites in your home. Instead we picked up a white Vins de Pays Côtes de Gascogne, the Grassa Family Vineyards 2007 Sauvignon Blanc ($11.99 Available at Kafka Wine, 3325 N. Halsted). We know nothing about this region or this wine, but the little sign on the bottle at Kafka said it is perfect with goat cheese, so….

Set against this (though this isn't a competition, and it's not even a blind tasting) is a New Zealand "Savvy". Marlborough is justifiably famed for its Sauvignon Blanc, and we've enjoyed a number of wines from there. We’ve not visited this winery, though, nor tried its wines. Here’s what the winery says: "fragrant mix of pineapple and passionfruit tropical aromas with underlying ripe citrus characters adding complexity to the nose. On the palate, again a flavoursome array of pineapples and passionfruit, with a zesty citrus essence of orange and lime." Great! If you like it, it's at Binny's (3000 N. Clark St.) for $12.99 a bottle.

On to reds. Pinot Noir is the great grape of Burgundy, and the prices sometimes reflect it. From what we read, when going with modestly priced Burgundies, the bigger names are safer choices. So we settled on the Joseph Drouhin 2006 Laforêt Bourgogne Pinot Noir. It is a Bourgogne, though a regional appellation. Here's what the Drouhin Web site tells us: "A wine full of charm: bright ruby colour and a nose rich with aromas of red fruit (raspberry, red currants, wild strawberry). On the palate, the wine is pleasant, fruity and refreshing, with light tannins and great elegance." Sounds promising! Available at Binny's for $13.99 a bottle.

The fourth wine is a California red, mostly sourced from Sonoma county grapes. We have tasted this one, briefly, a sample at the gorgeous new Whole Foods. A little plastic cup can't tell us exactly how good it is, so we’re offering up bottles for your opinions. 87 points from the Wine Spectator and the Wine Enthusiast, if that means something. According to the winery, then: "This Pinot Noir is aged in French oak barrels for 12 months and has a brilliant ruby color with aromas & flavors of strawberry, raspberry and overtones of smoked tea and spice." Also from Binny's (sorry Whole Foods) for $13.99 a bottle.

So then, a show of the food: cheeses, fruit, breads, pickled things, a walnut cake.







And then all the folks enjoying the evening.























Culminating with this handsome man, doing dishes. Isn't he a dream?

AIDS Walk Chicago, 2008

Yes, there is a scantily-clad man in this blog entry. Oh come on, this is a gay man's blog, after all!

Yesterday was a glorious late summer Saturday in Chicago, a perfect morning for the 2008 AIDS Walk. I'm proud to say that my friends supported me in good number and in generous donation: over $1000. Thank you all.

I did the walk as part of the Fester and Jensen team? Why them? Dan is a friend, and in addition, he's my financial advisor. His business is built around financial services to the community, and his interest in the AIDS Walk was sincere for all that it may have been a marketing tool. The scantily clad man drew a number of people to the booth - no harm in that if the money raised is going to the people who need it (Chicago House, in our case).

I have no pictures from the walk - I was too busy chatting with the team mates - just some from before the walk started and afterwards, when a handful of us set off through Grant Park and Millennium Park to get to the parking garage. Blue skies, blue shirts, a tiny set of briefs, and lovely Chicago scenery - that's what you're getting in this entry!

getting our gay on

Maybe a few months' break is a very good thing.

I'm tired. It's gone 11, and I've been up since not long after 6 this morning. Yes, yes, I had a nap this afternoon, but I blame Conrad for his devastatingly effective tactic of spooning around me. Puts me to sleep every single time.

Anyway, a few months' break is what we've had since our last real dinner party. I think. I can't recall anything bigger then three or four of us sitting in the kitchen. Tonight we had six of us, so we were forced to use the dining room and clean the house accordingly.

You know what, though? Sometimes I rock. Oh, I'll give credit to Conrad - he's support and encouragement and he cleans the place well. But seriously folks (all three of you who read this): tonight I did well in the kitchen. Nice to know that I still can. Mayve the break helped.

We got our gay on tonight, setting a table in a rainbow of colours. In the kitchen I had more plates and the like lined up for dishing up the various courses. We started prep last night, and consequently had a fairly easy day of it today.


In fact, with over a half hour to go until the guests were due to arrive we had sufficient time to pose for shots.

All in all, it was an easy evening, and I can brag and say that clean up got completely done a good 45 minutes ago almost.

Up first, some radishes, ricotta salata, olives, tomatoes, and walnuts to munch on out on the balcony. We enjoyed these with some Sokol Blosser Evolution.

Everyone came inside after that, and along with a bottle of a Venturi Schulze Schönburger we had a chilled green pea and mint soup with sour cream.


And then on to the main course. Conrad photographed me plating it. Red wine glazed back ribs with steamed Swiss chard and a chick pea salad. I used a whole bottle of the Payva we drank alongside it - a Spanish Tempranillo - to make the glaze. A little dry, but all in all I was pleased with the ribs, as well as with the sides.




Ah, and then the cake. Can I confess? I SUCK at cake decorating. This represents a good effort for me, and let's be objective: it's not pretty. Also, the cake was dry, but that was mitigated by the frosting and homemade ice cream. Dessert then: Yellow cake with cocoa frosting and raspberry swirl ice cream.


Six of us, as I said. Dan, Bryan, John in the one photo. Jim in the next. Conrad in the last. The temperature was quite ideal for sitting outdoors.



We must owe a lot of people dinner at our place, though next weekend will simply, happily, be CG and Martin. I hope we might sit outdoors again.

Meanwhile, a closing a shot of the tulips I picked up yesterday. So springlike, but somehow the way Conrad captured them here makes them seem so much more a sophisticated flower.