Saturday, June 03, 2006

Long time no see!!

Contrary to the way it has looked, I did not drop off the face of the planet *G*

Although I nearly choked when I saw how long it has been since I posted here last. My feet may still be planted firmly on terra firma but damn time is flying.

Last week I was away on our yearly conference. I can't say it was difficult staying in a gorgeous hotel, having a bed all to myself with maids to make it in the morning and not have to worry about dishes and laundry for 4 days. I was still glad to get home though, well until I saw the condition of the house then I was ready to go back.

It's a really busy week filled with fun tastings and winery tours blended in with mind numbing head office 'powerpoint' presentations. You can almost hear the collective groan with that flashes on the screen. By the end of the week I wish that someone still did presentations with the old fashion flip chart and markers.
I'll spare you all the deatils today, since it would make this post incredibly long. Besides it gives me something to gab about all week.

I am going to skip to one of the coolest parts. During one of the presentations Thursday afternoon I got to try a 1970 Ruffino Ducale Oro Chianti Classico Riserva. Yup you did the math right. It was a 36 year old wine. That is the oldest vintage I have ever tried so far. I was amazed at how well it was still drinking. We were doing a vertical so there was also the 1980, 1990, 1999, and 2001. I will admit I'm not a huge Chianti fan to begin with but the experience ment a lot to me.

It is very possible that shipping from Italy may have throw it off. Lets face it; wines approaching that age don't travel well. Aldofo Folinari who was presenting was telling us that they had done a tasting on the 1955 vintages the week before last at the winery and it was still drinking well.

There was also the 1999 Lodola Nuova Vino Nobile di Montepulciano which was very nice and my partner in world domination *cough* I mean friend/coworker/roomate loved. For me it was the 1999 Greppone Mazi Brunello di Montalciano that had me in rapture. 'Delish' is a complete understatement. I'm tempted to launch into a full tasteing note but...oh why not.

Raspberry, black cherries, milk chocolate, coffee and sweet herbs on the nose, with a rich, fleshy/chewy palate and good acidity. It did have some grippy tannins on the finish, to be expected considering the young age, but they were balanced with the fruit and acidity. The fruitcake finish went on for ages. I loved it! Just typing about it now has my mouth watering again LOL

There is so much more to tell but I'll fill you in as the week goes. There is one very good thing about powerpoint presentations. When they get too mind numbing I tend to daydream. Wonderful state for a writer. I may not have bumped up my word count any but I did get some backstory written. Building up the story about Amaryllis' mother was a big sticking point for me; that has aided in fleshing her out. I also got some spacifics about Thanatos' and Hypnos' characters and how they live/react to a contemporary setting. I have no idea if any of this wil actually make it into the story but at least they will give the characters a bit more depth.

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