Spain – Page 2 – @sommeligay

Barcelona: Cava to end the Saga

November 26, 2015November 26, 2015 by Josh

Spoiler alert: my few days in Spain were better than my two and a half weeks in France. Sorry, France. I was rooting for you, we were all rooting for you. #BeQuietTiffany

Our hostel was superior to the one in Paris: Erin and I helped cook dinner one night, we met a Canadian from Edmonton, and we made a cab driver go through McDonalds after a hostel-hosted bar-hopping session that eventually ended on a club next to a beach. And then drinking on said beach, which was a reaaaaal big blur. Have you ever drunkenly told someone they look like Ygritte from Game of Thrones way too many times?

There’s a story later that night involving myself ejecting the Devil’s Liquids from my soul, but let’s just summarize here and say that I fucking covered that up better than all of the Desperate Housewives would have, combined.… read more

Tasting

Josh tastes 118 wines at Top Drop

September 18, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

If there was one unforgettable takeaway uttered by a wine god during this year’s Wine Bloggers Conference, it was the keynote speaker Karen MacNeil (author of the Wine Bible) who opined – and I’m paraphrasing, here – that people should pay more attention to tasting the wines during such events. Of course, I was thrilled, because that gave me even more validation to ignore people. Ha! Key advice when the militant goal is to taste every wine during a well-curated tasting, but it’s harder than it sounds because I guess I like to wave and flail at people.

A regretful ode to the few tables I did not get to visit: Anthonij Rupert, Badia a Coltibuono, Elio Altare, Giusti, Latta, Montenidoli, Orofino, Scribe, Spottswoode Estate, and that miscellaneous Australia Table.… read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting

Post-Pride and Pre-WBC15 Wine Dump

August 6, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Bit of a tasting note dump between the Maryland trip and Vancouver Pride, since I am not drinking for a week in a simultaneous effort to recover from Vancouver Pride antics and to prepare my liver for the Wine Bloggers Conference in New York. Huzzah. I am surprisingly doing well so far, and I have stepped into the world of non-alcoholic beer.

(I’ve failed miserably.)

There’s not really a common thread here, except for maybe the general Old World?

I’ve also found out that my travel buddy had to cancel her attendance to both the Wine Bloggers Conference and our pre-conference trip to NYC due to a health issue, so I’m semi-alone in NYC (semi- because I’m meeting up with some Vancouver friends still) and I’m a little scared but also super excited. … read more

Life · Quaffing · Tasting · WSET Diploma

Exams and grand slams

June 10, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

It’s done. I’ve completed (or performed, rather, since we’ll find out whether or not I’ve actually completed the thing come September) the last unit I needed to complete for the WSET Diploma! I’m tempted to prance around maniacally while getting drunk really quickly on this fantastically sunny day, but September will have to wait for even bigger celebrations, I suppose. Which calls for fancy Cava instead of Champagne, maybe?! I mean, no, of course, but I bought this already so let’s.

In a couple of days I envision myself in a state of academic and mental paralysis. I will have a weird need to study, and I will give in. Someone make me watch a TV series or something!

Alta Alella “Laietà” 2011 Gran Reserva Brut Nature Cava (Cava, Spain): Fresh, lemon curd, some earth, yeast, blanched almonds, and sea spray.… read more

Life · WSET Diploma

WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 16: Spain

March 12, 2015November 16, 2015 by Josh

Fun: wine fest, sort of.

Not fun: PEOPLE EVERYWHERE. I’m debating whether or not I should squeeze another post dedicated to the Wine Fest 2015 because that’s what I’ve done in the past, but I feel like I’m being a late bitch.

I mean, these posts should be good enough. Right? Meh. Fun:
Decades Apart
Shiraz: Aussie Superstar
All About Syrah
Mod Oz

Not fun: falling right back into wine class right after wine fest.

Fun: Spanish wine, and definitely ignoring half the lecture to write in my journal because I’m a bad student.

Not fun: Having an odd week-long and spirit-encompassing feeling of wanting to do nothing, including sleep or eat or work. Not sad or happy or tired or angry, just a state of existing.… read more

WSET Diploma

Chiantioja: 2002 Lopez de Heredia “Vina Tondonia” Reserva

October 8, 2014November 17, 2015 by Josh

[Tasted during WSET Diploma – Unit 3 – Week 1]

Yeah! Rioja stunner on the first day.

In the first few wafts of the wine, you get this intoxicating and familiar savoury soy characteristic which sort of masks the dried red fruit and makes it seem more brooding than it is. That soy quality is a common benchmark in aged Rioja, for sure, but there’s something about this that yelled Sangiovese to me. Both Chianti Classico and Rioja Reserva see oak, though the former sees a minimum of 7 months while the latter sees a minimum of 12 months. Oak is still something I struggle with, and I’m sure there’s a wood joke in there somewhere that I’m not going to bother venturing because it seems suspiciously easy.… read more

Life · Tasting

Wine Bloggers Conference 2014 – Blends: 2 + 2 = 5?

July 31, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

Okay! So flashback to Day 2 of the the Wine Bloggers Conference: it’s one of those times where we have to choose between three different seminars. There’s a seminar each on Merlot (hosted by Rutherford Hill and Duckhorn wineries), something on “How Pros Taste” (hosted by Jackson Family Wines), and then one on wine blends (hosted by Winebow), the last seeming like a strangely divergent topic from the former two. And I know – I should probably be basking in the Californian-based seminars (when in Rome etc.), but I couldn’t help but be intrigued by something less specific and more amalgamate in style i.e. the idea, at the time, of trying a row of Napa Merlots in the California heat made me scrunch my face.… read more

Quaffing

If Bruce Banner were into leather: 2012 Juan Gil “4 Meses” Jumilla

June 26, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep ruby, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, youthful, black fruit, blackberry, cassis, cola, cooked black fruit, spice, earth, brown sugar, soy, vanilla, white pepper, hints of leather, jam, raisin, cinnamon, dark chocolate, black cherries, hint gamey
Mouth: dry, med+ body, med acid, med+ fine tannin, med+ length, high alcohol, med intensity, raisin, black fruit, jam, spice, pepper, hints of earth
All in all: Good (to very good) quality: the wine excels when it comes to concentration – and to a slightly lesser extent, its length and intensity. The balance falls slightly with the fine yet blanketing tannins, and the alcohol balance reveals the slight clunkiness of the wine. Drink now, but has potential for short-term ageing.

What I surely did was make a mistake in opening a huge red on a muggy night.… read more

Quaffing

Oberyn Martell: 2005 La Rioja Alta “Viña Arana” Reserva Rioja

May 31, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, med ruby, legs
Nose: clean, pronounced intensity, developing, mineral, earth, brettanomyces?, dill, red fruit, dried red fruit, cherry, raspberry, hint dark berries, leather, green tea, menthol, coffee, tobacco, soy
Mouth: dry, med body, med+ acid, med- fine tannins, med alcohol, med+ to pronounced intensity, red fruit, dark cherry, earth, tea, oak, dried herbs, long length
All in all: Very good (to outstanding) quality: the wine is complex and multi-layered. The palate is an elegant style for Rioja and is persistent, though a little more concentration and complexity on the mid-palate would have fleshed this wine out to its best. Drink now, but suitable for short-term ageing.

Let’s make this a quick one! I’m rushing through these flash cards like a madman – a madman who takes a break every 5 minutes to watch internet videos he’s already seen five times over.… read more

WSET Diploma

Bodily fluids of Bacchus: Alvear Solera 1927 Pedro Ximénez Montila-Moriles

February 22, 2014November 16, 2015 by Josh

Tasting Note:

Eyes: clear, deep brown, legs
Nose: clean, med+ intensity, fully developed, prune, fig, treacle, sultana, raisin, cola
Mouth: luscious, full body, medium fortification, med- acid, med+ intensity, prune, molasses, brown sugar, sultana, fig, treacle, raisin, med+ length
All in all: Outstanding quality: the wine has some form of balance despite the luscious nature, and the wine is intense and concentrated without letting the sugar shine over the complex prune and treacly flavour components. Drink now, not suitable for ageing.

[Tasted during WSET Diploma class – Section 2 – Week 7]

Holy unctuousness. If Bacchus ejaculated, the result would be this exact Pedro Ximénez, which would swimmingly land onto a delicious 2-scoop island of vanilla ice cream. And I’m not going to act like I offended anyone with that comparison, because it seems to me that Sherry isn’t doing so well in the global market anyways – so I’m sure I’ve attracted at least one freak with that sentence, and at least I’m helping the Sherry market.… read more