first flower

Yesterday evening I could see a bud straining to break forth and this morning there it was, more full than I would have anticipated. The first flower of the season, the first tulip of spring.

Perhaps it is timely that a tulip, the national flower of Iran, peacefully came forth just as tensions seem to be rising in that part of the world. Whatever happens regarding Iran and its nuclear aspirations at least I can depend on this tulip appearing regularly each year.

Oh! how the world is wasted on man.


For more information ...
go out and smell a flower

varietals - merlot

Think of merlot as cabernet sauvignon's younger brother. It shares some of the fruit characteristics and additionally has plummy and even chocolate notes but without the robustness of cabs. Unfortunately whilst cabernet may be the tough elder brother, merlot sometimes comes off as a weakling. This stereotype was regrettably reinforced by the movie 'sideways', I say regrettably because good merlot has a distinct character worth exploration.

As with cabernet sauvignon, Bordeaux is the classic region producing quality merlots but also look for good merlots from the US (both California and Washington State). Chile also has good merlots to offer although some tend to be mislabelled and in truth are carmenere (source: the wine bible). Australia too has some good merlot and often blend it with cabernet sauvignon, as do other regions.


I refreshed my memory of merlots by opening a bottle of 2003 Ravenswoods from Sonoma County, California. This 100% merlot is produced by Joel Peterson, a winemaker who prides himself on creating merlots with character. Although Ravenswood is owned by the mega-corp Constellation, don't let that put you off trying this wine.

Strong black fruit , I could not detect chocolate or mocha. Perhaps a little plum. Certainly it was quite robust , medium to full bodied. The tannins perhaps lend some character but their bitterness resulted in the loss of a soft, velvety quality I had been looking for. There was some spice, not quite pepper perhaps clove. I hesitate to criticize this wine, it has tried to be something more than a weak and meek merlot, but in the end I just did not enjoy it. It may be worth the $CAN20 (Euro14, $AUS24, UKP10) for some but I think I will not buy it again.

I feel like the mystery of a good merlot had not been revealed to me, so I expect to explore more soon. A Pomerol or that Bogle merlot that has been hanging around waiting for an occassion.

For more information ...
sideways
the wine bible
ravenswood merlot
constellation brands

the death of ivan ilyich

Illustration from The Divine Comedy by Gustave Dore

'What if my whole life has been wrong?'

It occurred to him that what had appeared perfectly impossible
before, namely that he had not spent his life as he should have
done, might after all be true. It occurred to him that his
scarcely perceptible attempts to struggle against what was
considered good by the most highly placed people, those scarcely
noticeable impulses which he had immediately suppressed, might have
been the real thing, and all the rest false. And his professional
duties and the whole arrangement of his life and of his family, and
all his social and official interests, might all have been false.
He tried to defend all those things to himself and suddenly felt
the weakness of what he was defending. There was nothing to
defend.

'But if that is so,' he said to himself, 'and I am leaving
this life with the consciousness that I have lost all that was
given me and it is impossible to rectify it -- what then?'

Extract from 'The death of Ivan Ilyich' by Leo Tolstoy, first published 1886.


I would encourage anyone to read this classic novella by Leo Tolstoy. It is both sobering and frightening in confronting the reader with the meaning of life, or lack thereof and yet at the end of its darkness is light.


For more information ...
tolstoy

cartaphilus

Medieval legend has it that as Jesus walked to Golgotha he was disrespected by a shoemaker amongst others. As a result of this disrespect, this man, (variously known as Cartaphilus, Malchus and Ahasverus) was cursed by Jesus to wander the earth forever.

The legend itself has many incarnations but seems to be European in origin. One of the incarnations relates that Cartaphilus wanders the earth until the age of 100 when he is miraculously changed back to a 30 year old and his wanderings begin again. Various 'sightings' have occurred throughout continental Europe, mostly in Austria, Germany and Switzerland.

The wandering Jew by Gustave Dore

The legend has obvious anti-Semitic overtones resulting from the crucifixion story and the prevailing attitudes towards Jews in medieval Europe. However, I feel there is something more to the legend. Perhaps it is the idea that contentment is unattainable for those who deny god and this discontent is demonstrated through meaningless meanderings. Again, parallels with the Jewish diaspora can be drawn but for me I see in this legend a more personal perspective. I don't believe in god so you can understand how I might be perturbed if contentment is out of my reach. I also have done my fair share of wandering and sometimes it does seem to be without meaning.

The Incredulity of Saint Thomas by Caravaggio

Am I Cartaphilus, reanimated for purposeless perennial perambulation? Perhaps? Or is this wandering how us unbelievers discover the world for ourselves rather than accept what is presented to us in a book or by a priest?

Like Doubting Thomas perhaps Cartaphilus is guilty of wanting to find out about the world for himself. For Thomas it was instigated by doubt, for Cartaphilus it was instigated by a curse but are both men not wiser?

Can their be contentment in ignorance? I think not. The journey will be long and winding but I have two feet and a brain, I say 'let's begin walking'. Will you walk with me?


For more information ...
wandering jew
doubting thomas

winter picks

Those of you who were concerned for my liver after reading my fall picks can now rest easy as this past winter saw moderate imbibing. I sampled 16 new wines and was surprised that 9 of those were whites as I thought the cold winter months might see me crack open more reds. I mostly tried French and Spanish wines but also managed to quaff a few from the US and Australia also.

I have only three recommendations from my tastings.

1. Twenty Bench, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2003 - Napa Valley, California, USA (17/20)
"fruity, cedar, smoky but not overpowering", for more tasting notes look here

2. Abrazo Gran Reserva, Carinena, Garnacha, Tempranillo, 1996 - Spain (16/20)
"more full bodied that the regular Abrazo, different but also good"

3. Hillside Estate, Reserve Series, Muscat Ottonel, 2004 - Okanagan, Canada (16/20)
"a different grape, peachy, citrus, orange, slightly fizzy, sweet and nice"

So nothing from France made my recommendations although an Alsace wine (Pierre Sparr, 0ne, 2004) came close. I was really impressed with the Twenty Bench but at $25 (17EURO, 12UKP, $AUS29) I would say it was a little expensive for everyday indulgence.

The regular Abrazo made my fall list and so it is no surprise to me the Gran Reserva made this list. The Gran Reserva has tempranillo whereas the regular Abrazo has not, I felt it was more full bodied but I am not sure this is due to the tempranillo.

Finally the inclusion of a Canadian wine is no 'sympathy vote', the wines from Hillside Estate are very good and this wine is very different from other wines I have tried. We picked it up whilst visiting the vineyard a couple of years ago so unfortunately it is probably quite hard to come by even in Canada.

I expect for Spring I will drink more US wines. Good Australian wine continues to elude me, getting a corked Wolf Blass Sauvignon Blanc recently did not help their reputation but I am a forgiving-sort so I expect I will give them a try again. Hic!

For more information ...
twenty bench
abrazo gran reserve
hillside estate

to a butterfly

lani morioka walking to group showers in a US WWII internment camp

I've watched you now a full half-hour;
Self-poised upon that yellow flower
And, little Butterfly! indeed
I know not if you sleep or feed.
How motionless!--not frozen seas
More motionless! and then
What joy awaits you, when the breeze
Hath found you out among the trees,
And calls you forth again!

This plot of orchard-ground is ours;
My trees they are, my Sister's flowers;
Here rest your wings when they are weary;
Here lodge as in a sanctuary!
Come often to us, fear no wrong;
Sit near us on the bough!
We'll talk of sunshine and of song,
And summer days, when we were young;
Sweet childish days, that were as long
As twenty days are now.

Stay near me--do not take thy flight!
A little longer stay in sight!
Much converse do I find in thee,
Historian of my infancy!
Float near me; do not yet depart!
Dead times revive in thee:
Thou bring'st, gay creature as thou art!
A solemn image to my heart,
My father's family!

Oh! pleasant, pleasant were the days,
The time, when, in our childish plays,
My sister Emmeline and I
Together chased the butterfly!
A very hunter did I rush
Upon the prey:--with leaps and springs
I followed on from brake to bush;
But she, God love her, feared to brush
The dust from off its wings.

William Wordsworth, 1801 (1770-1850)


This is yet another poem from my son's nursery rhyme collection. In that book just the first two verses are given but from them I figured that this was not just another pantheist hymn of Wordsworths. A quick internet search revealed the last two verses and from them we see hints of a more personal story.

Wordsworth lost his mother when he was eight and was sent to school, away from his beloved sister Dorothy who was six at the time. Five years later their father died. William and his sister had a close attachment from an early age which they were able to renew in later years. From 1799 to 1813 they shared a house in the lake district and this poem was written during that particularly creative period. Unfortunately Dorothy who was sensitive as a child spent the last twenty years of her life suffering with mental illness.

The poem perhaps gives us a glimpse of happy times the siblings spent together. Like much lyric poetry I feel this poem is meant to be sung. I have sung it to my boy for the past three weeks and the musical quality come through each time. The photo seemed to capture some of the childhood innocence and also the separation the poem evokes.

For more information ...
william wordsworth
june utako morioko