Castelo do Papa Godello 2006
Monday, April 27, 2009
Just opened a bottle of Castelo do Papa Godello 2006 another Spanish white wine. The Godello grape is native to Galicia and over the last few years been planted in the Valdeorras DO. Wasn't pulling a ton off the nose but the taste was amazing. There is a nice acidity that hits you at the corners of your throat while the fresh and clean citrus flavors dance around your tongue. Lots of pineapple and pear and you must not be afraid of the acid otherwise this will will overwhelm you. This wine is thicker than I was expecting but its not rich and creamy. Its still clean and fresh and the finish goes on for days. No oak here just stainless steel fermentation and a 12.5% alcohol.
I have backed off the high acidic wines the last couple years but found myself back on them with my new love of Spanish whites. So far they are not killing me like Sauvignon Blancs have in the past so I will keep going until I need a break.
I couldn't find a website for the producer but you can check them out at the distributer's website.
http://www.oleimports.com/wines/ladera.htm
Posted by mardenhill 4/27/2009 09:37:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Wine
U2 - No Line On The Horizon
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
I hadn't written a record review in a while and thought it was time to do so. This time around I chose U2's "No Line On The Horizon". The cd was released last month and since then most people should have given it a number of listens. I for one have played this one over and over many times, trying to decide how I felt. The first listen was somewhat disappointing, I was jaded from the 1st single and couldn't pick up their tone for the cd. I threw it on my iPod and listened thru headphones which changed everything.
I began to understand the layers and where U2 was going. They were tossing the traditional boring rock that encompassed the last 2 records out the window and embracing the indie rock of the last decade. You could easily say this is a bunch of middle aged men trying to be Interpol and you wouldn't be far off.
Track 1 "No Line On The Horizon" is tense and droning with fuzz and feedback. Its a strange way to lead off a cd but U2 wanted to set the stage and show everyone this time around it was different. Track 2 "Magnificent" is classic U2 with Edge's jangle pop guitar and majestic overtones. It borders the sappy side of recent U2 but Adam's bass line keeps the song interesting. Track 3 "Moment Of Surrender" is U2's baby Radiohead experiment. It is slow, methodical and alluring. It comes in at over 7 minutes, not really radio friendly. The song is thick and one that takes multiple listens to comprehend. Track 4 "Unknown Caller" ventures back into familiar U2 territory and gives everyone a nice mid tempo sing a long full of Ohh, Ohh. Track 5 "I'll Go Crazy if I Don't Go Crazy Tonight" is the song for the fans that are utterly disappointed but are not ready to give up on the band. It's not bad and one that would probably sound even better live. Track 6 "Get On Your Boots" is the "Vertigo" of the cd and one that drove me nuts the first time around. There are 3 different songs going on, the tempo changes are out of place and its as if some highschool kid did a mashup. I will admit the song has grown on me but I am not ready to give it a positive rating. Track 7 "Stand Up Comedy" keeps the tempo going is a good rock n roll song. Track 8 "Fez-Being Born" is quite interesting, lots of vocal samples over layers of electronics and chill out beats. I don't like how it comes right after an upbeat song but if they put it last no one would really listen. It would be a perfect opening song for a live show. Track 9 "White As Snow" is the ballad of the cd and is quite good. They temper the over indulgence we expect from Bono and deliver a non sappy slow song. This song should demolish "One" or "With or Without You" but lyrically it does not grab you and will always take a back seat. Track 10 "Breathe" borders a B-Side and seems to be one that was just thrown together at the last minute. The cd closes with Track 11 "Cedars Of Lebanon" another ballad but more of a spoken word with a subtle music undertone.
The cd is a vast improvement over the last few but does not overtake Achtung Baby, my personal favorite. It breaks ground for U2 and not in a way that Pop or Zooropa did. It will be up there as one of the best and I for one am glad to see that they broke out of the rut they were in. Although they did not reinvent music, they gave it a shot and came out ahead this time around.
Posted by mardenhill 4/15/2009 10:08:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Music
Latium Soave 2006
Monday, April 06, 2009
I went in blind with this wine, just took the bottle on recommendation from Scott at Cloverleaf. The producer is Latium, the region is Soave, the grape is Garganega and all is located in the north east area of Veneto, Italy. I am pretty clueless about Italian wines, they are my weak spot and every year I challenge myself to learn more about them. I promise I will sample more this year and keep you updated.
This wine is unique in that it's a white made from an unheard of grape. According to Wikipedia Garganega is Italy's 6th most planted white grape meaning that most people outside of Italy will know very little about it. The nose on the wine is nice but I'm not picking up a lot in regards to smells although it may be due to my constant stuffiness. The flavor is nice, there are hints of citrus with low acid and is quite creamy. There is no oak like a chard and has bits of a Gwertzaminer or Gavi. It's a short finish with a just a sliver of alcohol. Not complex but not bad for $10 either. Don't be expecting a dynamite wine here just enjoy it on a nice summer afternoon.
Would I buy again, maybe but I would rather sample a few more obscure Italian whites before circling back.
Posted by mardenhill 4/06/2009 09:42:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Wine
Wine Steward
Wednesday, April 01, 2009
I just found a new app for my iPhone and its called Wine Steward. It was only $1.99 and is much better than other programs that retail for more. I suspect this is an intro rate since the app should be selling for at least $4.99. The idea is simple, you can search for any food and it will give you a wine pairing based on your choice. It only gives you grapes not actual brands but its enough to help you narrow down your wine selection. The database is full of many types of food so you will find what you are looking for with just a few letters typed in.
Other features are your wine cellar and the use of Cover Flow. Unfortunately you need to manually type in your collection and while the database does some of the type ahead for you don't expect it to find everything. You have to build the wine profile with the name, region, grape etc but the one feature that stood up was the integration of the iPhone camera. You can take a picture of the label/bottle and when your iPod is turned sideways you can flip through your cellar like you do with albums. I really find this feature quite cool and one that I would definitely utilize. As with most wine apps you cannot take an existing wine cellar database and upload it into the app or even through a web interface. I don't have the time to sit down and type each bottle in, if I were able to upload a spreadsheet I wouldn't mind snapping photos and using this feature. Until then I will just use it for my pairings and wait for further application updates. You can check out the app at the website below. You can also play with the wine pairing portion on the web.
http://smartywine.com/
Posted by mardenhill 4/01/2009 07:14:00 PM 0 comments
Labels: Technology, Wine
