> ...life is too short for bad conversation, too. > So, you drank some wine yesterday!
TurquoiseB: > Yesterday, while some obviously spent their day here > obsessing about...uh...their obsessions, I decided to > do Something Different. So I went on a short road trip > with friends up into the Priorat region, there to take > a tour of a fairly famous vineyard. > > http://www.capafons-osso.com > > The gentleman whose photo is on the home page of the > website above gave us a guided tour around the vineyard > that has been in his family since 1150 (five generations > with the current family name). Think of that. 860 years > of accumulated knowledge about wine and the science and > art of creating it. I can easily say that I learned more > about wine yesterday than I had in the entire rest of > my life. > > His vineyard is justly famous because of its location > and its unique set of microclimates. It's in mountainous > terrain, and contains literally the steepest vine slopes > in the world, so steep they cannot be planted or harvested > using any kind of machinery. Most of the work is done by > hand today, just as it was in 1150. > > The wines from this vineyard are famous for their flavor > and bouquet, and also for the length of time that they > stay flavorful and fragrant once opened -- four hours as > opposed to two for many of the other great wines of the > world. And the *range* of tastes and bouquets is simply > astounding. As he explained to us, there is literally a > different microclimate every few hundred meters, each > producing a different wine, with different qualities. > > Part of the fame of his wines has to do with the abund- > ance of water in his protected valley (not a given in > dry, dry Spain) but also to the over 200 varieties of > aromatic herbs that grow on the property. He stopped the > 4WD vehicle periodically so we could pick and smell some > of them, and I can honestly say that it was almost as > enjoyable and edifying as sniffing and tasting the wine > itself. I was in awe. You think you know what thyme > smells like. On one stop he walked around in a three- > meter circle and brought back three different varieties > of thyme, each unique, the fragrance of each one reactable > to only with the word Wow! > > As for the wines themselves, my taste buds may never > recover. The Mas de Masos was as spectacular as expected, > since it has been rated one of the 100 best wines in the > world by Wine And Spirits and Bon Appetit. But the much > less expensive Sirsell and Masos d'en Cubells were just > as amazing. Suffice it to say I bought some, at about > 1/4 to 1/3 the price they would fetch in the U.S. > > Altogether a really neat and enjoyable experience. Then > I came home and browsed through Fairfield Life. I come > away from the contrast thinking that maybe Curtis is > right and life is too short for bad conversation, too. >
