RKS 2023 Wines: Special Memories of the Dão: Boas Quintas

I had the pleasure of visiting the Dão in 2018 with some members of the international wine media. The wines, the vineyards, the topography the people and the food were memorable although the schedule was rough. Fly into Porto overnight from Toronto. Meet at the Porto Sheraton and relax with a tea which I never had as it was on the media bus to the Montebello Hotel perched on a hill in the town of Viseu, unpack then off to a dinner of superb local food and countless wines to try. No rest for the wicked.

Boas Quintas Vineyards; Photo Robert K. Stephen

One of the wineries visited was Boas Quintas. Modern with relatively large production. So it was with a bit of fond memories I saw a Dão wine at the Liquor Control Board of Ontario 21January2023 Vintages Release. A Gandarada it is called and is a blend of Touriga Nacional, Alfrochiero and Tinta Roriz.

Aromatics: Black cherry, blackberry, Bulgarian raspberry jam and cactus pear.

Palate: Gentle tannins but broad based. A discrete yet light coating of strawberry and raspberry on the entry palate. Black plum, hazelnut wafers, black cherry with a slender sliver of red beet. Deceptively rich because you must think about it and let in settle in. It is tight and compact and would benefit from some decanting. Built for food. Moderately long finish. This young wine is a classic Dão red. Why? Because what a classic Dão wine is in stored in my memory bank.

Personality: I am wound up tight now but I show my fruit discretely and with pride. Give me a couple more years to really show my stuff. I am also “tight” because I resent all the attention Douro wines get. Why aren’t Dão wines distributed more widely throughout the world!

Cellarbility: It is not often at this price point one can discuss ageability but in this case two years to mature and two more to enjoy.

Food Match: Tomahawk steak. Vegetarians would enjoy with Eggplant Parmesan.

Personality: A youthful wine that will not complain with immediate consumption. It does not flaunt its good characteristics. An excellent example of a Dão red wine.

Price: $14.95 (Ontario)

RKS 2023 Wine Rating: 91/100. Decanter World Wine Awards Best in Show 97/100.

(Gandarada 2019 D.O.C. Dão, Boas Quintas, Mortágua, Portugal, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 25447, 750 mL, 13%).

“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 41: Leaving my Positano Asylum and Should I Become a Narcotics Kingpin?

Don Lupara came to pick me up in his Russian Zil from my Positano asylum and take me “home” to Naples. If only Ginevra had been travelling in Lupara’s Russian Zil amour plated and all. But being of Russian manufacture it was “in the shop” the day of the murderous blast.

It was all pleasant chit chat as we made our way to the Lupara compound. Don Lupara’s wife Malvagia gave me a crushing hug with moist eyes and numerous may God bless you dear one. A feast had been prepared with the freshest seafood and a bottle of the best Greco del Tufo white wine. Again the chit chat was continued but with hesitation. All of us could only think of Ginevra and at times I could have sworn she was by my side laughing and holding my hand. A true spirit or the remnants of LSD in my brain?

After the dishes were cleared out came to grappa and coffee and Don Lupara had I had a chat about “my future”. The gang war with Cyclops had ended and in defeat and in disgrace after masterminding the death of my Ginevra Cyclops had fled to Romania where he had been working the narcotic trade with a group of vicious Russians that in their lack of any sense of brutality and adherence to any morals whatsoever made the Camorra of Naples look like schoolchildren.

Don Lupara explained how exhausted and demoralized he was and offered me a successorship to his narcotics trade. Scampia would be all mine pulling in somewhere near 75 million Euros a year net of expenses. I would have turned down the offer prior to Ginevra’s assassination but I had thoughts about being a drug lord. There was little else in my life and isn’t that what my sweet Calabrian plum would have wanted? I asked Don Lupara why he hadn’t put out a contract on the Cyclops. He took a huge swill of grappa and excused himself saying he would be back in a moment. He returned with a wooden box and said that in the box was my answer. It was Ginevra’s Smith and Wesson six shooter. Puzzled I asked him what did this have to do with a contract on Cyclops. He responded that he had saved this task of honour and revenge for me. Taken aback I had nothing to say other than I’d think about it. Was I now a killer. Was I the Jason Bourne of Naples?

RKS Literature: Passage of the Day: A Reluctant Cretan Bride to Be! (Nikos Kazantzakis)

“A piece of bread-damn it, that seems to you a trifle, does it, my princess? Very clever it sounds! And what, by God, should a bridegroom find to desire in you? Youth? Beauty? Riches? You’re thirty-five, and shrunk to a dried currant, to an old maid with a moustache! And that greyhound brother of yours has plundered you. A rag is all you are now. Who’s going to look at you now, who’s going to want you poor thing. God has struck Tityros with blindness, to make him say yes.”

Nikos Kazantzakis “Freedom and Death” 1956

Misadventures in Wine Chapter 8: Wine Drinker Profiles: “The Know it All”

At times there can be a thin line separating The Know It All from the knowledgeable. The Know it All thinks they know all about wine. Although the adage “The more you know the less you know” is never entirely correct there can be a grain of truth in it as applicable to wine. New wine producing regions, new wineries and hundreds of grapes etc. The knowledgeable is more humble than the Know it All. The Know it All doesn’t listen to anyone except his/her own voice. And it only worsens when they pontificate and lecture. Quite frankly they are annoying. The Know it All fails to realize inputs from friends, wine professionals or wine writers. There is nothing wrong with assisting and guiding the less knowledgeable but lording it over them is or can be intimidating. One may encounter a sommelier who is an arrogant prig on the verge of commanding the customer what to drink instead of listening to the customer and making suggestions. A customer will appreciate thoughtful and polite recommendations from a sommelier but get their back up when treated like a dunce.

“The Penniless Pensioner : Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous”: Chapter 40: Thank God for LSD and Pasta alla Nerano!

After my Ritz-Carlton meltdown in Manhattan for months I had no idea where I was nor did I really care. Was it post traumatic stress disorder or depression?

I was told that I had been taken on a chartered jet courtesy of Don Lupara to Naples where I was transported along the coast to a sanitorium in the beautiful village of Positano. Apparently the standard treatments were not working as I was not communicating and just rocking back and forth mumbling “GINERVA” and then I would sob for hours. I ate very little and shriveled away to dangerous body measurement.

I started to recognize myself again after eating a big bowl of Spaghetti alla Nerano. This pesto/zucchini/cheese pasta was Ginevra’s favourite and it must have jolted my memory. It was weeks later that improvements were noted. Food as medicine for the mind?

Speaking of the mind I was experiencing terrible flashbacks about John Lennon, Ginevra and the execution of those two teenagers Guido and Lino. I had made a breakthrough sparked by that bowl of pasta but had hit roadblock.

Don Lupara I learnt later had authorized an experimental treatment for extreme depression Dr. Muzzio O’Leary had pioneered in the Bolzano Psychiatric Institute. The treatment was called “fear and loathing protocol” which Dr. O’Leary had used with several Las Vegas showgirls. With the use of LSD the trauma causing the mental illness was relived in an exploratory and guided manner to have the mind explain to itself the continuing trauma was nothing but a reaction to an awful reality but no longer a debilitating reality. Medical gobbly gook but it worked extremely well in my case. Unfortunately one side effect was a craving for pesto so I ate huge quantities of pasta which. Considering my skeletal frame wasn’t all that bad.

I was housed in an exclusive asylum up in the Positano Hills with a breathtaking view of the ocean below. 14 months after my meltdown it was me I was finally dealing with. Don Lupara had popped in for a few visits and the Fat Fox had red eyes, a mottled complexion and was yellow skinned. He looked atrocious. A haggard caricature of his former self. One day he showed up for a talk with me about my future. He had a final cure in mind.

RKS Film 2023: Slamdance Presents “The Underbug”

Your first question may be what is “Slamdance”. It sounds like a play on “Sundance” doesn’t it? Slamdance is a community, a year-round experience, and a statement in which everyone is invited to take part. The first Slamdance Film Festival was held in 1995 by a wild bunch of filmmakers who were tired of relying on a large, oblique system to showcase their work. Since then, Slamdance has proven year after year that independent grassroots communities can take risks on bold talent and launch careers that change the industry. Its artist-led community continues to discover and nurture diverse, international creators through various programs throughout the year, focusing on new writers, digital and interactive art, grants and mentorship, DIY film education, film screenings and of course, the Slamdance Film Festival.

“The Underbug” is an Indian film in Hindi with English subtitles. It is a combination of a thriller and a horror film.

The film starts with closeups of bugs in a forest. Once into the film the “bug focus” makes some sense. Humanity is but a collection of bugs in their own world.

A man emerges from the forest bruised and bloodied. He enters a house which symbolizes British colonialism as it is not in architecture or contents a house one might expect in India. The man limps in the house and a radio is broadcasting about Independence Day and that there have been some riots. Between whom one can conjecture between Muslims and Hindus. Another man walks into the house also bloodied. A wall of suspicion swells up between the men each probing the other if they are Hindu or Muslim. We never do find the answer to that.

At one moment the men are at each other’s throats then managing to co-exist. The film exposes the effects of ethnic violence and on a broad level as solely opposed to the context of Indian society and history. Each ethnic group’s hatred relies on suspicions and stereotypes but when real contact is established between the groups peace can prevail as delicate as it may be.

You can view the film as totally devoid of political context and if you like categorize it as a thriller and horror film but those bugs were in the film for a purpose. It causes you to think why and you can go as deep or shallow as you wish! Yes is that little girl that appears a symbol of British imperialism? See what I mean.

The film has its world premiere at Slamdance on 21January2023 and plays again January 23rd in Park City Utah.

You can see the trailer here https://vimeo.com/783904227

RKS 2023 Film Rating 86/100.

RKS 2023 Film: “Starring Jerry as Himself”: Hook Line and Sinker

How long will it take you to realize the bigger the lie the bigger the fish. And so goes the sad story of Jerry told through lighthearted re-enactment and through the thoughts of his ex-wife and children. The conclusion of the film is less than lighthearted.

I have been in the middle of several high-level big stakes situations that Jerry found himself in. In one case the perpetrator was not as slick as he thought as he was made a couple of glaring mistakes I caught and the deal was never made. Interpol was soon after him. Another 230 million dollar situation was pulled off effortlessly by a slippery German.

“Starring Jerry” starts off big. In fact it is so big it is unbelievable but for someone like Jerry starting to suffer from cognitive decline there are some loose ends he simply failed to catch. But the “Shanghai police department” really pull off a beautiful performance until 32 minutes into the film the suspense, mystery and thrill evaporated. Jerry’s actions are cringe-worthy! How long would it take you to make the connections?

The film does an excellent job of presenting the story from Jerry’s mindset. Jerry does a superb job as an undercover agent for the Shanghai police. In fact he is the perfect agent!

Directed by Lawrence Chen. It plays at Slamdance Film Festival January 21/23.

A mix of the clever and simplistic that tells its message without being pedantic. A mandatory watch for those with elderly parents.

You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1WwLaQTDtNU

RKS 2023 Film Rating 86/100.

RKS 2023 Wines: CREW 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon: Can History Repeat Itself?

Years ago, it was 2011, I rated the CREW 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon a 91/100 and for an Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon that’s remarkable. I can recall Bernard Gorski, proprietor of Colchester Ridge Estate Winery (CREW), telling me the grapes had been harvested as late as November. Since that date I have rarely had a great Ontario Cabernet Sauvignon. In the last few years I don’t even bother with Ontario Cabernet Sauvignons but I saw a 2019 CREW Cabernet Sauvignon on the shelves and asked can history somewhat at best repeat itself?

Aromatics: Blueberry, blackberry and mocha.

Palate: Tannins are broad and moderate. Although the blackberry and blueberry are present they are anemic and the wine has an unfortunate tart characteristic. The tannins seem to gang up after each sip. The acids are not out of whack but with wine lacking fruit they certainly do nothing to add to the wine.

Personality: I am so sorry but I am suffering from anemia and need fruit injections to bring me up to snuff. You know I have a 2022 Wine Align Silver Medal Award! Last thing I need is a hot shot wine writer dissing me. Let’s not discuss the business of wine medals here and deflect everything by saying Robert K. Stephen just can’t respect Lake Erie North Shore terroir! Being obsessed with Chilean Cabernet Sauvignon wines with their richness and depth and great value is besides the point. Buy Ontario and who cares if your palate suffers. Be patriotic!

Food match: If I recall correctly Canadian wine critic Natalie Maclean wrote for the CREW 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon that it was a pizza and burger wine. I thought that inappropriate but for the 2019 I say that observation is right on.

Cellarbility: No potential.

In a nutshell: The only hope for a great Canadian Cabernet Sauvignon rests in British Columbia. History did not repeat itself!

Price: $24.95 (Ontario).

RKS 2023 Wine Rating:  81/100. Toronto Star Carolyn Evans Hammond 92/100.

(CREW 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon, VQA Lake Erie North Shore, Colchester Ridge Estate Winery, Harrow, Ontario, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 328385, 14.2%, 750 mL)

Misadventures in Wine Chapter 7: Wine Drinker Profiles: “The Affected by Memories Ones”

In the “Affected by Memories” crowd there are drinkers that fondly recall trips taken to different countries which may include wine producing regions and perhaps even wineries. Most often the memories are fond as new wines are tried, geographical delights are encountered, new foods and perhaps even new friends are all made possible by wine. These memories may be a short drive or hours of airplane travel away. It is understood that the wines discovered most likely will not be available “back home” but luck may have it that wines from that region or country may be. These people may be reliving some pleasant experiences and memories but inevitably have a streak of disappointment because of the limited number of wines a retailer can carry. It may also create a layer of resentment against the retailer for stocking the “wrong wines”. These people may have a never-ending passion to discover the world of wine. Sir Edmund Hillary’s of the wine world.

“The Penniless Pensioner: Misaligned, Maligned but Marvellous” : Chapter 39: The Worst Day of My Life: Naples An Assembly Line of Death

I wanted desperately to return to Naples to my Ginevra who I was beginning to miss terribly. Physicians at the hospital were concerned the bone chip near my heart might be an issue so travel was forbidden until a round of tests was completed. I was in gnawing pain and miserable. John Lennon gunned down in New York. I just had to leave this cesspool even if it was to the violence of Naples. Ginevra did the best she could to keep my spirits up talking about our baby kicking her in the womb like a professional soccer player. That made me chuckle but being so distant it just made me cry in utter desperation.

I took long walks in Central Park but even then it brought more sadness as it sparked memories of the wonderful walks I had in the park with John Lennon. It was as if I had no place to turn to but a depressing and lonely hotel room at the Ritz-Carlton Central Park South. I had no appetite. Nothing to do. No place to go. New York once a glowing gem for me was nothing more than a piece of fool’s gold.

Then it happened. The worst day in my life. After a walk in the frigid Central Park I returned to the Ritz and as I entered into the lobby one of the crew from Don Lupara’s family I recognized “Greasy Fingers” Alfonso. Alfonso said he wanted to check up on me as Ginevra was unable to. We went to the lobby bar and had a martini and Alfonso said my beloved Ginevra, my sweet Calabrian plum and my unborn child had been killed in a roadside explosion. It was Cyclops that claimed responsibility. Naples, an assembly line of death.

As for what happened after that I remember very little except descending into a hellish violent rage. In fact it was a rampage smashing mirrors, lamps and anything in sight. I was later told Alfonso had attempted to stop me but I tossed that muscular man aside like a toddler. Police came along with the boys in white from Bellevue. I was placed in a straight jacket and off I was whisked. Ginevra dearest had been taken from me.