RKS Wine: My Private Pinot Grigio Nightmare: The Simple Mayhem Cure

As a wine writer there is what I write and there is what people ask me. When up close and personal I try and be non-judgemental about what people drink and sometimes that is a bit difficult as they look at you trying what they pour and they think it is the cat’s pyjamas. My facial movements and eyes are watched carefully so when I come across some plonk years of training has made me into the masked wine writer. Not nice being judgemental lest feelings be hurt. When writing I understand the passion of the winery owner, vineyard manager and the winemaker and must respect that very carefully. But I must be honest and that hurts sometimes.

When it comes to Pinot Grigio I have a private Pinot Grigio nightmare called Santa Margherita. It is diffuse, weak and watery and at $20.95 in Ontario that is a crime. My inside Italian wine contacts in Italy agree with me saying Santa Margherita is from a factory.

I think Mayhem can, as it has done in the past, help me cure my nightmare by proving there is life beyond Santa Margherita.

So how about the Mayhem 2021 Pinot Gris? On the pour there is a delicate acidic fizz. On the nose some apple, pear, lime with some tangerine. On the palate the acid I thought might be there had dissipated from the initial pour. The wine is bone dry with a short finish but the acidity is not terrorizing the palate. The dryness can hijack the fruit from the palate. The whites from Vinho Verde in Portugal are equally dry but with grilled fish they take on a life of their own. While this Pinot Gris is not my style of white wine for sipping but with food, such as grilled sea bass, sea bream and porgy with a lemon, olive oil and oregano sauce with Swiss Chard this wine will be where it should be and good riddance Santa Margherita. The winery suggests mussels and French Fries and taking this from the Muscadet playbook I agree! This wine is built for white fleshed ocean fish. If you like a crisp white wine this is for you.

The fermentation started in stainless steel then moved to 7% new French barriques, 69% seasoned puncheons and 24% seasoned barriques.

As only 322 cases were produced perhaps check with the winery where you can purchase www.mayhemwines.com

(Mayhem 2021 Pinot Gris, Okanagan Valley, BC VQA, Mayhem Wines, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, $17.39, 750 mL, 13.7%, RKS Wine Rating 86/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” : 21stJuly1975: Somewhere in Netherlands: Dopester in a 404 Peugeot: Germany Depressing?

Went down for breakfast with a litre of milk. I hopped on a train that would take me to the highway heading to Hamburg. Thank goodness for the cool day as hot weather can sap your energy. I passed by a hitchhiker to get a spot and in 5 minutes a lift in a 404 Peugeot. We also picked up an Irish guy. The car reeked of hash. A crazy guy but what fun. We took the ferry to Hamburg which was only an hour trip. In Germany the driver said Germany depressed him so he altered his route to Paris by passing through Amsterdam. Perfect! We powered on until 23:00 ending up just past the Dutch border. We found a camping site for a washroom break and found a farmer’s field to sleep in and the driver slept in his car and the Irish guy and I shared my tent.

RKS Film: “Battle for The Heart of Texas”: Megacorp’s Destructive Power

The Earthx Film Festival running in Dallas Texas from 11-15 May presents” Battle for the Heart of Texas”. The battle may be fought in the heart of Texas from a geographic perspective but emotionally it affects the hearts of Texans proud landowners in mostly remote areas who see their property and hearts ripped asunder by Megacorp Kinder Moron ooops I mean Kinder Morgan. To give you a realistic perspective was it Richard Morgan who was CEO of Enron. A brilliant guiding light!

Kinder Morgan announces in September 2018 it is building a natural gas pipeline from the Permian basin to Houston and some of it is going through beautiful Hill Country in Texas. It is dropped like a bomb on unsuspecting citizens and politicians through a press release. There has been no public consultation prior to the announcement.  Armed with the power of Eminent Domain Megacorp Kinder Morgan has the power to expropriate property to build its pipeline. Such power would be denied to public agencies.

Consultations are announced by Kinder Morgan after its announcement but Texans in Hill Country complain no answers are being given and they are sent running around in circles by Kinder Morgan PR.

Kinder Morgan is accused by aggrieved Texans of setting lowball offers for land to be expropriated and meeting resistance with legal actions with huge costs to a landowner. So many are forced to settle.

It is not only a pipeline involved but compressor stations to propel the gas moving along the pipeline and those are huge facilities.

Hill Country prizes itself on its water supply and many residents use well water with some residents having their water supply contaminated by Kinder Morgan drilling The Texas Railway Commission cites Kinder Morgan for violations of contaminated drinking water and taking four days to notify state officials of the contamination. Many residents are still forced to drink bottled water. And the Texas Railway Commission members have 70% of their campaign costs paid by the oil and gas industry.

I could continue with the raping of Texan’s property rights but I think you get the message. The documentary puts you in the shoes of abused Texans and it will make you outraged and disgusted with Kinder Morgan and the Texan politicians that seem to have forgotten a sense of public duty towards the electorate.

Even assuming residents in Hill Country had been afforded due process just take a close look at what pipeline construction has done to land. Like a festering scar. Imagine it running through your property! Imagine a political system unresponsive to Texans. Quite frankly it is a disgrace.

Watch another festival film “Coextinction” dealing with the Transmountain Pipeline in Canada and you may conclude pipelines are a threat to human beings due to the destructive forces they spawn. You can see my review of that film here https://setthebarlifestyle.wordpress.com/2022/05/11/rks-film-coextinction-humanity-on-the-edge/?fbclid=IwAR1DPT8ka2AmMa_gxBztcwPuyF1JayximqZrfRNyfWqeOqRcin6b22Xe8Ek

You should be able to see this documentary virtually. Directed by John Brown.

RKS Film Rating 92/100,

“Travels to a Different Time: ” 19July1975: Copenhagen, Denmark: Exhaustion

I have been so tired over the past few days with endless walking and I haven’t written anything in the journal as I lost my pen. I arrived in Copenhagen after a memorable boat trip on a ferry. A big party you might want to say. I found a room here at a youth hostel which is quite nice but a bit like a luxury detention centre. It is $4.50 a night. I woke up drained of much energy or enthusiasm and shoved the usual boring bread and jam down my throat. I washed up and went out for a walk. I met a couple of German guys I knew from the Stockholm youth hostel. We went to a youth centre which has a restaurant and jazz club. I returned to the detention centre for a shower and met a German who had just arrived from Munich. Supper was half cooked freeze-dried soup and some leftover rice I threw into the soup. Went downstairs and played some ping pong with an Aussie guy. The beer is excellent. This is the real Carlsberg not the swill we get in Montreal brewed under license from Carlsberg.

RKS Wine: The Okanagan’s Meyer Family Vineyards 2020 Micro Cuvée Chardonnay

Meyer Family Vineyards in British Columbia’s Okanagan is a bit of Burgundy in British Columbia with its winning ways producing Chardonnay and Pinot Noir not to mention a wickedly delicious Gewurtz! I mean give MFV another decade and my successor may be saying in France that Burgundy is a bit of British Columbia in France! Global warming.

We try their Micro Cuvée 2020 Chardonnay.

It has a light gold colour. As for aromatics there is some French oak on the nose but it is restrained to avoid attack by the ABC movement (Anything But Chardonnay). Interspersed amongst the oak there are gentle and subtle aromatics of pear, apple, pineapple and a tad of lemon meringue pie.

On the palate what happened to the gentleness? Yes it seems we have a gentle giant with a finish that simply doesn’t want to return home along the Old Main Road.  Initially you are waiting for the fruit to land and it takes about two seconds and it mushrooms with waves of apple, pear and pineapple with a hot finish. If you like a discreet, disciplined and powerful Chardonnay look no further and I mean that to say why bother looking at Burgundy? With MFV Pinot Noirs and Chardonnays I am thinking of starting a new movement ABF (Anything But France).

A mere 200 cases produced and it is going to be snapped up quicker than a hundred-dollar bill on the sidewalk in front of you. The initial fermentation was in stainless steel with the must then being transferred to 100% French Oak (40% new).

Yet another solid effort from winemaker Chris Carson.

(Meyer Family Vineyards 2020 Micro Cuvée Okanagan Valley Naramata Bench Old Main Road. Vineyard, BC VQA, $60.87, 750 mL, 13.5%, Meyer Family Vineyards, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, RKS Wine Rating 94/100).

No when it comes to price this isn’t inexpensive. It is sort of equivalent to a bottle of champagne. But in my humble opinion perhaps you should treat yourself. I like this gentle giant as it is today but it will improve with the right cellaring for a few years until 2026 and hold its own until 2028.

Given its limited production perhaps it is best to order from the winery at www.mfvwines.com

Pair with Eggplant and Zucchini Pasta with Feta and Dill (New York Times Recipe)

RKS Film: “Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Khan”

“Echoes of the Empire: Beyond Genghis Kahn” weaves an interesting narrative into spectacular cinematography. On second thought it may be that the cinematography in this documentary directed by Robert H. Lieberman ascends the narrative. I don’t take this as a negative as who says the narrative must be more important than the cinematography?

The documentary recounts a basic history of Mongolia and the impact Genghis Kahn had on Mongolia and the world. It was in 1206 that Kahn crafted together Mongolia as a nation state. We think of him as a great warrior but culturally he passed edicts mandating religious freedom, the prohibition of kidnapping women and the protection of diplomats. As these edicts covered his empire they were the beginning of international law. He created an empire which was the biggest one ever created dwarfing that of Alexander the Great. He died in 1227. His empire lasted until 1368. By 1696 Mongolia became part of the Manchu Dynasty. Eventually it fell under the control of the Soviet Empire until communism faltered in the Soviet Union and it could no longer continue to finance Mongolia. Shortly thereafter a democracy was established and the Genghis Kahn legacy resurged to fill a political and cultural vacuum. In the communist days it was prohibited to refer to Kahn but his greatness was a legacy the Mongolians could cling to in uncertain times.

Despite the fact that only 30% of the population is nomadic the nomadic spirit survives in national culture. But modernization and a huge livestock failure caused the main city of Ulan Bator to swell with a million or so former nomads that flocked to the city. Pollution is horrific in the winter months as so many of the former nomads camping on the edge of the city in their gers burn low quality coal for heat.

The documentary is a fascinating incursion into Mongolian history, culture and politics.

You can watch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/365863230

To start the documentary will be showing in select theatres in Washington on June 3 and in Los Angeles on June 10th. Further theatrical and VOD releases will be known soon.

RKS Film Rating 84/100.

“Travels to a Different Time” : 15July1975: Dombas, Norway: Norwegian Mountain Climbing

My goodness waking up to a sunny day! Kiel my Danish friend and I headed out into town on his motorcycle to get some grub for breakfast. After we ate breakfast we both washed some clothes and decided to go for a hike in the mountains. We hopped on his East German motorcycle travelling about 10 kms out of Dombas. We headed straight up the mountain and it was hard going at first. Beautiful hiking with waterfalls to the left and right. We stopped a few times to fill up our bottles in the cold-water streams. After 3 hours we stated our final ascent up past the snow and this last part of the hike was not without risk however after reaching the summit were rewarded with a tremendous view. Green valleys below and snow-capped mountains in the distance. We spent 20 minutes admiring the view and in 3 hours back to the motorcycle. Zoomed back to the hostel and stopped for ice cream and my ice cream ended up falling out of the cone on the sidewalk. The second one behaved itself. We had some supper and met a couple of girls from South Africa and went to play some Frisbee. In bed after listening to one of the girls play her guitar.

RKS Film: “Coextinction”: Humanity on the Edge

The EarthX Film Festival in Dallas Texas will be showing both in Cinema and virtually “Coextinction” a Canadian documentary focusing on the impending extinction of Southern Resident Killer Whales and then veers off to examine why many of these whales appear to be suffering from starvation and disease. There remain 74 of them in the Pacific Northwest of British Columbia and Washington State.

Part of the problem is the amount of recreational boats and whale watching vessels creating noise that disrupts the whale’s sonar crucial to locate the salmon that comprise 80% of its diet and add a degree of stress. An even greater source of noise are commercial vessels such as tankers and freighters and with the completion of Canada’s Transmountain Pipeline marine traffic is expected to increase by 700%.

But control the noise which will be impossible once the pipeline is completed the problem may be the rapidly declining Pacific salmon population which is threatened with extinction with some 109 fish farms in British Columbia that leak viruses and sea lice into the open ocean. The Canadian government has promised to close all these fish farms by 2025 but has not released any transition plan. In a documentary “Smell of Money” pig shit lagoons in North Carolina leak out feces into the environment with disastrous consequences. Same for salmon fish farms

The problem for salmon health is the presence of 4 money losing dams in Washington’s Snake River that have virtually wiped-out access to Pacific Salmon’s spawning ground. Despite public consultations and public support to breach these dams the United States Government announced in 2020 it would not breach these dams.

The declining Pacific salmon stock threatens the health of the indigenous population in British Columbia that relies on salmon consumption and has done so for thousands of years. Also the bear, eagle, seal, wolve and forests are suffering.

So the end result is extinction of an ecosystem that relies on salmon and when that ecosystem is destroyed where will we be as humans…close to extinction. Think again before you buy farmed salmon!

The film was directed by the two environmentalists Gloria Pancrazi and Elena Jean that take us on this emotionally depleting journey. Aside from refusing to buy and consume farm raised salmon which humanity has an unlimited capacity to consume it will be political action that saves the ecosystem of which by the way we humans are part of.

RKS Film Rating 90/100.

RKS Wine: Battle of the Okanagan Rosés

When rock started getting heavier in the 1960’s do you remember “The Battle of the Bands” which in our modern day parlance is a rock festival. May the best band win was determined by the loudness of the claps in the audience. I think they still exist although I haven’t heard of one in Toronto for some time.

Can we have a Battle of the Rosés or is that fair considering differing styles of rosés? Oh what the heck may the best Okanagan rosé win. I’ll be the audience.

The first rosé up on the stage is a Mayhem 2021 Rosé from the Okanagan Valley. It has a light pink colour so I am not expecting heavy guitars to be wailing. As for aromatics very solid aromas here. Raspberry, watermelon, strawberry and Orri Tangerine peel in a frame of rose petal jam. The palate is weighty and solid. It ain’t no Beach Boy harmony more along Led Zeppelin’s “Dazed and Confused”. The acids (not that type of acid man) are well in check thank goodness but they are perky enough to handle a field tomato salad. The palate has notes of fresh baked raspberry waffles, sweet red cherries and cactus pears. It finishes off its performance with an Eaglelish tune “Hotel Kelowna”. The finish is short and dry. Perfect for grilled or roasted baby goat or eggplant and potato gratin. The audience meter gives it an 89/100.

The grapes were destemmed after being hand harvested. Aged 89% in stainless steel and 11% in neutral oak. 220 cases were produced.

Best bet is to order from the winery at www.mayhemwines.com

(Mayhem BC VQA 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, Mayhem Wines, Okanagan Falls, British Columbia, $20.87, 750 mL, 13%, RKS Wine Rating 89/100).

The next rosé taking the stage has a refined Pinot Noir heritage with its massive hit “Heartbreak Grape”. It has a darker complexion than the Mayhem rosé. On the nose it also has a more assertive nose with hints of its Pinot Noir heritage such as notes of raspberry, cherry and bits of strawberry. On the palate it seems slightly less acidic than Mayhem rosé and there is a bit more fruit on its palate with riffs of watermelon, cranberry and raspberry. The finish is longer than the Mayhem. As for food matches the same as for the Mayhem. It finishes off its performance with “My Okanaganie Achy Breakey Heart”. Audience meter reads 91/100). It wins $200,000 and the “Pat Burns CKGO You Are on the Line Doll Award”.

Unfortunately a scant 122 cases were produced.50% fermented in older oak barrels and 50% in stainless steel. The oak fermentation seems to diffuse the acidity a tad and gives the wine more mouthfeel than the Mayhem.

Best to contact the winery for availability and shipping at www.mfvwines.com

(Meyer Family Vineyards BC VQA, 2021 Rosé, Okanagan Valley, Meyer Family Vineyards, Okanagan Falls British Columbia, $20.96,750 mL, 13.5%, RKS Wine Rating 91/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” :14July1975: Dombas Norway: Hopefully not Gangrene: Travelling with the Souvenir Salesman

A restless night as had to sop up water in my leaking tent with my bathing suit. A lull in the rain enabled me to take down my tent and then it started to belt again. As the Zambian and Aussie girls were sleeping I had to find shelter under a tree until they woke up. One of the Aussie girl’s leg looked ugly which meant they had to drive back to Trondheim for medical attention so we said good-bye. Hopefully it is not gangrene and there will be no need to amputate. In 10 minutes a lift with a souvenir salesman, wife and two children. It was but a 30 km lift. It was so cold up 2000 feet in the mountains. The next lift was with the Zambian and the Aussie girls. I got a lift to the youth hostel in Dombas. After camping out in the wild the youth hostel seemed like luxury. Met a Dane and we went for a spin on his motorcycle through Dombas. A tourist trap full of gaudy souvenir shops but ignore them and you have a spectacular view of the mountains. We are up at 2,500 feet. Back to the youth hostel for a swig of duty-free vodka the Dane had purchased. Off to bed at 22:00.