I woke up in my shanty shack and was delighted to see no rain and even some blue patches in the sky. I wanted a shower but it was freezing cold so I declined! The weather so far in Austria and Hungary has been atrocious. I headed into the village knapsack on my back getting many stares from the inhabitants of the town. Milk, rolls and a chocolate bar for breakfast. I sat down on a bench next to a strange character babbling away. Two men in white coats took him away. I hit the road and waited a half hour for a lift which was with a Hungarian who had worked in Toronto. The Czech border was a hassle. You must spend $7 a day here but not having cash I proffered my American Express traveler’s cheques which caused a two-hour discussion amongst the border guards. One doltish looking customs official looked through my knapsack. Really do they think I am a spy? The jerks were teasing a girl my age who was near tears. Sexist pigs. I got a ride to Kosice then an hour walk to Prešov where I got a spot in a campground. The WC was closed and there was one sink with cold water only. The restaurant on the campground had a WC but it rivalled the filth pits of Istanbul. A horrible stench. I had a late lunch in the campground restaurant which was so disgusting I could not eat it. It made the greasy Yugo goulash look like a 5-star hotel meal. Even the beer, yes the famous Czech beer, was undrinkable. Given the filthy and repulsive WC not eating the food was a wise decision. I had to go into town for an edible lunch and a very good beer.
RKS Wine: 2019 Alice Vieira de Souza: Another Douro Winner?
Quality control is the name of the game in Portugal’s Douro region perhaps due to the thoroughness of its “regulator” Instituto dos Vinhos do Douro e do Porto (IVDP). I must say over the years there have been almost no corked or low-quality wines I have encountered from the Douro.
And price can be deceptive. There have been some big winners under $15 many of those requiring several years of patience and cellaring to really shine. It is as if one is taken back to Bordeaux of decades ago where wines were bottled under the expectation they would be suitable for drinking years later.
So is this wine a Douro winner? It is a blend of the usual suspects Tinta Roriz, Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Barroca. On the nose it is virtually exploding with black fruit. Blackberry with a little hook of spice predominates. There is also some very vibrant black cherry. Also a note of creaminess. On the palate indeed there is some creaminess with some tannins hovering on the medium spectrum. While there may be some creaminess the wine has a firm backbone which might benefit from 2-4 years of ageing. The fruit is strawberry, raspberry with a bit of black licorice.
(Alice Vieira de Souza 2019 Tinto Reserva, DOC Douro, Vieira de Souza Vines and Vines, Celeirós, Portugal, $16.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 548560, 750 mL, 14.5%, RKS Wine Rating 91/100).
Again most Douro reds are built for food. I think some Portuguese soft cheeses topped with homemade cherry jam of which I made a dozen jars of would make this wine proud. Would this pair with the Serra da Estrela soft cheese many Portuguese are so proud of? I am torn on this thinking a Dão Encruzado would be the best match, a LBV Port or this wine? I’d have to return to Portugal to make that determination!
RKS Wine: Creekside Estate Winery 2017 Iconoclast Syrah
Can Niagara produce a quality Syrah? When it comes to quality red wines in Ontario I put my hand up to get the attention of the Wine Gods and respond I think Ontario can excel with Gamay Noir and Cabernet Franc but aside from that? So stone me to death for daring to speak my mind. I have tested my thesis on many a Liquor Control Board of Ontario Vintages consultant and just about all agree with this assessment. Sure there are some decent Merlots and Pinot Noirs but the Okanagan is where I will go for those. But before you let that stone fly at my noggin I plead for forgiveness and say I haven’t given up yet.
Trying now a Creekside Estate Winery 2017 Iconoclast Syrah from St. David’s Bench in Niagara. A great nose brimming with blackberries, blueberries and Cott Black Cherry Cola. Houston do we have a winner here or will there be a King Richard moment when a spoilt Icon comes up and bashes my face for slighting his beloved Niagara Syrah’s?
On the palate the wine more or less falls apart saying, “Ontario ari ari o is no place for Syrah”. No fruit just a very empty and dilute finish. Back to the drawing board!
(Creekside Estate Winery 2017 Iconoclast Syrah, VQA St. David’s Bench, Creekside Estate Winery, Jordan, Ontario, $25, (buy at the winery or have them ship it to you) 750 mL, 13.3%. RKS Wine Rating 79/100).
“Travels to a Different Time” : 2June1975: Tokaj, Hungary: Prisoner of the Rain; Horking up a Fish Bone Caught in My Throat
Yet more rain so I will stay in my shanty town shack for another day. I still have Hungarian currency I need to spend. Performed my morning ablutions and hit the town where I trudged to the other restaurant in town for lunch. I seemed to be surrounded by bureaucrats on their lunch break. I started off with some fish soup and unfortunately, I had a fish bone stuck in my throat. I went to the washroom and horked it out. Too noisy and rude to do this in public. I had a slight panicky feeling wondering if I became seriously ill in the middle of nowhere what sort of medical care is available? The fish soup was very spicy and a cold beer was needed to put out the fire. I continued on with fried fish and potatoes and lunch was $2. I came home to shanty town and read and had a nap. At 6:30 I headed out for my last Hungarian dinner which was a pork cutlet, potatoes and two cherry vodkas. Exciting person that I am as in bed at 20:30. Off to Czechoslovakia tomorrow!
RKS Wine: Malivoire 2020 Estate Grown Chardonnay
This light gold wine grabs your nose right off the bat with a unique bit of spiciness and ginger. I emphasize “a bit” because it does not detract one from the baked apple with cinnamon and brown sugar, the pear, the mango and the pineapple. Positively tropical old man! On the palate it strikes one as a laid-back Chardonnay with well integrated fruit and oak. The palate I would call clean with lemon, clementine and pear notes. I would not say this wine has a creamy texture but twenty minutes after it is opened there is a small creamy texture that sneaks in.
The Liquor Control Board of Ontario Vintages catalogue suggests matching the wine with fish and chips, pasta primavera or roast turkey. I won’t debate that but the tiny ginger influence has me thinking of my famous Sino Italian fusion dish which involves wokking garlic, ginger, snow peas, cashews and shrimp with a drizzle of sesame seed oil and fish sauce. Serve over bucatini bathed in pesto. Sounds odd but it works. I think this is a wine best consumed with food.
45% of the wine was aged in neutral oak and I can only detect a tiny amount of oak.
(Malivoire 2020 Estate Grown Chardonnay, VQA Beamsville Bench, The Malivoire Wine Company Limited, Beamsville, Ontario, $17.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 573147, 12.5%, 750 mL, RKS Wine Rating 89/100).
“Travels to a Different Time” : 1June1975: Budapest and Tokaj Hungary: Strangely Lonely in My Shanty Shack and the Belting Rain
Up early for an orange drink so gross only I could stomach it. I packed up slowly after a great hot shower. I took the Metro to the last stop and walked about a mile to the highway. The first ride was only for 15 kms but the next one was all the way to Tokaj near the Czech border. A nice young couple Urion and Katerina were going to Tokaj to drink some of its famous sweet wine of which they were very proud of. We had some wine in the village when we arrived. We then walked up some steps to the top of the hill where we had a wonderful view of the town and the vineyards and the muddy river running through it. We went to the cellars of a winery and had a glass of the famous sweet wine of Tokaj. They were nice enough to drop me off at the campground. I rented a “bungalow” for two reasons. It had been raining all afternoon and I did not want to get wet. Secondly I had Hungarian money I could not take out of the country so why not splurge a bit. The bungalow was something else. A corrugated steel roof. That roof leaked though. I feel like I am in a slum dwelling in Rio. I threw my stuff on the bed and washed my face noticing one pimple. All that crap that went down my throat in Budapest! I headed into town and it was a beautiful one as it is surrounded by rolling vineyards. Had bread, salad, fish soup and a pork cutlet with a glass of wine for $1.50. I walked around the town and found a place with live music and had a couple of beers. I made it home just as a vicious rainstorm struck. My roof was leaking. I am the only one in the campground and after having a rip-roaring time in Budapest with lots of people it felt lonely here with the rain pounding away. I am used to living the solo life on my voyage of discovery but I suppose I can feel lonely sometimes.
RKS Film: “Split at the Root”: An Examination of Zero Tolerance Policy and American Immigration Policy
“Split the Root”, which will be showing at Toronto Hot Docs Festival, examines the Zero Tolerance Policy and the cumbersome and inconsistent handling of asylum cases in the United States.
The Zero Tolerance Policy (ZTP) can perhaps be best understood as a reaction from the right to the continual and never-ending stream of Mexicans and Central Americans crossing into the southern United States. You may recall seeing coverage of “The Caravan” with thousands of Central Americans marching to the United States border. With images such as this one can understand the fear of many Americans. In fact very recently there was talk of American (Republican) governors about declaring this influx as an “invasion”. What is irksome to many is the sense those fleeing their country seem to have a sense of entitlement to enter the United States. As an American border officer said to my son when entering the United States that this was an important day in his life entering the best country on the earth so wipe that smirk off your face. Are all US Customs and Border officials equally idiotic?
The most loathsome component of ZTP was the separation of parents and children amounting it is thought to 4,368 children. One must question the lack of logic to this family separation. As a minor government official says in the beginning of this documentary that if you enter the United States illegally this is what you should expect so don’t come. In other words the logic of family separation can only be punishment.
Nobody can blame any country for having laws restricting wholesale immigration. But perhaps what is best to focus on are these laws humane. The documentary focuses on two Guatemalan women apprehended for illegal entry into the United States with the ZTP resulting in separation of mother and children causing obvious trauma to mothers and children.
Several mothers banded together to form Immigrant Families Together (IFT) to initially get bail money to free mothers from “detention centres”. But reuniting requires that the parents have adequate housing for their children which is impossible because these mothers are not permitted to work! So the IFT started arranging for lodgings and offering counseling.
And even after reunification of parents and children there is the asylum process which moves at a snail’s pace and is inconsistent in results with New York City judges being the most generous in granting asylum. As a judicial process requires evidence good luck on getting any assistance from corrupt Honduras and Guatemala police that demand bribes.
There are lots of tears flowing in the documentary as perhaps there should be considering the stupidity inherent in parent and child separation. Pardon me for being the elephant in the room but the documentary fails to question the veracity of the two Guatemalan women as it seems to assume there is no ruse or scam involved. The goal of an asylum process is to grant asylum to those who qualify and not to those who simply want a better life than in their crime infested societies. Having spent some time amongst hundreds of Syrians, Libyans and many from various African countries in a locale in Europe with a “refugee camp” it is no secret the NGO’s operating there coach these migrants on how to “win” an asylum case. My sense is that most of the people in this camp were economic migrants as opposed to legitimate refugees. Unfortunately the documentary skirts these issues of fraud and scamming. Otherwise it is a compelling look at ZTP which was revoked by executive order by the Trumpster himself. The documentary can’t be held to task for exposing the pain and suffering caused by ZTP family separation.
You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jIM-laheP9A
It shows on April 29 and May 4th at Toronto Hot Docs Festival. It is directed by Linda Goldstein Knowlton.
Why the title “Split the Root”? One of the women from Guatemala explains the term meaning she is not really part of Guatemala nor of the United States.
RKS Film Rating 74/100.
“Travels to a Different Time” :31May1975: Budapest, Hungary: Marian Acts Snooty
Up at 09:00 and returned some bottles for a deposit refund. I then went to IZBUZ to change my remaining Austrian schillings. They like roast chicken in Budapest so I went to one of these chicken places where you stand and eat it. Half a chicken and a Pepsi for $1.25. The skin was too salty but otherwise it was tasty and the fries as well. Back home at 3 to read for a couple of hours and then back to the same self serve I ate at yesterday. As arranged I met Alzam. We were at the floating disco at 8 and as there are lines of people waiting to get in I greased a palm and we skipped the line. There was Marian sitting with friends. Last night we got along so well now I get the cold shoulder. She acted very snooty. Being a bit peeved we didn’t stay that long. We met a couple of Alzam’s friends one who was Nigerian and the other a rather plump Hungarian. We found a cozy little tavern with only locals. We went to another club which had live gypsy music. We caught the last tram home and boy were they ever speeding along. I guess the conductor was in to return home and get some sleep. There certainly is some night life in Budapest! This spending must cease as I am averaging $10 a day!
“Travels to a Different Time” : 30May1975: Budapest, Hungary: A Megaton Nuclear Blowout in Budapest; Bribery, Booze and a Brothel?
The day commenced in orderly fashion but it was going to end in a way it may never end for the rest of my life. Up early I read two books. Less weight to lug around. It is almost a fetish reading and dumping the too many books I have brought along. But better than television which is not so easily encountered in the Iron Curtain. Went to Elemizer to pick up breakfast supplies. I read some more and for lunch a bottle of peas and a room temperature beer. This time it was off to the old town which reminded me of Salzburg. There are more tourists in Budapest than I expected. The old city is walled and lies on a hill overlooking Budapest. I went into the military museum which was moderately interesting. Yes the communist soldiers were the bravest ever! The old guy taking the admissions let me in free if I taught him how to count from 5 to 10 in English. He already knew 1-5. A bit strange as we could only communicate in German. I bought some mineral water and chocolate wafers on the way home. I took the Metro to the Astoria station. I arrived home and ate the wafers I had not consumed along with the mineral water. I sat out on my regal balcony for awhile and had a stupendous non-meat dinner for 65 cents. On my long walk home near the river I crossed the bridge and I heard rock and roll music coming from a boat docked on the river. A big line up to get in which was solved by giving an American dollar. Drinks were $1 each and the place was hopping, “The place to be seen”! I met a guy Alzam from Tanzania here on an exchange programme. I met a nice-looking chick named Marian who spoke flawless English. Her dad is a big politico and next week they are moving to Belgrade where he will be working in the Hungarian Embassy. I danced with her most of the night but at 1 a.m. she had to split due to the Mom and Dad complex. I stayed with Alzam until the boat disco closed and he said he knew a great club that was still open. We walked forever and approached a residential area. He walked up to a house and knocked on the door and a bar slid open and we were inspected and let in. I think the meanest criminals and lowlifes were here. Dark lighting, red lush furniture, bottles of Champagne and many heavily made-up ladies. Never ever has this poor innocent Canadian seen something like this! What we drank I am not sure as my mind was not in the glass but on the bizarre movie set in front of my innocent eyes. Is this a brothel? A den of spies and snakes. Was Maid Marian on the boat a spy? I did have a man approach me on the disco boat and whisper in my ear, “I am a Capitalist”. We left at 5 in the morning and swiped a couple bottles of delicious milk on doorsteps. Took a taxi home and thundered in the door at goodness knows what time to a surprised landlady!
RKS Wine: An Australian Old Reliable: D’Arenberg
Years ago I worked in the east end of Toronto near a Chevrolet dealership called “Robertson’s Old Reliable Chevrolet”. That “Old Reliable” stuck with me although at the time Chevrolet’s were never that reliable!
D’Arenberg, a McLaren Vale winery, has also stuck with me for many years as a reliable producer of red and white wines at a fair price that have a capacity to age in the medium term. So is the D’Arenberg still “Old Reliable”?
On the nose lots of blackberry, cassis and black currant. Some blueberry, purple plum and lavender. On the palate tannins are moderate and there is some Chambord, olive tapenade and licorice. McLaren Vale wines can be jammy and overdone, which on occasion can be fun but this is a restrained Cabernet Sauvignon good for sipping and for summer barbeques of chicken, lamb, and pork (no lemon marinade please!).
A good wine at a fair price. It will hold until 2025 and will improve over this suggested limited ageing. How does this differ from a California Cabernet Sauvignon? Actually not much except that it outperforms California Sauvignon in the same price point.
Some of the grapes are food trodden. I haven’t heard much of the foot stomp out of Portugal. The oak used is French and it is not new.
(D’Arenberg The High Trellis McLaren Vale Cabernet Sauvignon 2018, D’Arenberg, McLaren Vale, Australia, $19.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 943456, 750 mL, 14.5%, RKS Wine Rating 91/100).
A Bird's Eye View of Fashion, Food, Travel, Culture, Beverage and Curiosity 