RKS Wine: Carmenére Confusion

For 145 years Carmenère in Chile was thought to be Merlot! It was only in the mid 1990’s that what was thought to be Merlot was actually identified as Carmenère. Although more Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot is planted some say it is Chile’s signature grape. Originally a Bordeaux grape it was wiped out by disease there and not much of it was replanted.

Black cherry in colour with tinges of purple. As for bouquet it is understandable it might be mistaken for Merlot as it has a lushness to it. There is blackberry jam, blueberries and cassis. There is a bit of Late Bottled Vintage Port to it indicative of richness. On the palate this is a smoothie and there are few tannins to get tangled up with. There is not a distinct fruit to identify with so it could be said to be pleasing to many palates. There is some blueberry, milk chocolate, licorice just lazing in the background. A real diplomatic wine as it simply powers on without offending anyone. Short finish. Given its lushness the wine could have fallen prey to over-ripeness so careful harvesting required. As for food great versatility. It could suit lamb, beef, goat, tomato sauce-based dishes and perhaps even grilled octopus. (Montgras Antu Carmenère 2019, DO Peumo, Valle de Cachapoal, Viña MontGras, Chile, $18.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 632752, 750 mL, 14.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

Wine drinker profile: One who prefers a rich and plush wine that is easy drinking yet has no overwhelming characteristics that might be perceived as off-putting. It might also suit Portheads as there is a mild Port like influence on the wine.

“Travels to a Different Time” :August 11, 1970:  (Volos/ Thessaloniki) :No Not Another Tantrum! A Crappy Birthday

From Volos we made a connecting stop at Larissa and boarded the train to Thessaloniki and arrived at 4 p.m. While at the train station we bought a ticket to Istanbul. We found a B class hotel called the Rotunda and just loved the hot water. On the way to dinner I bought a pair of shoes and Mom bought a nightgown. After dinner for some type of joke Mom pinched my behind and I think I surprised her by retaliating with a bit of humour if you can call it that. She whirled around not appreciating receiving a dose of her own medicine and called me a slob and stormed off getting lost. The police had to put her in a taxi and tell the driver to take her back to our hotel. I managed to make it back to the hotel on a bus. I slept on the floor by the bathroom.

August 12: well today is my birthday and I have turned 15 and not exactly a happy start considering yesterday’s tantrum. We went to the market and bought some food for the train trip to Istanbul. We had meatballs for lunch and returned to our hotel for a siesta. After our nap downtown on bus #10 for a feast of beef. Goodness knows what they eat in Turkey. Tomorrow we leave for Istanbul. A rotten birthday without even grumpy wishing me a happy birthday.

“Travels to a Different Time” : August 8-10, 1970, Skopelos, Greece: Big Game Hunter Spears a Prize! Why Are These People Staring at Us?

August 8, 1970: I woke up at seven to get some fresh bread and we had strawberry jam, bread and hardboiled eggs for breakfast. We took the 9 am bus to the beach with Theodore, Rick and Dee. We preordered our lunch of calamari before walking down to the beach. Theodore borrowed my speargun but had no luck. Then Theodore and Rick (the bearded one) went out on an air mattress and called out to me they spotted an octopus swimming under a rock. I swam out and they pointed out where the octopus had gone. After 4 unsuccessful tries I finally bagged it! I pulled it out of the water and Theodore screamed out. We brought it to shore and a small crowd of people gathered to look at the prize. We took it up after I had beat the octopus on a rock which the local fisherman pound on the rocks to tenderize it to the restaurant where they said they would cook it when we were to arrive for lunch of our calamari but when we arrived for lunch they apologized as they forgot to cook it. Theodore and his girl friend took my octopus with them to our usual restaurant in town and asked them to cook it for dinner.

We stayed until 5:30 and Dee had a bad sunburn. The bus came rumbling in at 6:30 and there were so many people on it not everyone could get in. But the bus driver said he would be back in twenty minutes to pick up the people who did not get on the first bus. Someone waiting for the bus swiped a bunch of plums from an orchard and gave them to the waiting passengers. We went out for dinner and as we sat down it began to rain for a few minutes. That is the first time we have seen rain in Greece. We enjoyed our octopus grilled and tender! But the power went off twice during our dinner. Theodore, his girlfriend and Rick and Dee went to the Sirene discotheque after a pastry in the town square.

August 9 ,1970: Those church bells again at 7 a.m. waking everyone up. There also was no water. We squished into the bus with Rick and Dee to go to a beach called Androssos but we had to get on a launch for a 5-minute trip to get to the beach. The water has an oily film and there were too many jellyfish. We took the boat back to the shore unhappy about the oily water and jellyfish. I have seen many tar blobs in Greek beaches but never any oil. We had lunch on shore. Mom and I had fish and Dee and Rick had lobster. Rick and I went snorkeling and Dee and Mom went to a churchyard for a sleep in the shade.

August 10, 1970: Those darn bells pealing at 7 a.m. woke everyone else again! Rick and Dee were going to the mainland to a town called Volos to pick up their car and head back to England. As when we arrived while we were packing up the manager’s family came to stare at us so I had to kick them out. We were so sick of this lack of privacy we decided to leave two days earlier and head to Volos with Rick and Dee. We dragged our suitcases down to the docks and had a big farewell lunch before boarding the FB/Sykros for our sail to Volos.

RKS Film: “City of Vultures”

I recently saw “City of Vultures II” which will be released on February 1st and you will see my review on January 31. But the original “City of Vultures” is now available for free on Tubi at https://tubitv.com/movies/417685/city-of-vultures?start=true

You need not see the original before you watch the sequel but if you do you will perhaps understand the ruthless G and why he is so ruthless and it is obvious. A con out on parole seeking an honest path ahead may be tempted into a past life of crime but when that honest path is blocked by no employment opportunities the path back to crime may be the only path to survive.

In “City of Vultures II” G is a vicious hood with no scruples except as regards his son. But if we venture back to a point before that when he is released for parole in the original “City of Vultures” we see G as an articulate if not brilliant writer. But there is crime all over him.

He rejoins a girlfriend he had before he was sentenced to a long term in the joint and it looks like he might live a “normal life” but challenges persist. G in the original is super creative and intelligent and looking to follow the straight path but as an ex-con so many doors are shut and when you see “City of Vultures II” you see what door G has entered.

There are murders and retaliations in the film but they are not as numerous and graphic as in the sequel. They are still disturbing including children involved in armed robbery and murders but the cinematography in the original is shot in a much lighter format. There is also a bit more of a plot with violence being less graphic.

Strange going to the original after the sequel but the sequel is much darker and the original may offer some clues as to why G is such a vicious hood. It would seem the corrupt Chicago police and his past have closed the door on any chance of reform.

G here is sometimes referred to as Shorty. You can see the original at no cost other than a few minimal advertisements. The sequel is definitely darker and more violent with seemingly no way out for G. In the original it seems G has a chance but as II shows he really had no chance.

Directed, written and produced by G himself that being Marcus Carothers. Welcome to the “urban crime genre”. Has Carothers revived the “film noir” category?

RKS film rating 89/100.

“Travels to a Different Time”: August 7, 1970: The Great Jellyfish and Fly Massacre

Up at 6:30 this morning. Read a few chapters of my book “The Family” then rolled over and slept until noon and killed 23 flies before eating a meager breakfast of grapes. We went into town to buy supplies for lunch at the beach but missed the bus to Stafilos Beach so we took a cab for 50 cents to the beach. However upon arrival the negotiated price jumped to $2. We went to the tourist police and complained and ended up paying nothing. I was not happy to see a huge school of jellyfish drift in after my first swim. I do not want to get stung. I killed some 64 jellyfish that had washed up on the beach. Thank you jellyfish for ruining my day. Someone at the beach said jellyfish are a problem here in August. An Irish man said they are called Lion’s Mane jellyfish as they have them in Ireland. They have a nasty sting and can be fatal if the stung person is allergic to their sting.

“Travels to a Different Time” :August 5, 1970: Living in a Grape Arbour Now in a Partially Completed Hotel! Trapped in the Bathroom!

As soon as we landed onshore on Skopelos I waited in a café while Mom hunted for a room and only managed to find a room in a partially constructed hotel! As we unpacked the entire family of the hotel manager was watching us! There is no door for our room and instead there is bedspread hung over the entrance and the cement is raw and there are no tiles on the floor. There are no beds just two cots. The balcony is unfinished. We are paying $2 a night. I got locked in the bathroom too. A broken lock I think. Some girls staying at the hotel wanted to break the glass but I managed to fiddle around and get out after 15 minutes of being trapped. Mom thought this was funny but not me. We had a shower and headed out for dinner. We had beef and rice and some stuffed tomatoes. Mom reported a surly waiter to the owner. We have given some thought about heading to Israel next.  

August 6, 1970: Woke up at 6:30 to a horde of buzzing flies and the priest ringing the bells of the church across the street. I got up before Mom and bought some canned tuna and bread for breakfast. Sure beats mackerel! We went swimming at a beach called Stafilos about 5 kms away. Beautiful clear water and little pebbles instead of sand. Before we had dinner we checked the shipping office about how to get to Istanbul from Piraeus. We had squid and after dinner went to a café and had a pastry to celebrate Mom’s birthday which was on August 2. We went to a discotheque and I got the courage to ask a girl to dance I was the best dancer and she was the worst. We were home at midnight. I had fun!

“Travels to a Different Time” : August 1970 More Skiros: No More Mackerel Sandwiches Please!

August 1, 1970: Up at 8 a.m. to take the bus to a new beach. On the way to the bus stop we bought some canned mackerel and sardines and bread. We were on the bus at 9 and at the beach at 10 and we had to walk through a forested area of pine trees. This forest contrasted with the barren nature of many Greek islands we have visited. When we arrived at the beach we had a late breakfast of sardine sandwiches but too many wasps spoiled our breakfast. At 2 it was so hot we took refuge in an abandoned schoolhouse with some Greek families looking for relief from the heat. We had mackerel sandwiches for lunch and at 3 the bus horn summoned us for our return trip. Upon returning to our grape arbour we sat on our cots and read and had a nap and at 7:45 we started our trip into town. We had goat stew and eggplants in tomato sauce. We played cards after dinner until 9 and headed back to bed.

August 3, 1970: Up at 7:30 today and I went to the bakery to buy some bread and yet more mackerel sandwiches. UGH! For breakfast!

August 5, 1970: It was our last day on Skiros and went to the beach for a morning swim. Before returning home we bought our lunch of cheese, mackerel (yet again), bread, pastries and the almighty tomato (UGH!). We packed up and paid the lurking Mrs. Piitsa $7 for our seven day stay and she mumbled something which did not sound like a thank you. We squeezed on the bus to Linaria pushed in by some energetic old ladies. We arrived on Skopelos on the ship Miaoulis at 6:15 p.m. and were taken ashore in a private launch for 15 cents a person.

RKS Wine: Go with The Bordeaux Flow?

Over the past few years in Ontario there has been a steady steam of low-cost Bordeaux wines appearing in the market. These bargain basement prices remind one of the cost of many wines from Chile, South Africa, Spain and Portugal. Bordeaux has a lot of “goodwill” attached to its name like “Champagne” does but we are too smart to be sucked in by the hype….right? Bordeaux should not lead to an assumption of quality. If you are buying the lower cost Bordeaux ($20 and under) you may wish to be vigilant as to the producers you are buying from.

With these foreboding words we try a Cru Bourgeois from Chateau La Pirouette which is a blend of 50% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot and 5% of the quirky Petit Verdot.

On the nose a low-key nasal attack here with black cherry, blackberry with some lush dense Merlot waiting to burst out and take the lead but held back beautifully and harmoniously by Cabernet Sauvignon with just enough feisty Petit Verdot to tease you with the exotic. On the palate the tannins are bordering on moderate. Notes are understated and laid back with black cherry, high toned sweet cranberry concentrate with a bit of a creamy finish. A little more depth on the palate would make this an exceptional wine so we just must settle with a very good wine here.

While I do not think this will improve in the bottle I think it would happily endure until the end of 2023.

 Wine drinker profile: Would suit those who like a low key as opposed to an assertive pack a punch red wine. Not a wine that demands to be accompanied by a meal. The aroma of the wine would be a good example of the simplicity yet elegance of a good Bordeaux.

(Château La Pirouette Cru Bourgeois 2016 AC Médoc, Earl Roux, Jau-Dignmac-Loirac, France, $18.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 21087, 750 mL,13%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 91/100).

Our next Bordeaux is a 2018 Marquis de Bern rated by my most trustworthy critic Roger Voss of the Wine Enthusiast as a 91. It is a blend of 70% Merlot, 20% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc.

On the nose it has somewhat a similar nose to the wine above. I would describe the aroma as a creamy and lush mix of blackberry, blueberry, cherry and blueberry tarts. On the palate noticeable tannins but not big bruiser ones. Why not call them firm! There are some blueberries, chocolate and pomegranate. A short but satisfying finish. I think there are enough tannins and promise in this wine so that it will mature nicely through to 2027. Good to sip on its own and it has enough confidence to compliment roast lamb or a prime rib. Being a big fan of my fried rice, I would salute vegetarians with a glass of this wine with mushroom fried rice and stir-fried broccoli in oyster sauce on the side.

(Marquis De Bern 2018 Bordeaux, AC Bordeaux, Marquis de Bern, Rions, France, $13.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 21091, 750 mL, 14%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 91/100).

“Travels to a Different Time” : July 29, 1970: Sleeping in a Grape Arbour on the Outskirts of Skiros: Watch For Scorpions! I Love Goat Stew!

We arrived at the tiny port town of Linaria in Skiros and no luck in finding rooms. Somehow we ended up on the outskirts of the equally tiny town of Skiros sleeping outside in cots in a grape arbour. I have been to camp in Vermont so this was going to be another adventure. As long as we don’t have scorpions biting us this should be OK. At least we are a few minutes away from a quiet beach. There are few tourists here. Now to get to the town of Skiros we have to walk five minutes to the beach. We then have to climb down a ladder then walk along the beach then up a ladder to walk up to the town. There is only one restaurant in town. We have a nice routine here. Up early, go the bakery in town, get some fruit and bread for breakfast. Then go to the beach for most of the day with an outdoor siesta then back to the beach. I have turned a golden brown by now. I love the ocean and I can even open my eyes underwater and they don’t sting. Then at 6 or so we head into town not forgetting our flashlight and head to the restaurant for mezze which in Greek means a snack. We usually have a couple of plates of cucumbers, tomato, octopus and feta cheese. Like a true Greek Mom has an ouzo or two and we watch the ocean below. The restaurant does not open until 8 p.m. and don’t even think of eating earlier than that! As we can’t read Greek we go into the kitchen and point to what we want to eat. The cooks smile and give us advice as to what they think we should be eating. I am having so much fun here and dinner every night here is so delicious. I feel so far away from home on some tiny island in the middle of an ocean and like I am in another world. How can I ever explain my adventures?

July 30, 1970: We froze under the grape arbour so we asked for some wool blankets for the upcoming nights. We went into town for some bread and canned mackerel. We also bought some soft drinks, beer and a watermelon and headed to the beach for mackerel sandwiches. Like in Crete the ocean was rough today and again I had to drag a panicked mom back to shore. Dinner tonight was goat stew for me and some salty fish for Mom.

“Travels to A Different Time” : July 1970 Squabbles in Iraklion, Crete and Robert to the Rescue

July 25, 1970: Up early at 7:30 today. Mom hand washed some of our clothes and we went down for breakfast at the pension we were saying at owned by Ismini Georgiadis. Bread and honey with scrambled eggs. Mom had a little squabble with Ismini over a cup of coffee. When we arrived at her pension she offered Mom a cup of coffee and now she was asking payment of 30 cents for it. I suppose Mom thought this was just another example of Greek hospitality we have become used to. Well Mom gave her a piece of her mind and paid up. Ismini came back and apologized and tried to return the money which Mom accepted. She then asked us to write a letter in English to a family in England. We don’t like Ismini very much. She charges $3.00 a night for breakfast and a room which is too much. After the letter was written we headed to the beach taking a bus there and again the little old ladies would bowl you over to get a seat. The beach we went to was a sandy beach Aminosos with huge waves good for body surfing. Suddenly when I was drying off in the sand I heard Mom shout for help. She disappeared under the waves and then surfaced. I grabbed her and hauled her in. She was coughing and gasping for breath and a small crowd gathered some offering help. She had some bad cramps and panicked. This made me think about our cottage in Vermont on Lake Champlain where Mom had a strict rule that there would be no swimming after a meal until you waited an hour. Something about blood flow being diverted to food digestion stopping blood flow to other parts of the body and causing cramps.

July 27, 1970: A Real Nasty Squabble!

Up at 8, breakfast and then off to the Iraklion Museum. What a bore and I yawned throughout it all. Well that caused Mom to have a tantrum and now she wants to return home to Montreal and she says she is sick and tired of me! I hope this will pass. Maybe it was the scare on the beach the other day? We went out for dinner and before we ordered she got up and stormed out. I followed her and ended up in a cafe where she went for a drink. When I walked up to the table she got up and stormed out. I followed her again and almost lost sight of her in a crowded marketplace but I spotted her at a restaurant. We had a silent meal and returned home where she said we should return to Montreal as I’d like it there. She sat on her bed tapping her foot on the floor. I have seen her take a few tantrums lately but this is a bad one. What a shame to ruin a vacation like this. No way I want to return to Montreal.

July 28, 1970: Goodbye Crete and Hopefully Better Temper Ahead!: We are leaving to go to the island Skiros today. Perhaps Mom’s temper will cool down? Cretans seem less friendly than the people we encountered on the other Greek islands. We settled our 5-night bill for $15 and headed out to the marketplace for a spectacular lunch. I think it was the best food I have had in Greece. We boarded our boat the Miaoulis after taking a 50-cent cab fare to the docks. We had a second-class cabin for our overnight trip. It was smaller than the ship we had our last overnight trip on but very clean and much newer. As we left the harbour at 7 p.m. I think we both decided Crete is the worst place in Greece we have been to. We ate our sandwiches we brought on deck. A couple of kookie guys from Austria invited us to the bar for a drink. One of them had rings all over his fingers and was wearing beads.

July 29, 1970: We had a good sleep aboard the ship and jammed up some buns we had brought for our breakfast. At 1 Mom went to the snack bar and we had a portacolada with salami on a bun. We arrived on Skiros at 2 p.m.