RKS Wine: More Viognier in the Marketplace

Viognier deserves wider distribution that it is currently getting in Canada. It is a wine with character that so many dry white wines do not have. But as it has character it has certain characteristics you are either drawn to or not. If you are a fan of Gewurztraminer you should be one of Viognier. They are distinct and speak loudly but each have distinct and related characteristics.

There is a decent amount of Viognier flowing in from Southern France into the Liquor Control Board of Ontario some of it excellent while some is watery and diffuse.

One good French Viognier is Domaine de la Baume 2016. It has a deep gold colour and on the nose apricot, peach, honey and ripe pear. On the palate the honey, apricot and tangerine meld beautifully with a slight peppery or minerality to its finish due to the limestone soils it was grown in along with silt and clay. A moderately long finish. This is a muscular wine beautifully made calling for grilled pork tenderloin or rabbit or a chicken in a cream and tarragon sauce. Yes it would also suit shellfish. It would suit a Thanksgiving turkey provided you are not smothering it with a cranberry sauce.

If this wine does not win you over to the Viognier camp so be it but at least give this underpriced wine a try.

(Domaine de La Baume Elisabeth Viognier 2019, IGP Pays d’Oc, CDL À, Landrias France, $15.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario # 438796, 750 mL, 14.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 89/100).

California does a fairly good job with Viognier but how does the Montpellier 2020 Viognier fare? It is medium gold in colour. On the nose green apple, pear, peach and tangerine. On the palate very tight and not as expansive as many Viogniers can be. Apricot and peach very tightly knit. Short finish. The wine simply doesn’t let itself hang out with joy and the full expression Viognier is capable of. However no Viognier is exactly the same. I can appreciate the tight and compact style. There is nothing technically wrong with the wine so I take this as simply a matter of style. You might want to call it refined? It might suit a palate that is used to muted white wines. I would pair this with a Spaghetti alla Nerano from Campania. You can see the recipe here https://www.the-pasta-project.com/wprm_print/recipe/2557

(Montpellier 2020 California Viognier, Montpellier Vineyards, Napa, California, $19.95, LCBO # 658138, 750 mL, 12.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 91/100).

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” :Reggie’s Secret Mission to Iran at the Request of The President of the United States!

We had a fantastic time on our promotional tour for Disney’s film “Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog”. It was tiring but Bob had structured it so we had some free time.

In Paris we saw the Eiffel Tower. In London we saw the London Bridge and Windsor Castle. In Berlin we saw a special museum dedicated to the horrible symbolism of the Berlin Wall. In Rome The Pantheon was the most beautiful building I have been in and the little bit of Spaghetti Carbonara I had in the Trastevere district of Rome made me fall in love with Rome. In Lisbon we couldn’t stand the cruise passengers flooding the city so we headed off to Sintra for a couple of days then off to Guincho Beach just outside of Estoril where we had fantastic walks on the beach and in the sand dunes and stayed at very cool Moorish castle hotel called Fortaleza do Guincho where Bob said this was the most beautiful dining room he has ever been in. And the food. As a treat I had a special pork dish called the black Pig of Alentejo. YUM! The chefs at Fortaleza know how to prepare the best food. Bob and Fay have stayed there before and Bob says it is his second home. We took a side trip to the Douro and what a spectacular train and boat ride we had down the Douro River. We stayed at a Quinta called Dona Matilde where I saw a winery for the first time. We also visited Bob’s friend at Porto’s coolest seafood restaurant Postigo in Old Porto. Bob caught up with his friend the owner Alex and I had a taste, small mind you, of some creamy Portuguese mountain cheese and a spoonful of Portugal’s national dish Bachalau and WOW!. Bob had given me a few chunks of octopus on our Portuguese trip. PLEASE GIVE ME MORE!

But a very special visit was to the Pope in Rome. Pope Frank I think was his name gave me a blessing for animals and Bob for bringing a Muslim dog into the world of children where Muslims have been so badly portrayed. As he held me on his lap he thanked Bob hoping that “Reggie The Egyptian Rescue Dog” would heal a rift between Muslims and Christians.

Now one important and secret visit we had when in Tehran was a visit with an important man like the Pope but he is called an Ayatollah. On the BBC news I have seen him and he frightens me with his anger towards the United States and also the other way being the anger of the United States against Iran. Why are these humans so hateful when politics are involved? It reminds me of dogs fighting in the streets of Cairo for a scrap of meat!

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” was becoming a huge hit in Iran and in the Muslim world except for Egypt where it has been banned.

The Ayatollah was very welcoming and Bob had several cups of tea with him. He thanked Bob for writing a film that had a Muslim dog as its star. It was an inspiration to the Muslim world. It showed to him the United States was willing to hold out a hand to Iran so both governments could start talking again and he gave Bob a letter which he asked he deliver to President of the United States. He even picked me up when he was talking to Bob and stroked my head. This is not the Ayatollah we see on the BBC news! He said he would say a special prayer for me! And he said to Bob that Iranian intelligence had determined that The Brothers of Egypt were an extortion ring operating out of Bulgaria so their criminal activities had nothing to with Islam. He told Bob he had issued a fatwah against them. I am not sure what a fatwah is but it doesn’t sound friendly.

On our way home we stopped in Washington and were picked up by The Secret Service and taken to see President Biden and gave him the letter the Ayatollah had given him. President Biden had been instructed that I was bitten by a big dog in Cairo so his German Shepherds were not in the Oval Office with us.

He opened up the letter from the Ayatollah and slowly read it. He smiled and told Bob not to say anything but he had received a personal invitation in the letter to meet the Ayatollah for two days of talks in Vienna to continue discussing the Iranian nuclear capability. He looked at me and said “I’ll be damned Reggie my best diplomats have failed to do what your story may do for world piece. Come visit me at Camp David after my meeting with the Ayatollah and I’ll have a special medal for you!”

A photographer came and took our picture. We have it on a mantle over our fireplace. Visitors come and see us with President Biden and their mouths open but Bob says me, him and Joe are friends and says no more. Now about the picture we have with the Pope Bob is not bound by any secrecy. I think I can hear my late master Anwar laughing with joy in the world beyond with Karim barking at his side. Didn’t I tell you earlier I had the blood of the pharaohs running in my veins.

By the way Joe confirmed that the CIA had informed him The Brothers of Egypt are criminals just as the Ayatollah did. Interpol would be busting them up soon.

“Mutantism on the March” :Chapter 98 Jiber’s FLQ (Far Out Liberation League of Quebec) Used in His Goal of Power in Quebec

Jiber’s crew had successfully manufactured the FLQ to fit into his power-hungry scheme playing the role of René Hecklevesque of the MSQ.

Jiber’s FLQ did not shy away from using Marxist language in its public communiques. It was a classic frame-up of the left who also advocated for the independence of Quebec like the MSQ. By creating this left wing separatist FLQ Jiber realized most Quebeckers would not support a violent left wing separatist movement. Jiber could also use the FLQ to show that the Quebec Government of Premier Poorassa was not being strict enough with the violent left-wing separatists. Hecklevesque warned the population of these “violent” Marxists. In the midst of all the confusion and panic created by the kidnapping of James Dentalfloss Hecklevesque could portray the image of a saviour. He would lead the province out of its troubles and seize power. When he had the province in his sweaty palms he could arrange for the burning of a few American owned factories and assault a few American citizens and ask for American military help to “secure” the province.

The Quebec mutant community was in a state of confusion. The FLQ had slammed the marginal mutants in some of its communiques somewhat strange considering the mutant’s role in fighting the corrupt political systems of Nicaragua and Columbia. The mutants had a solid track record of fighting repression where the FLQ were new kids on the block. The FLQ demanded the dismantling of the “mutant apparatus” as a reactionary voice working against the establishment of a free Quebec. Furthermore, the FLQ labelled mutants as a tool of the Westmount Anglo bourgeoisie. Factually this was certainly a huge lie as the mutants berated the Anglo-elite up on the hill in Westmount comprised of industrialists, bankers, physicians as the ultra rich exploiters of the Quebecois majority, As Squid had written in a pamphlet, “The Family Compact was never destroyed only given a democratic image. Canadian representatives for the big Yankee concerns degrades the mutant ethos and spits it out in contempt. Their selfish, greedy and arrogant behaviour had made them one of the biggest obstacles to achieve what is called in Canada “National Unity”. If the Americans are stuffing their loot bags what care do they have for Canada?”

The CDQ was caught off guard by the rash acts of the FLQ. They had not been spared the vitriol of the FLQ! The fact Montenez was a “foreign name” made him an easy target of attack by all Quebec nationalists. The CDQ and the United Mutants were so marginal for the FLQ to attack them seemed suspicious. It was almost as if the attacks were personally motivated. Montenez had no doubt Jiber was behind these villainous and factually incorrect FLQ attacks.

Jiber’s goal was to disunite the population in a clandestine manner publicly appearing as Hecklevesque the saviour. But what would he do when power was up or grabs?

The Quebec provincial government was meeting with little success in their “manhunt of Marxism”. Why risk popular support in saving the neck of a minor kidnapped British consular official James Dentalfloss. If they were too severe with Quebec nationalist radicals they might alienate the closet radical population. It was best to continue with the tough image and continue to do nothing which was a classic Quebec Liberal Party trait.

RKS Wine: The Penniless Pensioner and a Certain Lesbian/Bisexual Problem

We have been following the Penniless Pensioner over the past few months. His financial reserves and lifestyle were decimated by the failed criminal Bernie Madoff litigation. So when he told me about his engagement to Celine Serpent I received a boost to my bottom line by inking a nice wine consulting contract from Serpent for the engagement party but it was PP that was required to pay the bar tab so I had to go cheap. The engagement party was a roaring success and Serpent was delighted with my wine selection.

But my friends a couple of Panamanian bank accounts of PP have been “unfrozen” so there might be some more possibilities to upshift in wine for a wedding reception.

However PP contacted me in a panic with a slightly slurred voice as he admitted to having consumed a half bottle of Johnny Walker Red Label scotch. No blame on him as he told me a shocking story! He truly loves Serpent despite the fact she is a Plus size at 240 pounds.

I noticed at his engagement party there were so many ladies but few men! PP says it might have been all the Texas Tito vodka Serpent had with the oyster course or the 12 glasses of Tawny Port she had with dessert. The bottom line is that she admitted she was “formerly “a lesbian that had since undergone “conversion therapy” so she has “progressed” to becoming bisexual.

PP is freaked out. As an old school guy lesbianism and bisexuality are naughty deviant words. He said to me that he has no beefs against such people but to marry one is a different story.

I am not a psychiatrist but need my wine consulting contract to consummate with a marriage! About the only thing I can say is he should sleep off the Red Label and go to bed so we can talk in the morning.

The poor man is blubbering away and I just must hang up after wishing him the best.

“Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog ” : Reggie, Bosco and Dillie the Westie Groove at Drake’s Album Release Party

All us dogs, Bob and Fay are looking forward to Drake’s big barbeque at his home in the Bridle Path in a very exclusive part of Toronto. Unfortunately it is also where the Shermans were murdered! Honey and Barry Sherman pharma billionaires that must have made enemies.

Bob had downloaded a bunch of Drake’s songs and really none of us dogs and Bob can’t stand his music with its nasal whining that gives sensitive dogs with precision hearing a headache! Fay thinks Drake is the best. Hey but dogs getting invited to a BBQ means MEAT POSSIBILITIES!

Not to boast but because the Disney Film “Reggie the Egyptian Rescue Dog” all of us are celebrities except Bosco but he is part of the family so he is invited.

So we dress up, casually of course with Bob and Fay in Armani and Boss and us pooches just bathed by Bob and smelling pretty. Even stinky Bosco smells half decent!

We walk for a few minutes and pass through a security detail. Bob parts with his Glock but with such heavy security we all feel safe. Bosco as a new addition to the family really has no clue about how famous we all are.

Drake meets us and I was expecting to see some man with heavy gold chains and floppy clothes like in his music videos. But he is dressed in jeans and a flashy jacket. And he is a shy guy. He picks me and Dillie up like he is specially greeting animal stars. He asks his posse to give each of us 24 karat gold water bowls with our name engraved on them. They are filled with my favourite Evian water. We are the only dogs here! Drake introduces us while he is holding Dillie and I to so and so. Some are musicians, artists and actors. Some are huge basketball players. I can’t say I like Drake’s music but as a human he is gracious, respectful and humble.

And my goodness there is a classical music trio from Toronto Consort playing some medieval music from a man called Monteverdi! This Drake plays tough but he is ultra cool. He is serving all sorts of drinks including a favourite of his which is frozen honeydew melon, mint, lime juice, Evian water and Ouzo. Actually Bob and Fay had introduced this drink to Drake who loved it. The guests loved it so much the Ouzo ran out so they are drinking some Champagne in a golden coloured bottle. “Kristal”?

Gordon Lightfoot is there as well and he takes a liking to Bosco. Perhaps if he knew how Bosco stinks he might not be so friendly! Bosco seems to have found a long-lost friend in Gordon Lightfoot.

There is much noise and happy people. Many are black and I have not seen many of these types of people but they are like Bob and Fay and we dogs don’t discriminate.

There are a few lambs and pigs roasting over a spit and dinner is announced. There are huge mounds of meat, polenta, salad, grits with shrimp and loads of other food. Guests are given a Limoges China plate and they hit the buffet. There are great wines from Campania in Italy and the Okanagan in British Columbia.

Drake asks Bob if it is OK if we canines can have some meat. YES!!!!! We can. Just a bit of pork and lamb with some grits and shrimp. Kick me. Am I in paradise?

We gobble up this very special tasting meat and almost stagger over to Gordon Lightfoot and crash out with exhaustion and a full belly at his feet. Man, this Drake knows how to throw a party.

We are prodded awake by Bob who says it is time to go home which is down the street. Before we go Drake says he would like to take us to a basketball game of a team called the Toronto Raptors where we will be guests of honour on national television!

Drake has Bob’s Glock returned to him and has his security detail walk us home. Gordon Lightfoot asks us if he can have Bosco overnight and Bob and Fay agree. What’s up?

Despite the fact I do not like Drake’s music he is a good soul and is our friend now. Bob and Fay have asked him over for dinner next week.

We are home as the sun rises and  we crash out with our 24 karat gold water bowls Drake has given us! What a night. I am too tired to say my nighttime prayers. But before I nod off I think I see Anwar smiling at me and saying “Bravo Reggie!”

“Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11”

Of course, your first reaction to the terrorist bombings of the Twin Towers in New York may be where were you at that instant and then an increasing disbelief at the horrific and deadly attack that claimed close to 3,000 lives and many more due to toxic fumes that felled many first responders many years after the attack. Toronto office buildings were evacuated. I remember having an unsettled lunch at a tony restaurant in the Royal Bank Plaza and an alarm sounded and diners headed out. Crowds were in the streets looking for Canadian office buildings to be attacked. The news that night presented an apocalypse starting in New York and spreading throughout North America. The terrorists accomplished their mission but backfiring making anti Muslim sentiment a rising tide in North America that continues until today. Was the attack a success or a never-ending curse on the Muslim population in North America?

The film is a complicated and compact view of the fate of comedy after 9/11 featuring late night television hosts and mostly American comedians. Comedy immediately after 9/11 was walking on eggshells but comedy and life in the American spirit exhibited defiance to an attack that threatened the American way of life. It could be saying a healing period was needed but Americans are not cowed by attackers looking for paradise with 97 virgins….a rich ground for initial recovery comics to pursue.

Several comedians fell prey for reacting with comedic barbs too soon after 9/11 but given time and the Iraq War more lampooning emerged that deviated from 9/11 and focused on terrorism and the Iraq War and gave comedians the space they needed to dance around social issues with a connection to 9/11 but delicately respecting the loss of life.

When is it too soon to laugh after 9/11 is under the comedic microscope and it is very dense, thick and introspective.

It is not solely a film about comedy after 9/11 but the role of comedy and society, As they say in comedy that timing is key. The film makes that abundantly clear, “Too Soon: Comedy After 9/11 Comedy” really is a film that expands beyond its title and explores the role of comedy in society.

The documentary premiered on September 8th on Vice TV.  One hopes it will expand its presence throughout the globe. 

You can catch the trailer here     https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1mDA_14uwqTR_PL9OTQkn1Y-Foou3Pi-S

The film was directed by Nick Fituri Scown and Julie Seabaugh.

RKS Wine: The Tears of Christ (Lacryma Christi)

I can’t think of many wines that have differing legends about them. I have heard a few in Naples on my last visit there and that is when Lucifer fell from heaven Christ was sad and cried tears that landed on the slopes of Mount Vesuvius producing miraculous wines. Lacryma Christi is from the Campanian region of Italy and is primarily made from the white grapes Di Volpe and Verdeca and the red grapes Piedirosso (red chicken feet) and Aglianico. While in Naples I have had Lacryma Christi that was some of the smoothest red wine I have encountered. It is a perfect foil for the pizza of Naples a very unique style of pizza that may leave you saying I must return to Naples for more.

That pizza of Naples : Photo Robert Kennedy Stephen

We get so very little of Lacryma Christi here in Ontario it is a special occasion when it does arrive but did the Liquor Control Board of Ontario buyers buy the best on the market?

We try a 2018 Lacryma Christi from Terredora Dipaolo. On the nose smokey red cherry, blackberry, smoked meat and the air of the slopes of Vesuvius.  Very mellow tannins initially but they stiffen up a bit if the wine decants. A very tight and guarded cherry core with red plum. This is a very lean Lacryma Christi which might open up a bit more and evolve to something more charming. But today is today and I feel the Liquor Control Board of Ontario buyers could have done better. This is a decent wine but I have had better.

(Lacryma Christi 2018 del Vesuvio Rosso DOC, Terredora A Dipaolo, Montefusco, Italy, $24.95, Liquor Control Board of Ontario, 750 mL, 12.5%, Robert K. Stephen A Little Birdie Told Me So Rating 88/100)

“Giddy Stratospheres” A Joyous Self-Destructive Romp into 2007 London

“Giddy Stratospheres” is a high energy romp into the post punk music scene in London. Yes initially it is a joyous and high energy jump into the post punk music scene in 2007 London. Happy people. Great music and high energy. But reality sets in and perhaps all this energy is fueled by excessive drug use. While in the 1970’s there may have been cannabis and hashish and a bit of mescaline and cocaine this London is awash with all types of powerful snortables that decimate and numb.

The joy and exuberance quickly disintegrate into self destructive and dangerous behaviour. Drugs overtake the music and characters seem to slip closer into self destruction to a great soundtrack but the warning bells ring loudly and clearly.

Lara is into the music scene with her friend Daniel but a blowout night leaves Laura heading to her grandmother’s English countryside funeral. She can’t remember what happened the previous night after snorting all manner of drugs. In fact she is so out of it she is hallucinating her friend Daniel is going with her to the funeral. But Daniel is dead.

At the funeral her relatives are eccentric as Lara is but it is genuine eccentricity as opposed to one fuelled by drugs. She stays with her mother and father who are as eccentric as Lara but not stoned out. Lara seems to detox at her parent’s home and her artistic talents emerge and culminate in an art show of her works.

So the film is a gentle reminder of the destructive path of drug abuse entwined in the club scene. Nothing new for Geezers like me who have seen so many succumb to heroin and even laughing gas. But perhaps a perpetual warning without a Reefer Madness finger wagging in an exaggerated manner.

The film makes its point if indeed drug abuse is its point? A non didactic film like “Trainspotting” but it certainly makes its message clear.

Gloomy and depressing cinematography is as brilliant as the soundtrack. Laura Jean Marsh as Lara is brilliant and captivating and the screenplay gently conveys the message that sex, drugs and rock and roll are not particularly good for your health. Marsh also wrote and directed the film leaving me the impression that she has lived what the film portrays. The film has aromas of Johnny Rotten and the Sex Pistols and “Drugstore Cowboy”.

Highly entertaining and will keep you guessing what reality is and what is hallucination and fantasy. It is a shame its daring and creativity will never take it into the mainstream. This is why I only watch indie films.

This Brit film is 67 minutes and will be released on digital platforms on September 14th. You can see the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m733pqGxzsw

Poetry Break : “And where did the Cheering Section Go?”

You watch the news
and listen to the government public health information (aka Propaganda)
and there are encouraging voices from physicians, citizens and the media
about getting that vaccination
don’t you find it odd there are no dissenters?
or those that dissent on social media are taken down?
forced vaccinations by any other name
isn’t democracy and sovereignty of your body more than a public relations game?
but you can play the game of incessant harassing COVID testing
representing freedom of choice
remember thalidomide?
what happened to the cheering section for that drug?
five years from now when the fully vaccinated are wandering stupefied with Alzheimer’s
where will the happy people be that gave victory signs (prominently featured on your telescreen) after being vaccinated?

Robert k. Stephen

Surfing the Waves

The more the waves of COVID course the beaches of life
the more power and constraints placed on liberty
all in the name of public good
our elected representatives and their medical lackies turned into sharks
dismembering and attacking those who fail to tow the party line
vilified like the sharks that attack the surfers like the sharks they are?

Robert K. Stephen