Whites

There are no members of our family that prefer white to red wine, but I am very fond of certain white wines. First, let me list a couple of wines which I consider only belong in blends: Semillon and (most examples of) Chenin Blanc. I find Pinot Grigio somewhat insipid, but it's "o.k." to my taste. I am especially fond of the Rieslings and other wines of Alsace-Lorraine, and I enjoy Viognier, which has come into greater prominence in recent years. In this limited review of my personal tastes, I enjoy Sauvignon (or Fume) Blanc, but my all-time favorite is the classic Chardonnay. There's a broad range of vinification of this grape, from the somewhat dry to the much-maligned "buttery" style. I like them all. There are many other types of white wine from the many wine-making parts of the world, of course. Then there are sparkling wines, which I'll discuss in another blog.

Sparkling Wine

This is the second of several blogs about my favorite wines by style--not individual vintners, let alone vintage years! Champagne, in my opinion, is still the ideal wine for toasting, whether for a simple birthday celebration or some other special reason for rejoicing. But champagne, even a humble non-vintage, is expensive There are many other quaffs suitable for celebrating. From Spain, I especially like Freixenet, but perhaps Cava is best known. In Germany, the simple word "Sekt" is what one asks for. Italy's Prosecco is spritsy. France also has many other sparkling wines, including a version of Vouvray.

Rosé

I love the color of rosé wines, but I accept the fact that they are not very popular - in fact, more rejected than accepted. Personally, I enjoy rosé wine as a summer quaff. Especially if it is a dry wine, not one of the sweet pink variety.

Our Song

In the early Fifties, one of my favorite movie cliches was when one of the characters in a romantic comedy would declaim "Listen, they're playing our song". An orchestra would then play a sentimental song., and the lovers would embrace. My fiancée (Helen) and I enjoyed most movies, but with all the cynicism of Oxford undergraduates anxious to be considered sophisticated, we liked to poke fun at Hollywood sentimentality. So when Helen said "We should have our own "Our Song", I immediately agreed. South Pacific was the hit musical of that time, so Helen readily accepted my suggestion that Some Enchanted Evening should be Our Song. I was never much of a dancer, but I well remember dancing cheek to cheek with Helen when the band played that smoochy song, giving us the chance to declare to each other "They're playing Our Song!". Helen & I had a formal betrothal party at her parents' home in Buenos Aires, but our lives took different directions, and we terminated the engagement "by mutual agreement", despite romantic trysts in Geneva, Paris, and Venice after that decision. We have each had two marriages to other people, and haven't been in touch for many years. But I still think happily of Helen whenever I hear "Our Song" being played.

Washing Hands in Cold Water

It takes a while for the shower and faucet in our upstairs bathroom to run warm. I lost my taste for cold showers in wartime Britain, so we just run the shower until the water is tepid. (Is there a difference between "tepid" and "lukewarm" in the context of running water?) Water, it is said, is the new gold, and we do what we can to conserve it. For some time now I have simply washed my hands in cold water. I readily admit that when I am washing downstairs, I use the hot water faucet. Especially if Barbara or a guest has just washed their hands, I like it when warmer water begins to arrive, but I don't waste a drop of water. But we pay for our water, and though I remain smug about being a good citizen, I do wonder if at least part of my motivation is the knowledge that I am saving money, as well as water...

Flying through the years

When I was taking business trips to conventions and leisure trips to various parts of the world, I piled up significant amount of reward miles. This enabled me to fly first class or business class most of the time, sitting in relative comfort, and often enjoying wine with my airline meals. How times have changed! Most of my flying these days is between Oakland and Denver, and my airline of choice is Southwest. Because I use a wheelchair, I usually have a choice of seats because of "preboarding". This is reasonably priced transportation, especially if reservations are made well in advance. However, by no stretch of the imagination could I say that I fly in comfort. I still have some unexpired miles in a couple of airline programs. I would still prefer to use these for upgrades rather than for free trips. Barbara and I were able to fly in business class when we went to the UK in 2011, and I still remember my luxurious flights on Singapore airlines when I flew to Johannesburg a few years ago. I was interested to see that my own list of favorite airlines coincided with a list in a popular magazine. After Singapore Airlines came Cathay Pacific and Malaysian.

A nostalgic note on cricket lingo

Anyone who understands cricket will understand what these terms mean in the context of England's traditional summer sport. In no particular order, here are some of cricket's words: No Ball, Wide, Slip, Silly Point, lbw, over, maiden, declare, boundary, six, follow-on, yorker, innings, all out, Not Out, Ashes, Windies, Cover, gully, How's That?, new ball, Fine Leg, stumps, stumped, Third Man, Test Match, Carried His Bat, middle-and-leg, Mid Off, Extra Cover, Bye, Leg bye, opener, partnership, wicket, hat trick, cut, off spinner, bail, crease, dropped, run out, goose egg, half volley, single, broken bat, rain stopped play, bad light, substitute, googly, full toss. That's over fifty terms with specific meanings to cricketers. Baseball fans consider a game which takes at least a day, often three days, and sometimes even five days, to be boring. (In earlier days, the Final test was "played to a finish"!) Baseball fans should talk: in baseball a "perfect game" has no hits, let alone runs. Spellbinding, maybe, but to those who don't care, perhaps a bit boring... Cricket is a game to be savored. On a leisurely sunny day, watching 24 men (including the two umpires) in white, with the score creeping up steadily--delightful! Some things have changed. It used to be that professionals didn't have their "Christian" (e.g. first) names on the scorecard, and if initials were there, it was to distinguish between two men with the same last name. Of course, we knew their first names (Jack Hobbs, Len Hutton, Hedley Verity, Tony Lock). "Gentlemen v, Players" featured amateurs v, professionals. The Captain was always an "amateur"--of independent means or subsidized--and they had their initials shown, beginning (in memory) with W.G. Grace. We knew their names too--Colin Cowdrey, for example. As I write, the Fourth Test is under way. It looks as if we are in for an exciting finish. Australia has a slight advantage at this point, but the result could go either way.