Frog’s Pad

[here] Beer, Booze and Bars,
Issue: March 20, 2008
Title: Screw You, Sulphur
by Craig Pinhey

I’ve been involved in a several week long discussion online at the wineloverspage.com forum about the connection, imagined or actual, between screwcaps and sulphur defects in wine. Being a scientist originally (I’ve got moldy B.Sc. and M.A.Sc. diplomas to prove it), I can never take a wine defect at face, or is that nose, value.

Just saying a wine smells like sulphur is not good enough. Sulphur what? Sulphur dioxide? Elemental sulphur? Hydrogen sulphide? Disulphides? Ethyl or Methyl Mercaptans? Farts? There are many types of sulphur smells, of varying origins and chemical formulas.

Why does wine smell like sulphur sometimes?

Well, it’s hardly surprising, given that sulphur is used in various forms throughout the life…err…death of a grape as it proceeds from the vineyard to your glass.  They use copper sulphate sprays in the vineyard to kill mold and prevent diseases. They burn sulphur sticks in barrels to kill bacteria and wild yeast. They add metabisulphite or inject SO2 gas into wine to prevent unwanted fermentation, to stop fermentations on purpose, and in bottling to preserve the wine, acting as an oxygen scavenger.

Sulphur, or as some folks call it, sulfur, is a key part of modern winemaking, like it or not. Some folks don’t like it, as a very small percentage is allergic. Some people want wines made without sulphur. This is difficult, but is being attempted by some winemakers. Some people, who want 100% organic wines from the vineyard to the glass, are eager to get sulphur completely out of the picture, but it’s not happening. Growers need it in the vineyard, and CuSO4 is a naturally occurring mineral, as is elemental sulphur, so they meet organic rules.

In the bottle, though, it may be possible to cut residual sulphur, although it is risky to make SO2-free wines. Refermentation could occur; the wine could become unstable and spoil or, worse, explode.  But there has definitely been a movement towards lower SO2 in the bottled product. Certainly the winemaker does not want more than is needed for stability, because there is a smell threshold.  Excess SO2 irritates your sinuses, and burns the back of your throat.

Why did I get into this? Well, I’ve encountered a rash (no, I’m not allergic) of screwcapped wines with sulphur in the nose lately. I’ve been buying a bunch of the sale wines at the ANBL, some of which are screwcapped New Zealand and South African Sauvignon Blancs, and I’ve noticed that every single one of them smells like a struck match.  We also call this flinty. It’s a bit like I imagine hell will smell like. Brimstone. I know this smell already, actually, from my years in the steel industry, where we removed sulphur at super high temperatures, and even added pure sulphur sometimes. I know what burnt sulphur smells like.

We typically associate this flinty smell with either Sauvignon Blanc (a varietal trait, owing to a chemical called pyrazine) or excess SO2, but it gets more complicated than that. How could a 2004 Sauvignon Blanc still have excess SO2? Jeez, how much did they bottle it with?  SO2 is normally associated with young whites, where the SO2 has not been incorporated into the wine yet through various reactions.

So, like any Sommelier worth his tastevin (Confession: I never use mine) I investigated online, and found a few interesting things.

There have been accusations of screwcapped wine having a higher than normal level of sulphur problems, mainly of the H2S variety. Hydrogen sulphide really stinks. Like rotten eggs or sewer gas, or maybe farts, lots of farts, working together to take you down.  It is not supposed to exist in the final product, but can sometimes form during fermentation and aging processes. Other comments in the research noted burnt rubber, skunk, garlic and onion. All unacceptable in wine, unless you have the palate of my long deceased beagle, Jet (he’d want dead fish added to balance out the flavours).

Some have claimed that this is the cork lobby trying to out screwcaps as having their own problems, just as natural cork has the problem of TCA (”corked” wine, that smells like chlorine poured into a musty basement). I don’t think so.

Research shows that screwcapped wines go into a reductive state, as opposed to oxidative, because the cap creates a much tighter seal than for natural cork. When reductive, chemical reactions can happen that produce complex sulphur compounds. One of these (Ethyl Mercaptan, CH3CH2SH, to be specific) smells like a struck match. If the reaction proceeds far enough, you can get disulphides, things that smell like rubber and garlic, like this sucker: CH3CH2SSCH2CH3. I’ve smelled these things in old wines. These cannot be removed easily.

I’m still learning about sulphur, and I’m still trying those sale wines. The good thing about a little excess SO2 or a hint of H2S or mercaptan is that you can often get rid of it by agitating the wine by decanting it, or by putting your palm over your glass and shaking it vigorously, but it is still an inconvenience. And some wines don’t seem to lose the smell. Another trick is to put copper (a penny or wire) in the wine, which can react with sulphur and remove the irritant.

Some of these wines have been on the shelves a long while. Maybe time is no friend of the screwcap. Maybe the sulphur problem increases with time and temperature.

Either way, I’m convinced there is a link between screwcaps and sulphur, at least with certain wines, and I’ll be following this story to the end. My hope is that winemakers are still adjusting to the screwcap, and the sulphur problem should dissipate, and hopefully disappear. To “cap” this off, I’ll be cautious about buying screwcap wines if they are older than  two years. Screwy, huh?

Craig Pinhey can smell sulphur. Could it be that my time is coming? Visit Craig at www.frogspad.ca.

[here] Beer, Booze and Bars,
Issue: September 11, 2008
Title: So You Think You Have Taste?
by Craig Pinhey

As someone who hangs out a lot with Sommeliers, beer and wine judges, and other less official but just as qualified tasters, the subjects of impartiality and  personal preference come up a lot.

We spend a lot of time in our introductory wine courses and full Sommelier program (contact me if you are interested – we have courses coming up in Fredericton. Moncton and Saint John) teaching our students to evaluate wine without letting personal preferences get in the way.  I was trained as a certified beer judge to determine how close a beer is to its intended style, ignoring my dislikes of specific beers.

You can tell someone to be completely open-minded and neutral all you want, but they’ll always rate based on what they know and like. They can’t help it. Training certainly mitigates this to a large extent, but it can’t get rid of it entirely.

So why do we bother judging?  Well, the panel helps. If you use panels of 4 or 5 judges, then average scores or kick out the highest and lowest then average, you hope each judge’s personal biases cancel out and the cream rises to the top. I think this does happen much more often than not, but there are also times when it seems all but one judge are on one side, and the one is cowering in fear, alone.

Whether it’s music, art, or wine, it is very difficult to understand why one person likes one thing and someone else prefers a completely different style. It must be a product of a myriad of factors: genetically predetermined prowess, where you grew up, how much your parents exposed you to the “good things” in life, what you experienced as a child through to adulthood, and what you learned in school – whether it’s Sommelier school or in the campus pub.

In my years of judging beer and wine I have run into all types of judges. Some have very similar palates to mine. Some seem to hate what I love and vice versa. Some are much more sensitive to defects. Some don’t notice ANY defects! Some seem to like everything and score them all very closely: 85. 84, 86, 85, 85, 86, 84. The latter are the worst kind of judge – they might as well not bother even showing up, as their scores mean nothing.

With all our training and years of experience, you might think that we can nail a brown-bagged and taped “blind” wine from the first sniff. “Cabernet, Medoc, from 1982, harvested before the rains,” etc. That is the stuff of braggarts and liars, and Jim from Taxi. The truth is that the best blind wine guesser (it is guessing, believe me) is the best cheater. They are the jerks that recognize wines by their exposed tops, the shape of the bottle, the markings, and by knowing the person who brought the wine. What do they prefer? What do they have in their cellar? Where have they been on holiday recently? These are the tools of the best wine guesser/cheater.

In a full-on blind tasting, where you know absolutely nothing about the wine or beer, we can’t be expected to guess it. I think I’m as good as most professionals at making a guess, but I would never expect to nail it without lots of hints. That said, I am confident that I can describe any alcoholic beverage – from a blind sampling -  in such a manner that a consumer could tell from my comments whether or not they might like it. That’s what training does: it gives you the sensory tools to describe something and the perspective to speculate as to why it tastes the way it does.

Unfortunately, all the training and expertise goes out the window when you know what you are tasting, or you think you know. No trained palate or nose is good enough to overpower ego or the power of suggestion. Recent studies have shown that when people think a wine is very expensive, they prefer it to when they think it is cheap. Now, before you jump to the conclusion that humans are shallow and insecure, know this: it has nothing to do with that.  What happened is that, when the subjects were told the wine was really expensive and high quality, their brain fired up all their sensory tools so that they were revved and ready to love it. Naturally, then, it tasted great, complex, with all those medal winning nuances in addition to the obvious explosive elements.

Now, in the other case, when they told the test group that the wine was a basic wine, their systems were essentially on “pause” when they smelled and tasted the wine, so – what a shock – it was judged bland and rather uninteresting. What do you expect for $8?

A similar trick is to put an ordinary (not defective – good tasters will pick up a corked wine even if they think it cost $500) wine in a famous bottle and pour it for a group of “wine experts,” hyping it up all the time as a “95 pointer” or “the best wine I’ve had in years.” I guarantee that most of them will love it, unless they noted your horrible acting.

This is why I object, on one level, to grouping wines, at judgings, by price or region or grape.  Judges will already have a preconceived expectation, and they can’t help but let this affect their scores. So Cabernet Sauvignon will probably always outscore Marechal Foch, even if the wine in question is worse.

Keep these thoughts in mind the next time you do a home tasting, or someone hands you a glass and asks: “What do you think of this?”  My answer? “Cabernet, Medoc, harvested just before the rains.” I cheated, of course…

Craig Pinhey is a Certified Sommelier and Beer Judge. Contact him at frogspad@nb.aibn.com.

Simpsonized!

Besides being a member of the Buyer’s Guide Tasting Panel and a regular contributor to Wine Access, Canada’s most influential wine magazine, Craig Pinhey is wine writer for the New Brunswick Telegraph Journal, CBC Radio’s Friday Wine Guy, and also writes regular beverage columns for: New Brunswick’s weekly [here] newspaper, TAPS (Canada’s Beer Magazine), Halifax’s The Coast, East Coast Living and Progress magazine. He covers pop culture in his [here] column – Culture Schlock – and reviews restaurants (Fork It Over). He also has his monthly BruBlog up at Diningpick.com. He makes his living writing, teaching, designing wine lists, doing restaurant service training, and conducting educational tastings in the region’s restaurants.

He also judges at both of Canada’s National Wine Competitions, as well as the International Value Wine Awards, the Atlantic Wine Awards, The Moncton Wine Expo Awards and the Canadian Brewing Awards.

Craig was born in Halifax and grew up on the South Shore of Nova Scotia, in Head of St. Margaret’s Bay. He attended Dalhousie University and graduated with a B.Sc. in Math, then went to TUNS (now part of Dalhousie) where he graduated with a B.Eng. in Metallurgy, and M.A.Sc. in 1987.

He had his booze epiphany circa 1985 with his first pint of Ginger’s Best cask conditioned real ale at the original Ginger’s Tavern in Halifax.

Craig moved to Hamilton, Ontario to work, and immediately got heavily involved in the local craft beer scene, and homebrewing. He became a Certified Beer Judge, won a few amateur brewing awards, and got his first paid freelancing gig at the Great Lakes Brewing News. He also found himself increasingly attracted to the emerging Niagara wine industry.

After 10 years in the steel industry, Craig quit to move back east to New Brunswick to start a writing career.

Craig graduated as a Certified Sommelier in Halifax in 2000, finishing with the top marks in Canada in the Canadian (now International) Sommelier Guild program, and is now a member of the Atlantic Chapter of the Canadian Association of Professional Sommeliers, for which he also teaches. He lives in Rothesay, New Brunswick with his wife and daughter, and travels regularly in the region, and around the world, hunting for great food & drink, and stories. Craig loves all types of wine, beer and spirits, but is, in particular, a Riesling fanatic and a lover of English Real Ale.

[here] Beer, Booze & Bars, Dec 28, 2006
Pet Sounds
Craig’s 10 Favourite Records of 2006, Paired with Suitable Drinks

Here I sit watching Canada’s best soccer player’s team on TV, thinking about my favourite records from 2006. Owen Hargreaves is a star for Bayern Munich in the German Bundesliga, was England’s best player in this year’s World Cup, and he’s Canadian. Is he a traitor, an opportunist, or just managing his career? Actually, at the moment he is but a lame duck, sitting out with a web injury…

It makes me think about my “best album” choices for 2006. Am I disloyal for not picking any New Brunswick bands? Should my list be All Canadian?  I’ve been in several online arguments – well, discussions – over the past while regarding music. Specifically, is there anything wrong with your favourite music coming from away? Some think we owe it to our local music scene to support it above all others. There’s merit in this, but music is very personal, and anyone who is a serious fan of music, a collector, knows that, when you hear the right sound, you must buy it, regardless of origin. Some of us find those sounds easily, on commercial radio, as backing tracks to favourite TV shows, in a bar, or at a friend’s house. Others search far and wide, using the Internet as a valuable tool, to find that certain aural satisfaction that we just can’t adequately describe to nonbelievers.

However you find your muse, it can be rewarding to share with others.  Or not. When you list your favourite records, your Pet Sounds, you are to some extent laying your soul bare – giving others insight into your most personal and perhaps political thoughts. “If he likes that,” they think, “he must be ignorant/gay/uneducated/a communist/misogynistic/a psychotic loner/insert your own psychiatric assessment here.”

Well, I’m willing to take that chance, just in case one of you finds your own pet sound amongst my picks.

So, here they are, my top ten from 2006, with drinks to match.

1. Sloan – Never Hear The End Of It
30 tracks of diverse music from four singer songwriters with wide ranging influences, this was a welcome relief after their disappointing Action Pact. From Beatlesque pop to jangly, tuneful, retro rock, psychedelic angst, radio friendly ballads and hard rock/punk, Sloan does it all. It would be a great album to retire on – a “magnum popus” of sorts – but I sure hope they don’t.

A Favourite Line: “I’m unable to tell if I know who I am. A modest success, a shill or a sham.”

Drink?
Sloan demands four drinks for four unique performers. For Chris: Black Sheep English Ale, for his introspective Lennonish-leanings. For Patrick:  Black & Tan, radically opposite, like his pop ballads and hardcore punk.  For Jay: something classic, a Manhattan. For Andrew, how about some mushroom tea of the wild variety?

2. Elvis Costello and Allen Touissant – The River In Reverse

Arguably one of the most important urban American releases of 2006, The River in Reverse was missed by many, perhaps because a cocky white Brit was involved. The fact that soul legend Allen Toussaint would work with Costello to create this poetic response to the flood may surprise some, but not anyone familiar with both artists. Some noticed. It is up for a Grammy, in a category with some of the worst culprits in mass-marketed American crap. To see the hot touring band, complete with New Orleans horns, check out “Hot as a Pistol, Keen as a Blade,” a concert DVD released in time for Christmas.

A Favourite Line: “Wake me up. Wake me up with a slap and a kiss. There must be something better than this. But I don’t think that it can get much worse. What do we have to do to send the river in reverse?”

Drink?
Classic N’Awlins: coffee made with chicory, or a Hurricane: lots of rum and fruit juice, bought and drank on the street.

3.  Lloyd Cole – Antidepressant

This 45 year old Scotsman – living in New York — continues making fabulous records in the moping, manic depressive singer-songwriter style, along the lines of Bob Dylan consorting with John Lennon. Ever a critic’s darling, Lloyd sells few records. I find this depressing.

A Favourite Line: “I said I’m trying to write my novel. She said Neither am I.”

Drink? Vodka and Valium, hold the vodka.

4. Hawksley Workman – Treeful of Starling

Hawksley took a major turn from Lover/Fighter, which had some folks comparing him to Bono (not me), and released this gorgeous, intimate folk-pop record. It’s perfect music for lazy relaxation, on the grass under a tree in the summer.

A Favourite Line:  “And in ten thousand years time, when we’re found there, still entwined, in a near eternal kiss, that would impress the scientists.”

Drink? Homemade lemonade.

5. The Nines – Calling Distance Stations

I’m not sure why it took me so long to buy a Nines record. They’ve been touted as a fave of XTC’s Andy Partridge and Jellyfish’s Jason Faulkner (who both guest on the new album), they are Canadian, and lead singer Steve Eggers does a dead-on McCartney.

A Favourite Line: “All of the things I could have said, I kept it all inside my head instead. So long Mary-Jane.”

Drink? Great Ontario wine: Henry Of Pelham Non-oaked Chardonnay.

6. Nine Horses – Snow Borne Sorrow

Everything David Sylvian touches is golden. This new CD also features his brother and ex-Japan co-member Steve Jansen, and other guests including the legendary Ryuichi Sakamoto. Enjoy ambient, haunting melodies, anchored by Sylvian’s deep, silky voice.

A Favourite Line: “God bless amnesia, and the things I’ve suppressed. I can reframe the image, I can discard the rest.”

Drink? Herbal tea of your choosing, or opium.

7. Andy Partridge/XTC – Fuzzy Warbles 7&8 + Box

Andy completes his epic cataloguing of rarities, assembled in his garden shed/recording studio. Fuzzy Warbles concludes with volumes 7 & 8, and a bonus CD, “Hinges”, included when ardent fans purchased the Collector’s Album, perhaps the most original and brilliant piece of CD packaging ever. It’s like a big, happy stamp album!

A Favourite Line: “I’m unbecome. I dissipate. You are the fresh bread upon my plate. Oh, what’s to be done? My heart was cloud light but now it weighs a ton.”

Drink? In Swindon, where Andy lives, typical ale on cask would be a Bitter from Archers, a local brewer. Stuck here, I’ll drink Picaroons or Pump House.

8. Elvis Costello Live with the Metropole Orchestra – My Flame Burns Blue

Although mainly Costello classics reworked for a jazz orchestra, some of these tunes sound completely new with the treatment. Reviews from fans have been mixed, but people seem to like it at our dinner parties. Hora Decubitus alone is worth the sticker price. This opening track is a Mingus tune with Costello penned lyrics, which he practically scats.

A Favourite Line: “The score is obscure, the melody fractured. It went by my window, refused to be captured.”

Drink: Martini. Dry. Gin. Two olives.

9. Danny Michel – Valhalla

One of the best live shows in New Brunswick was Ontario’s Danny Michel at Sessions Café in Rothesay. This CD captures the intense feel of his stripped down live act. If you haven’t seen him – do!

A Favourite Line: “When your heart is soaked in gas and someone fumbles for a match, you’ll be rescued by the wind.”

Drink: Straight whisky or whiskey, depending on your mood.

10. Roddy Frame – Western Skies

Aztec Camera frontman Frame makes easy listening music for intelligent adults, which sounds vaguely insulting, but these are remarkable songs, beautifully sung, and the guitar work is fantastic.

A Favourite Line: “I’ve wiped my phone and I’ve grown my hair, and I’ve thrown away the things we used to share.”

Drink: Gin & Tonic – relaxing and very British.

Note: I haven’t heard Tom Waits’ new 3 CD Box Set yet (”Orphans”), hence it’s absence here.

Craig Pinhey still listens to LP’s. Yes, he’s old. Visit him at www.frogspad.ca.

[here] Beer, Booze & Bars, Dec 27, 2007
Drink’N'Music
Craig’s 10 Favourite Records of 2007, Paired with10 Favourite Tipples

It is very difficult to pick 10 records and 10 drinks in a world where everyone and their cat (and the cat’s mice, and their fleas…) can release a CD, and the selection of wine, beer and spirits on the ANBL shelves is ever increasing to the point where I don’t know what to buy anymore. In the face of this veritable tidal wave (admittedly strewn with garbage)  of content, the natural reaction is to hole up with your all time personal favourites.  But with risk there is reward, and that’s why I almost always check out recommendations from friends, whether it’s a quick visit to myspace or youtube, a nip with friends at your favourite pub or wine bar, a loaned record or emailed “flac,” a wine and food dinner at a friend’s home, or even a full evening out to see a few local bands.

This year I decided to make it more difficult. I’ve picked 10 of my favourite locally available drink selections, and matched them to 10 favourite albums. It puts restrictions on my choices, but I’m up for the challenge.

MUSIC
1. Apples In Stereo – New Magnetic Wonder: bright & cheery ELO & Beatles influenced pop, with plenty of single-worthy tracks. Right from track 1 “Can You Feel It,” this LP has you smiling. It’s almost too happy to listen to the entire album in one sitting.

Matched with…2006 Santa Carolina Sauvignon Blanc Reserva, Rapel Valley, Chile, $13.99
Fresh, vibrant, fun & exciting – I’m talking about the Apples in Stereo AND this new Sauvignon from Chile, which has fast become one of the best sources for good value Sauvignon Blanc in the world.

2. Any Trouble – Life In Reverse: classic pub rock, clever lyrics, hum-able tunes, with neat little guitar solos and Clive Gregson’s perfectly clean voice.

Matched with…2006 Gaspereau Riesling, Nova Scotia (500 ml, $18.99), available at the Gaspereau winery – could be sold out by now but we are awaiting the 07. Like Any Trouble:  light, clean, and friendly, but with subtle complexity. My comments: “floral and citrus notes, and lots of minerality – wet stone – as well as a crisp, clean finish, with great acid.”

3. Graham Parker – Don’t Tell Columbus: a Brit who adopted the USA, and made it his own. Gruff and tough folk and roll with the usual acerbic lyrics. Hailed by critics and fans as a new classic Parker LP.

Matched with…Garrison IPA – coming soon to the ANBL if not already here. Here’s another  Brit(ish beer style) adopted by Americans. Canadian Beer of the Year, at the 2007 Canadian Brewing Awards. Bitter and bold, like Parker,  super hoppy, aromatic and strong, with a bittersweet finish. To quote a famed beer geek, it tastes “moreish.”  A new Canadian classic.

4. Joel Plaskett – Ashtray Rock: A hook and riff-ridden rock opera about Joel’s days in a Halifax high school, his band and “the girl.” This is fun, singable poprock. Fashionable People gets my nod for single and local video  of the year.

Matched with…Pump House SOB or Picaroons Best Bitter. These bitter yet balanced craft ales are, like Joel and his band, dependable local favourites.

5. Spoon – Ga Ga Ga: minimalist guitar-bass-drums-keys rock, with odd, interesting lyrics. This is new rock music that actually feels fresh. I don’t see how they do it, given the simplicity of their shtick, but they do.

Matched with…2005 French Tom Chardonnay, from Barton & Guestier, VdP D’Oc, France,  $15.99.
Like Spoon, this is straightforward but more than the sum of its parts. It’s a round, smooth, oaked French Chardonnay, but possessing class and elegance beyond it’s price tag.

6. Nick Lowe — At My Age: gentle country swing and jazz ballads by a man who’s aging wonderfully.

Matched with…Johnny Ziegler Senior, 10 Year Wood-Aged Apple Brandy – a fine spirit made locally, at Winegarden Estates. You can buy it there or order it from them, very fairly priced at $25. As with Lowe, age has brought smoothness.

7. Buck 65 – Situation: this wordy rapper’s partnership with Skratch Bastid proves a bit more old school than his last 2 records, and his rapping and wordplay is as sharp as ever.

Matched with…Champagne Henriot Blanc Souverain, $64.29 at ANBL.
It may seem cliché to match Champagne and rap, but this applies doubly since this one comes only from white grapes, Chardonnay specifically. Henriot bubbly is exhilarating and decadent, leaving you breathless, just like you’d be if you tried to rap along with Buck 65…

8. Prefab Sprout – Steve McQueen Reissue (8 new acoustic tracks): a reissue of one of the best albums of the 80’s, with now-hermit Paddy McAloon reprising 8 of his favourites on acoustic guitar and harmonica. Pristine, sensual and thoughtful pop.

Matched with…2005 Henry of Pelham Reserve Pinot Noir ($35.98 at ANBL):
Pinot Noir is a difficult grape, just like Paddy, who has spent the last few years in near obscurity with a rare illness. But, when given the chance to shine, Pinot makes excellent, elegant & sensual wines, like this award winner, displaying minerality, earthiness and ripe cherry fruit.

9. Elvis Costello – My Aim Is True Reissue with New Live CD from 1978.
I’ve been burned by being forced to purchase yet another Costello reissue; meanwhile he’s in the media saying he doesn’t feel the need to record another record, suggesting we should come to his live shows to hear his new songs (!). Still, I can’t deny the excitement of the newly released live album included here. It’s the best live recording of the Attractions in existence, to my ears.

Matched with…Las Moras Reserve Tannat, Argentina, $12.49:
Like Elvis, Tannat is more comfortable, and even popular, across the pond than where he grew up. South America is a second home for Tannat, which originates from France. This is a power red for the price of plonk. It has big fruit and tannins, and goes well with red meat.  I don’t know if it will age as well as Elvis, who celebrated the 30th anniversary of My Aim Is True in 2007 with the re-release.

10. Robbie Fulks – Revenge (Live 2CD)
Fulks is bold, odd, hilarious, irreverent, and real: all the things I love in music.  This is strong throughout, but worth it for two tracks alone: His cheeky cover of the Cher hit “Believe,” and “I Like Being Left Alone,” an autobiographical song about fame’s pitfalls.

Matched with…2005 Chateau Ksara Reserve Couvent, Lebanon, $18.49:
This Fulksian (odd) Rhone-style blend of Syrah, Carignan and Cabernet Sauvignon is full and tannic, with a portion of the grapes undergoing oak aging for 12 months.  Lebanon has a long history of winemaking from Rhône grapes. Like Robbie says in his song, “I like being left alone. I like chocolate pie,  a clear blue sky, and a glass of Côtes du Rhône.”

Craig Pinhey spends too much time listening to music while drinking. And not enough. Visit him at www.frogspad.ca.

I’ve watched so much pre-election coverage in the past 2 months that it has cut into my “TV for entertainment” time, and that’s no good. In between watching McCain grimace, Obama frown, Dion choke, and Harper do as he always does (pretend to smile while impersonating a Siberian Husky-eyed robot), I have managed to keep up to speed with the new seasons of my usual shows – Dexter, Supernatural and Californication – while also picking up two new favourites.

Thank the TV gods for Rogers On Demand!

The only new Fall shows that intrigued me, and also delivered, are Fringe and True Blood.   Both those show themes could be applied to recent election activity, as in “Green is just a Fringe party” and “Only Liberals have True Governing Blood (even though The Green Shift Plan sucks like a vampire)” but I’m more interested in fantasy than reality in times like these.

Fringe

Fringe is the new show from Lost creator J.J. Abrams, and I like it a lot better than Lost. Fringe is a show about unexplained, or perhaps explained, phenomena, which doesn’t make it special at all. Those kind of shows are ubiquitous to the point of annoyance (see Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Ghost Whisperer). What I’m really loving about Fringe is the writing and the acting performances.  Dawson Creek’s Joshua Jackson (can that be his real name?) is admirable as Peter Bishop,  who becomes entangled in an FBI project dealing with these nasty happenings. He helps enlist the assistance of his seemingly crazy dad, Dr. Walter Bishop, a brilliant scientist who had been institutionalized. John Noble as Dr. Bishop is the highlight of the show. He’s funny, nutty, ridiculously intelligent, and – most importantly – highly entertaining. You may remember him as the insane Denethor, Steward of Gondor, in the Lord Of The Rings movie. Anna Torv is adequate as FBI agent Olivia Dunham who works with the Bishops.

Thus far the show has dealt with several creepy culprits in a very X-Files manner, but I hope it doesn’t degenerate into a similar big conspiracy theory web. That would render the show redundant.

Watch Fringe on FOX or CTV on Tuesdays at 10:00 PM. It premiered September 9, 2008, but you can catch up  for free by watching online at CTV.ca.  It is a bit choppy on my iBook, but if you have a faster computer it might play smoothly.

True Blood

If you are easily offended by free flowing blood and simulated violent sex, then I’d steer clear of HBO’s True Blood until it is eventually cleaned up for regular cable, but if that stuff doesn’t scare you, tune in to True Blood for  one of best vampire stories yet to be onscreen. The premise is quite different from other bloodsucking chronicles, in that vampires are an accepted (well, in the same way that we accept other races)  part of society, and live amongst us.

Created by Alan Ball, who gave us the excellent Six Feet Under, also on HBO, the best part about True Blood is the writing and acting, and the strong use of humour to cut through the tension created by the horrifying vampire footage. Based on the novel series Southern Vampire by Charlaine Harris, True Blood is set in the southern US, where folks are known for their tolerance. It tracks the growing relationship between telepathic barmaid Sookie (Anna Paquin, a Winnipeg born but New Zealand raised actress best known for winning an Oscar as a young child, for her role in The Piano) and the simply named Bill The Vampire (shouldn’t his name have been something exotic or gothic like Zoltan or Ezekiel?), played by Stephen Moyer, who I don’t recognize at all (he’s British). They both do an excellent job, but the early part of the season has largely been stolen by Sookie’s horny brother Jason, played by Brad Pitt lookalike Ryan Kwanten. The scene where he takes too much vampire blood (Viagra X 100)  is particularly memorable…

I can’t wait to see where True Blood takes us. Apparently it has already been renewed for a second season, so be prepared for plenty more blood and sex. Just like the Election coverage.

Watch True Blood on The Movie Network on Sundays at 10:00 PM. It premiered September 7, 2008, but you can catch up using On Demand or some other technology, if you have it. You can probably download it too, if you are a copyright criminal.

Craig Pinhey voted strategically and is not happy. If Obama wins, he’ll feel a bit better. Visit Craig at www.frogspad.ca.

The 2008 World Wine and Food Expo takes place this November in Moncton

For more information go to wineexpo.ca

POSTPONED TO JANUARY 2009, Watch This Site!

Enjoy a selection of wines & Chef Axel’s food matched to live music

Opera Bistro

Saturday evening, November 29, 2008

Craig will work with the Pomodori folks to match Italian wine with various styles of wood oven pizza

Pomodori

To keep in touch with Atlantic wine events, go to atlanticsommeliers.ca, and click on the news calendar tab.