first post

So I've decided to start a blog. Well, to be completely honest, I am starting a blog, again. I once had a 90's music videos blog, but it started making me (nearly) late for work because I'd update it obsessively in the morning before I'd get into my car and drive off to New Jersey to go to work. And because I started to run out of videos that I thought were cool enough to 1. Warrant being posted on a blog that I promoted on facebook and 2. Spend 15 somewhat minutes trying to write witty/intelligent snippets to go along with them. Then I wanted to start a blog about all the ridiculous things I'd see everyday at work at my other job in SoHo, but I was afraid that if corporate saw it it'd be the end of my time there.

But anyway, here I am sitting down typing away in front of Blogger yet again. (But this time I'm going to try to not edit and re-edit until I feel my post is worthy of a Pulitzer prize. *aND * i'm not going to worry about the appropriate usage of a semicolon and whether it's okay to put a comma before this and and whether or not it was okay to start that sentence with a but. So please, take no offense, all of you English majors out there....

Anyways....

It's been a year (well actually a year and exactly one month) since I've joined leagues in the lovely restaurant biz! I still 'work' at the Title Insurance office in New Jersey even though I haven't been there in nearly a month; I'm basically there on a Per Diem basis. I recently began taking a wine class at ICE (Institute of Culinary Education) in Chelsea. The class is called "Wine Essentials." It's a 6 week course devoted to teaching the novice wine drinker a few wine basics and to help you to fully appreciate and enjoy drinking good wine. To be completely honest, I don't even like wine -- at least not when I began this course.

I used to enjoy wine years ago, but then I got on a Champagne kick (thanks to Mireille Guiliano - French Women Don't Get Fat) for a few years, then onto an old fashioned cocktail kick, then, Scotch (partly because I saw an old guy in a Hitchcock show order Scotch & water at the bar). For a very short window, I was even drinking "Champagne with a little Scotch in it" - Cava with Chivas to be exact.

But now, I am learning alot about wine - at least much more than I knew before. And now, I am beginning to, perhaps for the first time ever, truly enjoy and appreciate wine. So, this blog is going to be dedicated to the experience of me learning about wine. (I'll also probably touch on, from time to time, where I am in regards to my journey in the restaurant biz) So for the first post, my first two wines to mention are Sauternes and Meursault; I bought them both for my partner for Christmas.

I was actually also looking for a very lovely Salentein we tasted in class (a Malbec/Merlot blend I believe), but couldn't find it anywhere. The exact Sauternes and Meursault I tasted in class I couldn't find either, but I believe I found some very nice comparisons.

When it came to the Sauternes, I asked the wine seller for his recommendation and he pointed out two bottles. The one that I picked, I did so based on 1. It was an Appellation... Controlee and 2. It was bottled at the chateau. I figured with those 2 requirements being met, it seemed to be a pretty safe bet. And, it was $50 so I figured it wouldn't be a bottle of junk.

It was absolutely lovely! As soon as I uncorked the bottle, I smelled the cork and it was heavenly. I paired it with some really lovely Roquefort Blue cheese (Roquefort Societe) I found with the help of the cheese guy at Westside Market and the pairing of the two was nearly orgasmic! I couldn't believe that after just two sessions of class I was able to make such an intelligent decision in picking out a wine! I usually just let my partner pick the wine or I pick up something I know he likes or has previously picked out (Vouvray, Blanc de Blanc...). But now, I can pick something out on my own and *d, don't read this part* even better than my partner I think!!