Monday, October 31, 2016

Fun tasting at Reverend Nat's Hard Cider (1813 NE 2nd, Portland OR)

We tried a sampler of six hard ciders ($15) and they threw in a seventh as well. This is a very good cidery (for the drafts; I'm not recommending the bottled versions). Specifically:

#1 Revival hard apple cider (their flagship cider): Clean. Well-made. Traditional. Off-dry. Bit of a honey nose. A pleasure to drink. B+ This is the one I took home. A winner.

#4 Tent Show. Burgundy barrel-aged pomegranate wine, with Jonathan apple eau di vie, prune juice, and spices (this was the freebie they wanted me to taste): Smells a bit sour; is just too strange for me. C-

#5 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Granny Smith: Great flavor. Nice balance. So well made. B

#6 Rev Nat's Winter Abbey Spice: Smells sour, with cinnamon. Nice in the mouth. B-

#8 Rev Nat's Overlook Organic Heirloom: Really fun. Flower bouquet, tart palate, grapefruity finish. B

#10 Rev Nat's Deliiverance Ginger Tonic: Too much ginger for me, but B+ if you love ginger.

#11 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Winter Cider: with "warming spices." Ugh. The only cider I tried that was not well-made. A hot plastic smell ruined it for me. D

He makes a few bitter (hoppy) ciders, but most of his ciders are not, for which I am grateful.

A container of warm (non-alcoholic) cider was available free, which was nice, as were artisan donuts from a nearby shop. You can take good-looking pizza and salad in from a nearby pizzeria (not sure which one, but certainly the Rev Nat's staff could tell you. If you drink on-site, it's by the tap, but they sell by the bottle and by the growler also.  Reverend Nat is a real reverend, and was very kind to me in a brief email change earlier this year, about my growing and selling cider apples (his operation is too large to be interested in my small production).


Fun tasting at Reverend Nat's Hard Cider (1813 NE 2nd, Portland OR)

We tried a sampler of six hard ciders ($15) and they threw in a seventh as well. This is a very good cidery; highly recommend (for the drafts; not recommending it for their bottled stuff). Specifically:

#1 Revival hard apple cider (their flagship cider): Clean. Well-made. Traditional. Off-dry. Bit of a honey nose. A pleasure to drink. B+ This is the one I took home. A winner.

#4 Tent Show. Burgundy barrel-aged pomegranate wine, with Jonathan apple eau di vie, prune juice, and spices (this was the freebie they wanted me to taste): Smells a bit sour; is just too strange for me. C-

#5 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Granny Smith: Great flavor. Nice balance. So well made. B

#6 Rev Nat's Winter Abbey Spice: Smells sour, with cinnamon. Nice in the mouth. B-

#8 Rev Nat's Overlook Organic Heirloom: Really fun. Flower bouquet, tart palate, grapefruity finish. B+

#10 Rev Nat's Deliiverance Ginger Tonic: Too much ginger for me, but B+ if you love ginger.

#11 Cascadia Ciderworkers United Winter Cider: with "warming spices." Ugh. The only cider I tried that was not well-made. A hot plastic smell in it ruined the experience for me. D

He makes a few bitter (hoppy) ciders, but most of his ciders are not, for which I am grateful. However, the ciders that don't have any tannin could use a wee bit of that--it would give them more crispness and make sure they don't fall close to the realm of insipidness. Just not too much!

A container of warm (non-alcoholic) cider was available free, which was nice, as were artisan donuts from a nearby shop. You can take good-looking pizza and salad in from a nearby pizzeria (not sure which one, but certainly the Rev Nat's staff could tell you. If you drink on-site, it's by the tap, but they sell by the bottle and by the growler also.  Reverend Nat is a real reverend, and was very kind to me in a brief email change earlier this year, about my growing and selling cider apples (his operation is too large to be interested in my small production).


Friday, October 28, 2016

Great article on hybrid (modern variety) grapes

This writer, who's a professor at Cornell, really nailed it in this article. We should all be drinking more wines made from modern grape varieties, which give us broader diversity, better disease resistance, and more-interesting flavors. To continue to focus only on evolutionarily-restrained Vitis vinifera (European winegrapes) is to head heedlessly towards extinction, just as is happening with the Cavendish banana.



Monday, October 24, 2016

Charles Smith, a king of Washington wine

I love Charles Smith's wines. I like his "differentness." I admire how he started with almost nothing, and yet has built up a large winemaker's portfolio of several different labels, with each representing unique and wonderful wines. This article portrays him as the Mark Cuban of wine, a polarizing figure. In my experience, that's as not so very correct. Maybe I run in only enlightened crowds, but I see no one except admirers of his wines, and of him. You would castigate a winemaker for his hair? For his love of old farms and old cars? For his Bunny Yeager photos by the restrooms? If you would, then you don't deserve to enjoy his wines. C'mon! This is ART we're talking about. Artists deserve a wide range to run in. And Charles makes magic.

Wine and Your Health: Getting Real

 Here are two articles on wine and our health: 1. First article : Grapes are a superfood that lower bad chloresterol. Many of their healthy ...