Wine, Women & Songs

The ALCS is in the bag.  A little longer than I predicted but the outcome was still very satisfactory.  Just ask the Boston Red Sox players… oh never mind they seem busy watching their last out.

Image I can never tire of!

I bet they miss Manny Ramirez now!  Manny and his career ALCS 0.340 batting average and 1.061 OPS.  Not to mention his 12 homers and 30 RBIs in 6 ALCS and ignoring the unsightly 0.520 average and 1.747 OPS that Manny compiled for Dodgers while hammering 4 homers and 10 ribbies.  Compare this to Jason Bay’s and J. D. Drew’s production for the Sox. Bay’s ALCS record was a 0.292 average and 1.105 OPS; while Drew hit a princely 0.250 and 0.796 OPS.  Manny is Manny and he will cash out in the offseason.  His payday may shade A-Rod’s.

But enough about the Bo Sox and… how about those Rays!

Rays Triumph

Matt Garza pitched a game of his lifetime and David Price made the $8.5 million signing bonus seem worth it.  Tampa Bay bats had just enough life as they beat Lester for the second time.  Maddon left Garza in for 118 pitches after the criticism he faced for pulling Kazmir in Game 5.  I thought he left Garza in a little long.  I was expecting him to pull him when he visited the mound in the 7th with one out.  But Matt came through on that one.  And I didn’t expect Garza to come out for the start of the 8th.  That was a short leash though as Boston threatened.

Well on to the World Series.  Phillies are well rested but they don’t have their blood up as the Rays have following the rousing ALCS.  Just like the Vegas bookies, I favor the Rays to win it in 5.  We will see when the Series begins tomorrow.  In any event, it will be a good Series - just ask Jenn Strenger -

Jenn Strenger likes the Tampa Bay Rays

Do I blame Joe Maddon or just luck for what happened?  Why was Kazmir taken out in Game 5 after the way he was pitching - a 2-hit shutout!  This is the Game 5 dude (clinching game for you) and you have to let the guy pitch as much as he can - 111 pitches is not the limit in post-season.  Giving up a 7 run lead had got to tell on the psyche and apparently it did in Game 6.  A 4-2 loss.

This is a sight that one does not want to see:

Red Sox take ALCS Game 6, 4-2

Now the Rays need to grow a couple and make a stand.  Can’t let this get them down.  The wind is in Red Sox sails, as is the experience of playing in Game 7s.  But the kind of hangdog attitude as below is not going to work, chum.

Fan reaction to Rays last out in ALCS Game 6

Lester vs. Garza in Game 7.  Games like these are always down to starting pitching and the question is can Rays beat Lester for the second time? One good thing is that Kazmir, after a 3 day rest can come in if needed to prop up Garza.  Maddon ought to throw everything in - let Garza go 3 innings, bring Kazmir for 2 and Sonnanstine for 2, then let the bullpen mop it up.  But nothing would matter unless the offense wakes up again.  Hello there Mr. Longoria and Mr. Pena - B. J. Upton isn’t who carried the Rays to the post-season and this far in the post-season.  Lets see some life back in the bat.  Have to reemphasize the small ball.  Homers in the first few games that won those games can’t be expected to carry through.  Get back to what brung you here.  Come on guys - beat the BoSox.

Sting 'em

After the drubbing that the Tampa Bay Rays have been handing to the Bo Sox, it is not premature to say that they are the favorite to win the World Series.  Yes, you heard it right - the World Champs and Tampa Bay Rays were in the same sentence.  While Boston came back from a 1-3 deficit to win the ALCS last year and in 2004 came back from 0-3 to win against the Yanks, I posit that it is an uphill task against the Rays.

The table below compares the 2007 and 2008 ALCS (to-date):

ALCS Comparison - 2007 vs 2008

The interesting thing from the above comparison is that the Sox pitchers who won in 2007 won in style, and in 2007 Boston could go home to play the last two games.  Here, even if they pull the rabbit out of the hat tonight, they still have to win two more in Tampa.  This year, Sox do not have the benefit of clutch performances from Beckett or Schilling, former is hurt and latter never played this season.  They have to rely on Lester and Matsuzaka.  Lester, a future ace perhaps, got shelled in his start, as did Wakefield.  Matsuzka won and goes again tonight but this a very different Rays team he faces.  All the pressure is on the Sox - they are the defending champs.

I tell you that Red Sox are going to lose tonight and that will be the end of that.  Can’t happen to a nicer team or to a nicer group of fans.  Just ask this fine, upstanding young fan:

Red Sox - I got it pal!

But one does have to admire the tenacity and the dedication of Red Sox Nation.  They truly love their team and can go to any lenghts to prove their fealty.  Just ask this fine and proper lady:

Red Sox Girl (and her mom?)

The venerable site TMZ reports that the folks over at the highbrow journal ‘Hustler’ are making their contribution to political commentary before the elections with a tastefully titled video presentation called - “Nailin Paylin”.

No extra points for guessing what that one is about.  Apparently, The faux Sarah is Lisa Ann, who “will be nailing the Russians who come knocking on her back-door.” In another scene — a flashback — “young Paylin’s creationist college professor will explain a ‘big bang’ theory even she can’t deny!” Radar Online also posted an excerpt of the script, which includes a late-night visit from the tanning bed repairman.  There is also a three-way with Hillary Clinton and Condoleezza Rice look-alikes.

Sarah Paylin

It is official.  My fantasy football teams sucks ass.

This year is going to be a big loss.  I figured as much when I screwed up by drafting Julius Jones and Edgerrin James as my first two picks.  I mean… gawd… who does that!!  Edge got me like 2 points this week.  To top matters, I also have Tory Holt and Larry Johnson on my team.  What a team!  That is $50 down the drain.  My record to date is 2-3 and I am losing this week.  Not a way to make the playoffs.  I should have donated the money and received some tax deduction for it.  Hmmm… maybe I will claim it as charitable donation anyway… because officer it is in a way.

How I draft my fantasy team.

What do I know about football anyway, my sport is baseball!

Dijon is a large city. Driving through the city, we were glad that we had decided to give this a pass and had made Beaune our base. The hotel was nice and after checking in we walked around the city center. There are a lot of people walking around. The place is lively and shopping is good. Bunch of designer shops with names that one has never heard of. There were some really handsome clothes. It made me want to go to Paris and see what they have there if Dijon is like this.

Palais des Ducs de Bourgogne in Dijon

There are some nice large squares and old churches. We bought some macrons to take home and then made our way to the restaurant for out final vacation dinner. Like all French meals, this was a two hour affair. But we were fine with it. Had no where to rush to. Tomorrow morning we get up at 6:30 AM to drive to Paris and that, as they say, will be that.

Finding a little difficult to say farewell to the vines, we decided to do one last circuit of degustation in some of the villages. Driving up, we first stopped at Aloxe Corton. The cave was pretty nondescript and so were the wines. Moved right on to Pernand Vergelesses. And from there bade good bye to Cote de Beaune and crossed into Cote de Nuits. I wanted to taste some wines from the Grand Cru region of Echezeaux. That region is in the village of Vougeot.

Pretty valley of Cote de Beaune

Vougeot is a pretty village. As we drove into the village we found out that a marathon was in progress through the village. This is a once in two year marathon race that starts in the town of Marsannay (little south of Dijon) and makes a circuit through the main villages of Cote de Nuits and ends back in Marsannay. Vikram and I walked in and watched the runners. There were some serious runners and then there were some dressed as pirates, Easter bunny, cross-dressers, bumblebee, etc.

Marathon runners in Vougeot

In the village of Vougeot we had our most rude encounter with a man in a caveau for Domaine Pierre LaForest. That ass declared that he will only let us taste wine if we will buy any. We told him that we are here to taste and to buy. Hearing this he let us enter. We looked around and Vikram asked to taste a 2005 Gevrey Chambertin village wine (€30). It was an okay wine, the fruit was not very obvious and the tannins were strong. Not a typical 2005 as we had tasted. That vintage was a superb year with lively fruit and good drinkability. We did not feel like paying €30 for the bottle of village wine. We told the guy thanks and no thanks. He got all bent out of shape and made a fuss that we have to buy a bottle. He was very obnoxious and gestured for us to leave. At this, annoyed with him I left, but Vikram stayed to make a point with him. When Vikram finally came out, I found out that they had a fairly heated discussion. Apparently, the guy said that his wines are good and we don’t know what we are talking about and should buy the bottle. Vikram told him that he will buy if he liked the damn wine. The encounter ended with Vikram putting down €2 to shut the guy up.

Chateau de Vougeot

By then it had started to rain, and we drove out of Vougeot and went to Gevrey Chambertin for lunch and to watch the marathon stragglers. It was around 4:00 PM and finally out Burgundy sojourn was drawing to an end.

Saturday morning is a big market day in the City of Beaune. In the main city square there are stalls of all kinds. It is like a combination of flea market, farmers market and art fair. Vikram and I checked out of our hotel and loaded the luggage into the car. Then after a decent breakfast at a brasserie at the square, we wandered into the throng. There was a fair size crowd. The weather was overcast and windy. It was easily in the mid-fifties. Both of us were wearing jackets. I was wishing I was wearing the wool jacket.

Beaune market day

Vikram wished to purchase some wine glasses with names of the different villages with their crest on them. He found a shop and plunked down for six glasses. I wanted to buy some regional cheeses for Rema and found a frommagerie. The board on the shop said it belonged to the famous frommager Alain Hess. We met M. Hess himself as he was the only one who parlez vous Ingles. Having bought some cheese, I went to a bebe clothes place to buy a present for my bebe – Rhea.

It was getting to be a little after noon when we headed out of Beaune. Farewell Cote de Beaune, it was good, it was fun. The vacation is drawing to a close as we headed to Dijon for the last night’s stay.

By Friday I think we were better attuned to the pace of things in Burgundy.  We knew that not much is going to happen in the morning.  Although most caveau claim that they open by 9:00 AM or 10:00 AM for tasting and selling, they are rarely so.  We knew that we should just drive about and take in the sights of vineyards and the villages in the morning and any real tasting will have to be in the afternoon.  We first drove to Pommard which like every other village has narrow lanes.  Reminded me of the lanes in old Delhi or in Meerut.  See the photo below - that is me behind the wheel of the car.

Narrow lanes of Pommard

The villages are largely similar.  Smaller ones are just a collection of houses huddled around narrow and super narrow lanes.  A little larger ones have a square around which there is a church and/or a hotel with a tourism office and shops, etc.  The next village we went to - Mersault was a fair size village with a colorful hotel and church and shops.  Vikram and I did our degustation there and had our lunch sitting in the car.

After that we drove to the next village - Puligny Montrachet.  That one is the only one with Grand Cru land in the south Cote de Beaune - though it is for white (blanc) wines.  On the way we stopped off and took a couple of pictures.  Check this one out:

Pretty Vineyard

In Puligny Montrachet we went to a caveau de degustation of Domaine Jean Chartron (estd 1859),  It was being operated by a transplant Brit woman.  She told us that they are all sold out for most vintages and they generally sell out to private buyers before they bottle their vintage.  Vikram tasted their wines and he declares it was the best whites he has had in a long while, maybe ever!  He purchased one bottle.

By then we were getting a little tired, the sky was overcast and it was threatening to rain.  We decided to hit the last village of Chassagne Montrachet.  There is a cooperative wine store over there that sounded promising.  And it was.  We each bought a bottle and we lucked out, as they sold us boxes and packing material for taking the wines back with us Stateside.

Back to Beaune we checked into Hotel des Ramparts.  It is a nice hotel, but three hotels in four nights was getting there.  We will need to go to yet another hotel for Saturday night as Ramparts does not have availability - sorry monsieur, it is not possible!

Hotel Des Ramparts

Dinner at Le Gourmandin was disappointing.  The pork was tough, but foie gras was good.  Dessert was a chocolat concoction, which was good.  Noe back in the room - it is time to sleep.

On Wednesday, Vikram and I had basically hit Cote de Beaune’s main villages and purchased some wines. On Thursday, we made our way to Cote de Nuits. We drove to the tourist office in Gevrey Chambertin to find out which of the vineyards are accepting visitors and are giving tasting. Harvest is especially in full swing in this region being to the north. The office had a map which showed the vineyards in the main villages. But after calling around in the morning we did not have any luck at all.

Walking in Gevrey Chambertin

We walked and drove around hungering for a drop of free wine, but got none. It was finally after 2:00 PM, after lunch, that our luck changed and we ran into some caves where degustation was on.  We went to all the top villages and sampled wines there.  The people were generally helpful and willing to show and talk about their wines.  The landscape was very pretty and we stopped often to take pictures.

In Chambole Musigny

Our thirst quenched, we purchased at least one bottle from each of the main village appellations as we made our way south back to Beaune.

The weather held up and the sun poked out a few times to offer some brilliant sunshine and photo ops of some value. We wrapped up the day a little earlier than on the day before.

Rows of vines

For dinner we went to Le P’tit Paradis. This was a restaurant recommended by Wine Spectator. It had begun to drizzle a little and had gotten quite cool as we made our way there. Both of us put on light jackets for the occasion. The restaurant was in a dark, quiet lane and would never had chanced upon it otherwise. Dinner turned out to be excellent!

The typical thing here seems to be a fixed menu where you get - Le Entrée (a thing between appetizer and entrée), Le Plat (the main course) and dessert or frommage. If one were to get this three course a la carte it would be like 50 euro. But in fixe menu it is half that. So both last night and tonight I did the fixe thing and both nights I was happy for it.

Tomorrow, we plan to head south of Beaune, to some of the lesser villages. Been fun so far.

Burgundy Map of Vineyards

All of red Burgundy, which is all pinot noir grape by the way, is grown in the strip of land south of Dijon for about 40 kilometers. The top half of this strip is called Cote de Nuits (pr: Nui) and the southern half is called Cote de Beaune (pr: Bon). The city of Beaune is in the top quadrant of the Cote de Beaune and is quite centrally located to tour the entire Burgundy.

The wines within each of these two regions are categorized by the village where they are grown. And then they are categorized by quality wherein the top wines are Grand Crus, then come Premier Cru, Village Wines, Table Wines and then finally swill.

Cote de Nuits is where most of the Grand Crus are. The famous villages there being:

Gevrey Chambertin; Morey St Denis; Chambolle Musigny; Vosne Romanee; and maybe Nuits-St-George.

Cote de Beaune has some Grand Crus but mainly Premier Crus. Grand Cru are in the village of Aloxe Corton and Puligny Montrachet.