Sunday, April 5, 2009

When the wine doesn't move you, time to write a song


Earlier today my friend, Pam, came from the far flung borough of Brooklyn, NY for a visit. I was determined to show her all that the adorable town of Montclair has to offer. As Montclair is known as one of the best restaurant towns in New Jersey, this means a lot of eating and drinking.

Our first stop was at the very popular Toast for a late lunch. After some execellent salads, we made our way to Amanti Vino, a fantastic local wine store that offers free wine tastings every Saturday afternoon. Amanti Vino also has a wonderfully unique selection of wines from the best wine regions in the world. We each purchased a bottle and made our way back to my apartment.

We were eager to break out the bottle of Moscato D'Asti I picked up (which for the one of you who actually reads me regularly - thanks mom - would make a lot of sense). I know you're all taking very detailed notes, but just to "refresh" your memory, Moscato D'Asti is a delightful, light, fizzy white Italian wine that usually tastes like syrup soaked pears and/or apples. The alcohol content is very low - 5 - 5.5% and it's a fun, spirited way to kickoff an evening.

With our evening officially kicked off in a mighty tasty way, we walked over to Raymond's, a favorite BYO of mine in Montclair. Actually, with as many great BYOs as Montclair has, it's a good thing I can walk to so many of them.

Rather than bring one of the bottles we purchased at Amanti, we decided to dip into my cave (a.k.a. my first floor closet) and pick out an older bottle that had a little sentimental value. We went with a Hendry Red Table Wine from 2002 that we'd actually shared together many years before. The last time we had the wine we both had very fond memories of a smooth, jammy, rich red that paired perfectly with the roasted vegetables and salmon we'd eaten.

Unfortunately, the wine didn't age well. Or quite possibly I screwed it up royally by moving it 4 times in the past 4 years. Either way, it was a bit disappointing, but we weren't going to let it ruin an otherwise great dinner. The food was wonderful (Raymond's roasted beet salad may be one of my favorite things in the world) and the company was even better. We decided to make light of the situation by writing a song to commemorate my wine drinking.

Since I have very little to discuss in terms of wine I thought I'd share said song with you:

To the tune of "Joy to the World:" (a certain last name has been hidden to protect the not so innocent co-conspirator)

Pam ___ lives in Brooklyn
She's a good friend of mine
She came out on the train on Saturday night
To help me drink my wine
Singin'

Joy to the world
All the stems and swirls
Joy to the wine stores in New Jersey
And joy to Burgundy

If I were a sommelier
Tell you what I'd do
I'd drink some pinots and some syrahs
And drink a good case with you
Sing It Now

Joy to the world
All the stems and swirls
Joy to the wine stores in New Jersey
And joy to Burgundy

You know I love the red wines
And white wines are such fun
I pour 'em and I drink' em and I slurp 'em and I sink 'em
I'm a cork-poppin' Cab Sauvignon
Said a cork-poppin' Cab Sauvignon

Joy to the world
All the stems and swirls
Joy to the wine stores in New Jersey
And joy to Burgundy

Well I hope everyone else had as much fun this Saturday as I did.

Cheers!

5 comments:

Unknown said...

Didn't know the family had a poet --

Pack said...

Let me hear you sing "JOY TO THE WORLD - GOTTA LOVE THOSE STEMS AND SWIRLS"

Alli M. said...

Thanks for helping write the song Pam _________.

Unknown said...

Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.

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Ariana Richardo said...

you have a great blog here! would you like to make some invite posts on my blog?

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