Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pair This: Washington Red Blend & Michigan Funk Dance Rock

People are always asking me to pair them up with a bold California Red or a mature Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I get calls from all over the United States from friends, acquaintances, even people I don't know who get my cell number from others I do know. These people are usually in the wine aisle or in some restaurant while their significant others are in the bathroom freshening up. But no one, and I mean no one has even been able to give me a pairing or a question for a pairing of any specific wine that goes well with a band and their music. Therefore...I'm gonna try to take a stab at it. And I'm going to pair a wine that blew me away the other day and a band that I saw play at the High Dive (@highdive) in the Fremont section of Seattle last night. My Dear Disco is the band and the 2007 Gard Farm Boy Red from Smasne Cellars (@smasnecellars) is the wine. Boy do they pair well. I've tasted a good amount of wines over the past 16 years and I often find a bottle that I enjoy and I usually drink over and over. Rarely do I find a bottle, that literally "blows me away" or "stops me dead in my tracks". Last weekend it happened. My friend Sarah Ness (@vineyardgoddess) decided to take me to the "warehouse section" wineries of Woodinville, Washington. I couldn't believe how many wineries were all packed into this one tiny area. I'd have to say there were about 30 of them. Sarah and I parked the car and with her lead, we walked to the first winery she had picked. Smasne Cellars & Alma Terra. We tasted through several wines. I was very impressed with the Konner Ray & the Malbec, but I was "stopped dead in my tracks" by the 2007 Farm Boy Red.

Blended with 46% Cab. Sauv., 31% Syrah, 19% Malbec & 4% Sangiovese, I couldn't believe how big this wine was, plus it's only 15 bones. This wine was big and bold with a super bright red berry nose that you could sense with the glass being on the counter. Once I put this juice in my mouth, it just nearly wiped out all my senses with it's explosive characteristic. It was like putting an entire package of cherry chocolate raspberry blueberry white pepper *PopRocks in your mouth and just letting it do it's thing. This wine is by far one of my favorite Washington Blends at this point. If you'd like to see the reaction I had when I tasted this for the first time, you're in luck. We actually got it on tape. It's one best reactions. I know you can't taste wine through the TV or computer screen, but I think you'll get it. Click HERE for video. This is a GREAT wine. I HIGHLY recommend this wine. (Rating: 90 / A-).

As for the band.
Last Tuesday, I was asked by my business partner Nick, to pick his sister, Keeley up at Seatac Int'l. 8:30 comes around and Antoine is already late. Go figure. But we got there. We got back to Nick's on Capital Hill in Seattle and immediately drove out to the High Dive, a medium sized concert venue in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. We were there to see a band called My Dear Disco and apparently some of the band members were friends with Keeley and Nick. "Cool", I thought. Not really knowing what to expect, I went in with my video blogging cameras and immediately ordered a whiskey shot. Then it hit me. What am I listening to?? a sort of Dance, rock, pop, funk sound that was trance-y, yet energetic, melodic yet had all these break-beats, but the thing that stuck out like a sore-thumb, was the voice. OH MY GOD. This girl had a KILLER voice. This band literally had me put my drink down and slowly raise my head and start paying attention. When's the last time that happened to you?? It happened to me once that previous weekend with the 2007 Farm Boy Red and now it was happening again with My Dear Disco. What great pair. Go out, buy this CD (Click HERE), get a bottle of 2007 Farm Boy Red, invite a friend over and pair them both together. I've been doing it all week long. Enjoy.


1 comment:

  1. THIS IS A RESPONSE FROM ROBERT SMASNE's (Wine maker Farmboy) Facebook AFTER MY "S" BOMB REACTION & BLOG ABOUT FARMBOY AND MY DEAR DISCO. Link just below. http://undergroundwinos.blogspot.com/2010/05/pair-this-washington-red-blend-michigan.html

    Robert O. Smasne: Nice review of the 2007 Farm Boy Red. Live video reaction is priceless.

    Thanks underground winos. Cheers! Underground Winos: Pair This: Washington Red Blend & Michigan Funk Dance Rock undergroundwinos.blogspot.com I've been in the wine industry for 15 years and over the years I've accumulated quite a wine collection of my own and a vast knowledge of the industry in general. I have put together a group of people ... June 11 at 10:25am · Comment · Like · Share · Report

    Sarah Ness, Robert O. Smasne and 5 others like this. Sarah Ness Glad you liked it! We would like to do an actual interview with you sometime! :-) June 11 at 1:48pm · Like

    Antoine Pin Yes, yes. Love this wine. Konner Ray also had a reaction, but I didn't get the same overall as I did this one June 17 at 11:38pm · Like

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