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Wine:
Truth
or Fantasy? Test question: For most Americans, which is more important, truth about the real world in which we live, or myths and fantasies about a world we only imagine? Time's up, but we all knew the answer, right? In our real world, our country is in the grip of political and cultural fascists who will lie, cheat, steal, even kill to advance their agenda for dominance of the U.S. and beyond. It's the world of the John Roberts Supreme Court nomination in which a member of the Federalist Society — an uber-Reich-wing group dedicated to reshaping American legal culture to include rolling back women's rights, anti-segregation laws, environmental protections, individual privacy and so much more — slouches toward confirmation behind deceit ("I don't remember") and deception (public records of his decisions suddenly made secret). It's a world where a man who behaves like a lunatic, John Bolton, is sent as ambassador to the United Nations. It's a world where a political hack, Karl Rove, can endanger the life of an American spy (and all who talked to her during her work) and undergo only his president's change of his nickname, from "Boy Genius" to "Turd Blossom" (and that name's probably meant to be praise). War, torture, treachery, terror bombings, world-scale fraud and larceny, the whole Bushite legacy, these are just some elements of our real world. On the whole, most Americans would rather be in Disneyland, laughing with ersatz Mickey and Goofy, escaping into kidworld dreams of honesty, decency and safely managed thrill rides. And who can blame them? Who would not rather, for just a while, deny the bloody, brutally real for a chance to giggle and play in Fantasyland? It's high summer. Dawn just cracked over the Cascades, lighting up a crystal-blue sky, not a cloud in sight, not even a contrail. In our gardens, bees swarm, squirrels race across tops of fences and up into the smallest branches of nut-laden filberts, and an eruption of blooms thickens the air with perfume. The morning is sweetly cool but with the temperature rapidly ratcheting toward high heat. And it feels very good: It's easy to pretend that Frodo is going to reach Mount Doom in time to cast the Ring into the mountain's furnace. Harry Potter's going to send Voldemort and all six of his horcrux soul-catchers into the gray mists of history. Morpheus, Neo and crew will rip the fabric of the Matrix and free the mindslaves to make a new world. Gyro Gearloose will invent a device to save Earth and we'll all — Mickey, Minnie, Pluto, even ("Gorsh!") Goofy — will go on a loopy, larky picnic. So let's pack a basket, throw in bottles of tasty Disneywine, and seize some fine summer daze. Howzabout a crispy baguette, some country cheeses, a grasping of olives and a river-cooled bottle of Saint-Peyre Picpoul-de-Pinet 2004 ($8.39) from the Langudoc region of southern France. Heck, just saying the word — PEEK-pool — gotta raise a bit of a grin. The wine is crisply dry, and, in the presence of, say, Humboldt Fog's fine goat cheese, the fruit emerges from the low-alcohol frame and sassy acidity to deliver flavors of lemon zest and Granny Smith apples. This is not serious stuff; it's recreational wine, fresh and refreshing. Been on a bit of a riesling rave lately, and I plan to stay on it until more people discover one of our region's best wines and best wine values. This lovely white, usually made in the German style with just a touch of residual sugar for the refreshment effect, complements a wide range of foods but just rings bells when matched with picnic fare — cold meats and poultry, breads, cheeses, fruit. It'll even stand up to many fresh vegetables. Case in point, and a lesson in opportunistic wine shopping: Other day, rolling through Albertson's, I clanked into their close-out cart. Now, these are wines moving out of stock and bargain-priced, so I always poke around, watch for steals, found one, Silver Lake 2004 Roza Riesling ($5.94!). This is a smallish Washington producer with a rep for quality, so I snatched a bottle, dashed home, cooled it, and — dayum! — it was terrific: maybe 2 percent residual sugar, so a kiss of sweetness, then these lush tropical fruit flavors of pineapple and banana, dash of peach and apricot, complex and mighty satisfying, like finding a diamond in a clamshell. Big John Sheridan — I call him my brother but folks in Portland call him the Sultan of Lunch for his years at Jake's — loves good food and good wine, so when he says "Rosé just means fun," we gotta pay attention. The French have been in winebiz for a couple millennia, almost figured out an idea or two, and rosés are where they get their hot-times jollies. In technical wine jargon, the best rosés are "pretty": more complex than most whites, but not going to stir serious philosophisizing. Exceptions turn up: Rosé de Tourelles 2004 Bordeaux Rosé ($14.50) is what we get when a great Bordeaux "house" – Pichon-Longueville – makes rosé from its second-best grapes: complex raspberry/cherry flavors with strawberry/rhubarb back notes, long finish on the palate, delish. Don't serve this wine too cold; just cool it to get best flavors. Relax a little in the warm summer sun, dear people, while you can. Reality won't go away, and this winter could last a very long time.
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