Mr. California vs Ms. France
These two titans in the wine writing world
Okay one titan and one chick with a very small but supportive following
Battling for pride
History
And in an effort NOT to puke
Ms. France rooting for her beloved, oh and we should mention….defending NBA Champions, Los Angeles Lakers
Mr. California waving is faded 2008 Champion t-shirt is support of a team from some town where they talk funny.
At stake?
Mr. California, when (ahem) if his team loses will be forced to drink a glass, (at least) of France’s beloved anise flavored beverage, Pastis. Much adored by Ms. France and she is sure that he will love it once he acquires a taste for it.
Ms. France, on the off chance that her team loses the foul calls and half her team, (not unheard of…did you see game 5?) will have to ingest one of California’s most over extracted and profoundly out of balance Chardonnays. A wine that Mr. California is sure she could stomach with curry or spicy Thai….Mr. California while simply adorable is flawed, in his alliance to a funny talking town's team and if he thinks she would be able to choke that wine down with coconut milk…that just made her throw up a little.
Thursday
It all comes down to Thursday Mr. Olken
Cannot wait
Oh and I am nervous as hell!
Posts
19 comments:
Good Luck Samantha! Go Team Pastis!
Am involved in a similar type of bet with someone in the East.
Loser has to wear the winning team's shirt at work for a day. Additionally, the loser will send the winner a case of beer.
Go Lakers!!!! :)
Veronica,
Oh Sweet Mother of All Holy Basketball Saints, thank you. Thank you for lending your voice to the cause. Been getting all this lovin' and support on facebook but nothing but crickets here on the blog. Guess Charlie is kinda scary and stuff.
So I'll make you a deal, should we both lose you stay out of The Wine Country in your green shirt and I will drink and purge my Romabauer Chardonnay in private...deal?
Thanks for weighing in.
Sam
DOn't follow B-Ball, but here's hoping your team wins! On the off-chance they lose... I suppose you could get the Thai extra-spicey, so as to render your taste buds useless, and then you won't be able to taste the horrid Chardonnay.
(thought that might affect your job for a few days as well... hm. vacation anyone?)
AnotherDayofCrazy,
Thanks for the tip and allowing my little blogging indulgence. Been having a ball with this little rivalry and it has helped me be able to toss up little 5 minute posts while on deadline for my real job. I suffer with writers block each time we get the newsletter deadline for The Wine Country so I do not allow myself to write here until it's done. It's almost over and we will back to wine and stuff.
My Gorgeous Samantha,
You know I am always and forever on your side. That we are a team, Samantha and Ron, Sans Dosage and HoseMaster. So I want the Lakers to win, and I am certain they will.
But.
It would be far more entertaining to read a post about your encounter with Rombauer Chardonnay, your exquisite prose aimed at your erotic evening with a much-despised wine--I would hope you'd write a fairly lurid piece. Hey, we've all ended up in bed with an absolutely wrong and horrible lover, look at it from that angle. I, for one, think this would be a fantastic piece!
So.
Go Celtics!!
I love you!
Your HoseMaster
Go Lakers! Drink that pastaga!
Sam,
I have this great Pho restaurant up here whose curried chicken with noodles is to die for. This is great food. It like Riesling and Gewurztraminer, and it basically works well with any slightly sweet/medium dry, as the Riesling folks have taken to calling wines in the 1% RS range, white with decent, not evening bristling acidity.
I know you are going to love it, and will be writing sonnets of praise for the wine, the pairing, the Celtics and me on this website in another day.
Okay folks this HAS to be a sign....and I don't even believe in signs.
I get into work this morning to purchase a bottle of Rombauer Chardonnay to have on hand, just in case for tomorrow night...gone. The pile of wretched stuff was gone. Ran to the half bottle department to see if we had any 375's....gone. I mention it to Merritt, (coworker that was working yesterday) and she says, "Yeah we got cleaned out yesterday. This guy came in and bought all the Rombauer we had, red and white oh and he was the pilot for the Celtics plane and was unsure if he was going home yesterday or on Thursday"....
No
Freaking
Way!!!
Unbelievable story, it has to be a sign!
Charlie better get ready... the question is now, what to eat with the Pastis?
Good luck to you both. I don't envy either of you. Rombauer or Pastis? Damn mean of both of ya.
AnotherDayofCrazy,
I swear to God this has to be one of the craziest coincidences I have ever been a part of! I am still kind of in shock. Guess the pilot's wife loves the stuff so he bought us out....crazy, freaking crazy. Now I have to find a bottle and pay full retail...ugh.
k2,
It is a rough bet but fitting for such a rivalry no?
Are you sure the pilot was not Kerner Rombauer?
========
True story. Not long after the start of Connoisseurs' Guide, I was travelling back to Boston to visit family, and as the plane was getting ready to leave, the stewardess came on the loudspeaker to read us our rights and to announce that the captain today was Kerner Rombauer. I had not met him at that point, but I knew the name. So I asked her if it was the same Rombauer who owned a winery in the Napa Valley. She said he was.
So, I sent my card up to the cockpit, and she came back a bit later and invited me up to meet Rombauer--those being the days when cockpits were not locked down.
In the conversation, he asked when we were headed back to San Francisco, and when I told him the date, he responded that he had that flight as well.
So, we arrive at the airport in Boston and are sitting in the waiting area when the loudspeaker says, "Will Mr. Olken please come to podium?".
Turns out, that he had arranged to have us boarded first. When we got on the plane, stewardess came over, pulled down our trays, spread out a white tablecloth and put real Champagne flutes (tall ones) in front of us and poured us glasses of bubbly.
In due time the plane loaded, and just before leaving the gate, the stewardess came over and said so everyone could hear, "The Captain wants to see you in the cockpit".
I went up and stayed and chatted with Rombauer while the plane taxied out, then returned to my seat for takeoff.
The lady next to me leaned over and asked, "Do you own the airline"?
True story. Has nothing to do with the Chardonnay, but you will like it more than I will like the Pastis if you pair it up well.
I can't think of a thing that will mate with Pastis except licorice ropes.
Charlie My Dear that is a fantastic story and who would have thunk there were so many crazy crisscrosses in this little wager of ours?! I think should I be forced to drink that vile crap I will take it like a man...in shots and with tears in my eyes.
I can think of many things that pair nicely with Pastis...salty, crunchy potato chips, salads with white beans, fennel and dressed with a drizzle of olive oil and lemon juice, my lips....grilled white fish, just to name a few.
Sam--
If I lose, do I get my choice of column A?
Green Daddy,
Absolutely and trust me I completely understand. The creaminess, the plump resistance...the way your heart pounds out of your chest as you let your teeth dig into them....white bean salad man, it's irresistible.
OK, Sam, I have decided to change the terms of our arrangement.
I personally see nothing wrong with Rombauer Chardonnay, but I want to prove a bigger picture to you.
If the Lakes lose today, I want you to hunt down a bottle of Freestone, Pfendler or Bjornstad Chardonnay. These are wines, and there are many others, whose construction is proof that CA Chardonnay is not all oak and juice.
I happen to think that wines like Ramey, Hobbs, Chasseur, DuMol, Hudson, HdV are also great bottles, but they will have too much taste and not enough structure for you. I think you would like those others better--and I would be surprised if you had ever drunk even one of them.
So, new terms, and a point to prove.
It's not long now. The greatest moment in sports--game seven of a championship series.
I'll be thinking of you. Hopefully with concern for your crushed feelings.
Green Daddy,
Too late to change the term now, not to mention that any California Chardonnay that I have to drink due to the Lakers losing the final...well it's bound to be too biter a pill for me to truly appreciate the wine. Might as well keep it to a wine I already hate. I will however seek out some of the wines you listed, wine that you are correct in assuming that I have not yet tasted, but I will do it under much more pleasant terms.
Staying true to my word.
Don't worry about my feelings kid, after the day I had I am thinking of giving them up for good....so much easier.
Tipping my cap to you Sir Charles, may the better team win.
Congrats Sam, no oaky Chard for you! Twas close though, good game.
Congrats, Sam. Not the most beautiful game ever, but the Lakers got it together and played Championship quality ball when it counted.
Send the hemlock, er, I mean, pastis.
Perhaps I can take it intravenously and not have to taste it.
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