Now, you gotta know that Kara and I really did have a blast at that tasting. It’s also nice just to have an excuse to spend a day in downtown Los Gatos, CA.
BUT…
(There’s always a big but.)
There was one problem…
The people.
Not all the people.
Not most of the people.
Not even one percent of the people.
But…
The interactions that we had with just a few of the people at the tasting really put a sour note on an otherwise sweet day.
The one thing that I hate about wine is the show that some people feel like they have to put on. You have a lot of people at these events dressing as if they are going to the opera. Now, there is nothing wrong with dressing nice. Nothing at all. The problem comes when people bring along an attitude of self-importance with their freshly pressed suits… their diamonds… and their pearls. People trying to prove how classy they are, and failing miserably.
Not long after we entered the wine bar, and had begun our tasting, Cin-Cin became quite crowded with people. As is always the case in crowds, people will occasionally bump into each other. It’s almost expected. While talking to Kara, I noticed a tall gentleman in a fine suit walking in our direction while looking for his wife on the other side of the room. As I scooted over to the left, I motioned for Kara to move with me, but it was too late… The man walked right through Kara… almost knocking her over and spilling her glass.
Kara was not happy to be bumped so hard, but what made it worse was the reaction (or lack of reaction) of the man. After bumping her, this “classy” older gentleman did not even break his stride. He continued on to the other side of the room, head held high, to join his wife. Never mind the fact that if he took the time to look around he would have avoided Kara all together. Never mind the fact that he nearly knocked my wife to the ground. Never mind the fact that he did not apologize for the incident. This guy didn’t even acknowledge that the event even happened! He was so much in his own world… He felt that he was so much more important that everyone else, that he didn’t even recognize that we existed! Just writing about this now makes me want to start kickpunching!
It took a few minutes for us to cool down, but Kara and I decided to move on from the incident and continue with our tasting…
Later on, I got into talking to one of the distributors about some Pomerol when an older couple broke into the conversation…
“Do you know where I can find any Chateauneuf-du-Pape?” the older gentleman asked the distributor.
“We mainly focus on Bordeaux,” the distributor responded, “so I wouldn’t really know. I’m not from here.”
“Chateauneuf-du-Pape is the best!” the woman broke in, “I can’t believe you don’t carry it!”
“Sorry,” he replied.
As the distributor moved over to help another couple, I leaned over to the couple and said, “You can find Chateauneuef-du-Papes almost anywhere. I’ve seen plenty at BevMo, CostCo, even some at Trader Joe’s on occasion.”
“Sure they do,” the gentleman said in a very sarcastic tone as he grabbed his wife by the hand and moved over to a different table.
“Was I out of line?” I asked Kara, “I was just trying to be nice.”
The distributor looked over at me and shook his head in a way to tell me, “I feel you, brother.”
You’ve gotta know that the majority of our interactions with folks at the tasting were very pleasant. But the bumping incident and the Chateauneuf-du-Pape episode really got to me. Especially the Chateauneuf-du-Pape thing.
So, the next day, Kara and I went to CostCo. Look what I found…
Kirkland Signature 2009 Cuvee de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape!
Last night, the Thevegetarians invited us over to a dinner party, so I decided to bring the Kirkland Chateauneuf-du-Pape. I wanted to get another bottle to bring as well, so I swung by Trader Joe’s on the way. Guess what I saw?
Quinson 2010 Chateauneuf-du-Pape. Well, what do you know?
It was almost too perfect!
So I decided to taste these two bad boys side-by-side…
Hey, snooty couple at the Bordeaux tasting! This one’s for you! Go sit on a tack!
Before we begin, a few nerdy facts about the region…
Chateauneuf-du-Pape (New Castle of the Pope) is one of the premier winemaking regions on the southern end of the Rhone Valley. Mainly consisting of Grenache and Syrah, these wines can also have Mourvedre, Cinsault, Picpoul, Terret, Counoise, Muscardin, Vaccarese, Picardin, Clairette, Roussanne, and Bourboulenc. The best Chateauneuf-du-Papes should contain higher amounts of Grenache and Syrah. If you are looking for this stuff at the store, just keep an eye out for the bottle. Most of them will have a really cool coat of arms etched into it.
Taste: On the initial attack, there is a big hit of sour cherries. There is a big acidity to this wine that would make it great to pair with a variety of foods. There was also a nice green spinach characteristic. Nice!
Score: Pick it up! 89
Next, we hit up the Kirkland Signature 2009 Cuvee de Nalys Chateauneuf-du-Pape from CostCo. A blend of 59% Grenache, 25% Syrah, 4% Vaccarese, 4% Counoise, 3% Mourvedre, 3% Muscardin, and 2% Cinsault, the Cuvee de Nalys is sourced from 3 of the premier vineyards of the region.
Color: Dark ruby red. Darker than the Quinson.
Nose: Big chalk, raspberry, and orange zest.
Taste: There are some nice powdery tannins that coat the whole mouth. It’s hella smooth. The fruit is cranberry and orange. I’ve never really experienced orange as a flavor profile on a red wine before. Though it was unexpected, I loved it! There are some spices of clove and nutmeg on the back-end. I’m getting some tires as well.
Score: This would be the perfect wine for a festive holiday meal (if only there were one of those days coming up soon… if only). Rad! 91
Now, of course, you can’t go to the Thevegetarians’ house without getting some food…
Warm Cerignola olives with thyme and sesame. Fantastic!
Peperonata. As Dave would say, “Hecka Italian!”
I made my way into the kitchen to find Dave grilling up some pumpkin…
A couple of minutes later, it turned into this… Zucca in Agrodolce (Sweet and Sour Pumpkin). Gnarly!
Don’t scroll down until after you watch the episode…
Okay…
So… the Cupcake Vineyards 2010 Red Velvet is a blend of Zinfandel, Merlot (Noooooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!), Cabernet Sauvignon, and Petite Sirah.
On my next episode, I will be tasting the BV 2009 Coastal Estates Cabernet Sauvignon. You can pick it up for 6 to 9 bucks at most places. Grab a bottle, and taste along with me next time.
You should know that although Kara and I have only been married for a little over a year, we have been in a relationship for a LONG time.
Yesterday, we took a quick trip up to Napa in celebration of being girlfriend/boyfriend for 9 years.
Here’s what went down (along with some quick tasting notes)…
We started our tasting adventure at Etude Winery in the Carneros region of Napa...
Etude 2009 Carneros Estate Chardonnay: Pear with floral notes Nice acidity and minerality. Good stuff. 88+
Etude 2008 Carneros Pinot Noir: Fennel and cherry. Good spice and oak. 89
Etude 2008 Deer Camp Pinot Noir: Lots of Earthy blueberry fruit with hints of cola. The goods. 90
Etude 2007 GBR Estate: A dope blend of 85% Merlot and 15% Malbec. There is this beautiful berry pie nose to this wine. Lots of plum and black olive (a characteristic that I am learning is quite common to Merlot) Did I mention that this wine was dope? 91
Etude 2007 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Berry and cherry nose. Dark fruit on the palate with powdery tannins. Amazacool! 92
Etude Heirloom Pinot Noir: Though we had reached the end of our flight, our server hooked us up with a quick splash of their Heirloom Vineyard Pinot. I forgot to write down the vintage year, but I am sure you could look up the current vintage on Etude’s Website. This single-vineyard Pinot Noir had a good berry nose. It was very juicy on the palate with leathery and peppery tannins. DeeeeeeeeeLish! 92+
Next we headed down the street to Bouchaine... Another Carneros winery, specializing in all things Pinot.
Bouchaine 2010 Rockin’ H Vineyard Rose of Syrah: Lots of strawberry and minerality. 87
Bouchaine 2010 Las Brisas Riesling: With about 1.5% residual sugar, this would be considered an off-dry Riesling. There is a nice, dancing acidity. It’s just a little too sweet for my liking. 86+
Bouchaine 2010 Las Brisas Pinot Blanc: Pinot Blanc is, in fact, a red-skinned grape that is used to make white wine. Consider it a cross between Pinot Grigio and Pinot Noir. It has a very floral nose. There are hints of juicy red fruit on the palate. 87
Bouchaine 2009 Rockin’ H Vineyard Pinot Noir: Cola. Eucalyptus. Mineral stone. Red apple. Very cool. 90+
Bouchaine 2009 Gee Vineyard Pinot Noir: The Gee Vineyard is one of just a few places that dry farm their Pinot Noir. The result is a highly concentrated, tannic, and ageable Pinot. Cranberry and red apple dominate this wine. Cool, as well. 90+
After our morning in the Carneros region, we headed up highway 29 towards Yountville to get some bubbles at Domaine Chandon.
Domaine Chandon Reserve Chardonnay Brut: Yeast and butter for days. I haven’t described many sparkling wines as having butter characteristics, and yet… butter is what I’m getting. 90-
Domaine Chandon Reserve Pinot Noir Brut: Our server informed me that the Reserve Pinot is his go-to wine. I can see why. It is nice and nutty. 90
Domaine Chandon Reserve Pinot Noir Rose: Good black cherry fruit. Velvety mouthfeel. Very nice. 89
A bit further North, we found ourselves at Turnbull Wine Cellars in Oakville.
Turnbull 2010 Viognier: Coconut and papaya transitions to cheese. It was okay. 86+
Turnbull 2007 Fortuna Merlot: Juicy red apple, black olive (there it is again), and black tea. 89
Turnbull 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Good body and fruit of raspberry and blackberry. Dry tannins. Good stuff. 89
Turnbull 2007 Cabernet Franc: Blueberry and bike tires. Very nice. 89+
Turnbull 2008 Syrah: Inky blueberry fruit. 88+
Turnbull 2007 Oakville Merlot: Cranberry and sun-dried tomato fruit. Fun and thought-provoking. 90
Turnbull 2009 Old Bull Red Wine: Mainly Cabernet Sauvignon, this is a good table wine. I’d tell you more about it, but the only note that I wrote was the score. Take this 88 for what it is, and move on. I have.
Once we got back to the car, we decided to dive into a seaweed salad from CostCo. This thing was F-ing delicious! 97 points!
Next, we hopped over to Franciscan Estate to get our Cabernet and Giant Pumpkin on.
Franciscan 2010 Sauvignon Blanc: Guava. Papaya. Green apple. It is what it is. 86+
Franciscan 2009 Chardonnay: This chard spends 7 months on french oak. Lots of cream… and apple… and cheese. This is a crowd pleaser. 89+
Franciscan 2007 Merlot: With 14 months on french oak, this Merlot has a BIG blackberry nose. The palate is loaded with black olive (again) and green pepper. 89
Franciscan 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon: 20 months on french oak for this bad boy. Dried plums. Cola. Tobacco. 89
Franciscan 2007 Magnificat: Dark in color. Boysenberry and oak. Fun, lingering tannins. Dope. 90
Franciscan 2007 Port: Cedar box. Chocolate. Grape. Shoe leather. As I read through my notes, I realize that I did not give this one a score. Just trust me that is was okay, but I’ve had better.
Our last winery of the day was Louis M. Martini in St. Helena.
Louis M. Martini 2009 Sonoma County Cabernet Sauvignon: This Cabernet was dry and fruity. Loads of cranberry. 89
Louis M. Martini 2008 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Big, dark plum and soft, round tannins. This wine drinking great right now. 90+
Louis M. Martini 2009 Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauvignon: Raisin and prunes, with a hint of dried cherries and tobacco. 88+
Now that we were done with the day’s tasting, we headed over to check in at The Napa Inn bed and breakfast. Sure enough, once we got settled, look what they offered us in the lounge…
To drink, we got a bottle of Spellbound Petite Sirah.
Kara ordered some deviled eggs. Considering my history with eggs, these things looked pretty good.
I got some dope grilled artichokes. Dope!
For the main course, I got a rotisserie chicken... Duh!
Kara got some gnocchi. I got kinda jealous.
After dinner, Kara and I took our wine out to the patio of Rotisserie and Wine. The restaurant provided us with a beautiful view of the river walk... That, and blankets.
So, there you go.
Kara and I have been taking trips to Napa for a while now, and I do have to say that this was one of the best trips we’ve had there.
This past Saturday, Kara and I headed over to Cin-Cin Wine Bar for another tasting event…
This time... Bordeaux!
Bordeaux France is one of the premier wine appellations in the world. Although there are 57 regions within Bordeaux, there are really only four that you would need to become familiar with in order to sound like a wine geek:
Graves (including Pessac-Leognan, and Sauternes): Found on the “Left Bank” of the Garonne River, Graves is known for reds, dry whites, and some of the best dessert wine in the world (Sauternes).
Medoc: This is a wide-spread region found along the “Left Bank” of the Gironde River. There are seven major sub-appellations of the Medoc (Haut Medoc, St-Estephe, Paullac, St-Julien, Margaux, Moulis, and Listrac), all producing reds. In 1855, sixty-one of the chateaux were classified under the Grand Cru Classe (5 of which were of such high quality to be called Premiers Cru).
St-Emilion: Found on the “Right Bank” of the Dordogne River, the wines of St-Emilion are always red. Piggy-backing off of the Medoc, St-Emilion also has a Grand Cru Classe ranking for their chateaux.
Pomerol: This is the smallest of the top red wine regions in Bordeaux. Pomerol, also on the “Right Bank” of the Dordogne, makes about 15% as much wine as St-Emilion. Though Pomerol does not have a ranking system, one can almost be assured (since they are so scarce) that most Pomerols are the bomb.
As far as grape varietals go, you will rarely see the breakdown of grapes listed on the bottle. Bordeaux does, however, follow rules in terms of which grapes are allowed in their wines. The whites of Graves (including the dessert wine of Sauternes) is primarily made of Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc. As far as reds go, Bordeaux can be made from Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot, and Malbec. To figure out what is the predominant grape, just look at the rivers. Wines from the “Left Bank” are Cabernet Sauvignon based, while those from the “Right Bank” are mostly Merlot.
On the real, though… I’m tired of getting my nerd on. Let’s get some drink!
There were three distributors at the event; James, Luke, and Jon. Each had their own table with hella different styles of Bordeaux to choose from. To make sure we started with whites, moved to reds, and finished with Sauternes, Kara and I had to bounce around a bit from one table to the next.
First… The Whites!
Chateau Ducasse 2010 Bordeaux Blanc ($18): We started at Luke’s table with this white wine made of 60% Semillon. It had a crisp, flowery finish. A great way to start the day. 86
Chateau Hout Rian 2010 Bordeaux Blanc ($11): Over at Jon’s table, we picked up this white made of primarily Semillon. Again, this one had flowery notes, but with a hint of honeysuckle. It was crisp and dry. 85
Once we got our palates primed, we headed moved into the reds at James’ table.
James
Chateau Petit Manou 2007 Medoc ($21): So, here I am telling you the Left Vs Right Bank rules, and the first red I show you just shatters them. This is a Left Bank wine that is made like a Right-Banker. The Petit Manou is 70% Merlot. The fruit is bright cherry and cranberry with a soft, buttery finish. Good stuff. 87
Chateau Picque Caillou 2007 Pessac-Leognan ($26): A Left-Banker with 45% Cabernet Sauvignon, 45% Merlot, and 10% Cabernet Franc, the Picque Caillou had a dusty nose with a green palate. 87+
Chateau Mongravey 2008 Margaux ($33): A true Left Bank Bordeaux made of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon, the Chateau Mongravey falls under the Cru Bourgeois (just under Grand Cru) classification. This one brought lots of dusty cranberry and Earth notes. 89
Chateau Pipeau 2007 St-Emilion ($34): A Grand Cru from the Right Bank, the Pipeau is 90% Merlot. Now, don’t get it twisted. This is a Merlot with balls. There is a BIG barnyard funk on the nose. The palate brings BIG leather and minerality. It is both juicy and Earthy. Nice! 90
To the next table…
Jon
Lafleur Gazin 2007 Pomerol ($45): 80% Merlot. This Right Bank wine brings bright cranberry and cherry fruit. A smooth wine. 89+
Chateau Hout Beausejour 2007 St-Estephe ($25): Barnyard. Raspberry. Dry palate. Good acid. There is a growing note of mushroom the longer the wine stays in the glass. 88+
Chateau Paveil de Luze 2008 Margaux ($30): This is a Left Bank red made of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon The Paveil de Luze has some nice cranberry fruit, but it is more texture driven than anything else. There is a nice acidity on this. 89-
Chateau Gloria 2008 St-Julien($63): 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 5% Cabernet Franc, and 5% Petit Verdot from the Left Bank. This wine is silky smooth with leathery tannins and raspberry fruit. Lovely! 91+ G-L-O-R-I-A!
Croix du Trale 2009 Haut-Medoc ($16): We were just about to move on to the last table, when I realized that we missed one of the wines. Considering that the Gloria was so dope, it’s hard to go back to the Croix. Dusty raspberry with butter. Nice, but no Gloria. 88+
With that, we moved on to the last table…
Luke
Chateau Belles Graves 2007 Lalande-de-Pomerol ($28): Though not from the actual Pomerol appellation (Lalande-de-Pomerol is on the other side of the train tracks), Belles Graves is well-known for a different reason. This is the wine that Jacques-Yves Cousteau would take on all of his adventures. A Right Bank wine primarilly made from Merlot, this wine was hella tart and dry with fruit of cherries. Not my cup of tea. 86
To make up for the Belles Graves, Luke provided the only vertical of the day with two (real) Pomerols…
Chateau Gombaude Guillot 2005 Pomerol ($67): Now this is why I love these tastings! I’ve heard plenty of folks rave about the 2005 vintage of Bordeaux, but until now I’ve never had the opportunity to taste any 2005 that would be considered more than just a table wine. This Pomerol is 85% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. On the palate, this right-banker was one smooth criminal. Beautiful cranberry fruit, and a good hit of oak. This wine has the body to last another 15 – 20 years, but is elegant enough to enjoy right now. 92.
Chateau Gombaude Guillot 1996 Pomerol ($60): Oh my! The nose this wine is just dope! Loads of juicy blackberry get smoothed out with tannins of delicious cigar tobacco leaf. Wow! Sometimes I wish you could taste these things with me. Wow! 93
We finished off the tasting with two Sauternes dessert wines…
L’Alliance 2009 Sauternes ($27 Half-Bottle): Luke served us this Sauternes made of 90% Semillon. There is a BIG nose of apricot and gapefruit. On the palate the SWEET dride apricot overpowers the typical yeasty finish. Good, but not what I think of when it comes to Sauternes. 90
Chateau Haut-Peyraguey 2005 Sauternes ($56): Jon capped off our tasting with this Permier Cru chateau from the epic 2005 vintage. In comparison to the L’Alliance, the Haut-Peyraguey is much more reserved with its fruit. This is a yeast-driven Sauternes (the way I think it should be). This dessert wine has a good sweetness, but it is not obnoxious. 91
Last night, Kara and I hit up Opa! in downtown Los Gatos.
We are both HUGE fans of Greek food, but what really got me stoked was when I took a look at their wine list…
It's all Greek to me.
I don’t know much about Greek wine (Why would I? They’ve only been making the stuff since the seventeenth century B.C.), so I asked our server for some help.
“I’m thinking about having the lamb pita. Which of the Greek wines would you suggest?”
“Well,” she responds with all sincerity, “it is tough to compare these to any wine that you would be familiar with… They’re just soooooo different. If you like a lighter, juicier wine, I would suggest the Saint George.”
“Sounds good to me. I’ll take it.”
“Let me bring you a taste first,” she offers, “just to make sure you like it.”
“Hell to the yeah, foo!” would have been an awesome way to respond, but instead I just gave her a thumbs up.
After a sample, I quickly approved the wine and was served a full glass…
Skouras 2007 Saint Geroge Nemea. Opa! *Que the Smashing of Hella Plates*
The Skouras 2007 Saint George Nemea is classified as OPAP (Wine of Appellation of Origin of Superior Quality) by the Greek government. This high-altitude red from the Southern Greek region of Nemea is made in a dry style from 100% Aghiorghitiko. Skouras, by the way, is listed as one of Kevin Zraly’s favorite Greek wine producers.
Here’s the breakdown…
Color: Light red. You can see my fingers through the wine. Look at the picture, foo!
Nose: Crushed red apples and berries.
Taste: This wine is very juicy. Lots of raspberry and cranberry. There is almost a hint of sweetness to this wine, but it is more juicy than anything else. There is a nice, crisp, short finish on this.
Score: It’s tough to give the Skouras a score, because (as warned by the server) it doesn’t taste like anything else. This wine is pleasant, and I would assume indicative of the style. I’ll give it an 86, and suggest that you try it the next time you get an opportunity.
Now, onto the food…
Kara and I split the Fiery Feta Dip. Chunky and dope!
I remember when I was in sixth grade, and my neighbor and I dared each other to take a sip of the box wine in my parents’ fridge…
“Ewwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
Let’s just say that box wine is the perfect way to get your kid to not ever start drinking. I thank my folks for that box wine…
It kept me on the straight and narrow until I was out of high school (almost).
I remember going to college and starting to become familiar with alcohol…
My idea of a good wine back then was Boone’s Farm Strawberry Hill (Come to think of it… It was pretty rad!)… I was more of a beer guy.
The thing that really got me turned on to wine… The reason why I ever did anything ever since I was in the fourth grade…
A girl.
I was at a bar, one night… and had hit it off with a nice young woman, so I figured I’d buy her a drink.
“What are you drinking?”
She held up the glass of red juice in her right had, and showed it to me. “Merlot!”
“I’ll be right back!”
I muscled my way up to the bar (cash in hand), and made eye contact with the bar tender. “Two Merlows!”
The bar tender looked back at me and asked, “What kind?”
I was confused by the question…
If I were to order a Bud, or a Sierra Nevada, I would have never gotten that question. “I don’t understand. That girl said she got a Merlow here… I want two of ’em.”
“I know you want two. But what kind of Merlot do you want?” she asked again.
I looked back at her, defeated, and said, “Large!”
The bar tender turned back around to get my order… When she returned, she placed two bottles of wine on the bar.
“That’ll be thirty-five dollars.”
Confused, I handed her two twenty-dollar bills. I grabbed the bottles and some glasses. As I turned to walk away, I heard the bartender shout back, “Enjoy your two large Merots! Hahahahahahaha!”
When I made it back to the girl that I had met earlier, she looked at the two bottles and said, “Sutter Home? I hate that stuff!”
I looked at the label to find that it read “Sutter Home Merlot“. “Oh!” I thought to myself, “I get it, now… Merlot is a grape!”
After she filled the rest of her glass, she walked away.
And there I was… All alone… With almost two full bottles of Sutter Home Merlot.
Don’t ask me how the wine tasted…
I don’t remember…
In fact… I don’t remember much of anything from that night…
But a lesson was learned…
There is more to wine than just Red, White, and boxes.
Speaking of Merlot… Check out the bottle I opened up the other night!
Chateau Ste Michelle 2008 Indian Wells Merlot
I picked up this large Chateau Ste Michelle 2008 Indian Wells Merlot from BevMo for $12.99. Chateau Ste Michelle is a well-established, fairly priced winery from Washington state. The Indian Wells series of wines are sourced from several of their estate vineyards. Here’s how this one went down…
Color: Dark ruby-red.
Nose: Good explosion of plum, cranberry, and blackberry fruit. There is a nice hint of crushed rock that ties all the big fruit together.
Taste: Nice soft tannins of vanilla and spice. This is a big juicy wine. There is a palate-coating flavor of blackberry jam. There is a nice transition from bright acid, to dry cranberry, to a rich, medium-short finish.
Score: This is the perfect wine for a fancy Tuesday night at home. It’s a 13 dollar Merlot that can rival those in the 20 – 25 dollar range. Give it an 89+, and pick this one up.
So that’s it.
I’m leaving you with the same question that I started with…
Do you remember your first experience with wine? What was it?
Easily, Halloween has always been my favorite holiday.
I think that part of it is because it’s so close to my birthday. Imagine, as a kid, how awesome your birthday was… feeling like you’re the most important person on the planet… knowing that you could do or eat whatever you wanted… It was your day.
Some of my favorite memories, growing up, were centered around my birthday. Having it so close to Halloween, many of these memories involved the sights and sounds of the season…
The heat of the Summer giving way to the cool winds of Fall…
The turning of the leaves from green, to yellow, to orange, to red, to brown…
The decorations…
Indian corn, gourds, and pumpkins…
Front lawns converted into grave yards…
Garages becoming haunted mazes…
It all meant the same thing to me…
My birthday was coming up!
That… and so was Halloween… my favorite holiday.
Remember how awesome Halloween was when you were in elementary school? Everyone showed up dressed in their costumes… Everyone. The more unique… the more strange… the better. The first ten minutes of class were spent walking around and figuring out what everyone was dressed up as.
The teacher would give you activities that vaguely resembled lessons…
She would read you a “scary” story…
You would count how much candy corn was in a jar for math…
As an art project, you would wrap a white napkin over a Tootsie Roll Pop and draw a face on it to make a ghost…
On the real… the “lessons” were just a way to kill time before the big Halloween parade. You remember the parade… It would start when one class would begin to walk through another… That class would follow the original class, and they would walk through the next class… The next thing you knew, every class was now parading as a giant snake throughout the entire school. As a result, you got a chance to see EVERYBODY’S costumes.
Upon the parade’s conclusion, everyone would go back to their classrooms and have a Halloween party…
Candy…
Music…
Candy…
A movie…
And hella more candy!
Once school was over, there was just one more thing on your mind…
Trick-or-Treating!
How magical is the idea of trick-or-treating? It’s amazing, right? You, and a group of friends, walk up to a stranger’s door and ring the bell. When they answer, you shout at them, “Tick or treat!” And they give you candy. It’s pretty awesome.
Now, trick-or-treating definitely changes as you get older…
When you’re in elementary school, your folks will take you out for about a half hour. As soon as your little plastic pumpkin-shaped bucket is full, you’re done. Your parents will take you home, inspect your candy, and eventually let you eat your earnings…
As you get to the latter years of elementary school, and the early years of junior high, trick-or-treating begins to change… Your folks begin to put a little more trust in you… You head out with a big group of friends. You’ve graduated from pumpkin buckets to pillow cases. You’re not just gonna go out for 30 minutes… You’ve got hours! The goal is now simple… Collect as much candy as you can.
If you think about it, trick-or-treating is a lesson in capitalism. Candy is the currency, those houses are your customers, and your costume is your sales pitch. At the end of the night, it’s those that put in the hard work… it’s those that pound the pavement… it’s those that out-hustle… Those are the ones who bring home the most candy.
There’s this weird thing that happens as you get into high school… As you continue to trick-or-treat, many of your peers begin to drop off. Maybe they don’t think it’s cool… Maybe someone told them they were too old (and they believed it)… Maybe they don’t want to hustle… Whatever the case may be, when you take a moment to look around… People stop trick-or-treating.
Or as the Goodie Mob would say…
“People don’t dance no mo. All they do is dis.”
This idea was never more apparent to me then when I was a sophomore in high school. The year was 1994…
Back in the day, on Halloween, we used to roll 10 kids deep… but sophomore year was different… As Halloween came around, most of my friends did not want to trick-or-treat. Instead of the usual 10, our group had narrowed down to three…
Just three…
Zach DeLawyer, Morgan Lumber, and yours truly.
In planning out or trick-or-treating route, we quickly realized the advantage of having a smaller group… Having fewer people with us meant that we could move more quickly from one house to the next. We realized that we would be more efficient. We could hit more houses in less time. What we had in our small group was opportunity…
We had an opportunity to do something that had never been done before…
We were going to hit every single house in our small town of Ben Lomond in a single night!
Every.
Single.
House.
Okay… Not every house, but a whole lot of ’em. Here was the plan…
Zach lived on one end of Ben Lomond, and I lived on the other. At the end of the school day, I would ride the bus over to Zach’s house to meet both him and Morgan. We would begin trick-or-treating there, and work our way over to my house (on the other end of town). My dad would then drive Morgan and Zach back home.
The only thing left was execution. And THAT is when things got interesting…
We began trick-or-treating around 4:30pm. Now, I know that many folks would call that too early, but when you’re planning to go to every house in the town (or at least a lot of them) you cannot wait. At first, there were a few houses that would not answer the door, or were not ready to accommodate trick-or-treaters… But most of the folks were very nice, and were excited to hear of our plan.
About an hour into our mission, the streets began to fill up with packs of younger kids screaming as they bounced from one house to the next.
As night began to fall, more and more ghouls, goblins, and ghosts emptied into the streets. We would come across groups of kids our age who wanted to stop and hang out with us, but we could not be bothered…
We were on a mission!
For those that didn’t look at the map (How dare you?!?!), the complete trip consisted of an ominous 6.66 miles with an elevation gain of 397 ft. With each house, and each contribution of candy, our pillow cases got heavier and heavier. It got to a point were we were literally dragging our pillow cases behind us. The entire trip took about 5 hours. This was not an easy task for a group of 15 and 16 year-olds.
But, sure enough, we did it!
We hit the last house on our map at 9:30pm (What? Too late? Don’t judge us!). As we hit the straight-away on Glen Arbor Road, the joy of a hard day’s (night’s) work was about to pay off. My house was half a mile away…
All we had to do was get home…
That’s all we had to do…
But then, it happened…
As far as roads go in a small mountain town like Ben Lomond, Glen Arbor is a busy one. About once every minute, a car would come racing by us. On a quiet night, the sound of a car coming is something you get used to. A low moan, transitions to a high purr as the car flies by at 40 miles an hour. They vary slightly, based on the size of the car, but the sounds are usually quite similar…
So when a low and slow rumble starts to creep up behind you, you notice… And we did.
We turned our heads to find a 1975 VW van passing us at about 10 miles per hour. As the van pulled even with us, we saw heads in the van turn… and the eyes attached to them staring us down.
There was a bus stop about 30 yards ahead of us. The van pulled over right there.
What were we supposed to do?
We were almost home. The only thing between my house and us was this van. We weren’t going to hike 6 miles back to Zach’s house.
We decided to keep walking toward the van.
And then, it happened…
The doors of the van flew open, and out jumped five dudes.
Five seniors from our high school.
Five football players.
My heart sank.
Four of them hung back, while one of the young men approached us.
“Give us your candy,” he muttered calmly in our direction…
Now, in times of stress our body responds. It starts when our adrenal glands release a hormone called adrenaline. The hormone causes our heart rate to speed up and our blood vessels to constrict. That, coupled with the instantaneous release of glucose into our blood stream, contributes to our fight-or-flight response. As a defense mechanism, we will either fight or we will flee. I am always more inclined to do the latter…
“Give us your candy!” he repeated.
I grabbed tight to my bag of candy and began to cautiously step backwards.
Morgan stood still.
But Zach…
Zach had a different response…
“I ain’t giving you my f-ing candy!” he yelled back at the football player.
“That’s a shame,” the football player responded, “I guess I’m just gonna have to take it!” He grabbed on to one end of Zach’s pillow case, but Zach would not let go. The two of them began to play tug-o-war with the candy in the middle of the street.
Several cars drove by us, but not a single one stopped to help.
After about a minute, I looked over at Morgan (who had been a statue up to this point). His face began to change. Zach and Morgan, though not related by blood, share a mutual cousin. They had been the best of friends almost their entire life. They were as close as brothers. Morgan’s momentarily frozen face began to change to one of anger. I could see the fire inside him beginning to build.
In a moment, I watched Morgan drop his candy. He cocked back his right fist, and began to run toward the football player who was tugging on Zach’s candy. With a high-pitched scream, he jumped into the air and punched the dude in the back of the head.
The football player immediately let go of Zach, and turned toward Morgan. He grabbed Morgan by the collar and began to shake him. In one motion, the football player picked up Morgan’s 120 pound body and threw him into a bush. He then grabbed Morgan’s candy, jumped back into the van with his friends, and took off…
We were almost home…
We almost made it…
But there we stood…
We were shaken…
We were defeated…
At the end of the day, you have to know that our mission was not about the candy. Zach and I still had ours, and of course we shared what we had with Morgan. It was about the journey. We had made a plan. We put in the hours. And we did what we set out to do. In the face of our peers who had said that we were too old to trick-or-treat, we were gonna show them that we were not. This was our night to shine…
In an instant…
In one action…
Those bastards took our Halloween from us.
They took our innocence.
Living in a small town, word gets around fast. The next day at school, we didn’t have to tell anyone what had happened to us… They already knew. We didn’t expect any sympathy from anyone. And sure enough, we did not get any.
A lot of our peers reacted to the story with laughter. Some even had the balls to tell us that we deserved it, since we were too old to be trick-or-treating in the first place. I don’t think any of them would be laughing as much if they realized what was going to happen the following year…
Again, Ben Lomond is a small town. It was not just students at the local high school who knew what happened… Parents heard of it too… Parents of younger children… Parents who were now afraid to let their kids trick-or-treat.
The next year, when we were Juniors, nobody trick-or-treated. Not just me, or Zach, or Morgan…
Nobody trick-or-treated in Ben Lomond in 1995…
Okay…
Maybe a few people did, but Halloween was not the same that year. Those guys that jumped us for our candy did not just ruin our Halloween. They ruined it for an entire community.
The idea of not celebrating Halloween (my favorite holiday) just made me sick. Something had to change. So when we were seniors (in the Fall of 1996), we committed to make that change…
In the Fall of 1996, we made it happen…
When you become a senior in high school, you begin to gain perspective. You understand that for some of your classmates (many of whom you’ve known since you were in kindergarten), senior year is the last time you will see some of them… for the rest of your life. You know that this prom and this homecoming will be your last. And as for Halloween and trick-or-treating, you know that after your senior year it will never be the same.
It all started with Morgan Lumber…
He was the one who was the most affected by the events of that faitful Halloween night. He was the one who got tossed in a bush and lost his candy. While eating lunch, he brought it up…
“Who’s trick-or-treating with me this year?”
That one question gave us licence to jump on board. Zach was all in, and so was I.
I fired up the computer, and used this brand new site on the internet called google to print out a map of our route. That Halloween, at school, I gave copies to Zach, Morgan, and several other friends in an attempt to fire people up about trick-or-treating.
As stoked as we were on Halloween this year, other folks had different responses…
“I’m too old for trick-or-treating.”
“Why would I trick-or-treat, when I can go to a party?”
It was just more of the same stuff from two years prior.
A small group of friends had a different response all together…
My buddies Nick TheDrummer, JR FromGirls, A Boy Named Sue, and Morgan DaChef got a hold of our map, and decided to have a little fun.
“Thanks for the map,” JR smirked, “We’re gonna be looking for you tonight. And when we find you, we’re gonna jack you for your candy.”
With that threat, I looked JR in the eyes and responded, “You know where to find us. Bring it, bitch!”
That night, just as in the past, we got started early. We came prepared with two pillow cases each, and a map of our route. But that Halloween, we weren’t just getting ready to trick-or-treat…
WE WERE READY TO FIGHT!
We each grabbed two long tube socks. In the bottom of each sock, we carefully placed one raw egg.
Maybe they would find us…
Maybe they wouldn’t…
Maybe they would take our candy from us…
But one thing was sure…
If they were getting our candy, they were gonna get wet.
A couple of hours had gone by in our trick-or-treating mission. Our pillow cases were starting to fill up. And with our senior-sized bodies, they didn’t seem as heavy as they did in years past. We had almost forgotten about the threats of our peers…
But then, it happened…
The sound was that of a car horn repeatedly being honked. We looked back to see a brown 1982 Toyota Tercel hatchback creeping up along side of us. It was Nick’s car. A car I had known all to well. All of the windows were rolled down, and a head peaked out of the passenger side. It was JR.
“We’re coming to get you, bitches!” he threatened.
As they slowly continued down the road, Zach was the first to respond. “Oh Hell nah!” he exclaimed as he reached into one of his tube socks. He pulled out an egg and fired it at Nicks car.
SPLAT!
It was a direct hit on Nick’s rear windshield.
Immediately, Nick slammed on his brakes and jumped out of his car. “What the f–k, bro!?!?” he yelled out as he raised his arms up.
“What are you gonna do?” Morgan Lumber yelled back.
“You’ll see!” Nick responded as he jumped back into his car and peeled out.
What were they planning?
We just shrugged it off, and continued trick-or-treating…
About a half an hour later, we had reached a stretch of road that didn’t have many houses.
It was dark.
It was flat.
It was quiet.
As we turned a corner we saw Nick’s car parked on the side of the road.
We approached with caution.
We approached prepared.
I quickly hid my pillow case of candy behind a bush. I then reached back into my belt loops and pulled out my egg-filled tube socks. Morgan and Zach pulled out their tube socks as well…
When we were about 20 feet from the car, the doors flew open and Nick, JR, Sue, and Morgan D. stepped out.
“Give us your candy!” they all yelled in unison.
Zach raised the middle finger of his free had and shouted back, “Go f–k yourself!”
“Let’s get ’em!” Morgan DaChef called out as he charged straight for me.
Now…
You should know that Morgan DaChef and I had a bit of an awkward history. He, along with Nick and JR, was in a band with me for about a year. He was a really fun guy to hang out with. He also hated me for a quite some time… and for good reason. The summer before, I had started dating his ex-girlfriend of about 4 years. It was an awful… awful thing that I did to a friend. It was a stupid thing to do, and I will forever be sorry.
Back to the story…
So Morgan D. came charging right at me. Though he was bigger than me, I stayed calm. My candy was hidden, and I had a plan.
When he was about 10 feet away from me, I held my egg-filled tube socks out to my sides and began to swing them like nunchakus. When he saw me swinging something in the dark, Morgan began to slow-up. Before he could fully react to what was happening, I hit him with the eggs.
YAP!
YAP!
I caught him on the top of the head with the left, then the right.
Now look… It was dark out. He didn’t know what was in those socks. For all he knew, they could have been rocks. The only thing that he was certain of was that he got hit with something… That, and now something was oozing down his face… For all he knew, it could have been blood (not egg).
Morgan DaChef grabbed his head and yelled, “What the f–k did you just do, Jeff?!?!” In a rage he picked me up over his head, and body slammed me on a sand dune. He then grabbed his head again and ran off toward the car, shouting to JR and Sue, “I’m bleeding!”
Slowly getting back to my feet, I looked over at Zach. He was on the ground, wrestling for his candy with Nick.
From out of nowhere, I then saw Morgan Lumber run up and smash two eggs on the back of Nick’s head.
YAP!
YAP!
Nick let go of the bag and clutched his head just long enough for Zach to roll back to his feet. With an upper-cutting motion, Zach delivered the final blow to Nick’s chest.
YAP!
Crying, Nick ran back to his car where everyone else was waiting, and jumped in.
As they drove off, an arm stretched out of each window of the Toyota Tercel… each with a middle finger raised high.
In return, each of us grabbed our pillow cases of candy and lifted them high above our heads as symbols of victory.
We did it!
We won!
We avenged our Halloween nightmare of two years past!
The rest of the night was a blast. We were amped up. We were happy.
We brought Halloween back to Ben Lomond!
We
Did
It!
When I got home that night, I threw my candy on the scale…
TEN POUNDS!
I was shocked!
We did it!
You know…
Back then, I was hella stoked to have that much candy at once.
Today?
I wouldn’t know what to do with it.
I’m not really a huge candy guy,
BUT
I am a big wine guy…
Today, a lot of wineries have gotten into doing candy and wine pairings around Halloween time.
This past Saturday, Kara and I decided to stop by a few places to see what they had.
When we showed up at Kirigin, we started with a glass of sparkling wine to cleanse the palate.
The first pairing was Chardonnay with Kit Kat. The wafer of the Kit Kat brought out the butteriness of the Chardonnay.
Up next... Pinot Noir with Whoppers. The light milk chocolate of the whopper was a good choice.
With the Zinfandel, we had Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Jammy Zin + Peanut Butter Cups = Liquid PB&J
Hershey's Kisses with Syrah was a nice one. It was kind of refreshing to have milk chocolate (instead of dark) with a wine.
Before leaving Kirigin, you have to try their Vino de Mocca. It's a fortified dessert wine, made with grapes, oranges, chocolate and coffee. I would be stoked to get that in my pillow case when I trick-or-treat this year.
On the way back toward Morgan Hill, we stopped by Clos La Chance in San Martin…
I'm liking this wine flight!
Up first... Viognier and Candy Corn Pumpkin. Not a good choice. The butteriness of the Candy Pumpkin makes the Viognier taste like a crappy Chardonnay.
Now the Hershey's Bar with Almonds and the Santa Cruz Mountains Chardonnay was rad!
Let me just say that I've never had a Take 5 before I did this pairing... Now I'm obsessed! Pretzels. Chocolate. Caramel. Peanuts. Peanut Butter. Legit! Oh... and the SCM Pinot Noir was good too.
Estate Syrah and Snickers really satisfies.
The final pairing of the day was a Kit Kat and a Meritage. Not bad, though I think Kirigin had it right by pairing Kit Kat with a Chardonnay.
Well…
There you have it!
Here’s hoping that your Halloween is filled with GOODIES… and you don’t get MOBBED!
Stay Rad 