Just before I left for vacation I had the pleasure of sharing a tasty brunch with Paul Broeker of Santa Barbara Wine Blog and his family. I feel bad that I got caught up with visions of white caps and forgot to post a little something, especially after his very sweet post about our meeting.

We met at Le Pichet, near the Pike Place Market in Seattle, for brioche, cheese, and baked eggs. Too early for wine, but they do have killer coffee. One of the last places in Seattle where you can order a “latte” and receive a cup with the appropriate amounts of espresso and steamed milk, instead of being asked fifty trillion questions to clarify yourself.

Sometimes you can feel both in it and out of it up here in the corner of the country so it’s always good to check in, with people from other countries. wine areas, and even with other west coasters. Every viticultural area is like its own clique. No, not clique, more like microcosm–stuff happening that you’re up on and in the know because of proximity alone. No, I’m right, it’s like a clique. But it’s cool to talk to someone from another area and realize, “wow, I just don’t know shit about what’s going on down there.”

If you like the wines of that particular area of Cali, check out Paul’s site.

This segues into a review of one of my “damn, that’s crazy wine for the money,” made by one of my favorite winemakers and certainly Santa Barbara’s most talented, Joe Davis of Arcadian Winery.

2002 Syrah La Genisse Lafond Vineyard - French for heffer, this wine is the result of some Syrah barrels that weren’t really floating Joe’s boat for the full-on Arcadian label. So he bottled it under a different name. And proof that sometimes shit happens, this wine came alive in the bottle and now tastes like way more than $18 (it might be less in Cali). The dark berry and plummy fruit is very voluptious and fresh, REAL tasting. I smell and get lightly slapped with fresh cracked pepper on the finish. (I’m into that.) Balanced with an unassuming, but undeniably there structure. Meaning, bitch looks like a million bucks and like she only took 5 minutes to get ready but that dress is a work of tasty architecture. This is the under $20 Salma Hayek hottie-Syrah from Cali I’ve been looking for, ever since Clos Mimi’s Petite Rousse of 2 vintages ago.

On a much, much darker note…segues be damned….this is perhaps the darkest day for democracy in the US that I have witnessed. Scalito is in. And the individual is sooooo out. Get a last look at your Bill of Rights.

Goodbye free speech.
Goodbye unions.
Goodbye right to petition for a redress of grievances.
Goodbye worker protections.
Goodbye not denying/disparaging all rights retained by people.
Goodbye states’ rights.
Goodbye right to no unreasonable searches and seizures.
Goodbye warrants based upon probable cause.
Goodbye government for the people by the people.
Goodbye freedom from involuntary servitude.
Goodbye seperation of church and state.
Goodbye naturalization.
Goodbye unabridged right to vote.
Goodbye right to assemble.
Goodbye due process.
Goodbye term limits.
Goodbye right to privacy.

And I’ll miss you most of all, right to choose.

And Mrs. Martin Luther King is dead.

Goodbye Coretta. And blessed be.