Big City Turn Me Loose and Set Me Free

It's Tuesday and I'm on my way to Sacto then Napa. I've completed and passed 2 of the 3 classes/tests I came to New York for, just found out that I passed the second test after I thought I blew it. One more to go at the end of August. I got 2 pins on the wifebeater.

I'm done working at the restaurant here and got a new job in Napa. I got a entry-level wine making internship! I'll be spending a couple days there looking for a place to live.

Moving to Fort Green in Brooklyn upon my return. Hate leaving Queens and the good food and coffee in Sunnyside.

life

My wine pick is a California Cabernet from the Oakville district of Napa, maybe Groth winery.

I passed and ripasso

Monday was a good day. My lost mail was found and made its way to me, so I feel connected again to the outside world. I got rejection letters from Opus One and Cakebread, registration stickers for my car (which is sitting back in California sucking all my money and sanity away from me), a note from mom saying that my nephew is referring to me as Baby Mary and my first issue of Playgirl. The subscription was a b-day gift from January and I'm finally enjoying the benefits. Guys don't need to wax so much, if you think you need it get a woman's opinion first. The production value of the magazine is ok, they might need to think about getting an editor who's over 30 (models can be under 30 of course), and Johnny Cobalt on page 32 please use some Visine.

I had a phone interview for a cellar job in St. Helena. We talked for a while and I learned the picking probably won't start until mid-September.

I got my first certificate and pin for passing the intro class from the Court of Master Sommeliers. The test was hard and I was prepared to leave empty handed after drinking my fill of post-class champagne, but alas I'm wearing my "Guild of Sommeliers" pin on my wifebeater sleep shirt. It was cool to hang out with 5 Masters who taught the 2-day class, one of which was Roger Dagorn from Chanterelle. My energy and confidence are way up, just don't ask me anything about wine...

Speaking of which, my pick for the evening was an Northeastern Italian red wine from the Veneto region, Valpolicella. It was made with the repasso method, the wine was passed over the lees (dead yeast and grape bits) of dried grapes that were used for making a sweet wine. It was a superiore, so it has at least a year of barrel aging. 2 words: yum mee. It's a luxurious wine that seems creamy, low acid without being flabby. Great alternative to a "fruit bomb" and you can drink it on it's own.

California here I come

Well I'm now studying California and other places that I recognize. I'm looking forward to heading back west in just under two months. I need to make up tests for Languedoc and Italy, and I need to spend more time on Spain, but the domestic stuff has my confidence back up. I had to taste a wine in front of a group and got so damn nervous my mouth dried up. My instuctor told me I need to drink more... I see myself getting an A+.

The more I learn, the more I know I need to learn a lot more. This is going to take a while. Fear: going broke. Looking for inspiration. I'm watching Lance each morning.

Sending my resume to No. Cal wine country looking for work in September. All the jobs seem to have mid-Aug for a start date. Got a couple NO responses. A real nice no from Mark Herold. The next new job I get will not be identified on this blog so I will have the ability to speak freely about any weenies I work with. Working hard but I feel like a guy with no arms and no legs in front of a doorway.

I'm loving Prosecco these days, nice frizzante and spumante wine from the region of the same name in Italy. Cava is fun too, but more on Spain later. Also I want to compare German riesling to Alsace. Alsace is supposed to always be drier and richer than German.