by Christina Waters | Dec 6, 2011 | Home, Wine |
If you need any further proof of John (Soif) Locke’s unerring wine sense, here it is. Last weekend Soif hosted former UCSC student-turned wine grower Kenny Likitprakong of Hobo Wines. Two days later I find that the SF Chronicle has named Likiprakong’s 2009 Ghostwriter Woodruff Family Vineyard Santa Cruz Mountains Pinot Noir one of the top 24 pinot noirs of 2011.
Grown from old vines from the Corralitos corridor, this earthy, spicy pinot is currently available for $45 in the Soif retail shop. I’m getting mine today. After I occupy a few banks.
by Christina Waters | Dec 5, 2011 | Home, Movies |
I thought I was going to see George Clooney win an Oscar. I didn’t. He won’t. But The Descendants stayed with me and continued to spin out and unfurl deep-tissue feelings and puzzles and bits of beauty long after I left The Nick last weekend and headed out into the blustery twilight.
The camera loves Clooney almost as much as it loved Marilyn Monroe. There simply are no bad angles on this beautiful man. And while it’s clear he can hold the center of a film, he does so by sleight of hand. He is a quiet vortex around which all of the action, the drama, the storming and revelation takes place. Somehow his winning features—the thoughtful brow, the sensitive facial muscles, the glowing eyes, the gorgeous legs—get close to the point, but never quite land on it.
He doesn’t convince me, even though his character—an Hawaiian heir to a huge land trust, with two out-of-control young daughters and a dying wife—did.
by Christina Waters | Dec 1, 2011 | Home, Wine |
From Birichino comes this wide open bouquet of spices, pepper and black cherries, Grenache Vielles Vignes 2010, Central Coast. At 13.5% alc. it moves all those bright fruit flavors deep into the center of your palate.
The brilliant cherry red wine spreads out horizontally and persists all the way to the end—to the end of that pork loin roast, or pizza, or cheese platter.
Retailing in the $15-$16 ballpark, this lovely wine (perfect for the holidays) is loaded with character and immediate appeal. Look for it at Soif, New Leaf and other enlightened wine shops.
