Monday, April 30, 2012

Wine 4 n00bs

Tonight we had our first wine 4 n00bs class. Rob Gardner from Margaux & Co. guided us through Alsace with samples from J. Fritsch. We had their Pinot Blanc, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Riesling Grand Cru, and Gewurtztraminer. Fun and information was enjoyed by all.
I did a little lecture about the culture, architecture, food, and beauty of the Alsace and Strasbourg and Colmar. Chris Philpot did a n00b speech about what he was excited to learn. People really reacted positively.
Lots of wine professionals showed up, so I ended up hanging out with Kim from Kroger, Greg from Barren Ridge, John from Ox Eye, and others who will probably be angry I'm not mentioning them. What a cool night. I'm a bit giddy about it all because I had such a good time. Thanks to everyone who came! It was truly a pleasure to host it. Sorry my Power Point presentation was lacking when I used Google to do the slides. Can't wait to see you next month.

Picture an Embryo / Collaborate with Scientists


I love Science Friday, don't you?
For some reason, this video wouldn't work on my phone, but it works on my wife's laptop, so I finally got to see it after hearing about it on NPR a few weeks ago.
I think these pictures and the artwork are pretty incredible, and I wish I knew more scientists so that I could collaborate with them to do cool artwork or poetry projects.

I want to collaborate with a scientist. Is there a scientist out there who needs a poet/writer/graphic designer/musician or would like to have tea with one?

Sunday, April 29, 2012

Belgian Congo Ale

So the brew master at Devil's Backbone is a history buff and likes to have a bit of fun with his beers, and he created this delight: Belgian Congo Style Ale. Suppose the Belgians abroad had behaved like the English in their colonies. The English wanted English Ale in India, but it spoiled as ballast on ships in transit. Their cure: add more of the natural preservative hops, accidentally inventing IPA. It took a long time for anyone to really actually like India Pale Ale, but they eventually did.
Now what if the Belgians did the same thing with Belgian Ales to get them to officers in the Congo? Well, you would get something like Devil Backbone's CPA. Isn't that awesome?
I am thrilled to have it at the Darjeeling Café. It's really delicious, one if the best things DB has created. It's refreshing and complex and most of all drinkable. I could put away a few of these in one sitting easy. Plus, it's local Virginia beer, and that's good for everyone.

Saturday, April 28, 2012

Girls at Darjeeling

These ladies are Rockin out on Saturday at Darjeeling. Hell yeah.

Reading Liberally at the Restaurant






On Thursday we discussed Unscientific America by Chris Mooney and Sheril Kirshenbaum at the restaurant for Reading Liberally. The book depressed me because it paints a rather grim picture of the current state of the union, and I don't think there's much hope in it. On the other hand, I know it isn't that grim. Sure, there are way too many people who think Noah's Ark was real, but look how far we've come. The world is becoming a better place all the time. 50 years ago, black people had to sit in a different part of the movie theater in Staunton, and they had to enjoy a different park, too. If that's not moving toward a more enlightened public, I don't what is. There might not be very many people who care about science, and there probably should be more, but aren't there more today than there were 50 years ago? Mooney says no.

I disagree. I was looking forward to his chapter called "Bruising their Religion" because I wanted to know how a Bright can speak with a person who believes in the demented idea that a magic man in the sky made humanity from mud. I often think that I am more like a "New Atheist" than I am anything else. But it occurred to me while reading this book, that I haven't had to talk about evolution in ages and there isn't any way to talk to insane people who refuse to accept facts. Maybe I'm not confronted by crazies as often as I was in Orange County, CA, but maybe there are just fewer people in general who actually believe the Old Testament is real. Why do I even need to think about that part of science. I'd rather trip out about cool space stuff and talk with people about sci-fi things that look like they might be the coming reality. I talk with my friends about RadioLab and Science Friday and NPR and politics and technology and wine and coffee and tea and beer and all sorts of things that are awesome. I know some people who go to church, but we never talk about Jesus except that, yeah, I read the Bible, and I think it was a good book and can engage on some level in the same way I engage in discussions about Moby Dick.

Anyway, I am writing this right before the Friday night dinner rush, so I have to go. It's really very cool to host Reading Liberally at the Darjeeling Café, and I hope if you live in Staunton, you can come discuss the next book with us: The Wealth of Nature. The one after that (June's) will Drift by Rachel Maddow. Good discussions will follow. I love this part about owning a restaurant.

Friday, April 27, 2012

Stegmaier Honey Suckle Ale

 
Normally, I don't eat honey because I'm ethically against it. But, I drank this beer thinking it didn't actually have honey in it. It turns out it does.

Anyway, it's a perfect spring and summer drink if you don't mind drinking honey. It's slightly sweet and goes down smooth. We have a case of it at the restaurant for May if you want to come by and give it a try.

Thursday, April 26, 2012






Last week, I earned my introductory sommelier course certificate from the Court of Master Sommeliers. The class was pretty intense, and I learned a lot. The exam was challenging, too. That means that I am currently the most highly educated wine professional in this area. What does that mean?

Well, that means that we are well on our way to making the Darjeeling Café the wine destination of Virginia. We are centrally located in Staunton, Virginia, in the heart of the Shenandoah Valley surrounded by vineyards and wineries, and we have the most extensive wine list in the region. Our cellar currently feautures 156 different labels! Many of them are local, regional, or state wineries, but we also have a wonderful selection of old world and new world wines, too.

Isn't that cool? Soon, I want to get my certified sommelier level. Then, maybe I'll even do my advanced level. To do the advanced you have to be able to blind taste a lot better than I can now, but I will persevere!

Tonight, we are hosting a Rock Star Wine Dinner featuring some wines owned by rock stars and a dinner menu inspired by their songs. We're also starting a class on the 30th called Wine for Nubes. That's going to be a monthly thing. I just got finished talking with someone about doing a wine festival in Staunton. Things are happening.