#there’s apparently a strawberry festival in the city I lived before and all the people I knew from work went separately

[thoughts-and-vibes]

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[path-of-my-childhood]

Collect Call From... TAYLOR SWIFT

Blender Magazine (final, unpublished issue from May 2009) // By Josh Eells

Each month, one lucky rock star phones Blender HQ for seven days straight, just to, you know, share. Now on the line: country-pop princess.

DAY 1: FEBRUARY 24th, 3:51 pm

Swift calls from Nashville, where she lives with her parents and younger brother. “I’m so happy to be home! I’ve been in Europe for two weeks. I got back two nights ago and spent half of yesterday sleeping. This is my only week off for months, but I categorize vacations differently than most people. I don’t care if I’m doing interviews from when I wake up till I go to sleep, as long as l’m in my own bed, that’s a day off.  This morning I went to some of the radio stations in town, said hi to program directors. Then I met with my stylist - we talked about tour outfits. And now I’m getting dressed for my brother Austin’s lacrosse game. He plays goalie - this is his first game as starter. His friends used to tease him about me, but now he's six two and built. I don’t think they make jokes anymore.”

DAY 2: FEBRUARY 25th, 4:14 pm

Swift phones from home, where she’s “lounging on the couch under a quilt” and playing with her dogs, Baby (a Doberman) and Bug (a mini Pinscher). “Austin did great! His team won, and he kept a bunch of balls out of the goal. Afterwards I went with my friend Emily to a Nashville Predators game. I did a commercial for them, so they hook me up with tickets when I’m in town. There’s a couple of cute guys, but I think they’re all married. I totally cheer and do the fang-finger thing. Last night they put me on the JumboTron, and you could literally see the wave of people getting up to come over. I’m still getting used to the fact that being stared at is part of my day - in high school it meant I had something on my face. The fact that my albums has been No. 1 for 10 weeks - it’s unbelievable. But this week looks a little questionable: The Jonas Brothers have an album out, too. Hmm.”

DAY 3: FEBRUARY 26th, 5:30 pm

Swift dials in from the road In Nashville, where she’s stuck In rush-hour traffic. "I just shot a video with my friend Kellie [Pickier] for a song we wrote together. It’s about ex-boyfriends. In the video I am kind of her trouble-making sidekick - I wore this strapless studded dress with a zipper up the front. The whole day I was afraid someone was gonna walk by and unzip me. It would have taken half a second to ruin my day. Oh, my God, last night I fell asleep on the couch watching CSI: NY. I was out at like 7, but at some point I dragged myself to bed, and apparently in my haze I turned the heat up to 95! I woke up in the middle of the night drenched in sweat, with my poor cat lying on the floor panting. I made myself an ice bath and called my friend Emma in LA - she was in Superbad - and she kept me company for two hours while I cooled down.”

DAY 4: FEBRUARY 27th, 4:37 pm

Swift rings from the music room at her house, where she’s teaching herself how to play piano. “I’m still not caught up from my jet lag. Today I woke up at 5:30, ate same cereal and fell back asleep on the couch. I didn’t sleep long though, because we had rehearsal this morning. Kenny Chesney was rehearsing next door, so we chatted for a bit. Nashville is a really small town. I still live with my parents because I’m never home long enough to move out. And I don’t go to bars, because I’m 19 and scared of breaking rules. Besides Kellie and my best friend Abigail, who moved to Kansas, most of my friends are in LA. And boys aren’t even an issue right now. I categorize guys as “talking”, “nominees” - people you feel like you could someday date - and “dating”. Right now I don’t even have nominees. I don’t even have potential future nominees! But I’m used to being single. Before my last relationship [with Joe Jonas] I was single for like two years. It’s sort of my thing.”

DAY 5: FEBRUARY 28th, 12:50 pm

Swift checks in from her mom’s car with some medical news. “So, I’m driving to the doctors office. I burned my face with a curling iron! Don’t worry, I’m fine - I’ll call you after we’re done. [She phones a few hours later.] OK. What happened was, I woke up at 6 am and decided to curl my hair. I guess l was still asleep, because I slipped and burned my face under my right eye. It hurt really bad, but I didn’t think much of it. I edited and uploaded a MySpace video - unhindered by the fact that my face was melting off - and went downstairs, and my dad was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ I guess it was worse than I realized. So we went to the dermatologist. She gave me a prescription for some burn cream - I’m not sure what it is, but it has a lot of syllables. The good news is I’m expected to make a full recovery.”

DAY 6: MARCH 1st, 10:03 pm

Swift phones from Plant City, Florida, where she lust performed at the world famous Florida Strawberry Festival. “This place is strawberry city! When we landed, there were official Strawberry Festival minivans waiting to pick us up, driven by people in strawberry shirts. In the dressing room there were bushels of the most beautiful, gigantic chocolate covered strawberries I’ve ever seen. It’s like they welded three together! And this afternoon I met the Strawberry Festival Queen and her court. They were dressed in red and looked very sparkly. It was cold for Florida, like 55 and rainy, but everybody bundled up and had a great time. Afterward we had a police escort, which always makes you feel cool, and we’re taking a private jet, which is even cooler. On the way to the airport all these kids were trying to hurl themselves on our car - it was pretty frantic for a second. But thankfully no one got hurt. That’s why it was cool.”

DAY 7: MARCH 2nd, 12:50 pm

On her last day at home, Swift calls from her favorite couch, where she’s enjoying the view of Old Hickory Lake. “It’s freezing in Tennessee! It’s like 29 degrees, and I’m sitting here packing sundresses and flip-flops for two weeks in Australia. That and downloading movies for the 20,000-hour flight I’m about to embark on. I have three goals for this trip. One, get a tan. Two, go to the beach. And three, debut my new summer wardrobe. Oh, and four, play some good shows and make an impact on Australia! Ha. I don’t go into most situations thinking I’m going to win. I’ve never even won a raffle. These blessings I’ve had lately are more amazing than I could have ever imagined. We got the new projections today, and It’s looking like we’re going to be No.1 again. Does it feel a little sweeter this week? [Laughs] Yeah - just a little.”

[asterinjapan]

Peach cental

Good evening from the city of peaches!

Today was a travel day, but it was the least cumbersome of all my travel days, so I still had time to Do Stuff. So I’ve been busy, and I’m definitely going to bed early considering I have already reserved a train ticket for tomorrow at 8:30, haha.

So, from Fukuoka to Okayama! Here we go. As it turns out this entry got long, so apologies in advance...

I got up early to have breakfast in peace, had a very quick check-out, and proceeded to make my way to the station. I think this might be the first day my legs are legitimately protesting, and that’s mostly because I had to drag my suitcase with me. Thankfully, my hotel is pretty close to the station, and the entrance for the shinkansen trains is nearby as well. Of course, I was way too early, so I watched the Nozomi (the fastest of the shinkansen, which I can’t use with m JR pass) come and go before my train showed up, the Sakura.

It was a little under two hours to Okayama, passing Hiroshima and Fukuyama on the way. Fukuyama castle is a literal stone’s throw from the station, but I noticed the main tower was partially covered, so I’m glad I went to see that one last year already!

After a smooth trip, I arrived at Okayama station and all but went deaf upon exiting, because there were all kinds of events going on. Today is a national holiday (Health and Sports day I think), so I guess that had something to do with it. Also, it’s hot! I was already regretting my warm pants, but what can you do.

I’m staying in the same hotel as last year, which is very easily found from the station anyway, so that was only a quick trip. In the lobby, I took out the necessities for my ‘daily backpack’ and then asked if I could leave the rest of my luggage here, as I was too early for check-in. Thankfully I could, haha, because I had Plans that would be significantly troublesome if I had to drag my suitcase with me.

So, out of the hotel I went, following the Momotarou street down to Okayama castle! Okay, two things: Momotarou is everywhere here. He’s a character from a folk tale, in which an elderly couple found a giant peach in the river and upon cutting it open, a boy jumped out. They raised the boy as their own and he ended up becoming a hero, as he teamed up with a dog, pheasant and a monkey and went on to defeat ogres. His name is Momotarou, which basically means ‘peach boy’. The story is more or less set in the region – there’s a prince called Kibitsuhiko whose story might have inspired Momotarou, and the shrines dedicated to him can be found in Okayama. I talked about this for a bit last year too, when I stayed in Okayama for the first time. Anyway, this has a predictable result: peaches and Momotarou everywhere. So down from Peach boy Road, onto the castle!

I visited the castle last year with my friend, but there was a little something we didn’t get to do, so I was taking this chance to rectify that.

Upon arrival however, it turned out there was a festival of some kind going on. Fun atmosphere, but it did mean it was pretty busy, hmm.

Into the castle I went anyway! They want you to start the tour on the top floor, so I meekly followed that advice and made my way down. The Thing I wanted to do would start again at 1 PM, so I took my time exploring the different floors and reading the Japanese signage (not a lot was translated except for titles, but I found the general guide boards pretty easy to follow). There was also a special exhibition with works by Masago Kimiya, who has an affinity for drawing historical figures from the Three Kingdoms and Warring States eras. I had no idea what to expect, but these works were beautiful! They look more like glamorous photos than the stylized portraits from back then, and to top it off, the hall told the story of Ukita Hideie, who completed the castle after taking over from his father. He was a big name, actually. (History lesson to follow!)

The little states making up Japan until 1600 were at constant war with each other, called the Sengoku (Warring States) era. Attempts to unify the country were made by Oda Nobunaga and then Toyotomi Hideyoshi. Hideie sided with them and ended up being one of Hideyoshi’s five counselors, along with a guy called Tokugawa Ieyasu. Yeah, there he is again, That One Guy. Anyway, after Hideyoshi was assassinated, Ieyasu took control and two camps emerged: the one on Ieyasu’s side, and the loyalists to Toyotomi, including Hideie. At the decisive battle of Sekigahara in 1600, Ieyasu’s side won, unified Japan, and Hideie was to be punished. He fled to what is now Kagoshima until he was eventually betrayed and exiled to the island of Hachijojima, Tokyo, where he lived out his life until his 80s (!). His wife, princess Gou, stayed loyal to him and kept sending him support (like food, since rice barely grew on the island) until she passed away.

Later the castle went to the Ikeda clan, and it was being maintained until the Meiji Restauration in 1869. The Meiji government wanted to break with the samurai era and actually tore down a lot of castles, although it left Okayama castle alone, filling the outer moats and leaving the rest as it is. In 1945, bombers destroyed the castle as yet with the exception of the Tsukimi Yagura (watch tower for moon watching), and so the current reconstruction is from the 1960s. The lion-fish on top are gilded now, but in the old days, the main keep had gilded roof tiles too. It was thus also known as the Golden Crow castle, since the exterior is mostly black.

Whew, so far for a lot of history, haha. Can you tell I really like this castle? I definitely do. So much so that I read up on it, haha, although the exhibition hall was also very informative and had information in English.

On the second floor, there were some photo spots and the Thing I wanted to do: dressing up as a feudal era princess! Okay, look, the kimono on display is really pretty and the dress up is free, come on, I’m not gonna pass up on that opportunity. I had to hang around here for quite a while, as I was about an hour early, but once it was time, I was first in line! And wow, they’re not playing cheap here even though this is free. I got dressed up in a fancy kimono, got to pose all over the special room, got a wig on, got dressed up in another fancy kimono, and overall really got to make the most out of this experience. I checked my camera; there are literally a hundred pictures on there! One hundred! Wow.

So that was a really fun activity and I’m really glad I came back for it. I got a castle parfait at the café (with peach, of course, I was surprised they even offered strawberry as a different choice), and then went back outside again. I think the festival had a stage for a Momotarou something or another, geesh…

I made my way back to the station, foregoing checking into my hotel as I had another destination in mind: nearby Kurashiki!

You might remember last year’s floodings which hit Japan hard. Kurashiki was one of the cities hit, and so we didn’t end up visiting despite how close it is. So now for a second attempt, I took the local train bound for Kurashiki, which took like fifteen minutes. Told you it was close, haha.

Kurashiki is mostly known for its Bikan historical area, which is the old merchant quarter from back when the city became a river port and was so important it was placed under direct control of the shogunate. Many of the buildings are 17th century style wooden warehouses, now filled with restaurants and shops for the most part. There are also some curious museums nearby. (There was also a little shop with a board outside for figure skater Daisuke Takahashi, and that’s how I found out that both he and Keiji Tanaka hail from Kurashiki, haha. The more you know!)

I mostly went for the views, which were definitely a treat once I found the Bikan historical area: the description ‘Venice of Japan’ is surprisingly apt. There are tourist boats going through the canal area and they’re beautifully framed by the willows here. It’s also apparently a very popular backdrop for cosplayers, since I saw a TON of people dressed up as their favourite characters and posing for pictures here, haha. Guess that’s what I get for going on a holiday. It was fun to see though!

Nearby was Ivy Square, also aptly named as it contains buildings overgrown with ivy. It was the area where the first modern cotton mill of Japan was built, and the company from back then is actually still active.

I only wandered around here for a short bit though, and then found one of the little museums I mentioned. I hopped into the Momotarou Karakuri museum! Yep, peach boy strikes again. Karakuri apparently refers to a type of doll, which I did indeed see here, but the museum itself as a strange mix between optical illusions and a museum of Momotarou memorabilia. Not the first combination I would have thought of myself, but the staff was enthusiastic and led me through the illusions (all Momotarou/peach themed of course), encouraging me to try them out and taking a picture with my head through a giant peach, so now I can pretend I’m Momotarou myself, haha. Granted, the illusions weren’t super new, but they were very open about that (‘trick first invented 150 years ago’ listed), and it was still fun going through them. Next was a delightfully trippy little maze full of ghosts and ogres, since Momotarou had gone on a quest to defeat the ogres after all. I got better scares out of this one than out of the self-proclaimed haunted house in Huis ten Bosch, Sasebo some years ago, haha.

I was then led upstairs, which was very interesting as this was the museum part, showcasing all knids of Momotarou goods dating back hundreds of years in some cases. There was also a little English book with the story on display, and apparently they made a Mickey Mouse set at one point with Donald, Goofy, and Chip and Dale as the animal companions, haha.

This was a nice little break. Parts of it were definitely aimed at kids, but that didn’t make it any less fun.

 I had another museum planned, but I was getting rather tired, so after a quick round on Ivy Square, I walked back to the station. This time just taking the main road, because I had tried to take the shopping street route on my way here, but I somehow managed to – uh, mess up on going right ahead and had to google Maps my way out, oops. So the walk back to the station was significantly shorter, ahem.

After a matcha latte at the station, I went back to Okayama and decided to reserve some tickets for trains. Of course I had to secure my one-way trip to Tokyo, as that one will take about 4 hours, yikes. I should arrive at Shinagawa station around 12:30 now, plus half an hour added to get to Ikebukuro, so at least that’s not the entire day wasted on trains, haha. Although the shinkansen are super nice. There’s enough space for me to put my luggage in front of me, although it can get a little cramped for hours on end.

And then my second ticket: tomorrow, to Matsuyama! This is also quite the trip, over 2.5 hours, but it’s just one train, so I can hop on, doze off, and hop out at the terminal station, haha. I wanted to visit Matsuyama last year, but due to the same floodings, it was impossible at the time. And so I wasn’t going to wait much longer and made it my first daytrip from Okayama this time.

Anyway, after checking in to my hotel, I went back to the station for dinner, lamented the fact that one of my favourite restaurants from last year was closed for renovations along with a big part of the food court, found a different restaurant, and promptly ordered their super cute Halloween plate, haha. And now I’m back at the hotel for tonight!

 I suspect my report and photos will be up a little late tomorrow, ahem. Have a good evening, see you!

[patternscolorsflowers]

So, I’ve been working with this pre-series AU sort of thing with human Alastor, and I thought I’d share! –– Though canonically asexual, Alastor strikes me as an extremely calculating and pragmatic individual who will absolutely set aside his own feelings and comfort in order to achieve greater ambitions. Historically, many prolific criminals have gone so far as to establish full-fledged alternate lives in order to remove them from public suspicion while going about their crimes. They married, had children, careers, hobbies, and were involved in their communities, and with Al’s extroverted personality, I certainly see him being able to play this part perfectly. I may actually write a short fic based on this AU, but for now I’ll just leave you guys with a (pretty long-winded) summary of what I was going for here.

Going off of what Viv herself confirmed in one of the art/animation cleanup streams, Alastor was in his mid to late 30s, possibly early 40s (she bounces back and forth with his age) when he died in 1933, which would put his birth sometime in the late 1880s or early 1890s, and he was a former radio show host living in New Orleans, Louisiana. I placed him at 43 at his time of death, with a birthdate in 1890, so just remember that’s not ‘entirely’ canon. –– The story begins in 1918 with the end of WWI, with the chaos and celebration of the end of the Great War, Alastor had already been killing for a number of years; a vibrant and cheerful radio host, he spent most of his time broadcasting and rarely left the building. Thus, most people had no idea what he looked like. When he did depart, it was always in the dead of night, to commit his gruesome and elaborately planned murders, which he was always first to report on as soon as a new body was discovered, stroking his ego as the mysterious killer.

Alastor’s long time friend and occasional partner in crime, Mimzy recognizes that he is taking things too far, and the it won’t be long before police catch up to him, people in town are starting to whisper about how detailed in his accounts and vivacious the unseen radio host is about these murders. Alastor takes her advice to heart, and takes a short reprieve from his crimes, to formulate a plan. –– Being the early 20th century, there were certain expectations of people, and certain norms it was seen as strange not to conform to. Alastor was an attractive and successful man in his late 20s, with no family, and seemingly no desire to have one. A man with that much time on his hands, who no one ever sees, is obviously going to arouse public suspicion. Alastor tells Mimzy that he believes his best cover option is to take a wife, to which she happily obliges. He refuses her, stating that although she is his dearest friend, he knows that she already has a dicey reputation of her own, and has already come up with an admittedly risky plan.

The velvet-throated radio host receives numerous fan letters (mostly from young women) from all over the city, which he hardly ever bothers to read, given their  often licentious nature. Alastor sorts some of the newer envelopes based on how close to his area the letter was sent from, and selects one at random. The letter is from Violet Marchand, one of the daughters of a wealthy milliner and haberdasher in the city. –– On air in a show of good faith, he begins making a habit of showing appreciation for his fans by reading three letters each week, when reading Violet’s letter he makes sure to subtly show a little extra appreciation for the little things (her penmanship, the detail in her signature, and the the divine sprig of lavender she included with her note.) –– Violet writes him again, and he knows he has her attention.

The two begin a correspondence that lasts nearly a year, and he gets to know her better; she is the fourth of five children, and the youngest daughter, she likes to paint, though she isn’t very good, she loves to dance, enjoys music, keeps pet birds, and likes sweets and flowers. She is 17, with strawberry blonde hair, green eyes, and short, somewhat stout build. Alastor doesn’t care about her looks, but her age intrigues him; she is ten years his junior, but soon to turn 18, and being from a wealthy family, and a pillar in the community at this time period, she would no doubt be presented soon as a candidate for marriage and entrance into society. Mimzy continues to warn her friend against it, (mostly out of jealousy) but he continues to write her, dropping hints about her debut, and whether or not her family had anyone immediate in mind. Meanwhile, the young lady is smitten with her honey-laced pen pal, and doesn’t hesitate (against her father’s judgment) to issue an invitation to him. In the Spring of 1919, Alastor stuns society by attending the Marchand family’s soiree. For most people in town, this is the first time he has been seen in full view. Dressed in a vulgar bright red suit that stood out among the crowds, he met Violet for the first time. She was as he pictured her, though much more unbridled in her cheerful emotional displays than he expected of a high-society lady. As the two spent the evening’s festivities together, Alastor was quick to intimidate and shock her potential suitors by swiftly presenting a bold proposal to her father, along with a year’s worth of letters they had been exchanging. At first Mr. Marchand is furious and his wife in shock at what a risk her daughter was taking with the family’s reputation, but Alastor’s success with a self-made career, and appearance of good standing with others in the community earned him an opportunity to throw his hat in the ring.

Weeks passed after the party with nothing from the Marchand house, or Violet, until one day Alastor received a sudden offer of marriage from Mr. Marchand, giving his blessing, but a warning (that he would annul the marriage and ruin Alastor socially, if he found him to be of poor character.) The two were married. –– Young Violet was elated at being married to her town’s greatest celebrity, and admittedly being the envy of her peers. However, her bliss was not destined to last; it became apparent rather quickly that things with Alastor as her husband were not going to be all that she’d hoped. He was reluctant to spend their wedding night together, and hardly wanted to share their bed, let alone a lengthy or heartfelt conversation. They had some commonalities that brought pleasure to the two of them, such as their like of music, dance and the theater, but at the core, their personalities, and wide difference in age made for a tense household. To make matters worse, she knew about her husband’s close friendship with Mimzy, and suspected an affair, which caused Violet to sink into a deep depression.

In spite of Alastor’s aversion to sharing his bride’s bed, he knew her high-profile family, and all of the town, knowing of their marriage, would begin to question the lack of children, or any apparent romance between them, so he enlisted his wife’s help in alleviating the scrutiny he was once again facing. –– At last, half a year after the wedding, Violet became pregnant with she and Alastor’s one and only child, a daughter named Ruby, was born in 1920. –– His ruse was complete. An affluent marriage to a jovial and attractive wife, a healthy new baby, a beautiful home, and a successful career, he was, by all forethought, beyond reproach. Though she was not entirely wanted by Alastor, who was only involving himself in this union for personal gain, Ruby quickly became regarded as a part of a very small (nearly nonexistent) circle of people who had Alastor’s love. He relished in spending time with her at home, she was an inquisitive and intelligent girl, who reminded him much of himself in his youth, though growing up in luxury made her struggles in life considerably easier than anything he had endured growing up. –– Years passed, Alastor kept to his ‘hobby’ as he called it, and was much away from home. Having a child seemed to lift his wife’s spirits greatly, and she was often distracted by his absence with spending time with Ruby, who from an early age, held many of her father’s traits. Though she wasn’t an especially violent or ill-tempered child, she rather craved violence in the things she liked to read and draw, which sparked alarm in her mother, who insisted that she needed more of Alastor’s presence in her life. Alastor obliged, bringing his daughter with him to work, and even letting her help him broadcast. While on their break, Ruby, now 7 years old, is the first to break the ice about why she was made to come with him. Alastor is seemingly captivated and inspired by the things his young daughter talks about, and a part of him is eager to share with her, his “hobby,” but knows he must tow the line delicately. He decides to plan a hunting trip with her. Surprisingly, Violet is accepting of his proposition, on the stipulation that she doesn’t actually use his guns.

During the trip, Alastor teaches Ruby about game hunting and tracking. He uses many of the same techniques when scouting out and cornering his human victims, so inwardly, he believes these are sufficient beginner lessons for her about his hobby killings. –– Ruby proves herself to be a natural tracker, like her father, but can’t bring herself to actually watch her father fire the gun. Alastor doesn’t chide her on it, but a part of him is disappointed, and yet, the other half, relieved.

Two years later, the Great Depression hit, and the Marchand family’s grand business takes a massive blow. Alastor decides that the family should downsize to conserve what they have, and move to a smaller home. Though a financially wise decision, this would prove to be the beginning of his undoing. –– In their stately old home, Al had a large private office and trophy room that only he was allowed to enter. In this room, along with a few items for personal pleasure (books, a Victrola, records, etc.) he kept the instruments he used to commit his crimes. –– The family’s new home was a great deal smaller, three bedrooms, a kitchen and one bathroom, but they couldn’t complain, they were much better off than millions of others. Speaking of the struggles and mass chaos of the Depression, Alastor inwardly relished at the opportunities this granted him. Thousands of people were dying and committing suicide en masse, he could double up on his atrocities and no one would be the wiser!

Alastor enlisted Mimsy’s companionship to seek new victims, the club that she danced and sang at had closed its doors anyway, and rather than sink into destitution, she gleefully accepted her friend’s prospects. During that year alone they claimed nearly one hundred lives, but little did they know, they were being watched. The owner of the club Mimzy was once employed at was Gerard Marchand, one of Violet’s older brothers, estranged from his parents, but in good company with his younger sister. He had seen Alastor and Mimzy sneaking into the abandoned building on numerous occasions, moving bags with unknown contents in and out with them nearly every night. When Garard investigated himself and discovered the pools of blood, and basins full of sinewed instruments being cleaned, he immediately called the authorities. Mimzy was caught upon her return to the club, but refused to give Alastor’s name. Gerard however, confirmed he knew him, and the police set off to arrest him. –– At home, Violet sensed something was amiss, as her husband, normally distant, sat between she and Ruby on the sofa, silently holding them close. His jacket smelled of sweat and blood. When the authorities arrived, Alastor kissed them both and went to answer the door himself, he was promptly arrested, and additional instruments, and trophies from his many victims, were discovered locked in his desk, sitting out in the open living room (having since been deprived of a private office.) –– The conviction sent the city into a further uproar, some claiming they’d known he was strange from the beginning, that they “knew” he had something to hide, and others, like Violet, in a shocked and speechless state.

Alastor was sentenced to death by hanging in 1933, and while he was taken to the gallows, he declined to have his head covered, wanting to experience every bit of his execution. As the noose was tightened around his neck, and the witnesses glared, stone faced at the platform, and the boards swung loose from beneath his feet, Alastor smiled until he had gone from the world.

PHEW! YEAH. Thanks if you stuck around to actually read all of my nonsense! Haha! Just something I’ve been working with for a little while. Like I said, I might do more with this, I might not. Not sure yet, would you guys like to see more?

Alastor, Mimzy, and Hazbin Hotel © Vivziepop

Ruby and Violet © Me

[365daysofsasuhina]

[ 365 Days of SasuHina || Day Ninety-Two: So Cold ] [ Uchiha Sasuke, Hyūga Hinata, Uchiha Itachi, Hyūga Hiashi ] [ SasuHina ] [ Verse: Best Years of Your Life ] [ AO3 Link ]

She hates parties like this...but Hinata has little choice but to show up. If not, Father would be so disappointed. Disappointed because her absence would be questioned, and thus his reputation - in any small way - would be tarnished.

It’s a retirement shindig for the mayor of their city - a woman of an old family, Tsunade. The newcomer voted in will assume office in a few days. But for tonight, it’s all about celebrating one of the city’s most influential and positively-reviewed leaders in its history.

At the very least, Hinata can say she admires the woman. She’s got tenacity, and helped pass reformative legislation during her years in office. It helps she’s a retired surgeon, as well.

Hence her father’s involvement in her campaign. The Hyūga family business - one of the largest in the city - is a medical tech company.

Her position in power has been good for business. They donated to her reelection campaigns, and she in turn helped promote their services to the local hospitals, and campaigned for helpful bits and pieces of laws and lifting restrictions.

Perhaps a bit shady, but...well, Hinata does know that her father runs an honest company. Their tech is good, and saves more and more lives the further they innovate. It just...happens to be costly.

But that’s part of a much larger problem that’s neither here nor there. Simply put, it’s the main reason she and her family are here at all.

Anyone who’s anyone has been invited. There’s news station cameras everywhere, and Hinata can’t help but look to them warily. Both she and her sister are in attendance tonight, despite both still being in school. Hinata silently prays there’s no interviews or anything...she hates being asked questions about herself. And in reality, she doesn’t know as much as she likely should about the soon-to-be-ex mayor. Looking stupid on a local news network isn't how she wants to spend her evening.

There aren’t many people her age, and Hinata mentally despairs. Of course, she doesn’t know too many people her age anyway. Hiashi insists on his daughters attending private schools, and everyone’s so stuck up or already in their own cliques. She hasn’t had a friend since her first few years of elementary, when she was still in public school.

Sure, she has people who come around, or socialize when expected...but none of them actually like her. They never speak to her outside what’s set up.

The closest person she can call a friend is her art teacher, Ms. Yūhi.

As Hiashi starts schmoozing, and Hanabi sticks to his side like glue, Hinata gives a soft sigh, excusing herself to the washroom. But in reality, she takes to wandering, mostly just admiring the other guests, the decorations, the atmosphere.

She’s never felt like she’s belonged in spaces like this. Rather, she feels like an outsider looking in...hence her habit of simply walking around and observing.

“- believe we’re stuck here for the evening.”

Catching a voice, Hinata glances over to see two young men standing near a refreshment table. One looks about her age, with untamed black hair and exasperated eyes of a matching shade. His brother’s locks - or, she’ll assume they’re brothers - are far longer, and his expression far calmer.

“Sasuke, no need to be so cold. It’s just one night -”

“I have homework, Itachi! And practice!”

“You can have band practice any time. Just reschedule.”

“You know how hard it is to get the gang together?”

Sasuke’s question, however, goes unanswered as the elder brother catches her staring. He quickly flashes a charming smile, and Hinata jolts. “Good evening, miss. Looking for someone?”

“Oh, n-no, I was just -”

“You’re Hiashi Hyūga’s daughter, are you not? Hinata?”

There’s a blink. He...recognizes her? “I...yes, I - I am.”

“I’m Itachi Uchiha, and this is my brother Sasuke. Our father Fugaku is chief of city police.”

Oh...she should have known that. While she’s never officially met them before, they run in several of the same circles thanks to her father’s connections. And of course, chief of police is rather involved with how the city runs and operates. Of course he and his family would be here tonight.

“It’s...it’s nice to meet you.”

“Would you care for a drink? There’s a few non-alcoholic varieties.”

She gives a nervous glance back toward her father. He’s still engaged in conversation with some important-looking person. Apparently her absence hasn’t been noticed yet. Good. And...technically speaking, she might be able to excuse herself if he finds her rubbing elbows with other young people of influential families.

“I...yes, I would.”

After a brief tour of the refreshments by Itachi, Hinata chooses a freckled lemonade, perking up at the strawberries floating in it. A bit bitter, but otherwise sweet.

“So, I take it your father has been quite fond of Mayor Senju,” Itachi observes.

“Ah...yes. They’ve spoken quite r-regularly since she took office.”

Noting her wilt in stature, Itachi muses for a moment. “Ah...perhaps we’ll refrain from politics. Forgive me - as someone who wants to enter the political arena, it’s a habit.”

“Oh!”

“For the moment, however, I’m studying law in our local law school. I should graduate in about two years.”

“A good path for one wanting to go into politics.”

“That was my thought. What of yourself?”

“Oh...I’m still in high school: my final year.”

“So is Sasuke! He is...yet undecided about a major.”

Glancing to the younger brother, Hinata gives a tentative smile. “I can relate.”

He just scowls.

“...forgive him. The party’s put him in a sour mood. He had other plans, but...Father was quite insistent he attend.”

“Something else I can understand.” After a small hesitation, she dares to ask, “You...like music?”

Sasuke gives her a glance.

“I...didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard your brother mention a band…?”

A pause. “...yeah.”

“What genre do you play?”

“Punk, mostly.”

“Oh! Do you...have any finished songs? Could I listen to them anywhere?”

A brow perks. “You listen to punk?”

“I listen to whatever s-strikes my fancy.”

He just scoffs.

Itachi gives his brother a look. “Sasuke…”

“We’ve got one song on Spotify. Working on an album...or at least, I would be if I wasn’t -”

“Yes, yes, if you weren’t here,” Itachi cuts in with a sigh.

“Well...I like to do painting - I take art classes. If you need some album artwork...maybe I could help!” Hinata offers.

“...really?”

“Sure!”

“Hinata.”

Giving a small start, Hinata turns to see her father and sister approaching. “H...hello.”

He then looks to the Uchiha brothers. “Itachi. Sasuke. It’s good to see you and your family come out in support of Mayor Senju.”

At once, Itachi puts on a practiced smile. “We wouldn’t miss it, Mr. Hyūga. We were just getting to know your daughter, Hinata. I do hope we weren’t keeping her?”

“No, that’s quite all right. It’s good for her to start forging her own connections. Thank you for indulging her.”

“...she’s been excellent company.”

Hiashi dares to look surprised at that. “...well, if you see your father before I do, please give him my regards.”

“I will - thank you so much.”

The trio watch him move on, Hanabi in tow.

“...yikes,” Sasuke mutters under his breath, earning a sharp look from his brother.

“No...he’s right,” Hinata admits softly.

There’s a pause before Itachi offers, “...I apologize.”

“You didn’t do anything wrong. Thank you...for sticking up for me.”

They go quiet, and Hinata can’t help but notice Sasuke’s thoughtful look.

As the festivities get underway, Hinata excuses herself to go find her father. But as she makes to leave, Sasuke takes her wrist. “What -?”

“Let me give you my number.”

“...I -?”

“Album art.”

“...oh! Yes, yes - um…” She digs out her phone, exchanging digits. “I hope you get the songs finished soon!”

“You and me both. I’ll text you a link to our work when I get home.”

“Thank you.”

“Later.”

Watching him retreat toward a rather barrel-chested man and a designer-clad woman she can only assume are his parents, Hinata can’t help a small smile. Maybe he’s not as cold as he first seemed to be.

     This...didn't turn out like I expected it would, in all honesty. I had a vague idea, and then it just kinda...meandered from there xD      I had a few scenarios in mind, but none of them felt like something I could pull off, so...we went with modern, politics, parties...fun stuff! Sasuke could have fit the prompt a bit better, but he wasn't cooperating. Given his attitude in this piece, I...guess I can't blame him!      That's all for today, though. Been doing a LOT of writing today, so I need to rest my poor hands, haha - thanks for reading!

[lovemesomesurveys]

What’s your favourite cereal? Fruity Pebbles, Life, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, and Cap’n Crunch Berries. Is there a bus stop near your house? Yeah. Do you prefer red wine or white wine? When I used to drink I liked white wine. Red wine gave me bad headaches. What’s the last airport you were at? Why were you there? The one near me to drop a family friend off. Who do you live with? My parents, younger brother, and pup.

Do you read reddit? If so, how often and what subreddits do you like? No. Have you recently broken up with a significant other or even just a friend? No. What’s the weather like today? Is it nice enough to go outside? It’s going to be like a high of 62 F with rain. I’m staying indoors, but I love that kind of weather. Do you know anyone who’s had a baby recently? No. Have you used a pen or pencil today? What did you write down? Not so far. What does your last text message say and who is it from? My mom forwarded a text my dad sent her of his Christmas list. Can you count how many times you’ve seen your favourite film? I have a few favorite films and I’ve seen them numerous times. When was the last time you ate marshmallows? I honestly don’t remember. Do you listen to any podcasts? How do you listen to them? No. How old will you be in the year 2030? 41. :O How often does the kettle in your house get used? We don’t even have a kettle. Does your skin bruise easily? Do you have any bruises right now? What from? Somewhat. I don’t think I have any at the moment. What was the last thing you spent $150 or more on? I’ve spent more than that on Christmas presents. I got a bit carried away this year, but I wanted to spoil my family. Do you prefer yes or no questions or more open-ended questions? Open-ended ones for surveys. What brand of toilet paper do you usually buy? Charmin. If I knocked on your door right now, would you be acceptable dressed? I mean yeah, but it’s almost 2AM and I wouldn’t answer my door. Why did you leave your last job? I’ve never had one. What colour were the last socks you wore? Black. Are you studying currently? What level of education and what do you study? I’m done with school. Have you ever eaten at a restaurant and left without paying? Nooo. What was the last thing that made you laugh out loud? This vlog I’m watching. What’s your favourite scent of air freshener? Cinnamon or patchouli. How many weddings have you ever been to? 3. Do you know anyone named Nora? No. Are your hands and feet in good condition or could you do with a mani-pedi? My fingernails are horrible. When was the last time you played a board game? What did you play? Months ago. I love playing board games, though. How old were you when you first became sexually active? (consensual sex act) Virgin. Have you ever been to a festival for beer or other type of alcohol? No. Do you own a record player and/or vinyls? I have one vinyl of The Sound of Music lol. When was the last time you went out for drinks? Like 5 years ago. Have you ever been to a strip club? Nope. No interest in going. What’s your favourite kind of smoothie? Strawberry and banana. Do you know anyone with a 'virtue name’? (Google it) Yes. Would you ever wear real authentic leather? No. Have you taken out the trash today? No. How often do you wear make-up? Very, very rarely now. What’s your opinion on The Simpsons? I never got into it. Do you prefer horizontal or vertical stripes? Horizontal. What’s your favourite brand of deodorant/antiperspirant? Secret Powder Fresh. Do you know anyone who has been through a divorce? Yeah. If you had the money, would you take taxis everywhere instead of driving? I don’t drive, but if I need to go somewhere my mom or brother takes me. Have you ever done a juice cleanse? Nope. Do you have any friends who you can’t decide if they’re attractive or not? Well that’s rude. Is the inside of your fridge clean right now or does it need a clean out? It’s clean. When was the last time you washed the dishes? I rinse off whatever I use, but either my mom or dad really does the dishes and loads the dishwasher. Are there any magazines that you read on a regular basis? Nope. Do you have to pay for parking in most places in the town/city you live in? No. If there is a parking meter, I’m allowed to use my handicap placard. What’s the first thing you tend to do when you have a headache? I can’t take aspirin at all, and Tylenol/Ibuprofen/Aleve/etc doesn’t help for headaches for me, and Tylenol has something my narcotic has so I don’t mix those things. All I can do is ride it out. If it’s a really bad one then sometimes I try peppermint tea and just sleep it off. A cold washcloth over my eyes helps, too. Tell me about your responsibilities at work. No job. What’s your favourite style/cut of underwear? Hip huggers. Can you hear lots of traffic from your house? Does it bother you? Nope. We have a freeway behind us, but there’s a noise proof wall and it works. We occasionally hear like a big rig, but that’s about it. Have you ever had proper Canadian poutine with the squeaky cheese? Nope. What’s squeaky cheese, Lane? lol. Do your parents know how to operate smartphones and/or computers? Yeah. My dad will ask my brother and I help with some things, but my mom is always on her phone or iPad on Facebook or doing whatever, so she knows more about it. How old are your parents, anyway? Early and mid 50s. Are you allergic to anything? What do you have to do to prevent them? Tangerines. What song is stuck in your head at the moment? “Run, run Rudolph, Santa’s got to make it to town...” Do you hate it when people try really hard, or do you kinda like it? What. What’s your boss’ first name? Do you call him/her by that name? No boss, no job. When was the last time you wore a uniform of any kind? What colour was it? No idea. Do you complete a survey before taking this one? Will you take one after? Yes, and I’ll probably do another. Have you ever lost enough weight to drop a dress size? I’ve always been thin, but I’ve lost some weight, which became really apparent as someone who was already thin as it was. I’m actually underweight now. What’s your favourite kind of bread? Wheat, white, sourdough, french bread, and pumpernickel. When was the last time you got pizza? What toppings did you get? I haven’t had pizza in so long, actually. I just like cheese and pesto on top. Do you own Monopoly? Is it the original or a special version? Yes. What was the last thing you said out loud? “Goodnight.” You have to choose one: cats or dogs? Dogs. Would someone being either a cat or dog person effect you dating them? It’s fine if they were a cat person, but if they like hated dogs then that would be a problem if we were to live together because I’m 100% a dog person and would have to have one. I’d be fine with cats, too, but we’d definitely have a dog. How do you travel to and from work? Do you primarily use cash or card for your purchases? Why? Card. Have you ever been to a stadium concert? Yep.

[postcards-fromafar]

Portland

Dan and I decided to head to Portland for a long weekend to celebrate our 5 year wedding anniversary. We had been to Portland once before, but only for a day (and it had been in January so not the best weather). We were excited to get back and do more exploring, go on some hikes, drink lots of beer, and eat some delicious food. Portland definitely did not disappoint! 

Highlights

-Staying at The Nines- Dan and I decided to stay in a fancier hotel than usual for this trip since we were celebrating our 5 year wedding anniversary. And it was luxurious! Lots of pretty blue accents in the room, a super comfy bed, robes, gentle music, and great housekeeping...I’ve never stayed in a hotel before where they come back a second time to make sure your blankets are turned down and slippers are waiting next to the bed for you at night! The hotel was also centrally located in downtown Portland, which made it fairly easy to get to all of the neighborhoods we wanted to check out within a 15 minute drive. 

The hotel left us some fancy chocolates and a nice note for our anniversary...

-Hiking at Council Crest Park- We got up early our first morning and hiked for a couple of hours to the top of Council Crest Park and then back down towards the Portland Zoo. Turns out the hike we did is one “T” of the 4T trail (trail, train, tram, trolley). We took the train back to our hotel at the end to get a second “T” in. It was perfect hiking weather and made for a lovely walk through the woods and up to the top, where we had a nice view of some of the mountains. 

Below is one of the fancy houses we glimpsed through the trees as we hiked. 

-Exploring different neighborhoods: Portland is definitely a city of neighborhoods, and we made it our mission to check out as many as we could in our three short days there. On Friday, we went up to the Alberta Arts District, an artsy area packed with delicious food spots, beer, coffee, tea, and fancy boutiques. On Saturday, we checked out 23rd street (Northwest Portland), where there was more shopping (some independent spots, some more mainstream). That evening, we briefly wandered down Division St and Hawthorne St (definitely need to spend more time in those areas if we go back!). On Sunday, we did a little more wandering on Hawthorne St before heading to another brewery.  

-Oregon Brewers Festival- As luck would have it, we landed in Portland just in time for a massive craft beer festival (Dan was in heaven). They had 80 beers from 80 different breweries, 2 ciders, and 4 wines. For just $20, you could get a plastic tasting mug and 13 tokens (1 3oz sample per token, or a full glass for 4 tokens). We didn’t end up using all our tokens but were able to try a bunch of delicious different beers from various breweries. I’ve recently stumbled into liking sour beers, and they had an amazing selection there! Among the ones I tried were a Framboise Rose Gose and a Belmont Street Bramble sour (sour blond ales aged in oak wine barrels with red raspberries and tangerine peel). We were also able to hang with friends (more on that to come), which always makes things more enjoyable!

-Portland Farmers Market at PSU- This is the most INSANE farmers market we have ever been to. It takes place on the campus at Portland State University and is a hodgepodge of people selling delicious food (hello, biscuit sandwiches), exquisite produce (I so badly wished we could have taken some home!), gorgeous bouquets of flowers, and things like cheese and jam. There were lots of families strolling around, including a couple with sets of twins (Portlanders seem to be a fertile bunch). 

-Finishing up the Africa video- After being inspired by Kristen Bell and Dax Shepard’s music video take on the classic Toto song, Dan and I filmed a lot of footage while in South Africa and Morocco on our trip last year. We decided our 5 year anniversary would be a perfect time to release the video, so we (meaning Dan- I was moral support), spent a lot of time on Saturday at a brewery finishing it up. 

-Hiking at Mount Tabor- A relatively easy but beautiful 3 mile hike. We went early in the day before it got too hot and were treated to the sight of three beautiful red-tailed hawks up close.

Bummers

-Portland was AMAZING. We could not think of any bummers other than not having enough time... we will definitely need to come back.

Eats

-Fancy brunch fare at Proud Mary- Recommended as a favorite brunch spot by my coworker, Peggy, this definitely lived up to expectations! I got fancy grilled cheese, and Dan got a yummy potato hash dish.

Reba was not a fan of the fancy juice I got at brunch. (”Like old asthma medicine!”)

-Salt & Straw- This is hands down our favorite ice cream in the whole world. While we usually visit in LA (sometimes more than once in a trip) it started in Portland and has since expanded to California (LA, San Francisco, and San Diego) and Washington (Seattle). Dan and I had a Fresh Cheese and Strawberries flavor, which tasted like strawberry cheesecake! One of our favorite flavors is an LA classic- salted, malted, chocolate chip cookie dough (to die for- but unfortunately not available in Portland). 

-Tusk- Another recommendation from Peggy that totally paid off. We went here for our anniversary dinner to get yummy middle eastern food. We ended up over ordering and stuffing ourselves, but it was so worth it! Among the highlights were chickpea fries, man’oushe (a Lebanese flatbread), Albacore tuna, and delicious greens.

-Biscuit sandwiches at the Farmers Market from Pine State Biscuits- Fresh made biscuits, fried chicken, bacon, and cheese, slathered in apple butter (me) or gravy (Dan). 

-Food trucks- So Portland is known for its food trucks, which we have experienced before, but sadly we did not get to take advantage of this time- so many awesome food spots that we never got around to. Next time!

Drinks

-Kombucha from Townshend’s Tea House- Kombucha is a fermented tea that is apparently a popular thing in Portland. The strawberry one we tried was decent, but in general kombucha is a bit funky for me. 

-So. Much. Beer. In addition to the Brewers Festival, we checked out a few different breweries: Great Notion, Cascade, Rogue Eastside Pub & Pilot Brewery, and Breakside. My personal favorite spot was Cascade- they had an extensive list of sour beers on tap, and all were delicious. Among the ones we tried were an apricot sour and an barrel-aged wild ale called Ingmeyer Bergman that Dan loved.

-Wine at Southeast Collective- We barely dipped our toe in with the Oregon wine scene but did squeeze one wine tasting in. Next time we come back, we are hoping to rent a car and drive out into wine country to do more exploring. 

People

-Dan’s aunt Reba and her friend Lisa- Reba lives just over the state border in Vancouver, Washington, and she’s known Lisa for a really long time (they used to work together). The two of them were on their way to a weekend camping trip with friends but met us for brunch in the Alberta Arts District on their way. We enjoyed a lovely brunch with good conversation and lots of laughter. 

-Larissa, Kevin, and Lauralyn- Larissa is a good friend of ours from college, and we had not seen her in about four years! She has been living in Portland for the past few years, so we met up with her, her boyfriend, Kevin, and her little sister, Lauralyn at the Brewers Festival. It was great catching up with her, and we are looking forward to her upcoming return to the Midwest!

Observations & Insights

-All of the ride share drivers seem more friendly and chatty than we are used to- it felt like we had the same conversation about the humidity in Chicago about 14 or 15 times. 

-Style is very different than back home- there are many more tattoos and more people with fun colored hair.

-There are lots of homeless people in Portland.

Tips

-Carry cash- it seems to be king around the many eateries, markets and watering holes of Portland. 

-Samples are the way to go- there are so many beers at each brewery so no sense in getting a full glass. We recommend getting flights instead so you can try more options!

-If you are able to, try to spend a week or two in Portland! There is so much to do, and we just scratched the surface. We are definitely hoping to be back sometime soon!

[lastnightofautumn]

The End of the First Day

So we brought the last of the humans from the magpies back to the inn. 

A bunch of strangers showing up in a new land, causing a scene outside of a popular establishment, chasing goblins through the city streets into the slums and then brokenly escorting a wounded broken man back through the streets to the same inn where a disturbance was cause and casually asking for a room for privacy. 

This land is very strange if that passes for normal.

The two women, Zendalure and Chase, sniffed me.  Which is apparently a normal greeting here, then made me conga. I had to pretend I had no idea what that was as two small women carried me around the inn and upstairs. I was brought into the room where Talis stared as angry cats do, unblinking and with ruffled fur. I expected a small bit of growling. The half gnome who “hired” us tried to set the man’s bandage. Awfully I might add. set his arm back in its socket with little care. Luckily I’ve a few years of experience in this exact thing, the saving lives not the torturous mistrust of strangers. I set his wounds, gave him pressure and pain relief and asked Tu’atha to make her famous Totties. 

There's nothing a good bourbon, hot water, lemon, honey and cinnamon can’t fix. 

Having been kind, he was much more likely to give honest answers. And did we get answers. His name is Dylan and he has a sister in a place called 3 corners. She’s very sick. His working for this group is for coin to take care of her. An admirable feat. We also learned that this current group of “Magpies” is not the former group. According to our dear friend Dylan, there was someone who started this group many, many centuries ago who went by the nickname Magpie, as called from her lover. An interesting....relationship but the founding of this city has an interesting history. From there, a few other leaders took over and the most recent, before the current, was actually an honourable thief who protected merchants from less savoury types and never did murder or racketeering or public shakedowns. This was all before Dylan joined and according to him, he joined on the assumption that the rumours were true and he was unaware of the habits of this group under its current leader Tibolt. A nasty fellow. This man has proven himself to be racist, anti magic and quite the prickly sort. The group completely turned itself around in the most unpleasant way. A once respected group was taken over by a ruthless man, its former leader murdered and now reigns terror to all who hear the name.

This rings a little too close to home. Its very unsettling. I doubt he has anything to do with it, but wouldn’t it be a coincidence...

Also discussed was the fact that Big Boss (Hilda Anklesnapper...what a name) is a half goblin and isn’t even the real ruler, that honour belongs to Tibolt. After his usurpation to power Tilbolt focused on non human raids and an Acquisition of children. The young boy Jacob, with the spells and powerful fear in his eyes at the hands of some monster of a man, is just the latest in something going on for a while now. What is it with racists and also stealing children. I recounted the fact that not a single one amongst this “group” was a human. A tabaxi, a dark elf, a tiefling and a fey elf with a half goblin among them. We were a walking target.

Dylan mentioned a place called Demaria, that these people were refugees of Demaria a place far to the east full of magic hating, elitists. He also seemed quite edgy and said that he was expecting someone. Excusing myself with the “nature calls” I made my way out back and looked to the roof where I’d heard some kind of movement before. Laying on their back waiting to swoop in was a Magpie. Clever. But I’m better. I made m way back, after taking care of business...since I was out there anyway, and gave a few signals while talking and thankfully it seemed Zendalure caught on. Chase detected some magic and 1.2.3. Thornwhip from Zendalure we had our man. Talis finally pounced at his opportunity, lashing his claws into the man’s hands as he clung to a roof. 

As is fey tactic I crawled my way to his back, wrapped myself around him and with help from Talis pulled him from the window, turned and landed him on the ground, his arms behind him and I twisted. Chase and Zendalure, who’d been thrust into the tree made their way down and after some wrangling we managed to get him wrapped up. We noticed however, he was attempting to break something. Clever little fly.But ever proving herself more and more useful and clever, Zendalure grabbed his head, I grabbed my belt and I gave him a bit. The tooth was removed and saved by Chase and Talis and revealed its self to be a substance called Dimeritium. Some kind of anti magic, magic. apparently raw doses are lethal. 

After a thrilling day of boat travel, meeting new people and destroying politics and goblins and falling off a roof, plus so much information such as this...I simply wanted to relax with a drink and process everything. I had the Dul’Grandorn Driller previously, the milk stout. but needed something stronger this time. The young girl brought out what Nathaniel called the Kandanai Sparkler.

Like any good sparkling wine it was crisp, cold and quite bubbly. It tasted of strawberry and crisp but none too dry Zinfandel. This is definitely something the Spring Court would enjoy. It made me a little sad but, it was good, sweet, cold and refreshing. And quite strong to boot. 

A few good pulls from the second glass and I was out. 

Not before apparently, as I’m told by Tu’atha, showing my drawn map of where to go to follow the goblins into the sewer, discussing or at least revealing my Autumn Fey Heritage, and discovering that there are is in fact a decent population of Autumn Fey...who know nothing, if anything at all, about the downfall of our beloved court, and that Autumn fey are quite welcome as being some of the best in harvest season and festivities. It will be nice to see that when the time comes. Relive some of the old days. and hope he doesn’t ruin them. I’ll have to be sure to ask Nathaniel and his daughter to take one of the seeds. 

It has been nice, to finally get caught up and write this. I was rather thrust into this situation and haven’t really stopped to breathe. I watched the sunrise, miss Zendalure is nearby and we had a rather nice conversation. I hadn’t had time, what with all the running around and dying since I’ve been here...so much happened in one day. She’s quite a good conversationalist. Quite inquisitive but respectful. Its endearing. She also didn’t have the heart, it would seem, to tell me my shirt was on inside out. 

I’m not a morning elf. 

The others will wake soon, I expect we’ll have much to discuss. and so much more to do. For now, I should set the pen down and enjoy the coffee and company.

I do hope I can save my court. and my friend. and I hope he will read this. 

~ for Silver

[wineanddinosaur]

VinePair Podcast: The Best Rosés of 2020, Tasted and Ranked in Quarantine

This year’s rosé season will be the strangest in memory for many of us. With sidewalk cafes and restaurant patios shuttered around the country and world, sipping rosé will be an at-home experience for many of us, likely for a good portion of this year’s warmest months. Yet that doesn’t mean that there aren’t great rosés to seek out, and memorable experiences to be had with them. That’s why VinePair has compiled our list of the 25 Best Rosés for 2020. As with any of our lists, there are lots of stories behind the scenes. (To start, these wines were tasted, reviewed, and selected while we all followed social distancing measures.)

That’s the topic for this week’s VinePair podcast, where co-hosts Adam Teeter, Erica Duecy, and Zach Geballe are joined by VinePair’s tastings editor Keith Beavers and staff writer Tim McKirdy to talk about our favorite wines on the list; why southern Italy is rivaling southern France as a source for great rosé; and a few tips for how best to enjoy rosé while social distancing.

Listen on iTunes

Listen on Spotify

Listen online, or check out our conversation here:

Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Erica: From Connecticut, I’m Erica Duecy.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the VinePair podcast. Guys, I’m looking out my window, it’s a gorgeous day, and I think it’s the perfect time to start talking about rosé. I can’t wait to get into this. But before we talk about rosé, how are you guys holding up?

E: I’m holding up pretty well. In Connecticut, there’s a huge amount of wildlife here! We’ve seen coyotes, deer, and turkeys. Every day, I wake up to something new and exciting, so it’s a lot different than being in the city.

A: That’s awesome. Zach?

Z: We’ve not quite the same amount of wildlife, although there is apparently a large community of herons that have started nesting in my neighborhood, which is cool because they are very large and majestic birds. I was walking with my dog and my son the other day and an enormous shadow went overhead, and it was actually kind of frightening. But it was also very exciting to see. So that’s my wildlife story for the day.

A: I’ve got a wildlife story: A bird flew into my apartment. In this room that I’m working in, there are no screens on the windows and I was on the phone with Josh, the co-founder of VinePair with me, and I had the window open. A bird just flew right on in. And he was hanging out! Then I freaked out, so he freaked out — or she freaked out — I don’t want to gender the bird. And so, I’m thinking, “Get out of the apartment!” I had to finally find the Swiffer, and start trying to shoo the bird out with the Swiffer. It was a really pretty bird, too! I think people probably are listening to my story and thinking, “Oh man, Adam had a pigeon fly in his apartment.” But it wasn’t a pigeon! It was a really beautiful red bird and I thought maybe this is a robin or a… sign. I don’t think it was a sign, it was just a bird that got confused. But it made it out very safe, so I guess I have a wildlife story as well.

E: Nice!

Z: Did you at least pour it a drink or something?

A: No, I had to get it out fast. It was probably in the apartment for three or five minutes, but it was a scary three or five minutes. I was thinking: What if this bird just lives here forever now? What if this is it’s home, and I can’t get it to leave?

Z: Yeah, it has to quarantine with you for 14 days now.

E: Oh, boy!

A: Seriously. And then I thought: Now I have bird flu. There we go, bird flu.

Z: I have a question for you guys before we talk rosé, because the day after this podcast goes out is Cinco de Mayo, and we haven’t really talked a lot of tequila on this podcast, other than Adam and I doing a tequila and mezcal podcast a while back. But are you guys going to set aside Tuesday for drinking some tequila? Or other agave spirits?

E: I am. Now that we’ve been up here in Connecticut, I usually don’t have the chance to have dinner with my kids, but we have actually been doing taco Tuesday and my kids love it!

Z: There you go!

A: Are you serious?

E: Seriously, we actually have been doing it. We are going to have our in-laws over, who are now sort of co-potting it, and I am going to make Tommy’s Margaritas. We’re going to have these lovely cocktails and hopefully it’s going to be sunny, and we can all sit outside and have a little bit of a fun, festive, socially distanced little Cinco de Mayo party ourselves.

A: I plan to also make some sort of Mexican-inspired dishes. Not tacos, just because I don’t have the ingredients. But I’m going to make this black bean bake that was in The New York Times recently. It’s quite good. And then, I’m making Margaritas too. For sure I’m doing it! There’s nothing else to do, Zach, you have got to celebrate the little things… Like a holiday that actually has no significance whatsoever and that was co-opted by the marketing communities, including Corona, in order to sell more Mexican beer. But hey, I’m here for it.

Z: I will be drinking probably some combination of tequila and mezcal myself, so, I’m no different.

A: Well, let’s get into this rosé list. Zach, you know we created the list. Unfortunately, since you’re in Seattle, you are not a part of the tasting panel, so we’re going to let you play host on this one. We really start our top 25 rosés every year around this time. It’s one of our most read articles of the year. It receives lots of attention from various parts of the industry, and we’re super excited to put this together this year. Let’s get into it.

Z: Yeah, absolutely! Well, first off I think we have a couple of guests/friends/co-workers to welcome. Tim McKirdy and Keith Beavers are also a big part of putting this list together, from what I understand. Gentlemen, how are you doing?

Tim: Doing great, thanks, Zach. I guess like yourselves, I’m just kind of making do right now. I’m definitely looking forward to Cinco de Mayo myself as well. Having a bit of tequila, having a bit of mezcal. I’m just adapting to the new norm, as it were.

Keith: Yeah, same here, man. I’m out here in brick city – Newark, N.J.

A: Brick city.

K: That’s how we call it here in Newark. I forgot about Cinco de Mayo, but I will say that I just happen to have this bottle of tequila that I’ll be drinking on Cinco de Mayo. It just happens to be here.

A: “I forgot about Cinco de Mayo?” What day is it, Keith?

K: Tuesday.

Z: OK, lets refocus ourselves just a little bit. You can find the list on VinePair.com, of course, and we’ll link to the top 25 list in the description for this podcast as well. Without going through the entire list, I’m just curious for each of you, since all of you were involved in putting this list together. What was your favorite wine on the list? Erica, let’s start with you.

E: OK. I was really excited by the rosés from southern Italy, and my favorite rosé on the list this year is Planeta’s Sicilian rosé. What’s appealing to me about the Sicilian and southern Italian rosés this year was that they’re brighter in color, they have very vibrant flavors, and they have something of a bolder flavor profile than rosés from Provence. While I love a Provençal style, I was just really entranced by the layers of flavors. Not just fruit but also savory and mineral, and the Planeta, which came in at number three, was a perfect example of this. This had some fruit flavors, some strawberry and guava, and then some hints of savory green olive — really some complexity there. With the bolder flavors and the brighter color, I just keep thinking of summertime barbecue. Anything that you’ve got on the grill is going to go with this wine, and even better: It’s $16. I’m super excited. All of my favorite wines this year were under $20.

Z: Awesome. Adam, how about you?

A: There was a bunch that I liked. I was lucky that the number one wine I got to taste, and I think that the Peyrassol was pretty amazing. And then, there were a bunch that I got to return to, that have been on the list before, that have continued to be really special, including the Planeta. I do also think I was very impressed by the price. This year, especially the Peyrassol: I was really nervous when I tasted it, that it was going to be super expensive. It just looks kind of pricey, as Provençal, and it’s very well made for Provençal… The kind of trend that we saw in the last two years was that the cheaper wines from Provence that hover around $20 are getting kind of crappy. They’re able to just bank on the Provence name, and the wines aren’t as hot as they have been in the past. This one was amazing, and it looks like Lebron likes it, too. I’m really into that. What up Bronny? Yeah, that’d be my perspective.

Z: Keith, how about you?

K: Man, that’s tough. There were so many of them that I love. Some of them that I’ve been drinking for a long time like the Cirò, the Calabrian rosé. But I’ve got to say the one that really got me, this is going to be a surprise to everybody, was the Adelaida. It is the wildest rosé because it drinks like a red wine. It has a depth and structure to it, because of its higher alcohol it has a perception of depth to it and full bodied-ness that you don’t usually get in a rosé. And for me, I can totally see messing around with some duck breasts with this wine. I mean actually having a meal with this wine and pairing it with a meat. It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a rosé that really has that kind of structure to it. It really freaked me out in a good way.

Z: Cool. Tim, how about you?

T: Saving the best for last, huh, Zach?

Z: That is 100% not what I was doing.

A: Oh my God. I knew this was going to happen. I knew this was going to happen. I was warned.

T: My favorite wine from this year: Listening to Erica talk about her wine, we have very similar kind of preferences. Mine was the Gaia “14-18 h” and I am sorry if I am massacring the pronunciation of that. This is a Greek rosé. It’s from Nemea, and this is a producer that’s very renowned. They are known for quality, but they’re also known for doing some interesting things. They have cool things going on with fermentation vessels and aging, and this wine leans into that. The “14-18 h” name: That is the amount of time in hours that the grape skins spend in contact with the must. That produces this profile again that Erica was talking about that’s very bold. It’s very fruity and it’s wonderful with food. I don’t know the next time that I’m going to have a barbecue myself because I live in an apartment in Queens. But if I were having a barbecue grilling something, I’m imagining this wine with grilled octopus. I think that would just be amazing. This is a food wine. This is fish. This is light, charred meat and it’s everything I’m looking for in a rosé.

Z: Awesome.

K: The price is right too, damn!

Z: That was definitely a theme throughout a lot of this. It seems like you guys were excited about a lot of wines at a really affordable price, which has obviously been a selling point for the rosé category in general. Adam, I was curious because one of the things when putting a list like this together is thinking about this balance between what is available and how niche a rosé can be before it’s not going to go to a broader audience.

A: Totally.

Z: What are these wines? How available are they? What are some of the wines on here that you think someone listening to this podcast anywhere in the U.S. should be able to get their hands on?

A: The biggest thing we thought about this year was that because everyone is quarantining, there has been a large drive to e-commerce. Some wines that in the past we would not have thought twice about, we actually did include because they were on that e-commerce tip. As Keith likes to say in some of his reviews: As long as you’re e-commerce savvy, you will be able to do it. So, we did include a lot. All these wines you can find online, if you really want to go grab them. But one of the wines that we were really impressed by that’s available everywhere is Seaglass, and that’s actually the number five rosé on the list. I think Planeta, that’s number three, is also very, very, very well distributed. But Seaglass, I remember when we were looking it up: You can find it at Costco, you can find it at World Market. It’s really an easy wine to find and it was super delicious. And I think it’s 11 bucks. It helped get it into that top position because not only was it great but it was so readily available. That was what we were trying to focus on with this list, and showcase that there’s a lot of amazing rosé out there that is really easy to find. There’s also a lot of rosé out there that’s easy to find that’s really crap, and a lot of those wines didn’t make the list. We tasted hundreds of bottles. But this rosé in particular was very, very high quality for money and being so readily available kicked it up another few notches.

Z: Awesome. So Keith, Erica eluded to this when she was talking about the Planeta rosé, but I’m curious about your thoughts on this. The world of rosé has really evolved and obviously there’s still a lot of the rosés on this list that come from France, particularly from the south of France. But a few wines on here came not just from Italy but a few specifically from the southern part of Italy. I don’t know that people have typically thought of southern Italy as a source for great rosés. What is it about some of these Sicilian and Calabrian rosés that you felt made them stand out this year?

K: The Italians and rosé are not a traditional thing. It all began in Italy because of the popularity of rosé. With the exception of Cerasuolo, which is a traditional rosé made from the Montepulciano grape in Abruzzo. Over the years newer generations have come on to become winemakers, how it happens in Europe, usually it’s handed down to the children. As the children came in with new ideas and more open minds, rosés became more of a thing. If a wine can survive since antiquity in Sicily, Campagna, Calabria, Puglia then making rosé out of it works. It’s just a matter of whether anybody wanted to make it in the first place, and then it’s a matter of how good the winemaker is. But because of that, because of these new generations the rosé of Italy has become a thing now. We have some Pinot Noir. We have a lot of Pinot Noir rosé on this list and if you’re in Sicily and you’re drinking Nerello Mascalese, you know that’s a very Pinot Noir-esque kind of red wine. Making it into rosé kind of makes sense. As far as the wine from Calabria, Gaglioppo is again in that same vein of sort of high- acid, bright-colored, juicy stuff right after maceration so it works. And honestly, I don’t know why they haven’t been doing it because there it’s hot, and there’s a lot of seafood. It just makes sense so it’s great.

Z: Yeah, it’s definitely true. You would think that would’ve been an area where rosé would’ve been already a big part of the culture. OK, so Keith, you mentioned a varietal that now I have to bring up with Tim because antagonizing Tim is apparently one of the themes of this podcast.

A: It’s one of your themes.

Z: You know when you have a rapport with someone, you’ve got to run with it. It’s never like you give me a hard time, Adam, so I don’t know what to say. OK, so Tim, I’ve never been a huge fan of rosés made from Pinot Noirs. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been any that I haven’t liked, but generally speaking I would prefer to drink a red wine made from Pinot Noir or sparkling wine. That rosé just hasn’t done it for me. There are a number of rosés on here made from Pinot Noir, so explain to me what you like about the broader kind of category of Pinot Noir rosé and then pick one that skeptics like me should try and give a second chance to.

T: I will start by saying that I completely understand what you’re saying from a purely theoretical point of view. I get the skepticism towards Pinot Noir rosé. In its red form it’s already “light and refreshing.” That’s not true of every Pinot Noir, right? But it gives that profile, so why do you need to make it into a rosé? And then you have to question if it’s already light in its red form, is it going to be too light on flavor in its rosé form? I understand that from a theoretical aspect. One thing I will say, and I don’t think you’re asking us to defend the list, but one thing about the Pinot Noirs on this year’s list: They offer something that we’re looking for from any wine that’s going to make the list. So, it’s got to have good concentration of flavor. It’s got to be fun and interesting. It’s got to be worth the value for money. One of the things you get with Pinot Noir again as with reds, is you get that refreshing acidity and especially in some of the warmer regions where we’re seeing that there’s quite a few bottles in there from California. So whereby if they’re vinified into red wines, they might be a bit too weighty and not have the acidity that you’d like from a Pinot Noir and expect, in the rosé form, you start to see that. It continues to be refreshing and just delicious. You wanted an example as well. This is from near you: We had the Willakenzie Estate rosé, and that’s from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I say “near you.” It’s all the Pacific Northwest to me… It’s all relative right now.

Z: Yeah. It’s only a few hundred miles away. It’s close.

A: Yeah, it’s close.

T: I just found that to be nice, round, juicy, around the $20 mark. It’s a little bit more expensive than some people will spend on a rosé, but I thought, 20 bucks, I’ll take it. That’s a good one.

Z: Cool.

A: The Seaglass, Keith and I think it’s Pinot Noir because until this year, they had Pinot Noir on the label, and now they don’t. We’re not sure if it is 100% Pinot Noir. We should probably ask the winemaker, but we think that it is, especially from where it is from in Monterrey.

Z: Maybe Seaglass makes two rosés? I used to buy this when I ran retail and they made a rosé from Pinot Noir, and then they made one that was a Pinot Noir plus maybe some Grenache.

A: Yeah.

Z: I don’t remember specifically. It definitely has Pinot Noir in it, but I don’t think it’s 100%.

A: Yeah. So, that’s a good one to try. There’s a bunch.

T: Long Meadow Ranch: That was another great one as well. That’s $25 bucks as well, so I guess for $5 dollars extra.

K: There’s a wide range. What’s cool about this is there’s a wide range of price within the Pinot Noir spectrum here. From $11 to all the way up. And there’s something that was different. There was something that just popped off in my brain during this tasting about Pinot Noir rosé. There’s this distinct tart, juicy, ripeness to it that doesn’t have the lean concentration of other varieties. There’s a playfulness to Pinot Noir rosé that you don’t really get. Pinot Noir rosé just talks to you saying, “Yo, what’s up? This is going to be fun!”

Z: That is what I don’t like about it.

A: Really?

Z: The sort of bright fruitiness has never been a big appeal for me. But that’s just me. There are certainly great examples. One of the wines on the list that is Pinot Noir-based, the Gran Moraine, is actually a Pinot Noir rosé that I do really like. I really like the wines from Gran Moraine in general.

Z: Let’s talk a little bit about a broader question. As Adam mentioned earlier, we’re in this period of quarantine, and we are all trying to understand what that’s doing to the industry. That’s why we’ve been doing all these Covid-19 conversations and it’s been a focus of this podcast. So Erica, what is happening with rosé this year? Where is consumer interest and demand?

E: We’re seeing a ton of demand. Rosé overall is a juggernaut, and if we look at VinePair’s internal data, which looks at consumer sentiment and purchase intent, rosé is off to an earlier start than usual this year. In March we saw a 19% increase in reader interest compared to the same month last year. And sales also hold up to this story that we’re thinking about. Rosé is the bright spot across the country in the wine space. according to Nielsen data off-premise. When we typically see the strongest sales for rosé in the summer months, the category was already spiking in February, rising 13% in the last 52-week total. That was $583 million in sales for the last running 52 weeks, which is the highest it’s ever been and it’s the strongest growth we’re seeing for any table wine. Consumers are willing to pay more for rosé, according to this data, than reds or whites — an average of $2 more per bottle for rosé. The national averages are $9.89 a bottle for rosé as compared to $7.63 for table wines as a whole. I thought that was fascinating.

A: That is actually super fascinating. I didn’t know that.

E: That data comes off the back of four years of solid growth. So, also looking at Nielsen, off-premise sales of pink wine increased almost 300% between January 2016 and January 2020. Overall, it’s a juggernaut category, it just keeps growing, and not slowing. If anything, it’s accelerating, and it’s finding appeal across all seasons of the year.

Z: That’s exciting! All of us who love wine are happy for any good news in terms of demand and all that. Adam, I’m curious, though: Are we concerned with some of these European rosés as far as like the impact that tariffs might be having on pricing?

A: That’s definitely been brought up. I’ve talked to some importers, distributors and winemakers who’ve said that the tariffs are still obviously an issue. They’re hopeful that the tariffs could be removed especially given what’s happening now with Covid-19. But, I don’t think the consumer’s going to see the tariff. Unfortunately, what’s going to happen is that the distributor or the importer are going to keep eating it. A few big importers that I spoke with last week told me they’re just eating the tariff. Especially when it comes to rosé, because there is, as Erica was saying, such a demand for it that they don’t want to do anything right now in these uncertain times, when these are sales that are booming, to put a brake in front of it. And to have a consumer trip up and say, “Wait so, I used to pay 15 bucks for this wine and now this wine is you know, 20 bucks, nah-uh.” So they’re just eating the tariff. It sucks for a lot of businesses that are still struggling right now but they’ve determined that that’s the only thing to do.

Z: And Erica, is there any risk about not having enough supply? Especially with rosé coming in overseas. I know to some extent I’m wondering if there are… If you’re aware of any challenges like with shipping and all that because of the lockdowns.

E: I think there may be a little bit of challenge, especially if there were wines that were not already on boats when lockdowns went into effect. Depending on what country they were coming from there may be some delays. But what we’re hearing from importers and from producers is that if there’s the demand we will fill that supply. So, they’re saying they’ll do what it takes to make the wines available. And there’s also a lot of wines on this list that are domestic, so there’s not those same logistical issues of shipping overseas. But there may be some issues shipping, across country. But I don’t foresee that being a problem necessarily because there’s just such a huge range of rosés that are out on the market right now.

Z: Cool. Alright, so last talking point here is that obviously, this is going to be the weirdest rosé season that any of have ever experienced.

A: Totally.

Z: I was hoping that each of you guys could share a tip or a thought about some of our standards for how to go enjoy and experience and explore rosé. Maybe later in this year there will be patios, and we’ll be able to go enjoy rosé. Hopefully, certainly before too long we’ll be able to do this all with friends and family at least in a controlled fashion, but it’s going to be different. So, Tim first, let’s start with you in your tiny apartment. How are you going to experience rosé season this year, and do you have any tips for our listeners?

T: Yeah, sure. One tip I would have, that’s not exactly Covid-related, but something that I came across tasting the rosés for this year’s list is that not all rosé is created equal in terms its profile. There are bottles on there that definitely lean more towards white wines in style and the way you should drink them. And there are wines in there that you should maybe consider a bit more like a red wine, and Keith mentioned that earlier. One example of that, the number four wine on the list, Copain — I’m going to butcher this again — Les Voisins. French people, come at me. But that is a rosé that I found to drink like a red. I definitely would say don’t chill some of them too much. You need to taste the wine first, so that you can get some kind of sense, but the tasting notes are in the article as well. This is a wine I would drink slightly warmer than a normal rosé, and I might even decant. I might even have steak with this. Or I would have red meat. I might slice it quite thinly, but it has the structure there to hold up to something like a red wine, as opposed to many other bottles that might be more like whites. So, I would say not all rosé is created equal.

Z: Keith, how about you? Do you have a tip for the listeners?

K: I’m always the kind of person to drink what you want, check it out, get into it, or don’t get into it. Rosé’s the best way to order a bunch and just see what you like. What I take away from this is that there’s a good amount of wine on this list that is affordable. Because affordable rosé can be good and you can start with our list, you can actually order multiple rosés and see what you like. And also, don’t be scared of the screw cap. A screw cap does not define the quality of a wine.

Z: Cool. Adam, how about you? You have a tip?

A: Yes. Figure out how you can drink outside in however way that you can. And also, just don’t forget that the reason this category has exploded is because it’s the first category in a really long time that consumers didn’t feel was pretentious and felt like it was fun (because of all the things Keith and Tim were saying). It feels accessible. It feels at a price point that feels premium but yet not too premium. There’s not a lot of talk about laying it down for 10 years, and then maybe you’ll understand it. This is delicious right now, and so remember that when you go out to drink rosé that the producers have fun making these wines. You’re supposed to have fun drinking these wines. These aren’t supposed to be wines that you get uppity about. Don’t let people talk down to you about rosé. It is a fun category for a reason. Find what you like, and then don’t feel bad about liking what you like.

T: Fun, but serious.

A: Exactly.

Z: And Erica, how about you?

E: I’m along those same lines. I went into this tasting feeling that I probably would not like anything that was under $25, just from where I’ve been drinking wine out at restaurants. I hadn’t ever done a really huge tasting across all the rosé categories. When I was thinking of rosés it was always what you would find at restaurants: Whispering Angel or Miraval, or what have you. Those tend to be the more expensive rosés. What I was completely shocked about is that, of our 25 list, 10 of them came in at under $15 dollars, and most of my favorite bottles were in that group. That was a huge revelation to me. I totally echo what everyone is saying, and what Keith is saying, particularly around: Take some chances and try some different bottles and see what you like. I think you’ll be surprised at the amount of high-quality wines that you’ll find at lower price points.

A: I want to pick up on one other thing that Keith was saying that is really important to remember, which is color. You hear a lot of people talk about how they don’t think rosé is quality unless it’s that salmon color. I know we talked about this before but just think about this as a listener: If the winemaker knows that all you care about is that salmon color, and they think that that’s why you’re going to buy the rosé, then they may cut a lot of other corners, or they may not ensure that the rosé is as delicious as it could be just to ensure that salmon color. Because that’s what’s going to cause you to buy it, and so you may be sacrificing a lot of flavor and deliciousness. All the winemaker was trying to do was being told by the owner or the owner that they’re working for: Hit that salmon color so someone buys the wine. You’ll see the majority of our wines are not that salmon color. There are some, obviously, but a lot of them lean darker because they’re just delicious. Don’t get caught up on it having to be that pale, pale, pale pink because you’re missing out on a lot of really amazing rosé that way.

Z: I’m going to offer my own little tip here before we wrap things up. It’s certainly true that one of the great things about rosé is that it can be fun, it can be playful, and it can be kind of whatever you want it to be. It doesn’t require necessarily taking it all that seriously. It also can be taken seriously. As Tim was mentioning (and everyone has touched on at one point or another), there are some serious wines on this list. If you want to think about them, you want to come back to them a day later when they’ve had a chance to evolve a little bit. I think there’s a lot of rosé out there these days that really rewards you for taking it a bit more seriously. Since we can’t just chug it on a patio these days, why not take the opportunity: Take this rosé season as a chance to discover a little more and dig a little deeper if that is what’s interesting to you.

A: Awesome… That makes a lot of sense. Guys, thank you so much to Keith and Tim for joining us on this rosé-tastic podcast. Zach and Erica, as always, it’s a pleasure. To all those that listen: We really appreciate it. Please read the list, give us your thoughts, let us know what you think, and hit us up at podcast@vinepair.com. Also standing offer: Some of you reached out, you’ve got wine you want to send it to any of us? Just hit us. You’ve got beer you want to send any of us? Just hit us. Spirits you want to send any of us? Just hit us. We could use it. Podcast@vinepair.com and then again, if you’re enjoying what you’re listening to and appreciating the work we’re putting into putting out all this content throughout the Covid-19 crisis, please leave us a review. Tell your friends, like us on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. All those reviews and ratings really help people discover the show. And, we’ll see you next week.

Z: Sounds great.

E: Bye!

A: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast, if you enjoy listening to us every week please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts, it really helps everyone else discover the show. And now for the credits:

VinePair is produced and hosted Zach Geballe, Erica Duecy and me: Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again right here next week.

Ed. Note: Transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: The Best Rosés of 2020, Tasted and Ranked in Quarantine appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/vinepair-podcast-best-roses-2020/

[johnboothus]

VinePair Podcast: The Best Rosés of 2020 Tasted and Ranked in Quarantine

This year’s rosé season will be the strangest in memory for many of us. With sidewalk cafes and restaurant patios shuttered around the country and world, sipping rosé will be an at-home experience for many of us, likely for a good portion of this year’s warmest months. Yet that doesn’t mean that there aren’t great rosés to seek out, and memorable experiences to be had with them. That’s why VinePair has compiled our list of the 25 Best Rosés for 2020. As with any of our lists, there are lots of stories behind the scenes. (To start, these wines were tasted, reviewed, and selected while we all followed social distancing measures.)

That’s the topic for this week’s VinePair podcast, where co-hosts Adam Teeter, Erica Duecy, and Zach Geballe are joined by VinePair’s tastings editor Keith Beavers and staff writer Tim McKirdy to talk about our favorite wines on the list; why southern Italy is rivaling southern France as a source for great rosé; and a few tips for how best to enjoy rosé while social distancing.

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Listen online, or check out our conversation here:

Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Erica: From Connecticut, I’m Erica Duecy.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the VinePair podcast. Guys, I’m looking out my window, it’s a gorgeous day, and I think it’s the perfect time to start talking about rosé. I can’t wait to get into this. But before we talk about rosé, how are you guys holding up?

E: I’m holding up pretty well. In Connecticut, there’s a huge amount of wildlife here! We’ve seen coyotes, deer, and turkeys. Every day, I wake up to something new and exciting, so it’s a lot different than being in the city.

A: That’s awesome. Zach?

Z: We’ve not quite the same amount of wildlife, although there is apparently a large community of herons that have started nesting in my neighborhood, which is cool because they are very large and majestic birds. I was walking with my dog and my son the other day and an enormous shadow went overhead, and it was actually kind of frightening. But it was also very exciting to see. So that’s my wildlife story for the day.

A: I’ve got a wildlife story: A bird flew into my apartment. In this room that I’m working in, there are no screens on the windows and I was on the phone with Josh, the co-founder of VinePair with me, and I had the window open. A bird just flew right on in. And he was hanging out! Then I freaked out, so he freaked out — or she freaked out — I don’t want to gender the bird. And so, I’m thinking, “Get out of the apartment!” I had to finally find the Swiffer, and start trying to shoo the bird out with the Swiffer. It was a really pretty bird, too! I think people probably are listening to my story and thinking, “Oh man, Adam had a pigeon fly in his apartment.” But it wasn’t a pigeon! It was a really beautiful red bird and I thought maybe this is a robin or a… sign. I don’t think it was a sign, it was just a bird that got confused. But it made it out very safe, so I guess I have a wildlife story as well.

E: Nice!

Z: Did you at least pour it a drink or something?

A: No, I had to get it out fast. It was probably in the apartment for three or five minutes, but it was a scary three or five minutes. I was thinking: What if this bird just lives here forever now? What if this is it’s home, and I can’t get it to leave?

Z: Yeah, it has to quarantine with you for 14 days now.

E: Oh, boy!

A: Seriously. And then I thought: Now I have bird flu. There we go, bird flu.

Z: I have a question for you guys before we talk rosé, because the day after this podcast goes out is Cinco de Mayo, and we haven’t really talked a lot of tequila on this podcast, other than Adam and I doing a tequila and mezcal podcast a while back. But are you guys going to set aside Tuesday for drinking some tequila? Or other agave spirits?

E: I am. Now that we’ve been up here in Connecticut, I usually don’t have the chance to have dinner with my kids, but we have actually been doing taco Tuesday and my kids love it!

Z: There you go!

A: Are you serious?

E: Seriously, we actually have been doing it. We are going to have our in-laws over, who are now sort of co-potting it, and I am going to make Tommy’s Margaritas. We’re going to have these lovely cocktails and hopefully it’s going to be sunny, and we can all sit outside and have a little bit of a fun, festive, socially distanced little Cinco de Mayo party ourselves.

A: I plan to also make some sort of Mexican-inspired dishes. Not tacos, just because I don’t have the ingredients. But I’m going to make this black bean bake that was in The New York Times recently. It’s quite good. And then, I’m making Margaritas too. For sure I’m doing it! There’s nothing else to do, Zach, you have got to celebrate the little things… Like a holiday that actually has no significance whatsoever and that was co-opted by the marketing communities, including Corona, in order to sell more Mexican beer. But hey, I’m here for it.

Z: I will be drinking probably some combination of tequila and mezcal myself, so, I’m no different.

A: Well, let’s get into this rosé list. Zach, you know we created the list. Unfortunately, since you’re in Seattle, you are not a part of the tasting panel, so we’re going to let you play host on this one. We really start our top 25 rosés every year around this time. It’s one of our most read articles of the year. It receives lots of attention from various parts of the industry, and we’re super excited to put this together this year. Let’s get into it.

Z: Yeah, absolutely! Well, first off I think we have a couple of guests/friends/co-workers to welcome. Tim McKirdy and Keith Beavers are also a big part of putting this list together, from what I understand. Gentlemen, how are you doing?

Tim: Doing great, thanks, Zach. I guess like yourselves, I’m just kind of making do right now. I’m definitely looking forward to Cinco de Mayo myself as well. Having a bit of tequila, having a bit of mezcal. I’m just adapting to the new norm, as it were.

Keith: Yeah, same here, man. I’m out here in brick city – Newark, N.J.

A: Brick city.

K: That’s how we call it here in Newark. I forgot about Cinco de Mayo, but I will say that I just happen to have this bottle of tequila that I’ll be drinking on Cinco de Mayo. It just happens to be here.

A: “I forgot about Cinco de Mayo?” What day is it, Keith?

K: Tuesday.

Z: OK, lets refocus ourselves just a little bit. You can find the list on VinePair.com, of course, and we’ll link to the top 25 list in the description for this podcast as well. Without going through the entire list, I’m just curious for each of you, since all of you were involved in putting this list together. What was your favorite wine on the list? Erica, let’s start with you.

E: OK. I was really excited by the rosés from southern Italy, and my favorite rosé on the list this year is Planeta’s Sicilian rosé. What’s appealing to me about the Sicilian and southern Italian rosés this year was that they’re brighter in color, they have very vibrant flavors, and they have something of a bolder flavor profile than rosés from Provence. While I love a Provençal style, I was just really entranced by the layers of flavors. Not just fruit but also savory and mineral, and the Planeta, which came in at number three, was a perfect example of this. This had some fruit flavors, some strawberry and guava, and then some hints of savory green olive — really some complexity there. With the bolder flavors and the brighter color, I just keep thinking of summertime barbecue. Anything that you’ve got on the grill is going to go with this wine, and even better: It’s $16. I’m super excited. All of my favorite wines this year were under $20.

Z: Awesome. Adam, how about you?

A: There was a bunch that I liked. I was lucky that the number one wine I got to taste, and I think that the Peyrassol was pretty amazing. And then, there were a bunch that I got to return to, that have been on the list before, that have continued to be really special, including the Planeta. I do also think I was very impressed by the price. This year, especially the Peyrassol: I was really nervous when I tasted it, that it was going to be super expensive. It just looks kind of pricey, as Provençal, and it’s very well made for Provençal… The kind of trend that we saw in the last two years was that the cheaper wines from Provence that hover around $20 are getting kind of crappy. They’re able to just bank on the Provence name, and the wines aren’t as hot as they have been in the past. This one was amazing, and it looks like Lebron likes it, too. I’m really into that. What up Bronny? Yeah, that’d be my perspective.

Z: Keith, how about you?

K: Man, that’s tough. There were so many of them that I love. Some of them that I’ve been drinking for a long time like the Cirò, the Calabrian rosé. But I’ve got to say the one that really got me, this is going to be a surprise to everybody, was the Adelaida. It is the wildest rosé because it drinks like a red wine. It has a depth and structure to it, because of its higher alcohol it has a perception of depth to it and full bodied-ness that you don’t usually get in a rosé. And for me, I can totally see messing around with some duck breasts with this wine. I mean actually having a meal with this wine and pairing it with a meat. It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a rosé that really has that kind of structure to it. It really freaked me out in a good way.

Z: Cool. Tim, how about you?

T: Saving the best for last, huh, Zach?

Z: That is 100% not what I was doing.

A: Oh my God. I knew this was going to happen. I knew this was going to happen. I was warned.

T: My favorite wine from this year: Listening to Erica talk about her wine, we have very similar kind of preferences. Mine was the Gaia “14-18 h” and I am sorry if I am massacring the pronunciation of that. This is a Greek rosé. It’s from Nemea, and this is a producer that’s very renowned. They are known for quality, but they’re also known for doing some interesting things. They have cool things going on with fermentation vessels and aging, and this wine leans into that. The “14-18 h” name: That is the amount of time in hours that the grape skins spend in contact with the must. That produces this profile again that Erica was talking about that’s very bold. It’s very fruity and it’s wonderful with food. I don’t know the next time that I’m going to have a barbecue myself because I live in an apartment in Queens. But if I were having a barbecue grilling something, I’m imagining this wine with grilled octopus. I think that would just be amazing. This is a food wine. This is fish. This is light, charred meat and it’s everything I’m looking for in a rosé.

Z: Awesome.

K: The price is right too, damn!

Z: That was definitely a theme throughout a lot of this. It seems like you guys were excited about a lot of wines at a really affordable price, which has obviously been a selling point for the rosé category in general. Adam, I was curious because one of the things when putting a list like this together is thinking about this balance between what is available and how niche a rosé can be before it’s not going to go to a broader audience.

A: Totally.

Z: What are these wines? How available are they? What are some of the wines on here that you think someone listening to this podcast anywhere in the U.S. should be able to get their hands on?

A: The biggest thing we thought about this year was that because everyone is quarantining, there has been a large drive to e-commerce. Some wines that in the past we would not have thought twice about, we actually did include because they were on that e-commerce tip. As Keith likes to say in some of his reviews: As long as you’re e-commerce savvy, you will be able to do it. So, we did include a lot. All these wines you can find online, if you really want to go grab them. But one of the wines that we were really impressed by that’s available everywhere is Seaglass, and that’s actually the number five rosé on the list. I think Planeta, that’s number three, is also very, very, very well distributed. But Seaglass, I remember when we were looking it up: You can find it at Costco, you can find it at World Market. It’s really an easy wine to find and it was super delicious. And I think it’s 11 bucks. It helped get it into that top position because not only was it great but it was so readily available. That was what we were trying to focus on with this list, and showcase that there’s a lot of amazing rosé out there that is really easy to find. There’s also a lot of rosé out there that’s easy to find that’s really crap, and a lot of those wines didn’t make the list. We tasted hundreds of bottles. But this rosé in particular was very, very high quality for money and being so readily available kicked it up another few notches.

Z: Awesome. So Keith, Erica eluded to this when she was talking about the Planeta rosé, but I’m curious about your thoughts on this. The world of rosé has really evolved and obviously there’s still a lot of the rosés on this list that come from France, particularly from the south of France. But a few wines on here came not just from Italy but a few specifically from the southern part of Italy. I don’t know that people have typically thought of southern Italy as a source for great rosés. What is it about some of these Sicilian and Calabrian rosés that you felt made them stand out this year?

K: The Italians and rosé are not a traditional thing. It all began in Italy because of the popularity of rosé. With the exception of Cerasuolo, which is a traditional rosé made from the Montepulciano grape in Abruzzo. Over the years newer generations have come on to become winemakers, how it happens in Europe, usually it’s handed down to the children. As the children came in with new ideas and more open minds, rosés became more of a thing. If a wine can survive since antiquity in Sicily, Campagna, Calabria, Puglia then making rosé out of it works. It’s just a matter of whether anybody wanted to make it in the first place, and then it’s a matter of how good the winemaker is. But because of that, because of these new generations the rosé of Italy has become a thing now. We have some Pinot Noir. We have a lot of Pinot Noir rosé on this list and if you’re in Sicily and you’re drinking Nerello Mascalese, you know that’s a very Pinot Noir-esque kind of red wine. Making it into rosé kind of makes sense. As far as the wine from Calabria, Gaglioppo is again in that same vein of sort of high- acid, bright-colored, juicy stuff right after maceration so it works. And honestly, I don’t know why they haven’t been doing it because there it’s hot, and there’s a lot of seafood. It just makes sense so it’s great.

Z: Yeah, it’s definitely true. You would think that would’ve been an area where rosé would’ve been already a big part of the culture. OK, so Keith, you mentioned a varietal that now I have to bring up with Tim because antagonizing Tim is apparently one of the themes of this podcast.

A: It’s one of your themes.

Z: You know when you have a rapport with someone, you’ve got to run with it. It’s never like you give me a hard time, Adam, so I don’t know what to say. OK, so Tim, I’ve never been a huge fan of rosés made from Pinot Noirs. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been any that I haven’t liked, but generally speaking I would prefer to drink a red wine made from Pinot Noir or sparkling wine. That rosé just hasn’t done it for me. There are a number of rosés on here made from Pinot Noir, so explain to me what you like about the broader kind of category of Pinot Noir rosé and then pick one that skeptics like me should try and give a second chance to.

T: I will start by saying that I completely understand what you’re saying from a purely theoretical point of view. I get the skepticism towards Pinot Noir rosé. In its red form it’s already “light and refreshing.” That’s not true of every Pinot Noir, right? But it gives that profile, so why do you need to make it into a rosé? And then you have to question if it’s already light in its red form, is it going to be too light on flavor in its rosé form? I understand that from a theoretical aspect. One thing I will say, and I don’t think you’re asking us to defend the list, but one thing about the Pinot Noirs on this year’s list: They offer something that we’re looking for from any wine that’s going to make the list. So, it’s got to have good concentration of flavor. It’s got to be fun and interesting. It’s got to be worth the value for money. One of the things you get with Pinot Noir again as with reds, is you get that refreshing acidity and especially in some of the warmer regions where we’re seeing that there’s quite a few bottles in there from California. So whereby if they’re vinified into red wines, they might be a bit too weighty and not have the acidity that you’d like from a Pinot Noir and expect, in the rosé form, you start to see that. It continues to be refreshing and just delicious. You wanted an example as well. This is from near you: We had the Willakenzie Estate rosé, and that’s from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I say “near you.” It’s all the Pacific Northwest to me… It’s all relative right now.

Z: Yeah. It’s only a few hundred miles away. It’s close.

A: Yeah, it’s close.

T: I just found that to be nice, round, juicy, around the $20 mark. It’s a little bit more expensive than some people will spend on a rosé, but I thought, 20 bucks, I’ll take it. That’s a good one.

Z: Cool.

A: The Seaglass, Keith and I think it’s Pinot Noir because until this year, they had Pinot Noir on the label, and now they don’t. We’re not sure if it is 100% Pinot Noir. We should probably ask the winemaker, but we think that it is, especially from where it is from in Monterrey.

Z: Maybe Seaglass makes two rosés? I used to buy this when I ran retail and they made a rosé from Pinot Noir, and then they made one that was a Pinot Noir plus maybe some Grenache.

A: Yeah.

Z: I don’t remember specifically. It definitely has Pinot Noir in it, but I don’t think it’s 100%.

A: Yeah. So, that’s a good one to try. There’s a bunch.

T: Long Meadow Ranch: That was another great one as well. That’s $25 bucks as well, so I guess for $5 dollars extra.

K: There’s a wide range. What’s cool about this is there’s a wide range of price within the Pinot Noir spectrum here. From $11 to all the way up. And there’s something that was different. There was something that just popped off in my brain during this tasting about Pinot Noir rosé. There’s this distinct tart, juicy, ripeness to it that doesn’t have the lean concentration of other varieties. There’s a playfulness to Pinot Noir rosé that you don’t really get. Pinot Noir rosé just talks to you saying, “Yo, what’s up? This is going to be fun!”

Z: That is what I don’t like about it.

A: Really?

Z: The sort of bright fruitiness has never been a big appeal for me. But that’s just me. There are certainly great examples. One of the wines on the list that is Pinot Noir-based, the Gran Moraine, is actually a Pinot Noir rosé that I do really like. I really like the wines from Gran Moraine in general.

Z: Let’s talk a little bit about a broader question. As Adam mentioned earlier, we’re in this period of quarantine, and we are all trying to understand what that’s doing to the industry. That’s why we’ve been doing all these Covid-19 conversations and it’s been a focus of this podcast. So Erica, what is happening with rosé this year? Where is consumer interest and demand?

E: We’re seeing a ton of demand. Rosé overall is a juggernaut, and if we look at VinePair’s internal data, which looks at consumer sentiment and purchase intent, rosé is off to an earlier start than usual this year. In March we saw a 19% increase in reader interest compared to the same month last year. And sales also hold up to this story that we’re thinking about. Rosé is the bright spot across the country in the wine space. according to Nielsen data off-premise. When we typically see the strongest sales for rosé in the summer months, the category was already spiking in February, rising 13% in the last 52-week total. That was $583 million in sales for the last running 52 weeks, which is the highest it’s ever been and it’s the strongest growth we’re seeing for any table wine. Consumers are willing to pay more for rosé, according to this data, than reds or whites — an average of $2 more per bottle for rosé. The national averages are $9.89 a bottle for rosé as compared to $7.63 for table wines as a whole. I thought that was fascinating.

A: That is actually super fascinating. I didn’t know that.

E: That data comes off the back of four years of solid growth. So, also looking at Nielsen, off-premise sales of pink wine increased almost 300% between January 2016 and January 2020. Overall, it’s a juggernaut category, it just keeps growing, and not slowing. If anything, it’s accelerating, and it’s finding appeal across all seasons of the year.

Z: That’s exciting! All of us who love wine are happy for any good news in terms of demand and all that. Adam, I’m curious, though: Are we concerned with some of these European rosés as far as like the impact that tariffs might be having on pricing?

A: That’s definitely been brought up. I’ve talked to some importers, distributors and winemakers who’ve said that the tariffs are still obviously an issue. They’re hopeful that the tariffs could be removed especially given what’s happening now with Covid-19. But, I don’t think the consumer’s going to see the tariff. Unfortunately, what’s going to happen is that the distributor or the importer are going to keep eating it. A few big importers that I spoke with last week told me they’re just eating the tariff. Especially when it comes to rosé, because there is, as Erica was saying, such a demand for it that they don’t want to do anything right now in these uncertain times, when these are sales that are booming, to put a brake in front of it. And to have a consumer trip up and say, “Wait so, I used to pay 15 bucks for this wine and now this wine is you know, 20 bucks, nah-uh.” So they’re just eating the tariff. It sucks for a lot of businesses that are still struggling right now but they’ve determined that that’s the only thing to do.

Z: And Erica, is there any risk about not having enough supply? Especially with rosé coming in overseas. I know to some extent I’m wondering if there are… If you’re aware of any challenges like with shipping and all that because of the lockdowns.

E: I think there may be a little bit of challenge, especially if there were wines that were not already on boats when lockdowns went into effect. Depending on what country they were coming from there may be some delays. But what we’re hearing from importers and from producers is that if there’s the demand we will fill that supply. So, they’re saying they’ll do what it takes to make the wines available. And there’s also a lot of wines on this list that are domestic, so there’s not those same logistical issues of shipping overseas. But there may be some issues shipping, across country. But I don’t foresee that being a problem necessarily because there’s just such a huge range of rosés that are out on the market right now.

Z: Cool. Alright, so last talking point here is that obviously, this is going to be the weirdest rosé season that any of have ever experienced.

A: Totally.

Z: I was hoping that each of you guys could share a tip or a thought about some of our standards for how to go enjoy and experience and explore rosé. Maybe later in this year there will be patios, and we’ll be able to go enjoy rosé. Hopefully, certainly before too long we’ll be able to do this all with friends and family at least in a controlled fashion, but it’s going to be different. So, Tim first, let’s start with you in your tiny apartment. How are you going to experience rosé season this year, and do you have any tips for our listeners?

T: Yeah, sure. One tip I would have, that’s not exactly Covid-related, but something that I came across tasting the rosés for this year’s list is that not all rosé is created equal in terms its profile. There are bottles on there that definitely lean more towards white wines in style and the way you should drink them. And there are wines in there that you should maybe consider a bit more like a red wine, and Keith mentioned that earlier. One example of that, the number four wine on the list, Copain — I’m going to butcher this again — Les Voisins. French people, come at me. But that is a rosé that I found to drink like a red. I definitely would say don’t chill some of them too much. You need to taste the wine first, so that you can get some kind of sense, but the tasting notes are in the article as well. This is a wine I would drink slightly warmer than a normal rosé, and I might even decant. I might even have steak with this. Or I would have red meat. I might slice it quite thinly, but it has the structure there to hold up to something like a red wine, as opposed to many other bottles that might be more like whites. So, I would say not all rosé is created equal.

Z: Keith, how about you? Do you have a tip for the listeners?

K: I’m always the kind of person to drink what you want, check it out, get into it, or don’t get into it. Rosé’s the best way to order a bunch and just see what you like. What I take away from this is that there’s a good amount of wine on this list that is affordable. Because affordable rosé can be good and you can start with our list, you can actually order multiple rosés and see what you like. And also, don’t be scared of the screw cap. A screw cap does not define the quality of a wine.

Z: Cool. Adam, how about you? You have a tip?

A: Yes. Figure out how you can drink outside in however way that you can. And also, just don’t forget that the reason this category has exploded is because it’s the first category in a really long time that consumers didn’t feel was pretentious and felt like it was fun (because of all the things Keith and Tim were saying). It feels accessible. It feels at a price point that feels premium but yet not too premium. There’s not a lot of talk about laying it down for 10 years, and then maybe you’ll understand it. This is delicious right now, and so remember that when you go out to drink rosé that the producers have fun making these wines. You’re supposed to have fun drinking these wines. These aren’t supposed to be wines that you get uppity about. Don’t let people talk down to you about rosé. It is a fun category for a reason. Find what you like, and then don’t feel bad about liking what you like.

T: Fun, but serious.

A: Exactly.

Z: And Erica, how about you?

E: I’m along those same lines. I went into this tasting feeling that I probably would not like anything that was under $25, just from where I’ve been drinking wine out at restaurants. I hadn’t ever done a really huge tasting across all the rosé categories. When I was thinking of rosés it was always what you would find at restaurants: Whispering Angel or Miraval, or what have you. Those tend to be the more expensive rosés. What I was completely shocked about is that, of our 25 list, 10 of them came in at under $15 dollars, and most of my favorite bottles were in that group. That was a huge revelation to me. I totally echo what everyone is saying, and what Keith is saying, particularly around: Take some chances and try some different bottles and see what you like. I think you’ll be surprised at the amount of high-quality wines that you’ll find at lower price points.

A: I want to pick up on one other thing that Keith was saying that is really important to remember, which is color. You hear a lot of people talk about how they don’t think rosé is quality unless it’s that salmon color. I know we talked about this before but just think about this as a listener: If the winemaker knows that all you care about is that salmon color, and they think that that’s why you’re going to buy the rosé, then they may cut a lot of other corners, or they may not ensure that the rosé is as delicious as it could be just to ensure that salmon color. Because that’s what’s going to cause you to buy it, and so you may be sacrificing a lot of flavor and deliciousness. All the winemaker was trying to do was being told by the owner or the owner that they’re working for: Hit that salmon color so someone buys the wine. You’ll see the majority of our wines are not that salmon color. There are some, obviously, but a lot of them lean darker because they’re just delicious. Don’t get caught up on it having to be that pale, pale, pale pink because you’re missing out on a lot of really amazing rosé that way.

Z: I’m going to offer my own little tip here before we wrap things up. It’s certainly true that one of the great things about rosé is that it can be fun, it can be playful, and it can be kind of whatever you want it to be. It doesn’t require necessarily taking it all that seriously. It also can be taken seriously. As Tim was mentioning (and everyone has touched on at one point or another), there are some serious wines on this list. If you want to think about them, you want to come back to them a day later when they’ve had a chance to evolve a little bit. I think there’s a lot of rosé out there these days that really rewards you for taking it a bit more seriously. Since we can’t just chug it on a patio these days, why not take the opportunity: Take this rosé season as a chance to discover a little more and dig a little deeper if that is what’s interesting to you.

A: Awesome… That makes a lot of sense. Guys, thank you so much to Keith and Tim for joining us on this rosé-tastic podcast. Zach and Erica, as always, it’s a pleasure. To all those that listen: We really appreciate it. Please read the list, give us your thoughts, let us know what you think, and hit us up at podcast@vinepair.com. Also standing offer: Some of you reached out, you’ve got wine you want to send it to any of us? Just hit us. You’ve got beer you want to send any of us? Just hit us. Spirits you want to send any of us? Just hit us. We could use it. Podcast@vinepair.com and then again, if you’re enjoying what you’re listening to and appreciating the work we’re putting into putting out all this content throughout the Covid-19 crisis, please leave us a review. Tell your friends, like us on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. All those reviews and ratings really help people discover the show. And, we’ll see you next week.

Z: Sounds great.

E: Bye!

A: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast, if you enjoy listening to us every week please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts, it really helps everyone else discover the show. And now for the credits:

VinePair is produced and hosted Zach Geballe, Erica Duecy and me: Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again right here next week.

Ed. Note: Transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: The Best Rosés of 2020, Tasted and Ranked in Quarantine appeared first on VinePair.

Via https://vinepair.com/articles/vinepair-podcast-best-roses-2020/

source https://vinology1.weebly.com/blog/vinepair-podcast-the-best-roses-of-2020-tasted-and-ranked-in-quarantine

[chaletnz]

Croatia's Interesting Capital City

I began my day in Zagreb the best way with a cappuccino from Cogito Coffee, I had been recommended the place by Lori although she said it looked exactly like a university toilet on the inside - she was exactly right! Next I needed food so I ate at a fancy restaurant in the main square because even though it was one of the most expensive places on the street it was still affordable for me. I took a tall glass of pineapple juice and some French toast. From my table I watched the chef making it and it came out with strawberries on top on a plate that said "you'll always be the one I love" so needless to say breakfast was divine. I made my way out to the Croatian national bank to meet Lori as her friend was taking a tour of the bank and she had invited me to join them both. However once we arrived I'm not exactly sure what happened but half the group went into the bank and the other half were taken on a walking tour of the design district. I was in the walking tour and must've got confused because I thought we'd return to see the bank but we never did. Anyhow I learned the bank was built on the outskirts of the old town of Zagreb and as a result the city flourished and grew around it and became the bustling Croatian capital we know today. In the 1990s a fountain was added in front of the bank as there was a large open space so the fountain was built as a gradient and to be something more interesting in the square. Just around the corner was a building nicknamed the "wooden skyscraper" which was essentially two floors of office buildings with about ten floors built on top out of wood for the employees to live in. Lori's friend Denis joined us for the tour and we all set off behind the guide with some more random people on our walking tour. We began at a small shed-like building surrounded by four stores apartment blocks and the guide showed us photos of how the area originally looked - there was once a huge farm of orange trees here behind the shed. I couldn't imagine even 20 trees being there before the land ended in front of the apartments but apparently once upon a time there were hundreds of trees. The "shed" was where the caretaker lived on the orange farm but is now used as a local office for something no one could translate or explain properly for me! Some citizen tax thing... The guide walked us through a parking garage at Spar and we emerged on the other side near a colourful highrise building that was intended for employees of the national bank. We took the elevator up to the top floor and enjoyed a nice view over Zagreb from the rooftop. From here Lori said the tour was going on to an architecture museum so we left and walked down the Main Street in the design district where there were some little bar kiosks, a stage and wooden seating areas set up presumably for the evening festivities. By now it was time for coffee so we took the tram (without paying might I add so I was sweating nervously the entire 4 minutes of the ride) back into the centre of town to another specialty coffee shop called the Express Bar. I got talking to one of the guys who worked there called Sani, he was considering a working holiday in New Zealand as the Australia quota was full so naturally he had a lot of questions for me! Lori wanted to show me a street full of boutique cocktail bars downtown although they weren't open yet. We walked uphill past the richest residences of Zagreb and discovered a summer cocktail garden tucked away with lots of hipster decorations and service kiosks built in shipping containers. After checking all of this out and being disappointed that it wasn't open we headed to "the nicest restaurant in Zagreb" Dubravkin Put. Lori's boyfriend worked here as a bartender and he made us some of his favourite cocktails even though they weren't officially open and we drank them outside in the sunshine. Lori then walked me in the direction of the upper part of town and we went our separate ways as she headed home to pack for a weekend wedding and I carried on adventuring. At the top of the city I found a lot of murals and street art which is always a welcome surprise. The streets were narrow and winding, and the building colourful and decked out with Croatian flags - they seem a very patriotic country! Finally I reached my final Zagreb destination: the Museum of Broken Relationships. I had planned on spending an hour here but it was just so interesting that it turned into almost two. The museum is full of random items that are exhibited with an accompanying story as to why this item represents a broken relationship in someone's life. Among the more memorable items were a stiletto, hockey puck, dog chew toy and a plush caterpillar. I was particularly touched by the story of the plush caterpillar; the couple tore off one of the legs for every month they were separated by distance vowing to be together before all the legs were torn off. The caterpillar in the museum still had half of its legs and the story ended with the couple never being together in the end. Imagine reading about 100 stories like this all associated to a weird object and that's basically the museum. After this depressing activity I realized I had run out of time completely and I needed to get a move on to quickly buy some snacks at Spar, pick up my backpack from the hostel and then catch my bus to Split. I snuck on to the tram again sweating nervously as I chose to ride for free for a few stops and then walk the rest of the way in the rain to the bus terminal. I farewelled Zagreb through a rain spattered window and then like a movie, when the bus drove through a tunnel and we suddenly emerged on the coastal side of the country the sun was out and it was 30 degrees outside. I had to switch buses in Zadar and immediately noticed the price inflation on the Adriatic coast as the driver tried to charge me 10 kuna to store my backpack under the bus whereas in Zagreb it cost me only 1. It was late when I finally arrived in Split so I had time only to walk to my hostel, check in, walk back into town for an (expensive) slice of pizza and then zonk out for the night.

[isaiahrippinus]

VinePair Podcast: The Best Rosés of 2020, Tasted and Ranked in Quarantine

This year’s rosé season will be the strangest in memory for many of us. With sidewalk cafes and restaurant patios shuttered around the country and world, sipping rosé will be an at-home experience for many of us, likely for a good portion of this year’s warmest months. Yet that doesn’t mean that there aren’t great rosés to seek out, and memorable experiences to be had with them. That’s why VinePair has compiled our list of the 25 Best Rosés for 2020. As with any of our lists, there are lots of stories behind the scenes. (To start, these wines were tasted, reviewed, and selected while we all followed social distancing measures.)

That’s the topic for this week’s VinePair podcast, where co-hosts Adam Teeter, Erica Duecy, and Zach Geballe are joined by VinePair’s tastings editor Keith Beavers and staff writer Tim McKirdy to talk about our favorite wines on the list; why southern Italy is rivaling southern France as a source for great rosé; and a few tips for how best to enjoy rosé while social distancing.

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Adam: From Brooklyn, New York, I’m Adam Teeter.

Erica: From Connecticut, I’m Erica Duecy.

Zach: And in Seattle, Washington, I’m Zach Geballe.

A: And this is the VinePair podcast. Guys, I’m looking out my window, it’s a gorgeous day, and I think it’s the perfect time to start talking about rosé. I can’t wait to get into this. But before we talk about rosé, how are you guys holding up?

E: I’m holding up pretty well. In Connecticut, there’s a huge amount of wildlife here! We’ve seen coyotes, deer, and turkeys. Every day, I wake up to something new and exciting, so it’s a lot different than being in the city.

A: That’s awesome. Zach?

Z: We’ve not quite the same amount of wildlife, although there is apparently a large community of herons that have started nesting in my neighborhood, which is cool because they are very large and majestic birds. I was walking with my dog and my son the other day and an enormous shadow went overhead, and it was actually kind of frightening. But it was also very exciting to see. So that’s my wildlife story for the day.

A: I’ve got a wildlife story: A bird flew into my apartment. In this room that I’m working in, there are no screens on the windows and I was on the phone with Josh, the co-founder of VinePair with me, and I had the window open. A bird just flew right on in. And he was hanging out! Then I freaked out, so he freaked out — or she freaked out — I don’t want to gender the bird. And so, I’m thinking, “Get out of the apartment!” I had to finally find the Swiffer, and start trying to shoo the bird out with the Swiffer. It was a really pretty bird, too! I think people probably are listening to my story and thinking, “Oh man, Adam had a pigeon fly in his apartment.” But it wasn’t a pigeon! It was a really beautiful red bird and I thought maybe this is a robin or a… sign. I don’t think it was a sign, it was just a bird that got confused. But it made it out very safe, so I guess I have a wildlife story as well.

E: Nice!

Z: Did you at least pour it a drink or something?

A: No, I had to get it out fast. It was probably in the apartment for three or five minutes, but it was a scary three or five minutes. I was thinking: What if this bird just lives here forever now? What if this is it’s home, and I can’t get it to leave?

Z: Yeah, it has to quarantine with you for 14 days now.

E: Oh, boy!

A: Seriously. And then I thought: Now I have bird flu. There we go, bird flu.

Z: I have a question for you guys before we talk rosé, because the day after this podcast goes out is Cinco de Mayo, and we haven’t really talked a lot of tequila on this podcast, other than Adam and I doing a tequila and mezcal podcast a while back. But are you guys going to set aside Tuesday for drinking some tequila? Or other agave spirits?

E: I am. Now that we’ve been up here in Connecticut, I usually don’t have the chance to have dinner with my kids, but we have actually been doing taco Tuesday and my kids love it!

Z: There you go!

A: Are you serious?

E: Seriously, we actually have been doing it. We are going to have our in-laws over, who are now sort of co-potting it, and I am going to make Tommy’s Margaritas. We’re going to have these lovely cocktails and hopefully it’s going to be sunny, and we can all sit outside and have a little bit of a fun, festive, socially distanced little Cinco de Mayo party ourselves.

A: I plan to also make some sort of Mexican-inspired dishes. Not tacos, just because I don’t have the ingredients. But I’m going to make this black bean bake that was in The New York Times recently. It’s quite good. And then, I’m making Margaritas too. For sure I’m doing it! There’s nothing else to do, Zach, you have got to celebrate the little things… Like a holiday that actually has no significance whatsoever and that was co-opted by the marketing communities, including Corona, in order to sell more Mexican beer. But hey, I’m here for it.

Z: I will be drinking probably some combination of tequila and mezcal myself, so, I’m no different.

A: Well, let’s get into this rosé list. Zach, you know we created the list. Unfortunately, since you’re in Seattle, you are not a part of the tasting panel, so we’re going to let you play host on this one. We really start our top 25 rosés every year around this time. It’s one of our most read articles of the year. It receives lots of attention from various parts of the industry, and we’re super excited to put this together this year. Let’s get into it.

Z: Yeah, absolutely! Well, first off I think we have a couple of guests/friends/co-workers to welcome. Tim McKirdy and Keith Beavers are also a big part of putting this list together, from what I understand. Gentlemen, how are you doing?

Tim: Doing great, thanks, Zach. I guess like yourselves, I’m just kind of making do right now. I’m definitely looking forward to Cinco de Mayo myself as well. Having a bit of tequila, having a bit of mezcal. I’m just adapting to the new norm, as it were.

Keith: Yeah, same here, man. I’m out here in brick city – Newark, N.J.

A: Brick city.

K: That’s how we call it here in Newark. I forgot about Cinco de Mayo, but I will say that I just happen to have this bottle of tequila that I’ll be drinking on Cinco de Mayo. It just happens to be here.

A: “I forgot about Cinco de Mayo?” What day is it, Keith?

K: Tuesday.

Z: OK, lets refocus ourselves just a little bit. You can find the list on VinePair.com, of course, and we’ll link to the top 25 list in the description for this podcast as well. Without going through the entire list, I’m just curious for each of you, since all of you were involved in putting this list together. What was your favorite wine on the list? Erica, let’s start with you.

E: OK. I was really excited by the rosés from southern Italy, and my favorite rosé on the list this year is Planeta’s Sicilian rosé. What’s appealing to me about the Sicilian and southern Italian rosés this year was that they’re brighter in color, they have very vibrant flavors, and they have something of a bolder flavor profile than rosés from Provence. While I love a Provençal style, I was just really entranced by the layers of flavors. Not just fruit but also savory and mineral, and the Planeta, which came in at number three, was a perfect example of this. This had some fruit flavors, some strawberry and guava, and then some hints of savory green olive — really some complexity there. With the bolder flavors and the brighter color, I just keep thinking of summertime barbecue. Anything that you’ve got on the grill is going to go with this wine, and even better: It’s $16. I’m super excited. All of my favorite wines this year were under $20.

Z: Awesome. Adam, how about you?

A: There was a bunch that I liked. I was lucky that the number one wine I got to taste, and I think that the Peyrassol was pretty amazing. And then, there were a bunch that I got to return to, that have been on the list before, that have continued to be really special, including the Planeta. I do also think I was very impressed by the price. This year, especially the Peyrassol: I was really nervous when I tasted it, that it was going to be super expensive. It just looks kind of pricey, as Provençal, and it’s very well made for Provençal… The kind of trend that we saw in the last two years was that the cheaper wines from Provence that hover around $20 are getting kind of crappy. They’re able to just bank on the Provence name, and the wines aren’t as hot as they have been in the past. This one was amazing, and it looks like Lebron likes it, too. I’m really into that. What up Bronny? Yeah, that’d be my perspective.

Z: Keith, how about you?

K: Man, that’s tough. There were so many of them that I love. Some of them that I’ve been drinking for a long time like the Cirò, the Calabrian rosé. But I’ve got to say the one that really got me, this is going to be a surprise to everybody, was the Adelaida. It is the wildest rosé because it drinks like a red wine. It has a depth and structure to it, because of its higher alcohol it has a perception of depth to it and full bodied-ness that you don’t usually get in a rosé. And for me, I can totally see messing around with some duck breasts with this wine. I mean actually having a meal with this wine and pairing it with a meat. It’s pretty amazing. I don’t think I’ve ever had a rosé that really has that kind of structure to it. It really freaked me out in a good way.

Z: Cool. Tim, how about you?

T: Saving the best for last, huh, Zach?

Z: That is 100% not what I was doing.

A: Oh my God. I knew this was going to happen. I knew this was going to happen. I was warned.

T: My favorite wine from this year: Listening to Erica talk about her wine, we have very similar kind of preferences. Mine was the Gaia “14-18 h” and I am sorry if I am massacring the pronunciation of that. This is a Greek rosé. It’s from Nemea, and this is a producer that’s very renowned. They are known for quality, but they’re also known for doing some interesting things. They have cool things going on with fermentation vessels and aging, and this wine leans into that. The “14-18 h” name: That is the amount of time in hours that the grape skins spend in contact with the must. That produces this profile again that Erica was talking about that’s very bold. It’s very fruity and it’s wonderful with food. I don’t know the next time that I’m going to have a barbecue myself because I live in an apartment in Queens. But if I were having a barbecue grilling something, I’m imagining this wine with grilled octopus. I think that would just be amazing. This is a food wine. This is fish. This is light, charred meat and it’s everything I’m looking for in a rosé.

Z: Awesome.

K: The price is right too, damn!

Z: That was definitely a theme throughout a lot of this. It seems like you guys were excited about a lot of wines at a really affordable price, which has obviously been a selling point for the rosé category in general. Adam, I was curious because one of the things when putting a list like this together is thinking about this balance between what is available and how niche a rosé can be before it’s not going to go to a broader audience.

A: Totally.

Z: What are these wines? How available are they? What are some of the wines on here that you think someone listening to this podcast anywhere in the U.S. should be able to get their hands on?

A: The biggest thing we thought about this year was that because everyone is quarantining, there has been a large drive to e-commerce. Some wines that in the past we would not have thought twice about, we actually did include because they were on that e-commerce tip. As Keith likes to say in some of his reviews: As long as you’re e-commerce savvy, you will be able to do it. So, we did include a lot. All these wines you can find online, if you really want to go grab them. But one of the wines that we were really impressed by that’s available everywhere is Seaglass, and that’s actually the number five rosé on the list. I think Planeta, that’s number three, is also very, very, very well distributed. But Seaglass, I remember when we were looking it up: You can find it at Costco, you can find it at World Market. It’s really an easy wine to find and it was super delicious. And I think it’s 11 bucks. It helped get it into that top position because not only was it great but it was so readily available. That was what we were trying to focus on with this list, and showcase that there’s a lot of amazing rosé out there that is really easy to find. There’s also a lot of rosé out there that’s easy to find that’s really crap, and a lot of those wines didn’t make the list. We tasted hundreds of bottles. But this rosé in particular was very, very high quality for money and being so readily available kicked it up another few notches.

Z: Awesome. So Keith, Erica eluded to this when she was talking about the Planeta rosé, but I’m curious about your thoughts on this. The world of rosé has really evolved and obviously there’s still a lot of the rosés on this list that come from France, particularly from the south of France. But a few wines on here came not just from Italy but a few specifically from the southern part of Italy. I don’t know that people have typically thought of southern Italy as a source for great rosés. What is it about some of these Sicilian and Calabrian rosés that you felt made them stand out this year?

K: The Italians and rosé are not a traditional thing. It all began in Italy because of the popularity of rosé. With the exception of Cerasuolo, which is a traditional rosé made from the Montepulciano grape in Abruzzo. Over the years newer generations have come on to become winemakers, how it happens in Europe, usually it’s handed down to the children. As the children came in with new ideas and more open minds, rosés became more of a thing. If a wine can survive since antiquity in Sicily, Campagna, Calabria, Puglia then making rosé out of it works. It’s just a matter of whether anybody wanted to make it in the first place, and then it’s a matter of how good the winemaker is. But because of that, because of these new generations the rosé of Italy has become a thing now. We have some Pinot Noir. We have a lot of Pinot Noir rosé on this list and if you’re in Sicily and you’re drinking Nerello Mascalese, you know that’s a very Pinot Noir-esque kind of red wine. Making it into rosé kind of makes sense. As far as the wine from Calabria, Gaglioppo is again in that same vein of sort of high- acid, bright-colored, juicy stuff right after maceration so it works. And honestly, I don’t know why they haven’t been doing it because there it’s hot, and there’s a lot of seafood. It just makes sense so it’s great.

Z: Yeah, it’s definitely true. You would think that would’ve been an area where rosé would’ve been already a big part of the culture. OK, so Keith, you mentioned a varietal that now I have to bring up with Tim because antagonizing Tim is apparently one of the themes of this podcast.

A: It’s one of your themes.

Z: You know when you have a rapport with someone, you’ve got to run with it. It’s never like you give me a hard time, Adam, so I don’t know what to say. OK, so Tim, I’ve never been a huge fan of rosés made from Pinot Noirs. That isn’t to say that there haven’t been any that I haven’t liked, but generally speaking I would prefer to drink a red wine made from Pinot Noir or sparkling wine. That rosé just hasn’t done it for me. There are a number of rosés on here made from Pinot Noir, so explain to me what you like about the broader kind of category of Pinot Noir rosé and then pick one that skeptics like me should try and give a second chance to.

T: I will start by saying that I completely understand what you’re saying from a purely theoretical point of view. I get the skepticism towards Pinot Noir rosé. In its red form it’s already “light and refreshing.” That’s not true of every Pinot Noir, right? But it gives that profile, so why do you need to make it into a rosé? And then you have to question if it’s already light in its red form, is it going to be too light on flavor in its rosé form? I understand that from a theoretical aspect. One thing I will say, and I don’t think you’re asking us to defend the list, but one thing about the Pinot Noirs on this year’s list: They offer something that we’re looking for from any wine that’s going to make the list. So, it’s got to have good concentration of flavor. It’s got to be fun and interesting. It’s got to be worth the value for money. One of the things you get with Pinot Noir again as with reds, is you get that refreshing acidity and especially in some of the warmer regions where we’re seeing that there’s quite a few bottles in there from California. So whereby if they’re vinified into red wines, they might be a bit too weighty and not have the acidity that you’d like from a Pinot Noir and expect, in the rosé form, you start to see that. It continues to be refreshing and just delicious. You wanted an example as well. This is from near you: We had the Willakenzie Estate rosé, and that’s from the Willamette Valley in Oregon. I say “near you.” It’s all the Pacific Northwest to me… It’s all relative right now.

Z: Yeah. It’s only a few hundred miles away. It’s close.

A: Yeah, it’s close.

T: I just found that to be nice, round, juicy, around the $20 mark. It’s a little bit more expensive than some people will spend on a rosé, but I thought, 20 bucks, I’ll take it. That’s a good one.

Z: Cool.

A: The Seaglass, Keith and I think it’s Pinot Noir because until this year, they had Pinot Noir on the label, and now they don’t. We’re not sure if it is 100% Pinot Noir. We should probably ask the winemaker, but we think that it is, especially from where it is from in Monterrey.

Z: Maybe Seaglass makes two rosés? I used to buy this when I ran retail and they made a rosé from Pinot Noir, and then they made one that was a Pinot Noir plus maybe some Grenache.

A: Yeah.

Z: I don’t remember specifically. It definitely has Pinot Noir in it, but I don’t think it’s 100%.

A: Yeah. So, that’s a good one to try. There’s a bunch.

T: Long Meadow Ranch: That was another great one as well. That’s $25 bucks as well, so I guess for $5 dollars extra.

K: There’s a wide range. What’s cool about this is there’s a wide range of price within the Pinot Noir spectrum here. From $11 to all the way up. And there’s something that was different. There was something that just popped off in my brain during this tasting about Pinot Noir rosé. There’s this distinct tart, juicy, ripeness to it that doesn’t have the lean concentration of other varieties. There’s a playfulness to Pinot Noir rosé that you don’t really get. Pinot Noir rosé just talks to you saying, “Yo, what’s up? This is going to be fun!”

Z: That is what I don’t like about it.

A: Really?

Z: The sort of bright fruitiness has never been a big appeal for me. But that’s just me. There are certainly great examples. One of the wines on the list that is Pinot Noir-based, the Gran Moraine, is actually a Pinot Noir rosé that I do really like. I really like the wines from Gran Moraine in general.

Z: Let’s talk a little bit about a broader question. As Adam mentioned earlier, we’re in this period of quarantine, and we are all trying to understand what that’s doing to the industry. That’s why we’ve been doing all these Covid-19 conversations and it’s been a focus of this podcast. So Erica, what is happening with rosé this year? Where is consumer interest and demand?

E: We’re seeing a ton of demand. Rosé overall is a juggernaut, and if we look at VinePair’s internal data, which looks at consumer sentiment and purchase intent, rosé is off to an earlier start than usual this year. In March we saw a 19% increase in reader interest compared to the same month last year. And sales also hold up to this story that we’re thinking about. Rosé is the bright spot across the country in the wine space. according to Nielsen data off-premise. When we typically see the strongest sales for rosé in the summer months, the category was already spiking in February, rising 13% in the last 52-week total. That was $583 million in sales for the last running 52 weeks, which is the highest it’s ever been and it’s the strongest growth we’re seeing for any table wine. Consumers are willing to pay more for rosé, according to this data, than reds or whites — an average of $2 more per bottle for rosé. The national averages are $9.89 a bottle for rosé as compared to $7.63 for table wines as a whole. I thought that was fascinating.

A: That is actually super fascinating. I didn’t know that.

E: That data comes off the back of four years of solid growth. So, also looking at Nielsen, off-premise sales of pink wine increased almost 300% between January 2016 and January 2020. Overall, it’s a juggernaut category, it just keeps growing, and not slowing. If anything, it’s accelerating, and it’s finding appeal across all seasons of the year.

Z: That’s exciting! All of us who love wine are happy for any good news in terms of demand and all that. Adam, I’m curious, though: Are we concerned with some of these European rosés as far as like the impact that tariffs might be having on pricing?

A: That’s definitely been brought up. I’ve talked to some importers, distributors and winemakers who’ve said that the tariffs are still obviously an issue. They’re hopeful that the tariffs could be removed especially given what’s happening now with Covid-19. But, I don’t think the consumer’s going to see the tariff. Unfortunately, what’s going to happen is that the distributor or the importer are going to keep eating it. A few big importers that I spoke with last week told me they’re just eating the tariff. Especially when it comes to rosé, because there is, as Erica was saying, such a demand for it that they don’t want to do anything right now in these uncertain times, when these are sales that are booming, to put a brake in front of it. And to have a consumer trip up and say, “Wait so, I used to pay 15 bucks for this wine and now this wine is you know, 20 bucks, nah-uh.” So they’re just eating the tariff. It sucks for a lot of businesses that are still struggling right now but they’ve determined that that’s the only thing to do.

Z: And Erica, is there any risk about not having enough supply? Especially with rosé coming in overseas. I know to some extent I’m wondering if there are… If you’re aware of any challenges like with shipping and all that because of the lockdowns.

E: I think there may be a little bit of challenge, especially if there were wines that were not already on boats when lockdowns went into effect. Depending on what country they were coming from there may be some delays. But what we’re hearing from importers and from producers is that if there’s the demand we will fill that supply. So, they’re saying they’ll do what it takes to make the wines available. And there’s also a lot of wines on this list that are domestic, so there’s not those same logistical issues of shipping overseas. But there may be some issues shipping, across country. But I don’t foresee that being a problem necessarily because there’s just such a huge range of rosés that are out on the market right now.

Z: Cool. Alright, so last talking point here is that obviously, this is going to be the weirdest rosé season that any of have ever experienced.

A: Totally.

Z: I was hoping that each of you guys could share a tip or a thought about some of our standards for how to go enjoy and experience and explore rosé. Maybe later in this year there will be patios, and we’ll be able to go enjoy rosé. Hopefully, certainly before too long we’ll be able to do this all with friends and family at least in a controlled fashion, but it’s going to be different. So, Tim first, let’s start with you in your tiny apartment. How are you going to experience rosé season this year, and do you have any tips for our listeners?

T: Yeah, sure. One tip I would have, that’s not exactly Covid-related, but something that I came across tasting the rosés for this year’s list is that not all rosé is created equal in terms its profile. There are bottles on there that definitely lean more towards white wines in style and the way you should drink them. And there are wines in there that you should maybe consider a bit more like a red wine, and Keith mentioned that earlier. One example of that, the number four wine on the list, Copain — I’m going to butcher this again — Les Voisins. French people, come at me. But that is a rosé that I found to drink like a red. I definitely would say don’t chill some of them too much. You need to taste the wine first, so that you can get some kind of sense, but the tasting notes are in the article as well. This is a wine I would drink slightly warmer than a normal rosé, and I might even decant. I might even have steak with this. Or I would have red meat. I might slice it quite thinly, but it has the structure there to hold up to something like a red wine, as opposed to many other bottles that might be more like whites. So, I would say not all rosé is created equal.

Z: Keith, how about you? Do you have a tip for the listeners?

K: I’m always the kind of person to drink what you want, check it out, get into it, or don’t get into it. Rosé’s the best way to order a bunch and just see what you like. What I take away from this is that there’s a good amount of wine on this list that is affordable. Because affordable rosé can be good and you can start with our list, you can actually order multiple rosés and see what you like. And also, don’t be scared of the screw cap. A screw cap does not define the quality of a wine.

Z: Cool. Adam, how about you? You have a tip?

A: Yes. Figure out how you can drink outside in however way that you can. And also, just don’t forget that the reason this category has exploded is because it’s the first category in a really long time that consumers didn’t feel was pretentious and felt like it was fun (because of all the things Keith and Tim were saying). It feels accessible. It feels at a price point that feels premium but yet not too premium. There’s not a lot of talk about laying it down for 10 years, and then maybe you’ll understand it. This is delicious right now, and so remember that when you go out to drink rosé that the producers have fun making these wines. You’re supposed to have fun drinking these wines. These aren’t supposed to be wines that you get uppity about. Don’t let people talk down to you about rosé. It is a fun category for a reason. Find what you like, and then don’t feel bad about liking what you like.

T: Fun, but serious.

A: Exactly.

Z: And Erica, how about you?

E: I’m along those same lines. I went into this tasting feeling that I probably would not like anything that was under $25, just from where I’ve been drinking wine out at restaurants. I hadn’t ever done a really huge tasting across all the rosé categories. When I was thinking of rosés it was always what you would find at restaurants: Whispering Angel or Miraval, or what have you. Those tend to be the more expensive rosés. What I was completely shocked about is that, of our 25 list, 10 of them came in at under $15 dollars, and most of my favorite bottles were in that group. That was a huge revelation to me. I totally echo what everyone is saying, and what Keith is saying, particularly around: Take some chances and try some different bottles and see what you like. I think you’ll be surprised at the amount of high-quality wines that you’ll find at lower price points.

A: I want to pick up on one other thing that Keith was saying that is really important to remember, which is color. You hear a lot of people talk about how they don’t think rosé is quality unless it’s that salmon color. I know we talked about this before but just think about this as a listener: If the winemaker knows that all you care about is that salmon color, and they think that that’s why you’re going to buy the rosé, then they may cut a lot of other corners, or they may not ensure that the rosé is as delicious as it could be just to ensure that salmon color. Because that’s what’s going to cause you to buy it, and so you may be sacrificing a lot of flavor and deliciousness. All the winemaker was trying to do was being told by the owner or the owner that they’re working for: Hit that salmon color so someone buys the wine. You’ll see the majority of our wines are not that salmon color. There are some, obviously, but a lot of them lean darker because they’re just delicious. Don’t get caught up on it having to be that pale, pale, pale pink because you’re missing out on a lot of really amazing rosé that way.

Z: I’m going to offer my own little tip here before we wrap things up. It’s certainly true that one of the great things about rosé is that it can be fun, it can be playful, and it can be kind of whatever you want it to be. It doesn’t require necessarily taking it all that seriously. It also can be taken seriously. As Tim was mentioning (and everyone has touched on at one point or another), there are some serious wines on this list. If you want to think about them, you want to come back to them a day later when they’ve had a chance to evolve a little bit. I think there’s a lot of rosé out there these days that really rewards you for taking it a bit more seriously. Since we can’t just chug it on a patio these days, why not take the opportunity: Take this rosé season as a chance to discover a little more and dig a little deeper if that is what’s interesting to you.

A: Awesome… That makes a lot of sense. Guys, thank you so much to Keith and Tim for joining us on this rosé-tastic podcast. Zach and Erica, as always, it’s a pleasure. To all those that listen: We really appreciate it. Please read the list, give us your thoughts, let us know what you think, and hit us up at podcast@vinepair.com. Also standing offer: Some of you reached out, you’ve got wine you want to send it to any of us? Just hit us. You’ve got beer you want to send any of us? Just hit us. Spirits you want to send any of us? Just hit us. We could use it. Podcast@vinepair.com and then again, if you’re enjoying what you’re listening to and appreciating the work we’re putting into putting out all this content throughout the Covid-19 crisis, please leave us a review. Tell your friends, like us on Apple, Stitcher, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. All those reviews and ratings really help people discover the show. And, we’ll see you next week.

Z: Sounds great.

E: Bye!

A: Thanks so much for listening to the VinePair podcast, if you enjoy listening to us every week please leave us a review or rating on iTunes, Stitcher, Spotify, or wherever it is that you get your podcasts, it really helps everyone else discover the show. And now for the credits:

VinePair is produced and hosted Zach Geballe, Erica Duecy and me: Adam Teeter. Our engineer is Nick Patri and Keith Beavers. I’d also like to give a special shout out to my VinePair co-founder Josh Malin and the rest of the VinePair team for their support. Thanks so much for listening, and we’ll see you again right here next week.

Ed. Note: Transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.

The article VinePair Podcast: The Best Rosés of 2020, Tasted and Ranked in Quarantine appeared first on VinePair.

source https://vinepair.com/articles/vinepair-podcast-best-roses-2020/ source https://vinology1.tumblr.com/post/617277575845298176

[giaconstefaniared]

watch tonight's vote at cuyahoga county council meeting

watch tonight's vote at cuyahoga county council meeting on facebook live When it is my turn, I approach the desk with little hope. Or, dans ces chaines de restauration, on se soucie peu de la qualit des cuisiniers et des mets, on prfre des "assembleurs" qui vont rchauffer du tout prt industriel. On an unsuccessful quest for the North Pole during which he had fed most of his sled dogs to one another, Nansen found himself on a floating raft of sea ice, grinding up against other chunks, with no apparent way out.. We report a qualitative study undertaken in the UK in 2016. I received 6 jars (compliments of Yumi) filled with the following: minestrone soup, cran squash soup, kabocha buckwheat, a peach sweet potato blend with coconut milk, a kale pear white bean blend, and porridge made with pitaya, sweet potato, and quinoa, among other ingredients. Call the post at 717 334 4614 for more information. So she wrote her congressman. 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Were so many sleepless nights in the beginning of running the brand coach outlet clearance and getting line sheets in and approving orders and shipping out orders, doing this all out of our house, Wichmann recalls. Monsieur avait bien faim, moi pas trop et de plus, j'tais attendue dans l'aprs midi pour un goter. The idea that casinos and sports stadiums will revive a city ravaged by capitalism is at best a pipe dream. Plus the Pac 12 North is pretty loaded right now. Right after bench, I will shift to an incline bench press, followed by a decline press, and that I will total the training with chest flies. I have friends down in Florida and they say, 'You guys have no idea how good you have it up there.'". Tasty Pot has a location in downtown Berkeley, where you'll always find a long line out the door.. That man is a gift to humanity. We hoped for a miracle. The recipe is from Saiphin Moore's new cookbook, "Rosa's Thai Cafe: The Vegetarian Cookbook" (Mitchell Beazley, 2018). X. Ragas was limited to 40 yards on 10 carries, and Mitchell had 26 yards on six attempts and scored on a 3 yard run in the third quarter.. In a written statement a spokewoman said, "In spite of eyewitness reports alleging that the gates at the rail crossing did not activate, data downloaded from the gate mechanisms at the intersection as well as video from the Amtrak locomotive show that the gates were in the down position, the warning lights were activated and the vehicle's driver drove around the gates and into the path of the oncoming train.".

[heimwee2456]

I’ve surpassed many obstacles to be able to publish this article since I had to visit all the supermarkets available in the Netherlands to collect all the goodies (you know I never leave things unfinished) worth of mentioning!

This post is going to be concerned about wide range of treats (from sweet to savoury) that can all be called “stereotypically Dutch” and that you just can’t miss when you’re visiting the country since they’re all perfectly representing the Dutch culture. Well, at least most of them, but knowing these terms you’ll be able to understand their culture and way of living a little bit more than before. So let’s begin!

I’ll be ordering items by particular supermarkets.

LIDL

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1 – Vla is a Dutch dairy product made from fresh milk. The word ‘vla’ was first documented in the 13th century and originally referred to any custard-like substance covering cakes or other baked goods. Nowadays it has a very thin and pudding-like substance and comes in numerous different flavours.

2 – Pap is a traditional porridge/polenta made from mielie-meal (coarsely ground maize). It comes in various flavours as well and it may taste a little savoury at first, but I’m sure you’ll like it in the end!

3 – Appeltaart is the most typical Dutch cake. It differentiates from the common American apple pie a little bit, since the basis of Dutch apple pie is a crust on the bottom and around the edges. This crust is then filled with pieces or slices of apple, usually a crisp and mildly tart variety such as Goudreinet or Elstar. Cinnamon and sugar are generally mixed in with the apple filling. You’ll most likely find the pre-prepared mixture in every shop around the country.

4 – Pannenkoeken (pancakes) are also quite popular. Pannenkoeken are usually larger (up to a foot in diameter) and much thinner than their American or Scotch pancake counterparts, but not as thin as crêpes. They may incorporate slices of bacon, apples, cheese, or raisins. Plain ones are often eaten with treacle (syrup made of sugar beets), appelstroop (an unspiced Dutch variety of apple butter) or (powdered) sugar and are sometimes rolled up to be eaten by hand or with cutlery. You’ll find pancake mixes and syrups of various kinds everywhere as well.

5 – Dutch markets are full of pre-prepared cake mixtures of all kinds. This is only one example.

6,7 – Fishes! Herrings (haring) and mackerels (makreel) are pretty common in here, they come in various sorts and flavours.

8 – Pindakaas is a food paste or spread made from ground dry-roasted peanuts, therefore it’s basically a classic peanut butter. In the Netherlands peanut butter is called pindakaas (literally “peanut cheese”) rather than pindaboter (“peanut butter”) because the word butter was a legally protected term for products that contain actual butter, prompting Calvé, the company which first marketed it in the country in 1948, to use kaas instead.

9 – Veggie snacks – I know this is not typically Dutch, but since I haven’t seen such variety of vegetarian and vegan products anywhere around Europe I’ve been to yet, I decided to classify it here.

10 – Pepermunt ballen are as common in the Netherlands as chewing gums in other countries. You’ll find these tiny gum-like candies in all sizes and shapes everywhere.

11 – Another type of herrings.

12 – Hagelslag is Dutch people’s answer to sprinkles. But don’t be fooled – these are a different kind of sprinkles than you are used to. In North America sprinkles are primarily reserved for ice-cream and cakes and normally for the likes of children, but here in the Netherlands, it is apparently perfectly normal behaviour for an adult to merrily sprinkle some fruit or chocolate flavoured sprinkles on their bread at mealtime, particularly breakfast. Now, hagelslag comes in many varieties; you can have chocolate hagelslag, fruit flavoured hagelslag or most perplexing of all – anise seed (licorice seed) hagelslag.

13 – Speculaas or speculoos is a type of spiced shortcrust biscuit, traditionally baked for consumption on or just before St Nicholas’ day in the Netherlands, Just like other countries have Nutella, the Dutch have speculoos. It tastes unbelievably good!

14,15 – The Dutch truly love their licorice or drop as it is known in the Netherlands. You can find it in nearly everywhere. There is a flavour or type of drop for every taste from sweet to salty, hard to soft. Drop comes in many shapes and sizes from small Groente Erwten (green peas) to large Muntdrop chewy coins.

16 – Oh, I almost forgot to mention, that the Dutch prefer baking their own pastry at home, therefore sometimes you maybe won’t able to find anything in the supermarkets except these pre-baked packages!

17 – Peanut butter is a main ingredient in literally everything – even most of the sweets taste like it! Here you can see a brief example, the pindarotsjes.

  JUMBO

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1 – I’ve already mentioned one pre-baked cake mixture before, now you can see how many of them are to be found in this supermarket.

2 – Another types of drop.

3 – Amstel is among Heineken the leading beer brand in the Netherlands. You’ll find numerous types of beer everywhere, all sorts and flavours.

4 – Boerencake refers to a type of cake traditionally made with a pound of each of four ingredients: flour, butter, eggs, and sugar. Such pound cakes are generally baked in either a loaf pan or a Bundt mold, and served either dusted with powdered sugar, lightly glazed, or sometimes with a coat of icing.

5 – Speculoos hagelslag, my most favourite snack ever!

6 – Pindakaas again.

7 – Chocomel is a Dutch brand of chocolate-flavoured milk, produced by Campina in Amersfoort, the Netherlands. It’s so popular, that it’s even easier to get Chocomel than water. You’ll find it even on the McDonalds menu!

8 – (we’ll get to stroopwafels later). Now this cake really caught my eye since it’s a combination of a super easy pre-baked cake with my favourite type of sweets, the Dutch stroopwafels!

9 – Reuze mergpijp is a Swedish small cylindrical pastry covered with green marzipan with the ends dipped in chocolate, with an interior consisting of a mix of crushed biscuits, butter, and cocoa, flavoured with punsch liqueur. Though it’s more popular in the Netherlands I’d say.

10 – Galetten wafeltjes – Galette from the Norman word gale meaning flat cake is a term used in French cuisine to designate various types of flat round or freeform crusty cakes. And that’s exactly what these are, the tiny flat sweet wafels.

11 – Roze koek is a typical Dutch pastry. It consists of a small flat cake with a layer of pink fondant icing. The best-known brand is Glacé.

12 – A couple of another types of vla.

13 – Speculoos cookies!

14 – Gevulde koek is an almond cookie made of dough and butter with a sweet filling. Almond paste is the most common filler.

15 – Luikse wafels are a variety of waffle with a lighter batter, larger squares, and deeper pockets than ordinary American waffles. These waffles were originally leavened with yeast, but baking powder is now often used. They are often eaten as a breakfast food; toppings vary from whipped cream, hagelslag, confectioners sugar, soft fruit, and chocolate spread, to syrup and butter or margarine. They may also be served with vanilla ice cream and fresh fruit (such as strawberries) as a dessert.

16,17 – When it comes to dairy and yoghurts, I rarely find in markets anything but mousse and this Crème brûlée-like dessert. Both these products come in various flavours and toppings, I’d recommend you to try them as well.

  HEMA

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1 – Kruidnoten are small, round, cookie-like confectioneries with a crispy texture, traditionally associated with the early December Sinterklaas festivities in the Netherlands. The term kruidnoten is often confused with pepernoten although they’re nothing alike since pepernoten contain mostly mint and kruidnoten other kinds of spices.

2 – Musketflikken are flat mint chocolate circles covered in small sweet sprinkles.

3 – Kokos rochers are simple yet quick French pastries made with dried grated coconut.

4,5 – Stroopwafel is a waffle made from two thin layers of baked dough with a caramel syrup filling in the middle. Stroopwafels are the most popular treats in the Netherlands, and were first made in the city of Gouda.

6 – Mini speculoos cookies.

7 – Again a few other types of drop candies.

8 – Salmiakmix – this is a really peculiar type of drop, since these candies are made of salty liquorice.

9 – Kersenstokjes (cherry sticks) and kaneelkussentjes (cinnamon pillows) are also very popular between the Dutch.

10 – Just to show you in how many shapes the speculoos cookies occur.

11 – Stevige verwendrop – supposedly verwendrop differentiates from basic drop, however – I do not find any differences. Do you know any? This verwendrop can be found in three different flavours here in Hema: salty, sweet and bay leaf.

Fine, that is supposed to be it, I hope I really did mention everything worthy your attention!

If you’ve ever been to the Netherlands – what are your favourite market snacks, and if you’re considering a trip – what has caught your eye? Let me know!

Have a great day!

Treats You Can’t Miss in The Netherlands!

I’ve surpassed many obstacles to be able to publish this article since I had to visit all the supermarkets available in the Netherlands to collect all the goodies (you know I never leave things unfinished) worth of mentioning!

Treats You Can’t Miss in The Netherlands! I’ve surpassed many obstacles to be able to publish this article since I had to visit all the supermarkets available in the Netherlands to collect all the goodies (you know I never leave things unfinished) worth of mentioning!

[vantovan-blog1]

Croatia & Montenegro

Most of our time in Croatia was spent on beaches and in bars and restaurants. The only thing we would do differently would be to organise a boat trip of some kind. Our budget just couldn’t accommodate it unfortunately, and as we discovered, Croatia is not cheap… It was the one place we spent considerably more than we thought we would.

Zagreb

After a day in bed recovering from Exit, we bussed to Zagreb via Belgrade. It took the better part of the day, the highlight being watching Netflix shows we had downloaded to our phones, the lowlight being a couple of awful luke warm coffees at the bus stop café in Belgrade. We arrived in Zagreb to a very cheery Airbnb host who absolutely loved his city. He was very keen for us to return to Zagreb at Christmas time for the festivities they have then. The best in Europe apparently.

We all fell in love with Zagreb; the capital city of Croatia with a population of about 800,000 according to our walking tour guide. It’s an old city with an interesting history, beautiful architecture and parklands and nice public spaces and restaurants. We spent half a day on a walking tour (the biggest I’ve ever been on, there were about 40 people on it) learning that Zagreb began as two separate and rival towns separated by a river and hearing about some its recent history as well. At exactly midday, there is a cannon on the top of a hill that used to fire to signal the time but now fires for the benefit of tourists. I can confirm that a cannon makes a very very loud bang.

Thanks to a friend of Tash’s cousin, we got a great deal on a rental car which we picked up in Zagreb before spenind an afternoon driving up into a national park close to the city and exploring an old castle. We did a sweet photoshoot; see our insta (@van.to.van). Crotty and I also started our brief stint of fitness and did a couple of runs through some of the parks in town, which are beautiful.

Rovinj

Most of a day’s drive (including a lunch stop for a memorable seaside chicken burger – one of those times a craving is really satisfied) took us to Rovinj, a small and compact old town on a headland in South-Eastern Croatia. Getting to the town was easy, getting to our accommodation was not as our host was a bit hopeless and provided poor directions. Lucky for us, Tash spoke the language and could get her to come and meet and guide us.

Rovinj was the typical, beautiful seaside old Crotian town with cobbled laneways and cliffside bars and restaurants. It had a large orthodox church on top of the hill with small cascading streets winding away from it. We walked around a lot, drank a lot of cocktails, spent time swimming and lazing on the rocks and poking around the shops. We had some great goulash with fresh noodles and some slightly less great Mexican at a restaurant that featured a small Croatian man with a large moustache dressed in cowboy clothing who danced poorly to mariachi music while we ate.

We took a ferry across to a nearby island (Sveti Andrija) one day and commandeered some space on a tightly packed beach to tan and read for the afternoon. As with a lot of the beaches in Eastern Europe, it was full of sunbeds, short on sand and next to gorgeous clear water. Crotty and I continued our jogging, exploring some of the parks and waterways when it cooled down each day (it was very hot for most of the time we were in Rovinj, and Croatia more generally).

Senj

After Rovinj, we headed West along the coast, choosing the slightly longer coastal road for the views, which was definitely worth it. We stopped in a small town called Senj for the night, spending an hour or so taking boomerangs of ourselves jumping off a pier into the bay. Another highlight was ordering the kids only ice cream ‘spaghetti’, served on a plate with strawberry topping for sauce and a frilly cellophane toothpick for I’m not sure what.

Another odd accommodation host, who we had to ask to give us shower towels. She had only given us hand towels because we ‘were only staying one night and I didn’t think you would need them’. Hmmm.

Plitvice and Zadar

Plitvice is a very well-known national park inland from Senj and on the way to Zadar. We got there early, but not early enough; it was PACKED with tourists. It was a beautiful place, but holy hot hell it was full of people. Up to 2,000 people per day go through the park, which is not very big by Australian standards.

There are boardwalks for much of the 8km walk we did, which were so full of people it was a slow wander at the best of times and a literal stand still at others. Much of the time there was spent pushing past slower walkers.

Some of the views were spectacular, but the crowds combined with the constant rain and overpriced entrance fee (it was about 55AUD each) were a bit off-putting. Not entirely sure I would go back, and if I were to recommend it others, I would drive home the need to get there very early to avoid the crowds.

After the walk, we dumped our wet stuff in the car and drove to Zadar, where we lucked on a park right outside our accommodation. We had booked an awesome apartment, one of those times you get something better that you expect. The self-check-in process was super easy, the sheets and towels were soft, the place was clean, the air con worked, the view panoramic and the windows large. Couldn’t ask for more. We had two nights there and wished for more.

Crotty and I walked through the old town to find a place to swim, ending up at a retaining wall with a diving platform attached. I helped (forced) Crotty to face his fear of heights by coaxing (forcing) him off the middle platform.

A low point of our time in Zadar was trying to satisfy Tash’s craving for a hot dog and ending up with an old piece of cheese borek because the supermarket was closed.

Split

Our last couple of nights in Croatia were spent right in the centre of Split, a bustling and very busy coastal city at the southern end of Croatia. Our host in this case was a very friendly and helpful man who waited outside with a welcome sign to guide us into a carpark – very difficult to find in the middle of town.

Aside from the oddly designed apartment, which required Crotty to walk through our room to get to the bathroom, kitchen or living space, our digs were good and the location was unbeatable.

We spent one day at a city beach, which was, once again, packed. We walked about 500 metres around the headland and snagged space for a few towels on a rocky beach. Doesn’t sound like much, but it was a bit of a coup. At these places, I continually oscillated between loving the atmosphere created by so many people and the clash of music coming from all the restaurants and bars and wanting to escape and just get some more space. For the amount of time we had at these types of beaches, it was great, but much longer and I would have been pretty frustrated. It does make me appreciate the space we have at our beaches back home.

Our next day in Split was at a quieter beach out of town, accessed by a public bus/sardine can. The weather was perfect and we got there early enough to get a good spot which made it a nice day. Crotty and I ran up a nearby hill and got the best view we have had for the trip, seen from atop an old church building that was built into the side of the mountain.

From Split we drove across the border into Montenegro where we were in Budva – a city mostly frequented by local tourists and those from close by. This was a contrast to Croatia, which had a lot of tourists from all over the world. This may have something to do with Croatia’s EU status and Montenegro’s pending application to the EU.

Montenegro + Dubrovnik

Budva

We had seven nights in Budva altogether, split across two different apartments. The first was… odd. Definitely not the best we have had and it began with yet another odd host – what is it with the weird hosts in Eastern Europe? She spoke no English but continued to yabber away at me after I had told her (in Serbina) I only spoke English. Once Tash took over, she said the host was very odd and would begin a sentence then not finish it, or continue talking even when it was not necessary.

The apartment we were in was very basic and felt like a private room in a hostel. It was good enough, but the air conditioner that blew poor quality air and the pokey bathroom had us wishin we had shelled out for a nicer place.

Budva itself was great fun. Montenegro is generally less developed than Croatia and Budva was no exception. This gave it a bit of an edge that was missing throughout Crotia. Budva has a small old town which was, refreshingly, very quiet. The city seems to have grown rapidly along the coast and up into the surrounding hills, but this growth has not centred on the old town as much as other coastal places. There may have been less focus on the old town as it was nothing out of the ordinary for the more local tourists who populated the place.

The promenade stretches for several kilometres and is filled with restaurants, bars, a theme park for kids, merchants selling almost anything you could think of, fast food, ice cream stalls, nightclubs, tourism and adrenaline activity operators and beach resorts. It made for an electric atmosphere at almost any time of the day and we made use of almost everything on offer. Every day bar one (which was a wet weather timetable day) was spent on a beach. One day at the main beach, one at a beach next to the old town and several days on a small island named Hawaii just off the coast accessed by a regular ferry that cost three euros return. We soaked up the rays while we could!

On our wet weather day we went to the large water park on top of the hill (located right next to an enormous night club, bizarrely) for a kids day out. Water parks are very popular in Eastern Europe and unlike Australia, they are not necessarily places dominated by children. Even Tash’s aunt, uncle and grandma often go to their local one just to hang out.

We built up the courage to go down the small kamikaze slide but chickened out when it came to the near vertical one. I regretted it the next day. The favourite slide, however, was the one where you go face forward on the mat and race other people. One guy got so much speed he skimmed out of the pool at the bottom. One of the slides was poorly designed (and safety standards seem to be lax) and Crotty and I almost flipped off the edge of it in a two-person tube. Tash was a bit worried, watching on below.

Dubrovnik

A poorly planned itinerary for this leg of the trip meant we backtracked almost three hours from Budva-Dubrovnik the day Crotty departed to see Dubrovnik and to drop him off at the airport. I won’t bore you with the details, but if we all wanted to see Dubrovnik - which we did, though if I’d known what it was I would have skipped it -  it had to be this way.

On the hottest day of the week (it was pushing 33) we drove there, parked on top of the hill and walked 20 minutes into town. It was nice, but overrated. A beautiful old city as they all are, but completely overrun with tourists. We did know this would be the case, but it didn’t make it much more bearable. Highlights of the time there were getting a good ice cream and wandering through a well curated war photography museum which focused principally on the Eastern Europe conflicts of the 1990s but also had exhibits from other historical and more recent wars. 

[multiversal-archive]

Eleanora Bio

“There are still so many mysteries of the place we all live in, and I want to solve as much of it as I can in my life time, and if at all possible, a next life time.”

TW: Bullying

Basic Information

Name: Eleanora

AKA:  Ellie, Nora, Ellen, Elora, Ella, Gayby, L, basically any nickname people give her

Occupation: Alola’s Pokemon Champion

DOB: March 9

Age: 11

Species: Human

Pokemon: 

Aquo, level 72 male Hasty Primarina that takes plenty of siestas

Gluth, level 63 male Modest Snorlax that likes to fight 

Prancer, level 63 male Docile Oricorio that is somewhat vain 

Sally, level 63 male Bold Salazzle that is somewhat of a clown 

Jangle, level 63 male Naive Kommo-o that is proud of his power

Nebby, level 63 male Bashful (Verse dependent) that is mischievious 

Nationality: Kantonian

Gender/Pronouns: Cis Female/She

Romantic/Sexual Orientation: Pan

Threat Level: Low

Physical Information

Face Claim: Herself

Height: 4′4

Weight: 79 lbs

Eye color: Pale icy blue

Hair color: Strawberry blonde

Skin color: Pale before moving to Alola, a bit tanner from her time being out and about on Alola with rosy cheeks and freckles

Dominant Hand: Right

Distinguishing Features: Her wild hair and the bandages on her legs

Physical Condition: none

Accent and Intensity: None notable

Tattoos: none

Scars: none

Piercings: none

Glasses: none

Background Information

Hometown: Fuchsai City, Kanto

Current Residence: Hau’oli Outskirts, Melemele Island, Alola Region

Social Class: Middle

Basic Education: Trainer’s School

Parent 1: [insert the name of the player’s mom here]

Parent 2:  ???

Ship: none

Siblings: none

Adopted?: Yes

Rap Sheet?: No

Prison Time?: No

Backstory:

Eleanora was orphaned at the age of one. However, at age 3, her current mother and father had adopted her. 

It was when she was taken home did she realize she could understand Pokemon when met with the family’s Meowth. When telling her parents, they didn’t really believe her. At age 5, when she was enrolled in school, her father started becoming more scarce in her life. While school seemed alright at first, many of the children quickly grew annoyed with her, because of her being way too talkative. As a result, they either ignored her, or bullied her into shutting up. Her mother always told her to keep smiling, as smiling would make even the bleakest of situations brighter. In the meantime, she had talked with the staff to do something to protect her daughter. 

Unfortunately, the bullying only got worse when she had one day admitted to being able to understand Pokemon. They had viewed her as crazy. One particularly malicious child had forcibly cut her hair. While that kid was expelled for it, the bullying issues still continued, causing her to grow more distant from humans, and talking with Meowth pushed her closer to Pokemon. 

When her father became basically non existent in the family’s life, her mother decided it was time to move. At one point, her mother saw Professor Kukui in the Indigo League and saw his Alolan Pokemon. Knowing that Eleanora loved Pokemon, she decided that she’d love to go there and have Alolan Pokemon of her own. 

So she contacted the Professor, and asked him to get to know her daughter and basically pump her up for moving to Alola. And thus, her Alolan journey began.

Now the first champion of Alola, Eleanora is spending her days more thoroughly exploring Alola, completing the Pokedex, looking for remaining Zygarde cells and cores, assisting the UB Task Force, and somewhat considering traveling other regions. She is always up to battle, or just generally lending a hand to anyone that asks.

Personality Information

Jungtype: ENFP-T

Subtype: IEE-Fi

Enneatype: Type 4 Wings 5w3

Moral Alignment: Lawful Good

Temperament: A mix of Sanguine and Phlegmatic

Anger: Cold

Schemata: Abandonment/Instability (AB), Social Isolation/Alienation (SI), Approval Seeking/Recognition Seeking (AS)

Intelligence Type: Intra-personal (self smart)

IQ: 107

Deterioration: Desire to be valuable (deteriorates to chasing success

Mental Condition: ADHD

Vices and Habits

Violent?: No

Addictions?: none

Self-Destructive?: Occassionally

Habits: Tends to run her mouth when excited or nervous, Picks up people’s attitudes and/or habits after hanging around them for a while

Hobbies:

Exploring

Battling

Star gazing

Cloud watching

Likes:

Pokemon

The sky

Astronimy

Flowers

Grooming

Reading

Cuddles

Lore

Dislikes:

Swimming

Bullies

Small spaces

Losing

Her hair being touched without permission

Feeling stuck

Tics: Smiles even despite emotions most of the time

Obsessions: Exploring, Meeting new Pokemon

Compulsions: Brings her attention to something else without warning (low attention span in other words)

Verses

The Sun Verse- Pretty normal. Only thing notable is that Nebby is Solgaleo

The Moon Verse- Where apparently she’s nocturnal. Nebby is Lunala in this verse

The Ultra Verse- Until I finish Ultra Sun, TBA

The Robin Verse- More or less the same as the other Verses, except she chose Rowlet as a starter and named him Robin. Later on, before the festival in Iki Town, she found an injured Eevee named Tetra that was holding a Thunder Stone, which evolved into Jolteon soon after she was caught. Other than that and these two becoming the main members of her team, her adventure really has not changed. Robin and Tetra belong to @cyberdragonharmony