Albion News

Community Issues

 

In the midst of all the lavaflow of current capitalist flameout, Nancy and I retreated for a walk up the hill to where the great blue herons have been nesting for years. The newborns now stand three feet tall in deep nests of thick dead branches. The elders come and go .

Next to our little 1897 cottage is a huge 150 year old Monterey cypress tree and these herons seem to use her as some sort of fulcrum. They fly on one side while going down to feed at the estero and back to their nest on the other side. As we sit on our backporch at dusk with a bottle of wine, we notice their neighborhood orbit.

Building as a Path

   

Buddhist teaching, as expressed through Japan, has formed a large part of my world view. I have written here about growing up under the influence of Tassajara Zen Center in Carmel Valley, CA. That's half true, as that special place served as a strong focal point in my teenage years. The other, earlier part is that I grew up on our family's ranch (my mother's side) in the house of my inspired uncle. Click on either photo above for a slideshow.

New Green Technology

 

It's been awhile since I recommended some new green products. With the emphasis on new technology in the current stimulus package from the Obama administration, we are about to be deluged with new products and widgets. Here is my first volley:

Corral de Tierra Wine Cellar

 

Click on the photo above for pics I just took of a new wine cellar (you may have to have Flash player, but its a quick freebie). This residence is in an historic area called, Corral de Tierra on the north side of Carmel Valley, CA. This is the high, coastal chaparral that John Steinbeck wrote of in The Pastures of Heaven. The eroded sandstone hillsides stand between the agricultural Salinas Valley (East of Eden) and the Monterey Peninsula where we live (Cannery Row and Tortilla Flats). Much to my regret, my family owned, but sold, a wonderful cottage that Steinbeck owned and where he wrote The Sea of Cortez. C'est la vie.

As usual, this cellar started as an afterthought. A neglected part of the old foundation. So, I had to cover up all the concrete mess and turn it into a space suitable for wine and guests. The owner is a wine nut and had a local carver create a monk with grapes out of a solid, old redwood burl which greets you at the door. The cabinetry is all old growth, unstained, select redwood. Since I really love all metalwork, I made and hand patinated all the copper countertops. Our website offers counters in stainless steel and all types of antiqued metal.

Bonne Annee

 

Are all of you still breathing after 2008? Take a bow. Even as weird as these economic times are, people are starting to appear more optimistic. I even had a Xmas party and puttered on my bathroom... hey, this is big news!

Conscious Wine Cellars

   

Put aside all the press and high prices of the 2005 French wines, forget that the World is aglut in well made juice and that we are only at the beginning of a huge party slowdown... but forgive me my negativity. All of us bon vivants and wine lovers want to extend the enjoyable lifespan of ALL the experience/wine we aspire to. Let's consider doing this a tad more consciously than last time. How about...

Eco Meltdown

 

The challenge of not blogging constantly is that the Event Tsunami rolls on. Given the demands of paddling my current Economically Melted Canoe upstream, I am still trying to make sense of all the unfolding drama. Elections, sourcing sustainable material, choices of building projects, wanting to expatriate... where is Rachel Maddow when I need her?

Thoughts on Didier/Life Connections

 

I've been thinking alot since my last post on Didier Dagueneau's death. I like the idea that, just before the vendage, he would be in an ultralight, high above the remote cliffs and deep gorges of France. That also seemed to be his philosophy with winemaking. The artists that I admire cut their own path through personal passion and commercial pressures.

Didier Dagueneau

 

I just heard of the tragic death today of Didier Dagueneau, the amazing French wine and mischief maker. I have enclosed a post from Joe Dressner's blog. Find a bottle of Didier's Pur Sang to experience in his honor:

We visited Didier Dagueneau this summer to taste the 2007s and the bottled 2006s.

Didier had recently renovated The Temple, an ancient chapel next to his home which had fallen into ruin. He had decided to turn the Temple into a cultural center and had mounted an exhibition of Jean-Marie Périer's photography for its inauguration this summer. Périer was the most famous French photographer of the 1960s and the Temple was filled with photos of celebrities from that epoch.

Didier took us on a tour and Denyse and I had to name each celebrity. Of course, even I know Claude François but only Denyse knew Dani, Sylvie Vartan and Sheila. I didn't recognize Françoise Hardy but I did recognize Jacques Dutronc. Dylan, the Rolling Stones and all the stars of the Anglophone world were easy enough for me.

You could see how proud and joyful Didier was of putting together such an art show. While we were in the Temple, Didier talked about how every year he organizes a lavish dinner called Les Anciens, where he invites all the older vignerons of the area for a great meal, old bottles and good times. Didier was a maverick and a rebel, but he had great respect and love for all these anciens, like Edmond Vatan and Claude Thomas, who had taught him his métier.

Didier Dagueneau died this morning, September 17th, in a small plane crash in the Cognac region. The wine world has lost a great vigneron and the world has lost one of the most original, charming and mischievous characters to ever grace a vineyard row.

Photo copyright Bertrand Celce

Terroirists

  

I am tired of being told what is good wine, good architecture, good form, blah blah blah... As much as I don't agree with Robert Parker's opinion that great wine is a thick, dark berry, high alcohol, micro-oxygenated, inky goop, I am more distressed that I bought into another expert telling me what the goal is. Luckily, I believe this hierarchy is crumbling.