Spring III

It has been a wonderful day here in Ohio and here are a few more pictures to prove the point.

The first is a bouquet of wildflowers that someone left on a bench in the woods. From their freshness I must have missed the person or persons who picked them by only a few minutes. Sad that they felt the need to pick the flowers. In my mind I can see a youngster picking them and then forgetting to take them with them when they left the area. While I wish they had left the flowers alone it is still a wonderful picture of spring wildflowers on a wooden bench in the woods.

The second shot is a "Betty" Magnolia tree. If I find myself very irritated with a puzzle lover I will have this shot converted to a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle and send it to them as a gift.

The fourth shot is a bergamot plant in bloom, the extra ingredient in Earl Grey tea.

The wine is a 2006 Leitz Dragonstone riesling. We drank that wine last night. The nose was just full of green apples and limes with a touch of under-ripe pineapple and a wonderful whiff of kerosene. That's exactly what the wine tasted like, and there was a tart earthiness (minerality) to go with the nose. There was a fresh piece of Alaskan halibut, liberally sprinkled with chipotle powder and pan seared to go with the wine.

What I like about German wines in the spring is the low alcohol and high acidity. They have the freshness that just sings of spring. The Dragonstone remains one of my favorite German wines because it doesn't try to be anything more than young and refreshing. The 2005 vintage seemed to have more body and staying power, but the 2006 is just delicious. There are several bottle of the 2005 left in the cellar and we will add a couple bottles of the 2006 to keep them company.

Finally, there is an excellent series of small articles in the New York Times today discussing global warming and its effects on vineyards. I can hardly wait to start drinking Napa Valley Grenache from the Rutherford Bench. The article is well worth reading and is accessible here.