Where has the time gone?!? So much has happened, there are so many stories to tell and yet no time to get them typed up! Let's see, since my last post, I have literally eaten my weight in cake. It is like nothing I have ever seen before, cake everywhere and they are literal works of art begging you to try just one bite, like the wicked Queen tempting Snow White. I have discovered new wines, grapes and winemakers with incredible gifts for the craft that have us drinking from the time we wake till we fall into bed, perhaps a part of the ever growing waistline and that dreamy feeling I'm sporting. We have explored some of the best kept secrets of Central Europe and it only seems to become more elusive, more curious and more wonderful.
One thing that has happened is that I went to yet another International Wine Competition, this one tucked away in the suede brown and mossy green hills of Moravia, Czech Republic. Initially I got the feeling this would be a more reserved group, the way they eyed me strangely, wondering how an American had infiltrated their private clan. Then after a long day judging (where people in business suits spit into buckets for hours on end) the group blossomed under the dazzle of wine and beer into a frolicking group of merry folk shedding the formal attire and attitudes for loud, impassioned Czech folk songs and American Classic Country. Without a word in common, my husband and I bonded with these people, singing Johnny Cash hits, the lyrics in different languages, clashing together in triumphant drunken enthusiasm; it was glorious. The next day, back in formal wear, we started the judging with a perfect glass of sparkling wine and the emotional singing of a Czech favorite, it felt like I'd become a part of a tribe and the warmth made me love the Czech people deeply. It was as if I had found a secret passage to a world closed off to the typical traveler. Not that they don't welcome you normally, but I knew something special had taken place and my husband's epic hangover texts from bed proved he had felt it too.
Three days later I awoke cuddled in a comfy bed, I stretched and pulled the sleep mask from my eyes. No Competition judging or winery tour today meant I could sleep in, officially a day off. The room was filled with a bright light and birds chirped merrily outside. I could hear blue before my eyes could adjust to see it. Where was I? This trip has been so fast and furious as we were swept from place to place, winery to winery, wine competition to wine competition, that I felt like the entire thing was a foggy dream coming back to me only in pieces. Now I was waking up in the cheery Hamlet of Hrusice, Czech Republic, where my Fairy Godfather lives; the man responsible for all my "wine fortune".
This tiny tiny town outside of Prague, where the next stretch of lucid dreaming would take place, prides itself on the work of a children's book author who based his stories on the naughty escapades of a black cat called Mikesh. The author, Josef Lada (LOL here EVERYONE knows Josef!) included details of the townspeople and found popularity on a nationwide stage so much so that the town became a museum dedicated to him and now, decades later, people can journey there to find the streets their grandparents roamed, the pubs they gathered in or the bridge they met at...all described in these delightful tales. Monuments stand at each point of interest, a eternal black cat statue or image there to solidify that this is a authentic point of origin for the story...which makes this story perfect town almost too much to soak in. We found ourselves at one of these little pubs with my Fairy Godfather, his laugh like the rich incandescence of a Sauternes wine, who was outlining the next phase of our magical trip. Like magic, the beautiful young barmaid, almost a Disney Princess with her big bright eyes, long flowing blonde hair and porcelain skin, appeared with fists full of rich lager at the exact time I'd have sucked down the final sip in my giant mug. Somehow my Godfather orchestrated this, but how, I'm not sure. The beer, was of course, called Mikesh.
The day became evening and the air smelled of fragrant flowers. We lazily meandered the streets home and prepared ourselves for the journey to Prague the next day. And so days slipped by like this, falling into new towns and memories of past ones mingling together. Prague would intensify this feeling even more as its impeccably preserved ornate facades, tiny cobblestone streets and utter perfection would encircled us, pulling us into a world far far away... that is until a group of drunken bachelor or bachelorette parties would rudely pop the magic bubble we were in.
Wednesday, May 29, 2019
Saturday, May 11, 2019
Curiouser and Curiouser
It doesn't seem right to write a blog called "Wine First' without a glass of wine within my reach, but then it is all these glasses that have been within my reach that keeps delaying my ability to write the damn posts! #WinePeopleProblems
I am now in Slovakia. Most people don't even realize that Czech Republic and Slovakia are two separate and very different countries at this point, but they are and I am finding them intriguing to discover. Our trip started off with a stop in Slovakia at Chateau Bela and has circled around to find us back in this strange, magical, interesting place. I don't really know how to explain the feeling here, it is far more than just the things you see and so a photo doesn't do it justice. It's like the feeling of deja-vu, once you have that feeling, you know it, but how do you adequately describe it? As a tall, white, bleach blonde (shhh don't tell my hair, it thinks it was born that way), very tattooed lady ... I am used to standing out when we travel to far off lands, but here, in Central Europe, everyone looks like me. Well not EVERYONE, clearly some are men and some are children; the only difference is the language. For some reason this has a level to the experience that is new and complex while we weave our way around these deeply old and storied places. It is familiar and bizarrely foreign at the same time.
After my trip to NY for a wine competition, I rejoined my son, husband and my in-laws in Budapest (man I love that city!) and headed out for a stint in Bratislava, Slovakia. Perhaps it is the jet lag, but I feel immensely tired. Maybe it is the 6 bottles of wine a day I consume. Who can tell?!? But it suddenly felt like too much to move on to another new city, so when my in-laws left to head to Langmann Winery in Austria, this is where we spent 3 incredible days with Stefan Langmann and his wildly fantastic wines a few weeks back, we moved closer to the charming old city center. As a side note: honestly I have lost all sense of time and relativity so who knows when we were at Langmann, BUT it was 3 days and it was incredible. Also while judging the Great American International back in NY his wines had been entered (we judges get to see them after they have been judged and taste them openly) and I had a school girl moment of excitement shrieking as I poured wine in expectant glasses, it did not disappoint. Anyway, back to Bratislava... what was I saying? Oh my glass is empty, let me pour more of this (please start imagining a fabulous commercial voice) epic Frankovka Modra red wine from Matysak Winery located right outside the city.
Oh yes, I was explaining this strange out of body experience. Being 8 hours ahead of the time at home, makes for feeling disconnected, work projects and events I try to continue to oversee are coming back to me in fragments and the idea of being at home actually makes my skin crawl. I mean how weird is that?!!! I love my home and my job and my life in Northern NM, but somehow this part of the world has dazzled me with a spell I fall deeper into daily. From this delightfully strange city, we head to my final International Wine Competition in Czech Republic and start to wind down to our departure at the end of the month. I can't wait to explore another country (we spent only a short time dipping our toe in for a previous competition, Grand Prix Vinnex) and roam around Prague, but I also feel myself pulling back, like a child unwilling to go to bed, and I have to ask why I feel so attached to this part of the world. Like Alice, it is 'curiouser and curiouser!' and I do wonder who I will be at the end of this journey.
Whoa, that got serious didn't it? I clearly need more wine.
I am now in Slovakia. Most people don't even realize that Czech Republic and Slovakia are two separate and very different countries at this point, but they are and I am finding them intriguing to discover. Our trip started off with a stop in Slovakia at Chateau Bela and has circled around to find us back in this strange, magical, interesting place. I don't really know how to explain the feeling here, it is far more than just the things you see and so a photo doesn't do it justice. It's like the feeling of deja-vu, once you have that feeling, you know it, but how do you adequately describe it? As a tall, white, bleach blonde (shhh don't tell my hair, it thinks it was born that way), very tattooed lady ... I am used to standing out when we travel to far off lands, but here, in Central Europe, everyone looks like me. Well not EVERYONE, clearly some are men and some are children; the only difference is the language. For some reason this has a level to the experience that is new and complex while we weave our way around these deeply old and storied places. It is familiar and bizarrely foreign at the same time.
After my trip to NY for a wine competition, I rejoined my son, husband and my in-laws in Budapest (man I love that city!) and headed out for a stint in Bratislava, Slovakia. Perhaps it is the jet lag, but I feel immensely tired. Maybe it is the 6 bottles of wine a day I consume. Who can tell?!? But it suddenly felt like too much to move on to another new city, so when my in-laws left to head to Langmann Winery in Austria, this is where we spent 3 incredible days with Stefan Langmann and his wildly fantastic wines a few weeks back, we moved closer to the charming old city center. As a side note: honestly I have lost all sense of time and relativity so who knows when we were at Langmann, BUT it was 3 days and it was incredible. Also while judging the Great American International back in NY his wines had been entered (we judges get to see them after they have been judged and taste them openly) and I had a school girl moment of excitement shrieking as I poured wine in expectant glasses, it did not disappoint. Anyway, back to Bratislava... what was I saying? Oh my glass is empty, let me pour more of this (please start imagining a fabulous commercial voice) epic Frankovka Modra red wine from Matysak Winery located right outside the city.
Oh yes, I was explaining this strange out of body experience. Being 8 hours ahead of the time at home, makes for feeling disconnected, work projects and events I try to continue to oversee are coming back to me in fragments and the idea of being at home actually makes my skin crawl. I mean how weird is that?!!! I love my home and my job and my life in Northern NM, but somehow this part of the world has dazzled me with a spell I fall deeper into daily. From this delightfully strange city, we head to my final International Wine Competition in Czech Republic and start to wind down to our departure at the end of the month. I can't wait to explore another country (we spent only a short time dipping our toe in for a previous competition, Grand Prix Vinnex) and roam around Prague, but I also feel myself pulling back, like a child unwilling to go to bed, and I have to ask why I feel so attached to this part of the world. Like Alice, it is 'curiouser and curiouser!' and I do wonder who I will be at the end of this journey.
Whoa, that got serious didn't it? I clearly need more wine.
Fly Me Away
International Wine Competitions are an interesting gig. I am returning to Budapest after being flown to NY for a competition and am writing this from the Atlanta airport (wrote a blog from the NY airport for Vivac Winery this morning) with a crappy glass of Pinot Noir next to me. Those that have been reading both the Vivac blog "Fueled by Vivac Winery" and this one... wink wink. Also, who doesn't love the sound of 'I'm flying from NY to Budapest'?!? Feeling like I should see Tom Cruise jump out of a window and save someone with lots of flare and broken glass just typing that.
I have a long history of teaching wine classes and writing for various publications, but the wine judging is relatively new to this Sommelier. Cue some annoying pretentious music, even I had to gag with that last comment. My 1st International Competition I was down right scared. For some reason, even though I have been a wine buyer, a co-owner of Vivac Winery, an Executive Somm with several Master intensives completed, and know I have a damn good gift for this...I am also my own worst critic and have terrible self talk. Again, cue the shut-up-about-your-credentials music, I had visions of panic dance through my head where a wine flight would be laid out before me and as the discussion would begin to rate the wine, I'd spaz and wouldn't be able to identify anything in the glass. Anyone not in the industry will think this sounds like an absurd stress , but for an uber wine geek and in the presence of uber wine geek greatness, you really don't want an epic fail like that. Luckily that did not happen. In fact after my 1st day of that competition, I'd impressed the veteran judges so much that at the lunch the following day, they were bringing me wines to taste and talk about. It was pretty cool. And then flash forward to me sitting here drinking a terrible glass of wine with horrible combo jet lag...it isn't all fancy and awesome, believe me. OK, never mind, it is totally as cool as your think it is.
There is a strange unknown future of it however that does make it seem fragile. This society of judges seems to be somewhat a fraternity of networking and vetting. When my name is suggested for a competition, my resume is then submitted and then the vetting process begins and boy are they thorough! Only after completing my first two European International Competitions did I discovered just how intensely they vet you. Before hand I was somewhat blissfully unaware, now, as I look to other competitions in fun locales, I am nervous again. How do you get in when they have serious famous wine geeks participating? It was during a conversation with one of my fellow judges who has been invited to and then invited back to, these star competitions, that he pointed out that I have, in only one year, been to a top NY competition now twice, 3 excellent ones in Central Europe and 1 great one in Texas... as he put it "Michele, you are doing amazingly well, this is extremely impressive to have accomplished in only one year". I have to say, I did need the feedback. I tend to be a bit obsessive. I may have made my friends and family spit their wine with that last comment, I may be a bit more than a bit.
As I head back to Europe to complete yet another International Competition, I try to have perspective. The incredible, prestigious competitions I have had the incredible luck to be able to judge have led to amazing new friendships, a chance to visit strange and beautiful new destinations and a new world form around me. Of course with epic jet lag, this does still seem like a movie, a fantasy or dream liable to vanish with the flutter of my eyelids. I just hope I don't look down and realize I am naked sitting at this bar.
I have a long history of teaching wine classes and writing for various publications, but the wine judging is relatively new to this Sommelier. Cue some annoying pretentious music, even I had to gag with that last comment. My 1st International Competition I was down right scared. For some reason, even though I have been a wine buyer, a co-owner of Vivac Winery, an Executive Somm with several Master intensives completed, and know I have a damn good gift for this...I am also my own worst critic and have terrible self talk. Again, cue the shut-up-about-your-credentials music, I had visions of panic dance through my head where a wine flight would be laid out before me and as the discussion would begin to rate the wine, I'd spaz and wouldn't be able to identify anything in the glass. Anyone not in the industry will think this sounds like an absurd stress , but for an uber wine geek and in the presence of uber wine geek greatness, you really don't want an epic fail like that. Luckily that did not happen. In fact after my 1st day of that competition, I'd impressed the veteran judges so much that at the lunch the following day, they were bringing me wines to taste and talk about. It was pretty cool. And then flash forward to me sitting here drinking a terrible glass of wine with horrible combo jet lag...it isn't all fancy and awesome, believe me. OK, never mind, it is totally as cool as your think it is.
There is a strange unknown future of it however that does make it seem fragile. This society of judges seems to be somewhat a fraternity of networking and vetting. When my name is suggested for a competition, my resume is then submitted and then the vetting process begins and boy are they thorough! Only after completing my first two European International Competitions did I discovered just how intensely they vet you. Before hand I was somewhat blissfully unaware, now, as I look to other competitions in fun locales, I am nervous again. How do you get in when they have serious famous wine geeks participating? It was during a conversation with one of my fellow judges who has been invited to and then invited back to, these star competitions, that he pointed out that I have, in only one year, been to a top NY competition now twice, 3 excellent ones in Central Europe and 1 great one in Texas... as he put it "Michele, you are doing amazingly well, this is extremely impressive to have accomplished in only one year". I have to say, I did need the feedback. I tend to be a bit obsessive. I may have made my friends and family spit their wine with that last comment, I may be a bit more than a bit.
As I head back to Europe to complete yet another International Competition, I try to have perspective. The incredible, prestigious competitions I have had the incredible luck to be able to judge have led to amazing new friendships, a chance to visit strange and beautiful new destinations and a new world form around me. Of course with epic jet lag, this does still seem like a movie, a fantasy or dream liable to vanish with the flutter of my eyelids. I just hope I don't look down and realize I am naked sitting at this bar.
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