Sounds like an Agatha Christi novel.  I traveled to Houston a few weeks ago to visit "Lucy" the 3.2 million year old female Australopithecus Afarensis hominid.  This is as close as I or nearly all the people in the world could ever come to visiting a common ancestor.  I was first in the door in the morning and did not hesitate in the  exhibition rooms leading to "Lucy", getting there first.  Being in that quiet room alone with her was very moving. 

That evening I made some discoveries of my own.  Catalan Restaurant had been recommended to me and I was stunned.  The menu was intriguing and the wine list was great.  I order a half bottle of Geoffrey Rose Champagne and settled into making a memorable meal of it.  Crab claw tips, sweetbreads, bone marrow and pork belly.

If you love the extraordinary selection of artisan Champagnes represented by Terry Theise as much as I do take 5 friends to Catalan and taste your way through the highlights culled from that portfolio by Antonio the sommelier and offered at prices even lower than retail.  Eee gads...

I shared two half bottles of Baumard Savenniers with Antonio; a 2000 and 2001.  The 2000 had developed a lot of richness and thought-provoking length while the 2001 clung to its minerality and vivacity.  What a couple of days.

We've been working on this site for 18 months and moments ago it went live.  Thanks to the great folks at Endurant Business Solutions who pulled all of the pieces together; to Azul7 for amazing creative work; the guys at DKS who made everything go; and to Reshare whose distribution relationship management product made it all possible.

What Champagne is everyone here drinking right now?  Henriot Blanc Souverain pur Chardonnay.  This is a wine that makes me happy.  It's a wine that is elegant and intelligent without expecting you to take it too seriously; Kathryn Hepburn in old tennis shoes.

The bouquet is of butter melting into fresh hot biscuits.  The flavors are so purely Chardonnay one might liken them to Premier Cru Chablis with purity, some flint and barely ripe apple.  Life is good.

It’s really sad to see an old friend become, alas, but a fond memory.  1996 is a spectacular vintage in Champagne and my favorite was the Philipponnat Clos de Goisses.  This Christmas saw a mindless debacle as I served friends the last bottles I owned only to discover there was no more to be had.  It was just beginning to hit stride.  I’ll never know the depths of its profundity at maturity.  It is still out there at retail.

The 1999 is like kissing your beloved’s twin; not quite the same but still comforting.  The wine is scrumptious!  I don't know if one can make brioche with tangerine oil, but if you could this is what I think it would smell like.  There is a really appealing bright citrus quality to the fruit here.  The mouth has the classic Clos de Goisses knife edge balance between elegance and length.  A little hint of white chocolate pops out in the finish. Great now, but even better for later.

Listening to folks yakkin' at our Christmas party I was surprised that there was so much consternation over SPAM.  I've decided then to give you my opinions and recommendations for SPAM.

What are my qualifications to undertake this public service?  Mostly that I live in Minnesota where SPAM is made, down in the town of Austin.  Also, my Dad loved SPAM since his time in the service so we ate it a lot growing up.  And finally, like most people, I've never let qualifications keep me from expressing my opinions.

To say that SPAM is complex is to understate its innate mysteriousness.  But this also suggests an avenue of approach in making appropriate wine selections.  I find that simple well prepared food provides the best backdrop or even a thrust stage for showcasing a complex wine.  The corollary applies here so a simple, straight forward wine will best serve; Cotes-du-Rhone, a fruity Zinfandel or a Beaujolais.  In fact nouveau Beaujolais is a perfect excuse to pull the key off the top and crack open a can of SPAM.

This just in...

"There is a glaring omission in the Wine and Cheese pairing portion of the website.  Appenzeller, the finest (and stinkiest) of the Alpine cheeses seems to have been overlooked. This cannot stand. Might I suggest a glass of Right-bank Bordeaux, Blaufraenkisch, Chinon, Alsatian Gewurztraminer, Gruener Veltliner or Coteaux du Layon with your hunk of Appenzeller? It is also a fine Cheese with Ale.

Thank you,"
Bill Hooper

Omitted, yes; but overlooked, no.  This was a favorite of my Grandfather's, especially at this time of year.  My cousins and I would walk around holding our noses.  I think this cheese has been suppressed by childhood memories.

I wonder why one learns to like stinky things as you get older.  It may be that along the way stinky gets associated with something you really love; like when you changed your baby's stinky diapers.