by whit on September 9, 2010
In the 3rd installment of What’s For Sipper?, I dive into the philological brain of one Mr. Jeremy Parzen. I first met Jeremy back in March in Asti when he so kindly invited me to join him and some other rockstar wine dudes for a Barbera extravaganza. I became one of the Barbera 7. And my life changed. No- not really. But we had one hell of a fun time. He continues to impress with his linguistic acumen, musical skills, undying love for wife Tracie P. and knowing actually everything about Italian wine. I bow down to you.
Name: Jeremy Parzen, PhD. aka Do Bianchi aka Jar
Hometown: La Jolla, CA. Current location: Austin, TX
Favorite beverage: Nebbiolo, practically anything from 1989.
Favorite cocktail or spirit: Vodka (Absolut) martini, dry and dirty.
Favorite place to grab a drink: Train station in Vicenza, Italy.
Favorite toast: Melba and/or L’chaim.
Favorite post-dinner quaff: Bourbon (Basil Hayden).
Favorite food & beverage pairing: Lambrusco and zampone.
If you could travel to one wine region of the world where would you go? Valdobbiadene.
What’s for sipper? Tonight is erev Rosh Hashanah so probably some Manischevitz (for the nostalgia and ease of it). On any other night this week, Pichierri Tradizione del Nonno by Vinicola Savese.
At Jaynes last Sunday, Jon had the brilliant idea to pop open a bottle of Movia‘s Puro Brut Rosé. <<high five>> I had never had this wine but knew of it and was super excited to taste. I was even more excited to see someone open a bottle. Firstly, a little background info in case you’re wondering what the hell the words Movia and Puro are- Movia is a winery in Italy’s far northeastern region of Friuli. And it is also a winery in Slovenia. Huh? Their acres of land straddle both countries, as a few wineries do in the area, because the borders of Slovenia and Italy have ebbed and flowed over the years. Ales Kristancic is the (bio)dynamic winemaker behind it all and produces some of Italy’s most interesting (and delicious) wines. Alder at Vinography has an informative post about Ales, Movia and tasting notes on a lot of the wines here if you so care to take a gander.
Jon went to the cellar to retrieve the wine and came back with a punch bowl full of water and a bottle of Puro turned upside down. What is all this craziness? Well, Puro is a metodo classico sparkling wine made from pinot noir. With Champagne and almost any other bottle fermented sparkler you will come across, the bottle has been disgorged (dead yeasts removed.) Puro is undisgorged… Ales makes you work for the prize in the bottle. I will once again point you towards the master, Do Bianchi, for video footage of someone opening a bottle and for his coverage on the “how to open a bottle of Puro debate.”
Anthony Wilson was up for the disgorging challenge and Jon stepped aside to teach a new student the ways of the Puro. With steady hands and strong spirit, Anthony approached the punch bowl.
Into the water it goes, as A-Dub begins to turn the bottle with cork firmly in hand…
Aaannnnd- success. The aftermath…
Time to get it in our glasses for pete’s sake. The stuff in the bottle…not the punch bowl.
A thing of sparkling beauty.
Where: Jayne’s Gastropub, San Diego
What: Piedmont tasting (Cogno, Giacosa, Produttori oh my!)
Who: Jermey “The Jar” Parzen, Jon “Stylin’ & Profilin’” Erickson and Whitney “The Only Gal” Adams (almost exactly half of the famed, revered and feared blogilicious Barbera 7)
First things first- a little love letter to Jayne’s Gastropub. It is a thing of beauty, carefully and thoughtfully designed by owners Jayne Battle and Jon Erickson. The restaurant is beautiful, the food is beautiful, they are like the most beautiful couple ever… tons of beauty all up in there. I highly suggest you get your butt to San Diego and pay them a visit. Now on to the vino!
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Every wine lover and/or professional has their own method of taking notes… or rather, not taking notes. I take notes as often as I can but am constantly disappointed in myself for not being more detailed and consistent. Especially after big tasting trips like my most recent in Asti, I realize so much of the wine gets lost in the shuffle. The shuffle of having fun. With long tasting dinners, vineyard visits and luncheons I spend my time enjoying the wine and the conversations about the wine. While in Asti at the Barbera Meeting a few weeks ago, I met a super cool Chinese wine writer/educator named Denis Lin, otherwise known as the honorary 8th member of the Barbera 7. He has also become my note-taking mentor, my spirit guide of wine notation, my vino scribing guru.
Yes, that is a Denis original hand drawn sketch. He has dozens of moleskin journals full of all the great wine he has tasted. When a bottle is opened (usually at one of his weekly tastings with friends), he sits with a glass and the bottle. He draws the label down to the finest of details and also writes his tasting notes. Color, body and aroma, acidity…by writing and drawing and thinking- the intimate relationship with that wine is formed. And it doesn’t hurt that he’s drinking some really great stuff.
Do Bianchi posted about Denis here, but I just had to give my own personal shout out. You have inspired me Denis. Thank you!
