Behold Beauteous Bottles

The bottling of the 2008 RSWC "Marvelous Mystery" Montepulciano is now complete. Thanks to all who came out, especially the Durham family for providing the bulk of the labor force. As you can see by the photo, there are two styles of capsule, purple and gold, that coordinate quite well with the art deco/commedia dell'arte/new awlins -styled label. Pretty snazzy.

The hastily-rescheduled session the previous night (Domenic was summoned to the Playboy Mansion on Friday) was a lesson in zen blending. Montepulciano has a reputation for tons o' fruit and softness, but this batch has it all: tannic structure, fruit, smokiness and a bit of sweetness. One could even make a case for road tar. The action plan quickly evolved to one bullet point:

• Do nothing. Repeat as necessary.

The Mystery Montepulciano

This year's bottling has an extemporaneous nature in that it involves some blending prior to bottling. The decision about what to blend with the Montepulciano depends on what is available and what would be helpful to the "ripe red fruit" of the varietal. Petite Sirah and Merlot have been partners in the past, as have Grenache and Syrah. The early session at 6PM on Friday will be devote to this task and the 8PM session immediately following will be devoted to bottling the result.

As a consequence of this activity, we do not know what will be the exact blend combination, so it has been proposed to name it "Montepulciano: A Marvelous Mystery " The label pictured was thought to convey the proper sense of intrigue.

The Mystery of the Montelpuciano: Coming Friday, July 24th

By all accounts, this year's wine project, the Montelpuciano Blend is tasting quite nice. Now comes the blend part. At 6PM on July 24th, the decision will have to be made so that bottling can commence at 8PM.

Drama, intrigue, wine. What more is there? Come early and give your due centesimi.

There's an old saying that it takes a lot of beer to make a good wine. Bottling is hard work that generates thirst and hunger, so plan accordingly.