WTN: 2003 Spy Valley Pinot Noir, Marlborough, New Zealand (WBW17)
Photo by Melissa Schneider.
Over the last few weeks, President Bush smugly admitted that he had repeatedly committed felonies. And, he says with triumph, he'll do it again. And again. Whenever he feels like it.
As most people now know, BushCo has repeatedly urged the National Security Agency to illegally spy on American citizens. Though the administration could have done this legally by getting a rubber-stamp approval from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, he and his cronies have decided that the law does not apply to them as long as we are fighting their conveniently endless war. The American public, dulled by now to the offenses of our would-be despot, have barely looked up from the gossip column in response.
What, you might ask, does this have to do with food and wine? Politics at the dinner table is never a good idea. But as I shopped for a red wine from New Zealand in accordance with The Cork Dork's theme for this round of Wine Blogging Wednesday, the Spy Valley Pinot Noir seemed a particularly apt choice. The winery takes its name from the massive satellite spy station nearby, one node in the Echelon network that BushCo has been using in violation of a federal law that was set up to protect U.S. citizens.
Who knows what secrets these grapes could tell?
The liquid is not very forthcoming. Perhaps secrecy is part of this wine's terroir? The vines influenced not by the soil but by the always watchful satellite dishes nearby? Even the cork offers relatively tight security in a country where most wines are sealed with easy-to-remove screw caps.
I enjoyed the Spy Valley Riesling I drank for Wine Blogging Wednesday Four, but the Pinot Noir failed to impress me, especially given the $40 price tag. Cherry aromas, I wrote listlessly, with some green notes. It's not very complex. Cherry on the palate, cherry on the medium finish. Cherry everywhere, but nothing else, I don't care what they say. A good acidity and a light body. It's an adequate wine, but not one I'd hunt out, even clandestinely. Perhaps I merely had a dull bottle. The wine went reasonably well with the roast chicken and Brussels sprouts we ate (see previous post), but then few wines clash with roast chicken.
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