A clutch of blinded wines that recently made me pause, and an unrelated Tonkatsu picture from Tokyo in November. I had very low expectations for the meal, I'd just landed and the restaurant, name forgotten, was within a department store. . . How amazingly wrong I was. Next level crunch and meaty juiciness. Simple, but superb.  The wines.  J.B Becker Kabinett Trocken Riesling 2005. My last bottle. I've forgotten where I got this from, but I've been holding back on this, trying not to open it prematurely. I figure this, a dry German riesling, is a blind tasting ace, I just need to ma ..read more

The Eileen Hardy that I once knew (circa 1990s) was a multi regional blend - with fruit from four states (Yarra, Tasmania, Tumbarumba and the Adelaide Hills). This bottle is a little more geographically focused - with all the fruit from Tasmania - but in keeping with the blended roots, it features fruit from the Coal River, Derwent and the East Coast.  2021 Eileen Hardy Chardonnay. 13.5%. Very good. Worked and busy nose. Oak, spice, flint, match stick. Almond meal. Fruit ++ (pineapple and peach). Round and bold. Curved, fleshy, nice texture. Showy. A crowd pleaser. 17-17.5/20 2005 Domain ..read more

  2023 Grosset Polish Hill. Riesling, Clare, South Australia. Like kara-age and pistachio gelato, I feel compelled to return. . . I've been blogging about wine since 2006, if you search you'll find tasting note streaks for various well known wines. . . Bindi Quartz, the Cullen Diana Madeline nee Cabernet Merlot, the Clonakilla SV, the Art Series Chardonnay, the Bouchard Baby Jesus. . . and of course - the Grosset Polish Hill. The Grosset is the only one that still gives you change on $100 and it is the one that I find most rewarding to revisit. This one is pale and unresolved, it seems d ..read more

A humble and incredibly delicious plate of fried chicken from the Kyoto Torisaki store near the Keihan Kiyomizu Gojo subway station. You can purchase a fried chicken 'mountain' set for about $A10. . . Though I'd recommend their trio of fried chicken set. . . I have a mild obsession with kara-age. I've linked to some previous pictures of the stuff. . .  http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for the original context ..read more

  The colour enhanced photos you see of the Kyoto bamboo groves are hauntingly beautiful and quiet. . . Before tourists, 2020 in the midst of COVID restrictions perhaps. . .  http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for the original context ..read more

In the middle of Shibuya crossing, a moment of prepared street theatre. A gaggle of costumed youth gesturing to the sky. . .  It's supposedly the busiest cross walk in the world. It's certainly the most amusing one that I've visited. It's my speculation that at least 70% of the pedestrians are tourists and they add to the congestion by crossing back and forth in every possible direction, lots of double, triple and quadruple counting. . . like me they were all trying to soak in the chaos and energy.  http://feeds.feedburner.com/WinoSapien Click here for the original context ..read more

At regular intervals I've been making my version of Hunter chicken with these lovely shrivelled olives. You could never sell them, they seem to odd, medicinal in taste; but give them a pot, a chicken, tomatoes, white wine and a handful of garden herbs and they sing. . .  I've been trying to get the recipe for the olives - so far only a few incomplete cryptic clues. 1. Pick the olives when black.  2. Wash.  3. Salt and season - add salt, herbs - like oregano, chilli. Don't cover with salt.  4. Move the olives every few days. 5. They are ready when they are 'sweet', maybe 2 ..read more

A pair of white wines to begin. The 2022 Limefinger 'Solace' Polish Hill Riesling, with its leaf green label. Tasted blind, my thoughts were still muddled and biased. I knew my tasting companion had just returned from Germany and so I wondered - could this be a suit case wine, an off dry European Riesling perhaps (My differential diagnosis being a Great Southern). . . It seemed to have a different spectrum of citrus, a trace of tropical, and a few grams of sugar. Very bright and open, a medium phenolic tail. Good - very good. 16.5-17 Second up - a poorly cellared but delicious curio. A 2007 ..read more

I've acquired several packets of orphaned, expired vermicilli. For the first bag - Bun bo xao. . . A NYT recipe with a few minor additions and modifications.   I started early, walking into Highgate for an almond croissant, a kouign amann and a double shot of caffeine. Suitably fortified I julienned 1.5 carrots before doing the same with half a smallish daikon. The matchsticks were then salted with 1/2 tablespoon of fine salt granules. I'm not wasting my diamond crystals on this. . . While waiting 20 minutes make the pickling broth - by warming 1 cup of white vinegar (I used 2 ..read more

Some technical issues with my ancient laptop, so no bottle shot, instead a different phallus, the Rottnest Island lighthouse, early evening in January this year, no tripod only my wobbly hands. . .  A trio of noteworthy bottles.  2022 Clonakilla Riesling. 12%. Canberra. Pure and tight, a hint of sugar sweetness and sharp green edges. Precise and thrusting, super wine.  2020 Local Weirdos Chateau da Swan. Grenache. 13.1%. A playful bottle. Qvervi raised, with a very funky nose and palate. Microbial and unresolved, sappy and bright, tart and savoury. (Related).  2017 Flowst ..read more