R & R

The other night was all about R & R. When I say that, I'm directly referring to Red Bull and Riesling. After surfing glassy chest high waves at Carmel, my buddy Ben knew that the sun was setting and it would soon be time to eat. So, he made some plays, "Paul go get some cabbage and meet me back at the house." He mentioned that he was preparing some corned beef and that I should buy some stuff at the store.

The cabbage was a given. I on the other hand let my sommelier brain take over and started to reflect on similar experiences from the past (salty with sweet pairings). I immediately thought about this '05 Erben Von Beulwitz Kabinett ($20) I had with buddies on a previous St. Paddy's Day. That occasion made sense and I decided to help recreate it on an even smaller budget.

So, it was off to the new Pacific Grove Safeway for cabbage and yes, the '08 Schmitt Sohne 1 liter from the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, Germany ($8). Needless to say, the meal was amazing, but the epiphanies were even more powerful.

Both Ben and his lady Laurel started to describe the wine as we all worked together: There are aromas of green apple Jolly Rancher Candy, lemon-lime Sprite and other citrus nuances.

As our thoughts ran wild, I started saying to myself, "Wow, this wine is so good, especially if you sipped it on a hot day (only 9%ABV). Chicks would dig this even if they didn't like wine." Laurel was like, "This is one of those wines you could cut with soda and people would actually drink it." I was thinking Sprite would work well. Ben was thinking Red Bull and the rest was history. You can pound wine that tastes like soda and get a caffeine jolt to keep you from passing out. Nice.