To spit or not to spit…

I’m still trying to collect our thoughts from the Cavatappi tasting Monday and part of that reason is because I misplaced my notes somewhere between exiting the warehouse on 14th and the Copper Room Lounge on 24th. A 1o block journey should not engulf and digest a notepad that easily but under the circumstances, expectations should have been within reason. We’ve been in many situations where tasting through about 60 wines have resulted in various levels of teetering and slurred speech. No matter how much I use the spit bucket, there is always going to be some percentage of intoxication due to seepage into the gums, tongue, and then there is the residual dribble thing. Once the professional evaluation process is complete and depending on available time to detox, going back and enjoying the $80 Barolos, Burgundies, and Champagnes seems more than a reasonable thing to do, especially with chunks of lamb, and stinky funky cheeses within reach. The problem with revisiting at Cavatappi is there is way to much good stuff to revisit.

Ballard has severely changed since when I lived there some 12 years ago. Former Mayor Norm Rice’s plans for urban density seems to have come to fruition and is continuing to do so as there are hordes of 6 to 8 floor condos stacked on top of each other with several new ones being built. This has resulted in many micro bars, cafes, and coffee houses springing up on side streets where I used to step over street people sleeping on the sidewalks.

The Copper Room where I would sometimes hang for cheap beer and peanuts plus shooting a pool game or two is now a black decor martini lounge with naked pictures of 1950’s women and samples of old in their original box vibrators lining the shelves, I’m sure for display purposes only. And strange enough, their best appetizer is the pickled herring. Not the same as Lutefisk but I suppose even micro-cultures must give way to progress. We then stumbled to La Carta De Oaxaca where rumor has it Anthony Bourdain was spotted several days prior. This type of word-of-mouth buzz can set off a foodie flocking of intense density. Yet somehow we got a table and the food was amazing, filling us up for $12 bucks each including Margaritta. Eventually, like two days later–I found my notes:

First of all, almost any and all things Kermit Lynch is worth stocking on the shelf and for our purposes particularly the Regis Pouilly Fume, Ducasse Bordeaux Blanc, Cadette Bourgogne Vezalay, and the highly allocated Tempier Rose.

Also found from regions of the ‘boot’ was a relatively inexpensive Santario Muscato d’Asti, Renatti Ratti Barolo, and a real fun Alto Adige Pinot Bianco.

The Lopez Riojas are definitly on board plus several other “holy crap” must haves. However, there were some disappointments including the tasting of Ridge Vineyards Monte Bello Vintage ‘Value Pack’ (‘92, ‘94, ‘96) which sold for $1,150 wholesale. I really expected to be catapulted into a soft and fluffy harp Musak after life… and wasn’t. Also, the two Crozes Heritages were lacking, but that may not be a fair judgement as my standard for comparison in the relative price range is the Ferraton. Sometimes these injustices happen.

R