Sound and Fury

I got up early Sunday morning and drove to Ashland, picking up a new, blindingly fast 2 GB CF card for my camera at Fry's on the way. On the way, I visited the Applegate Valley, a wine region where I did my very first vineyard tastings.

I stumbled across Rosella's Vineyard while looking for Troon. The tasting room was a folksy mix of well-appointed and rural. The staff and other patrons were somewhat awed by the ancient Clie that I customarily take notes with, as if I were a wizard with a talking raven on my shoulder.

The wine was good, but not great. I'm pretty sure that Rosella's is new to the area, so perhaps it will improve. I did walk away with two bottles of Merlot though. It was a particularly pleasant Merlot, with none of the bitterness that tends to put me off.

I then proceeded to Troon. They were pouring a couple new-release Rosés, and their new Druid Fluid. I tasted all three. I liked the dryer of the Rosés, and bought it. I ended up drinking it later, and thought on second exposure that it was a bit too sweet even so. But it was still good.

Finally, I headed over to Wooldridge Creek. I haven't been there since my first visit in 2004. Little has changed. They have parking next to the tasting room now, so no hike up the hill. Greg Paneitz is still the winemaker, and still pours in the tasting room. The wine is still awesome. Greg poured a bone-dry Rose of Pinot Noir, the best Chardonnay I've ever had, an interesting Chardonnay/Viognier blend called Warrick White, and Warrick Red (a blend of 30% each Cab, Syrah, and Merlot with Cab Franc and Viognier filling it out) - which was awesome. We chatted a bit, and he poured me a pre-release sample of the 2004 Syrah. A much more mature wine than the 2000 that I was so fond of (and priced accordingly).

I signed up for the wine club at Wooldridge Creek. 2 bottles shipped to my door each quarter for $50 or less. Also a 20% discount. The wine club is just about the only way to buy Wooldridge Creek wine, as they don't distribute anywhere. They generally sell out instantly as well, which must be nice for them.

I hung out taking pictures at Wooldridge Creek for about half an hour, to let my liver do its thing, and continued on my way. I think I got some good macro shots of grapes budding, and I played with my polarizing filter some - darkening skies and, removing the shine from leaves.

Then I continued on to Ashland. I checked in to my B&B (Ashland's Tudor House), flopped on my bed savoring the not-driving and then contemplated dinner. There was a stack of menus in the common area, so I sat down with them in a comfy chair, and browsed. I've been to Ashland many times before, and eaten at most of the places on the main drag. I was in an Italian mood and I felt like some place new. There was a hand-written menu dated 2004 from a place called Cucina Biazzi. They serve a four course meal for around $30, which was exactly what I wanted. I called, to check for tables and confirm their existence. Extant they were, and they had tables outside and space at the bar.

I drove over. The sky was heavy with clouds and rain was not so much a threat as a promise. Despite this fact, I asked to be seated on the patio. They have an awesome grape arbor and very cool exterior decor, and I just felt adventurous.

I ordered, and sat soaking in the pleasant outdoorness, as well as the conversations of the other two occupied tables.

Table One was two guys, twenty-something, discussing life, the universe and everything. It touched on Buddhism, attachment, and the nature of suffering, though I thought the speaker over-simplified.

Table Two was a party of four, whose conversation wandered from food and travel to wedding planning. A serious dislike of classic wedding marches was evinced by the alpha-female (who was possibly the bride?) at the table. Later, the idea of wedding march via a kazoo choir composed of all the wedding guests found much favor.

It began to rain, and thunder rolled across the sky. My waitress maneuvered one of the large umbrellas under the arbor for me. I ate antipasto and bread, smiling at the downpour, the lightening, and the unusual rightness of the situation. I've never eaten outdoors in a thunder storm before. It's something I should like to do again.

My second dish was pasta with spicy Italian meatballs. It was awesome, and the presentation was beautiful.

The third course was a medium-rare grilled steak of Ahi Tuna. I've never had anything like it before. If you were to somehow extract the essential parts of the sushi, steak and fresh pesto experiences and combine them into one plate, this is the dish you would get. It was very good.

Finally, a salad, with the house dressing (called "green dragon" I think). The dressing was only ok, not great.

I skipped dessert, as I needed to pick my tickets up from Will Call, and it was getting late.

Two Gentlemen of Verona was the traffic of the Elizabethan Theater stage that evening. Miraculously, no rain fell during the play. I had excellent seats in the center section, about five rows back. I had neither seen nor read the play, so it was entirely new to me. It's an interesting story, and they carried it off quite well. There were a few rough spots, but it was a preview - they don't actually open for a couple of weeks.

The set design and costuming was interesting, as it always is at OSF. The stage was covered with sod (that is, live grass). This served to represent the rural Amish community of Verona as well as the old-money gardens and tennis courts of Milan.

The initial courtship (no pun intended) of Valentine and Sylvia was portrayed as a doubles tennis match. The contrast between the dark, traditional Amish garb, and the bleached white of the Milanese in that scene in particular was quite the eye candy. As was Sarah Rutan, who played Sylvia :)

The bandits of the forest were dressed as hard-core 1980's punk rockers. Think heavy black leather, lots of chain, hair in greens and purples and defying gravity, in addition to the law.

I think it's a rather difficult play, in that the main character is a total bastard for most of the second half, and suddenly all is forgiven. It's awkward, but it's one of Shakespeare's earliest works.

After checking my email (using an Ubuntu Live CD to do so, because I require SSH) on the B&B's ancient living room computer, I went to sleep.