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Scent of a Blanc!

If you make a mistake and get all tangled up. You just tango on.”

–Colonel Frank Slade, Scent of a Woman.

Tonight’s featured vino and moving picture pairing is Ferrari-Carano Fume Blanc with Scent of a Woman.

The name of the winemaker reminded me  of the famous Ferrari scene when a blind Colonel Frank Slade takes the wheel. Sorry about the spoiler, it’s a great scene and a fantastic movie!

Fume translates to smoke in French, and Col. Slade was certainly one to enjoy a nice Montecristo No. 1. He was not one, however, to sugarcoat his words and blow smoke.

Fume Blanc is a nice, dry version of Sauvignon Blanc and if you haven’t tried it you most certainly should. This one is a great starter!

With Valentine’s Day next week, here’s one more of the  multitude of great lines from the women adorer Col. Slade. “Women! What could you say? Who made ’em? God must have been a ……   genius!”

So throw on this Oscar-winning performance by Al Pacino and have a sip of this nice Fume Blanc. Maybe it will inspire you to get up and do a Tango with him.

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Let us have wine!!

“Good wine is a necessity of life for me.”

—Thomas Jefferson

Words to live by. Thank you,  Mr. Jefferson! But unfortunately not all of us have the means to grab any wine we want, whenever we want…and that’s OKAY!

Luckily for the rest of us, there are countless terrific, affordable wines within our grasps. A few months ago I started working, part-time, at a wine shop. I wasn’t quite sure why at the time. I just thought it would be a nice change of pace from my other work, and I could learn a little, which I have. However…

I HAD NO IDEA!

The wine universe is so vast that it’s hard to know where to start. When you’re on a budget like most of us you don’t want to waste your money on a guess. So you stick to your “go-to” wines.

So once a week a Vinosophy will be dedicated to finding a red, white or rose that we love and that ALL can afford! And those of you who have a little curiosity may learn about unfamiliar grapes and styles as I learn about them.

If a wine shows up here, it means we’ve bought it and we’ve tried it (not necessarily in that order) and we found it quite tasty!

In honor of the Rose, I thought it would be appropriate to start with a ROSE from La Vielle Ferme. Trust me when I tell you that I bring my beloved “Chicken Wine” home once a week, at least!  Most people think that all Roses are sweet (I know I did). This just isn’t the case. This wine has some fruit for sure, but is isn’t sweet (sugary). Fruit forward and sweet are completely different things. As far as bang for your buck, this wine is high on my chart as it almost always goes for less than $10.00!

Roosters are handy and all on the Old Farm (La Vielle Ferme). But I’d rather the start of my day sound like this! I love the entire song, but it’s great a little after the 2 minute mark.

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Music Without Words

“Music is an ever-changing, ever-increasing gift from God, free and available to all who seek it and many who do not. As such, it is naturally endowed with the ability to affect those who listen in monumental ways”

–Dawn Kent, The Effect of Music on the Human Body and Mind.

Dawn brilliantly describes neuromusicology (the effect that music has on the brain and nervous system) in her senior thesis.

Listen, you know what music does to and for you. It’s pretty cool to learn the science behind it.

Her numerous references and case studies show how music has had a positive effect on mood, creativity, learning, communicating, and even healing, basically since the beginning of time.

What I find most interesting is how much music, without words specifically, can do all of these things in an even more powerful way. Don’t get me wrong, I love the human voice, I sing too much myself! But words can be distracting when trying to be productive or creative.

Vinosophies is here to introduce new and beautiful things to help you make every day more meaningful. An escape, not a distraction, in a world that is full of those.

So whether you are working, reading, writing, painting, or just having a discussion with a friend or loved one over a glass of wine, the music we want to share with you will add a beautiful  dimension to those moments.

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Welcome to Vinosophies!

“Everyday we should hear at least one little song,
read one good poem, see one exquisite picture,
and if possible, speak a few sensible words.”

–Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe
 

These words are not only timeless, but apply more today than ever.
 
What is a day without being moved by beautiful music, without reading a nice poem or picking up a book?
 
What is a day without seeing an amazing photograph or work of art, a movie or a play?
 
Doesn’t sound like much of a day.
 
For those of us that are blessed with all of our senses, we should feel lucky…not everyone is so fortunate.
 
So let’s take advantage of them, EVERY DAY!
 
The intention of the Roses in the Alley’s Vinosophies blog is to introduce some of what Goethe and other thinkers were talking about to you.
 
And perhaps speak a few sensible words of our own from time to time.
 
Maybe you could share some of yours in return.
 
Welcome to Vinosophies!!