Because another wine food and travel blog was way too long.
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Rock and Roll and WineLast night I paired my wine with what was on the television instead of what was on the table. While watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony I opened a bottle of B.R. Cohn 2006 Silver Label Cabernet Sauvignon. B.R. Cohn Winery, in Sonoma, is owned by the Bruce Cohn, manager of the Doobie Brothers, so it was a natural match. Just like this year’s class of inductees this was a fun, but not great, bottle of wine.
Created from a blend of grapes from both the Sonoma Valley and the North Coast, it has the typical flavors associated with California Cabernet, cassis, ripe berries, black cherry and some vanilla from the oak. While I doubt that this wine has a lot of cellaring potential, it could benefit from another two years to mellow out some of the tannins and let the fruit come through a little more. I probably should have decanted this wine, but it did open up nicely in the glass. Once it did it was a perfectly enjoyable, if not spectacular, Cab. For a $15-$20 bottle of wine, you could do much worse. It also kept me mellow enough not to yell too much at the screen when Madonna was inducted, but did little to keep me from tearing up a bit as Leonard Cohen read an excerpt from “Tower of Song.” The telecast itself was uneven and long, but refreshing because it wasn’t stage managed as tightly as so many of these type of shows are these days. No one cued the band to start playing to cut off someone that a producer with a stop watch deemed too long-winded. Lou Reed talked long enough that he almost managed to crack a smile twice, once for getting booed after making a joke about Elliot Spitzer. The joke was mildly amusing, but seeing that Reed still has it in him to take on his audience was much more so. His introduction of Leonard Cohen, while surprisingly disjointed, was touching for its genuine affection and love for the master songwriter. Despite the unevenness of the program, and despite Madonna’s unwarranted and horrifying inclusion (What’s next? Wayne Gretzky being inducted into the Football Hall of Fame?), it was a lot of fun to sip wine and watch the loosely organized event. Most of the performances were very good, and none were augmented by an interpretive dance troupe. The lack of tight control allowed for some surprising moments. Reed’s less than coherent speech, Billy Joel’s remarkably moving and eloquent induction of John Mellencamp, and Iggy Pop’s hilarious recitation of “Like a Virgin” all come to mind. Rock and Roll should be that way, and maybe a lot more wines should be, as well. The constant quest for consistency leaves a lot less room for surprises. With both music and wine, the necessary business and marketing concerns should never take precedence over the art. The music industry killed itself by doing that, lets hope wine makers stay a little wild at heart. Random thoughts on the HOF show:
View Comments to “Rock and Roll and Wine”
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March 11th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
Great article and I know a couple of people that know Madonna and you are right she is not a nice person. Wow the Dave Clark Five I have not thought of them in years did they get inducted fantastic listened to them a lot back in the sixties. As John Cougar turned into Mellencamp I liked Cougar better LOL.
Bruce Cohn is a funny guy I have know him for years Cohen is his birth name his cousin Dave Cohen makes good wine too. the-wine-room.com down the road in Kenwood. Check out Muscardini Cellars and Ty Caton too
March 11th, 2008 at 9:18 pm
Great article and I know a couple of people that know Madonna and you are right she is not a nice person. Wow the Dave Clark Five I have not thought of them in years did they get inducted fantastic listened to them a lot back in the sixties. As John Cougar turned into Mellencamp I liked Cougar better LOL.
Bruce Cohn is a funny guy I have know him for years Cohen is his birth name his cousin Dave Cohen makes good wine too. the-wine-room.com down the road in Kenwood. Check out Muscardini Cellars and Ty Caton too
March 13th, 2008 at 6:14 am
I’ll bet you get to meet a lot of very interesting folks in your line of work, Mark. I stopped at Cohn’s winery on my last trip out that way, but he wasn’t in the tasting room that day. I’d also be willing bet that he has some great stories to tell.
March 13th, 2008 at 7:14 am
I’ll bet you get to meet a lot of very interesting folks in your line of work, Mark. I stopped at Cohn’s winery on my last trip out that way, but he wasn’t in the tasting room that day. I’d also be willing bet that he has some great stories to tell.