Hello!

These days, and especially in January, it seems like we’re saturated in conversations about the question: “to drink, or not to drink?” The topic is nearly always about alcohol – a broad genus with many varied species from moonshine to Château d’Yquem. It’s like talking about the entirety of foodstuffs as “calories” and failing to distinguish between an apple and a Dorito.

Anyhow, I’m here to keep us on the artful side of things – first, because it’s where my talents lie, and also to save myself from morphing into the grumpy old man that lives inside me that I have so far managed to keep dormant.

My new album (just finished mixing!) inhabits the vast territory that lies between barren abstinence and the deluge of addiction – for me, to be in dialogue with pleasure: to succumb, to resist, to delight or demur, is one of the best things about being incarnated.

Okay enough of all that, onto the pairing.

Juice

The wine I have for you today will make you fall in love – not by way of impairment (at 7% ABV it’s not likely) but because of the delight in the glass and the story behind it.

I know you’ll be taken with the bursting lychee and floral nose, the elegant just-ripe enough stone fruit on the palate, bursting with vivacious bubbles and finishing with a brisk dry filigree. What will put you over the edge is to imagine winemaker Julie Hoch, picking elderflowers in the vineyard and drying them to make a tea, which she then adds to grūner veltiner grape must – they all ferment in the bottle and the result is a stunning combination of fruit and flower she calls Elderflower #1.

She makes other bottlings, including one that features roses. I’ll be making my own bouquet with these this winter, and enjoying them with abandon.

You can find a bottle with Forêt Wines in Brooklyn.

Jazz

Kenny Dorham’s “Lotus Blossom*” from “Quiet Kenny” (New Jazz, 1959) was undoubtedly refreshing when it was first released, and in 2026 it bursts with a fizz of energy on every listen.

Combining time signatures (an evocative 6/8 and a brisk 4/4 swing) with subtlety and ease, the extraordinary quartet illustrates how heavy hitting talent can charm you with a light touch.

Paul Chambers opens with a lively bass line, Tommy Flanagan brings taste and economy on piano and Art Taylor punctuates and kicks the tune into higher gears as it goes. Dorham’s sound is both warm and agile – a lift for the ears and the spirit that lends itself to indulgence that enlivens the ear.

Lotus Blossom Kenny Dorham PREVIEW   ​

Cheers from a snowy NYC!

Kristen

*also known under the title "Asiatic Raes"