Welcome to your pairing, and to a happy Friday. A few notes before we get to it!

I'm thrilled to be singing a short program as the finale to a special benefit for Fort Tryon Park (in my nabe!) this Sunday, September 29th, in the tree-nestled Bonnefont restaurant. Come for wine, wooded wanders and a set with me, Ted Nash, Russell Hall & Adam Birnbaum. Find tickets here.

A warm welcome to those joining us for the first time this week after our meeting "Beyond the Frame." I'm thrilled to have you in our merry band of wine and song lovers (I'll be sharing more about all this with you all next time!)

Away we go...

Juice

Most wine, and especially good wine, is always of a place. Vines grow somewhere, usually not far from where they are vinified, and usually by people who live on the land — who have perhaps themselves been there for generations.

But sometimes, cross-country collaborations bring geographies and sensibilities together in surprising — and delicious —ways.

This week’s wine is Oremus’ “Mandolas” Furmint 2020 from Tokaj. The Tokaj region of Hungary boasts a rich history, and some of the world’s best sweet wines. Oremus is a property that’s been owned by the famed Vega-Sicilia out of Ribera del Duero (Spain) since the early 90’s — and they shook up the whole scene with some new approaches to winemaking for the region.

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What happens when these distant legacies meet? Combustible invention and quality. “Mandolas” a dry wine aged in oak (a style this house pioneered in the region,) and the results are impressive: lemongrass, lime and beeswax on the nose give way to a both flinty and round, green-apple gummy candied palate that has a sweet-sour brightness matched by a decadent creaminess. It’s a study in contrasts and cohesion.

Jazz

Camille Bertault is a French singer and songwriter who comes from a family tradition of music (her father, Paul, is a guitarist.) Her almost entirely francophone album “Pas de Géant” (Sony, 2018) fuses her adventurous poetics with crosscurrent influences that meet to great effect on the track “Nouvelle York” — a place known ever for making beautiful blends.

The meeting of Bertault and producer/trumpeter/arranger Michael Leonhart (well known for his work with Donald Fagen and Steely Dan) is a potent combination of clarity and texture that make this record shine like the top of the Chrysler building. Leonhart anchors Bertault's feather light, precise delivery with weighty grooves. An ensemble informed by funky brass and beat offset her breathy tone in perfect contrast.

Innovative, dare I say nouvelle, art does more than just fuse past influences and distant styles; it brings us sharply into the present and makes us look forward with anticipation.

Nouvelle York Camille Bertault PREVIEW   ​

Santé!

Truly,

Kristen

P.S.: If you know anyone who'd be having fun here with us, send them to main page to see the archive of posts!:)