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Happy Friday!

Hope you're looking forward to a great weekend.

Oh, I'm too excited about singing with Ted Nash's Big Band at Dizzy's Club on August 5th not to remind you about it!

Onto your weekly pairing...

Juice

Greatness in just about anything over time requires a paradoxical balance: that of persistence and consistency matched with innovation and reinvigoration. Too much of the former, things get a little stale; too much of the latter and things become unfocused and diffuse.

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Rioja is one of the world’s undisputed great winemaking areas, with a long tradition of technique that makes it easily recognizable in a blind tasting (I always look for that vanilla-y dill scent that speaks to its use of new American oak.)
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Sierra de Toloño’s Rioja Alvasea 2021 continues the great tradition of winemaking in this region while reimagining its technique in vitalizing ways. From the shape of the bottle (a sloping Burgundy style as opposed to the high shouldered bottle typical in the area) to what’s inside, I found this wine a quiet revelation for the region and its signature grape, tempranillo.

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A plummy color in the glass, this wine has dark cherry, black raspberry and cedar notes on the nose. On the palate the fruits are succulent and focused on the palate, giving way to sandalwood and a hint of bitter cocoa on the finish. The wine is inviting without being overly demonstrative and contained without being unfriendly.

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There’s more to say about the technique and specificity of Sandra Bravo’s approach (she’s the winemaker,) but suffice it to say it’s her combination of discipline and invention that help make her wines this stunning.

Jazz

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When Bossa Nova came on the scene in the mid 50's, it was thought of as a quiet revolution in style. While Brazil’s musical traditions like samba easily take to the streets and have an unabashed, communal quality meant for parades and public gathering, this music was meant for the club and was more private (Jobim, the progenitor of the style, stopped playing many of the usual venues early in his career because people weren’t paying attention.)

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So the fusion of traditional rhythms, jazz harmony and a poetic lyricism created this new music, which immediately felt, to those who loved it, like it had always been there. For some of us, it thankfully always has.

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I chose “Groovy Samba” from Cannonball Adderley’s “Cannonball’s Bossa Nova” (Riverside, 1963) by Sergio Mendez for the pairing today because it so well illustrates how even early on, the new tradition of Bossa Nova was already being infused with new ideas and voices — in this case, Adderley’s signature clarion tone, dancing leaps, and joyful expression.

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It’s easy to love a track that marries precision, clarity and freshness so well with an underpinning of rhythm that feels as old as time itself. Well balanced indeed!

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Groovy Samba Cannonball Adderley, Sérgio... PREVIEW   ​

I had way more to say than what I wrote here on these subjects, and wonder if some of you might like some longer-form articles from me from time to time. Would that be of interest? Hit reply and let me know.:)

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Till the next,

Kristen

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P.S.: If you have a wine/jazz curious person in your life, feel free to send 'em along to the main page where they can check out the archive, and maybe subscribe! Thanks for sharing.:)