Things are getting better in the drinks department after a rough patch recently. Last night at an outdoor party (and there could not have been a more perfect evening here in SE Michigan) I enjoyed several glasses from a 3 litre bottle of 1988 Cakebread Cellars cabernet sauvignon. Beautiful calm bouquet that was difficult to pin as cabernet, but was all about dried flowers. No earthy smells, but no oaky ones either. Just lovely for savoring. Curiously, others at the party, many of whom drink much more CA wine than I do, thought the wine was only so-so. I stuck my nose in a glass of 2002 Rosenblum Annie's Lane (?) zinfandel and declined to pour myself a glass--big, oak, coconut, and other jangly smells. This wine has calmed down a bit since the host purchased them several years ago, but remains the antithesis of what I like about wine. Other drinkers were able to find the oak and coconut when I pointed it out to them, but many of them enjoyed it!
I opened a bottle of Crooked Tree hard cider (from a flannel shirt-type boutique producer in northern NH) to share with the ribs coming off the industrial-size Weber charcoal grill. Maybe it's because I picked it up at the orchard (from the missus of the operation) but everything about it screamed crisp, cool autumn nights with the smell of maple tree leaves on the ground. The tartness demands food, however...this is not a sipping drink (for me). Lovely.
This evening there will be more eating and drinking in the neighborhood, before we all go into our caves for the winter, and tonight's host will be opening a magnum of 1998 Vieux Telegraphe Ch-du-Pape and more. I'll bring something Dressner-y and see how it flies.