Stray Dogs in the Secret Garden

All one needs to enjoy a summer night in Iowa.

All academic really.  Long miserable work week over and time to unwind.  Unwine(d).  For once it was not raining nor did we have anything more pressing to do.  I'd be damned if it was another evening in front of a screen, computer, phone or TV.  Get Out!  Having blown my stupid money on concert tickets and my new denial of beer like I've something to prove our options were limited.  No bars or pubs for overpriced swill.  Time to burn the reserves.  Grab two bottles of vino from the fridge and load the bicycles up for a ride somewhere off in the sunset.  Perhaps gather a friend or two to join us.  After all, I am nothing but a fool.

We went from winter to one week of Spring and then summer.  The temperature has reached the 80s most of the week and after the Mother's Day Deluge a bumper crop of mosquitoes emerged.  Pack the DEET.  Put the wine in a cooler with reusable ice packs.  Cork screw and drinking vessels.  Bring a candle for ambiance.  Pack the bike.  The cooler was too wide for the single speed's panniers.  Grab the touring bike.  Grab a light.  Leave the candle and matches on the grill while unloading one bike and loading the other.  GTFO because there is a cloud of blood sucking mosquitoes.  Ride off to the west.

Mary's road bike and my touring bike.  Sadly, I've only put 20 miles on the bike this year.

As we rolled past the Jackson Street Bridge I realized that I have not ridden this far west on the trail since I transferred downtown.  My bicycle riding has pretty much died.  30 miles a day to 4.  Today I will get 10 or 11 miles.

Our destination is unknown to the public.  This prevents people from destroying it.  Not an illegal site, it is a county park.  A park with lots of New Age and Hippie craft.  A wonderful place to chill and hangout.  Rabbits were are only company.  Mosquitoes the only distraction until the DEET was applied.  Our friends, they hung out at bars most likely consuming large quantities of Busch Light.  Their loss.

First up was the Moscato.  Pretty sure I paid $5 for this at the grocery store.  Been in the house for many, many months, perhaps over a year.  It was removed from the top of the cupboard and placed in the refrigerator for some family event but never opened.  There it chilled, literally, for several months.

As far as Moscatos go it was crap.  Sweet yet some underlying foul flat aftertaste.  Cheap California wine.  HRM Rex-Goliath Winery.  Named after a 47 lb cock.  Giant rooster.  My first sip had me thinking it was Australian.  It clocked in at 9.5% alcohol.  Mary did not complain.  we finished the bottle.

Round 2 was all me.  $5 Italian being blown out by the new downtown Hy Vee grocery store.  Pro-tip.  Never purchase wine that is displayed by the meat counter.  That is meant to generate impulse purchases which this was.  Rosato Toscana, a rose from Italy 2016. Bottled by ICQRF for Vinicola Ricaiano-Rufina-Italia and imported a Texas marketing group and purchased in Des Moines, Iowa. Long travels to get to our location on a bicycle.  Clocking in at 12% it trumped the moscato.  A dry white.  After tasting it I knew Mary would not enjoy this one.  Not my style either.  I don't think I will purchase another.  But I finished the bottle because not to would be abuse.

I tried this without the flash but it was too dark.

So we sat in the garden and looked at the lights and stars and listened to the echo of a wedding somewhere nearby.  Fireworks announced the end of the Iowa Cubs baseball game.  We heard them but could not see them.  Friday home game.  Our dog was probably hating life at that moment, too loud and a dangerous sound.

We discussed life and upcoming events.  Once again I pushed the envelop of our summer adventures. Just trying do something special to create memories.  Plans to travel to Cleveland and then Long Beach to see a certain bad headline two festivals secretly hoping a third gig will appear at a proper venue with out the festival glut.  Plans for our bicycle adventure up in the air because of PTO waiting lists.  Autumn is more enjoyable time a year to ride anyway.  At least we have this quiet spot.

A Prairie Fine Wine--Wooden Wheel Vineyards

I felt sorry for him.  I feel for all those free booze sample people, out there pushing their wares.  I don't know if I could do it.  But maybe I should feel bad for them.  After all, they are the keepers of free wine/liquor shots.  Who does not like free booze samples at a grocery store?  Pretentious cunts that abstain for  hypocritical reasons, that's who.  Or people like me that would feel obliged to make a purchase.  Catholic block....

So here I was at the 420 Hy Vee and Sample Man was there pushing a local Iowa wine.  Cannot avoid him sine he is blocking the the first left turn into the store and right in front of the beer cooler.  New Beer Thursday and I will have to search for a brew I have never drank before.

Oh well, just try one and then walk away.  Perhaps it will be a vino I would enjoy.  He was offering two varieties of Iowa wine form a vineyard near Keota, Iowa.  This caught my interest because I am in the process of planning this summer's bicycle tour of Iowa,  Wooden Wheel Vineyards, which names all their wine after family names.  Only two were offered, a dry white and a red because the  sommelier said that those two would sell the best.  Disappointing that a sweet white was not offered, Mary likes those, but Iowa is full of sweet wine due to the climate--harsh long winters and short growing season.  I preferred the red.

Hero

Private G.W. is the name of the great great grandfather who fought for the Union in the 8th Infantry at Shiloh and later The Iowa 5th Calvary at the Battle of Atlanta.  Have to take a hat off and salute him.

I waited a few weeks before drinking this on a cold snowy April day.  I needed the wine to counteract the second pot of coffee I drank before dinner.  I'll need to be able to sleep.  So with a wonderful pork loin dinner with Caribbean vegetable I uncorked the vino.  First note, a real cork printed with the name of the vineyard.  Not a generic cork.    Nice touch!  

Cork on top of the turntable spinning vinyl from The Fall.

How does it taste?  A bit oaky and a fair amount of tannins.  The bottle says medium body but it feels a tad bit light.  After awhile the oak and tannin taste fades a bit.  Clocking in at 12% it is strong and tastes that way.  it's the grapes.  A new hybrid that is related to pinot noir but can withstand the ice age we deal with in Iowa and the Midwest.  Iowa Marquette  It is growing on me and I just took the last drop from my glass.

So if you are looking for a red wine from Iowa you may like this one.  I do prefer the Foch grapes but I do find this one good.  In a few years it will be all sorta out and cold weather grapes will compare favorably with Napa.  So visit the sample person and make a purchase.  Buy local and enjoy!