WBW #58: WINE AND MUSIC

FINALLY! Thanks to Kate at Gonzo Gastronomy and Wine Blogging Wednesday #58, I get to marry my two favorite passions, wine and music. As a third-generation musician and “retired” rock ‘n’ roll singer, music has always been the stabilizing force in my life. I have always been an uber-geek about music, and much to my friends’ and families’ surprise, when I dove into the wine business, I became equally as dorky about wine.

Now the super-hard part… trying to choose the music AND the wine to write about for this post. For the wine, I choose the American expat husband-and-wife winemaking team of Domaine de la Gramiere. For the music, I choose the retro-rock pop of up-and-coming band Spy For Hire, and the blues rock shenanigans of my good friend Eric Jerardi.

I was recently turned onto La Gramiere Rouge 2006 by my good friend Wendy Huff, from Heidelberg Distributing. After having landing the Kermit Lynch portfolio for Kentucky, Wendy went a bit crazy (she describes Kermit as her “Mick Jagger”) and began bringing by a little bit of the KLWM book at a time, eventually bringing by the La Gramiere Rouge 2006, a delicious, robust medium- to-full bodied blend of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre. From start-to-finish, this wine is created by two people working with one beautiful vision: to make wine that is born out of love, the love of the land, the grape, and each other. Amy Lillard and Matt Kling do everything from vineyard management, harvesting, crushing and bottling their one wine which is a wonderful red for all you New World wine fans who want to love a good French wine. It has definitely become one of my favorite wines of late, and another reason why I’ve become such a huge supporter of Kermit Lynch wines. Check out winemaker Ann Lillard’s blog, http://www.lagramiere.typepad.com/.

Spy For Hire is a band that reminds me of all that was really good about the 80’s, with a modern-day spin. Their new album, Speak in Numbers, is produced by one of my oldest friends, Dale Adams, with whom I started my first band back in high school. Dale has gone on to producing a lot of up-and-coming acts in the Atlanta area, with this band being, at least up until now, his tour de force. Drinking the La Gramiere along with this disc, not to sound like a big cornball (all though I am, really), but I feel like life has suddenly become some John Hughes movie, with me back in high school, trying to win over the prom queen while dodging some nefarious bully. To hear them for yourselves, check out http://www.myspace.com/spyforhire.

Eric Jerardi has been playing a hard rock version of blues for some time now – I can still remember seeing him in his old cover band 18th Emergency back at Katz Night Club in Kettering some 15 years ago. Eric has gone on to open for Robin Trower, Buddy Guy, and a host of others, and has on his last two records, played with two of rock’s best keyboardists – Chuck Leavell and Al Gamble. Listening to Eric’s latest disc, “Restless,” I feel a bit more like I am in a Bruckheimer movie, with way more action and a lot less comedy, although listening to his songs “My Dog (Ain’t Gonna Fetch No Stick from Your New Man)” and “Don’t Bring The Bail,” I break out laughing between swallows. To hear more from Eric Jerardi and the Eric Jerardi band check out http://www.myspace.com/ericjerardiband. [I credit Eric with a lot of my passion for wine as he has one of the best palates of anyone I know, and when he's not playing, he has a wine store called The Little Store in Vandalia, OH (it's where I got my start as a pro wino).]

It is honestly a difficult thing for me to equate feelings with experiences, because every moment is different than the one before, and had I done this on a day when work sucked, or my wife and I just had a fight, I would be sucked into some sort of Scorsese mode, or have the feeling I am a bit extra in a David Lynch movie. If it was a better day, it might as well be a Kevin Smith flick. (Oh, I love movies too.)

Thanks again to Kate at Gonzo Gastronomy for hosting this month’s topic and as always to Lenn at Wine Blogging Wednesday.