WINE & MUSIC: 30 SECONDS TO MARS AND LA SPINETTA

Okay, so my wife accuses me of having a “bro-mantic” crush on actor Jared Leto, who also happens to front the band 30 Seconds To Mars. While I have to emphatically deny such scuttlebutt, I do really like the band, and yes, I do like his work in such films as “Fight Club”, “Requiem for a Dream”, “Lord of War” and “Panic Room.” The new 30 Seconds To Mars disc, “This Is War”, comes out in November.

I was a bit stunned when I first heard the band on the old Canadian music channel, Much Music. The song was “Edge of the Earth,” and I was shocked because it was actually really good. Most actors-turned-musicians tend to have some really contrived, boring, and sometimes just plain shitty music, but Jared, along with his brother, Shannon, and bandmate Tomo Milicevic, have been turning out some really impressive tunes. Check out the single “From Yesterday” off their second disc, “A Beautiful Lie”:




Likewise, it could be said I have a fairly big crush on Italian wines, with one in particular that I have been fond of for some time, La Spinetta Ca’di Pian Barbera d’Asti. In particular, the 2006 continues the long string of hits winemaker Giorgio Rivetti turns out year-after-year. A much fuller-bodied Barbera than its counterparts, the Ca’di Pian has the potential of aging up to 20 years, though it never makes it that long at my house. It has all the cherry and blueberry fruit you could want, with the perfect marriage of acidity for all those traditional Italian dishes. 30 Seconds to Mars and La Spinetta – an interesting duo that my wife will go on for eternity as being my two bromances. So be it.