Unusually Sociable: A Tale of Wine, a Demon, and a Futsal Friend
Prologue
I’m not what you’d call particularly sociable and it’s certainly a rare occasion to find myself socializing with other human beings two nights in a row. What potential social horror could await? The first of these two social events took place on All Saints’ Day when a collection of lost souls gathered at my place to partake in a ritual of food, drink, Halloween themed music and a horror film. Usually, this level of social interaction would suffice until Thanksgiving comes around, but in 2024 the spirits from another world have ghoulishly conspired against me and offered me up for sacrifice on the following day, or did I do this to myself?
Plot Outline
‘Twas the night after Halloween, when all through the apartment Not one of us watching The Exorcist was stirring, except for a glass of wine; As wine flowed in sync with Regan’s possession Our courage was mustered with each empty libation; But by the end our nerves were hung by a very thin thread Glued to the screen with a sense of dread; As the demon passed from poor Regan to Father Karras and he was dead
Cast
Social horror be damned, at least there was some wine to drink.
OTU Estate Sauvignon Blanc 2023
New Zealand, Marlborough 13%
A particularly striking New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Passion fruit aromas dialed up to ten. There’s a really invigorating and weighty finish full of lime and other citrus flavours together with an incredible mouth tingling acidity. Lees aging helps add some weight. Borderline over-the-top, even for this style, but this is just so enjoyable and was drained pretty darn quickly.
Ribera del Maipo Vineyard Reserve Pinot Noir 2022
Chile, Maipo Valley 14%
Next up was a random Pinot Noir from Chile purchased from Seijo Ishii. I don’t know exactly what “Vineyard Reserve” really means and there’s limited information about this wine although it seems to be produced by Viña Tornasol. Overall, decent plum fruit and weight but a meaty sirloin brought out the oak too much for my taste. On the other hand, with a fatty Wagyu sirloin this wine fared much better. The acidity really helped with all that fat (this slab of meat was almost completely white with only morsels of red meat scattered throughout) and the red fruits like cherry shone through rather than the oak. Decent enough overall but I doubt I will buy this again since there are more interesting Pinot Noirs around this price but it was certainly drinkable enough and further proof that Pinot Noir is great with a fatty Wagyu steak.
Villa Le Corti Chianti Classico 2021
Italy, Chianti Classico 14%
The third and final bottle was a Chianti Classico. I’d had this recently with a meaty ragu at an Italian restaurant in Nagasaki and was eager to try it again. Now, with this being the third bottle of the evening (our third bottle, not my third bottle!), by this point the finer details were a little hazy, and I’ll confirm at a later, less boozy date. However, it was certainly quite dense and perhaps borderline over-extracted, which I did not recall from the last time. But I can’t be sure. I have one more bottle to try and assess more accurately next time.
The Final Act
Having survived the horror of Friday night, there would be no rest for the wicked and I was to navigate another social engagement before I could resume my regular schedule of social isolation on Sunday. So, on Saturday I ventured out in the rain to meet a friend from futsal for dinner and drinks. Somehow, I managed to shift gears from demon possession to polite conversation, fueled by just enough wine* to keep the words flowing.
*Anselmi San Vincenzo 2022, Mana by Invivo Pinot Noir 2022 and a glass of Trivento Malbec (although I have no idea which particular bottle it was)
Mana by Invivo Pinot Noir 2022
Light bodied, fresh and easy-drinking style.
Aroma: Red fruit such as cherry and raspberry. Lightly spiced. A touch vegetal/green from perhaps either whole-bunch fermentation or cooler climate ripeness.
Taste: Red cherry and raspberry. Light tannin and bright acidity. While not particularly complex, it’s a pleasant enough with a smooth and friendly texture. Some of that vegetal/green comes through. Fine with chicken, pork and beef confit.
Epilogue
With the two-day whirlwind of human interaction bottled and corked, the only thing left to do was hole up at home alone and soak up the quiet bliss—perhaps until Thanksgiving comes around.
Disclaimer:
The above may or may not accurately describe the actual social tendencies of its author. It could be purely fictional. It should also be noted that my mate from futsal is a top chap. And yes, before you ask, that’s a ChatGPT created image. Reddit gonna have a field day but I thought Skynet did a pretty good job there.
