Text 31793, 66 rader
Skriven 2009-12-04 10:31:00 av MICHAEL LOO (1:123/140)
Ärende: the party 467
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Sue's is a fashionable but by no means ostentatious house
overlooking Narragansett Bay; plenty of glass and stained
wood, nooks and alcoves and the dining room set 45 degrees
to the entrance: it wants to be distinctive and actually
succeeds without being too silly about it. She'd invited
seventy-two of her nearest and dearest (I know about a
third of them to say hi to; Rosemary knew all but 5); after
the buildup, it is not surprising that everyone showed up,
with possibly a few extras. The house was pretty crowded.

Plenty of stuff at the bar; as the main corkscrew was one
of those rabbit things, and I know how to use one, I sort
of got camped out there playing bartender. The advantage
of this is that I also got first crack on the wine. I
started off with the Westport Rivers Rose de Pinot Noir,
which I characterized to some as a local product. The
winery is just 20 miles away, though it is in another
state; the wines are arguably better than the truly local
ones from Sakonnet (10 miles away) and Newport Vineyards
(6 miles). This one, however, is just plain a waste of
time - tastes like weak spoiled pineapple juice with maybe
a slug of chicken broth thrown in.

Next I found a a Central Coast Rhone varietal blend whose
name I didn't recognize - big oak, plumminess and spiciness,
a little tired-tasting and dusty, but still palatable in a
slightly oxidized way. No wonder I didn't recognize the
name - it was a 1998, and no doubt the winery is long gone
by now (one syllable, about 5 letters, starting with T).

But the one real winner, which I stuck with, was the Crozes-
Hermitage Dom. Thalabert, probably contributed by Blair
Boyer (the kid quoted in the Times article hoping for an
invitation and who, trying a little hard, said he was aiming
to add a new enological dimension to the proceedings, or
something like that). It was pleasantly tart, good fruit,
good tannin, full in the mouth, a perfect turkey wine; but
nobody else got much of it, heh heh.

I hung out mostly with the Historical Society crowd, as I
am more comfortable talking about long past events than the
latest iteration of "celebrity goes bad" or "corporation
goes bankrupt." Also, such folks, though just as bright as
anyone else, tend to be a little shy and hide their light
under a bushel basket (Harry Wright being the major exception),
and I am good at bringing them out, as there is almost always
some interest I have in common with them, whether it be
making peculiar OCD-driven collections or wondering about the
toll structure on the bridge in the 1940s or, more likely,
music, which they to a person love but are too shy to perform.

The Times reporter was there, discreetly recording her
observations and schmoozing heavily, perhaps under the
impression that these provincial movers and shakers moved and
shook more than they really do. Well, I was seated one spot
away from the guy who represented Merrill Lynch in its merger
with Bank of America, and who was also the prime mover in the
pulling of wool over the eyes of Cerberus for its acquisition
of Chrysler, so perhaps a bit of shaking was going on of which
I was unaware. He was holding forth on the downfall of Dubai
and the possibility of a bailout by Abu Dhabi, and I zoned out
immediately, turning my attention to the food.

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