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Happy Friday!

Welcome to your Friday pairing.

As you'll read, I had an oenologically exciting week that I'm looking forward to sharing with you.

Next week there won't be a pairing in your inbox, but rather some questions for you on how you're enjoying J&J and how I can make things even better. I'll be excited to get your thoughts!

In the meantime...

Juice

Wine’s origins are ancient and humble — I mean, in old times it was safer to drink than water, and even as a non-hygienically motivated pleasure it spans eras, cultures and classes.

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But something that’s an everyday pleasure can also be elevated to levels of finesse and fame, moving it from a liquid of everyday communion to a rare, expensive and coveted experience.

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Sipping a wine like Harlan 2005 is a true privilege. I think when privilege goes unacknowledged or unappreciated, it has a rightfully pejorative ring to it. Dear Reader, I was not unaware of my good fortune when I got to drink some of this bottle. I encounter a wine like this with gratitude, curiosity, and hoping to have an honest experience of what’s in the glass -- ideally untainted by a tendency to be more or less critical because of the prestige of what I’m about to taste.
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Integrated, powerful, finessed -- fragrant herbs and dark succulent fruits -- blackberry liqueur, charred black plum, tannins that unfold again and again. Drinking this goes beyond individual tasting notes since its composition and integration is what makes it so intense and exquisite.

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This is a wine that has much greatness left for decades to come -- perhaps I'll get to meet it again someday when we're both older and wistfully remember this encounter. I hope I'll be showing as well as this bottle surely will be!

Jazz

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Only a relative few get to hear great performances live — and what a privilege to have been in the crowd at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1958 — sailboats in the distance racing the America's Cup, and a lineup that included more than a few legends -- Armstrong, Monk, O'Day, Mahalia Jackson...c'mon.
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Luckily, no matter how limited a musical experience might be in terms of tickets, we all can often enjoy even the most exclusive a concert thanks to the wonders of recording and filmmaking. In “Jazz on a Summer’s Day” (New Yorker Films, 1959) you can enjoy the most perfect summer day perhaps ever, anytime you please.

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With sought after wine, we often have to take someone's word that it's amazing since we'll never taste it -- not so with the art of music or film. Choose any track from this album, better yet watch the whole movie — for today, l chose Gerry Mulligan’s turn on "Mulligan's Crow" for it's power, intensity and sense of ensemble that resembles our wine of the week.

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How outrageous to be alive at a time where watching and listening to a musical experience like this is essentially free — now that's luxury.

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Mulligan's Crow Gerry Mulligan PREVIEW   ​

Have some excellent summer days until the next!

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Truly,

Kristen

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P.S.: If you know anyone who'd be having fun here with us, send them to main page to see the archive of posts!:)