OpenFermenter Open space for fermented beverages

My last blog entry was all about being done with 2009, ready for 2010, and not feeling the need to set any New Years resolutions. I felt that I was ready to tackle 2010 head on and be so completely productive that the World would be my oyster .

Well, judging by the fact that it has been 35 days since that post, and my first entry since then is this one, describing how I have not posted anything, I would have to say that 2010 might need a reboot f0r me.

I was looking back over my end of year post last year. (blog post) It listed things that I accomplished, things I failed to accomplish, and a bunch of things that didn’t really fit into either category.  After looking over last year and comparing it to this year, I realize that they could almost me the same year!

I need to rant a bit, so bear with me. But first, let me just let everyone know that if you came here to find out what wine goes with what food, you are probably at the wrong place.

A fantastic dish, complimented by a wine that seems to fit it like a glove is rare, but when you find it, is an experience you will not soon forget. Where things get crazy is when people start coming up with simple rules of what wines go with which food.

After waiting for the arrival of the new mockumentary Corked! to show near me, and after the friendly twitter prodding from the producer to convince me that it would be worth putting off seeing Food, Inc in order to see his film first, I went to the independent film’s San Jose debut last night at the downtown Cinema 3. I am so very glad I did. Distribution of Corked!, limited as it is, probably meant that I might not get another chance to see the film before it comes out on DVD, while Food, Inc comes with a preset following and will be showing in the area for a while.

I think back growing up in the 70’s. My dad was true renaissance man in my eyes. He was a mechanic, a plumber, an electrician, a rancher, a teacher, and a fireman. He could fix anything. He had a garage full of tools and he taught me to use them all. Our trucks always had mud caked on them from our ranch where we grew grapes and citrus. I learned to drive on a Ford 400 tractor and at the end of the day, after spending time doing things on the ranch, I was tired and slept like a log.

The common Wisdom has always been that the beverage industry, beer, wine and liquor, is recession proof. That when times get bad, people drown their sorrows in adult beverages. Well, that common belief seems to be wrong, on the whole. Maybe this recession is just worse than the last few we have had. Maybe it is hitting more broadly across the demographics. Maybe the past is not a good predictor of the future. Or, maybe the pundits and economists don't know what the heck they are talking about. Maybe the answer is "E": All of the Above.

It makes sense. Wine and food have always been about people sharing an activity with other people. Wine and food is best experienced with friends. Even when you’re with people you don’t know, wine and food seems to spark the conversation, lower the firewalls, provide the commonality for a shared experience that, many times, leads to discussion and friendships.

When I first heard of Mayfield Brewing company in Belmont, I was intrigued with the beer, the brewery history, and the brewer. The brewer is a microbiologist as well as a beer and wine enthusiast, and a businessman.

The brewery is a reincarnation of an 1868 brewery that started in the San Francisco community of Mayfield, are area now known as Palo Alto. The brewery was serving the local peninsula until it closed down due to prohibition.

Don't expect to give up you day job. But lately, there seems to be more reports and articles about getting paid for blogging about wine than reports about the job market coming back.

Who would have thought that wine blogging would become a leading indicator of the economy turn around? But it makes sense. When times are tough, you tend to recall your passions. That passion might be wine. Or, wine might be the muse that brings that passion to the surface.

In any case, here are some opportunities for a mash up between wine and social media.

Tell them you heard it hear first!