March 2006 Archives

I recently had a chance to taste two old madeiras. An amazing experience, really. It's interesting to taste wines this old and to realize that they aren't on their last legs... not even close.

1834 Barbeito Madeira Malvazia - Portugal, Madeira (2/9/2006)
Available by the glass at Bacar in San Francisco. Good nose of caramel, molasses, and toffee but not as full and enveloping as the 1863 Boal. The nose carries right on to the palate where there are intense flavors of brown sugar, molasses, and toffee balanced with a bracing sour acidity that makes the wine seem much less sweet than it really is. The most remarkable characteristic about this wine is how it coats the inside of your mouth. You find yourself wiping off your gums with your tounge and and still tasting the wine a minute or two after your sip! Now, THAT is a finish. (94 pts.)

1863 Barbeito Madeira Boal - Portugal, Madeira (12/28/2005)
Tremendous nose of caramel, toffee and brown sugar that enveloped the table and was obvious two feet away. Clear brown color. Smooth palate, medium-full body with a marked tartness like a granny smith apple. Very smooth and a long finish. (92pts.)

So my brother says to me, "No one ever uses watches anymore. Everyone uses their cell phone to tell time." This comment got my attention... it was a surprise. Then I started thinking about it. If I've got my cell phone in hand I'll often look at the time display even though my watch is on the wrist attached to the hand holding the cell phone! The calculator in my cell phone rarely gets used, the games never get used, it is so tedious to send text messages that I never do, and the camera in the phone has been used three times in two years with absolutely abysmal results. However, I do use the phone to tell time, and even appreciate the fact it will adjust to different time zones when I am traveling.

If I were to be honest, I'd have to say my watch has been transformed into a piece of jewelry and is much less a timekeeping device than it used to be. Do twenty-somethings even wear watches anymore? If I were an executive at a company making commodity level wrist watches—for instance a company like Timex—I'd be worried. I'm certainly not going to be buying any Timex stock!

I've never been much concerned about clothes, but I have two thoughts about this picture: 1) it seems incredible that this might be thought of as high fashion and worth a premium, and 2) we seem to have "graduated" to a post-egalitarian age where it is not even the common which is exalted it is the pathetic.

Cathy Berberian would have been perfect for this. Do you think the client spent their marketing dollars wisely? (Be sure to click on "Watch" and then "Watch the rehersal")

Barbara Schwartz, delegate to the 2005 Democratic National Convention. (click the picture for original site)