Exploring Wine: Rudi Wiest Selections Rielsing

Rudi Wiest Selectins, Riesling, Rhein River, $15.99

My rating for this bottle? I would drink a glass.

On the nights I decide to be lazy and not cook dinner, Gman and I usually order a pizza. However, one night a few weeks ago we were feeling jazzy and ordered Thai take out instead. I had to grab a few bottles of wine while we were out (had to) so we decided to pick up a bottle to pair with our dinner. I choose this riesling and felt like I nailed it. The sweet, slight citrus (lemon) and touch of slate taste balanced my hot Panang curry. It cooled my mouth right off afterwards and made the meal enjoyable (versus my mouth burning to the point where I can't feel it). 

The only reason I wouldn't rate this bottle higher is because although it tasted pretty good, it left my cheeks red and my body feeling like I was having a hot flash (I never get this feeling from Thai food). So I think a riesling is the perfect thing to pair with spicy Thai food, but I wouldn't buy this bottle again.

On Lipstick and Beauty

If you know me even a little bit, you know that I have a thing for lipstick. I wear it every day, usually applying it as soon as I finish my morning coffee, even if I have no intention of leaving the house. I always have at least 20 shades in my makeup drawer and carry 3 or 4 shades in my purse at all times.

Back when I was in college, I lived with 12 girls. If I was having a bad day it was clear to all, as I would prance around the house with my tallest heels and bright red lipstick. Wearing heels and lipstick just made me feel put together and infinitely more beautiful, successful, and feminine. I would immediately feel better enough to push through the frustration, stress, or pain I was experiencing. If I got upset, my roommates would go into my bedroom and retrieve my lipstick. It was their way of saying, “you’re right, we support you.”

I would wear red lipstick to my classes, to work, to play. I found that changing lipstick shades was a fun and easy way to change my look, and follow trends of the seasons without investing a lot into clothes and shoes (having the reality of that college shoe-string budget).

A few years ago Gman and I had just moved in together when he had to go overseas for work for over two months. We barely spoke while he was away and I missed him terribly. The day he was returning from his trip, I made an appointment at my hair salon to get a blowout and to get my makeup done. I wanted to surprise him at the door, lookin’ pretty.

While I was getting my makeup done, the man doing it asked me which shade of lipstick I usually wear. I said, “something bright, usually an orange-red.” To which he replied, in a very concerned and condescending tone, “Oh honey, you should never wear red lipstick. Your lips aren’t symmetrical and are too thin. You don’t want to bring attention to it now do you?” He then proceeded to give me tips on how to make my lips look fuller and how to even them out with a nude pencil (I felt like a clown).

I was so blindsided that I didn’t know how to respond. I just sat there. I wanted to smack him and walk out. I never thought something was wrong with my lips. Out of all the things I might nit-pick about myself, I never thought about my face like that. I mean, you can’t really change your face (well, without surgery) and I was completely OK with the lips God gave me. I never considered them “too” anything; I never really thought about them. I was just like, “oh, there are my lips.” My sense of beauty came from how I felt. It wasn’t about the lipstick or my lips; it was about how the lipstick made me feel radiant and confident.

I said nothing else during my appointment and left without tipping that man. As soon as I got home I washed the makeup and shame off my face. When Gman got home I greeted him bare skinned and he was just happy to be home. He kissed my mouth without noticing or caring if my lips weren’t perfectly symmetrical.

It can be difficult to maintain a sense of self-love in a culture with a critical eye. It can be hard not to take the advise of or seek the approval of experts or strangers when faced with wanting to be included, liked, and feel beautiful.

If I’ve learned anything from travel, it’s that standards of beauty are fleeting. What is considered beautiful in one place is considered vulgar in another. At the end of the day, when we are alone faced with ourselves in the mirror, we are the only ones who have the power to choose to find beauty and love in our own reflection.

Celebrating Our Wedding Anniversary

Yesterday was my wedding anniversary. Gman and I celebrated three years of wedded bliss by re-creating our first date. Seven years ago we went on a picnic and had gouda and tomato paninis with little fruit tarts for dessert. We got a 4 euro bottle of wine from a bodega and sat in the grass behind Les Invalids on a beautiful summer day in Paris. We sat there for hours and hours getting to know each other for the first time. Later, Gman proposed to me in the same spot. Amazing how a little patch of grass (pictured above) can be filled with so much meaning.

So last night we made a picnic on the living room floor. We lit candles and laid out a picnic blanket, then made gouda and tomato paninis. For the wine, we opened a bottle we purchased when we were in Bordeaux a few years ago, a 2005 St Emilion (I'll give full notes another time). The taste of the wine brought us right back to France and our memories flooded back. We sat on the floor for hours reminiscing until finally the wine was gone and it was time for bed.

I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate then remembering all of the wonderful moments we've shared so far and I can't wait for what the future holds.

PS - last year's wedding post.

A Dedication to Honey

Honey is one of my favorite ingredients. I say a lot of things are my favorite, but honey really is. Its dependable and so versatile. I like that it can only come from bees and that people across all continents can enjoy their own domestic honey (that's right, its everywhere!) and that the honey's taste reflects the local flora, so its always different. It can be eaten directly out of the comb or strained and packaged. It lasts for years too, not that I've ever experienced that first hand. It can make the perfect addition to a bowl of fruit or take the edge off of a spicy meal. I like to add a touch to my otherwise black morning coffee. 

A few weeks ago I went down to my cousin's house in south Florida. He has a small farm, trapping business, and recently started harvesting honey from his own bees. I was impressed with his ability to take on a new challenge and to do it so well. His honey (pictured) was the perfect souvenir from my visit. I swear I can taste what Florida smells like when I eat it - citrus, fresh cut grass, and wild flowers. He recommended eating it on vanilla ice cream. There's no going back now, my ice cream has gone to a whole new level of delicious. He really should bottle and sell it (maybe through High Heeled Traveler?).

On a side note, bees are apparently non-aggressive when you aren't trying to get their honey. I witnessed another one of my cousins actually pet a bee once and it didn't try to sting him. I almost passed out watching him do it.

Exploring Wine: Fox Run Vineyards and Finger Lakes AVA

Fox Run Vineyards, Cabernet Franc Lemberger, Finger Lakes, 2009, approx. $15

My rating for this bottle? I would drink a few glasses.

When I saw this bottle at the store I was intrigued by where the wine was produced: finger lakes. There is much attention paid to the power-house wine making regions in California but there are passionate wine producers strewn across the nation. I had no idea there was such passion for it in upstate New York. Also, I've never heard of a Lemberger grape. So I had to give it a try.

Not only is there a passion for wine way up in the Empire State, but the Finger Lakes AVA was approved in the mid-1980s and includes a area of over 2 million acres just south of Lake Ontario with over 70 wineries. The grapes commonly grown here are Cabernet Franc, Chardonnay, Gerürtraminer, Pinot Noir, Reisling, Lemberger, and many Native American grapes (I haven't explored any of these yet!). Here's a little map I drew for you to get your bearings:

Lemberger is a grape grown in Austria, parts of Germany, Washington State, Oregon, and several areas in Eastern Europe. It produces a light red wine with high acidity that actually doesn't grow well in the cold. A seemingly poor choice for upstate New York, known for blisteringly cold winters. Apparently though, the area around the glacial lakes where this AVA is located produces a warmer micro-climate where the grapes thrive. Imagine, a little hot spot on the edge of a glacial lake! Who knew? 

In addition, Fox Run Vineyards practices sustainable growing habits, being careful to disturb the beautiful surroundings as little as possible. If you're interested you can read more about Fox Run's sustainable growing methods on their website. 

Upon opening this bottle and taking a sip, it tasted and smelled like a woodsy fire - smoke, vanilla, earthiness - paired with bright cherries and possibly raspberries. The Cabernet Franc and Lemberger seemed to compliment each other nicely to produce a well balanced, medium bodied wine. I drank it by itself, but it would pair well with grilled food like kebobs, burgers, or even s'mores! If there was a wine to bring on a camping trip, this would be it.

I'm glad I took a chance on a new growing region, vineyard, and grape. I'll be adding this one to my regular rotation.

Notes on Viewing Conceptual Art

I was strolling through the National Gallery of Art yesterday after attending the panel discussion on Photography’s function as diplomacy (very interesting, will write about this next). I came upon this piece by Glenn Ligon. The wall text only gave these details:

Glenn Ligon 

American, born 1960 

Condition Report, 2000 

iris prints with screen-printed annotations 

Gift of the Artist 

This work is exactly why I love conceptual art. I will attempt now to explain my thought process and the conclusions I reached while looking at this painting. I am not familiar with this artist or his work. And for the purposes of this discussion, I haven’t looked anything up. I am only describing what I see.

To start, Condition Report consists of two paintings both painted on the same size paper and in identical frames, suggesting a duality. It invites us to compare the two paintings. The words “I AM A MAN” are written in large black capital block letters. The word “am” is underlined. On the piece to the right there are notes scribbled on the boarder with lines directing you to marks. These notations are how a registrar usually creates a condition report for a work of art. They use a picture of the painting, sculpture, photography, or whatever the artwork is and they make notes on it just like this to indicate where there is damage on the work. The condition report is used for shipping, insurance, and in some cases pricing. On this painting there seems to be extensive damage.

Now here’s where it gets interesting, I hope you’ll agree! When I was looking at this I thought about the quintessential conceptual art pieces by Rene Magritte (1898-1967) called Ceci n’est pas une pipe, 1928-29, oil on canvas. His artwork questions the idea of representation and challenges our conception of reality (he was part of the surrealist movement, along with our boy Salvador Dali). Ceci n’est pas une pipe is a painting of a pipe, it refers to a pipe, but it is not an actual pipe. The words call attention to the paintings attempt to recreate a pipe. We say, “that is a pipe,” when we look at the painting but somewhere in our minds we understand that we cannot reach out and smoke it.

In Condition Report, Ligon’s words “I AM A MAN” are multifunctional. They are simply making a statement; they are a representation of Ligon’s thoughts and reality. He is a man. The words are written in black, which might indicate that Ligon is African American. It suggests that although he doesn’t mention his race when he states his identity, it is ever present and silently the focus.

The words also indicate that perhaps the paper is a man. Perhaps the words are labeling the paper. Like how we say "spices" or "office supplies" when organizing things. Perhaps they are labeling the object not the artist. I would argue that the condition report takes on a whole new meaning in this context. There is excessive damage noted on the painting to the right, pointing out cracks, tears, dark spots, etc. I wonder if the painting on the left is how the artist sees himself, simply as a man, without any criticism, as he is. And maybe the painting on the right is how society sees him. We point out his flaws. We think of him, as a black man, as damaged. But then, we didn’t make this painting. The artist did. I wonder if he is pointing out what others have observed in him or if he is making assumptions on what he thinks we see when we look at him. I didn’t notice the damage on the painting to the left until it was pointed out on the right. Suddenly, this work is loaded with thoughts on identity, race, and politics.

The painting got me thinking about myself and my views, judgments, and preconceptions. What if the painting said “I AM A WOMAN” and it was written in white letters? How would we read the condition report? Would it point to wrinkle, scar on right hand index finger, double chin, overbite, and left foot larger than right foot? Would it represent how I saw myself or how I think others see me? And what is the difference?

When you are walking through an art gallery I encourage you to take a few minutes to really look. What do you see? What is the artist trying to tell you? You might not be familiar with the artist or their genre of painting, sculpture, etc. but that doesn't matter. You can pick up clues from the painting itself, even if the wall text gives you nothing more than a label. There is so much more than meets the eye. Although Condition Report needed little skill to create (i.e. “I could paint that”), it isn’t about the virtuosity of the artist in a traditional sense. It is mimicking reality in a different way than the Old Master’s or Impressionists and deserves to be considered by us, the viewers.

High Heeled Traveler, The Magazine Contributor Grace Barkley

I'm still reeling from the excitement of launching my first magazine (purchase a copy here!). Setting my sights on a goal and actually taking the steps to accomplish it was incredibly difficult and rewarding. To say it was a learning experience is an understatement and I welcome more growing pains as I get ready for issue two. 

I couldn't have created such a successful publication without my awesome contributors. I'd like to highlight them each here over the next few weeks (check back every Monday!) as a thank you.

First up is Grace Barkley. I met her through the internet (how I make most of my friends, thanks Twitter!) and was excited to include her story The Farm House in the inaugural issue of the magazine. She currently lives in Savannah, GA and earning her MFA in Writing from Savannah College of Art and Design. Her blog, Runs With Markers, is a great mix of highlighting objects she loves and daily musings in her life (like dressing guinea pigs in sweaters). She is a freelance writer and designer, too, so check out her professional work here and hire her! :)

Thanks Grace for being apart of my crazy magazine fantasies!

If you are interested in contributing to the magazine, go here for submission details.