Music and Wine

It comes as no surprise to me that more and more people in wine blogging circles are drawing parallels between music and wine or peppering their normally vino-centric sites with occasional (or regular) musical interludes. Both media offer, when at their best, a certain visceral sensation that can cut to the quick of personal expression and experience. Energy, soul, flavor… they’re all there, or at least should be, both in the glass and on the turntable or stage.

Sites like Rockss and Fruit and Old World Old School come immediately to mind, with Jim Eastman’s Music and Wine (whose unabashedly straightforward blog name I’ve borrowed for this post) following hard on their heels. I’ve been known to throw my hat into the ring from time to time. The guys at Wine & Spirits, Wolfgang Weber and Peter Liem, have both gotten into the act. And more recently, I’ve seen some pretty cool cross-referencing happening at Saignée. There's little doubt that I’ve missed a few others….

I also have little doubt that there are plenty of wine (and food) bloggers out there that dabble with a musical instrument or two.

But how many wine bloggers can you think of that also happen to be in damn good rock and roll bands? Please correct me if you know of others but I can only think of one: Dr. Jeremy Parzen. The fact that he’s freakishly talented in both arenas (and a scholar and gentleman to boot) only makes it all the more fun to follow his wine, music and food related musings at Do Bianchi and to check out the new video from his band, Nous Non Plus.



NN+'s new album, Ménagerie, is scheduled for release tomorrow, February 3. Advance copies are available for purchase through Aeronaut Records and CC Now or via Amazon. They'll also be playing next Monday, February 9, 2009 – fresh back from a quick European tour – at New York’s Mercury Lounge. Advance tickets are a must.

So what are you waiting for? Get on out there and do your part to support independent music. And while you’re at it, don’t forget to keep that dial tuned in to the work of your favorite independent bloggers.