Groovin' in Friuli Soon

As you may have read in other quarters by now, a small band of misfit, miscreant and otherwise misbehaving wine bloggers, myself included, will be headed to NE Italy soon, in early February to be exact, for a week long tour of the Colli Orientali di Friuli.

While I've been to the Veneto and Trentino in the past, I've never before ventured to Friuli, the easternmost portion of northeastern Italy, where the culture is a melange of Italian, Germanic and Eastern European influences, from a viticultural perspective, a culinary perspective and a plain old cultural perspective.  I'm dying to check it out and very much looking forward to the trip.

If there's a caveat that must be raised, it's that the trip is sponsored by somewhat mercantile concerns, in part by the Conzorzio dei Colli Orientali del Friuli and in other part by those concerned with heading up the Italian branch of the Bastianich empire.  I'm always a tad trepidatious when agreeing to accept such offers and attend such ventures (all airfare, accommodations and meals are paid for by the trip sponsors), as I don't have full control over the trip.  In other words, I'm not sure we'll be seeing the same slate of producers I'd arrange to visit if the trip were self-sponsored and completely under my control.  But I'm quite willing to participate, to hope that we'll see some of the top talent—whether emerging or long-established—in the region, to treat it as a learning experience, and to write about it as I see fit and appropriate from my perspective and for you, my fair and much appreciated readers.

You can read a little more about the trip and my fellow band of merry travelers at the official COF 2011 blog, which is being managed by my erstwhile partner in crime, Mr. DoBi himself, Dr. Jeremy Parzen.

I'm as psyched to be groovin' in Friuli (which I will be) as I would have been to have counted myself among the audience at the show below (which I can't).




Can't wait, y'all. Look out for the official reports from the road, starting round about a month from now.

PS: For those not tuned into the Zappa way, the tune above inspired the title of this here post. And yes, just in case you weren't sure, that's George Duke on the keys, Jean-Luc Ponty on the fiddle, Ruth Underwood on the vibes....

Intro only...

Don Van Vliet is Dead, Long Live Captain Beefheart

Don Van Vliet, better known—to those that knew of him at all—as Captain Beefheart, died yesterday of complications related to multiple sclerosis.  The Captain was 69.  There's no way I could improve upon the obituary that's already been written by Ben Ratliff for The New York Times, so read that.  And listen to this: the title track from the 1967 album Safe As Milk, as performed for French television in 1980.



Though I eventually came to be a big fan of Van Vliet's own music, I first came to know him through his work with Frank Zappa, who produced what was arguably Captain Beefheart's most influential album, Trout Mask Replica. Though it might be fair to think of Zappa and Van Vliet as peers or joint mentors, I tend to think of them more as co-conspirators.  So here's a peek into that side of things, too, via "Willie the Pimp" from Zappa's 1969 release, Hot Rats.



Rest in peace, Don (and Frank).

Intro only...

Hey Hey We're the Mothers

A little nugget of silliness for a Sunday night, courtesy of the YouTube archives. Be sure to stick in there to the end. It might just make you a believer.

Intro only...