Good morning!
Happy Sunday. Whew. How are you? The past few weeks have felt like a long and surreal case of whiplash for me. I’ve been from Chicago to California and back on business with flight delays, disputed credit card charges, and long working hours. I am still catching up.
All this is to say that this week, in between drafting frantic notes in my phone about new addresses and key codes as I get settled into a new city and new job — I stumbled upon some old notes that sparked memories and I also drafted a few new ones. In a break from my standard format, I’d like to share them in the ‘what I thought’ section. They’re mostly what I would consider to be love letters — to cities, to moments, and to Oscar. I thought we could all stand to feel a little wistful this week.
What I thought about this week
A love letter to Chicago:
A love letter to a conversation with a friend, and a blank start:
A love letter to Oscar:
What I drank this week
Frecciarossa Casteggio, ‘Sfera Rosso,’ Italy $23
The theme this week was large format bottles, shared with friends. This was a liter of light, easy drinking wine for $23. Unbeatable.
A juicy crusher from central Italy, Sfera Rosso is a collaborative project that sources fruit from multiple vineyard sites throughout Casteggio. A kitchen-sink blend of organic Uva Rara, Barbera, Croatina, Pinot Nero and Riesling are co-fermented and treated to 8 days of skin contact before being bottled unfiltered and unfined. A real bang-for-your-buck proposition, that, and one that tastes good too. Fitted with a picnic-friendly crown cap for easy sharing.
Jean Foillard, Pinot Noir, Morgon ‘Côte du Py,’ Beajoulais, France 2015 $90ish
We kept the large format trend going with a magnum of the iconic Beajoulais producer Jean Foillard’s ‘Cote du Py.’ We poured it for friends over dinner, at which point one of the guests exclaimed, “this isn’t wine, this is perfume!” We cheers-ed to that. It was perfect with grilled salmon. The producer became known for old vine viticultural practices: picking grapes from older, richer vines, never using synthetic pesticides or herbicides, harvesting late, and rigorously sorting the fruit and selecting only the best of the best, adding minimal sulfur, and neither chaptalizing (adding sugar) or filtering the wine. The wine is finished by aging for 6-9 months in used oak barrels.
What I liked this week
This amazing peach soft serve ice cream from Kurimu. It’s hot in Chicago.
Going to Verve Wine + Provisions with a friend. This artichoke appetizer / thing was amazing. I truthfully didn’t even understand what it was, but it was delicious.
A profile about how “Milkshakes” singer Kelis found freedom through farming. By Roxanne Gay for Harper’s Baazar.
In praise of small menus — a sentiment I happen to share, passionately. Restaurants with more focused menus are more intentional and I find the dishes to be higher quality. After the pandemic, I hope small menus are here to stay.
That’s all. Have a nice week!
All my best,
Kate
As always, I love your words and the images they bring. Hey Kate, will you be my niece?