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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (May 5, 2005)
BY LANCE SPARKS Poe-etic Justice The rich get ripped off when it comes to wine. F rom his brilliant, bitter mind, the great Edgar Allen Poe spun the tale he titled “The Masque of the Red Death” in 1842, a nasty little allegory about how the wealthy and powerful respond to mass suffering. Goes like this: Through the cities and across the countryside the Plague (the Red Death) rages, killing all in its path. The rich autocrat Prince Prospero gath- ers his friends into an abbey and has the gates welded shut. Supplies have been gathered sufficient for a months-long self- imposed quarantine. While many people, trying to escape the Plague, and two odd corollaries: First Law, the rich are exempt from bad wine, except when the cork goes funky. First corollary, the rich rarely pay full retail, can afford to buy futures or at discounts. Second corollary, the rich prove their status and exclusive access (you can’t have any) by being ripped off for absurd prices (a thousand bux for one bottle of top- shelf Burgundy). Weird, no? Well, for the rest of us for whom wine is not a lux- ury product but an essential CAMPUS AREA DELIVERY TAKE OUT ★ EAT HERE SERVING DELICIOUS NEW YORK PIZZA BY THE SLICE AND BY THE WHOLE PIZZA PIE 11:30AM-MIDNIGHT MON-SAT ★ 3:30PM-MIDNIGHT SUNDAY $ 2.00 OFF COUPONS GOOD UNTIL MAY 19, 2005 10¢ OFF PLUS A SLICE ANY 18” LARGE OR 16” MEDIUM PIZZA PLUS 2 FREE 20oz. SODAS ® 1 FREE 12 OZ. SODA 1211 ALDER 686-9598 ON CAMPUS NEXT TO SACRED HEART HOSPITAL trekking? medical advice for global travelers T HE T RAVEL C LINIC 1200 Hilyard St., Suite S-560 343-6028 OK, Poe’s style is romantic, distinctly pre-industrial, but his lesson is clear: Whatever the troubles of the world, the rich believe themselves exempt. plead for admittance to the sanctuary and are turned away, the Prince and pals contrive a grand party, a “masque,” a costume ball, with lavish bounty of food and wine (sharp contrast to the mass starvation outside the walls) and exotic decorations for the pleasure and amuse- ment of the guests (contrasting the decaying cities and dying villages outside). All dance, drink, disport themselves. Poe, of course, guides readers and party- mongers through “much glare and glitter and piquancy and phantasm” to the ominous presence of an uninvited guest, a “spectral image,” Red Death itself: “And one by one dropped the revelers in the blood-bedewed halls of their revel ... and the Red Death held illimitable dominion over all.” OK, Poe’s style is romantic, distinctly pre- industrial, but his lesson is clear: Whatever the troubles of the world, the rich believe them- selves exempt. (By rich, I don’t mean poor schmucks who earn six figures by grinding out 60-hour weeks; such folk might think they’re rich, might identify with the rich, might be Republicans, but they’re just laborers.) War in their country? The rich do not go to war, they just move away from it. Famine in the land? The rich dine elegantly when others starve: “M’lady, the people cry they have no bread.” “Well, let them eat cake.” If the economy crashes here, the rich fly there (tap the untaxed 11.5 trillion dollars currently stashed in off- shore banks). Bankruptcy? Please; read the new law. Rebellion, crime, turmoil in the streets? Retreat behind high walls in fortified bastions with private armies. If the “Clean Air Act” poisons the atmosphere, the rich will breathe pure oxygen in their limos and man- sions. “Nucular” war? The rich are pre-ticketed to impregnable shelters. Global warming? “Adapt,” responds His Georgeliness. Whatever the ills, the rich are exempt. (Note: Not all the rich lack conscience, and some are wonderfully generous. Pity there aren’t more such.) But now and then, the arrogance goes too far, and the camel won’t pass through the eye of the needle and even mighty Ozymandias lies a broken ruin half-buried under desert sands. But what about wine, you ask. One law food, we’re lucky (sorta) that’s there’s gobs of good wines at affordable (kinda) prices. Crab season trembles on the brink of clo- sure, but there’s still time for viognier (vee-o- nyay), lovely French grape, which sings arias with Dungeness. Try Cline 2001 Viognier ($10) from Sonoma County, rich, round and ripe with distinctive melon flavors backed by mineral notes. Roadtripping the dazzling Columbia Gorge? Cross Bridge of the Gods, drop in on the Columbia Gorge Interpretive Museum (fun history — did you know the river used to have salmon by the millions? And native peo- ples lived there?), pop into quaint burg of Stevenson, shop A&J Select market for local wines, grab up Maryhill 2003 Columbia Valley Viognier ($12), lush, juicy with ripe pear fruit, white flowers, river rock — dayum! Might spot some fine local merlots that don’t get out of the area; pick up Wind River 2001 Merlot ($16), soft and fleshy with nice blueberry, cherry, cedar notes. Yearning for good pinot gris? O’Reilly’s 2004 Pinot Gris Oregon ($10) scores again, just so pretty, crisp, clean, satisfying. But for a few dollars more, try a classic Alsatian rendition, Bott Freres Tokay d’Alsace 1999 Pinot Gris ($13.50), flaw- lessly balanced, nuanced expression of fruit, flavors of pear, quince, apple lingering in the mouth, yum. We’re nearing salad time, which calls for oddities: Abiqua Wind 2003 Chloe’s Breeze Muller-Thurgau Willamette Valley ($9.50, charming little white, low al- cohol (11.5 percent), touch of sweetness, de- cent acidity, catchy lime/kiwi flavors, makes a nice hook-up with fresh greens. So let us, the merely human, take comfort while we can in the simple, rustic pleasures we are afforded. And if cruel and avaricious policies of the obscenely rich finally succeed in increasing the common world’s suffering, then let us have the courage to endure and the will to struggle. We might not be exempt, but maybe no one really is. As exclusive as the party might seem, we can never be sure who’ll show up. ew Start traveling healthy today at www.TravelClinicOregon.com EVENING WINE SEMINARS From time to time we stage special evening wine tastings that highlight specific varietals or regions. Our next tasting will focus on Brunello di Montalcino. We will pour the top wines wines from 1997 and 1998 vintages. To accompany the wines specially selected small plates will be served. Limited seating! Call for reservations and details.$50. Tuesday, June 7, 7:30 to 9 p.m. You’re invited to two great wine tastings coming up in May. S A TURD A Y , M A Y 7 TURDA B ENTON - L ANE W INER Y INERY Fine pinot noir & pinot gris from this superb southern Willamette Valley producer. S A TURD A Y , M A Y 14 TURDA A LAIN B R UM ONT W INE S UMONT INES Outstanding and unusual wines from one of the best producers in southern France. F REE T ASTINGS EVER Y EVERY F RID A Y & S A TURD A Y TURDA RIDA 4 TO 6 PM SUNDANCE W I N E C E L L A R S 2470 ALDER ST. EUGENE, OR 687-WINE MAY 5, 2005 39
