Music From My Travels

When I travel, I like to bring home some of the local music to remind me of where I have been.

My first time in Costa Rica, I spent a week with 5 other people at a research station up in the mountains. One of my fellow volunteers had brought his music with speakers so everyone could listen. He would play Amos Lee each evening as we sat out on the porch watching the wildlife of the forest. It was MAGICAL – so of course that is what I brought home with me that time, even though I do know he is not a local native.

About 10 years ago I spent 16 days in Mongolia at a research station out on the Steppes of the Gobi Desert. While working there, I had the chance to experience their Throat Singing (Oh my god… how do they DO that?) so of course I once I got home I bought two CDs by Huun-Huur-U and listen to it quite often.

My African trip gave me African Rhythms & Instruments – because the rhythms of Africa are amazing. I also came home with Nyaz - not exactly African music, but one of the volunteers I worked with on that trip was Egyptian. 

The two weeks I spent on the Amazon River gave me EvaAyllon and Musica Folklorica de los Andes as well as Sarah Tavares who admittedly is not Peruvian but is still an incredibly good musician.

Making my way through the crowded streets of Market Day in a small village about four years ago I heard some interesting music. I do not speak the language, but eventually got the street vendor to understand that I really liked what I heard so he let me take a picture of the CD he was playing. I was able to order it when I got home, so now have Juan Luis Guerra to remind me of my time in the Canary Islands.

A New Cider Lover

I’m not particularly fond of ciders, so when La Bodega sent out an email advertising their next Virtual Tasting I wasn’t very excited about it. I forwarded the information along to Bryan anyway, just in case he was interested. Turns out, he was. He stopped by the shop and got the tasting kit for us on his way to doing some chores at the rental this last weekend.

The tasting was via Zoom again, but it was a more controlled session so we didn’t get Zoom Bombed this time. They also limited participation to just 10 people, making it was a lot more intimate and personal. Connection was an issue, however; the guest speaker kept cutting in and out so we’d miss what he was saying periodically.

The three ciders being featured were made by a cidery located out of Eugene, Oregon, called WildCraft Cider Works, founded by Sean Kelly. Sean gave us a tour of his shop and explained how he came to be the owner of a cidery. He told us how he sources apples, pears and botanicals within a 30-mile radius to craft his ciders. He uses natural yeasts to lend characteristic complexity to every bottle. Fermenting each ingredient individually, he harness the natural flavors before hand-blending to perfection. You’ll never find juice concentrates, added sulfates, extra sweeteners, or commercial yeasts in his high-quality beverages. 

The first cider to be tasted was called RUN OF THE MILL. Each year they harvest from thousands of trees and hundreds of varieties of apples. This cider is blend of ALL of these apples to create a complex yet simple and delightful sip. The method of blending utilized is called the solera method which is style of blending aged liquids year over year. Each year’s harvest is fermented and barrel aged in American oak barrels for 9 months before being added to the previous year’s blend. This cider contains the aged fermentation’s of 3 consecutive harvest seasons.

Next on the lineup was THE DANDY LION made from peaches, dandelion wine, and cider; aged in Granache Barrels until just right. This one had a very distinctive flavor that definitely put you out in a field of dandelions.

We ended our tasting tour with a special bottle of STRAWBERRY SPRUCE TIP cider, made with – you guessed it – strawberries and spruce tips. It was a very unique taste, and one that we were very lucky to get since it is not one that he makes very often.

I am happy to say that by the end of the tasting, my mind had been changed. I now like ciders! More to the point, perhaps, is that I like THESE ciders – and can confidently buy them knowing that I will be getting good pure cider, and nothing else.