A question for Beer, Wine, and Classic Music snobs!

[sadzoo]

I thought this would be fun.

A few weeks ago Devi and I realized that a sassy bar was right down the street from us that has a wide selection of exotic beer (along with horrible good english food). Recently I have been trying to listen to classical music while I work. It's like the only thing I can listen to for hours and hours without my head turning into a uncontrollable radio knob (you know what I mean, you start putting five, six songs together in your head, and it's unstoppable). And, I love wine. So here's the deal......

I want to know what kind of beer, classical music, and wine you all find interesting and worthwhile.

Sounds fun right? Oh, and pronunciations would be helpful to, because last time at the bar I tried to order Framboise, and I said it like Boise Idaho. Very embarrassing!

[ devi edit : made subject line more descriptive and inviting ]

[St.Norman]

Almost any Classical you can Find by Kronos Quartet, I just picked up a recording of them playing Phillip Glass's Compositions for Dracula. I know that one is not really tradition classical But it is really Bad Ass as well as the score they did with Mogwai. Other wise on that front Bela Bartok is a darker composer really great, may have already heard it. That's not really my area of knowledge but he is haunting. Stravinsky as well. Any high end Pinot (Pee-No) Noir is a good wine and strong. I'm by no means an expert on any of this just what I like. Hope this helps.

[Stacco]

I suppose you can't really call Gershwing "classical" but I think Rhapsody in Blue is like mah favourite "song", evah!!! And I think it goes great with wine and er... eroticism.

[basti moon]

I enjoy thinking stuff up while listening to Olivier Messiaien, Claude Debussy and Steve Reich.

Actually I started looking on last.fm again about a week ago and since I don't have many friends on there kept seeing Bach being played by Devi. Now I know why, hah!

Torres wines are pretty normal in the states too, right right? There is a wine called Serego Alighieri that is made by Torres, I think. Tried to find info on it online, but not much luck in the little minute I used on it. The story behind it is that it's made by Dante's son and have been unchanged for generations. That's enough reason to like it, I know, but it also tastes great, not too sweet, a little dry, smokey, but not a whisky wannabe, earth and just the right amount of fruitiness too.
It gives you a very lyrical high, I would say. It's probably the etymology behind it.
I prefer Guinness for beer.
Maybe there's some norwegian beer I can recommend that they might have? Frydenlund is one of my favourites.

[Seizurema]

When it comes to classical I go for Bartok. And Zappa's classical stuff (if you count that )

I can't legally drink...so yeah.

[LowWoods]

Cabernet (Ka - ber - nay) Sauvignon (So - van - yone) - That's that ol' room temperature Red Wine! It's pretty yummy.

Classical Music - Kiss, Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple

I hope someone laughed!

[sunken.anchor]

Classical... My favorites are Tchaikovsky and Ravel. Shostakovich is cool too.

But I really lean towards the more modern cinematic stuff. I'm not as into the thematic film scores (like John Williams, etc.) but more of the haunting and/or emotional background stuff... emotional without being overly triumphant or processional (like lots of J. Williams... don't get me wrong... he's classic... Star Wars? Jaws? Indiana Jones? Terrific while watching the films, but I wouldn't ever think of listening to his scores for pleasure only).

My favorite film score is Hans Zimmer's for The Thin Red Line. It's haunting and very sad-sounding.

Also, I was recently VERY impressed by "Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone."

I like Astor Piazzolla too, but a lot of his stuff is more tango and less classical--at least not western-world classical.

No thoughts on the wine... I happen to be straight-edge (not militant or hardline about it... it just works for me) so I don't touch the stuff.

[glitch]

Okey, here goes...

For beer, I've always had a deep and abiding fascination for a good cerveza -- in particular dark mexicans (boy, does that ever sound incriminating). My favorite has always been Negra Modello. It's dark enough to have some body, yet still clean and refreshing like any other good mexican beer. Oh, and I've got to have a bloody fistful of limes. Yeah, I know it's a "yuppie" thing to put lime in your beer, but I really like the taste and will regularly squeeze 3 or 5 slices into each bottle. Yum!

Wine, I'll always jump for an Oregon Pinot Noir, especially southwest coast. Syrahs are good too, as are Sonoma Cabernets. I'm a bit burned out on the Napa region right now (so many wines from there are just so heavy, with not enough spice or complexity), but I have had some good things from there in the past; mostly small batch stuff though, so not readily available. For French, I keep an eye out for the yearly Beaujolais Nouveau crop to arrive come springtime, and will sometimes grab a bottle from Georges Debouef 'cause it's easy to find. Also, Debouef Beaujolais Villages is a nice inexpensive "everyday table wine". And a good French Bordeaux is just the basic standard red wine.

Overall, I'm not too much for whites. Occasionally a Pouilly Fume', and I recall there are some nice dry Italians too (although the varietal escapes me for the moment). I'm not fond of the typical whites -- like Chardonay or (blech!) White Zin -- as I mostly find them too sweet. And although I've had some really good Rieslings and Gewurtztrameiners in the Rhine Valley where they were produced, I've never tasted an import that was good as anything but dessert wine.

Finally Classical Music: I find my tastes split into two categories here, "traditional" and 20th Century. For normal Classical, I usually lean toward the French impressionists (Satie and Debussy... Ravel too) and/or the Russians (Rachmaninoff, Mussuorgsky, Rimsky-Korsakov, and Prokofiev). Also, there's a lot of piano music by Chopin, and violin concertos from Kriesler which don't fit into either of those categories. For 20th Century, we're looking at Harry Partch, Tudor's renditions of Cage's prepared piano pieces, some Glenn Branca, early works by electronic composers like Henri Pousseur ("Trois Visages du Liege" is nice) and Stockhausen, minimalists such as Steve Reich and Terry Riley, and even microtonal works like Wendy Carlos' "Beauty and the Beast".

Eh, so is that snobby 'nuff for you guys?

-- glitch.@#$%!

[glitch]

Also, I was recently VERY impressed by "Yo-Yo Ma Plays Ennio Morricone."

Oh my, I NEEEEED to find this...

I like Astor Piazzolla too, but a lot of his stuff is more tango and less classical--at least not western-world classical.

Oh wow! I can't believe I forgot to mention Piazzolla (and Morricone too!). Especially since I've had both of them in heavy rotation on my car stereo lately.

Those guys both rock!

-- glitch.@#$%!

[hasblueshoes]

Personally if I were in Portland I would be drinking Rogue Rogue Rogue and more Rogue.

[sadzoo]

Holy crap guys, I feel like I need to take a class on snobbery now. Seriously I'm impressed. Until this thread the only classical music I'd known of are the most popular Bach pieces, Vivaldi's "Four Seasons", and Pachbell's "Canon in D". And I used to be in an orchestra (many moons ago). I am so unseasoned in classical music. But hey at least I know about Kiss, Led Zepplin, and Deep Purple.

Wine I tend to gravitate towards Shiraz (and Shirah, although I don't know the difference between them), Merlot, Gewurtztrameiners, and Reisling. I have never tried a Cab that I have liked, I know it's crazy. Something about the woody flavors. Maybe it's something I'll appreciate with age. The best wine I ever had is one that I don't even know the name of. Here in the western states of the US, we have a grocery chain who sells products from companies that are going under or have overstock. I bought a bottle years ago, and don't even remember the type of wine it was. It had just the richest flavor, and it was purple, kind of like blueberry juice or something. It even had little bits of grape skins swimming around in it.

For beer I love Guiness of course. I've had a chocolate beer that was wonderful, and recently I tried a norwegian beer recently here at our neighborhood pub that I loved. Next time I'll ask about a Frydenlund. And apparently I've got to find out about this Rouge beer.

I love trying new things. Thanks for all of the suggestions.

[thevisionseeker]

Some Great Micro Brewing Companies:

3 Flloyds
2 Brothers
Lagunitas
Dark Horse
New Holland
Rogue
Goose Island Reserve
Bell's
etc...
All depends where you are located.

[Antero]

As far as beer goes, I prefer porters and British ales. In bars I default to a Guinness... or even better, a Guinness and some random ale, and roll my own Black & Tan. That's fun stuff.

Classical music: Mahler. Yessss.

Wine: I don't know jack shit about wine. Red makes my head hurt if I have more than a glass or two.

[Artist]

Classical: Sibelius of course!

Beer: Any decent, preferably finnish, lager.

Wine: Any decent spanish or italian red. Good white wines come from South America and Eastern Europe.

[pablo9000]

Brandenburg Concertos, Bach. Work all day long on that stuff. And the Violin Concertos, too... but you can't really go wrong with ANY Bach, can you?

Henry Purcell, England's greatest treasure... I'll burn you a couple of discs, if you like...

John Dowland, the King of Song... again, I can hook you up.

Been getting into Messiaen lately, lots to learn there. Really fascinating, rich.

Oregon Pinots are overblown and over priced. I'll stick to light, Spanish or Italian reds. Or French. Light, dry Rose when the temp is over 90 degrees. Mmmmmm. The Invoker drinks a bit of sparkling, usually Spanish Cava, and I like to join her.

Beer beer beer... well, we live in the land o' plenty, don't we? (Beers-n-beans-n-buds, it's the great Pacific Northwest!) Try 'em all. I Arbita Brewing's "Purple Haze" right now... much subtler on the raspberry than yer Framboise, wheat-y, yummy. Now, I'm thirsty!

Let us know what else you find, when you find something good!

much lv, peter9

ps - what's a "sassy bar?" I know of "Sassy's," but thats not the kind of place to take a friend...it's...well...icky. Ewwwww!