Who Is This Guy? Why Is He Blogging?

Hey boys and girls.  My name is Craig and I'm new to this whole blogging thing.  I don't really have any special insight into anything, nor am I an expert in any field, but I do enjoy a couple of things: wine and running.

To the average person these two hobbies might not necessarily mesh, however I think they are in harmony with each other.  I know there are many differences between the two.  Running is, for the most part, an individual sport (and yes, running, even for fun, is a sport) while I believe wine should be shared with friends and family.  Running is 50% psychological and 50% physical, while wine is 100% psychological.  Both are much difficult, especially to beginners like me.  I've enjoyed running for the past few years, with a somewhat lengthy break in the middle.  I am very green in the wine world as a trip to Napa and Sonoma in August/September 2008 began my journey in the wine world.

I have no idea where this blog will take me.  I'm sure I'll vent about politics, Montana, sports (Montana football, all of Vanderbilt sports, Raiders football, Giants baseball...), and anything I may have seen that has made an impact on me.  I am in NO WAY an expert in running or wine, I just enjoy the two and maybe some of my experiences or insights may intrigue some of the readers.  I may taste a wine and LOVE it and you may HATE it.  I hope you comment and tell me how wrong I am.  Believe me, it won't hurt my feelings.  

So, let's get started!!!

First off, I'm training for the Go Marathon in St. Louis in April.  This will be my first marathon in 2.5 years.  It's going.  I'm sure I'll be keeping updates as my training progresses.  Since my training began, I've lost 15 pounds, while another 15 loss would be GREAT.  Eh.

I came back to Nashville this past weekend after an extended stay in Montana for Christmas.  I arrived back to my place to find that I had NO food in my kitchen.  None.  Nada.  After the trip to Kroger on Monday, I began to think about what I was going to have for dinner tonight.  I decided upon a jambalaya mix I've had in the pantry for a year with some smoked sausage for my protein intake.  While making dinner, I had to decide which wine in my cellar would go with this spicy dish.  Oh, and by cellar, I mean my 16 bottle wine fridge and the cabinet space below my kitchen counter.  I looked online, and most 'experts' said to have a zinfandel or syrah with the spicy food, but I don't necessarily go by the books.  I decided on one of my chardonnays, specifically the Franciscan Napa Valley 2007.  

Now, I'm not a chardonnay drinker.  I don't really like the texture or the oak that most have in their tasting profile, especially the California chardonnays.  This bottle: no different.  I think I may have subconsciously wanted to get rid of my only chardonnay in my queue.  It has a finely balanced nose, with citrus and tons, TONS, of pear.  I'm a fan of pear, I can deal with that.  As I taste this a 2nd time, it isn't as heavy as some of the chards I've had, but the butter and oak are very apparent.  The pear isn't as noticeable on the palate, however a new grapefruit comes on a bit.  It doesn't necessarily have the balance I would like, as it punches you in the face at the beginning but drops off noticeably right away.  High acidity.  Eh, I don't drink chardonnays that much so I'm not the greatest with this varietal, but I can say I would not buy this again.  $15.00.  Eh, maybe for $8.00.  It did pair nicely with the spicy jambalaya as it proved a nice flavor balance.  I bet I would love an un-oaked chardonnay with this dish.

Oh, well.  Swing and a miss.

On a brighter note, I just received my Smith Optics Factor sunglasses!  I actually can't wait for my morning run to try them out.  Update tomorrow maybe?