Day 1 of the wine country roadtrip from Atlanta to Sonoma is officially in the books. I felt pretty good and excited to get things started and pounded out about 673 miles and settled down in Van Buren, AR for the night. The weather held up nicely and was sunny and hot most of the way with the exception of a quick storm that decided to slam me right when I was unloading the car at the hotel. I want to take this opportunity to thank everyone who is supporting me on this wonderful life journey, especially my wife, Jonjie, who has allowed this to become reality. I don’t know what I would do without her. Of course, thanks to all 5 of you other folks who are actually reading this and commenting… I really do appreciate it. Come visit me in Sonoma this harvest and we’ll raise a glass! Now, onto today’s highlights:
Memphis BBQ
The first leg of the trip was a fairly lengthy stretch on I-20 and hwy 78 from Atlanta to Memphis before I even hit I-40. However, the dangling carrot in front of the loaded down family truckster was the promise of Memphis BBQ for lunch. Brad (@biskuitatl) had recommended Payne’s BBQ on Lamar, however, I learned that it is closed on Sunday’s as most things are on this day in this town. Ben (Benito) Carter of Benito’s Wine Reviews informed me of this critical information and offered up a backup plan, as did Brad, to check out Central BBQ. The results were tasty, right on time and had me and Willie on the road again. Check out the results and colorful comments from other BBQ lovers here.
Wine in the Ozarks
You have heard me and many other wine geeks mention on more than one occasion that there is at least one winery in every state. One such winery in Arkansas, named Chateau Aux Arc (pronounced “O-zark” — get it?), is only about 3 miles off of I-40 in Altus, AR. A few wineries in this area were approved to make sacramental wine during prohibition and therefore have been making wine for over 130 years. Ch. Aux Arc and their vineyards are within the Altus AVA which is situated on a plateau above the Arkansas River. The tasting room manager informed me that they had already harvested their grapes this year much to my amazement, though it is necessary due to the very warm climate. Unfortunately, a lot of the resulting wines remain quite high in acid which was quite noticeable when I tasted their lineup. They make Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon (though not anymore as it just isn’t doing well for them in this area), Dragon Fly (Merlot/Zin blend), Zinfandel, Muscadine and a German-style off-dry white blend. The 2004 Zinfandel was very good, with aromas of plums, raisins and black fruit and had nice spice finish that had good length. The off-dry blend included Chardonnay, Muller-Thurgau, Kerner, Orienesteiner (sp?) and Scheurebe. It was probably less than 2/2.5% RS with great floral, honeysuckle and citrus aromas and was well-balanced. A nice way to wrap up the day.
The Power of Positive Thinking
Carry and present the attitude that you would want others to present to you. Have an attitude of accomplishment, drive and the desire to be successful. Do not let others tell you that you are not worthy and you do not have the right to chase your dreams just because you don’t have 30 years experience in the field like they do. People who do this are haters and only serve to bring negative energy to the conversation and will only serve to suck you into the black hole of self-doubt. This kind of negative attitude is the source of what is wrong with wine today and why social media can be a good thing for wine if used appropriately. Most social media channels do not tolerate such negativity, though constructive criticism, transparency and open feedback are welcome. The problem with these haters is that they are trying to apply their 30 years of yesterday’s experience to something that is innovative, ever-changing and requires a completely different point of view. Maybe they don’t have the experience to be flexible and adapt to changing environments, who knows. Those who do will remain relevant. My advice to you is to keep positive, keep driving and keep getting better at what you do. Let the online community decide who is fit to influence… not haters.
Cheers! See you on the road tomorrow – be sure to follow along with my tweets and pit stops via Foursquare.
-Easy Rider
Yay, Ed! You’re my hero! Atlanta to Van Buren in one day? That’s impressive! I did my predoctoral internship in Little Rock, and Hubby and I explored the Arkansas wineries one cold weekend. From what I recall, there are some diamonds in the rough, and the people are great.
Looking forward to reading about the rest of your journey!
Cecilia
What a great first day! Kelsey and I miss you already but are super excited about your venture. No haters around here. Have fun in OK and TX tomorrow!
Cecilia: I did not know that… very cool! I bet there are quite a few diamonds… in this case, I was looking for closest to my route, and enjoyed the visit and the wine!
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Thanks, baby… I’ll probably get through both and end up in NM before the day is through… working on the modified itinerary now… good night!
YAY ED! Be safe and enjoy the trip. Looking forward to reading your updates!
Sounds like a great first day.
Ed – Sounds like a great start and you put some miles behind you. Good post about positive thinking, no haters around here, only fans and supporters. Hopefully you can check out Gruet (one of my wife’s favs) at the end of today in NM.
Hey Ed. Ping me when you get to town. I made a similar trek in 2005 and now am permanently ensconced in Healdsburg and Russian River Pinot. Good on you for hooking up with John. We’ve got a great local crew of bloggers, tweet freaks, and winemakers that would love to make you feel at home.
Drive safe.
Alan
Alan, will do. I have followed our Cellar Rat blog off and on in the past… congrats on your hard work and passion coming to fruition in the form of Cartograph. Thanks so much for reaching out… I appreciate it!
Jason, I made good time today, but didn’t get here with enough time to hit Gruet before they closed… got stuck in rush hour traffic. However, because I’ve done well the first two days, I am thinking of chilling in the AM catching up in some reading, blogging, etc. and hit up Gruet when they open at 10am before heading up into UT through Monument Valley, recommended by Jack