Googlegangers

Have you googled yourself lately? I have a doppelganger, more than one in fact. I thought I had (brilliantly) come up with a new word, "Googleganger", but googling the word showed me that it was already listed in the Urban Dictonary. Darn.

Someone else out there is using the name VivaELvino. He, I think it’s a he”, registered the domain name. This must be fairly recent, because I googled it a ways back while thinking of a business idea and he did not came up in the search. There is also a Spanish web site about wine using the name. Sounds good to me. I love Spanish wines.

Mr. Vivaelvino beat me to the Facebook page. I bet he has a Myspace page, too. Well crap. Or maybe not. I’m not really motivated to do Facebook or Myspace. I’m not part of that generation. I can hardly keep up with Linkedin and I see a point to participating in that. I got to Twitter first though. Neener neener.

Should I go to all the blog sites and register myself first? Maybe we could have a spectacular legal battle over who has the right to use the name ala Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars and Stags’ Leap Winery. We could spend hundreds of thousands of dollars and eventually settle on me using the capped “EL” and him using “el” lower case. Nah, I suggest we sit down over a glass of wine and swap stories about how brilliant we both are (or not, see above) to think it up spontaneously but separately. Great minds think alike, eh?

Even more unsettling is the reality that there is someone out there with the same given name as me. I guess if you are named after a family member like Desi and Lucy Arnez, Jr., or if you have a combination of a fairly common first and last name, like Mike Jones you are probably used to it. (Based on my unofficial observation, "Mike Jones" is the name that occurs most frequently on our mailing list at work.) But this is about me.

I have a less common first name and less common last name. Out of curiosity I looked up my first name popularity stats on the US Social Security Department baby name web site. The name has increased in popularity since I was born. Not surprising, as most of the people I meet with the same first name are younger. I was born in the 1960’s. The site says my name ranked at number 245 in that decade. Now ranks at 75. A pretty impressive jump if I may say so, as we move into the twenty-first century. We’re moving up in popularity gals. Not to digress too much here, but the names on the list and the way the order changes over the years could be an entirely different posting. Go check it out for yourself and see where your name ranks (and how many ways there are to spell "Destiny" as a first name.)

I do occasionally come across people with the same surname or the same first name as me, but never both. From my google research, it looks like my googleganger lives in the UK, which makes the surname thing more likely. I also think we both use a similar email address which is a bit unsettling. which is why sometimes my favorite username is taken. She has a Facebook page, too.

I wonder how much else we are alike or not alike. Do we both like wine? How did she get named the same first name as me? Does her family come from the same area of Ireland that mind did? My mother tells me she picked my given name based on a character from a book she read, The Good Earth by Pearl S. Buck. Read the summary of the book and tell me if you can figure out what inspired Mom. Who picked my googleganger's name? I bet we don’t have the same middle name. Crap- I googled my first & middle combination- there’s several listings with that combination. Time to stop googling and have a glass of wine. Cheers to my googlegangers.

The Sauvignon Blanc Continues to flow.October 20-26, 2008The temperature dropped temporarily a couple of weeks ago and things seemed down right Fallish in Northern California. I was starting to think about red wines when Indian Summer swooped down and nestled itself into the last two weeks of October. It's been in the 80's during the day all week long and perfect for the whites. This, plus random luck, and a presentation on New Zealand and the Mosel Valley in Germany by two of my MBA compatriots gave me the opportunity to taste a good spectrum of Sauvignon Blanc styles this week along with a couple of Rieslings.

Villa Maria Private Bin 2008 Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand. A pale straw color with the characteristic New Zealand civit (ok - musky for sure, but cat pee, really?), bell pepper and minerality on the nose, followed flavors of pineapple and grapefruit offsetting the flinty qualities. No noticeable oak or tannins, but lots of acid as it should be for this varietal.

Sauvignon Republic 2007 Russian River Sauvignon Blanc. I'm delighted to say that this wine turned up again on the wine list at Celadon. Our interest was piqued at the Thai restaurant in Santa Rosa last weekend so we sprung for a bottle at dinner. Spare minerality and grass on the nose, (I think it was served a bit too cold to start) with flavors of citrus, apples and hay that opened up as the wine warmed a bit.Snoqualamie Vineyards 2007 Sauvignon Blanc Columbia Valley (check back later for this one. Still working on my notes.)

Kim Crawford 2007 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc.These guys are rocking the on premise category. I see this wine in restaurants everywhere. I tasted this particular bottle a few weeks back and thought I should throw it in along with the rest of the SBs. Light straw in color, with tropical notes, melon, and bell pepper on the nose. Citrus fruits, especially lemon with a bit of grass. No oak or tannin. Nice acids with moderate complexity and an acceptable mid length finish.

Dry Creek Vineyard 2007 Fume Blanc. Did you know that Robert Mondavi made up the name Fume Blanc? Legend has it he thought Sauvignon Blanc would be too hard for the American public to pronounce. This wine was citrus and melon on the nose, with a bit of greenness and creamy tropical tones. Grapefruit with hints of peach, a bit of bell pepper on the tongue. No oak here; steel fermented to bring out the acids. Nice balance, with concentrated flavors.Did I mention the Rieslings? I’m not a Riesling fan, but I’ve tried to be objective here. I didn’t love them, but hopefully I was fair in describing the qualities.

SA Prum 2007 Sonnenuhr Wehlener Riesling Kabinette. This wine came out of the bottle with a yellow straw color. Jasmine and honeysuckle florals and a noticeable minerality on the nose. The flavor was sweet with honey and peaches, and a touch of diesel; Medium bodied, low oak, and high acid with a bit of residual sugar and good intensity.

SA Prum 2006 Sonnenuhr Wehlener Riesling Spatlase. Spatlese is a higher designation for Rieslings. As a classification, they have more residual sugar and indicate a warmer growing year for the Mosel Valley. This one was all honey and stone fruits in the nose; delicate florals on the tongue, and a syrupy quality reminiscent of canned peaches- in a good way. With 3% residual sugar and low alcohol, it’s not surprising. This wine had nice acids hidden in the flavors, with solid complexity that develops in the mouth and a long finish.