fools are a dime a dozen

but a good fool is hard to find. the english demotic dessert tradition ("pudding"), which flourishes at st john bread and wine, is characterized by many things, not the least of which is a close attention to humble components with textures which must be finely judged in production: fools, jellies, junkets, trifles, possets, custards, creams, and such.

above, walnut cream with blueberries, cherry jelly with lemon sables (partly occluded), and strawberry trifle with toasted almond flakes. this is not french pastry—nor should it be.

josmeyer, pinot gris vendanges tardives, 1990

we went back to a favoured sri lankan roadhouse and brought reinforcements, who brought many marvelous wines. the stub of this bottle of late harvest pinot gris went home with me (thank you, ed); incredibly, no one wanted it. sweet but not cloying, with brilliant acid balance, vinous, sappy, bitter like grapefruit or citrus albedo. mildly oxidised, smelling of nuts, copper, petroleum then, after some time in the glass, cold but very ripe lychees.

and speaking of colour: this was greek gold, with red and brassy lights. it went great with the cold starchiness of kheer that first night, and then in small sips on its own for the next four days, becoming nuttier every day.