Laurence Juber & Matua Valley Sauvignon Blanc

Wow! I’ve been traveling 8 of the last 10 weeks. Nasty! I’ve now lost 53 lbs and have only 8 more to go to reach my goal. So for tonight I’m featuring a guitarist who should be more widely known than he is and a very nice summer Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand.

As a young working musician in London, England in the 1970s, Laurence Juber was asked by Paul McCartney to join Wings as their lead guitarist. He spent the next three years recording and touring with the band. After Wings disbanded in 1981, Laurence began a solo acoustic career and has been consistently voted one of the top acoustic guitarists. In spite of this, he’s little known outside of guitar player’s circles. He has a wonderful sense of composition and melody with a versatile range of styles as illustrated by Blues Deluxe, Little Wing, and Leaning Post. He’s a prodigious recording artist and most shops carry at least a few of his CD’s. Check him out.

While My Guitar Gently Weeps: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCSQn_Xbp-g

Layla: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Hxlu_jEd5A&feature=related

Blues Deluxe: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCktCSAerhU&feature=related

Cobalt Blue: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3sHElGKTniw&feature=related

Little Wing: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJKfy8sTkSA&feature=related

Leaning Post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaLG5aOhUiM&feature=related

Live and Let Die: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QlB-gC7btTc&feature=related

It’s summertime and that means white wines, at least for me. My favorites are NewZealand Sauvignon Blancs, particularly Whitehaven and Kim Crawford. Kim Crawford Sauvignon Blanc made the top 100 wines of the year in Wine Spectator, which, unfortunately seems to give every wine shop in sight the freedom to raise the price by 5 bucks. Use to be $16 a bottle, now it’s $22.00. It’s worth it, but distressing. However, another very nice New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc is Matua Valley. A bit more subtle than Kim Crawford and Whitehaven, but it has the same citrus and grapefruit nose and palate. Nice clean finish. And at $13.00 a bottle, it’s a steal. Chilled, it’s great on a warm summer night watching the stars. Don’t forget the mosquito repellant! Enjoy!

Cheers!