“May it fuel the fire of those on the front lines who mean to prevail, and of their friends who stand in the fire with them. We will not be bowed down or erased by this. I learned too well what it means to be a people, learned in the joy of my best friend what all the meaningless pain and horror cannot take away— all there is is love. Pity us not.”
Writing Prompt #1:
How do we continue to love someone who has died—and what forms can that love take on the page? What does it mean to grieve publicly, poetically, and politically in the face of collective loss and institutional abandonment? Can a poem refuse death? Can it say “no” to goodbye?
WINE TASTING
flavor, texture, emotion
BODY : combination of sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol / weight of wine in mouth; light/med/full
ACIDITY: tartness/sourness of a wine, the mouthwatering effect, contributes to freshness & balance; tart, zesty, puckery, soft, round, supple, plush, etc.
SWEETNESS : residual sugar / bone dry → dry → off-dry → semi-sweet → sweet → syrupy/cloying
TANNIN: naturally occurring compounds in grapes, skins, stems that produce an astringent ‘mouth drying’ effect (opposite of acidity); contribute to a wine’s structure and aging potential; smooth, soft, rough, dry, etc.
ALCOHOL: product of fermentation; high abv: fuller, richer & low abv: lighter, more delicate
a) Fruit: ripe/unripe, candied, baked, jammy, pithy, zesty, e.g. gummies vs. unripe forest fruit
b) Minerality: who takes vitamins? Which ones? - ask to describe areas in nature, e.g. rivers, volcanoes
c) Flowers & herbs: dried/dying/fresh - what are common flowers in springtime? What types of terrain in nature tend to grow flowers and herbs?
d) Sweetness vs fruitiness: is a question of actual residual sugar vs. intensity of fruit
e) Flaws: 1) brettanomyces (medicinal to farmyard-type aromas), 2) volatile acidity (vinegar-y flavor bc of acetic acid), 3) oxidation (too much exposure to oxygen, flat or stale fruit), 4) cork taint (musty, damp cardboard), and 5) sulfur compounds (rotten egg, burnt rubber)
Wine Regions of California + History
Sierra Foothills AVA & North Yuba AVA:
Sierra Foothills AVA
GOLD RUSH: First vines were planted in the early-mid 1800s - mostly by Italians - when hundreds of thousands of people came in search of riches.
Boom/Bust: Sierra Foothills became a major producer in the 1900s before a major setback during Prohibition, in which many vineyards were abandoned.
1970s = turning point. 1987 = AVA established with its six sub-zones of California Shenandoah Valley, Amador County, El Dorado, Fair Play, Fiddletown and North Yuba. Today more than 200 wineries exist within the AVA.
Today: Spans parts of 8 counties and more than 2.5 million acres with diverse ranges of topography and microclimates.
Topography: Area defined by rolling hills, high elevation and rocky outcroppings. Elevations range from 1,200-3,500 ft. above sea level; most vineyards planted under 3K ft.
Mediterranean climate: hot and dry summer days, cool nights and breezes from the Foothills. Ideal for maintaining acidity and freshness in grapes.
Soils: decomposed granite to sandy loam and volcanic rock with low fertility, thus produces lower yields but higher quality wines
Grapes: Zinfandel aka Primitivo - most widely planted (38% of plantings); other grapes include cab sauv, syrah, merlot, chardonnay, barbera, viognier, and petite syrah–unique growing conditions lead to complex, full-bodied and highly flavorful wines.
Wineries: mostly small, boutique/family-owned where sustainability is a priority. Region has many heat-tolerant vines that have been dry-farmed for decades.
GOLD COUNTRY: A great place to dig into its fascinating Gold Rush history and excellent wine is El Dorado County’s Placerville (for history) and Apple Hill (for wine).
North Yuba AVA
A unique AVA nestled in the northern part of the Sierra Foothills.
We farm over 30 acres of own-rooted vines, ranging in age from 40 - 50 years. Unlike the majority of the soils throughout the rest of the foothills, our soil and geology are not primarily composed of decomposed granite. Instead we are growing on the results of isolated volcanic activity and have soils with a higher mineral content, including gold and quartz, and a predominance of rhyolite rather than granite.
Wine #1: Skin Contact / Macerated White / ‘Orange’:
Caleb Leisure’s “Mother Sees” 2023 - El Dorado AVA, Sonoma, California, USA
““These Rhone whites from Sumu Kaw vineyard were the first grapes I ever purchased back in 2016. Emotional attachment aside, I adore this fruit. And after the ‘21 vintage was wiped out due to smoke I’m especially pleased to release this wine. This is a lighter approach than I normally take with this fruit (which often sees a 7 month maceration), just a kiss of skins. Delicate and fresh. 10% Friulano from a neighboring vineyard. Delicate and fresh.”
”
Nose: hot sun dried orange, wicker, cactus flower
Palate: tart, balanced tannin, subtle baking spice, long earthenware finish.
TASTING NOTES: Mineral, Tropical, Stone-fruit / Super tangy mouth-watering acid, mandarin orange, green tea, with fine texture
VARIETIES: 40% Viognier, 25% Marsanne, 25% Roussanne, 10% Friulano
SOIL: Volcanic loam, decomposed granite
VINE AGE: 29 years old
VITICULTURE/VINIFICATION: Organic/Biodynamic
Fermented and aged in qvevri and neutral oak. 2-day maceration
Background
Caleb Leisure Wines is a small natural wine project based in Glen Ellen, CA–part of the Sierra Foothills region.
In 2014, after career adventures in academia and cheese, and after formative internships in the Languedoc-Roussillon and Jura regions of France, he returned to his native California.
Caleb landed an apprenticeship with Tony Coturri of Coturri Winery (kind of a big deal), where he was eventually given a little space for his own project.
His winemaking is guided by ancient Georgian traditions and by properly grown organic and biodynamic California fruit. No additions or subtractions of any kind are made at any point of the winemaking process.
He is the only California winemaker using authentic Georgian qvevri in his process. After successfully bottling his first vintage in 2016, he started digging.
Caleb buried 10 authentic Georgian qvevri in the earthen cellar at the Coturri Winery.
Wine #2:
Frenchtown Farms “Cotillion” 2023 - North Yuba AVA, California, USA
VARIETIES: Syrah (50%), Grenache (50%) from Renaissance Vineyard in North Yuba.
SOIL: higher mineral content granitic soils that include gold and quartz, with a predominance of rhyolite over granite.
VINE AGE: Syrah and Grenache vines were first planted in the late 1970s and produce very low-yields of concentrated fruit.
VITICULTURE/VINIFICATION: Organic/Biodynamic
Background
“Our annual rhythm is driven by seasonal agricultural cycles. Throughout each year as we carefully prune, tie, tuck, tend and hand-harvest each vine, we constantly ask ourselves how best to express the special place we live and how best to bottle all of the vibrations we feel in a way that is alive and true.” - Aaron and Cara Mockrish
East Coasters Aaron & Cara Mockrish moved to North Yuba County with the intention of establishing a farm, but a world-turning bottle of Clos Saron Black Pearl from 2008 sent them off on an unexpected path to winemaking.
They quickly discovered Clos Saron was just a stone’s throw away. And it was there, in Oregon House, California, that they found Gideon Beinstock, his tiny home vineyard, and their future. Thus began their apprenticeship into winemaking. .
Regaining of Renaissance Vineyard: They managed to make a connection with Renaissance Winery (where Gideon had made his earliest, incredible wines, as well as many of the first vintages of Clos Saron), which was no longer producing their own wine, and leased their oldest producing vines.
2015: Produced their first vintage, farming grapes and raising wines in the North Yuba AVA - which includes the tiny Gold Rush village of Frenchtown they call home, hence the name of their vineyard.
They farm over 30 acres of own-rooted and dry-farmed vines, ranging in age from 40 - 50 years in the North Yuba AVA–some of which includes a portion of the Renaissance Vineyard of Clos Saron’s early day fame.
In addition to their work at Renaissance Vineyard, they’ve been establishing new vines on the steep, rocky slopes of their home vineyard, as well as tending to a 12-acre plot of mixed varieties in Grass Valley.
They farm w/o the use of pesticides, herbicides, or systemic fungicides, spraying only organic elemental sulfur at key times during the growing season, always looking to replace machines with people and efficiency with attention (Source).
Although Frenchtown began as an ideological successor to the Clos Saron legacy, Cara and Aaron have been through a rigorous process of exploration to find their own voice. Eye opening conversations with luminaries like Baptiste Overnoy, Pascaline Lepeltier and Nicolas Gordo of Domaine Simon Bize have helped them develop new ideas about how to temper and communicate North Yuba’s monumental terroir to produce more youthful wines (Olmstead Wine Co.)
POETRY: FROM LOVE ALONE: EIGHTEEN ELEGIES FOR ROG
“These elegies were written during the five months after he died, one right after the other, with hardly a half day’s pause in between. writing them quite literally kept me alive, for the only time I wasn’t wailing and trembling was when I was hammering at these poems. I have let them stand as raw as they came. But because several friends have wished for a few commas or a stanza break here and there, I feel I should make a comment on their form. I don’t mean them to be impregnable, though I admit I want them to allow no escape, like a hospital room, or indeed a mortal illness.”
Poem #1:
“No Goodbyes”
From: Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies for Rog | November 15, 1988 by St. Martin's
Writing Prompt #2
Describe a small, intimate act of care (e.g., brushing hair, cooking, helping someone dress) and treat it as sacred.
Poem #2:
“Current Status 1/22/87”
From: Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies for Rog | November 15, 1988 by St. Martin's
Poem #3:
“Gardenias”
From: Love Alone: Eighteen Elegies for Rog | November 15, 1988 by St. Martin's
About AHF
The Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) is a global nonprofit organization providing high-quality HIV care and services to those in need. We generate new, innovative ways of treating and addressing barriers to care for our clients through a network of pharmacies, thrift stores, health and wellness centers, affordable housing locations, and food-service programs.
Founded in 1987, AHF began as a network of hospices committed to "fighting for the living and caring for the dying.” Since then, AHF has expanded, turning hospices into healthcare centers, and building a new paradigm for HIV care both in the United States and around the world.
Under the leadership of President and co-founder Michael Weinstein, AHF has grown from a group of friends dedicated to creating dignified hospice care to the largest AIDS organization in the world. President Michael Weinstein has been at the forefront of creating cutting-edge healthcare and advocacy programs and continues to drive the organization forward with the aim of saving more lives around the world.
Historical Context: The AIDS Crisis (1981-1989)
“In those early years, the federal government viewed AIDS as a budget problem, local public health officials saw it as a political problem, gay leaders considered AIDS a public relations problem, and the news media regarded it as a homosexual problem that wouldn’t interest anybody else. Consequently, few confronted AIDS for what it was, a profoundly threatening medical crisis.”
“Susan Sontag, in her influential book Illness as Metaphor, pointed to the ways in which diseases such as tuberculosis and cancer take on a whole set of non-medical overtones and become markers of personality and character flaws, rather than problems of medicine. What Sontag calls ‘diseases of passion’ share certain characteristics: they are ambiguous in origin, they are sufficiently lingering to seem an expression of the victim’s personality, and they are not highly infectious, seeming to single out individuals for judgment and guilt. But except for syphilis before the discovery of antibiotics, no life-threatening illness has had the potential of AIDS to be linked so clearly to sexuality and personal behavior.”
June 1981: CDC reports first cases (Pneumocystis pneumonia and Kaposi's Sarcoma)
1982: term AIDS coined by CDC; GRID (Gay-Related Immune Deficiency) in media
1983–1985: GMHC founded, national hotline launched, blood screening begins
Rock Hudson's death (1985) triggers public awareness
Reagan delays public response until 1987
1988: HOPE Act establishes federal funding and research structure
Result: systemic neglect, queer communities left to care for themselves
Scientific Context: What is HIV/AIDS?
HIV attacks immune system (CD4 cells)
Three stages: acute infection, clinical latency, AIDS
AIDS defined by CD4 count <200 cells/mm3 and opportunistic infections
Spread through bodily fluids; unprotected sex and needle sharing are major vectors
1980s: little effective treatment; ART only becomes available and effective in later decades
Key Sources / For More Reading:
Monette, Paul. Love Alone, Borrowed Time, Becoming a Man
Sontag, Susan. Illness as Metaphor, AIDS and Its Metaphors
Shilts, Randy. And the Band Played On
Bergman, David. The Violet Hour
Hadas, Rachel. Unending Dialogue
Gorelik, Aaron Bradley. The AIDS Poets, 1985–1995