#Blanc de Blancs

[shibasommelier]

2015 Pascal Agrapart Venus Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru Brut Nature Millèsime

Happy Mother's Day to all the hardworking, super moms out there! My humoms has to put up with me everyday so she's welcome for the honor of doing so. Celebrating her and all moms out there today with this Blanc de Blancs bubbly. Golden ripe apples, lemons, hint of shortbread, white flowers, and mint on the nose. Apples, lemon cookies, ginger snaps, and chalk on the palate. Really delicious stuff! Cheers!

4/5 bones

$$$$$

Chardonnay

12.5% abv

Champagne, FRANCE

[jamesthewineguy]

Pure elegance, a lyrical wine - Delamotte Blanc de Blancs!

[clipstone]

Guillaume Sergent

Guillaume Sergent Premier Cru Les Prés Dieu Extra Brut Vrigny, Champagne 2020 100% Chardonnay

Guillaume is an oenologist, an expert in the science of wine and the techniques of wine making. His family have been growing vines around Vrigny since mid 19th century.

In 2008 he took over the family estate with his brother who sells his grapes to moet and chandon. These are serious grapes!

This champagne is a result of blending only Chardonnay grapes from two premier cru villages in Montagne de Reims, Champagne - Les Prés + Les Vignes Dieu.

Prominent flavours are vibrant apple with florals, salinity and brioche.

It is a true expression of the terroir - it spends only four months in oak as Guillaume doesn’t want the delicate notes to be overwhelmed. Sweetness of champagne explained

Champagne 101 - the grapes Champagne tends to be a blend of three main grape varieties. These are Pinot noir (orange and red fruit flavours), Pinot meunier (richness and yellow apple) and Chardonnay (citrus and marzipan).

Common styles of champagne include: 1. Non vintage - consistent house style wines 2. Blanc de blancs - 100% Chardonnay 3. Blanc de noirs - Pinot noir and Pinot meunier 4. Rosé 5. Vintage and special cuvée

Tasting notes: apple pie, apple blossom, caramel, buttered toast Pairing: seafood, fried food, desserts

[mywinepal]

My Video Interview With Christian from Treveri Cellars at Taste Washington 2024

My #Video #Interview With Christian from Treveri Cellars at @TasteWashington 2024. #WAwine #organic @wa_state_wine #sparklingwine

Christian from Treveri Cellars This was the last video interview I made during The Grand Tasting at Taste Washington 2024.  Treveri Cellars makes organic sparkling wines and has been doing it for many years. While some wines are made with “traditional” sparkling wine grapes, like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, they also venture out and make sparkling Gewurztraminer and Riesling. I tasted a glass of…

[niteshade925]

April 20, Beijing, China, National Museum of China/中国国家博物馆 (Part 1 - Dehua white porcelain exhibition/德化白瓷展):

Aaand finally, the National Museum of China/中国国家博物馆! I was lucky enough to see the famed Dehua white porcelain exhibition/德化白瓷展 here. Some of you may recognize some of these pieces already, since pictures and shorts of them have been circulating online way before I went on this trip, but there are many many other pieces too. The pieces I post here are only a small portion of the entire exhibition, so if you ever get a chance to see the exhibition elsewhere in person, don't hesitate. This stuff is amazing.

First up is one of the two that has been gaining popularity online, the piece named 神话 or "Legend".

The first time I saw a porcelain piece like this, I thought that the clothing part was made with paper? But no, the light fabric of the clothing, the hair, it's all porcelain. Keep in mind when looking through these pictures: every part of every piece is porcelain.

This piece is the other one that was becoming popular, the piece named simply 纸, or "Paper". If you don't look up close and see the glossy surface, you can't tell it's actually porcelain. I cannot for the life of me imagine the kind of magic that was used to turn clay into this

Anyway, this is a good point to introduce Dehua porcelain a little bit. Dehua porcelain is a regional specialty of Dehua/德化, which is located in Fujian province, and is known for its expressiveness and white color. For this reason it's also known in the West as "Blanc de Chine" (French: "white of China"), and this should be the reason why this exhibition is named 中国白, which basically means the same thing. The history of Dehua porcelain goes back to Song dynasty (960 - 1279), and it is still being produced today. Many of the pieces I'm posting here are modern pieces.

But Dehua white porcelain can be colored too (I imagine the color must be painted on later, because the white comes from the clay itself), and when it is colored, it looks like it came right out of a painting

This piece is especially amazing to me. Look at the texture, look at those details. Zoom in and you will find that there are actually a bunch of porcelain ants on this porcelain tree stump. Porcelain ants. I never expected to use porcelain as an adjective when describing ants. Wtf. It's like a manifestation of a scene from an older animated movie.

Peanuts are called 花生 in Chinese, which literally means "flower grow", and because it also has a long shelf life, it symbolizes longevity and a happy marriage. Also a fun fact: because Watson of Sherlock Holmes is usually phoenetically translated as 华生 (huá shēng) in Chinese and sounds similar to 花生 (huā shēng), you will find that many in the Chinese SH fandom refers to Watson as "peanut".

This piece is titled 春色满园, or "garden filled with spring scenery". This is also a common 4-character word used to describe gardens in spring. I'm guessing the figure depicted here is one of the flower gods. It is one of my personal favorites because of its superb depiction of movement, it's as if the flower god will really fly away on clouds at any moment

More depictions of traditional Chinese deities, specifically Chang'e/嫦娥, the moon goddess. That moon rabbit is too cute.

Depictions of what I'm assuming is the Four Heavenly Kings/四大天王, based on the items they are holding. The Four Heavenly Kings are Buddhist deities.

Look at her clothing! That porcelain is so thin it's almost see-through! Also is it depicting Li Qingzhao/李清照, the famous female poet from Song dynasty? She does have a famous ci poem that's about paddling a boat in a lake full of lotuses while drunk

The piece titled 锦绣前程, or "future as vibrant and prosperous as silk brocade". This is also a common 4-character word used in well wishing. The figure in this piece is holding a xiuqiu/绣球, a ball made of silk, which was usually seen as a token of love

Somewhat more modern-themed pieces:

Among the hundreds of amazing pieces, this one caught my attention for its unique texture. When everyone else was trying to turn the clay into these thin sheets representing fabric or paper or flower petals, this artist took the noodle approach. Not many visitors seemed to like it, but I think it's pretty cool

Piece titled 运势如虹, or "fortune like the rainbow", also a 4-character word used in well wishing. Traditionally horses symbolize vitality and success, hence why many people use the words 马到成功 ("horse's arrival brings success") and 龙马精神 ("vitality of dragons and horses") in well wishes during Year of the Horse

Stay tuned for Part 2 of the Dehua white porcelain exhibition!

[ninadove]

Adrien Agreste and his evil (?) clones

Original here!

Alt text and bonus below:

Text: People always talk about evil clones like…

Text: “Oooh, a dark mirror!” Picture: Claw Noir forcing Chat Noir to cataclysm him.

Text: “Oooh, what if you saw what a cruel person you are capable of becoming?” Picture: Nightormentor whispering in Antichat’s ear.

Text: But what if you were the evil clone?

Text: What if you looked in the mirror Picture: Felix confronting Adrien in Risk

Text: And what you saw was so bright it blinded you? Pictures: Felix reclaiming his amok // Strikeback falling into the sun // Felix holding the camouflaged Peacock brooch for the first time

Text: What if you had to know Pictures: Felix’s sewer speech // Felix handing Kagami her amok // Argos drawing a heart on Kagami’s window

Text: exactly how good Picture: Felix standing up to Gabriel’s gigantic silhouette

Text: you could have been? Pictures: Adrien crying upon learning his father’s death // Adrien feeling the absence of his Miraculous on his finger

Text: Imagine thinking you have achieved your happy ending Picture: Adrien waking up in the new world

Text: that you’ve finally managed to claw it from the hands of fate itself Pictures: Adrien getting his Miraculous // Marinette sliding the twin rings back on his finger // Adrien holding the lucky charm Marinette made him

Text: only to discover a mirror of yourself who lives in a happiness you hadn’t even been able to imagine! Picture: Kagami sketching Felix by the pool

Text: Imagine meeting a version of yourself who considers you to be evil Picture: Cat Walker standing in front of the full moon

Text: and your happy ending Pictures: Close-up on Adrinette’s hands as they kiss in Chat Blanc // Post-reveal hug in Ephemeral // Adrinette kiss in Recreation

Text: to be a horror story. Pictures: Ephemeral using his powers on Marinette // Chat Blanc preparing a cataclysm // Gabriel’s statue

Nota bene: the pictures are vignetted in white, and the effect gets stronger with each new row.

Please also take this gem from @dragongutsixofficial and I’s texts:

[semioticapocalypse]

A still from the seance scene in the German silent film 'Dr Mabuse, the gambler (Dr. Mabuse, der Spieler), directed by Fritz Lang. 1922.

I Am Collective Memories   •    Follow me, — says Visual Ratatosk

[kitty-n-classe]

[aestum]

(by Marsumilae)

[moncoeurestatoimonamour]

𝐵𝑒𝒶𝓊𝒻𝑜𝓇𝓉𝒾𝓃

𝐿𝒶𝒸 𝒹𝑒 𝓁𝒶 𝒢𝒾𝓉𝓉𝒶𝓏 / 𝐹𝓇𝒶𝓃𝒸𝑒🇫🇷

𝐵𝓎 ©️𝐿𝑀®️

[capitan-copi]

[mariophotographies]

Suisse by Mario. H. "Le pot vide"

[irismaebe]

Ladybug wanted to show her the devastation that can result from misuse of the miraculous, but no one expected Shady to like the result...

Let's complicate the love square a little more! In my mind this relationship is a big red flag but somehow it sounds good...

[les-larmes-d-eros]

Flor de cactús, par Flor Garduño (2004)

[niteshade925]

April 20, Beijing, China, National Museum of China/中国国家博物馆 (Part 2 - Dehua white porcelain exhibition/德化白瓷展 continued):

This was actually the very first piece I encountered at the entrance to the exhibition, a gigantic basket of flowers (probably over 1 meter tall and over 1 meter wide?), the entire thing made of porcelain.

And to reiterate, every part of every piece is porcelain. Though I will say that despite the ultra-realistic shape of the flower petals and leaves, the only detail that hinted at these flowers being made out of porcelain was that the painted colors weren't as vibrant as real flowers. That's it. If you don't examine it up close you really can't tell that it's all porcelain.

This is a good place to roughly introduce the technical side of Dehua white porcelain. The color of Dehua white porcelain mainly comes from the clay it uses, which is a special kaolin clay (gaolingtu/高岭土 in Chinese) found in Dehua. The clay mineral used naturally contains sericite and quartz, both of which are silica minerals and may have contibuted to the almost translucent look of the finished pieces; it also contains comparatively high amounts of potassium oxides, while the amount of iron oxides present is low. Due to the intricate designs of the pieces, the firing success rate may be very low. All those pieces involving super thin parts representing fabric or paper or flower petals? They may bring the success rate down to about 5%. Which means many of these pieces may be the 15th-20th try that finally survived firing. For people who are more interested in the chemistry of Dehua white porcelain, this paper goes into depth about it. There's also a great book in Chinese that goes into depth all about Dehua porcelain. (link goes to the first chapter only)

Continuing on, this is one of many Guanyin/观音 (Avalokiteśvara) statues at the exhibition, again with light clothing made out of porcelain:

More Guanyin statues in various classic depictions/forms, of which there are 33 total. This particular form is called Yulan Guanyin/鱼篮观音 (鱼篮 means fish basket), and comes from a legend where Guanyin transformed into a beautiful female fish vendor in order to guide mortals.

I believe the text here reads 持经观音 (Guanyin holding scripture)? The Guanyin here is holding a vase instead of a scroll though.

This is a classic depiction of Guanyin with a little bit of a modern-ish twist? Guanyin is often depicted with a vase of divine water, but here it forms a circle.

Despite some of the Guanyin statues having the amazing ceramic "clothing", this one remains my favorite, just because of the sense of space and serenity that this simple "frame" design creates:

And this very literal take on "thousand arm Guanyin" (千手观音). It's giving me that "biblically accurate angels" vibe:

Buddha floating atop.......idk what that is but the texture is amazing:

A fully painted statue of Guanyu/关羽. The gradient and detailed patterns on his robes is amazing:

Two identical (I think?) statues of the daomadan/刀马旦 (female commander archetype) character Mu Guiying/穆桂英 as she would appear in Chinese traditional opera, one painted and one unpainted. The word 巾帼英雄 in the title means "hero in women's headscarf", which is a term used exclusively in reference to female heroes. There's also the phrase "巾帼不让须眉", which roughly means "those in women's headscarves aren't inferior to those with beards and thick brows"

Porcelain depiction of Dunhuang's famous feitian/飞天 figures, in the classic pose of playing pipa in reverse (called 反弹琵琶). The clothing on this figure is made of porcelain, but this time also painted:

A porcelain statue of a couple in traditional Lhoba/Luoba/珞巴 clothing. The Lhoba/Luoba people are one of China's 55 少数民族 who mainly live in the south-eastern region of Tibet Autonomous Region, and as of 2019, it is the 少数民族 with the smallest population

A porcelain statue of a woman in traditional Miao/苗 clothing. I love how the artist recreated the traditional Miao silver crown in porcelain.

Painted porcelain bust of a woman wearing the Xunbu/蟳埔 "flower crown", named a zanhuawei/簪花围. The town of Xunbu in Fujian province is known for its tradition of zanhua/簪花, or wearing flowers in one’s hair.

Porcelain statue of a Buddhist monk wearing a zhiduo/直裰 (the robes on the inside) and a jiasha/袈裟 (काषाय/kasaya; the garment on the outside that drapes over the left shoulder). From its looks, one can tell that zhiduo originated from hanfu, but with some minor changes (sidenote, this is not the same as the zhiduo of Ming-era hanfu). Jiasha evolved from the clothing of Indian Buddhist monks, but there appears to be a lot of influence from Central Asia and ancient Greece as well (link goes to pdf; this article is in Chinese).

Some modern-themed pieces. Look at those dresses omg

A porcelain statue of Hua Mulan/花木兰, the character from traditional Chinese literature and opera that inspired the Disney character. I will say though this pose reminds me of someone else.......