After-work, after-school, queer Friday hangout, et cetera. This is the eight Karmaklubb*. Tonight we gather at a new spot, ↗︎ Bar Albatross at Torshov, Oslo — a new local pearl. There will be vinyl, nice people, an informal and comfy mingle. And not least: Queer juice and tastings with Grapeland! Here you have got a rare opportunity to try out tasty and rare drops of various sorts, a special selection and friendly prices for us only. What a luxory, after all! Please bring yourself and the nicest beings you know. Will it be ‘to the moon and back … or, ‘dry and dusty’? (A nod to Fever Ray, that is.) We recommend you coming early as the space will be crowded during the night. Love and welcome! * Girls and such. We do not discriminate.

Torshovgata 5, Oslo. ID: 20. CC: Free.

Tonight’s ‘queer wine’, curated in collaboration with Grapeland aka Vegard Kleven and Ole Thorsen at Bar Albatross. ‘To the moon and back … or, ‘dry and dusty’? These are the four, a synopsis here:

• ‘Bela 2015’, Cotar, Kras, SVN; 11.8 % ABV; sparkling — the orange with bubbles. In it: Malvasia and Vitovska; from red clay on top of limestone; skin contact for one week, spontaneously fermented; neutral oak barrels for two years; unfiltered. Appears like: The maceration makes is rather yellow. Small bubbles. Feels like: Fruity, but very fresh, crisp, and extremely well balanced with its dryness, rather elegant. A hybrid of a sparkling wine that opens up for an eclectic set of connotations … worth mentioning is old paint caskets from the 90s, cured ham, and candy. Still very elegant.
• ‘Vitovska 2015’, Cotar, Kras, SVN; 12 & ABV; white — the sea wine. In it: Vitovska only; soil and process more or less as the sparkling one. Appears like: Straw yellow, cloudy. Feels like: Tropical. Luckily, much dryer and chalky according to the tongue. Tannins morphs into silk and velvet … A complex creature. It changes for 30 seconds! The ‘Bela’ is a regular favourite of ours, but let us push some more orange tonight! Very sexy.
• ‘Gran Pa 2016’, Nachbil, Beltiug, ROU; 12.5 % ABV; white — gummy bears and sand. In it: Fetească regală and an eclectic blend; from clay with sand on top; hand harvested, skin contact for a couple of weeks, spontaneously fermentation, and neutral steel tanks. Looks like: Orange, cloudy. Feels like: Extremely tropical with peaches, pineapple, and vanilla. Even cloudberries. Still fresh and a lot of that clay and sand. But, give it some air; makes it happier.
• ‘Blaufränkisch 2016’, Nachbil, Beltiug, ROU; 12.5 % ABV; red — Hint: The pepper wine. In it: Blaufränkisch only; from same soil and method as the one ibid, except old barrels for ten months. Looks like: Deep red, almost violet. Feels like: Definitely needs a lot of air; black pepper, cherries, wax, even some herbs and dryness … this is a funny one.