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HEY!!! Have FUN tomorrow! Oi, if I wasn't so shy of airplanes (how else to put it?), and if not for responsibilities, I'd be on a flight out to join you all.

apple, good luck on your party, I'm sure it'll be a success.

Brendan, good luck with the competition.

One can never have enough good news about red wine.

I Just had a couple glasses of house red at "The Monster" bar in the village. I neglected to ask what it was, but it was pretty good. Now I'm home and I'm having a glass of Woodbridge Merlot by Robert Mondavi, 2002. Pretty OK too.

Not to sound base or crude but that sounds like a right mutt! I bet it's good, though.

Matt G..

I cannot read one post of yours that does not make my mouth water. Are you employed by "Food and Wine"?

On Matt's recommendation I'm going to look for the Malbec he mentioned earlier. Enticing.

I brought home a Portuguese Douro Riserva 1999 tonight. It's drinking pretty thin. For 7 bucks they can't all be great!

Let me put in a brief word for the Italian Primitivo. (Or has someone already?) Wine from Puglia made from the Zinfandel grape or an ancestor. Nice berry flavor, good body, good structure..."A Mano" is one label for around 10 bucks. Certainly less expensive than many Italians.

This evening I have a dinner party. The wine I've chosen is a '85 Chevalier-Montrachet.

It promises well!

It certainly does! But that brings up a very interesting tidbit that some of you may find useful: the real difference between varietals and blends.

Every year, the whims of nature conspire to affect each crop of grapes diffently. This is what makes vintages crucial when selecting a varietal wine. Maybe 1998 was a spectacular year for Merlot in Chile, or 1986 a lousy year for Nebbiolo in Italy (these are just random examples, people!). If you can keep track of all that, you'll be better prepared to pick out a good bottle.

On the other hand, many winemakers like to make a blended wine with a goal of consistency in taste, color, etc. from year to year. When the grapes are all from the same vintage, often a winemaker will modify the contents of the blend to achieve a very close approximation to the previous years' offerings. Sometimes they will even blend different vintages to achieve consistency. These will be sold without a year being specified on the label. These non-vintage blends are often amazingly consistent year in and year out. The French champagne houses are famous for this.

To help celebrate today's Presidential election, we opened a lovely bottle of wine from the good old U of SA! (Ha! :p That's not a typo!) That's right, a delicious 2001 Wildekrans Pinotage from Walker Bay in the (wait for it...) Union of South Africa.

Pinotage is grown almost exclusively in South Africa, where it was developed as a cross between the Pinot Noir and Cinsault (also known in some places as Hermitage), hence its name. It produces a wine that is more full-bodied than Pinot Noir, but not as rough around the edges as Cinsault (which is almost never used by itself to make wine).

Pinotage, and this bottle is no exception, suffers from having "bad nose" -- an often tarry and musky smell that is disconcerting to many. The actual taste, however, is nothing like its aroma. The tastes run from black cherry and vanilla to a discernible black licorice taste near the finish. The tannins are moderate and short-lived.

This is a hearty, broad-shouldered wine that can easily accompany grilled chops, sausages and even steaks. This wine has a strange ability to cut through the fattiness of some meats, so it allows you to enjoy the flavor of the meat by cleansing the palate of fatty residue. (I know, hardly a rousing recommendation!)

Pinotage wines from South Africa are relatively inexpensive. This bottle goes for about $12.

Dancing Bull Zinfandel.

jf

Jack,

From all your "Bwahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!!"'s, I would have thought you were drinking something more fortified than wine!

Okay, here's a question that has to be asked.

Anyone ever listen to Whad\'Ya Know? The wine they give away is Wollersheim which I have heard is swill. Anyone ever drink this?

Marquis Phillips Shiraz

Good grief, the questions on that show are too easy. But, I, for one, say, "Never dismiss regional wines just because they're regional wines." OK, so Prairie du Sac, Wisconsin isn't exactly the Mecca of the winemaking world. So what! I've never tried their wines, but just might, now that I know about them.

The Midwest isn't really such a horrible place for vineyards. In fact, before Prohibition, much of US wine production was centered in the Midwest and nearby, with Missouri and Arkansas (yes, Arkansas!) among the leading producers. Was it all plonk? Could be, who knows. What we do know is that Prohibition killed them all, and only a small number of winemakers producing sacramental wines even made it through the 1920's and 30's.

So, what I'm getting at here is that there's a sort of resurgence of regional wines in the US. Maybe it will turn out that there really IS a better place to grow wine grapes than California, or maybe not. Regional winemaking is still in its infancy; I like to give the kids the benefit of the doubt!

Interesting observations on the show, Matt. Still doesn't answer my question, but I suspect no one here has partaken of that particular fine fruit of the vine.

As for the midwest, Michigan is supposed to be decent. Southern, maybe (Pau Pau, and I'm being generous). But some people think the Leelanau Peninsula is great. Not by anything I've had from there. Bah! That is swill, I tell you.

Last night, our second bottle of Kim Crawford Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc. Quickly becoming a favorite. With bluefish poached in a less expensive SB, with a yogurt dill sauce.

Tonight, Seghesio Zinfandel 2003.

jf

Myself, Kenny, and BeeLady have just finished off a bottle of Casa Lapostolle, Rapel Valley, 2003 while pondering the multi facets of Piano World.

A sincere toast to Frank Baxter!

AHhhhhh.... enjoy!!

Awwwww! I'm jealous. What could be better than wonderful people with sublime wine, or should that be - - sublime people with wonderfuly wine?

Terry, do you think Fredericks will let us crack a bottle of bubbly during the tour? :p

Ooh, ooh, ooh, are our ears burning?

Jodi

In honor of Jo------'s birthday today, I opened something I picked up at the wine tasting monstrosity event the weekend before last. This is certain to become one of my favorite "everyday" wines, but production is still rather limited from this upstart winery.

The bottle in question is a 2003 Turner Road Cabernet Sauvignon from Paso Robles, California. You may know of Paso Robles as the home to some of California's best-kept secrets in winemaking, and this little beauty is no exception in terms of its quality.

A deep ruby red color, this wine hits you first with scents of roses, plum and raspberry. On the tongue, the taste is fresh red cherry and raspberry, slowly fading to a hint of spice and herbal notes. The mild tannins still make their presence known, the oak is kept to a low simmer, and the finish is rather long and tasty with no trace of bitterness or woodiness so common in run-of-the-mill cabernets. Also absent is that cloying buttery taste so prevalent in lesser-quality wines trying to mask inferior fruit.

This is the kind of red wine that I think most everyone would enjoy, even folks who think dry red wines are too astringent. Since it's on the lighter side of Cabernet, I would be reluctant to pair it with grilled steaks, but it would work just fine with other beef, lamb and pork dishes, as well as being a great accompaniment for pasta dishes with tomato sauce or basil pesto. I highly recommend this wine, and at about $10 retail, it's bound to become more popular. Oh, and here's a toast to Mr. We------'s 54th!