agxo3 Posted April 30, 2009 Share Posted April 30, 2009 Online booking lang pards. We tried it MOnday pero inabot na kami ng hatinggabi hindi kami maka-book. Seems like the site had glitches or was overloaded. Bad experience booking there online :grr: If at first you don't succeed, find an insider who'll help! Hope you can book a flight Bods! I can visualize at least 3 very nice day tours - Napa, Sonoma, Livermore. All with a VERY nice dinner at the end of the day! Lessee - Napa: Rubicon, Turnbull, maybe Caymus, Opus One just for the experience, Chimney Rock, BV for the history, Hess. Dinner @ French Laundry if we can get reservations or Ad Hoc. Livermore: Retzlaff, Boaventuras, Wood Family, Les Chenes, LVC, Charles R, Page Mill, Deer Creek. Dinner @ Zephyr's, the Firehouse, Uncle Yu at the Vineyards or Wente. Sonoma: Williamson, J, Jordan, Davis Bynum, Armida. Diner @ Cyrus if we can get reservations. If not, Syrah, Willi's Wine Bar, Charlie Palmer's or The Girl and the Fig. Quote Link to comment
bods1000 Posted May 2, 2009 Author Share Posted May 2, 2009 If at first you don't succeed, find an insider who'll help! Hope you can book a flight Bods! I can visualize at least 3 very nice day tours - Napa, Sonoma, Livermore. All with a VERY nice dinner at the end of the day! Lessee - Napa: Rubicon, Turnbull, maybe Caymus, Opus One just for the experience, Chimney Rock, BV for the history, Hess. Dinner @ French Laundry if we can get reservations or Ad Hoc. Livermore: Retzlaff, Boaventuras, Wood Family, Les Chenes, LVC, Charles R, Page Mill, Deer Creek. Dinner @ Zephyr's, the Firehouse, Uncle Yu at the Vineyards or Wente. Sonoma: Williamson, J, Jordan, Davis Bynum, Armida. Diner @ Cyrus if we can get reservations. If not, Syrah, Willi's Wine Bar, Charlie Palmer's or The Girl and the Fig. It was actually from an insider that I first knew of this promo even before it hit the papers, but I guess the insiders beat me to it hehehe...sayang. Fate willing talagang mapupunta ko dyan one of these days. I salivate at your planned itinerary. Rubicon! French Laundry! Caymus! Stuff I only read about! Thanks pare. Will be there one of these days. Just have to find time for it hehehe Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 It was actually from an insider that I first knew of this promo even before it hit the papers, but I guess the insiders beat me to it hehehe...sayang. Fate willing talagang mapupunta ko dyan one of these days. I salivate at your planned itinerary. Rubicon! French Laundry! Caymus! Stuff I only read about! Thanks pare. Will be there one of these days. Just have to find time for it hehehe Oh, well....there will be other promos. And other opportunities. Wifey is off up north (Petaluma and Cotati) going to some warehouse sales, and she called to tell me she found a wine distributor blowing out some of their wines to make room for more. So I asked her to buy - 3 Vouvrays and 3 Moulin-a-Vent red Bourgognes. Back to buying more than I'm drinking.......haven't had much wine at all this week. Last Sunday I fell of my mountain bike while on a steep downhill trail and cracked a bone in my elbow. Yesterday was the first day I DIDN'T dose up in ibuprofen, so it was the first day I felt comfortable having some wine. So I brought a bottle of 2003 Rubicon Estates Reserve Merlot in for our Friday afternoon wine social. I'd forgotten how nice a good merlot can be! Well structured with sweet tannins, fruit just coming forward, nice body, great color and a nose you wouldn't believe! Wow......what 5+ years in the bottle can do for a wine.....this is no California merlot best for blending, but a REAL Bordeaux-style wine! See what you're missing, Bods? Quote Link to comment
storm Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Tsalap naman Agxo. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted May 11, 2009 Share Posted May 11, 2009 Last Friday, we had our usual Friday wine social. A bit unusual - we also had an unusual food pairing - bacon dipped in chocolate. Nice! And it went well with the wines I brought (for which I am glad since I chose them specifically for the bacon/chocolate combo. First was a Cameron Hughes lot 23 meritage. Vintage 2002. Mostly merlot, with some cab sauv, cab franc, malbec and petit verdot blended in. Smooth tannins, not as nice as the Rubicon Estates merlot from the previous week, but very nice nonetheless - especially since it was a $12 bottle! Cameron Hughes, for those of you who haven't heard of it, is not really a winery, but a Sonoma-based negociahnt. IOW< they buy wines form others and blend/bottle it. Cameron Hughes is sold mostly at Costco, although recently I have begun to see it in places like Cost Plus World Markets. I also brought a 200 Deer Ridge Reserve Syrah - not bad for a $4 bottle! Actually, it was very popular with the crowd. It IS a nice wine, robust, with great red fruit, some plum and a hint of cassis. This one has a LOT of smoke and a hefty dose of oak since it spent 5 years in the barrel! What to do for an encore this week? Hmmmmmmm........??????? Quote Link to comment
sfstudmuffin Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 personally, I like Syrah and Cabernet. Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted May 12, 2009 Share Posted May 12, 2009 personally, I like Syrah and Cabernet. Yeah, but which ones? Not all cabs, syrah, grenaches, malbecs, etc. are created equal. Each wine has its own character above and beyond the varietal characteristics and are all individual. For example, Boaventuras Caires in Livermore has TWO distinct vineyards - the flat area behind the property and the front yard on the slope. They are separated by the house and barn, a total of maybe 50 meters apart. Yet the wines from the two vineyards, made by the same winemaker are so distinct that once you've tasted them, you can tell them apart. I LOVE all wines, am partial to reds, but my choice for a red depends largely on what I'm eating with the wine. I RARELY drink wine in isolation, and when I do, I am looking for a certain experience, and as with wine with food, my choice may vary. I do prefer some varietals over others just because I like their more generic characteristics, but I wouldn't say that I ignore the more subtle characteristics in favor of the generic. Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 Cherry picking and wine tasting Sunday Went to pick cherries in Brentwood last Sunday, and ended up stopping by a few wineries to taste, and buy, wine. Brentwood is in eastern Contra Cost County, just west of the Sacramento Delta. Hot int he summer, cold in the winter. We visited Bloomfield (tasting room - they don't have a dedicated winemaking facility yet, they rent space from Fenestra in Livermore) and Hannah Nicole Winery (seems like the fanciest winery in CoCo County). Bought cabs at both - a 2005 from Hannah Nicole, soft, easy tannins, blakcberries and black cherries on the nose and palate, a bit of tar on the nose and the back end. Simple, drink now wine. But at $12 who can complain? And a 2007 Bloomfield - showing very well now ut sure to improve with some age, so I would guess drink two years from now. Black cherries, cassis, plum and there's that tar again! It's a CoCo terroir kinda thing, I guess. Also stopped by Ryhan in Livermore, and picked up a Rouge-Sang. It's thier proprietary blend of a bunh of grapes - I con't remember which ones now, but I'll look it up. Still buying faster than I'm drinking right now...........I think I'll open a bottle tonight........ Quote Link to comment
storm Posted May 27, 2009 Share Posted May 27, 2009 I had a successful opening at Alliance Francaise de Manille. They served red and white wine from West of France (forgot the names) and blended iced tea. The finger foods were great. Quote Link to comment
mhim101 Posted May 28, 2009 Share Posted May 28, 2009 i miss gato negro merlotslightly chilled Quote Link to comment
FNX Posted May 30, 2009 Share Posted May 30, 2009 I had a successful opening at Alliance Francaise de Manille. They served red and white wine from West of France (forgot the names) and blended iced tea. The finger foods were great. Wow didnt know a place like Alliance existed. Would it be possible for you to talk more about it? Quote Link to comment
agxo3 Posted June 1, 2009 Share Posted June 1, 2009 Opened a 1975 Kenwood zinfandel last Saturday. For a 34 year old wine that was never intended to live that long, not bad! A bit musty on the nose, and none of the characteristic Anderson Valley peppery note on the palate. NO tannins left, but the fruit was still pretty vibrant. Blackberries and plums, some cassis, a bit of oak still in there. It took only a few minutes to open up, but died after a half hour or so. At least we got through MOST of the bottle before it fell off the cliff. But, we also opened a 2000 Rubicon Cask Cabernet and a 2001 Retzlaff cab. Both very similar. Wow - powerful, smooth tannins. Loads of fruit. That oaky, smoky note on the finish. The Cask was more austere while the Retzlaff was more fruity, but not by much! Thought about opening a Rubicon or an Opus One but decided to put that off for the 4th of July bash instead. I have '66 and '75 Bordeaux that need to be opened as well........I think the 4th of July will have fireworks one way or another! Quote Link to comment
storm Posted June 2, 2009 Share Posted June 2, 2009 Wow didnt know a place like Alliance existed. Would it be possible for you to talk more about it? Alliance Quote Link to comment
brian croser Posted June 7, 2009 Share Posted June 7, 2009 A family friend hosted dinner for us a month back at San Fo .... .... dinner was superb, but what I remember was the stunning pinot noir he opened ..... Blue Slide Ridge 2002 ... he said Parker didn't give it a good review on barrel tasting but soon ate his words on re-tasting the same wine a few years after bottling .... nagkakamali din pala si robert parker! just thought i'd mention it here Quote Link to comment
Spurt Posted June 8, 2009 Share Posted June 8, 2009 Opened a 1975 Kenwood zinfandel last Saturday. For a 34 year old wine that was never intended to live that long, not bad! A bit musty on the nose, and none of the characteristic Anderson Valley peppery note on the palate. NO tannins left, but the fruit was still pretty vibrant. Blackberries and plums, some cassis, a bit of oak still in there. It took only a few minutes to open up, but died after a half hour or so. At least we got through MOST of the bottle before it fell off the cliff. But, we also opened a 2000 Rubicon Cask Cabernet and a 2001 Retzlaff cab. Both very similar. Wow - powerful, smooth tannins. Loads of fruit. That oaky, smoky note on the finish. The Cask was more austere while the Retzlaff was more fruity, but not by much! Thought about opening a Rubicon or an Opus One but decided to put that off for the 4th of July bash instead. I have '66 and '75 Bordeaux that need to be opened as well........I think the 4th of July will have fireworks one way or another! I have a kenwood zinfandel 1991, 1998 chateau latour pomerol,1995 chateau de fonsalette, cotes du rhone, but a 66 and 75 bourdeux, wow! Once I've watched travel & living and they featured this guy from Uk who bought a chateau formerly owned by a duke at US130M, then they found a stack of wines in the basement worth over US200M. Quote Link to comment
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