If y'all are up in Calistoga (down the mountain from Jericho it seems), swing by Envy on Tubbs lane and taste the Carter lineup. Also ask if Mike Smith is around to taste his Myriad wines. Mike's a great guy and makes beautiful wines (Myriad, Quivet, Carter, Scarlett). There are 3-4 wines that I will continue to buy from this point going forward and Myriad is one if them.

Seven days. Should get to about twenty.

Whew! you had me worried...

Just loaded up at HEB. 10% off cabs and an additional 10% if you get 6 or more.

If you like Pine Ridge, ForeFront (Pine Ridge on a budget), Archery Summit, Chamisal, or Seghesio, shareholders of the parent company, Crimson Wine Group (CWGL), are entitled to a 20% discount (same as the various wine clubs) on site & online on all CWGL wine purchases. Ran across the company today and thought of this thread.

http://crimsonwinegroup.investorroom.com/ceo-message
See 2nd to last paragraph.

In Oregon wine country (hood river) and then off to the coast. Any recommendations on OR red or white wine?

Sorry, I didn't care for too many of the wines in that area.

I would check out Marchesi Vineyard though if you are in the area looking for a good vineyard. The tasting fee was fair and it came with a meat/cheese tray for your samplings.

Good luck.

Got a bottle of red from marchesi and a few from mt. Hood winery

[This message has been edited by aTm96 (edited 6/25/2013 8:02p).]

On the schedule for our trip in August (so far) :

Bennet Lane
Lava
Summer's Estate
Envy
Carter (at Envy)
Jericho Canyon
La Sirena (at Jericho Canyon)
Vineyard 7&8
Robert Keenan
Far Niente

About half done with scheduling!

Only meal so far is at CIA Greystone.

Any suggestions, recommendations, comments welcome!

French Laundry, of course. Also:

Model Bakery for breakfast (English Muffins)
Bouchon (and Bouchon Bakery)
Ad Hoc
Addendum for lunch
Cook (good lunch spot)
Bistro Jeanty
Bottega
Farmstead
Cindy's Backstreet Kitchen
Restaurant at Meadowood
Press is good but I live in Texas and get good steaks here so I go to Press for drinks at the bar...usually some old Port. But they do have a good bacon sampler that is worth ordering. Living in Texas is another reason I skip Taylor's/Gott's...I get better burgers here.

As far as wineries, there are tons. I see that you are going to 7&8...take advantage of being up on Spring Mountain and visit the surrounding wineries (pride, Behrens, Fantesca, etc).

Thanks! I will parse through all of those in my anal retentive way...

Thursday is Spring Mountain Day. Vineyard7&8 and Robert Keenan so far. If you had just one more Spring Mountain choice, what would it be? I'm trying to keep it at three per day, but could do four if my arm was twisted.

Undecided on French Laundry. By the time we get decent wine it will be $700+ and I'm thinking I might want three $250 meals instead! Is it really THAT good?

Never been to French Laundry. I've always wanted to though and my friends that go say it is unreal. I've been waiting til my 40th birthday but since I've found out what I found out a few weeks ago, I may just have to go this year. If I dont make it in October, I'll go in February when I'm out there.

I would visit at least 4 on Spring Mountain. If you are up there all day, then why not? Behrens would be my top choice because of the variety of wines and label (Drinkward Peschon, Relic, etc). Barnett is also a good time you will taste thru their wines with Jackie...an Aggie. A good looking Aggie I might add.

Cecil,

If you haven't been to Pride, you are missing out. Had the reserve out of a barrel a few years back and it's still a top 10 tasting experience. The trip up the mountain scared the hell out of the wife, but the wine made up for it. Beautiful views as well.

A2

I had a 2010 Chappellet Cervantes and a 2010 Stackhouse cab on Sunday. Both are excellent values at around $25.

As an aside, I'm going to be pouring wine Sunday. $5 gets you three tastes of wine, and it's free if you buy a bottle of something in the store.

I'll check out Pride... thx

Had my first bottle of 2009 Mirror Howell Mountain tonight. It's entirely possible that I saw God.

Pride Mountain was a great tour and its just right up the hill from Keenan. We got to ride the horse-drawn buggy when we were there. One of the prettier places we visited.

sorry I missed the Oregon question last week.

I love several Oregon wines, but the primary wine grown/produced there is going to be very Burgundy style Pinot. Unfortunately I've never been to that area so I don't know geographically how these would fit in a "visit".

My top choices would be Beaux Freres, Bergstrom, Ken Wright, Soter and maybe smaller places like Wonderlea and Brittan. Also Owen Roe does some reds that aren't pinot that are very good.

lots of great pinot gris and reisling made there too, and a bargain considering the quality. Ponzi, Trisaetum, Domaine Serene (chards) all very good.

Htown, what store you pouring at on Sunday?

I thought the Pride wines were great and the tasting was fun. Unfortunately for us, the weather was bad the day we were up there so we didn't get the full experience.

Cecil, is the Mirror Howell Mountain that much better than their regular Napa Valley juice?

I'm on the waitlist for next years release of the Howell Mountain and from the sounds of it need to buy a few bottles.

Yes. I've not tasted them side by side, but going by memory it's quite a bit better! It was VERY GOOD

Cecil, an interesting Spring mountain venue you may want to look into is Frias Family. Visited there a couple of years ago and had a great time. Like their wines. (note - If you have sensitive ears you may be offended, Manny's language is delightfully colorful)

Can't wait to hear your recap when you get back.

Cecil: Wife and I did a Spring Mountain day last December. We did Guilliams (sat in the guy's barn and b/s'd with him for 2 hours. Very educational about the whole wine business.), Keenan (didn't care for the woman's demeanor or general attitude), Schweiger (pretty place, wine so-so, didn't buy any) and Smith Madrone (anotherreal interesting guy. Think Grizzly Adams.)

For what it's worth.

TP

Thanks! I'll check those out.

Is Keenan worth it? Hopefully she's not the only hostess...

quote:

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Htown, what store you pouring at on Sunday?

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Lake Travis Wine Trader in Lakeway. I'll be there the next two Sundays.

@Cecil: It wasn't for us. It just didn't have the small winery/business guy-like "charm/feel" we were looking for that day. Further, for me, wine wasn't exceptional at their prices. Plus, I was even less enamored with our time there when I see Costco sells their stuff.

Why would seeing a wine at Costco make you feel less enamored about a place you visited? Costco sells a lot of really good wines at very competitive prices, and some excellent value wines if you know what to look for. In fact, if you find a Bordeaux there, you better grab it, because chances are it's really good, and once they sell out of it, that's it. They aren't getting anymore of it.

Fantesca is on Spring Mountain as well. I like their juice and 7&8 the best, but would certainly add a few more stops while up there since each of those two only have 2 or 3 wines. A good day for me would be Behrens, Barnett, Pride, 7&8, and Fantesca. I'd line them up so I was starting up on top and driving down as I went along. I'd also take a lunch up with me (Bouchon bakery, Dean & Deluca, or Oakvile Grocery).

The woman at Pride reccomended Sherwin Family, so I added them.

Honestly, you won't go wrong with anything on Spring Mountain so don't sweat it too much.

@HtownAg98: Good point on Costco and I agree, but just not what I had envisioned for a Spring Mountain winery. Was just a surprise + didn't feel Keenan was worthy of that level of distribution. Just my opinion.

quote:

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Why would seeing a wine at Costco make you feel less enamored about a place you visited?

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In terms of just drinking wine, no it doesn't. However, I can see how selling at Costco would reduce the "boutique" aspect to the wine. Exclusivity is something that winemakers can offer as part of their marketing. There have been some interesting marketing studies done on products which people have a "personal" relationship with. If people feel a personal connection with a product instead of the typical commerical (i.e. economic) view, the consumer is much more loyal, forgiving of misteps, and willing to pay a bit more. However, this relationship goes both ways. If the consumer then sees the company acting in a more commercial manner instead of the "personal" way they view them, the consumer is more put off than if the business relationship had been entirely commercial to begin with. A business can choose to position themselves in either place, but should be carefull about having it both ways.

In a way, you can see this in some of the Napa wines and other wines from a well known geographic location. People travel to these places, stay at hotels, meet the winemakers. They are building a "relationship" with the product. They then expect the makers of that product to behave in a certain way. Selling at Costco tears down that expectation. That's why people will complain about some wine being sold there but do not have any negative opinion about a place that might be making 10,000 cases.

FarmerJohn: perfectly stated.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree, because I have a completely different perspective on that.

I drink wine that I like.

It is kinda cool that the Mirror rep emails because he noticed I logged in to their site and asked if I wanted another six bottles of their 2010 Howell Mountain which will be released next month, as they only made 88 cases.

However, I also like the fact that I can go to the Boerne HEB and buy Mirror Napa Cab cheaper than I can directly from them.

I see the two experiences as separate and complementary.

[This message has been edited by cecil77 (edited 7/9/2013 1:25p).]