Aldo not very conducive to sitting outside and drinking wine.

Just have to switch to white wine. Right?

50 degrees with propane heaters on the patio. Great time with great company. Nice talking to ya'll, Cecil... look forward to more good times with ya'll!

We had a great time as well. So glad you took the time to look at the pickup table. Hope you got some pictures of your daughter reposed on top of the dog! That was about as precious and precious gets...

Those of you that went to Hilmy, did you get to try the new P&R, and how was it?

Well, just got back from Napa. Best trip yet, due largely to this board's dialogue and advice. For what it's worth, we took along a couple who were marginal wine drinkers and Napa virgins. They are now sold on Napa and wine in general.

Quick recap:

Trefethen: Always stop there. In spite of its relative size, we always enjoy the wine and people. We had the place to ourselves.
Domaine Carneros: Meh. Just a late pm stop on first day in town for the beautiful building and some bubbly.
Chateau Montelena: Cool, 1886 building. Decent tasting. A little "slick" inside but glad to go for the history of it all.
Pride: Really enjoyed. Good wine. Great tour guide (Jason?). Cool caves. We got there early to eat our lunch from Oakville Grocery. They directed us to a wonderful area on their property that has a great view. They even sent one of their guys up there to put a tablecloth on a picnic table for us. Nice touch.
Sherwin Family: Beautiful tasting room/setting. Plus, how special is it when it starts snowing while we were there?! Brought home a bottle of Cellar Scraps.
Grgich Hills: Low expectations were met. I erred on this one. Nothing special to warrant further comment.
Hendry: Very informative tasting. Sat at a table with about 5 other people. Guy led us through a tasting of 9 wines. Favorite was a Primitivo, which I had recently spotted at HEB. Very different than other tastings but I would recommend.
Tulocay: Wish I could remember which one of you guys recommended this place (BSD, Cecil?) but what an experience. Literally sit in the guy's (Bill Cadman, owner/winemaker) kitchen, shooting the bull about his history working for Robert Mondavi, the history of his winery and drinking really good wine. A less pretentious wine maker you'll never find. Best Pinot Noir we had on the trip. We and our friends joined his "club," if you'd even call it that. You can read his web-site to see what I mean.

Dined at Scoma's in Sausalito on way north to Napa, Mustard's, Oenotri and Eiko. All top notch.

Just couldn't have been much better of a trip. I miss it already.

Thanks to all of you for all the help. I know I couldn't have done it without this thread.

HTown. Yes. Quite different. A plummy, raisiny bouquet, sort of like a port. A bit of that flavor on the back end. My wife really like it. The Viognier was first and very tart/acidic and I just couldn't taste much of anything after that.

TP - must have been BSD. Glad you had such a good time. We did Grgich two years ago, and yeah, it was a it meh... Cool seeing a bottle of the '76 Château Montelena Chardonnay, though...

Sounds like a great trip. But it wasn't me on the Tulocay recommendation, someone else can take credit for that.

We are heading out in February, although we don't plan on visiting any wineries...just hanging out with friends that live out there and eating our way through the valley.

Yeah, the bottle and story was why I book-ended CM and GH that day. Always think it's funny that the wine writer behind the Paris competition was Steven Spurrier. My Gator wife loves that.

Damn, how'd I find Tulocay? Maybe just Yelp.

Anyone have much experience with Cameron Hughes wine? I've bought his wine at Costco and online over the years. It's hit or miss, but I've never gotten a *bad* wine. Some are just better than others. I received today a mixed case of several cabs, including lots 500, 418, 385, and 357, so I'm looking forward to them. Anyone tried any of these lots yet?

I searched the forum, but didn't find anything using "cameron" or "hughes" to search.

Not I. What price point?

He's a negociant who buys juice and bottles it himself, sometimes blending, sometimes not. He usually signs an NDA on the wineries he sources from. Most of his stuff is under $20, with a few specials that top out around $25. Here's the red wine offerings I mentioned. It's kind of fun to try different things. I stick to his California offerings. I've tried wines from Ch for about the past 5-6 years or whenever they first started showing up in Costco.

http://chwine.com/red-wine/

Everything on the site was 30% off on Cyber Monday, so I bought a mixed case.

I had over 100 bottles a few years ago. Then we had a few parties and they disappeared. Those were my everyday drinking wines until the other wines aged a bit. They aren't bad for the price.

Plungerhead Zin. Awesome for $12 a bottle. ;-)

My wife thought she'd be clever and bought some Two Buck Chuck. He must have gotten lucky that one time, because it was much closer to Two Buck Sucks.

I'm cooking for a dinner party Sunday , and here's the lineup thus far:
Schrader Old Sparky
97 Phelps Insignia
07 Phelps Insignia
04 Quilceda Creek
Others have chimed in about bringing different vintages of Schrader and Insignia. It's going to be a good day, Tater.

So, at these events. Do you get to drink or just taste? I need to know just how jealous to be...

Oh there will definitely be drinking involved.

quote:

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I'm cooking for a dinner party Sunday , and here's the lineup thus far:
Schrader Old Sparky
97 Phelps Insignia
07 Phelps Insignia
04 Quilceda Creek
Others have chimed in about bringing different vintages of Schrader and Insignia. It's going to be a good day, Tater.

---

Lawd have mercy!!!!

Some Dunn, Velvet Glove, Colgin, and older vintages of Schrader and Insignia are scheduled to appear.

Htown,

I need to introduce you to my buddy's neighbor out in Austin. They do weekly dinners with that kind of juice. 3 Harlan's a night is common for them. Come to think of it, I need to go there more often when I can have a glass.

Please do so. I love cooking for these kind of things. I only ask that they cover my food expense. I also take gratuity in wine.

Need a sous chef?

Cameron Hughes is running their stuff at 30% off today if anyone is interested. Code is "Merry" for the coupon.

FYI, Disney world restaurants aren't the best places for wine and cuisine. I'll wait til Christmas before my next glass.

OK if the rest of us sacrifice and take up the slack for you?

Please do so. They don't sell Dom by the glass here, even at the French area of Epcot. How unrealistic is that???

Having a New Years Eve bubbles throwdown, list so far:
1996 Theme

1996 Dom P
1996 Krug Clos du Mesnil
1996 Salon Cuvee "S" Le Mesnil
1996 Taittinger Comtes De Champagne Rose

Question for the group: What was your first Champagne that knocked your socks off?

Messina Hof! I'm kidding but I had good times with that sparkler. For me it was Krug. That was the first "expensive champagne" I ever drank and it was delicious. I still buy it when I can.

Guy Charlamagne. I have also found a great German Sekt. Riesling that has no added sugar. It is a truly enjoyable. Do you have caviar with your bubbles ? My favorite New Years tradition.

Had some John Anthony Cab last night in the Tasting Room here in Houston. Had never heard of him before our trip to Napa a few weeks ago and his tasting room was right beside our hotel. Good stuff. Took a bottle home to the wife last night (yes, I'll probably drink 80% of it, but at least I'm trying,...)

quote:

---

Having a New Years Eve bubbles throwdown, list so far:
1996 Theme

1996 Dom P
1996 Krug Clos du Mesnil
1996 Salon Cuvee "S" Le Mesnil
1996 Taittinger Comtes De Champagne Rose

Question for the group: What was your first Champagne that knocked your socks off?

---

I wish I could remember the name (Casanovi maybe?), but it was some farmer fizz that cost about $50. It blew me away, and I've had some champagnes that were 4x or more the cost of that one, including Ace of Spades that weren't as good as that. FWIW, Ace of Spades isn't that great; it is a pure marketing ploy.

Ace of Spades is a joke. Jay Z bought the company and its importer and then rapped about it so every 20 year old thinks its something awesome. At least Cristal and Dom were actually good when people used to rap about it.