uncledavey

My wife works at a wine storage facility in Napa County, and the other day she came home with photos nearly identical to these, with "explosion" holes in the capsule, and the cork inside the bottle. They were from 1960's wines acquired from a private collection that had been stored in a "cellar" with insufficient humidity. I have no clue on the science involved, though.

Here's a total cop-out article I wrote for our company newsletter, but, since its on topic, here goes. Warning, it does contain a shameless plug, and, for the record, I enjoy German and Alsatian Rieslings, Central Coast California Pinots and Syrahs, and quality sparkling wines from almost anywhere for the holiday meals. Let Choosing Holiday Wines Worry You Not By David Ginochio Russian River Wine Company, Healdsburg CA The Winter Holidays are a time of joy, sharing good tidings and way too much food with loved ones. The task of choosing wines to accompany our celebratory feasts can be a daunting one for some, with the myriad of tastes and textures that often grace the table. It doesn’t have to be a stressful situation. This is a time to rejoice with your favorite people, why not just open one of your favorite wines, or several? You can place them at the dinner table, and let guests decide which they prefer. This has the potential for opening up brave new worlds of fantastic wine combinations, and, at the very least, it’ll be a heck of a lot of fun. Call your friends in the wine business here at RRWC for more holiday suggestions, and to take advantage of our 10% case discount.

The Cheeseboard as completely yummy as it is, is not open on Sundays.

Mr. Taco is indeed open on Sundays, although Señor Taco himself takes that day off. His staff is so very well-trained that the difference in quality is hardly noticable.

The Nut Tree opened in 1921.

Of all the down-to-earth, family-style (ok, I've used my allotment of hyphens)Basque restaurants I've ever enjoyed, The Noriega Hotel is definitely at the top of my list. They have one seating per evening only, ringing the dinner bell to alert the throng who arrive early to down Picon punch and the like in the atmospherically perfect bar. Guests are led into cavernous, mens club-like(oops) room and greeted by course after course, in the traditional style, of simple, basic, yet impeccably prepared hearty fare. The chilled tongue, any lamb dish, the fantastically crispy, blisteringly hot french fries, and house made blue cheese are standouts. The price, including red wine, when last I was there was $17.

I used to love Bullshead in West Portal, but I've not been there in a quite a while. Nice semi-dark atmosphere, and they grind their own meat.

My wife and I stop at Mr. Taco every time we are near Dixon at around suppertime. The salsa is quite good, the decor a funky colorful mix, with old publicitygphotos of Mexican movie stars adorning the walls. The menu on the wall (as opposed to the printed one) has seemingly a million items. I've most recently had the enchiladas with mole and have had unmentionable dreams of them several times hence.