fifithewinecat

Hey Dave-=-Check your PM, I will want to get some of your red wine vinegar mother on 1-26. Arturius

The horrible thing is that a publisher's weekly states they have plans to put out a newsletter, starting in December 2006. "Winebot Best Picks" will be both an electronic and paper newsletter, and will initially cost $37.50 per year. It will expand in size with each issue, and eventually the cost per year will go up too. Of course the master winebot will do the premium tastings, while the winebots sold to the public will be lesser grade machines. Reportedly, Robert Parker and Wine Spectator are negotiating with the manufacturer concerning this machine and the planned newsletter.

Okay Arey-- You got me hooked on this recipe, so I went to Everyday Food's website, but can't find the recipe. Can you post the rest of it? Or email me at fifi at cncnet dot com. Thanks!!!

I'm afraid if I was at the counter and you asked for a wine that was "quirky and red", I probably would say, "whoa, hoss, what do you mean by that?" Hopefully some dialog would ensue. Since it apparently did not, then it would be imcumbent on YOU to add to your initial words, "I mean, kinda like xxxxxxxxx wine that I had a while back." Hopefully this would get to somewhere else than the result you got. BTW, did you ever try the suggested wine??? Sounds interesting.

Okay all, I just heard from Bryn Dole, owner of Bottlecount.com. His server was hacked, and he is busy putting everything back together again. Phew!!

Does anybody know why Bottlecount.com has been down the last few days? Or does anybody know how to contact the site owner via email????

CaliPoutine--I really don't feel there is any substitute for port in a dish like this. If you are going to be doing a lot of chefing in the future, you will use the port. As this is your first client, I would pull out the stops and not try to substitute, and maybe come up with a pale imitation of what the sauce should be. Result could be "oh, well, that tasted just like I have at the cut rate restaurants!" If you have time, and friends in the USA, have somebody bring you a good port for cooking, like 6 Grapes, or Taylor Fladgate Reserve. It holds for quite a long time. Blow their socks off, and don't worry about substitutions!!!

I see now on Winebid.com, an offering for N.V. Cos d'Estournel. Wonder is this is the same sort of dreck that the NV Margaux seems to be. Also, I wonder how many upper tier Bordeaux wineries put out shoddy NV products, rather than just dump the wine or job if off to some bottler. I see nothing about this NV issue in RMParker's Bordeaux book, and find nothing in other Bordeaux books. Do any of you Bordeaux experts know who has done this in the past?

We will soon be going to the Pinot Tasting in SF, and picking up a few cases of wine at Winebid.com, which will allow us some time for tasting the next day in Napa/Santa Rosa area. I drive, and my wife and I always carry large empty Starbucks containers with the lids on them, and spit into them. Does not offend others, and allows us to go on ticking happily for longer. As we leave the winery, we dump into the dump bucket, or water some of the dry vegetation with the contents of the cups. Only problem with this way of doing things is that we have had people ask us why we were drinking coffee at a wine tasting!!! I am also thinking of getting and modifying a large Sponge Bob Squarepants sippy cup for use at the Pinot tasting in SF.

Ho Boy!!! Winebid.com has these wines offered again, but now the price asked is $10 a botttle less. I think when it gets down to $10 per bottle, I might get one.

Okay Really Nice-- Found this on a Google search for "non vintage chateau margaux". It is on Winejournal.com on Chateau Margaux. " ...do ignore the non-vintage Chateau Margaux made by blending the execrable 1963, 1964 and 1965 vintages.) Of course they were not the only culprit during this period when poor wines were endemic, but Margaux was the most prominent and had further to fall." I think this is what Winebid.com is trying to sell. AND, it is a real Chateau Margaux offering!!!!

Hey Daniel-- I checked this label out, comparing it to a 1982 Chateau Margaux on Winebid.com, and using a magnifying glass on the screen image. The NV ones do say "Chateau Margaux grand vin" The chateau picture does seem to be Chateau Margaux. However, I can't read the writing under the picture of the chateau, where the date normally is printed. I would suggest somebody give the folks at Winebid.com a call. I'll bet somebody there has checked it out--at least to make sure they are not listing "bogus" goods. Be real interested in what they have to say.

One time I made a Zinfandel wine, and it ended up with a strong smell of burnt rubber. I was told by the local college farm people that this was the "Fresno Syndrome" due to a lack of acidity from grapes grown in a very hot area. FWIW.

Dang, Ctzn Cane-- Was hoping that Pellegrini Family Winery would remain a secxret. We hit them on Saturday, and just loved the 2004 barrel sample of the 20% whole clusters PN. My wife also fell all over the 2004 barrel sample char. Last year, they were apparently not part of the barrel tasting, but at dinner at Josef's in Santa Rosa, we had a bottle of their 2001 Olivet Lane PN. Great, and this year I bought three of them at the winery. Definitely a keeper!! I missed Carolyn Tillie at Siduri, but I guess I was tasting and spitting so much that I might have even missed a naked model if one showed up!!

Hey Robinaustin, what cheeses did you have????