David94928

If the next customer crowds me I turn 2/3 away from them and anchor myself to the check writing stand. I won't budge an inch until I've gotten the receipt and even then I may take my time leaving the check-out stand. Another thing is the practice of setting up a floor display in the aisle that barely fits two carts side-by-side as it is. Now, only one cart can get by at a time.

I recently had some 2006 Rochioli Sauv Blanc. Yummm!!! Nice citrus lemon and lime zest, good crisp acidity and a nice chalky Bordeaux Blanc style minerality. It was very refreshing on a hot afternoon last week. David

From the three discriptions the "Shiraful Cab" seems to have the best chance of either being better with age, or at least not completely falling apart with age. The description indicates the wine seems to have a balance in its elements - alcohol, acid, tannin, fruit. The "Serious Syrah" needs to be throttled back a bit on ripe fruit and a better acid/pH level. The tannins may subside someday, but what is left will likely be like an very overripe piece of fruit. The "Zuper Zin" needs to go to the spinning cone to lower its alcohol level. Not that I believe that's always a good choice, but if it's hot it's way too alcoholic for the other elements of the wine. The brick red color (what vintage is this?) might be from a very high pH (like 3.9-4.0) so it's likely to need more acidity. Just my thoughts.... David

2002 Rosemount Estate GSM Grenache-Syrah-Mourvedre McLaren Vale 53% Grenache 41% Syrah 6% Mourvedre Fairly dark in color - very deep red Aromas of dark cherries, some crushed raspberry, brown sugar, just a hint of mint/eucalyptus - not overly complex. Soft in the mouth...flavors of raspberry liqueur, not much else. Just a little bit of heat from the 14.5% alcohol in the finish. Nothing too exciting but it will do for tonight. Got this at Trader Joes about a year ago for about $6.99

In Healdsburg it's Willi's Seafood and Raw Bar. Some of the most tender calamari I've ever eaten. Everything on the menu is tapas style so you can try a number of different items in one visit. David in Sonoma Wine Country

While that is what we've all come to believe, here's an article that suggests it may not always be true. http://www.winebusiness.com/ReferenceLibra...fm?dataId=42346 David in Sonoma Wine Country

Before we move on to "B" here's..... Albarino According to Wikipedia: "Albariño ("ahl-bar-EEN-yoh" – Galician) or Alvarinho ("ahl-vah-REE-nyoh" – Portuguese) is a variety of white wine grape grown in Galicia (northwest Spain) and northern Portugal, where it is used to make varietal white wines. International wines made from this varietal are most notably from the Rías Baixas DO. It is also common in the Vinho Verde region of Portugal, but it is only authorized to be growned in Monção. In other locations such as Ribeiro, Lima, Braga or Valdeorras it is often mixed with other grapes such as Loureiro, Caiño, Arinto or Treixadura to produce blended wines. Such blends were common throughout Galicia too until about 1985; when the Rías Baixas DO was established on an experimental basis in 1986, Albariño began to emerge as a varietal, both locally and internationally. Its recent emergence as a varietal led the wines to be "crafted for the palates of Europe, America and beyond and for wine drinkers who wanted clean flavors and rich, ripe fruit" and led to wines completely different from those produced across the river in Portuga. The grape is famed for its distinctive aroma, very similar to that of Viognier, suggesting apricot and peach. The wine produced is unusually light, and generally high in acidity. Its thick skins and large number of pips can cause residual bitterness. Its vines are also notoriously difficult to ripen, even in the hot summers of the peninsula, though this is often due to over-crowding of vines by the winemakers." Pazo Senorans Albarino 2004 Rias Baixas $16.99 Medium yellow...almost Chardonnay like in intensity of color. Light citrus aromas that land on both lemon and lime notes. Nice sense of minerality and good acidity. The aromas start to open in the glass after about five minutes moving to a more floral, peach like character. In the mouth nice viscosity framed by brisk acidity. The favors are centered around the same citrus theme as the aromas. Stony minerality adds an almost Bordeaux Blanc like character. Nice long, refreshing finish. It will interesting to see how this wine develops over the next few years. I discovered Albarino at a small tapas restaurant in Sacramento, CA about three years ago. I find these wines to be a great addition to Sauvignon Blanc and German Riesling as a white wine with food. Served with a salad Carpese first course before a main course of London Broil and roasted new potatos. David in Sonoma County

It was reproted on June 23rd that Murphy-Goode had agreed to be purchased by Kendall-Jackson to be part of the Jackson Family Farms portfolio. K-J buys the label and inventory. They winery facility will be leased back to Jackson Family Farms and the Murphy family's vineyards will continue to supply the grapes. http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dl...1036/BUSINESS01 David

I think Rachel Ray has that one covered for the whole network. David

I love the idea of starting with a rose. And I'll look for the Hanna as well. I've spoken to 2 or 3 distributors in Austin and know that I can get those. The ones from New Mexico and even Washington are difficult. kcd ← The Hanna Cab Franc is likely available directly from the winery only since the production is around 200 cases. David

Hanna Winery http://www.hannawinery.com makes a wonderful Cab Franc from their Bismark Ranch Vineyard up on the Sonoma Co. side of Mt. Veeder. Very rich with none of the herbal, green pepper character that some Napa and Sonoma Cab Francs have. The web site shows the 2000 vintage for sale but you can get the 2001 which is from a much better year. David

Frankly, speaking only for myself and no one else, I've never drunk any cat's pee, either. (Although I like Villa Maria so much that it makes me think I ought to try.) ← Hmmmm, while I can recall many instances of people reporting a NZ SB smelling like cat pee, I can't think of anyone reporting it "tastes" like cat pee. David

I was interested in trying these Bordeaux blends until I saw the $50 price tag. I don't even want to spend $50 on "new" automobile parts! David

Their inhouse distribution companies are 'Three Loose Screws' and 'The Other Guys.' Has anyone seen / tried the new wines? What do you think of the marketing? ← This Sebastiani is, of course, Don Sebastiani and Sons not "the" Sebastiani winery in Sonoma. Don, brother of Sam Sebastiani, became president of Sebastiani in 1986 when Sam was fired by the family. Don left the family business in 2001 to form Don Seabastiani and Sons with his sons August and Donnie. They started with the Smoking Loon and Pepperwood Grove labels. Now they've branched out into even more humorous labels with the Three Loose Screws. Their first release of Screw Kappa Napa 2002 Napa Cabernet was very good for the price (about $11.99 at BevMo). The Mia's Playground 2003 Dry Creek Zin is supposed to also be very good for its price. Most of the wines seem to garner mid 80's scores from the wine magazines. Their target audience seems to be the millenial generation (and to an extent Gen X) which enjoys the somewhat sarcastic humor the TLS are providing in their labels and marketing. Being a big proponent of the use of humor in marketing, I really like what they're doing. As long as they can continue to put decent wine into the bottle for the price. David in Sonoma Co.