mike volker

opened a bottle of the Saintsbury PN. Nice bright cherry with a dry finish. I'm going broke all because of the chairman's selections. Hope I have lots of company. Best, Mike

Just finished a bottle of the Sequoia Grove '01 and its great. So if there is still some out there I suggest you pick up a case before its all gone. Best, Mike

'99 Nardi Brunello Dark ruby with plums and smoke on the nose, very plummy with good acidity, and a dry smoky finish. Very nice. Best, Mike

Is there some reason nobody is mentioning le bec fin Best, Mike

I don't know why, but I never seem to have that leftover problem. Best, Mike

Dee, Thanks for all your help. This morning I got the Saintsbury PN, Sequoia Cab, and the Nardi Brunello. They were unloading the truck when I got there and I believe the Flora Springs was on it. I'll check back. While checking out I had the distribution conversation with one of the managers. She said that her biggest complaint from people was exactly what were are talking about. The lack of it! When the '92 Burgess came out She had saved me a case and when I picked it up she said they got two cases and one was already being shipped to CC because they were out of it. Bottom line was I got the only bottles in Collegeville. We are going to an Italian BYOB sat night so I'll post something on the Nardi. Again, thanks Dee. Best, Mike

Thanks Dee and Katie, Yes, I was disappointed that the selections weren't in the Collegeville store. But the point I didn't make very well was that in a closed system like this they need to be fair about distribution. I got an offline email a few weeks ago from somebody in central Pa who was only then getting all those wines we were raving about before christmas. So if you are going to have a state controlled system then make it fair for everyone and not just a select few in both major cities. I was prety sure that Collegeville would get some of those selections, but I still don't understand why they didn't have it with the initial distribution(they get a delivery every week). END OF SERMON Best to all, Mike PS Dee, I'm still waiting for my two bottles of _______ Collegeville was supposed to get some but never did.

Katie, I emailed the plcb the other day asking if they have a distribution problem and why collegeville doesn't have most of these selections and got the typical plcb response of basically we don't care. By the way I met someone at a tasting sunday pm who had a conversation with the chairman. They were told that the chairman's selections have made millions for PA. Maybe thats all that matters $$$$$$. Hope we see some in collegeville soon. Best, Mike

Niebaum-Coppola ....can you say commercial??? Best Mike

When my wife comes in the door at night the first words out of her mouth are "and what wine are we having tonight hun". Best, Mike

Jim, They dumped the '00 Burgess in PA for $12 a few months ago. At the same time dumped the '92 for $20 . Best, Mike

I think that the Catena and Gascon malbecs are two of the best being imported. Great wine for the price. Best, Mike

Since Diedre's been busy I'm going to fill in for her this once. 1998 LUCE in magnum $50 at your state store now. Great wooden case and the bottles are beautiful. Collegeville mgr said this was the best in their last employee tasting. Best, Mike

Mary, Whenever we are out my wife always asks me to pick the wine and I always let the server know that she is the official taster. Best, Mike

Katie, Congrats, I hope this leads to even bigger and better things for you. I don't like oysters, but I'm still coming down to share that glass of wine you promised long ago. Best, Mike

Way to go Carolyn, this is the best thread we've had since I've been lurking on this board. Here's mine: 1. b 2. b 3. a 4. c 5. a 6. b 7. b 8. d If Loire and Rhone were c&d of question 3 I'd still be thinking. Best, Mike

I think one of the Ca wineries uses melange to designate their rhone blends. Best, Mike

I think that you are making too much of EC vs WC. There's another board thats alot more lively discussionwise where I lurk quite often because its so much fun to see all the WCers slam WC wines and the ECers slam European wines or some days they just slam each other. This year we did two weeks in France so we didn't make it to Ca., but most years we try to do a week Ca. wine country, and ship a bunch home since you won't ship to me. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I HARDLY EVER MEET A RED WINE THAT I DON'T LIKE (or maybe I just have no palate) Best from the EC. Mike

You left coast people seem to have more fun than we do out here. Best, Mike

Katie, Go home and open a bottle of the Lancaster and be thankful you're not part of that bureaucracy. You know the state store motto is "Never Smile". Best, Mike

George, Had the 2000 HM a few months ago, and it must not have been one of their better years because I was really disappointed. Best, Mike

Collegeville didn't get any of the Cakebread, but I did get the last case of the Lancaster Estate. Merry Christmas to all. What a Zoo out there. Best, Mike

Our wine tasting club just started this year, so we are small and looking for some new members. Our website is( groups.msn.com/pwh ). If anyone has any questions just ask. Best, Mike

We tasted the '92 Burgess against a '94 Talbott a few weeks ago. The ladies liked the Burgess better and the men liked the Talbott. The Burgess is alittle more fruit forward than the Talbott, but both are good. Picked up a case of the Vision PN tonight and I'm sipping while I type. Typical pinot funk nose with lots of raspberry, coffee, and smoke. Very nice, especially for $18. Best, Mike

We tried the Kim Crawford SB friday night and its better than any SB I have had outside of France. We don't drink alot of white wine but this could change our minds. Buy it before its all gone. Best, Mike