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i don't think we've gotten too match obssessed until we insist that latours nsg "les crots" goes better with roast chicken than the nsg "les argillieres". that in my opinion may be a little over the top. also, i'm not sure latours making a bunch of different wines in differing "styles" so much as letting the vineyards they own speak for themselves. i could be wrong, but i doubt the vinification process is any different for the "les crots" as it is for the "argillieres". remember, these are tiny plots of land producing a relatively small amount of cases a year. and, pan, i am more apt to open special stuff on special occasions but certainly not exclusively. quite often i'll drink whatever i am in the mood for on a random tuesday night, and if that happens to a bottle of barolo, than i'm popping the cork. i was reacting to the fact that not much barolo (and probably brunello and 1 er cru burgundy too) stay in the country where they are produced. of the bottles of barolo that remain in piemonte alot are purchased by restaurants for sale to tourists. but lots of barbera, freisia, dolcetto, arneis remain for locals to match to their meals. no piemontese is seeking out chinon or beaujolais to go with dinner. the variety is just not there like it is in the usa. otoh, i also don't think it's over the top to suggest two different wines with roasts that have different flavor profiles. (i also think it is perfectly okay to just have one bottle of whatever you like to drink and no one should make you feel uncomfortable with this either) to stick with the turkey example, if you, like i, prefer to serve white meat turkey as a differemt course from the dark meat, than two different wines are appropriate and fun.

pan- craig's point that higher end wines are mostly exported is on the mark. that doesn't mean there aren't plenty of local wines left for the locals to drink with their meals. if you spend time with wine makers in piemonte, for example, the majority of them will reach for dolcetto and barbera many more times than their barolo or barbaresco. they gladly sell their barolo and keep a little for special occasions.

"For example, one possibility might be that instead of incredible bargains on outstanding wines from small, distinguished wineries, future Chairman's Selections might veer more towards products that could be sold in huge quantities, perhaps to institutional customers and licensees." sandy, i'm not so sure the chairmans selections were from small wineries. most of the ones noted were pretty big producers.

"It certainly could, but a lot depends on the RS level. " any halbtrocken or trocken works wonderfully with turkey. the rs in these wines is defined by law, i believe.

"Not a fan of riesling with turkey. Prefer my rieslings with more spicy foods." Different strokes for different folks, I guess. Or however that saying goes.......But reisling and turkey is about as classic a food and wine match as there is. I always thought the zin and turkey thing was a way to pair a truly American varietal (supposedly) with a truly American holiday; Thanksgiving. Not so much because the pairing really worked that well. Red Zin with the roast white meat of turkey, hmmmm, but like I said different strokes,etc........

"It just shows how palates differ Craig. I can think of no better wine to serve with turkey than a zin." Better than reisling?

happy holidays jim! please continue to post your notes here. they are really wonderful to read. i, and i'm sure many here, look forward to them. ps: sometime this holiday i will give long decanting to the vissoux traditionelle vv beaujolais and post the notes.

"Spataro's has added cheese steaks to their menu, but I haven't tried them yet. But in any event, Tommy DiNic's roast pork sandwich (ask for it with provolone and greens) would be a better bet. " I had a Spataro's cheese steak yesterday. I'd give it a 4 or5 out of 10. Not bad, not great. Not a classic philly steak. I didn't see any wiz and the only cheese offered was provolone or american. Onions are fried to order, so they aren't slowly browning on the grill and developing that lovely sweetness. I did get my sandwich around 10:00 am, so maybe they don't start sauteeing onions until later. Btw, rlibkind, was that you taking pictures at Iovines around 9:15ish yesterday?

ridge in geyserville isn't far from healdsburg and really shouldn't be missed if you are a zin lover. a smaller producer also in the healdsburg area, on dry creek road (iirc) is unti. solid producer of syrah,zin,grenache, and sangiovese. nice people too. eta: didn't see the above recomendation of unti.sorry. i believe unti is open during the day for sales, but a tour would have to be reserved.

maryland has very good pricing on liqour, wine and beer. many delawareans cross the border routinely to stock up. there are often busses in front of state line liquors in elkton, full of people stocking up. across the board, pa can't compete on price or selection with maryland. why would there need to be chairman selections for spirits? if the purchasing power already lowers prices, shouldn't that already be reflected in the price? why would slapping "chairmans selection" on the bottle make the price any different?

i figured as much, brad. just busting your chops.

"Riesling -- My mother loves that kind of stuff; maybe you know someone like her." Brad? Say it ain't so..... Surely, you appreciate the wonders of German riesling. I can't imagine your cellar isn't stocked with halbtrockens, ausleses, etc.

last years nouveau bottles make interesting, casual, water pitchers for dinner or lunch. oh, but you've got to dump the wine out to do that, never mind.............

sandy, to answer your question, "what effect might this have on the Chairman's Selection program?" who knows? perhaps the program will continue, but mr conti surely will be trying to increase profitability and make up for the 10 million loss in profit. if anything, the plcb needs to make sure the misleading promotion of the whitehall lane wine doesn't happen again.

this quote is from the inquirer's follow up article: "The former legislator said he opposed attempts to privatize liquor sales in his years in Harrisburg and still believes it's not needed. He plans to devote his first few weeks to what he called "a listening tour" to learn the finer points of the state-run system. He wasn't even sure if the job came with a car." sounds like nothing much is going to change.

how do you know he is in favor of loosening the laws?

I think decanting or just or a healthy pour left to sit for a few hours would provide interesting results. I'll try it this w/e. Maybe we can compare notes.

Jim, Did you find the Domaine du Vissoux (Chermette)|, Cuvée Traditionnelle VV, pretty unyeilding at first? I drank it the other night and it took a good hour before it began to show well. How do you think this wine will develop and for how long? ( I bought a case, about $13/bottle). Did you try the P Cheremette Beaujolais? This bottle used to be sealed in wax, iirc. About 11$ in my area. Drinking very well now. Thanks.

i guess this qualifies as thread drift but......... i was suprised at the stated %'s for merlot to cab franc, as i always thought this wine to be predominantly cab franc. trying to google some info wasn't much help. the cheval blanc web site is, um, strange.... tanzers' reviews don't state the percentages. maybe someone else knows definitively.

well i actually cited parker to show that cheval blanc recently has had more merlot than cab franc. so sorry, if that "kills you". your post was actually pretty rude john. all anyone has tried to do was respond in a helpful manner to busboys questions and experience. i listed some wines from lalande de pomerol, saint emilion and fronsac that i have experince with. by "you people" do you mean every on this board or just the folks you box quoted? you box quoted brad and craig who are two of the most knowledgable posters on this forum.neither one mentioned anything about robert parker. if the retail shop you work in is anything like all the others in this country, i am sure you run into people who take occasional swipes at parker. do you treat them the same way you treated the folks you box quoted?if so, i hope i never stumble into the shop where you work. suprising, because you are the one always posting in favor of better service and sales skills in the retail end of the wine business.

busboy, here is a list of moderately priced merlot dominated bordeaux.these are all available in the mid atlantic market: 2003 Chateau Turcaud about $11 2003 Chateau Gachon, Montagne Saint Emilion about $21 2002 Chateau Villars, Fronsac, about $22 2003 Chateau Cruzeau, Saint Emilion Grand Cru, abot $24 2001 Chateau Gueyrosse, Saint Emilion, about $25 2001 La Croix Saint Andre, Lalande de Pomerol, about $30

fwiw, cheval blanc's blend over the last several vintages according to parker reviews: 1994-50/50 1995-50/50 1996-more cab franc than merlot (no % given) 1997- 70% merlot 30% cab franc 1999- 59% merlot 41% cab franc 2000-53% merlot 47% cab franc 2001-60% merlot 40% cab franc 2002 50/50 2004 55% merlot 45% cab franc 2005-53% merlot 47% cab franc

dock's oyster house has decent food, a very good wine list (priced fairly, think about 1.5 times retail), a smallish but comfortable bar. i would go there and eat at the bar have decent wine and oysters. the website is www.docksoysterhouse.com

cheval blanc does have merlot in it ,but also cab franc, another grape miles dissed.

i made my first purchase at giunta's on thursday, after picking up a roast chicken at dienners. i guess i got lucky because, mr giunta, was trying to get rid of whole chicken legs, and at 5 lbs for 5 bucks, it was quite a deal. the legs were huge, a little over a pound a piece. must have been older birds as the skin was thick and firm. perfect for braising. so last night coq au vin for dinner. the chicken was excellent. i'm not sure if these were bell and evans or not. the other chicken all had the bell and evans sign in front of the trays but these didn't. whatever, they were really good. ground turkey was also delicious. i didn't ask but, i'm pretty sure it was ground thigh. the meat was a dark rosey color and flecked with a little fat. as if i needed another reason to drive to philly from wilmington to do grocery shopping!