SWISS_CHEF

For whatever its worth: I happened to be looking at the only Parker book I have (5th edition of Wine Buyer's guide) and here is Parker's opinion of Deakin Estate: '97 Chard 85 pts. '96 Chard 86 pts. '97 Merlot 85 pts. '97 Shiraz 88 pts. '96 Shiraz 86 pts. Stephen Tanzer 2002 Chardonnay 85 pts. 2000 Shiraz 87 pts. Wine Spectator: Sauvignon Blanc 2004 86 points Merlot 2001 85 points Edit: I was just wondering what you drink in the same price range?

We get all of the Havana Clubs here in Switzerland. Its good, but if I could drink anything I would drink Barbancourt 5 star (8 year) which we don't get here. Edit: Yes we do...I just did a search! YES YES YES!

Hi Peppyre, Sorry for the delay, we have been involved in a big tasting at the UN in Geneva this week and it has taken all of our spare time. Here is the link to the story my wife read. Wine Greetings, Ed PS: Also, thank you Daniel and Duncan for your posts.

Well anyway...at least he isn't calling it Petrus-something. A friend once told be he had two bottles of Mouton Rothschild so I said I would cook a special dinner. So I cooked and cooked and when he and his wife arrived...you guessed it...it was Mouton Cadet! ARGGGGG! I never said a word I just smiled and slowly put down my 10 inch Sabatier.

Christian Moueix just might have something to say about that. ← It isn't hard to argue that his wines at both ends of the spectrum could be considered ripoffs - $1,300/bottle for 2003 Petrus futures is a bit much for most peoples budget and $7 for "Christian Moueix Bordeaux Merlot" isn't exactly terrific juice, even at $7/bottle. ← Being $1300 makes it a rip off? How? I doubt there will be much left laying around the Chateau waiting to be sold. And any way, what does "most peoples budget have to do with Petrus? A rolls Royce is "out of most peoples budget" too so what!

Thanks EVERYONE for the advice. I have to say that I have been researching the restaurants you have suggested and I must say I am impressed. You have suggested some really great places that even I can afford! I am looking forward to the trip and I will keep you post as to the results.

Thanks Mate, I'll keep that in mind Christian Moueix just might have something to say about that.

Thanks for the sterling review!

I agree 100% with Carolyn. I bought four "impitoyable" nearly 20 years ago (do they even make these things any more?) It's a pain in the ass but I stlll use them on the odd occasion when I want everyone to think I'm cool. At least it has the dents in the glass to keep all of your fingerprints in one place. I'm hoping they will become a collector's item and I will be able to get my money back some day. Trust me, the Reidel "O" Series will fade out too.

Deakin Chardonnay '02: Wine Spectator 87 points Deakin Estate Cabernet '02 85 PTS WILFRED WONG Deakin Estate Chardonnay '04 85 PTS, BEST BUY, WINE ENTHUSIAST Deakin Estate Merlot '02 87 PTS WILFRED WONG Deakin Estate Sauvignon Blanc '03 87 PTS WILFRED WONG Deakin Estate Shiraz '02 SILVER MEDAL, 2005 MONTEREY WINE COMP Deakin Merlot US$9.00 per glass at Excalibur Las Vegas Maybe your getting the barrel wash instead!?

Well I am less fond of the whites than the reds and I like the merlot. One question. If it's "Cat-piss" why do you serve it every Friday?

In Switzerland we recycle EVERYTHING. Even 98% of batteries sold here are recycled. No one recycles better than the Swiss. The truth is we pay almost 3 bucks tax to throw out a little 35 liter bag of trash and everything we recycle is free.

I carry and sell the hell out of Thorn-Clarke "Shotfire Ridge" Shiraz also the Deakin Estate wines are a great bang for the buck.

Well, I like Mont Redon as you will see in my story. I also really like the wines from Soumade and Brusset and Pigeade's Muscat de Beaumes de Venise.

That depends on the retailer, do you have a receipt, etc. Some retailers won't accept a wine, no matter how flawed not as a result of anything the consumer did after a certain period of time. Others will accept them years later. All the more reason I advocate establishing a good relationship with a wine merchant. ← I don't think there is a merchant in all of Switzerland that wouldn't give you a refund on a corked wine. I work with several importers and it is always made very clear to me that they expect to get corked bottles back and I should ALWAYS return them. In fact I dropped off two just this afternoon in Luzern.

Hi Bill and Peter, Thanks for the advice! I have been slowly figuring that Acqui Terme is too far away. Luckly, we have plenty of time to reconsider the hotel. My thanks to all of you for pointing that out. I told you I'm a first timer in the Piedmont. Switzerland, on the other hand is another story and If I can return the favors concerning advice in my home country I would be more than happy to do so. Kind Regards, Ed

My comments are from memory because I didn't take notes. Goats do Roam in Villages white 2004: Lots of citrus, thick, rich, high alcohol 14.5% The blend makes this wine very easy to like. it has so many layers to unravel. Best pairings...well goat cheese comes to mind first because I found the wine had a slight cheesy-lemon nose. It's a complex little bugger and you would be happy with it as an apero wine too. My rating 87. Goats do Roam in Villages Red 2003: I hate to rock the boat but I was not blown away by this wine. I got a lot of acid and not a lot of fruit. It was more interesting in the nose than the mouth. We opened the wine and drank it over three hours and it never got better in the glass for me. What I did keep saying was that it really had the "gout de terroir" of a French wine, lots of mineral content. I'm pretty sure that if I had tasted this wine blind I would have called it French. That having been said I would expect to find a comparable French wine for slightly less money (remember I am in Switzerland and that may not be the case in the States). My rating 84. We got a case of each wine and I will be pouring them at our tastings in the coming weeks so I will keep you posted about my client's comments and I will retaste them too. Who knows, maybe we will sell the hell out of it!

The red was 2003 and the white was 2004. My wife found the story on the web (her computer). I will ask her to find it in the morning and post the link.

I have just tried "Fairview's Goats do Roam in Villages" red (a blend of (probably) Pinotage, Shiraz, Grenache, Cinsaut, Carignan Mourvedre) and the white (a varying blend mostly of Crouchen, Clairette, White Grenache and Muscat and some times Chardonnay). I read the whole story about how they brought all of their goats to a local village so they could give free milk to children dying of aides and then decided on the name "Goats do Roam in Villages". The story also mentions how the owner was sued by the French and spent $100K in court defending the name. He lost because it won't be called that in the US. He lamented how the money could have been put to better use. Gut wrenching stuff this was. At first I was struck by the "story" and in fact that is why I ordered two cases of the wine. After some reflection my question is; Is this the proper way to name a wine or are they looking for publicity? Is this a Bonny Doon wanna be? (Old Telegram instead of Vieux Telegraph) The wine spectator rated the red 2003 a 90. My wife loved the red and the white. I loved the white only. Both could certainly have stood on their own without the controversial name. Do we need more of this kitschy stuff or is this cool with you all?

Guinness and venison stew was the most popular thing on the menu at The Marsh Tavern when I worked there.

GOD! Someone else gets this stuff!

Ciao Alberto, Thanks for the tip. I have been reading all the old posts and I think I have some good ones picked out. I can't wait! Ed

Melanie and I will be in Piedmont the in a couple of weeks to look for new wines to import and so I thought I would ask for some hot tips. We are not star chasers so there is no need to list all the top restaurants. We like fun simple places that serve good regional food and you can wear blue jeans and not feel out of place. We are staying here because we get a rate of €90 with breakfast and dinner included. We plan to spend most of our time tracking down wineries and tasting but there will be a little extra time for site seeing too. Thanks in advance for your tips, Ed

I really love to eat at a restaurant that excels at it's food. The trouble is I usually end up paying top dollar for below-average food served on avant-garde plates in a pretentious setting. It happens all too often these days. I have been part of the real thing and I know a fake when I see it. So I would have to agree... I end up being happiest when I'm eating at home too.

They all look great and you can tell that time was taken and effort was made in the preparation. Nice work! The lima beans look good...we don't get them here in Switzerland.