Carolyn Tillie

I hate to be totally lame about this, but is the yeast nutrient added the same time as the yeast? These are the only instructions I have (not having researched it beyond this) so I'm curious if there is something stupid I should know... Edited to add -- I've checked and that yeast is not available here in the wine country. Is there something else I can use or should we wait for Brooks' research?

Wolf stove.

Well?????? It is September -- what's the scoop, boys?

I'm getting terribly jealous reading this thread. The only store that I can think of that might have anything unusual in NoCal is 99 Ranch Market. They get some bizarre fruits and I know I have seen frozen durian there. Reading all the descriptions of these has made me more inclined to try some of them and so maybe a special trip to 99 Ranch is in order... Cheers!

I'm afraid the only one I have any experience with is 55 Degrees in St. Helena. We at Ladera have a lot of customers that live in states (and countries!) where we can't ship. These customers use 55 Degrees as THEY are able to ship to the difficult locations. I also know of small, independent wine makers that use 55 Degrees as their "distributor" as it were. They have a great reputation here in the California wine industry. 55 Degrees

Clifford, that was a great story. Thanks for sharing!

It is really hard to get a romantic meal for two under $40 in L.A. Seriously. In downtown, for fun, you could go to either Philippe's Home of the French Dip or The Pantry (more for breakfast). Consider wandering around Little Tokyo - you could probably eat there for under $40 but I don't know if I'd consider that romantic or not. Actually, here is a thought! Down on Spring Street is Angelique Cafe. Completely romantic, perfectly French, and well within your budget. The biggest problem is that they close at 4:00 so you'll have to make it lunch - but well worth it!

Damn, I grew up in Orange County and remember when the Five Crowns was THE fancy-schmancy place to go (along with Newport 17)... Mine: 1. Slurp (a noodle house in Berkeley) 2. Grasshopper (Japanese-style tapas in Berkeley) 3. Saketini in Napa (cheap Japanese-style) hmmm... I detect a pattern here -- guess I need to get out of my Oriental rut

From the article in today's Just-Drinks.com: Interesting that I am starting to learn the different flavors indicative of the different appellations -- I know a Carneros Pinot from one that is grown elsewhere; I'm starting to detect mountain fruit vs. valley fruit; but this is a new appellation to me and I'll have to investigate what makes this appellation any different...

Of note to all this... Parker's scores came out last week and for the first time, he gave points to our winemaker's private label of two vineyard-specific Syrahs (2002 Culler Syrah Napa Valley - 221 cases made and 2002 Culler Syrah Sonoma Coast, Griffin Vineyard - 173 cases made; 91 and 93 points respectively). Now Karen Culler is a small winemaker. She makes a few hundred cases of her wine and she already has a decent mailing list and a following of devoted Syrah drinkers. I have a standing order with her that I will buy three bottles of anything she puts out but I still routinely sent in my faxed order on Monday as I had received her release letter and order form over the weekend. I wish I could afford more but I'm a small-time wine consumer, rarely buying more than 6 bottles of any wine due to expense. Seems with the Parker points, Karen's fax machine actually broke over the weekend and her phone rang off the hook as she scrambled to fix her fax machine. When I spoke with her on Monday, she confirmed my order AND was curious at the sales that she missed because of the broken fax. If I found out how quickly she sells out, I'll let you know. Parker has yet to rate our Ladera wine so if I hear anything on that account, I'll certainly report back! The WS points that came out last week have more than overwhelmed me here at work - I'd hate to think what Parker scores would do!

Oh yeah... that smilie face on my bill is SO worth an extra 3 to 5%!

I've mentioned before (and I'm sure Dover Canyon will concur) that it is impossible to escape the impact that Parker scores have to the industry. We all wish his scores were not as important as they have become. However, there is one thing about Parker that gives hiim slightly more credence than Spectator, QRW, Decanter, Tanzer, and all the others: Parker does not accept any advertising whatsoever. There is a constant inference that those wineries which receive high Spectator scores are also the ones that advertise consistently. You can't say that about Parker...

I'm like many folks in that I'm reading a number of books at once. For fiction, I've been reading The Dante Club by Matthew Pearl. You have to have read Dante's Inferno to really enjoy it, but I chuckled when I came across this food-related section: For non-fiction I am reading K2 - the Story of the Savage Mountain by Jim Curran. My latest foodie book is The Hungry Soul - Eating and the Perfecting of our Nature by Leon R. Klass, M.D. a fascinating philosophical exploration of man's need to consume. The opening paragraph: Pretty cool, huh?

Okay, for you folks who have tasted this bizarre concoction, I think you have all missed the point. From as near as I can tell, you all tasted it straight from the container in which it is sold. Having me chuckled about the existence of this thread, Shawn brought home a bottle this evening. He opened the plastic bottle and we both sniffed. Yeah, there was that syrupy grape smell. "Pour a little in a glass over ice, please" I asked. "In an absinthe glass?" Shawn joked. Well, as I sit here and peruse this thread, he walks in with the small glass and I can see the bright purplish hue glisten through the light. However, atop the sparkling hue of amethyst was BRIGHT BLUE FOAM! You know that hideous blue food coloring so frequently acquainted with raspberry? Yep -- THAT color blue. Slurpee Blue. And the flavor? Well, as most people have already described... grape lollipop is a good attribute. In fact, it tastes a great deal like a melted slurpee.

Don't know if you can really see a difference in our vine: 'Nor in the grapes -- at this point, if they are purple, then they aren't going to look much different (I believe) until they are picked: So coming up, I'll start focusing on the rest of the production until our grapes are actually picked!

I'm bumping this up to the top because we are a few days away from September, when I thought we were getting started! What's the scoop? Are we hoping Brooks will acquire yeast for all of us and we'll pay for the shipping? Is everyone else ready? Is the idea that the Mead would be ready for the holidays, or is that wishful thinking?

Welcome, fero! I think Spago is going to be too much like Patina. What don't you get in DC that might be of interest? L.A. is such a diverse place that it might be an opportunity for you to experiment with something really different -- authentic Mexican? REAL California cuisine? For a true California experience, I would recommend either Josie, Joe's in Venice, or Lucques. L'Orangerie is the ultimate in haute cuisine, but may be too similar to the French-style stuff you can get on the East Coast. Hope that helps!

That begs the question -- I wonder who started infusing chocolate with these flavors? For some reason, it seems that the lavender, lemon verbena, earl grey-like flavors have been around for quite some time (at least back into the 80's, before Jacques had his M.O.F.) I was impressed when Recchiuti had a tarragon flavored filling contrasted with a slice of candied grapefruit -- now THAT was unusual! But these Vosges chocolates seem more cutting edge at this point. At the Fancy Foods show in Los Angeles three years ago, I tasted a chocolatier who was making a goat cheese-flavored chocolate. Better than I anticipated it would be. Any chocolate fans out there care to hazard a guess when flavors like lavender and earl grey started appearing on the world stage?

Alacarte, can you elaborate to me what you think Jacques did first and better? Actually opening a haute chocolate shop? Or the flavors he is using? Your reference is a bit vague... I'm asking because his website does not give one single flavor descriptor on any of the confection truffles. What I am enamored with on the Vosges are the unusual flavors, notably the Australian flavors. Here in NoCal, we have access to Recchiuti and XOX Truffles, both of which are exquisite but neither have the exotic flavors that intrigue me the way the Vosges does. Does Jacques do anything exotic?

Ummmm.... Winchel's????

We know better, my love. It is the sweet, innocent face that gets us in trouble every time!

Charles Phan is now the Executive Chef at the Slanted Door at Ferry Plaza Marketplace. Apparently it's difficult to get reservations there, as they're booked weeks in advance. I hadn't heard the "downhill status" thing at all. Interesting. I wonder if Charles and Nam are related, having the same last name and everything? And, Walt, you could always bring your wife to Napa!!!

There have been a number of recent postings of folks describing the down-hill status of the famous Slated Door. Well I may have found out why! In a PR report received today: Should be interesting!

I wouldn't keep a white wine for more than a week, even for cooking purposes. I have to laugh because when I visit my sister and she knows I like to drink when, she offer, "there is an open bottle of wine in the fridge if you want a glass." When I query how long it has been there and opened, the response is usually something like, "oh, not too long -- a month or two!" Then I opt for a glass of milk...

Absolutely! It's like having a perfume insert in a magazine. Argh! My other big pet peeve (and the reason I no longer have a Gourmet subscription!)