Carolyn Tillie

I'm with Craig and DC on this as well -- heck, Shawn and I occasionally dine with wine geeks that BRING THEIR OWN GLASSES. When I first started into wine geekdom and brought my own bottles, I can't tell you how often I saw young, green waiters break corks or (worse yet), use an A-So and PUSH the cork into the bottle! If I am new to an establishment and I don't know the calibre of their staff, I open it myself. Funny, during my birthday weekend, I brought a great, old bottle to Bistro Don Giovanni in Napa (a place that SHOULD know how to serve wine). I let the waiter open the bottle but the first thing he did was start GLUGGING the wine into the my glass (instead of the small pour to assure it wasn't corked). When I saw it, I immediately started yelling at him, "wait, Wait, WAIT!" My family stared at me as though I were nuts when I had to explain to them and the waiter that I wanted to taste it first! The waiter even told us that he assumed because we brought the wine, we knew it was okay. I had to explain to HIM, "How would I know it is okay? It could be corked, right?" Duh. And yes, I HAVE brought in corked wines to restaurants before, so small tastes ARE important!

24 hours is usually sufficient, although because we are so small, Saturdays are iffy... Sometimes I am able to do same-day tours but if a guest calls that day and I've already booked up with three or four tours, I have to turn them away. At least with a day's notice I can fit everyone in. We like to do each group of guests separately, since everyone has their own agenda and own set of questions. It is more personal and intimate than being put with a bunch of people who don't know each other. The Saturday thing is the fact that there are really only three of us that give tours: the two owners and myself. Lately the owners alone have been giving the Saturday tours and they are going out of town for a couple of weeks and I'm not sure I want to drive up there on a Saturday just for one or two tours...

That would a "Stelvin®" by name.

Similar method, but different lay-out, I always wanted a Cafetino model.

I'm a broth-only kinda gal -- and while I don't keep kosher, I tend to keep the pork fat out only because it seems to have more longevity in the fridge without it. Once pork is in a soup, it seems to strengthen in that particular flavor after a day or two. I also finish with sherry and freshly chopped chives, a la minute.

I think she's saying that you should wait until the fall when the weather isn't so hot to ship your wine. You know how hot the inside of your car gets on a summer day. And that's presumably with you running the AC while you're in it. You really don't want your wine baking in the back of a non-cooled FedEx or UPS truck, do you? Many wineries/wine shops won't ship from June through September for this reason. Exactly. PLUS, by the fall we will be signed up with the new company that will allow us to ship to NJ -- which we can't currently do. BUT (and here is the caveat), the Supreme Court is going to hear the case brought by the Washington Wine Institute about interstate shipping of wine. Story Here. It might all be changed shortly, but I doubt it will happen as early as this fall (when DOES the Supreme Court announce its verdicts anyway?)

Wine Recalled in Contamination Scare

I PM'd this to you as well, but other folks might like to know:

You will want to come up and visit me at Ladera sometime. Not that we have a 100% PV 'cuz we don't. But on the way up the hill is Viader -- they produce a Petite Verdot entitled "V" that you would probably enjoy. You'll want to take a look at my wine blog here that is a weekly chronicle of a Petit Verdot vine. I've tasted our's directly from the barrel and don't really care for it. I agree with Florida Jim that it is too tannic. Actually, the stuff we have in the barrel this year is probably going to be bulked out -- we are happy enough with our Cabernet offerings that they are going to be bottled 100% with no need for additional blending. Also, we have Syrah in the barrel which I have enjoyed tasting as well. My favorite, however, is made privately by Karen Culler and is only available on a waiting-list fashion.

This one is intriguing for me -- a fellow eGulleter, WNissen, lives near Livermore, but I'm curious... Charles, do you know if this is available in Napa anywhere? I'd like to try it. They are online at www.vineyardinn-craneridge.com/ hope that helps Yeah except for two things... now that it is summer I wouldn't risk having wine shipped ANYWHERE and secondly, I tend towards the cheap and wish to buy things I can get discounts on (local stuff, being in the industry and all that...)

Hate to disagree... the La Reve is a blanc de blanc and their rosé is just a brut rosé - the two are different. The La Reve (translated: The Dream) is a small-case produced sparkler that is not distributed, quite expensive, and my favorite treat with caviar! Domaine Carneros

This one is intriguing for me -- a fellow eGulleter, WNissen, lives near Livermore, but I'm curious... Charles, do you know if this is available in Napa anywhere? I'd like to try it.

Not too long ago there was a discussion in the California forum of someone asking Napa Sparkling Houses - Worth the Visit? I'm with you -- Schramsberg and J, my two favorites!

Fascinating -- I cook venison loin all the time and if properly prepared, it should be the most tender, moist cut from a dear. It is true that venison is a very, very lean meat and even the slightest amount of overcooking would make it tough and dry. I think the biggest secret is to cook it very rare. I've never brined a venison loin so I don't have an answer to that but if you are worried about it being dry, you could always wrap it in bacon or lard it for extra fat.

When I was living in LA, I would hit the Taco Trucks near the automobile pick-a-parts (I was restoring British cars back then and always hunting for parts!). Driving around works too -- I would say anywhere that migrant workers tend to hang or near the day-laborer's hang-outs...

Even better, par boil, cut in smaller sizes, toss in bacon drippings. Roast. Okay, I don't get it -- with as small as they are, why parboil? Am I just being lame?

Here's a link to the KitchenAid site for this product. I had not heard of this before and would be curious as to why a $99 attachment might be better than this Krups $60.00 model or this Cuisinart $80 model. or even this Cuisinart $50 model. I've been wanting an ice cream maker for some time. I know I can't afford the Delonghi $250 model or any in that bracket - but would love to hear what people have to say about theirs'!

I slice them lengthwise into thirds or fourths, toss them with melted duck fat and lots of herbs and either pan-fry them or oven-roast them.

Welcome aboard, C-Cane! Are you a de-lurker or have you just stumbled across Le Gullet? We hope you'll stick around awhile, regardless! Cheers; carolyn

While it is true that restaurants have to submit a "processing fee" to enter the Restaurant Awards ($200), but I don't think this award is fee-related.

Do you pour the wine over the cereal in a bowl? Sugar optional? (Not needed with some zins, I bet...) Yup. No sugar.

Red Zinfandel and Cornflakes

I'm a day behind because we finally got to suckering the Petit Verdot as well as dropping some fruit! However, the guys were still a few rows away from our chosen vine, so you won't see much difference in today's shot: Nor, probably, in the grape: However, look closely at the leaves -- that mottling is the sign that the vine is struggling at its production. If anyone likes, I'll shoot another picture of the vine this week so you can see how it was trimmed back.

Fatcatbrew, when/if you decide to head to the Napa side of the world, PM me if you would like to make an appointment for a private tour and tasting of the winery I work at -- pretty stunning 19th century French chateau which I am blogging here.

Fatcatbrew, you are actually in a perfectly central location if you plan on hitting some of the Russian River/Healdsburg wineries as well as the Sonoma/Napa-central producers. I'm not as familiar with the eats on that side of the wine-world as I'm still trying to work my way around the Napa-centric restaurants of note (La Toque, Terra, Jeanty, Bouchon, etc...) How long are you staying and what is your general itinerary -- meaning, do you plan on a 100% Napa day, a 100% Sonoma day, etc... ???