Robert Nesta Marley

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i believe you're correct. indeed, brander's forte is SB, since the, what, late 70s, no? they've served as an early benchmark for a pretty long time, before santa barbara wines were cool. it's not only the Nicholas that sees wood now, though; although most of their cuvees don't. in new york they're distributed by domaine select estates now if you're ITB. more cool peoples.

this week i found myself at both prune and the tasting room within three days of each other. what incredibly different experiences--aside from the service, as we were guests of staff at both establishments, for all sense of purposes. i'd much rather have a table at the TR. and they're not that difficult to come by, relatively speaking. we were way too crowded at prune--clearly not there to be *seen*, which is the only reason i might see actually not minding the setup there. unless you're really used to eating in paris, where there's no space between tables, generally speaking. needless to say, we couldn't get much work done there. the food at the TN has so much more finesse & style. such a delightfully *incongruous* way about it in this regard, as the wine list is all american.... not that there aren't esoteric productions on the list, which there are. and the wine service is impeccable, with the proprietor available if you so choose to solicit his assistance. one byo, one buy off the list is the policy. very generous. creamed chestnuts at prune were of a displeasing consistency. oatmeal-like, and milky; without a contrast in flavors.......? i don't get them. i'll reread plots & others posts if i have time. also, it's april, though. but the braised escarole (suvir's *bitter greens*, that brit) was also medium-poor. imbalanced, with way way, way to large of a *pinch* of nutmeg, which made them bitter. and underseasoned at that. breaded sweetbreads could've been an entree, i swear. too heavy. moist, i'll have you, but it just left my date full after a gifted app & before an entree. oh, but they do have foreau vouvray for $33 there. delicious. lots of non-u.s. wines, as a matter of fact (relatively speaking, i guess). rabbit legs in a butter-laden broth. is it april? although he did have a whole branzino. that was nice & refreshing. tasing room rocked. just outstanding, everything on the list (we had chef's menus). just to get back to the point of this thread & post. anyone go to WD50 soft opening this week?

the sparkler from yarden is very, very, very good. it's on the list at AZ, or was about three months ago.

wow. you paid a lot of money for those wines. i've been really curious about puech-haut, though; thanks.

i like a vouvray demi-sec with petillance paired with camembert for the same reasons i like sparkling cider. and of course champagne is classic with camembert. what you may be looking for is acidity to lift the cream. but again, the quality of the cheese is key. don't worry about finding "old" oloroso. i recently spent $40 on a bottle of "very rare" oloroso from "older" soleras because i needed it at the last minute. i should've done some homework but i needed it in a pinch. go with lustau, just seek out single estate productions from the almenecista line. generally speaking, i'd go for the weight of an oloroso over an amontillado for cheese. st. andres are usually commercial productions, across the board. at least sample some pierre robert for your audience if they're beginners. but, yes, moscato d'asti is back in. screw "sophistication". coppo's moncalvina is fairly easy to find, but their petillance levels have been really inconsistent lately, so taste before you buy to be sure the bubbles aren't too huge, etc. meunster, well....it depends what shape it's in, no? but i'd go with the richness (& residual sugar, again) of zind-humbrecht's cuvee laurence gewurztraminer more so than a pinot gris. what about loire chenin blanc here? dry. i think i might want to play around with this idea. anyone?

why drink corbieres with triple cremes when you can have climens ???? what about royal tokaji & cheese? experiences anyone would like to share?

wilfrid, you don't find sweeter bleus tasting metallic with dry reds? bobbie.

eric bordelet's sparkling ciders are much more intriguing (they're bottled under the chateau de hauteville label). he does pear & apple ciders in normandy. besides, the last time i checked, she stopped making hudson valley cider, unfortunately. anyway, his ciders pair famously with bleus like old chatham's ewe's blue, that blue made in hubbardstown, MA that i always forget (of course there's only one & everyone will know what it is ). but others like bleu d'auvergne with lower salinity & a higher butterfat composition will be outstanding with his productions. one of my all time favorite meals is a lustau oloroso or domecq palo cortado (yes, they are wines & might win you smart points) with a sufficiently ripe, buttery, nutty brebis from the basque. take your pick. membrillo or unsulphured dried fruit if you wish. that's living. good luck. p.s. dry white wine is always better than dry red wine with cheese. i don't care; i'm pulling a plotnicki on this one.

the new wine director there is very knowledgeable & well-traveled, with great passion for his work. so even if you're completely unfamiliar with greek wine, he's likely to steer you in a direction you're interested in going. just tell him what you usually drink. yes, everyone should go now. before the hoards.

rose d'anjou is cool again. montlouis major cool points. lambrusco in again as well if you talk to the right people. so is moscato d'asti. and don't get me started on moscato d'asti rosso. aah. but, as always, it's all about the right producer, especially in overlooked and/or overcropped regions. as evidenced, of course, by the gambero rosso this week....... and by the plethora of franciacortas at their tasting this week, seriously. wow.

i don't expect much from that wednesday section anymore these days. a shame.

did you have a bad day? or did one of us push you on the playground? who *relegated* beer to monday night football? the media? than don't watch tv--this is "america"; be proactive & run a beer campaign or something. and comments like "a far less complex drink like wine" won't win you any points here. you'd be lucky to even see much discussion on this thread, but i could be wrong. lambics like cantillon are wine-y to the max. i suppose you don't see the complexity in their geuze? so you're on the beer board often? that's good to know.

Craig, don't concede so quickly. Steve wants a run for his money.

thank you.