Coop

Four perfect Barolos? One perfect Langhe all in one issue?

I think we need a Bob Rotella book about wine. I've got the title already. Wine not a game of Perfect.

If it is the perfect wine, I would be scared to try it. What do you follow it with? There would be no point to ever drinking wine again, or for that matter liquid. How could you put anything in your mouth after Anjelo Gaja's perfect wine. What about aging? If it's perfect now it can only get worse in the future. Is it better now (8:40am PDT) then it will be in 15 minutes? if it was to evolve at any point how could it get better? The whole world changed in 1976 in Montreal when the Romanian gymnast recieved the prfect 10, since then people have been awarding everything the unattainable. Now the cieling is set so low there seems to be a perfect wine for every issue of Wine Spectator (on average). BTW I had a bottle of Morgante Nero d'Avola 2002 last night. Not as full as the 2001 but a very tasty wine none the less. Not perfect though! Imagine my dissapointment.

For the last 12 years I have had a partially underground cellar, 3 sides are below grade and one is exposed to my basement. It remains between 50 and 60 degrees year round. The temperature changes are seasonal and occur gradually. I find this to be very satisfactory. Before that I had a 440 bottle temerature controlled unit. It was noisey and unreliable. Twice it had to have the cooling unit re-charged in a three year period. Luckily I caught it both time before it turned into a wine oven. I would check the temperature 3 or 4 times a day, and was always listening for the compressor to make a funny noise alerting me to the ruination of bottles of Caymus and Cos'. BTW, I think it's a good idea to have seperate insurance for your wine. Keep a current inventory off site.

bctraveller: The first question I have to ask you is: Do you like to drink 25 year old wines? I would suggest you attend some tastings and make sure you really like well aged wine. I wish I had asked that question myself in the mid 80's when I was putting away Burgundys, Bordeauxs and California Cabernets. I have found that my preference is for wines less then 10 years old. Living in Vancouver makes collecting a very serious investment due to the Provincial governments mark up policy. You also really have no choice other then to buy through them either directly or indirectly. I would reconsider before dropping the temerature of your cellar. My cellar rises to about 60 degrees during the summer and then drops to about 55 for the rest of the year, occaisionally it will drop to about 50 during real cold spells. I believe that this is the perfect environment for wine aging. My bottles have shown no ullage in over 15 years of storage. All have aged gracefully. BTW my cellar is mostly underground and has not artificial colling. I now use my cellar for aging wines for the short term. That way it eliminates the dumbness that comes from an ocean voyage (mostly Tuscan and Piemontese). So in the next 5 years we will be enjoying the great string of vintages that the late 90's and early 00's brought us. When it comes to aging those more modern grapes, it's hard to find much in the way of experienced opinion. Grange Hermitage would prove that some Shiraz is age worthy. I have had some older Ridge, Ravenswood single vineyard, and Robert Biale Zinfandels, I'm not sure they were any better then they were at release. As for aging BC wines, I think I'll let someone else pay for that experiment. PM me and let me know which wines you think we can buy in BC and cellar.

Primamima Petit Verdot. Excellent Bordeaux style wine. I don't normally seek out Aussie wines, but I had a taste of this at one of our government stores in Vancouver (on the sly) and seperated myself from the $32.00 cdn it took to bring one home. I have heard less then glowing reports on their other wines though.

Couldn't agree more! had the same feeling about a 2000 Cum Laude. It just seemed like Mendocino Cabernet, especially compared to the Moris Farms 98 Morellino Riserva it was served with. However I think Banfi offers so many wine's, they try to have one for everybody.

It means they have run out of real wine industry giants to honour.

This guy (I assume it's a guy) is living his dream. A winery and now some "Hooter's Girls" to hit on. Personally I think their hiring policies are probably as shallow as their wines. I'm only speculating having never seen or tasted the stuff.

Le Pichet always has some tasty pate and mousse on their menu. Nice glass of Rose, some cornichons etc...

Nero d"Avola is crap! Yeah crap..Stay away from Morgante and Planeta and Regalialli especially. Yeah....Yeah..Get Away I say!

So would you say the Murphy Goode was a Prime Time Player or a Diaper Dandy? BABY!

Tasted at the bar in Lumiere, Vancouver. A spirit made from 100% blue agave. Very strong caramel and black pepper on the nose. Not at all harsh in the mouth. Who knew?

This and the birthday cake thread have something in common. If you are bringing a truly unique cake or bottle to a restaurant and are prepared to pay a premium to have it served and you discuss it with the manager/chef you will probably get away with it. If you are a cheap bastard and are trying to bring in some Nanaimo bars from Costco or a bottle of Farenese Primitivo....well you will get what you deserve.

Only Laker era I could stand was the one with Jerry West and Gail Goodrich. I find it interesting that you go Piemonte in the clutch. Did you expect this area to be more "money" then Tuscany? Any thoughts on Pruddottori 1999 regular bottling in Magnums?

Old school wine and old school ball. I loved this series. Jump shots, rebouding, passing and great team play. BTW Coop's favorite team....whoever is playing the Lakers.

May I suggest pulling out all the stops this evening. You don't want it going back to LA!

I was down their a few times on business in the last few weeks. I asked about what was up and the Harbourmaster told me that the trailers arrival was imminent. It was being built off site, there were still a few licensing issues to be dealt wtih but the project is still happening. everyone I spoke with was looking forward to it's arrival. Here is an interesting point of view though, the people in the office think that they are in an area under served by lunch places. Huh? Either they are unable to walk or think they need a Burger King on site. Amazing point of view to someone who lives in Maple Ridge.

The Cambie and 39th store has a pile of them on the window sill by the North exit. Seem's worth having just for the background article on Chambar.

I'm not sure a broader focus makes them a better publication. I have always liked this magazine, so it just seems like a step in the wrong direction. HOWEVER i will reserve judgement till I actually read the new issue.

Merlin Coccopazzo is in Kerrisdale/Southlands, no where near North Van.

Nobody wants my opinion on this I'm sure. I like Cru and Parkside equally.

Why? is it to get the best of the crop or to save $'s.

I loved Napa by James Conway. I especially love the parts about John Daniel and the early history of Inglenook. Beware though insiders hated this book when it came out. Like Kitchen Confidential.

Any comments on the Campaccio 2000 and 99 regular bottling? We have both available for $40.00 cdn here in BC.