bobferdon

I'm not a Zagat expert but arn't all restaurant write in's and don't get published until they have enough reviews to do so? Where is An American Grill? We should try it if it's good...

The new Zagat is out... What do they say? Rosemary and Sage 26 Hamburg Tpke. (I-287, exit 53) Riverdale, New Jersey 07457 973-616-0606 www.rosemaryandsage.com Food Decor Service Cost 26 19 23 $50 “All you seek is here” at this 60-seat Riverdale home for “foodies”, where “new items are added regularly” to an “outstanding” New American menu and the “lovely owners” “pay attention to details”; with “interesting, affordable” wines and a five-course prix fixe dinner that’s a “great value”, “you won’t be disappointed”; N.B. Wednesday–Sunday, dinner only.

Mother's Day 2005 - Another excellent meal and service at Rosemary & Sage... We will be back.

Go to a Sam's Club and buy Torres Sangre de Toro 1.5's for less then $10 per bottle. It is a great little bottle of wine and it's from Spain!

According to Beverage Network it is not sold in NJ

Deli on Valley Road in Montclair across the street from Tierney's. Sorry name escapes me...

Rosie, Excellent wine list. I would love to have some wines on it. They are very well trained also and know how to offer and pair wines properly... RAF

If it's the Shulas the chain, the food and wine is usually excellent although I don't like to support cigar friendly places. There are so many great restaurants to go to where you don't have to put up with the stench.

There's a rumor going around that Jacques Selosse got p-oed at some distributors/retailers that were hoarding the wines. I can't remember all the details, and it was told me in the "I heard..." fashion from someone else. But supposedly Selosse has stopped exporting. It's possible. It seems like most of BK's wines these days go to one chain...

J. Sellose? Still from Bobby Kacher? If so it should be found in the DC area...

a review of Colors can be found here. Scroll to Oct 7th http://www.winostuff.com/BofBQ404.htm

Jim, Excellent post.... and correct. Thank you for the comments on Drouhin. For those of you who don't know me I work for them here in the USA. I prefer to say USA and AOC instead of US and AC but both are correct. Over the years I have represented about 20 different burgundy houses and for all of them the Bourgogne level wines have been grapes or wine purchased from various growers and regions from just about anywhere in Burgundy. The only time grapes were used from Village level wines was if the vines were too young and were declassified or if the vintage was too weak and they would declassify the weakest barrels and put them into Bourgogne wines. As for the Drouhin's, their long term reputation is far more important them to risk it on one vintage. Grapes or wine from the village level that are not up to their standards will either be sold off in bulk or if the still represent burgundy they will be used for LaFORET. I mentioned Vero because it is made from finished village level wines that HAVE MADE THE CUT... Veronique has 87 different appelations to choose from to make the blend. My fine wine shops understand it. One of the first customers I tasted said "I taste Chambolle" before I told him the blend. Chambolle 2002 $40 Vero $25.... You are correct the the long term goal is to achieve a consistant style so that 5 years from now when someone is looking on a wine list the vintage is not important. Vero is what's important.

First off, 50 states, 50 different sets of regulations. What I used to be able to offer in DC would get me arrested in Maryland. You have to be very aware of where you are on Wisconsin Ave in case you cross into Chevy Chase... It would be wrong for me to say who pays more because the laws are different everywhere. In NJ multible case deals are allowed so a large retailer has an advantage but there are also buying co-ops which allow everyone to make the deal. More and more here both on and off premise pay the same price. At least they are offered the same price. Many restaurants will only buy a few bottles at time to get cost down so they get hit with bottle charges from a distributor and they lose the full case discount. In MD everything is a one case deal. Multiple case drops are not allowed. DC is a free for all where common sence prevails. I don't know of too many restaurants that really want Santa Marg on their winelist. The retail price is so well known that it is harder to make a normal margin on it on-premise. But it is there because so many restaurants do not have staff trained to sell something better or more profitable. PA is really tough. NJ is the king of the BYO's and I love it.

Sorry, by Village wines I am talking AOC. Vero Pinot Noir is a blend of Volnay, Chorey-les-Beaune, Rully and Chambolle-Musigny. $25? Vero Chardonnay is a blend of Chablis, Rully, Meursault, and Puligny Montrachet. $20?The Chardonnay stands out...

Try something new from Joseph Drouhin. Vero Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. First release is the 2002 vintage. Press ahs been good. Made from blending finished wines from very good villages and sold under the Bourgogne label. These are not declassified wines. The Meursault that is blended in the Chardonnay is the same wines sold as Meursault. The wine is made by Veronique Drouhin at Maison Joseph Drouhin and is their effort to get the consumers who drink $20 to $25 CA wine to try burgundy. Since is a blend from village level wines it is less affected by vintage varitation then the basic Bourgogne wines. They simply can select stronger villages in an off vintage to make sure the wine is a quality product each year.

I have done a few winelists over the years on the East Coast. Nothing like Mark's place. Their reputation is too good to ask for my help. That is why Mark is so important to them. I have always used the 2 1/2 to 3 times the wholesale but it is tailored to the client base. I am not going to load up a restaurant that has put their trust in me with Burgundy if they can't sell it. If I do add some big wines to the list I will go with a "bottle Profit" markup rather then a percentage. What many of you fail to realize is that most retail shop turn over what they buy in a few weeks or months. A place like Citronelle many buy and store wines for years until the are ready to be paired with their selections on the menu. There is much more overhead. Most important is you cannot deposit a markup in your bank account. You have to sell it to make a profit. Here, it is a mix. Retailers and Restaurants generally pay the same. I do have wines I target to retail at deeper deals when possible and legal and I have wines I target to on-premise and better pricing.

Pojer e Sandri's wines are better enjoyed in the company of Elisa Sandri... perfection

Nice to see some Drouhin fans here... For the main course at my wedding I served 97' Les Clos. I love Chablis. I will be opening a few older reds soon. 1990 Gevrey-Chambertin and 1988 Corton. I will let you know how they held up... Bob Ferdon Dreyfus, Ashby & Co

Pinot Noir from cool climates.. nothing else matters

I have done Mothers Day @ R & S for several years. Never been disappointed yet. I'm sort of surprized to read these reviews. You need reservations. I hope you are making them...

Both are open. Both are great places to eat. Can be a bit loud but excellent service and food plus they pour some very good wines...

Criag, In Gallos defense, they don't use thompson seedless in anything. I can't say that for others. I had a retailer who would do blind tastings almost every year for staff and good customers. Andre Extra Dry beat Korbel every year.

The sooner consumers begin to understand the difference the better off we will all be. Maybe if they understand where real champagne comes from they might also start to drink real burgundy and real chablis. There is a difference. There are great sparkling wines from all over the world. Just please call them by their correct names. We need to start calling the burgundy and chablis from california by their correct names, "wine flavored products"

Private labels can be looked at in several ways. Sometimes they are great deals and a good value. As an importer with a fairly large portfolio I sometimes offer them to someone who can take just about all of what I have to sell. It just makes it easier for me. Rather then beating down doors to sell 1500 cases I get one or two groups to commit. The bad part of the industry is the larger part. It is seen here in NJ a lot. Tons of virtual winery brands created just to sell of plonk. I know on an out-of-state distributor who buys bottle wine in bulk with a put 6 to 7 different labels on the same wine and the retailer charges a higher price for the better/prettier labels. It's great that americans are drinking more wine but we are training them to drink some really bad wines and passing them off as good. The best wine shops are not the ones doing this.

Look for St. Romain Rouge Chassagne Montrachet Rouge Chorey le Beaune Rouge Chorey is a great little village producing good $18 Pinot's Sometimes sold as Cote de Beaune Villages.