John W.

Do you see a drop-off in price in those cabs as "coming back to earth" or because of the amount of fruit available. I would say the former. I love the re-packaging technique. Even cheaper and in a new bottle the wines aren't good. Someone needs to take all that fruit and make honest, unoaked wines for $10.

I really like the part about replanting the Chardonnay with Petite Sirah. How much is this going to affect the premium market? I would guess none at all. Just a whole lot of two buck Chuck.

Parker starts out with a base of 50, and then 5 pts. for color and appearance, aroma 15 pts., flavor and finish 20 pts., and overall quality and potential for aging merit 10pts. That's what it says.

Scott Paul Oregon Pinot is killer and a good price too ($18 wholesale I think).

Are wine geeks better or worse than trek geeks?

Do I want to fight? Yes. No. Actually, I'm trying to get back to the roses (can't find the accents) I left at the bar. I agree philosophically with Fat Guy but as hospitality people I think it is best in a mass market media event like the article to say "if you like it then it's good." People are so intimidated by wine that to have absolute edicts for the layman such as the Spectator rating then that is not doing the industry any good. I just want people to drink wine and not blue or red sweet cocktails.

Petrus is better than jug wine. There. I said it.

I don't read much European wine publications (or none at all) and am curious as to their rating systems. It seems the US has a need for something to be better than something else, and people make a lot of money being the adjudicators. Luckily, I drink enough wine to not be swayed by these ratings, as I would guess does the majority of the posters here. But how many times do I have to hear "it got 93 points from the Spectator" and be underwhelmed. Just like a restaurant critic, it's one (or a few) people's opinions, and take it for what it's worth.

I meant $3500 for the live auction only. I found out today that the total amount raised was 35K. A lot was donated by Regine Palladin who was Med's old employer.

My notes say Chard can be grown but not labeled as such. It is labeled as Pinot Blanc. So I guess there are three types of Pinot Blanc no? PB, Auxerrois and Chardonnay. Anyway, delicious wines.

Good turnout, raised about $3500 from the silent auction, doesn't include the wine lots. A good vibe altogether. Unfortunately, Med is still in a coma.

That's comedy. Try the Darioush shiraz (owner from Shiraz, Iran). Opened the 2000 last month (a crime admittedly) but another black wine. So chocolatey and bacony I think the phrase "tastes like a bacon-flavored tootsie roll" was used. Back to topic, I used to live and work in Napa and was amazed at the Silver Oak release parties. Hordes of people drinking it, I would get sent back a lot of glasses (had a pretty decent vertical going all night) and I was always underwhelmed. Give me a glass of Dalla Valle and I'll be happy. I almost gave up on drinking CA Cabs altogether until a one day stretch of '99 Dominus, '97 Insignia and a early 90's/late 80's Napa Cab from Phelps got me back in the game.

Just put the Kamen on our list. Killer wine. Big fan of Darioush Cab too. I just don't get Silver Oak. Never have.

In addition to the above delicious sounding descriptors, I generally pick up some astringent flavor such as Bayer asprin on a lot of pinot grigios. I love getting my mom to drink stuff like that- c'mon mom, cat piss and aspirin, what's not to like. Personally, I don't like PG, but know a lot of people that do. While respecting Mark's view, we do sell one or two (Swanson PG does well).

As for Citronelle's wine list, knowing what Mark has vs. what he pays, I agree wholeheartedly with his policy. His list has values at every price level, and at the end of the day, a restaurant is a business, and the 8 bottles for 12 people can really screw up your day. The restaurant I do the wine list for is a lot lower-key. We charge $15 per bottle corkage, and that can go away for a number of reasons: regular guests, making sure the staff gets a taste, and a buy a bottle/bring a bottle situation. We don't encourage or discourage it, but we have had quite a few 8 bottle 12 tops that where there to save money only (think Hess Cab from Safeway). We don't use Riedel, but a decent level stem. Our staff training is more detailed than most. Our wines are served at the proper temperature. All this costs money. I lived and worked in Napa Valley for a couple of years, my wife worked at the French Laundry. The restaurant I was at had the same policy as above (which really saw its share of Hess type stuff), while the Laundry charged $50. That caused quite a stir as you can imagine. As it was explained to me, it made sense. Riedel stemware ain't cheap, having two sommeliers isn't either, and pretty much everyone that visits has bought at least a few bottles at a winery or 3. The stories I used to hear from my wife about what was brought in were pretty funny. Let's face it, the French Laundry is if not the best then one of the best restaurants in the country, and to achieve the level of service needed you have to have an expensive wine program (expensive to ownership). I would also place Citronelle in the same boat. Having worked in this business for 19 years, and knowing how hard it is to make a dime, I feel that one should respect the restaurants' decision to charge or not, and also if a no BYOB policy is in effect, respect that decision too. I know this a pretty fiery topic, but people in the service business do not like to say no, so this decision is not taken or made lightly.

I was at Citronelle just last night. Went to meet a friend and ended up having dinner on the terrace. Oyster shooters with rainbow flavor (?) was great, and then had a presentation of squab (3 ways, breast a la minute steak with truffle sauce, a timbale of macaroni and liver, and leg confit). Pretty good. My friend had a filet with vegetables and potato napoleon. Great time. Without having been to Maestro, I can certainly recommend Citronelle.

Was just there last week. I think he changes his menu a lot, but I had a bunch of canapes, including a chilled polenta soup (hard to explain the technique but I am guessing seasoning shellfish broth with polenta, straining and clarifying it, and then hitting it with gelatin and chilling it). Garnished with lobster medallions and caviar. Killer. Softshell crab with pea sauce was great too. I have absolutely forgot entrees, but rockfish was very good and duck was good too. I am fond of the wine list, and service is good as well. You should have a great time.