Chris Cognac

I just got the Jamie oliver T Fal set and its really well made...worth the 179 my wife paid for it......

any of you guys checked out winesnitch.com...its kinda like trip advisor for wine....just so you know this is not a shill and I have nothing to do with the site.....I have started rating all the wines that I drink....its kinda fun... Chris

There are a ton of places...what kind of stuff do you want...I live in the area and write the local newspaper reviews....got a million places I can tell you about...

Got 2 bottles in the mail today....anyone tasted them yet? I am going to do them in an all celebrity wine column......any suggestions as to other wines to inculde?

We didnt exclude French wines by choice, it just worked out that way....we taste stuff that is sent to us and whatever I buy or people bring along to throw in the mix....we try to keep it to wines that regular folks like us would drink...nothing to special or expensive...

The yellow tail wines have been going up in price as of late, so I would grab any bargains you see...anything under 6 bucks is a good buy these days....once it hits 10 bucks my yellow tail days will be much fewer

Its 5.99 at Trader Joes here in California....so for the money its a great wine! I think its a great wine just to have on hand at the house...not for keeping, its for drinking soon...

We each were portioned out a 1/4 glass (we were doing 17 wines) and went with no expectations.....if it was good it was good, if it sucked we would say so.....the panel is made up mostly of novice wine drinkers (11-12) and 4 or 5 guru's (some in the wine industry)...so we get both perspectives... I have not noticed a bad smell with Yellow Tail.....I have with many other wines but not that one...I guess it would be a number of things... I do think its great when ever a "cheap" wine does well.... PS Mary..the Dover Canyon Old Vine Zin is still the best bottle I have had all year!

I held my monthly blind tasting last night and we did 17 wines..Syrah-Shiraz and blends.....I have not scored everything yet, but when we did the reveal of what the bottles were, Yellow Tail from Austrailia just laid the smack down on everyone else...I rated them my 2 highest wines of the tasting.....I have noticed out here in California that the Yellow Tail prices have gone up about 20 percent Here is the list of wines 25 Max 1. Smoking Loon 2003 2. Eberle 2002 Paso Robles “Up Shiraz” 3. Valley of the Moon 2001 Sonoma 4. McManis Family 2004 Ripon, CA 5. RDLR 2002 Mendocino County 6. Cline Syrah 2003 7. 2 Brothers “Big Tattoo” 2003 Chile 8. Cline “Cool Climate” 2003 Sonoma 9. Eberle 2002 “Steinbeck Vineyard” Paso Robles 10. Francis Coppola Diamond Collection “Green Label” Shiraz-Syrah 2003 11. Yellowtail Syrah 12. Ross Estate Barosa Valley 2002 Shiraz Australia 13. Kumkani 2002 Shiraz Stellenbosch South Africa 14. Langhorne Crossing 2003 South Africa 65% Cab, Shiraz and Malbec [First of the Blends] 15. Sideshow No. 4 Pupptmaster 2004 Syrah/Malbec 16. Trumpeter 2004 Malbec-Syrah 2004 Tupungato Argentina 17. Yellowtail Shiraz-Grenache 2004

Russel....that is making me very hungry....I need to make a trip back there someday soon!

So, you want a helicopter ride while you are here?....let me know and I will try to swing an air tour of the best eateries in town...that way you can scout them much faster!

Holly, would love to get a few folks together and show you around....let us know where you will be staying...Dont miss the Gardena Bowling Alley...best Hawaiian around!

Go into the city of Lennox which is just under the flight path of LAX....Its a 1 sq mile transplant of any city in Mexico....there are a tons of places to check out....Try La Ferria on inglewood ave at 107 st.....just go in the day time.....

I just got back from Mexico so I can give a "Maybe" at the moment.....when I get back to work I will know more....

There is a Burke/Flay battle set for Janurary....I love the hamburger battle thought, they did a great job with an everyday ingredient

I saw that article in the paper today...I think my wine panel might have to take him up on that challenge.....but, in the groups last tasting of merlot's the 2 buck chuck I slipped in rated very high....one of the highest out of 8 wines....We also liked a PKNT from Chile

I think the finale....I am not sure though, I spoke w Marc and he was really stoked! I can guess that there will be another season thats for sure....

It was the highest rated FN show ever.....

It was not predetermined...I got that from the horses mouth (Marc Summers)...only up until the last 2 people did they have full on control

I liked tham and think they will do well, they work well together and I for one will watch what the end up doing.

Folks might be suprised at what ends up on the plates...I for one am going to wait and see how they go.... I am taking Neal Fraser up in the helicopter on Friday, I am dying to see how his battle with Cat Cora went....

I had lunch with Marc last week for an article and he didnt mention anything....not that I asked, he seemed fine to me....maybe it was just a conflict....who knows, but he was really positive about the show....

Check out Shafa in Hawthorne, its in the 12200 blk of Hawthorne Blvd and about 50 feet away from a large mosque...great chicken, shwarma and other goodies...most of it Halal

Try Bay Cities Deli in Santa Monica, its on Lincoln

Its Juan not Jorge....