The Official Wine Thread

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Speak of the devil, just got my allocation letter today.
No SB, No Coopersmith, No olivet. 2 of everything else. WTF? That seems strange.

The SB was a spring allocation, brah. Mine just didn't ship as it was too hot by the time I got home from vacation in April. I'll update when I check my mail tonight or tomorrow.

Hey, you want to try some SB I was impressed with? Peterson Winery, Zero Manipulation SB. They're in that bunch of wineries/tasting rooms on the right side of the road that heads north out of Healdsburg, past that country store on the right.

Originally Posted by Piobaire

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The SB was a spring allocation, brah. Mine just didn't ship as it was too hot by the time I got home from vacation in April. I'll update when I check my mail tonight or tomorrow.

Hey, you want to try some SB I was impressed with? Peterson Winery, Zero Manipulation SB. They're in that bunch of wineries/tasting rooms on the right side of the road that heads north out of Healdsburg, past that country store on the right.

Hmmm..... Dry Creek General Store? That is heading northwest out of town on Dry Creek Road. Cool store too. Very small, but interesting.. I don't think I ever saw Peterson. Or was it up toward Geyserville, which is north?

BTW, how did I not buy some of my spring allocated SB? I'm thinking I must not have gotten it. WTF.

Yeah, that sounds right, Dry Creek Road. So past the store, on the right (heading out of town) is this cluster of tasting rooms and wineries. You have to go up this steep and long driveway. I sought out Peterson as Fred had been at a vintner's dinner we attended (actually was seated at his table). I'm not a big fan of most of his wines, but the Zero Manip SB was good.

Here we go; might ring a bell for you now:

Hm. That is so weird. I have been up and down that road tasting probably 30-40 times, all the way from Hburg to up the trails past Lake Sonoma, and never remember seeing Peterson, even though that sign (the first pic) looks familiar. But the cluster and the sign in the third pic doesn't. How strange it is how our memories work. BTW, if you ever find yourself back in Sonoma, PLZ try Kokomo Winery. They were probably one of my top 5 producers I tasted while living in CA.

Held an event this evening for a number of peers etc... killed a case of 2005 Jordan cab.

Originally Posted by Cary Grant

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Held an event this evening for a number of peers etc... killed a case of 2005 Jordan cab.

How did you like it? I'm a fan of their Chardonnay.

Originally Posted by kwilkinson

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Speak of the devil, just got my allocation letter today.
No SB, No Coopersmith, No olivet. 2 of everything else. WTF? That seems strange.

what is this allocation?

Making Paella for some friends tomorrow (not my first choice but I needed something that could accomadate a couple of vegetarians easily), thinking of a Rioja from Spain for a red, but I need a white as well, thoughts?

Originally Posted by cmsmith

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Making Paella for some friends tomorrow (not my first choice but I needed something that could accomadate a couple of vegetarians easily), thinking of a Rioja from Spain for a red, but I need a white as well, thoughts?

A nice Albarino or Verdejo would compliment the Paella nicely. I also like a nice Torrontà s.

delayed update of sorts. Wednesday night me and a few others were supposed to go to this, but we were a little behind, and it was stormy out so getting a cab and then the ferry to Jersey would have been a pain. There were 7 of us and an unexpected rain makes people dart into restaurants so getting a last minute table is usually tough at the good spots. Instead, we just sent a txt to Scott Conant who opened up a table for us at Scarpetta (he wasn't there but made sure it happened anyways).

the wine - a very good Valpolicella. I forget the name (somebody else ordered it), but we had a few bottles for the table. I'm sometimes 50-50 on Valpolicella (at times I don't find it to be consistent enough, there can be a huge variety of styles), but this was well balanced and ideal for all of the dishes we ordered.

and we ordered many dishes, all of which we just threw in the middle and picked at.
Starters:
EGGPLANT CAPONATA
BURRATA - heirloom tomatoes & baby greens
CREAMY POLENTA - fricassee of truffled mushrooms (this must have been made by Jesus)
CRISPY FRITTO MISTO
MOZZARELLA IN CAROZZA - stewed baby tomatoes
BRAISED SHORT RIBS OF BEEF - vegetable & farro risotto
CAULIFLOWER PANNA COTTA - uni, ostera caviar, truffles

pasta:
SPAGHETTI - tomato & basil
TAGLIATELLE - spring vegetables, guanciale & truffle zabaglione
BLACK TAGLIOLINI - mixed seafood, sea urchin & minted bread crumbs
DUCK & FOIE GRAS RAVIOLI - marsala reduction
extra: a red beet ravioli with pistachios

mains:
BLACK COD - caramelized fennel & concentrated tomatoes
SICILIAN-SPICED DUCK BREAST - preserved orange, root vegetables & caramelized endive
HAMPSHIRE PORK CHOP - braised radicchio, long beans & gnocchi alla romana
extra: plus some other pork dish, something with the loin (also fantastic)

sweets:
AMEDEI CHOCOLATE CAKE - burnt orange-caramel gelato, espresso sauce
BANANA BUDINO - pecan gelato & oat tuile
plus two extra chocolate courses that were incredibly good (not on the menu, a shame for everybody except our table)

then we finished the night with some fantastic grappa. An excellent time

i dont understand what's pretentious about it

Originally Posted by indesertum

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i dont understand what's pretentious about it

lets look further into the definition:

Originally Posted by Merriam-Webster

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Pretentious a : making usually unjustified or excessive claims (as of value or standing) b : expressive of affected, unwarranted, or exaggerated importance, worth, or stature

My claims were not unjustified or excessive, but the amount of food certainly was.

I think this is a better example and can lend some clarity to the definition:

Originally Posted by boowitter

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Wow. What a pretentious twat you are.

I think this can also be explain by a further example:

Originally Posted by Merriam-Webster

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Jealous a : hostile toward a rival or one believed to enjoy an advantage

what the hell is with you? is there something wrong with him telling us he ate with, i think, daniel boulud?

buzz off

Originally Posted by boowitter

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Name dropping is gauche. Doing it as much as twatty is what it is. Talk to me when you grow a few hairs on your balls. Bzzzzzzzzzz. Bzzzzzzzzzz.
it's gauche because u say its gauche? ur like the typical sf anti elitist. im the anti anti elitist. im way ahead of you on the curve. havent you heard yet? it's "in" to hate on ppl who hate on gauche

indesertum, did you have wine class on Wed?