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+--- Thread: Din't break the sabbatical (/thread-12720.html)
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- winoweenie - 02-14-2004
......I shattered the sucker. My 3rd eldest daughter and her hubby have been our Valentine partners for several years now. They came by our place around 5:30 and as both she and my CB love bubblies I asked her to open the bottle. Handing her a bottle of Cooks I'd purchased earlier, the look in her eyes made me think of my future in terms of nano-seconds. Quickly retreieving the bottle of 1982 Dom Rose saved this old wrinkled hide. In my experience with bubblies I can't recall one with the palate weight this had. Heading out to our favorite jernt here in the valley
(Convivo) we had a nice bottle of Prosecco whilst perusing the menu. Mussels ina killer broth of cream, butter, wine, Maderia, and a dash of rum was scrumptous. The shrimp Vera Cruz was equally as good. Ordered CB a bottle of Rombauer Chard and they told me they'd just receive a box of 99 Saddleback Cab. I've been fortunate enough to have followed Nils Venges' winemaking skills since inception. His 78 Villa Mt. Eden Cab from 2 (yeppo TWO-YEAR-OLD BUSHIES) year old vines was one of the 10 best produced in this stellar vintage. He is extremely deft with the Cab grape, and this new venture only adds luster to his formidable trophys. CB had Ono, Daughter gorgus Scallops, In-Law New Zealand Rack of Lamb and I had a NY Strip from Nieman Ranch. Managed to reduce their inventory by a third on the Saddleback. With dessert of a lemon zest wafer covered in fresh marionberries and a vanilla bean sauce we had a 70 Fonseca port.Needless to say we called it a nite, ordered our transport and now iff'n I can manage to pick-up the telly I'll call my local pusher and see if the Saddleback is availabnle. wwww [img]http://wines.com/ubb2/wink.gif[/img]
- sedhed - 02-14-2004
Does that mean you're an eight day sabbaticalist now?
- winoweenie - 02-15-2004
Nope! After today will give it another 14. Do that make me a 14/gorge'nslurp/14 day evangalistical? WW
- dananne - 02-15-2004
I saw the '99 Saddleback yesterday at either a local beer/wine store or at Whole Foods (can't remember, and no point of going back today, as GA is a nope-on-Sunday state). I'll look for it this week. Thanks for the heads-up WW.
- sedhed - 02-15-2004
How was the Fonseca? I have a '70 Taylor Fladgate I've been hording for a while.
- winoweenie - 02-16-2004
At that point iffn' my memory, even tho fuzzy, is correct I thot it put a great finish to a great time.WW
- wondersofwine - 02-17-2004
I had Valentine's Dinner at David Greggory, a rather new restaurant in DC that I had been wanting to try. I have to give it mixed reviews. I asked for a Sancerre white by the half-bottle to go with herb-wrapped halibut in veloute sauce and asparagus. They were out of the Sancerre (which should have been a perfect match for both the fish and the asparagus.) So I requested a glass of Jackson Estate Sauvignon Blanc after checking that the CA S.B. was not oaky. Some minutes later the server came back to tell me that were out of S.B. by the glass! At that point I told her I wanted to switch my entree. (I had earlier held off my decision on a wine because I told her I was debating between the halibut or the loin of lamb and would want a wine to match the entree.) She said she would have to see if it was too late to change the order. Came back and said it could be done but I would have to wait a little longer for the food. (Oh, in the meantime I enjoyed a glass of Goat-Rotie-- my first taste of this--with an "appetizer" David Greggory pizza with applewood smoked bacon, carmelized onions, tomatoes--VERY good but a full-sized pizza of which I ate only about one-third). I ordered a second glass of Goat-Rotie to go with the lamb. When they brought the lamb, the Basmati rice pilaf was hot but the lamb was cold so I had to send back the dish to have the lamb rewarmed. The food was good once warmed up.
No dessert--I chose to have the appetizer instead of dessert.
I was in DC for a wine tasting in Bethesda, MD the next day. Will post on that later.
[This message has been edited by wondersofwine (edited 02-17-2004).]
- Kcwhippet - 02-17-2004
Sounds like David Greggory needs to work a bit on their logistics before they're really up to speed.
- hotwine - 02-17-2004
Wonders, sounds like the staff at David Gregory doesn't have its stuff in one pile yet. If I were in your shoes, I'd fire off a letter to the manager/owner/GP with those comments and suggest they get organized. They're in one of the best markets in the country for food and wine, but nobody owes them a living.
- Thomas - 02-17-2004
In my view, one of the first things a restaurant should have done upon opening its doors is take inventory--wine inventory.
It incenses me to have to pick three wines before I hit on the one that is in stock and, as WOW points out, some of us pick the wine to pair with the meal, but these "jabloneys" don't get it!
I haven't used jabloneys since I was a teenager--great slang word.
- Georgie - 02-17-2004
We enjoyed a lovely lunch at a new place called Mediterra, in Princeton, NJ. I had a nice glass of Prosecco, (I forget whose) and a wonderful grilled chicken and farro salad. Didn't spoil the diet and had a great lunch. Wouldn't hesitate to go back there for dinner sometime. They had quite a large wine selection and had their wines stored in sight along one wall. Really neat place.
- Innkeeper - 02-17-2004
Georgie, what was the temperature in the room that had the wall of wine? Not picking on that place; it happens all the time. Unfortunately.
- sedhed - 02-17-2004
Georgie I grew up in NJ but never been to Princeton. Is that a "typical" college town?
- hotwine - 02-17-2004
IK's right on. We took my mom last week to a very upscale Italian joint for her 92d b-day. The wine list was impressive, and I was looking forward to a nice Barbera, until..... glancing back toward the kitchen, I spotted the wall of case-sized wine bins between the kitchen and the dining room. We opted for a couple of glasses of the house cab, very high-turnover and safe. Too bad. Unless the restaurant is cold enough to chill the customers who aren't wearing coats, it's not a good environment for displaying wines IMHO.
- tandkvd - 02-17-2004
Bonterras had some of there wines displayed on a wall. You can see it here:
http://www.bonterradining.com/
I was thinking about the wines sitting out like that. But after taking a closer look, I noticed the wall cabinet was like a produce cooler. And there was a thermometer hanging from the top, although I couldn't see the temperature.
- Georgie - 02-18-2004
Princeton, NJ, is a lovely small town. Upscale shops, casual and fancy restaurants, nice lake, pretty little parks and an inviting Ivy League atmosphere. When I see the students walking back and forth between the buildings, it always makes me a little wistful, wishing I were in their shoes! There's a beautiful tree-lined road that takes you into town. I love to take a ride there in the fall. After I'd posted about the wine on the wall of the restaurant it did occur to me that it was probably not optimal storage. But it looked really snazzy. Question: How is storing the wine at room temp. in the restaurant worse than storing it at room temperature in a liquor store? Not as fast a turnover?
- Innkeeper - 02-18-2004
That's an excellent question Georgie. It brings up another problem. There may be quicker turnover in a store than in a restaurant, but maybe not. The temperature in the store may be cooler than in a restaurant, but maybe not. Any place that wine is stored at over 70 degrees F for a prolonged period will eventually ruin the wine. This is one of those things about wine that falls into the category of "things I really didn't want to know."
It was recently disclosed that the State of New Hampshire, a state that is in the liquor business including wine, warehouses all its goods in warehouses that are heated in the winter, and not cooled in the summer. People from all over New England flock to New Hampshire Liquor Stores to get good deals. Unfortuately the deals are only good on fast moving items. Anything that moves slowly and/or requires any aging is a complete waste of time and money.
[This message has been edited by Innkeeper (edited 02-18-2004).]
- hotwine - 02-18-2004
The only liquor store that I sometimes visit for wine actually has a separate chilled wineroom. Even at Costco, the wines are displayed next to the meat coolers, where it's much cooler than in other parts of the store.
In a restaurant, I'm just very suspicious of wine storage in the dining room, and especially in racks adjacent to the kitchen. The better eateries have separately-chilled rooms, cellars or even buildings for their wine storage. If a restaurant is new to me, I don't mind asking about their wine storage if it's not readily apparent.
- Thomas - 02-18-2004
My staff at is-wine is forever complaining about the cool temperature of the store--winter or summer. I tell them we do it for the wine. We try to keep the place no higher than 20C (68F), usually a notch lower.
- wondersofwine - 02-18-2004
Going back to the posts about David Greggory Restaurant experience, I do plan to write to the owner. A middle-aged blonde woman seemed to be in charge of the front room (asked me how my meal was, etc.) and I told her the food was good but I was disappointed that they had run out of Sauvignon Blanc wine. She said "They have? I wasn't aware of that." So at least she knows that one diner had a disappointment. One of the things that attracted me to the restaurant in the first place was a review that praised the selection of wines by the glass and half bottle (as well as the comments on the food).
(The decor is interesting also--lots of arty glass used in light fixtures or accents here and there and original art work on display.)
To Georgie--one of my cousins lives in Princeton. Her husband teaches at Rutgers. I haven't visited there but I believe my sister has with her husband or with our mother. I would like to see the Princeton campus sometime (and also visit Linda).