2004 La Crema Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast--Built to Last!

When I bought this wine I had no intention of holding it, but somehow it got stashed in the cellar with my "Big" pinots and it was forgotten.

So when I went to drink it I assumed it would be past its prime and opened it to drink with some leftover pasta and crawfish pie.

Wow! This wine showed beautifully. It was a touch clear of the rim but nothing alarming and from first sip to last it was exceptional, particularly for a pinot noir that once retailed for a modest $22.00.

It had enough fruit and acid to go against the spicy crawfish pie yet the the mouthfeel was soft and the bright fruit flavors remained through to the finish. Had I blind tasted this one I would never have guessed its age.

Would I suggest holding it a few more years? No. If there is any more of this wine lingering in your cellar, liberate it, drink it now, and enjoy!

Beautiful and Affordable Piedmont!

Piedmont was on the bucket list. Why? Because the region is rich with wine and food culture. Vineyards as far is the eye can see. Farm to table dining. The region that birthed the Slow Food movement. Need I say more?
I have been to Italy more than a few times. I love Italy. Who doesn't? But Piedmont offered the trifecta of grape, delicious food, and people who are passionate about all of it. And affordable dining and lodging.
Recently I had the pleasure of spending five days leading a tour of women from the US (We called ourselves the Grape Girls!).

We stayed at Ca Brusa, an agriturismo just outside of Monfort D'Alba, one of the 11 Barolo villages. We scheduled 3 tastings a day, shopped the local markets, toured the castles, explored the hill towns and ate our way through the villages. I will post the wineries on the website www.lovethatgrape.com so you can have access to the same great hospitality we experienced!

Don't just take my word for it. Read this article from Wine Enthusiast.
See what this region has to offer!

2011 Man Vintner Chenin Blanc

Here in Tampa, Florida we are finally starting to enjoy warmer weather and with it--white wines.

I recently featured the 2011 Man Vintner Chenin Blanc at two Wine Safari educational events to rave reviews.

This is not a steely, lean, minerally French Chenin Blanc but a South African. A different animal. Lush, viscous, made from free-run juice with a good amount of exposure to the lees, resulting in a hedonistic mouthfeel and a full expression of fruit flavors including tropical, green apple and guava.

And a great bargain too. I recently found this on sale at Whole Foods for $6.95, thought it normally retails around US$11. 

Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate Moves to Singapore, Parker Steps Down as Editor

If there ever was any doubt that Asia, particularly Singapore, is a big player in the wine business, this latest bit of news will vanquish it. Here’s what was reported recently in the Wall Street Journal:

Mr. Parker intends to phase out the print version of the newsletter [The Wine Advocate], which he built over the past several decades into one of the most influential voices on wine. He also said he intends to step down as its editor in chief, turning over editorial oversight to his Singapore-based correspondent, Lisa Perrotti-Brown. Finally, the fiercely independent publication—which Mr. Parker has often described as inspired by his hero, consumer advocate Ralph Nader—will start accepting advertising, though none that is wine-related. The moves in part reflect Asia's rise as a prime consumer of wine and other luxury goods. Mr. Parker said he is selling a "substantial interest" in the Wine Advocate to a trio of Singapore-based investors who will take over its day-to-day financial operations.

There are plans to find a new correspondent, likely based in China, to cover the emerging Asian wine producers. The 65-year-old Parker will continue to review the wines of Bordeaux and the Rhone for the newsletter, and will no doubt enjoy the free time in France and at his home in Maryland, his writing chair made more comfortable by a fat wallet.

Aging Nicely: 2000 Bethel Heights Flat Block Reserve

American Pinots are often thought to be lightweights, not particularly cellar worthy. That may be true for some American Pinot Noirs but not true for the 2000 Bethel Heights Flat Block Reserve I had the pleasure of drinking over two nights recently.

The estate–grown grapes came from a three acre block of Pommard clone vines in the Eola-Amity Hills AVA in Oregon and the resulting wine was barrel-aged in 60 percent new French oak for 14 months. Built for the cellar, this is a big body wine and the color is a deep blood red.

On the nose there is dark fruit and earth and on the palate there is plenty of unctuous fruit—dark cherry predominates. The mouthfeel is smooth and the fruit yields to some nice acid and some licorice. The finish was medium to long with fine tannins and lingering cherry and chocolate flavors. Or maybe I was tasting the dark-chocolate caramel dusted with sea salt that I was nibbling on as I made my notes. Likely, but nonetheless what a dessert it made!

There were less than 500 cases made of this wine so I doubt you will still find it in circulation. However, it proves that some producers are making Pinot Noirs that do hold up and shine after close to ten years in the bottle.

To find out more about this family-owned and managed winery located in Salem, Oregon, click here.

Female Wine Drinkers Less likely to Gain Weight than Non-drinkers

Another good reason to drink red wine (as if we needed one!) comes from a ScienceDaily report of a recent study done by researchers at Brigham and Women's Hospital, in Boston, who measured the weight gain over an average of 13 years of women who started with a body mass index in the normal range. Here’s what they found:

Compared with women who did not drink at all, those who consumed some but less than 40 grams per day of alcohol were less likely to become overweight or obese. Women who drank 15 to less than 30 grams per day had the lowest risk, which was almost 30 percent lower than that of non-drinkers.

‘An inverse association between alcohol intake and risk of becoming overweight or obese was noted for all four types of alcoholic beverages [red wine, white wine, beer and liquor], with the strongest association found for red wine and a weak yet significant association for white wine after multivariate adjustment,’ the authors write.

The women who were least likely to gain weight were occasional to moderate drinkers. Forty grams per day of alcohol is a roughly a glass of wine a day. As always moderation is the key, as is your choice of food pairing. A big chunk of brie with your glass of wine will not lead to weight loss.


flickr photo by salvis.are

2009 Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon—A Crowd-Pleasing Value

My friend Linda recently brought over a bottle of the 2009 Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon for a pot-luck Christmas party I was hosting. I had tasted this wine before but it had been a few years ago and I was happy to be reacquainted with this good value cab.

On the nose there was some big blackberry fruit backed up by some pleasing vanilla and spice. The wine was wonderfully mouth filling with flavors of cherry pie and earth. This was a surprisingly complex wine for its price (under $12.00) and it lingered nicely on the finish, a bit hot, but tempered with yummy mocha and stone fruit.

As you can imagine, our pot-luck buffet offered many pairing options. It paired well with the yam casserole and Linda’s roasted pork loin. It was equally tasty with the chocolate-coated éclairs.

If you are looking for an accessible Cabernet that will please most palates you can’t go wrong with the 2009 Guenoc Cabernet Sauvignon. And it’s cheap enough to share with all your friends!

2001 Cameron Willamette Valley Pinot Noir

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have to preface this post by admitting that I am a big fan of Oregon Pinot Noir.

I love the big fruit flavors, the diversity of microclimates and soils, and the passion these winemakers bring to crafting wines from this challenging grape. So when I opened a bottle of 2001 Cameron Willamette Valley Pinot Noir the other night I did expect that I would like this wine. What I did not expect was how well it had aged.

Close to ten years in the bottle, I did see a clear lip when I poured the wine into a glass along with a slight brick tinge to the bright art glass color I was used to seeing in these pinots. But on the nose there was no hint of a wine in decline. I inhaled raspberry, cherry licorice, clove, sweet tobacco, and new oak.

On the palate I picked up the plum brandy flavor that I associate with some age, followed by bramble and mineral and a refreshing sparkling acid on the tongue.

This pinot finished long with a mild but lingering cherry pastille flavor. Yum, just the ticket for a cold, blustery night.

If you have a bottle of this wine in your cellar, I would recommend you liberate it— perhaps when there’s a turkey roasting or when you need just a little something…for medicinal purposes.

Happy Thanksgiving!

What wine should you serve with the best-dressed bird? My preference has alway been a Californian Pinot Noir or a dry Rose. I will be bringing a 2008 Dry Rose from Valhalla Vineyards to our neighbor's home along with a couple of hefty mircobrews from Canada for my host Bob who enjoys a beer before his meal.

But really, I think you should serve whatever wine you think your guests will enjoy. That might mean a Beringer White Zinfandel for Grandma and a beer for Uncle Chuck. The reality is with all the dishes that are typically served at a Thanksgiving meal it's difficult, if not impossible, to choose one wine that complements both the spicy stuffing and the marshmallow-topped sweet potatos.

Don't sweat it. This is one day where no one will care. We will just be grateful for the food, the company, and a little bit of acid and alcohol to cut the grease and grease the conversation.

2005 Bargain Bordeaux

I had the privilege of tasting a barrel sample of the 2005 Mouton Rothschild when were visiting there in June of 2006. Despite its impressive showing as a young wine, I knew then that I would not be buying this wine by the bottle. The hype surrounding the 2005 vintage drove prices up quickly and even in this recession I would have difficulty finding a bottle of the 2005 Mouton Rothschild for under US$700.

Instead we stayed away from the top producers and their pricey real estate and have purchased quite reasonable 2005 Bordeaux wines for under $40. The Roanoke Fine Wine Society recently did a blind taste of eight bottles of 2005 Bordeaux wines from St. Emilion, Pessac-Leognan, and Medoc to see what these relatively bargain wines offered in the glass.

Some were in a funky stage but most were very drinkable now if you can endure the mouth-drying tannins. These are definitely food wines. We paired these wines with braised beef and potatoes and hard cheeses and we were richly rewarded. Some of the evening’s highlights included a 2005 Chateau Joanin Becot (St. Emilion), Rollan de By (Medoc), and a Chateau Larrivet Haut-Brion (Pessac-Leognan) all of which were rated 90 by Robert Parker and can be found for under US$40.

Of course, had we bought the 2005 Mouton Rothschild at release it would have been a very good investment but you can buy a case and a half of these less renowned Bordeaux wines for the $700 plus it would cost to buy one bottle of the Mouton today.

Which brings up the question: Are you a wine collector or a wine drinker?

Not Too Late for this 1999 CDP!

Robert and I were pulling wines from the cellar when we came across this 1999 Clos de L’Oratoire Des Papes Chateauneuf-du-Papes. When we bought this wine it was US $30 and I put a sticker on it instructing us to drink between 2007-2010. It was June 14, 2010. We sat down to a simple dinner of potato leek soup and a salad with blue cheese and cherries and poured ourselves a glass.

The clear lip and red brick color gave away its age but much fruit remained. Cherry, plum, and leather on the nose. On the palate it was a very elegant wine and there was enough tannin left to complement our eclectic menu. I corked the bottle with one glass remaining and it still had some life when I tasted it the next night. It’s not too late to drink this wine but it’s showing its age. Get on it!

A Value from South Africa

I was recently in World Market looking for wine bargains and found a featured wine from South Africa that looked interesting. First of all it was a Cabernet Sauvignon which is not commonly bottled as a single varietal in South Africa, it was labeled Coastal South Africa (which made me wonder where the grapes originated), and it was a bargain at $10 US.

The producer of this wine was MAN Vintners (an unknown to me) and it was a 2008 vintage--relatively young. However, I bought a bottle to try and shared it with my parents, pairing it with some grilled pork chops and roasted squash. We were very impressed with the wine's pleasing blueberry and cherry fruit, the impressive color, and round and sumptuous mouthfeel. A few days later I returned to the World Market to buy a few more bottles and was disappointed to find they had since sold out of this wine.

Luckily I was able to order this wine through my local Kroger supermarket and I enjoyed another bottle with grilled chutney glazed chicken and grilled corn and portobella mushrooms. Yum.

I went online to find out more about the producer and learned that their wines had been chosen as "Best Value" by both Wine Enthusiast magazine and South African Wine magazine. Their portfolio of wines also include Shiraz, Pinotage, Rosé, Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, and Sauvignon Blanc.

I also found out that the 2008 cab was a blend of 80 percent Agter-Paarl and 20 percent Stellenbosch grapes and that 2010 Platter's Wine Guide had given it 3 ½ stars out of five for its "Fleshy succulence and drinkability."

I couldn't agree more!

D’Arenberg’s The Laughing Magpie: Love at First Sip

We first tasted this wine in 2004 and we were instantly smitten. I don’t recall the vintage (it was likely a 2002 or 2003) but I recall my surprise and delight. I had never before tasted a Shiraz blended with a splash of Viognier. Adding this fragrant and full-body white grape to a deep-colored, muscular and spicy Shiraz seemed to me, at the time, a stroke of genius. It still does many years later as we pulled a 2004 out of the cellar.

The 2004 still had the same deep purple color, the same herbal, floral nose I recalled from the earlier vintage. It had the same velvet mouthfeel which I credited to the Viognier which, even in a small dose at 6 percent, took the edge off of a tannic in-your-face McLaren Vale Shiraz. The dark fruits from the Shiraz remained firmly in control on the palate and carried on with spice and tea-like tannins on the finish. It proved to be a great pairing with the chicken curry I had prepared that night.

We were so impressed with 2004 we ordered a bottle of the 2006 at a Valentine’s dinner with our neighbors a few nights later. Again, that impressive deep purple color, same round velvety mouthfeel but this time we tasted more dark chocolate and cherry than in the 2004 which seemed perfect for the occasion as we polished off a second bottle with the pot du crème au chocolate dessert.

I have often wondered how this Australian blend came to be. At first I suspected it might have been a marriage of convenience between a sweet and fragrant young vine Viognier and a curmudgeonly old vine Shiraz. But it turns out this wine was not a hasty blend, but rather a thoughtful and deliberate co-fermentation process that suggests an arranged marriage. No judgment here, as they seem happy together in a marriage that seems to have held up over many good years.

From the Cellars and Vineyards of Napa and Sonoma (Part 3)

Our third day in Napa was fairly laid back. We started the morning off in St. Helena for a bit of shopping and then for a lunch at Taylor’s Automatic Refresher. If you haven’t had a chance to do lunch at Taylor’s you are missing out on the best expression of the classic American take-out burger and shake. Pick a nice day when you can linger with your milkshake or beer at one of the many picnic tables in the yard surrounding the small building that is the kitchen and choose from an amazing menu of modern American classic sandwiches and burgers.

After we waited in an order line that stretched to the parking lot, I went back and forth over the menu and ultimately chose Taylor’s BLT (Bacon, Lettuce & Tomato) sandwich with a Pistachio milkshake. After we picked up our order and dug into our food, I realized I needed to go back for a spoon because my shake was so chocked full of whole pistachio nuts that it was impossible to enjoy it through a straw. This is the kind of generous fresh ingredients that you can expect to find at Taylor’s Refresher which is why this place draws a steady crowd here in St. Helena and in their Napa location and their location at the Ferry Building in San Francisco.

Our stomachs girded, we left Taylor’s to head up Howell Mountain to Robert Foley’s new winery. Our friends Jeff and Rita had recommended we pay Bob Foley a visit and we were pleased to find him and his team bottling wine on his open-air crush pad. Robert Foley Vineyards does not offer conventional tastings and tours, however he will make appointments when he’s not on the road at wine events or on tour with The Robert Foley Band, a band he founded and which remains his passion and diversion from the hard day-to-day business of making yummy wine.

Most wine buffs remember Bob Foley from his days at Pride Mountain Vineyards but since 1998 he has been bottling wine under his Robert Foley Vineyards label, starting with a Claret that continues to be a strong seller in a small portfolio that now includes a Petite Sirah, a Pinot Blanc, and a reasonably-priced red blend called the Griffin. He specializes in “big, monster” reds but we really enjoyed his Pinot Blanc which was equally well extracted and ample bodied.

Although Bob clearly has his fingers in every aspect of the wine-making business from choosing the grapes to designing the crush pad and cellar to his exacting, though unconventional, specifications his wife Kelly is a true partner in this endeavor and functions as the family and business CEO. She had family in town that day so Bob took us on a tour of his cellar which includes a performance cave and soon-to-be recording studio.

As we departed Robert Foley Vineyards and wound our way through the town of Angwin, California, I couldn’t help but marvel that so many great wines are coming from a place on Howell Mountain known for its large of community of tee totaling Seventh-Day Adventists. An increasing number of wine makers and wine drinkers agree with these folks that Howell Mountain truly is God’s country.

So it was with that kind of veneration that Robert and I left Napa Valley days later to make our way to the rival California wine region known as Sonoma Valley. Sonoma has long been considered the poor step-child to Napa but that is quickly changing as Sonoma’s diverse microclimates produce wines worthy of all the accolades they are garnering thanks to Chateau St. Jean, Quivira, and Williams & Selyem and other noted producers who consistently craft wines of a quality prompting worldwide attention and acclaim.

Thankfully our time in Napa had primed our livers for a two day wine splurge that would include a reserve tasting at Chateau St. Jean, a private tour and food pairing at Ferrari Carano, a release party at Skipstone, and a farm to table dinner at Quivira. Our hosts and friends Sharon and Steve Riedel made most of these arrangements but wine events such as these are frequent in this valley and equally hospitable. In fact, Sonoma has the well-deserved reputation for making good wine accessible to all, not just in the reasonably-priced tasting fees but also in their more laid back yet dedicated commitment to wine appreciation and education.

Every one of our visits to Sonoma has included a stop at Chateau St. Jean, not only because of their terrific lineup of top-shelf wines but because Chateau St. Jean happens to have one of the most beautiful wine shops and gardens in Sonoma. The same can be said of Ferrari Carano, the grounds of which are regularly featured in ads promoting this picturesque region. Both wineries are exceptionally tourist friendly and tastings are available most days without appointment.

Sonoma valley proprietors and winemakers are also leaders in sustainable viticulture as evidenced by the farm and vineyard tour we received at the Farm to Table dinner Quivira Vineyards hosted where Quivira’s winemaker Steven Canter and farm manager Andrew Beedy outlined the many ways they utilized on-farm resources in ways that were ecologically beneficial to the land, animals, grape, and consumer. Nothing is wasted here and I’m sure any table scraps from the dinner that night went into Ruby the wild pig’s food trough the next day.

After a week in Napa and Sonoma I felt not just a tad hoggish as I recalled all the decadent meals and great wine we consumed, the highlight of which was a dinner in a small hole-in-the-wall gem of a restaurant called Mosaic in Forestville. The fact that such a place could thrive in this tiny town with little else to boast signaled a dedication to excellence that belied its humble storefront and said to me “Don’t be fooled by Sonoma’s casual ambiance. These people take their food and wine very seriously!”

From the Cellars and Vineyards of Napa and Sonoma (Part 2)

On our second day in Napa we had made two appointments for tastings—one for Reynolds Family and one for Del Dotto.

Reynolds Family Winery is owned by Steve and Suzie Reynolds who gave up their dental practice to fully embrace the challenge of turning a chicken ranch into an award-winning winery. Their hard work and determination shows in their wines, one of which is aptly named Persistence.

As we sat outside at one of the tables overlooking their duck pond, we tasted five of their wines. I particularly enjoyed the’07 Napa Chardonnay which was long and silky on the palate with notes of citrus, melon, roasted pineapple, and vanilla. We also enjoyed the ’05 Estate cabernet, and the ’05 Persistence, a blend of Cabernet, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petite Verdot, and Merlot.

Both of these reds were very well-balanced, with dark fruit, chocolate, spice, and mineral components and enough tannins to see you through to a long finish. We bought a few bottles to take back with us to the rented house in Calistoga and ended drinking one right there, as we nibbled on the bread and cheese we had brought along with us.

When we finished our picnic lunch we realized we had enough time before our next appointment to do a quick tasting at Turnbull. Turnbull has been a favorite of ours ever since we happened upon one of their Napa Valley cabernet and instantly fell in love. In 2008, we just couldn’t get enough of their ’05 Napa Valley Cabernet and went on a search for every last bottle in stock in Roanoke, Virginia, our home town. Even though the ’05 cab was their largest production to date, when we arrived in the tasting room in October 2009 they only had five cases left of this wine in stock.

Part of the reason for the success of Turnbull wines is that despite producing some very quality wines they have managed to keep prices down to a reasonable level for Napa. All wines are made from grapes grown on Turnbull-owned properties and at present they have 200 planted acres of vines. I was surprised to find some Tempranillo along with the Merlot and Sangiovese in their ’07 Old Bull Red. Later I would find that Vincent Arroyo, a well-known Napa grower and winemaker is also growing Tempranillo, but it’s not something you see everyday in Napa. Old Bull a well-priced juicy, crowd-pleasing kind of wine that would be a very welcome guest at your next Super Bowl party. The Barbera, Cabernet, and Cabernet Franc in this wine give it enough testosterone to pair with a spicy chili or chicken wings.

Up until now Robert and I had been sharing tastings but when we left Turnbull and arrived a Del Dotto, we decided to have our own glass thank you very much. Robert and I had visited this tasting room the year before and we had tasted enough Del Dotto wine to know that we didn’t want to be wrestling each other for the last sip in the glass.

Del Dotto is a family-owned winery with properties in both Napa and Sonoma. David Del Dotto is the son of Dominic Del Dotto a native of Lucca in Tuscany and he credits Dominic for instilling in him an appreciation for good red wine.

David and his wife Yolanda started out with a property on Zinfandel Lane in St. Helena and initially sold most of their grape off to other winemakers but eventually decided to keep the good stuff for themselves and make the best wine they could make. Gary Galleron consulted at the beginning and since 1997 Nils Venge has been the consulting winemaker.

The Del Dotto family had recently opened a stunning Venetian-style tasting room in St Helena. However, since our family had never been to Napa before we opted to go to the Del Dotto historic winery location in Napa where we could get barrel tastings in their 120 year old wine cave, the second oldest wine cave in Napa. We were fortunate to get the facility manager as our tour guide and he proceeded to fill our glasses with ten or so wines thieved from the barrel. This was more wine than we could swallow, literally, but he encouraged us to splash the sides of the wine cave with any leftover wine in our glass.

David Del Dotto has been experimenting with various cooperages for years and during the cave tour your are invited to sample the same juice from two different barrels—one French oak, one American oak—and taste for yourself how barrels made of different oak impart vastly different characteristics to a wine. We were asked to vote for our favorite and in our tour group of eleven the votes were pretty well evenly split. This just shows that there is no universally superior oak—it’s just a matter of taste and what you want the oak to bring to the wine.

I was particularly enamored with the '08 Del Dotto Cinghiale Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Our barrel taste so impressed us that we bought futures. Of course, the wine will be a different wine once it makes it into the bottle but I was blown away by the complexity and elegance of this Pinot Noir even at this young stage in its’ life.

From the Cellars and Vineyards of Napa and Sonoma (Part 1)

I invited family members from Canada and Scotland to join Robert and me in Napa Valley, California for five days. None of my family members had been to California wine country before so I wanted to give them a taste of wines that generally do not escape our borders.

Our first stop was Saddleback Cellars, the proprietor of which is Nils Venge, one of California’s hottest consulting winemakers. Nils has been making wine under his own label and for others for a very long time. He’s an unpretentious kind of guy who likes nothing more than kicking back with a well-crafted wine and some good country music blaring from the speakers, but he takes wine-making very seriously and consistently creates some of the best value wines in what is typically a very pricey neighborhood, the Oakville floor.

The tendency on the floor is focus on the big reds, the high-priced cabs this part of Napa is so famous for. Nils does offer the best of Napa fruit in his cabs, merlots, and zinfandels but he is equally attentive to the whites in his Saddleback Cellars range, and we tasted a very lovely ’07 Viognier and very impressive ’07 Napa Chardonnay. Nils also does a nice, crisp Pinot Blanc, offering aromatics of green apple, melon, and honeysuckle, which we have tasted and enjoyed over multiple vintages and consider to be one of our favorite hot weather whites.

We were tempted to linger at the picnic tables bordering the edge of the vines but we had another appointment down the road at Gargiulo Vineyards. Jeff Gargiulo and his team have been making estate wines in Oakville since 2000 with fruit from two properties—the Money Road ranch and 575 OVX. Kristof Anderson joined as winemaker in 2003 and uses gravity-fed techniques to gently coerce the best flavors and aromas from the grape. We tasted the ’06 Aprile Sangiovese/cab blend, Money Road Cabernet, and the 575 OVX G Major Seven Study, a Bordeaux-style blend which was my favorite of the bunch with bramble, blackberry, cassis, and vanilla on the nose and a smooth, well-balanced finish.

It was obvious this was going to be a music-themed week when Grammy winning artist/songwriter Billy Dean passed by the tasting room on his way to the recording studio (which sits among the vines) and our hosts asked him if would play us a song. He set down his glass of chardonnay, grabbed a guitar from Jeff Gargiulo’s displayed collection, sat down, and played his song “ The Penny” much to the delight of all.

Can you think of a better way to start a week in Napa and Sonoma?

Check back next week for Part 2 of our adventures in Napa and Sonoma.

Chateau Montelena Estate Cab '93 and '98

Robert and I have been fans of Chateau Montelena Estate cabs since our first trip to Napa back in '96. It's quite possible we bought the '93 back then and carried it home with us to our newly- built cellar.

Unfortunately when we opened the '93 for dinner with another couple (also fans of ch. Montelena cab) the first look and sniff told us we had waited to long to enjoy what we clearly fell in love with back in '96. The rim was clear and the wine looked and smelled oxidized. Our palates confirmed it--this former beauty was past her prime. Too bad.

Luckily we also had the '98 on hand and it was just what we expected--round, layered, with heady, lovely nose so characteristic of this cab.

But one bottle was not enough for dinner so we finished with a '05 Turnbull Estate cab which nicely contrasted newer Napa fruit with old and was a perfect pairing for upside-down pear and walnut cake and strawberries with whipped cream. Yummy!

Making a List, Checking it Twice

Heading out for a vacation that will include visits to Canada, Croatia, Italy, Turkey, and Greece.

What am I packing?

Here's a list of the must haves:

• Quick dry undies
• Picnic baggie: includes cheese knife, wine screw, plastic utensils, tea towel/tablecloth
• Camera
• Passport
• The Wine Century Club application/checklist
• Map for Italy
• Manila envelope for trip confirmations, vouchers, etc.
• Guide book recommendations condensed to two printed pages
• Bill Clinton on speed dial in case we get lost (just kidding)

What do you pack for a wine soaked trip?

A Washington State Wine Bargain

I picked up a bottle of 2007 Hogue Columbia Valley Cab because it was on sale and I needed some daily drinkers for summer barbeques. I bought one bottle as a test and came back for six more.

Why?

It was lovely big cherry, unctuous, and silky on the palate and it tasted like something you would spend $20.oo or more for. With the case discount I was able to purchase this wine for under $9 at Krogers.

It's a screwtop but don't let that scare you. Maybe that will keep Uncle George from drinking all your wine at the family cookout.