Sunday, December 30, 2007

December's Monthly Wine Tasting

Sunday, December 9, 2007

This was the monthly wine tasting that I normally attend. This year I was on vacation in Sonoma (wine tasting naturally) so the rest of the mortals had to do without my company (for which they probably were relieved that they got a break).

The theme of this months gathering was "Vintage Champagnes and Full Bodied Pinot Noirs". Someone was gracious enough to keep track of the wines in my absence and send me a list.

I would have liked to try the 2000 Roederer Cristal but I bet the 1996 Duval Leroy was just as good.

The list of Pinots was quite interesting. Ran the gamut from Laetitia to Sea Smoke.

Wine & Dine

I did not attend the monthly "Wine & Dine" dinnerfor November as I was attending the monthly "wine gathering". Hope it was good and everyone had a good time.

Christmas Brunch

Sunday, Dceember 2, 2008

This was my yearly Christmas Brunch that I host. I decorate my house and put up the tree on Thanksgiving weekend. I tend to think that it is a jump start for merriment before the realities of tasks that lie ahead for us with shopping, wrapping, baking etc., set in.

32 people were in attendance and 6 no shows which was probably good as we had quite a crowd in my 950 sf condo.

I put out juices and bubblies to make mimosas, bellini's etc. Everyone brought additional bubblies and wines so a really good time was going on.

I put out a ham and several egg casserole dishes. The sides and the desserts are brought by everyone else. There is always an over abundance of food but the is what the season is about.

I enjoy the Christmas season much more than Thanksgiving. I personally would rather watch the football games than sit down to a huge dinner with a meat that I don't like.

Monthly Wino's Gathering

Saturday, November 17, 2008

Today was our monthly gathering of the "winos". The theme today was "Wines from Amador, Alameda, Calaveras, Contra Costa and San Joaquin Counties". These counties are in a contiguous line from the Sierra Foothills to the bay. There were 24 wines conforming to the theme and 3 wines that did not. Along with 4 dessert wines

The strange thing is that the 3 non-conforming wines were all the same wine (year, producer and varietal) . They were from "El Dorado" county which is next to Amador County but it was not on the list. I don't know if these 3 people don't know their states geography or if they couldn't be bothered to find a wine from the correct area. Everyone else seemed to be able to find wines that fit the theme, so I have not figured out what their problem was.

I also find it very strange that the 2 Turley Zinfandels were emptied way before the other bottles were half gone. We use 1 oz pourer's so everyone gets a chance to taste all the wines. It seems whenever there is a really good bottle brought it disappears fast. Makes me become very suspicious that one or more persons are taking more that their one pour. (this is a known fact and a few of us know who you are).

As always the food was abundant and good. The hosts made a spanish sausage stuffed beef roast which was excellent.

I had a friend visiting from Australia with me and he was quite taken with our whole concept. I had taken him to a couple of wine tastings at the local wine stores. They apparently do not have that in Australia, which is their loss. He had a great time and really enjoyed Lisa & Oliver's spicy fried chicken.

We had gone to BevMo for a bubbly tasting and he was looking at the wines in the Australian section. Most of them he had never heard of of and speculated that they were made specifically for export and he considered most of them "swill". I wonder if the "swill" wines we export are as popular as the Aussies "swill" here.

Stone Brewery Co. Tasting

Wednesday, November 14, 2008

Wine Country in Long Beach, http://www.thewinecountry.com/, hosted at tasting tonight of beers from Stone Brewery. There were 17 beers available , 7 of Stone Brewery and 10 from other brew houses that they rep. Along with the required, sausages w/mustard, etc. we also received a glass or tankard. They did not have enough of one kind so there were 5 styles to choose from. It was a frenzy with everyone grabbing at the same time.

Several of the brews I was not in to. I am not an IPA fan. A couple that I really liked was the "Mad River Brewing Co. Extra Stout" , The "Ale Smith Anvil E.S.B.", the "Stone Arrogant Bastard Ale", the "Stone Smoked Porter" and the "Stone Double Arrogant Bastard Ale".

These beer tastings are always a lot of fun and the price at $35 was a bargain.