It's been an odd week. Lots of ups and downs. Good wine tasting, no sales. Surprise bookings and sales. Warm leads, no responses. Strange driving and traffic oddities. And lots of shoulder pain. Trying to postpone calling the bone doctor, but I think the rotator cuff is actually damaged. Too much softball, too many hard falls. Luckily, there's wine to savor.
It's confirmed - I'll be teaching Wine Camp at LearnAboutWine on December 6th. Ian will be returning from New Zealand around that time, and isn't sure he'll be up to teaching, so I'm in. I love Wine Camp! Always a lot of fun teaching newbies about the delights of the grape! The class generally has a discounted price - check out LearnAboutWine and come and play!
Ian also asked me to help with a private event next week. Pouring wine for an important charity. More news as he discloses.
Got great response from a coworker about the Sunfish Pinot Noir he bought for his wife. I rhapsodized about this wine earlier, and am gratified that my suggestion for her was appreciated. He said he's never known her to drink 3 glasses of wine in one evening. I said, '3 glasses? That's Tuesday night!' Seriously, it's a delicious little Pinot, very approachable.
Do you ever have times when you feel invisible? Recently I've had zero response to emails, phone calls, blogs, Facebook entries. Everyone says they want to, but not now. No one wants to make a commitment. Kind of like back in the dating days!
Finished off a bottle of Fleur Bleu Tempranillo last night. The Fleur Bleu wines all seem to have soft tannins, beautifully aromatic red fruit and long silky finishes. They do seem to actually be better the second day - not that most wines live to see another day in my house!
I'm up to 15 votes on LocalWineEvents. I know most of the votes have been my own, but a few people have voted for me!
Friday, October 30, 2009
Sunday, October 25, 2009
Sunday musings...
It was an odd week communication-wise, but things seemed to calm down as we headed for the weekend. Friday night, good friend Deb B. and JD and I ventured to Palate in Glendale. Ian had raved about Palate on Yelp, as had many others - and there were a lot of negative reviews on Yelp also, so I figured we were in for an adventure of some sort! Deb arrived, we grabbed a 2005 Windward Pinot Noir “Monopole” that we had picked up at the winery in May – floral nose, cherries and strawberries in the mouth, with an earthy finish. Arrived at the restaurant right on time. The valet was extremely polite and even opened the front door for us.
Inside the restaurant are several different rooms - Deb led us on a brief tour all the way to the back, where there is a very cool wine bar and shop. In the middle of everything are rooms for cheese tastings and the kitchen and other semi-private rooms. In the front, is the main dining room with a small bar near the host station, where one would wait for a table. The hostess led us to our table, handed us the menus and we were off on our dining adventure.
We started with cocktails - My aperitif (can't remember the name!) contained Bourbon, Champagne, Angostura bitters, Cointreau, all served in a Manhattan glass. Lovely. JD and Debra had 'James Bond' cocktails - Champagne, Kettle 1 vodka, sugar (cube), Angostura bitters. It was...interesting. Both JD and Deb agreed they like my drink better. Our appetizer consisted of potted lamb in a Mason jar accompanied by cucumbers, dill, garlic, and toasty crostini. Our server, Bret, was funny and knowledgeable and seemed to read my mind, as he turned up whenever I thought that we needed something.
Our dinners: Deb started with the Persimmon salad - persimmon, arugula, Moroccan olives, grilled onion, and pomegranate; JD and I both had the soup: field mushroom, miticrema, licorice root. Three happy people! Entrees: JD chose the day boat scallops with anchovies, butternut squash, hazelnuts, and sherry vinegar. Deb chose the famous pork belly with parsnip, Swiss chard and pear mostarda, and I chose the special duck breast in a red wine reduction with raisins and tiny potatoes and a spinach-related green, the name of which I did not write down. Sigh. The food was so good, we actually stopped talking. And for me, that's really something!
For dessert - a cheese plate: Délice d’Argental Burgundy, France soft ripened, triple cream, unctuous + creamy, delicate flavor; Soureliette de Fedou ‘La Tradition’ Pyrenees, France raw, soft, buttery, nutty, natural rind; Garrotxa Catalonia, Espana semi-firm, chalky, hints of hazelnuts, natural rind. A perfect end to a pretty much perfect meal. Oh, did I mention the roasted grapes? Oh my! I had only just heard about them from a friend a few days before, and they are to die for! I think JD will be roasting grapes - soon!
We sat for a while - no one rushed us, even though they were busy, and finally pulled ourselves away from the table. Back to the house, where we opened a Baron Herzog Late Harvest Chenin Blanc and talked about stuff that put JD to sleep! Well, almost everything puts JD to sleep, especially after a great meal and lots of wine, so it was to be expected. Deb and I work in related fields, so occasionally we drop into shop talk, and believe me, it's really not all that interesting!
Up early Saturday morning - manicure and breakfast with the gang, then home to prep for the evening's wine tasting. Even though my hostess and I had straightened out our differences, I was still concerned about what to expect. We arrived on time. She was ready in her lovely home. Some of her guests arrived right on time, others filtered in as we were underway. Her guests were all educated, interested, and definitely enjoyed the wines and the conversations. And I did not sell even one bottle of wine. Even though several of them said they might, I could not get anyone to commit to anything at all. At all. It was all very pleasant, and I might get a tasting from one of the women, but not until after New Year's, so...I guess it was a good thing that I went with low expectations.
I don't know whether or not my hostess had told her guests not to buy anything, and I'm not a high pressure seller, but it was interesting that one guest objected to paying shipping and wanted to know why I couldn't keep wines in inventory. Before I could respond, one of the other guests told her that it wasn't a good idea for inventory to be kept in individual consultants' homes, as there was no quality control on keeping the wines properly stored. I almost kissed her! I also reminded the guests that most people don't have room for cases of wine in their homes. It just felt like an excuse not to buy.
Anyway, we made our goodbyes. We went home and finished off the 2004 Talmage Napa Valley Merlot and ordered in some bad Italian food. Then we opened the 2006 Fleur Bleu Mendocino Zinfandel. Yum! Good wines often improve mediocre food.
This morning I followed up with last night's guests, thanking them - and reminding them that they could still buy the wines they enjoyed. Nada. In the meantime, I heard from a guest from a tasting I did last month and booked her for November. I'll also be choosing a date in November to hold a tasting in my home. How does 11/15 sound? Anyone up for a pre-Thanksgiving tasting? The holidays are here! Time for parties!
Inside the restaurant are several different rooms - Deb led us on a brief tour all the way to the back, where there is a very cool wine bar and shop. In the middle of everything are rooms for cheese tastings and the kitchen and other semi-private rooms. In the front, is the main dining room with a small bar near the host station, where one would wait for a table. The hostess led us to our table, handed us the menus and we were off on our dining adventure.
We started with cocktails - My aperitif (can't remember the name!) contained Bourbon, Champagne, Angostura bitters, Cointreau, all served in a Manhattan glass. Lovely. JD and Debra had 'James Bond' cocktails - Champagne, Kettle 1 vodka, sugar (cube), Angostura bitters. It was...interesting. Both JD and Deb agreed they like my drink better. Our appetizer consisted of potted lamb in a Mason jar accompanied by cucumbers, dill, garlic, and toasty crostini. Our server, Bret, was funny and knowledgeable and seemed to read my mind, as he turned up whenever I thought that we needed something.
Our dinners: Deb started with the Persimmon salad - persimmon, arugula, Moroccan olives, grilled onion, and pomegranate; JD and I both had the soup: field mushroom, miticrema, licorice root. Three happy people! Entrees: JD chose the day boat scallops with anchovies, butternut squash, hazelnuts, and sherry vinegar. Deb chose the famous pork belly with parsnip, Swiss chard and pear mostarda, and I chose the special duck breast in a red wine reduction with raisins and tiny potatoes and a spinach-related green, the name of which I did not write down. Sigh. The food was so good, we actually stopped talking. And for me, that's really something!
For dessert - a cheese plate: Délice d’Argental Burgundy, France soft ripened, triple cream, unctuous + creamy, delicate flavor; Soureliette de Fedou ‘La Tradition’ Pyrenees, France raw, soft, buttery, nutty, natural rind; Garrotxa Catalonia, Espana semi-firm, chalky, hints of hazelnuts, natural rind. A perfect end to a pretty much perfect meal. Oh, did I mention the roasted grapes? Oh my! I had only just heard about them from a friend a few days before, and they are to die for! I think JD will be roasting grapes - soon!
We sat for a while - no one rushed us, even though they were busy, and finally pulled ourselves away from the table. Back to the house, where we opened a Baron Herzog Late Harvest Chenin Blanc and talked about stuff that put JD to sleep! Well, almost everything puts JD to sleep, especially after a great meal and lots of wine, so it was to be expected. Deb and I work in related fields, so occasionally we drop into shop talk, and believe me, it's really not all that interesting!
Up early Saturday morning - manicure and breakfast with the gang, then home to prep for the evening's wine tasting. Even though my hostess and I had straightened out our differences, I was still concerned about what to expect. We arrived on time. She was ready in her lovely home. Some of her guests arrived right on time, others filtered in as we were underway. Her guests were all educated, interested, and definitely enjoyed the wines and the conversations. And I did not sell even one bottle of wine. Even though several of them said they might, I could not get anyone to commit to anything at all. At all. It was all very pleasant, and I might get a tasting from one of the women, but not until after New Year's, so...I guess it was a good thing that I went with low expectations.
I don't know whether or not my hostess had told her guests not to buy anything, and I'm not a high pressure seller, but it was interesting that one guest objected to paying shipping and wanted to know why I couldn't keep wines in inventory. Before I could respond, one of the other guests told her that it wasn't a good idea for inventory to be kept in individual consultants' homes, as there was no quality control on keeping the wines properly stored. I almost kissed her! I also reminded the guests that most people don't have room for cases of wine in their homes. It just felt like an excuse not to buy.
Anyway, we made our goodbyes. We went home and finished off the 2004 Talmage Napa Valley Merlot and ordered in some bad Italian food. Then we opened the 2006 Fleur Bleu Mendocino Zinfandel. Yum! Good wines often improve mediocre food.
This morning I followed up with last night's guests, thanking them - and reminding them that they could still buy the wines they enjoyed. Nada. In the meantime, I heard from a guest from a tasting I did last month and booked her for November. I'll also be choosing a date in November to hold a tasting in my home. How does 11/15 sound? Anyone up for a pre-Thanksgiving tasting? The holidays are here! Time for parties!
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
OK, I'm not firing this customer...yet...
Just to finish up yesterday's rant...
I shot off that sharp rebuke to my upcoming host, and within a short time, received a genuinely nice and apologetic response. She was concerned that her guests were going to be pressured to spend a lot of money so that she would receive lots of hostess gifts.
I thanked her and reassured her that WineShop at Home is not one of those home-party businesses where host rewards depend on guest purchases. And I went thru the Toast the Host program for October, outlining the specific benefits for the Host, regardless of guest purchases. And I mentioned the guest incentives as well. And I told her I'm looking forward to getting to know her over some great wine.
In the meantime, I'm trying to fill my calender for November. The holidays are upon us! There are some great wines at WSAH right now! In this month's wine club, I received the 2008 Sunfish Pinot Noir. I gotta say, I like this wine a lot. It has layers of raspberry and earth on the nose and palate, with licorice and spice on the finish. Silky tannins make it ready to drink right now. We opened it Monday night and paired with cheeses: Dubliner Cheddar, Manchego and Smoked Gouda. A few hazelnut rice crackers helped make it a 'light' snack, and the wine was just beautiful. Didn't finish the bottle, so last night, paired the remainder with marinated chicken breast and baked potato. Yum! For $21, it's a ready-to-drink-right-now Pinot Noir.
So...you wanna book a tasting? I have dates available in November and December.
I shot off that sharp rebuke to my upcoming host, and within a short time, received a genuinely nice and apologetic response. She was concerned that her guests were going to be pressured to spend a lot of money so that she would receive lots of hostess gifts.
I thanked her and reassured her that WineShop at Home is not one of those home-party businesses where host rewards depend on guest purchases. And I went thru the Toast the Host program for October, outlining the specific benefits for the Host, regardless of guest purchases. And I mentioned the guest incentives as well. And I told her I'm looking forward to getting to know her over some great wine.
In the meantime, I'm trying to fill my calender for November. The holidays are upon us! There are some great wines at WSAH right now! In this month's wine club, I received the 2008 Sunfish Pinot Noir. I gotta say, I like this wine a lot. It has layers of raspberry and earth on the nose and palate, with licorice and spice on the finish. Silky tannins make it ready to drink right now. We opened it Monday night and paired with cheeses: Dubliner Cheddar, Manchego and Smoked Gouda. A few hazelnut rice crackers helped make it a 'light' snack, and the wine was just beautiful. Didn't finish the bottle, so last night, paired the remainder with marinated chicken breast and baked potato. Yum! For $21, it's a ready-to-drink-right-now Pinot Noir.
So...you wanna book a tasting? I have dates available in November and December.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
When to fire a customer
As you may have figured out by this time, one of the things I do is sell wine. I do in-home wine tastings as an independent consultant for WineShop at Home. When I joined WSAH about a year and a half ago, one of the things my 'upline' recommended in terms of building my business was to donate a wine tasting to a charity event. I had concerns about doing that. I wasn't exactly happy at the thought that if someone won the tasting or bought it thru a silent auction, I would be responsible for the cost of the sampler up front, and of course, there is never a guarantee that anyone will buy wine at a tasting, so I could be out the cost of the sampler and my time.
Around the end of the year, fund raisers for myriad organizations seem to spontaneously generate, and several organizations were referred to me by various individuals who supported my wine effort. I ended up donating 3 tastings to 3 different organizations.
It was easy enough to create a gift certificate with specific terms and conditions - an in-house tasting for a maximum of 10 guests, including the host. I would supply the wine and the appropriate snacks. This meant that, if no one bought a single bottle of wine, I would be out $59 plus the cost of the food plus my time.
The first donated tasting was purchased by a lovely couple, who were both into wine. They invited 4 couples, JD and I showed up with the stuff, and we had a GREAT time. Everybody purchased wine, and we were all happy. Win-win.
The second donated tasting was purchased by a young lawyer who had her own agenda for the evening. Despite my repeated coaching, she was determined to make it a night of networking for women. She wanted to have around 30 people - I talked her down to 20 with the condition that she purchase a half case of wine to supplement the sampler. She ignored my request to use either the WSAH WineVite or eVite, and sent out a flyer for her networking event with NO mention of me or WSAH. I called her to discuss what she was doing, and she assured me that she completely understood, and that her guests knew it was a guided wine tasting, and they would be able to purchase wine.
When JD and I arrived - after having some difficulty finding her office - she was already setting up in her conference room. A friend of hers - a pastry chef - was busy setting out gorgeous desserts. It seemed as if everything was going to be all right. I was wrong.
Her guests arrived - all professionals, lawyers, accountants, publicists. Seemed like a nice crowd. Our hostess started everything off like a business meeting, handed it off to me after round table introductions, and I began my presentation.
By the time we had poured the second wine, half of the guests were having their own conversations - so loudly that first I tried to raise my volume to get their attention. Then I asked them to be quiet while I presented the wines. Then I stood there silently until a few of them noticed I wasn't talking. Because they were too rude to pay attention to another woman trying to do business, I couldn't do anything except race thru the rest of my presentation. No one bought anything. And several of them were rude to me when I asked if they were interested in any of the wines. If I had not insisted on the hostess buying the supplemental 1/2 case, I would not have sold a single bottle of wine. At least she validated the parking. A colossal waste of time - and I was out $100 for wine and food.
The third donated tasting is supposed to happen this weekend. My host has been somewhat problematic from the moment we connected. I have explained several times to her how the tasting goes: JD and I bring the wines and food. I introduce myself and WineShop at Home and provide a quick synopsis of what the evening holds. We go thru the 6 wines - discussing how they're made, where the grapes are sourced, specific attributes of the wines, suggested food pairings and recipes. After the second wine, I do a short commercial about the Wine Club. After the fourth wine, I do a demonstration of our Artisan crystal stemware. At the end, I thank everyone for their attention and ask them individually if they are interested in booking a tasting, joining the wine club and/or buying wine. And then I take their wine orders. And then we leave.
Last night, making the mistake of checking email before going to bed, I found an email from my host, telling me she didn't want me to do ANY selling at the tasting. That she wanted to take advantage of my knowledge and expertise to entertain her guests, but that she really didn't want me to sell anything.
I was so angry, I didn't sleep all night. After tossing and turning all night, and being distracted by my anger all day, I decided not to call her, but emailed her back as follows:
I have been thinking long and hard about how to reply to your email. And I have a question: What do you do for a living? When you do your job, do you expect to get paid? I sell wine for a living. So when I do an in-home tasting, I encourage people to purchase wine or join my wine club or book a tasting. And when folks do any of these things, that is how I get paid for doing my job.
From the very beginning of our discussions about this event, I made it clear that my presentation would include opportunities for people to buy wine, etc. As I have already said, I don't twist anyone's arm, I don't do a hard sell, but this is my business. This is my job. Because I am very good at my job, your guests will have a very enjoyable evening - it will be fun and educational, the wines will be tasty, and I have no doubt that your guests will want to buy wine.
You do not have the right to tell me how to work my business. If you cannot respect this, then perhaps we should cancel the event, and I will return the wine sampler to WineShop at Home.
I'm waiting for her response.
Around the end of the year, fund raisers for myriad organizations seem to spontaneously generate, and several organizations were referred to me by various individuals who supported my wine effort. I ended up donating 3 tastings to 3 different organizations.
It was easy enough to create a gift certificate with specific terms and conditions - an in-house tasting for a maximum of 10 guests, including the host. I would supply the wine and the appropriate snacks. This meant that, if no one bought a single bottle of wine, I would be out $59 plus the cost of the food plus my time.
The first donated tasting was purchased by a lovely couple, who were both into wine. They invited 4 couples, JD and I showed up with the stuff, and we had a GREAT time. Everybody purchased wine, and we were all happy. Win-win.
The second donated tasting was purchased by a young lawyer who had her own agenda for the evening. Despite my repeated coaching, she was determined to make it a night of networking for women. She wanted to have around 30 people - I talked her down to 20 with the condition that she purchase a half case of wine to supplement the sampler. She ignored my request to use either the WSAH WineVite or eVite, and sent out a flyer for her networking event with NO mention of me or WSAH. I called her to discuss what she was doing, and she assured me that she completely understood, and that her guests knew it was a guided wine tasting, and they would be able to purchase wine.
When JD and I arrived - after having some difficulty finding her office - she was already setting up in her conference room. A friend of hers - a pastry chef - was busy setting out gorgeous desserts. It seemed as if everything was going to be all right. I was wrong.
Her guests arrived - all professionals, lawyers, accountants, publicists. Seemed like a nice crowd. Our hostess started everything off like a business meeting, handed it off to me after round table introductions, and I began my presentation.
By the time we had poured the second wine, half of the guests were having their own conversations - so loudly that first I tried to raise my volume to get their attention. Then I asked them to be quiet while I presented the wines. Then I stood there silently until a few of them noticed I wasn't talking. Because they were too rude to pay attention to another woman trying to do business, I couldn't do anything except race thru the rest of my presentation. No one bought anything. And several of them were rude to me when I asked if they were interested in any of the wines. If I had not insisted on the hostess buying the supplemental 1/2 case, I would not have sold a single bottle of wine. At least she validated the parking. A colossal waste of time - and I was out $100 for wine and food.
The third donated tasting is supposed to happen this weekend. My host has been somewhat problematic from the moment we connected. I have explained several times to her how the tasting goes: JD and I bring the wines and food. I introduce myself and WineShop at Home and provide a quick synopsis of what the evening holds. We go thru the 6 wines - discussing how they're made, where the grapes are sourced, specific attributes of the wines, suggested food pairings and recipes. After the second wine, I do a short commercial about the Wine Club. After the fourth wine, I do a demonstration of our Artisan crystal stemware. At the end, I thank everyone for their attention and ask them individually if they are interested in booking a tasting, joining the wine club and/or buying wine. And then I take their wine orders. And then we leave.
Last night, making the mistake of checking email before going to bed, I found an email from my host, telling me she didn't want me to do ANY selling at the tasting. That she wanted to take advantage of my knowledge and expertise to entertain her guests, but that she really didn't want me to sell anything.
I was so angry, I didn't sleep all night. After tossing and turning all night, and being distracted by my anger all day, I decided not to call her, but emailed her back as follows:
I have been thinking long and hard about how to reply to your email. And I have a question: What do you do for a living? When you do your job, do you expect to get paid? I sell wine for a living. So when I do an in-home tasting, I encourage people to purchase wine or join my wine club or book a tasting. And when folks do any of these things, that is how I get paid for doing my job.
From the very beginning of our discussions about this event, I made it clear that my presentation would include opportunities for people to buy wine, etc. As I have already said, I don't twist anyone's arm, I don't do a hard sell, but this is my business. This is my job. Because I am very good at my job, your guests will have a very enjoyable evening - it will be fun and educational, the wines will be tasty, and I have no doubt that your guests will want to buy wine.
You do not have the right to tell me how to work my business. If you cannot respect this, then perhaps we should cancel the event, and I will return the wine sampler to WineShop at Home.
I'm waiting for her response.
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Wine and food and theatre and...
Another busy weekend! After Friday night's blowout at the Duke, we got up early Saturday a.m. as Saint Ana, our cleaning lady, was due to arrive. Pulled ourselves together and headed out for breakfast with the Saturday morning gang - old friends with whom we break bread almost every Saturday. 10 a.m. at Lancer's in Burbank. All are welcome. Breakfast turned out to be a larger group than usual, with several old friends of our old friends. A good time was had.
Went home and blogged about Friday night, finishing just in time for Phyl and Ron to pick us up for the show at the Mark Taper Forum - 'Parade' by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown. Although it's a musical, it's not a fun story. It won the 1999 Tony for Best Book and Best Music. The cast was excellent, but there were issues with the production (music too loud, couldn't hear the lyrics even though the actors were miked), and it was ultimately unengaging. We left with mixed feelings as we could tell that the cast were totally committed, hardworking and tremendously talented. But...it was missing something.
We maneuvered the car out of the Music Center parking lot and headed for the Smoke House, that 63-year-old landmark in Burbank with the BEST garlic cheese bread in the known universe. We brought a bottle of 2005 Opolo Cabernet Franc – I love this wine. Chocolate cherry nose, soft tannins, spicy, dusty, very Bordeaux-ish. Yum. Went really well with the garlic bread (!). I had a flatiron steak with a house salad, a baked sweet potato, and did I mention the garlic bread? JD had the seafood brochette, from which he carefully removed all the extraneous red, yellow and green peppers. Phyl had the planked grilled salmon, and Ron had something fishy - sole? Maybe. (With apologies to my friend, Cynthia, I forgot to take pictures at dinner. So sue me.) We finished up with a bit of cheesecake, and waddled happily home.
Up not too early Sunday for lunch at the Eclectic Cafe in NoHo with Margaret and Susan. The girls arrived at my house promptly at 11 a.m., and after admiring our in-process patio renovation, we jumped in the old Explorer and headed to NoHo. The Eclectic Cafe is always fun, the service is always great, and the food is...okay. For their 'champagne' brunch they poured J. Roget Brut sparkling wine. It's not great wine, but with breakfast food, it's adequate. I had Pasta Saumoniere, which was linguine with smoked salmon, tomatoes, parsley, scallions and sour cream. It was okay, kind of bland. Susan had the Pasta Salsiccia with Italian Sausage, and Margaret had the Italian Herb omelette. We all chose the rosemary toast, thinking we were going to get something wonderfully foccaccia-ish, but it was just thin toast, and not particularly rosemary-ish. Didn't take pictures of this meal either. We had a great time together - we always do. Lots of laughter and general silliness.
When we headed out to the car, I had a flat tire! AAA got there in record time and repaired the tire, and we headed back to the barn. They went their way, and I freshened up and JD and I set off for Silverlake Wine for a special tasting event.
This turned out to be so much more than we expected! Joshua Klapper, the owner and winemaker for La Fenêtre wines, was there in person to talk about his wines. We've met Josh a few times at LAW events - he's charming and funny young man who is passionate about making wine. He's been mentored by Jim Clendenen, and loves the wines of Burgundy, modeling his own wines after the classic French wines. Caterers Heirloom LA provided gourmet accompaniments to pair with Josh's wines.
The welcome wine was a 2006 Naveran Cava. $14 A lovely dry sparkler (not by La Fenêtre), a nice way to wash away the memory of the J. Roget! Then the real tasting began!
2007 La Fenêtre 'Bien Nacido' Chardonnay. $44 Perfumey nose, very elegant and well-balanced. Josh 'lets' the wine make itself, using 100% barrel fermentation (18 months in the barrel) and 100% malolactic fermentation. Paired with it was 'make your own' lettuce wraps with an amazing duck confit as well as a veggie confection for the vegetarians in the room.
Next up the 2007 La Fenêtre 'Le Bon Climat' Pinot Noir. $60 Clear, medium red; beautiful nose full of fruit and earth; complex and interesting. I would have liked more of it. It was paired with a bean lasagna. Sounds odd, but it was delicious! And a perfect pairing with the Pinot. Josh focuses on super-developed fruit without jamminess. He picks only the best clusters, cold-soaks briefly (no more than a few days), and gets his wine into the barrels. Like the Burgundies he emulates, the oak provides structure without getting in the way - it's barely noticeable, but the backbone will allow this wine to age for another 10 years easily.
2007 La Fenêtre 'Calmant Creek' Pinot Noir. $54.75 Where the 'Le Bon Climat' vineyard Pinot was soft and feminine, this wine is big and masculine, from the Santa Rita Hills. He's not going to make this wine any more - he prefers the red fruited quality of LBC as opposed to the black fruit in the Calmant Creek grapes. I tend to agree with him, although it paired very nicely with the sturgeon covered with garlic and dill, on a bed of red wine risotto. The sturgeon was gorgeous to look at, and was seriously good. I'm not a big fish eater, but this was delicious!
We finished up with the La Fenêtre 2007 A Coté 'Red Blend' Santa Barbara County. $19.75 This is a Bordeaux-style blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Josh told the story of how this wine was "a total fuckup from day 1!" That's a direct quote. He grew the Cab, which turned out to be too sweet, so he bought some Merlot fruit from his pal, Jim Clendenen. Then he bought some more. And some more. After blending and testing, he ended up with the 60/40 split, and still didn't like it, but he had to move it. Of course, it turned out to be a huge hit, and now he likes it a lot better! Heirloom LA paired it with a caramelized apple trifle, with carmelized pastry cream, brown butter cake, creme fraiche, and home-made toffee. OMG. A great way to end the tasting.
During the tasting we met some nice new folks, and ran into a few we knew from LAW events. Sally Ann Field - not THAT Sally Field - is a long-time attendee at the Silverlake Wine events, and a big fan of La Fenêtre and Josh. We kidded her about stalking him, of course. She was great fun, and has a line of wine bags called Saucy Sacks. They have impertinent messages on them, like 'Miles was mistaken' and 'I like my tannins firm'. Fun!
After we made our goodbyes to Josh, and our thanks to the folks at Heirloom LA, we had a short chat with two of the three partners of Silverlake Wine, assuring them we'd be back for more! Silverlake Wine is owned and operated by George Cossette, Randy Clement and April Langford. The focus of the store is boutique, small production, high quality, artisanal wines in all price ranges from around the globe. Their attention to detail, and their precision work in handling this event was superb. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Oh, and on the way out, we couldn't resist purchasing the Bandit 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon in a juice box! April says it's really good, and who am I to doubt her?
Went home and blogged about Friday night, finishing just in time for Phyl and Ron to pick us up for the show at the Mark Taper Forum - 'Parade' by Alfred Uhry and Jason Robert Brown. Although it's a musical, it's not a fun story. It won the 1999 Tony for Best Book and Best Music. The cast was excellent, but there were issues with the production (music too loud, couldn't hear the lyrics even though the actors were miked), and it was ultimately unengaging. We left with mixed feelings as we could tell that the cast were totally committed, hardworking and tremendously talented. But...it was missing something.
We maneuvered the car out of the Music Center parking lot and headed for the Smoke House, that 63-year-old landmark in Burbank with the BEST garlic cheese bread in the known universe. We brought a bottle of 2005 Opolo Cabernet Franc – I love this wine. Chocolate cherry nose, soft tannins, spicy, dusty, very Bordeaux-ish. Yum. Went really well with the garlic bread (!). I had a flatiron steak with a house salad, a baked sweet potato, and did I mention the garlic bread? JD had the seafood brochette, from which he carefully removed all the extraneous red, yellow and green peppers. Phyl had the planked grilled salmon, and Ron had something fishy - sole? Maybe. (With apologies to my friend, Cynthia, I forgot to take pictures at dinner. So sue me.) We finished up with a bit of cheesecake, and waddled happily home.
Up not too early Sunday for lunch at the Eclectic Cafe in NoHo with Margaret and Susan. The girls arrived at my house promptly at 11 a.m., and after admiring our in-process patio renovation, we jumped in the old Explorer and headed to NoHo. The Eclectic Cafe is always fun, the service is always great, and the food is...okay. For their 'champagne' brunch they poured J. Roget Brut sparkling wine. It's not great wine, but with breakfast food, it's adequate. I had Pasta Saumoniere, which was linguine with smoked salmon, tomatoes, parsley, scallions and sour cream. It was okay, kind of bland. Susan had the Pasta Salsiccia with Italian Sausage, and Margaret had the Italian Herb omelette. We all chose the rosemary toast, thinking we were going to get something wonderfully foccaccia-ish, but it was just thin toast, and not particularly rosemary-ish. Didn't take pictures of this meal either. We had a great time together - we always do. Lots of laughter and general silliness.
When we headed out to the car, I had a flat tire! AAA got there in record time and repaired the tire, and we headed back to the barn. They went their way, and I freshened up and JD and I set off for Silverlake Wine for a special tasting event.
This turned out to be so much more than we expected! Joshua Klapper, the owner and winemaker for La Fenêtre wines, was there in person to talk about his wines. We've met Josh a few times at LAW events - he's charming and funny young man who is passionate about making wine. He's been mentored by Jim Clendenen, and loves the wines of Burgundy, modeling his own wines after the classic French wines. Caterers Heirloom LA provided gourmet accompaniments to pair with Josh's wines.
The welcome wine was a 2006 Naveran Cava. $14 A lovely dry sparkler (not by La Fenêtre), a nice way to wash away the memory of the J. Roget! Then the real tasting began!
2007 La Fenêtre 'Bien Nacido' Chardonnay. $44 Perfumey nose, very elegant and well-balanced. Josh 'lets' the wine make itself, using 100% barrel fermentation (18 months in the barrel) and 100% malolactic fermentation. Paired with it was 'make your own' lettuce wraps with an amazing duck confit as well as a veggie confection for the vegetarians in the room.
Next up the 2007 La Fenêtre 'Le Bon Climat' Pinot Noir. $60 Clear, medium red; beautiful nose full of fruit and earth; complex and interesting. I would have liked more of it. It was paired with a bean lasagna. Sounds odd, but it was delicious! And a perfect pairing with the Pinot. Josh focuses on super-developed fruit without jamminess. He picks only the best clusters, cold-soaks briefly (no more than a few days), and gets his wine into the barrels. Like the Burgundies he emulates, the oak provides structure without getting in the way - it's barely noticeable, but the backbone will allow this wine to age for another 10 years easily.
2007 La Fenêtre 'Calmant Creek' Pinot Noir. $54.75 Where the 'Le Bon Climat' vineyard Pinot was soft and feminine, this wine is big and masculine, from the Santa Rita Hills. He's not going to make this wine any more - he prefers the red fruited quality of LBC as opposed to the black fruit in the Calmant Creek grapes. I tend to agree with him, although it paired very nicely with the sturgeon covered with garlic and dill, on a bed of red wine risotto. The sturgeon was gorgeous to look at, and was seriously good. I'm not a big fish eater, but this was delicious!
We finished up with the La Fenêtre 2007 A Coté 'Red Blend' Santa Barbara County. $19.75 This is a Bordeaux-style blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot. Josh told the story of how this wine was "a total fuckup from day 1!" That's a direct quote. He grew the Cab, which turned out to be too sweet, so he bought some Merlot fruit from his pal, Jim Clendenen. Then he bought some more. And some more. After blending and testing, he ended up with the 60/40 split, and still didn't like it, but he had to move it. Of course, it turned out to be a huge hit, and now he likes it a lot better! Heirloom LA paired it with a caramelized apple trifle, with carmelized pastry cream, brown butter cake, creme fraiche, and home-made toffee. OMG. A great way to end the tasting.
During the tasting we met some nice new folks, and ran into a few we knew from LAW events. Sally Ann Field - not THAT Sally Field - is a long-time attendee at the Silverlake Wine events, and a big fan of La Fenêtre and Josh. We kidded her about stalking him, of course. She was great fun, and has a line of wine bags called Saucy Sacks. They have impertinent messages on them, like 'Miles was mistaken' and 'I like my tannins firm'. Fun!
After we made our goodbyes to Josh, and our thanks to the folks at Heirloom LA, we had a short chat with two of the three partners of Silverlake Wine, assuring them we'd be back for more! Silverlake Wine is owned and operated by George Cossette, Randy Clement and April Langford. The focus of the store is boutique, small production, high quality, artisanal wines in all price ranges from around the globe. Their attention to detail, and their precision work in handling this event was superb. I can't recommend them highly enough.
Oh, and on the way out, we couldn't resist purchasing the Bandit 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon in a juice box! April says it's really good, and who am I to doubt her?
Saturday, October 17, 2009
An Evening of Excellence with The Duke
Had another delightful experience at an event by The Duke of Bourbon. The Duke is David and Judy Breitstein and their excellent staff, especially my pal, Steve. They have had a fine wine and spirits store on the corner of Roscoe and DeSoto in Canoga Park since 1967, and we were lucky to happen upon them thru a posting on LocalWineEvents.com. Around 4 times a year, they host events at the Warner Center Marriott, featuring premium wines from California, Oregon, France, and other wine growing regions. For every winery's product poured, a representative - either the winemaker or owner - talk about how the wines are made, often getting down and geeky in their explanations. For your money - generally around $45 or $50 per person, you get generous tastes of more than a dozen wines, accompanied by 3 kinds of cheese, fruit, and lots of bread and water. And you get to mingle with like-minded wine lovers. It's a win-win.
When we arrived last night, we found our assigned table. Within a few minutes, a couple came and sat by us. Bob and Terry from Woodland Hills had been to one of the Duke's previous events. After talking for a while, it was clear that they had a good knowledge and appreciation of wine, so we had much in common.
As other folks arrived, we discovered to our delight, that serendipity had intervened and placed several wine friends of ours at our table! Judy B. does most of the seating arrangements, and had no idea that we knew Alf and Bob, and Jan and Sherry - whom we know thru LearnAboutWine. Small world! Alf and Bob are retired engineers from either Northrop or Lockheed or McDonnell Douglas. They both have huge wine cellars (Alf has 4200 bottles and Bob has around 7000), and they travel all over the world tasting and buying wines. Alf is also a partner in the McKeon-Phillips Winery in Santa Maria. Between Alf and Bob and Jan and Sherry (who have both worked for Ian at LAW), the wine world was well-represented!
Before the event officially started, Steve introduced us to Barr Smith of Barlow Vineyards. Barr and his family left Newport Beach in 1994 for the wilds of Calistoga, up at the top of the Silverado Trail. They have 50 acres of land, where they grow Bordeaux-style wines. Barlow supplies grapes to many wineries in Napa, but have been making their own for a few years now.
The evening started with the welcome wine: 'Lucy' - Rosé of Pinot Noir from wild man Gary Pisoni of Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards. Lucy was a deep pink, with a grapy-rhubarbish nose. Very dry with lovely fruit. $1 of every bottle sold goes to breast cancer research.
Once the winemakers had been introduced - Mark Pighini of Far Niente Winery, Mark Neal of Neal Family Vineyards, Barr Smith of Barlow Vineyards, and Gary Pisoni of Pisoni Estate and Lucia Vineyards - the real pouring began.
In order of appearance:
2007 Chardonnay, Far Niente Winery - Perfumey nose, soft mild oak, some nice spice on the finish. 100% barrel-fermented, no malolactic, then aged in oak. Lovely.
2007 Lucia Pinot Noir, Garys' Vineyard
2007 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir, Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards
Both Pinots from Gary Pisoni are the same clone, but grown in different vineyards, about 10 miles apart. Gary (who is one of the 'Garys' of Garys' Vineyard) spoke about making his wines approachable. The grapes are picked cool, at night, and aged 10 - 12 months in 60% new French oak. He was right; the wines were very approachable. Delicious.
(Gary also got increasingly wound up as the evening progressed, telling stories and rooting for the Dodgers, and generally having a good time. He is the only winemaker I've met who made Jim Clendenen seem somewhat retiring. Steve later said that having Gary and Jim in the same room was both a terrifying and entertaining experience!)
2005 Merlot, Barlow Vineyards - Cherries on the nose, spice on the finish. Nice!
2007 Zinfandel, Neal Family Vineyards - JD and I found it nice on the nose - lots of fruit, but in the mouth it was piney and not that interesting.
2005 Barrouge, Barlow Vineyards - This is Barr's Bordeaux-style blend - 70% Cabernet Sauvignon/20% Merlot/5% Cabernet Franc/5% Petit Verdot. Our favorite of the night. Beautiful fruit, big but well-balanced, with a charming cinnamon finish. It was the only wine we bought.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Barlow Vineyards - Big, fruity, not memorable but would probably go well with grilled meat.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - Southern California Premier, Neal Family Vineyards
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Neal Family Vineyards
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Second Chance Vineyard, Neal Family Vineyards
The 3 Neal Cabs were poured at the same time. The 2006 was ready to drink, but had nice structure and fruit. The 2005 was a huge fruit bomb with something strange happening in the nose - eucaplytus? Not sure. It took a while to open, and then the nose dropped out entirely. The 2004 was GREAT. It was also twice the price of the other two, and I am not surprised. They make only a couple of hundred cases from grapes grown on Atlas Peak. Wonderful.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Far Niente Winery - Cherry mocha nose, deep blackcurrant fruit, really concentrated. Mark from FNW got into serious detail about how the wines are made. This wine is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remaining 4% made from Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Wonderful, but way out of my budget.
2007 Lucia Syrah, Susan's Vineyard, Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards
2007 Lucia Syrah, Garys' Vineyard, Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards
The 2 Lucia Syrahs are both cool climate vineyards, and honestly, after the Far Niente Cab, I just couldn't find anything special about these Syrahs. They didn't smell like Syrah to me - no smoke, no pepper, just huge jammy fruit bombs. Others at the table seemed to really enjoy them. Not my cup of tea. So to speak.
We finished with the 2005 Dolce from Far Niente Winery. David (the Duke) talked about how important this wine is, as it may be considered to be the American (Californian?) answer to the great Sauternes of France. It was delicious to be sure - 90% botryized Semillon/10% un-botrytized Sauvignon Blanc; 100% new French oak; slow fermentation from 4 - 8 months. Apricot and peach flavors in the mouth. Honestly, I found myself thinking about the WineShop at Home Ceres Late Harvest Dessert Wine (a blend of Chardonnay, Semillon and Muscat with no botrytis, aged in 100% new oak barrels for an average age of 5 years, and at $25, is less than a third of the price of the Dolce.
The cheeses served were Fontina, Brie and Extra-sharp Cheddar.
All in all, it was a delightful evening, made even more so with the addition of our wine friends. Today we're off to the Mark Taper Forum to see 'Parade,' and tomorrow it's brunch with the girls and wine tasting at Silverlake Wine in the afternoon. Cheers!
When we arrived last night, we found our assigned table. Within a few minutes, a couple came and sat by us. Bob and Terry from Woodland Hills had been to one of the Duke's previous events. After talking for a while, it was clear that they had a good knowledge and appreciation of wine, so we had much in common.
As other folks arrived, we discovered to our delight, that serendipity had intervened and placed several wine friends of ours at our table! Judy B. does most of the seating arrangements, and had no idea that we knew Alf and Bob, and Jan and Sherry - whom we know thru LearnAboutWine. Small world! Alf and Bob are retired engineers from either Northrop or Lockheed or McDonnell Douglas. They both have huge wine cellars (Alf has 4200 bottles and Bob has around 7000), and they travel all over the world tasting and buying wines. Alf is also a partner in the McKeon-Phillips Winery in Santa Maria. Between Alf and Bob and Jan and Sherry (who have both worked for Ian at LAW), the wine world was well-represented!
Before the event officially started, Steve introduced us to Barr Smith of Barlow Vineyards. Barr and his family left Newport Beach in 1994 for the wilds of Calistoga, up at the top of the Silverado Trail. They have 50 acres of land, where they grow Bordeaux-style wines. Barlow supplies grapes to many wineries in Napa, but have been making their own for a few years now.
The evening started with the welcome wine: 'Lucy' - Rosé of Pinot Noir from wild man Gary Pisoni of Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards. Lucy was a deep pink, with a grapy-rhubarbish nose. Very dry with lovely fruit. $1 of every bottle sold goes to breast cancer research.
Once the winemakers had been introduced - Mark Pighini of Far Niente Winery, Mark Neal of Neal Family Vineyards, Barr Smith of Barlow Vineyards, and Gary Pisoni of Pisoni Estate and Lucia Vineyards - the real pouring began.
In order of appearance:
2007 Chardonnay, Far Niente Winery - Perfumey nose, soft mild oak, some nice spice on the finish. 100% barrel-fermented, no malolactic, then aged in oak. Lovely.
2007 Lucia Pinot Noir, Garys' Vineyard
2007 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir, Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards
Both Pinots from Gary Pisoni are the same clone, but grown in different vineyards, about 10 miles apart. Gary (who is one of the 'Garys' of Garys' Vineyard) spoke about making his wines approachable. The grapes are picked cool, at night, and aged 10 - 12 months in 60% new French oak. He was right; the wines were very approachable. Delicious.
(Gary also got increasingly wound up as the evening progressed, telling stories and rooting for the Dodgers, and generally having a good time. He is the only winemaker I've met who made Jim Clendenen seem somewhat retiring. Steve later said that having Gary and Jim in the same room was both a terrifying and entertaining experience!)
2005 Merlot, Barlow Vineyards - Cherries on the nose, spice on the finish. Nice!
2007 Zinfandel, Neal Family Vineyards - JD and I found it nice on the nose - lots of fruit, but in the mouth it was piney and not that interesting.
2005 Barrouge, Barlow Vineyards - This is Barr's Bordeaux-style blend - 70% Cabernet Sauvignon/20% Merlot/5% Cabernet Franc/5% Petit Verdot. Our favorite of the night. Beautiful fruit, big but well-balanced, with a charming cinnamon finish. It was the only wine we bought.
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Barlow Vineyards - Big, fruity, not memorable but would probably go well with grilled meat.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - Southern California Premier, Neal Family Vineyards
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Neal Family Vineyards
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Second Chance Vineyard, Neal Family Vineyards
The 3 Neal Cabs were poured at the same time. The 2006 was ready to drink, but had nice structure and fruit. The 2005 was a huge fruit bomb with something strange happening in the nose - eucaplytus? Not sure. It took a while to open, and then the nose dropped out entirely. The 2004 was GREAT. It was also twice the price of the other two, and I am not surprised. They make only a couple of hundred cases from grapes grown on Atlas Peak. Wonderful.
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, Far Niente Winery - Cherry mocha nose, deep blackcurrant fruit, really concentrated. Mark from FNW got into serious detail about how the wines are made. This wine is 96% Cabernet Sauvignon with the remaining 4% made from Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Wonderful, but way out of my budget.
2007 Lucia Syrah, Susan's Vineyard, Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards
2007 Lucia Syrah, Garys' Vineyard, Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards
The 2 Lucia Syrahs are both cool climate vineyards, and honestly, after the Far Niente Cab, I just couldn't find anything special about these Syrahs. They didn't smell like Syrah to me - no smoke, no pepper, just huge jammy fruit bombs. Others at the table seemed to really enjoy them. Not my cup of tea. So to speak.
We finished with the 2005 Dolce from Far Niente Winery. David (the Duke) talked about how important this wine is, as it may be considered to be the American (Californian?) answer to the great Sauternes of France. It was delicious to be sure - 90% botryized Semillon/10% un-botrytized Sauvignon Blanc; 100% new French oak; slow fermentation from 4 - 8 months. Apricot and peach flavors in the mouth. Honestly, I found myself thinking about the WineShop at Home Ceres Late Harvest Dessert Wine (a blend of Chardonnay, Semillon and Muscat with no botrytis, aged in 100% new oak barrels for an average age of 5 years, and at $25, is less than a third of the price of the Dolce.
The cheeses served were Fontina, Brie and Extra-sharp Cheddar.
All in all, it was a delightful evening, made even more so with the addition of our wine friends. Today we're off to the Mark Taper Forum to see 'Parade,' and tomorrow it's brunch with the girls and wine tasting at Silverlake Wine in the afternoon. Cheers!
Friday, October 16, 2009
Women, Wine, Art, etc.
After an exhausting weekend, it's been a quiet week on the wine front, although tonight will be busy.
Monday, restarted Pilates, and am so happy and so sore. But in a good way!
Tuesday evening, went to a women's networking group called The Heart Link Network. It's a way for women to encourage and support each other in their business and personal lives. It was interesting to discover how many women are finding ways to earn money without working in an office; it was also interesting to discover how many home party businesses there are, especially for products I had never considered might work in that business model. There were some of the usual suspects (besides my own WineShop at Home): Tastefully Simple (foods), The Pampered Chef (kitchen stuff), Private Quarters (bedding and linens), and several others. There were also life coaches, insurance agents, nutritionists. An eclectic group of women, from varied backgrounds. A very positive experience. I'll go back next month and see if it's something that I'll want to stay with.
Wednesday night, attended a lovely fundraiser at The Eclectic Company Theatre. I donated the wine for the evening and poured it as well. The evening was called "Spectrums" and it was an art show and sale featuring works of art by artists with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), among them Kevin Hasseini and Joel Anderson. Proceeds from the event will be shared by the artists, by Train 4 Autism, a non-profit organization that raises funds for Autism research and treatment. These artists who displayed their work were children (the oldest being 19), and are extraordinarily accomplished. A really wonderful evening that hopefully raised some money for the artists and the theatre as well.
Thursday night, JD and I vegged at home. It was nice! Tonight we'll head to a special event from the Duke of Bourbon: "IN THE COMPANY OF EXCELLENCE featuring BARLOW VINEYARDS, FAR NIENTE WINERY, NEAL FAMILY VINEYARDS, PISONI ESTATE & LUCIA VINEYARDS." The Duke is David Breitstein, and the store is a treasure trove of great wines and spirits. I learned about the Duke of Bourbon several years ago, and JD and I began attending the quarterly events that are usually held at the Warner Center Marriott. The wines are always interesting, the winemakers attend and discuss their wines -- in the geekiest detail! - and we get a chance to meet like-minded wine lovers. And there's always the opportunity to purchase wine and wine futures. Looking forward to tasting these wines:
Barlow Vineyards:
2005 Merlot
2005 Barrouge
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Far Niente Winery:
2007 Chardonnay
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Dolce
Neal Family Vineyards:
2007 Zinfandel
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - Southern California Premier
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Second Chance Vineyard
Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards:
2007 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir
2007 Lucia Pinot Noir, Garys' Vineyard
2007 Lucia Syrah, Susan's Vineyard
2007 Lucia Syrah, Garys' Vineyard
Full report over the weekend. Cheers!
Monday, restarted Pilates, and am so happy and so sore. But in a good way!
Tuesday evening, went to a women's networking group called The Heart Link Network. It's a way for women to encourage and support each other in their business and personal lives. It was interesting to discover how many women are finding ways to earn money without working in an office; it was also interesting to discover how many home party businesses there are, especially for products I had never considered might work in that business model. There were some of the usual suspects (besides my own WineShop at Home): Tastefully Simple (foods), The Pampered Chef (kitchen stuff), Private Quarters (bedding and linens), and several others. There were also life coaches, insurance agents, nutritionists. An eclectic group of women, from varied backgrounds. A very positive experience. I'll go back next month and see if it's something that I'll want to stay with.
Wednesday night, attended a lovely fundraiser at The Eclectic Company Theatre. I donated the wine for the evening and poured it as well. The evening was called "Spectrums" and it was an art show and sale featuring works of art by artists with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), among them Kevin Hasseini and Joel Anderson. Proceeds from the event will be shared by the artists, by Train 4 Autism, a non-profit organization that raises funds for Autism research and treatment. These artists who displayed their work were children (the oldest being 19), and are extraordinarily accomplished. A really wonderful evening that hopefully raised some money for the artists and the theatre as well.
Thursday night, JD and I vegged at home. It was nice! Tonight we'll head to a special event from the Duke of Bourbon: "IN THE COMPANY OF EXCELLENCE featuring BARLOW VINEYARDS, FAR NIENTE WINERY, NEAL FAMILY VINEYARDS, PISONI ESTATE & LUCIA VINEYARDS." The Duke is David Breitstein, and the store is a treasure trove of great wines and spirits. I learned about the Duke of Bourbon several years ago, and JD and I began attending the quarterly events that are usually held at the Warner Center Marriott. The wines are always interesting, the winemakers attend and discuss their wines -- in the geekiest detail! - and we get a chance to meet like-minded wine lovers. And there's always the opportunity to purchase wine and wine futures. Looking forward to tasting these wines:
Barlow Vineyards:
2005 Merlot
2005 Barrouge
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
Far Niente Winery:
2007 Chardonnay
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon
2005 Dolce
Neal Family Vineyards:
2007 Zinfandel
2006 Cabernet Sauvignon - Southern California Premier
2005 Cabernet Sauvignon
2004 Cabernet Sauvignon, Second Chance Vineyard
Pisoni Estate & Lucia Vineyards:
2007 Pisoni Vineyard Pinot Noir
2007 Lucia Pinot Noir, Garys' Vineyard
2007 Lucia Syrah, Susan's Vineyard
2007 Lucia Syrah, Garys' Vineyard
Full report over the weekend. Cheers!
Monday, October 12, 2009
A Wine-y Weekend
Had a few adventures over the weekend. Saturday, was in Pasadena to get our hairs cut (yes, all of them), and actually had no other plans. Gina, the best hair artist in high heels, suggested visiting one of the wine bars within walking distance of the salon. So we walked over to Pop on Union, which was closed - would open at 4 p.m. OK, so we walked back in the other direction to the Paseo Colorado to try Bodega. Which was closed - would open at 4 p.m....sigh... But there was the D'Vine Wine Company in the same courtyard, so we ventured inside the open door. They weren't quite open yet, but we looked around the large room, admiring the dark wooden wine racks and the rustic furnishings, while being curious about the apparently small inventory displayed. It turns out that this is a franchise through which you can make your own wines or have wines personalized for you.
After a while, a young man arrived - the winemaker, Carlos Torres - and he quickly poured us his 2005 Madeira Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa). It was an interesting Cab - the nose full of leather and tobacco and earth, with some dark fruit. Firm tannins supported a tasty black cherry, but not at all fruit forward. Low alcohol, too, only 12.5%, which made for a very Old World experience - with a Napa wine!
Carlos loves French wine, and is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. And he tries very hard to make his wines as French as possible. He also poured a couple of vintages of Asuncion Ridge Pinot Noir from San Luis Obispo - a 2006 and 2007. The 2006 was really Burgundian in style; earth,and mushroom and smoke in the nose, more mushroom and forest floor in the mouth. It took a long time to open enough to find the fruit. The 2007 was pure California; fruit, fruit, fruit. It was like drinking a cocktail compared to the 2006. Did I mention fruit? 2007 had a very hot summer, so the fruit was super ripe and highly extracted.
We had a nice visit with Carlos, purchased a bottle of his Cab for $23.99, and left in search of food. After walking around the Paseo, there wasn't really anything there that was not a chain, so we walked back up Raymond to Cafe Bizou - which was closed. Would open at 5 p.m. We were hungry and didn't want to wait another 45 minutes, so we hoofed it back down to Colorado and dropped in on Mi Piace, where we had a Caesar salad followed by some delicious pasta - I had the Bolognese, JD had something with seafood - and we gilded the lily with an odd, but delicious, bread pudding. All of the above went really well with the Madeira Ranch Cabernet, so we were happy and went home exhausted.
Got up early on Sunday and hit the road to Qupé in the middle of the Bien Nacido vineyard. A good sized crowd had already accumulated - there was a long queue for the food, which was being prepared by Jim Clendenen and crew. We grabbed a few crackers and cheese and started tasting. Bob Lindquist was behind a table, pouring 20-year-old wines to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Qupé. He poured us a 1989 Rosé made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. It had aged to a very curious orange color. It had lost its fruit, but still tasted like wine. The 1989 Chardonnay was yellow. YELLOW. Not golden. It was the color of pineapple juice. It was too scary-looking to taste, but a couple of other folks there said it was like the Rosé - all the fruit was gone.
We had a kind of odd experience when we went to the Syrah table. We tasted a Syrah made by Qupé's winery manager (I'm not really sure of his name). The label was Makor La Tortuga, and it was one of the stranger Syrah's I've had. The nose was full of eucalyptus - no smokiness, no meatiness, just an odd medicinal smell. Tasted a bit strange, too. I think it was a 2006 vintage. Then we tried a Qupé Syrah, which either had the same strange eucalyptus thing going on, or our glasses were just tainted from the first one. It was very odd - we love Bob's Syrah's, and these were just weird.
We fled the Syrah table, and went to the table where Bob's sister, Sarah (?), was pouring Tempranillo and other reds. It took a bit of rinsing, but I finally got the odd Syrah out of my glass, and things started to taste like wine again. We especially like Jim's Vita Nova Acronicus, a Bordeaux-style blend.
After doing a bit more tasting, we stood in the food queue, and were rewarded for our wait by getting some 20-year-old Syrah from Bob. This was WINE. The nose still had fruit and smokiness, and it was delicious with the tri-tip and pasta and salad. We tasted a few other wines, but the crowd was huge, and we both were getting a bit crazy from it, so we bought a 2004 Clendenen Family Cellars Petit Verdot, a 2002 Acronicus and a different grape - a 2005 Il Podere Teroldego. Red and yummy. We did love Jim's Au Bon Climat 2004 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Knox Alexander". As always, dee-lishus!
We jumped in the old Explorer and headed back to Buellton, to attend the grand re-opening of Morgan Clendenen's Cold Heaven Cellars at the new location. It was so nice to be able to spend some time chatting with Morgan about her wines and her life -- all while tasting what we consider to be the best Viognier in the New World, Cold Heaven. JD and I first tasted Cold Heaven around 4 or 5 years ago, and it set the standard for Viognier. Besides the various and wonderful Santa Barbara County and Santa Rita Hills vineyards from which Morgan sources her grapes - Sanford and Benedict, Vogelzang, Le Bon Climat, and others - she also makes an amazing international blend made up of Sanford & Benedict vineyard fruit from Santa Barbara County, combined in equal parts with legendary winemaker Yves Cuilleron's French grapes from the Northern Rhône appellation of Condrieu. Deux C (Clendenen and Cuilleron are the 'two C's') rocks!
We also love Morgan's Domaine des Deux Mondes-Saints & Sinners Viognier, another collaboration between herself and Yves Cuilleron, and her Second Sin Syrah - which was the best Syrah I tasted on Sunday. It paired really well with the carnitas taco I had at the Cold Heaven open house. Scott is the roast/barbeque king! Great guacamole, too.
We reluctantly tore ourselves away from Cold Heaven after buying a few bottles of heaven, and headed over to Solvang to the Tastes of the Valleys wine bar thinking we'd just have a quiet glass of wine after all the conversations and crowds. Our recently-made friends, owners Ash and Lissa, weren't there when we arrived, but their barista, a lovely young woman whose name we never got, set us up at table, where we considered what we wanted to drink. We were thinking about a 2006 Toucan Red Cuveé and a Core 2006 GMS when Ash arrived, sat down with us and plied us with wine and conversation. So much fun! While we were visiting, Ray Fortune, a local musician, was setting up for an evening of music at the wine bar. Great voice and guitar work - very enjoyable. Makes me wish we lived a bit closer to Solvang, so we could stop in more often.
It was getting late, and we wanted to have dinner before we headed back to Burbank, so we went around the block to Root246 with a bottle of the Toucan Red Cuvee - Estate Zinfandel 55%/Estate Petite Sirah 9%/36% Old Vine Carignane, Evangelho Vineyard - a very interesting blend that was a delicious complement to the amazing dinner at Root246, a new restaurant in Solvang helmed by Chef Bradley Ogden. The service was a bit slow - although all the waitpersons seemed to be moving at warp speed, the delivery took a while. It was definitely worth waiting for. I had the “Ive’s Shake and Bake fried Rocky Jr. chicken,” with whipped crème fraiche potatoes, and seriously julienned fuji apples. Not your typical fried chicken, let me tell you! JD had cod with spaghetti squash and jumbo capers and other yummy items. We split the Root 246 banana split “taster”, house-made marshmallow fluff, local strawberries, hot fudge. Yum!
Then we had to drive home...sigh...and while traffic was moving at the right speed - fast - it was still a long drive home after a very long, but gratifying day. Back in the barn by around 10:15. Updated my Facebook status and fell into bed!
After a while, a young man arrived - the winemaker, Carlos Torres - and he quickly poured us his 2005 Madeira Ranch Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa). It was an interesting Cab - the nose full of leather and tobacco and earth, with some dark fruit. Firm tannins supported a tasty black cherry, but not at all fruit forward. Low alcohol, too, only 12.5%, which made for a very Old World experience - with a Napa wine!
Carlos loves French wine, and is very knowledgeable and enthusiastic. And he tries very hard to make his wines as French as possible. He also poured a couple of vintages of Asuncion Ridge Pinot Noir from San Luis Obispo - a 2006 and 2007. The 2006 was really Burgundian in style; earth,and mushroom and smoke in the nose, more mushroom and forest floor in the mouth. It took a long time to open enough to find the fruit. The 2007 was pure California; fruit, fruit, fruit. It was like drinking a cocktail compared to the 2006. Did I mention fruit? 2007 had a very hot summer, so the fruit was super ripe and highly extracted.
We had a nice visit with Carlos, purchased a bottle of his Cab for $23.99, and left in search of food. After walking around the Paseo, there wasn't really anything there that was not a chain, so we walked back up Raymond to Cafe Bizou - which was closed. Would open at 5 p.m. We were hungry and didn't want to wait another 45 minutes, so we hoofed it back down to Colorado and dropped in on Mi Piace, where we had a Caesar salad followed by some delicious pasta - I had the Bolognese, JD had something with seafood - and we gilded the lily with an odd, but delicious, bread pudding. All of the above went really well with the Madeira Ranch Cabernet, so we were happy and went home exhausted.
Got up early on Sunday and hit the road to Qupé in the middle of the Bien Nacido vineyard. A good sized crowd had already accumulated - there was a long queue for the food, which was being prepared by Jim Clendenen and crew. We grabbed a few crackers and cheese and started tasting. Bob Lindquist was behind a table, pouring 20-year-old wines to celebrate the 20-year anniversary of Qupé. He poured us a 1989 Rosé made from Pinot Noir and Pinot Blanc. It had aged to a very curious orange color. It had lost its fruit, but still tasted like wine. The 1989 Chardonnay was yellow. YELLOW. Not golden. It was the color of pineapple juice. It was too scary-looking to taste, but a couple of other folks there said it was like the Rosé - all the fruit was gone.
We had a kind of odd experience when we went to the Syrah table. We tasted a Syrah made by Qupé's winery manager (I'm not really sure of his name). The label was Makor La Tortuga, and it was one of the stranger Syrah's I've had. The nose was full of eucalyptus - no smokiness, no meatiness, just an odd medicinal smell. Tasted a bit strange, too. I think it was a 2006 vintage. Then we tried a Qupé Syrah, which either had the same strange eucalyptus thing going on, or our glasses were just tainted from the first one. It was very odd - we love Bob's Syrah's, and these were just weird.
We fled the Syrah table, and went to the table where Bob's sister, Sarah (?), was pouring Tempranillo and other reds. It took a bit of rinsing, but I finally got the odd Syrah out of my glass, and things started to taste like wine again. We especially like Jim's Vita Nova Acronicus, a Bordeaux-style blend.
After doing a bit more tasting, we stood in the food queue, and were rewarded for our wait by getting some 20-year-old Syrah from Bob. This was WINE. The nose still had fruit and smokiness, and it was delicious with the tri-tip and pasta and salad. We tasted a few other wines, but the crowd was huge, and we both were getting a bit crazy from it, so we bought a 2004 Clendenen Family Cellars Petit Verdot, a 2002 Acronicus and a different grape - a 2005 Il Podere Teroldego. Red and yummy. We did love Jim's Au Bon Climat 2004 Pinot Noir Santa Maria Valley "Knox Alexander". As always, dee-lishus!
We jumped in the old Explorer and headed back to Buellton, to attend the grand re-opening of Morgan Clendenen's Cold Heaven Cellars at the new location. It was so nice to be able to spend some time chatting with Morgan about her wines and her life -- all while tasting what we consider to be the best Viognier in the New World, Cold Heaven. JD and I first tasted Cold Heaven around 4 or 5 years ago, and it set the standard for Viognier. Besides the various and wonderful Santa Barbara County and Santa Rita Hills vineyards from which Morgan sources her grapes - Sanford and Benedict, Vogelzang, Le Bon Climat, and others - she also makes an amazing international blend made up of Sanford & Benedict vineyard fruit from Santa Barbara County, combined in equal parts with legendary winemaker Yves Cuilleron's French grapes from the Northern Rhône appellation of Condrieu. Deux C (Clendenen and Cuilleron are the 'two C's') rocks!
We also love Morgan's Domaine des Deux Mondes-Saints & Sinners Viognier, another collaboration between herself and Yves Cuilleron, and her Second Sin Syrah - which was the best Syrah I tasted on Sunday. It paired really well with the carnitas taco I had at the Cold Heaven open house. Scott is the roast/barbeque king! Great guacamole, too.
We reluctantly tore ourselves away from Cold Heaven after buying a few bottles of heaven, and headed over to Solvang to the Tastes of the Valleys wine bar thinking we'd just have a quiet glass of wine after all the conversations and crowds. Our recently-made friends, owners Ash and Lissa, weren't there when we arrived, but their barista, a lovely young woman whose name we never got, set us up at table, where we considered what we wanted to drink. We were thinking about a 2006 Toucan Red Cuveé and a Core 2006 GMS when Ash arrived, sat down with us and plied us with wine and conversation. So much fun! While we were visiting, Ray Fortune, a local musician, was setting up for an evening of music at the wine bar. Great voice and guitar work - very enjoyable. Makes me wish we lived a bit closer to Solvang, so we could stop in more often.
It was getting late, and we wanted to have dinner before we headed back to Burbank, so we went around the block to Root246 with a bottle of the Toucan Red Cuvee - Estate Zinfandel 55%/Estate Petite Sirah 9%/36% Old Vine Carignane, Evangelho Vineyard - a very interesting blend that was a delicious complement to the amazing dinner at Root246, a new restaurant in Solvang helmed by Chef Bradley Ogden. The service was a bit slow - although all the waitpersons seemed to be moving at warp speed, the delivery took a while. It was definitely worth waiting for. I had the “Ive’s Shake and Bake fried Rocky Jr. chicken,” with whipped crème fraiche potatoes, and seriously julienned fuji apples. Not your typical fried chicken, let me tell you! JD had cod with spaghetti squash and jumbo capers and other yummy items. We split the Root 246 banana split “taster”, house-made marshmallow fluff, local strawberries, hot fudge. Yum!
Then we had to drive home...sigh...and while traffic was moving at the right speed - fast - it was still a long drive home after a very long, but gratifying day. Back in the barn by around 10:15. Updated my Facebook status and fell into bed!
Friday, October 9, 2009
WineShop at Home
In February of 2008, JD and I were working a 'Palate' class at LearnAboutWine, and as always, Ian asked the guests to identify themselves and say what they hoped to get from the class. A woman a few seats away from me stood up and said, "I'm Megan Collins, and I'm an Independent Wine Consultant with WineShop at Home." At the break, I grabbed her and said we needed to talk. I had been looking online for wine jobs, of any sort, and there were a few companies whose business was doing in-home wine tastings. WineShop at Home was the one that looked the most interesting.
I told Megan that I understood how the business worked - it's your typical direct sales, multi-level marketing business model. What I wanted to know was: How good are the wines? I said 'I have a pretty good cellar at home, and I'm a snob. And, if I were to join up with any company, I would have to like the wines or I wouldn't be able to sell them.' She said, 'Great! Come to a tasting and make up your own mind!'
So, we did.
The business of the evening went pretty much the way I expected. Megan is a bright, self-motivated individual with infectious enthusiasm. The wines were well made, the presentation was clear with decent tasting notes and recommended food pairings, and the guests were enthusiastic and eager to learn. The hostess had pretty much ignored Megan's coaching, so the crowd was too large - and a whole group showed up an hour late, and weren't interested in anything but partying among themselves. But Megan never lost her cool - she asked us to help pour, as she knew we knew how to! - and actually directed a number of questions to me. It was a pleasant introduction to the business.
A day or so later, Megan invited me to a team meeting at one of her consultants home, and JD and I attended, not sure of what to expect. It's one thing to go to a party; it's another thing to go to a 'training' session.
It was a terrific surprise. The consultants who attended were all fairly new; Megan herself had been doing this for a little under a year, but with her motivation, she had been able to quit her day job after 5 months. She was building her downline, and had about 50 consultants under her at that point. The agenda included tasting 2 newly released wines.
Let me go on a slight tangent here - WineShop at Home is the brainchild of John and Melissa Lynch in Napa. It's a bonded winery with John and his staff enologist, Steve Burch, working with local growers in California and other appellations, to make small production, handcrafted wines at an affordable price point. The wines, for the most part, are vinted and bottled at a facility in King City, CA. The wines are sold exclusively through in-home wine tastings and individual consultants' websites, which are provided by the company. The wines are not found in stores or restaurants, and they are not submitted to critics for ratings. They are extremely drinkable and cellarable and affordable, and I am continually surprised at how much I like them (snob, remember?).
So, back to the team meeting. Megan opened a Sauvignon Blanc. It was light and crisp. She went thru the notes that came with the wine, and we talked about it. At that point, I was probably the most knowledgeable person in the room (about wine anyway), and she encouraged the team to ask me questions. It was flattering and fun. Then Megan opened a Cabernet Sauvignon, poured an ounce into my glass, and asked me what I thought the vintage was. The wine was a deep, dark red, almost opaque; the nose was full of mocha and black cherry; the tannins were stiff, lots of backbone; the taste was rich red fruit and chocolate and tobacco. I thought maybe - since the tannins were still so big - that it was fairly young, so I guessed 2006 or 2007. It was a 2003 - much older than I thought, and I was impressed. This was my kind of wine - big, chewy, meaty, with great structure and complexity. And it was priced at $18!
I signed up on the spot. If WineShop at Home could make wines like this Cab, I was in.
I told Megan that I understood how the business worked - it's your typical direct sales, multi-level marketing business model. What I wanted to know was: How good are the wines? I said 'I have a pretty good cellar at home, and I'm a snob. And, if I were to join up with any company, I would have to like the wines or I wouldn't be able to sell them.' She said, 'Great! Come to a tasting and make up your own mind!'
So, we did.
The business of the evening went pretty much the way I expected. Megan is a bright, self-motivated individual with infectious enthusiasm. The wines were well made, the presentation was clear with decent tasting notes and recommended food pairings, and the guests were enthusiastic and eager to learn. The hostess had pretty much ignored Megan's coaching, so the crowd was too large - and a whole group showed up an hour late, and weren't interested in anything but partying among themselves. But Megan never lost her cool - she asked us to help pour, as she knew we knew how to! - and actually directed a number of questions to me. It was a pleasant introduction to the business.
A day or so later, Megan invited me to a team meeting at one of her consultants home, and JD and I attended, not sure of what to expect. It's one thing to go to a party; it's another thing to go to a 'training' session.
It was a terrific surprise. The consultants who attended were all fairly new; Megan herself had been doing this for a little under a year, but with her motivation, she had been able to quit her day job after 5 months. She was building her downline, and had about 50 consultants under her at that point. The agenda included tasting 2 newly released wines.
Let me go on a slight tangent here - WineShop at Home is the brainchild of John and Melissa Lynch in Napa. It's a bonded winery with John and his staff enologist, Steve Burch, working with local growers in California and other appellations, to make small production, handcrafted wines at an affordable price point. The wines, for the most part, are vinted and bottled at a facility in King City, CA. The wines are sold exclusively through in-home wine tastings and individual consultants' websites, which are provided by the company. The wines are not found in stores or restaurants, and they are not submitted to critics for ratings. They are extremely drinkable and cellarable and affordable, and I am continually surprised at how much I like them (snob, remember?).
So, back to the team meeting. Megan opened a Sauvignon Blanc. It was light and crisp. She went thru the notes that came with the wine, and we talked about it. At that point, I was probably the most knowledgeable person in the room (about wine anyway), and she encouraged the team to ask me questions. It was flattering and fun. Then Megan opened a Cabernet Sauvignon, poured an ounce into my glass, and asked me what I thought the vintage was. The wine was a deep, dark red, almost opaque; the nose was full of mocha and black cherry; the tannins were stiff, lots of backbone; the taste was rich red fruit and chocolate and tobacco. I thought maybe - since the tannins were still so big - that it was fairly young, so I guessed 2006 or 2007. It was a 2003 - much older than I thought, and I was impressed. This was my kind of wine - big, chewy, meaty, with great structure and complexity. And it was priced at $18!
I signed up on the spot. If WineShop at Home could make wines like this Cab, I was in.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Ramblings
In my previous post, I told how JD and I met Ian Blackburn at LearnAboutWine. We continued to volunteer at his classes and events, tasting great wines and meeting like-minded people. In the fall of 2007, Ian launched his LAW (LearnAboutWine) School, and I was part of the inaugural class, passing the BAR (Beverage Aptitude Requirement) Exam and receiving my certification as a Junior Wine Executive and a cool lapel pin. It was challenging and exciting. The real revelation was the Reidel glasses. I never would have believed it would truly make such a difference in the smell and taste of the wine. I’m a believer now! Ian was funny – he said he didn’t want to make ‘glass snobs’ of us, but I gotta tell you, this fully confirms what I’ve been saying on a much lower level for many years: No drinking wine from plastic glasses!! There is just no point at all. No flavor, no nose. Amazing.
After completing LAW School, Ian asked me to pour wines at his events, rather than just help with set up and tear down. It was an opportunity to be able to learn more about wines - there is always research involved before the event, because Ian wants his pourers to be able to speak knowledgeably about the wines we're pouring. And so my education continued.
What I discovered is something that I should have realized long ago - I like to talk. People who know me will be howling with laughter at that disclosure, but I never really thought I would teach, until I discovered how passionately I felt about wine. And so that's one of the paths I'm taking - becoming a wine educator. Ian has been a great help in this - I've taught his Wine Camp (Wine 101) class, and have been the primary educator a few of his events, and he continues to encourage me and refer clients to me.
I've also joined the Society of Wine Educators as a Professional Member, and have started studying so that I can take the exam to become a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), which is the first step to becoming a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). I wasn't sure I was going to do that until I met Yvonne Rich, a long-time CWE. She was inspiring.
And I'm also doing in-home wine tastings for WineShop at Home, which provides another kind of venue for wine education, and about which I'll write tomorrow.
After completing LAW School, Ian asked me to pour wines at his events, rather than just help with set up and tear down. It was an opportunity to be able to learn more about wines - there is always research involved before the event, because Ian wants his pourers to be able to speak knowledgeably about the wines we're pouring. And so my education continued.
What I discovered is something that I should have realized long ago - I like to talk. People who know me will be howling with laughter at that disclosure, but I never really thought I would teach, until I discovered how passionately I felt about wine. And so that's one of the paths I'm taking - becoming a wine educator. Ian has been a great help in this - I've taught his Wine Camp (Wine 101) class, and have been the primary educator a few of his events, and he continues to encourage me and refer clients to me.
I've also joined the Society of Wine Educators as a Professional Member, and have started studying so that I can take the exam to become a Certified Specialist of Wine (CSW), which is the first step to becoming a Certified Wine Educator (CWE). I wasn't sure I was going to do that until I met Yvonne Rich, a long-time CWE. She was inspiring.
And I'm also doing in-home wine tastings for WineShop at Home, which provides another kind of venue for wine education, and about which I'll write tomorrow.
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