I’m not a big lover of wine dinners. I think of wine dinners as stuffy, snobby affairs that require you to stand or sit still only to be interrupted from interesting conversation to listen to someone who, too easily, can drone on interminably about what’s in your glass. The dinners are often too focused on trying to educate or, just as often, lack organization and … Continue reading A wine dinner for 16…….
I rescued a few bottles from this week’s recycle bin. I emailed John this photo of them hoping he would offer up some notes on one or two of these. His response is below. Debbe The Urban Eco is a Malbec-Tempranillo blend from Argentina that delivers a great PQR. Lots of up front fruit and flavor fo a modest price. Bedrock Vineyards is a relatively … Continue reading Out of the recycle bin……
I admit, I am one of those silly people who is lured to purchase wines by the uniqueness of its label. You can’t rely on my wine buys unless the art of the label is all that it takes to satisfy you! Well, in this case, I was not responsible for the purchase and it wasn’t the label but the twist top that got me. … Continue reading A white with a twist!
Good friends of ours had a wonderful adventure this summer leasing a small motor home to travel through Washington and Oregon with their young son. John shared some winery recommendations for their trip and Robert was kind enough to report back on their adventures in the northwest wine country. Parker inspecting the grapes at Sokol Blosser “Your recommendations for visiting wineries were spot-on. From your … Continue reading Summer travels…….
We escaped for a night to Ft. Myers, Florida. The city is only an hour and a half south of Sarasota but it may as well be hours away for as often as we have visited. The city is along the Caloosahatchee River and is well known for being the former winter home of Thomas A. Edison and Henry Ford. Today it is best known … Continue reading Overnight to Ft. Myers……
With good friends on a special evening a few bottles of wine were shared along with a relaxing dinner followed by a non-traditional pin-the-tail on the donkey game and an attempt to try out the card game “In a Pickle.” These were the wines: 2008 William Selyem Pinot Noir Russian River Valley Westside Road Neighbors 2006 Kosta Browne Pinot Noir Sonoma Coast 2008 Kosta Browne … Continue reading A special night……
The evening weather in Sarasota remains unusually lovely so we were able to entertain on the deck and dine under the stars and the tree-hanging chandelier to celebrate the long weekend. John opened a bottle of 2007 The Prince in His Caves – Farina Vineyard from Scholium Project. This winemaker is quite unusual. You might enjoy reading this New York Times article about him – … Continue reading Memorial weekend dinner with friends……
Central California is special! The region is farm country and brimming with vineyards. We spent 4 days in the region in mid May. 3 of the 4 days were unusually cool, overcast and sometimes raining so our favorite lunch mode – picnicing at a vineyard only happened once on the last day before heading on to Carmel. Sadly, many of the wines purchased on this … Continue reading Paso Robles and…..
Who would have expected to find wineries in Idaho! Well, I guess, I mean established wineries and good wines we would enjoy. We had little time to visit so the list is short but here are two we happily consumed…. 2006 SGM Syrah, Grenache, Mouvedre – Snake River Winery 2008 Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon – Sawtooth Winery A side note: If you find yourself in Boise … Continue reading Idaho has Wine!
Before going west we made a trip to Orlando in early May and a stop at Tim’s Wine Market on North Orange Avenue – http://www.timswine.com. If you find yourself in Orlando on a Friday night, Tim’s has a wine tasting worth a visit. We happened in on it and tried a terrific, inexpensive – $10.00 a bottle – Innocent Bystander and walked out with 2 … Continue reading A Trip to Tim’s Wine Market……
John's Wine Cellar 