Shakes be gone

Went to Vegas this past weekend. After a great weekend of hanging out, gambling, boozing, and people watching I find myself relaxing at home after a 4 hour drive. The relaxing took some work due to the shakes after that Vegas vacation. I read in a magazine claiming the way to get rid of the vegas liquor shakes is to drink a Merlot on sale. Low and behold, Big William's stars were aligned. The shakes-be-gone bottle of love, Magistrate 2007 from Nappa. It was a solid cheapy Merlot that definetly made me feel normal again. With only a 13.5% content this wine had my name all over it. After the Vegas crazyiness the legs of a toddler worked great. The wine had a dry taste with a hint of fruit, what fruit I had no idea, but I sensed fruit...grapes perhaps? The label was simple with nothing that jumped out at me. The only reason I went with this wine was that the bottle was orgininally 20 bones and I got it for 10. There are better Merlots out there, but I would recommened it in this situation and this situation only.

Until the end of the next bottle...

Bill

Malbec

I wanted to prep for our Vegas vacation and what better way than to drink some wine to gain some tolerance. The choice, a Malbec No Bull Red 2009 from Argentina. I went with this choice because I was feeling crazy and in the mood for something new. I haven't tried this type of wine so I was not sure how I would react. The label was subtle and funny with a giant bull on it. The content was a lite 13.5% not providing anything exciting. The label was my first fun label in a while and I wanted to keep my streak of greatness alive. The flavor of the wine was spicy, perfect for the night before a Vegas run. The wine was very young which was to a surprise I have yet to see a wine from 2009 in 2009. The color was dark red, my guess was it was a newer wine. I didn't find anything special about this wine that separated it from the others. The legs on the wine were spread apart and bow legged as if they rode a horse or bull of some type all night long, all night, all night long.... This was probably the closest to bull riding I will get and I'm ok with it.

Until the end of the next bottle...

Bill

With dedication and hard work I was unable to keep you all in suspense regarding a valid comparision of another Syrah. So this is my story, my car broke down right infront of the Mission Valley Bevmo and while waiting for a tow I stopped in and found a nice Syrah. For the sake of education I went one step further and found a ten dollar Syrah with another plain label. The Syrah ready for consumption was Michael Pozzan 2006. After I made the purchase I decided to try my car one more time and walla breakfast, my car started. So lets skip to the hard work. Amy was out for the night so I was home alone with nothing to do. Looking in the fridge I had a left over classic, home made peas and macaroni, vonderbar! I uncorked the evenings work to let it breath while I settled into the couch. I poured the first glass and opened my mind. First off, the Pozzan has a 15.5% content that was a great surprise. Let me tell you about the legs(my favorite), they reminded me of the cunning Carla and long limbs Lenor together as one superhuman sex pot. The Pozzan was similar in color as the prior post, but the flavor lasted longer. Syrah could be my new favorite type of wine.

Until the end of the next bottle....

Bill

Sunday Hanging

Sunday started with a little work, but quickly turned into play time. Amy and I made our way down to World Famous for some brunch. It looked like summer time with the amount of people getting their food on. We were lucky and got a nice spot at the bar with a little bottle of champagne and forks in the ready position. Amy had a carne asada Caesar salad and I went for something new and tried the prime rib hash which was unreal.
The next move on the day of fun was a trip to the gro row. Amy saw this neat little bottle of wine for ten dollars. The hidden gem, Castoro Cellars Syrah 2006. The wine was grown in Paso Robles and had a nice 15% alcohol content. I have yet to have extensive knowledge of this type of wine, but no time like the present. The wine was a nice full red color and for some reason I was getting loose fast. It could have been the combination with the champagne, either way I could do no wrong. The legs were running fast, tight, and thick with no room for cream cheese. The label clean and unexciting. The wine had a less filling feel with an interesting flavor unlike the other wines I have tried. I am looking forward to comparing other Syrah's in the near future.

Until the end of the next bottle...

Bill

Little Italy

After work on Saturday the wife and I made our way down to little Italy. We wanted to get some dinner and have a nice low key night out. Nothing better than grabbing a bottle of wine at a sidewalk wine bar watching the crop roll by. The wine, Calistoga Cellars Cabernet 2005. It was a Nappa Valley wine French Oak barreled for 18 months and harvested in October 2005. I have made it, I have officially taught my self how to understand wine....by reading the label on the back. On a serious note Amy had visited this winery and that's what made us decide. The wine was a strong 14.9% and was as relaxing as having a mud bath while watching porn. The porn being the funny people walking around in little Italy. Just so happens that the label was a "mature" label and provided another great experience.
During dinner we had a decent Zinfandel, Sextant 2007. Our table came with its own tray for mints because we sat right next to the door. The zin was not as good as the meal. We had an unbelievable eggplant parm type appetizer which was to die for. Then we had two great pasta dishes one with little hats and the other with a sweet meat sauce. The wine was a nice strong Zin, but the food over powered the flavor of the wine. I would definitely try this wine again to give it another chance, but since I am on a quest to try all wines I probably wont see it again.

Until the end of the next bottle...

Bill

No sanctimonious stories about the genius of rock stars today. I was falling behind and I just wanted to tell you about another bottle of wine I took down. Madrone Knoll 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon a nice treat for a new years eve dinner. The wine I chose was yet another plain Gary label for which had put me on a hot streak. I need to have a bad experience so I can change my pattern. This Cabernet was a good 14.2% content with sultry legs perfect for a midnight kiss, although I was unable to wait that long. Madrone had a long silky taste that held the flavors through my consumption. The color was a light red unlike some of the other 2006 wines I have had. I have nothing bad to say, but I will say that my wife made some unreal Gorgonzola mash potatoes that night. Sorry for the short and sweet but, I need to get to the next bottle.

Until the end of the next bottle....

Bill

New Jersey Part 2

Day two started after a nice deep sleep. The morning brought shopping and funny people watching in New York. I forgot what cold felt like but was reminded real quick that winter in the North East requires a jacket. After shopping we had some nice steak sandys for lunch and lounged around. Digesting subsided and my tums was hungry for some liquid fun...wine tasting time was upon me.
The start to the tasting was something I have never had before, a Bordeaux by the name of Chateauneuf Du Pape 2007. The bottle looked great with raised glass and a nice label with French words that meant nothing to me. With this in mind the only way to comprehend the label was to drink. The cork was opened and the glass was poured. The color of the red was nice and deep. The legs looked like they had a bite to them, but it could have been hair since it is a French wine. Either way the 14.5% made them very tasty in my head. I want to note that the consistency of the weekend was normal "grown up" labels.
The second tasting of the night was yet another first for me. The oldest bottle of wine to date. The wine was Renaissance 1999, a Cabernet Sauvignon I was excited to see if I would be able to tell differences based on age. The differences I noticed once I got into the new bottle was a lighter color red with sediment in the bottle. The taste was a little dry at first unlike anything I have tasted before. The flavor was not as full from start to finish and the legs were close and quick like a Jack-o-Lantern. I will be interested in the future to compare this wine with others close to that year. I will say I feel my preference leans toward heavier alcohol wines. This being said there was a whole wine closet that needed attention.
Next up Barlow 2005 Cabernet. This wine brought me back to what I was used to strong flavor, deep color, and a 15.1% tag on the front. The flavor on this particular wine seemed short and did not last all the way through. It could have been because I was two bottles deep, but I liked to think that it made for a deeper analysis. Looking into the color of the wine I saw a middle of the road red. The legs were those of a floozy- long, strong, and rimmed with red lipstick. No sediment was present and the label as you can see was "grown up". My streak of mild labels continues on. With that in mind I made my way for what I remember to be the final tasting...
...Beaulieu Vinyards Tapestry 2005. The glue on the label seemed to be fresh because it would not stay in place long enough for me to read it. The first thing I came across was the cork which had crystals on the bottom. At first I was a little nervous so I looked on line to explore what that meant. Then I realized I didn't care what it meant and I was there to try it all. The conclusion I came to was it was a form a sediment. So while the bottle was left to breathe I had some other wine that was laying around. This wine was a mixture of a few differnet varieties of grapes. This is why the varietal(could be wrong usage) was Tapestry, instead of Caberney or Merlot. I was interesting in flavor, but my pour was weak and some sediment went in my cup. I think this was also the reason my teeth were red and I had a red mustache. I found this to be the trademark of a solid wine tasting experience. This was the final night of tasting in New Jersey. Let me tell you that I was impressed with the Horne Cellars and anxiously await my next trip.

New Jersey Part 1

Sorry for the lack of posts let me assure you I am still hard at work. Last weekend I was able to go back to New Jersey for a couple days to see the last Giant game at Giant Stadium along with wine tasting at the original Horne Dome. The wine came after the back door punishment I got from watching the GMEN. The first taste was the Caymus 2007. The Caymus was a great start to the second part of my weekend. The content, a strong 15% alcohol which was a perfect start to numbing the pain in my rear. The heavy content did not have a strong alcohol taste, but a clean fullbodied flavor that held through the drinking experience. I really enjoyed this wine even after my eyes wouldn't work. My eyes were shutting down because of the red eye I took the night prior and had no sleep. Needles to say this was the one and only bottle of the day. Don't be scared there was a whole cellar for tasting and one more long day to go.