I pulled one of these bad boys from downstairs last night instead of the planned Malbec and it was absolutely kick-butt. I was really into Patty Green a few years back and am now wondering why I haven’t had any of her wines recently. Really good stuff for the price.

http://www.klwines.com/detail.asp?sku=1043002

Road trip to Southern CA great so far. I totally winged it.. skipped Paso Robles and stayed one night in San Luis Obispo. Visited a few wineries in the Edna Valley. Wolff was my favorite (great chardonnay) .

The highlight was my stop in Buellton (next to Solvang) at The Hitching Post. (are you reading this NWID?) LOVED this place! I thought of you guys and, of course, Miles and Maya from Sideways. I bought some of their 07 pinots! Best grilled artichoke on the planet, too.

Santa Barbara was beautiful of course. Santa Barbara Winery has a nice reserve chard. La Fond makes some pretty good pinot noirs.

I’m in Huntington Beach now visiting family. Will visit Newport Beach and Laguna Beach.. I”m a happy camper as long as I don’t have to get on the 405 freeway and fight traffic. I just don’t know how people do it on a daily basis. Nice place to visit though!
Cheers!

So some tips. please. Are most wineries open for tastings and how often do one have to pay to taste? Any good hotels/motels to stop at while driving up from SF to Portland, say 3-4 days travel?

Ahhh I remember my Sideways trip a few years ago and this brings back fond memories. Unfortunately, when I stopped by The Hitching Post it was closed for some reason though I took pictures and peeked in the windows like your usual tourist geek. I managed to have dinner at Solvang Restaurant and lunch at the Los Olivos Cafe which I thought was magical.

La Fond huh? By all means, one of my favs on the trip. If I ever see it at my wine shop, I always pick up a few bottles.

Well Lisa, it sounds like you are having a wonderful time in a beautiful part of our great country. I am beginning to hunker down and await Hurricane Irene. I fly out Monday for NY so I can only hope she has passed by then. My luck of late, I doubt it.

Cheers my dear,
Dom

Portland is no problem. My brother lives in Oregon City 🙂 But thank you for the tip.

Tonight I’ll be trying Bonny Doon’s “Old Telegram” 2003 Mourvedre.

Got it at this great wine store that has some great producer’s and really esoteric things
(7 producer’s of Bandol!, Chateau-Grillet!, white Chinon!, Irouleguy!). I foresee a pretty big whole getting burned into my pocket in the future.

Sounds like a plan to me. Nice wines. Love the esoteric stuff.

Stay dry. They say it’s coming.

LisaS, of course I am reading this! How fantastic. Sounds like you’re having a great time. I wish I was there with you to share the fantastic wine and your wonderful company. I am trying to plan a trip in November to visit friends in Burbank. Of course there will be wine tasting of some sort and golf. There has to be golf! I am sure we will make it up to the Santa Barbara area. The Hitching Post is the BEST! You go GIRL!

TTF!
Nostrovia!

My Brother! I was in VA Beach when Hugo hit and we made it through ok. You will be fine! Just have enough candles and I know you have several good bottles of wine that is all you need and it should be a memorable experience! 😉

Dominus is right. one of the best drives in the country. If you have the time, take the coastal route. (hwy 1) It’s fantastic. The other options are Highway 101 and Interstate 5. 101 is more scenic but the 5 will get you there quicker.

Most wineries that charge will refund if you purchase. (if it’s good juice on limited supply most likely they will charge) average juice flows more freely. Have fun and don’t rush if you have the luxury of time.

I’m a bit freaked out about this hurricane.. Listening to Anderson Cooper on CNN.. Apparently the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Manhattan moved guests to other locations? Holy Moly!

I sure did and agree that they are wonderful!! I showed up at 4:00pm when the doors opened and there was already a line of people waiting to get in.. We all sat at the bar and most people did the tasting.. One gal was there to try the hamburger or steak since it was featured on the Food network. 🙂 I walked out with 4 bottles of 07 PN. Delicious.

On another note it was a bit sad since I had to dump most of the wine at the tasting. I was alone and my own designated driver. Bummer. I hate it when that happens. 🙂

Thanks, Dom. I’ll be crossing my fingers that all will be OK by Monday for you! Keep us posted!

PS: Hopefully your wine is in a safe and secure location. 😉

Thank you, Dom Hey, I just know these things 😉 You’re going to Bar Boulud?? I am so jealous. We want every detail about every bite and every sip. Don’t forget ambience. Be sure to take notes! I hope you make it there safe and sound.. on a gondola maybe? 😉

Ah!!! Provence with is dried herbs smell during summertime. Bandol AOC,is inbetween east of Marseille and Cassis, the latter is a village that I vistied in 2007 travelling around in my old motorhome. A beutiful costal village and the stepest hill my old motorhome ever had to climb. we thought we never get up (down is usally no problem) Red wines from Bandol must contain at least 50% of the grape variety and Mourvèdre or Monastrell as it called in Spain. Red wines from Bandol is stored at least 18 months in oak barrels and the best wines should be stored for at least ten years. The grape is sweet red fuit mixed with chocolate and licorice flavours on my palate, thats why they tend to be yummy for me.

This is what wikipedia say about it. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandol_(wine)#Bandol

Line of peeps? Do you need reservations? and is it worth a visit?

No reservations to sit at bar, but bar is always full. Dinner reservations recommended. Only worth a visit if you are driving to Central or Southern CA. This would be a 3-1/2 hour drive in the opposite direction of where you are going.. You’ll be travelling north of SF to Oregon.. and there are so many wonderful places to explore up there (Napa, Sonoma, Mendocino… just to name a few! More about that later. 🙂

101 it is and that will get me closer to the wine country if I’m informed correctly

It’s the only wine that I will buy in a wine store No Matter What if it’s from a producer I haven’t had yet (From my research, there’s only 50). I’d only found them from 4 producer’s in the past couple years. Then a couple days ago I was lucky enough to stumble into a place that had 7 I hadn’t had, I couldn’t believe it, (so it can be a costly hobby too)!
It’s probably the first question I ask in a wine store when someone offers help, but 4 out of 5 wine shops don’t have them.
Domaine Tempier is by far the best known and most available. As a result it’s also overpriced, but still worth it if you’ve never had a Bandol.
Anders is right about the 50% mourvedre requirement, but most producer’s use a much higher %. IMHO it’s by far the best expression of the mourvedre grape on the planet. They absolutely destroy the Spanish versions I’ve had where they call it Monastrell, from places like Jumilla. Or ones in Australia, where they call it Mataro. The U.S. has done some really good ones, but Bandol is king.The remainder of the blend is usually grenache with a little carignan.
The wine laws for Bandol are a lot more stringent than many other French appellations. The wine books I’ve read seem to gush about the quality and care the winemaker’s put into these wines. They’re not jammy or overly fruity, a lot of sun drenched earth and chocolate and coffee and garigue type flavors are quite common.
There’s rose Bandol as well. They can be great like rose’s can be, but the reds are so good it almost seems like a shame to make them. There’s whites too, which are so rare and barely produced that I doubt any get exported to the U.S.
They’re best IMO after a good 9-11 years aging. Even though they aren’t overly fruity, they do hail from Provence, so they got body, usually upwards of 14-15% alcohol. Mourvedre isn’t shy on tannin, so they have the structure to uphold their body. I’ve never seen one under 13.5%. Also with that Mediterranean climate, vintages are usually really consistent, something you don’t get in a lot of other places like Bordeaux and Burgundy.

Not too bad down here in Rockville. Wind, torrential rain but I just finished picking up the debris in the yard and the sun is out and it’s gorgeous. I will need to take a jog since I stuffed my face last night. Soft sheel crab for app and Dover sole as the main course with a nice Sancerre (Domaine Reverdy) which comes highly recommended. I’m sure it’s not too expensive since it was < $30 for a half bottle.

Flight still scheduled for tomorrow to the Big Apple. So far, so good.

Hope everyone survived the storm.

Cheers!

So far, so good. My flight has yet to be cancelled to NY tomorrow. I must say, my friends had originally told me to meet them at Bar Boulud on Monday evening but I just received my OpenTable confirmation and the venue has changed. Oh well. So the festivities will be at some low-key dive that I hear may fit the bill though knowing them I am sure it will be “fine.”

http://www.danielnyc.com/daniel.html

Cheers!

P.S. Since they are red wine people, this should be fun. 🙂

Wow.. Dude, You’re a walking wikipedia on wine! Dying to try a red Bandol now. I’ll look for Domaine Tempier. Thanks, John. 🙂

Here’s one you may find. Quite good.

http://www.northberkeleyimports.com/Domaine-Dragon-Cuvee-St-Michel-C%C3%B4tes-de-Provence-2007-P231.aspx

Thanks, Dom. I’ll see if I can find it. Nice label, too.

I guess I need to jump on these recommendations. The Patricia Green pinot noir you suggested a couple of days ago sold out at K&L since you mentioned it!

Have a great day Dominus!