>>Maybe we should start a Recipe Thread of everyone’s favorite recipes.

I was thinking the same thing.

Buy now, or be priced out forever!
"Prices of the 2005 Bordeaux vintage are likely to be stratospheric – in some cases 300% up on last year – experts reckon.

The quality of the vintage is considered so extraordinary that excitement reached fever pitch almost before the grapes were off the vines. Some proprietors say they are already getting faxes and emails from merchants pledging more than the asking price for a good allocation.

Consultant Denis Dubourdieu told decanter.com that 2005 is better than any vintage he had seen since he came to Bordeaux in 1972, surpassing such legendary years as 1982 and 2000, a sentiment that has been echoed across the region."
 
http://www.decanter.com/news/80764.html

Had a really nice Tempranillo that we got at the BevMo $0.05 sale.  Earthy nose and good fruit on the palate.  I would recommend it.

I just got back from Hi-Time Wine Cellar in Newport.  I made the comment to my mother-in-law that "if I didn’t care about my weight I’d be such a drunk."
I resisted the urge to buy a bunch of Rieslings, and instead my MIL bought Ostatu Cosecha (Blanco) 2006.  We’ll have it sometime this week.

Hi-Time!!!!
 

news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070928/wl_uk_afp/lifestylebritainscotlandwhiskyauction
" 157-year-old whisky was sold for more than 29,000 pounds (41,500 euros/59,200 dollars) Friday, setting what is thought to be a world record auction price for a bottle of Scotch."

Years to Age but Minutes to Inflate
http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/29/nyregion/29wine.html?ref=nyregion
Back at the bar, Dr. Stormby was approached by Dick Trauner, the general manager of Zachys. “A case of 1945 Yquem just sold for $150,000,” Mr. Trauner reported excitedly. “And we sold a magnum of ’45 for $50,000.”

BevMo is having a wine sale. Buy one bottle, get the second for 5 cents!

Found this on Woot and couldn’t resist sharing:

MY LIVING WILL

Last night, my friend and I were sitting in the living room and I said to her, "I never want to live in a vegetative state, dependent on some machine and fluids from a bottle. If that ever happens, just pull the plug."

She got up, unplugged the TV, and threw out my wine.

She’s such a witch…..

I wonder if the Hamilton Oaks winery survived the fire.  Anyone know?

If anyone likes a good syrah, Costco has the Robert Hall for $11, and I’d recommend it highly.
Much better balanced than most Aussies, and more wine for the $$ versus most French Rhones. 
It has been the unofficial "daily drinker of the year" for 2007 at the SCHB household.
-SCHB

SCHB, Thanks for the tip. Shiraz is my fave…

profette-
It is not quite as syrupy and fruit forward as a typical Shiraz. 
Let me know what you think.
 

With Bordeaux, What a Difference a Year Makes
Bordeaux gone mad: $8,000 and more for a case of wine! The headlines made even the mainstream media last year as futures prices for the great 2005 Bordeaux vintage brought sad news for wine lovers. The wines of France’s top-ranked chateaux, already expensive, had appreciated so strongly that they had become international luxury items, out of reach of the average buyer.
So what’s a Bordeaux lover to do? Simple: Continue to drink Bordeaux—with a few adjustments.
"I think 95 percent of Bordeaux is affordable," says Michael Sands, vice president of Washington wine merchant Calvert Woodley in Van Ness, "but the focus, understandably, is on the big names."
void(popitup(‘http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/photo/2007/10/30/PH2007103000337.html’,650,850))”]

Le Beaujolais nouveau est arrivé!
 
Mmmm, fresh wine…
 
Here’s an excerpt from the snarky slate article on beaujolais:
 
“Why it was decided to make the region’s humblest juice—a wine mainly borne of its worst vineyards, a wine barely removed from the fermentation vat, a wine that is nothing more than pleasantly tart barroom swill—its international standard bearer is a question that will undoubtedly puzzle marketing students for generations to come.”

totally agree….beaujolais is a light wine good for weekend afternoon bbq

the only Beaujolais I buy is Beaujolais Village

LOL: But, of course, snobbery is one of the engines driving the wine market, and the Nouveau craze, with its populist appeal, had the effect of making Beaujolais an object of disdain among the sophisticates, ever determined to stay two steps ahead of the riffraff.

OMG it’s a Bordeaux bubble.

You Know, There Are Some Excellent Red Wines Coming Out Of Argentina
...be sure to read the counterpoint…

Wine may calm inflammation in blood vessels
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adding to evidence that a little wine can do a heart good, a new study suggests that women who drink moderate amounts may have less inflammation in their blood vessels.
Spanish researchers found that after four weeks of drinking two glasses of wine per day, women showed lower levels of certain inflammatory substances in their blood. The findings, reported in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, suggest a mechanism by which wine—particularly red wine—may protect the heart.
Numerous studies have found that wine drinkers tend to have lower rates of heart disease than teetotalers do. Research also suggests that higher levels of "good" HDL cholesterol may be one reason, though not a full explanation of the benefit.

I looked around for some Chateau d`Yquem and look what I found. Good old Costco.
http://www.costco.com/Browse/Product.aspx?Prodid=11196180&whse
Once upon a time someone paid 1.5 million for all the wines this place made from the 1880`s to present. Like 135 Years. Sauterns store for ever and are my favorite for desert. 
 

Rare Wine Auctioned
"A rare collection of wine once belonging to Russian Tsar Nicolas II has gone under the hammer at International auction house Bonhams.
The wine comes from the Massandra winery in Crimea which was built in 1897 primarily to produce high quality wine for the Tsar and his family. The Romanov’s spent summers at their Palace `Lavadia’ near Yalta. Now the auctioneers Bonhams sold a number of bottles from the collection which were once stored in specially built tunnels under the Crimean mountains. "

The only type of wine I enjoy is pinot noir sans vanilla flavours. Of course, that’s not to say I won’t drink other wines…after a few glasses I’ll be happy to sip something heavier, aka more full-bodied.

My favorite pinot noir is Paraiso from Monterey. Every time I visit a friend’s house for dinner or go so some kind of function, I bring a bottle and everyone enjoys it thoroughly. $16 at costco and its always in stock. Its very light and aromatic.

My second favorite pinot noir is 2003 York Mountain. I found it while wine tasting in Paso Robles on a trip up the central coast to Monterey and San Francisco. The wine is dark and spicy, yum! York Mountain’s wine tasting room is a dumpy portable trailer with a door that slaps you on the way in—a far cry from the fancy tasting rooms of Edna Valley or Leticia Vinyards. Last spring they had two tastings, one of which consisted of nothing but pinot noirs. Needless to say I was beside myself as I am normally disappointed at the complete omission of pinot noirs on most tasting lists. The host was energetic, down to earth, and delightful and I have to say it was one of the more memorable wine tasting experiences. I bought two bottles for $8. I wish I would have bought two cases, but I was on a tight vacation budget!

<br style=”” >
<br style=”” >