Christmas Cabs

 It's our Christmas Eve tradition to blind taste some wines. This year we had an addition to our family: Asher Kent. He had trouble getting to sleep, so he joined us for a bit.

Results

C - 2019 Double Diamond, Oakville, Cabernet Sauvignon came in first place with an average of 3.50. It cost $125. It was the 2022 Wine Spectator #1 Wine of the Year.

B - 2021 Chimney Rock, Stag's Leap District, Cabernet Sauvignon came in second place with an average of 3.25. It cost $110. It was the 2024 Wine Spectator’s #5 Wine of the Year.

A - 2021 Faust, Napa Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon came in last place with an average of 2.88. It cost $65. It was the 2024 Wine Spectator’s #4 Wine of the Year.

After we made Adam happy with a Silver Oak and a hand decanter. I also opened a 2018 Louis M. Martini, Lot 1, which tasted the most like what I expected in a cab that night.

Fall Cabs And Blends

We've been wanting to get back to two parties a year so we decided to throw a Fall Get Together.

I advertised a wine tasting, "Optionally bring a cab or red blend (wine) to blind taste with everyone." I should have said cab blend, but didn't, so I prepared for pretty much anything anyone decided to bring. I mean a Pinot cuvée, is a red blend.

Results

E - 2012 Hartwell, Estate, Stag's Leap District, Merlot came in first place with an average of 4.17. Ted and Shannon brought this. Teed said, "Hartwell makes one of the best Napa cabs ever in my opinion. I thought I was bringing that :-) I had some older ones in my collection 11s and 12 so I thought they’d be prime. Just brought the wrong varietal :-)"

C - 2016 Nickel and Nickel, John C. Sullenger, Oakville, Cabernet Sauvignon came in second place with an average of 3.77. Mac and Rebecca brought this. Rebecca said, "I wanted to bring a basic Napa Cab, that I had previously tried before, from a maker I liked, from a good vintage year. I bought several bottles of these at a Nickel and Nickel tasting event, held at The Wine Steward wine shop in Pleasanton during 2019. The price was discounted to 80 per bottle, if I remember correctly. When I first tried this in 2019 it had very bitter and strong tannins. I re-tried it this year and feel it has mellowed out pleasantly. I was curious to see if other people would like it too, and how it would compare in a blind tasting. "

F - 2016 Carte Blanche, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 3.75. Carlos and Ling brought this. Carlos said, "I think it was $150 at k&l. Why? I’d never had it so…"

D - 2021 Cult, Napa Valley came in fourth place with an average of 3.55. Jose and Lili brought this. It cost $40. It had good reviews, 93 and 97.

B - Tenuta San Guido, Sassicaia, Bolgheri came in fifth place with an average of 3.30. Sue and I brought it. It cost $300. It received 100 points. It's not supposed to be drank for another 5 year. I should have decanted it for 5 hours. We'll never know if it would have made a difference. I was looking for a wine to save for my first grandson's 21st birthday. Sassicaia is my thought, which made me notice the 2021's 100 point rating.

A - 2017 Silver Oak, Alexander Valley, Cabernet Sauvignon came in last place with an average of 2.77. Michel and Linda brought this. Michel said, "It was $75 / bottle - I picked it because it is one of my favorite cab from the area (Napa / Alexander Valley)."

I'm not certain the winner was a cab or red blend, but we did vote it as our top pick. Miles would not be happy.

Spring Paella and Pinots

All of our friends, including one we hadn't seen in much too long, soldiered through traffic to join us for a Memorial Day weekend party. We referred to the occasion as a Spring Get Together, which was technically correct, but mostly a misnomer given it was so close to the unofficial start of summer.

We started with magnums of Roederer Brut Estate and Brut Rose. Paul and Jennifer turned us on to Roederer, gifting us a magnum a few years back. It's a great tasting, and reasonably priced sparkling. We were curious about it, and made a day trip to Anderson Valley last year to taste and see how it was made.

We had a casual tasting before dinner. Sue was making paella and had a special pan for 20. We had been to a couple of events with paella. Sue wanted to give it a try and had practiced a couple of times before.

Sue and a number of others worked together to prepare the tasty paella. It was a team effort that everyone greatly appreciated.

There were a couple of birthdays on or around the party, so we had to serenade them with birthday wishes.

Our neighbor made a wonderful basque cheesecake that all enjoyed. When she mentioned she was bringing it the first time, I heard bass. This cake was wonderful and not a bit fishy.

Results

A - 2020 Papapietro Perry, Peters Vineyard, Russian River Valley came in first place with an average of 3.43. It was 2023 Pinot Cup Winner. It cost $66 from the winery. We're members of Papa. We love their light and fruity Pinots.

C - 2021 Wayfarer, Wayfarer Vineyard, Fort Ross - Seaview came in second place with an average of 3.36. It was 2024 Pinot Cup Runner-Up. It cost $85 ordered from the winery.

D - 2021 Merry Edwards, Georganne Vineyard, Russian River Valley tied for third place with an average of 3.32. It was Wine Enthusiast #9 wine of 2023. It cost $70 from the winery. I had ordered it to be delivered, but they called and asked if we wanted to come in for a taste. A brilliant move on their part. I bought more wine than I had ordered. We had a wonderful experience when we picked up the wine. A young Chilean wine maker told us about his worldly adventures honing his skills.

E - 2021 Convene, Russian River Valley tied for third place with an average of 3.32. It was Wine Enthusiast #13 wines of 2023. It cost $68 from the winery. Convene is owned by Dan Kosta, of Kosta Browne. We first ran into them at Healdsburg Crush and had to pay them a visit or two. We've enjoyed our experience both times we went.

B - 2019 Read Holland, Deep End, Anderson Valley came in last place with an average of 2.93. It was 2024 Pinot Cup Winner It cost $60 ordered from the winery.

Pinot Cup is the award given at Pigs & Pinot's Friday night tasting, a wonderful event where they stuff you with so many great pork dishes and Pinots. We had never heard of it before we moved to Sonoma. We went for the first time this year with Ted, Shannon, Mac, and Rebecca. We hope to go back. We were told we have to get a hotel package, which includes more events than the tasting. Maybe some year we'll budget for this extravaganza.

Correction

I somehow missed Jennifer's scores. It wouldn't have changed first place, but it would have changed others. Sorry Jennifer!

Christmas Pinots

 Last year Alex and Adam came up for Christmas Eve. We has a wine tasting. Adam asked if we were going to have a testing this year. It seems the start of a tradition.

I ordered 6 wines from Wine Spectator's Top 100 Wine of 2023 and Wine Enthusiast's Top 100 Wine of 2023. I whittled it down to 4 for the tasting, thinking 6 was too much.

• 2019 Rippon, Mature Vines, Central Otago, NZ
• 2021 Big Table Farm, Cattrail Brothers Vineyard, Eola Amity Hills, OR
• 2021 Occidental, Freeatone-Occidental, Sonoma Coast, CA
• 2021 Merry Edwards, Georganne Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA

I did not include 2021 Convene, Russian River Valley, CA and 2021 Resonance, Willamette Valley, OR.

Results

D - 2021 Merry Edwards, Georganne Vineyard, Russian River Valley, CA came in first place with an average of 3.31. It was Wine Enthusiast #9 wine of 2023. It cost $70 from the winery

A - 2019 Rippon, Mature Vines, Central Otago, NZ came in second place with an average of 3.25. It was Wine Enthusiast #5 wine of 2023. It cost $55 from K&L.

C - 2021 Occidental, Freeatone-Occidental, Sonoma Coast, CA in third place with an average of 2.94. It was Wine Spectator's #2 wine of 2023. It cost $69 from Aabalat.

B - 2021 Big Table Farm, Cattrail Brothers Vineyard, Eola Amity Hills, OR came in last place with an average of 2.13. It was Wine Enthusiast #22 wines of 2023. It cost $72 from the winery.

Spring Cabs

Things have been kind of slow since we've moved to Santa Rosa. Late last year we threw a party. I wasn't convinced that our friends would drive two hours to see us, but they did. This year we decided to try a traditional blind tasting.

Last year we joined the BV wine club and acquired a vertical of Georges De Latour. I was thinking we should taste that and the clones that it's made of, but I threw together a couple of other options.

Option 1: Georges De Latour Cab Tasting

• 2017 Georges De Latour
• 2018 Georges De Latour
• 2019 Georges De Latour
• 2018 Clone 6
• 2018 Clone 4
• 2018 Clone 169

Option 2: Cab Tasting

• 2018 Ehret, Hillside Reserve
• 2018 Louis M. Martini, Lot 1
• 2018 Mayacamas
• 2016 Passalacqua, Block 18 & 19
• 2018 Stag's Leap, Cask 23
• 2018 Trujillo, Gary Morisoli

Option 3: Everyone bring a cab

I asked a couple of people what they thought and both of them went for option 3.

I sent out the invite, saying I would bring a Georges De Latour. Ted had mentioned that he would love to see how the Georges De Latour and Hartwell compared.

Sue and I were forced to taste the Georges De Latour vertical and decide which bottle we thought we should bring. It was a tough job, but someone had to do it. We both had different favorites, but compromised on the 2018.

Unfortunately, Carlos and Ling, and Michel and Linda couldn't make it, but we were blessed with the company of the rest of our wine tasting friends.

Sue kept our bellies full with Duck Fat Fries and Fred Steak to name a few standouts.

I debuted my new Fourth of July shirt, that I got on a recent visit to Missouri for our nephew's high school graduation.

Results

E - 2011 Hartwell, Estate, Stags Leap District came in first place with an average of 3.86. Ted and Shannon brought this.

B - 2019 Raymond, Reserve Selection, Napa Valley came in second place with an average of 3.73. Jose and Lili brought this.

D - 2018 BV, Georges De Latour, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 3.42. Sue and I brought this.

A - 2011 Silver Oak, Anderson Valley came in fourth place with an average of 3.13. Mac and Rebecca brought this.

B - 2006 Stag's Leap Wine Cellars, S.L.V., Block 4, Napa Valley came in last place with an average of 2.76. Paul and Jennifer brought this.

It was nice to taste some great cabernets with friends. Many of the cabs were older than I can ever see myself cellaring (they wouldn't last that long).

People brought a lot of nice cabs to share in addition to the wine for the tasting.

One Last Zin Tasting for the Road

Our move was a weekend away. Friday we were moving all the wine. I had a crazy idea to do one last Zin tasting on Saturday. I figured as long as we kept it simple, like ordering pizza, it would be a welcome break from the the moving. I pinged Ted Wednesday night. He was game. He offered his place in order to save a dog sitter. I was cool with this, but he had to agree I could pay for the pizza. He did. I had a zin tasting ready to go, but would only do it if Jose were involved. Jose used to be big into Zins, he's now more into Cabs. I pinged Jose. He was in too. It was on!

I had a zin tasting in the cellars, yet another inspired by the 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition results. I had never tried any of the wines.

• Wilson Winery, Sydney's Reserve - 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition Best of Class Medal Winner
• Rockpile Vineyards, Florence - 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition Double Gold Medal Winner
• Robert Biale Vineyards, Black Chicken - I've been telling Jose we need to try this wine for years. It shows up on a lot of best of lists
• Once and Future Zinfandel Bedrock Vineyard 2018
• Made by the original owner of Ravenswood. I heard about this in a video: Why California Wine Companies See Opportunity in IPO Boom

Ted had a couple of bottles he wanted to share, so I was supposed to bring only two bottles. I knew I wanted to bring the Best of Class and Black Chicken, but I also wanted to bring the Once and Future, so I did.

Ted was set up for four wines, so he randomly chose two of the three I had brought. It was a warm day. We started with a refreshing Savvy B from Halleck.

We had a great time tasting with everyone.

Results

W - 2018 Wilson, Sydney's Reserve, Dry Creek Valley came in first place with an average of 4.14. It cost $60 directly from the winery.

Z - 2019 Robert Biale Vineyards, Black Chicken, Napa Valley  came in second place with an average of 3.98. It cost $50 directly from the winery.

Y - 2016 Taft Street, Alexander Valley came in third place with an average of 3.55.

X - 2017 Dutton-Golfield, Dutton Ranch, Morelli Lane Vineyard, Russian River Valley came in last place with an average of 3.18.

The Zins were all really good.

I DoorDashed Round Table Pizza, which was enjoyed with a salad Shannon made from vegetables out of their garden. We also enjoyed a GrGich Zin Jose brought and the Once and Future.

Post Vaccination Blends

I was fully vaccinated and we were going to celebrate with a once in a lifetime tasting, again.

I decided on the following Cabernet Blends

• Opus One
• Dominus
• Insignia
• Sassicaia
• Pontet-Canet, Pauillac

Most of them were younger than I would have liked, but I would try to give them time to open up, planning to decant them for 6 hours. I was still worried, but what could I do?

The day of the tasting, it warmed up. I was worried about the wine during the decanting and turned on the AC.

We started with a variety of Chardonnay. The heat was giving me problems and I struggled to serve the blends at the preferred temperature (61 - 64). Ling and Lili gathered their fill of loquats.

We had a great time tasting with everyone.

Results

D - 2017 San Guido "Sassicaia" Bolgheri, Italy came in first place with an average of 3.87. It cost $220 from K&L.

B - 2017 Opus One, Napa Valley came in second place with an average of 3.49. It cost $325 from K&L. When I tried this I figured it was the 2009, because it was so smooth. One of my tasting notes was, Wow!

C - 2016 Dominus, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 3.46. It cost $290 from K&L.

E - 2017 Joseph Phelps "Insignia", Napa Valley came in fourth place with an average of 3.40. It cost $250 from K&L.

A - 2009 Pontet-Canet, Pauillac, France came in last place with an average of 2.89. It cost $300 from K&L. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate gave it 100 points.

After we had revealed the winners, I brought out a one of a kind, 5L Santa Cruz Mountains Cuvee, won at the 2014 Premier Cruz silent auction. Dave, from Burrel School, had suggested we wait 5 to 10 years before opening. We had troubles with the cork and had duck taped it closed.

It's fun to wield large bottles!

We thought it was going to be horrible because we had tried the cuvee twice before and had given the wine to the tree out back after one sip. We opened it because I didn't want to move wine that we would never enjoy to our new place in Santa Rosa. From the big bottle it actually tasted pretty good.

Who knows how many more of these occasions we'll have in the future, given our move. It's not like we're never going to see anyone ever again, but it does seem unlikely we'll have as many of these kinds of gatherings in the future. We're blessed to have such incredible friends.

Post Vaccination Champagne

Sue texted me the good news.

April 1st I would qualify for a vaccination. I got excited and started planning our first post vaccination gathering. I would spare no expense to celebrate. I would start with a Champagne tasting, followed by blend tasting. WINEKING inspired some of the wines, while best of lists and K&L recommendations filled in the rest.

People convinced me to split the event into two tastings. They thought it was too much wine for one tasting. They were probably right.

For the champagne tasting, I started with the following

• Cristal
• Bollinger La Grande Annee
• Krug "Grande Cuvée"

The Fosters had generously gifted us a couple bottles of Cristal and I wanted to share the experience with our friends.

After receiving the Bollinger La Grande Annee I realized that this was the same champagne we had on new years eve of 2020. When I had purchased it, I thought I was buying Wine Enthusiast's #1 wine, when in fact, it was their #10 wine.

Champagne Review: Armand de Brignac "Ace of Spades" Gold Brut educated me that Cristal is not the champagne of choice for rappers anymore. Initially I was able to resist my urge to find one to add to the tasting, but as I hemmed and hawed about if and how to have the tasting. I figured we needed at least 4 champagnes and ordered it. You can alternatively read about it via a Decanter article Carlos found: Rapper Jay-Z boycotts ‘racist’ Cristal.

An Instagram ad for the 2012 Veuve Clicquot Le Grande Dame convinced me to pick up this beautiful box and bottle to make a total of 5 champagnes.

I was worried we wouldn't have enough champagne after the tasting, so we picked up a 3L bottle of Tsarine. Yeah, we're nuts.

We had an incredible haul of champagne lined up for the tasting.

Sue did a great job setting up everything outdoors.

We started with some 2018 Tondre, Tondre Grapefield Chardonnay. It was very nice. Adam, Alex's long time boyfriend, who doesn't typically like wine, helped himself to another pour. I took it as a good sign.

Jennifer entertained us with her rendition of tiny bubbles on her ukulele. Sue helped out with the singing. Some joined in on the chorus. We should have printed out the lyrics. Sue had said this, but I never followed through.

We had a great time tasting with everyone. It had far been too long since we had seen everyone in person. It was a great feeling hugging friends again.

Results

A - Krug, Grand Cuvee, 168 edition came in first place with an average of 4.15. It cost $170 from the K&L. Unbelievably, Mac thought A was a Krug and indicated it in his notes. He said it had a distinct taste. I was very impressed.

E - 2012 Bollinger La Grande Annee came in second place with an average of 3.53. It cost $330 from Artisan Wine Depot as a magnum.

B - Armand de Brignac "Ace of Spades" Gold Brut came in third place with an average of 3.43. It cost $260 from Wine Chateau.

D - 2012 Veuve Clicquot Le Grande Dame came in fourth place with an average of 3.32. It cost $200 from Wine Express.

C - 2012 Louis Roederer "Cristal" Brut Champagne came in last place with an average of 3.10. It cost close to $300 from K&L or TotalWine.

It was great to see everyone again, in person, and cheers surviving the pandemic with a once in a lifetime champagne tasting.

Impromptu Young Cabs

Since we decided we were moving, I've been thinking the more wine we drink, the less wine we have to move. In this vein, I tried to get together an in person tasting over the weekend, weeks ahead of my official post vaccination tastings. I knew some of our friends were out of town, but I hoped I would be able to get a few to join us. Luckily Jose and Lili, and Paul and Jennifer were able to join us to taste some young cabs.

I decanted the wines 2 hours before we started, to give them a chance to overcome their youth.

We sat down in the backyard to enjoy the wines. It was nice to see people again. Lili and Jose brought Sue a lovely birthday gift and rum cake to share. We had a great time tasting with everyone.

Results

A - 2017 Brander Reserve, Los Olivos District came in first place with an average of 3.58. It cost $50 from the winery. There was a mix up on a Sauvignon Blanc I ordered from them for a tasting I was putting together on Dr. Pat Farrell Master of Wine's recommendation. The winery sent it to me as a gift.

D - 2018 Soquel Partner's RESERVE, Atlas Peak, Napa Valley came in second place with an average of 3.33. It cost $125 from the winery. We bought it as a future for half price as club members.

C - 2018 Lail, Blueprint, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 3.21. It cost $80 from the winery. The 2017 vintage was Wine Enthusiast's #1 wine of 2020, but was only available in half bottles, so I picked up a couple of these to try.

B - 2018 LightPost Reserve, Paso Robles came in last place with an average of 3.17. It cost $59 from the winery. It won Sweepstake Award (Best Cabernet Sauvignon) in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. I had ordered their Best of Class Pinot, but they sent me this on accident. I agreed to buy the bottles from them after a good sales job.

Afterwards, I opened a 2014 Vine Cliff, Private Stock, 16 Rows which is usually an incredible bottle of wine, but I was disappointed. I then opened a 2017 Plumpjack Reserve which was excellent.

Albariño Tasting

As you might have guessed, I went a little crazy planning tastings when the 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition results came out. Why? I can't say. It might have been the weight of the pandemic, or perhaps I needed a distraction from my job, but in the end, I lined up an unprecedented number of tastings. In this effort I tried to pick some varietals that I was less familiar with. To that avail, I added an Albariño tasting. Only a subset of my friends are interested in a white tasting, but thankfully enough. Truth be told, I would do it without interest, but wine is always better with friends.

To find my wines, I started with the Albariño: 2021 Awards. I could not find the Double Gold winning, Idaho Albariño from Williamson Orchards and Vineyards. I contacted them because the wine was not listed on their web site. They told me they had limited sales to club members after winning the award. Apparently, it was flying off the shelves. The idea of trying an Idaho wine intrigued me, but not enough to join another wine club. Fortunately, I was able to find 3 choices I was happy with.

The wines were in my hands and I planned to distribute them with the birthday Sangiovese wines. Coincidentally I received an email from Wine Enthusiast titled "Fall in Love with Albariño from Rías Baixas." I took this as a sign that I should add an Albariño from the region to the tasting, so I ordered one. I then waited two weeks for them to ship it to me. So much for distributing them at the same time. The good news was we had a representative from the home of Albariño!

We met on a Saturday, a little earlier than usual given a Michael Franti virtual concert we planned to attend. We had a great time tasting with everyone.

Results

B - 2019 Berryessa Gap, Yolo County, came in first place with an average of 4.01. It cost $23 from the winery. It won Gold in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

A - 2019 Pierce, San Antonio Valley, came in second place with an average of 3.88. It cost $25 from the winery. It won Best of Class in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

D - 2019 Harney Lane, Lodi, came in third place with an average of 3.43. It cost $20 from the winery. It won Double Gold in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

C - 2019 Paco & Lolo, Rias Baixas, came in last place with an average of 3.16. It cost $21.

Everyone agreed all the wine was very enjoyable and glad to have given it a try.

More #@%!$ing Merlot

 

ThankfullyTed and Shannon have been enthusiastic participants in my recent drive to taste every wine given any award in the recent 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition. We, contrary to Miles, are very willing to drink more #@%!$ing Merlot.

We found the weekend open, when the Albariño tasting was pushed off two weeks. We had tried to do the tasting the weekend before, but my inability to sleep caused us to cancel; I blame my job. The weather didn't look good for an outdoor, socially distanced tasting, so we decided to do it remotely. I'm not fully vaccinated yet and am hesitant to move things inside.

Some back and forth with Jose after I had informed him of Malbec Day had me thinking it was Sauvignon Blanc Day and regretting that my Sauvignon Blanc tasting was incomplete. More googling indicated that May 7th was the day this year, which may prod me to do something. As if I need prodding.

Ted and Shannon brought over two Merlots to add to the 3 medal winners I had picked up. We bagged, randomized, and sent them home with 5 half bottles. An hour later we met on zoom to taste. We had a great time tasting with them both.

Results

A - 2011 Hartwell, Estate, came in first place with an average of 4.38. Ted and Shannon brought this.

C - 2018 Trujillo, Napa Valley, came in second place with an average of 4.00. It cost $65 from the winery. It won Double Gold in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition.

B - 2017 Wild Diamond, Lake County, came in third place with an average of 3.50. It cost $42 from the winery. It won Best of Class in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition

D - 2013 Chateau St Jean, Sonoma County, Reserve, came in fourth place with an average of 3.13. Ted and Shannon brought this.

E - 2018 Bargetto, Regan Vineyard, Reserve, Santa Cruz Mountains came in last place with an average of 3.13. It cost $40 from the winery. It also won Double Gold in 2021 SF Chronicle Wine Competition

The winner was obvious from the start. The only question: The order of the other 4. All of the wines were enjoyable. If I can give the ones I brought more time, meaning not drink them for 5 plus years, perhaps we'll try them again.

Stag's Leap Cabs

When we tasted Kuleto Cabs with Paul and Jennifer, Jennifer generously offered to put together a tasting of her favorite, Stag's Leap Wine Cellars. 

Jennifer found four different Stag's Leap cabs all from the same year, 2009. We met the next Friday to taste them. We let the wines breath for two hours before we started. Ten minutes before it began, we cooled the wines to the ideal serving temperature, 60-65, putting them in the fridge, and measuring with a surface temperature thermometer.

Jennifer kicked off the tasting singing Tiny Bubbles while playing ukulele, Don Ho style. It was wonderful! Jennifer has used the pandemic to learn new skills, unlike most of us.

We had a great time tasting these amazing wines with Paul and Jennifer.

Results

C - 2009 Chase Creek, Stag's Leap, Estate, Napa Valley came in first place with an average of 4.18.

B - 2009 FAY, Stag's Leap, Estate, Napa Valley came in second place with an average of 4.29.

C - 2009 S.L.V, Stag's Leap, Estate, Napa Valley came in third place with an average of 4.14.

C - 2009 Cask 23, Stag's Leap, Estate, Napa Valley came in last place with an average of 4.03.

All the wines were incredibly smooth. It's amazing what age will do for a wine. Although the wines were all earthy, a taste that typically throws me off, I thought it was well integrated and worked really well.

Intimate Remote Kuleto Cabs Tasting

Years ago we attended Taste of the Town in San Francisco with Bob and Carolyn. Out of the literally hundreds of wines to try there, Sue found a favorite in Kuleto's Cabernet Sauvignon, India Ink. Bob agreed she had found a good one. They both went back for a couple of retastes. Years later we visited their beautiful winery. We learned they had renamed India Ink to El Coyote. Given Sue's love of the wine, I would occasionally purchase some for her as gifts. This last time I went to acquire some, I thought it would be fun to put Sue to the test, blind taste all of the Kuleto Cabs I could find in the same vintage, seeing if she truly knew what her favorite was. Worse case scenario: She would find one she more preferred. You may have noticed, I like to think of ways to do more blind tastings.

I picked up all these 2016s

• El Coyote, Napa Valley
• Lone Acre, Napa Valley
• The Point, Napa Valley
• Villa Vista, Napa Valley

On a whim I pinged Paul to see if they were interested in doing it over the weekend. We had wanted to involve them in our Valentine's Day tasting, but the timing didn't work for them. Knowing how much Jennifer loves Cabs, I hoped we could find a time this tasting would work for both of us. Paul confirmed it would work.

Sue thought my zoom wine tasting attire, complete with my lucky Andrew Neeme sweatpants shorts, was funny. She said her only concession for remote tastings was that sometimes she wore slippers, instead of boots.

We're all on our way to being fully vaccinated, but we're not there yet. It was to be another remote tasting. We split the bottles and Paul picked them up. I failed to properly open A and shoved the cork into the bottle with spurts of wine all over the place. We're talking wine on the ceiling! We worked around this and I switched to the AH-so wine opener for the rest of the bottles. The corks were fine, but sometimes the bag makes it difficult to get our usual opener attached properly.

We had a great time tasting with Paul and Jennifer.

Results

D - 2016 Kuleto, El Coyote, Napa Valley, came in first place with an average of 4.18. It cost $100 from the winery.

C - 2016 Kuleto, The Point, Napa Valley, came in second place with an average of 4.06. It cost $100 from the winery.

A - 2016 Kuleto, Lone Acre, Napa Valley, came in third place with an average of 3.88. It cost $100 from the winery.

B - 2016 Kuleto, Villa Vista, Napa Valley, came in last place with an average of 3.55. It cost $100 from the winery.

The wine was all very good, lowest average 3.55, and Sue may have found a new favorite.

Birthday Sangiovese

As I've said, we've watched al lot of WINEKING. Peter Koff's love of Sangiovese inspired me to plan a Sangiovese tasting. I figured if I could use his company, Great Wine 2 U, even better. A lot of the choices were unavailable, but I found my way to a selection if 4.

I was concerned about the age of two of them. I contacted the company with this concern. Peter responded, saying he had tried one of them recently and it was "lovely." He said he hadn't tried the other recently, but would. He responded later that he was trying the other and it was "delicious!"

Despite the assurances, I was still concerned. A couple of days before the tasting, the latest WINEKING tasted some Sangiovese. I decided to add one last minute, if I could get it to everyone involved.

The front tree always looks beautiful my birthday weekend.

It was yet another celebration via remote tasting, but there's light at the end of the tunnel, and I look forward to in person, vaccinated gatherings.

In an effort to reduce the cost of the tasting, 4 of us split bottles the day of the tasting. I was worried about some of the corks being problems, since they were over ten years old. I used an AH-so wine opener and didn't have any problems.

We used these great half bottles I found on Amazon, inspired by Jose's suggestions.

When Jose picked up his bottles, he dropped off a box of Alfajores Lili had made for me for my birthday. What a wonderfully delicious surprise!

We all joined up at 6 to taste and enjoy each other's company.

Results

E - 2017 Volpaia Chianti Classico Riserva DOCG, came in first place with an average of 3.59. It cost $30.50 from TotalWine.

C - 2013 La Fornace Brunello di Montalcino Riserva DOC, came in second place with an average of 2.66. It cost $76 from Great Wine 2 U.

A - 2003 Cupano Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, came in third place with an average of 2.50. It cost $92 from Great Wine 2 U.

B - 2012 Stellekaya Hercules Stellenbosch South Africa, came in fourth place with an average of 2.20. It cost $27.50 from Great Wine 2 U.

D - 2005 Lombardo Vino Nobile di Montepulciano DOCG Italy, came in last place with an average of 1.45. It cost $70 from Great Wine 2 U.

Overall I did not enjoy the wine. I was surprised at how much taste A had, given its age. In the end, everyone reminded me that it's more about the social interactions, which was close to a 5. Many expressed an interest adventuring out into different varietals. Overall it was a great time and I discovered that Alfajores pair wonderfully with a number of the Sangiovese we tasted!