Great wedding day

My eldest son Steve and new daughter-in-law Luci had a great wedding in North Bend, Washington. I am blogging about this on my family blog.

On vacation again

I am in Seattle with family for my oldest son's wedding. I will be back in August. I am covering the trip on my family blog.

Back from the journey

I have returned from my bike tour!
Sierra to the Sea 2005 was a great bike tour. It was a bit cooler than past years and that was to the better. I had some great ride and saw many old friends and made new ones. I just returned yesterday so I have not yet processed a lot of the memories. On the last day many of the riders talked about their journeys. It impressed me that the experiences everybody shared were so different that at times they could have been talking about different trips. I guess life, and bicycle tours, is like that.

Kenneth has moved to his new home
Today I helped youngest son Ken move his bed and some of his belongings to his new place. Tonight is his first night in his own place. For me, for the first time since 1976, the nest is empty.

I am going off the grids

I am a one week drop out
For the next nine days I will be off the Internet grid and off the power grid. I will be on a bicycle touring the middle of California. If you want more information I will be on a bicycle tour called the Sierra to the Sea. I am really looking forward to the adventure and will blog about it after I return. There will be other big adventures starting next week too. My son Kenneth is getting his own place. He is moving into a rental trailer owned by one of my other son's, Jeff and his wife Nicole. Ken will be their tenant.

Blog full disclosure statement
Every now and then I like to post a link to each of my six blogs. This link gives a more honest view of my Internet identity than does reading one or two of the blogs alone.

Free Wine, as in free speech

Special Interests Attempting to Limit Your Selection and Pocket Your Money
SB 118 (Chesbro) is a bill in reaction to the US Supreme Court direct wine shipping decision that prohibited discriminatory legislation. The bill originally would have created a permit that could be applied for by anyone licensed to sell wine to consumers (wineries and wine retailers) in any state. The permit would require registration with the California ABC, payment of California taxes, the same protections against delivery to minors that currently exist for CA wineries and retailers, limitations on shipment volume and would give the ABC the authority to regulate the shipments.

However, the mega-wholesale distributor interests in CA (Southern Wine and Spirits and Young's Market Company) have called in their political muscle in order to remove out-of-state retailers from the permit system. Under the version of the bill approved on June 14th, only a select few retailers outside of the state of California may even apply for a permit.

This is WRONG. The proposed permit system MUST provide for the ability of all retail licensees (wherever located) to participate freely. If retailers outside of CA are excluded from the CA market system, other states would retaliate by excluding California retailers from their markets. The goal of the bill was to encourage the creation of a national system of permits and licenses that provides the opportunity for every licensed merchant to participate, no matter where that merchant is located. This would be in the interest of all consumers, whether in CA or elsewhere.

Retailers in all states invest significant sums of money in inventory from multiple winery and importer sources. Retailers hold that inventory (often for years) and make it available in a convenient way to consumers who know and trust the merchant. Those customers could be across the street or across the country. That is the reality of the current market, especially for the expensive, limited production and usually allocated, collectible wines from California and the rest of the world. Requiring these wines to go back up through the three-tier system after they have already traversed it once (if they even could, currently they would just be unavailable outside of California, or unavailable to California if they are located in another state) would give the wholesalers a double profit margin; certainly good for the wholesalers, but not very good for the retailer or for the consumer. Who pays? You bet that the consumer pays.

The Supreme Court in the Granholm case condemned state laws that discriminated against out-of-state interests in favor of identically situated in-state interests. This statute would perpetuate discrimination WITHIN the California market by attempting to keep retailers from outside of California OUT of the market. While we think that any such effort would be unconstitutional as to retailers outside of California under Granholm, we do not want to fight the statute after it is written. Our goal is to make sure that the statute doesn't get passed with that flaw in the first place!

The interests of the wholesale tier, by proposing to take retail licensees out of the statute, is NOT to benefit California retailers by keeping them safe from competition from outside of the state. It is aimed at PREVENTING California retailers from servicing customers outside of California unless the transaction is run through the wholesale tier at a significant cost. Their goal is to have this bill emulated throughout the US. If California creates a discriminatory licensing or permit scheme, the wholesalers will use that example as a bludgeon in every other legislature in the US to keep those markets closed to California retailers.

The proposed bill can be found online at:
http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/bills/SB_118

There is a link on that page for you to take action and contact legislators about the bill, or you can go directly to:
http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/act/billletter.html?bill=sb_118&cmtehouse=A&cmte=GOVERNMENTAL+ORGANIZATION

Most importantly - spread the word about this proposed bill. For a wine lover or wine retailer this is special interest politics at its worst.

K&L Wine Merchants
http://www.klwines.com
Phone: 877-KLWines (toll free 877-559-4637)
Email: wine@klwines.com

Wine Reviews: Januik 2002 Red Wine, Castoro 2001 Syrah

Januik 2002 Red Wine, Columbia Valley [Our Rating, 8] Very nice, wonderful nose. A pleasant Meritage blend, a very easy wine to drink. A very nice wine that is dry and finishes well. This wine gets little notice in the wine press.

Castoro 2001 Syrah, Paso Robles Reserve [Our Rating, 7.5] Nice nose and a pleasant wine to drink on a relaxing evening. A nice Syrah. Good nose. Pleasant, concentrated but not explosive to me, a little constrained, a bit tart not jammy. A nice finish. It has strong oak and tart berries with a hint of vanilla and finishes well. According to Castoro, "The 2001 grapes for this wine were sourced from the same well-tended vineyards in the Estrella area of the Paso Robles appellation. In the aroma you will find a high intensity and balance of berry fruits, violets and oak. The mouthfeel has characteristically moderate levels of tannin, yet is lush. The bright fruit and oak flavors linger on the palate. The moderate acidity and appealing level of astringency make for a versatile wine that pairs well with anything from appetizers to heavy meat dishes."

Wine Review: Burrell School 2003 Estate Pichon Syrah

Burrell School 2003 Estate Pichon Syrah, Santa Cruz Mountains [Our Rating, 7.5+] A nice Syrah. Good nose, a little tannic. Pleasant, not too fruit forward. Taste of black berries, smoke and cedar, a lingering finish that leaves a little hint of oak and cherries on the tongue.

Winery Reviews: Paso Robles

Over the last weekend we went to a number of wineries in the Paso Robles Area and tasted some fantastic wine.



Here are the places we went:

• Wild Coyote Winery
  We had a great time. We went to this and the next two wineries with Jeff, Pam and Harold. We got a personal tour of the new B&B they are building. Their wine is fantastic. We were especially impressed with the 2002 Zinfandel, which is a huge complex Zinfandel that just dances on the palatte. It is big without being too jammy, a wonderful wine.
• Carmody McKnight
  A very pretty winery with very good wines and excellent facilities. This winery is way out in the far west of the Paso Robles appelation. It is almost over the hill from Hearst Castle. The wines were pretty good and the Cabernet Savignon was much better than I expected.
• Norman Vineyards
  This is one of my favorites. You can skip over most of the rest of their wines and go right to the reds. Like Carmody McKnight they make a pretty decent cab. They make some great Bordeaux blends and some wonderful Zinfandels. We had had their monster Zinfandel the night before so we knew this was going to be great. To me the monster is the arctypical Paso Zinfandel. It is big and fruity but not too jammy. It has rich layers that sing a song of the oak trees and rolling hills and hot days and cool evening breezes. We love it. What we didn't know is they have an even better Zinfandel. They have one named Mephistopheles that is nicknamed "the panty dropper." It is huge and explosive on the pallatte. Their blends include the wonderful Bordeaux blend, No Nonsence Red and their even more wonderful blend named Crescendo.
• Castoro
  Harold, Jeff, Sue and I went there after lunch and maybe our taste buds were fried. They were consistently good, as usual, but nothing here tempted us to buy. We tasted the last of their Giubbini wines. This vineyard is going to be releasing its fruit in wines produced under a different label in the future. This Zinfandel was still good but not as jammy as I remember previous vintages to be.
• Tobin James
  Sue and I went there and the next winery on Monday. I wanted to go to Tobin James because Elaine had gone there and I knew they have signed copies of the book, Sideways for sale. I tasted Zinfandels and Syrahs their and was generally happy with them. I met a student at CalPoly SLO their and we discussed how working in winerys was the perfect student job.
• Garretson
  We saved the best for last here. This winery is in a very industrial area. Despite the fact that it is right off highway 46 it is off the beaten path and does not look like a winery at all. They only do Rhones, but they do that very well. Their Syrahs are the best I have ever had. They make a Syrah they call “The Bulladóir” that is absolutely amazing, it is the best Syrah I have ever had in my life, and is unlike anything I have ever tasted. The color is almost black and the nose is so unique that I can't describe it. This is a deep wine that has soul.

Where did all these pigs come from?

Never mind the environmental impact of driving these gas hogs! This driver had the nerves to hog two space in this crowded parking lot at SJSU. There are a lot of pigs out there.

I have this theory. My theory is if you want to get to work on time, leave early! I drive to work down Almaden Expressway in San Jose. I drive an economy car and drive the speed limit in the far right lane. There is no reason to drive like an idiot. It has a 45 mph speed limit. Most traffic goes 60 mph in the morning. Even though I have two lanes to my left I often have an idiot, usually driving big either a big pickup or a SUV (often a Lexus) getting right on my back bumper trying to bully me into speeding or pulling off the road. I just lock my cruise control at 45mph. I have had them honk at me! This is nuts.

We cannot become part of the problem. I say don't give in to these bullys!

Here is a little story. Today we were on a club bike ride. We were stopped in the left turn. A car pulls up in the lane to our right. The driver stops at the light, opens the door and dumps a pile of trash in the street. Then the light turns green and she drives away. She did not seem to care that we were standing right next to her or that we were yelling at her. She forgot to throw away the trash behind the wheel.

Wine Review: Cinnabar, Mercury Rising, 2002 Bordeaux Blend, Meritage

Cinnabar, Mercury Rising, 2002 Bordeaux Blend, Meritage [Our Rating, 7],  Purchased at Wine Club, $13.99, Decent but not great. a decent Meritage Blend

Wine Review: Waterbrook Winery 2002 Melange, Columbia Valley

Waterbrook Winery 2002 Melange, Columbia Valley [Our Rating, 8+ ],  Very Nice Meritage, a solid 8. Nice nose, opens up well. Easy to drink, well balanced, just like the review says, fabulous and affordable! Wine Club $11, List $16

Wine Spectator
90, Ripe and plump, generous with its spicy, mocha-scented cherry and blackberry flavors, persisting smoothly through the long, harmonious finish. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, Merlot, Syrah and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2010. 19,000 cases made. (HS)

Wine Press Northwest
 Outstanding! Waterbrook Winery 2002 Melange, Columbia Valley. Year after year, Waterbrook astounds us with this intense and inexpensive blend, which this year contains Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah and Sangiovese. It's a fabulous and affordable red that reveals aromas and flavors of milk chocolate, ripe berries and exotic spices. Sweet tannins and terrific acidity yield perfect balance and a lingering finish. Priced to enjoy regularly with grilled meats. Wine Press Northwest- Summer 2004

Wine Review: Burrell School 2000 Estate Merlot, Santa Cruz Mountains

Burrell School 2000 Estate Merlot, Santa Cruz Mountains [Our Rating, 7 ], This was a decent wine, but not great. This wines seems light, lacking body or structure. My mother-in-law likes it a lot but to Sue and I it seemed weak, and lacking of boldness or character. Kinda flat, almost watered down. We liked the 2001 a lot, what a difference a year makes. Perhaps this is past its peak.

Movie Review: Van Hellsing

Van Hellsing [Our Rating, 7.5 ], Fantasy and old fashioned scary movies combined. There is Dracula, Wierwolves, Frankenstien, Jekyl/Hyde and everything in this movie. Not a bad movie, we rented it on Netflix and it was entertaining. This, Susie and a nice bottle of Shiraz is a good way to spend a Friday night.

Wine Review: Ross Estate 2002 Shiraz, Barossa Valley

Ross Estate 2002 (Shiraz/Syrah) Shiraz, Barossa Valley, Austrailia, Estate [Our Rating, 8.5 ], We both like this a lot great nose and color, pleasant and smooth with a light peppery finish. Purchased at Wine Club, $19.99 Retail $37, Wine Spectator 86:

Dark and tarry, not a heavyweight but dense with cherry and licorice flavors, finishing with a bite of tannins. Best from 2005 through 2008. 500 cases made. (HS)

Wine Review: Cline Red Truck 2003 [Revisit!]

Bought during Sonora Trip December 2004 [My Rating, 8], There are so many variables in tasting wine. Mood, taste buds, pairings, any residue of soap in the glass, not to mention storage and even the quality of the cork, can change the way a wine tastes, or tastes to us, at any given time! This time we liked it better, it wasn't great, but not bad either. It is a blend of Syrah, Petite Sirah, Cab Franc with a bit of Merlot. It was fine for an evening of paying bills and watching Survivor.

According to Cline: Medium-bodied and complex, flavors of chocolate, berries, cherries and licorice abound. The black pepper finish settles with smooth tannins. You can drink red truck anywhere, anytime (it pairs well with pizza and tomato based dishes). And for you die-hard Cline fans, take it for a spin and floor it baby, metaphorically speaking of course!