Lunch with Steve Edmunds and his new releases

This is becoming a regular occurrence. I call Steve Edmunds and coerce him into opening his soon to be released wines – he agrees and we meet for lunch at Café Rouge in Berkeley.

It works for me.

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Sorry to say that there was not a lot of wine to sample for this release. At least my pocket book will not go through a similar devastation that it took two weeks ago. The theme for this release is wine from the Southern Rhone and Kosher wines. Sadly the latter group had just a couple for sampling. Many of the Rhone wines were missing, but what I did taste for the most part was exemplary. I probably will buy those that I did not get to try as they are well priced and well touted by the pro’s, at least according to the write ups in the catalogue. Read the rest of this entry »

Our friends at Wines of Distinction held a trade tasting last week focused primarily on their portfolio of wines from the Southern Rhône, with particular emphasis on the stellar 2007 vintage. Most of the wines were from the J et R Selections book, which has long been a favorite of ours. There were a few from Hand Picked Selections as well, another importer that we’re quite fond of.  The tasting was held at the Oak City Grille in Royal Oak, which provided a cozy setting and a tasty spread of victuals to go with the wine selections. As Kim and I entered, we were greeted with a glass of bubbly to boot up our palates and we were off to tasting. Because of the crowd and the number of wines presented, my notes are necessarily of the very brief “snapshot” variety. Read the rest of this entry »

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I got an email a few days ago informing me of a new blog that should be of great interest to serious bubble-heads everywhere. The message was from “The Dom Pérignon team,” and read as follows:

“… we thought you would be interested in knowing that Richard Geoffroy, chef de Cave at Dom Pérignon, is launching his personal blog, which is an unprecedented initiative for a prestigious Champagne house’s creator. Read the rest of this entry »

Luca Carrado and George Heritier - Click to enlarge

For a guy who runs with the likes of Keith Richards and Mick Jagger, Luca Carrado is about as down-to-earth and friendly as one can get. Luca was in the neighborhood last week to promote his family’s Vietti wines, and I enjoyed his last visit so much, I made a note on my calendar as soon as I heard of his impending return. This time around, the boys at Cloverleaf Fine Wine and Liquor hosted a tasting with Carrado on hand to talk about all things Vietti, so Kim and I hopped in the car and drove over to Royal Oak to partake in the festivities. A goodly sized crowd turned out and Luca held court for about four hours. We hung out for about an hour and a half, talking with him, noshing on an excellent spread of food that was provided by pure food 2 U, and of course, tasting the wine. Read the rest of this entry »

Moments after joining Facebook’s “I hate wine ratings” group, my Vintages catalogue arrived in my mailbox and guess what, the theme of the release is “North of Ninety,” showcasing a plethora of wines that critics believe warrant ninety points or higher. Good news is there are many exceptional wines to be found and if you are a numbers buyer, then this is the release for you. I also tasted several Northern Rhone Valley wines from the 2007 vintage that rock. Well priced, well balanced and really tasty. Do feel free to read on……… Read the rest of this entry »

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Check this out!  Our own Chef Kerr will be traveling to Mexico in early March as a celebrity chef for The Little Mexican Cooking School in Puerto Morelos.

Bueno!!

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It’s always exciting to hear about a wine dinner featuring selections from one of our favorite producers being held at one of the hottest restaurants in town, especially when the total tab for the event is only $39. That’s just what took place at El Barzon, the critically acclaimed Mexican-Italian eatery in Detroit’s southwest side, last Thursday, January 28th, when six wines from Bonny Doon Vineyards were paired with six courses from their excellent menu. We’ve expressed our appreciation for Randall Grahm’s wines on more than one occasion, and Kim and I had dined at El Barzon just a few months ago, so we made our reservations as soon as we caught wind of the happenings.

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Chef J.D. Wesley and Christina Donley - Click to enlarge

We love wine dinners at Gang of Pour, and last week, Kim and I had the very good fortune to participate in three of them on successive evenings. Yes, it’s tough work, but we’re professionals here at Adams, Heritier and Associates, and we can handle the hard assignments.

Our good friend Christina Donley was back in the neighborhood in her capacity as Midwest Regional Sales Representative for Ridge Vineyards, and she invited us to join her for a Ridge wine dinner at Encore by J. D. Wesley, an intimate little restaurant on Toledo’s west side. We accepted, of course, every bit as much to enjoy her company as to savor our beloved Mr. Ridge, and indeed, we couldn’t have had a finer time. Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Chris Witkowski. Click image to enlarge.

It’s no exaggeration to describe “Florida” Jim Cowan as one of the most respected and admired commentators in the online wine community.  A true gentleman, Jim is the consummate voice of reason, with a common sense view of all things wine-related that resonates strongly with his many friends and readers.  Most of us in Gang of Pour go back a number of years with “Florida” Jim, having met up with him all over the country to share good food, wine and friendship, and several of those events have been documented in our pages, going all the way back to the second “Bacchus tour.” Read the rest of this entry »