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The
VINO FINO
Holiday Wine Marathon & Dinner
December 4, 2002
The Vino Fino Tasters, a little monthly wine-tasting group, holds its annual
holiday Bacchanalia in early December in San Francisco.
Dick Otstott was able to coerce The Metropolitan Club to allow us to, once
again, spill wine all over their linens.
After a harrowing taxi ride from the Cal-Train station by a frustrated Formula
One driver, we arrived to help "organize" (if that's possible) the
evening.
There we are on the events' board!
Each member brings a bottle of wine from his "cellar," and the loose
"theme" for this year was Cabernets from the early 1990's.
I arrange the wines in tasting order and then double decanted each bottle as the
members are arriving, each clutching their preciously cellared flagon!
The group gathers, anxiously awaiting the opening of the Champagne. Some
are quite impatient, yet subtle:
"Gee, a glass of Champagne would be nice about now!"
I brought a couple of magnums of the excellent AGRAPART non-vintaged Brut
CHAMPAGNE. This was thoroughly delicious with the outstanding assortment
of oysters assembled by Chef Mehrdad Dabir.
OYSTERS:
DIAMOND POINT
BUCKLEY BAY
HAMA HAMA
HOG ISLAND SWEETWATER
SAINT ANNE'S BAY
SALUTATION COVE
Thankfully, Chef Dabir had an ample supply, as I was busy decanting the
wines and my cohorts were busy harvesting the bounty of the sea!
Jim Sweeney dives into the Champagne, along with Doug Moke and Alex
Hoeppen.
Ernie Anderson, Allan Anderson
& Tim Zainer.
Mark and Gary were busy solving the world's problems. The Champagne helps!
This year's line-up is even more impressive than last year's!
I decanted all but the last two, more venerable bottles. We wanted to be
sure to not allow those to deteriorate due to aeration. The rest of the
wines were young enough where this would not be a problem.
DICK OTSTOTT hoists a glass of Louis
Latour's 1990 CORTON-
CHARLEMAGNE,
from the cellar of Jack Sweitzer.
The wine was quite mature, displaying hints of toasted hazelnuts and nice,
creamy, buttery notes.
Chef Dabir's first bit of magic was a lovely starter:
" TRUFFLED LOCAL HEDGE HOG MUSHROOM 'SANDWICH' "
The Mushrooms were terrific and a nice match with the Corton-Charlemagne.
Too bad Jack didn't bring a magnum!
The conversation invariably arrives at a discussion of music. Here we see
Allan Anderson & Tim Zainer singing a duet.
Amazingly, none of the Metropolitan Club's Riedel glasses were broken during
this part of the evening!
Jack Sweitzer & Pat Donahue were busy with more important discussions:
WINE!
Mark Naismith, for once, has the same size stemware as the rest of the group.
Tim Zainer, a CPA, audits Mark's pouring of the wine, much to the amusement of
Mr. Sweitzer.
The next plate was
GRILLED DIVER SCALLOPS & PRAWNS WITH ROMESCO SAUCE.
We had some bottles of FEUDI di SAN GREGORIO 2001 FIANO DI AVELLINO to pair with
this, a nice combination.
Meanwhile, Chef Dabir was busy preparing the roasted racks of lamb to go with
the massive line-up of Cabernets!
I had brought a glass of 1991 Eisele Vineyard Cabernet from Araujo for the chef
as "motivation" for another stellar performance.
No problem!
RACK OF JAMES RANCH LAMB
with ROASTED ROOT VEGETABLES
This was a wonderful main plate.
And the Opus One 1990 from Doug Moke's cellar wasn't bad, either!
John McGlothlin seems to be a "magnet" for all the bottles!
The final red wine decanted this evening was a 1964 Chateau Talbot, a
"memorial" bottle for our dear pal, the late John Vignau.
As the evening wound down, Tim Zainer inquired of Chef Dabir for a good recipe
for Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches.
Apparently Tim has a cellar full of Sutter Home White Zinfandel and needs
suitable cuisine for a corporate event.
After a little "palate cleanser" of a Cassis Sorbet, the chef sent
out dessert:
A POACHED PEAR WITH HAZELNUT CREMA
A 1986 Niepoort Colheita Port was terrific with this!
Just for the record, here's the amazing list of wines from the
"Marathon".
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AGRAPART
BRUT
CHAMPAGNE
in
Magnum
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Gerald
Weisl
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LOUIS LATOUR
1990
CORTON-CHARLEMAGNE
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Jack Sweitzer
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FEUDI
DI SAN GREGORIO
2001 FIANO DI AVELLINO
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Gerald
Weisl
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STAGS'
LEAP
WINERY
1993 Napa CABERNET
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Ernie Anderson
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SIMI
1993 Alexander Valley
Reserve CABERNET
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Mark
Naismith
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FISHER
1992 Napa Coach
Insignia
CABERNET
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Alex
Hoeppen
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ARAUJO
1991 Eisele Vineyard
CABERNET
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Dick
Otstott
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SPOTTSWOODE
1990 Napa
CABERNET
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Tim Zainer
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Chteau
LA LAGUNE
1990 HAUT
MEDOC
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Gary
Peer
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OPUS ONE
1990 Napa
Valley
RED WINE
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Doug
Moke
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RIDGE
1990 Bradford Mountain
CABERNET
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John
McGlothlin
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Chateau
SOCIANDO-MALLET
1990 Haut-Medoc
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Pat
Donahue
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Chteau
BEYCHEVELLE
1989 Saint-Estephe
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Jim
Sweeney
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DIAMOND
CREEK
1986 Napa
CABERNET
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Jacques
Sweitzer
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Chateau
LATOUR
1970 Pauillac
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Allan
Anderson
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Chteau
TALBOT
1964 Saint-Julien
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John
Vignau
Mmorial Bottle
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NIEPOORT
1986 Colheita
PORTO
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Wayne
Chu
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A more calm taxi ride to Cal-Train and several hours of
horizontality were needed after such an exhausting event!
Many thanks to the Metropolitan Club for hosting us!
BACK TO THE VINO-FINO MAIN PAGE
VINO FINO TASTING ARCHIVE
2007 RUSSIAN RIVER PINOT NOIRS February 2010
A
RANGE OF FRENCH CHABLIS WINES January 2010
HOLIDAY DINNER
& WINE MARATHON December 2009
ROSÉ
SPARKLING WINES November 2009
ARGENTINEAN
MALBECS October 2009
WEST
COAST CHARDONNAYS September 2009
GREEK
RED WINES August 2009
2005
BUDGET BORDEAUX July 2009
CAMPANIAN
WHITE WINES June 2009
MIXED
BAG OF CALIFORNIA PINOT NOIRS April 2009
RIOJA
WINES, MOSTLY FROM THE 2004 VINTAGE March 2009
NORTH
COAST PETITE SIRAHS February 2009
SYRAH
& PETITE SIRAH COMPARISON January 2009
A
VINO FINO CHRISTMAS December 2008
MOSTLY
2005s: NAPA CABERNETS November 2008
SONOMA
COUNTY PINOT NOIRS October 2008
SANTA
RITA HILLS -2006 VINTAGE- PINOT NOIRS SEPTEMBER 2008
NEWLY
RELEASED ZINFANDELS August 2008
WHITE
RHÔNE VALLEY WINES JULY 2008
LOIRE
VALLEY SAUVIGNONS JUNE 2008
FRENCH
CHABLIS 2005-2006 MAY 2008
NORTHERN
RHÔNE SYRAHS APRIL 2008
SANTA
CRUZ MOUNTAINS PINOT NOIRS January 2008
ANNUAL
HOLIDAY CHRISTMAS DINNER December 2007
WEST
COAST CHARDONNAYS November 2007
AUSTRALIAN
SHIRAZ October 2007
SPANISH
TEMPRANILLO WINES September 2007
SONOMA'S
2005 VINTAGE ZINFANDELS August 2007
CURRENT
RELEASE (2004-2005) ZINFANDELS July 2007
ROS
WINES FROM ALL OVER June 2007
ITALIAN
LAGREIN WINES May 2007
ARGENTINEAN
MALBECS April 2007
SOUTHERN
HEMISPHERE PINOT NOIRS March 2007
MOSTLY
2004 CABERNETS February 2007
CRU
BEAUJOLAIS January 2007
A VINO
FINO CHRISTMAS December 2006
CALIFORNIA
ZINFANDELS November 2006
PINOT
NOIRS of VALUE-PRICING October 2006
WORLD
OF SYRAHS TASTING September 2006
AUSSIE
CABERNET-SHIRAZ BLENDS August 2006
ALEXANDER
VALLEY (California) and MARGARET RIVER (Australia) CABERNETS July
2006
CALIFORNIA
PETITE SIRAHS June 2006
2004
NORTH COAST PINOTS and a FRENCH INTRUDER May 2006
AGLIANICO
: BASILICATA & CAMPANIA'S MAJOR RED WINE April 2006
NERO
D'AVOLA - A TASTE OF SICILIA March 2006
UNDER THE
VINO FINO RADAR ZINFANDELS January 2006
HOLIDAY WINE
TASTING & DINNER December 2005
BUBBLIES FROM AROUND
THE WORLD November 2005
NORTH
COAST PINOT NOIRS October 2005
STATE
OF CONFUSION CABERNETS September 2005
TIM
ZAINER'S SIDEWAYS LOOK AT MERLOTS August 2005
LOIRE VALLEY CABERNET
FRANCS June 2005
CALIFORNIA
SYRAHS March 2005
2002
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS February 2005
VINO
FINO HOLIDAY WINE MARATHON December 2004
CHARDONNAYS
OF MODEST PRICE November 2004
SPANISH
TEMPRANILLO October 2004
2002
CENTRAL COAST PINOT NOIRS September 2004
AUSSIE
SHIRAZ-CABERNET BLENDS August 2004
GEWRZTRAMINERS
FROM ALSACE July 2004
2001
SOUTHERN RHNES (7 Chteauneufs & a Vacqueyras) June 2004
AGLIANICO
WINES FROM CAMPANIA & BASILICATA May 2004
MONTEPULCIANO
WINES FROM THE ABRUZZO & MARCHE REGIONS April 2004
SONOMA
ZINFANDELS February 2004
1997
BRUNELLO DI MONTALCINO January 2004
VINO
FINO HOLIDAY BACCHANALIA 2003
2001
CTES du RHNES September 17, 2003
2000
OREGON PINOT NOIRS August 20, 2003
WEST
COAST SYRAHS July 16, 2003
2000
Bordeaux June 18, 2003
2000
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS May 21, 2003
OFF
THE BEATEN PATH SYRAHS APRIL 16, 2003
2002 NEW ZEALAND
SAUVIGNON BLANCS March 19, 2003
1999
California CABERNETS February 19, 2003
VINO
FINO HOLIDAY BACCHANALIA December 4, 2002
AUSTRALIAN
SHIRAZ August 21, 2002
CHAMPAGNES
& SPARKLERS July 17, 2002
Interesting
Paired CHARDONNAYS
May 15, 2002
2001
Southern Hemisphere SAUVIGNON BLANCS Feb. 20, 2002
1999 ZINFANDELS January 16, 2002
HOLIDAY
SEASON BACCHANALIA
December 5, 2001
1999-2000
New PINOT NOIRS November 14, 2001
1999
CALIFORNIA ZINFANDELS October 17, 2001
1998
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS September 19, 2001
1999
LANGUEDOC REDS August 15, 2001
1997
SAUTERNES July 18, 2001
Mostly
1998 NEBBIOLO June 20, 2001
1999 PINOT NOIRS May
16, 2001
1996
SAINT-MILION Tasting April 18, 2001
CARNEROS
CHARDONNAYS March 21, 2001
1984-1985
NAPA CABERNETS/John Vignau Memorial Tasting October 20, 2000
1997
CALIFORNIA CABERNETS September 20, 2000
1998 CALIFORNIA
CHARDONNAYS August 16, 2000
WINES
FROM THE SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE: CLARETS June 21, 2000
WINES
FROM UNDER THE TUSCAN (and Umbrian) SUN Aprile 19, 2000
1997 BORDEAUX: MEDOC May 17,
2000
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