[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by RickFLM4

I am pending 15 bottles from Realm to be delivered in November, 9 of which are The Bard. It really is a nice all around wine for home or corkage. Enjoy!

(Which vintage did you try there?)

That sounds great! You mentioned before about the packaging being good, and I totally agree. They did a very nice job. Ours arrived cold.

Tonight we had a 2018. Let it breathe for about an hour. Mrs first impression was “wow, very smooth”.

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

That sounds great! You mentioned before about the packaging being good, and I totally agree. They did a very nice job. Ours arrived cold.

Tonight we had a 2018. Let it breathe for about an hour. Mrs first impression was “wow, very smooth”.

2018 is a great year, as is 2016 and, of course, 2013.

[sygazelle]

Do any of you dislike or even hate Rombauer wines? I know there is some talk about their Chardonnay being too oaky and too much alcohol content.

Why am I asking? I was at my wife's high school reunion last weekend. One of her classmates said he is a winemaker. He buys the grapes and makes 100-150 cases per year. He used to be a "wine educator" at one of the wineries in Temecula, CA....a real expert according to him.

When I mentioned that my wife and I are wine club members at Rombauer he literally flipped out. He got red in the face and his voice changed to this pretty scary tone and he started saying negative things about how Rombauer makes its wines. He called their Chardonnay "Cougar Juice". I've heard that before so it was not a surprise.

He was livid that Rombauer dare make wines differently. He explained himself but I don't know anything about wine making so his explanation was lost on me. He hates their zin for being too something or another (wine speak). I told him I loved their zin.

I was not about to ruin my time at the reunion by getting into a pissing contest with this wine snob, but I did have a closing point that I made and then I moved onto another conversation with an actual nice person. I said, "you make really great wine and sell 150 cases per year. Rombauer makes 350,000 cases per year of wine people like to drink and just sold themselves to Gallo for probably $1.5 billion dollars. They must be doing something right."

My question to you wine enthusiasts. Does Rombauer deserve all the hate for choosing to do things a bit differently than other wineries?

[hubbahubba]

I've never visited or tasted Rombauer, but will someday. In all the wineries that I have ever visited, (just like any retail business, I suppose), their way was always better than the other guy's. I always take it with a grain of salt and move on with conversation. I've tasted wine from some wineries that have a fabulous reputation, and absolutely hated it. I've also tasted from some real no-name small guys and loved it. Making wine is an art, and no artist paints the same way. How it tastes to YOU is the only thing that matters. Wine snobbery is real, whether the wine is good or bad.

[hubbahubba]

We picked this up last summer at the winery in Los Olivos. I was pretty disappointed when tasting it again today, until I found the pic of the tasting sheet and saw that the bottle was only $28. A solid $28 wine…

[Fugly M3]

Had a terrible week (first photo), so I decided to try and make it better over the weekend. One of my favorites (second photo).

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by Fugly M3

Had a terrible week (first photo), so I decided to try and make it better over the weekend. One of my favorites (second photo).

Attachment 3289849

Attachment 3289848

The first pic hurts me!

[Fugly M3]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

The first pic hurts me!

You have no idea. Coming out from the chiro/accu to this was the worst experience ever. Wish she were totaled to be honest.

[hubbahubba]

Dynamite. Gotta love the Rutherford dust.

[hubbahubba]

Did a wine dinner last night with Aia Vecchia. We were seated across the table from Elia Pelligrini, who is the owner. That was a cool experience. He comes to the states every year a week or 2 at a time, 8-10 times/ year. My experience with Italian wine is limited, but we really enjoyed these wines. We placed an order that should arrive within the next week from the local distributor. We have a liquor license, and got to know our new rep at the dinner as well. They are a small distributor, but carry some excellent wines. That is a win, for sure.

[hubbahubba]

Son of a bitch…

[hubbahubba]

Crisis averted

[kscarrol]

Phew, don’t usually see corks like that on four year old bottle.

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Phew, don’t usually see corks like that on four year old bottle.

No doubt. I was using an electric cork remover. If it goes sideways even a bit, chaos. A little surgery with a wine key and all is well. Glad everything came out all right! Certainly didn't want to ruin a fine bottle like that!

[kscarrol]

I stick with the old fashion hand cork screw…

[Esteban]

Originally Posted by hubbahubba

No doubt. I was using an electric cork remover. If it goes sideways even a bit, chaos. A little surgery with a wine key and all is well. Glad everything came out all right! Certainly didn't want to ruin a fine bottle like that!

I use an electric cork remover as well. Mine is an Oster.

Looks like this (pic from the web).

[RickFLM4]

Originally Posted by Esteban

I use an electric cork remover as well. Mine is an Oster.

Looks like this (pic from the web).

You’re back!

[hubbahubba]

Originally Posted by Esteban

I use an electric cork remover as well. Mine is an Oster.

Looks like this (pic from the web).

Cuisinart here.

[hubbahubba]

Picked up our order this afternoon from the Aia Vecchia wine dinner that we attended the other night.

[Fugly M3]

Great bottle of Castilla (tempranillo) with dinner tonight in Galicia (Spain). Last day of the Camino de Santiago tomorrow.

[hubbahubba]

I wasn’t in the mood for red, but Mrs H was. I figure great! I’ll open a bottle of an Az wine, (reasonably priced), but still one that we picked at a wine festival last year. I like it, but her actual response was “what kerosene are you bringing me?” Was browsing OT LOL.😎

[Roman]

Typically, I'm not a fan of Pinot Noir. I find it too light and thin, like wine flavored water. So I was more than a little surprised by how much I enjoyed this. It also paired beautifully with Mexican food.