Hooray!!???....

Yup, they’re here, yes we will be pouring them in celebration of the harvest but…damn, do I hate these wines. For years I turned up my nose at Gamay, I didn’t get them, I do now but these? Not so much. They are thin, tangy and more often than not taste of banana, I hate banana. I even had one wine person say, “I cannot wait to taste the Nouveau this year. I hear that 2009 was a great vintage for France”……um, what the hell? You really think those carbonicly craptastic wines are going to tell you something about the 2009 vintage in France?! Oh that’s right, you read all the “press” so you already know everything, (grumble). The thing is, I already know this person is going to taste the wines and proclaim them the best vintage in years, why even bother tasting them? I sure as shit wouldn’t if I didn’t have to….


The best part is when people ask me what my favorite is, for years I would just flat out tell people how much I hate them but after having people look at me like I just skinned a cat, I now just kind of chuckle, gently mention that they are, “Pretty similar” and point to the one with the label I like the most. I know I am going to get my bawls broken all day about this, the staff, knowing full well how I feel about these wines, is going to relish in having me assist every customer that wants a detailed breakdown on each Nouveau we have….sigh. I get why people love the festivities, the celebration and all but to get all serious, want tasting notes and standing there with your brow furrowed, nose buried in the glass while feverishly taking notes….well that might be just a little silly. Drink them, celebrate with them, wash your feet in them, (most pleasurable of the three in my book) but remember what they are and were meant to be, “fun”.

We did however just get in a bunch of 2008 Cru Beaujolais and they are drinking wicked delicious....think I will kick in the extra 5 bucks and drink those.

Thanks For Playin"

So now that the newsletter needs are off my shoulders I had some time to really look at the results of the survey I posted, okay okay…I looked before now, matter of fact I was damn near compulsive the first day or two, but with deadline breathing down my neck I let myself check, less. Now that I have some real time to look it over, and read the emails from those of you that wanted to see the results, (guess I’m not the only nosey one) I figured it wouldn’t hurt to post the findings. So the one thing I noticed was that many of you opted to fill in the blanks as it were, gotta tell ya…I was pretty touched by some of the things that were said, really touched, don’t know what I did to deserve such praise, would do it again in a second because that felt really damn good. Thank you all for taking the time, it does help and I will be taking some of the suggestions into consideration, (that’s fancy talk for, “thanks for stuffing my suggestion box and I aint gonna change much”) but for the most part it seems like people seem to like this silly blog and for a girl like me, that is a truly heartwarming thing.

I cannot address all of the things posted, like I said most of you opted to fill in the blanks but there were one or two people that pointed out my…um, lack of grammatical understanding, and to that I can only say, “Who the hell are ya tellin?!” I suck dudes, I know. The one thing I will say in my defense is that I was a horrible student that is when I was a student. I was kicked out of Poly High, (source of great pride when I was younger…much less now) in the 10th grade so the last grade I completed was the 9th and even then I rarely went to school. There is a whole world of shit that I never cared to learn, (again much cooler when you are like 16 than now) so those of you that read even though you must be cringing…I adore you for that. I’m not a writer, I’m just some chick that writes her mindless crap, throws it up and for some reason people read it, again I adore you for that.



I have to address the one person that responded to tell me that they read weekly but pretty much have no use for anything I write and would like to run into me, “never” I just have to ask, “Why are you reading?” I’m not upset and appreciate you taking the time to share your displeasure with me and my rambling but, why put yourself through it? Fuck, if I didn’t have to listen to me I wouldn’t and when it comes to reading blogs…you don’t have to. Save yourself, run!

Okay so on to the results…

1) I read Samantha Sans Dosage Because:
Other was the winner here. 45.5% of you opted to add your personal reason, (melted kids, I melted)
Drunk chicks are funny got 30.3% of the votes
Wine reviews got 24.2%
Customer at The Wine Country and HoseMaster tied with 12.1%
I had 2 because she is my soul mate on this one…

2) The one thing I would like to see more of:
Rants & Vetos took first place here with 45.5%
Other got 30.3%
Wine reviews got 18.2%
Personal stories got 6.1%
Wine business news got a big fat donut
Got a few, “More banter with HoseMaster”, got quite a few, “More pictures of Sam” (not happening by the way) Got lots of, “Don’t change a thing” and one request for erotic fiction…

3) I read Samantha Sans Dosage:
Daily got 51.5%
Alerted to new posts got 18.2%
Weekly got 12.1%
Rarely got 3.0%
Other got 15.2 and can I say, I loved the person that said hourly.

4) I don’t comment because:
Other took it here at 57.6%
Don’t know what to say got 30.3%
Other posters got 3.0%
Don’t care got 3.0%
My favorites in the other department, (aside from the total pervy one..and I know who you are!) were, “I’m afraid you might take a swing at me” and “Eh, I’m just not that interesting”

5) I started reading Samantha Sans Dosage because (and yes I am tired of typing my own name now)
She made me laugh got 42.4%
Drunk chicks are funny got 39.4%
I like French wine got 33.3%
I feel like I know her got 30.3%

6) I found Samantha Sans Dosage, (Ugh) through:
Other took it with 39.4% Peter Leim took a few, Wine Country customers took some..
Fermentation took 33.3%
HoseMaster got 13.3%
The Wine Country website got 9.0%
The Pour got 3.0%

7) If I could change one thing about Samantha, (sigh) Sans Dosage:
Other took 54.5 %
More wine porn got 27.3%
Less personal crap got 12.1%
Less photos got 6.1%
Content got a goose egg
My favorite, “other” comments were, “Move her closer to me so we can have lunch”, and I swear I had like 20, “don’t change a thing”…awe, melting…that’s me melting.

8) I am:
A wine lover took it with 63.6%
In the business got 27.3%
Not sure what I’m doing here got 15.2%
Other got 12.1%
Not that into wine but still a reader got 6.1%
Favorite other there had to be the confession to blog reading OCD

9) I think, (here we go again) Samantha Sans Dosage offers:
An interesting voice took it with 57.6%
Other got 21.2%
A giggle got 15.2%
Interesting wine reviews got 6.1%
Favorite others had to be, (again aside from the pervy..and I still know who you are) “A complete view of life, love, wine and friendship” and “A cool, humorous & touching look into the life of someone that has a lot to say”

10) I would like to run into Samantha:
Bar took it at 51.5%
Other got 36.4%
The Wine Country got 21.2%
An alley got 12.1%
Never got that one vote…
Favorite others, (again aside from the not as pervy but not fit for everyone to see) “At a bistro in Beaune” “frequently” that made me laugh my ass off, and there were lots of anywhere and everywhere ones…again, melting.

So there you have it, the results are in and I would once again like to thank everyone that took the time to participate…fascinating really and it was really cool to hear what everyone thinks. It means the world to me that you all read my silly crap, it fills me, pushes me and makes me want to be better at it, for me and for all of you.



I’ve always said that I’m not about the coco, berries and cherries. North facing slopes and drainage mean dick to me…I can speak it when need be, but it’s not what moves me. It’s the human side of wine, the way it feels in your mouth, the way a smell in a wine can stimulate a long lost memory, the way the back of your neck gets warm after the 3rd glass and the way people come together, share pink faced confessions over one too many glasses, that is what gets me going, lights that fire in my belly and keeps my thumping away at my wheezing little laptop…knowing that at least a few other people can find a kinship, something funny or at the very least interesting in that…stuns me, inspires me and makes me unbelievably grateful, thank you from the bottom of my wine soaked heart.

Long Day, Lots Of Happy People, Tons Of Adoration But I Still Want...More

After a long unfulfilling evening of newsletter writing…which means I could not get a word that made any sense to flow from this vacuous dome of mine, that was punctuated by a rather dramatic, “White trash neighbors” moment, I went to bed and hoped that Saturday would be a better day. Saturday was The Wine Country’s 14th anniversary and to celebrate we were doing one of our most beloved tastings, Cheese & Wine Fest. This is an event we normally do once a year is a perennial customer favorite and one of the most labor intensive tastings of the year….well this year, we did two.

Randy had requested that rather than have me pick the cheeses then the wines, (the way this cheese buyer usually does it) that we instead feature wines that had been around since we opened our doors 14 years ago, and pair cheeses with them…a lot harder. I take this shit very seriously, when my name is on it, people show up to see what I think are harmonious pairings, well…I want to get it right. I spent some serious time thinking about texture, flavor and balance and came up with what I thought was a pretty exciting lineup of cheese and wine. Tuesday morning when all my cheeses showed up, my wines were all in stock and ready to go…well, I felt pretty confident that it was to be a very exciting event.



Woke up early Saturday morning, not enough sleep, drama from the night before still spinning through my head, lack of newsletter completion weighing heavy on my mind and feeling a very real longing for something, anything, that would make me feel better, I jumped in the shower and prepared myself to be, “On”. So those of you that have been reading for a long time know that I’m not so much good at the being the center of attention, hate it…really hate it, and this event tends to make people like goo all over me and junk…just was not in the place for it today, very secure in my pairings, thrilled with both the wines and the cheeses but, not really in that, “taking lots of compliments” kind of place.

Got into work early, wanted to get my cheeses up to temperature and get the whites in the fridge, where I felt like I was failing the store by not finishing my newsletter stuff, I wanted to make sure this event went off without a hitch. Got the wines ready and spent the next 4 hours in the kitchen with Merritt cutting and plating cheeses, and hacking crusty bread into bite sized chunks. We sawed and hacked and at 12:55 we had plated our last cheese and were ready to roll, with five minutes to spare. I stepped behind the table and popped the first bottle of Paul Bara Champagne at exactly 1:00….sweaty and out of breath, but I was there and ready to go.



The event was a gigantic success, people were pouring in and out at a rate that made my head spin, halfway through, while my head was down…hands covered in cheese, knife in my hand with the buzz of the crowd pounding in my ears I hear, “Samantha, can you sign for these?” flowers…I was sent the most beautiful bunch of all white flowers, (melting…sweaty and harried but melting) my favorite, clearly sent by someone that loves and knows me very well…timing man, timing was perfect.

I signed for my lovely flowers and jumped right back into the tasting, cutting, pouring, explaining and beaming…I might be shy and junk but I so love it when I get it right, today…felt like I got it so right. The wines were just stupid good, the cheeses were perfectly soft and oozed their luxurious, pungency…perfect, it was perfect, the 120 people in attendance seemed to think so too.

Featured Wines & Cheeses

NV Paul Bara Grand Cru Brut, ($42.99) w/ Roule, (soft cow’s milk cheese with garlic and herbs) the soft, round baked apple fruit in the Paul Bara was a perfect match to the bright, fresh tasting cheese. A very gentle but decadent was to start.

2007 Graville-Lacoste Graves Blanc, ($19.99) w/ Goat Brie, where the first pairing was soft and supple this was nervy and full of tang. The Graves was full of citrus rind, wet stones and flint and once that gooey, albeit simple, goat brie hit the zingy wine it seemed to magnify the flavors and soften the acidity. A good pairing but I would look for a better brie than the one we had.

2008 Honig Sauvignon Blanc, ($14.99) w/ Humboldt Fog, (Goat’s milk cheese) The cheese was the star here and the pairing did work but…the wine, while full of floral, stone fruit, and tropical citrus…seemed to have a bitter finish, the cheese helped but didn’t take it away completely.

2007 Domaine de la Cadette Bourgogne Vezelay Blanc, ($16.99) w/ Brie de Meaux,(Cow’s milk cheese with strong mushroom notes) one of my favorite pairings of the day. The wine is full without being rich, lots of ripe apple of the palate with a hefty amount of chalk and some bright, mouth cleaning acidity…paired with the slightly pungent Brie de Meaux, the wine got even fuller, brighter and the pairing left your mouth with a lovely sweet and savory finish.

2008 Pardo Montefalco Bianco Colle di Giove, ($14.99) w/ Burrata, (Cow’s milk cheese that we drizzled with olive oil and sprinkled with Fleur de Sel) another case where the cheese, (the super gooey, need spoons to get at it, texture took some folks aback a bit) outshone the wine. I loved the wine…plenty of weight and texture, steely, and full of herby flavors and paired with the Burrata it just sang, but damn that cheese is just so wicked delicious it stole the show.

2007 Champalou Cuvee des Fondraux Vouvray, ($19.99) w/ Cave Aged Gruyere, (Cow’s milk cheese) much like the first pairing I went for decadence here. The wine was heavy with soft stone fruit, round and supple on the palate but retained plenty of structure…paired with that intense, nutty, fruity, full of crunchy sweet bits, cheese..damn. Powerful and rich pairing that resonated with the crowd, sold lots of both.

2005 Domaine Goisot Bourgogne Cotes D’Auxerre Corps de Garde, ($23.99) w/ Camembert, (Cow’s milk cheese) this was the pairing that wine people love…it made the wine taste even better and helped us introduce people to a new sexy little Pinot Noir. Light, full of cherries and clay on the palate the wine was lifted by the fatty, rich, almost truffley cheese, beautiful..it was beautiful.

2006 Domaine du Cayron Gigondas, ($23.99) w/ Fontina, (Cow’s milk cheese) this wine drove me insane, the pairing worked in that, “don’t take away from the wine” kind of way. This vintage from Cayron is stupid good, the aromatics are wild, herby and there is this citrus, (like tangerine) rind note that baffles but pulls you into the glass. The mild Fontina did its job, using its fatty texture to cut the acidity in the wine, framed the wild wine perfectly.

2006 Domaine Tempier Bandol, ($41.99) w/ Saint-Marcellin, (Cow’s milk cheese) this was the first time many people had experienced Bandol, not always an easy wine to drink and appreciate so I was thrilled with the way the cheese made the wine a little more friendly. Earthy and full of herbs, cooked berries and meat the wine was softened by the softer-than-butter cheese, something in the mildly funky cheese seemed to tame the wild beast of a wine.

2007 Qupe Central Coast Syrah, ($15.99) w/ Petit Basque, (Sheep’s milk cheese) this is such a red wine friendly cheese, salty and soft in texture but with enough flavor to hold up to big red fruit. The Qupe seemed a bit off to me, not as crunchy or bright as I had hoped, tasty but lacking that snap that I have come to adore about this little offering, no matter…made the cheese taste really good.

Once the event was over I helped wrap the leftovers, count the empty bottles and restock the decimated shelves, ( a clear sign of a very successful event) letting myself marinate in that intoxicating feeling…that, “We did good” feeling. My back was aching with each step, my mind still heavy with, “I have to write” and even though our tasting had been wildly successful…I still felt this longing, this aching for something more. Once home, shoes off, glasses off, jewelry off and after an hour of playing with my adorable little neighbor, I was still plagued by this whole, this, something missing…longing, aching, wanting.

So what more could I want?! Tons of happy, wine soaked, cheese stuffed people telling me I did a good job, showing me as much by buying the wines and cheese I featured, stunning blast of aromatic, breathtaking flowers sent to me, Randy and Dale happy as could be…what?! What more could I possibly want? More….I wanted, still want, more….I want...



A kiss on my neck




Fingers on my back




French Fries



Fucking unbelievably aromaic Southern Rhone



The best of Provence



The pleasure of skin in my hand



Another glass of Champagne



Love, the ability to express love through the written word. To be able to "touch" people with my words with that same kind of heart pounding intensity that can be had with the brush of skin against skin...to make people feel, want, desire and ultimately, "love" the wines that I write about...

Too much to ask?!

Greedy, I am being greedy and I need to get back to work....

Help A Sista Out

Okay maybe I am being nosey, or worse a Copy Cat but I was just dying to ask a few of these questions. It will break my little heart if you don't take the time to answer my questions, (there are only 10) but if you don't have the time...or, (sniff) don't want to, or...(sniff) think I should just mind my business then skip it, (sniff) I will be fine.....

Click Here to take survey

It's About Time

This, “Promotion” has always been BS, every other retailer on the planet knows it. There is no way any retailer is going to give away wine for a nickel. We all knew it but there was little we could do or say about it, just like there is little we can say about the fact that they post “scores” from a man that is a consultant for the company….he better give it a 90, he told you to buy 80 cases of it, ugh. I mean we would all sound like a bunch of whinny bitches if we ranted and pointed our fingers each time this, very misleading promotion started running their commercials.



So when one of our reps came in and told us that our, Wine of the Month, (Line 39 Cabernet Sauvignon) that we sell for $7.99 was part of the BevMo, “Nickel Sale” we just kind of shrugged, but when he told us they were selling it for $15.99, (Now he told us it was $18.99 but when I checked their website it said $15.99…dunno if something changed or he just had it wrong) well, that just pissed us off. Now I know the onus is ultimately on the consumer to find the best price on whatever it is they are looking to purchase, but I have always seen the BevMo 5 Cent Sale as a rather disgusting display of a company taking advantage of people that don’t know any better….and frankly I think that is something that they should be thumped for.



So now BevMo is being sued…I think that is a giant waste of tax payer time and money but I do think it was about time that this bullshit “deal” was brought to light and people finally see that they were basically being taken advantage of. Yet another reason to support your local retailer, the little guy that is truly committed to finding you the best wine, at the best price and needs your return business to continue to do so.

Wednesday For The Public

After checking out of our fancy pants hotel and waiting for what felt like forever, for the car we were headed south to The Wine Country to prepare for our big tasting with the Beaune Imports winemakers. We got turned around once on the freeway, (freaking sleep deprivation retardation) and got stuck in some wretched traffic but we got to the store with what I thought would have been enough time to chill the wines and type up the tasting sheet…I thought.

So Michael Sullivan had sent a bunch of samples our way to support the tasting and I had planned on using those for the event…the problem was that all of the samples were brand spanking new vintages, stuff we didn’t have just yet…some were not even available yet. I spun it in my tiny brain that we would just focus on the winemakers and style of winemaking and not list the wines we were tasting. Now in theory this seemed like a good idea to me, we would pour the samples, save our stock, (of older vintage wines) and maybe make money on one of these tastings for once, but once I showed Randy what I had in mind the look on his face let me know that there was a flaw in my reasoning. Turns out in my effort to save the store money I forgot to think about the fact that people get kinda pissy when you pour them something then tell them they can’t buy it.



Randy was right of course, and we set about grabbing wines off the shelf, pulling wines out and putting wines in the fridge while Randy redid the tasting sheet. Randy saved my ass and anyone that felt a bit of a hiccup in the beginning of the tasting, my fault, my error in judgment….truly sorry about that.

Once things got rolling the tasting was a massive success. The winemakers loved the interaction with the customers and the good sized crowd that attended seemed to love the wines, the people that made them, the importer that makes the available to us and the store where they got to have such a rare experience. Every time I got near the tasting room I was descended upon, surrounded by grinning faces telling me this was the best tasting we had ever done. Humbling, truly humbling evening for me. I even had a blog reader, Jess from Colorado in attendance, just so happened she had a meeting in LA that week so she was able to go and even ended up being invited and joining another regular reader, Vicki, for dinner…how freaking cool is that?! Was very cool and I even got to introduce Jess to Michael Sullivan, told her to blame him for this mouthy-unafraid-to-speak-her-mind, mess who’s ramblings she reads. Pretty amazing to stand there, listen as these two very cool people said some down-right heart swelling things about yours truly….took all I had not to cover them both with thank you kisses.



My wines of the night were kind of all of them, I already love those wines but I think the ones that really knocked me on my ass were those from Domaine Chandon de Brialles. There was a purity to them that just grabbed me, a finesse and elegance…not unlike Claude, the winemaker…that stopped me in my tracks. Somehow she is able to coax this core of fantastically clean fruit that seems to sachet across your palate and leaves you with the flirtiest little smack on the finish….alluring, her wines were simply alluring. So if I HAD to pick, I would say I was the most intrigued by those but seriously, all the wines were pretty amazing.

Tasted
NV Agrapart 7 Cru Blanc de Blancs
NV Agrapart Rose Les Demoiselles
NV Agrapart Cuvee Terroir
2008 Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Blanc
2008 Moulin de Gassac Guilhem Rouge
2006 Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc
2007 Mas de Daumas Gassac Rouge
2007 Chateau Sainte-Marie Bordeaux Superieur
2008 Chateau Sainte-Marie Entre-Deux-Mers
2006 Domaine Trevallon
2008 Domaine Mouscaillo Limoux Chardonnay
2007 Domaine Mouscaillo Pinot Noir
2007 Roland Schmitt Pinot Blanc
2008 Roland Schmitt Pinot Gris
2206 Roland Schmitt Gewurztraminer Grand Cru Altenberg de Bergbieten
2006 Chandon de Brialles Pernand-Vergelesses 1er Cru Ile de Vergelesses Blanc
2005 Chandon de Brialles Volnay 1er Cru Les Caillerets
2006 Domaine de Montille Pommard 1er Cru Les Rugiens
2006 Domaine de Montille Volnay 1er Cru Les Taillepieds
2006 Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Chassagne-Montrachet
2006 Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet Puligny-Montrachet
2006 Deux Montille Meursault Casse Tete



Twenty dollars, this was a twenty dollar tasting and on top of it Michael and the winemakers kept breaking into the boxes of samples and pulling out more things for people to try. Without a doubt one of the best tastings of the year. Did not go off without a hitch but it went and everyone ended up having a great time.

We did all go to dinner, Benley was amazing once again and watching French people with chopsticks was something I will never forget, oh and the magnums, the magnum of Dagueneau, Chateau de Puligny-Montrachet and Agrapart….the bottles of 1998 Trevallon, Failla Syrah, (Yes I dug a domestic Syrah…it was stunningly beautiful on the nose) Alliet Chinon and older vintage Vouvray…the wines were head spinning, the food was sick….sad part of the story, I was sick too. Ended up having to cut out early, I finished dinner and all, I’m no quitter, but the effects of the night before came slamming down on me like a ton of bricks. By the time I made it home three things were clearly apparent; I was going to lose the war with the chest cold I had been fighting since London, I was wrecked by two nights of too much and I was just a part of a really amazing, life changing for some, evening.

If anyone is interested in tasting notes let me know, I would be more than happy to post them but didn't want to muck up an otherwise not wine, wine blog with like tasting notes and junk.

Bigger Better Deal

“The BBD”, this is what I used to tell people when they asked why my boyfriend and I broke up, (had this one boyfriend that constantly broke my heart…probably the only one that had been able to do so before now) he was always looking for the Bigger, Better, Deal…always searching for someone prettier, smarter or in some way, better than I was. He would always come back and my young, fragile, but full of true love heart, would always take him back only to be crushed once again when someone better came along. Vicious cycle that I tired of after like 3 breakups, I mean how long can one endure that, “You are not quite good enough” bullshit? I was like 20, he was someone that I felt lucky to have, but in the end…being with him, taking him back and knowing that he was basically settling, well let’s just say it taught me what I never wanted, and what I would never again settle for.

A few years ago I met a woman that was quite pretty, very well educated, well read, into really interesting music, food, wine and had a wonderful husband that adored her, pretty much had what one would think was, “the whole package” the thing was, she spent so much of her time complaining, coveting, and basically feeling like she was getting screwed because she didn’t have a bigger house, a husband that made more money, didn’t get to travel as much as she wanted and couldn’t afford to eat out as often as she would like to. One night while hanging out with her I listened as she turned all that ugly on a dear friend of hers, talked about how if she had the money that she had, or was living in a house like she had…the whole scene turned my stomach and let me know that those, “BBD” people are not only disloyal, they’re kind of sad.



To spend so much time searching, wanting, or being in anguish over the things you can’t have, worrying about what someone else has that you don’t, well seems like some of that energy might be better spent on appreciating the things that you do….guess what happens when things go unappreciated, unfed, unloved and undervalued…well, they go, and in my opinion, they should.

I recently found myself in the middle of two, “BBD” moments, kind of pissed me off as I thought I could sniff that shit from a mile away…I was wrong. One was my fault really, the red flags were up all over the place, I ignored them, ignored my gut and found myself doubled over, the wind knocked out of me when I was kicked in said gut. When I came up for air days later I saw that this one, this one “BBD” thing was not dishonest…it was still a “BBD” but, I just chose to make it something it wasn’t, could never be, was never meant to be….so I guess it’s more like 3 “BBD” things, one of them mine.



The other was while sitting with one of my reps the other day. We had been tasting through a bunch of little French country wines, nothing profound, nothing earth shattering, so like I said, a bunch of French country wines. He then reaches into his wine bag and pulls out this thick bottle, really heavy glass and deep punt, and when he turned the label to me I was struck by how flashy it was. “Um, is that for Bennett to taste?” I asked assuming that it was a domestic wine. “No it’s French” he replied…red flag. He pulled the cork and poured me a taste, black, almost black in the glass, red flag. The aromatics left me even more confused, candied fruit, marshmallow and mint, red flag. I had the wine in my mouth for less than 2 seconds and I spat it out grabbing the bottle to see just what the hell this was….convinced, I was convinced he was screwing with me, this HAD to be like from Australia or something, Cotes du Rhone, it was a Cotes du Rhone…looking for, or to be a Bigger Better Deal…so sad.



So while trying to take notes on this abomination of a Cotes du Rhone I thought about both that woman and my ex, how in their pursuit of The Bigger Better Deal they ended up losing the things they had. The ex came to me years later and tried to convince me he had changed, saw that what we had was the Best, (um, not if you were to ask Moi) and blah, blah. The woman ended up losing the friend she shit talked about, me, lots of other friends and a lifestyle that she adored…for what? Sad.




I have to wonder what is going to happen to all these French wines masquerading as New World wines. What’s going to happen when those of us that long for wines of distinction, wines that taste like where they come from give up, tire of being undervalued and unappreciated…what’s going to happen when we, go? Being with all those Beaune Imports winemakers really made me look at what we do still have, made me appreciate and value winemakers and importers that are willing to be who and what they are and make and import wines that reflect that….I feel lucky to have them and to me, there is no Bigger Better Deal than that.