tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post697335563281492449..comments2024-02-28T21:09:17.490-08:00Comments on Samantha Sans Dosage: Fine By MeSamantha Duganhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05214278596698698245noreply@blogger.comBlogger10125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-34982854161500689262013-07-11T20:45:10.826-07:002013-07-11T20:45:10.826-07:00Samantha:
I tried to find the list on line of the...Samantha:<br /><br />I tried to find the list on line of the growers we tried, but alas, they don't keep the list there or have handouts to take home. (I love and keep all handouts for reference such as, ahem, times like these.) I have to stop by there tomorrow, so I'll see if I can get the list of the grower bubbly we tried.<br /><br />As for those side-by-side comparisons, much can depend upon the skill of the person setting up the tasting. It's just silly to put a domestic fruit bomb against a more elegant and delicate French wine. It ISN'T a comparison at all. However, if the person choosing the wines is trying to show how growing conditions, winemaking styles and other circumstances are remarkably similar -- and yet the wines then show diversity of conditions -- then it's much more interesting.<br /><br />The tasting I was at tonight was packed -- all rosés. And, organized from kool-aid style sweetness (eeck!) down to the most austere of direct press very dry pale pinks.<br /><br />All palates are different; some just prefer the big fat flavors.Marcia Macomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07237764449953259939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-62245805898289828952013-07-11T08:03:53.203-07:002013-07-11T08:03:53.203-07:00Sara,
I always suspected I had an inner Frenchman....Sara,<br />I always suspected I had an inner Frenchman. Samantha Duganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05214278596698698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-56339526564533481362013-07-11T01:00:23.039-07:002013-07-11T01:00:23.039-07:00You and Gregory are kindred spirits... I made him ...You and Gregory are kindred spirits... I made him a three bean salad for his lunch today and vodka turns him into a horrible person, he's banned from touching it. And to top it off, when I buy a bag of jelly beans, he eats all of the black ones :)Sara Louisehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06058056977783867772noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-76089294403316214072013-07-10T19:14:57.725-07:002013-07-10T19:14:57.725-07:00Winey,
Damn Love, thought maybe you'd given up...Winey,<br />Damn Love, thought maybe you'd given up on me. Nice to see and hear you again. I knew the second you wrote your passionate prose about Chablis and oysters that we were kindred palates mister and your story here proves that once again. Fine by me that people want those wines, just leaves more for you and me. Big hugs being sent your way.Samantha Duganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05214278596698698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-19192864206857882072013-07-10T15:35:24.211-07:002013-07-10T15:35:24.211-07:00Recently on vacation, la femme and I spent a day i...Recently on vacation, la femme and I spent a day in Walla Walla trying to find some wine that wasn't bombastic and painfully sweet (we succeeded). At dinner that evening, in an older well-established restaurant with a library tome wine list, we sought respite from the high alcohol, toothstaining, mindnumbing wines of the day and discovered - under the category of "rose" - a 2005 Chateau D'Arlay Pinot. Pleasantly shocked, we ordered it toot suite and then were more surprised when every server and manager in the place came to see who was ordering such a "wonder". We offered tastes all around and it was an instant love fest as we all shared our non-judgemental preference for finesse and subtlety. <br /><br />I live within a short distance of Oregon's finest pinots and yet my money always finds its way to pinots from Alsace, the Loire, the Jura and the Cotes. Fine by me that others like the fruity sweet domestic pinots, but leave me the subtle,the tart, the softer side.<br /><br />Lovely prose/post as always dear wonder of wonders.<br />WtEWiney The Elderhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05001243018087143378noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-4337925571651628672013-07-09T15:49:50.090-07:002013-07-09T15:49:50.090-07:00Ron My Love,
"Special offers" is that wh...Ron My Love,<br />"Special offers" is that what you kids are calling it now a days? Either way I am all in! Oh I doubt my customers will remember for that long but if one or two do, even if it's a quick flash over a glass of Champagne, Sancerre or Cotes du Rhone, well then I will be happy, and terribly humbled. So, I have a gift for you but you have to get down here and unwrap it. I love you too!<br /><br />Jeremy,<br />Yay! Another Dave fan. Love it. Very excited for you with the new baby coming any day now!<br /><br />Gabe,<br />Oh don't get me wrong, there are lots of California Pinot Noir I like and I admire but for what I take home to drink....well they are just a touch too fruity and sweet for my personal palate. We don't do a tremendous about of Oregon Pinot Noir at my shop, not for any reason other than the past two domestic buyers bought more from California. I've liked the few I have followed over the years but I need to learn more and the same is true of New Zealand. I do loves me some Pinot! I will keep my Dave dammit and now I am as curious about your beets as your wines.<br /><br />Marcia,<br />Always a gamble, and primarily for the French wines, when you do a side by side "comparison" tasting be they Burgundy, Rhone or Bordeaux. The thing is the domestic stuff just has sweeter and more gregarious fruit, (for the most not always but more often than not and almost always when we are talking about the wines in my French department as they are very, very classic) so in that initial tasting setting the domestic wine often out show the others. I used to resist doing those events for that reason but, well I've found that our customers are so diverse, and so used to the wines they like, not to mention they are not in the least bit ashamed to speak their minds, that now the French wines usually outsell the domestic ones, by a large volume. I think it can be a lot of fun and I am going to push to do more of them but during the less formal, (not like my classes are really all that formal at all) Saturday events. Plus we can hit more palates on those days so a bigger cross section can be reached. Now I'm dying to know which of my beloved growers you have had the pleasure of getting to know.... Samantha Duganhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05214278596698698245noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-90192762818918569322013-07-09T11:30:22.555-07:002013-07-09T11:30:22.555-07:00I love the side-by-side domestic vs. French (usual...I love the side-by-side domestic vs. French (usually) comparison tastings. My preferences vary dramatically depending upon the house's choices to compare.<br /><br />I was surprised recently to find it didn't like several Burgundies compared to California counterparts. That's the first time that happened in a long time.<br /><br />Pinot tasting can often be quite a crapshoot since styles in Calif. can be wildly diverse, but those closest to more delicate French ones suit me best.<br /><br />There are no hard and fast rules. I like Dave Matthews too, but I don't have a lot in my library. Go figure!<br /><br />I did finally get to the relatively new bubbles bar here in Sonoma to sample some of your beloved grower Champagne. Oh, my! That was a rare treat. So far above the usual bubbly fare...Marcia Macomberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07237764449953259939noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-83622296874543062242013-07-09T10:26:16.337-07:002013-07-09T10:26:16.337-07:00excellent post. you can keep your dave matthews, ...excellent post. you can keep your dave matthews, but you're not getting my pickled beets. i planted and pickled those myself!<br /><br />funny how you started your post about different styles of pinot noir. my wife and i were recently in mendocino, and after tasting a pinot noir, she instantly exclaimed, "this is NOT an oregon pinot". she's is by no means a wine expert, although her palate is probably more refined than she realizes. anyway, my point is that california pinot is a very tasty beverage, but is a very different beast from cool climate pinot noir. while russian river valley and anderson valley may be cool climates by california standards, the wines tell a different story.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13849290999060380035noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-39344240513465868722013-07-09T08:48:47.917-07:002013-07-09T08:48:47.917-07:00Samantha, such a great post! Yes!
I am so with yo...Samantha, such a great post! Yes!<br /><br />I am so with you (esp. re. Dave Matthews!).<br /><br />Love this post... :)Do Bianchihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12744434741371288465noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4819829113979242722.post-1443984702105003992013-07-09T08:43:51.909-07:002013-07-09T08:43:51.909-07:00My Sweet MB,
I've got loads of special offers ...My Sweet MB,<br />I've got loads of special offers for you. And I'd like to take you up on most of these. Though I may just prefer a great Champagne under our moon--though I guess those are nicely acidic white wines, for that matter.<br /><br />One of the things I'm guessing you don't appreciate is that many of your regular customers will remember you the rest of their lives for how you mentored them about wine, and they'll be wildly grateful. Learning to love wine, which is what you teach, My Love, is also learning to love your senses, and learning the senses of those you love. That's a great gift, and one they won't ever forget. <br /><br />So as to learning senses, when do we start?<br /><br />I love you!Ron Washam, HMWhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11238869156614617705noreply@blogger.com