Madeira In SF/Silicon Valley - 3/22 UPDATE!! W-O-W!

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21

I finally got my exact schedule for the next few months. I can make 3/22 if it’s on the earlier side. I can also potentially do Sunday April 6th or Saturday April 19th.

22

Alright, so potentially, we may have 3/22:

!. Barry Sunderland
2. Linda Baehr
3. Craig Gleason
4. Ashish Agrawal
5. Eric Ifune
6. Gene Matter




(Megan cordially let me know that she can’t make it.)

I believe a few wines prior would be nice, but given all of the Madeira, perhaps not necessary. Regarding the Madeira, I’m thinking 3 levels of differing Madeira complexity, perhaps one of the RWC Historical lines (about $45), a '68 D’Oliveira ($150) and and something quite old (about $500), perhaps a D’Oliveira 1903. Another discussion point would be choosing wines that are either sweet, med-sweet, or med-dry…in other words, Malmsey, Bual, or Verdelho. There’s also Sercial, a dry Madeira, but its screeching acidity style might be too much for relative Madeira newbies.

23

Additionally, I could potentially host in Sunnyvale (thus, freeing us up from the whole restaurant $$ scene), but we do have cats…(allergies, anyone?). Also, food-wise, we could do this as a pot luck.

24

I might be able to make it. I’ll be working in Fairfield that day. Might be able to get to Sunnyvale about 7 or so.

25

That would be awesome, Eric.

26

I’d say that we have a quorum. It would be terrific if we could accommodate Eric Ifune and his potential 7PM arrival time as he is well-known as being a fantastic Madeira taster/writer. I can pick-up the Madeiras, but I’m looking for a commitment from each of paying his/her portion when arriving, or at the very least, IF they couldn’t show up last minute, having his/her shares bottled into small vessels and picking up those and paying soon after. Once again, opened Madeira can hold for eons.

27

Hey all,
Did we decide to do it at Barry’s place? While that was very generous (thanks Barry), I’m very allergic to cats and probably wouldn’t get much out of the tasting. Is there a place that we could do it a bit further north? I’ll be driving down from SF and would need to get back by a decent time, so a location in Palo Alto/Menlo park or more northward would be best for me. Also, 7 PM is probably the latest time that I can go to, so is that set or still moving?

Sorry Barry, I just want to figure out the details so that I know for sure if I can make it before committing and you buy the Madeira!

28

I would be interested.
I only have:
NV Alvear Pedro Ximénez Montilla-Moriles Solera 1910 and no real or old Madeira except some domestic stuff “Madiera style” which is older V Sattui, (bottled sometime in the late 90’s and acquired at release). Perhaps not a great wine but a footnote in Napa as the oldest US Solera (they claim over 100 years old) and might be an interesting contrast.

Be glad to either source something else or contribute per the occasion.

Kind regards - Gene

29

Ashish, I understand your concerns re: cat allergies. Regarding restaurants, I just HATE to drop $$$ for corkage, tip, and food when we could put $$$ into our glasses. I don’t want to lose Ashish, so I’d be willing in coming up north a bit, but with a preference toward a private residence. Ashish, regarding 7 PM, am I correct in understanding that you’d be looking to ‘leave’ about 7 PM? I REALLY want Eric Ifune, a Madeira-seasoned taster/writer to join us, as I’m sure he would add a lot to our tasting, but it seems he wouldn’t be able to possibly ‘arrive’ until about 7 PM.

30

Hi Gene,

Thanks for your interest in joining our Madeira tasting. I’ve put you at the top of our wait list right now. Thanks again.

31

Sorry, I wasn’t clear. I need to get up early the next morning (like 4:30 AM…), so I would ideally like to be back in SF by 10 PM. I was referring to 7 PM as the latest starting time that would still allow me to enjoy the event and leave by about 9. It sounds like Eric would be able to make an event that starts at 7, which would work for me.

I understand your preference for a residence. If no other appropriate venue presents itself, I won’t hold it against you if I have to bow out! It’s not the first time my allergies have caused me problems…

32

I thought we only had five people signed up? If we’re talking about $700 shared, I’d prefer more people.

33

I’m flexible on that, Craig. I was just getting Madeira greedy. flirtysmile . How about we bump it to 6?

34

Gene,

You’ve been added as number 6. Congrats! [welldone.gif]

35

How about 10 like a normal event? If people want to form small groups to buy and split up old bottles, that is a separate thing. I prefer that tasting events be tasting events.

36

Hi Craig,

Thanks for your thoughts. This IS designed to be a tasting. May I ask, when you have your tastings for 10 people, do you typically have only 3 bottles, or are there more bottles? Honestly, I don’t not want to invest a lot of time and effort for 3 relatively small tastes of wine. I can’t imagine expanding this to greater than 6 guests. Regarding the ‘splitting up of old bottles’, I refer to the ability of being able to bottle-up any ‘remains’, simply because Madeira is very unique wine with doing that. For example, as I’m beginning to get done with a bottle, I love to put a couple of ounces away to enjoy another time; like visiting an old friend months later. Once again, this IS a tasting, where I envision most of the wine being tasted/consumed. Yes, I see this at 6 max. If this is too low a number of people for you, or anyone else, even at only 3 bottles available, I would really understand if you’d/they’d like to bow out; though, it would be great if you/they saw fit to come. It will be a fascinating tasting delving back to 1903, another century; a different world. [cheers.gif]

The best,
Barry

37

I would happily bring several bottles, including the older ones. This could reduce the price for people.

38

Hi Eric,

I’m open for that. Would that gravitate the tasting towards a larger group tasting/more bottles? What do you envision re:producer/varietal/vintage? Thanks in advance for your input! [welldone.gif]

39

I have no problem with a small number of people if the cost is low, but if Barry and Eric are supplying the Madeiras at their cost, I suggest we have some other wines as well so the rest of us are also contributing. Several of us on this thread have a lot to offer from our cellars but not in Madeira.

40

Craig,

Thanks for your offer. Still, I envisioned others ‘contributing’ by simply sharing the cost of the Madeira (as this would be a Madeira tasting).