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I should have mentioned that the space Poppy was in is going to be a second space from the people from Altura. For those not from the area, Altura is a tasting menu only restaurant also in N Capitol Hill. Some say it is the best restaurant in Seattle. Not sure I would go that far, but it is up there...

If only I knew how to post videos! She loves those sardines. Two mornings in a row for breakfast so far!

Just got a large box of sardines, olive oil, and other goodies. Our three year old daughter immediately insisted that we open a can of sardines -- I was able to get two or three for myself before she ate them all! Such wonderful food -- thanks Nola!

Lol -- sure! I grew up in NY -- miss it. Though Seattle is pretty amazing too!

Where are you located Ylee -- if near Seattle, I am happy to open some older SA Cab blends........

I think Pinotage is an interesting grape, but it can vary enormously in quality -- and it is a different taste profile. It would be like someone trying Petite Sirah to see if they like California wine (or even Zinfandel, which I generally don't like). Or if you tried Jura wines to see if you liked F...

Oh thanks for the tip about Blue Crane! I had not head of them. They carry Cape Point, which are making really great whites. I had heard about Kershaw but have not tried his wines yet, Another option -- though a bit trickier -- is to buy directly from SA and have the wines shipped here. I have done ...

Pinotage is a tough one. Some of them are excellent. But some are pretty pedestrian. Kanonkop is supposed to make a very good one -- they also do good Bdx blends.

There are some lovely red Bdx blends. I am a bit out of the scene now, but Warwick as mentioned by John makes some good ones. Vergegelen. Some excellent syrahs -- some are too new worldy for me, but some are lovely. The whites are fantastic -- particularly semillon, chenin, and sauv blanc. Cape Poin...

Yes on all of the above. I will say that I have some Cabs from the 1990s that are really singing right now. I think in the early 2000s they may have been caught by the Parker bug -- but like most places I think they have swung away from that. My experience is that for the money these wines are some ...

shhhhh

Poppy, unfortunately is now closed. :-( One other idea then on local seafood is Taylor Shellfish. The have a place on capitol hill (at Melrose Market) but also I think elsewhere in Seattle. Another good raw bar is at Lark. We love Lark, but it is on the pricey side as well. Will post more as I think...

Mark's suggestions are all good ones, though most are on the expensive side. Matt's in the Market is worth a try. Kashiba Sushi is amazing -- but pricey (not overpriced -- it is worth it, but expensive). On Capitol Hill if you want good oysters, I recommend Bar Melusine -- excellent oysters, and som...

Yes I grabbed six. I am intent on not buying more wine -- but feel that such a low price with free shipping does not count.

Sounds good. But I do feel bad that you had a mediocore experience. I will say that Steelhead Diner is fine, but by no means amazing. They do source from the market -- and their food is good, but there are better places. Let us know when you are next here. Maybe some of us can meet and open some two...

Oh sorry Joe. It is a pretty touristy area, particularly in the summer. I am sorry the crab cakes were not great. My memory is that the crab cakes at Etta's are quite good (though truth be told I prefer to make my own -- it is easy to make good ones and restaurants tend to have too much filler in my...

SQN and Cayuse are both available on the shelf locally so I think the list pressure varies depending on where you live. I am assuming there is a bit of a mark up on both. Part of the list issue is getting the wine direct from the winery (i.e. provenance) and then the price. There are some wineries ...

For seafood in that area, here are some suggestions. 1. Matts in the Market -- a bit hard to find (it is upstairs at the southeast corner of the market). Excellent food and seafood. 2. Ettas -- part of the Tom Douglass group of restaurants. Excellent seafood (though I have not been in years, so I am...

2006 was apparently a very good vintage for this wine. I bought a case upon release but had not had one in a couple of years. Aromas of roses and black tea are followed by black fruits and blood on the palate. Not sure if this will further improve but no signs of decline anytime soon. A very sophis...

Yes, like many here I have cut back on some lists recently. I used to get 60 plus bottles of Cayuse a year. Now I have scaled back a lot - not because I dont like their wines, but I was realizing that my cellar was getting close to 1/3 Cayuse. I love lots of other types of wines -- French, Italian, ...

The other winery is Martin's Lane. According to one of the pourers at Checkmate it is hard to get into -- though she thought if we contacted them we might be able to get in. We did not try. She spoke quite highly of the wines.

I posted this on the other thread, but realize it makes more sense here: Checkmate, by the way, is owned by the same owner of Mission Hill. They have a third winery which is very hard to get into (according to one of the servers at Checkmate who told me about it). I can't remember the name. I will t...

On Pinots, the Financial Times had a very strong write up (I am pretty sure it was Jancis) on a Mission Hill Pinot -- I tried it and was not that impressed. Checkmate, by the way, is owned by the same owner of Mission Hill. They have a third winery which is very hard to get into (according to one of...

Two quick observations. Depending on how you define the valley I think it might take longer than 90 minutes to drive it. The main north south road is usually pretty crowded during the day as it is one of the main commercial strips in each town you go through. So I would plan visits so as not to be d...

My recommendations from a recent trip are at the CT link Mark provided above. I did not do an extensive trip as I was with my Dad who was willing to go to wineries but not as into that as I am. I will say that I have been blown away by the Tantalus Old Vine Riesling. If you like rieslings, then I hi...

Like many others I have nothing but great things to say about Chris, the glasses, and the customer service. I will also say that I have started to use the dishwasher with these and my Riedels. Not one breakage yet -- I do them by themselves in the washer, on delicate cycle. It has been a real time s...

Hi Susan, I use them pretty regularly -- though not as much as you -- and I dont always use the 1855. But I have only had one breakage when our two year old threw a ball and it hit the glass. I am somewhat careful with them, but having them break when you are putting them away seems extreme. I wonde...

Dennis Atick wrote: ↑
July 22nd, 2019, 5:11 pm
55! Too damn young.
Condolences to his family and friends.
RIP Alan.

So sad to hear this. Especially so young. Tom Lehrer (a comedic folk singer) once said, "It is a sobering fact to note that when Mozart was my age, he had been dead for five years." Condolences to Alan's family and friends.

In addition to 8 Bells, there is also Wilridge, which I guess depending on how you define urban winery would also qualify.

It might help if you listed the states to which they will ship.

I have loved my wine journey for close to four decades now, and I have never had the desire to make wine. Making wine is farming -- my mom grew up on a farm. I know what that life is like. I have enormous respect for people who do it. I realized early on that liking wine does not mean that I would l...

Hmmm, for Wednesday. You could try to drive out to Woodinville -- it is less than an hour away, depending on traffic. But a bit of a haul. You could also go to Black Bottle -- which is a wine bar in Madrona, not too far from downtown. Purple, which is downtown, also has lots of good WA wines. But in...

If you will have a car, you are not too far from the International District. There are tons of good Asian Places -- a good standby is Tamarind Tree. Not exactly in the International District but well worth trying is Ba Bar -- a Vietnamese place. It is a bit noisy at night though -- quite an active b...

What John said on wineries. You could also stop by Full Pull -- they always have wines open to taste, and a small little selection of interesting wines for purchase. For dinner, are you looking for more formal/less formal? Type of cuisine? There is a great BBQ place not too far from the SoDo tasting...

This sounds delicious -- any recipes that we can use as a guide? If the one I used in the beginning had been useful, I'd include it here. Alas... I never write, and rarely use, recipes, but let me give this a shot. It's vague and assumes a lot of cooking skill, but it should give you an idea. 1) Co...

Alban Reva - 1998 was my first taste of what Cali syrah could be. Bought it off the shelf in Ohio for $38. Love Saxum GSM blends in including those that are heavily syrah (Booker). Booker Fracture is great. Carlisle is a great value and under appreciated. I'm a long time fan of Cayuse but sometimes...

Vegetarian cassoulet. Restrict your bean-infusing fats to dairy, think about alternative ways to replace some of the other meat-based qualities (lots and lots of garlic, smoked salt, elevated-umami ingredients like soy, judicious fish sauce, etc.), and definitely include sturdy mushrooms alongside ...

Spaghetti squash is a good idea. We also sometimes make Zucchini noodles -- which are then sauteed in ghee. You can put any sort of sauce on them, including of course mushroom.

I agree on being careful about fish. I think if the fish is made with a red wine sauce that might work -- but I usually find fish with Bdx blends to be a bit off. You said no carbs, but if that is negotiable, I recently made a mushroom tart with a potato crust that was really great. I test made it l...

For high end Cabs, my first choice by far would be DeLille. Really lovely restrained wines. The other to try is Adams Bench -- I have only been once, but really liked what they were doing with Cab and Cab blends. I love Savage Grace, but they are not known for Cabs -- more Cab Franc. And some lovely...

I have the same dishwasher and the display shows "0" when it has run. But mine is maybe 2-3 years old -- perhaps they changed that? We got the model with unevenly sized drawers, which I think is new. Nothing shows when complete Oh that is a bummer. The I guess some of the suggestions people have ab...

I have the same dishwasher and the display shows "0" when it has run. But mine is maybe 2-3 years old -- perhaps they changed that?

I use these. They capture a surprising amount of sediment. I have not conducted clinical trials, however. https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000CF2WP/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 Also what I use. Like some others I dont plan weeks in advance for most wines -- so would rather fil...

Is London perched on the windowsill -- trying to decide whether to stay inside or jump?

Perched

Mark Y wrote: ↑
June 19th, 2019, 4:37 pm

Ron Slye wrote: ↑
June 19th, 2019, 4:23 pm
The offer says that if we do not take our allocation,
Humble brag

The offer says that if we do not take our allocation, then it will be offered to others on the waitlist. So I don't think anyone has been rejected yet.

OOPs -- what Mark said just above!

Glad to hear that you found it an interesting experience, and that you were able to make a decision. I opened a Bionic Frog the other night -- 2010. It was very intense and savory -- like you, I found it interesting but not sure if I liked it that much. Day 2, it was so much nicer and more integrate...

There is a 1986 Merlot on winebid at the moment. https://www.winebid.com/BuyWine/Item/70 ... gue-Merlot

My go to for Bdx blends is now the 1855. It has consistently performed better than the Riedel Sommelier Bdx glass. On syrah/rhone blends, I generally find the Riedel Sommerlier syrah glass is better. Completely agree on the white wine glasses -- both Liberte and Mineralite are my go to now for any w...

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