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Al Osterheld

Really? Would you really? You’d want to get up in the middle of the night and pull the calf, cold and muddy, getting the shit kicked out of you in the process. Make sure nothing got him, feed him, vaccinate him, drench him, doctor him when he learned the hard way what a barbed wire fence is, cut hi...

Al Osterheld

The 2003 vintage was pretty awful in the Southern Rhone, too, although RP didn't flog it like the north.

-Al

Al Osterheld

The Cinnabar vineyards were sold to Mount Eden in 2007 (gorgeous location, btw). I think the Chardonnay was used one year in the Saratoga Cuvee, but not the Pinot Noir. The Saratoga Cuvee Pinot was typically from Mount Eden fruit combined with grapes from Woodside (Lone Madrone some years) and Santa...

Al Osterheld

Vernay recommends aging some of their Condrieu bottlings, especially the Coteaux du Vernon.

-Al

Al Osterheld

PeterH wrote: ↑
April 15th, 2019, 10:42 am
Matsutake deserves mention, one of the best.

Yes, also buy these but don’t see them often in my usual shops.

-Al

Al Osterheld

David K o l i n wrote: ↑
April 14th, 2019, 3:49 pm
Porcini/cepes. I use shiitake, maitake, oysters, king oysters, chanterelle, lobster and morel mushrooms regularly

Those are all good and ones I regularly use, except for oysters. Also, black trumpets (aka black chanterelles), and sometimes abalone.

-Al

Al Osterheld

FedEx Ground and Home are separate operations, warehouses, and drivers from original FedEx. -Al Regardless, I've been able to have both FedEx Ground and FedEx Home wine shipments delivered to my local Walgreen's. Sure. I was answering question whether they have same drivers as regular FedEx. -Al

Al Osterheld

FedEx Ground and Home are separate operations, warehouses, and drivers from original FedEx.

-Al

Al Osterheld

When cooking for one, I often use a skillet that size.

-Al

Al Osterheld

alan weinberg wrote: ↑
April 7th, 2019, 2:41 pm
beef liver is a tougher match than chicken liver. Chicken liver w onions in a red wine reduction can be wonderful w aged red Burgundy.

Agree that chicken liver isn't that tough compared to beef liver. Not sure how many people eat the latter, however.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Nate Simon wrote: ↑
April 7th, 2019, 12:31 pm
If I bought a wine that came with this message, it would be the last time I bought from them.

Dunno, some folks bury cow horns, or rack according to the phase of the moon. I'm pretty tolerant of the foibles of growers and winemakers.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Seems this is just click-bait, and a poor translation of a scientific article by a writer who did not understand what they were reading and forged ahead anyway. The scientific article cited partway through is https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3791788/ and while it is also well above my s...

Al Osterheld

Seems this is just click-bait, and a poor translation of a scientific article by a writer who did not understand what they were reading and forged ahead anyway. The scientific article cited partway through is https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3791788/ and while it is also well above my s...

Al Osterheld

I regularly depose people in academic endeavors (social scientists mostly) and I can say that (a) the rigor with which peer review is treated varies dramatically among publications (some take it seriously, others are a joke); (b) readers who actually get past the abstract often gloss over even the ...

Al Osterheld

The argument for First Growth Bordeaux as Veblen goods really dates to the period when Chinese buyers first entered the market in a big way. The people with enough wealth to play had to have "the best" and the rising prices validated their choice as "the best" and drove demand and prices higher. Var...

Al Osterheld

FWIW, I’m not sure Cristal is still a good example of a Veblen good. It was primarily rappers driving that status, and they dropped the brand when they felt the love was not reciprocated. As far as Neal’s point, Cristal is not a Veblen good to him, whether or not it is still a Veblen good in the bro...

Al Osterheld

I agree, I like both but the 2001 was my clear favorite of the two. I might have one bottle left.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Dennis Atick wrote: ↑
March 30th, 2019, 10:35 am

John Morris wrote: ↑
March 30th, 2019, 10:10 am
What's the mix of grapes -- grenache and what?
GSM and a touch of Counoise.

Supposedly GSMC 21/30/45/04.

-Al

Al Osterheld

You might try covering the glass with something opaque and reflective. Even if you don't want to use it that way, it will give you and idea whether it's having an effect.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Do you spend time at the beach, or just drink 20+ year old wine in a place near the beach? -Al "To" not "on." On our beach vacation. In the beach house. Makes sense. I initially had visions of you lounging on the beach in Bermuda shorts and a floppy hat, drinking old Bordeaux and Champagne. -Al

Al Osterheld

Do you spend time at the beach, or just drink 20+ year old wine in a place near the beach?

-Al

Al Osterheld

The Yuen was from James Berry and Brosseau fruit, I think he made it in 2008 and 2009.

-Al

Al Osterheld

It's your birthday, dude? Happy Birthday, Marcus!

-Al

Al Osterheld

There is evidence they are perceived as equally sour at the same molar concentration, but I don’t believe it has been conclusively demonstrated. The different overall taste is probably related to other things, either because most substances trigger various receptors or because of other impurities. A...

Al Osterheld

And tartaric acid dropping out of solution also means a drop in acidity (after all, there's now less acid in the solution). However, this drop is normally quite minute and seldom particularly perceptible, so there's no worry that the wine would feel noticeably lower in acidity if wine crystals form...

Al Osterheld

Not for basketball celebrations, but it's still an important part of life.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Shannon Perdue wrote: ↑
March 13th, 2019, 7:07 am
Al - Agree! I wouldn't turn these down should Lebron want to share.

Needs some Champagne in the mix, though.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Some wines featured on Lebron's twitter feed: 2014 Ramonet Chassagne Montrachet Les Ruchottes 1990 Tenuta San Guido Sassicaia 2009 Chateau Pontet Canet 2007 Opus One 2003 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Turque 2015 Screaming Eagle The Flight 2013 Colgin Cariad Red 2012 E. Guigal Cote Rotie La Landonne It's ...

Al Osterheld

I don't like wax seals, but the Ceritas wax is about as easy to remove as a foil. Some of the wineries say that you should just push the corkscrew through the way and it will all be fine. That's true for a few years when the wax is pliable and the cork is young, not so much with older wines. I find ...

Al Osterheld

I'm not sure the better wineries with the name of an AVA get much advantage. The consumers who buy higher end wines generally know the difference, and the name makes their winery/wines harder to locate on an internet search rather than easier (confusion make work against them as much as for them). I...

Al Osterheld

Yes, pepper burns as you mentioned.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Where's the picnic?

-Al

Al Osterheld

From what I can tell, Parker would approve of Lebron's taste in wine.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I liked Soleil Ho's initial reviews, although she's not going to be a traditional restaurant reviewer.

-Al

Al Osterheld

The ultimate wine, the wine to end all wines, to be the pinnacle of my wine drinking life and make every other wines seem inadequate in comparison?

I wouldn't pay anything for it.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I had a bottle of the 2013 Pradeaux about a year ago and thought it was very good, gorgeous aromatics and surprisingly elegant for young Bandol although the tannins are certainly there.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I also love Pradeaux. Rosenthal claims for them that 2014 was a bit difficult vintage (rain during harvest) and will yield a less tannic wine, 2015 was very good, and 2016 was great.

-Al

Al Osterheld

FWIW, have only seen one dead lizard. Traumatized me, though.

-Al

Al Osterheld

As far as MOG, if you don't use machine-harvested grapes, it's hard to end up with rats or gophers. But, ants, yellow jackets, leaves, mold, bird shit, dead lizards are all in play. Should also remove the raisins and seriously underripe grapes, but otherwise I think diversity is good. It's helpful t...

Al Osterheld

Yeah,crapola. Also Hope they don’t chase down existing futures buying to re-up on the estate. I don't think they will, you signed up when the rules were different. Neal and I dropped off the Futures list a year apart, but both after they had changed the rules for new people who joined. I was always...

Al Osterheld

Great shipping rates often means the winery is subsidizing them. For the same total "out the door" price, consumers are happier if less of it is for shipping.

-Al

Al Osterheld

So, do sherries carry a cancer warning in California? All alcoholic beverages sold in California or shipped to California consumers fall under the Prop 65 warning regulations. I think this requires a sign at point of sale or service, and also a warning included with shipments. The final implementat...

Al Osterheld

Human pathogens don't grow in wine. BTW, Champagne and Burgundy are more hostile to them than ultra-high Ph GSMs. Just saying. As far as chemical changes as a wine goes bad, a lot of the byproducts are benign stuff (vinegar, ethyl acetate) but if you have a weak stomach and an active imagination the...

Al Osterheld

I opened one a couple years ago that was in a great spot, although it certainly had some oxidative character. As others have noted, it's part of the nature of the beast with aged white Rhones.

-Al

Al Osterheld

As far as comments that Tablas Creek might be sending gifts to Tom because he's an influencer, I think they send the gifts to members of their rather large wine club (I think now more than one wine club, haven't kept up). I received the gift, along with annual gifts since I joined their wine club so...

Al Osterheld

Maybe the thief likes Valtellina, but more likely just saw a "free" bottle of wine and now wonders why they didn't grab the other bottle instead.

-Al

Al Osterheld

I love the wines Bob makes (and Louisa and Ethan, too) . Hope it turns out well for them. The sale to Terroir looked like a good move, until the founder had his problems. But, the heart and soul and art of Qupe was all Bob, no matter the name on the label.

-Al

Al Osterheld

No, that was the law, but the Supreme Court ruling changed that, as I understand it. It no longer matters if the retailer has a presence in the state to which it is shipping. The retailer's home state can collect the tax on shipments going out of state if it chooses (and what state won't?). Yes, th...

Al Osterheld

Years ago when it was on newsprint and the internet was just an idea, it was useful to keep up with winery news (things like wineries closing, being bought, merging, expanding, etc.). Then it went to the glossy coffee table format and became less interesting.

-Al

Al Osterheld

Mel Knox wrote: ↑
February 11th, 2019, 10:10 pm
Thanks, Al. I was passing along old news.

It's an interesting story and a surprising connection. The Tolmachs were at Filoli almost from its beginning as a public site and worked there for 35 years.

-Al

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