Wine Berserkers - international wine social media, online community, and forums

jan.brekke

Nice to read the experiences of others with this wine. Most of the Arcadian wines in my cellar I've had within 5-10 yrs of release. This experience shows that patience is rewarded.

jan.brekke

I haven't posted a tasting note on this board in years, but this wine is deserving. The nose has beautiful notes of spice and red fruits. This is a wonderfully balanced delicate and elegant wine. Red fruits, cinnamon and five spice on the palate. The wine is in a beautiful place right now. There is ...

jan.brekke

Lot's of really good looking restaurants. We'll have three nights there, so I'm excited to try out the local fare. Will definitely try hot chicken. Bastion looks really good. Thx for all of the music recs. The music app is a good ideal as well. We'll be there with another couple. The wives will be a...

jan.brekke

As a Wisconsinite I had no idea that Rush Creek was a national thing. Had my first wheel last year and loved it. Going to pick up two tomorrow. Can't wait!

jan.brekke

Thanks to all for the music recs. Much appreciated!

jan.brekke

Station Inn is another. What part of town will you be and what restaurants on your list? We are staying at AC Hotel downtown. I haven't done a lot of restaurant research, but am interested in Catbird Seat, City House and Rolf and daughters. Will have to try local BBQ as well. My wife has been doing...

jan.brekke

Jan...Not knowing your taste in music, check The Opry, 3rd & Lindsley, City Winery, Bluebird Cafe...there are so many. I suspect most venues won't have their May schedule. Check The Nashville Scene website too. Thanks Adam. I'll look into those venues. I'll be down there with my wife and another co...

jan.brekke

This place has the feel of a restaurant that won't be around long. Care to place a bet on that? Been there a few times when I drive up to visit. They are NOT disappearing. Not a chance. I'm sure that you are correct, but I've never been to a highly rated restaurant so dead on a Friday night in good...

jan.brekke

Making my first trip to Nashville in May (tagging along with my wife for a medical conference). I found a nice thread discussing restaurants, which is quite helpful. We'll be their over a weekend and would like to see live music one or two nights. The bands playing at the Ryman aren't of particular ...

jan.brekke

I was expecting more with the wine pairings. They simply brought us a number of wines that were on their by the glass menu. Unfortunately, you screwed up. ;-) Troquet isn't a wine bar; they don't even have an Enomatic system or a Coravin. The bottle list is what makes it special. [head-bang.gif] If...

jan.brekke

A quick update from our Boston trip. It ended up just being the wife and I for the weekend. I was in meetings all day Fri/Sat, which wasn't a bad thing with a nasty Noreaster blowing through on Saturday. Friday night we had the tasting menu at Troquet. I tried to book O Ya, but it was fully booked s...

jan.brekke

My favorite restaurant in the Boston area is Craigie on Main (James Beard award), which has an outstanding tasting menu. Great cocktails and an interesting wine list. They also happen to serve one of the most famous burgers in American (cover of Bon Appetit), but they only make 18 a day, so you nee...

jan.brekke

geoffpm wrote: ↑
August 22nd, 2018, 9:16 am
Jan.

Guilia is also a great place. Their pastas are sublime. Erbaluce is not like any other American Italian restaurant. Draghi's touch is a bit more subtle and he lets the ingredients shine. It's also in an interesting quaint village area of Boston.

Very helpful. thanks

jan.brekke

If you have a hankering for real Piemontese Northern Italian with an entirely Italian list with great surprises, Try Erbaluce . http://www.erbaluce-boston.com/#about-us-section. Charles Drahgi is an amazing chef and aspiring stand up comic. The food is always inspiring and the wine impeccable. Geof...

jan.brekke

Jud, Thanks for the recs. We had a great dinner at Row 34 in Portsmouth NH last year during our daughter's official recruiting visit to UNH. Did not know that they were also in Boston. O Ya looks great!

jan.brekke

I'll be out in Boston for a weekend in late October. Friday night I'd like to find a higher end restaurant with great tasting menu, suitable for an anniversary dinner. Reviewing previous posts, I have found Troquet and L'Espalier mentioned. On Saturday, we'll be dining as a family (with two teenager...

jan.brekke

What a great trip! Thanks to all for the recommendations. We incorporated many of them into our trip. Below is a brief synopsis: 1. We stayed in a beautiful villa in the hills of Orbicciano, around 20 minutes Northwest of Lucca. We had a heat wave for the first part of the week and it was nice to be...

jan.brekke

Leaving tomorrow. I'll post a synopsis upon return. Looking forward to it!

jan.brekke

Tenuta Valgiano , just 15-20 minutes drive north of the city into the Lucchesi Hills. Excellent views from the winery's vantage point (you can see Lucca from their perch), nice villa, relaxed tour and tasting, good bio-dynamic wines (a little modern), and very welcoming. http://www.valgiano.it/en/d...

jan.brekke

Any winery recommendations within an hour of Lucca?

jan.brekke

Any advice on the Cinque Terra visit (where to park, where to hike, which towns, etc.). Park and start your hike at the first southernmost town of Riomaggiore and end at Monterosso. Take the Blue Trail coastal cliffs, which is the most scenic hiking trail, but likely more difficult than the other i...

jan.brekke

Some random thoughts and personal insights from having traveled throughout various parts of Italy, including staying in and around Lucca. Many trips included teenagers. Gelato: My kids could have gelato anytime they wanted - they just needed to order in Italian. They are now fluent in flavors and c...

jan.brekke

We also rented a villa outside Lucca several years ago. Pretty much the same daily trips you list. When in Lucca make sure you go to Enoteca Vanni --http://www.enotecavanni.it/ Possibly the best wine store in Italy. (Go downstairs to the caves). I can't remember any of the restaurants because they ...

jan.brekke

Excellent recommendations!
Denis, we will definitely Buca di Sant'Antonio. The Puccini concert sounds great. My wife and I love opera - what better time/place for the kids to be introduced to opera!

jan.brekke

We have rented a villa northwest of Lucca (in the hills of Orbicciano) in early August. Our group will be four adults and four teenagers. Our plan is to make day trips to Lucca, area beaches, Florence, and possibly Cinque Terra during our 10 day stay. Any recommendations for restaurants or specific ...

jan.brekke

Also interested in if anyone has visited... Stella Compalto & Pian Del Orino in BdM? Or Montevertine & Felsina in Chianti. I won't touch Banfi. Craig, We visited Tuscany exactly one year ago. Spent one day in Montalcino and visited Pian Dell'Orino and Macioche. Jan and Caroline @ Pian are great hos...

jan.brekke

Thanks for the tips and advice. Getting excited, as we are leaving tomorrow.

jan.brekke

My post early in the planning stage for this trip generated some fantastic advice. Thanks to all. Here is the itinerary so far: Friday Oct 2: Arrive Rome late afternoon. Rent car, drive to Orvieto for evening Sat: Explore Orvieto, drive to Siena in PM. Dinner @ La Taverna di San Giuseppe in Siena Su...

jan.brekke

Still working on the itinerary, but we are leaning towards spending most of the trip around Tuscany, perhaps spending part of the week in a villa near Siena (with day trips to surrounding towns, wineries) and several days in Florence. Depending on how much time we have, we are considering Cinque Ter...

jan.brekke

Got busy over the weekend and am just now checking this forum. Amazing advice!!
Thanks to all for the help. I'll review it with my wife and our friends. I am sure that I'll have other questions as we progress in planning.

Thanks again!

jan.brekke

Last Fall my wife and I visited Paris for the first time and the advice we received on this board was incredibly helpful. We are now planning a trip to Italy with another couple for late September 2016. We are looking at an 8 day trip, departing from the Midwest. The other couple has visited Rome an...

jan.brekke

Paris Trip Epilogue We just returned from a fantastic one week trip to Paris. I wanted to thank everyone on the board for their help and suggestions, which saved us time and pointed us in the right direction. We ended up spending the entire time in Paris. Our trip was cut short a few days (Air Franc...

jan.brekke

Ed - Thanks for the help

jan.brekke

Thanks again for all of the great tips. The trip is starting to come together. Booked airline tickets last night on Air France. I realize that I am late in the game in terms of booking an apt. Most are unavailable at this time, but we have found a few decent options. Jay - I found a couple options t...

jan.brekke

Great advice from everyone. My wife gave the trip two thumbs up last night, so we are into the more serious planning mode. We looked on VRBO last night and there are some very nice looking apartments for rent for quite reasonable prices. For various reasons, I think we will go this route and spend t...

jan.brekke

Thanks again for the helpful advice. I just started thinking about making this happen a few days ago. Original plans were a medical conference in Hawaii for that week, but I will be attending another CME conference earlier in the month. Since we have the grandparents flying out for babysitting, why ...

jan.brekke

Thanks for the help. It will be just my wife and I traveling, so thankfully, no EuroDisney required!
I was thinking of 1-2 days in Reims as well. Is it recommended to rent a car and drive to Reims vs. train?

jan.brekke

My wife and I are planning our first trip to France this Fall (9/28 - 10/6). We will be flying in and out of Paris, but the planning of this trip is in its infancy. I would greatly appreciate any advice on creating a travel itinerary. I am thinking of 3-5 days in Paris and making 1-2 day trips to on...

jan.brekke

The cellar project is moving along. Thanks to all for their previous input. I had originally planned on only having racking along the walls, but once installed I realized that there is more room than I expected. I have a "waterfall" rack segment that I was looking into incorporating. I am struggling...

jan.brekke

John, Thanks for the pointers. I will look into your questions. I understand your point about plaster on the walls, as they will be hidden by racks. Wouldn't the ceiling need the plaster to look decent? For those asking about making this a passive cellar - I haven't measured temps, as this room is c...

jan.brekke

Cliff, That was a mistake. No insulation below the tiles, only a vapor barrier.
Original proposal included insulation below a raised floor, which I nixed after getting feedback from all of you.

jan.brekke

Here is a little more detail on the proposed project ( I have taken out the initial raised floor from the proposal) [img] [IMG]http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a434/Jan_Brekke/photo2_zpsed40f977.jpg[/img] [/img] [img] [IMG]http://i1035.photobucket.com/albums/a434/Jan_Brekke/photo1_zpsf238f361.jpg...

jan.brekke

I will try to post some pics of the space and more details later.
I do appreciate all of the advice!

jan.brekke

No issues with basement smell. The basement is around 80% finished and we use a dehumidifier in the summer. I just got the initial proposal back from the contractor and was disappointed by the price - so far the estimate is around $19k without the racking/cooling unit. In our area we don't have dedi...

jan.brekke

Racks are all-heart redwood Platinum series from International Wine Accessories (not sure if that is helpful). I'm just looking for a relative percentage discount from retail that would seem fair.

thanks for all of the advice.

jan.brekke

Michael,
The cellar which now contains the Whisperkool unit is about 20% larger in size than our space.

jan.brekke

Thanks Dale. That was my gut feeling regarding the cellar floor, but I have no background in construction.
Coming up with the rack/cooling unit pricing is difficult, as the owner is moving, but is a friend of ours. Therefore, want to find a reasonable price.

jan.brekke

A few questions for those who have gone through this process, or are in the business: I am looking at converting a basement room into a wine cellar. My wife's colleague is moving and will cell us his racking/whisperkool unit. We have had his contractor give us an estimate. Our room is 9x11. We live ...

jan.brekke

Sandia and I ate at both Michy's and Michael's Genuine. We enjoyed both, but Michael's Genuine was the highlight of the trip.
Get the Crispy rice cake with chorizo, fresh egg, rock shrimp and chili aoli - hands down best plate of the trip.

jan.brekke

We completed a big backyard patio project late Fall, which included the installation of a Fire Magic Echelon 790 grill. Now that it is grilling season, I am looking for any helpful hints. So far I have mainly used it for burgers/steaks/pork chops, but would like to try some more advanced grilling. ...

Search found 186 matches