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Post by Laura Rice on Dec 10, 2008 8:30:04 GMT -5
We are having our Christmas Party at St. John's tonight... Talk about good food! ;D Can't wait to eat...
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Post by tnwaltz on Dec 10, 2008 14:10:08 GMT -5
they have an excellent wine list.... i hope you are able to try what you like rather than what the company dictates.
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Post by Laura Rice on Dec 10, 2008 14:14:21 GMT -5
they have an excellent wine list.... i hope you are able to try what you like rather than what the company dictates. It's open menu and we get to order whatever we want with the exception of the $65 Lobster.... ;D It's always a great dinner. Tonight there will be 8 of us dining on the company and we can drink too. I can't wait to sit down relax and have a glass of wine. I think I may try their venison tonight.
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Post by Laura Rice on Dec 10, 2008 14:22:42 GMT -5
they have an excellent wine list.... i hope you are able to try what you like rather than what the company dictates. My mom and dad are out of town and can't come to the party tonight... But I called him on the phone and went over some of the Chardonnays with him and I am going to get the Sonoma Cutrer. He says it rocks and he believes that is what we ordered last year. The party definitely won't be the same without them...
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Post by emanon on Dec 10, 2008 14:23:49 GMT -5
Sounds like fun - other than the folks not being able to attend. Have fun.
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Post by Laura Rice on Dec 10, 2008 14:34:05 GMT -5
Sounds like fun - other than the folks not being able to attend. Have fun. This is the first time my dad and I haven't done business Christmas party/dinner together in 15 years. He's retiring on Dec 31st. He had one more two week trip up north he had to make before he left so he had to leave this past weekend and will miss the party. It's going to be really weird without them there but I plan on having a good time because Rice is going with me! ;D
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Post by tnwaltz on Dec 10, 2008 14:42:32 GMT -5
they have an excellent wine list.... i hope you are able to try what you like rather than what the company dictates. My mom and dad are out of town and can't come to the party tonight... But I called him on the phone and went over some of the Chardonnays with him and I am going to get the Sonoma Cutrer. He says it rocks and he believes that is what we ordered last year. The party definitely won't be the same without them... S-C specializes in chards although they do raise a bit of pinot noir. the wine list says 2005 but i don't have a review of that one in my library although i found one out on the 'net for you: "Big. Really Big. That's the watchword for the Chardonnay harvest of 2005. A wet winter(although relatively warm) led into a very rainy spring. In fact, rain during April and May never seemed to stop, and we began thinking harvest would be late. Summer was warm, which normally might bring the vines back onto a normal timeline, but clusters were robust, delaying our march forward even more. In the end, we picked about three weeks later than normal, but when we did, the grapes were very clean, juicy and extraordinarily flavorful. Very pretty aromas of jasmine and rose petal come quickly back to more expected tropical fruits like pineapple, mango and a bit of pear. Roasted hazelnut is joined with nougat and almond butter, finishing with a touch of lime and lychee. The wine is medium weight, clean with a wonderful acid backbone, and it expands from your first sip to your last, offering flavors of grapefruit, citrus, lemon, pear and kumquat, with subtle vanilla bean and a bit of herbal mushroom, with a lingering, memorable finish with hints of minerality and apple, lime and a surprisingly wonderful touch of strawberry." the WS gave it an 87 which is good... "Wine Spectator -- Floral, spice and citrus blossom aromas are tight and flinty on the palate, with a beam of green apple and pear-laced fruit. Ends with a clean aftertaste. Drink now. Score: 87. —James Laube, July 31, 2007." if you ever need a recommendation or information on a wine, let me know... ;D
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Post by Laura Rice on Dec 10, 2008 14:58:48 GMT -5
gracias amiga... ;D
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Post by Laura Rice on Dec 11, 2008 8:14:31 GMT -5
Dinner was fabulous... I had the Roasted Beet Salad and the Venison with Acorn Squash and Stone Ground Grits. I had the pear sorbet for dessert. It was fabulous! edited to add the wine: Mer Soleil Chardonnay Silver Unoaked 2006 - They were out of the Sonoma Cutrer
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Post by tnwaltz on Dec 11, 2008 8:40:46 GMT -5
nice choice... that one i have:
Mer Soleil Winery 2006 "Silver" - Unoaked Chardonnay (Santa Lucia Highlands)
Laurie Daniel, wine columnist for the San Jose Mercury News
I applaud the trend toward unoaked Chardonnay, but it sometimes seems to be mostly a marketing gimmick. Chardonnay can be on the bland side, and when there's no oak present, inferior fruit has nothing to hide behind. That's not a problem for the Silver Unoaked Chardonnay from Mer Soleil. Winemaker and viticulture director Charlie Wagner II uses Chardonnay grapes grown in special blocks of the Mer Soleil Vineyard, which is at the cooler northern end of the Santa Lucia Highlands AVA.
The grapes are harvested when they're just ripe, and the wine is fermented in stainless steel and cement vats. There's no oak contact, and the wine doesn't go through malolactic fermentation. The result is a fresh, vivid Chardonnay with ample pear, lemon, green apple and pineapple flavors. There's plenty of juicy acidity, a hint of minerality and a long finish. Wagner says he's trying to combine the crisp mineral essence of Chablis with the tropical elements of California coastal Chardonnay. I'd say he's succeeded with this wine, which sells for $42. This is the second vintage of Silver – here's hoping there are many more.
Tanzer's gave it an 87:
Green-gold. Melon and peach on the nose, with exotic baking spice overtones. Plump pit fruit and melon flavors are braced by firm acidity and a lemon/lime zest quality. Finishes dry, with a dusty citrus character and strong quinine bite. Schizophrenic but tasty wine and a good call for spicy fusion cuisine.
Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar, Nov/Dec 07 Rated: 87
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