178919 Thu May 16 15:12:13 -0700 2002 9 15 Pennsylvania 0 962355 A week ago The Bride & I went to the 'First Annual' Philadelphia Wine Festival sponsored by your friendly state-run PLCB, Philadelphia magazine, and a couple others. It was not cheap, $75 per person, but it sold out really quickly (about 1000 tickets sold). It was at the newish Hyatt on Penn's Landing. Now, I don't know much about wine, but we were going with a colleague of mine who is a true wine connoisseur with decent knowledge. We relied on him to point us to the better wineries and/or wines that were being served. This was quite a help, because there were 70-100 wineries, some pouring only one type whereas others had up to 8 different wines available. On arrival we got a wine glass with logo, a chain to hold our laminated admission tickets around our neck, and an expensively-printed notebook with one page per winery with room for notes. There was an additional page with a listings of wineries and their table number, but no visual layout/map. We learned that most of the wines being served were quite premium -- reserves and such. Most of the bottles were priced in the $60 - 80 range, while some offered were in the $150 range as well! So the $75 price was a bargain from the point of being able to try lots of premium wines without having to buy the whole bottle. That being said, personally I tend to spend under $20 for wine (retail, not restaurant) and so probably wouldn't purchase any of the wines offered. Let's talk about food for a moment. The affair was catered extremely capably by DiBruno's House of Cheese. They had multiple tables set up throughout the ballrooms with a wide array of cheeses (probably around 30 to 50 different types) served on crackers and an array of Metropolitan Bakery bread. There were plenty of workers keeping the food available and was extremely well planned. One station served prociutto (sp?) and parmesan reggianno with 15-year aged balsamic vinegar among other treats (something with foie gras mousse they called a "French Kiss"). Also on the food front, Viking stove (another sponsor?) was cooking up german sausage with spicy sauce. On to the layout -- the event probably had a staff to guest ratio of 1 to 10. Lots of people directing. The event took up 2 ballrooms and central connecting space. One ballroom was hopelessly cramped (low rent district, perhaps?) such that navigating from wine table to wine table took advanced traffic planning. The other (grand) ballroom was the opposite -- aisles were well-spaced and the crowd was thus less noticable. So over the course of the evening (6:30 - 9PM) we were able to taste about 20 wines amongst conversation, planning for the next targeted winery, and the continual grabbing of cheese from the nearest DiBruno's station. Most were very good or excellent. [note: if anyone would care to have a list of wines tasted and my comments as an amateur, let me know]. A very enjoyable evening, and probably worth a visit next year for anyone who really enjoys good wine. -=$>Dave<$=- Thu May 16 15:12:13 -0700 2002 0 JugglerDave 1 962357 Thanks for the report on this event. It is an event I truly did not want to miss, being a wine lover. I must have waited too long because when I called for tickets it was sold out! On the one hand disappointment, on the other glad to see such an event get such a good response. I think this assures that there will be a 2nd annual festival next year so I'll have to get tickets early! Were the wines mostly domestic (Californian) or from international wineries as well? I would be interested in any notes you have as I also tend to stick in the $20 range when buying wine (which I think can buy you a heck of a wine these days). Thanks again. Thu May 16 15:29:24 -0700 2002 962355 0 David De Silva 2 962358 One of my coworkers who waited too long to buy a ticket found it sold out as well. At that point, you could still get tickets as part of an overnight package at certain hotels (for $325). He wound up eventually able to attend via 'connections' which I can't get into. As for the wines, they were probably about 80% domestic (California, Oregon, Washington, and a couple PA wineries ), with international representation from at least Italy, France, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa. I'll post the list of wines I tasted sometime in the next day or two. We keep on meaning to head over to Moore Bros. wine store in NJ where I've heard you can get fantastic hand-picked mostly unknown wines in the $12-22 range, run by a former sommelier from Le Bec Fin. -=$>Dave<$=- Thu May 16 15:52:42 -0700 2002 962357 0 JugglerDave 1 962366 OK, as requested here are the wines I tasted along with my brief notes/ratings, pretty much as written that evening: Beaulieu Vineyards (California), Tapestry Reserve 1998, B- Beaulieu Vineyards (California), Carneros Reserve Pinot Noir 1998, A Cain Vineyard (California), Cain Five 1998, B+ [tannin; big cabernet] Cline Cellars (California), Moreverde Contra Costa 1999, [tastes like basil, assertive] Cloudy Bay (New Zealand), Sauvignon Blanc 2001, A++ [grapefruit, great nose] Far Niente (California), Cave Collection Cabernet 1995, A Far Niente (California), Cave Collection Cabernet 1998, ["not as good as 1995"] Paul Jaboulet (France), Hermitage La Chapelle 1998, A- [nice, BOTJ likes] Jepson (California), Estate Select 2000 Syrah, B+ [nice] Maison Louis Latour (France), Pommard 1999, B+ [BOTJ likes] Merryvale (California), Cabernet Napa Valley 1999, B Mondavi and Eduardo Chadwick (Chile), Sena 1999, A- [good, drinkable, slight sweet, coffee overtones] Perrier Jouet (France), Fleur de Champagne 1995, A+ [BOTJ *really* likes] Pio Cesare (Italy), Ornato 1997 Barolo, C+/B- [a little harsh] Plumpjack Winery (California), Cabernet Sauv. Oakville 1999, B+ [very nice, smooth] Ponzi Vineyards (Oregon), Pinot Noir Reserve 1999, VERY NICE (one of my favorites of the evening) Ravenswood (California), Lodi Zinfinel 1999, B- Rochioli (California), Pinot Noir 2000, A [very fruity & smooth] Silver Oak Cellars (California), Alexander Valley Cabernet Sauv. 1997, [smooth, $100+] notes: * BOTJ = Bride of the Juggler * I generally like Pinot Noir and generally dislike Merlot * All of the wines were at least 'very good', so except for the one C+ I didn't dislike any of the wines. Thu May 16 19:48:26 -0700 2002 962355 0 Juggler Dave 2 962368 aaaaugh Cloudy Bay !!! anyone know where I can find a bottle? Thu May 16 20:49:03 -0700 2002 962366 0 SG 3 962373 According to the PLCB site, it is a 'specialty' item that could be in the PA superstores and specialty stores (including the new one at 12th/Chestnut?). Better yet, the price seems to be a bargain $20.39 a bottle! which means *I* should go pick some up as well. -=$>Dave<$=- Link: http://www.lcb.state.pa.us/ Thu May 16 21:43:01 -0700 2002 962368 0 JugglerDave 4 962375 Cloudy Bay put NZ Sauvignon Blanc on the map.SB from the Marlborough region will usually be high quality. I also like Goldwater and Isabel.Sokol Blosser is another good Oregon Pinot producer. Fri May 17 00:29:36 -0700 2002 962373 0 howardS 4 962413 Let me know if you find one, went hunting around some of the superstores this weekend but was unable to find any. Elusive bugger!! Sun May 19 15:28:08 -0700 2002 962373 0 SG 5 962418 All BYOBs are terrible and those who patronize them should be eating ramen every night! Just kidding. Lots of noise on the board these past few days. What I meant to say is.... I didn't find Cloudy Bay at 19th & Chestnut state store (one of the so-called "specialty" stores); only place I looked. Sun May 19 17:20:52 -0700 2002 962413 0 JugglerDave 6 962427 Sad isn't it, totally getting out of hand, these people should be spending their energy writing about new discoveries. Tried looking in the Jenkintown's new superstore and also another specialty store in Maple Glen. Think I may have to resort to mail order. Sun May 19 22:45:33 -0700 2002 962418 0 SG