The Future is Now

A banner day in the Felty apartment! I was able to trek to Warwick today to pick up a shipment at UPS. What type of shipment? Wine, what else would it be! Our 2005 Pinot Noirs from Patricia Green Cellars arrived at last! In April when we barrel tasted at Patricia Green, we placed an order of futures. Simply put, we bought the wine before it was bottled. We purchased six bottles of the Ribbon Ridge Whistling Ridge, two Bottles of Dundee Hills Balcombe Block 1B, and a bottle each of Etzel block, Bonshaw, Anden, and Goldschmidt Vineyards. At certain wineries, this is the only way to get your hands on their wines, not to mention it can be more cost effective. The most notable futures market is in Bordeaux. Earlier this year, speculation was that the 2005 Bordeaux vintage may be the best ever, this caused prices of futures to sky-rocket. And this is for wine that won't reach consumers for another two years. We consider ourselves extremely fortunate to have tasted these wines straight from the barrel and look forward to sharing them with family and friends over the coming years! Till next time..."I love lamp!"--Brick Tamlin, Anchorman

Off track

I'm going to have to stray off the wine track for once. Why you ask? Because I finally went to the movies for the first time in a year. What was the flick that drove me to give in to my cinematic abstinence? Bond, James Bond. How could a Bond freak like me not go see Casino Royale on the big screen. And let me say, Bond is back. Pierce Brosnan was great in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies, but the last two he did were watered down plots with as many explosions as the producers could cram into two hours. And Denise Richards as a nuclear physicist, yeah, I bought that one. Why not cast Mr. Bean as Bond, that'll be believable. Anyways, the new film delivers in rare form. A great action movie, with strong performances all around. The fact that they changed the focal point of the movie from a high-stakes baccarat game to no-limit hold 'em poker, well no one's perfect. Daniel Craig is superb as Bond. No one will ever top Connery, but he is the closest anyone will ever come. He's rough, yet sophisticated, pompous, yet deep. Eva Green as Vesper Lynd is exactly what Ian Fleming envisioned the Bond girls to be, sexy, smart, and more importantly human. And lord knows I can't avoid wine for too long, Bond drinks Bollinger and Chateau Angelus, nice choice! Anyway, I highly recommend you drag yourself out to the theaters full of annoying talkers and chair kickers to see what Bond was supposed to be all along, a man I wish I could be! Till next time...Bartender: "Shaken or stirred?" Bond: "Does it look like I give a damn?"

Wine, Oh Wine

What a week for wine consumption. We plowed through some nice bottles in the past week or so. Most notable on the list was Friday night with Phil and his girl Annie. We started the evening with some Honig Sauvignon Blanc and Sequoia Grove Cabernet Sauvignon at The Up River Cafe. Then we headed home, where the lineup included but was not limited to, Katie's 2001 Swanson Alexis Oakville, a '05 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc Napa, and a nice little Santa Barbara Pinot Noir from Sanford. Then last night, Mike stopped by to cook up some amazing food. He made an outstanding roasted butternut squash soup and a spectacular duck dish with fennel, shallots, and fingerling potatoes. For wine we had a beautiful 2004 Foley Clone 99 Chardonnay, some 2004 Ponzi Tavola Pinot Noir from Oregon (where else) and a 1998 La Familia Colmera by the Mondavis. Lets just say I need a break from wine for a bit. I plan on taking it easy through the holidays. Speaking of Holidays, Katie and I are going to have our anniversary dinner during our Holiday break in Orlando. We are going to be eating at Victoria and Albert's at the Grand Floridian. And from what I've read, it should be a once in a lifetime experience. Well, I am going to lay down and take some medication to try and kill this little bug I am fighting. Till next time..."Wine is 99 percent psychological, a creation of where you are and with whom."--Lawrence Osbourne, The Accidental Connoisseur

P. S. Rumor is that Up River Cafe will be hosting a Honig Wine dinner April. Is it too early to make reservations?

Wine from A to Zin Recap

First and foremost, my deepest apologies for the delayed post. As some of you know I have been battling a nasty cold/sinus infection/plague since last Thursday. The Wine from A to Zin Night on Friday was more than I could have imagined. We had over twenty people to taste the five wines. And what fun did we have! The food was excellent and the wines held their own. Katie and I had selected the wines based on previous experience, but we had no idea everyone else would love them as much as we do. Especially the 2005 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc, or as its now commonly being referred to "the grapefruit wine." I am already in the early stages of planning the next extravaganza, and its looking more and more like it will be a Pinot Noir focus. Special thanks to all who attended. I hope I didn't come across as snoody about the wine. I loved talking to you about wine, my knowledge about it is something I have been dieing to share. Thank you again! Till next time..."Don't go passing out or going to the Dark Side."--Jack, Sideways

Sneak Peak

For all of you too anxious to wait, I decided to post a preview of what we'll be tasting Friday night at the inaugural Wine from A to Zin party. The theme for this party is wines from California, and they are all at reasonable prices. First, we'll toast to the night with the Roederer Estate Brut Anderson Valley. This sparkling wine is a spectacular value and my personal favorite. Next up will be the 2005 St. Supery Sauvignon Blanc Napa Valley. This is a popular wine in our household and brings back great memories of our trip to Napa Valley. Rounding out the whites will be the Cambria Katherine's Vineyard Chardonnay. And yes, I first tried this wine because it's named after my lovely wife. For Reds, we'll taste the current Rosenblum Vinter's Cuvee XXIX Zinfandel. This non-vintage wine is a complete steal at it's going rate. And finally, the 2002 St. Francis Cabernet Sauvignon Sonoma County. It's hard to find a high-quality California Cabernet for under thirty bucks, but this puppy does the trick. And if you hang around long enough, I might just wander to the cellar and pull out something special to try. Katie and I (especially me), are looking forward to Friday and know we'll all have an exciting time. Till next time..."Wine begs to be shared."

It's a marathon, not a sprint

Great advice to Red Sox fans, and wine drinkers alike. "It's a marathon, not a sprint," were the words of wisdom I doled out to the uninitiated at the first wine dinner of the year, J. Lohr wine at Nicola's Uptown Cafe. This was a new experience for my mom, dad, and sister, so I cautioned them to set a pace and remember how far the finish line is. The night began with some amazing gifts. My in-laws gave me a gorgeous map of Sonoma County that they are going to have framed for me. My wife bought me a set each of Bordeaux, White Wine, and Pinot Noir stemware from Reidel. And my parents and sister really went above and beyond. They bought me the 2003 Joseph Phelps Insignia. This is now my first official vertical, seeing as I now have the '01, '02, and now '03. First course was Potato Gnocchi with Lobster Meat, Baby Leeks, and Truffle Butter. They paired this with J. Lohr's "Carol's Vineyard" Sauvignon Blanc from Napa. The dish was amazing! I absolutely loved the leeks and gnocchi, and the lobster was damn good too. The Sauv Blanc disappointed though. It was somewhat dry and not crisp, like I enjoy them. It did have an intriguing bouquet to it, but the taste was a big let down. The next two courses, a Wild Arugula Salad and Pan-Seared Sea Scallops, were both paired with Chardonnays. The first Chard, "Riverstone" from Monterey was billed as the lesser, and it lived up to that. Pure butter and Vanilla. It tasted like someone had dropped a couple sticks of butter in each barrel while it was aging. The second one, "Arroyo Vista" Single Vineyard from Monterey, had some similar flavors but was more scaled back. It still had a buttery feel, but was not over the top with nice flavors of pear. With the fourth course, Petite Filet Mignon, we finally got some red wine. "Carol's Vineyard" Cabernet Sauvignon from Napa, was a real nice Cab, but it was just too light bodied for my taste. It wasn't a watered down feeling, but instead felt like a Pinot Noir hiding in the Cabernet Flavors. It had a solid taste to it but was just too light for me. And finally, we had a great dessert with what I thought was an outstanding Riesling. We had a Pineapple Financier (which we thought was a banker but must be some kind of cake) with coconut Ice Cream. The J. Lohr "Bay Mist" Riesling from Monterey was outstanding. It was chilled just right and was sweet without going over the top. I felt it was a great way to end the evening, seeing as the other wines didn't blow me away and didn't match perfectly with the food. Oh yeah, I also won a magnum of J. Lohr "Seven Oaks" Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon just for knowing Jerry Lohr's wife's name, and yelling it really loud, and having everyone at the table say I said it first, and because it was my birthday. Till next time..."I want to work to live, not live to work."--John (me)

P.S. My family decided to retire the Johnny nickname and promote me to Jack. A name my Nana had always wanted to call me, and I am sure she's smiling up there right now!

Let the Games Begin...

In an earlier post, I discussed Swanson's 2001 Alexis. This blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, and Merlot, led to the heated debate between my wife and I. Could this wine age in the bottle for 5, even 10 years, and still taste spectacular? Katie argued the wine would be best in another year, I said give it 8 and it will still wow you. So I went out and bought two bottles. We put our names on them and will see who was right when we decide to open them. Of course, eight years is a long time to settle a bet. In other news, I am expecting a shipment of Pinot Noir in the coming weeks. Back in April, we barrel tasted at Patricia Green Cellars in Oregon and placed an order for a mixed case of futures. It was fascinating to pick out which wines we wanted to purchase before they were even bottled! And since we already paid for the wine in April, it feels like Santa is making an early trip south this year. I am also gearing up for my birthday (October 24th, its not too late to buy gifts!). My family will be taking me to Nicola's Uptown Cafe in Westerly for dinner, a wine dinner (what type of dinner did you expect). My wife and I will also be picking out wines for our Wine from A to Zin Night in the coming week. The festivities will commence at 5:30 on Friday, November 3rd. If your interested please leave a comment here, or e-mail me at riwineguy@gmail.com. Till next time..."I'd stumbled on the semiannual release of Silver Oak Cabernet Sauvignon, an event that's something like a cross between Woodstock and an Anway convention."--Jay McInerny Bacchus & Me

Wine from A to Zin

On November 3rd, the world of wine will change as we know it. At least in Ashaway. Katie and I will be hosting a little gathering. The goal is to invite friends and family to our house to celebrate wine, but more importantly, each other. I find the best part of wine, is the people you share it with. The format is simple, arrive and enjoy. I'll be choosing five wines to be tasted that night. As the night progresses expect me to open my mouth. I'll try not to preach but educate and lead discussion on the world of wine and whatever is in our glasses at that point. If enough people are interested, we'll choose a bottle or two that was worthy of our praises and take orders. If there is enough demand for twelve bottles I will buy a case to be divided amongst those interested. As I said, the wine is simply a way to bring people together. I know I can't stand sipping my wine alone. Invitations for the party will be out soon, but please pass this message along to anyone else who may beinterested in attending. Till next time..."As they walked they chatted meaningless airport talk. She asked how the flight was. He asked how the traffic was. He said a bit bumpy. She said a bit slow. She asked how the food was. He asked what the weather was like. He said adequate. She said comfortable."--John Felty (A little preview of the book)

Vineyard Weekend

My father and I just returned from a nice weekend on Martha's Vineyard. After a slightly bumpy ride on the Fast Ferry (read as horrific and terrifying ride) we watched the Yankees lose and were able to have a great night's sleep. Saturday morning we were up bright and early to play Farm Neck Golf Club. Simply put, wow. What a beautiful course, and extremely challenging in the 25 mile an hour winds we played in. The only wine for the weekend was a bottle of 2005 Babich Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand. This has been a personal fav of mine for two years now, even before Wine Spectator named it one of its top 100 wines of 2005. Crisp, clean, and hints of fruit, a great Sauv Blanc. Saturday night was burgers at the Oceanview lounge while watching the Yankees lose again (read as "Da Yankees lose, Daaaaa Yaaaannnnkkkeeesss looossseee!). Sunday morning was breakfast at the Black Dog and a super smooth ride home followed by the Pats game. Dad, I told you the Dolphins would cover! Katie and I did have a nice bottle of Bordeaux before she left for Texas. The 2000 Les Hauts de Pontet-Canet from Paulliac is a second label of a fifth growth. So its not exactly a blockbuster, but for the price its a good way to get your hands on a solid wine from the famed Millennium Vintage. Time for more work on the novel. Till next time..."Did you drink and dial?"--Jack Sideways

Blogs and Books

Well, you pushed me far enough. A little prod from Phil, a push from my in-laws, and a big shove from my parents. I started writing my book. Are you happy now? I won't give much details though. It's a novel that involves wine. Maybe I'll drop some hints here and there, but I kind of want to keep it wrapped up while I work from now on. In other news, we had dinner at Up River Cafe again the other night. This time with my parents. A nice little Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc batted lead off. Crisp, refreshing, and a real palate pleaser. With entrees came a 2004 Williams Seylam Sonoma Coast Pinot Noir. Oh how tasty! Medium to light bodied with hints of cherry. Not overly fruity like some Sonoma Pinots, specifically Russian River Valley. The food was great, as always. I also picked up some wine the other day. The first is a second label Bordeaux from the famed millennium vintage of 2000. I also got two cans of Niebaum-Coppola's Sofia Blanc de Blancs. Yes, I said cans. They are small, pink, aluminum cans that are labeled as "Carbonated White Wine." They come with cute little expandable straws. Our verdict, the can ruins the elegance of sparkling wine, and the flavors just didn't seem right. Big thumbs down. I also ordered two bottles of our new favorite, Alexis (see two posts down). Katie and I are going to be trying a little experiment with bottle aging. That's all for now. Till next time..."Good wine is a necessity of life for me."--Thomas Jefferson