We were in Napa in late September, and got the same vibe from N-C. It was kinda unwelcoming, and the woman my wife spoke to came off very haughty. So we left, too.
Yes, I read this was happening. What I had was from a bottle. I wouldn’t say it knocked my socks off either, but I thought it was quite delish, and besides, I don’t really expect to have my socks knocked off by champagne in that price range anyway. (Not that there’s anything wrong with $20 champagne, per se. Few of us can afford $150-a-bottle champagne all that often.)
And thanks for the info on the Coppola winery. I’d been entertaining fantasies of going there at some point, but it doesn’t sound like what I pictured.
Is that known as felching Sofia?
:eek:
Well, don’t let it put you off visitng the Napa/Sonoma area. There are a large amount of winteries there, and almost all of them are very, very cool. Heck, even Gloria Ferrer, which seemed pretty dang huge to me, was welcoming and laid back. And the smaller wineries were even better. My wife is a big port fan, so we hung out in the kitchen of Prager (a port distillery) for a while, talking to the owner. The people who work in and run most wineries, it seems, have a passion for wine, and it’s fun to share in their excitement. If you enjoy wine, it’s definitely a trip you should make at some point.
Thank you very much, Necros, but mno, I wouldn’t be put off the region at all.
And I share your wife’s affinity for port. Mmmm…port. (Just polished off a bottle of Sandeman’s last night, as a matter of fact.) 
Yes, Necros, I did used to live in Boulder. And from what I can tell, Colorado prices are a little higher than California. Michigan prices are a lot higher, especially up here where they have to bring it in on dog sleds. On the other hand, we can buy liquor in the grocery stores and on Sunday.
In the great land of California, you can buy cheap wine in grocery stores AND on Sunday. If youse guys had pasties and a winter, I’d be living there. 
We had a nice port (or is it “port style”) from Rosemount Estates at a friend’s Christmas party, it was called Old Benson and was a tawny port. I found it rather nice.
I was going to recommend Gruet yesterday, but our network went down as I was ready to post. My wife likes Veuve Cliquot, but she doesn’t find the Gruet that much different. Whoo Hoo, we can buy three bottles of Gruet for the price of one bottle of Veuve Cliquot. The Gruet family makes champagne in France also, but the New Mexico stuff is surprisingly good. I like the Blanc de Noirs just a little bit more than the Brut, but we’re having the Brut this weekend. I think you are going to like it.
Yes, to my taste both tawny and ruby port are quite nice (and they are both types of port) but they leave just a little to be desired (in my humble opinion, that is) when compared to straight port – or porto, as it’s also known. They are all pretty good, it’s just that for me straight port just gives you a little more of what you already like about the other two.
Uh, what? Both ruby and tawny ports are port. They are both wine fortified with brandy or cognac. As is every other type of port. There’s no such thing as “straight port” unless you’re talking about wine made from grapes from the Douro region, which is not port at all. The only difference in port are whether they are aged in wood or not. Color me 
Necros, it’s been some time since I knew what I once knew about various wines, and to give you a specific answer I would need to do some research. But for now let’s take Sandeman, as an example. When I go to a liquor store to buy Sandeman port in the price range I mentioned, there are three look-alike bottles on the shelf with different labels. One says “Tawny,” one says “Ruby” and one says simply “Porto.” I buy the “Porto” version which is also labelled as “Founder’s Reserve.” It is the most expensive and, to my taste, the smoothest and best-flavored of the three. The label says nothing about its being either a Ruby or a Tawny, but it is red in color. Therefore, it’s entered the “lexicon” of my mind, if you will 
, that there is Ruby, Tawny and regular, or what I referred to as “straight,” port.
Additionally, there is also a port that is referred to as “Vintage” which can be either white or red, as I understand it, depending upon the producer. Perhaps the type I refer to as “straight” port is one of the red “Vintages.”
Sure, but they’re all ports. One is no more “straight” than any other. Bottle-aged, wood-aged, types of wood, vintage grapes or no, whatever. It’s all the same stuff. Here’s a decent linkie:http://www.bar-do-binho.com/port/essence.htm
I think the disconnect between us is due to the fact that you apparently took my comments to mean that tawny and ruby ports weren’t ports. I used the term “straight” merely to differentiate the one I prefer from the ruby and tawny ports. In other words, I was merely recommending one type of port over a couple of others but was at a loss for the correct word to describe it.
But at any rate, cheers.
And thanks for the link.
Well, thanks to you all I bought three bottles last night. The J Brut from California, the Perrier Jouët, and a bottle of 10 year old Tawny Port from Warre. The recos were all from Jackie at WW, but I blame you all for corrupting me. My rationalization is one bottle of bubbly for New Year’s Eve, one for New Year’s Day, and the bottle of port for after New Year’s dinner.
Happy New Year!
Well, I was a “fratboy”, but i wouldn’t suggest that.
If you like a sweet wine, I’d throw my vote with the Ballatore Gran Spumante. It’s sweet, and not unpleasent. (I don’t like sweet drinks.) ($6-7/bottle)
If you want a more complex taste, I would suggest the Chandon Blanc de Noir. It is semi-dry, and has a lot of subtle tastes. ($10-15/ bottle - I think the extra $5 is worth it.)
And a very happy New Year to you, as well. As well-armed as you now are, I find it difficult to imagine how your New Years could be anything but.
Cheers.
Well, you know what they always say, “Never bring a knife to a champagne fight”. Or something like that.
Here’s what we ended up with:
2000 Schramsburg Blanc de Noirs
2001 Duval-Leroy Brut
NV Bollinger Brut Special Cuvee
NV Roederer Brut
NV Pommery Brut Royal
and, just in case, a Domaine Ste. Michelle Cuvee Brut
What’s sad is that I pretty sure it’s just Mr. Athena and I for tonight. We won’t drink them all, but it’s nice to have a good selection!
Plus, tomorrow’s my birthday, and I must have more champagne for my birthday.
When I got over to my parent’s place I found he had six other bottles of champagne iced, plus three more in reserve. I’ll post later, when I get back there, on what the selection is. I imagine we’ll go through about six bottles tonight, with 10.5 adults.
Happy Birthday Athena! It’s good that you have champagne standards for your birthday.