friend silenus
cline has an ancient vines zinfandel that i really like. could that be it? the italian wines i have tried have not pleased me very much. i haven’t tried much french stuff, but i really like spanish crianza.
Spoken like a true barbecue connaisseur.
Tonight it’s Chilean–“Cono Sur” Viognier 2005 from the Colchauga valley. Quality! Dodgy rationales: 10 bucks, cold, pretty dry, white (I intend to drink the whole bottle tonight and I figured a red would up the chances of a hangover). Discovered viognier last summer. I like it.
longhair, I don’t think it was the Cline. For some reason the name Martini Brothers sticks in my mind, but I can’t find any reference to a winery by that name anywhere. I wish I could find that wine again. It brings back memories of Seattle, a certain blonde, and…well, pleasant memories.
Oh yes you do! Of course, you have to actually go there. 
A small point on this, but it seems to me that the New World vintners vint to a particular taste, whereas the French vintners vint to a particular standard. That is, if I take a Brown Brothers 2001 vintage and a Brown Brothers 2003 vintage, they’ll taste exactly the same. But if I take a Delarche Pernand Vergellesses 2001 Premier Cru and a Delarche PV 2003 Premier Cru, there may well be a marked difference in taste. Sometimes this is even visible. I’m thinking of the Alsace Pinot Noirs which vary from a light red colour to a darkish rosé.