Oh my God, i have died and gone to Pinot heaven!

one of my Durham lines when  drinking pinot noir! And it was over Alfaro wines in Aptos/Santa Lucia area. But last night in BOUCHON in Las Vegas, the bottle of all bottles,  the 2004

Covert Fingers by Sine Qua Non   Check this wine out if you can find it, buy it, and thank me.I have been furiously all over the web today trying to find bottles. This was a remarkable wine. i am a burgundy fan and this hit it! 

And speaking of an incredible find, please go buy this book and thank me later, A History of Advertising by Stephane Pincas and Marc Loiseau (Taschen). A great book about the history of our business. Really enjoyed this book, oriented towards Publicis, but still very engaging book.

Let me know if you find and sample this great wine and what you think of the book. It is always fun reading books on the history of advertising--fascinating perspective!

Some great reading along with some good wines!

since i am doing a bit of traveling, right now, stocked up with some good plane ride reading and the sunny sit by the Adritatic and lesiruely read, let me suggest these books to add to your summer list.

Wine Politics: How Governments. Environmentalists, Mobsters and Critics influence the wines we drink  by Tyler Coleman (University of California Press, 2008).  good reading and actually very entertaining.

Eric Porres gave me The Billionaire's Vinegar, wow, this was a one plane ride read!  Really fascinating story by Benjamin Wallace.

Saw in the Wine Spectator, the current issue with Mondavi on the cover, a contest that can sure be fun, hope you enter:  winespectator. Could be a great fun event. Will be sitting at the beach tomorrow here at the Excelsior in Dubrovnik thinking of some great ideas. If you submit, let me know, would post yours here as well!  check out James Laube's Recommended California Chardonnay's  (p.63) and notice how damm expensive they are getting.  Dumol and Peter Michael, top two and they are stunning!

cheers!

Fitting Saturday night in Prague

What a way to end this great holiday in Prague, than with good friends and a surprise birthday present of a 1982 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Le Montrachet.  What a treat my friends from London gave me for my birthday.

DRC has a special place in my heart as a great story can be told by my friends Scot and Steven about a DRC night in New Orleans!

But this is about a beatifiul Saturday night having a dinner at Cowboys. This place is so special a terrace right under the Prague Castle. What a good wine list, had a very nice 2005 Pugliny Montrachet and then the surprise gift, wow, it was so young, so tasty and went well with this steak and salad place.  Not even the wine wordsmith in me can describe the taste of this bottle. Afraid to look it up on wine-searcher!

What a fitting way to end Prague!  Well off to Dubrovnik this morning!

Gretchen and Cory's wedding in Meadowwood

What can you say, this was one great weekend! Hope you had a chance to check out all of the pictures from Jim Nichols blog (see my blog listings). What a wonderful weekend. These are two very special people in my life and it was a such a job to see them get married. The wedding was so beautiful at the resort, drank some great wines ( I love Groth!) and music, friends and the whole evening was so special.

They are off to Bora Bora and Cory told me that he put in several bottles of Cab so that they can celebrate.  But the celebration with the Schramsberg to start and end the night was so good.

It was good to see all of the Catalyst:SF team. I work with amazing and fun people! Well it was the second weekend in a row of good times, the birthday weekend, the wedding weekend and now  Prague, what can I say, very blessed!

Cory and Gretchen I wish you the best in life and your marrige grow so strong and many many wonderful years!

Cheers!  now off to another brewery tour in Prague, what can I say, God Bless America!

The Spanish Bay weekend, wines/golf galore

Well two very good friends all turned 50 recently and they invited six of their friends to join them for golf, great conversations and a world class wine weekend in Carmel, California. Staying at the Inn at Spanish Bay, what a way to start the weekend!

The dinners were stupendous. The wines, have to tell you rank as some of the best. We had Diamond Creek 1991 Volcanic Hill, and a vertical of Robert Mondavi Reserve Cabernet 1998-1999-2000.

Other wines drank that weekend included an Atlas Peak Cabernet, Robert Talbott Chardonnay, Cass Pinot, Bernardus Sauvignon Blanc, Jacquesson Champagne, Morgan Double XX  Chardonnay, Dolce by Far Niente. I know I am missing many but these stand out.  But more important than the wines was the fellowship of 8 people enjoying some 50 hours of golf, food, sleep, conversation and a lifetime of memories.

I did a night in Carmel with Matt and Quinn and had a 1997 Oriennella (yummy Italian Tuscan!)

Thanks S & D for that special weekend, I know myself and the 5 others will cherish that weekend for a long time.  Hope we can get together in another 50 years!

The 4th of July in Prague

Most people enjoy their 4th surrounded by fireworks, friends, music and good cold beer! Well the same here except the fireworks and the beers were in Prague!

Yes the holiday time, my birthday, scooting away from wine (even though I did sample some Czech Sauvgninon Blanc) could not tell you the name of it mixed with the many many Pilsner Urquells!

Hope you had a good holiday, really appreciate being an American here, the dollar is decent against the Czech crown! Found this very cool Reidel store where the have/now had a limited magnum decanter that I have never seen (Tyrerol!) and it will be cumbersome to get home but what the hell, a good birthday present!

My friends and I have so enjoyed this town, Serena and Venus playing tennis, some strawberries and beers!  (damm there are so many pubs) and what they say about British stag parties is amazing!

Well another great American holiday passing, my birthday is approaching and i am one lucky guy---good wines, good friends, good beers, great holiday!

Hope your enjoying yours!