Bonneau Chardonnay

Well if you know my wine tastes, you will hardly see me drink Chardonnay. This is for a few reasons. I have not found one I like well enough to purchase one directly, and when I go out, I eat meals that would be wayyyy to big for them. However, sometimes a wine club will ship me one and I will try it. Many I drink are nothing but butter and I want a lobster tail to dip into them. I rarely drink one that is of a complexity and taste of my liking. Most of the time I think "man I wish they would have sent me something other than chardonnay" however... I opened this tonight.

Bonneau Chardonnay, Catherine's Vineyard, Los Carneros, 2004

Retail Price: $22

Production: 800 cases

Ratings: Double Gold Medal San Francisco Wine Competition

My Thoughts: Wow, it had wonderful forward hints of asian pear and peach. Nice balance of fruit, oak, and acidity. Greatly enjoyed it and would reccomend to highly.

What I ate: Chicken vegetable pasta medley that my wonderful wife made.

Check out Bonneau here.

Love Wine...

But I have never wanted it this bad...

"ADRIAN, Mich. - A man was charged with drunken driving after going through two bottles of wine, cutting through a snowstorm on his lawn mower and riding down the center of the street to reach a liquor store, authorities said. Police found Frank Kozumplik, 49, homeward bound on a John Deere tractor Saturday night, toting four bottles of wine in a paper bag, officials said. He told officers that his wife had taken their car to work, and that the mower was the only way he could reach the store, two miles from home."

Read it Here.

My Baby Bean!!!

We had our first ultrasound today. It was a scarry moment for both of us. 2 1/2 years ago when we went into the ultra sound is when we found out the result of conception was not an embryo and my wife miscarried. However, this time was much more joyous. We saw our little bean baby with its heart (which seemed to be most of him) pumping away. It seemed like over half of the embryo was heart. I guess I can say "My kid's all heart!"

When the Football's Gone???

I am not necessarily someone who thrives on routines, but I do have some I enjoy. I can count on every Sunday from September to February being just about the same. I am at Church from 7:30-12ish, then I am in front of my football central until 9pm, or whenever Sunday night football finishes. I have 4 tuners in my living room that can record HD and two displays. When I get home from church I start the morning games, skipping commercials and halftime, and am live in the afternoon games usually some point near the 3rd quarter. I try and think of nothing of importance, and it is my time of relaxation and something I enjoy. Now that the footballs over what do I do? Do I have to be productive? Get caught up on movies? Institute mandatory nap time??? We will see. Today I felt lost and the world wasn't right. It was the first Sunday without football. This is one of the two times of year I am always extremly depressed (the other being the first week of daylight savings in fall).

Free Money

So if everything goes as planned, most of us will be getting a tax rebate this summer ($300+ depending on your status). Congress passed this legislation but nothing has been enacted. It should soon and we could be receiving checks by early summer. The government hopes we all go out and burn the cash to give the economy a kick in the butt. What are you going to spend yours on? Me, it will probably go to nursery supplies (yes we are expecting if you didn't know)!

99 Pine Ridge Stag's Leap

As I posted about the 02 Oakville from Pine Ridge, I thought I would post about my favorite wine they have made. I have three bottles remaining and the last one I had was in December at Trelio. I do not remember the exact contents, but I ate the Chimichuri Tri Tip that chef Mike concocted and it was amazing!!! I like it even more than their Filet (and that is saying something if you know me).

Quick Facts:

Pine Ridge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stag's Leap, 1999

80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Petit Verdot, 8% Merlot, 3% Malbec, and 3% Cabernet Franc.

5,000 cases made

Oak: 100% French, 85%new for 16 months

Release: 2001 $60

Ratings: 94 (WS and #4 on top 100 wines of 2002)

My Thoughts: Amazing Black fruits with mocha, vanilla, and cedar and earth hints. Balanced and complex. Should be great over the next decade. My only problem is how to make my last three bottles last.

Miles

On New Years Day a new member joined the family. His name is Miles (yes that is Miles Davis for all of you paying attention). My wife took this picture of him and I love it. We get to hang out mostly all day together (although I spend too much time at my computer working if you ask him). He lays on my feet while I work at my desk until he gets restless and I walk him or go play fetch for awhile.

2002 Pine Ridge Oakville Cab

During the meal described below with the 94 Quintessa, we moved on to the 2002 Oakville Pine Ridge cab. Pine Ridge has been one of my favorite Napa wineries and I have been a member of their wine club since 2003. We had the opportunity to dine with the wine maker, Stacey Clark, at a wine dinner in when we lived in Dallas. They grow and make great wines.

Quick Facts:

Pine Ridge, Cabernet Sauvignon, Oakville, 2002

83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Malbec, 5% Petit Verdot, 3% Merlot and 1% Cabernet Franc.

Oak: 100%French Oak for 16 months

Release: 2004 $60

1,600 cases produced

Ratings: 93(WS), 93(W&S)

My thoughts: Great aromas of cherry, chocolate, cedar. Nice long finish with velvety tannins and nice complexity. Amazing!!! My second favorite thing to come out of Pine Ridge (99 stag's leap). Nice job Stacey!!!

Quintessa

While now I believe this wine to be too expensive for what it is, I have a Vertical of Quintessa from 1994(premiere release)-2002. About four years ago when I was beginning to be interested in wine I had a bottle (don't even remember the vintage) and loved it. For those of you that know me, when I take interest to something I go for it (go big or go home). So that is a little background info. Quintessa seems to be found in every steak house chain I have ever been to. I have seen it priced from $165-285 in various steak houses. While each vintage of Quintessa now yields about 8,000-10,000 cases, this premiere vintage produced 500 cases.

Quick Facts:

Quintessa, Rutherford, 1994

Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot (don't know %)

Time in Oak: 22 months (100% French, 50% new)

Release: September 1997 $70

Current Trading Price: $99

Reviews: 91 (wine spectator)

My thoughts: Nice fruit forward with rasberry, currant, vanilla, and floral notes. Medium complexity. Tannins have really softened. Probably peaked 2 of 3 years ago.

What I ate:(at Trelio) PETITE ANGUS BEEF FILET MIGNON
Smoked Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Pearl Onions, King Oyster Mushrooms, Red Wine Jus

The wine was good, but we continued the meal with...

Bonaire

In March we spent a week in Bonaire and then went back and spent 3 weeks in June and July (2007). The diving was amazing. We had over 300 pictures from our summer trip, but our laptop was stolen and we lost all but three (because I had emailed them to friends while in Bonaire). This is really Divers paradise. You can dive as much as your body allows for a flat fee of $110 per week. Here is a seahorse from under the town pier at night, a turtle from Andrea I, and a view from our apartment at Bel Mar.

Hobby...maybe career???

I have really been bit by the SCUBA bug (I guess that would be Poseidon who is doing the biting). In 2007 I logged more than 100 dives. Since I am playing catch-up I will just show the highlights. In Feb. and May we went to Key Largo. I was taking the underwater photography class when I stumbled upon a little friend. As you can see he wasn't too fond of my presence.

Testing the Blogging Waters

This is a test. I have not blogged in nearly three years. Will I start??? I still don't know. I gave up nearly 3 years ago because I didn't want to learn HTML. Everyone had cool blogs and mine was all text. Now that it is more user friendly, I may try again. Plus all my friends are doing it and I want to be cool!!! In case you are wondering this is a picture of me on the USS Speigel Grove in Key Largo, FL. It was taken in May 2007 I believe.