Cesare wrote:It was the food right? I was trying to be all subliminal and stuff.

It was the subliminal knife at the very front of the pic...very "buy this wine or I'll cut ya". Threats of bodily harm always make for effective marketing.

SonomaBouliste wrote:Thanks for reminding me - I've been meanig to do a blog entry about costs. Most of these seem accurate, but a couple seem way out of line, to wit the winemaker salary and insurance. $140,000 salary winemaker and $280,000 for insurance for a 7000 case winery? But, if you allow some for marketing, overhead and taxes, that mid $30's retail price (just to cover costs) is definitely in the ballpark. If you aren't in Napa, and don't use 50% new oak, costs drop quite a bit. Bottle prices above the low to mid 20's are not due to costs in most cases, but more to the reasons I listed earlier.

You're correct on the winemaker, that is for someone my size at 2,000 cases (I know several winemakering friends that charge this rate and have 6-10 clients at the 2,00 case range - consultanting winemakers do just fine!) . The 20-30% is for marketing, ins. ...all the other stuff that takes too long to list, office , phone.... As for the oak, people can use chips and less wood - but trying to get away with that in the $30 price point is hard.

Anyone else receiving their wine at 99 degrees? How frustrating to pay 50 bucks to get boiled wine.

Kris

iloveboston wrote:Anyone else receiving their wine at 99 degrees? How frustrating to pay 50 bucks to get boiled wine.

Kris

WD asked you a question on the other Donati thread...

Donati 2004 Merlot Paicines

Dark, almost black, slightly murky plum colour. Opaque. Odd plump little legs. Rather acidic nose, almost a bit vinegary, and a bit of red fruit.

Much fruitier and smoother, but still a good dose of acid. A fair bit of alcoholic heat and some nicely structured tannins. Medium bodied. Body and tannin wise, it's more like a Cab - big - but the flavour of lighter fruit and more acid is all Merlot, and rather youthful - this would benefit from some cellaring.

Hot, somewhat sharp aftertaste, but not unpleasant. Sort of warming, like whiskey. I think decanting would be good too, because this could induce major coughing if consumed too rapidly. It's a bit rough around the edges.

83 Points

I do suspect, however, that decanting properly would have improved this wine significantly, but I was not anticipating the strength of this Merlot.

Hey, thanks for the props on the Sorelle per Sempre. Look for the 2006 coming out in august! woohoo. the SPS is a cure for everything that ails you!

rcomar wrote:I've got labratitis and the only known cure is some of Donati's Sorelle per Sempre. I typically enjoy cabs or zins but this one took me for a wild ride. Lots of dark fruit, some chocolate, and some more berries put with a healthy dose of alcohol make this wine sumptuous. The finish is long but should provide a smile and all i can say is this wine is good period. Though i paired it with a ham and cheese sandwich , it would go great with about any kind of steak. thanks alot wd