MarkDaSpark wrote:Leaving Louis M. Martini, wonderful tour by the founder's grandson (& current head winemaker for Martini & Gallo).

Started off with their '09 Napa Cab, then went on a tour of their facilities. Amazing number of barrels. Then we went down into their cellar for a horizontal of their 1968 cabs.

1st one was 100% Cab. 2nd was 75% cab, 15% Merlot, & 10% Malbec. 3rd was 60% cab, 25% Merlot, & 15% Malbec. You could taste the Redwood in all of them (they used redwood barrels til the '70's.

Then we went upstairs for their '08 Monte Rosso Cab, '09 Gnarley Vine Zin, & '09 Petite Sirah.

We could taste their Moscato.

So nice to catch up with a lot of you guys, albeit ever so briefly.

Keep in touch and enjoy wine country!
Liz

Wm Harrison

Tour by new winemaker (about a year now), then sat down for a 5 year Cab vertical, '06 to '10. Then we bought the last of his '07 Cab Franc. Well except for the last 4 Library wines.

Now off to Scott Harvey!


Edit: damage = 5 bottles

Outdoor Mulch For Gardening!! Scott & Jana are da bomb! Wonderful dinner in the vineyard (pics later). Plus old wines from Scott's cellar.

AND Joatmon brought an 1885 Madeira!

MarkDaSpark wrote:Outdoor Mulch For Gardening!! Scott & Jana are da bomb! Wonderful dinner in the vineyard (pics later). Plus old wines from Scott's cellar.

AND Joatmon brought an 1885 Madeira!

DAMN! Color me green with envy.

Scott and Jana are tremendous hosts.

I haven't partaken of cigars much lately, but Scott has some Artura Fuente 8-5-8 given to him my the agriculture secretary from the Dominican Republic - the wrappers are embossed with Scott's name. When offered one, with a fine wrapper, how can one refuse? Throw in some port and other nice beverages to go with them, and it is tremendously memorable.

Thank you Wine.Woot, and the Woot community for such a tremendous experience!

bubblykindagal wrote:So nice to catch up with a lot of you guys, albeit ever so briefly.

Keep in touch and enjoy wine country!
Liz

Liz, Martini is doing some wonderful stuff, and the experience and wines were delightful. Thanks for your help setting everthing up, for the tour!

Hey folks,

Did anyone happen to pick up an extra bag or two from Laura Zahtila, containing the PS Port? Both of us are missing ours - we got 2 bottles each. They're just not in the room.

RPM, Woop - Would it be possible to contact the bus company to see if they were left behind on the bus?

I have some orphan wine from Pedroncelli:

1 2009 Cab (Block 007 Estate Vineyard)

2 2007 Cab Morris Fay Vineyard

1 2011 Zin Rose

Claim tonight so I can tell WD whose it is when he picks up in the AM.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Hey folks,

Did anyone happen to pick up an extra bag or two from Laura Zahtila, containing the PS Port? Both of us are missing ours - we got 2 bottles each. They're just not in the room.

RPM, Woop - Would it be possible to contact the bus company to see if they were left behind on the bus?

I am on the plane, but you can give them a call at 707-775-2929

woopdedoo wrote:I am on the plane, but you can give them a call at 707-775-2929

I am almost positive that it couldn't have been left on the bus. And I don't think we'll have time to call them before we leave. So hopefully someone from our group finds them in their stash. It would be two bottles each, in two separate bags.

HitAnyKey42 wrote:Hey folks,

Did anyone happen to pick up an extra bag or two from Laura Zahtila, containing the PS Port? Both of us are missing ours - we got 2 bottles each. They're just not in the room.

RPM, Woop - Would it be possible to contact the bus company to see if they were left behind on the bus?

I recall seeing a carry bag with I believe four bottles of LZ port that made it to the temporary wine locker for shipment; with no identification on the bag. I'd query WD, I commented to him after we unloaded there.

rjquillin wrote:I recall seeing a carry bag with I believe four bottles of LZ port that made it to the temporary wine locker for shipment; with no identification on the bag. I'd query WD, I commented to him after we unloaded there.

Thanks! We'll mention it to him tomorrow morning, in case he's not checking the boards. Remind us if we forget

Going through the boxes, prior to tomorrow's shipping out - I found that I do not have the Jana 07 mag, or two 09 Inzin that were going to be signed. Anyone?

I might also have a couple of bottles I didn't order - like a couple of Scott's Syrah. Anyone missing anything?

-Andy

otolith wrote:DAMN! Color me green with envy.

MarkDaSpark wrote:

Iron Horse = 1 bottle, 2 Flutes (one Russian Cuvee with 2 IH Flutes special)

If I'd known about that deal, I'd have jumped on it. Can never have too much IH bubbly on hand, or too many of her flutes.
(ddeuddeg)

rpm wrote:I have some orphan wine from Pedroncelli:

1 2009 Cab (Block 007 Estate Vineyard)

2 2007 Cab Morris Fay Vineyard

1 2011 Zin Rose

Claim tonight so I can tell WD whose it is when he picks up in the AM.

That's exactly what I bought, and it's not in our room, so it must be mine. Thanks. See you in the AM.
ddeuddeg

rjquillin wrote:I recall seeing a carry bag with I believe four bottles of LZ port that made it to the temporary wine locker for shipment; with no identification on the bag. I'd query WD, I commented to him after we unloaded there.

Yep, I saw it too - WD should have it.

bahwm wrote:If I'd known about that deal, I'd have jumped on it. Can never have too much IH bubbly on hand, or too many of her flutes.
(ddeuddeg)

Well, it was only up on the wall in big print.

I'd like to thank everyone involved in the 2012 tour. i had a great time and learned a lot about wine. Also drank a lot of great stuff!!!!

We are finally headed back to real life after the RPM Newbie Tour + a few days in Carmel afterwards.

Wanted to join everyone else in thanking RPM, WoopDeDoo, WineDavid, Neilfindswine, WineFarm, and all the great winemakers/winery owners who went out of their way to make us welcome.

It was great meeting everyone. Hope we can all do it again sometime in the future.

Has anyone put together a group for sharing trip photos?

redwinefan wrote:We are finally headed back to real life after the RPM Newbie Tour + a few days in Carmel afterwards.

Wanted to join everyone else in thanking RPM, WoopDeDoo, WineDavid, Neilfindswine, WineFarm, and all the great winemakers/winery owners who went out of their way to make us welcome.

It was great meeting everyone. Hope we can all do it again sometime in the future.

Has anyone put together a group for sharing trip photos?

Which reminds me to ask (if it hasn't already), does anyone have a problem with their pics being on the internet?


Edit: Silence implies consent ... with the proviso that we need to wait a while to give everyone a chance to speak up!

After an expensive stop @ Concannon, we (zTimBz, rjquillin, & I) are finishing a nice early dinner at Harris Ranch.

MarkDaSpark wrote:After an expensive stop @ Concannon, we (zTimBz, rjquillin, & I) are finishing a nice early dinner at Harris Ranch.

Did Tim buy out concannon's library, too? :-)

MarkDaSpark wrote:Which reminds me to ask (if it hasn't already), does anyone have a problem with their pics being on the internet?

Obviously, hak & I don't care.

MarkDaSpark wrote:Which reminds me to ask (if it hasn't already), does anyone have a problem with their pics being on the internet?

I don't care, and if my wife remains nameless, it's fine as well.

Just a message of appreciation to members of both the beginners and guru tours. You were all so warm and wonderful, that this plus-one just felt the need to join you on the boards. Many thanks to rpm, I hope you could tell how very much you are appreciated; and to all who made this trip so educational and fun. zTimothyBz - I believe you are like a fine Cabernet . . . rather closed upon first meeting, but with time you opened up to reveal a delightfully complex character! Re-entry into the "real" world is gonna be tough!

MarkDaSpark wrote:Which reminds me to ask (if it hasn't already), does anyone have a problem with their pics being on the internet?

How courteous of you to ask. I would prefer not, thank you.

Please let me add my voice to the chorus of appreciation, to rpm and woop, to winedavid and winefarm, and to all the wine.woot staffers and winemakers who rolled out the welcome mat with unmatched hospitality.

When I think of the Tour, there is no memory that burns as brightly as last Wednesday night's Newbie/Veteran/Winemaker dinner. In a tent under the stars, a group of almost strangers gathered for a glowing evening of food, wine and warm fellowship. And it remains a wonderment to me that such kindness, generosity and goodwill could be generated by a mere website.

In attending, I am reminded that although many things about wine.woot have changed, the most important thing has not. We are a community.

Thank you, one and all.

cheron98 wrote:Obviously, hak & I don't care.

+1

Landing at JFK, the drive back had no vineyards in sight! I miss it all already.

What can I say, as a 3 time veteran I am still amazed how it all comes together. From all the behind the scenes work that Woop takes care of to all of RPM's connections, insight and expertise I feel so honored to share all these wonderful experiences with my fellow wooters. Of course I can't go without saying how amazing WineDavid and WineFarm for being who they are and for opening their home to a lot of people and always being so welcoming; and of course none of this would be possible without them! A huge shout out to the wonderful winemakers (Scott, Peter, Joy, Cathy, Pedroncelli...) for embracing us all and being so very generous. Lastly, to all my fellow wooters it was great to tour with the veterans again as well as meet a bunch of the newbies.

You all are amazing and I thank each and every one of you! I hope we all meet again soon.

cheron98 wrote:Did Tim buy out concannon's library, too? :-)

He didn't buy a thing. But he did enable Q and I!!!

And I too, now have PS Chocolate Sauce!!! Oh, and their Port release will be around October.

tzarinaz wrote:Just a message of appreciation to members of both the beginners and guru tours. You were all so warm and wonderful, that this plus-one just felt the need to join you on the boards. Many thanks to rpm, I hope you could tell how very much you are appreciated; and to all who made this trip so educational and fun. zTimothyBz - I believe you are like a fine Cabernet . . . rather closed upon first meeting, but with time you opened up to reveal a delightfully complex character! Re-entry into the "real" world is gonna be tough!

Now you just need to change that blank box to a colored box by buying something!!!

MarkDaSpark wrote:Which reminds me to ask (if it hasn't already), does anyone have a problem with their pics being on the internet?


Edit: Silence implies consent ... with the proviso that we need to wait a while to give everyone a chance to speak up!

Ddeuddeg & I are fine with it. Could you please keep a list someplace for me of those who do not sunburn their pics up and/or those who are ok w/pics but no name attached.

MarkDaSpark wrote:Now you just need to change that blank box to a colored box by buying something!!!

+1

MarkDaSpark wrote:Which reminds me to ask (if it hasn't already), does anyone have a problem with their pics being on the internet?


Edit: Silence implies consent ... with the proviso that we need to wait a while to give everyone a chance to speak up!

We're OK with posting.

Scott already posted pics from the newby tour on his facebook page.

One useful phrase we came up with on the tour, alongside the well-known "more money than sense": "more money than palate".

One overall sense we tourists got from this year's tour is that the Parkerization of the industry is still continuing. We visited one winery where the tour guide proudly proclaimed that Parker had never given less than 90 to any of their wines. You could almost hear the entire busload rolling their eyes at that one, but to our credit nobody said anything. At that time.

There have been winemaker changes recently at places we also toured previously; for some places for what we tasted it has not been for the better, which was kinda sad.

However, not all is gloomy. We got indications that the pendulum may be just starting to swing back. A couple of places that had gone heavy into the Parker style are beginning to rethink and pull back into a more integrated style. It would be interesting to visit them in a few years and see what they have to offer.

bahwm wrote:Ddeuddeg & I are fine with it. Could you please keep a list someplace for me of those who do not sunburn their pics up and/or those who are ok w/pics but no name attached.

Really really unfortunate Woot filter there. "do not sunburn" = "do not want"

MarkDaSpark wrote:Now you just need to change that blank box to a colored box by buying something!!!

I'm workin' on it, I'm workin' on it!!! ;-P

I would also like to add to the chorus of thanks. Thank you to RPM and Woop, and of course to WD and winefarm for making this all possible It'll be a hard-to-top tour for me, of course, but even without the added sparkle, this was a phenomenal experience.

along the lines of the pendulum swinging back - I noticed that more of the wineries are beginning to temper their Chardonnays as well, pulling back from the big buttery Chards to the more refined Burgundian style. I appreciate this. Now to just bring the prices back to something reasonable...