rjquillin wrote:I think the wisdom of letting a shipment rest for a few weeks to months before opening has been discussed before. Seldom will I open anything, especially an older vintage, within months of it's arrival for that vary reason. I know I've missed a re-offering in a woot-off of bottles I'd have gotten more of had I tasted early, but such is life. Hopefully that Arcturus will settle down, as I too just received both vintages and I'd not like to think they were a bad purchase, but WD & WW are known for making good on bad juice.

Thanks. Im new to woot, and shipping wine. Thanks for the advice, and hope the Arcturus settles down, I had high hopes for that one. Also, had the Astrale E Terra 06 cab Mon, and the banned in bama Cycles last night, both were delicious!

joellg wrote:Thanks. Im new to woot, and shipping wine. Thanks for the advice, and hope the Arcturus settles down, I had high hopes for that one. Also, had the Astrale E Terra 06 cab Mon, and the banned in bama Cycles last night, both were delicious!

I have the Cab sitting next to me here at work (forgot to take it home last week) and the Cycles sitting on my rack at home waiting to be drunk in the very near future..

joellg wrote:Thanks. Im new to woot, and shipping wine. Thanks for the advice, and hope the Arcturus settles down, I had high hopes for that one. Also, had the Astrale E Terra 06 cab Mon, and the banned in bama Cycles last night, both were delicious!

Welcome.

I've not been here all that long either, and the wisdom from the winemakers and long-time wooters is both unique and priceless.

joellg wrote:Well, Ive loved the woot wines I have purchased so far, Sextant was great, toolbox merlot was good, ect. But last night, I tried the 1999 Arcturus, and it smelled like it was going bad. I decanted it, and drank most of it. Just didnt seem right. Definitely got a little better (or I was starting to feel it more) as it sat. Maybe I opened it after shipping too soon. Had high hopes, but Im afraid to open any more. Anyone else get theirs and have the same problem?

I am far from an expert, but my sense is that "bottle shock" (the accepted term for wine which is temporarily compromised due to movement), would not usually lead to a wine smelling "like it was going bad."

Symptoms of bottle shock typically include less prominent fruit characteristics, more acid and tannins, and a generally less integrated structure.

If the wine smells moldy or sulphuric, it is most likely a bad bottle, or corked. Did you inspect the cork? Any signs of leakage?

blakewoot wrote:I am far from an expert, but my sense is that "bottle shock" (the accepted term for wine which is temporarily compromised due to movement), would not usually lead to a wine smelling "like it was going bad."

Symptoms of bottle shock typically include less prominent fruit characteristics, more acid and tannins, and a generally less integrated structure.

If the wine smells moldy or sulphuric, it is most likely a bad bottle, or corked. Did you inspect the cork? Any signs of leakage?

All good and correct except it would be "travel shock." Bottle shock happens immediately after bottling.

2005 Ridge Ponzo Vineyard Zin

neilfindswine wrote:Posting after the fact, but opened an '06 Tudor Santa Lucia Highlands Pinot Noir, Sarmento Vineyards last night. Delicious. The fruit was still shining, yet it's age gave it a deliberate grace. Gassed it and kept a half bottle for tonight.

How about some gas as part of a thursday wine woot

Sorry for the tangent. I am drinking a can of Pepsi tonight.

2006 Amantis Montecucco Sangiovese with some pizza tonight.

09' R2 rhapsody

Beautiful perfumy nose of red and dark fruit. The drinks extremely smooth and I am saddened that this is my last bottle. A great value at under $20 bucks.

A Sauvignon Blanc that I've had before from Winedrop.

Opened a screwcap Ramsay 2008 PN almost a week ago and ~half finished it. Backfilled the bottle with that nitrogen rig I posted a pic of and put it back in the chiller. Finished off this evening with some seafood pasta. It held up -very- well.
This nitrogen, or argon, thing just may be a winner. Gotta do some more controlled consumption, ahhh, testing,if that's possible. Also backfilled some of the cyberpub I got from Sparky. Gonna try those tomorrow and see how they did since last weekend.

Way to expensive sangria at a local Mediterranean / Italian restruant. Good but not $9 a glass good. I could have even stollen some of sparks bridal shower concoction and drank for free.

2006 Linne Calodo Cherry Red

2007 Stephen Ross Dusi Vineyard Zin

2007 Doyenne Syrah

kylemittskus wrote:2006 Linne Calodo Cherry Red

2007 Stephen Ross Dusi Vineyard Zin

2007 Doyenne Syrah

How was the Doyenne drinking?

What am I drinking tonight you ask? Having not had either of these bottle, you tell me

Ribs for dinner

Black Zeppelin 2009

Kent Rasm Petite Sirah 2008

Ty Caton Petite Sirah

?

tytiger58 wrote:How was the Doyenne drinking?

It was surprising. Third wine of the night so my palate was a little fuzzy. And it followed two big ass wines fruit-wise so probably not the best order. However, it was bold, dark, full, but elegant. Really nice wine. Spectacular balance. I think I have 2 more. One of which, I'll open soon to better asses if it's going to get better. From my fuzzy memory of last night, next couple years easily. After that, it may not get better, but I don't think it's heading down any time soon.

Daystar wrote:What am I drinking tonight you ask? Having not had either of these bottle, you tell me

Ribs for dinner

Black Zeppelin 2009

Kent Rasm Petite Sirah 2008

Ty Caton Petite Sirah

?

Zin!

kylemittskus wrote:Zin!

Went for the KR. Breathing now and for some time to come but the first sip was pretty amazing.

kylemittskus wrote:Zin!

I agree. Smoked ribs for dinner. Having a 2007 Armida Parmelee Hill Zinfandel.

Last of the Sangiovese with butter dill salmon

otolith wrote:Got a link or can you post some more info on making a wood-fired pizza on the grill?

Still working on getting this down, but the idea is you need a pizza stone and a grill with the ability to get it very hot. I'm using a diffuser stone below the pizza stone to prevent hot spots on the pizza stone, and my grill is a Kamado (big green egg knockoff) from Costco.

Here are some pics of tonight's attempts:

Pesto still grilling:


Pepperoni just pulled off:


Pairing these with a decent, but nothing special (for $15) Red California Blend called Two Mile

2010 HOBSON ESTATE Cabernet Sauvignon

Color is nice but I prefer my cabs a little darker and more concentrated.
Nose is all red fruit, palate is also red fruit with zero finish. Its a typical cheap cab. little body, almost no complexity and nothing interesting about it.
Shame on you Wine country gift baskets for trying to pass this off as anything other than a $7 grocery store cab.

I do not recommend it at any price over $8.

BBQ last night with the work crew:

2006 Scott Harvey Reserve Zin
Sardinian Romangia
2007 Reif Estates Cab-Merlot (Niagara VQA)
2006 Twisted Oak Grenache
2005 Roche Carneros Reserve Merlot

Yummy all around.

2008 Twisted Oak Syrah-Viognier (from a club shipment) with more pizzas off the grill.

Sometimes I'm against the Viognier blending in Syrah, and this one is 8% which is on the high side for the Viognier component, but it has a nice softening effect here without getting that overly floral taste.

Guinness Black Lager

redwinefan wrote:Still working on getting this down, but the idea is you need a pizza stone and a grill with the ability to get it very hot. I'm using a diffuser stone below the pizza stone to prevent hot spots on the pizza stone, and my grill is a Kamado (big green egg knockoff) from Costco.

Here are some pics of tonight's attempts:

Pesto still grilling:


Pepperoni just pulled off:


Pairing these with a decent, but nothing special (for $15) Red California Blend called Two Mile

Looks good, but that crust needs some color! You need to get those off the stone and finish directly on the heat once the dough sets just a little bit.

North316 wrote:Looks good, but that crust needs some color! You need to get those off the stone and finish directly on the heat once the dough sets just a little bit.

Thanks for the tip, I'll give that a shot next time I try.

redwinefan wrote:Still working on getting this down, but the idea is you need a pizza stone and a grill with the ability to get it very hot. I'm using a diffuser stone below the pizza stone to prevent hot spots on the pizza stone, and my grill is a Kamado (big green egg knockoff) from Costco.

Here are some pics of tonight's attempts:

Pesto still grilling:


Pepperoni just pulled off:


Pairing these with a decent, but nothing special (for $15) Red California Blend called Two Mile

Those look awesome!

Would you mind sharing your pizza dough and sauce recipe?

Hahn cabernet. I enjoyed the Cab Franc so much I had to try it. It's pretty good, perfectly adequate for a weekday night.

otolith wrote:Those look awesome!

Would you mind sharing your pizza dough and sauce recipe?

I highly recommend the dough recipe found in this book: http://www.amazon.com/My-Pizza-Easy-No-Knead-Spectacular/dp/0307886158

I've tried a few of the popular dough recipes that google returns, but this one beat them all for me. It's very easy too, but you have to prep at least a day in advance.

For sauce, I'm still experimenting. He has recipes in that book as well, but I haven't gotten a chance to try them.

last night Pedroncelli Petite Syrah .....Tonight Twisted Oak #!@ ....having no kids home is fun!!!

2011 Chateau d' Abalone, Stillman Brown, Zeppelin Winery

2000 Chateau Hourbanon.

Cab franc earthen goodness coming up!

kylemittskus wrote:2011 Chateau d' Abalone, Stillman Brown, Zeppelin Winery

Let me know what you think, I thought it was a surprisingly delicious GB!

otolith wrote:2000 Chateau Hourbanon.

Cab franc earthen goodness coming up!

2009 Owl Ridge Cab Franc here.

Out of the bottle quite bitty. It has been sitting for an hour now. I will go back to it in a little while.

EDIT: roughly 2 hours now and it has tamed a lot and the normal graphite, earth and peppery taste are coming around, but I am not really feeling this bottle. A shame as I have another. I will let that one lay for awhile.

tytiger58 wrote:Let me know what you think, I thought it was a surprisingly delicious GB!

Delicious. Great mouthfeel, great floral notes, nice acidity. 90 points in my book.

kylemittskus wrote:Delicious. Great mouthfeel, great floral notes, nice acidity. 90 points in my book.

Yea, after I tried it I emailed Stillman and picked up another 8 bottles. We need a "rockin" emoticon