Picnic by the Pool

Date: Saturday, June 16, 2012
Time: 3:00pm -
Host: hershelk

It has been long time in the making, but my pool and patio is finally open for business, so bring your swim suits and your favorite summer wines. In the words of iByron: light reds, crisp whites, Cool bubbly. And of course, ROSÉ!! Food wise, bring things for a barbeque. I'm sure I'll have plenty of stuff to grill so could use all those side items and desserts. I will likely contribute a Sancerre or NZ Sauv blanc, plus whatever else we need to round out the selection. Hope to see you all there.

Coming
hershelk - Sancerre or NZ Sauv blanc; Burgers & Chicken Sausages to grill
hershelk (+1) Stinson Vineyards Rose
hershelk (+1)
hershelk (+1)
sukeisa - radog Riesling
iByron - 2001 Fife Petite Sirah Redhead Vineyard, 2002 Aresti Rosé Montemar
aranderson - Mionetto Prosecco Organic, chocolate eclair dessert, guacamole
tripgrad - Schug Pinot Noir Rouge de Noirs (-19lbs)
CJ - Roederer or Schramsburg bubbles, Greek Marinated Chicken
InShadows - 2010 Finca El Portillo (Bodegas Salentein) Sauvignon Blanc
nabrunk - something with bubbles, ice scream
mstein609 - salmon or tuna burgers, Scott Harvey 2007 dry Riesling

Maybe
iByron (+1)
aranderson (+1)
mstein609 (+1)

i'll bring a bottle of the radog rieslings recently on woot.
maybe one of the iron horse bruts as well.

I'm in! Will get in touch with Anthony and see if he's able to come along, too!

iByron

I will be there and of course bring a bubbly of sorts. I will update later when I decide which bubbly and which food item.

Since I saw you last, I have lost 19 lbs. on low-carb diet. Now looking forward to showing it off poolside, with a glass of bubbly.
Count me in!

I'm in. Thank you, hershelk!

BTW, is anyone willing to part with one or two of the new Woot summer white? I was sort of way, way far away when it went up for sale, so I missed out.

Please drop me a PM if you are. Thanks!

tripgrad wrote:Since I saw you last, I have lost 19 lbs. on low-carb diet. Now looking forward to showing it off poolside, with a glass of bubbly.
Count me in!

I lost 15 myself. I think it was the stress of getting the landscaping done. THere are still a couple of outstanding items, but it is mostly complete.

CJ great to hear from you, and glad you can come. I will be able to part with a couple of F-Bombs if you would like.

hershelk wrote:CJ great to hear from you, and glad you can come. I will be able to part with a couple of F-Bombs if you would like.

Thank you! I'll take you up on that!

I'll bring Greek Marinated Chicken. That was really tasty at our last picnic.

Okay people, we need to start saying what we're bringing.

I'm bringing the
2001 Fife Petite Sirah Redhead Vineyard

Also bringing a magnum of 2002 Aresti Rosé Montemar

Probably something more high-end, but there are dependencies at work.

iByron
iByron

Ok I am bringing Mionetto Prosecco Organic (may find another bubbly to bring as well) and I think I will make fresh guacamole (chips will be store bought).

I could also bring my chocolate eclair dessert but with everyone losing weight not sure they want all the sugary goodness.

aranderson wrote:I could also bring my chocolate eclair dessert but with everyone losing weight not sure they want all the sugary goodness.

Considering all of the calories in the wines, if anyone is actually on a diet, they shouldn't be at this GTG! Bring on the chocolate eclair dessert! It will go well with bubblies and icewines!

cjsiege wrote:Considering all of the calories in the wines, if anyone is actually on a diet, they shouldn't be at this GTG! Bring on the chocolate eclair dessert! It will go well with bubblies and icewines!

I like how you think. Ok, I will be bringing the chocolate eclair. I also might have a +1.

Count me in. The wine I'll bring, if I successfully find it will be 2010 Finca El Portillo (Bodegas Salentein) Sauvignon Blanc.

For food I'll bring whatever - carrot raisin salad or a fruit salsa. Just let me know what would be good.

I've been off the radar for a long while, but I will be able to attend! I'll bring something with bubbles and some ice cream. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!

I intend to bring
Schug Pinot Noir Rouge de Noirs
and some ice.

nabrunk wrote:I've been off the radar for a long while, but I will be able to attend! I'll bring something with bubbles and some ice cream. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Fabulous! It will be great to see you again!

Not sure if I'm bringing Roederer or Schramsburg bubbles. I've got both sitting here, taunting me...

And it would really help if I stopped posting under the car's screen name.

CpprCr8 wrote:Fabulous! It will be great to see you again!

Not sure if I'm bringing Roederer or Schramsburg bubbles. I've got both sitting here, taunting me...

And it would really help if I stopped posting under the car's screen name.

Thanks! I am looking forward to seeing everyone again. I had back surgery a few weeks ago and I'm mostly housebound during my recovery. I have a massive case of cabin fever and will probably yammer everyone's ears off

I plan to come. I'll bring either salmon or tuna burgers for solids, and a nice loaf of bread. To go with the theme, I propose to bring a bottle of Scott Harvey 2007 dry Riesling. I'll probably bring something else as well, regardless of whether I end up having a +1.

nabrunk wrote:Thanks! I am looking forward to seeing everyone again. I had back surgery a few weeks ago and I'm mostly housebound during my recovery.

Sorry about the surgery, but you can soak in the hot tub while sipping your summer wines.

If anyone needs directions, PM me. Sorry if it takes a bit to respond, I am on the road.

CpprCr8 wrote:Fabulous! It will be great to see you again!

Not sure if I'm bringing Roederer or Schramsburg bubbles. I've got both sitting here, taunting me...

And it would really help if I stopped posting under the car's screen name.

Roederer Estate or Louis Roederer?

nabrunk wrote:I've been off the radar for a long while, but I will be able to attend! I'll bring something with bubbles and some ice cream. Looking forward to seeing everyone again!

Is this high(er)-end vanilla bean ice cream?

If so, we should make Platinum Cows!

iByron

iByron wrote:Roederer Estate or Louis Roederer?

You would ask that. I can't remember. I'll check this evening and post an update.

iByron wrote:Is this high(er)-end vanilla bean ice cream?

If so, we should make Platinum Cows!

iByron

I'm not sure if I should think "oh, yummy" or be faintly nauseated. Have you had one?

cjsiege wrote:You would ask that. I can't remember. I'll check this evening and post an update.

It's the Roederer Estates Brut NV. Fingers crossed - it should be a nice everyday drinker and good for BBQ.

cjsiege wrote:I'm not sure if I should think "oh, yummy" or be faintly nauseated. Have you had one?

Yes. To be fair, it was with Demi Sec, but with the right style of ice cream -- a not-too-sweet custardy vanilla bean (Haagen-Daz French Vanilla hand-dipped from the brand stores) it's heavenly. Think yeast meets custard.

Brut would likely be a better foil, especially if the wine sees wood (like Roederer Estate or Ellsner in Champagne).

iByron

cjsiege wrote:It's the Roederer Estates Brut NV. Fingers crossed - it should be a nice everyday drinker and good for BBQ.

The best that California has to offer, IMHO.

Weather forecast for Saturday looks very good.
weather.yahoo.com

Come join us!

Woot #26 is fast approaching. If there are any Wooters, or their guests, out their who would like to come, please post so we can add you to the list. I have a big place so no limits on attendance.

Remember this starts earlier then usual at 3:00pm in order for people to have some time in the pool, so bring your suits (or not, I am very pro-nudist).

I expect we will put some food on the grill around 5 and start tasting wines as soon as a critical mass arrives.

If anyone needs directions, please PM me. When you get there, you may want to just head around back because there probably will be no one inside to open the door.

See you all there, should be fun.

Apologies for seeing this so late, as I've wanted to make another gathering, but unfortunately I'm already out of town this weekend.

Next time!

Still unsure whether my +1 will make it but I am going to bring guacamole as well.

Also, I saw this very interesting bit of news regarding turing red wine into clothing. Thought I would share it.
Red Wine Dress

aranderson wrote:Still unsure whether my +1 will make it but I am going to bring guacamole as well.

Also, I saw this very interesting bit of news regarding turing red wine into clothing. Thought I would share it.
Red Wine Dress

That fabric looks really cool. GO SCIENCE.

There's a door prize at Virginia Wine Events calendar right now for 8 Riedel glasses. Just send an email to Donna. And if you don't know, the answer is King Family Vineyards.

I really wanted to make this, to see the pool and meet up with everybody again. Unfortunately, Father's day (early) takes precedence.

Have fun all!
-Andy

Chicken is marinating. I've raided the Wegmans Olive bar for a container of olives and picked up a red raspberry pie at the local bakery. I've got the Roederer estate bubbles and a whack-a-doodle German Ice Wine that I found at Aldi, of all places. If nothing else, it's an experiment...

I also picked up 8-inch paper plates and a large assorted pack of utensils.

I made it home okay.
Sorry if I scared anyone.
Thanks to Hershel for taking care of us.
The pool is awesome!

Wow! Another amazing NoVA/DC Get-together! The weather was perfect for a picnic and pool party. I know that I got home waaay later than I was expecting. But the evening was so nice and the company outstanding. Thank you, hershelk, for being an incredible host!

Thank you everyone for the incredible assortment of wines! We had a stellar range of bubblies, lighter whites and robust roses. I'm hoping that iByron caught all of the labels along the way...

wkdpanda, nabrunk, and k1avg - we missed you all!

For those who asked about the Greek chicken marinade: For the 3 lbs of chicken I brought, I used 4 large smashed garlic cloves, 1/4 c kosher salt, enough pepper until it looked right (probably 2 tsp, ground directly into the ziploc bag), 1/2 c olive oil, 3/4 c lemon juice,, 1/2 bunch fresh oregano (on the stems), and 1/2 bunch fresh thyme (on the stems). I put the garlic, salt pepper, oregano, and thyme in a ziploc bag ,crushed the salt into the herbs to help release the flavors, then added the chicken, oil, and lemon juice. Marinate in the fridge for a couple of hours.

It looked like fun was had by everyone. Thanks to everyone who came out for the beautiful weather and a dip in the pool. Tripgrad, I am glad you are feeling better. I think I need to put a timer out by the hot tub.

I've put together a gallery of pictures. Mostly labels, and a couple early ambiance shots.

Photo Gallery

I will try to have another one around the end of the summer or early fall, but let's see if anyone else can host #27 in the meantime.