I had a Pet Nat from Paso at a bbq, not much in terms of flavor but the course bubbles helped it pair with everything. Does anyone like pet nat or is it just hype?
Luckily someone brought Donny Doon Vin Fris de Cigare which did a good job holding up to the bbq and side dishes.
Enjoyed some Pet Nat from La Garagista in Vermont, on a tip gleaned from Eric Asimov writing in the NY Times.
Thanks, they no longer have any available but I will keep an eye out.
They do tend to sell out quickly. Sign up for their email list so you’ll have a good shot at the next release.
For tonight’s dinner. Putting away all wine tasting and wine pairing notes and doing some winging instead!!..PAIRING a 20 year old Spanish Priorat with…wait for it!..POPEYE’S FRIED CHICKEN!! 
That’s a bit unexpected from this vantage point. We’d probably go with something leaning acidic. No matter, as long as everyone had a good time.
I have a variety of wines in my cabinet because, but tonight me and my friend had some Taltarni Brut wine.
Surprised to find a 2019 “Pleiades” Mendocino County Sangiovese Rose in my cellar. Nice rose for a hot afternoon.
Labrusca lambrusco. Bottled in 2020. Given the heat wave, a fizzy, off dry wine was just the thing to go with spicy brats with onion and mustard.
Ah, brats. Looking forward to my next trip to Madison WI.
BIL brought a 2002 Chateau Lafite to dinner at an Italian restaurant in Tel Aviv last night. High or low wine can define the experience.
As Lambruscos go, this one was pretty good. I see getting some more to have on hand for weekends like these.
That Chateau sounds wonderful 
What temperature did you serve? It’s been ages but some of my earliest and fondest wine memories on the road to discovery were Lambrusco’s in Boston’s north end.
According to the thermometer on the shelf in my wine fridge, about 55F.
For today’s outdoor, meat-centric, BBQ, went with this superb, ever-popular Pauillac ‘star’.
Rich, smooth, robust, deliciously dense but not overly full-bodied.
After all these years, still perplexed as to why it is not ranked higher than its lowly 5th G
There was a time when a Third Growth was our summertime bottle – Rose de Calon. Haven’t seen it for ages, or for that matter, any Bordeaux saigne’e.
The classifications seem to serve some other constituency - but the French aren’t alone. Super Tuscans being another case in point, fabulous wines overlooked by the establishment.
Gives new meaning to “taking the 5th”…
2016 W-S Eastside Road Neighbors, a lovely, restrained wine, glorious fruit and nary a hard edge. I erred in pairing it with pasta sauced with a spicy arrabbiata. The spice somewhat overpowered the Pinot. A second postprandial glass was much more enjoyable.
Paired with Alaskan King Crab prepared 6 ways and other goodies:
A Decanter 97 pts, Dopff au Moulin 2017 Grand Cru Brand Gewurztraminer. An exuberant off-dry white wine, fabulously perfumed and aromatic ( lychee, pineapple, rose petal… ) that was rich, energetic and complex on the palate. Very elegant and classy. Absolutely great with the sweet, delicate and umami packed crab meat.
Next, a magnificent and gorgeous Bordeaux first growth……1998 Chateau Haut Brion! Perfectly balanced, rich, unctuous but not too weighty. Deeply harmonious with endless honeyed, cherries and earthy complexity. Really long finish! A ‘supernova‘ that erupted and outshines the King Crab ‘star of the evening‘! I ended up enjoying the wine alone since IMHO, no food was needed to bring out the best of this wine!
2001 Rotllan Torra Priorat
Noodling around my wine cellar (actually the part of the basement where I keep wine), I found a bottle with ullage to the bottom of the neck. It was Yverdon Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon from 1971 that had been hiding from me for about 40 years. The price tag said $25.99. I opened it despite a bad case of crumbling cork, with half the cork ending up inside the bottle. Nevertheless, the wine was quite good, with a full deep color and complex fruit flavor, with only a very slight hint of oxidation. We had it with an aged local alpine style cheese (Mecox Bay) and toasted and buttered sourdough bread, which neutralized any overaged notes. I gotta look through the cellar for more purchases from that era.
