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(Sorry, a carriage return sends an unfinished message, does not make a paragraph.) Just opened my last bottle of the 78 PWC Ruby Port (my 43rd effort); an international blend of California Red grape, Honduran Banana, Colorado Honey, and Oregon plums, fermented to 14% and 1.030 SG before adding brandy to 20%. Nicely drinkable, sweet as all get out. Used an ounce in a glaze for some pork chops, and we’re sipping the rest. No gluging at that sugar level. Younger son and wife here; my SWMBO and he are acting chefs, mostly following a two page recipe with ingredients for which we had to make special expeditions. Now I'll hit the CR and post this correctly, GWWP.
 
@monty my wife always seems to find that bottle I was saving to the point where she wouldn't choose the bottle of wine to drink. I ended up labeling bottles with her name on it to designate they were "okay" to open!

On Saturday, a friend brought out a bottle of my 2015 Sonoma Zin that I thought was long gone! It has held up terrific, just wish I had more!

It motivated me to bottle the 2016 Zin, Petite Sirah and Sangio. All keepers!
 
Sauv Blanc is widely known as the "money maker" or "bill payer" for a newly opened winery as it can be bottled in as little as 3 months and is quite drinkable then but really only needs a couple more months to be PDG.

This can pay the bills while the big reds get some time in the barrel and bottle.

2019!! They just picked those grapes! :p
 
Nice to have the cooler weather finally. This was recommended by a local when we were on our 2013 trip to WW, WA and McMinnville, OR. Last of 4 different bottles and I was a little nervous since the wine is now going on 8 years old for a PN but holy cow has it held up well. Lots of strawberry and dark cherry along with a little baking spice and then a finish that goes on and on. This is a perfect example of the Pinot's coming out of the Eola Amity Hills AVA and why their grapes and wines command top dollar. Fantastic from start to finish.

Nice to be able to upload a full size image once again with no downsizing!

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Eola Amity is the Best !!
We have 19 acres of planted Pinot Noir:)) some incredible wine has come from this place!! Hopewell Hill Vineyard
 
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Does anyone recognize the Viognier/Roussanne/Marsanne? :)
 
While visiting family, we hit on the idea of 3 or 4 of us pitching in to buy a bottle of expensive Amarone. The idea was to enjoy only a small amount of vino that was superior. I was charged with procuring the goods. Unfortunately, I am in PA for this experiment, so more or less had to buy something from the State Store. (I could have driven to Jersey, but didn't fee like making the short trip.)

I agonized over the choices, mostly because all of the offerings had mediocre reviews on Wine Searcher. I finally opted for the 2012 Masi Costasera for $55. I also brought out a CC Showcase Amarone of mine to soften us up and to compare to the real deal.

My wine went first, and was pleasant, but not much more. We were very disappointed in the Masi Costasera. Tasty, but fairly non-descript, with a bitter note.

Perhaps this was sacrilege, but after a while, I tried a blend of the two wines (which differed by an order of magnitude in price). The result was better than either of them by themselves (although still nothing to write home about). Everyone followed suit, and we soon had the ex$pensive bottle finished off with the cheap bottle.

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Thats sad! Did the commercial bottle just need some air by chance? Did it get better over time or with 4 people drinking was it gone with one glass a piece?
 
Had dinner last night with our BFF's. They brought pizza from "Back Road Pizza" in Santa fe. This was a Diners Drive In's and Dives featured joint a few years back. Dug through the cellar and found a couple of good candidates for the evening. Both Costco finds. Had had a bottle of the 2015 Kirkland Chianti Classico and found it a good QPR bottle once upon a time but had not tried this 2015 Tarima Hill Monastrell (Mourvèdre) which was 92pts WS and the #17 wine on the Top 100 Wines for 2017. I made the mistake of going for the Tarima Hill first and immediately was blown away by the wine's bouquet and depth with just a simple pop-n-pour. It got even better with some air time. Very nice bottle of wine and a 5 star QPR for sure. The Kirkland Chianti paled in comparison. It was not a fair fight in the least. Should have bought a few more of the Tarima Hill but its one and done sadly.

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Thats sad! Did the commercial bottle just need some air by chance? Did it get better over time or with 4 people drinking was it gone with one glass a piece?

It is possible it needed some more breathing; I only got to decant it for a half-hour. But there just wasn't "that much there there" (apologies to Gertrude Stein).

We didn't finish the bottle right away, so I killed the last of it about an hour and a half later. It hadn't really changed that I could tell.
 
It is possible it needed some more breathing; I only got to decant it for a half-hour. But there just wasn't "that much there there" (apologies to Gertrude Stein).

We didn't finish the bottle right away, so I killed the last of it about an hour and a half later. It hadn't really changed that I could tell.

FWIW, good review from WA, little on the early side of the window, but it should’ve been pretty good. Could’ve been mishandled in hot weather..........who knowsC8C45765-FAF0-4CE5-B536-FC9EA4BDD20A.png .
 
We enjoyed a bottle of Cline Ancient Vinyards Zinfandel last evening as we watched the sun set over the freshly mowed hayfields in Maple Ridge Township, Alpena County, Michigan. Sorry that I don’t have a supportive photo, but it was glorious. The wine was spectacular, especially for a $10 bottle.
I’ve got several bottles in my cellar for enjoyment in about a year, from kit batches that I’ve made.
Looking forward to commenting on those bottles in about 12-18 months.
 
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