By “Trade Show” I mean we had a table at Rock N Roll wine www.rnrwine.com at the Green Valley Ranch in Henderson. What an awesome venue, what an awesome party.
Initially we talked about what we were going to do with the leftover wine…since neither of us really wanted to pack it up and check it on the flight home. Hah! The event was scheduled for 3 hours, from 7-10pm, and we ran out of wine just after 9. Four cases in two hours, and since the cups were small we were giving little pours, ~2 ounces or less. (I’ll admit giving smaller pours to anyone on a cellphone jabbing their glass in my general direction).
Speaking of the “stemware”, we did a taste test at the end of the night.
We got down to our last bottle, and put our table sign face down with people still lined up for more wine. We apologized for running out and someone pointed to the bottle in Pauls hand. Sorry guys, this is for us…and we headed to a quiet spot by the pool.
My plastic “stem” sprung a leak, as many others had thru the night, and Paul fetched me a replacement – a clear plastic water cup, no stem. Hm.
One thing I noticed with the goblet was that it didn’t matter how much you tried to swirl and sniff, there was no aroma present, the goblet was so wide and flat on the bottom that it killed whatever nose you would expect. Then I poured the remaining wine from the leaker into the water glass and was pleasantly surprised, the nose returned! Ok, it was still a plastic cup, but at least I could smell the wine in it.
For those of you thinking you might like to hit an event like this, the VIP section of the party included a Riedel “O” glass, which I would say is well worth the price of admission based on our experience of leaking plastic goblets.
We poured the 2006 Haut Tubee (a cab. blend $20 retail) and the 2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Syrah ($35 retail).
I’ve been enjoying the Syrah a lot but worried that it’s so different from the average Syrah. It’s bright and crisp, and has a palate cleansing acidity that lends it self well to spicy foods and solid cheeses. The nose is very floral (in the right glass) and clean.
Last night for dinner, Paul braised lamb shanks and simmered them with rough chopped carrots, celery, and potato. I made goat cheddar and herb muffins to dunk in the stew.
He opened a 2001 Cote-Rotie and poured a glass while he cooked. I wasn’t ready for wine yet, but sipped from his glass and asked if we could open one more bottle for comparison. Since he almost never tells me “no”, he asked what it was that I wanted.
For a side-by-side comparison I had him open the 2006 Stefania Syrah. The nose on our syrah was prettier, the CR was smoky and saltier. Both were crisp, both were savory with the stew, and both opened up over the course of the meal getting denser and fuller. We went back and forth between bites and sips and ended up finishing with the Stefania wine.
At least the wine finished better than the Sharks, what a disappointment that was….
Cheers,
Stefania