Snooth Meet and Greet

posted by John in Snooth, Guest Bloggers

I consider myself lucky to be able to blog on Snooth and even more lucky to have met some of the key people at Snooth, both Philip and Mark.  Snooth has become more than just a wine site for me.  It has truly become a community and site I visit daily because I have a shared interest with the people that are there.

When Philip asked me if I had time this week to meet up with him I said sure.  From there the meet moved from after work drinks to the, as far as I can tell, the first formal group meet for Snoothers.  Both Philip and I were concerned that it’d be the two of us and some random person that showed up for free drinks.  Luckily, that was not the case.  By my count we had more than 20 people over the course of the night.  It is an amazing group of people with a similar passion, wine.

We met at a small wine bar called Yield in San Francisco.  It focuses on organic wines.  My experience with organic wines is that they are hit or miss.  I can say that the wines we tried were all pretty much a hit.  Great little place that worked out perfectly for us.  In fact, we more or less took over the place for most of the night.

It’s not often that I feel like a novice with something but this was the case this past Wednesday night.  However, I never felt as if people were talking down to me or using a condescending tone.  It was just a bunch of people with a passion for wine sharing that passion.  The diversity and breadth of people that turned up was huge.  I got to meet fellow blogger Kirstin, another wine blogger Doug, Jim who is working on a better wine site for distribution and I can’t forget the people from Inertia (amazing wine company).

Snooth is a great wine web site but it is a great wine community too.  I encourage everyone that visits Snooth to jump in and participate … you’ll learn a lot, interact with some great people and maybe get to join in another Snooth meet & greet event.

John Andrews is a software product manager during the week and is a professional Tasting Room staffer at Loxton Cellars in Glen Ellen, CA on the weekends.

My Wine Top 10 List

posted by John in Snooth, Wine, Guest Bloggers

I recently (re)watched the movie High Fidelity with John Cusack. The basic premise of the movie is that the lead character goes through his life categorizing things into a Top 5 list. These lists are for any situation or topic. The topics of the lists range from obscure music to life events. So what does the movie have to do with wine? Not much at all but it did get me into the mode of Top Lists.

While thinking up Top Lists for other things, like my ‘Top 5 List of Motorcycles I Want to Own’, I tried to come up with my Top 5 List for Wines I want to try if money was not an object. Keeping it to just 5 was way too tough so I just went with 10. Even at 10 it was tough but I narrowed it down. These wines are extremely rare, extremely hard to get or extremely expensive. I many cases they are all of the above.

So here you go, My Top 10 List of Wines If Money Was No Object. They are in no particular order. If I had to order them

1. 1999 Domaine de la Romanee-Conti – DRC is the pinnacle of Burgundy. Any argument will not be accepted, listened to or even acknowledged. To say access to DRC is exclusive is an understatement.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/domaine-de-la-romanee-conti-romanee-conti-1999-1

2. 1990 Chateau Margaux – I was looking to see if the vintage for Chateux Margaux on my birth year was any good but I can’t find anything about it so I compromised on the 1990. Apparently 1990 was a good hear for Bordeaux. I think I need to try this bottle and let you know.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/chateau-margaux-margaux-1990-1/

3. 1990 Chateau D’Yquem – Chateau D’Yquem is the only Grand Cru Sauterne in Bordeaux. It is legendary for aging ability. I’ve have found some cheaper Sauternes that helped introduce me to the style but if you really want to know what the big deal is you have try D’Yquem.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/yquem-1990-1/

4. 2004 Marcassin Blue Slide Ridge Pinot Noir – I think the term ‘cult wine’ was created after the introduction of Marcassin wines. The label is owned Helen Turley and John Wetlaufer. Arguably the most profound wine maker in California, Helen Turley is the creator of Marcassin Wines. The wines are completely allocated to a very private mailing list. The waiting list for an allocation is incredibly long and I still haven’t figured out where or how I can get on the list. 2004 is considered one of the best years for Sonoma Pinot Noirs and a 2004 Pinot Noir made by Helen Turley should be awesome, so this puts the 2004 Marcassin Pinot Noir on my list.

(2003 Marcassin Blue Slidge Ridge Pinot Noir - http://www.snooth.com/wine/marcassin-pinot-noir-marcassin-vineyard-2003/)

5. 2005 Chateau Lafite-Rothschild – It would have been easy to go with vintage version of this classic Bordeaux but 2005 was acknowledged by many people as one of the greatest Bordeaux vintages ever. With that in mind, I’ll take two of these, drink one now and store one away for another ten years.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/chateau-lafite-rothschild-2005-1/

6. 1995 Krug Clos du Mesnil – Vintage champagne is something a really appreciate. After years of having bad champagne or sparkling wine at weddings I finally understand what good champagne is. Krug Clos du Mesnil is a rarity amongst rare Champagne. It is a vintage single vineyard Champagne. When everyone else in Champagne is blending from multiple vineyards, Krug figured they would try a single vineyard Champagne and it worked.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/krug-clos-du-mesnil-1995-1/

7. 1998 Penfolds Grange – Most people have heard of Penfolds Grange, a lot less people have had a chance to actually try some. Being one of those people who haven’t tried it and that I keep hearing about it means that this gets on the list. Having it expensive and highly rated does help put on this list.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/penfolds-shiraz-south-australia-grange-1998/

8. 2004 Screaming Eagle – If Marcassin didn’t start the cult wine movement in California, Screaming Eagle did. New vintages start at $500 a bottle and cellared examples often top the price list at auctions. I gotta find out what the fuss is.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/screaming-eagle-cabernet-sauvignon-2004/

9. 1999 Royal Tokaji Wine Company Essencia – Okay, I’m buying into the hype. This wine is routinely rated as one of the best in the world so I want to see what the hype is all about. However, at $500 a bottle this may not happen any time soon.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/royal-tokaji-wine-company-essencia-1999/

10. 1988 Veuve Clicquot La Grande Dame – I have a soft spot for Veuve Cliquot. There is an emotional attachment to this label. This would be the most accessible of the wines in my top ten list. Chances are that I might actually get a chance to have this wine.

http://www.snooth.com/wine/veuve-clicquot-la-grande-dame-1988/

So there you go, my Top Ten List of Wines If Money Was No Object. I am extremely proud that only two of my top ten wines are from California as I do have a California wine bias. I guess it makes sense that many of my Top Ten are not California wines as they would be harder to get.

John Andrews is a software product manager during the week and is a professional Tasting Room staffer at Loxton Cellars in Glen Ellen, CA on the weekends.