Bonehead of the week goes to none other than myself. Yesterday, a customer came in to my department and asked for a Vouvray or Chenin Blanc. They are the same grape, but Vouvray is from France and Chenin can be from anywhere. When I say anywhere, I mean that if a winery wants to give it a try they can, but very few attempt this varietal. Washington State used to have quite a few but not anymore as they have quit making this white wine. L’Ecole No 41 still makes a nice one and there are a few coming out of the Okanagan Valley in BC Canada. So I lead said customer to my Vouvray section only to find they are both out of stock. O.K., so I took him to the L’Ecole version and again, out of stock. I apologized for not having one for him and he of course was fine with that and went on his merry way without grabbing a substitute white. As I continue to stock my department and the day goes on, I stock something in the South African wine section and feel sick. Here, right before my eyes stood two very nice Chenin Blancs. Duh! How did I let that slip my attention when helping that gentleman? I know very well that South Africa is well known for producing this wooly white wine. In fact, someone might claim they do it better than Vouvray (I’m not going there). I hand selected both of them and put them in that section! I felt like slapping myself right there. Lesson learned but bonehead move nonetheless.
I few weeks ago, Susie and I received an invitation to Dionysus’ house to have dinner and taste a flight of K Vintners wines. Susie and I both love this family and jumped at the opportunity to hang out with them. I myself relish the opportunities to taste some wine from his fantastic cellar. Dionysus is not a collector of wine as he has made clear to me. He drinks it and shares it, and has no intention of collecting to sell later. He is most generous, and enjoys talking about and drinking wine with his friends. The K Vintners wines were stellar and Dionysus lined up some counterparts, such as Penfolds Grange, Janasse XXL Chateauneuf-Du-Pape (could have been my favorite of the night), Noon Winery Shiraz and a couple Sine Qua Non wines…Shot In The Dark Syrah and In The Crosshairs Grenache to name a few. All of the wines were from Rhone varietals if not from the Rhone Valley itself. It was awesome to taste them and see the differences, playing with the same grapes. Very cool indeed.
As most of you know, the Seahawks etched out a W in what might have been one of the ugliest games I have witnessed. Why Pete Carrol keeps Bevells in control of the offense is beyond my comprehension. Thanks to Wilson, who scrambled all over the field to make things happen and the Defense for keeping San Francisco in check. It will be a happy day when Darrell is not longer at the helm, but I don’t see that happening any time soon. Thankfully the Hawks have enough talent to work around this weakness and hopefully make the playoffs once again. GO HAWKS!
Cheers!
Stan the Wine Man
