Tim McG

Just for the record, Wonkette is a blog, not a person. Ana Marie Cox [founder of Wonkette] Billy Cox Billy Cobham

FWIW.... Not much of a birthday wish if you have ask for it. But hey...happy birthday anyway!

Was there a point in your life when you thought wineries cared for you? :lol: When they needed my money to get a foothold in the market, I guess. Now that they are there, guys like me are out of fashion. I mean, it's not like I'm expecting a Christmas card from them every year, but they have left some loyal customers in the lurch.

They have priced out nearly everyone, not just you. Only the rich can afford most of these wines now. But you know, I don't think the wineries really care. They have very limited production and they still sell out to these rich clientele. They make the most profit that they can. I don't even know if I can blame them. They want to make the most money they can - they are a business. "Subsidizing" us less fortunate wine drinkers is not good business. BTW, most of these wineries didn't just whomp the prices sky high. They slowly raised the price starting around 1991 or so. If a vintage didn't sell out, they kept the price the same. An example is Caymus. I used to buy as much of this as I could afford. I saw it go up by about $10-20 every year for about 5 years until it hit around $75. There it sits. Back when it was $20 a bottle in the late 80's, you had to pre-order it. Now, at $75 a bottle, you can find it at most high end wine shops. They hit their top asking price. Will it come back down? Not to $20. But I have seen many places selling older vintages for $65 (still way too expensive for me). Later, Kevin Good point, Kevin. Nice to know I am in good company relative to pricing. But they could throw us a bone once in a while. It just galls me that places like Groth and Caymus for example, built their winery on the affordability and popularity of their wines and now that they won several awards [and rightly so] the price has shot up into the ozone. Way back when Groth was just starting to get noticed their basic Cabs went for $10-15 bucks a bottle 15 years ago. Now, that same varietal is pushing $60-125 bucks. Crazy nuts, IMHO. Alexander Valley Winery, OTOH, still sells their Cabs for under $25 bucks. It can be done. I guess the lure of the lira, so-to-speak, is stronger than providing affordable wine anymore. I don't know if you have heard of or tasted Lytton Spings or Ridge Zinfandel [excellent wine, BTW] but I was in their tasting room 10-15 years ago and the guy in the tasting room leaned over and whispered that if I like the Zin to buy as many bottles [then $10 dollars] as I could because the wine just won Gold at the California State Fair. The intimation was the price was about to hit the roof. It did and it was the last bottle I was ever able to afford from their winery; $40 bucks is out of reach for my budget. But you're right, the wineries don't care about us anymore....too bad.

Well, it has been my experience [both professional and personal] that a child abuser rarely admits anything ever happened.

Johnny Miller Glenn Miller Steve Miller

Read Teacher Man. It will give you insight well beyond your expectations.

Must be nice. At one time, I used to be able to afford Silver Oak, Dominus, Far Niente, Pine Ridge, Caymus, Merryvale, Stag's Leap and Groth wines [among many others], too. They have all priced me out.

The Irish/American NYC English teacher who wrote Angela's Ashes died today after a battle with cancer. He was 78. Source: Author Frank MCourt Dies My favorite book of his was, as you might expect, Teacher Man. I'll hoist a pint of Guinness in your honor tonight. Rest in Peace, Mr. McCourt.

David Copperfield Shel Silverstein Ron Goldman

That was just too cool

Ariel Sharon Sharon Stone Stone Phillips

I've always been a big fan of Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet's and Merlot's. I claim to be no expert, but they have been highly regarded for the past few yrs and come at a very affordable price usually $12 - $14. Just make sure you look for the Grand Estates and not Two Vines which is a cheaper version of the label. Thanks for the tip, Tom. I've been meaning to take a chance on that winery...I'll check it out. Hey, let me know what you think? You shouldn't have any trouble finding that in your local wine store. It's on my list, Tom. Come payday, I'll hunt down a bottle and give it a test drive Personally, I would love to see those photos. We live just two hours from the Central Coast wine region...and somewhere I have a few pictures I could share as well.

I've always been a big fan of Columbia Crest Grand Estates Cabernet's and Merlot's. I claim to be no expert, but they have been highly regarded for the past few yrs and come at a very affordable price usually $12 - $14. Just make sure you look for the Grand Estates and not Two Vines which is a cheaper version of the label. Thanks for the tip, Tom. I've been meaning to take a chance on that winery...I'll check it out.

What time should I drop by?

Chili Davis Sammy Davis, Jr. Davis Love III

Rutting groove.

I'm right there with you, Matthew. 107 today.

Bobby Knight Bobby Caldwell Bobby Jones

Do you remember the winery name?

Looks like you guys are into mostly European wines. We don't see much of them in these parts...mostly California wines. Some Aussie wines and wine from Oregon and Washington State. You have to take a drive into San Francisco or LA/OC to find any French or Spanish wine with any value. Guess I won't have much to contribute to the thread.

It was a good run, but he just lost sight of it on the 18th hole. Too jacked up with emotion, I figure.

"You Are There" was an awesome show. As a kid, I always loved it when I got to watch it.

Jack DeJohnette Al Foster Peter Erskine

Spitballer. sheesh