Glazer's Annual Big Reds and Bubbles Tasting
Some of my personal favorites at the tasting were:

(Alpha Order)

2005 Catena Alta Malbec

2004 Ehlers Estate Cabernet Sauvignon

NV Ficklin Tawny Port 10 Year

2006 Goldschmidt Merlot

2005 Hewitt Cabernet Sauvignon

2002 Rombauer Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Diamond Selection

1994 Rozes Port LBV

We're off to another trip to explore some of the best that Napa has to offer.
We started our trip with dinner reservations at not only Napa's Best but one of the BEST restaurants in the world!
Yes, the one and only:
The French Laundry
 Certainly, one of the best five and a half hour dining experience that we have ever had. What an amazing experience to share with friends. It is a place that everyone that enjoys fine wine and fine dining should go at least once in their lifetime.

OK, here's a list of some of the vineyards that we stopped at on this trip:

Baldacci Winery
Michael Knox, the Hospitality Manager, was wonderful! We were able to sample all of their wines, including their newest release, Ruppert. This is definately a Stag's Leap Cabernet. Silky smooth, lots flavors and low on tannins. With so many greats bottles to choose from, it is really difficult to determine which is our favorite. Brenda's is such an incredible wine. We have never heard from anyone that they did not enjoy it. The "Black Label" Cabernet is another wonderful wine to enjoy either with food or without.  In our opinion, IV Sons is probably one of the best "deals" in California Cabs. 100% Stag's Leap cabernet for $35. Exceptional wine, especially at this price point.
Afterwards, we filled our glasses and toured the cave that was all set up and decorated for Christmas. While we were enjoying the  last of the wines, Michael asked "Would we like to go to Mi Sueno and visit with Tom & Rolando?" Of course we were all for it! Rolando Herrera is their wine maker and has his own winery. After a quick phone call and a lot of Thank You's, we were off!

Mi Sueno
We left a message on Tom's cell and he called us back immediately and said "We're here, waiting for you!" Tom Bracamontes is Mi Sueno's Director of Sales and Marketing. Most importantly, he is a warm and very funny man.

How do we describe our visit to Mi Sueno? When we got to the office, Tom was there to greet us. He let us know that Rolando was not there but that he might get here just before we left and even be able to share a few, four to five, minutes with us. He continued to tell us that they had a very busy schedule right then and that they were getting ready for the bottle signing event at Vintner’s Collective the next day. Rolando was also working on some new blends that he needed to finish.

Tom started us on a tour of their wine-making facility and telling us their “story.” While most boutique wineries schedule time with a portable bottling system, Mi Sueno is one of the very few that have their own bottling equipment. This is apparently due to Rolando’s insistent need for control in order to create the best wine possible.

Right about this time, Rolando came by to say “Hi.”

We started chatting and telling stories and the next thing that we knew, we found out the Tom and Keresa almost shared birthdays.  We had to have a “toast.” (You will have to see the pictures.)

Rolando showed us his private wine library that was teaming with some incredible bottles including some that he created while serving as wine maker for Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars.

We were having such a great time that it was hard to believe that we had been there for over THREE HOURS! Somebody reminded us that we needed some food. Tom was kind enough to set us up at one of his favorite places and off we went.

We set a tentative date in March for the two of them to come to Texas for another private event at Chateau Le Reve. So far, this was the best visit of the trip. If you ever get to Napa, this is The Place to Visit! Tom and Rolando not only show you a great time but most importantly, they have the Best Wine too!

On Saturday, December 13, we met with Debi Cali of Baldacci Family Vineyards to set up the date for her to come to Texas and bring their wine for a private tasting and the ONLY (so far) opportunity to purchase their wine in Texas!
After taking care of that, Sandy Taylor Carlson, of Taylor Family Vineyards and Janice Ilsley of Ilsley Vineyards were able to meet with us and we got started on the details regarding the B.I.T. (Baldacci, Ilsley & Tayor) Dinner that will be held in the Baldacci cave prior to the V2V.

The Del Dotto Estate Winery and Caves
Vintner's Collective - Bottle Signing
Chateau Montelena Winery
Frank Family Vineyard
Bremer Family Winery
Ehlers Estate
Elyse Winery

Stag's Leap Wine Growers Association 9th Annual V2V Event.
The V2V is a wonderful opportunity to taste the wines of all the wineries in the Stags Leap District.

It is a day to visit any or all of the wineries independently, in any order, in the Stags Leap District dotted along the Silverado Trail, while you are “On the trail of world-class Cabernet.” The proprietors are present at each winery to share their hospitality, each in their unique way.

With their V2V pass, visitors will have exclusive access to vintners and wineries, as well as wine and food parings not normally offered.

Cellars as well as caves will be open to explore, and special barrel tastings will be presented.

Tickets are on sale NOW!

You MUST let them know that you are part of the Texas Wine Posse or you will not be seated with us! Click here to purchase:

http://www.stagsleapdistrict.com/v1/eventsV2V.php 

Texas Wine Posse Annual Napa Adventure!

Below is the list that we came up with of wineries that we are planning to visit this trip.

We will be grouping them together by location to prevent driving from one end of the valley to the other wasting our precious time that should be spent enjoying the wonderful gifts of Napa.

(They are listed in Alpha order only at this time.)

Baldacci

Bounty Hunter

Brown

Chapellette

Ehler's

Elise

Frank Family

Gabrielle

Gunlach Bundshu

Ilsley

Mi Sueno

Provenance

Rombaurer

Rutherford Hill

Taylor

The B.I.T. (Baldacci, Ilsley, Taylor) Dinner will be on Thursday evening April 23, 2009 for the first thirty people to sign up only. (They are somewhat limited to space.) I am sure that we will be able to purchase from each vineyard during that time.

Mi Sueno will be hosting an event for us on Friday

Of course, we cannot leave out the wonderful V2V event on Saturday. Tickets are on sale NOW!

You MUST let them know that you are part of the Texas Wine Posse or you will not be seated with us!

(Tickets are limited to the first 200 and we are expecting 35-40!)

Click here to purchase:

http://www.stagsleapdistrict.com/v1/eventsV2V.php 

Please let us know if you will be joining us this year.

An Amazing Night of Wine at  Zander's House
 
Please join us for a night of fun and some great wines. We will sample several whites and a few reds that will pair well with Asian foods. As always the wines will be offered at a great discount and the appetizers are on us. So there is no cost to you, except the cost of your meal.

One Year Anniversary Celebration at

Crú Allen
842 Market Street, Suite 100
Allen TX 75013

Phone 972-908-2532
Fax 972-383-7429

Happy Hour and Happy Feet at the Southfork Hotel

In case you missed the last Happy Hour at the SouthFork Hotel, here is a film clip of some of the shananigans:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x43vK0k6A2I&feature=fvsr

Obviously, you don't want to miss this next one. 

Great Beer and Wine prices, appetizers and the Musical Mischief of Mr. Maco Amoyo.

See you there.

Southfork Hotel--Cattlemans's Bar
1600 North Central Expressway
Plano, TX 75074 US

This is a great restaurant called Mediterranean Cuisine in Richardson.

The Chef has put together an amazing six-course meal ($19.99) and we have come up with wine pairings for each serving.

This will be a delight for your tastes buds and palate.

As always we will bring all of the wines and they will be on sale at a special event price.

The wines will range from $9.99 to $14.99.

You must RSVP to Shawn at shawn@angelsbeverage.com

This is limited to a maximum of 50 people.
Please call 972-424-0248 or email Shawn today!  

Here is the rest of the information.

 
Food Course                     Wine Pairing
Mezza Mixed Appetizers    Turnbull Viogner
Garden Salad                    Whitehall Lane Chardonnay
Shish Tawook Chicken      Del Fin Del Mundo Malbec
Shish Kabob Lamb            Jorian Hill Syrah
Shish Kabob Tenderloin     Cresendo Cabernet
Baklava                            Moscato Piedmonte
 
Date- Tuesday August 25th
Time- 7-9 p.m.
Location- Mediterranean Cuisine
2010 N. Plano Rd. Suite 104a
Richardson Texas 75082
#972-234-0520
Price- A six course meal for $19.99 (does not include tax and tip)

I hope you can join us.