Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion The Water Cooler wine thread

I am not sure of the state by state laws here in the U.S., but in Illinois (Chicago) there are many restaurants you can go to that charge a corkage fee if you bring your own wine. It can run from a few dollars up to $50.

There are also many restaurants here that are B.Y.O.B. which is a great alternative and generally leads to cheaper dining since you supply your own alchohol. It's definitely fun and you don't have to worry over selecting from a wine list that you may not know much about!

And private wine stores are the subject of a Labour boycott here. MLC stores are staffed by MGEU unionized employees, private wine stores are not.

Bren R.

The local laws on bringing one's own wine and getting charged a corkage fee are in review if i recall correctly. They already do this in Alberta, but damn, if the corkage fees aren't enough to make you want to choke.
I think i would rather stick with picking an unfamiliar wine, although it is rare that the dining out experience has a wine list completely devoid of a single familiar name.
Even the local Montana's, Boston Pizza and Earls type places have recognizable wines. I've seen Robert Mondavi Woodbridge and Wolf Blass in some of the oddest places i never would have expected.

Chess,

I agree that corkage fees usually prohibit/discourage bringing your own wine. I guess I forgot to mention about the B.Y.O.B. restaurants - NO corkage fee! I don't know how it exactly works, but it is easier for restaurants to obtain a BYO license than a full liquor license here. The restaurants vary from Steakhouses to Thai, Mexican to Indian, so there is an opportunity to try a lot of different combinations of wines and cuisines!

24 hours to the wine tasting.
Less than 24 hours to the speaker auditions.

Tomorrow is a busy day.

My wife just told me she wants to bail on the barbecue / wine tasting party we were going to attend in Napa tomorrow. One of her co-workers owns a very nice home in Napa that's close to some great wineries. I was looking forward to it, but her reason for not wanting to go -- schmoozing with co-workers vs. spending time with Steven and me -- is a good one.

"Anyone have any good Petit Syrah suggestions"

Vinum. Best I have had for the $$$.
As good as the ones that sell in the $20s, and way better than the cheap ones.
Right now they are between vintages, but in a few weeks start looking around for the '03.
Good stuff, and the fellows that make it have a great sense of humor.
And if you happen to like really good, really dry Chenin Blanc, try theirs. It is one of the best from Ca.
(And the picture of them on the front lable, holding up a sign saying "Will Work For Chenin" is a hoot!)
TjB

Last weekend, I took my list of wines that are on this string to the warehouse where I usually go. Nothing…..they didn’t carry any of them. I was pretty amazed seeing how this store has an enormous wine selection. But what I was told was that there are only five distributors that bring wine into Alaska, and this store uses all of them. The manager was telling me that there are literally hundreds of wineries throughout Napa / Sonoma and that I could spend a few weeks just going from winery to winery. This is something that I’ve always wanted to do, and have just not done.

So, I’m planning a trip to Napa this fall. A few friends and I are going to fly into Frisco and hire a limo for five days to take us from winery to winery. This way, there’s no driving while drinking…..and there’s gunna be some drinking. And the cost really isn’t all that bad split six ways.

What are the “must see” wineries? Should we stick to Napa, or include other areas? The five days includes travel time between Frisco and wherever we end up going, and I haven’t a clue how far away from Napa it is. Those of you that have done this have any suggestions?

I would definitely include Sonoma in your trip. It's a little more relaxed and many of the wineries won't charge you for a tasting.

My favorite area to taste in is the Russian River / Dry Creek / Alexander Valley region, with the town of Healdsburg smack in the middle.

mdrew, i came across a site recently that had ppl rating some wineries for their perspectives on tours and other things.
I found it very helpful.
The link can be found here.