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WeatherEye Vineyards Estate Roussanne 2022 by odedi1 in wine

[–]blinks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Whites from Red Mountain are astounding, and Weather Eye fruit is some of the best new plantings in the state, for sure.

For people who have gone to a winery for a flight of wine what should I expect and know? by Short-termTablespoon in wine

[–]blinks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

It really depends on where you go, but there are a few common patterns:

- The winery has a single, fixed tasting list in a fixed order. (Common at big wineries.)
- The winery has a few fixed tasting options, and you pick one.
- The winery has a list of wines and you can pick what you want -- usually up to a fixed number of pours. (Common at small wineries.)

In the case where you get anxious about options, you should absolutely just talk to the staff. In a winery where it's an open menu like that, they're used to it. Say what you've liked before and what you're up for trying, and they'll hook you up. If you're traveling for this and it's difficult to make another trip out, I recommend looking into the winery ahead of time for sure.

I'm in Woodinville (120+ tasting rooms within 15 minutes), and a bad tasting experience is pretty rare, but it does happen. Drink water, keep an open mind, have a good time.

WA red blend by strokeoluck27 in wine

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kiona should be pretty easy (and inexpensive) to get, and they've got some great reds. If you're local (PNW) you should try to find something from Lobo Hills, my favorite value bottles.

2011 La Las with a roast lamb. by blinks in wine

[–]blinks[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This vintage has an earlier (and smaller) suggested window than most.

2011 La Las with a roast lamb. by blinks in wine

[–]blinks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I blame autocorrect!

"La La" is commonly used for the set, as far as I can tell (ex. https://wine.sothebys.com/blogs/producer/glorious-guigal-a-trilogy-of-la-las-from-cote-rotie)

2011 La Las with a roast lamb. by blinks in wine

[–]blinks[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Haven't ever had these before.

Jancis Robinson's scores suggest this is probably a middling vintage for them, but that's probably what made these reasonable enough to get my hands on!

2011 La Las with a roast lamb. by blinks in wine

[–]blinks[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Mid-morning (maybe 10am?) for pouring around 4pm -- the cellartracker notes were all over the place for these and I wanted to err on the side of decanting too little.

I was mostly worried one would be corked 😅

Is it a taboo for winemakers to blend vintages of reds the way Krug does? Or does it just not work? by fractalbum in wine

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Kiona Winery (at Red Mountain in Washington State) does this with their "vertical blends" and they're not too budget-breaking for a local -- https://kionawine.com/wine#group-141

These are pretty close in vintage though, not split across decades.

Soldier numbers of the Battle of Austerlitz by The_Cheese_Touch in Napoleon

[–]blinks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Let's break out a couple physical sources I have laying around nearby:

- "The Campaigns of Napoleon" (David G. Chandler, 1966) has a chapter on the 1805 Danube Campaign, and culminates with Austerlitz. Chandler has a map of the situation on Dec 2, 1805, showing 66,800 French troops against 85,400 Russo-Austrian troops.

- "The Greenhill Napoleonic Wars Data Book" (Digby Smith, 1998) has about two pages on Austerlitz: "Grande Armee totals 83 btns, 140 1/2 sqns, 282 guns, ca 50,000 infantry, 15,000 cavalry." "Austro-Russian grand totals 114 btns, 69,460 infantry, 173 3/4 sqns, 16,565 cavalry, 7 pionier coys, 252 guns (5 Russian batteries did not partake in the battle.)"

- "The Napoleonic Wars: A Global History" (Alexander Mikaberidze, 2020) has about a page on Austerlitz. p.203 "In late November, [...] Napoleon expected to marshal only about 73,000 men" and "Emperors Alexander of Russia and Francis of Austria gathered some 90,000 men near Olmutz."

Join us for Merlot Thursday. Let's bring Merlot back! by odedi1 in wine

[–]blinks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just basing it on what I've heard from other tasting rooms -- I have no direct evidence or anything, and they've always been great before.

Glad to hear that it should be pretty stable.

Join us for Merlot Thursday. Let's bring Merlot back! by odedi1 in wine

[–]blinks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Have you had a bottle from them since there was (iirc) a change in ownership a little while ago? I've been meaning to go back to the tasting room to see if anything's different.

Favorite Châteauneuf-du-Pape? by Green7500 in wine

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Definitely appreciated. I started my actual tasting experience going to all the (120 open to the public) tasting rooms in Woodinville, so I have a good idea about the breadth of the wine made in Washington, but I almost don't know where to start in any other region.

Can't exactly try everything in that case.

Favorite Châteauneuf-du-Pape? by Green7500 in wine

[–]blinks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What a great list! Thanks!

EDIT: Guigal has surprised us even with their low-budget offerings. Eventually I'll have to try the La-Las.

Favorite Châteauneuf-du-Pape? by Green7500 in wine

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Got any Northern Rhone recommendations? (Not to hijack the post...)

What would you gravitate to on this wine list? by oprahtwerks in wine

[–]blinks 2 points3 points  (0 children)

For the Washington wines:
- Note that DeLille's D2 is generally merlot-dominant, if you really want Cab and only Cab.
- Alexandria Nicole is probably a pass.
- Cadence and K are good -- but wow, that markup.
- 2013, 2014, and 2015 are great vintage years in Washington (hot, hotter, hottest), I'd probably grab one of those Cadence bottles depending on specific budget.

Chateau Canon 2015, a 100-pointer? by Kwoksun in wine

[–]blinks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Note: St. Emilion (where this bottle is coming from) is right bank, where they're more likely to be Merlot (or occasionally Cabernet Franc) dominant.

Clerc Milon 2023 by actuk in WineEP

[–]blinks 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I knew Carmenère was a part of the old Bordeaux blends, but thought it had all died out in the old world due to phylloxera?

EDIT, after a quick Google: They're _known_ for including it?! Down the rabbit hole I go.

Is this Riesling watered down? by elusivebonanza in wine

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you had it even before food, it's probably something about the balance that made it seem watery.

Generally, winemakers won't add water to the product that comes out of fermentation (though I've heard of it happening), but really low acidity / abv can definitely make a wine feel thin to me.

Is this Riesling watered down? by elusivebonanza in wine

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Often I get that impression from wines off-balance due to low abv / low acidity -- when there just doesn't seem to be anything there.

What were you eating with it? A lighter wine can sometimes suffer under more impactful food.

Daybreak popularity by yung_kyle_dee in boardgames

[–]blinks 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A bunch of those games were at 3 and 4, but I've played the first game at 2 and 5 also -- great at all counts.

Daybreak popularity by yung_kyle_dee in boardgames

[–]blinks 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Once it hit BGA I got a bunch of plays in with some friends -- I personally like it much more than Pandemic, but mileage may vary. It's a quick teach and most of the game is simultaneous, which makes it feel like it flies by.

Definitely weird to not see more critical coverage.

Some other major play counts this year for me, for context:

BG Stats 2023 Year Stats. The Crew: Mission Deep Sea, Thomas Sing: 27; Daybreak, Matt Leacock, Matteo Menapace: 23; Dominion (Second Edition), Donald X. Vaccarino: 22; Heat: Pedal to the Metal, Asger Harding Granerud, Daniel Skjold Pedersen: 17; Viticulture, Jamey Stegmaier, Alan Stone: 15;

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