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In
this business, you taste for palate memory. You taste
for palate sharpness--gotta exercise this "taste"
muscle or it gets soft! And always you taste for pleasure.
The sheer number of wines to track becomes dizzying, unless
you are one of my peers who write on wine for a living--THEY
write the lovely dissertations that sing of hot saddle
leather, freshly-tilled spring earth, stewed fruit.
I'm
not knocking that vernacular, in fact a command of it
is quite fun, albeit it usually spooks the novice wine
enthusiast more than it draws them to the grape. Anyway,
the thing I'm lethargically leading up to is this Monster
Tasting Sheet.
The
Style & Utility of this Sheet
I'm not ashamed of leaving off the leafy poetry around
each wine description. Nay, this is more like the wild
west. If the wine is pleasing, and the quality to price
ratio is reasonable, then it is a Winner. If the
wine is pleasing but your money will be spent far better
on other less expensive alternatives, it is simply a Good
Wine but Not Good Value. Need an acronym for that.
And lastly, if the wine simply is lacking anything redeemable,
then it falls into the deadly Losers column. This
is not tasting by committee--like Robert Parker, this
is my palate, my objectivity.
There
are wines that are left out of this review because they
are has-beens, and wines missing because they were gifts
or donations in which my published remarks would injure.
But do know that always 95% of the wines reviewed were
purchased with my own money--not given to me for a softball
review.
How
to Use this Sheet
Choose a format offered below, download it, and then PRINT
it. There are 81 wines listed on two pages, grouped by
country. There are 13 in bold which represent my favorites
(the award winners among the nominees). While most of
these were sourced from Pearson's, any store should be
able to obtain or already have many of these wines. Lastly,
prices are hard to remember, easily change, and vary from
store to store. I simply have less than $20 and over $20.
There are $7 wines on this review (<$20) and $21 wines
that show (>$20). When you go shopping with your sheet,
you'll see the exact price and that will determine how
much you want it. The sheets: Choose Word
Document or Adobe
PDF
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If
you like to spend time in the kitchen or you appreciate
gourmet food & wine, then here is a show that will
cut close to home. The tickets are very reasonable at
$12/day for adults, and the event is family-friendly too
with reduced prices for children.
The
Atlanta Wine School will be doing two Wine & Cheese
presentations, limited to 50 people, on April 15th at
1pm and again at 5:15pm. There is no extra fee for this
session--it is included in your event admission. More
information on the event here.
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Arnie
Millan is a man on the move (literally), but he still had time
to share some pointers on finding quality French wine at smart
prices. Also, if you live near or travel to his hometown of
Seattle, Arnie is known for his opulant wine dinners. Finding
French wine values.
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Atlanta
Wine School Course Calendar, March - June, 2005
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King
Estate
Cook Book
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March
3rd, Winemaking & Blending Tasting/Seminar,
$40, Consumers, $30 Trade
7-9pm, Georgia
Tech Hotel & Conference Center
Peter Repole, Wine Educator for Kendall Jackson Winery,
will utilize wines (chardonnays & cabernets) made
exclusively for this limited edition program. *SOLD
OUT
More
Info
March
14th - April 18th, Mastering Wine: Intermediate
Level , $329, 7-9pm. This class is only $289
for anyone who has completed our Intro to Wine course.
This is the next level of wine education succeeding the
Introduction to Wine series. Presentations by grapegrowers
& winemakers will emphasis deeper discussions on regional
Viticulture, Viniculture & Terroir. Additional in-depth
presentations on Fortified & Sparkling wines. Limited
to 16 attendees. *11 seats remain
More
Info
Three
Introduction to Wine Series, all $299, 7-9pm,
held at Signature
Events Facility
The classic how, why, where of wine. An essential
to finer living.
Thursdays,
March 17th - April 21st, *7
seats remain
NEW Mondays, April 25th - June 6th (May 30th is skipped),
*20 seats remain
NEW Wednesdays, June 15th - July 20th, *20 seats remain
More
Info
April
20th, The
Pinot Brothers: Gris & Noir, $40, 7-9pm. Industry
veteran Gary Lynn of King
Estate Winery, an organic winery, will replicate
the seminar on Pinot Gris & Pinot Noir, given to $185
ticket-holders at the famed Epcot International Wine &
Food event. Current and older vintages of global expressions
will be tasted. Limited to 30 people. *21
seats remain
More
Info
April
28th, American Wine & Cheese, $49, 7-9pm,
Muss
& Turners. On the two previous events involving
Matt Bonano for cheese presentations, attendee ratings
have been 5 out of 5 across the board. Join us again for
the standard 9 cheeses/9 wines symphony--this time we
call upon our countrymen for their artisanal products.
Sorry, no velveeta. *14
seats remain
More
Info
May
1st, Discover Italy, $40, 3-6pm, Signature
Events Facility
The next in our Discover! Series, this event will showcase
Italy's diverse wines, foods, cheeses, specialty coffees,
& entertainment. A tasty cultural trip state-side
on a lazy Sunday afternoon.
Premium Sponsors are: Atlanta Wine School, The Wine
Report Magazine, Palm Bay Imports, La Tavola
Trattoria, Icecaters, Blaine Travel,
and MochaMyDay Mobile Espresso. More
Info
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| Culinary
Vacations |
| Ice
Caters™ |
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If
you have taken an Atlanta Wine School course or attended one of
our privately conducted events recently, you've probably noticed
that I have some incredible wine buckets. Many people who've seen
them think they're made of glass, but in reality, they are ice
creations from a local company called Ice Caters™.
Ice
Caters™ has taken the art of hand sculpting to the next
level, with a patented production process that allows them to
produce, and deliver beautiful ice creations at amazingly low
prices. Now even individuals entertaining at home can afford
to include ice creations in their party repertoire. The creations
are decorative and functional, as centerpieces, serving pieces-and
inevitably, conversation pieces! Ice Caters™ has a standard
catalog of products that includes: ice buckets for wine, champagne
or vodka, "crystal" bowls for chilling your beers
and wines, martini displays, vases, clamshell and swan serving
pieces, as well as creations that can incorporate your business's
logo or event theme…the possibilities are endless. I know
we have quite a few newsletter subscribers who work in the restaurant
industry. Consider how an ice martini glass would enhance your
bar and would boost martini sales!
Each
ice creation comes with unique packaging and dry ice that keeps
it frozen in the box for at least 24 hours-no freezer is needed!
They also come with a powdery material called Magic Snow that
will absorb nearly 1000 times its weight in water. As the material
absorbs water from your melting ice creation, the Magic Snow
powder will grow into a beautiful white snow-like material,
making clean up simple and neat.
Ice
Caters™ delivers to your home or event location. Prices
start at $10 and top out at about $100. The wine bucket I like
is just $30. Go to www.icecaters.com
to see a complete list of their offerings and keep your eye
out next month. Our April and May drawing will be a wine bucket
from Ice Caters!
In
addition, because you are a subscriber of News & Happenings,
you receive free delivery throughout Georgia for an ice bucket,
or $10 off shipping for any other item. Use the promotional
code "CWW" when checking out of the Ice Caters online
store.
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I
first heard of Chef John Wilson at a supper club that my wife
and I joined last year. He's a member as well, but the man travels
so often that he is rarely ever spotted at our outings. Trained
at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, N.Y., Chef
John owns Culinary Vacations Inc. and in his "off-time"
is offers cooking classes in Roswell as well as teaches in gourmet
food shops in the Atlanta area such as Viking Culinary Arts
Center, Salud and Williams-Sonoma Stores.
In
addition to cooking courses in Atlanta, Culinary Vacations also
runs Weekend Gourmet Getaways in Asheville, just a hop-skip-and-a
jump away. If you're looking for a unique and memorable vacation
and enjoy the combined pleasures of food, wine and travel, this
is something you should check out.
The
Rustic Italian weekend in Asheville includes accommodations
at The
Sweet Biscuit Inn, located just blocks away from the
famous Biltmore Village and the Historic downtown area of Asheville.
The weekend starts with a "Quick and Easy Dinner".
Saturday is free time and I recommend checking out the Biltmore
Estate and its winery. Where the quality of their wines
was once an issue in part due to the location of their vineyard,
they are now importing most of their grapes and quality has
increased. Saturday evening guests will enjoy an "Elegant
Dinner Party". Sunday is the "Brunch Cooking Class".
Near and dear to my heart, wine is served with all classes.
Rustic Italian Weekend is April 15-17 and includes three demo
cooking classes, two nights accommodations, and two breakfasts
at the inn. The rate starts at $375 per person, double occupancy.
Very reasonable for all that's included.
Something
else to consider are Chef John's European culinary trips. Chef
John will be "Cooking in Tuscany" May 29-June 3 and
June 5-10. Guests will stay at a beautiful fully restored estate.
Excursions will include tours of wineries specializing in Chianti
Classicos, a tour of an olive oil production facility, and more.
June
12-17 Chef John will be "Cooking in Normandy". Guests
will stay at an 18th century farmhouse in the charming town
of Carentan. Excursions will include tours of cheese making
factories, local markets and Omaha beach and the historic monument
of Mt. St Michel.
These
trips include five nights accommodations, six participatory
cooking classes, all meals with the exception of one lunch,
wines with every meal, culinary excursions with transportation
and all transfers.
Go
to http://www.culinaryvacationsinc.com
for rates and more detail.
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