WTN Birthday wines

Another year bites the dust (for those counting, 43...!). Last night we were 16 at ZORBAS, a fantastic family owned BYOB Greek restaurant in the Fairmount section of Philadelphia, just three blocks from me. I could not take detailed notes as I had to hold court and talk to everyone, but here are some of my mental notes from last night.

We started the evening with Zardetto Prosecco Brut Conegliano - always a crowd pleaser for all types of palates. Its fresh, refreshing light citrus peach is aways a slam dunk. It went perfectly with the best fried calamari in Philadelphia: delicate and melting in your mouth with no rubbery texture. YUM!!!

Though a crowd of non geeks, most appreciate good wines; we had way too many bottles of wine. With my MOUSAKA I enjoyed:


2001 Sartori Amarone della Valpolicella - deep garnet, with elegant spice and earthy umpf - quite a surprise and very enjoyable. No goop whatsoever and not jammy like the last Amarone I had in recent years. Must try again when my palate is not so overwhelmed.



2002 Chateau Faugeres Grand Cru. A lush and earthy/barnyardy fruit cake merlot with a milk chocolate roundness that is a favorite. More modern, but balanced and very enjoyable.



2001 Capcanes Vall de Calas This was a total surprise as a student of mine who is from Spain brought this. Elegant and refined tempranillo/merlot/garnacha. Spicy, peppery with refined licorice. Must explore this region of Spain.




2001 La Palazzola Rubino IGT Umbria 80% merlot and 20% cab. Barnyard and leather; lush fruit and longish finish. Modern but balanced.

A friend gave me a bottle of Champagne Pommery Brut Royal, which is probably why I have a big headache this afternoon!


And the rowdy bunch:

nice notes, happy birthday!

nice notes, happy birthday!

Thank you, Dale!

[James Roscoe]

Nice notes and a great pics! Please do not blan\me a lovely lady such as Madame Pommery for a headache. I tell you it is the weather. Take a couple of ibuprofin and drink some milk. then get some pizza and chianti in your system! Happy birthday my friend!

Nice notes and a great pics! Please do not blan\me a lovely lady such as Madame Pommery for a headache. I tell you it is the weather. Take a couple of ibuprofin and drink some milk. then get some pizza and chianti in your system! Happy birthday my friend!

Thanks, James!!! Uh... yeah.... the WEATHER gave me the headache!

[James Roscoe]

Keep the sunglasses on. They will make you feel better if you go into a room with bright lights. Take it easy my friend! Ciao!

How many birthday threads is one person allowed to post???

Paulo, nice notes. Re, the Sartori: their regular Valpolicella Classico is quite a good bargain, too. I use it as an all-around sipper $12.

How many birthday threads is one person allowed to post???

Paulo, nice notes. Re, the Sartori: their regular Valpolicella Classico is quite a good bargain, too. I use it as an all-around sipper $12.

When you are the forum jester you get two threads!!!

Nice to read about your experience with the Sartori, Thomas. The last Valpolicella I had was a fruit bomb disappointment from Allegrini.

[James Roscoe]

Thomas, Paulo is such a nice guy he is allowed as many birthday threads as he can get. People like us (you know sarcastic, SOBs) are lucky to get a bone every now and then. Maybe we should be more like Paulo and less like us? At least we have the satisfaction of knowing we're not, .... well, let's not go there. (So when is Thomas's birthday? We will get two or three threads going.)

Happy B-day Paulo. Nice party, great notes. Have you moved uptown? I like Fairmount, a fun part of the city.

Hope to see you next time I'm in Philly.

Marc Davis

Happy Birthday Paulo!

Very nice notes and photos -- people look very happy, and the bottles looked great too.

Regards, Bob

Happy B-day Paulo. Nice party, great notes. Have you moved uptown? I like Fairmount, a fun part of the city.

Hope to see you next time I'm in Philly.

Marc Davis

Thank you, Marc! Yes - I have been in Fairmount for almost a year now. Do let me know when you are coming to Philly - would be fun to get together again! Hope all is well with you and your family!

Happy Birthday Paulo!

Very nice notes and photos -- people look very happy, and the bottles looked great too.

Regards, Bob

Thank you, Bob!

[Jenise]

Happy birthday, sweetie! [big sisterly kiss]

Happy birthday, sweetie! [big sisterly kiss]

Thanks, dear! [big forum jester kiss right back atcha!]

[Robin Garr]

Another year bites the dust

I can't believe I've read this thread a dozen times and didn't wish you many happy returns of the day, Paulo! Hippo Belated Birdie!

What? How dare you not have ME as priority in your life!

Forum Jester

PS. Grazie!

Thomas, Paulo is such a nice guy he is allowed as many birthday threads as he can get. People like us (you know sarcastic, SOBs) are lucky to get a bone every now and then. Maybe we should be more like Paulo and less like us? At least we have the satisfaction of knowing we're not, .... well, let's not go there. (So when is Thomas's birthday? We will get two or three threads going.)

Thomas' birthday? James, people like us are not born--we are created...

My creation was finally finished by the 9th of July. The year in which it happend is incidental, but it's a long time past 30 ago.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULO!!

Great notes and I love the pics of the wines to go with it...sounds like a fantastic evening. Lovely crowd.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAULO!!

Great notes and I love the pics of the wines to go with it...sounds like a fantastic evening. Lovely crowd.

Thanks, Maria! One of these days we'll need to coordinate an offline here in the northeast!

Hey Paulo - Happy Birthday.
Sounds, and looks, like a great event.

Hey Paulo - Happy Birthday.
Sounds, and looks, like a great event.

Thanks, OW! Hope all is well with you and your wife!

A belated happy birthday. Thanks for sharing the notes and photos.
At the wine dinner I attended in January (an Open That Bottle Night where we brought our own wines) the couples around my table included a member of the North Carolina Opera board, a founder of the Film Society of Raleigh, and a member of the North Carolina Ballet board. How is that for a cultural monopoly! I don't think the opera here gets as much publicity or marketing behind it as the ballet or orchestra does but I promised to look into buying tickets for the next season.

A belated happy birthday. Thanks for sharing the notes and photos.
At the wine dinner I attended in January (an Open That Bottle Night where we brought our own wines) the couples around my table included a member of the North Carolina Opera board, a founder of the Film Society of Raleigh, and a member of the North Carolina Ballet board. How is that for a cultural monopoly! I don't think the opera here gets as much publicity or marketing behind it as the ballet or orchestra does but I promised to look into buying tickets for the next season.

Thank you, JC! Wow - you were surrounded by passionate people related to the art world! And lucky for them you were there to share your passion for wine!!