Let's talk about wine

[ElaineMonster]

A few weeks ago Ed, the Clarkmeister, his girlfriend Jo, and I went to UNLVino, a charity wine tasting event at the Paris. It is a huge event with about 150 booths of wine vendors each sampling 3-8 batches of wine. The money goes to scholarships for UNLV students.

We tasted a few wines and then the boys felt a little overwhelmed and wanted to make the most of their experience. So they went back to the directory and charted out their plan of action, hitting the best wines first and saving the crap for last. They even got J.A.Sucker's wine advice.

Meanwhile, Jo and I kept tasting. By the end of the evening I didn't know my name.

Oh, also, Clark met a guy named Phatsimo.

Anyway, they gave us these Wine Lover's Guide books for us to write down comments of each wine as we tasted. Ed's comments are check marks. His system was one check for tasted, two or three checks for liked or loved. I wrote little more than Ed, making paltry notes like "yum," and "junk." We did, however, identify some winners and I think you'll agree.

Here are my notes:
Quereto Chianti Classico - "solid, typical, bland in a good way"
Meridian Shiraz - "yum"
Ironstone Obsession - strong muscat flavor, citrus"
Ironstone Cabernet Franc - "very good"
Mendocino Big Yellow Cab (Cabernet Sauvignon) - "mellow, smooth and light"
Mendocino Zig Zag Zinfandel - "excellent" (how can you not like a wine that uses the same style label as rolling papers?)
Martin & Weyrich Sangiovese II Palio - "great, smooth, Ed and I agree" (because we often don't)
Justin Sauvignon Blanc - "tart"
VOGA Pinot Grigio - "very light, nice, and cool" (this bottle is awesome!)
Mandolina Estate Grown Pinot Grigio - "golden, light and refreshing"
Olive Hill Estate Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon - "dry"
Oculus Meritage - "strong and bold"
Mission Hills Select Lot Collection Syrah - "honey flavor, smooth, too sweet"

[Clarkmeister]

Here are my notes. Not as detailed as Elaine's, but they worked in a pinch. No clue what years in most cases, so keep that in mind.

Mosaic Meritage 2002: Light with a clean ending, good
Mosaic Merlot: Unexceptional
Takara Sake: Not bad
Black Opal Cab/Merlot: Decent
Norman Shiraz: Poor
Meridian Vineyard Paso Robles Shiraz: Very good
Bethany Shiraz: Excellent
Bethany Shiraz/Cab: OK
Weingut Schuberth Grenache: Decent
Palacio de Villa TR2 Tinta de Toro: Excellent
Sonoma Creek Pino Noir: Very good.
Ironstone Cabernet Franc: Excellent (and only $8!)
Vineyard 29 Cab: Good!
Parducci Cab: Very good
Mendocino Zig Zag Zinfandel: Good
Mendocino Zingaro Zinfandel: Yes!
Marble Crest Merlot: Very Clean, light
Chateau de Maligny Chablis: Great
Bianco Pino Grigio: Light, nice
Coppola Rosso Shiraz: Pretty good
Coppola Diamond Merlot: Average
Justin Vineyards Cal-Ital: OK
Justin Vineyards Cab: OK
Martin & Weyrich Pino Grigio: Pretty dang good
Le Pousseur Syrah: Wierd Smell
Cardinal Zin Old Vines: ok
Esterlina Estate Pinot Noir: Awful
Esterlina Vineyards Riesling: Boone's Farm
Brown Estate Cab: ok
Brown Estate Merlot: good
Brouquel Malbec: ok, wierd finish
Oculus Meritage: ok

I can't wait for next year.