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George Medovoy
Brian Wilson
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WILSON on WINE
Tasting 2001!
If you're reading this in Northern California, get down on your knees immediately and thank your a) God b) lucky stars c)Fairly Godperson you are blessed with easy access to the best wines in the word. Of course, you're also cursed with Gov. Gray “Hair Helmet” Davis so maybe it all balances out!
When the KSFO Mother Ship flew me out for my annual “Howdy With The Suits”, I snuck out to attend the Sonoma Family Wineries 2001 Tasting event. As we say in radio,
“WOW! What a deal!” Here was over 300 wineries mostly small all under one roof with lotsa bottles of their amazing wine(s). Trust me: I did the best I could to sample every single one but time and the ability to walk worked against me.
[NOTE: I know. I know. One is not supposed to swallow at a tasting. But the way I figured it, I traveled over 3,000 miles, put up with 5 screaming brats and Airline Mystery Food to get here. If any wine makes it as far as my mouth, dammit it's going all the way down!] But I digress….
The Far Away Winner i.e., the most impressive wine tasted that evening was the Mayo Zinfandel Port ($30). “HOW GOOD WAS IT!?”, ask. It was so good, I drove (in the rain) all the way from downtown San Fran to a few miles north of Sonoma just to buy a case for In-Home imbibing. What an amazing concoction! Try it with a stout cheese, some unobtrusive crackers, a roaring fire and a warm Significant Other. (Note: “roaring fire” is optional and requires optional fireplace or other appropriate “combustibles” container).
Coming in a close 2nd, was Mayo's 1999 Zin. At he risk of being redundant (see previous column), life is too short to drink wimpy wines. This Zin may be many things but “wimpy” it ain't! I picked up a case of it, too. As we learned in French class: Tray Yummay which is French for about the same thing.
Their Chardonnay was damn good, too. Picked up a case of that while there.
I was so impressed with these bottles (can you tell?), I subsequently had Geoff Mayo on the show to say so. He's a great spokesman for his Dad and Mom who also run the place.
I'd like to say all this applause and valuable radio exposure scored my several free vats or at least a sizeable discount but it didn't. Just as well…. that sort of thing is called “plugolla” (like “payola”) in the radio biz and one could get neck deep in large doo-doo for engaging in same. As we learned in Latin class: Cogito ergo no cogito est. Loosely translated: “I think, therefore I don't think so.”
Needless to say, a great time was had by all especially Mr. Me! Thanks to all the Sonoma families for their works of art. There's no other way to describe the wines I had that evening. Despite swearing off flying until logic, good sense and the 4th Amendment return to the airports and airlines, I look forward to next year's Tasting 2002!
Next time you're at the wine store, hold the Mayo! Better yet, take it home and drink it!
Brian Wilson
Talk Show Host/Author - KSFO/San Francisco
http://www.brianwilson.net
When looking for a reason why things go wrong,
never rule out sheer stupidity.
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