Napa, California
June 12, 2009
10 Minutes, $10
Pony Express Ride
Pony Express Ride
Locals Only Licensed to Ride Pony Express
A California driver’s license affirming Napa County residency is a ticket to ride the “Pony Express,” at the Bounty Hunter Smokin’ BBQ this season. General Manager Will Wright announced this week that his $10 lunch will be served within 10 minutes after orders are placed at Bounty Hunter’s sidewalk or indoor tables through the Spring and Summer months. For those who just can’t leave their work place or mid-day meetings, takeout orders are encouraged.
True to Bounty Hunter’s Western persona, Will has dubbed his lunch special the “Pony Express,” and serves it in the downtown eatery’s trademark lavish portions. Locals may choose from an array of tasty options including a pulled pork sandwich, a luscious Reuben and Shredded BBQ Chicken, among other nifty nibbles and an array of sides that range from grilled seasonal vegetables to potato salad and coleslaw.
Naturally, every plate includes Guss’ Half Sour Pickles from New York, and Bounty Hunter’s selection of three homemade barbecue sauces. A couple of those details that have earned Bounty Hunter Mark Pope’s carefully honed wine bar and restaurant Award - Winning status Each Pony Express lunch arrives with the diner's choice of non-alcoholic drinks including iced tea, lemonade, ginger ale and root beer. So generous are the portions that those with modest appetites may be content to share their order with a friend.
Located at 975 First Street, near Main, in downtown Napa, Bounty Hunter serves lunch 7 days a week. The Pony Express offer is available Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The wine bar opens every day at 11 a.m., serving food all day through 10 p.m. The restaurant, wine bar and retail shop stocks 400 carefully selected wines of the world for consumption on premise or to be purchased and taken away. Some 40 wines are offered in flights and by the glass from the restaurant wine list. To see more of the Pony Express and other menu and wine details, visit: www.bountyhunterwinebar.com
Posted by Pamela at 11:32 AM | Share on Facebook | | Comments (0)
May 28, 2009
America's First Lady of Champagne Honored June 6
Saturday, June 6 when wine enthusiasts from around the world assemble at Meadowood for an annual celebration of Napa Valley, America’s first lady of bubbly will be honored by her many friends. With her husband Jack, the late Jamie Davies arrived in the wine country in 1965 and immediately launched the year’s long revival of the historic Schramsberg estate on Diamond Mountain, the twenty-second winery in Napa Valley to reopen its doors following the repeal of prohibition. Jamie and her husband joined a group of enthusiastic, visionary vintners who together transformed the Napa wine industry, elevating the world’s passion for wine to new heights in the process. Upon Jack’s passing in 1998, Jamie, with her inspired legion of friends and employees, carried their collective mission forward.
In February 2008, the valley and the wine community at large lost Jamie as well. Her infectious spirit and energy will live on for generations to come, and with this special lot 24, we offer a tribute to that dream that has captured us all.
I count myself among 25 of Jamie's dearest women friends and who have come together in her honor with a landmark Auction Napa Valley lot. Included are fifty Napa Valley magnums from our collective cellars These wonderful women will join the winning bidder and 24 guests at a tribute luncheon in Jack & Jamie's Grove amongst the J. Davies Vineyards on the Schramsberg Diamond Mountain property. Tentatively scheduled for May 2010, the afternoon will be a celebration “Jamie Style” amongst the vines and trees of her favorite place along with her closest friends in the Napa Valley. Napa chef Holly Peterson will prepare an al fresco feast paired with a selection of Schramsberg's and J. Davies’ finest vintages
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Posted by Pamela at 10:21 AM | Share on Facebook | | Comments (1)
May 22, 2009
Wine God at Stagecoach Tasting
How I Tasted 95 "2008" Wines From Stagecoach Vineyard and Lived To Tell The Tale
by Roy Piper, eRobertparker.com
I remember back before I moved to Napa, on one of my excursions here, I found my way up to Stagecoach Vineyard above Oakville East. I had read all about the development of the property in the excellent book “The Winemaker’s Dance” and wanted to see the place for myself. I remember thinking when I got there that there is no way one would ever really get a handle on the massive estate and that it would be near impossible to figure out if there was any thread of “somewhere-ness” or terroir that one could sense on such an unwieldy property.
Little did I know that owner Jan Krupp has been holding annual winemaker tastings for eight years, where most of the winemakers who source fruit every year get together at Coles Chop House in Napa to pour their wines and compare notes. I was fortunate to be invited to this years gathering, held over two consecutive Thursdays. The first was all non-Cabernet varietals and the second Thursday was an all-Cab affair.
In total, I tried 95 wines from the 2008 vintage from probably close to 20 producers, each with their own winemaking style, goals and methods. After each flight of 5-8 wines, each winemaker would comment on what they thought, how they made the wine, thoughts about their block and then field questions. It was a fascinating experience, both hedonistically and intellectually.
THE VINEYARD
The property itself is East and slightly South of Prichard Hill and Oakville East. It shares similar soils overall with those regions but is slightly cooler. This is a generalization though, as in listening to the various winemakers present, soil and orientation can vary one block to the next and have enormous impact. A few spots can get really hot and others are more like Atlas Peak in their coolness. This kind of mystery is one any Pinot lover or vineyard geek would enjoy, as figuring out the best little pockets to plant and how vineyards blocks can vary one step fall to the next is part of the fun. There are over 500 acres planted on the 1200-acre property and they are not done! Using Google Earth I calculated the planted area to be two miles in length by .85 miles in width. This is almost the distance from Mustards in Yountville to Mondavi winery in length and from Mondavi to the Mayacamas Mountains in width. All this between 900-1700 foot altitudes on extremely rocky soil. A sight to behold. Although Cabernet is the mainstay, the vineyard also has all the other Bordeaux varietals as well as Viognier, Marsanne, Syrah, Petite and Zin.
THE WINES
There is no way I could reprint all 95 tasting notes, but here are my favorites, categorized by producer. Each producer gets their own block or blocks and makes their own call on picking time.
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Posted by Pamela at 12:44 PM | Share on Facebook | Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley Wines | Comments (0)
