Bloody hell, does Betsy want to visit Wagga Wagga in Australia? I can't
promise her the same wines, but I can certainly promise appreciation of the
food...

I can offer her wagyu beef, naturally fermented olives, freshly shot
bunnies, roo (not roux), trout, and a range of locally grown produce. BTW,
the temperatures even in winter will be 10-20°C.

Of course, you're welcome too, but given your description of menus, Betsy
would be the honoured guest!

Cheers,

Andrew

"Dale Williams" > wrote in message
...
> The last few days have been a blur of work and dealing with cold temps.
But
> Betsy still managed to make sure that good dinner was served, even
overcoming
> her bunny aversion to put a rabbit in a balsamic marinade. Served
alongside a
> saffron risotto from Mario Batali's cooking show, both were delicious. I
opened
> the 2000 Francoise & Denis Clair Bourgogne-Hautes Côtes de Beaune. Bright,
> pleasant little Burg, good acidity and clean red fruit. Just a note of
herbs on
> the nose, nice wine. B+
>
> The next night Betsy served some duck breast with roasted grapes. The 2001
> Graillot Crozes-Hermitage had initially grapey flavors, but these soon
> transformed into firm black fruit. Some earth and meat aromas, but not
> super-expressive. Nice wine, but a few years might let it really shine. B+
> (with A- potential)
>
> Saturday we went to celebrate a friend's birthday at her house (well, her
> living space- it's bigger than most houses, though it's actually the
> refurbished servants' quarters of a dilapidated mansion - just too cool).
They
> served pork loin with applesauce and red cabbage, and we had a cheap
Riesling
> duel. My contender was the 2001 Thanisch (Erben-Thanisch) Estate Riesling
> (Mosel-Saar-Ruwer). Nice Qba, sweetness and acidity well-balanced, white
fruit
> and some minerality B/B+. The other was an Alsace, the 2002 Leon Beyer
> Riesling. Medium acidity, bone dry, but a bit of a short finish. I thought
the
> sweeter German did better with the applesauce, but the Alsace was an ok
wine,
> say a B.
>
> Also served that evening were a couple of reds. The 2001 La Rose du Pin
was a
> soft easy quaffer, red plum fruit and little more. B- being generous. The
2000
> Los Vascos Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve (Colchagua, Chile) wass a little
more
> interesting, with black fruit framed by some cedary oak. B
>
> Sunday my organization had their annual meeting, and I was bone-tired by
time I
> returned home that evening. But I perked up as some great smells started
coming
> out of the kitchen. "Would you mind grilling a steak?" Betsy said, and I
fired
> up the Weber. What a meal- ribeye with a chutney over salad, baigan bharta
> (eggplant) and nimbu bhat (piquant lemon-cashew rice). Steak meant red
wine to
> me, but the spices made difficult. So I chose a cheap ( no need to waste
an
> expensive wine) red with a hint of spice. The 2001 Domaine Lafond
Roc-Epine
> Cotes-du-Rhône was a nice lighter CdR, red berry flavors and some pepper
and
> oregano. Nothing to get excited about, but a decent $7 wine. B
>
> My usual disclaimer: I'm a pretty easy grader, basically A is a very good
wine,
> B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a
party
> where it was only choice
>
> Dale
>
> Dale Williams
> Drop "damnspam" to reply