Friday my parents arrived, and we went to dinner with them and Betsy's
parents at Harvest on Hudson in Hastings (how's that for an
alliterative restaurant). Absolutely gorgeous location, pretty good
food. Betsy wanted a glass of white, neither mom was imbibing, so the
guys were splitting a bottle of red. Neither Bob or my dad has any
real interest in wine, so I was sticking to the under$40 selections. I
spotted a Refosco, thought I could broaden my wine knowledge. I
assumed being from Friuli it might have good acidty. Wrongo, boyo. I
still have no clear idea what Refosco tastes like, because this was a
prize example of the march of internationalization. The 2002 Villa
Frattina Refosco dal Pendunculo has Sweet red fruit, lots of oak, low-
acidity. Not a bad finish for a $35 restaurant wine, this makes a
decent California Merlot. Something crisp would have been better with
my "pork and clams" (pork chop wth chorizo & piquillo peppers and a
few littlenecks). Anyway, assuming that Refosco isn't supposed to be
Merlot, I'll be generous with a B-

Betsy got a glass of the 2005 Bonnet Blanc Bordeaux blanc (never saw
bottle, but based on prior years assume Entre-Deux-Mers)for her
calamari/frisee salad and skate main course, I sampled during my frog
leg appetizer. I was actually quite impressed for level, clean citrus
fruit, a little grass, good length. A little less exuberant that NZ
SBs at same level, but a nice quiet wine. B.

Saturday we had lovely weather. Before David's HS graduation, we had a
little backyard party for the family (Betsy's parents, my parents,
Dave's dad, his parents, and Betsy's sister's family). Ribs, mushroom/
cheese quesadillas, an Asian noodle salad, deviled eggs, etc. Mostly
soft drinks, but I did open the 2005 Pikes Dry Riesling (Clare
Valley). Floral nose, hint of petrol, just a bit off-dry with sweet
white peach fruit. After the ceremony (wonderful setting by the river,
if only the speeches were shorter) Betsy and I finally relaxed with a
glass and some leftover. The Pikes Riesling was showing more
minerally, with the hint of sugar harder to find. Good intensity,
length for an under $20 Riesling. B/B+

Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent
wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't
drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no
promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency