Wednesday I was swamped and Betsy was busy preparing for a trip to NC for concerts, we decided to just get takeout pizza along with some spinach salad.. Wine was the 2008 Sella Orbello (Costa della Sesia). Perfect pizza wine- good acidity, raspberry and cherry fruit with a little citrus zest, juicy and fresh. A real QPR winner. B+/B

Thursday I had a long day after taking her to airport, I planned on leftover vegetables along with some black sausage. I opened the IX (2009) Marcel Lapierre Raisins Gaulois. Fresh, sprightly, all about red fruit (cranberries, raspberries, cherries) - joyful little wine. B

But the blood sausage (opened a couple weeks ago) seemed a bit funky, and I decided to pass. I got some barbecued eel from freezer, had that with my leftover veggies and soba. I have to say the bbq sauce didn't agree with the Gamay, and I ended up opening a 2009 Leitz Rudesheimer Klosterlay Riesling Kabinett that was in fridge. Lime fruit, a pleasant herby note, lively and fairly full for Kabinett. B/B+

Friday another long day, I had thawed some chicken liver ragu and prepared spaghetti. I probably should have just had the Lapierre as I was going out to a wine group meeting, but it was Friday and I felt like opening something Italian with my pasta. So I opened the 2008 Montevertine Pian del Ciampolo. Just one glass, but what a pretty glass of (mostly) Sangiovese. Light color, but solid flavors of black cherry accented with smoke and violets. I carry along following night to some friends who invited me for dinner, it has held up well overnight, fruit seems more red cherry, but deep flavors. This isn't Pergole Torte, but it kicks the butt of 98% of Chianti Reservas I run across. B+

Saturday I joined Ron and Nancy for pork roast with an apricot/red miso/ garlic sauce , green beans, pan-fried sweet and white potatoes, and
salad. We had the Montevertine and:

2006 Cousin "pur Breton" Anjou
Red fruits, moderate to high acids, light tannin, a pretty good dose of leathery/barnyardy brett (I have friends who affectionately refer to this as "the poopy wine"). B/B-

2009 Schafer-Frolich "Medium Dry" Riesling (Nahe)
My hosts are primarily red drinkers, when I heard about apricot jam in the sauce I had grabbed this (it did well with the pork, but the sweetness of sauce was subdued enough I could have done ok with just the reds). Turns out they both quite liked the Riesling. Apple and citrus, just enough RS to ward off austerity, mineral, structured for an under $20 Nahe. B+

Today I went to a pre-Valentine's open house. Good friends I hadn't seen in a while, a barbershop quarter, usual potluck combination of food (some great, some acceptable, then a few things that were.....iffy), great vibes, hodgepodge of wines.

A 2008 Mas du Fadan that I brought was corked. I was there when it was open, I declared corked, no one knew what that meant, they all drank.
A 2009 Santa Rita "120" Sauvignon Blanc was short, had a strange chemical note, not fun. C.
You know it's not a good wine day when your favorite wine is a 2009 Mondavi Private Selection Sauvignon Blanc - short, sharp, but clean. C+ There were some nice wines out waiting for uncorking, but I didn't feel right wielding a corkscrew when others thought open bottles were fine.

I returned home to my dog and my kitchen. After weeks of watching events in Europe, I made ful medames to go with my rib steak with mushrooms and broccoli. Wine was the 2006 Pasquale Pelissero "Bricco San Giuliano' Barbaresco.. Pretty decent for $15 Barbaresco. Sweet black cherry and plum fruit, moderare acidity, ripe tannins. Just a hint of wood, some tar and citrus. Could use a bit more length, but an ok example of a less structured mid-modern Nebbiolo. 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.*

On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:32:12 -0800, DaleW wrote:


Not meaning to complain, Dale. But recently ONLY YOUR POSTS have shown up
with no word wrapping, which means that I have to scroll back and forth
horizontally to read them. Have you changed your software settings?

Godzilla (who is using Pan in Linux for some years)

"Godzilla" > skrev i melding
...
> On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:32:12 -0800, DaleW wrote:
>
>
> Not meaning to complain, Dale. But recently ONLY YOUR POSTS have shown up
> with no word wrapping, which means that I have to scroll back and forth
> horizontally to read them. Have you changed your software settings?
>
> Godzilla (who is using Pan in Linux for some years)

Everything OK here
Anders - Outlook Express

On Mon, 14 Feb 2011 17:09:27 +0000, Godzilla >
wrote:

> On Sun, 13 Feb 2011 19:32:12 -0800, DaleW wrote:
>
>
> Not meaning to complain, Dale. But recently ONLY YOUR POSTS have shown up
> with no word wrapping, which means that I have to scroll back and forth
> horizontally to read them.


Yep, same here. Except that I don't scroll back and forth. I start a
reply (even if I don't send it) and the message word wraps in the
reply.


> Have you changed your software settings?


He must have either changed his newsreader or kept the old one and
changed its settings.

--
Ken Blake