Summit IPA

I love seeing how Google advertises these links.
Anywho, after drinkin' a lot of wine, I love a crisp I.P.A. to cleanse the palate & restore my bearings. One of my favorite from the mid-west is Summit from St. Paul, Mn. Hoppy & malty in a sluggable bottle. Help Mark & his mates celebrate 20 yrs. of doing it right on 09/30/06 (summitbrewing.com)! Oh yeah, they're throwing in Richard Thompson, Tapes 'N Tapes (& others) to help w/ the festivities!
Cheers!

2001 Stephen Ross Edna Valley Pinot Noir

Always had a soft spot for this juice. Not a blockbuster, but who cares. So soft & silkly w/ all the flavors right there. I could drink this all night long & it'll go w/ anything (maybe not Raisin Bran, but I'm game). 773 cases produced, so there's probably nothing, if anything floating around @ this point. Moral of the story? Pick-up a bottle of the current vintage & give it some down time. This guy always seems to deliver.

1999 L.A. Cetto Nebbiolo Private reserve

When J9 brought this bottle home, i thought "Ughh! Are you fuckin' kiddin' me? Mexican Nebbiolo?" But I pulled the cork on this w/ some Progresso Lentil soup, & while beer would have been better w/ the soup, it wasn't that bad (didn't make me barf or anything). The back label states that it was "aged for 12 months in french oak barrels" & it tastes like it. Doesn't particularly look like Nebbiolo due to this (can't read my paper through it) , but it ain't half bad. No idea on the retail, but this definitely delivers enough flavor w/out the harshness you typically find from our amigos down south. Try w/ something in a mole sauce & stay away from the spice.

2005 Monkey Bay Sauvignon Blanc

EZ drinkin' grapefruit juice here. Made by the world's largest wine co., so should be available @ the corner store. Good summer quaffer.

ONCE UPON A TIME

In the beginning, this address was supposed to deliver "wine speak" in English. As so often happens, everyone thought it was a great idea, and then tried to figure out how to get it out there. We bought software, registered swirlthis.com (it's probably still under construction), & had tastings. We aged & tasted, but never really put our opinions out there. The Parker board is paramount & the myspace crowd is probably looking for something other than wine recs. "SWIRLTHIS" was always intended as a non-winespeak review, reviewed by people ITB, for anyone that couldn't wrap their arms around reviews that included words like ethereal, profound, and anything else you might find in a review of poetry.
The original group consited of Bob, J9, & myself. All of us are still ITB, sniffing, swirling, tasting, & selling. We enjoy this part of our jobs. It's what makes it a 3 letter word instead of a 4 letter word. Look (or scroll) @ this like you would @ a movie review. The technical stuff will be the header & the rec. will be @ the end. In between will be a snapshot of whatever whizzes through my cranium when I taste this stuff (currently Bob & J9 are pursuing more fruitful endeavors like going to Grad school & starting a family). Absolutely no scores here.