ine from a new winery which I've recently discovered in Napa Valley, Conn Valley Vineyards. Their specialty is Bordeaux-style reds. Now, CVV has an inexpensive everyday wine called Prologue. They also have a high-end red blend called Eloge (which means "praiseworthy", and is 65% cabernet sauvignon, 25% cab franc, 5% merlot, and 5% petite verdot). At our last poker game, I somehow got those mixed up in my mind: I MEANT to take to the guys a bottle of the (inexpensive) Prologue. What I REALLY TOOK was a bottle of the high-end Eloge ($75/bottle retail). Needless to say, the wine was a huge hit. Garris, Jim D., and others---including myself---all raved about it. It wasn't until the next morning when I realized (to my horror!) that my generally beer-swilling/pizza-eating poker buddies had been drinking the good stuff. Oh, well. Such is life. I guess I can't complain too much, because I've won off them enough to buy plenty of bottles of Eloge. If you love big reds that are drinkable now, check out Conn Valley Vineyards: http://www.connvalleyvineyards.com/P.S. If Jimmy Z. posts any sort of comment about my cork-extraction abilities, I just want to go on record as saying that I can pop em out with the best of them...when given the proper tool.
5 comments:
I am enjoying the last bit of that bottle of Eloge as I type this and I second Tim's review, really quite a treat.
In Tim's defense; many people have occasional episodes of premature extraction when they are overly exited about a certain vintage. Thankfully his friends were there to help remove the broken end without it crumbling into the wine.
In my own defense; I only draw out on the $#@! river if I have proper pot odds, or more outs than any sane man would fold, or it’s my favorite hand, or I just know it’s coming, or I horribly misread my opponent, or it’s any third Saturday of an odd or even year.
Jimmy Z, I have to admit, you did save me big-time re: that cork fiasco. But hey, that's what wine is all about: sharing it with good friends who often help you out. As far as your river-catching abilities, well, let's just say I've seen you win a bunch, and... I've seen you not. When we poker, I always think of one of my all-time favorite movie quotes, from HARD TIMES: "The next best thing to playing and winning, is playing and losing."
Check out the Conn Valley Vineyards tour--it's worth it.
These poker nights sound like a blast especially with the occasional $75 bottle of wine. How often do you get to play? Too bad about the wine that went unappreciated. Oh well....such is life !
Where is Conn Valley at anyway? or how do I get there?
Conn Valley Vineyards is located just outside of St. Helena. Take the Silverado Trail, turn onto Howell Mountain Road, then follow that until it branches into Conn Valley Road. Take Conn Valley Rd. back several miles more, to Rossi Road. And there you go. It's a beautiful drive--golden vine-covered hills, gnarled old oak trees, stone one-lane bridges, etc. Once you pass through the Conn Valley gates, it's like entering a Garden of Eden!
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