Not the offline dinner but the actual tasting. Faced with the crowds at this event I found myself standing aside and not exactly wading in for as many tastes as I could have. Fortunately Mr. Winetex had a good strategy and tasted quite a few wines.

I cut Davidn's list of purchases out of the buying thread and added a few of my own that I thought were notable. It is a difficult way to taste wine and even harder to keep track of it. The Winetexs go with an A-F scale. Anything that gets an "A" goes on my buy list. David's favorites are marked with a *.

'03 Ampelos Cellars Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix Vyd B
2003 Ampelos Cellars Syrah/Grenach "Syrache" SBC B+
'02 Arcadian Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix Vyd B
2002 Arcadian Syrah "La Genisse:, SBC B
'03 ABC Chardonnay, Nuits Blanches au Bouge
'03 ABC Chardonnay, Mt Carmel
'03 ABC Pinot Noir, Isabelle Morgan
2004 Babcock Chardonnay "Top Cream", SRH B+
2004 Babcok Pinot Noir "Ocean's Ghost, SRH B
'03 Badge Pinot Noir, SRH
2003 Barrack Piocho "Happy Canyon Vineyards" SYZ B-
2004 Grenache "Purisima Mountain Vineyard" SYV B+
'03 Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir, S&B*
'03 Bonaccorsi Pinot Noir, Fiddlestix
2004 Brander Vineyard Sauvignon"Au Naturel", SYV B+
2004 Brander Vineyard Sauvignon"Purisima Mtn", SYV B
'04 Cargasacchi Pinot Noir, Cargasacchi Vyd B
'04 (Cargasacchi) Pointe Conception Pinot Noir,
Salsipuedes/Cargasacchi/Jalama Vyd A-
2003 Carhartt VY Merlot "Estate, SYV B
2003 Carhartt VY Syrah "Estate, SYV B-
2004 Carina Cellars Grenach "Stolpman VY", SYV B
2004 Carina Cellars Syrah "Colson Canyon", SBC A-
2004 Cold Heaven Viognier "S&B Old Vines", SRH B-B+
2003 Core Wine Hardcore, SB Cty B+
2003 Core Wine Elevation Sensation "Alta Vista", SB County
'04 Casa Cassara Pinot Noir, Estate, SRH C+
'02 Clendenen Family Chardonnay, Le Bon Climat
2004 Curran Grenache Blanc, SYV A-
2003 Curtin The Crossroad, SYV B+-A-
'04 Domaine des Deux Mondes Viognier, Saints and Sinners B
'02 Fiddlehead Pinot Noir, Lollapalooza
'03 Foley Pinot Noir, Pommard Block 4D, SRH* B-
'03 Foley Pinot Noir, Clone 2A Block 4A, SRH* C+
'03 Foxen Pinot Noir, Sea Smoke Vyd*
'03 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Pinot Noir, Rio Vista* A
'03 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Pinor Noir, Fiddlestix B+
'03 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Pinot Noir, Highliner B+
'03 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Syrah "Big Circle" SBC B+
'03 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Syrah "Purisima Mtn" SYV B+
'03 Paul Lato Pinot Noir, Duende-Gold Coast Vyd*
2004 Kenneth-Crawford PInot Noir "Babcok VY", SRH B
2004 Kenneth-Crawford PInot Noir "Larner VY", SYV B
2004 Kunin Viognier "Stolpman VY", SYV B+
2004 Kunin Pape Stars "Larner Vineyard", SYV B
'03 Longoria Pinot Noir, Fe Ciega, SRH*
'04 Loring Pinot Noir, Clos Pepe* B+
'04 Loring Pinot Noir, Rancho Ontiveros A-
2004 Jaffurs Petite Syrah "Thompson VY:, SYV B-B+
'04 Margerum Sauvignon Blanc, Vogelzang
'04 The Ojai Vyd Sauvignon Blanc, Westerly
'02 The Ojai Vyd Pinot Noir, Clos Pepe B+
'03 The Ojai Vyd Syrah, Roll Ranch B+-A-
2003 Qupe Roussane "Bien Nacido Hillside Estate:, SMV B+
'03 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir, Botella
'03 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir, Southing
'03 Sea Smoke Pinot Noir, Ten
2004 Verdad Albarino "Ibarra Young VY:, SYV B
2003 Verdad Tempranillo Blend, SBC B

I'm interested in what others thought of the wines. There were so many!!

What about wines that get an A-???

B+-A- wines are definitely good enough to buy but we may or may not depending on what's already in the cellar.

We bought thus far:

2004 Curran Grenache Blanc, SYV A-
a great summer quaff; last year's wine (see the TN) went with all kinds of Asian foods and is great in the heat. This year's had good acidity and probably more body than the 03. A price increase but priced OK at $19.95

'03 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Pinot Noir, Rio Vista* A
Yowza this was good. Mr. Winetex and I scored it high without consulting with one another. $31.95 pb

One note about my purchases:

I was absolutely determind to only buy Pinot and nothing else other than some whites that TriciaN wanted. I did buy a couple of Syrah but there were certainly many other Syrahs and Rhone style wines that were worthy. Just because I didn't buy it doesn't mean I didn't like it. I just have to cut back somewhere and Syrah has made it to the "cut" list along with the Cabs.

Just a couple from the list that really stood out for us ...

2003 ABC Chardonnay, Nuits Blanches au Bouge
2004 Babcock Chardonnay "Top Cream"
2004 Cargasacchi Pinot Noir, Cargasacchi Vyd
2003 Foxen Pinot Noir, Sea Smoke Vyd ** There was quite a bit of buzz about this wine at the event
2003 Hitching Post (aka Hartley Ostini) Pinot Noir, Rio Vista
2003 Paul Lato Pinot Noir, Duende-Gold Coast Vyd
2003 Paul Lato Pinot Noir, Rosato Syrah (an under the table pour)
2004 Loring Pinot Noir, Rancho Ontiveros

A couple of observations from the tasting. The food table needs to be either moved or spread throughout the larger room, not concentrated in one area in the middle of the tasting arena. The congestion between the tasting tables and food tables was almost unbearable, ZAP was nothinig compared to this. Pourers and attendees need to be told, reminded, to not wear perfume to such and event. Last but not least, attendees need to be told that when you get your tasting to step back from the table to do your personal evaluation.

Quote:

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ZAP was nothinig compared to this

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David, I agree with all your points but I'm afraid it's not going to happen. This is a "commercial" event for everyone. They cut it off at 625 tickets and could have easily sold another couple of hundred. They turned people away at the door. And don't forget the outdoor patio is usually a big part of the venue with people putting their food on a plate and taking it outdoors. That was not available to us this year because of Mother Nature.

An aside to NCVL... They started the morning with 650 glasses and ended the day with 32 glasses on the table. Some people like grape-growing Mexicans who talk with their hands more than Italiens and end up throwing their glass 10 feet up in the air as part of an exclamation did need more than one glass though. Did you ever find out if Carlos has his grapes in any particular wine?

Link to Laube on Santa Barbara futures.

I was only "moved" to buy the following which I am also splitting with my sister who was there:
Paul Lato pinot
Curran grenache blanc
Loring Clos Pepe (I am a fruit slut)
Ojai late harvest Roll Ranch viognier ice wine
The Bonaccorsi Sanford & Benedict pinot was already sold out.

OK, which of the Latos should I buy? I just couldn't fight my way over to that table again. Thanks guys.

The Lato pinot and syrah were both quite nice, and priced the same. I bought some of both, so I didn't have to make a choice.

-Al

Joining in this discussion a little late, but...

The tasting was really a zoo - it would have been nice to have had about 20% fewer people there. My favorites included (in no particular order):

Beckmen Grenache
Beckmen Block 6 Syrah
Hitching Post Rio Vista Pinot
Margerum Sauvignon Blanc
Kenneth-Crawford Grenache
Kenneth-Crawford Evans Ranch Syrah
Van Enoo Viognier
ABC Sanford & Benedict Pinot
Jelly Roll Syrah
Kunin Viognier and
Kunin "Pape Stars" GSM blend
Curran Grenache Blanc
Flying Goat Rio Vista Pinot
Kaena Grenache
Foxen Sea Smoke Vyd. Pinot

I missed tasting the Paul Lato wines! Heard about them too late to get back to their table and try them, but everyone raved about them. There were a bunch of other good wines too, and undoubtedly some of the '04 wines were in an awkward stage and didn't show as well as they will when they are ready for release.

A bunch of us had a fun visit to Loring/Cargasacchi/AP Vin on Sunday morning too, after a hearty breakfast with Peter C. at Hi! Let's Eat in Lompoc. Hard to remember everything we tasted, but Peter's Chardonnay and Rose were excellent, Brian's Keefer Ranch and Clos Pepe Pinots were probably my favorites of another impressive bunch (thanks to Kimberly for pouring!), and Andrew's Garys', Clos Pepe, and Rancho Ontiveros Pinots were all terrific. Whatever Andrew is doing (well, Peter revealed his secret but I won't repeat it here!) the aromatics on his wines come through in a big way - very nice!

Overall it was a very fun weekend, including a barrel tasting with Matt Trevisan at Linne Calodo on my way back home on Sunday. This was my first time at the Wine Cask futures tasting, and aside from the opportunity to buy some ot the wines at the futures price, it's great exposure for many small and relatively unknown wineries that are producing some very good wines.