Hello my fellow wine lovers!

For our September offline we will be hosting our special guest, benchland. He will be in the GREAT State of Texas for business and has requested a casual and relaxing dinner with THE DAWGS. I think we can accommodate his wishes. So, Thursday, September 29th , we’ll have a BYOB offline with benchland, starting at approximately 7PM . We’ll determine the venue once we know the estimated number of people in attendance but it will most likely be a red friendly kind of place. Places like MoMo’s, Amici’s, Café Italia and Red Sage come to mind. If we get enough I might even do something special. Please RSVP via email or here with the number of people in your party and we’ll work out the details together.

Thanks and I look forward to seeing everybody again.

Quick update...

In
1 - benchland
2 - WIML & PURPLE
2 - Bella Donna
1 - bigred_seeker
1 - just a skosh
1 - PlanoWino
1 - wine+art
9 - Total

Maybe
1 - KingOfHearts
1 - Total

Out
auto

In
1 - benchland
2 - WIML & PURPLE
2 - Bella Donna
1 - bigred_seeker
1 - just a skosh
1 - PlanoWino
1 - wine+art
2 - TexasZin
2 - preferred
13 - total

Maybe
1 - KingOfHearts
1 - steve8
2 - Total

Out
auto

Good morning everybody!

Our September offline is set. We are maxed out and the waiting list is now open! Here are the details:

• Date: Thursday, September 29th, 7PM
  
• Venue: Mi Piaci, 14854 Montfort Dr, Dallas, TX 75254. PH: 972-934-8424
  
• Wine Theme: “Eurail Tour of European Wine Regions”
  

Below is the list of attendees, wait list, etc… Please review and let me know if there are any changes needed. People with an asterisk (*) after their name have been reconfirmed and are definitely in! Those without the asterisk please reconfirm at your earliest convenience.

About our venue… we will be in “The Map Room” at Mi Piaci’s. We’re currently maxed out and have started a waiting list for people interested in attending not currently on the active list. It is very common for people to drop off and add to the list as the date gets closer so I suspect if you’re interested there’s a good chance you’ll get in! Let me know if you want to be on the wait list ASAP. For those of you not familiar with Mi Piaci the food is basically centered on Italian yet it is very versatile from a wine stand point. If you’d like to read reviews of the restaurant go to www.guidelive.com, click on the Restaurant link and do a search for “Mi Piaci”. We’ll likely do our normal thing: order some appetizers for the table, everybody selectes their entrée from the menu, we add on a hefty tip for the server and split the bill evenly. Let me know if that’s a problem for anybody this go around.

About our wine theme… in keeping with the theme of versatility we’ll be taking a tour of Europe this month with nothing more than our imaginary Eurailpass in hand. It’s your choice to whisk around the wine regions of France on the TGV before connecting to the ES in Northern Italy. The TGV runs throughout the French wine regions and the EG runs the entire length of that country’s wine regions. What a deal! Are you feeling a little like having an early Octoberfest celebration? Hop the ICE and visit Germany’s myriad of Riesling producers with those oh so easy to pronounce names. Can you say “Ole!” Take bull by the horns on the AVE through the heart of Spain in a quest for that tasty Tempanrillo nobody but you has every heard about. So throw caution to the wind and book your Eurailpass at http://www.raileurope.com/us/rail/passes/eurail_index.htm for a relaxing evening with some of Europe’s finest wines.

Thanks!

wineismylife

P.S. Not only are our September and October offlines set we’ve got something fun planned for November and December as well. More details to come soon!
P.S.S. Please note there is one exemption to the Wine Theme. Our guest of honor, benchland with X Winery, has graciously agreed to pour a couple of wines from the winery. Obviously we’ll take him up on that generous offer! However, as for the rest of you, bring on those European Champagnes, Whites, Reds and Sweeties! No price point. Come one, come all. One bottle per person required to gain admission to “The Map Room”.

--------------------

In
1 - benchland (*)
2 - WIML (*) & PURPLE (*)
2 - Bella Donna (*)
1 - bigred_seeker (*)
1 - just a skosh (*)
1 - wine+art
2 - TexasZin (*)
2 - preferred (*)
1 - KingOfHearts
1 - steve8
1 - MikeB (*)
15 - Total (13 confirmed *)

Waitlist
0 - Total

Out
auto
PlanoWino
seanr7
MikeM

One more confirmation. Also, just a skosh just pointed out Mi Piaci has their own website if anybody would like to check it out.

Mi Piaci Website

In
1 - benchland (*)
2 - WIML (*) & PURPLE (*)
2 - Bella Donna (*)
1 - bigred_seeker (*)
1 - just a skosh (*)
1 - wine+art (*)
2 - TexasZin (*)
2 - preferred (*)
1 - MikeB (*)
1 - KingOfHearts
1 - steve8
15 - Total (13 confirmed *)

Waitlist
0 - Total

Out
auto
PlanoWino
seanr7
MikeM

Got our first wine volunteer.

You got it.

In
1 - benchland (*)
2 - WIML (*) & PURPLE (*)
2 - Bella Donna (*) (Rose Champagne, Bordeaux)
1 - bigred_seeker (*)
1 - just a skosh (*)
1 - wine+art
2 - TexasZin (*)
2 - preferred (*)
1 - KingOfHearts
1 - steve8
1 - MikeB (*)
15 - Total (13 confirmed *)

Waitlist
0 - Total

Out
auto
PlanoWino
seanr7
MikeM

Updated list:

In
2 - WIML (*) & PURPLE (*)
2 - Bella Donna (*) (Rose Champagne, Bordeaux)
1 - bigred_seeker (*)
1 - just a skosh (*)
1 - wine+art (*)
2 - TexasZin (*)
2 - preferred (*)
1 - MikeB (*)
1 - steve8
13 - Total (12 confirmed *)

Waitlist
0 - Total

We're holding at 12 attendees with 0 on the wait list. Here are the details:

In
2 - WIML & PURPLE (2004 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Sannio, 1998 Podere Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione)
2 - Bella Donna (1996 Charles Heidseick Millesime Brut Rose ,1996 Chateau La Conseillante Pomerol)
1 - bigred_seeker
1 - just a skosh
1 - wine+art
2 - TexasZin
2 - preferred
1 - MikeB
12 - Total

Waitlist
0 - Total

Out
auto
PlanoWino
seanr7
MikeM

wiml... does this offline put you ahead of your previous record, or did you break it already???

Congrats in advance!!! You are indeed, as they say, THE man!!!

Thanks. On a similar note last year I managed to taste my way through 991 wines while developing my WIML Top 100 list. YTD I stand at 972 so I expect to shatter that record as well by the end of the year.

The liver transplant happens January 1st.

Latest update:

In
2 - WIML & PURPLE (2004 Feudi di San Gregorio Falanghina Sannio, 1998 Podere Poggio Scalette Il Carbonaione)
2 - Bella Donna (1996 Charles Heidseick Millesime Brut Rose ,1996 Chateau La Conseillante Pomerol)
1 - bigred_seeker
1 - just a skosh
2 - TexasZin
2 - preferred
1 - MikeB
11 - Total

Waitlist
0 - Total

Out
auto
PlanoWino
seanr7
MikeM
wine+art

Pics of the offline (if you want a pic removed, please let me know)

Thanks for the pics. Sorry I missed it.

I want them all removed.

You look great, Joe! Keep up the good work.

Thanks partner. You should see me when I'm sober.