A matching mistake, Betsy had said we were having salmon, so I pulled
out a Pinot Noir. Problem was the recipe she used steams the salmon
with chard and caramelized onions, does much better with whites. But I
already had the cork pulled on the 2002 Williams-Selyem Sonoma County
Pinot Noir. Red kirschy fruit, a little blackberry, a little earth.
Tannins are mostly integrated, the acids seem a little spikey. The
fruit is a little candied. Decent, not exciting. B-
(my early inclination is that is ready and needs to be drunk up.
But...it actually held up, and is better on day 2. Hmmm, what to do
with other 2?).

Sunday afternoon I prepped dinner, made an appearance to thank
volunteers at a benefit concert, but then headed to White Plains where
Betsy was leading cello section in a small string orchestra. Theme was
film composers and those that influenced them, sinfoniettas by
Bernard Hermann and Franz Waxman, and then Verklarte Nacht by
Schoenberg.
Afterwards I rushed home to do pork chops with a mustard/sage sauce,
with potatoes, salad, and some grilled vegetables. In honor of
Schoenberg, we went with an Austrian wine, the 2002 FX Pichler "Von
den Terrassen" Gruner Veltliner Smaragd. Peppery/ floral nose, ripe
peach and melon fruit on the palate backed by firm acidity. Nice
length, clean finish. With some time there's a little Riesling-like
petrol note, but there's also some pea and white pepper to show it's
GV-ness.
Nice wine, not one of Pichler's more expensive bottlings, but doing
well at 7- drinks nicely, but no hurry. A-/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.
*