We flew to Southern CA last week. I should have known when I got the
upgrade to a convertible that Orange County was in for a week of rain.
We stopped in Westminster for excellent Vietnamese food, then went to
Betsy's grandmother's in Laguna Beach. Usually Betsy does the cooking
while we're there, but this time her grandmother had prepared some
lasagna and the like for us. I popped into the local Ralph's, and
bought a bottle of 2003 Ca del Solo Big House Red. Warm ripe red, with
some overlays of pepper and earth. As usual, nothing is dominant here-
about 7 or 8 different grapes in the mix. For $10 I'm happy with a
screw-capped fruit forward food-friendly wine with a funny label for
the non-wine-lovers. B

Friday Kriss Reed from WLDG had arranged a small dinner, we met at 230
Forest in Laguna (thanks Kriss and Tom Shudic for making the drive, so
Betsy and I could walk to dinner!). Very pleasant evening, with a nice
lineup of wines:

NV Louis Martini Moscato Amabile
This is only available at the winery, and needs to be kept under
refrigeration to avoid a secondary fermentation. Moderate sweetness and
very light petillance (no pop when opened, but some bubbles as poured).
Sweet peaches and a funny touch of chalk. Doesn't show especially well
as an apertif, but might be very nice with something spicy (maybe a
Thai dish with a lot of birds eye chiles, for instance). B- on this
night.

2001 Ch. Burbank Chardonnay
Tom S. brought this wine he had made. My notes read "fat and figgy, the
wood needs some time." Now, big CalChards aren't my personal favorite
style. But this (true) garage wine had some real character- rich
tropical fruit with a caramel edge. Kriss said it went well with his
butternut squash soup (it paired less successfully with my calamari and
lemon beurre blanc). This is a big rich wine with some spice. It needs
some time for the oak to fully integrate, and rich food to stand up to
it. B+

2002 Polz Grassnitzberg Pinot Gris
Now this did better with the calamari. Deceptively light-bodied, but in
the mouth there's concentrated fruit and a long finish. Nose has some
floral/honey notes. Great acidity, and that finish keeps on coming.
Delightful wine, I complain to Kriss that in NY we seldom see Styrian
wines, though we get lots of other Austrians. A-/B+

1999 Sesti Brunello di Montalcino
A bit tight at first, then some clear Sangiovese fruit. Quite primary
as one expect, but after a while some flowers (violets) and smoke notes
danced around the dense black cherry fruit. Good acidic balance, light
ripe tannins. Not quite as charming as last bottle, but showed pretty
well. A-/B+

1996 Rene Renou "Beauregard" Bonnezeaux
I've had a couple other Renou '96s (though not the Zenith), this one
was a bit of a disappointment. Some waxy/wooly aromas, sweet pears and
apricots. A touch of citrus. All well and good, but this doesn't seem
quite complete. There's something disjointed. Awkward stage, some
moderate heat damage (though from same source as other Renous), or
something? Who knows, another B- for this night.

Really a fun night, with nice company. Kriss was funny and informative
(and really filled us in on things like where to food-shop in Orange
County, very useful stuff for next visit). Tom was both generous and
warm (and talked with Betsy re cooking when Kriss and I were getting
too wine-geeky for her). The service at the restaurant was quite
friendly, and they only charged us corkage for 2 bottles. They also
took my steak off the bill (first try at medium rare was grey, second
was better). The seafood dishes seemed to have an edge over the meat
overall.

Saturday we visit relatives in LA/Santa Monica, stop by Wine Expo, then
head back to Laguna. Dinner for 2 at a Greek place with a great view.
We have taramasalata and some assorted Greek dishes (heavy on the
lamb), with a bottle of the 1998 Boutari Naoussa Grande Reserve. Made
from Xinomavro, but Xinomavro masquerading as KJ Merlot. Soft, ripe red
fruit, lots and lots of oak. I'm a cheap ******* and seldom will leave
wine I've paid for, but close to half the bottle is left as we leave.
C+/B-

We flew home Sunday AM (after stopping again in Westminster for some
banh mi for breakfast and the plane ride- that's going to be our
pattern from now on- thanks for suggestion Kriss!). Got home to greet
the basset, took her for a walk to the grocery store before the snow
started. Betsy threw together some spinach, potatoes, salad, and
leftover lamb from freezer; I opened a 375 of 1997 Lagrange (St.
Julien). Medium-bodied, with pleasant blackcurrant fruit and a bit of
tobacco. Not especially complex or long, seems fully mature, a pleasant
claret. 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