On Sep 2, 5:24?pm, DaleW > wrote:
> So once again I was responsible for dinner Friday. I had defrosted a
> big thing of some very good ham we had saved a couple months ago, and
> was trying to think of a plan. Somehow I started thinking about potato
> salad with ham in it, though I never remember eating such a thing
> (sounds straight out of a Garrison Keillor church potluck). When the
> Cooks Illustrated weekly email arrived that afternoon with a recipe
> for "French style potato salad, " I decided to give it a try. It turns
> out that adding ham to this recipe (with green beans and a mustard
> vinaigrette) works pretty well. Ham and mustard both suggest Riesling
> to me, so I went with the 2004 Willi Schaefer Estate Riesling. Bright
> and light, citrus (lime) fruit dominates, but little hints of apple
> and mineral. Fairly sweet, but the acidity totally balances it out, it
> goes down quickly without the sweetness standing out at all. 9% ABV,
> perfect summer quaffer. Not complex, but delicious. B++
>
> Saturday we had some good friends over for dinner. Betsy made a James
> Boyce recipe for tomato/lobster/corn salad as first course, and we had
> the 2002 Donabaum "Spitzer Point" Gruner Veltliner Smaragd. Much more
> open than previous bottle of this, there's broad yellow plum fruit
> with a touch of green pea. Some pepper and ginger notes, there's a
> mineral/flinty base, but more fruity than earlier bottles. Good
> acidity stands up to the tomato and citrus zest in the salad, but the
> texture is broad enough for the lobster. B+
>
> Main course was grilled strip steaks over an arugula/caper/horseradish
> salad, with a side of "zucchini carpaccio' (mandolined strips of
> zucchini in a marinade with avocado and pistachios). With the wine
> internet contretemps re ESJ this week, I thought it a good time to
> open the 2001 Edmunds St. John "Wylie-Fenaughty" Syrah. A bit tight
> (and a bit light) when first opened, luckily I had allowed a couple of
> hours before serving time for aeration. Perfect for the steaks and the
> piquant salad. Dark berry and cherry fruit, some smoke and earth, a
> little herb. Medium-framed, but mouthfilling. Good acidity, the fruit
> balances it out nicely. Tannins are present, but ripe and supple. I
> really enjoyed this (as did others). But then I've always been a bit
> low brow (I like the Rocks and Gravel, too). Fantastic deal at $16. A-
>
> 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.

Apparently Schaefer bottled 3 estate QbAs in 2004, this was #1 (AP
ends in 01 05)