This was my final festival event on the first session Sunday (noon to 2:30 PM). Two sessions occurred on Saturday and another one later on Sunday afternoon. All the participating winemakers, importers, etc. had tables in tents behind The White Elephant Hotel. Restaurants also had food samplings. I first sought out the Gary Farrell booth to sample the Rochioli Vineyard Chardonnay which was excellent. Also from Gary Farrell I tried a blend from sixteen parcels in the Russian River Valley Pinot Noir and a 2012 Sonoma County Pinot Noir. By this time I had shared a table with J. Christopher at two events and I sampled his 2012 Eola-Amity Pinot Noir (quite nice). He said it was his personal favorite but I think I still preferred the Dundee Hills Cuvee. The Eola-Amity site is a cool-climate vineyard with air flow from the Pacific Ocean.
From Domaine Drouhin I tasted 2012 Puligny-Montrachet and 2012 Vosne-Romanee--both very good. I wasn't as excited by the Drouhin Chablis 1er Cru Secher. I also tried William Fevre Chablis Champs Royaux and Vaulorent 1er Cru (10-15% new oak.)
I liked a Penfolds Bin 389 about 50/50 Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. (sometimes called a Baby Grange.) It was not too overpowering. And I savored a pour of Louis Martini Cabernet Sauvignon (2012 I believe) with a clink of the glass to Brian Miller who has recommended this producer.
A 2011 Chateau du Moulin a Vent Moulin a Vent was very nice. French pourer said it would last until at least 2021. Back to another Chablis I had the Vaulorent 1er Cru from Christian Moreau (2012?)
I tasted a Qupe Sonnies Syrah (Sawyer Lindquist Vineyard I believe) but didn't note the vintage. I tried two Pinot Noirs from Hirsch in Sonoma and liked the reserve better.
Another side note: A local magazine had Meghan Trainor on the cover, she of the "All About that Bass" fame. Seems she spent her early years in Nantucket and performed at the Chicken Box which seems to be the "happening" venue on Nantucket. http://www.thechickenbox.com/ (I have been warned by acquaintances staying at Seven Sea Street Inn last year to avoid going there--I think the crowd is about four-to-five decades younger than I am.)
On the ferry from Nantucket to Hyannis were the Nantucket High School lacrosse and baseball teams. They have to take the ferry to their away games.
At the Port tasting we got a good laugh from a man from NYC who was driving to Nantucket. He called his friends to say he would be arriving later than expected and they asked if he had booked his ferry tickets yet. He said "ferry?--isn't there a bridge?" He thought it would be like the Florida Keys where a causeway connects the islands.
I finished out my trip to Cape Cod and Nantucket with a night in Chatham at the very nice Old Harbor Inn and a night in Falmouth at a less pleasant accommodation. On the plane from Boston to Raleigh-Durham I was extolling Nantucket to my seatmate, a young businessman who had been to Boston on a quick business trip but never to Nantucket. The young man behind me laughed and said his in-laws are from Nantucket so he gets to visit there often. Lucky guy!