Happy Thanksgiving to those in the USA. Happy Thursday to everyone else.
Normally I am deciding on which California Pinot Noir to open. With COVID it's no turkey (too much food for two people) and so no Pinot. Lobster Crumble is the main dish, so it's a magnum of Pierre Peters Champagne. We won't finish the mag today, but I'll put a stopper in it, and serve the rest with our baked ham (from the local farm) dinner on Friday. Peters mags are special because at least at the time I bought them (I presume still to this day, but do not know) they were straight vintage, bottled as NV. The mag chilling for dinner is straight 2008, so it should be a perfect treat with the buttery lobster dish.
Zoom cocktail hours have become a thing. It's still not the level of social interaction I would prefer, but it's good to see friends - near and far. From a winery standpoint, Hardy Wallace (Dirty & Rowdy) has done the best job, hosting 10+ Zoom events with a band! He's in California, the band is in Denver, and we are from all over the place. John Lockwood of Enfield Wine Company just started Zooming, and it was interesting to see a couple of familiar faces from the D&R Zooms. It is a community.
Between tariffs, COVID and wacky harvest schedules due to climate change, so EU wines have not yet made it to US shores for the holidays. Significant amounts of German wine are way behind schedule, as are some French wines. The September window to load the refrigerated containers ended up conflicting with harvest for many German vintners, so the wines are still waiting. Even semi-normal is starting to sound good. Sigh.
Facebook keeps suggesting that I "friend" the notorious wine forger, Rudy Kurniawan. What?!?! Isn't dealing with Trump enough bull**** fakery for one lifetime?
End of the year, so it's time for all the best of lists. Still competition for my WOTY, but it goes to the 2000 Mouton. Lots of great bottles opened this year, aided by the "what the heck" pandemic attitude. 2000 Taylor Fladgate Porto was right up there, as was a 2010 Mousse Fils Champagne. Last night's 2001 Jadot Bonnes Mares was also knocking at the door. Oh, and the 2010 Vilmart Grand Cellier Champagne...and...and...Prum...Selbach...Donnhoff...Goodfellow...and so on. Maybe I need a recount!