California Wine Show in town today (Wed).

Yup, looking forward to this annual event. Around 50 tables, but am worried about my g-o-u-t!! Will probably stick to some of the unusal whites (if there are any) plus some Rhones. Know many agents so perhaps something under the table!!

Am I the only one who finds the $55 admission fee (for non members) a bit steep? Wouldn't think of attending without my wife, so that's $110 just to get in the door.

Perhaps I am just a tightwad.

I say save your money. You will have just as much a good time at the local winestore and that is free.

Terrible glasses, poor presentation by many of the reps, not much for food and many overpriced wines. I found one Gewurtz, one Riesling, no Rhone Ranger whites. There were some good SBs and nice sparklers, also enjoyed a couple of PNS. I met Robert Hall who has a nice portfolio, tried the EOS Petit Sirah (my fav) plus some fruit bombs from Rosenblum. Mike B talks of Nichols who seems to age all reds back in the cellar! Many on the table were `98s, volutile and lacking in character. Is this typical of this estate?

Wine of the afternoon for me was the Domaine Carneros Le Reve Blanc de Blamc `00, followed by all the reds on the Justin table. Interesting afternoon and good to see the college students learning all about wine.

Guess Mike B will be here tomorrow!

And here I am, Bob. My experience was much different from yours.

I learned from last year's fair, where all the Cab Sauvs made my tongue feel like it was roughed over by 40 grit sandpaper. We focused on wines we figured would be a lot easier on the palate.

The Nichols I tasted were all '99s and 2000s. I've had a Cab Franc from his winery that was plain awful, but I find most of his wines to be in a much more elegant style, with some secondary characteristics, than a lot of the offerings at the fair.

Other standouts include the EOS Petit Sirah and Zin port, the Far Niente Dolce, the Heitz Bella Oaks Cab Sauv, and the Z52 Agnes Vineyard Old Vine Zin.

I also met Loren Trefethen, who was showing off his family's wonderful wines (including a decent Riesling!). He's at a tasting tonight in town - it's sold out but I have an "in".

I dunno. I wasn't there to uncover some treasures, just to try a range of wines that I might like. I thought the price was worth it, Bob. You and I have both paid in that range for tastings featuring a fraction of the selection. To each his own.

We also met some great people. The agent from Steele Wines (OK wines, nothing spectacular) invited us to his place next time we're in Napa. And I was about to get into a bidding war over a selection of Nichols wines with some fellow when he suggested we split them. My wife and I ended up talking to him and his wife for half an hour and are now making plans for a wine dinner.

So we had a great time, even if it meant sorting through a lot of crap wine. Like you, I would prefer to see more beyond the Zins, Cabs and Chards, but there were still some good wines.

Well, you were lucky with the Nichols cos all `98s in the trade show afternoon tasting. That Z-52 was nice eh I agree with the Riesling, very nice wine.

Bob, I had a chance to try the Trefethen wines again last night at Keg'n'Cork on the southside.

Loved each and every one of them. The Riesling was a nice balance of fruit, minerals and acidity, with a bit of petrol on top. I loved their Chards. Instead of oak, the focus was citrus and minerals. We also tasted the 2001 Halo Cab Sauv ($229 Cdn!). Very nice.

They make a Viognier, but it wasn't at the tasting.

Re: Trefethan. I like their Viognier quite a bit too, but then, I like a little fruit and even RS in my whites.

Good to read that Halo is nice. I splurged a while ago on a bottle $$$$.

Definitely a more austere, lean style-they get massively slammed by all the usual suspects.