I'm partial to Bordeaux's. A cheap decent example is Mouton Cadet. No matter what price you pay for a wine if it hasn't been transported and stored right it's garbage.

I've noticed recently the increase in boxed wine varieties on the shelves. Must be the economy.

My wife bottles wine for Sutter Home Winery in the Napa Valley.
Lower price, very high production.
Business is good.

Their claim to fame was the white Zin.
They have branched out considerably with Trinchero, Montevina, Wild Bunch, Trinity Oaks, Folie à Deux, Ménage à Trois, Napa Cellars several other festive blends including "menage a trois" which is becoming more popular all the time.
It's kind of funny to listen to discussions of Napa Valley wines.
I grew up there and have lived amongst the vines in Oakville along the St Helena Highway .
I was the only working stiff with a pasture of horses, surrounded by multi million dollar estates.

My house was plowed under to make way for a hobby winery that an eastern business tycoon owns for fun.
I now live in the eastern hills overlooking the valley.

It is a beautiful valley.







Right now the mustards are blooming making a beautiful contrast.

i miss lake berryessa...heard its raining like crazy there...miss those pics

if i go out and order steak, it will only be Rib Eye, or Prime Rib...otherwise i would rather have a burger...c

I spent many a summer at my great Grandma's in St. Helena when I was just a smolt. It was a great small town in the early 60's.

Rain poured down ALL DAY yesterday somewhere around 6" with the current storm....We need it & the fishees need it!
Sonoma county had already drafted a water rationing plan things were so dry.

My inlaws grew up in the town of Monticello that now is underwater, the gov't flooded the valley to create the lake.
I've lived in the Berryessa area for the last 15 years, Currentley I live less than five minutes from the lake.

My son and I spend many days hunting blacktails & turkeys in the mountains above the lake.

I grew up making wine with my dad. He had a deal with the vinyards in Eastern WA. We'd drive over after the pickers had gone through and fill up a one ton pickup each trip with what they missed. Made mostly Cab and a couple of whites. About 1974 he tried his hand at Champagne. It was not so good and three quarters of the bottle would end up on the ceiling when popped. 25 years later he found a couple of cases so we tried it. Would rival Dom now. He still researches wines and buys them on the cheap when they first come out then stores them for years. So, pretty much every time I visit I get to try wines that are now worth hundreds of dollars and at their peak. There is a huge difference between wine stored right and that bought off of store shelves.

My parents, dad being into wine, went to the Mondavi vinyard in the late 60's and met an old farmer. After a discussion about grapes and wine the farmer invited them up, laid out a picnic and starting opening wines. It turned out to be Robert Mondavi. So they had an afternoon one on one with the man who started it all.

too freaking cool stlhead....

as for salmonella...i love the pics...im from Benicia, near Vallejo, but im sure you know where that is...grew up there but my love is here...i actually wanted to move here...hahahah...

looks like i booked a trip to Cali this weekend...my gramps finally passed last night at the ripe old age of 102!...im not sad, he had a great life, he was a wagon builder! and i cant wait to see all of my family together....ill be there a couple extra days, but not enough to get a fishing trip in...maybe next time...i keep telling my freinds that fish Clearlake to hit Berryessa...they just dont understand....c

Sorry about your Gramps--- you should be able to fit in a striper trip--- midnight under the lights. I was raised in Lafayette so I know where Benicia is.

Sorry to hear bout your loss, but Wow 102!
You've got some good genes to draw from.
Sometimes I doubt I'll make half that!

Weather looks like it's clearing.

Still gonna be a while on the steelies, but you could prolly get into a sturgeon out in the bay or the mouth of the Napa river.

Best Wishes.
Sal

Alcalanes High School---- graduated in 69. What was your maiden name?

speaking of old, are you ever going to catch a steelhead this spring KK? get ur ass on the water grandpa...cheers

Salmonella-

I still drive over St Helena to get to Headlsburg to see my folks - I love those views from the mountain looking down on the valley. I hunted just up from you in the geysers area for several years - talk about a hot mofo in August up there!

Russian is blown out, gonna check with dad to see if it will be fishable before the next rains.

Napa and Sonoma counties are wine central! It's obscene how many wineries there are now, but that just means more variety. I really like Sebastiani's cab, any vintage, as well as Louis Martini's cab. There are just too many to keep up with.

Pretty amazing how many people on this thread are from such a small geographic area in California!