Yosemite Trip

2002 Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Senechaux, $19.99
Kabinett Riesling
2004 Duckhorn Sauvigon Blanc, $21.99
2003 Tablas Creek, Cotes de Tablas Blanc, $19.99
Shane’s Notes

Jen is starting a new job this week so while she is acclimating herself to her new position, I’m drafting our reviews. We have to clear up our backlog before the big Silver Oak release Party on July 30th!

A few weeks ago, we went camping in Yosemite. We had an absolutely spectacular time. I have traveled extensively: I have seen the Dolomites in Italy, sipped a beer in Salzburg, trekked through Yellowstone, visited a castle in the German Alps, kayaked in Belize and journeyed down the Amazon. Without a doubt, Yosemite is one of the most beautiful places in the world. The view from Glacier Point is so breathtaking and stunning that it’s hard to believe it’s real. It never ceases to amaze me how many people live in the Bay Area and have never been there. Take a few days off work and go.

We like to car camp in style. We have a four person tent, a high tech air mattress, telescoping skewers and of course, Lexan wine glasses. These sturdy, plastic wine glasses are a must for any camping oenophile. For our three night camping trip, we took four bottles of wine – a Rhone, a Riesling, a Sauvignon Blanc, and a white, Rhone style blend. Except for the last night, we always limit ourselves to one bottle a night around the campfire, because we don’t want any hangovers preventing the next day’s hike. I tried hiking on a hangover once, and let’s just say that it was about as fun as my last prostate exam.

We had the Senechaux on the first night. Unfortunately, the wine was ruined. The bottle had been overfilled and the wine was partially oxidized. We have encountered several ruined bottles of wine but have refrained from blogging them. Our new policy is to blog these ruined wines so that we can alert our public to the problems of overfill and cork taint. There is nothing more disappointing that shelling out twenty bucks for a bottle of wine that has to be poured down the sink.

We tried our Kabinett Riesling the second night (sorry, we forgot to record the winemaker). Each time we have a German Riesling, we are amazed at the lush, tropical flavors that envelop the palate. Even the Kabinett, whose grapes are the least ripe of the German Rieslings, displayed this trait. We both agree that the Riesling, when grown in Germany, is our favorite white varietal.

On the last night of our trip, we had the Duckhorn Sauvignon Blanc and the Tablas Creek Cotes de Tablas Blanc – two of our favorites in this price range. The Duckhorn is crisp with a touch of complexity and the Tablas Creek displays mild tropical fruit flavors with a slightly racey finish.