Off to Persia

A hundred bottles seems like a lot. But, looking back, it was only in May when we opened a bottle of Domaine de Fondreche and added it to The List at #459. I wrote a bit about the winery at that time; so, I won't just repeat myself all over again. The Fondreche team, however, is lauded as a view to what winemaking can become in a previously unheralded region.

552. 2005 Domaine de Fondreche Persia (AOC Cotes du Ventoux - France)

In 2007, wine writer extraordinaire, Robert Parker, in The Wine Advocate, said that Domaine de Fondreche "is the superstar estate of the Cotes du Ventoux." He also said that the 2005 Domaine de Fondreche Persia "is the best dry white of the Cotes du Ventoux, exhibiting lovely honeysuckle notes with rose petal, crushed rocks and other floral notes."

That was then and this is now. I think the bottle must have been past its "best before date" because we didn't find any of those characteristics and, frankly, if this is the best dry white that the region has to offer, I don't know that I'll be quick to re-visit.

The wine is 100% Roussanne which is great because I haven't added the varietal to my Wine Century Club list yet. So, all wasn't lost with this bottle. It's a varietal primarily found in the Rhone and we don't see much of it here in BC, particularly as a straight varietal wine. So, to be fair, I don't have a lot of understanding of what makes for a good Roussanne, but I think, in the future, I'd make an effort to drink up a lot sooner after it's bottled.

We'll just have to chalk this bottle up to a case of misadventure - and one of life's little necessities to make the Wine Century Club.

One Big BC Deserves Another

After last night's Lt. Gov.'s Award winning Nk'mip Q2 Meritage, I'd figured there couldn't be any harm in pulling out another wine from one of the most lauded labels in BC - the Sandhill Small Lots series.

Regular readers - and drinking buddies - will know that I'm quite a fan of Sandhill and winemaker, Howard Soon, and that I keep a particularly keen eye open for the Small Lot wines. Each year, Howard takes advantage of particular barrels that have a distinct attribute. The Sandhill website talks of three qualities that may lead to particular grapes being used for this program of limited production.

"The grapes may be from small, specific blocks where new promising varietals are being tested." "They may be from blocks where Howard Soon and the grape grower decide to use innovative and different vineyard techniques as a test, such as lowering yields, different canopy management" or pruning methods. Finally, "they may be small lots, even individual barrels, that Howard decides, because of their unique quality, to treat differently in winemaking and ageing."

Soon's philosophy at Sandhill is that all its wines will be sourced from single vineyards, in order that a truer sense of the land or terroir comes through in the wine. That doesn't preclude a blending of different varietals that are grown at the same vineyard, however. Indeed, by 2001, the third year of the Small Lots program, there were three blends with three different profiles - intriguingly named one, two and three. Which is where we find ourselves tonight.

551. 2001 Sandhill two (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Sandhill two is Soon's reserve Bordeaux or Meritage blend. The 2001 vintage was all sourced from the Burrowing Owl Vineyard (which was later renamed the Sandhill Vineyard to prevent confusion with neighbours, Burrowing Owl, after a joint venture was dissolved in 2002) and is a blend of 50% Merlot, 40% Cab Sauv and 10% Cab Franc. The Small Lots aspect of the production is confirmed in that the bottle itself points out that only 263 cases of the wine was made.

Similar in structure to last night's Nk'mip Meritage, tonight's two didn't have as much vibrancy. I don't know if there was that much difference in the year's growing conditions or whether this bottle just didn't age quite as well. Soon is known somewhat for his restraint in using oak on his wines and, maybe, that's what resulted in a softer wine that didn't tickle my fancy as much as I might have expected. The bottle still disappeared quickly enough, but it wasn't my favourite Sandhill to make it to The List.

There will still be other though. Count on it.

Celebrating with the Lieutenant Governor

So, here we are the first Monday in August and it's a statutory holiday celebration our province. It only seems natural that, for BC Day, we open a bottle of wine that's been awarded for celebration in the province as well.

It's a tad hard to believe that I haven't made time to write about the Lieutenant Governor's Awards for Excellence in BC Wines before this post. I know there are at least a couple of award winners already on The List; I guess other "pressing topics" took precedence. The Lt. Gov.'s Awards go back to 2003 when the then Lieutenant Governor for BC, Iona Campagnolo, set up a competition that "recognizes and honours excellence in wines from 100% British Columbian grown grapes and produced within the province."

It is now one of the most prestigious competitions for BC wines and is interesting in that there are no gold, silver or bronze medals awarded to different varietals or styles. The judging panel, composed of wine critics and journalists, simply chooses a maximum of twelve wines that they feel have achieved a level of excellence and are simply the best wines presented for tasting.

All provincial wineries are eligible to enter; however, each winery is limited to four entries. The 2010 winners have already been announced and eleven wines were chosen from the 281 entries from 71 different wineries. The winning wines are introduced to the Consular Corps of BC to help encourage the various consuls to consider serving BC wines when entertaining their guests.

Tonight's wine was actually one of the early winners, having been honoured in 2004, the second year of the Awards.

550. 2002 Nk'mip Cellars - Qwam Qwmt Meritage (VQA Okanagan Valley)

Nk'mip was actually the recipient of two Awards in 2004, their Qwam Qwmt Merlot was a winner as well. According to the label, this Meritage is an equal blend of Merlot and Cab Sauv. The label also advises that "Qwam Qwmt" translates from the Okanagan language spoken by the Osoyoos Indian Band as "achieving excellence." Seems rather prescient of the Band since the Awards weren't in existence when the Q2 name was chosen.

One the issues, that can relate to these Award winning wines though, is that there isn't always a lot of it to be found. Case in point, there were only 400 cases of this Q2 Meritage. We were simply lucky to have visited the winery back when they had some in stock. It's not always so easy.

It was nice, however, to see that another of our "older" BC wines from the cellar remained in fine shape. Still a deep ruby colour with nicely balanced tannins, acidity and dark fruit, I'd never pretend to be one that could claim that this was one of the best wines produced in BC in any given year, but it was tasty to us. Definitely more refined that big Californians or Aussie reds, it still shows that BC is capable of producing good red wines.

And that's something worth celebrating - whether it's BC Day or not.

A BC Day Brunch

A busy weekend just got busier.

Bella Gianna and Flyboy B had crossed the Strait (Georgia Strait, that is, nothing to do with Pride Week) and we were able to meet for brunch on the patio at Provence. The weather cooperated. The food was superb. And the little time we had together just flew by way too quickly!!

Luckily, I was able to coax a "yes" out of them when it came to thinking about a bottle of wine. As I learned last year when La Bella came over to visit, she's a girl that's partial to her BC wines. Being as "green" a gal as I know, the limited shipping involved with local wines is a definite plus. It didn't hurt that Provence has an extensive - and delicious - wine list to choose from.

549. 2007 Marichel Viognier (Naramata Bench - Okanagan Valley)

As I wrote last in this blog last Fall, Marichel is a winery that I immediately took to when I first ran across them at a Naramata Bench Release Party. The owners/ operators/ farmers/ winemakers/ and every day every job kind of folks, Richard and Elizabeth Roskell, have a great philosophy about their winery and are as friendly as "all get go." They only work with two varietals - Syrah and Viognier - but they seem to have that "work" down to a tee.

The winery's production is limited - like limited as in less than a thousand cases - so finding their wines can be a difficult task unless you're ordering by the case from the winery directly (and my "No Buy Leash" currently forbids any such thought). Finding the Viognier on the wine list was a treat.

Neither Bella Gianna, nor Flyboy, had tried Marichel previously; so, it was a welcome experience for them as well. Great friends, great food, great weather and wine. What more can you ask for on a holiday Monday?!

Showing Our Pride

What better way could there be to start this year's Pride entry than with an advert from the Ontario Liquor Board that celebrates all things GBLT and cocktails of all persuasions. This may be a wine blog but I'm not sure that I match up with the ad's wine references. I'm fairly certain that I don't qualify as "a bisexual that can't decide between Cabernet or Chardonnay" and I can guarantee you that, despite having a distinct fondness for Rose this summer, I'm not one of "the trans folk who navigate the divide like a rose wine." I'll have to work on a witty catch phrase for Boo and I - or you can come up with one yourself. Best relate it to Riesling or Syrah though.

In the meantime, let's throw out a few gratuitous photos to support the two additions I am proud to bring to The List.

Unluckily for Boo, he had to work on this year's big day and the Parade, but, luckily for me, the lovely and talented Miss Jaq was in town and she was happy (if not downright gay) about joining me downtown for the Pride Parade. The Former Ms. WESA and KT invited Miss Jaq and I to their Pride Brunch where we had a great chance to prep ourselves for the big Parade with lively chat, tasty treats and Mimosas!

547. N.V. Freixenet Codon Negro Cava (Spain)

Good for both mimosas and simple sipping, this Spanish Cava is a great substitute for French bubbles. Very few folks would know what you were talking about if you said you were serving a blend of Macabeo, Xarel-lo and Parellada, but our little brunch gang went through enough bottles to confirm that it's a blend that works.

As much as we could easily have lingered and increased our sparkle quotient, the beckoning fun on the street pulled us away from the comfort of the boys' deck-stravaganza. Considering it's likely the last brunch to be hosted by them in the West End, I'm glad we were able to drop in.

From the deck, we wandered down to the curbside real estate that Lady Di and She Who Must Be Obeyed had staked out - portable table and tiki umbrella setting a comfortable step up from the hard sidewalk. I particularly thought that the mini-mirror balls were a superb addition. As you can see, we arrived early enough to beat that portion of the 600,000 crowd that lined the route.

I suppose I need to breeze through the actual Parade because there weren't exactly any new bottles to add to The List. The Lady did offer "special coffee" but we didn't plan well enough to sip our way through all the life passing us by. Next year! We'll be better prepared.

I've always had a bit of a hankering for The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence and I was glad to see that a new chapter had actually opened in Vancouver. Mr. D. and I (but particularly Mr. D) were actually blessed the night before by a novice sister of the Abbey of the Long Cedar Canoe. I hope it's not our last encounter.

I thought this year's Parade was a ton o'fun. No doubt the Mimosas, special coffees and curbside seats all contributed to a little more dancing and interaction than usual. I thought that the costumes were better than ever - even if the dancing boy floats will never challenge T.O., NYC or Amsterdam.

Catching Elzee's ear during the Parade proved to be particularly beneficial on the bead front. One can never have too many beads - regardless of the dictates of the local gay rag's "boi about town" - who declared them passe. My guess is he's never even been to Mardi Gras. One can never fully appreciate the importance or joy of beads until Bourbon Street or the Krewe Parades are experienced.

The Parade was a long one this year but we managed to last until the last dancing boy wandered by. That was a bit of a feat considering that the Lady Di had to catch a plane that afternoon and we had to take down the curbside lounge.

Hopefully, we'll get another invite next year. We'll work even harder on the set up and party atmosphere.

Following the Parade, Miss Jaq and I wandered over to the Festival at Sunset Beach to take in the crowds and activities. It's become a new tradition of our's to grab a bottle of wine and sip on the hill as all the gay life wanders by and celebrates around us. We stopped at Marquis Cellars to pick up a bottle on our way to the beach. Our choice of wine did have a few selection parameters to keep in mind. One it was hot out, so a chilled white seemed useful. A screw-cap was rather critical. And Miss Jaq is partial to BC wines while at home. It wasn't an endless supply of options but we did pretty darned well.

548. 2009 Black Hills Alibi (VQA - Okanagan Valley)

Miss Jaq had never had a bottle of Alibi before, so I figured it time that she gave it a try. A blend of around 80% Sauvignon Blanc and 20% Semillon, this classic white Bordeaux blend is a perennial BC fave. I remember that one of BC's better known wine writers once said that an earlier vintage of Alibi wasn't only a great wine, but might be the best white wine ever produced in BC.

That was a few years ago and I don't know if the same accolades are still being thrown about but Miss Jaq was pleasantly surprised and the wine was a great balance of cool, fruit and acid to pass some time among our celebratory friends.

Plus, we added another piece of sculpture from Vancouver's Biennale to our wine locales. Jaq didn't even know that the Biennale existed. She was totally intrigued because Abu Dhabi has gi-normous plans for its own Biennale in the years to come. This piece was right above our wine spot at Sunset Beach and seems to be one of the most appreciated pieces in the city. It's by Jaume Plensa of Spain and is called "We, 2008."

One last note for this entry. While Jaq and I were enjoying the Alibi, we were continually serenaded by heavy bass and dance beats. We went back up to Beach Avenue and an impromptu dance party had been set up by the Rave Babes. Miss J. and I joined in for so many songs - despite the fact that we were old enough to be parents to any of the dancing Rave Babes.

What was really a hoot was that this party was happening in virtually the exact spot where Miss Jaq and I watched our first Pride Parade together - maybe 25 years ago. We were sitting on the curbside (without all the accoutrements - or crowds for that matter) and a drag queen of the day walked by, smiled and pronounced with arms wide open, "Oh isn't that sweet, Milk and Cookies." One of my best Pride memories of all time.

Fireworks - Oooh! Aaaah!

The August long weekend is always one of the most happening in Vancouver. It's the "time of my people" and, as if Pride and its related activities isn't enough, this weekend also had Dr. Dirt's 50th, Miss Jaq is in town visitng from the Emirates and, now, there's an invite from Mr. D. to wander down his way to the West End and watch the final night of the Celebration of Light Fireworks.

As much as Boo and I enjoy the annual fireworks, we don't get down to see them much anymore. The thought of ooohing and aaahing with another 500,000 folks, and then fighting the traffic to get home with that same gang, just doesn't have the same allure that it used to. Besides, on the weeknight shows, I plan to be in bed long before the shows are over.

But it was Saturday night of the long weekend, Boo had to work nights and Mr. D. has a great view of English Bay. So, we could sit back in comfort, have some wine and watch the show without the hassle of jostling with thousands in the street.

546. 2008 Marcus James Malbec (Mendoza - Argentina)

One of the brands marketed by Constellation, Marcus James is apparently the #1 Argentinean label sold in the US. I don't know whether that's a fact for the Canadian market as well; however, even though I can't say that it's a wine label that I reach for, I have been aware of Marcus James as a brand that receives a fair bit of buzz for being good value at bargain pricing (at least for the Vancouver market).

There aren't too many wines in our market that sell for $10 or less and actually pass the muster of a lot of the local wine writers but this is definitely one of them. While I don't think that anyone expects this Malbec to be a wine that will leave you oooohing and aaaaahing - like the evening's fireworks - it is a very drinkable glass of wine. There's enough dark fruit in the glass that the wine is enjoyable on its own but there's still some tannin and structure to it so that it's not just a glass of strong grape juice.

The idea of this evening was to keep my head in tune for a busy day tomorrow and an early start at that. So, Mr. D. and I kept to just the one bottle. The fact that we moved on from the wine to some beer at one of the local pubs - while I waiting out some of the transit crush for a bit - is a whole other story. But, all things considered, I think I still managed to get home in pretty good shape and it was a nice chance to take in a local iconic event and add another bottle to The List. I wouldn't have had the opportunity to add that extra bottle had we ventured to the waterfront to watch the show - or if I'd just stayed home for the evening. Good on Mr. D. for dragging me out.

Dr. Dirt Ages Gracefully

So, Dr. Dirt has become the latest of our gang of friends that has taken out membership at Club 50. Seems like, lately, the exclusivity of this club is being thrown out with the thrash - much like many of the bottles that we've emptied in getting this far on The List.

Well, if what they say is true and age is simply a state of mind, Club 50 or not, our Dr. has got it going on. And, these milestones do make for marvelous opportunities for grand get-togethers. Known to have enjoyed the odd bottle of wine (and many not so odd bottles) in her day, this little b-day bash had the potential of helping add to The List rather dramatically. All things considered, however, we were pretty well behaved. A few too many chores on all our respective To Do Lists kept the number of bottles down and allowed for a reasonable start the next morning.

That bottles that were opened, however, included some nice surprises. The first bottle I'm mentioning doesn't get added to The List since it's already there at #372. With a winery name such as it has though, I thought it was a no-brainer to bring along a bottle of:

2008 Young & Wyse Merlot (VQA Okanagan Valley) Being young at heart and wise beyond her years, this bottle was simply calling out Dr. Dirt's name.

543. 2006 Chateau du Cedre (AOC Cahors - France)

The first new wine for The List was a pleasant surprise. With new Argentinean Malbec hitting local shelves all the time nowadays, it was nice to see a French Malbec. The Malbec varietal is also known as Cot in Cahors.

I didn't find out an awful lot about this wine or the winery. The website is rather limited and only en francais. The site didn't go into any detail about this particular label, however, I did find one wine purveyor that stated that, at least in one prior vintage, this label was a blend of 80% Malbec and 20% Merlot. That might make a bit of sense with this bottle as well, since the appellation allows its Malbec wines to be blended with up to 30% of either Merlot or Tannat. This bottle didn't seem to be nearly as tannic or austere as what little I remember of other Cahors wines that I've tried.

It probably doesn't hurt either that a few sites have referred to Chateau du Cedre as being one of the notable wineries in the region. I think we all thought this was a producer to try again.

544. 2009 Bodegas Olivares (DO Jumilla - Spain)

Being a summer for plenty of Rose and plenty of Spain, I definitely wanted to try this bottle. Jumilla is one of those regions in Spain that is becoming synonymous with value and quality. It hasn't got the reputation of Rioja or Priorat, as it was largely seen as producing bulk wine. However, it is now capitalizing on its potential and realizing that more can be done with the fact that it was one of the few regions in Europe that was not devastated by phylloxera in the last century. As a result, Cahors has some of the world's oldest vines and has a large percentage of ungrafted vines. The region's primary varietal, Mourvedre or Monastrell, are still grown on its own rootstock instead of having been grafted onto imported American rootstock that was more immune to the phylloxera insect. The result is a potential for a varietal flavour that is more pronounced and truer to the distinctiveness of that varietal.

Once again, not a whole lot of information seemed to be available with an online search, but this Rose is primarily Monastrell with some Syrah added as well. At $14, however, its brightness and acidity (without crossing into off-dry) makes it a lovely wine for a BBQ on the deck.

545. 2008 Klinker Brick Farrah Syrah (Lodi - California)

Never having heard of this winery before either, this was yet another pleasant surprise. I don't know a ton about Californian wines. This is mostly because, as mentioned before in this blog, as soon as American wines cross the 49th Parallel and the Canadian border, I find that the price of the intriguing or noteworthy ones leaves me mostly uninterested. I think one of the girls brought this bottle back from the US though. So, I don't know if it's even available up here or at what price.

I'd definitely keep an eye open for it though. If it's not up here, it should be.

When it comes to the Lodi region, however, I would normally think of Zinfandel and, sure enough, Klinker Brick is particularly known for its Zin's. They produce this single-vineyard Syrah, named after the winery owners' daughter, and it delivers rich colour, flavours and finish - but in a nicely integrated way - without going over the top in a "bigger is better" manner.

It was a fun crowd and a completely satisfying evening of wine, whimsy and song. Knowing Dr. Dirt's predilection for certain cultural imports from Colombia, the salsa gang was out in full force - and I'm not talking just about chips and dips. "Annoying" the neighbours with Latin rhythms until the early hours was a bit of a concern, but it couldn't - and didn't - prevent all attempts at teaching some of the gringos a little something about how shaking the hips is talent held by more Colombians than just Shakira.

I'd be remiss in not giving a shout out to Isotopos and the birthday cakes that she masterminded in the kitchen. She can come and bake for me any day of the week. I doubt I could ever suffer too many birthdays to tire of her rum cake or dulce de leche.

Happy Happy there Doctor.

Mission Hill Syrah

After having thoroughly enjoyed the 2001 Jackson-Triggs Syrah just the other week (#535), we figured "Why stop there?" I saw that we still had tonight's bottle in our "cellar" and, seeing as how Mission Hill is one of the few wineries that could challenge J-T for provincial (national?) dominance back at the turn of this century, I thought that it might be a good idea to give one of their first attempts at the varietal a try.

542. 2000 Mission Hill Family Estate Syrah (VQA Okanagan Valley)

For a first attempt, the winery must have been proud as a peacock when the wine won a Gold Medal at the 2002 Canadian Wine Awards. There wouldn't have been that many examples of Syrah available yet, but that would have made it very easy for the judges to not issue any gold medals in the Syrah/Shiraz category.

We were glad to see that the bottle was still drinking fine. I'm sure it had more fruit on the palate a few years ago, but it still offered up a decent balance. For a gold medallist, I might have expected a bit more structure and tannin, but, then again, these would have been young vines and I don't think anyone was expecting BC bottles to be cellared for almost a decade.

I'll be interested to see what the current vintages are like. I don't think we have many other Mission Hill Syrah's to pull out at the moment.

Ewe Hoo

541. 2005 Marley Farm Ewe Hoo Pinot Noir (Vancouver Island)

This was one of the bottles that we picked up last Fall while over on Vancouver Island to visit with Bella Jianna and Flyboy B. I've always thought of Marley Farm as producing fruit wines; however, they planted some of their acreage with grapevines that consultants felt could flourish on the Island. Pinot Noir was the one red that they planted and the vines are now producing enough that limited amounts of varietal based wines are now available - in addition to the plentiful (and whimsical) fruit wines.

The Ewe Hoo is a small lot release that celebrates one of the winery's signature community events - the Ewe Hoo Sheep and Wine Festival that features sheep shearing and wool demonstrations. Part of the winery's relaxing and bucolic setting can be noted as resident sheep and geese wander the rows to help weed and fertilize the fields.

Unfortunately, at $30 a bottle, this Pinot didn't really strike our fancy. It's not like I'd go so far as to draw analogies to the sheep meandering in the fields, but we didn't notice the "promised" fruit profile. Rather, it was an earthiness that simply wasn't our cup of tea - or glass of wine, as the case may be.

This is the second Marley Farm bottle in a row that didn't meet our expectations. My first impressions, so many years ago, were really favourable. This last visit has left me somewhat wanting. Hopefully, our next tastes will offer a little redemption (no pun intended).

Boy Meets Grill 5

I suppose I should add a sub-title to "Boy Meets Grill 5." I think "Otherwise known as Boo Meets Five-O" fits the bill since we combined our summer BBQ party with Boo's 50th. OK, the actual birthday was a month ago, but you try fitting in parties with work schedules and out-of-town visits on the actual b-day.

It actually was more of a birthday party than it was a night for wine. But you know us (or, at least me), there's was still wine to be had.

538. N.V. Peller Estates Proprietors Reserve Merlot (Bottled in BC - or is that Boxed in BC?)

I will admit it, I can't say that there are many wines with a pedigree like this that make it onto The List. Then again, when it comes to litre after litre of Sangria flowing for hours, a couple of nice 4L boxes of wine comes in handy.

I like that the picture featurs both the wine (as it arrived) and the finished product. And, if I say so myself, the Sangria was pretty darned good. I was a tad concerned that I might end up with a leftover box o' wine, but we definitely needed a re-mix. Had I needed to finish off the box wine on its own, it might have taken a bit longer to get back on the task of 2001 bottles to be had.

539. 2009 Fazi Battaglia Titulus (DOC Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesu Classico - Italy)

Since man (at least this man) does not live on Sangria alone, I joined in with some Verdicchio that was brought along by one of the partiers. The wine is marketed in an amphora shaped bottle that was specifically designed back in the 1950's to uniquely represent the Le Marche region and its local Verdicchio varietal. Light and easy drinking, it's an easy fit to a backyard BBQ party.

Despite Boo's penchant for all assortments of martinis, I think we were lucky that, unlike Daveyboi's 50th last summer, we didn't have the vodka or gin flowing as freely as the Sangria was. As I recall - at least from most of what I recall - the latter part of Daveyboi's gig revolved around recreating song and dance numbers from Hairspray and interesting configurations involving a four-foot blow-up kangaroo and various out-of-town guests. It's always those out-of-town visitors that carry on so, I figure.

We were a more refined crowd - or maybe it was just that Boo turned the music down a tad every now and then. Despite a possible lack of martinis and/or blasting music, it was a fun crowd and the BBQ feast from Memphis Blues made sure that everyone stayed the course until Boo blew out the candles on his b-day cake. My sis, Vixen, and the youngest niece, Skeletor, baked up a Guinness and Chocolate cake for him. A sure way to that man's heart!

And to end the evening's additions to The List, what's a celebration without a little bubble or frizzante?

540. N.V. Villa Teresa Rose Veneto (IGT Veneto - Italy)

I couldn't locate much information on this bottle - except to see that it's been recommended by a number of local wine writers. Villa Teresa seems to be carving itself quite a nice, little niche in the Vancouver market. Being both organic and decently priced - not to mention tasty - certainly can't hurt.

I don't know what varietal(s) is(are) being used for this Rose. Being an IGT wine, it doesn't have to be made of grapes traditionally grown in the Veneto and could be made of any combination of grapes. I don't think anyone is going to concern themselves though. It didn't last long this evening.

We thought it'd be fun to take a group shot with the birthday boy and many of the revellers that came by to rub in his advancing years. With noise-making cards that involved fat ladies singing and screams straight from horror flicks, Boo will be able to remind himself of the evening for many days to come.

If you look closely in the picture, you'll see one of his birthday presents that may well make it to The List before we hit the 2001st bottle. It was a specially consigned 3L bottle of Red Rooster Meritage that features a caricature of Boo and a number of his favourite things. We already know that the bottle is a work of art. Here's hoping that the wine proves to be equally tasty.

(Editor's Note and P.S. - I've since found out that the Villa Teresa Rosé is made of the Raboso grape - another notch in the belt for the Wine Century Club)