What do you do in retirement? Might start up something.

[sherpa]

DC and/or Chef.

 

If you were at Barboursville and/or Chestnut Oak you were within 1/2 mile of my vineyard.

In fact, my wife runs the tasting room at Chestnut Oak. If you ever get back, let me know.

Very small, but the owners are good friends. i'm doing a drone video thing for them next week.

 

I lived near Napa for about four years, and that's what got me interested.

Petit Verdot is indeed a good varietal, and thankfully, very much in demand.

Virginia wines are a tough thing. They almost always sell out, so you don't get the five year old bottle too often, and that is really what it takes for a decent red, and because of the reality of growing decent reds, a good Virginia red costs about $2-3 more to get it in the bottle than a California red, real estate costs notwithstanding.

Mine is quite different from year two to three, and quite good at five, but they sell it out at $25/bottle in year two, so nobody ever knows except us.

 

As a retail customer, I always opt for Spanish, Italian or Argentine reds at the same year, but that's me.

Cheers.

[Chef Jim]

DC and/or Chef.

 

If you were at Barboursville and/or Chestnut Oak you were within 1/2 mile of my vineyard.

In fact, my wife runs the tasting room at Chestnut Oak. If you ever get back, let me know.

Very small, but the owners are good friends. i'm doing a drone video thing for them next week.

 

I lived near Napa for about four years, and that's what got me interested.

Petit Verdot is indeed a good varietal, and thankfully, very much in demand.

Virginia wines are a tough thing. They almost always sell out, so you don't get the five year old bottle too often, and that is really what it takes for a decent red, and because of the reality of growing decent reds, a good Virginia red costs about $2-3 more to get it in the bottle than a California red, real estate costs notwithstanding.

Mine is quite different from year two to three, and quite good at five, but they sell it out at $25/bottle in year two, so nobody ever knows except us.

 

As a retail customer, I always opt for Spanish, Italian or Argentine reds at the same year, but that's me.

Cheers.

 

Thanks for this. I don't drink anymore and really miss wine but I had to make a choice. I have been extremely lucky to have lived where I have the past 8 plus years. I have visited Sonoma (much prefer it to Napa) probably 200 times in those 8 years. Napa does have the better wines (especially their reds) but Sonoma is so much larger you don't get the massive crowds you do in Napa and it's not as pretentious.

[DC Tom]

DC and/or Chef.

 

If you were at Barboursville and/or Chestnut Oak you were within 1/2 mile of my vineyard.

In fact, my wife runs the tasting room at Chestnut Oak. If you ever get back, let me know.

Very small, but the owners are good friends. i'm doing a drone video thing for them next week.

 

I lived near Napa for about four years, and that's what got me interested.

Petit Verdot is indeed a good varietal, and thankfully, very much in demand.

Virginia wines are a tough thing. They almost always sell out, so you don't get the five year old bottle too often, and that is really what it takes for a decent red, and because of the reality of growing decent reds, a good Virginia red costs about $2-3 more to get it in the bottle than a California red, real estate costs notwithstanding.

Mine is quite different from year two to three, and quite good at five, but they sell it out at $25/bottle in year two, so nobody ever knows except us.

 

As a retail customer, I always opt for Spanish, Italian or Argentine reds at the same year, but that's me.

Cheers.

 

We go down there every October (we have a timeshare at Massanutten - yes, time-shares are a rip-off...but my wife and I are both workaholics, and this commits us to leaving town one week a year.) I'll let you know this year when we're on our way down.

 

I've got a 2011 Barboursville Merlot in the rack still; I remember the guy at the tasting room saying a wine is ready to drink when it's bottled and doesn't have to sit, and thinking "Yeah, this Merlot is good...but it's not quite that mature yet." Should be ready to be opened right about now, though. Maybe the next time I make a lasagna.

 

Didn't open the Clos du Bois tonight, btw...just spend a couple hours in the workshop (silver tie clip with Maccasar ebony inlay - below), and lathes, saws, and wines do not mix.

 

[Augie]

We go down there every October (we have a timeshare at Massanutten - yes, time-shares are a rip-off...but my wife and I are both workaholics, and this commits us to leaving town one week a year.) I'll let you know this year when we're on our way down.

 

I've got a 2011 Barboursville Merlot in the rack still; I remember the guy at the tasting room saying a wine is ready to drink when it's bottled and doesn't have to sit, and thinking "Yeah, this Merlot is good...but it's not quite that mature yet." Should be ready to be opened right about now, though. Maybe the next time I make a lasagna.

 

Didn't open the Clos du Bois tonight, btw...just spend a couple hours in the workshop (silver tie clip with Maccasar ebony inlay - below), and lathes, saws, and wines do not mix.

 

20170512_221320-2.jpg

Took a trip out to CA wine country years ago. Toured several vineyards and had a GREAT time. My sister kept our kids in Providence while we toured, and after tasting a little TOO much wine, I sent her a case of $60/bottle stuff as a thank you. Sent a message the next day it was NOT cooking wine!

 

But to my point - my wife loved Silver Oak Cabernet. A lot. She almost never drinks, but loves quality. She's the type who shops for what she wants when she wants it. When it come to a birthday, or Christmas, anniversary, etc. the gift options are limited. So something to put under the tree was a bottle of Silver Oak cab. Back then in FL we had a climate controlled walk in wine closet. We don't open a $100 bottle of wine often, but one night the local news had a story about wine not lasting long. Most people drink it within a few days of purchase. I got nervous (or maybe excited?) and opened one of our SO cabs. It had gone bad. That day we declared open season on the Silver Oak, and every other bottle was nothing short of wonderful!

[Marv's Neighbor]

I was very blessed. Had two employers, as an adult. One for 35 yrs and the other for 12. While I would welcome some extra income, I'm not planning on going back to work. Anyway there are not many interesting opportunities at this point.

[Chef Jim]

Took a trip out to CA wine country years ago. Toured several vineyards and had a GREAT time. My sister kept our kids in Providence while we toured, and after tasting a little TOO much wine, I sent her a case of $60/bottle stuff as a thank you. Sent a message the next day it was NOT cooking wine!

 

But to my point - my wife loved Silver Oak Cabernet. A lot. She almost never drinks, but loves quality. She's the type who shops for what she wants when she wants it. When it come to a birthday, or Christmas, anniversary, etc. the gift options are limited. So something to put under the tree was a bottle of Silver Oak cab. Back then in FL we had a climate controlled walk in wine closet. We don't open a $100 bottle of wine often, but one night the local news had a story about wine not lasting long. Most people drink it within a few days of purchase. I got nervous (or maybe excited?) and opened one of our SO cabs. It had gone bad. That day we declared open season on the Silver Oak, and every other bottle was nothing short of wonderful!

 

Our CEO loves Silver Oak too. We had a VP meeting a couple years ago. It was on a Monday and he took us to dinner as he usually does. Seeing it was a Monday the place we went had a 2 for 1 special on wine. Bad, bad, bad idea with us. There were 12 of us and I think we drank them out of all their expensive stuff.

[PromoTheRobot]

I bought a kettle corn set up a few years ago. I do some farmers markets in the summer and can pull $100-300 in 3 hours. I figure that will be my retirement sideline when I move south.

[Marv's Neighbor]

I bought a kettle corn set up a few years ago. I do some farmers markets in the summer and can pull $100-300 in 3 hours. I figure that will be my retirement sideline when I move south.

Can you do boiled peanuts? Much bigger than kettle corn, if you're going south. BTW, they are disgusting to look at.

[Augie]

Our CEO loves Silver Oak too. We had a VP meeting a couple years ago. It was on a Monday and he took us to dinner as he usually does. Seeing it was a Monday the place we went had a 2 for 1 special on wine. Bad, bad, bad idea with us. There were 12 of us and I think we drank them out of all their expensive stuff.

 

Talk about expensive (or insane!), I have a buddy who used to help the elderly guy across the street. This got him invited to the old guys 80th birthday party at one of the finest restaurants in town. A total of 20 people at the event. Among them was the guys son (a big wig at FedEx, I think) who provided two bottles of wine born the same year dear old dad was. Two 80 year old bottles that cost $10,000 EACH! Everyone got a small taste, and reports were that it was no better than the rest of the stuff they drank all night.

[Chef Jim]

Talk about expensive (or insane!), I have a buddy who used to help the elderly guy across the street. This got him invited to the old guys 80th birthday party at one of the finest restaurants in town. A total of 20 people at the event. Among them was the guys son (a big wig at FedEx, I think) who provided two bottles of wine born the same year dear old dad was. Two 80 year old bottles that cost $10,000 EACH! Everyone got a small taste, and reports were that it was no better than the rest of the stuff they drank all night.

 

Wine that old needs to be stored and taken care of like a newborn. I had a friend open a bottle of 1983 (I think) Lynch Bage Bordeaux. One of the top houses in Bordeaux however it was ****. It has oxidized and was not really enjoyable at all. I think the best wines to be drunk very old are ports. Because they are fortified they tend to stand up to aging a lot better. People that spend that kind of money for wine are insane in my book. Now if I were making professional athlete money you bet I'd be buying that stuff.

[sherpa]

 

Wine that old needs to be stored and taken care of like a newborn. I had a friend open a bottle of 1983 (I think) Lynch Bage Bordeaux. One of the top houses in Bordeaux however it was ****. It has oxidized and was not really enjoyable at all. I think the best wines to be drunk very old are ports. Because they are fortified they tend to stand up to aging a lot better. People that spend that kind of money for wine are insane in my book. Now if I were making professional athlete money you bet I'd be buying that stuff.

Ya.

The higher the alcohol, the longer they last, but that isn't always a good thing. Alcohol=stability, but not taste.

All have their own tendencies.

Obviously, whites don't age well. They are to be consumed young and fresh to capture the fruity component.

Mendoza wines are usually pretty good young, but they don't get that much better with age. Some are what are called Peter Pan wines-they never age.

Full bodied reds usually do improve, but I think the sweet spot is about 5-6 years.

If it's a decent red, lay it on the cork and rotate to keep the cork wet for a few years in no more than 73 degrees. It will be fine.

Edited May 13, 2017 by sherpa

[Chef Jim]

Ya.

The higher the alcohol, the longer they last, but that isn't always a good thing. Alcohol=stability, but not taste.

All have their own tendencies.

Obviously, whites don't age well. They are to be consumed young and fresh to capture the fruity component.

Mendoza wines are usually pretty good young, but they don't get that much better with age. Some are what are called Peter Pan wines-they never age.

Full bodied reds usually do improve, but I think the sweet spot is about 5-6 years.

If it's a decent red, lay it on the cork and rotate to keep the cork wet for a few years in no more than 73 degrees. It will be fine.

Sorry to hijack your thread Meade but we are talking wine so I assume you'll approve.

 

Anyway you mention cork and it's amazing that they are still used to seal bottles. Perfect example of a very old tradition dying hard. Cork is probably the worst thing you can use to seal a bottle of wine. They add nothing positive to the wine and are responsible for a good number of bottles going bad. Between the taint (yes I said taint) and it not being 100% air tight corks are an issue. Why there are not more screw caps on the market is beyond me. Sure it often signals a cheaper wine and the removal of the cork has been symbolic forever but they need to come up with something different/better.

[mead107]

Approved for wine any time.

[ExiledInIllinois]

What do you mean? I have been retired the last 27 years years and I am not 50 yet. ;-)

 

This new 12 hour compressed schedule we are on, I only work 3 days a week and take off the other 8 as leave to make 80 hours every two weeks... And still bank 6 weeks vacation. I am on my long monthly regular 8 days off. I am itching to get back to work's peace & quiet (Thursday).

 

Retired???... I can do this till I croak, I get sick of being home, travelling, etc... I want peace and solitude of the job! I spend too much money being home!

 

And for You /dev... One NEVER can have too much "FreeCell" time! ;-) :-P

 

Oh... And as my retired, deplorable neighbor bemoans when he can't figure out which days I go to work: "Who's gonna kick into my Social Security?" Too bad I couldn't break his deplorable heart by being a CSRS Fed, I missed that by 6 years. FERS employees kick into SS... But also collect, yeah right, LoL for people in my age group...

Edited May 14, 2017 by ExiledInIllinois

[hemma]

A floating bakery supplying fresh donuts ship to ship for the Intracoastal waterway.

 

The only things holding me back are that I don't have a boat, I can't bake and my wife is less than enthusiastic.

[Buffaloed in Pa]

I`m not doing shittz when I retire . Hunt,fish,grandson stuff. I also have a ton here at the house to keep busy. Maybe a little farm type things. I have 30 acres to keep me busy.Trying to pick a job I like right now. Lost my job after 35 yrs . Yeah no pension. Sux. Wife has a good one though. Need four more years.Unless Trump screws that up.

[sherpa]

Anyway you mention cork and it's amazing that they are still used to seal bottles. Perfect example of a very old tradition dying hard. Cork is probably the worst thing you can use to seal a bottle of wine. They add nothing positive to the wine and are responsible for a good number of bottles going bad. Between the taint (yes I said taint) and it not being 100% air tight corks are an issue. Why there are not more screw caps on the market is beyond me. Sure it often signals a cheaper wine and the removal of the cork has been symbolic forever but they need to come up with something different/better.

 

"Corked" wine is a bit of a problem, and there are better solutions.

It's all about marketing.

If you're on a date making dinner at your house, uncorking a bottle is a little more atmospheric.

In a restaurant, imagine a waiter coming over with your selected bottle and screwing the top off.

Not quite the same vibe.

 

Marketing is the single biggest factor. Same as retail presentation.

Know what the biggest factor in sales off the shelf is?

Not the label, price alone, varietal, region or wine appellation.

 

The biggest factor is what's marked as "on sale" in each price range.

[mead107]

I`m not doing shittz when I retire . Hunt,fish,grandson stuff. I also have a ton here at the house to keep busy. Maybe a little farm type things. I have 30 acres to keep me busy.Trying to pick a job I like right now. Lost my job after 35 yrs . Yeah no pension. Sux. Wife has a good one though. Need four more years.Unless Trump screws that up.

Grow grapes