[QUOTE=cheron98, post:40, topic:309413]
They scrapped that a while ago - now we get new offers every Monday - Friday, with the Friday deal staying up all weekend. Wednesdays seem to be turning into “Black Tie Buy” days, Thursdays are always a non-wine day, Fridays have rats.
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Oh, Fridays are rat days now? That makes more sense…I was wondering how Mondays would work for ratting if there’s a new offering the very next day. Can you tell I was away from wine.woot a while? Thanks!
Is it still if you buy the Friday deal the first day you’re eligible to be a rat? (Provided you e-mailed the rat address saying you would rat at some point.)
[QUOTE=blipper67, post:24, topic:309413]
“one farmed sustainably and LIVE certified, the other farmed Biodynamically and Demeter certified.”
“Bio wacko”, “native yeasts”… that’s a deal killer for me!
Any time I see those words, those type organic concepts, “green”, it suggests just another racket…a reason to charge double as such companies prey on the green sympathy’s and idealogies of others.
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[QUOTE=rmm989, post:27, topic:309413]
+1. was going to buy until I got to the biodynamics. Oh well. More for everyone else
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Then you’ll find yourself excluding more and more wineries.
The best winemakers are dedicated to their craft - artisanship over profit. I think it’s only natural that such dedicated folks would also have a conscience about what they’re doing to the land, and take steps to do the least harm they can.
I’ve seen several of the most highly praised winemakers on Woot mention what they’re doing to grow green. As long as it doesn’t hurt the wine, how is that possibly a bad thing?
[QUOTE=amandamanfredo, post:34, topic:309413]
Isn’t PN typically ~$20 a bottle? Do I just not know any better? What’s so Black Tie about this?
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On the Tour this past summer, we spent 1.5 days tasting Pinots…I was won over! I found though that any Pinot worth its’ price, was in the $35-$40 and up range…Roessler and Buena Vista stood out for their quality…I’m guessing WD is putting this somewhere “up” in that category. Ergo: Black Tie.
A post Tour post from Richardhod:
[QUOTE=richardhod, post:1, topic:297791]
My wine club at Buena Vista (Carneros) from the rpm tour (snip)
the Ramal PN and the Ramal Chardonnay are outstanding. Prices are about $30 instead of $40 for the PN (like a Premier Cru Burgundy for 1/3 the price)
Others like the Dijon of Swan clone versions…
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[QUOTE=isabelmondaviwines, post:35, topic:309413]
We completely understand if this issue is a personal red flag for you…just wanted to comment that the only criteria we used when looking for vineyard sites to work with is the quality of the fruit. One vineyard happened to be farmed Biodyamic and one was sustainable…we loved the fruit from both sites and so that’s why we work with both of them.
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For what it’s worth, I appreciate the “green” information about the vineyards. While my primary interest is in good juice, I don’t understand why vineyard practices that lean towards sustainable or organic can be anything but an added bonus.
So you have the grapes shipped all the way to Napa, CA from the Willamette Valley? Or do you send people up there to work the grapes? How does that work? Seems a long ways from the winery to me.
[QUOTE=mxracer98, post:25, topic:309413]
Ive been let down lately with the selection on the part of Woot. The last bottle I bought was Blue Rock, really would enjoy some higher price point juice.
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The latest Black Ties have been more like Business Casuals. But with 52 Wednesdays in a year, I’m sure we’ll see some higher priced wines along the way.
[QUOTE=mopsie2002, post:46, topic:309413]
So you have the grapes shipped all the way to Napa, CA from the Willamette Valley? Or do you send people up there to work the grapes? How does that work? Seems a long ways from the winery to me.
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[QUOTE=isabelmondaviwines, post:9, topic:309413]
Hi, greetings from the winery. The wines are made by Isabel’s son, 4th generation winemaker, Rob Mondavi Jr. Rob travels to Oregon to make the wine to keep fruit transportation to a minimum.
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Perhaps. You’re quite right, though, that $20 is low end for even decent Pinot Noir (though, we can occasionally get serviceable Burgundy for less on the East coast), and from there, the sky is the limit.
I think it is very hard to get really good Pinot Noir for less than $35-40 retail, and even at that price level (and up) it is a crap shoot unless you know the producer. Burgundy is especially problematic, where prices get north of $100 and even $500 pretty quickly, but not all producers of even grand cru Burgundy make wine worthy of the classification of the vineyard. (alas).
[QUOTE=mopsie2002, post:41, topic:309413]
Oh, Fridays are rat days now? That makes more sense…I was wondering how Mondays would work for ratting if there’s a new offering the very next day. Can you tell I was away from wine.woot a while? Thanks!
Is it still if you buy the Friday deal the first day you’re eligible to be a rat? (Provided you e-mailed the rat address saying you would rat at some point.)
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Click the Labrat Reports link in my signature - that’ll bring you to the thread with all the rat info. The very first post outlines the new crazy rat schedule
I’m fairly new to wine but have not had much luck with PNs. I did really enjoy the Davis Family Sonoma Coast PN that was offered a couple of months ago. Can anybody comment on how this wine might compare?
[QUOTE=cheron98, post:51, topic:309413]
Click the Labrat Reports link in my signature - that’ll bring you to the thread with all the rat info. The very first post outlines the new crazy rat schedule
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It never occurred to me to click on those links. Thanks for pointing that out, and for gathering up the reports!
[QUOTE=jlweiner1, post:52, topic:309413]
I’m fairly new to wine but have not had much luck with PNs. I did really enjoy the Davis Family Sonoma Coast PN that was offered a couple of months ago. Can anybody comment on how this wine might compare?
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You have hit upon Woots’ special nature. you can compare it to your hearts content…look up the details in the offering you liked, then compare those details with this offering. Things like fruit source; cooperage (new oak, French, American, duration); Brix at harvest and bottling; TA…all of these might give you an idea of whether this wine is in your wheelhouse.
Really though, only buying and getting your own opinion is the for sure bet.
Read the signature on all rpm’s posts…you’ll get it just fine!
Actually, if he’s fairly new to wine, the stats you mentioned may be a bit overwhelming at first. But there are usually vintner’s notes describing the aroma, flavor, mouthfeel, etc, and often the threads have labrat reports (official or voluntary) that give the same.
You’re right about rpm’s sig, though. Also, I’ve learned that it doesn’t take all that long to learn the basics of wine geekery, if you’re so inclined.
[QUOTE=rpm, post:49, topic:309413]
Perhaps. You’re quite right, though, that $20 is low end for even decent Pinot Noir …
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So, how does this stack up against, say, the $10 Dontspille PN from Peter Wellington that I picked up here on WW back in December?
Also, for those commenting on the perceived “lower” quality of offerings lately, all I can say is “You must be new here…”.
My wallet and SIWBM was completely destroyed with the offerings from Christmas through Valentine’s Day. Cathy Corison (Helios), Noceto, Wellington, Dontspille, (too bad I missed the Twas!), Black Zeppelin, the White Oak chard, and several others.
I had a bottle of D’Ontspille last week. It was serviceable, and we enjoyed it. It was well-made, and an excellent value at the price. It’s the exception that proves the rule, so to speak.
But, as enjoyable as it was, it’s not in the same conversation as a serious Pinot Noir like Buena Vista, Sainstbury, Rasmussen or Roessler.
So … RPM, where do you think this offering fits in terms of QPR in relation to the PNs you mentioned and the Dontspille (which I’m holding for another year, but enjoyed what I did drink) and for ten buckaroos, it was most excellent (guitar riff).
And I got excited when you noted Rasmussen, but when I checked, I see that the KR I picked up was the Petite Syrah (chosen to expand my experience with that varietal), and I kind of sighed. Oh, well, and I’m not knocking the KR PS.
Thanks!