cat shepard

Thank you Roy for posting our Report & Daily! Rich, thank you for preparing it. I am sitting at Logan Airport waiting to board my plane home. It was a really busy trip, but so happy I could celebrate the holiday with the family. I should pick Bindi up by 1 p.m., and then head home. Though it won’t be as warm as usual back home, it will definitely be warmer than New Hampshire! Wrapping up our Christmas memes…. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ********** Quinta do Portal 2019 Mural Reserva (Douro) Portugal This Portuguese red wine sounds great, and I would definitely like to taste it. Ratings range from very good - excellent, and it is available from several online distributors with prices starting at $13.99. Winemaker Notes Made with a very carefully winemaking, using gravity and precise techniques. Concentrated ruby color with aromas of ripe black fruit and some floral notes in perfect harmony with some toast from the oak. Expressive on the palate, with fine acidity and a pleasant fruity aftertaste. The final is long and complex and will develop further with more time in bottle. WE92 Wine Enthusiast Still young, this ripe and densely fruity wine is set for some fine aging. With its structured black fruits that are striated with minerality and cut by juicy acidity, it is dense and has a vibrant texture. Drink from 2022. Best Buys

@cunnorl Charlene It snowed/sleeted this morning in Cocoa! https://fb.watch/hEk0oImwak/

Happy Birthday, Gerry! May your new year be filled with laughter, love, great health and a cruise!

Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. The calm before the storm here. It is 11/feels like -2 here, quite balmy when compared with what some of you are dealing with. I am off to start the French toast. 🤞🏻that using melted ice cream for the batter works out. I will report my findings. Thank you Rich, for preparing the report, Roy for posting it & keeping our lists, Dixie & Debbie, my F & B colleagues, Sandi & Lenda for all the pictures they share, and to all the Dailyites for coming here everyday. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ************* Torres 2015 Mas la Plana (Penedès) Catalonia All released vintages of this Cab share similar excellent - superb reviews from consumers and critics. Though I did find several online distributors with prices starting at $59.99, if you are willing to hold for a year or so, you might find more recent vintages for less. Winemaker Notes Mas la Plana is graceful and balanced despite its firm and dominant tannin profile. Bright crunchy acidity ensures a wine that will develop in the cellar for years to come. This polished red displays hints of its Mediterranean heritage with herbaceous bramble while holding true to brooding currant and loamy earth, reminiscent of old-world Cabernet Sauvignon. WE97 Wine Enthusiast Lifted berry and floral cherry and black plum aromas are supported by mineral notes and lightly toasted oak. On the palate, an explosion of ripe, pulpy berry fruit and snappy acidity settles with ease and elegance, while this Cabernet Sauvignon from a warm and dry year offers blackberry, cassis and chocolaty oak flavors. There’s plenty of depth to a smooth and balanced finish. JS93 James Suckling A complex wine that has plenty of ripe red-plum and blueberry notes that lead to a palate that offers a chalky, modern and fresh array of ripe plums and berries with assertive, spicy oak. RP93 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate The herbal 2015 Mas La Plana is one of the oldest Cabernet Sauvignons from Spain. It's sleek and polished, with varietal character intermixed with a Mediterranean side. The palate is medium to full-bodied with the fine-grained and elegant textbook tannins of the variety. This is from a warm and dry year, and the wine is ripe and powerful but in the Torres style, which is always nicely crafted, balanced and polished. WS93 Wine Spectator This red is firm, balanced and graceful. Currant and blackberry flavors mingle with smoke, loamy earth and mineral notes. The muscular tannins are well-integrated, the racy acidity lively. Restrained in style, but harmonious. Drink now through 2030.

@grapau27 Graham, please wish Sarah a happy “new year” for me. May it be filled with love, laughter & great health!

Thank you Roy for taking on the posting of the Reports & Daily’s! All while keeping the lists! I really appreciate it. Rich, thank you for making sure we are well taken care of & taking us on your adventures with you! Merry Christmas Eve, to all who celebrate it. It is a whopping 10, feels like -4 here! The best news is that right before yesterday’s rain stopped, it switched to snow, we have just enough for a white Christmas. Yesterday was cookie baking day and it was so much fun to do it with yet another generation. I suspect my Mom was smiling up in Heaven. After coffee, I go pick up our Christmas order from a local market. I will roast the prosciutto-wrapped pork roast & turkey breast today, which will make tomorrow easier. I may have to resort to using the “outdoor fridge” because there may not be enough room in the indoor fridge. This afternoon we head to my nephew’s in Boston for a Christmas Eve meal and festivities. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Stay well everyone! ******** Colomé 2018 Estate Malbec (Salta) This Malbec has some fans. It has excellent ratings from consumers and critics, and a decent price. Available from several online distributors with prices starting at $19.99. Winemaker Notes Bright and intense in color with beautiful aromas of blackberries, red fruits and exotic floral notes, this wine delivers aromatics that entice the senses. A full lush entry of ripe and rich black fruit surrounds spiced oak notes and hints of pepper. Fresh acidity supports big, bold tannins and wonderful complexity. WE92 Wine Enthusiast In this wine, a saturated dark color and potent aromas of blackberry, prune and grainy oak lead to a deeply layered palate that's lush and dense. Herbal blackberry, cassis and chocolate flavors are fully ripe, while this Malbec holds onto its packed-fruit character on a long finish with a touch of heat. Drink through 2025. D91 Decanter Elegant nose of pure plums, dried tomato, paprika and damson. Quite dense with well-integrated oak, ripe fine-grained tannins.

Sandi Think of it as honing your winter driving skills. Best wishes for safe travel. That is how I got through Boston traffic - thinking I was honing my Boston driving skills. Those defensive driving skills are very useful in Florida.

@kochleffel Happy Birthday! May your new year be filled with laughter, love, great health & a cruise!

Key West Virtual tours posted this - how appropriate for today’s weather and port! Iguanas fall from trees and appear to be dead when temperatures drop below 45. They are merely stunned, but it is still alarming.

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich via Roy! It is a balmy 51 here in Southern New Hampshire where it is raining hard and windy. My trip up was not terrible. I knew I would hit traffic, but it was not terrible. I even had time for some grocery shopping before going to my nephew’s. It was 41 when I landed. Tomorrow will be an entirely different story when it will be 14 with a “feels like” -1. It has been a long time since I encountered those kind of temps. Roy, thank you for keeping our lists & covering for Rich! Today is focused on cookie baking - once the girls come home from school and planning the timeline for Sunday’s dinner. A couple members of the family have bad colds, so though I hope to escape that fate, I am braced for it. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ************* Hangtime Pinot Noir, California This Pinot Noir has very good - excellent ratings from reviewers, though several consumers use the word “harsh” in their reviews. This wine might be a good candidate for the clef du vin. It’s reasonable price of $12.99 would make it an easy one to test. Winemaker’s notes California Grown Grapes for Hangtime Pinot Noir are given extended hangtime and harvested at peak ripeness, when they reach the perfect balance between concentrated fruit character, soft tannins, and bright acidity. TASTING NOTES The Hangtime Pinot Noir exhibits a rich garnet color with aromas of dark cherry, dried cranberry, and hints of allspice. The silky mouthfeel and supple tannins contribute to a long and satisfying finish. FOOD PAIRINGS Hangtime Pinot Noir pairs extremely well with lightly spiced foods, roast pork with herbs, pasta with red sauce, and medium bodied and flavored cheeses such as gruyere. WINEMAKING We named this wine after a key part of viticulture — the amount of time grapes spend hanging on the vines ripening to perfection. The longer it takes to reach that peak of ripeness within the growing season, the more concentrated the fruit character emerges, resulting in a wine with distinctive and delicious varietal expression. Our winemaker keeps a close eye on the clusters hanging in the vineyard in order to decide exactly how many days on the vine they need to attain complete maturity

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich! Hope your embarkation goes smoothly & you enjoy your cruises! I am just wrapping up loose ends here, before dropping Bindi off and heading to the airport. I should just beat the wind & rainstorm predicted for Southern New England. Thank you for our lists, Roy. Hoping you really do not have COVID, but if you do - may it be a very mild case. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ******** Te Mata 2018 Coleraine (Hawke's Bay) New Zealand This red blend sounds amazing, but it is out of my budget. Superb ratings from consumers and critics - a bit elusive, but I did find it online for $89.99. Winemaker Notes A deep midnight-magenta, Coleraine ’18 is symphonic in its harmony and presence. The aromatics are immediately varietal with grace notes of cassis, raspberry leaf, fresh roses, dark chocolate, lifted black cherry, espresso and cedar. The palate deepens the opening theme. There’s tapenade, darkest blackberry and ripe plum while underneath, quietly, a precise, profound tannin structure resonates. Critical Acclaim JS97 James Suckling A very concentrated nose with impressively rich blackberry, raspberry and dark-plum aromas. Dark chocolate, violet and cedary oak here, too. Very youthful. The palate has a very rich, intense and plush feel with fresh acidity and depth, amid long, fine and compressed tannins. Good freshness and concentration. Drink or hold. WE96 Wine Enthusiast Te Mata’s top wine comes mostly from the Havelock Hills, the first legally protected vineyards in New Zealand. This vintage is a strong one, showcasing the power and ageability of a world class red with the precision and linearity of this traditional estate. Notes of black currant, plum, black olive, baking spice, dried green herbs and vanillin and chocolaty oak are present throughout. Chalky tannins are taut and powerful but wellintegrated, hinting at a long life ahead. Drink 2022– 2040. RP94 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate The 2018 Coleraine (the current release) is a blend of 52% Cabernet Sauvignon, 33% Merlot and 15% Cabernet Franc. It's fresh and floral on the nose, with hints of green herbs and dark chocolate both complementing vibrant cassis fruit. Medium to full-bodied, it's richly textured and actually a bit chunky in its youth, possessing a slight excess of flesh that will require age to ameliorate. Of course, that also makes it relatively approachable young, for folks who don't mind a bit of tannin. Long and concentrated on the finish, this looks to be another very successful vintage of Coleraine.

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich! Especially since you are now on location. A gloomy start to the day, but at least the temp is mild. Very breezy though. A busy day for me. Haircut, gym class, Bindi walks, packing and supper at a friend’s. Not looking forward to traveling tomorrow, but I will be fine once I am out of the Boston traffic. I may need to visit here at the end of the day…. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ********* Spellbound Cabernet Sauvignon, California This Cab is widely available, has very good consumer ratings and has a reasonable price which makes it easy to try. I found it available online for $10.94. Distributor notes This wine showcases lush texture and bold dark fruit flavors of blackberry, ripe purple plum and cassis with a hint of oak and spice. Cedar and tobacco aromas accent the full, round palate, and the wine finishes with soft, integrated tannins.

Lots of reasons for you, Steve & the rest of the family to celebrate this year, Lenda! Woo hoo!

@TiogaCruiser Laura, if your guests tastes run to medium body wines Nancy’s Chardonnay suggestions are good. My current fave is a white blend. Pine Ridge Chenin Blanc/Viognier. I found it for 13.99. Ann

Rich, not sure if it was intentional, but I just realized that there is no Quote today. It took me two cups of coffee to realize this. 😎

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich! Hope your trip prep is going smoothly. Warmer, but cloudy this morning. Rain is predicted for later today. Roy, thank you for keeping our lists! @smitty34877 Terry, so happy to read all went well yesterday. I applaud you for even attempting stairs! Hope the pain subsides quickly. Today I am visiting Stetson Mansion to tour the rooms decorated for the holiday. This home built by the man who created Stetson hats is decorated each year by his descendants. I am excited to visit for the first time. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating. Get well & stay well everyone! ********* DuMOL 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon (Napa Valley) Napa This Cab has some fans. Very good - superb ratings from both consumers and critics. Available from several online distributors with prices starting at $89.00. Winemaker Notes From the magnificent 2018 vintage, this classic Napa vineyard blend shows elements of both modern and traditional Napa Valley Cabernet styles. The wine is beautifully textured and layered with an expansive, mouth-filling palate and broad enveloping tannins, but this richness never comes at the expense of detail or freshness. There’s an intriguing seamless complexity that one would expect from a blend of vineyards; each site complements the next, layering nuance on top of power, breadth alongside elegance. The wine has evident volcanic-soil, cool-climate markers: intense floral lift, fragrant bay laurel, and woodsy potpourri notes. But it’s the fruit core from the warmer up-valley vineyards that leads the charge: ripe, dark, plush, and chewy with an extended arc of flavor and a subtle opulent finish. Highly perfumed, exotic floral aromas intersperse with blackberry, plum, sweet thyme, and spiced clove. The palate is fruit-focused with black cherry and dark cassis notes alongside a sense of crushed stone. Cedar, pencil lead, and sweet tobacco notes shine through with a touch of bittersweet cocoa. Power matched with elegance offers a balanced opulence with myriad nuances. The wine’s natural density and well-defined tannins promise an aging potential of 12+ years. WE98 Wine Enthusiast A lovely, 100% varietal wine aged 20 months in French oak, this is juicy, herbal and offers a substantial foundation of power. Cedar, tobacco and tomato leaf accent a core of crushed rock, dark plum and threads of acidity—the weight and structure lifted by underlying freshness. This is a good candidate for cellaring; enjoy best from 2028 through 2038. CG91 Connoisseurs' Guide This very attractive effort hits all the right notes from its showy black cherry and curranty first aromas to its energetic flavors and long, tannin-firmed finish. It is the kind of wine that some folks will enjoy young while others will be equally pleased with older versions that seem certain to age nicely over the next half-dozen years and more. It is, in a word or two, damn nice, and offers a look at DuMol Cabs at a slightly lower cost.

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich! Back in the low 40s this morning. Should get up to the mid- high 60s later. Current forecast for the upcoming weekend shows warmer temps for the part of New England I will be visiting than my part of Florida! How ironic. Roy thank you for keeping our lists. @smitty34877Terry thinking of you today and praying all goes smoothly today and your recovery is quick and painless. Gym, chores, trip prep and then getting together with a neighbor to replace the luminary bags with sturdier ones. My nephew, who does snow plowing on the side sent me this one. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ********** Clos du Bois Chardonnay, North Coast, California All released vintages of this wine share the same very good consumer and critic reviews and very reasonable prices. It is widely available online with prices starting at $9.99 for the 2019 vintage. Vintner’s Notes Our Clos du Bois Chardonnay is a refreshingly aromatic wine from the rugged coast of California. Scents of warm apple pastry rise from the glass with touches of honey and toasted oak. Bright layers of freshly sliced pear and ripe apple with zests of citrus carry through the long finish. Fruit for this classic Chardonnay originates from select vineyards along the coast of California. The North Coast imparts ripe apple and pear characteristics, while the Central Coast brings full, concentrated flavor and a gorgeous acidity to the grapes. We harvested the grapes in the cool of night, then gently pressed them to preserve the Chardonnay’s fruit characteristics. After settling, the juice was partially barrel fermented in a combination of French and American oak, with the remaining juice undergoing fermentation in stainless steel. To soften the wine’s acidity and impart a rich and creamy mouthfeel, we put the wine through malolactic fermentation.

@ottahand7 Happy Birthday, Nancy! May your new year be filled with laughter, love, great health & a cruise!

Happy Hanukkah to all who celebrate! Thank you for today’s Report & Daily Rich! A bit warmer today. And it is just starting to get light out here. Roy, thank you for keeping our lists! Gym, Aldi, Bindi walks and chores. This evening we’ll visit the Daytona Speedway to drive through the light show. Every year gets better and better. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating! Get well & stay well everyone! ********** Fox Run 2019 Doyle Family Chardonnay (Seneca Lake) Finger Lakes This Chardonnay sounds lovely - though the review does mention “buttery”, and it has very good - excellent reviews from consumers and critics. Available from several online distributors with prices starting at $13.99. Distributor notes With every vintage it becomes clearer that New York's Finger Lakes region wines are world class. Fox Run Vineyards is truly a family owned and operated business. If you’ve ever been to Fox Run, you’ve probably met at least one family member. It’s not unusual to find Scott pouring wine behind the tasting bar or Ruth helping take orders in the café. Scott and Ruth’s daughter, Jessica Worden, is the office manager and behind-the-scenes virtuoso.Their vineyards on the banks of Seneca lake are all dry farmed and are Lake Friendly Farmer certified. In 2015, they installed 150-KW solar panels and the entire business has operated on 100% self-generated solar power ever since.Estate grown grapes for this Reserve Chard were sourced from Fox Run Vineyard block 1 - Kaiser Vineyard overlooking Seneca lake. After crushing and pressing the grapes, the winemaker transferred the juice to barrels where it fermented for 27 days. But the real allure of this wine was that it was left on yeast lees for a full eight months after fermentation adding a creamy textural component to the wine.In 2019 September was the warmest and driest in recent history. The grapes responded accordingly, producing some of the tastiest wine imaginable.James Suckling scored this 90 points saying "Lemon, apricot, yoghurt, praline and flint on the nose. It’s medium-bodied with tangy acidity and a creamy texture. Buttery, lemony and tangy. Drink now."

Wonderful news, Terry!

Welcome home Dixie & George! Safe travels. Thank you for posting the drink du jour every day - even while cruising.

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich. A nippy 41 here this morning. I consider myself to be in training for my trip to New England next week. Not only will it be cold, but there is a chance of a bad storm the day after I arrive. Roy thank you for keeping track of our cares & celebrations! Lots of chores and prepping for the trip up North for me today. And Bindi walks. My fellow animal lovers have been posting lots of memes with the same theme… Prayers to all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating. @smitty34877 Terry, praying that Monday's a go and that all goes smoothly & your recovery is swift. Get well and stay well everyone! ******** Villa Guelpa 2018 Lessona Piedmont Another elusive wine, unless you live in or visit Italy. This wine sounds lovely. Superb ratings and I did find one online distributor offering it for $53.15 + shipping. Distributor Notes Villa Guelpa’s vineyards cover the whole Alto Piemonte area, from the alluvial pebbles of the hills of Salussola and Dorzano near the lake of Viverone, the sands of Mottalciata, the ancient ones of Lessona, the volcanic porphyries of Bramaterra and back to the recent alluvial soils with sandy texture of Sizzano. All of the sites come together under the house of Villa Guelpa with its historic cellar in Lessona. Villa Guelpa ferments and ages their wines in cement tanks with the exception of aged reds that are elevated in traditional Slavonian oak barrels. 96 Wine Enthusiast “Lessona wines abound with elegance, thanks to mineral-rich yellow sand and vineyard altitudes that range between 722 and 1,181 feet above sea level. They offer bouquets of roses and red woodland berries that follow over to the palate, along with a pronounced mineral vein. Lessona wines have an almost ethereal character, but noble tannins and vibrant acidity impart serious aging potential.”

Thank you for today’s Report & Daily, Rich. Quite a bit cooler this morning. Almost a 20 degree drop. But the sun is out and we should research the high 60s later. Roy, thank you for keeping our lists. The gift that keeps on giving. A fairly routine day for me, though this afternoon my neighbors and I will be putting out the luminarias around the island in the cul de sac. Prayers for all who need our support. Cheers to all who are celebrating. Stay well everyone. ******* Ferrari 2012 Perle Nero Extra Brut Riserva Pinot Nero (Trento) You might need to travel to Italy to enjoy this wine, though some distributors ship overseas. Excellent consumer and critic ratings. A bit over my budget even without shipping. Several online distributors with prices starting at $58.49. Distributor Notes BACKGROUND Paradoxically, Italy’s most famous metodo classico sparkling wine was started with the desire to compete with the best French Champagnes. Giulio Ferrari, a Trentino native, started his venerable sparkling wine house in 1902, after studying winemaking in France. Convinced that his native region’s terroir was ideal for growing Chardonnay, he produced three of his now best-known cuvées – Ferrari Brut, Perlé and Giulio Ferrari – as blanc de blancs. This innovative approach quickly paid off. Ferrari wines consistently receive some of Italy’s top accolades, including being awarded Tre Bicchieri 22 years in a row. TERROIR & VINTAGE NOTES With its mountain viticulture (the Dolomites), Trentino is an area well-suited to the production of sparkling wines of great elegance and complexity. Large diurnal temperature range and high altitudes ensures high acidity and freshness in the grapes. With 300 acres of vineyards, Ferrari represents the largest estate in the Trentino region. WINEMAKING Ferrari Perlé Nero is made using the traditional metodo classico. After a hand-harvest in the middle of September, the wine undergoes a gentle pressing. TASTING NOTES Gold in color. On the nose, the wine is rich and matured. Powerful with a great complexity which goes from fruity to mineral and toasted notes. In terms of palate, the wine offers an exceptional personality, of rare complexity, where fruity and roast notes are perfectly balanced, completed by a charming sapidity. The elegant creaminess surprises in a dynamic way and lingers with a long and pleasing finish. A sparkling wine of pronounced finesse. Perfect served as an aperitif or with lighter dishes, especially seafood. 95 Wine Enthusiast

Bon Voyage, Jacqui!