I've been to countless wine parties in the last five or so years and have come up with a list of musts for a great party! It's important to remember that the people attending are really the most important element, but there are a few things that can add to the experience. Here you go:

1: Good Music - Usually bluesy-style jazz works! Rap, hard rock, religious....not so much :)

2: Good Eats - A big meal isn't always needed, however something to cleans the palate and pair with the wine is essential. Cheese and cracker is the no brainer, but what about Spanish tapas or perhaps a fig cake of sorts?? The more exotic the selection the more memorable. Just make sure it's not too offensive!

3: Bottled Water - This is essential for those guests who love to swallow every pour. You're not going to want to use any extra dishes or create much more of a mess. Bottled water is cheap and very convenient for you and your guests. Plus no one wants to get sick or dehydrated.

4: Stimulating Conversation - Have a laptop close by in the case you want to talk about wine press! Keep the convo away from controversy and try to get the guests focused on the beauty and intricacy of the wine. Keep the music low enough.....perhaps some wine trivia? Ask people around the table specifically of their thoughts on a particular wine.

5: Proper Stemware - Having enough wine stems for your guests is the number one priority, but if you can make sure that most of the stemware is similar in style it's a huge plus. Tough to have one guest sipping his Cabernet out of a Riedel Somm series while another drinks from a souvenir art gallery glass!

6: Extra wine Gadgets - Decanters, filters, Ah-So wine opener, wine charms, pens and paper (for note takers), and everything else that may enhance the wine experience and make life easier for the ceremony of special wine openings and the needed nostalgia.

7: Clean facilities - Don't forget that people will be using your restroom at an abnormal rate of frequency. Having things clean and stocked leaves everyone in a positive frame of mind.

8: Elimination of fragrances - If you're used to having a potpourri filled house loaded with floral, vanilla, or bacon try to air things out a bit before you serve the good stuff. Nothing worse then smelling cinnamon stick in every wine!

9: Baby Sitters - We all know how cute you think your kids are, but please..... get them a sitter for the evening!

10: Designated Drivers or Limo service - It seems like a broken record, but there's really nothing that can ruin the memory of a great wine night then a crash or doooiy (DUI). Water is good for hydration but it doesn't sober people up quick enough in order to drive. Post signs up at the front door or take people keys if you have to.

All these things can aid in the effort to host the perfect wine party. Of course there are things that I left out or forgot, but please leave your suggestions in the comments! Cheers~

Gary Vaynerchuk recently took his show to the next level by having a great interview with the legendary Kermit Lynch. It was great to find out more about Kermit and how he got his start in the wine business. I can honestly say that all of the his wines I've ever experienced were of substantial quality. Among them are some of the true gems and values in the wine world. Check it out!

PART ONE

PART TWO

Yes, that's quite a long name for a wine! I really love to taste the whites of Burgundy, especially the really good ones like this. We tasted this wine next to the Kistler Durell Vineyard Chardonnay that I reviewed a couple wines back. It was really quite a stark contrast of style, weight, and ideology to be fair. While the Kistler was massively structured with a heavy and viscous texture, this wine held every bit as much presence and actually showed far more complexity and purity of fruit.

On the nose I got aromas of mineral, golden apple, custard, lemon curd, ribbon candy, and a slight toastiness.

On the palate this wine displays intense acidity and shows flavors of toasted oak, apple pie, baked apple, and lemon curd. There is a distinct mineral complexity but very pure apple and citrus fruit flavors. The wine is stunningly complex and mouthwatering on the finish.

Where this wine stands out an truly makes it's impression is the perfect balance and razor sharp acid. It is a focused wine and one that drinks well on it's own but almost screams out for the right foods to be paired with. We indulged in crab cakes and to be honest it was an immaculate conception of a wine pairing! 94 points

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It's always amazing to taste the older bottlings of Mondavi Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. I think the last one I tasted was a 1974 Mondavi Reserve with a bunch of friends. I didn't leave specific tasting notes for that bottle, but I remember it holding it's own against the 1974 Chateau Margaux that we tasted the same night, which if you read the review I gave it 98 points.

I'm not entirely sure how well the Mondavi wines are being made these days, but when the old man was still around and actively involved in the process, the wines were world class.

The bouquet of this wine was far superior to any of the wines we were tasting this night. In fact, in my notes I said it was a 100pt nose! Here's some of the descriptors I wrote: Spearmint, herb, bark, wet stone, and cherry. An amazing nose that evolves every 30 seconds in the glass.

On the palate the wine was also quite amazing but was just lacking a bit of intensity and finish. Flavors of stewy cherry tomato, leather, herb, cherry, and slight hints of spearmint were some of the descriptors I used to describe the wine. The tannins were totally integrated and the wine was soft and elegant. The finish was just slightly short, which was a bit disappointing. 92 points

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The Durell Vineyard lies in the southwestern Sonoma Valley, almost in the Carneros appellation. This wine (as with most Kistler Chardonnay's) is a big, voluptuous, full-bodied effort, that will sing to most California Chardonnay lovers. I previously reviewed the 2004 Kistler Les Noisetiers Chardonnay and thought it was quite good.

On the nose I get aromas of toast, butter, golden apple, caramel, and ribbon candy. Although I couldn't find the tech data regarding the barrel fermentation, I would bet this wine is aged for some time in new, heavy toast, French oak barrels. It has a distinct smokiness and weight that suggests heavy wood fermentation.

On the palate I get flavors of caramel apple pie, toasted oak, smoke, and butter. This wine (although very delicious) is somewhat one-dimensional in character. It's round and mouth coating, but extremely oak driven and buttery. It doesn't display enough fruit character and is almost all spice and wood. 89 points

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I really don't get the opportunity to taste a wide variety of dry, white wine from Portugal, so this wine definitely sparked a bit of interest for me. It's produced by Niepoort which is a winery that specializes in both still and fortified wines. Click here to find out about the winery.

This particular wine is composed of several native Portuguese varietals called Rabigato, Codega, Donzelinho, Viosinho and Arinto. The wine was barrel fermented in 90% French oak for a total of 8 months, but does not undergo malolactic fermentation.

When I first took a whiff of this wine I immediately thought of a classic white Burgundy. It has a bouquet that is very reminiscent of clean, fruit-focused Chardonnay. However, as the wine starts to open up in the glass, more mineral and grassy notes start to appear, which turned my thoughts to Sauvignon Blanc and perhaps Spain's famed Albarino. Some descriptors of what I smelt were mineral, lemon curd, toast, citrus, and fresh wild flowers.

On the palate the wine boasts a round and slightly oily texture and shows flavors of mineral, lime peel, wet pavement, and very light hints of toast.

To be completely honest, I was expecting a lot more from this wine in terms of overall complexity. I think the Wine Advocate scored this wine like 93 points or something.....Anyways, all in all it's a well crafted wine but I can easily see many $10-15 dollar wines showing as well as this. 88 points

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Chateau Longueville au Baron de Pichon-Longueville is the actual title of this wine, but most refer to the wine as "Château Pichon-Baron". It's one of Bordeaux's fourteen "second growth" wines and like most famous Bordeaux Chateaux it has a history that extends back for centuries.

The vineyards at Pichon-Baron cover 73 hectares of typical gravel, and are planted with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Franc. The wine is typically aged in French oak barrels for up to 18 months, using 70% new and 30% one-year old, with racking every 3 months.

I'd first like to thank a special friend for always being generous and sharing these beautifully aged gems with me. It's great to have the money and/or patience to be able to partake in wine experiences like these, but if your lucky enough to have generous friends like I am, then it borders on sublime!

The 1989 Pichon-Baron is still very deep in color and displays only slight discoloration or brick-like hues towards the edges of the glass.

The bouquet can be characterized by gorgeous aromas of cherry, leather, chocolate, cocoa powder, and slight nutty-cashew nuances. It's quite typical of an aged Bordeaux showing great complexity and intense, chameleon-like aromas.

On the Palate the wine is still rich and heavily structured, displaying the power of the 89' vintage. The fruit is very pure a delineated, showing flavors of black cherry, earth, chocolate, and subtle hints of herb. A classic representation of the strong Pauillac wines made in this remarkable vintage. 95+ points

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