Fun days in Sacramento, with temps of 111F the day I arrived! That night we went to thr Rio Cafe, where I had chicken breast with a glass of 2004 Wente Riesling. Medium-sweet, could use more acidity and Riesling character. Sweet pear and apple fruit, a little empty. B-/C+
Betsy had ribs and a glass of the 2003 7 Deadly Zins. Pretty decent example of hot (Lodi) Zin. Big jammy kirsch fruit, a little vanilla. Not exactly my ideal of hot weather wine, but ok in the AC. B
Monday I had no wine. We attended a River Cats (minor league baseball) game, in the heat one glass of beer was more than enough for me, I stuck with water after that.
Tuesday we met Betsy's cousin and her husband at 55 Degrees in downtown Sacramento. Appetizers were quite good, especially my sweetbreads and Roseanne's corn custard with morels and favas (Betsy's crabcakes and Roger's buffalo mozzarella were also successful). Opening wine was the
2005 Saracco Moscato d'Asti. Moderate sweetness, light petillance with good sweet pear fruit, a hint of biscuit yeast, but a bit short. BWhile Roseanne's mussels and Roger's halibut were quite good, both my steak (ordered rare) and Betsy's duck breast (ordered medium-rare) were a bit too done. Good though, with excellent frites. We had a bottle of the 2004 Au Bon Climat "La Bauge au Dessus"Pinot Noir. Rich red plum and raspberry fruit, but a little heavy on the wood. It also seems a tad hot, but label says a reasonable 13.5%. I've liked ABC wines in the past, and this is a reasonable $36, but I can't say I'm enthralled. B/B-
Grade disclaimer: I'm a very easy grader, basically A is an excellent wine, B a good wine, C mediocre. Anything below C means I wouldn't drink at a party where it was only choice. Furthermore, I offer no promises of objectivity, accuracy, and certainly not of consistency.