Notes from the Weekend

1. I went to St. Louis on Friday and walked by Racanelli's Pizza in the Delmar Loop. They specialize in New York style pizza, and though I unfortunately did not have the time to stop in and dine, I noted that their sandwich board advertising wine specials. Specifically, they're offering 1/2 off Cakebread Chardonnay, Cakebread Cabernet Sauvignon, Newton Unfiltered Chardonnay, and A. Rafanelli Zinfandel. Assuming restaurant pricing (which is variable but tends to be 2-3 times cost), the Cakebread Chardonnay should be priced at between $80 and $100; half off would mean the wine is selling at approximately retail. To me, that's a pretty good indicator that the high end wine market is in a pretty bad slump; in typical economic conditions these wines are allocated and fairly expensive.

2. For the geeks: Biophysicist Luca Turin has a very interesting TED seminar on his work on the science of smell. Fascinating.

3. On Wednesday, July15 at 7:00PM we will have a representative fromthe 75 Wine Co. in the shop. The 75 Wine Company (www.75wine.com) is a project started by Tuck Beckstoffer, arguably the most important vineyard owner in northern California. The list of award winning wines coming from his vineyards is too long to mention. You need to come by and listen for yourself. They make only 3 wines so this tasting will be coupled with the Wednesday Wine Group.