For The Love Of Port

Minor problem - the Holiday Inn is completely booked for the 31st so I'll have to find a different venue. There are a couple of other hotels in the vicinity, though, so with a little luck I'll be able to get us a conference room at one of those.

I'll keep everyone posted in this thread...

Another Problem

the F70 and the F85 are just absolutely TERRIBLE TERRIBLE wines.

I think Roy should strike them off his top 12 and you guys should replace them with a house that doesn't begin with Fonseca.

Do you have any of those Jeff? If so, I will gladly trade your terrible F70 and F85 for some less terrible wines

Glenn, thanks for making the effort to organize this fantastic event. Unfortunately I am going to have to bow out , as I just found out that my daughter will be visiting that weekend.

No problem Steve. Maybe next time!

Jeff G. wrote:Another Problem

the F70 and the F85 are just absolutely TERRIBLE TERRIBLE wines.

I think Roy should strike them off his top 12 and you guys should replace them with a house that doesn't begin with Fonseca.

No no, we have to understand the lunacy of Roy's picks. No matter HOW BAD THEY ARE, we have to try them so that we can better understand the mysterious man who runs our favorite forum.

It's a tough job, but somebody's gotta do it.

I think that's acceptable

we should have motion to strike them from roy's top 12 and instead include them int he tasting as simply "filler" wines to ensure proper lubrication.

Jeff G. wrote:"filler" wines

LOL! You're killing me!

Eric Menchen wrote:Do you have any of those Jeff? If so, I will gladly trade your terrible F70 and F85 for some less terrible wines

done, here are my list of slightly less terrible wines that may make good trading

noval 31
croft 45

Venue update: unless they turn out to be ridiculously expensive, we'll be at the Hilton Garden Inn in Issaquah. It's basically on the SW corner of the same freeway interchange as the Holiday Inn we normally use, though it's a little farther back and behind a couple of auto dealerships. Still, just as convenient so it should be an excellent venue for us.

P.S. if anyone has one of those terrible, terrible 1966 Fonsecas you could bring it and we could use it to rinse decanters between flights.

Glenn E. wrote:P.S. if anyone has one of those terrible, terrible 1966 Fonsecas you could bring it and we could use it to rinse decanters between flights.

No. Don't do that. I have a special decanter set aside in my house where terrible Fonseca 1966 can be destroyed humanely. Please send all of your terrible F66 to me and I will ensure they are despatched with dignity and efficiency. I expect no reward for my efforts, I do it simply

Venue update: the Hilton's room cost is very reasonable, but they then tag on a $500 minimum food order. So I'm still looking at options.

If everyone would be interested in getting their dinner at the Hilton, then we might be able to make up the $500 minimum reasonably easily. Just let me know!

Venue update:

We will now be at the Marriott Redmond Town Center. They gave me a slightly better deal than the Hilton and their room is also a little bit nicer with a serving area reserved for us that's OUTSIDE the room (which will keep the food odors down).

Address: 7401 164th Avenue NE, Redmond, Washington
Phone: (425) 498-4000

We have access to the room starting at 5:00 pm and can stay until midnight. I'll meet with the catering manager tomorrow to arrange some light snacks/cheese/whatever to have available for us.

It's almost here!

Start time? (unless I totally missed it somewhere in this thread :)

I probably forgot to post it... the plan is to start tasting at 6:00 pm. The early access is to give me time to make sure the setup is correct and to start pouring!

Andy and Marc, can you confirm or withdraw please? I need a final tally to give to the hotel for the food order.

They are likely not even checking back here Glenn. I'd suggest sending them a reminder email, but would guess if you've not heard from them by now; the odds are against them attending.

Good point. I'll send them emails from home tonight. I already sent one to Melanie.

Dining room and appetizers are confirmed. Short of a final headcount due on Wednesday, everything's set for Saturday night!

Unfortunately, I've run into a health issue and cannot drink over the next several weeks. So I'm going to withdraw from the tasting. I'm bummed! I'm sure the tasting will be superb. I'll be thinking about you guys on Saturday!
I look forward to the tNs.