Talking LIOCO, Handley Cellars and Pellegrini Family Vineyards

Good Morning Everyone!  Whew, last week was jumping with the wines of LIOCO in Austin. Thanks to all of you who came by the tastings and attended the wine dinner at TRIO.  I am in love with their 2008 Carneros (Sonoma side) unoaked Chardonnay and the new 2008 Sonoma Coast (Petaluma Wind Gap side) Pinot Noir right now.  Kevin O'Connor and Matt Licklider - the founders of LIOCO are well into living the dream of building "sense of place" for these fine California designated wines.  

I can't end this without giving props to their 2008 INDICA blend, old vine carignan, mourvedre, and petite sirah blend from Redwood Valley in Mendocino County California - this is the ultimate summer BBQ wine, you should all buy this by the case, a phenomenal value too $ 19 bucks.  Before Kevin took off for his homeland of LA, we took a drive out to the Salt Lick for dinner, 2004 Bandol in tow.  This wine was thick with dry black olives, heavy herbs and earth.  IT ROCKED, but we both smiled as we sipped and agreed the Indica would have been a perfect pairing for our finger-licking-good Salt Lick BBQ.  

So next week, I'll be driving around North Texas with a few wines bags and coolers full of great summer wines.  The month of July the beautiful wines of Handley Cellars have a special promotion running by their Texas distributor - Avante Beverages.  If you are reading this and are in the wine trade, please don't hesitate to ask to taste all the new Handley Wines in stock this month.   Special pricing for summer stacks and wine list placements are very low, so please take advantage.

Monday night will end with me leading a delicious Pellegrini Family wine dinner in Flower Mound at Rouge - please click here to see the menu and call to RSVP.  And the week will end with my friends in Round Rock at Vino 100 for a fun-filled and also incredible food and wine night flowing with the bombastic wines of  Pellegrini Family Vineyards.   Please give Bryan at Vino 100 a call to save a seat, I can't wait! 

Off Subject...thank you for your best wishes and prayers for Henley! He's made a full recovery and has received a clean bill of health from the VET just 2 weeks after the surgery. She said "he's the youngest old dog I've ever operated on",  very happy to have a made the choice to perform the surgery.  "Laryngeal Paralysis" in older dogs is life-threatening, so glad to have a vibrant and energized companion again to play with!  Cheers to a great week ahead - Ali